By Mat Elfring on Oct 17, 2018 11:03 pm
There is nothing better than a good scare from the safety of your own home. However, it wasn't until the past decade when TV networks started taking a chance on content that was once deemed "too much" for mass audiences. Thanks to networks like AMC and FX catering their content to a specific audience, these channels become the go-to place for action, comedy, and even horror. Whether you like a classic ghost story, a murderous rampage by some slasher in a mask, something spooky from space, or a story that shakes you to your core, there is something currently on TV for you. And with the rise in streaming services, there are new budding shows from Netflix, Hulu, Shudder, and more you'll need to add to your queue. We took a look at television series dating all the way back to the 1950s to find some of the best horror shows that have ever hit the airwaves. Here are the 13 best, listed in no particular order. If you're looking for more spooky content and horror thrills, check out Movies That Every Horror Fan Needs To See and Awesome Short Horror Films you can watch online for free.
Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1990-2000)
Many episodes may have not aged exceptionally well, but the Nickelodeon series Are You Afraid of the Dark managed to scare a whole generation of kids during the '90s. The show followed the Midnight Society, who told each other scary stories by a campfire. As you can see above, some of the imagery from the series is hard to forget.
Tales From the Crypt (1989-1996)
Much like Are You Afraid of the Dark, Tales From the Crypt featured new horrifying stories every week, but because it aired on HBO, the series could get away with a whole lot more than the Nickelodeon show. The most memorable part of the series was the Cryptkeeper, who introduced each story in a ghoulish way.
True Blood (2008-2014)
HBO's True Blood mixed horror and romance with a bit of tongue-in-cheek quirkiness. The series followed a young woman who falls in love with a vampire and learns about his world. However, there's also a whole lot of death and gore to satisfy many horror fans. There's a whole season dedicated to werewolves as well.
Supernatural (2005- )
About to head into its 13th season, Supernatural is currently the CW's longest running series. The show follows two brothers who lost their mother to a supernatural force. The two join forces and hunt down monsters and other things that go bump in the night. If crazy monsters are your thing, then Supernatural is right up your alley.
Black Mirror (2011- )
Charlie Brooker's Channel 4 series--which now airs on Netflix--isn't about terrifying monsters or supernatural forces. It centers around technology that isn't too far off in the future and how it can change our lives for better or worse. Whether it's being hunted by a man in a black mask with a rifle (seen above) or being trapped inside a horror video game with no way out, Black Mirror plays to our deepest fears without the cheap jump scares. You can check out our rankings for every episode in Season 4 of Black Mirror here.
The X-Files (1993-2001, 2016- )
Good luck sleeping tonight after seeing the picture of The Host from X-Files. While the Fox series primarily focused on government conspiracies, the show was filled with terrifying moments and monsters, like the 1996 episode "Home," which followed the inbred Peacock family and is by far the most disturbing episode of the series.
Stranger Things (2016- )
Season 1 of Stranger Things took the world by storm, following a group of kids during the '80s who are trying to find their missing friend, who is trapped in the Upside Down. With Season 2 coming to Netflix on October 27, fans can't wait to see what terrifying monsters the creators have in store for them next.
Penny Dreadful (2014-2016)
Showtime and Sky's series Penny Dreadful took well-known literary characters and presented them in a whole new, terrifying light. The series featured Dorian Grey, Dracula, Van Helsing, and more exploring the dark origins in Victorian England. Sadly, the series came to an abrupt end after Season 3, but luckily for you, every episode is currently on Netflix.
Channel Zero (2016- )
Syfy's Channel Zero was born out of creepypasta horror stories, and each season adapts one of the stories for television. The series has a dark tone that is frightening and unsettling, and there are plenty of moments you simply cannot unsee, like whatever is going on in the image above. Season 4 of the series is returning on Friday, October 26 at 11 PM ET, just in time for Halloween. This year's installment is titled "The Dream Door," and it's based on the creepypasta called "Hidden Door." What's crazy about this season is that there will be a new episode every night between October 26 and Halloween. Additionally, all six episodes of the new season will be available on October 26 on VOD.
The Twilight Zone (1959-1964)
The first successful horror television series was CBS's The Twilight Zone, which originally ran for five seasons. Each episode featured a new story weaving fantasy, science-fiction, and horror together. The series had some iconic television moments, like a man seeing a monster on the wing of his plane.
Hannibal (2013-2015)
While Season 4 of the series isn't a sure thing yet, NBC's Hannibal took the lovable cannibal from Silence of the Lambs to give him a different type of origin story. Hannibal is a psychiatrist who manipulates the FBI--by working with them--so they don't find out he's actually a cannibalistic serial killer.
The Walking Dead (2010- )
AMC's The Walking Dead is one of the best revivals of the zombie genre. Based on the Skybound/Image comic series, the series follows Rick Grimes and his counterparts, as they traverse a world where zombies have destroyed mankind. The horror doesn't always come from the zombies though. It stems from mankind's struggle to survive in a wasteland, which usually leads to people committing horrific crimes.
American Horror Story (2011- )
Finally, there is FX's American Horror Story. Each season tells a different terrifying tale, featuring the same cast as brand-new characters. The series has covered ghosts, aliens, witches, and even freakshows in the past. Currently, the series title "Apocalypse" is airing, which revolves around witches and the end of the world. Check out our interview with Cody Fern who plays Michael Langdon in the latest season.
By Mat Elfring on Oct 17, 2018 10:40 pm
Caliban (2019 Build-A-Figure)
One of the consistently best affordable toy lines on the shelves is Hasbro's Marvel Legends. The line pumps out some incredibly detailed articulated figures based on some of Marvel's most famous and infamous characters. From Deadpool to Infinity War to Venom and more, Marvel Legends sure does produce some memorable and cool-looking collectibles. While Marvel Legends is the flagship line for Hasbro, the toy manufacturer also has other Marvel-based lines in stores now and a few more coming soon, including Marvel Rising as well as tie-in figures to the upcoming movie Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. During New York Comic-Con, GameSpot spoke with Marketing's Ryan Ting and Design's Bobby Vala about the new toys from Hasbro's numerous Marvel lines. Check out everything coming out in the upcoming months, some of which is on sale now.
The Deadpool Scooter
"Deadpool scooter comes with this great sticker sheet so that you can then customize your scooter," explained Vala. "A bunch of cool, fun stickers that we got on there. Bullet holes, you know, 'I love Logan' stickers, very cool fun stuff that really ties in with the character."
Professor X
Vala said this is the first time Hasbro has shown off the Cerebro helmet for the upcoming Professor X figure, which will hit stores in Spring 2019.
Hail Hydra Two-Pack
"This is a nice update to Arnim Zola," said Vala. "And we paired them up with the Supreme Leader Hydra Captain America from the Secret Wars storyline. Very fun two-pack." Ting explained they are currently available for preorder at GameStop and Entertainment Earth.
The Black Order
"In the center here--possibly the biggest reveal--we have the final Black Order team so we have Thanos, Cull Obsidian, and Proxima Midnight, with Mark 50 Iron Man that were out earlier this year for Infinity War. And now, we're missing two members of the Black Order and that was Corvus Glaive and Ebony Maw, who you see here. They are gonna be all new figures for 2019." These figures will be sold separately.
Marvel Rising Line
Hasbro's latest Marvel line ties into the new Disney XD animated series, Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors. "So I know that part of the story and the background is kind of that dual identity, you know, these are teenagers who live in the real world but they also happen to be superheroes, and so the design team, I believe, tried to incorporate that duality and that kind of dual identity aspect into it," Vala explained. "There's actually an assortment that we don't have here at the show, but it has alternate outfits for Ghost Rider and, I believe, Squirrel Girl as well, so we kinda tie that into it. "For what we see here--the $19.99 core assortment here--it's really bringing their powers to life with the squirrel friend there, you've got some power effects for America Chavez and Quake. And this was the first time that Hasbro, I believe, has gotten to do soft goods and rooted hair in Marvel dolls. So we think that will really tie well into the entertainment and appeal to fans of that ... you know, fans of all ages, really." Keep going to check out the rest of what Hasbro had to show off at NYCC.
Cull Obsidian
Ebony Maw
Thanos
Corvus Glaive
Proxima Midnight
Forge
Kraven: The Hunter
Kingpin Build-A-Figure
Beta Ray Bill
Silver Sable
Classic Venom
Venom Build-A-Figure
Carnage
Scream
Venom Line
Marvel Gamer-Verse Two-Pack
Gamer-Verse Spider-Man
Into The Spider-Verse: Scorpion
Into The Spider-Verse: Peni Parker
Into The Spider-Verse: Spider-Ham
Into The Spider-Verse
By Chris Reed on Oct 17, 2018 09:45 pm
It's October, the month when the weather starts to turn, leaves flutter to the ground, and no food category is safe from getting a pumpkin spice variant. It's also the month of Halloween, so don't be surprised when ghosts and ghouls begin showing up in all of your favorite games. But if Halloween is bleeding into games, the reverse is also true: video games are making their way into Halloween. We've already gone over some the costumes from popular video games you can buy, but almost no game is bigger than Fortnite--and this year, the Fortnite costume business is booming. As its many millions of regular players know, Fortnite's enormously popular Battle Royale mode finds 100 combatants dropping from a floating party bus onto a large, colorful map. Tucked away in many houses, gas stations, high rises, and other structures are tools and weapons you can use to deal damage to your opponents and protect yourself against the damage they mean to do to you. A big part of the fun of playing Fortnite is unlocking the many costumes or "skins" the game makes available. These outfits are purely cosmetic in that they don't affect the gameplay, but their designs range from slick and appealing to goofy and outright ridiculous. Many of these skins have become widely recognizable by the player base and beyond, so it's no surprise that costume makers have begun offering Fortnite-ispired Halloween costumes. We've scoured the web to find all the best Fortnite Halloween costumes and masks you can look at, laugh at, and purchase if you find one you like. Fortnite Season 6 kicked off at the beginning of October, bringing with it a wealth of new skins, sprays, emotes, and more. Check out our rundown of new cosmetic items to see each one. And if you need a little help with the challenges, click over to our Season 6 challenge roundup. Some links to supporting retailers are automatically made into affiliate links, and GameSpot may receive a small share of those sales.
Cuddle Team Leader
This Cuddle Team Leader costume is much cuter than the character is in the game.
Fox Mask
Looking foxy with the Fox mask.
Rex
Get prehistoric in this Rex costume.
Beef Boss Mask
You'll command attention when you place your head in this Beef Boss mask.
Cuddle Team Leader Mask
To live up to the full creepy potential of Cuddle Team Leader, you'll need a mask like this one.
Skull Trooper Costume
Anyone who doesn't play Fortnite will assume this is a regular old skeleton costume, but the cool people will be in the know.
Bright Bomber Costume
Bright Bomber is one of the most recognizable Fortnite skins, making this costume a good choice.
Rex Back Bling Backpack
It doesn't even need to be Halloween to wear this back bling that doubles as a backpack.
Tomato Head Mask
The mustachioed tomato mask is guaranteed to be a hit at parties.
By Dan Auty on Oct 17, 2018 08:54 pm
The 1990s may have released plenty of horror movies that were popular with mass audiences, but it is not remembered as one of the genre's strongest decades. While many movies in the '70s and '80s pushed horror in new directions, the most successful horror films of the '90s were either remakes (The Haunting), adaptations (Bram Stoker's Dracula, Interview with a Vampire), and self-referential deconstructions of the genre (Scream). Only Blair Witch Project, at the end of the decade, gave mainstream audiences a taste of something a bit more unusual. But away from the big hits, there were some fascinating movies during the decade that did take risks, delivered scares, and entertained in a way studio films did not. There were underrated efforts from some of the biggest horror directors of the past decades, some emerging voices who would form an important part in the development of the genre over the coming years, and impressive shockers from other parts of the world. We went through the decade to find some of the best movies that you may have missed out on while you were skateboarding on a vert ramp or repeating lines from Clueless to your friends. So here's 13 underrated '90s horror movies well worth rediscovery.
13. Body Bags (1993)
Horror anthologies are a vital part of the genre, and 1993 gave us this gem. The three stories that form Body Bags actually started life as episodes of an anthology show, but when Showtime decided not to progress with it, the completed entries were hastily assembled into a movie. Luckily, the stories were made by some big-name directors, namely John Carpenter (Halloween) and Tobe Hooper (Texas Chainsaw Massacre), and they delivered entertaining tales of serial killers, mutant hair, and possessed eyeballs. As well as also providing a satisfying mix of chills and laughs, Body Bags also features a seemingly non-stop parade of famous faces, including genre directors (Wes Craven, Sam Raimi), pop stars (Sheena Easton, Debbie Harry), and B-movie veterans (Stacy Keach, David Warner). The film's origins means that there's very little to connect these stories beyond an introduction by Carpenter and Hooper, playing mad morgue attendees, but it's great fun.
12. Castle Freak (1995)
Stuart Gordon gave us one of the 1980s' great horror movies with Re-Animator, and while he never quite matched it, there are some other notable movies in his filmography. Castle Freak was one of many movies he made for producer Charles Band. In true exploitation style, there was a poster and a title before there was a script, with Band reportedly telling Gordon he could make whatever he wanted as long as the movie featured a castle and a freak. And that's exactly what Gordon delivered; a weird tale of a family who encounter a deformed, basement-dwelling creature when they buy an Italian castle (which Band owned in real life). It's super low- budget, but it's got a dark, disturbing atmosphere and some good gore, plus appearances from Gordon's Re-Animator stars Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton.
11. Brainscan (1994)
No one is going to remember Brainscan as one of the '90s best horror movies, but it is a huge amount of unwholesome fun. Terminator 2 star Edward Furlong plays a horror-and-video-game-loving kid who gets addicted to a new game. What he thought was just a game in which he controls a murderer turns out to be a sinister program through which he manipulates a real-life killer. It's an often stupid movie that was panned on release, and its predictions of what the future of video games looked like are now ludicrously dated. But it remains hugely entertaining and is way more watchable than many long-forgotten "better" films. And fans of '90s alt-rock will love the soundtrack, with songs from the likes of Mudhoney, White Zombie, Primus, Tad, Pitchshifter, and the Butthole Surfers.
10. In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
John Carpenter is one of the most revered directors in horror. While nothing tops his run of classic movies from the late-70 to mid-80s (think of Halloween, The Fog, and The Thing), he did continue to make interesting films, with In the Mouth of Madness standing as one of the best of this later batch. It's a horror mystery that owes a big debt to the writing of HP Lovecraft and stars Sam Neill as an insurance investigator who is hired to look into the disappearance of best-selling horror author Sutter Cane. With a spooky atmosphere, strong performances, and some great monster effects, the movie is both a clever satire on horror fandom and a hugely entertaining monster movie in its own right.
9. Cemetery Man (1994)
One of the strangest horror movies of the decade, this brilliant, bizarre gothic yarn is one of only four fright flicks directed by Michele Soavi, who at one stage was being touted as the future of Italian horror. Also known as Dellamorte Dellamore, it stars Rupert Everett as a Francisco Dellamorte, a cemetery caretaker who spends every night putting the restless dead back in their graves. At times, this is as much an absurd comedy as a horror movie, with gory gags, a wonderful deadpan performance from Everett, and some incredibly stylish direction from Soavi. But for all its bawdy, gory lunacy, there's also an air of haunting melancholy as Dellamorte mourns his lost love and questions the futility of existence, leading to a strange, sad final sequence a world away from most undead shockers.
8. Dust Devil (1992)
Richard Stanley was one of the promising young horror directors of the early '90s. His debut film Hardware was a stylish, brutal futuristic thriller in which a woman is menaced by a killer robot. But it was his second movie that truly delivered on the promise of that striking debut. Set in the director's native South Africa, Dust Devil is a haunting, atmospheric road movie that combines the tone and style of a classic Western with a quasi-mystical serial killer movie. The title character is a shape-shifting demon that hunts tourists lost in the desert, and the film is a scary, visually-stunning headtrip. Sadly, it never got the release it deserved; it was badly reedited by producers Miramax and wasn't seen in its original form until a decade later. Stanley subsequently moved onto the ill-fated remake of The Island of Dr Moreau, which is its own bizarre story.
7. Cure (1997)
Japanese director Kyoshi Kurosawa is best known in the U.S. for the brilliant Pulse, which was part of the J-Horror wave that followed in the wake of Ringu. But three years earlier, he directed the equally scary Cure. It starts as a procedural police thriller about a cop on the trail of a serial killer, but quickly goes down the route of unnerving psychological horror, with themes of hypnosis and psychological control creating an increasing disturbing experience. Kurosawa is a master at freaking his audience out through creeping, insidious dread, and Cure is one of his most terrifying movies.
6. Necronomicon: Book of the Dead (1993)
Another of the decade's best horror anthologies, Necronomicon takes the writing of HP Lovecraft as inspiration behind the three tales. It's produced and co-directed by Re-Animator producer Brian Yuzna, and the star of that classic, Jeffrey Combs, plays Lovecraft himself in the wraparound story, in which he reads from the legendary book of the title. The stories themselves fully embrace Lovecraft's love of the weird, with some seriously gloopy, outrageous gore and monster effects. It's shame that it's quite hard to see--it's never even been released on DVD in the U.S.--because Necronomicon is well worth rediscovering.
5. The Resurrected (1991)
The Resurrected is yet another HP Lovecraft adaptation, this time directed by Dan O'Bannon, who also made the '80s classic Return of the Living Dead as well as co-writing Alien and Total Recall. It barely received a theatrical release before being dumped straight to video, and O'Bannon disowned it in later years, complaining that it had been taken away from him and finished by producers. But it's still a great film. Chris Sarandon gives a wonderfully unhinged performance as an amateur scientist who has been performing mysterious experiments, and the build-up in the tension before we find out what exactly he has been up to is expertly handled. The climax totally delivers too, with tons of gore and some outstanding monster effects.
4. Modern Vampires (1998)
Originally titled Revenant, this oddball vampire comedy attempted to cash in on the success of Blade with a very similar poster campaign, but in reality it couldn't be more different. It's set in an alternative Los Angeles where vampires are allowed to exist as long as the don't cause trouble with regular folk. There isn't much plot, but it's a gloriously eccentric experience with an increasingly mad series of scenes delivered by a cast who look like they're having an absolute blast. Starship Troopers star Casper Van Dien is a long-exiled vamp who returns to the city, while acting legend Rod Steiger plays Van Helsing, who is reimagined as a Nazi war criminal that uses LA gang members as his vampire hunting crew. There are roles for Sex & The City's Kim Cattrall and comedian/late night host Craig Ferguson, and many of the jokes push the boundaries of taste. Modern Vampires is directed by Richard Elfman, brother of famed soundtrack composer Danny, who provides the movie's theme music. There's no other film quite like it.
3. Demon Knight (1995)
Ernest Dickerson started out as Spike Lee's cinematographer, working on such classics as Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X. But while his 1992 directorial debut Fresh was similar in subject matter to Lee's movies, his subsequent work in cinema and TV has frequently embraced horror--mostly recently, he's helmed various episodes of The Walking Dead. His 1995 film Demon Knight is a wildly entertaining horror comedy, spun off from HBO's Tales from the Crypt series. A drifter holes up in a weird motel after stealing an ancient key and is soon besieged by demonic forces eager to get it back. It's a fast-paced, exciting, and funny ride that proved Dickerson's love of the genre.
2. The Addiction (1997)
Maverick director Abel Ferrara is known for his early gritty '90s crime classics King of New York and Bad Lieutenant, but he's also dabbled in a horror a few times. His best chiller is The Addiction, a dark vampire tale the reunited him with his King of the New York star Christopher Walken. Shot in stark black-and-white on the streets of NYC, the movie treats vampirism as a drug addiction, as the title suggests. It also throws in a healthy dose of religious allegory, as a young woman slowly succumbs to mental disintegration and an unquenchable thirst for blood. If that sounds heavy… well, it is. But it's also an intelligent and powerful movie, that counts amongst the decade's best vampire films.
1. Cronos (1993)
While few watching Cronos in 1993 would have thought that its director would one day win Best Picture at the Oscars, this was clearly the work of an emerging talent. Guillermo Del Toro's debut tells the story of a strange insect that secretes a serum that seems to reverse the ageing process but also brings on more undesirable side effects. The movie marked Del Toro's first collaboration with future Hellboy actor Ron Perlman and contained many of the elements that would mark his future work--a confident mix of horror, fantasy, and drama, impressive performances, stylish direction, and a clear love and understanding as to what makes the genre so great.
By Mat Elfring on Oct 17, 2018 08:45 pm
After the soul-shattering ending of Avengers: Infinity War, Marvel movie fans needed a palate cleanser, something fun. That's exactly what Ant-Man and The Wasp was. The down-to-Earth and grounded story carried heavy themes of father/daughter relationships while providing laughs the whole way through. Well, it was as grounded of a story you can tell about people who grow, shrink, phase through walls, and enter the teeny, tiny Quantum Realm. While the film has already been released digitally, it's coming to DVD and Blu-Ray on Tuesday, October 16. With the release comes quite a few special features--many of which are available digitally as well. One of the more interesting additions to the home release is the commentary from director Peyton Reed. Throughout the movie, Reed detailed every aspect of the story, directing his first sequel, the themes, and how certain scenes came together, including the final tag which connects Ant-Man and The Wasp to Infinity War. We picked out the most interesting and insightful moments from the audio commentary that shed light of the movie-making process. If you're interested in picking up Ant-Man and The Wasp, check out our pre-order guide detailing all different editions as well as what's on the special features.
Wasp In Ant-Man 1 Was Made To Look Like Pfeiffer
"In the first movie, we see the original Wasp and we sort of just see her eyes through the mask," explained director Peyton Reed. "Long before we cast Michelle Pfeiffer, obviously, in the second movie. But I remember talking to casting and visual effects and saying, 'well, hey eyes--that we see through the mask--she should look like Michelle Pfeiffer.' Michelle was always my dream casting for that role, that was before we even knew we'd be making a second movie."
Pym Labs Was A Huge Set
The Quantum Tunnel set, which was designed by Shepherd Frankel, was the largest physical set that has ever been built for a Marvel movie. Reed said the inspiration for the set came from the Irwin Allen TV series The Time Tunnel.
How Ghost Was Chosen For The Movie
Reed said he loved the design of the Iron Man villain. "When we were figuring out who the main antagonist in this movie was going to be, we looked in these giant Marvel encyclopedias that had every hero, every villain, every sort of ancillary character, and I loved the design of Ghost, just the visual look of Ghost in the comics," he said. "That seemed really striking to me and the powerset… This idea of phasing seemed like there was something there that was formidable for this partnership of Ant-Man and Wasp to go up against."
Why Ghost Was Changed To A Woman For The Movie
"In the comics, Ghost is a man, a computer hacker, and sort of an anti-corporate vigilante, and we basically just took the basic idea of that character and adapted Ghost to our story," Reed explained. "And part of that was doing a gender swap, which made sense for our movie, where we have this strong thematic of fathers and daughters, whether it's Hank and Hope or Scott and Cassie. And in this movie, even though Bill Foster and Ava Star are not father and daughter, they're sort of this figurative father/daughter relationship there. So it felt really smart to do the gender swap for that reason."
Why Bill Foster Is In The Movie
Reed owned all the Black Goliath comics as a child and said that he loves the character. However, that's not the only reason Foster appeared in the movie. "I liked the idea of giving Hank Pym a foil in this movie, another super-scientist that when they're together, they're alpha males and think they're the smartest guy in the room," Reed said. "And when we got Laurence Fishburne for the movie, it thrilled me."
Laurence Fishburne Is A Huge Comic Book Fan
While on set, Fishburne read graphic novels during his off time, many of which Reed had never heard of. Reed said Fishburne was well-versed in all things Marvel and DC.
Cassie Lang's Teacher's Name
Reed said he named Cassie's teacher Mrs. Broadwell after his 8th and 9th grade English teacher. He spoke highly of her and wanted to pay homage.
Ghost's House Was To Give The Movie A Horror Vibe
It's a concrete modernist building in Newnan, Georgia, and Reed said that this scene is their movie's version of a haunted house in the middle of the woods. They even added a wolf howl to the scene to add more of a supernatural feel to it.
Ghost's Father Is From The Comics
Reed discussed Ghost's father, Elihas Starr, who in the comics was a supervillain named Egghead. They didn't want to use Egghead as a villain, but they wanted to give a nod to Marvel Comics fans.
Young Laurence Fishburne Was Played By His Son
Reed says they paid extra care to the young versions of Fishburne, Pfeiffer, and Douglas when it came to the digital aging, as they are three extremely recognizable faces in Hollywood, now and 30 years ago. Fishburne's son, Langston, was the stand in for his father during those younger scenes, before they altered Laurence's face.
Making Sure Hank Pym Isn't Just Another Tony Stark
Both Pym and Stark are genius inventors, but Reed mentioned during the commentary that he wanted to separate the two. Many times, Pym--mainly out of necessity--has to cannibalize his own tech to create something new, while Stark would just get new materials. While both Pym and Stark are geniuses in their own right, they operate very differently.
Keeping The Movie Short
Reed mentions that he wants the movie under two hours in length for a couple of reasons: "One, I knew we were going to be following Infinity War, which was going to be this massive, massive epic. But most importantly just because this is a comedy, and it's an action-comedy, and it didn't want it to overstay its welcome. So, a great part of the post-production process was just the tightening and finessing of this movie." He continued saying that there were careful in not cutting out things that would pay off later.
Stan Lee's Cameo
Reed said, "it felt like a good luck charm to have our first shot of the movie be Stan Lee." It was shot in Georgia, but was a very "San Francisco joke."
The Ultimate Happy Ending, Until It's Not
Reed wanted viewers to have some sense of the aftermath of Infinity War, but on a microlevel, not just focusing on everyone on Earth. However, before he could get to that, he wanted this film to have everything resolved and wrapped up. "So we finally landed on the structure that felt like the very specific Ant-Man and The Wasp way of dealing with the events of the end of Infinity War, which was to tie up all our character stories in this kind of too neat resolution, where it's almost too pretty of a bow on every story. Scott is off house arrest. He's able to go to the house and pick up Cassie and see his daughter. The X-Con guys land the Karapetyan account because he's seen them on TV having captured Sonny Burch. Hank and Janet, of course, are reunited and they go on a well-earned vacation on a remote island… And then, of course, we cut to Them, the classic, giant ant movie from the '50s. And Scott, Hope, and Cassie are at a drive-in theater." It's all very clean and lulling the audience into a false sense of security, before the bombshell is dropped.
Dust To Dust: The Final Tag
"Part of the thing here was to hit the audience with as much random information as possible… There's a lot for the audience to take in," Reed said. After the ending was tied up nicely, Reed wanted to give the audience an idea of what's next in their lives. He said they wanted to build some misleads for the audience. Everyone but Scott turning to dust is a shocking moment, and that's the point he wanted to drive home.
By Array on Oct 17, 2018 05:50 pm
October may not be as big of a month for Destiny 2 as September, but there's nonetheless a lot going on. In addition to two major patches and Festival of the Lost, Iron Banner has returned for its second outing during Forsaken. As with the previous instance, Power levels remain a factor, but you'll now find it's easier to increase your power by taking part. Here's what you need to know and a look at all of the gear--both weapons and armor--you can acquire from this instance of the event. The big change for October's Iron Banner involves bounties. Although they have the same goals as last time around, they're easier to complete, as Bungie has lowered the requirements for almost all of them, and replaced another. You'll need to generate fewer Orbs, kill fewer enemies with precision hits, and so on. Better yet, each bounty you complete will reward you with Powerful gear--last time, only two bounties offered items that could bump up your Power level. Each bounty you complete also grants you access to purchase a corresponding item that has "curated" rolls. For instance, the Claws of the Wolf pulse rifle comes with Outlaw and Kill Clip. You can see all of these curated items (along with all of the weapons and armor up for grabs) in our gallery. Here's the updated list of Iron Banner bounties: - Lightbearer -- Land Super final blows in the Iron Banner (20)
- In the Zone -- Capture zones in the Iron Banner (50)
- Iron in the Blood -- Complete matches in the Iron Banner (15)
- Shine On -- Generate Orbs of Light in the Iron Banner (50)
- Iron Victory -- Win matches in the Iron Banner (7)
- To Be Precise -- Land precision final blows in the Iron Banner (50)
- All in a Week's Work -- Defeat other Guardians in the Iron Banner (150)
With the release of Forsaken, each class gets a brand-new set of Legendary armor, with one piece for each slot. There are also six Legendary weapons. All of this gear can be obtained from Iron Banner Engrams, which you receive for cashing in Iron Banner tokens earned by completing matches. However, that's not your only way of obtaining most of these items; as noted above, completing bounties will allow you to buy specific versions of these weapons with desirable perks from Shaxx. Iron Banner works much like it has in the past, with Control as the game mode. But post-Forsaken, Iron Banner has level advantages enabled, which wasn't the case during the first year of Destiny 2. Your Power level will partially determine your performance, unlike in a standard Crucible match.
By Michael Rougeau on Oct 17, 2018 05:49 pm
More glorious Funko Pop insanity at New York Comic Con 2018
Earlier this year, we here at GameSpot Universe discovered all the most shockingly expensive Funko Pops for sale at San Diego Comic-Con 2018. Naturally, now that New York Comic Con has come around once again, we were eager to recreate that journey--and not just for our benefit, as you lucky readers get to come along with us. This event once again reminded us that whether we're talking about Beanie Babies, Pokemon cards, or--of course--Funko Pops, there's always someone willing to pay more for a "holy grail" than what you might happen to consider reasonable. And once again, the results of our latest Comic-Con Funko Pop hunt were shocking and incredible. Just how rare is rare when it comes to Funko Pops? As we discovered on this amazing journey, some Pops are rare because they were only ever released at a single event, while others were produced in hyper-limited quantities. Among those you'll see are Funko Pops based on Dragon Ball, The Walking Dead, DC's comics, and many others. At the end of the day, these Funko Pops are just cheap chunks of colored plastic. Their only actual value is the imaginary worth we assign to them. But as with any popular collectible, that doesn't stop Pop hunters from dropping hundreds--and even thousands--of dollars on them. And in the end, if they bring someone happiness, isn't that worth it? Read on to see discover the craziest, rarest, and most expensive Funko Pops we found at New York Comic Con 2018. New York Comic Con 2018 Coverage
1. Funky Phantom ($450) and Beast Boy ($200)
Dimension Decals
2. Majin Vegeta signed ($400) and not signed ($285)
Dimension Decals
3. The Creators ($135)
Dimension Decals
4. Cylon Commander ($115)
Dimension Decals
5. Bunny Suit Ralphie ($225)
Dimension Decals
6. Geoffrey flocked ($100)
Dimension Decals
7. Steve ($125)
Dimension Decals
8. David S. Pumpkins with Skeletons ($100)
Videogames Hiphop & Sports LLC
9. Ragnar Lothbrok ($175)
Lost 4 Toys
10. Darkwing Duck and Harley Quinn signed ($65)
Capital Sports & Decor
11. Piccolo signed ($65)
Capital Sports & Decor
12. Winnie the Pooh signed ($65)
Capital Sports & Decor
13. Animaniacs signed ($65 each, $150 set)
Capital Sports & Decor
14. Super Saiyan Goku signed ($75)
Capital Sports & Decor
15. Killer Croc ($50) and Dapper Jack Skellington ($75) signed
Capital Sports & Decor
16. White Ranger signed ($100)
Collector Cave
17. Batman Beyond ($115) and White Phoenix ($230)
Collector Cave
18. Bebop and Rocksteady no box ($70)
Collector Cave
19. Beerus ($300)
Collector Cave
20. Twilight Sparkle signed ($80)
Collector Cave
21. Adam Bomb ($150)
Plastic Empire
22. La Muerte ($220)
Plastic Empire
23. Bigfoot ($250)
Plastic Empire
24. Spikor ($100)
Plastic Empire
25. Bigfoot flocked ($325)
Plastic Empire
26. Winter Soldier masked ($145)
Plastic Empire
27. Indiana Jones ($110)
Plastic Empire
28. Dr. Doom ($130)
Plastic Empire
29. Beast Boy ($150)
Plastic Empire
30. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 8-Bit Foot Soldiers set ($400)
Plastic Empire
31. Super Saiyan Vegeta gold ($150)
Plastic Empire
32. Fudo Myo-O ($100) and Green Goblin ($250)
Plastic Empire
33. The Beatles set ($350)
Plastic Empire
34. Captain American ($125) and The Demon ($150)
Plastic Empire
35. Legolas Greenleaf ($230)
Plastic Empire
36. Freddy Funko ($90) and Spartan Warrior Blue ($100)
Plastic Empire
37. Daryl Dixon signed ($100)
Plastic Empire
38. Ghost Face ($100) and Twelfth Doctor ($120) signed
Plastic Empire
39. Superman signed ($175)
Plastic Empire
40. Star-Lord signed ($175)
Plastic Empire
41. Golden Frieza ($300)
Galactic Toys
42. Winter Soldier masked ($140)
Galactic Toys
43. Robb Stark ($200)
Galactic Toys
44. Majin Vegeta ($250)
Galactic Toys
45. Planet Arlia Vegeta custom ($200)
Myth Global
46. Mayor ($700)
Undiscovered Realm
47. Holographic Darth Vader ($600)
Undiscovered Realm
48. Chewbacca ($1,500)
Undiscovered Realm
49. Looney Tunes Mr. Hyde and Bugs Bunny ($850)
Undiscovered Realm
50. The Thing ($1,300)
Undiscovered Realm
51. Batman blue metallic
Undiscovered Realm
52. Planet Arlia Vegeta ($2,200)
Undiscovered Realm
53. Ned Stark
Undiscovered Realm
54. Lincoln As Reaper ($400)
Undiscovered Realm
55. DMC, Run, and Jam Master Jay set ($1,000)
Undiscovered Realm
56. Ghost Rider ($750)
Undiscovered Realm
57. Dr. Doom ($300) and Leonidas ($500)
Undiscovered Realm
58. Jollibee ($400)
Undiscovered Realm
59. Orange Bird flocked ($300)
Undiscovered Realm
By Chris Pereira on Oct 17, 2018 05:48 pm
Check out the spooky new items available for Halloween
Coming not long after Destiny 2's launch, last October didn't see the franchise's annual Halloween event, Festival of the Lost, take place. That changes for 2018, and Bungie is doing more than ever, adding a brand-new activity type, among other things. But of course the highlight for many players is the new gear, masks, and other rewards you can get your hands on. The new update for Destiny 2 is now live, and with it comes Festival of the Lost 2018. A fixture of Festival of the Lost in the original Destiny was the variety of masks you can obtain and wear, and this year is no different. Among those we've already gotten a look at are Petra, Shaxx, and the Traveler, though the best of the bunch might be Cayde's chicken friend. Masks can be obtained by purchasing them with Fragmented Souls. This is a new type of currency earned by completing Festival of the Lost daily bounties offered by Amanda Holliday. Once you complete some initial missions for her, you'll receive the Fighting Lion, an Exotic grenade launcher, and its accompanying catalyst. We don't yet know if there will be other ways of getting your hands on masks. However, we do know there is a special Bright Engram--the Ephemeral Engram--that you'll receive in addition to the usual Steadfast Engram every time you fill the XP bar (assuming you've reached the level cap). These Engrams will contain a variety of new items, some of which will also be sold for Bright Dust at Eververse during the event. Tess at Eververse will also task you to equip a mask and complete a challenge--these can be seen in the director and include the daily and weekly tasks attached to various planets and activities, such as playing a match in Gambit or completing the Flashpoint. Many of these items are also pictured above--there are Sparrows, ships, Ghosts (including one that looks like a cat), Ghost Projections, emotes, and more. In terms of usable gear, we know there's a new auto rifle called Horror Story that you'll be able to purchase with the aforementioned Fragmented Souls. Better yet, it'll be available at Power level 600. Alongside all of these new items to acquire, there are new activities to take part in. First and foremost is the Haunted Forest, where you'll take on increasingly difficult enemies over the course of a 15-minute run in a modified Infinite Forest. This can be played solo or with a Fireteam of three (with matchmaking available if your friends are too scared to dive in). There's also a murder mystery involving the cryptarch Master Ives; you'll have to find out who killed him over the course of a questline that rewards Powerful gear. Festival of the Lost goes live today, October 16, and runs until November 6. Its debut coincides with the return of Iron Banner, which has been revamped with better rewards and easier bounties to complete. Additionally, a new update--patch 2.0.4--launches today.
By Meg Downey on Oct 17, 2018 05:45 pm
Venom has already broken box office records
Venom is now in theaters, and although it may not be officially part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, that doesn't mean it's lacking in comic book shout outs. Eddie's symbiotic alien adventure isn't as crammed full of Easter eggs and nods as his web slinging pals over in the MCU proper, but there are certainly some. So, of course, we're going to count them down. Be advised, Venom spoilers abound here, so proceed with caution. Venom is a totally reimagined origin story for Spidey's obsessive alien enemy, set in Sony's isolated Spider-Man free Spider-Man universe. It focuses on Eddie Brock as an intrepid investigative journalist in San Francisco as he tries to uncover the truth about a shady biochemical firm known as The Life Foundation. Unfortunately, in the process of digging for dirt, Eddie crosses some lines and winds up disgraced, alone, and desperate for a break. Thankfully, one comes in the form of a Life Foundation scientist, Dr. Skirth, who finds herself in a crisis of consciousness over her job's unethical methods. Eddie becomes embroiled in the strange, parasitic world of the Life Foundation's alien pet projects: the symbiotes, tar-like aliens that require a biological host to survive. It doesn't take much effort to start connecting the dots from that point. Eddie winds up saddled with a symbiote named Venom who can engulf him in black goo and puppeteer him around for all sorts of wacky, violent hijinks. Naturally, the Life Foundations' shady motivations become clear and the whole thing culminates in a full on oozified splatterfest as Venom clashes against a fellow symbiote for the fate of humanity. Look, the Venom story is a weird one even in the comics, OK? If you were expecting high stakes moral quandaries, you're looking in the wrong place. That doesn't mean it's not worth seeing--as Venom's box office results clearly show, fans are eating it up. Now read on for all the Easter eggs and references you might have missed.
1. Eddie's New York Past
One of the first things established about Eddie Brock in Venom is that he was, effectively, pushed out of New York City after losing his job at The Daily Globe, which just so happens to be the The Daily Bugle's biggest rival over in the comics. He's currently living and working in San Francisco. This is a directly indirect nod to Eddie's comic book history with the one and only Spider-Man, who he developed a powerful grudge against while working as a photojournalist in NYC. After Eddie bonds with Venom and the two of them set some of their differences with Pete aside by coming to a tenuous agreement and they return to San Francisco to act as the "lethal protector" of the city.
2. Yellow Symbiote
While Venom and Riot may be the only two named symbiotes in the Life Foundation's possession, they're experimenting with one that is distinctly yellow in color. This is a reference to one of the comic book Life Foundation symbiotes called Phage, who set himself apart from his siblings with his bright color and--well, not much else.
3. Blue Symbiote
Like Phage, another original comic book Life Foundation symbiote made a stealthy cameo during the experimentation scenes. The blueish green blob that goes on to kill Dr. Skirth is, we can assume, a nod to Lasher, another one of the original five creatures who Carlton Drake hoped to reverse engineer.
4. She-Venom
During her very brief stint bonded with the symbiote, Anne becomes a female version of Venom known in the comics as--wait for it--She-Venom. She-Venom was introduced in the comics back in 1995 during the awesomely named "Sinner Takes All" arc. She and Venom bond when Anne was fatally shot, which wound up saving Anne's life--though not for long. She eventually killed herself in the comics as a direct result of her life's Venom-related chaos.
5. Carnage
Venom's first post credits scene reveals Woody Harrelson playing a prisoner in a maximum security facility. He never properly introduces himself, but comics fans will clock right away--even before he utters the telling "there's gonna be carnage" line--that he's playing Cletus Kasady, the insane killer who goes on to become Carnage. As one of Venom's most iconic foes, Carnage is a hulking bright red symbiotic beast who has none of the moral qualms Venom does about Eddie's general resistance to killing. As a serial killer and sociopath, Cletus and his symbiote are only interested in spilling as much blood as they can.
6. Eating Brains
Venom's cannibalism is a pretty prominent feature of the film, sometimes as a joke, sometimes as an earnest threat. This isn't a new thing, however, nor is it live action sensationalism--but it's probably a weirder callback than you might expect. The real origin of Venom's brain-eating isn't the comics, but the Venom action figure released in the 1990s shortly after Venom's introduction. The cannibalism eventually did make the leap to comics, but it was always a bit of a non sequitur (why does an alien blob want to do the zombie thing, anyway?) Now, some 20 years later, the brain eating tradition continues in full color on movie screens everywhere.
7. Eyes, Lungs, Pancreas
The line "eyes, lungs, pancreas--so many snacks, so little time!" may be cheesy, but it's also a direct reference to the comics. And not just a reference--that exact dialogue was lifted straight from Amazing Spider-Man #374. Naturally, this was after the whole "eating brains" thing became pretty well established.
8. Spider-Eyes
As you could probably imagine, a blob of black alien goo could basically look like anything at any time, so over in the comics, Venom's humanoid form is based entirely upon his origin in which he spent some time disguised as Peter Parker's black costume. Of course, in the live action universe, Venom hasn't actually met Peter so he has no real reason to riff on the look. That's why he doesn't have a big white Spider-logo on his chest--but there's still one major Spidey shout out in the design, and it's all in the eyes. Venom's eye shape subtly implies a Spider-Man connection--whether or not there really is one.
9. The Life Foundation
Carlton Drake's Life Foundation isn't an arbitrary plot piece for the movie, it's actually one of the biggest comics call-backs Venom has to offer. The Life Foundation has some deep roots in the Marvel Universe, but they're most famous for being the first organization to purposefully create symbiote spawns. They were responsible for the propagation of five Venom "children" named Agony, Scream, Phage, Lasher, and Riot who they then bonded to Life Foundation volunteers to create their very own symbiote task force. Sound familiar? That's because they do basically the exact same thing in Venom with only a few little tweaks to make it work in the movie universe.
10. Eddie the Journalist
Eddie's career as a journalist was anything but an arbitrary choice for the film. Eddie Brock's comic book origin story revolves around his career as a journalist who broke a bad story and, naturally, decided his mistake was all Spider-Man's fault. His career was ruined and he was forced to sink to tabloid levels just to make a living, all while bodybuilding to reduce the stress. The end result was a super jacked, super angry ex-journalist who just so happened to be the perfect host for a vengeful alien symbiote.
11. Carlton Drake
While Jenny Slates' Dr. Skirth isn't actually a direct reference to any comic book character, Riz Ahmed's Carlton Drake definitely is. He was lifted directly from Marvel's pages as the ethically questionable leader of the Life Foundation. His comics counterpart never bonds with the symbiote Riot, so there are certainly some differences, but Carlton's name and corporate role are as true to the source as can be.
12. Down with the Sickness
If any motif, you know, aside from tar-y black goo, is repeated over and over in Venom it's Eddie having to go in and out of medical facilities. He's put through MRI machines, he's sweaty and feverish, he's worried about having a "parasite," he's talking with doctors--you get the idea. While this isn't an explicit reference to any one particular thing, it is potentially a shout-out to Eddie's rather unpleasant history with doctors back in the comics. In the early 2000s, a story called "The Hunger" retconned Eddie's origin story to give him deadly cancer prior to his bonding with Venom. It was the symbiote that kept Eddie alive and rid him of his disease--which sort of plays out on screen. It's just that in the movie, Eddie's not actually sick, Venom is the thing that is both hurting him and saving him.
13. John Jameson
This one is blink-and-you-miss-it, but if you're paying close enough attention to the beginning of Venom, you might catch a name dropped in reference to the catastrophic crash that brings the symbiotes to Earth. One of the scientists in the clean up crew mentions that the craft had been piloted by "Jameson," which, in any other circumstance would probably just be a throwaway line--but not here. The name Jameson is actually a shout-out to comics character John Jameson who, in addition to being the son of J. Jonah Jameson (yes, that J. Jonah Jameson) was also the astronaut famous for bringing the symbiotes to Earth.
14. Meanwhile, in another universe…
The second of Venom's post-credits scenes doesn't actually have much to do with Venom at all. It's a teaser for Sony's other Spider-Man movie, the fully animated Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, which is heading for theaters this fall. Though Eddie and Venom have nothing to do with Miles Morales and his cartoon adventures, the title card does put Venom the movie into an interesting context within Sony's not-actually-shared universe of movies. If the "Spider-Verse" encompasses any and all forms of Spider-Man stories, then Venom is most definitely part of that web somewhere, right? We're not recommending you hold your breath for a Tom Hardy shout-out or cameo in Into The Spider-Verse, but hey, stranger things have happened.
By Array on Oct 17, 2018 05:35 pm
Red Dead Redemption 2 is Rockstar's most ambitious game to date. With nearly 20 years of experience and almost 30 games under its belt, it's clear that the studio is pulling from its rich history in order to make its biggest game to date. Eight Rockstar studios around the globe are putting bits and pieces of eight different games into Red Dead Redemption 2,. The physical health mechanics from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas appear in Red Dead Redemption 2, for example, and they're expanded to affect your character's own personal hygiene. RDR2's weapon handling emulates Max Payne 3 by only allowing your character to carry as many guns as they can physically hold with their hands and available holsters. Heck, even the NPC interaction from Bully is present, although with improvements that allow you to respond to characters in a variety of ways depending on what's going on. With so many past elements showing up in the upcoming open-world adventure, it seems like the game is a true culmination of everything Rockstar has learned. In this gallery, we detail eight of Rockstar's biggest games from the last 15 years and what they contribute to Red Dead Redemption 2. Red Dead Redemption 2 launches on October 26 for PS4 and Xbox One. Pre-orders are available now at a number of in-store and online retailers, and there's some extra content tied to specific platforms and timed exclusive DLC. If you're curious about all the new features in the game, check out our round-up of everything we know, including the game's most surprising details. What do you find the most intriguing about the way Red Dead Redemption 2 takes elements from past Rockstar games? Let us know in the comments below.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004): Physical Health
In 2004, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was the biggest game that Rockstar had ever shipped. Alongside a sprawling map with three distinct cities, San Andreas allowed you to morph CJs body as you played. For example, if you gorged on Meat Stacks at Burger Shot, CJ would start to get plump. Conversely if you ate healthily and hit the gym every now and then, CJ would get buff. An in-shape CJ would garner more respect and have greater sex appeal while a chubbier CJ would have less luck with the ladies. As unique as this mechanic was at the time, Rockstar has not revisited it in any subsequent games until now. Like CJ, Arthur Morgan will change and evolve depending on how you play. His beard and hair will grow over time if you don't get him a trim. You can even make him look sharp by slicking his hair back. If you overindulge, Arthur will put on some weight, and even deride himself when he catches his reflection in mirrors. And if he doesn't clean himself every now and then, Arthur will start to get stanky. NPCs and gang members respond to Arthur differently depending on his hygiene and personal upkeep, even take him aside to suggest that he wash himself.
The Warriors (2005): Melee Combat
The Warriors was a notable contribution to Rockstar's output mostly due to its overall quality as a licensed game based on a film. It wonderfully worked in the style of its source material into its small sandbox world. Not only that, but it expanded upon the story of the film, giving its characters more background. However, The Warriors' most notable quality was its melee combat, which was modeled after classic 2D beat-em-ups. While this would be later expanded in Bully, it was in The Warriors that we saw Rockstar's first attempt at melee combat. Subsequent Rockstar games dabbled in melee, but none really went for it in the way The Warriors and Bully did. Red Dead Redemption 2 seems to be bringing melee back, giving Morgan the ability to duke it out with enemies by punching, kicking, and even stunning and throwing them. There's some pretty gnarly sound effects accompanying each blow, bringing it more in line with the level of violence seen in The Warriors.
Bully (2006): NPC Interaction
Compared to Rockstar's previous open world games, Bully was rather unique. It was a much more intimate experience: Bullworth Academy was far smaller than a city, there were no guns, and if you were a good student you'd be spending a lot of time in class. But the scope, no matter how narrow it was compared to GTA, was the right fit: Bully became an influential addition to Rockstar's catalogue in its own right. One of Bully's more interesting parts was the way you interacted with NPCs. You could greet them either positively or negatively. You could talk your way out of trouble, and even apologize to someone you injured. While it wasn't as fleshed out as it could have been, it did allow you to respond to social situations in unique ways. Rockstar briefly revisited this mechanic in Red Dead Redemption where a tap of a button allowed John to tip his cowboy hat to those around him. But now Rockstar is expanding this mechanic in Red Dead Redemption 2. If you target an NPC without your gun equipped, you're given a handful of options for social interactions. You can greet, threaten, or rob an NPC. Depending on how they respond to Arthur, he can continue the conversation or just walk away. Based on the first several hours, this adds another layer of complexity to the world. NPCs feature a wider range of attitudes toward you--they aren't all either simply docile or shooting at you. You can diffuse encounters in ways you see fit.
Grand Theft Auto IV (2008): Sense Of Place
Grand Theft Auto IV was a bit of a departure from previous entries in the franchise. Many of the features from San Andreas and Bully had disappeared, and the over-the-top tone was replaced with a more realistic one. Gone were the jetpacks and planes of San Andreas and the '80s nostalgic decadence of Vice City. And while some players lamented the loss of this wackiness, Rockstar replaced it with something just as important: A strong sense of place. Liberty City felt alive. You could follow NPCs going about their business and Niko could just hang out and befriend key characters. Since GTA IV, Rockstar has opted--for the most part--to create more grounded and realistic experiences that offer a stronger warmth and presence. GTA IV's vision of a more realistic take on the open-world genre can be seen in nearly all of Rockstar's subsequent games and is pushed much further than before in Red Dead Redemption 2.
L.A. Noire (2011): Environmental Interaction
L.A. Noire was an unusual game for Rockstar and its developer Team Bondi. Combat was put on the backburner in favor of a slower-paced experience that asked you to carefully explore crime scenes, gather evidence, and question witnesses. If you weren't thorough, you could completely botch a case, the perp would get away, and yet, the story would continue. Not everyone loved it, but to this day, there are still very few games like it. One of L.A. Noire's key mechanics is the ability to examine and manipulate objects found in the environment in order to piece together how the crime went down. L.A. Noire wasn't the first game to do this, and it certainly won't be the last, but it's the only Rockstar game to date that allowed you to interact with the environment to this extent. Red Dead Redemption 2 aims to do something similar. While you may not be solving cases, Arthur Morgan can pick up certain objects in the environment and examine them as you would in L.A. Noire. Instead of exploring the wild frontier you might find yourself holed up in a house examining pictures and notes left by the previous residents. You can even inspect your weapons and shop items.
Max Payne 3 (2012): Shooting And Weapon Management
Max Payne 3 is a bold game. While we wouldn't call it realistic--you hang from a helicopter and shoot rockets out of the sky during an early section of the game--its mechanics made it feel like one of Rockstar's most grounded experiences to date. If Max takes a bullet to the head, he goes down immediately, even on the easiest difficulty. But what stands out is how the game handled weapon management. Max could only carry as many guns as he had hands and holsters. This meant that if you were using a pistol and had a rifle, Max would carry the rifle in his other hand. If you decided to dual wield handguns, Max would toss his rifle on the ground. Even the reload animations were different depending on what weapons Max was using. These mechanics are returning in Red Dead Redemption 2. Every weapon Arthur carries appears on his body. This means you can only take a few weapons with you into a firefight. The rest of your firearms are stored in your saddlebag. Weapon management isn't the only thing the game borrows from Max Payne 3. At the end of a firefight in Max Payne, you would be treated to a gruesome slow motion kill cam. If you're into that sort of thing, you'll be happy to know that this feature is returning in Red Dead Redemption 2 and it will change based on your morale. If you're a good cowboy, the killcams will look more heroic--but if you are villainous, it will be gorier.
Grand Theft Auto V (2013): Practice Skills And First-Person View
To no one's surprise, Red Dead Redemption 2 expands on many of Grand Theft Auto V's mechanics. A notable example is stat building. As you played GTA V, Trevor, Michael, and Franklin's stats would increase in logical ways. If they swam a lot, their lung capacity would increase, if they drove everywhere, their driving skill would increase, and so on. Red Dead Redemption 2 takes a similar approach with Arthur's skills. The more he runs, the better his stamina gets, and the more he shoots, the more his sharpshooting increases. GTA V was also the first Rockstar game--unless you count Midnight Club--to support a first-person camera. It offered a radically different feel to GTA and it's returning for Red Dead Redemption 2. If you want, you can play the whole game in first person from the very beginning. It even allows you to tweak the first person camera settings to your liking. But remember, just because you can't see Arthur, it doesn't mean he shouldn't bath every now and then.
Grand Theft Auto Online (2013-Present): Multiplayer Scope And Variety
Grand Theft Auto Online is a different beast from Rockstar's various games. While plenty of its games support multiplayer, GTA Online is far bigger and far deeper than anything the studio had released previously. It's built off the openworld structure of Red Dead Redemption's multiplayer. Players can purchase property, build out their garages with exotic supercars, and even start their own businesses. And of course, it has plenty of cooperative and competitive missions and gametypes to participate in. To this day, Rockstar still releases free updates for GTA Online and it continues to be a massive source of income for the studio. We don't know much about Red Dead Redemption 2's online component yet, but it sounds like it will be building off of GTA Online. You will once again be able to explore a massive world as a cowboy or cowgirl and partake in various missions and competitive game modes. Unlike GTA Online, the slower pace of Red Dead Redemption 2 might elevate the more intimate moments that arise. Despite this, it sounds like fans of GTA Online should feel comfortable with Red Dead Online. Though, it's worth noting that, like GTA Online, it won't be available until a few weeks after Red Dead Redemption 2 launches.
By Kevin Wong on Oct 17, 2018 04:04 am
Winter is coming. Eventually.
"The Winds of Winter is not finished. It'll be done when it's done." That's what 70-year-old author George R.R. Martin has been telling his legions of patient fans, in numerous ways, for going on eight years. Martin, of course, is the author of A Song of Ice and Fire, the fantasy book series that HBO adapted into Game of Thrones. He is, needless to say, a notoriously slow writer. When Game of Thrones debuted on HBO in April 2011, four out of seven planned books were already on shelves. Fans hoped Martin would finish writing all seven books before the TV show caught up to him, and the fifth book, A Dance with Dragons, was released in July 2011. But since then, there have been no new novels in the core series. We're still waiting on the sixth book, The Winds of Winter, not to mention the seventh book after that, A Dream of Spring. And meanwhile, the show not only caught up with the books--it passed them. And the show's final season is set to air in 2019. Martin says that he's constantly working on The Winds of Winter. But progress is slow; the TV show overtook the book series in 2016, and it's been sailing through uncharted waters ever since. When it concludes in 2019, fans will get an ending to a book saga begun over 20 years ago--but the show's ending, not the one envisioned by this world's creator. And that stings. Martin has been writing The Winds of Winter for nearly as long as the entire HBO series has been airing. And as he continues delaying its publication and signing on to other various projects, the possibility of seeing this magnum opus in print grows smaller. Here, for your dark-humored amusement and chagrin, is a history of George R.R. Martin promising to finish The Winds of Winter. Winter is coming. Eventually. When it's ready. But not this year. Maybe next.
1. 100 Pages Done (2010)
Technically speaking, Martin started writing The Winds of Winter before A Dance with Dragons was finished; he decided to move a chapter about Aeron Greyjoy from the end of the fifth book to the beginning of the sixth book. So it wasn't technically meant for The Winds of Winter, but we'll take what we can get, especially considering what follows from here.
2. Assorted Sample Chapters (2011)
2011 was a busy year for Martin. Game of Thrones premiered on HBO. A Dance of Dragons released in bookstores. And as a Christmas present to his fans, Martin released a preview chapter of The Winds of Winter online. This would be the start of an on-again, off-again habit, where Martin would read a chapter of his incomplete book at a convention, or release teaser passages of it on his website. More snippets followed each consecutive year, from 2012 to 2016. By 2018, it had been two years since Martin had shared a new chapter, and he confirmed on his blog that he would probably no longer do so. He blamed the reactionary responses of critics, who complain, once the actual book is released, that it is composed of "old" material: "I have always been happy to release sample chapters, and to read other chapters at cons. But in this age of the internet, no good deed goes unpunished."
3. Dedicated Work Commences (2012)
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly from 2011, Martin said that he had already started The Winds of Winter, and he would throw himself into writing the book full time at the beginning of 2012. To be fair to Martin, he has never teased fans with a specific estimate as to when The Winds of Winter will be published. In the same interview with EW, Martin stated, "I've gotten in constant trouble for that. There's an element of fans who don't seem to realize I'm making estimates. I've repeatedly been guilty of an excess of optimism."
4. A Quarter of the Way Done? (2013)
In an interview with A Slice of Sci Fi, Martin made a guess as to how far along he was in writing The Winds of Winter: about a quarter of the way through, by his approximation. Given what we know about the book (Martin believes it will end up at about 1500 pages, and he only includes edited pages in his count) that works out to approximately 375 pages thus far.
5. "F*** You To Those People." (2014)
George R.R. Martin is neither a svelte man nor a young man. As of this article, he's 70 years old, which leads some fans to speculate about his health, and what would happen if he were to die before finishing the books. Other authors have developed contingency plans for this sort of dilemma; when Wheel of Time author Robert Jordan grew fatally ill, he compiled extensive notes of his future plans; author Brandon Sanderson was able to finish the series. Martin, however, sees speculation about his death as rude and offensive, and in a sit-down discussion where the interviewer had the nerve to ask the question, Martin flipped him the bird and said "F*** you to those people."
6. The Winter of Hell (2015)
In this blog from early 2016, George R.R. Martin, in a rare self-flagellating mood, roasted himself and his inability to respond to deadlines. It turns out that in 2015, his publisher set two separate dates for him to finish The Winds of Winter. He blew both deadlines, which meant, definitively, that the TV series would outpace the books beginning with Season 6. "You're disappointed, and you're not alone," Martin wrote. "My editors and publishers are disappointed, HBO is disappointed, my agents and foreign publishers and translators are disappointed. But no one could possibly be more disappointed than me… As the suspicion grew that I would not make it after all, a gloom set in, and I found myself struggling even more. The fewer the days, the greater the stress, and the slower the pace of my writing became."
7. He's Dropping Everything Else! (2016)
Perhaps with the benefit of hindsight, Martin stated in his blog that he would not be taking on any other writing projects--no forewords, no short stories, no articles--until The Winds of Winter was completed. This did not, however, include his editing projects, such as anthology series Wild Cards. This promise didn't last anyway. More on that later.
8. Deadspin Trolls Martin Into A Response (2016)
Sports blog Deadspin has made it a casual pastime to troll George R.R. Martin and his lack of pages, most infamously in an editorial titled, "GRRM Has No Pages." Tim Marchman advanced the theory that, as a result of enjoying his fame and spending his remaining hours watching the New York Giants, Martin hasn't done any writing at all. When Marchman emailed Martin to ask him directly, the author got pissed: "Of course I have pages. I had pages five years ago. How anyone can believe I don't defies belief. I've posted three different sample chapters on my website over the past few years, and read another four or five chapters at cons."
9. Maybe In 2017?
In early 2017, Martin made his first public statement about The Winds of Winter since a year prior. A fan requested an update on the book's progress, and Martin obliged, though his response was not particularly encouraging: "Not done yet, but I've made progress. But not as much as I hoped a year ago, when I thought to be done by now. I think it will be out this year. (But hey, I thought the same thing last year)."
10. George RR Martin Responds to Blog Commenters (2017)
Martin made a blog post about the artwork for Wild Cards, but it quickly devolved into a discussion about "The Winds of Winter"--specifically, whether he should post regular updates on his progress, or lack thereof. "Do you really want or need weekly WoW posts all saying, "Still working on it, not done yet?" Martin wrote. "I know some writers make posts like, 'Wrote three pages today,' but that's never been my way. And when I tried doing posts like that, back when I was working on Dance with Dragons, that just seemed to make people angry as well." Martin also addressed (again) the fans who speculate about his age, health, and possible death: "I don't see speculation about the possibility of my death as any sort of compliment, no. My own hope is to live another thirty years and write thirty more books."
11. Still Working! (2017)
Martin gave fans another update, with a healthy dose of optimism. He announced the first volume of Fire and Blood, a history of the Targaryen lineage, and dropped this gem: "Whether Winds or the first volume of Fire and Blood will be the first to hit the bookstores is hard to say at this juncture, but I do think you will have a Westeros book from me in 2018... and who knows, maybe two. A boy can dream…" Part of the reason for these delays is that Martin is famously set in his ways. It's well known that he doesn't write on the road, or in hotel rooms, or on a modern laptop. He writes at home on a DOS word processor. So every time we see him on a red carpet, or at a comic convention, or sitting down for a talk show appearance, that's time that he's not working on The Winds of Winter.
12. Nope, Not This Year Either (2018)
As one might have suspected, Fire and Blood is arriving first; it will be out November 2018. As for The Winds of Winter, Martin confirmed it has been delayed again, and will not be released in 2018. And that brings us up to the present day. Maybe 2019 will be the lucky year. If not 2019, maybe 2020. And don't forget, there's still one more book left after The Winds of Winter. We get to do this all over again for A Dream of Spring. When The Winds of Winter does finally come out, we have faith it will be worth the wait. In the meantime, godspeed you, Maester Martin.
By Dan Auty on Oct 17, 2018 02:50 am
John Carpenter's 1978 horror classic Halloween was originally going to be titled The Babysitter Murders, but the decision to change the title and release it in October helped create horror history. Forty years later, a new Halloween movie hits theaters just in time for the season of scares. Horror movies are as popular now as they have ever been, and given the universally recognised franchise title, David Gordon Green's sequel/reboot should dominate the box office this coming weekend. There are also a couple of great movies arriving on streaming services this week too. Another acclaimed chiller, The Witch in the Window, premieres on Shudder, while the insane Indonesian action movie The Night Comes For Us makes its explosive Netflix debut. There's also the digital release of the horror sequel Unfriended: Dark Web, and the Marvel sequel Ant-Man And The Wasp is now available to rent or buy. The landscape for consuming movies has really changed over the past few years. The biggest films still debut the old fashioned-way--in theaters, with home releases still a few months off. But with the rise of streaming and Video on Demand, we are increasingly seeing simultaneous releases for smaller movies, with films getting a limited theatrical release on the same day that they are available to buy and rent digitally. The rise of Netflix and Amazon as major players in film production has also disrupted standard release patterns. Netflix in particular has attracted some major directors, and their movies will bypass theaters entirely and premiere worldwide on the streaming platform. And of course, movies that did get a theatrical release continue to move to digital platforms after a few months. This is a great way to catch up on movies you might have missed on the big screen--or are keen to rewatch. So here's our look at the best and most interesting new movies in theaters and available to watch at home this week.
Halloween
Watch it in theaters on October 19 The Halloween series might be one of longest-running and most profitable horror franchises in movie history, but most fans would agree that every entry hasn't necessarily been a good one. The last time Michael Myers stalked the screen was in Rob Zombie's hugely divisive remakes a decade ago, but now, on the 40th anniversary of John Carpenter's original movie, the killer also known as The Shape is back. This latest entry is a direct sequel to the original 1978 movie and sees Jamie Lee Curtis return as Laurie Strode to do battle once more with Michael (who is no longer her brother). In his review for GameSpot, Rafael Motamayor said that Halloween "doesn't reinvent the wheel or create a new subgenre of horror. What it does is take the best parts of all the films in the franchise, and deliver the ultimate companion piece to Carpenter's 1978 masterpiece. It's a film that not only has something to say about trauma and PTSD, but also delivers a bloody, fun time at the theater."
Mid90s
Watch it in theaters from October 19 Jonah Hill has already proved himself to be an extremely versatile actor over the years, from his early comedy work in movies such as Superbad to his Oscar-nominated performance in The Wolf of Wall Street as well as his recent role in Netflix's brilliant sci-fi drama Maniac. Mid90s sees Hill branch out into directing. It's a coming-of-age comedy drama, which he also wrote, about a 13-year-old kid who becomes involved with a group of skateboarders in LA. Festival reviews suggest a confident, nostalgic debut, and if Hill is even half as good a director as he is an actor, then this could be the start of a great second career.
The Guilty
Watch it in theaters from October 19 Many of the best thrillers on both TV and at the theaters have comes from Scandinavia in recent years, and The Guilty looks set to join the likes of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Killing, and Headhunters. It hits theaters in selected cities this week with some rave reviews behind it. This is a claustrophobic thriller set entirely within the confines of a call center, in which an emergency call dispatcher answers a call from a kidnapped woman--as the search for her begins, the dispatcher starts his own investigation using only the phone line.
The Night Comes For Us
Watch it on Netflix from October 19 Indonesian director Timo Tjahjanto has been making a name for himself in cult movie circles over the last few years with a distinctive blend of action and horror movies, such as Headshot, Macabre, and Killers. At the recent Fantastic Fest in Austin, he debuted two new movies--the horror movie May the Devil Take You and this over-the-top actionfest, which hits Netflix this Friday. To say it is a crowdpleaser is an understatement--reviews from the festival suggest that it's one of the wildest, most thrilling action movies for years. It's a sprawling crime movie in which a former Triad enforcer attempts to protect a young girl trying to escape a gang. Watch the trailer for a taste of what to expect, the check out the full thing on Friday.
The Witch in the Window
Watch it on Shudder from October 18 AMC's Shudder has become a must-subscribe for horror fans, with a steady stream of old classics and new shockers hitting the service every week. The Witch in the Window is Shudder's latest exclusive release and looks like a suitably spooky Halloween treat. It focuses on a young boy who is sent to live with his estranged dad but discovers something terrifying living in the house with them (the clue as to what is in the title).
The Spy Who Dumped Me
Own it digitally from October 16 Kate McKinnon has been one of the funniest members of the Saturday Night Live cast for years, but on the big screen, she is yet to find a movie that really makes full use of her comedic skills. Her latest movie, The Spy Who Dumped Me, is no classic, but it does deliver a great double-act alongside Mila Kunis and delivers a satisfyingly rowdy mix of comedy and action. Kunis plays a woman who discovers that her ex is a CIA agent and together with her roommate (McKinnon), finds herself embroiled in a ridiculous espionage plot.
Unfriended: Dark Web
Own it digitally from October 16 2014's Unfriended was part of the short wave of social media horror, which also included movies such as The Den, Chatroom, and Friend Request. Dark Web is the sequel and again uses the technique of a laptop screen from which to tell the story, with chat windows, message boards, and video calls allowing the viewer to experience its web-based terror first-hand. While the first Unfriended had more of a supernatural influence, Dark Web is based more on real-life online horrors, which makes for an even more unnerving experience.
Ant-Man And The Wasp
Rent it digitally from October 16 Ant-Man might not have had the immediate audience recognition of Captain America or Spider-Man, but the character's first standalone Marvel movie was a hugely entertaining hit, and the sequel followed this year. This time, Paul Rudd's criminal-turned-superhero teams up with Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) for another adventure in which they must save Hope's mom from the Quantum Realm. In his review for Gamespot, Michael Rougeau said that Ant-Man And The Wasp is "hilarious, fun, silly, self aware, and creative. Filled with pseudo-science gobbledigook, crazy action, and multiple villains all vying for screen time, it's one of the most comic-booky MCU movies yet. The fates of all our favorite heroes after Avengers: Infinity War may still be up in the air, but in the meantime, Ant-Man and the Wasp is a welcome distraction."
By Edmond Tran on Oct 17, 2018 12:42 am
Red Dead Redemption 2: All The New Features
A number of GameSpot staff were able to play a near-final build of Red Dead Redemption 2 recently, which releases in a few week's time (October 26) on PS4 and Xbox One. Despite some initial familiarity as a Rockstar game, we discovered a wealth of new features and systems once we scratched the surface. There are a lot of mechanics to tell you about, a lot of stuff that we haven't seen the full scope of, and potentially a lot of things we haven't even seen yet. And that's without diving into Red Dead Online, which largely remains a mystery and won't launch until November (and even then, only as a beta). Rockstar recently released a second gameplay trailer that shows off a few other new features that we didn't get the chance to see first hand, but it's easy to imagine how they might fit into the game based on our experience. We'll continue to update this gallery as Rockstar releases new details up to launch. Please note that due to the limited amount of available media, not all images will be completely representative of the features they're depicting. If you haven't already seen our primary Red Dead Redemption 2 preview covering the story missions we saw, make sure you read: Red Dead Redemption 2: We Played It, Here's Everything We Saw. What do you think of all these new additions? Lets us know in the comments below, and check out all of our coverage through the following links. Red Dead Redemption 2 News And Details
You Can Play The Whole Game In First Person
The entirety of Red Dead Redemption 2 can be played in first-person, much like Grand Theft Auto V when it was released on PS4, Xbox One, and later, PC. Like GTA V, this feels like a much more involved first-person experience than a conventional FPS because your actions feel more weighty, and animations are more confronting. We were trampled by a horse at one point, and it felt awful.
You Can Disable The HUD
The HUD is minimal by default, only showing the mini-map in the bottom left corner, with meters fading in as it becomes necessary. An expanded HUD option shows you a larger minimap, but there's also the option to turn everything off, as well as an option to only have a compass on the screen.
Cinematic Camera Has A New Implementation
If you're familiar with Rockstar open-world games, then you're probably familiar with the cinematic camera mode, which can be triggered while you're driving and activates when you're fast-traveling in a cab. In Red Dead Redemption 2, the cinematic camera will now automatically trigger in certain instances, like the long journey to a mission location, and will frame the journey with a montage of shots that emphasize the landscape and traveling group. You can break out of it at any time, but it's a nice touch, an enjoyable filmic framing of what might have otherwise been a standard journey. As long as you hold X on PS4 or A on Xbox One to keep pace with the pack (like RDR1), you can just sit back and enjoy the naturally-flowing conversation and scenery. This feature can also be triggered manually during gameplay.
You Can Inspect Everything
We spent a lot of time in town exploring stores, where items could be examined and purchased off the shelf individually, or via a catalog at the front counter. Switching to first person, you can make Arthur manipulate the object in his hands as he takes a close look at it. This is also how you'll interact with environmental narrative objects like notes and photographs. You can also inspect your weapons, which is great for appreciating any customizations you've made to them.
There Are A Variety of Business, Activities, and Secret Stores
We spent time in town browsing the gunsmith and general store, sitting down for a bowl of oatmeal and playing some Five Finger Fillet. Rockstar told us that some stores would have more illicit secret businesses in back rooms.
You Can Discover Secret Passages
The latest trailer showed Arthur moving a bookcase to reveal a secret stairwell. Could this be how you get to the aforementioned secret shops, or could it lead to some a secret stash of riches?
Your Weapons Are Visible On Your Person
Drawing on learnings from Max Payne 3, all of the weapons Arthur carries will be visible on his body. You'll be limited to carrying two long guns (or one long gun and one bow), two sidearms, a knife, a lasso, and a bunch of throwables. When we switched weapons in the demo, Arthur would carry his rifle in his left hand while he used his pistol in the other.
There's A Kill Cam That Changes Depending On Your Honor
Visible weapons aren't the only Max Payne 3 DNA in the game--when you take out the final opponent during a gunfight, a kill cam will frame that final blow. This will change depending on Arthur's moral standing: If you've been a naughty cowboy, these kill cams will be gorier. If you've been upstanding and honorable, they'll be framed in a more heroic fashion.
You Can Break Enemy Weapons
Speaking of heroic behavior, if you want to go the more non-lethal route, it's possible to shoot weapons out of enemy hands. Not only that, but you can even shoot directly at their weapons and break them. This seems like a handy technique if you're looking to be an outlaw with a heart of gold as opposed to a straight-up cold-blooded killer.
Dead Eye Has Five Levels Now
Red Dead Redemption's version of bullet time-style slowdown returns in the sequel, and it has more levels to it. We were able to deduce that Level 1 allows for slowdown, Level 2 allows you to paint targets and unleash a barrage of shots, and Level 3 allows you to manually pick your shooting points. However, Rockstar also mentioned that you had the ability to highlight critical hit points with higher levels, which will come in very handy for making clean kills when hunting animals.
You Can Customise Your Guns
In Red Dead Redemption 2, you're able to examine environmental objects in great detail, and you can do the same to your weapons, by clicking the right analog stick from the weapon wheel. That's handy because it lets you admire the customizations you can perform on them at gunsmiths, like personalized engravings and leather wraps.
You Can Craft Weapons
Aside from gun customization, you can craft special kinds of weapons and ammo. For example, you can craft molotovs and split-point bullets. This should make the going easier when caught up in firefights.
Your Guns Can Degrade And Jam
You need to take care of your weapon in Red Dead Redemption 2. You have the option to clean it, which is incredibly important to do regularly because guns can rust and jam due to disrepair and environmental conditions. This one's sure to be a controversial feature, if Far Cry 2, which also featured gun jamming, was anything to go by.
You Can Fire Warning Shots
By having your gun unholstered and holding Up on the d-pad, you can fire warning shots into the air. This is handy for intimidating people, scaring off animals, or generally being a rowdy buffoon while you're riding around.
Shooting Is Not Your Only Option, Try Talking
Aiming at people with your gun holstered will give you access to a contextual menu, which lets you chat to people in the world. You'll often find the option to verbally defuse or agitate situations with other inhabitants in the world, and these interactions seemed quite fluid and natural during our short time with the game. For example, when a carriage rode past us, we had the option to call out to them to stop, greet them in a friendly manner, or antagonize them. We called out to the carriage and were then given the option to hitch a ride among other things, but we took too long to make a decision and the driver rode off. We called out again, and Arthur's dialogue was more unsure and desperate.
You Can Donate Money To Those In Need
About halfway through the second gameplay trailer, we can see Arthur donating money to a beggar on the sidewalk, following a button prompt. Odds are that this will impact Arthur in some way, whether it be related to his reputation stats or a potential quest down the road.
The Eyewitness System Returns
The eyewitness system means that nearby onlookers to a crime can report you to lawmen, and like the first Red Dead Redemption, the effect of eyewitnesses can be mitigated if you manage to catch up with them and either kill or bribe them before they report the crime. In the sequel, however, you have more options. You can speak to them in various temperaments in an attempt to intimidate or convince them not to report you, or you can beat them like a heartless jerk.
Melee Combat Has Been Expanded
We weren't able to get into the mechanical intricacies of this one during our demo, but Rockstar reps mentioned that melee combat had been expanded. We were shown a fistfight where Arthur used grapple moves, blocks, and a variety of different punches to knock out his opponent.
Hunting Is More Realistic, Laborious, And Confronting
The ability to hunt animals and sell their meat and pelts returns, but with a more realistic (and therefore more confronting) presentation. Once you successfully kill an animal, you can skin it. But where Red Dead Redemption's skinning animation didn't focus on the animal, Red Dead Redemption 2's most certainly does. You'll see Arthur pull his knife out, get on his hands and knees, plunge his knife into the poor beast, carve the pelt from its flesh, peel it off the body, and roll it up into a bundle. You'll almost certainly wince the first time you see it. Arthur actually carries the pelt now, and he'll need to store it on his horse to free up his hands. Similarly, to get the meat off a hunted animal, you'll manually have to pick up the bloodied carcass and carry it to a butcher. We had to load a hunted deer on our horse and ride it into the nearest town, where we had the option of getting it chopped up into cookable components or simply selling it whole.
You Can Fish
If the gruesome realities of hunting and cleaning your kill are too much for you to stomach, you can opt to fish instead.
You Can Herd Cattle
Life in the old west isn't all about looting and shooting and running away from bounty hunters. Sometimes you need to take in some fresh air and get to work on some good, old-fashioned chores. Herding cattle could be the relaxing respite from hard livin' we need. After all, what's a cowboy without cows?
Time Is Cruel
Rockstar reps wanted us to know that these meat components had an expiration date--time would eventually take its toll and both the fresh pelt and carcass would start to rot and attract vermin, reducing its value and making us generally unpleasant to be around.
Time To Shave
Time also has an effect on Arthur's hair, which will grow longer over time. Customizing Arthur's haircut and facial hair styling is also dependent on length since you're allowed to cut things shorter, but won't have access to anything that requires more hair--a more realistic take on personal grooming compared to GTA V.
Time To Open
Time will also affect towns over the course of the game. While exploring, we noticed a half-constructed building and were told that these would eventually become new storefronts as days passed.
Stay Clean
NPCs will certainly react to the stink of your rotting deer corpse if you've been around it too long, or just haven't taken a bath in a while. Arthur needs to get clean and change his clothes every once in a while, since townsfolk may refuse to talk or serve him based on his appearance--having a lot of blood on your jacket doesn't attract the best reactions.
You Can Layer Your Clothes
Rockstar reps explained that the game's clothing customization options will be comprehensive--each character will have different sets to coincide with weather conditions, while customizations would allow layering and minor adjustments, like the option to roll up your sleeves or tuck your pants into your boots. It's unclear whether outfits will have perks like RDR1, but we know that the type of clothes you wear will affect Arthur's performance. For example, if you wear a weighty jacket during a hot summer day, your running stamina will take a big hit.
You Get A Camera. Yes, You Can Take Selfies
We started a side quest during our time with Red Dead Redemption 2, and the mission giver handed Arthur a camera. This camera could be used at any time via your inventory, and yes, the first thing we did was take a selfie. These aren't arm-out handheld selfies, though. The mode is titled "self-portrait" and will frame Arthur's whole body as if the camera was set up on a tripod. You'll be able to adjust expressions and poses, too--expect to see a whole bunch of self-portraits depicting Arthur squatting in front of various things.
You Need To Eat
Arthur's core meters are health, stamina, and dead eye, and you'll need to keep him fed with snacks and meals to keep his well-being topped up. If your health or stamina falls below a certain level, Arthur will experience dizziness--he'll have trouble walking, and his vision will be blurry. Arthur can carry snacks on him for a quick boost, but eating meals in town areas and in camp are more effective.
You Can Gain And Lose Weight
Sure, you need to eat. But don't overdo it! Arthur can both lose and gain weight, much like Carl Johnson in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Presumably, you'll also lose weight by performing strenuous physical activities like sprinting.
Get Better By Doing
In our demo, we noticed that stamina limit could be raised by running. This suggests a similar progression system to previous Rockstar Games where your skill with something increases the more you perform that action. This manifests itself in a new way via what's known as the Core system. Although health, stamina, and Deadeye meters are separate from the Cores, how they perform depends on the state of a corresponding Core. For instance, the health Core dictates how quickly health regenerates, and likewise for stamina. If you're low on health but the corresponding health Core has been maintained well, the rate at which you generate health will be increased. To keep your individual cores in good shape, you'll need to level up Arthur's strength, grit, dexterity, and instinct attributes. Leveling up Cores is reminiscent of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which reflected the way CJ behaved on the character itself; if you ate too much junk food, you'd gain weight, or if you spent a lot of time sprinting around the city, you'd have better stamina. Similarly, in Red Dead Redemption 2 there are activities that you'll do simply by playing the game which, over time, will improve your Core. Running, for example, once again improves your stamina, while taking damage and then restoring health will build your Health core.
Horses Are Complex Creatures
Your horse will have its own set of health and stamina meters, and like Arthur, you'll need to keep it fed as well. You'll also need to keep it clean and brushed, since it can become less effective, and you can pet your horse, which acts as a mechanism to calm it down after it's been spooked. We were told that bonding with your horse by caring for it and riding it regularly can unlock additional skills and improve responsiveness. During our hands-on, we were able to rear our horse on its hind legs, perform drifts to change direction quickly (apologies to equestrian enthusiasts), and move our horse precisely by performing dressage techniques. You can bond with multiple horses and stable them in different locations around the world, as different breeds will be better suited to certain situations. A Clydesdale warhorse, for example, would be more suitable in a battle than the Tennessee walking horse, which is more of an all-rounder. And yes, they poop.
Your Horse's Saddlebags Hold Everything
Because Arthur can only carry a limited amount of weapons, your horse also acts as your storage. Being in close proximity to your horse will give you access to your entire arsenal, but you'll need to transfer guns onto your person if you decide to stray. You can move your horse without mounting it, thankfully, by grabbing the reins and leading it on foot. This gamut of horse interactions is accessed by Red Dead Redemption 2's new contextual menu, by holding L2 with your gun holstered and aiming at your horse. Also, you can also rob other people's saddlebags. Just make sure no-one is watching.
Side Missions Are Potentially More Involved
The aforementioned side quest was a multi-part mission that we weren't allowed the time to pursue. In it, a biographer fed up with his drunken subject asked Arthur to track down a number of famed gunslingers to ask them about who was the best, with the strong insinuation that we would have to duel them ourselves. We were handed a number of photographs of the targets, each with some handwritten notes on the back. Physically analyzing these notes and photographs was likely the key to narrowing down our search, reminiscent of the Treasure Maps from the first Red Dead Redemption.
Camps Are Complex And Affected By Time
Your camp will not wait for you. We were told that the members of your gang who reside at camp will come and go, and finding out where exactly they've gone from others will be the basis of a number of quests and side quests. We found that the day and night cycle will also affect who you're able to interact with at camp. For example, we looked for our gang's cook to try and fix up some of the deer we had prepared earlier, but he was sleeping, and though we prodded him awake, we didn't feel mean enough to make him cook. The stockpiling of supplies like these is just one of the ways you can affect camp morale. We're told camp morale is an optional mechanic, but keeping this raised can provide Arthur with additional supplies and bonuses.
You Can Dance (If You Want To!)
If you find yourself at camp and the mood strikes you, you can break a leg and dance with your gang. The simple moves in the trailer seems fairly traditional, but we'll put good money on there being sillier options whenever Red Dead Online launches.
Catch A Stage Show
Assuming he isn't too stinky to make it past the ushers, Arthur can kick back and catch a show at the local theater.
Gang Members Can Join You In Free-Roam
Rockstar told us that if available, gang members will offer to join you on free-roam activities, giving you access to the same kind of assistance saw in the story missions, like asking them to go ahead and take out an enemy. You can also spend time talking to gang members at camp, including Read Dead 1 protagonist John Martson, and even butt into conversations midway to add your two cents. Unfortunately, due to the time of day in our demo, we didn't have many of these opportunities to explore.
You Can Swim
Unlike John Marston, it's possible for Arthur to swim. Though, it's worth noting that he isn't all that great at it.
You Have An Instinct Vision Called Eagle Eye
When you're tracking and hunting animals, you can activate what's called the Eagle Eye system. This displays key details in the environment that can help you close in on nearby game. It can also be used to see the scent coming off your body; a handy detail you can use to determine whether or not you should approach animals who might catch onto your presence.
You Can Swap Your Hat
Last, but certainly not least, we noted that while you can easily lose your hat in the midst of a shootout, Arthur can swap his hat for any other hat that just happened to fall off someone else's head by no doing of your own. Because at the end of the day, if you can't wear the hat you want, what is the point of even playing? We'll continue to update this gallery as we discover more things about Red Dead Redemption 2. If you haven't already seen our primary Red Dead Redemption 2 preview covering the story missions we saw, make sure you read Red Dead Redemption 2: We Played It, Here's Everything We Saw.
By Matt Espineli on Oct 17, 2018 12:39 am
Assassin's Creed Odyssey further develops the RPG stylings of its predecessor. Not only is the game's world much larger than ever before, but there's a wealth of new mechanics and systems added to mix things up. A territory system has you aligning yourself with the competing powers of the Peloponnesian War to carve out the land. Dialogue choices give you more freedom to guide the direction of your journey in subtle yet meaningful ways. And this is all in addition to a slew of improvements that have been made to Origin's pre-existing systems. If you're a returning Assassin's Creed player or a newcomer entirely, many of the new features and mechanics may confuse you. To help you wrap your head over all the new systems in Odyssey, we've gathered 11 useful tips that should help you become the best spartan mercenary/proto-Assassin you can be! Assassin's Odyssey is out now for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. As an interesting aside, the game will also be available to play on Google Chrome 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 more Assassin's Creed Odyssey guides, check out our guide highlighting the best skills you can unlock, as well as our recap of the franchise's story so far. 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.
By Matt Espineli on Oct 17, 2018 12:38 am
The Armor Legends Are Made Of
Among the biggest new additions to Assassin's Creed Odyssey are armor sets that have individual pieces with their own unique defense values and stat bonuses. This contrasts the more outfit-centric armor sets from Origins, which were more there for cosmetic purposes. The new armor system often has you actively paying attention to the specific sets you're wearing, constantly pushing you towards swapping one piece for one that benefits your stats or playstyle the most. But as you push forward in your journey across Ancient Greece, you'll ultimately ask yourself: "Where can I find the best armor?" Odyssey has more than a few sets that it deisgnates as top-tier. These sets are colored gold in your inventory and are named appropriately as "Legendary." Unlike most sets--which you typically loot from chests and enemies or purchase from stores--Legendary sets must be unlocked by completing specific questlines or by finding them in special chests scattered across the game's massive world. Currently, there are 12 Legendary sets to collect, each with their own unique statistics and characteristics. What sets them apart from Rare or even Epic armor sets is the fact they have a special bonus that triggers upon equipping every piece. For example, the Spartan Hero set's bonus offers you +15% Damage to Warrior Abilities. The set bonuses vary from armor to armor, offering special perks that benefit some playstyles more than others. To help you discover some of the best Legendary sets in the game, we've compiled details on where to find them, what their special bonuses are, and some insight towards the type of player they benefit the most. Be wary, there are some minor spoilers ahead! For more Assassin's Creed Odyssey guides, check out our beginner's guide and our feature highlighting the best skills you can unlock. You can also read our recap of the franchise's story so far. Though, if you're curious about our thoughts on the game, don't forget 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, tell us which Legendary armor sets you love the most. Jump into the comments and have at it!
Artemis Set
Location / How To Unlock: You get the Artemis Set by defeating all of the Legendary beasts in the Daughters of Artemis quest-line. Full Set Bonus: +15% damage to all Hunter abilities If your focus is on picking off enemies with a bow, the Artemis set is what you'll want to be wearing at all times. Many of its pieces enhance bow-related statistics, such as bow charging speed, Hunter damage, headshot damage, and more. A suitable set for those who'd rather avoid getting up close and personal.
Demigod Set
How To Unlock: Defeat Deimos at the end of the game. Full Set Bonus: +10% damage to all abilities The Demigod set is a nice all-around set for those who don't specialize in anything in particular. While it mostly boosts Warrior damage, all of its pieces also offer decent boosts to all damage types. It's a decent set to equip if you're more interested in enhancing your base damage to a level that makes you well-equipped for any combat approach.
Amazonian/Achilles Set
How To Unlock: Defeat all Cultists in the "Heroes of the Cult" branch, which is located at the top right of the Cultists web. Each of these members drops a piece of the set. Full Set Bonus: 2% damage dealt restored as health The Amazonian/Achilles set is all about dealing consistently high damage. It mainly emphasizes Warrior damage, but its pieces enhance other statistics that elevate your ability to deal defeat enemies quickly and efficiently. Your critical damage and chance is increased, increasing your opportunity to dole out devastating hits. You also gain +15% Adrenaline with every hit, constantly fueling your supply in which to use abilities. All the while, you'll be earning health back with each subsequent hit that you land on your opponents. *Pictured above is Kassandra's Amazonian set. For Alexios, this set is called the Achilles set.
Immortal Set
How To Unlock: Defeat all Cultists in the "Worshippers of the Bloodline" branch, which is located in the mid-right portion of the Cultists web. Each of these members drops a piece of the set. Full Set Bonus: 20% health restored upon death (Can be reactivated after two-minute cooldown) If you're all about seeing those high damage numbers, then the Immortal set is for you. Aside from a boost in Warrior damage, every single piece increases your critical damage. This is heightened when you're about to die, bumping your chance of critical damage up by 60%. And with the ability to automatically resurrect upon death, the Immortal set is definitely the one to wear if you lack restraint and would rather go gung-ho during a fight.
Agammemnon Set
How To Unlock: Defeat all Cultists in the "The Silver Vein" branch, which is located in the mid-left portion of the Cultists web. These members drop four of the five pieces of the set with the exception of Epiktetos. The fifth piece (Agamemnon's Gauntlets) can be found in a Legendary Chest in the Silver Mine of Attika region. Full Set Bonus: +50% Burning Rate The Agammemnon set is all about fire damage, inflicting consistent DPS (damage per second) against foes. This is the set to wear if you're a frequent user of the Flaming Attacks ability. Every single piece increases the potency of fire damage, as well as its duration and buildup.
Spartan War Hero Set
How To Unlock: Defeat all Cultists in the "Peloponnesian League" branch, which is located in the bottom portion of the Cultists web. Each of these members drops a piece of the set. Full Set Bonus: +15% Damage with Warrior Abilities The Spartan War Hero set is fitting of its namesake. It's all about Warrior damage, increasing the overall power of your critical damage and Overpower abilities. It even has a funny (though, not entirely useful) narrative-related perk that increases your damage dealt to Athenian soldiers. This is a set designed for those who have gone all in on the Warrior branch of the Abilities tree.
Pirate Set
How To Unlock: Defeat all Cultists in the "Gods of the Aegean Sea" branch, which is located in the right-bottom portion of the Cultists web. Each of these members drops a piece of the set. Full Set Bonus: +15% Assassin damage The Pirate set is for all the sneaky players out there. Its specialty is Assassin damage with many of its pieces increasing your ability to deal critical damage. It's the right set to equip if you want to ensure that every soldier you sneak up on can be insta-killed. There's some extra boost to your adrenaline upon each successful assassination--a handy perk for those who also often utilize abilities, like Rush Assassination and Hero Strike, during their infiltrations.
Snake Set
How To Unlock: Defeat all Cultists in the "Eye of the Kosmos" branch, which is located in the top-left portion of the Cultists web. Each of these members drops a piece of the set. Full Set Bonus: +10% intoxicated damage and weakening effect There's a reason why the Snake set looks the way it does. It's all about dealing poison damage (like a snake) and ensuring that it lasts as long as possible--whether inflicted by the Venemous Attacks ability in a fight or from afar with a poison arrow. The Snake set's full set bonus only enhances the poison's potency, making it perfect for those who desire a more sneaky and roguish approach to racking up DPS.
Pilgrim Set
How To Unlock: Each part of the Pilgrim can be found in Legendary chests hidden across the world. - Hood: Eleusis Telesterion in the Attika region
- Gauntlets: Akropolis of Argos in the Argolis region
- Garment: Temple of Athena in the Lakonia region
- Belt: Temple of the Golden-Bowed Goddess in the Malis Region
- Boots: Temple of Britomartis in the Messara Region
Full Set Bonus: -40% less Adrenaline depletion when using Shadow of Nyx ability The Pilgrim set is great if you're all about being stealthy, but don't mind getting into a fight every now and then. That said, the set is more designed for hit-and-run encounters thanks largely to its full set bonus, which allows you stay invisible longer with the Shadow of Nyx ability. The pieces offer some significant boosts to your Adrenaline upon each general hit and successful assassination, supplying you the fuel needed to any of your Assassin abilities should you need it in a fight or when sneaking about.
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