Red Dead Redemption 2's release date is almost upon us. After years of anticipation and multiple delays, fans will be able to get their hands on Rockstar's new PS4 / Xbox One open-world game very soon, with launch set for Friday, October 26. But there's one question on everyone's lips: is it any good?
GameSpot's Red Dead Redemption 2 review awarded the game a 9/10. Critic Kallie Plagge called the open-world title an "excellent prequel" and an "emotional, thought-provoking story in its own right." For more on the game's critical reception, take a look at GameSpot sister site Metacritic or scroll down for a selection of other outlets' reviews. Its Metacritic average stands at 97 on PS4 and 98 on Xbox One at the time of this writing, either tying or breaking the existing record for the two platforms.
"While Red Dead Redemption was mostly focused on John Marston's story, Red Dead 2 is about the entire Van der Linde gang--as a community, as an idea, and as the death rattle of the Wild West. It is about Arthur, too, but as the lens through which you view the gang, his very personal, very messy story supports a larger tale. Some frustrating systems and a predictable mission structure end up serving that story well, though it does take patience to get through them and understand why. Red Dead Redemption 2 is an excellent prequel, but it's also an emotional, thought-provoking story in its own right, and it's a world that is hard to leave when it's done." -- Kallie Plagge [Full review]
CNET
"Red Dead Redemption 2 has undoubtedly raised the bar for narrative open-world games and will likely have a lasting impact on how they are made in the future. It pushes the envelope of what we understand is possible in a video game. It seems that every time we get something new from Rockstar, things inevitably change. With Red Dead 2 it feels like this shift will be defined by an experience that works hard to convince the player they aren't necessarily inside a video game, or beholden to a set of rules that a specific genre dictates." -- Jeff Bakalar [Full review]
USGamer -- 4.5/5
"Is Red Dead Redemption 2 better than the first game? Very much so. Is Red Dead Redemption 2 perfect? No. Rockstar Games has crafted this huge, beautiful world with an attention to detail that's astounding. There's a high level of craft here, but that's also why some of those small annoyances or more obtuse systems stick out more. Despite those small issues, Red Dead Redemption 2 is a fantastic game that should keep players satisfied for another eight years." -- Mike Williams [Full review]
Eurogamer -- Recommended
"Is this Rockstar's greatest game, a new masterpiece alongside the original? There are one too many caveats, and one too many flaws at its heart, to leave me totally convinced. Is this its richest, most beautiful open world? Of that there's not a single doubt." -- Martin Robinson [Full review]
IGN -- 10/10
"Red Dead Redemption 2 stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Grand Theft Auto V as one of the greatest games of the modern age. It's a gorgeous depiction of an ugly period that's patient, polished, and a huge amount of fun to play, and it's combined with Rockstar's best storytelling to date. Even after finishing the lengthy story I can't wait to go back and play more. This is a game of rare quality; a meticulously polished open world ode to the outlaw era. Looking for one of this generation's very best single-player action experiences? Here's your huckleberry." -- Luke Reilly [Full review]
GamesRadar+ -- 5/5
"Just how good is Red Dead Redemption 2? Over the past few years, I'd argue the only games that deserve to be considered at this same ultra elite level are GTA V, Metal Gear Solid V, and The Witcher III. This is a stone cold 5/5 classic that combines brilliant writing--Rockstar's Houser brothers deliver another affecting, scythe-sharp script--amazing tech, and one of the most boldly structured plots to ever grace a triple-A title. The story is so well told, you'll emotionally invest more in a horse during one crucial scene than you did even for Kratos in this year's stellar God of War revival. If you only buy one game this year, it absolutely has to be this wondrous Wild West quest." -- David Meikleham [Full review]
The Guardian -- 5/5
"There can be no doubt that this is a landmark game. It is a new high water-mark for lifelike video game worlds, certainly, but that world is also home to a narrative portrait of the wild west that is unexpectedly sombre and not afraid to take its time. With very few exceptions, the many stories that Rockstar's writers have set out to tell about this group of outlaws land perfectly, the enjoyable twists and turns of individual missions and chapters feeding into an exciting, sophisticated and absorbing larger narrative--and the stories that you discover yourself within its world are no less compelling. Around 2,000 people worked very hard (probably too hard, in some cases) to make this game possible. Every last one of them should be proud of their contribution." -- Keza MacDonald [Full review]
Update #2 is now live in the Xbox version of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. The new update implements several features and items that are already live in the PC version of the battle royale game, but it adds limited-time Halloween-themed skins as well. Because the maintenance period around the update went on longer than expected, PUBG is giving away free items and BP to players who log into the game in the next week.
The update adds two new weapons to PUBG. The first, the MK47 Mutant, is an assault rifle that can be found on Erangel, Miramar, and Sanhok. It takes 7.62mm bullets and can be fired in single shot or two-round burst modes. It's ideal for mid- to long-range combat. The new Beryl M762 is also an assault rifle that can be found on all three maps. It also uses 7.62mm ammo but has much lower bullet damage. It does have a much higher fire rate, though--even faster than the AKM--making it ideal for close-range combat.
New vehicles have been added to Sanhok as well. The scooter is a two-seat vehicle that offers an increased turning circle in comparison to the motorcycle, at the cost of overall speed. The new Tukshai is even slower, but it sits three people and is specifically designed to maneuver through Sanhok's hill and forest covered terrain.
Update #2 includes seven Halloween-themed items and costumes as well, which will only be available until November 20 at 6 PM PT / 9 PM ET / November 21 at 2 AM BST. One of the items, a haunted pumpkin mask, is available for free when you log into the lobby, but only until November 6 at 4 PM PT / 7 PM ET / November 7 at 12 AM BST. The other six items and costumes will need to be bought from PUBG's in-game store. We've listed them, and their prices, below.
Purchasable PUBG Halloween Items
Maniacal Butcher Set – 10,000 BP
Killer Clown Set – 1,800 G-Coin
Ancient Mummy Set – 1,600 G-Coin
Bloody Nurse Set – 2,100 G-Coin
Sinister Skull Mask – 7,000 BP
Pumpkin RIP-cord – 500 G-Coin
The new update also implements several general gameplay changes and bug fixes. The full patch notes can be found on PUBG's main website, but we've listed the highlights below.
PUBG Xbox One Update #2 Patch Notes
Training Mode
Added a Training Mode where you can practice all aspects of PUBG gameplay
The Training Mode map is 2×2 in size
You can join through matchmaking by clicking on the "Training Mode" button in the lobby.
When there are more than 5 players in the matchmaking queue, the session will start immediately. Players will continue to join open sessions for up to 5 minutes after they start. (Up to 20 per session)
If there are less than 5 players in the matchmaking queue, matchmaking will continue for 5 minutes
If there are still less than 5 players after 5 minutes, the session will start with the original number of players present and other players cannot join the session.
Total play time is 30 minutes (e.g. in case of number 1, where you immediately enter a session, you have 5 minutes where other players can join the session + regular training mode playing time of 25 minutes)
Players cannot drop below 1hp in Training mode
Gameplay
Bluezone effect has been changed
Added "TPP Aim Camera Position" to options
Reset to Right Shoulder (default setting)
Camera will always be positioned above the character's right shoulder
Reset to Left Shoulder
Camera will always be positioned above the character's left shoulder
Latest Peek Shoulder
Camera position automatically moves to the direction you last leaned
Latest Aim Shoulder
Camera remains in the last ADS direction
In this setting, the camera position won't be changed by leaning while not in ADS or scoping
Bug Fixes
Lost Connection to Host
We are testing out some potential fixes related to the "Lost Connection to Host" error, and in this update we rolled out a fix for an issue with data loading with skins that was causing this bug. Please leave us your feedback and reports if you continue to experience this bug. Thank you for your patience as we actively work to fix this issue.
Fixed an issue where tooltips for the stun grenade did not accurately reflect its in-game effects
Fixed an issue where characters were seen moving fast while prone when moving on slopes a certain way
Fixed an issue where item mesh is sometimes difficult to distinguish from the floor in the police station in El Azahar in Miramar
Fixed an issue where a dead player's loot box is sometimes buried in certain locations in Miramar
Fixed an issue where characters can sometimes get stuck between the wall and vehicle while leaving the passenger seat when the vehicle is touching a wall
Fixed an issue where in some situations in FPP, players could see through walls
Fixed an issue where the sawed-off wasn't listed in the attachable weapon list tooltip of the shotgun choke
Fixed an issue where sometimes players would not get transferred to the starting plane, and instead start the match from the initial spawn location
Fixed an issue where the under certain conditions, character models could appear stuck in the crouch position
Fixed an issue where sometimes the fuel gauge of vehicles wasn't in sync with the visual display on the dashboard
Fixed an issue where in rare instances, players could be teleported to an entirely different location while on Sanhok
Fixed the issue where a character on board a vehicle would sometimes be shown as immobile in a very different location
Fixed the issue where a character who is driving in a vehicle is created in an unspecified location
Fixed the issue where the gun of the person you are spectating is sometimes not rendered, causing problems when the gun goes into ADS mode
Fixed the issue where weapons are sometimes shown in locations different from where the character is holding them
Fixed the issue where approaching a window with glass and throwing a throwable could sometimes cause the camera to temporarily zoom in and out
Fixed the issue where approaching a corpse while lying down could sometimes cause the camera to zoom in
Fixed the issue where sometimes a character standing at the very edge of the sea on Sanhok would be shown as falling out of the sky
Fixed the issue where the Bluezone UI timer occasionally decreases by 2 seconds
Fixed the issue where an underwater character is unable to move to land because the terrain is shown as stuttering
Fixed the issue where colliding with an object while driving in a UAZ deals comparatively more damage than other vehicles
Fixed the issue where the firing mode of a gun that has been dropped and picked up again is reset to default settings
Fixed the issue where the vaulting action was not working properly with certain building windows in Sanhok
Fixed the issue where an afterimage sometimes remains on other players' screen when repeatedly arming/unarming
Fixed the issue where the AR compensator on the SLR was not reducing the horizontal recoil
Fixed the issue where a character cannot peek while over a gas can
Fixed the issue where frame drop occured when the weather was rainy and the character was swimming in the water when the perspective changed from under to above water
Fixed the issue where the HP gauge was displayed red in certain conditions
Fixed an issue where grenade impact sounds were not played when interacting with certain surfaces on Sanhok
Fixed an issue where in some specific situations there was less weapon recoil than intended
Fixed the issue where after exiting the game while armed, the character model would appear to shake
Fixed the issue where picking up sound was output, but was not able to pick up the item from a certain distance
Fixed the issue where the exact direction of other player's footstep sound was hard to comprehend
We're at the midway point of Fortnite: Battle Royale's Season 6. Week 5 of challenges is now available and consists of the standard mix of objectives, as there are three challenges for all players and additional four reserved for Battle Pass owners, including Flaming Hoops to jump through and Radar Signs to track down and speed past. In Week 5 there's also the Fortnitemares challenges tied to the new update's Halloween event. This will see new challenges rolled out routinely over the course of the event, separate from the standard weekly challenges.
Meanwhile, Fortnite: Battle Royale Season 6 rolls on, and new challenges continue to roll out on all platforms--PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android. Those feed into the latest Battle Pass, and as with previous seasons, you level that up by playing the game and completing challenges. Every week there will be a new set of tasks for players to complete that unlock Battle Stars and level up the Battle Pass to unlock goodies.
Like in Season 5, weekly challenges are split into two categories. The first is a free set, which are available to all Fortnite players, while the second is for Battle Pass owners. To get a Battle Pass you'll need to cough up 950 V-Bucks in game. If you haven't bought the Battle Pass, you'll be able to complete certain objectives and earn some rewards, but some of the coolest unlocks are locked behind the paid Battle Pass, so if you plan on sinking lots of time into Fortnite, we recommend picking that up.
Although you can pick up a Battle Pass later and go back to unlock any premium rewards you've earned based on the tier that you've already reached, there is one major advantage in doing it at the start of the season. Namely that you'll get bonus XP, which is dished out for just playing the game either alone or with buddies. This XP levels you up and translates to Battle Stars that also level up your pass, so it may be a good idea to get in early if you can.
Alongside the standard challenges, there are also Hunting Party challenges for those who buy the Battle Pass. These operate similarly to the Blockbuster and Road Trip objectives of past seasons, where each one tasks you with completing all challenges from a single week during the season. The reward for each is a loading screen that reveals the location of a hidden Battle Pass tier you can then obtain. Additionally, by completing seven of these, you'll earn a Legendary skin that will remain a mystery for now.
Each week we'll have guides on the trickiest challenges to make things quicker and easier for you. However, this article will serve as a hub for all our guides so, as the season goes on, you'll be able to keep coming back here to get the latest guides as well as ones for previous weeks. This will be especially helpful if you decided to pick up a Battle Pass part of the way into the season. If you're wondering if it's worth the effort, you can take a look at all of Fortnite Season 6's new skins, cosmetics, emotes, sprays, and other items to unlock in this gallery of Fortnite Season 6 Battle Pass rewards.
Fortnite: Battle Royale Season 6 Challenges
Week 1
Free
Pickup a Legendary Item in different matches (3) -- 5 Battle Stars
Regain health from a Cozy Campfire (15) -- 5 Battle Stars
Stage 1: Seach Chests (3) -- 3 Battle Stars
Battle Pass
Apply Shields (500) -- 5 Battle Stars
Stage 1: Land at Junk Junction (1) -- 1 Battle Star
Dance under different Streetlight Spotlights (7) -- 10 Battle Stars
Eliminate opponents in different Named Locations (5) -- 10 Battle Stars
Reward: 5K XP (after completing four challenges, only for Battle Pass owners)
Red Dead Redemption 2 is a big game, both in terms of scope and file size. As the release inches closer, it turns out that file size has made it one of the few modern games to span multiple discs. Two discs, to be exact.
Our own physical copies at the GameSpot offices show just how it works. The first disc is a "Data Disc" to install necessary files before playing. The other is the "Play Disc" that you'll have in your PlayStation 4 or Xbox One system while actually playing. That could make for some hefty install times, so be prepared to wait if you pick up a physical copy.
Dual-layer Blu-ray discs tend to cap at 50 GB of storage space. Given that the file size of Red Dead 2 is roughly 100 GB, it's not too surprising that Rockstar Games would have to split it up in this way. On top of that, the game has a day-one patch that's recommended for last-minute bug fixes. You can get your hands on the game early, but by the time it finishes installing you could begin playing around the same time those who pre-installed the digital version gain access at midnight.
As long as you're preparing yourself for the release, you can read up on some beginner's tips along with tips and cheats. Or if you're still on the proverbial fence, you can read our Red Dead Redemption 2 review to find out why you shouldn't be.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is just around the corner. Rockstar's open-world western launches for PS4 and Xbox One tomorrow, October 26, but like many other big releases nowadays, Rockstar has revealed that the game will come with a day-one update.
According to the developer's official website, the update will address "a number of last minute tweaks, bugs, and fixes." You aren't required to download and install the patch before you can begin playing the game, although Rockstar strongly advises that you do "to ensure the best possible gameplay experience."
Those who've pre-ordered RDR2 digitally can already begin pre-loading the game ahead of its release, but you'll need to clear up a lot of space to install it; after much speculation over its file size, Rockstar recently confirmed that RDR2 weighs in at roughly 100 GB on both platforms. You can read more details on Rockstar's support page.
Players who have already pre-loaded the game will be able to start playing tonight at 9 PM PT (12 AM ET on October 26). You'll also be able to get it a little early if you pick up a physical copy from certain retailers; both Best Buy and GameStop have announced they'll begin selling the game at 9 PM local time. RDR2 comes in a variety of different editions; you can learn more about each in our pre-order guide.
Reviews are out for RDR2, and critics have had very good things to say about it. GameSpot awarded the title a 9/10 in our Red Dead 2 review, calling it "an excellent prequel, but it's also an emotional, thought-provoking story in its own right." Before jumping into the game, be sure to check out our Red Dead 2 tips and guides.
The vast obsession with Epic Games' Fortnite has already spilled into real life in the form of children everywhere frantically performing the floss dance. Soon, they'll be able to reenact their favorite Fortnite moments with foam darts, using the first Nerf blaster modeled after one of the weapons that appears in the game.
Nerf announced on Instagram that it'll soon sell a dart-flinging version of Fortnite's AR-L assault rifle. The orange and yellow toy gun has flip-up sights and a 10-dart magazine, according to Hasbro's website. It should also be pretty formidable in dart-based warfare, on account of it's motorized to shoot darts rapidly, like the in-game gun after which it's modeled.
According to Hasbro's website, the AR-L will run players $50 when it's released on June 1, 2019. It'll be the first Fortnite-based Nerf blaster the company releases, which is the result of a partnership between Epic Games and Hasbro. No other guns have been announced yet, but presumably they'll eventually run at least some of the gamut of what's available in game, which includes pistols, sniper rifles, shotguns, and more.
Creating Nerf battles with friends isn't the only way fans can bring Fortnite competition into their regular lives. Hasbro also released a Fortnite-branded version of Monopoly at the start of October. Epic Games' Worldwide Creative Director Donald Mustard showed off the art for the game on Twitter back in September, and described it as "a unique spin on the classic game mashed up with last player standing Fortnite."
If you'd rather actually play the video game version of Fortnite, there's a lot going on right now with the game's Halloween-themed event. Check out our guides for tackling Fortnite's new challenges: finding all the Flaming Hoops, and speeding past Radar Signs.
Niantic continues rolling out new features for Pokemon Go. On top of trading and friends list, both of which were introduced to the mobile game earlier this year, the developer recently announced it is working on a PokeStop nomination system. Now, it has revealed another new feature on the way to the game: Adventure Sync.
With Adventure Sync, you'll be able to keep track of your walking distance even when Pokemon Go is idle. This should prove to be a handy addition, particularly for hatching Eggs; previously, Pokemon Go only tracked your walking distance while the game was launched, so if you were trying to hatch a Pokemon, you'd need to leave it running as you walked.
On top of that, Niantic says Adventure Sync will provide a weekly summary that displays your Incubator and Candy progress, along with other activity stats. You'll also be able to earn rewards each time you cross a certain milestone and set push notifications for when an Egg is about to hatch or your Buddy Pokemon discovers a Candy.
Niantic hasn't announced when it will roll out the Adventure Sync feature, but the developer says it is "coming soon." The feature will also be able to connect with Apple Health on and Google Fit depending on which handset you own. You can read more about it on the Pokemon Go website.
October has been a particularly busy month for Pokemon Go. The first wave of Gen 4 Pokemon rolled out recently. The game's third annual Halloween event is also underway, bringing the first Gen 4 Legendary, Giratina, to Raid Battles. Meanwhile, the next Community Day event is scheduled to take place on Saturday, November 10, and will feature the Gen 2 starter Cyndaquil.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is a massive game, both in terms of its file size and sheer scope. On top of its sprawling map, the title features a variety of side activities to steal your attention, from hunting and fishing to old-fashioned robberies. Even if you plan on ignoring these ancillary tasks and just focusing on the story, however, you're going to need to devote a lot of time to the game.
We've been playing through Rockstar's western for our Red Dead 2 review, and we now know how long its main campaign is. By our estimates, it takes approximately 45-50 hours to clear the story, if you focus primarily on completing story quests and largely ignore its side activities. Of course, individual playtimes will vary, so you can expect to sink considerably more time into the game if you plan on pursuing its many side missions.
Red Dead Redemption 2 casts players in the role of Arthur Morgan, one of the members of the Van der Linde gang, who are traveling across the American frontier to escape the law. During the journey, Arthur will encounter many new and familiar faces, including the protagonist of the first Red Dead Redemption, John Marston. He'll also be able to wield more than 50 weapons, each of which has a range of customization options that affect their performance and appearance.
On top of that, Arthur will be able to visit many of the same areas featured in the previous game; an image of RDR2's full map leaked ahead of the game's release, showing that the world encompasses a fair chunk of the original Red Dead Redemption's map. As a result, the game will require quite a bit of storage space on your console of choice, as it weighs in at approximately 100 GB.
Red Dead Redemption 2 launches for PS4 and Xbox One on October 26. The game will be available in several different editions, many of which come with various bonus items; you can learn more in our Red Dead Redemption 2 pre-order guide. Those who pick the game up on PS4 will also receive early access to some items 30 days before they arrive on Xbox One. The first batch of timed-exclusive content includes an outfit, horse, and gun.
The beta for Fallout 76 has officially begun, but right this very moment, you can't actually play it. That's because Bethesda only has its servers available at certain times; trying to get in outside of these specific windows will yield a "login failed" error. Below, we've got all the details you need to know regarding exactly when you can play. At the time of this writing, the next tests take place on October 27 and 28 (October 29 for some regions), again only on Xbox One.
Fallout 76's debut test was available only on Xbox One for a four-hour window on October 23. That has since passed, with Bethesda deeming it an "amazing start." Additional test periods will continue to be available for a limited time. The purpose of this is to force players together at a specific time to stress test and put the game through its paces. Sessions will typically last 4-8 hours in a given day, and then the beta will be inoperable again until the next session. The process will repeat between now and the game's release date on November 14.
A beta code is available to anyone who pre-ordered the game across Xbox One, PC, and PlayStation 4. Pre-loading is only available on Xbox One for now, since the PC and PS4 betas will begin on October 30. You'll receive a code with your physical pre-order to enter into the accounts page, or you'll be entered into the pool automatically if you pre-order a digital copy. Note that those codes don't grant you access. Rather, they put you into the potential pool of players to get a distribution code later, since Bethesda is rolling out the invites in waves.
Upcoming Fallout 76 Beta Times
Test 2
US Pacific Time: 2 PM - 4 PM (Saturday, October 27)
US Eastern Time: 5 PM - 7 PM (Saturday, October 27)
UK BST: 10 PM - 12 AM (Saturday, October 27)
Australia AEDT: 8 AM - 10 AM (Sunday, October 28)
Test 3
US Pacific Time: 9 AM - 11 AM (Sunday, October 28)
US Eastern Time: 12 PM - 2 PM (Sunday, October 28)
UK BST: 5 PM - 7 PM (Sunday, October 28)
Australia AEDT: 3 AM - 5 AM (Monday, October 29)
Bethesda plans to let to keep your progress from the beta through to the full game. Pre-ordering also will get you 500 Atoms, the in-game currency, for purchasing cosmetic items in the shop. Fallout 76 is due out on November 14. For more details, check out our guide to everything we know.
Previous Fallout 76 Beta Times
US Pacific Time: 4 PM - 8 PM (Tuesday, October 23)
US Eastern Time: 7 PM - 11 PM (Tuesday, October 23)
UK BST: 12 AM - 4 AM (Wednesday, October 24)
Australia AEDT: 10 AM - 2 PM (Wednesday, October 24)
2018's new entry in the Halloween series, known simply as Halloween, is now in theaters after the movie initially screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. Rather than serving as a sequel to the many movies before it, it ignores all but the original, and you can find out what we thought in our review below. Additionally, we have a look at the series' most brutal kills, and we've ranked every Halloween film. But does the new Halloween hold a candle to the original? Read on.
Remember when fans were worried that Danny McBride and David Gordon Green--the guys behind HBO comedy series Eastbound & Down--would ruin the Halloween franchise by trying to make it funny? Well, the newest chapter in the Michael Myers saga--which is technically only the second, since it ignores all other sequels--is definitely the funniest film in the franchise. But surprisingly, it's also the perfect continuation to the story begun in the original Halloween 40 years ago.
Yes, it's been 40 years since Michael Myers put on a mask and terrorized the town of Haddonfield, Illinois as "The Shape," and he hasn't done much since then. Played by the original actor Nick Castle, as well as newcomer James Jude Courtney, Myers hasn't spoken a word in the 40 years he's apparently been incarcerated at the movie's start. Not even when two podcasters--or "investigative journalists," as they refer to themselves--present him with the iconic mask in an attempt to get a reaction does Michael stir. This is a return to form (or shape) for Michael. No longer the brother of Laurie Strode, as was established in sequels to the original, he is back to being a force of pure evil who commits random acts of violence with no cause or reason. Green, who directs with co-writer McBride, treats the character with utmost respect, like a larger-than-life force that deserves your complete attention and fear.
Castle and Courtney, who seamlessly share the role of The Shape, don't miss a beat with their performances, as this is the most terrifying Michael has been since 1978. It helps that Green and McBride have made this one mean and nasty Halloween movie. It surpasses the body count of John Carpenter's original even before Michael gets to Haddonfield, and we see kills involving knives going through throats, lethal headbutts, and more.
Meanwhile, the core of the story focuses on Laurie Strode. Jamie Lee Curtis gives what is perhaps the best performance of her career in the role that first gave her the spotlight. She effortlessly steps back into Laurie's shoes, evolving the trauma and psychological damage Myers inflicted on her all those years ago. Yes, she is a complete and absolute badass in this film, as she is now the hunter and no longer the hunted. However, she is no Sarah Connor. She is a broken woman who hasn't been able to let go of that fateful Halloween night.
Strode now lives in a fortified house in the middle of the woods and spends every day shooting at target dummies, preparing for the day when her paranoia finally bears fruit. Of course, it doesn't take long before Myers escapes and finds his way to Haddonfield, where he obsesses over finishing the job he started 40 years earlier.
Despite the gravity of Halloween's themes, and the gory and violent fun audiences expect from a slasher, McBride and Green infuse the script with their signature sense of humor, and surprisingly, it actually works. Every side character gets a moment to shine, and the jokes never feel out of place, especially when coming from soon-to-be breakout star Jibrail Nantambu. Nantambu plays the only character who has any idea what's going on in the film--he never makes a stupid choice (it's a slasher, so naturally, characters make a lot of stupid choices) and provides insightful meta commentary about the horror tropes on display.
Speaking of meta, Halloween pokes fun at every single film in the franchise, all while paying homage to its predecessors. There are references to Silver Shamrock, tributes to Halloween 2, and a fun cameo or two. The film also comments on this being a pseudo remake of the original, but in modern times. For example, when discussing the original babysitter killings from the first film, a character remarks that five dead people isn't too much "by today's standards." Green has fun with the idea of Laurie being prepared for Michael by playing with role reversal throughout the film. One instance in particular got the audience at the world premiere cheering so hard, the next three lines of dialogue were inaudible.
If there's one problem with Halloween, it's that it never uses Laurie's granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) and Allyson's mom Karen (Judy Greer) to their full potential. Thankfully, it isn't a big issue, as Laurie's story is compelling enough on its own. And those missing the magic Carpenter touch will be delighted to know that the film is keen on using silence to increase the tension, and there is a 5-minute-long single-shot sequence that is a marvel to watch, even if it's quite brutal. Green may not have a ton of experience filming horror, but he sure knows how to create nail-biting tension at the right moments.
John Carpenter returns to score the film with the help of his son, Cody Carpenter, and Daniel Davies. Yes, you do hear the classic Halloween theme, and Carpenter even uses a slower version of the theme at several key moments. Carpenter also uses a whole new style of synth rock that pulsates and beats like a heart and will have everyone in the audience on the edge of their seat while also making them pre-order the soundtrack as soon as they leave the theater.
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. Will Michael Myers return again? Who knows, but we sure as hell welcome him home.
The Good
The Bad
Laurie Strode is a more complex character, yet a total badass
Side characters are slightly underused
Michael Myers is scarier than ever
The fantastic score that will get your heart beating
A much-welcomed sense of humor and meta commentary
Epic Games has rolled out Fortnitemares, a spooky, Halloween-themed Fortnite event that is now available in both the Battle Royale and Save The World modes. In the former, players will have a new set of challenges to complete (with more still to come as the event continues), and in return will receive loot and cool new cosmetics, including a special skin. [Update: If you were quick to jump into these new challenges, you may have found it impossible to complete certain ones due to a bug. According to a new tweet from Epic, that issue should now be resolved: "We've released a fix that solved the issue preventing players from being able to fully complete certain challenges. Jump in and grab those rewards!" Standard Week 5 challenges have also now debuted in the game.]
"During Fortnitemares, you'll face off against Cube Monsters in a whole new way of playing Battle Royale," Epic explains. "There are new weapons to fight back against these creepy creatures, like the Six Shooter and Fiend Hunter Crossbow. Take out the Cube Fiends and Fragments to pick up loot, and survive against enemy players."
As part of the event, the new Deadfire Outfit is available and is described as a "new type of reactive outfit" that changes as you progress in a match. This, Epic says, will let players "show off [their] skills in style." The changes to the outfit are dependent on the damage you deal to your enemies and also how long you're able to stay alive. The skin also comes with the Shackled Stone Back Bling and the Dark Shard pickaxe is also available in the store. These are also reactive cosmetics.
In terms of challenges, Fortnitemare will gift players with cosmetics for completing them. However, Epic is planning to refresh the challenges and the rewards "every few days." Those that stick it through and complete the final set of challenges will get the Dark Engine glide, which you can see below, along with the Deadfire skin and the first batch of Fortnitemare challenges. The most difficult of this first batch of challenges involves dancing with gargoyles--the location of which are not provided in-game.
Click image to view in full screen
Fortnitemares Challenges (Set 1)
Destroy Cube Monsters (200) -- 500 XP
Deal damage with Assault Rifles or Pistols to Cube Monsters (5,000) -- 500 XP
Visit a Corrupted Area in different matches (7) -- 500 XP
Dance at different Gargoyles (5) -- 500 XP
In Save The World, meanwhile, Hexsylvania has returned. Players will be able to check out "multiple sets of story quests and earn new rewards as you fight the fright alongside your friends." You can learn more about these on Epic's website.
Epic Games has also detailed the contents of Fortnite update 6.20 which, along with giving players Fortnitemares, adds the new Six Shooter weapon to the game. It also gives players the ability to redeploy Gliders after they've landed on the Island. This feature is something Epic is testing, so it's available in all Battle Royale game modes.
Alongside the latest Ascendant Challenge, Bungie's weekly reset in Destiny 2: Forsaken has provided a new bounty from Spider that rewards Powerful gear. This one is a target we've seen before, but the mission you'll complete is in a different location than the previous instance. Here's what to do to complete Wanted: Silent Fang.
As always with the big bounty offered by Spider, there's not any question of where to go. You don't have to manually find the appropriate Lost Sector for the enemy you're hunting; this gives you an Adventure on the designated planet. Silent Fang is found on the EDZ, in an Adventure appropriately titled Wanted: Silent Fang (recommended Power level: 540). But whereas his appearance in September saw you go The Sludge, this time you'll go to Winding Cove.
First, of course, you need to buy the bounty from Spider for five Ghost Fragments, which you can find inside Tangled Shore chests and by completing Public Events in the area. Once you have the bounty, go to the EDZ's Winding Cove landing zone and activate the Adventure. This will then have you make your way through the Lost Sector, and eventually you'll reach Silent Fang, who is a giant Fallen Captain. Simply take him out to complete the bounty. You can watch September's version of this above--the one wrinkle is the need to occasionally throw explosives dropped by shanks at objects generating shields, which will render Silent Fang vulnerable to damage.
The chest at the end is unlikely to provide any good rewards, but completing the Spider bounty provides you with a piece of Powerful gear.
In time for Halloween, Epic Games is giving Fortnite a spooky makeover. The Fortnitemares event introduces an element of player versus environment to the game by spawning Cube Monsters, which are effectively mindless zombie-like creatures for players to gun down. Alongside this, there's an interesting new kind of skin available.
Fortnitemare's Deadfire Outfit is described by Epic as a "new type of reactive outfit." This first of its kind skin is more dynamic than the usual ones and actually changes depending on the way you play. As explained in the Fortnite blog, the look of the outfit will change depending on the damage you deal to enemies--both players and the new AI-controlled Cube Monsters. Along with that, the way it looks will shift based on how long you last in a match. Take a look at the three different variants below.
Alongside this skin, Epic has also introduced the Shackled Stone Back Bling to go along with it, and the Dark Shard pickaxe can also be found in the in-game store. Both of these items are called "reactive cosmetics." The Deadfire skin is available for 2,000 V-Bucks, while the Dark Shard harvesting tool costs 1,200 V-Bucks.
The Fortnitemares event is now live, and there are a unique set of challenges available. You can see all the new Fortnitemare challenges here. Epic has also release the patch notes for Fortnite update 6.20. This is a rather sizeable update that, along with giving players Fortnitemares, adds the new Six Shooter weapon to the game. Players also have the ability to redeploy Gliders after they've landed on the Island. This is being tested out by Epic, so it's available in all game modes.
Nintendo Eshop doesn't have regularly scheduled sales. Instead, for anyone who likes a good deal on a Switch game, it can feel like a bubbling cauldron of price changes. Even so, a number of games have just gone on sale, so we've compiled the best of the bunch below--including an array of horror games for anyone looking for a pre-Halloween scare.
While we're on the subject of spooky games, you can grab a pair of disarmingly dark puzzle platformers for cheap right now. In Limbo (on sale for $7), you play as a child who encounters all manner of side-scrolling horrors, most of which can kill him brutally in an instant. The game's spiritual successor, Inside, is equally bleak but significantly weirder; it's on sale for $14.
The creepy, ghost-filled adventure game Oxenfree is on sale for $5. For $14 you can get Layers of Fear, an adventure game about a painter who's going mad in his spooky mansion. And if you want to put a little shuffle in your horror, you can pick up Crypt of the NecroDancer, a roguelike dungeon crawler that adds a rhythm element to the whole affair.
On a lighter note, the delightful RPG Golf Story is on sale for $10, while Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate has dipped down to $45. And although it's a fairly recent release, you can pick up Lego The Incredibles for $36 instead of its usual $60. You'll find more Nintendo Switch deals below, or you can hop over to the Eshop for the full list.
The release of Red Dead Redemption 2 is upon us. Rockstar's new game officially launches tomorrow, October 26, on both PS4 and Xbox One, and it presents players with a massive, deep open world to explore. The main story alone will take you in the neighborhood of 50 hours to complete, and that's before engaging in much of its side content--and all of this is to be followed by Red Dead Online in November.
To help you make the most of the experience, we've put together numerous guides and tips, tackling both specific aspects of the game and a broader array of things you should be aware of before starting. Rockstar has opted not to hold your hand with many features in the game, leaving it to you to either discover them or find them hidden away in menus. We'll also be taking a look at some of these examples to ensure you're aware of everything the game has to offer.
We've got plenty of other guides and tips on the way, and we'll continue to update the list below with all of them. While you wait to actually get your hands on the game, be sure to check out our RDR 2 review.
Cheats
One potentially big aspect of the new game is cheat codes. Like GTA V before it, RDR 2 allows you to use cheats and even has an entire menu available for the feature. However, at this early stage, we don't actually know what any of them are. We'll be doing our best to hunt these down and will report back as they are uncovered. If GTA V is anything to go by, you may have the opportunity to get unlimited money, raise/lower your wanted level, and spawn horses at any time, though there's no guarantee Rockstar's approach to cheats hasn't changed in the intervening years.
Do You Need To Play Red Dead Redemption First?
Red Dead Redemption 2 is the third game in the Red Dead series, though it's only closely connected to its direct predecessor. However, RDR 2 is a prequel, taking place years before the events of the first RDR. If you've played the previous game, you'll recognize the names and faces of many of its characters, including RDR protagonist John Marston. We dive into whether you should play RDR first in our feature, but whatever choice you make, you should give our Red Dead Redemption story recap a look to refresh your memory--or fill in the holes for the first time.
Tips To Know Before Starting
As with any game, it can be useful to start with certain knowledge in hand. That's certainly true of RDR 2, which is a dense game full of various systems that interact with each other. With that in mind, we've put together a list of key tips you should know before booting up the game for the first time. We've kept spoilers to a minimum, but you'll want to be aware, for instance, that side missions can expire if you don't get to them quickly enough.
How To Make Money Fast
As an outlaw, you're after money, but not necessarily out of sheer greed. Whether your motivation is the betterment of your gang and its members or because you simply want a new gun and horse, you're going to want to get your hands on as much money as possible. With that in mind, we've put together a guide on how to make money quickly.
Outfits And Climates
Among the ways Red Dead 2 tries to immerse you in its world is with its climates. You'll have to account for temperatures if you want to maximize your performance, wearing appropriate clothing depending on where in the world you are. We've rounded up all of the outfits we've come across so far to give you an idea of what you can find.
The critics are pleased with a certain cowboy game that comes out tomorrow, and you can check out our Red Dead Redemption 2 review to find out why. The only problem is, you'll have to wait until tomorrow to play it. If you want to get it a little earlier, it turns out there's a way to do so. Both Best Buy and GameStop have announced they'll begin selling copies of the game at 9 PM local time on October 25--the day before it launches elsewhere.
That gives you a three-hour head start on everyone who ordered it digitally. You'll still have to go home and install the game to your console's hard drive before you can play it, of course--and it's an enormous game. But because the data is installed on your hard drive from the disc instead of downloaded from the internet, it's quite possible you'll be up and running before midnight. (Then again, the day-one patch could slow things down, although you can start the game without it).
You can pre-order Red Dead Redemption 2 from GameStop here or from Best Buy here. All pre-orders come with a download code for the Ardennes War Horse and Outlaw Survival Kit.
Red Dead Redemption 2 takes place in 1899, at the tale end of the era when outlaw gangs were running amuck in the Wild West. Rather than taking control of John Marston like in the previous game, you play as Arthur Morgan, another member of Dutch Van der Linde's gang. To refresh your memory about the story of the previous game, you can take a look at our Red Dead Redemption recap or watch the video above. Also be sure to check out our Red Dead Redemption 2 impressions for more information.
Challenges for Fortnite: Battle Royale Season 6, Week 5 are now available and you can see them here. For the most part they're pretty easy to do, but there are a couple that will require some time investment. However, to speed things up we've put together guides for them. One of these difficult challenges asks players to record a speed of 27 or more on different Radar Signs.
Driving fast and recording that speed isn't the difficult part, it's actually finding the locations of the Radar Signs. Again, we've done the legwork for you, so all you've got to do is take a look below, where you'll find their locations. That should make things quicker and easier for you.
Radar Signs Locations
Southwest of Paradise Palms
North of Paradise Palms
South of Tomato Temple
West of Lazy Links
South of Pleasant Park
Another tricky challenge this week involves jumping through flaming hoops (when you think about it, pretty much all the challenges do, right?). We've found all of the locations for these flaming hoops and put together a map and video guide.
If you've still got challenges from previous weeks left to complete, you can use our comprehensive Season 6 challenge guide to get those done. Keep in mind that there's also a unique set of Halloween-themed challenges to do this week too. The Fortnitemares event was introduced as part of update 6.20 and, as part of it, there's new cosmetics to unlock too. Check out all the Fortnitemares challenges to see what you need to do to get them.
Update 6.20 and the Fortnitemares event also introduce a PvE element to the game. "During Fortnitemares, you'll face off against Cube Monsters in a whole new way of playing Battle Royale," Epic explains. "There are new weapons to fight back against these creepy creatures, like the Six Shooter and Fiend Hunter Crossbow.
"Take out the Cube Fiends and Fragments to pick up loot, and survive against enemy players." Interestingly, Fortnitemares seems to blur the line between the Battle Royale mode and Save the World mode by giving players zombie-like enemies to fend off.
You can see the other changes, additions, and tweaks that have been made to Fortnite this week by reading the update 6.20 patch notes.
Season 6, Week 5 of Fortnite is now underway and the newest set of challenges are now live, ready and waiting for you to complete them. This, it turns out, is easier said than done as there's a couple of tricky challenges among them. The first of these involves finding five flaming hoops and jumping through them using a Shopping Cart or ATK. You might remember this one from previous seasons, as it has been used before. However, the exact locations of the flaming hoops have changed, so you'll still need to dart around the map looking for them.
Or, alternatively, you could use our handy dandy guide here. We've found the flaming hoops and launched ourselves through them. Below you'll find a list of the exact locations of the hoops, along with a map that offers a visual representation of their locations. All you have to do is head to the points and do your best Evel Knievel impression. Just remember to grab an ATK or Shopping Cart along the way. You can also watch the video above to see us do it.
Fortnite Season 6, Week 5 Flaming Hoops Locations
East of Retail Row on Car Sculpture
East of Paradise Palms
Northeast of Lucky Landing
North side of Dusty Divot
Between Risky Reels and Wailing Woods
Alongside the weekly challenges, Fortnite developer Epic Games has also kicked off Fortnitemares, a Halloween event with its own unique selection of challenges. The event is quite different from anything Fortnite's battle royale mode has done before, as it includes an element of PvE.
"During Fortnitemares, you'll face off against Cube Monsters in a whole new way of playing Battle Royale," Epic explains. "There are new weapons to fight back against these creepy creatures, like the Six Shooter and Fiend Hunter Crossbow. Take out the Cube Fiends and Fragments to pick up loot, and survive against enemy players."
The reward for completing the Fortnitemare challenges is cool new cosmetics, including a special skin. The Deadfire Outfit is described as a "new type of reactive outfit" that, as you progress in a match, will change. The shift in visual style is dependent on the damage you deal to your enemies and also how long you're able to stay alive. The skin also comes with the Shackled Stone Back Bling, and the Dark Shard pickaxe is also available in the store. These are also reactive cosmetics.
All this was rolled out as part of the latest patch. Take a look at the full Fortnite update 6.20 patch notes for more on everything that has been changed, tweaked, added, or removed.
After suffering a slight dip over the last couple of weeks, the stock for Take-Two Interactive--the parent company of Red Dead Redemption 2 publisher Rockstar Games--is up today upon positive critical reception for the game. This puts the company's stock near its all-time high.
As of the time of writing, the stock is at roughly $120 USD, a gain of about 9% from yesterday's market close. For comparison that's almost four times the increase of the overall NASDAQ average gain today, of which Take-Two is a part. That doesn't quite recover to its high point of $138 in late September, but it's close considering the stock only steadily entered the triple-digits over the last year.
The most precipitous fall came in mid-October, just after an interview with Dan Houser kicked off criticism about Rockstar's development culture and crunch. He later clarified that he was only referring to the long hours of himself and a few other senior writers, but the criticism persisted. The company allowed developers to speak openly and at least one studio called a meeting to explicitly tell employees that overtime isn't mandatory. Just yesterday Kotaku published an in-depth investigative piece regarding crunch at the studio.
Positive reviews appear to be serving as a shot in the arm for the company stock. The game has scored an aggregate score of 97 on GameSpot sister site Metacritic, earning it a "Must Play" designation. In GameSpot's Red Dead Redemption 2 review, critic Kallie Plagge said that despite being a prequel, Red Dead 2 stands on its own.
"Red Dead Redemption 2 is an excellent prequel, but it's also an emotional, thought-provoking story in its own right, and it's a world that is hard to leave when it's done," she said.
Everyone, including Ralph Breaks the Internet's new character Yesss, knows the first rule of the internet: Don't read the comments. Yesss, played by Taraji P. Henson, dispenses that wisdom to Ralph when the big guy stumbles into the comments room in the upcoming sequel. The scene raises a question: If you're not supposed to read the comments, why have a comments room at all? Because that's just how the internet works, as envisioned by the minds at Disney Animation.
Of course, Ralph (John C. Reilly) and his good pal Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) have to actually get to the internet before Ralph can break it. The original Wreck-It Ralph centered on the duo's arcade, which was grounded in the real, offline world. But in Ralph 2, Mr. Litwak (Ed O'Neill) buys a router, and that gives Ralph and Vanellope the fiber-optics highway they need to get online. With that concept in place, Disney had its work cut out: What is the internet like in the world of Wreck-It Ralph?
For inspiration, they looked to a real world hub of the internet: 1 Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles. This building is apparently a crossroads for all the internet traffic in North America--it all passes through 1 Wilshire. "This building is literally filled from top to bottom with wires and boxes," said Ralph Breaks the Internet co-director Rich Moore. "It was this research trip that began to inspire our version of what the internet might look like."
They took the look of 1 Wilshire, with all its multicolored wires, tubes, motherboards, and blinking servers, and combined it with the architecture and layout of a city, the endless screens of Times Square, and the signage and personality of an average street. The next step was natural: "If the internet was a city, the buildings would be the websites," said Matthias Lechner, the art director on environments.
So in the city of the internet, each website has its own building. That makes sense. But like the TARDIS, those buildings are bigger on the inside. "When you go in, much like the arcade games, they have their own world that's kind of abstract," said head of environments Larry Wu. Those worlds consist of things like, in the example of eBay, hundreds and thousands of auction booths where users are bidding on various items.
The environments team showed us an early test render that included tons of internet features, translated for the movie's cityscape language. "If you enter a travel website you get handed free cookies, and the website is made of suitcases," Lechner described. "There's somebody hashtagging with a spraycan on the wall. Somebody's cleaning up a data leak. These clocks in the center here are the loading wheel that you would find on your computer--because in my mind, the time you spend between websites is basically the time it would take to load on your computer. I'm trying to find some kind of logic in it."
Ralph Breaks the Internet features 150 master sets (what the studio calls unique environments where the characters spend some time) and 5,736 unique assets, most of them concentrated in the movie's conception of the internet. In a given wide shot of the "city," there are 100,000 disparate elements.
"The internet is building on top of itself all the time, right? So down at the bottom we might have a Myspace or a Netscape, but then like, Google has just been going and going and going, so it might be one of the biggest buildings in the internet," said head of characters and technical animation Dave Komorowski.
"In reality, the internet consists of the surface web, which is what you can reach through your browser or is searchable, and then there's the deep web, and the deep web is actually quite boring--it's archives, software, things behind paywalls, this kind of stuff that you can't just reach through a simple click in your browser," described Lechner.
Underneath that is the dark web. "We imagine that our city is basically floating above this big abyss, which is the deep web, and at the very bottom of it, we imagine that all the discarded and outdated stuff sort of collects at the bottom," Lechner continued. "So you've got the Dial-Up Express, for example, which can only move as fast as the loading bars, that was the old transportation. And then if you take an encrypted elevator underground, there's a small area, the seedy underbelly of the internet, and this is where the users are all anonymous, where you can meet a lot of tricksters and viruses, and Ralph really shouldn't be there."
Residents of the Net
Anonymous or otherwise, it's not just internet users like you and me who populate Wreck-It Ralph 2's online metropolis. This world is full of characters, only half of whom are net users. The other half are Netizens, who fill a very different role.
The visual inspiration for the net users that represent real people were iOS app icons and the avatars that we create in various games and apps, according to production designer Cory Loftis. They're square-ish beings of uniform shape and size who seem deliberately customized--they're basically all the same, with different outfits, haircuts, and accessories.
Then there are the Netizens, the internet's native population. They're how things get done. "If you send an email, one of them is going to deliver it in a mail truck," Loftis said. "If you put something in your shopping cart, one of these Netizens is going to push that shopping cart to the check-out line and check you out. They are basically fulfilling all of the actions that you're performing on a website. They're kind of the worker bees of the internet."
And they have personality. "They're thinking beings. They're sick of us," chuckled Komorowski, the head of characters and technical animation. "We irritate them, I think."
The filmmakers had to consider so many things--like how do user characters react to stimuli like users moving their mouse around? How is that cursor movement represented within the internet's world in the first place? How do different residents of the net get around? (Netizens can travel freely, while users are ferried from site to site in self-driving cars.) What would something as simple as a user browsing for items on Amazon or searching for tacos on Yelp look like?
Another important question for the movie's story team: How are memes made? Are there production lines of Netizens churning out viral content? Is there a meme factory that automatically generates random combinations of words? Or does Yesss simply design them all by hand?
The production team showed us tests they created early on, not for use in the final film, but as proofs of concept. Users carried out their actions while Netizens scrambled around to fulfill them. There's always a funny twist, like the user getting distracted by a video on their phone halfway through checkout, or texting and driving while a GPS Netizen is trying to give them directions.
There are also specialized Netizens who stand out from the worker bees, like the character Yesss, who was designed to be someone who's so cool you actually believe she's an authority on every trend in existence. The search engine KnowsMore is another example. Design-wise, he started out as a lightbulb or an owl, before the production team landed on the humanoid, professorial Netizen in the final movie. There are even construction worker Netizens who are in charge of updates when a site goes under construction.
Not every website needed a specialized Netizen, though. "We went to a lot of websites to see what you actually do on there," Loftis said. "Like Twitter, there's not a lot going on when you go on there. You're pretty much typing your message and you're sending it out to the world. So we didn't feel like there was really a place for Netizens to live in there. What would they be doing? Like, you could imagine they were keeping coops of birds or something like that, but we were like, 'No, it's simpler just to have the birds deliver the tweets themselves.'"
"And we went through that with every single website," he continued. "We tried to think about what you're actually doing, what function is being done by the user, and what would the Netizen be doing? So we tailor-made those Netizens for each particular website, because each of them is a little bit different."
This movie's title promises that Ralph is going to break the internet, and for that to ultimately be meaningful, the internet has to be a place we develop some connection to in the film. Disney tried to strike a balance between real-world logic and the amount of whimsy that the story actually required.
"I think we had a phase in the beginning where we probably got too technical, because after you do the research, all the things that you learned, you want to put in the movie," said Lechner, the art director on environments. "But then just by story needs, you figure out what you need and what you don't need. The thing is, we didn't really build the internet. Everybody knows the internet, and it's not [a city]. So at some point, the city just becomes itself, and you just have to make it believable and make the audience buy it."
It may not be our internet, but if the filmmakers have accomplished their goal, it could be a place we enjoy even more. Ralph Breaks the Internet hits theaters November 21. If you want to learn more about it, check out how the movie doesn't shy away from the internet's dark side, or our condensed list of everything we learned about the movie from Disney.
Jump Force, the fighting game featuring a variety of characters from the popular Japanese manga anthology Shonen Jump, now has a release date. Bandai Namco has announced that it will release on February 15 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
The date was revealed as part of Paris Games Week, and appropriately enough, the game also debuted a new Paris stage. The new trailer shows a fight between Ryo from City Hunter and Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star battling it out in the famous city, complete with some of its most iconic landmarks.
Jump Force is a who's who of popular anime and manga characters. The newly revealed box art features Goku, Naruto, and Luffy. Some characters, like those from Death Note, are presented to further the story but not playable. The game appears similar to Dragon Ball FighterZ from Bandai Namco, which focused strictly on Dragon Ball characters.
Dragon Ball FighterZ was a smash success for Bandai Namco, as well as a critical standout. Part of that is the distinct visual style that captured the heart of the anime, but it's also a solid competitive fighting game in its own right. In GameSpot's review, critic Peter Brown said it was much more than a nostalgia trip.
"Where past games attempted to get there through huge character rosters and deliberately predictable trips down memory lane, FighterZ has bottled the essence of what makes the series' characters, animation, and sense of humor so beloved and reconfigured it into something new: a Dragon Ball fighting game that can go toe-to-toe with the best of the genre," he said.
The finals for the 2018 Mae Young Classic is coming to WWE's next PPV, Evolution, the first all-women's event in the history of the company. In addition, the show will also be bringing back some of its legendary wrestlers from the past couple of decades.
Evolution comes to the WWE Network on Sunday, October 28 at 4 PM PT / 7 PM ET / 11 PM GMT. At this time, we're unsure if a Kickoff Show will open up the show an hour prior. WWE's Evolution will be held at NYCB Live in Uniondale, New York. If you're in the area, tickets are still available for the upcoming event. If you want to check out the event for yourself, you can subscribe to WWE's streaming service for $10 a month, or sign up for a free month and cancel at any time with no obligation.
Thus far, everything on the card is straight fire. The glorious pirate Kairi Sane and her amazing elbow drop continues her rivalry with the Queen of Spades, Shayna Baszler, for the NXT Championship. Also, Charlotte gets a rematch for the Smackdown Women's Championship against the super-arrogant--and super-wonderful--Becky Lynch in a Last Woman Standing match, and the buildup to that match has been phenomenal over the past few weeks.
As of this writing, there are only five matches on the card. There is a week left to go before the show, but we'll keep you updated as more matches are announced.
Evolution Match Card:
16-Woman Battle Royal
Sasha Banks, Bayley & Natalya vs. The Riott Squad
Toni Storm vs. Io Shirai (Mae Young Classic 2018 Finals)
Kairi Sane (c) vs. Shayna Baszler (NXT Championship)
Trish Stratus & Lita vs. Alexa Bliss & Mickie James
Becky Lynch (c) vs. Charlotte Flair (Last Woman Standing Match for the Smackdown Championship)
Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Nikki Bella (Raw Championship)
Entrants in the Battle Royal:
Asuka
Naomi
Carmella
Nia Jax
Ember Moon
Alicia Fox
Dana Brooke
Lana
Billie Kay
Peyton Royce
Mandy Rose
Sonya Deville
Tamina
Torrie Wilson.
Michelle McCool
Alundra Blayze
Ivory
Molly Holly
Kelly Kelly
Maria Kanellis
Zelina Vega
Make sure to come back to GameSpot on Sunday, October 28 for live coverage of the event.
Fallout 76 is a very different kind of Fallout game, with a new focus on multiplayer across a massive open world. Bethesda is putting it through its paces with a beta test releasing very soon, and you can join in to help explore the wastes and gather technical feedback before its official launch. However, while pre-ordering is your ticket to the beta, it won't necessarily get you in quickly. Here's everything to know about the beta.
When does the beta start?
The beta for Fallout 76 began on October 23 on Xbox One, and then expand to PC and PlayStation 4 the following week on October 30. Pre-loading for the Xbox One version is now available. Upcoming sessions are planned for October 27 and 28, as detailed in our Fallout 76 beta schedule guide.
Even if you've received a code, though, you may not necessarily be invited to the first wave. Bethesda plans to start small to stress test the game and expand slowly, so your actual start date may vary.
A separate pre-beta stress test also took place starting on October 13. That one was exclusive to Xbox One Insiders who have pre-ordered the game, and even then fulfilling those criteria only entered them into the pool of possible participants. Players of this stress test were under NDA and unlike the beta, game progress was not saved.
How long will the beta last?
Bethesda has not given a specific end-date for the beta, but it has explained that the servers won't be available 24/7 during the beta period. The studio says it will be running "targeted time frames" to force interested players together at the same time, which in turn will mark a better technical test. The game may be available for 4-8 hours on any given day, with Bethesda making adjustments and fixes during the off periods. This process will repeat until a few days before launch on November 14.
How do I get in?
The beta will be available exclusively for those who pre-order the game across PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. Digital pre-orders will be entered into the pool automatically, while physical pre-orders will receive a code to enter into the accounts page once the beta has gone live on your platform of choice.
It's important to note that this code is not the beta code you enter to access the actual game download. Instead, the pre-order code is the one you enter into Bethesda's system to be put into the pool for code distribution. A separate code, which gives you access to the install, will follow at a later time as Bethesda rolls out its invites.
In the meantime, you can be sure you're prepared by creating a free Bethesda.net login. Also, make sure you have an active Xbox Live Gold or PlayStation Plus membership if you're playing on either console, since those will be required to access the online-only game.
Is the beta the full game?
The Fallout 76 beta is the full experience, and Bethesda says it is currently planning to allow players to carry progress over into the full game. However, console players will need to redownload the launch version, whereas PC players will not need to download a new version upon launch. The beta will be 45 GB.
How do I submit feedback?
Bethesda is inviting feedback across its variety of social media channels.
What else will I get for pre-ordering?
Aside from beta access, pre-ordering will get you 500 Atoms--Fallout 76's in-game currency. Atoms allow you to purchase cosmetic items from the shop. Bethesda has indicated that Atoms will be plentiful, but as we haven't seen the shop or prices yet, it's hard to say just how far 500 Atoms will go.
Call of Duty is the first major shooter franchise to wade into the thickening fray that is the battle royale genre in an attempt to dethrone the existing favorites: PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and Fortnite. The new Blackout battle royale mode in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 makes a strong case for the ascendance of Call of Duty in the genre, too. Blackout takes a lot of things that have become signature elements of battle royale, like last-player-standing matches, huge maps, randomized weapons, and careful gameplay, and tightens up the formula with the solid mechanics and polish for which the franchise has become famous.
That doesn't mean that Blackout has won the battle royale melee just for showing up, though. Yes, developer Treyarch has made a lot of great improvements to things players are used to seeing in PUBG, Fortnite, H1Z1, and others, but it's by no means perfect. Blackout relies heavily on players' existing knowledge of other battle royale games, for instance. It introduces a lot of new systems without giving much explanation about how they work, like other battle royale games, without acknowledging that with its huge audience, it's probably introducing many players to the genre for the first time. And it's still following the lead of the games that have come before it.
Blackout is a fun mode with a lot to love. The question is, can it last, especially as more and more developers chase the battle royale trend? Here are five ways that Treyarch could improve Blackout to help it become the last battle royale game standing.
Make It Easier For New Players To Learn The Game
The great thing about Call of Duty games, and one of the things that's helped make the franchise so enduring and popular, is that they're generally very easy to pick up and play. Hopping into a standard Deathmatch game in any Call of Duty doesn't require too much background knowledge for reasonably seasoned players. You don't need to know the pros and cons of every gun, for example, to be a solid fighter, because the game provides you with loadouts that make it easy to get a sense of what works for you and what doesn't.
By its very nature, the battle royale genre upends this thinking. It's inherently a more complex concept. Spending time trying out new equipment comes at the high price, since matches are longer and more involved. In any given game, you need to know where to deploy or try to deploy; what equipment you actually need to survive and to fight; what "circle collapses" are and how they work; and how to actually engage enemies. Yet Blackout gives very little information or explanation to new players about the mode and how it works. Call of Duty has the power to bring a huge number of people to the battle royale genre yet squanders it by chasing the audience of players who already play those kinds of games. It's a huge missed opportunity.
Make Blackout More Accessible For The Less Hardcore
Continuing the last point, the folks at Treyarch could stand to try to make Blackout clearer and more accessible beyond the first couple of matches. Most of the games in the battle royale genre can already be tough to break into and understand. Not only are there things new players have to learn basically with zero assistance when they start these games, but these games are full of intricate systems and mechanics whose uses and benefits aren't very clear, even when you've built up some experience in the game.
Blackout is already a little better than most games at getting you acclimated. Hovering the cursor over weapons and equipment on the inventory screen gives players some (very brief) insights into their types, uses, strengths, and weaknesses. But you'll learn little or nothing about things like just how useful adding grips to your gun can be, or what differences to expect between 5.56 and .45 ammo. Some players and streamers even take to Reddit and YouTube to figure out all the little details about how guns, armor, and equipment in these games work--and that level of dedication inherently leaves more casual players, who don't have the time to research bullet drop or recoil reduction, on the outs. Blackout has the opportunity to make a more inviting battle royale game that's easier to understand, no matter whether you play one match a week or 50.
Audio Needs An Overhaul
A key part of battle royale is sound, especially when playing solo. Players are alone on the a vast island in Blackout, with only their wits and whatever they can scavanage, and often they can rely only on their senses to locate other players and protect themselves. In most battle royale games, sound is more important than just about anything else, because hearing other players walking, driving vehicles, or fighting one another is often the only information you can get about where they are and whether you're in danger.
Blackout currently seems to have two problems with audio. First, the sound in Blackout can be frustrating when you're relying on it. Your own footsteps and actions are very loud, while sounds from other players can be excruciating to hear and pin down. This does make the Awareness perk, which boosts your ability to hear sounds from other players, a lot more valuable, but it shouldn't be quite so hard to hear who's sneaking up on you in the first place.
On top of that, other players have complained about issues in which sound doesn't always work correctly in Blackout, or comes out of the wrong speaker or headphone channel; a player might be approaching you from the left, but you're hearing it coming from the right, for instance. That's an element that needs to be fixed in Blackout if it's going to have longevity. Even without focusing on a major problem like that, though, audio could use some work in the future to make it more viable for players to use their senses to survive.
More Zombies!
Blackout sets itself apart from the rest of the battle royale genre with a lot of little Call of Duty-type elements--like the addition of undead enemies carried over from the Zombies mode. In certain areas, your sneaking and looting can be halted by zombies popping up and trying to murder you. Right now, though, you could play several matches of Blackout and never come across a zombie. Even if you did, you'd likely never really have a need to be afraid of them, since they're easily avoided and not especially dangerous. Zombies in Blackout are little more than a novelty, but they could be a lot more.
Just simply putting zombies in more locations would instantly create a totally different battle royale dynamic, creating a middle ground between existing battle royale and Call of Duty's Zombies mode. We saw something in this vein with the Blackout beta, in which Treyarch included a zombie boss character players could encounter, and take down, during matches. Treyarch could get even more creative with zombies; the developer could add them to popular locations that see the most players at the start of every match, while smaller, more hidden locations could be safer, changing up players' incentives when they first start a match. Or the number of zombies filling the map could be more reactive to where players die. Zombie populations could climb as the circle closes, or they could pick up speed and strength as it tightens, making being caught outside the circle even more harrowing than it already is.
There are a lot of possibilities to make zombies a bigger part of the Blackout experience, even if those possibilities are relegated to additional game type options separate from the standard Blackout competition.
Lead, Don't Follow
Blackout does a great job of taking the existing battle royale formula and improving upon it. Perks, weapon selection, improved mechanics, zombies, and streamlined gameplay are all great additions that make playing Blackout familiar yet different. But they all also feel like somewhat superfluous renovations to someone else's building. Blackout is very similar to the current top battle royale titles, and because of that, it feels like it's chasing the current leaders, rather than searching for a path of its own.
Blackout has identified some of the problems of other battle royale titles and fixed them, while also putting a bit of a Call of Duty spin on the whole idea. Going forward, however, Call of Duty needs to do more than just turn out a Call of Duty version of PUBG. What exact shape that might take is tough to guess at, but in a field that's quickly filling up with battle royale options, as well as copycats and knockoffs, it's going to take more than polish and improvements for Blackout to keep players invested long-term.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is due out in mere hours, and those who haven't put down their pre-order may still be wondering which platform to play it on. To that end, tech specialists have completed their analysis and concluded that pound for pound, Xbox One X delivers the most picturesque version of the Old West.
According to the Digital Foundry analysis, the Xbox One X runs natively at 4K while the PlayStation 4 Pro uses a reconstruction technique to output in 4K. If you don't own either of those high-end machines, though, the PlayStation 4 runs at standard 1080p, versus 864p for the Xbox One S. The lower-end Xbox is the worst performing console in the test, with textures that are said to be blurry and grainy.
The frame-rate for Red Dead 2 also stands out on Xbox One, with a locked 30fps that outpaces the occasional dropped frames in busy areas like towns. Both of the base consoles are said to hit the low 20s at times when visiting high-density cities. In this respect a base PlayStation 4 performs slightly worse than Xbox One. The two more powerful consoles deliver higher quality textures on characters and clothing, and there doesn't appear to be a difference in terms of foliage and landscapes. On the whole the analysis concludes that the Xbox One X wins by a "considerable margin."
Meanwhile RDR2 reviews have started to roll into town. GameSpot's Kallie Plagge praised the prequel as surprising all on its own. "Red Dead Redemption 2 is an excellent prequel, but it's also an emotional, thought-provoking story in its own right, and it's a world that is hard to leave when it's done," she wrote.
With October ending, subscribers to the streaming service Hulu are probably wondering what is coming in November, including new TV series and movies. Starting on the first of next month, there is a ton of new content coming to the service; however, there are plenty of movies leaving as well.
The first of the month is when Hulu dumps plenty of new movies, including 28 Days Later. In the 2002 film, director Danny Boyle puts a new spin on the zombie franchise by having the infected run, which created a terrifying atmosphere for the movie's characters and the audience watching. Sure, it's not technically a zombie movie--as those afflicted with the disease become filled with rage and are reduced to a primal state--but it's still one of the best mass-infection movies of the 21st century.
Additionally, all three movies in the original Ocean's franchise hit the streaming service, along with the James Bond film Dr. No, the ridiculous alien invasion movie The Faculty, and the super-extreme XXX. All of these movies will be available to watch on November 1.
On November 15, Hulu is rolling out some Christmas movies to prepare you for the upcoming holiday season, including A Christmas Kiss II and A Puppy For Christmas. No, we've never heard of these movies either, but who wouldn't want a puppy for Christmas?
November 30 is the date when lots of movies are leaving Hulu, so you may want to take note and check out movies like Escape from New York, American Psycho, and The Terminator. The full list of everything coming and going from Hulu is listed below.
Here's What's Coming To Hulu In November
Available November 1
K: Complete Season 2 (Dubbed) (Viz)
Sailor Moon: Complete Season 3 (Dubbed) (Viz)
Six: Complete Season 2 (History)
10 to Midnight (1983)
28 Days Later (2002)
2001 Maniacs (2005)
The Accused (1988)
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)
A Fairly Odd Christmas (2012)
A Fistful of Dynamite (1972)
A View to Kill (1985)
Albert (2016)
Alice (1990)
Amelie (2001)
Bachelor Party (1984)
Barbie Mariposa and Her Butterfly Fairy Friends (2008)
Barbie The Pearl Princess (2014)
The Big Lebowski (1998)
The Birdcage (1997)
Benny & Joon (1993)
Blue Chips (1994
Boo 2! A Medea Halloween (2017
Candyman 3: Day of the Dead (1999
Carnage Park (2016
De-Lovely (2004
Death Wish (1974
Death Wish 3 (1985
Death Wish IV: The Crackdown (1987
Desperate Hours (1990
Diamonds are Forever (1971
Die Another Day (2002
Dr. No (1962)
Dysfunktional Family (2003)
Existenz (1999)
The Faculty (1998)
For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Four Rooms (1995)
From Russia with Love (1964)
Gloria (2014)
Goldeneye (1995)
Goldfinger (1964)
Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969)
Happy Christmas (2014)
Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992)
Hellraiser IV: Bloodline (1996)
Hoosiers (1986)
Hostel (2006)
Hostel 2 (2007)
The Interpreter (2005)
Invasion U.S.A. (1985)
Italian for Beginners (2000)
Jane Eyre (2011)
Joey (1988)
Johnny Reno (1966)
K2 (1991)
Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
License to Kill (1989)
Like Water (2012)
Little Black Book (2004)
Little Man Tate (1991)
Little Odessa (1994)
Live and Let Die (1973)
The Living Daylights (1987)
Lord of War (2005)
Made (2001)
The Magnificent Seven Ride (1972)
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
Map of the Human Heart (1992)
The Mighty (1998)
Missing in Action II: The Beginning (1985)
The Mod Squad (1999)
Moonraker (1979)
Mullholland Falls (1996)
Never Back Down (2008)
Never Say Never Again (1983)
Ninja III: The Domination (1984)
Ocean's Eleven (2001)
Ocean's Twelve (2004)
Ocean's Thirteen (2007)
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
Phantoms (1998)
Pleasantville (1998)
Radio Days (1987)
The Red Violin (1999)
Rescue Dawn (2006)
Revenge of the Ninja (1983)
Rob Roy (1995)
Santa Hunters (2014)
Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993)
Soapdish (1991)
Soufra (2017)
Species: the Awakening (2007)
Supercop (1996)
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Thunderball (1965)
Tiny Christmas (2017)
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
Wicker Park (2004)
The World is Not Enough (1999)
XXX (2002)
XXX: State of the Union (2005)
You Only Live Twice (1967)
Available November 2
Into The Dark: Flesh & Blood: Episode 2 Premiere (Hulu Original)
Dietland: Complete Season 1 (AMC)
Wonder (2017)
Available November 3
Vanderpump Rules: Complete Season 6 (Bravo)
Kick-Ass (2010)
Larger Than Life (2018)
An Ordinary Man (2017)
Available November 6
Top Chef: Complete Season 15 (Bravo)
Available November 7
Europa Report (2013)
Available November 8
Under the Tree (2018)
Available November 9
Married With Children: Complete Seasons 1-11 (Sony)
Available November 10
Big Hero 6 (2014)
Available November 11
Monster's Ball (2001)
Available November 12
The Little Death (2014)
The Wolfpack (2015)
Available November 13
Bigfoot (2018)
Keepers of the Magic (2018)
Killer Bees (2018)
Available November 15
Hip-hop Houdini: Complete Season 1 (Fuse)
12 Dog Days Till Christmas (2014)
A Christmas Kiss II (2011)
A Cinderella Christmas (2016)
A Dogwalker's Christmas Tale (2015)
A Puppy for Christmas (2016)
Angels in the Snow (2015)
Back to Christmas (2014)
Cartel Land (2015)
Christmas Belle (2013)
Christmas with the Andersons (2016)
Dust 2 Glory (2018)
Girlfriends of Christmas Past (2016)
Holly's Holiday (2012)
Luis & The Aliens (2018)
Married by Christmas (2016)
My Dad is Scrooge (2014)
My Santa (2013)
Naughty & Nice (2014)
Rodeo & Juliet (2015)
The Bank Job (2008)
The Christmas Calendar (2017)
The March Sisters at Christmas (2012)
The Secret of the Nutcracker (2007)
Available November 16
The Bisexual: Complete Season 1 Premiere(Hulu Original)
Holly Hobbie: Complete Season 1 (Hulu Original)
Dept. Q: A Conspiracy of Faith (2016)
Dept Q: The Absent One (2016)
Dept. Q: The Keeper of Lost Causes (2016)
Available November 18
Nina's World: Complete Season 2 (Universal Kids)
Hero ("Ying Xiong") (2002)
The Condemned (2007)
Available November 20
Aliens and Agenda 21 (2018)
Available November 21
Box of Moonlight (1997)
Damascus Cover (2018)
Available November 22
Hollywood Game Night: Season 6 Premiere (NBC)
Available November 23
Baskets: Complete Season 3 (FX)
Available November 24
Downsizing (2017)
Available November 28
Best of Enemies (2015)
Available November 29
Mighty Magiswords: Complete Season 1B (Cartoon Network)
Red Dead Redemption 2 is set to be one of the biggest video game launches of the year, and you can read all about it in our Red Dead 2 review. For years now Rockstar Games has created huge, compelling worlds and filled them with activities that span the gamut, from the weird and wonderful missions of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Bully to the drug-addled stumble through chaos and destruction that is Max Payne 3.
Then there's the deliberate and considered investigation gameplay of L.A. Noire, the more grounded realism of Grand Theft Auto IV, and the focus on characterisation--both of place and person--in Grand Theft Auto V. All of this has allowed Rockstar Games' various studios to accumulate a wealth of experience in different game design disciplines. And it seems that all of that experience is now being poured into one game: Red Dead Redemption 2.
In the first episode of Quickdraw, a new weekly series dedicated to Red Dead Redemption 2, we explore Rockstar's history, taking a look at some of its biggest games up until this point to find the gameplay strands that have been weaved together to form the DNA of Red Dead Redemption 2. Check it out in the video above.
Once you're done watching, we've got plenty more Red Dead Redemption 2 for you to immerse yourself in. You can watch us discuss our experience with the game in our Red Dead Redemption 2 preview and we also recounted some of the strange encounters we had while playing it. We also recently got some insight into how Red Dead Redemption 2's health and Core systems work; these are important to main character Arthur Morgan's development, so it's worth reading up on.
Red Dead Redemption 2 launches on October 26, 2018 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. You can find out about all that in this Red Dead Redemption 2 pre-order guide and see the timed exclusive DLC here.
Fortnite's Halloween event this year has kicked off in style with "Fortnitemares," an ongoing world event that offers special challenges and spooky cosmetic items. With the release of today's new update, the event is live across both the Battle Royale and Save the World modes, so no matter which flavor of Fortnite you prefer you can find something to do. Here's everything you need to know about the new event.
What Is It?
Fortnitemares is an ongoing event lasting from October 23-November 26, introduced in the patch update 6.20. It offers exclusive cosmetic items and special world events with new enemies, including lots to do across its two modes.
In a special playlist in the the PvP mode Battle Royale, you'll face off against cube monsters that operate very similarly to the Save the World zombie-like creatures. The mysterious Cube spawned this legion of AI cube monsters, which will attack you if you get too close. Defeating them can get you some random loot and shield power. This is notably the first time the PvP mode has been invaded by AI enemies. Completing special challenges, some of which focus on defeating these AI enemies, can earn you a whole new type of cosmetic items and some special gear. There's also a limited-time weapon you can use; you can read about all of this in the patch notes.
Separately, in the PvE Save the World mode, Hexsylvania returns with new story quests. Just logging onto Save the World during the Fortnitemares event will earn you some skins. Save the World isn't going free-to-play this year as previously planned, but founder's packs are currently half-priced.
Fortnitemares Battle Royale Challenges
Fortnitemare challenges are set to alternate every few days through the end of the event period, so you'll have to check back often to maximize your rewards. Currently the first set of challenges is live. Many are self-explanatory, but click below for more detailed guides on more complex challenges.
Destroy Cube Monsters (200) -- 500 XP
Deal damage with Assault Rifles or Pistols to Cube Monsters (5,000) -- 500 XP
Visit a Corrupted Area in different matches (7) -- 500 XP
The biggest new addition to Fortnitemares are the permanent rewards, including a whole new type of cosmetic. The centerpiece is the new Deadfire skin, a "reactive skin" that changes based upon your play in a given match that will cost you 2,000 V-Bucks. It's joined by the Shackled Stone Back Bling and Dark Shard pickaxe (1,200 V-Bucks), which are both "reactive cosmetics."
Alongside this skin, Epic has also introduced the Shackled Stone Back Bling to go along with it, and the Dark Shard pickaxe can also be found in the in-game store. Both of these items are called "reactive cosmetics." The Deadfire skin is available for 2,000 V-Bucks, while the Dark Shard harvesting tool costs 1,200 V-Bucks.
The 6.20 update also added a new Six Shooter weapon, and the ability to redeploy Gliders.
Epic has detailed the contents of Fortnite's 6.20 update, complete with patch notes and it's quite a substantial one. The big ticket item in today's update is the launch of "Fortnitemares," the game's Halloween-themed event. This coincides with the release of new Halloween skins and challenges, as well as a makeover for the rocket launcher as the Pumpkin Rocket Launcher. [Update: After being disabled due to technical issues, Fortnitemares is back online.]
"Explore all of the tasty treats, exciting appearances, and new looks," Epic Games says about the event. "During Fortnitemares, you'll face off against Cube Monsters in a whole new way of playing Battle Royale. There are new weapons to fight back against these creepy creatures, like the Six Shooter and Fiend Hunter Crossbow.
"Take out the Cube Fiends and Fragments to pick up loot, and survive against enemy players." Interestingly, Fortnitemares seems to blur the line between the Battle Royale mode and Save The World mode by giving players zombie-like enemies to fend off.
The other major additions to Fortnite's Battle Royale mode is the Six Shooter, a new weapon. This uses Medium ammo and can be shot more quickly from the hip, or more slowly (with added precision) by aiming down sights. The aforementioned Fiend Hunter Crossbow is a limited-time item tied to the event.
Also new in Battle Royale is the ability to redeploy Gliders. Epic has said it is currently testing this functionality in all Battle Royale game modes, but only for a limited time. In Playground, there's a new pirate ship minigame as well as "other fun additions" alongside changes to the Spiky Stadium. Take a look at the full Fortnite update 6.20 patch notes below, courtesy of Epic.
Season 6 of Fortnite has been pretty dark and spooky throughout thanks to the "Darkness Rises" theme. Because of this, many of the new skins and cosmetics are quite creepy, like the Dire Wolf skin that evolves as you level it up. For more Halloween events in video games, check out our Halloween roundup.
General
Social
The Social List has been completely redesigned. This is the first of many steps toward improving the social experience within Fortnite. Expect more frequent updates and improvements to this experience over the coming weeks.
The main Social List has received new art, animations, and flow.
The Social List button has moved to the left side of the screen and can now be directly accessed with a controller.
Controller and Touch support has been improved.
Party Finder has been removed
All previous Party Finder functionality has moved to the new Social List.
Places that used to open Party Finder now open the new Social List.
Known Issues
The Fortnitemares cinematic video will not play on the Nintendo Switch platform.
Battle Royale
Limited Time Event: Fortnitemares
The Cube strikes back, bringing Fortnitemares to Battle Royale! Drop in and discover what the Cube has unleashed.
Cube Fragments spawn Cube Monsters! Drop in and discover the different types.
Large Cube Fragments are found near corrupted areas of the island.
Small Cube Fragments are created randomly throughout the match.
Cube Fiends, Brutes, and Fragments all have a chance to drop loot.
Defeating a Cube Fiend or Brute will grant a small amount of shield.
Fiend Hunter Crossbow added. Fortnitemare Limited time weapon.
Available in Epic variant.
40 base damage
1.8 shots per second.
4x damage against Fiends
Seven Arrow magazine size, unlimited ammo.
Can be found from floor loot, chests and Vending Machines.
Playground
New Port-A grenades are now available in Vending Machines at the southern edge of Loot Lake. The Port-A-Challenge set includes the Building Challenge, Obstacle Course, and Firing Range minigames. There's four of each type with varying difficulty.
The Spiky Stadium makes a return with a brand new respawn system and Vending Machines to provide all the necessary grenades. Finally, there's the Port-A-Pirateship mini-game. This grenade spawns a re-creation of the minigame shown off by SXVXN!
Port-A-Challenge
Obstacle Course
Collect the tokens and avoid the obstacles while honing your building skills.
Building Challenge
Build the structure as fast as possible.
Firing Range
Take out as many dummies as you can within the time limit.
Spiky Stadium v2
Once inside the new Spiky Stadium, players will respawn at designated spawn points inside the playspace.
Vending machines provide grenades and Traps to allow you to customize your play.
Port-A-Pirateship
A re-creation of the minigame shown off by SXVXN.
Spawns two large wooden Pirate ships.
The minigame will split players into two teams, with the goal of destroying the other team's ship.
Port-A-Pirateship Ironclad Edition
Spawns two large metal Pirate ships.
Grenades and Rockets are provided for maximum destruction
New Vending Machines have been added across the map to provide more Traps and weapons.
A new respawn button has been added to the in-game player menu.
Weapons + Items
Six Shooter added.
Available in Uncommon, Rare and Epic variants.
34 / 36 / 38 base damage.
Shoot from the hip for faster fire rate, or trade rate of fire for precision by aiming down the sight
Uses Medium Ammo.
Can be found from floor loot, chests and Vending Machines.
The Rocket Launcher is now the Pumpkin Rocket Launcher.
This is a visual only change.
Hand Cannon balance changes.
Increased damage to structures.
Epic - From 79 to 150
Legendary - From 83 to 157
Increased minimum long-range body shot damage.
Epic - From 30 to 50
Legendary - From 31 to 52
Increased minimum long-range head shot damage.
Epic - From 60 to 100
Legendary - From 62 to 104
Stink Bomb
Increased chance to find from floor loot by 0.2%
Increased chance to find from Chests by 1.7%
Gameplay
The Glider Redeploy functionality that's available in the Soaring Limited Time Modes can now be used in all game modes. Help us test this feature and let us know what you think.
When in mid-air and greater than 10m up, press Jump to deploy your glider.
Weapons now reload upon respawn in modes that keep the player's inventory.
Storm Changes
Wait time for phase 3 has been reduced from 120 seconds to 90 seconds.
Wait time for phase 5 has been reduced from 70 seconds to 50 seconds.
Late game moving circles will now immediately begin traveling to a new location after it reaches its current destination.
Storm's maximum damage has been reduced from 10 to 8.
Players will now take 2 damage per second while in the Down But Not Out state instead of 2 damage every 2 seconds.
Maximum time in the DBNO state reduced from 100 seconds to 50 seconds if no friendly player attempts to revive you.
Bug Fixes
Removing ability to rocket ride Quad Launcher rockets.
Fixes streaming issues on low-end iOS devices.
Audio
Added unique sounds when cycling through Traps.
Removed the in-air audio cue for Gliders that belong to friendly teammates.
Reduced volume of Dark Viking glider.
UI
Your name now always appears at the top of your squad list in-game.
Bug Fixes
When a Challenge bundle is delayed, it will now display as "Coming Soon" rather than "Unlocking in 0 seconds."
Chain quests in the Challenge bundles now show the current quest number in the chain over the total number of quests in the chain.
Example: 1/2, 2/3, etc.
Art + Animation
New variants added to the Musha and Hime Outfits that are part of the Bushido set.
No Challenges are needed to unlock these variants. If you own the Outfits they will be automatically unlocked.
Bug Fixes
Pets no longer get stuck floating in the air after their owner drives a vehicle off a jump.
Fixed Quadcrasher Jump Trick animation displays.
Changes in other players' aim and view directions are now smoother, both in-game and during replays.
Mobile
Better handling of larger memory Android devices (6 GB+)
Custom HUD Layout users can now toggle the visibility of buttons across Combat/Build modes.
Red - Hidden
Green - Visible
Blue - Does not affect visibility
Buttons will only be shown when they are relevant to the player, even when set to "visible".
Example: Buttons shown while holding a weapon will only be shown on screen while a weapon is being held.
The Combat/Build quickbar is now resizeable within Custom HUD Layout.
This includes extra buttons.
Players can now edit structures while in combat mode while holding any weapon.
Bug Fixes
The first weapon picked now properly equips automatically.
The weekly resets for Destiny 2 continue to roll out. As always, post-Forsaken, the latest of these refreshes the Ascendant Challenge that is available from Petra in the Dreaming City. For the second week in a row, we're seeing a repeat of an earlier Ascendant Challenge, and if this pattern holds, we can expect to see them released in the same order they initially debuted in. Below, you'll find a complete guide on where you need to go and what to do to complete this week's bounty to earn Powerful gear.
The Ascendant Challenge always involves you heading through a portal to the Ascendant Plane, but the particulars of what you're doing are entirely different from week to week. To start out, you'll need a consumable item called the Tincture of Queensfoil. With a Tincture in hand, make your way to the Garden of Esila area near the southernmost point of the map, as seen in the image below. Consuming the Tincture will provide you with the Ascendance buff that allows to see a Taken portal that's somewhat hidden on a cliffside. Jump in, and you'll be teleported to the Ascendant Plane's Forfeit Shrine.
Once you're there, you'll have to fend off Taken--or just avoid them--while trying to secure three Arc Charges around the area. Once you pick one up, head toward the center starting area, near the giant Blight ball. Walk into the bright point at the bottom to dunk the charge you're holding. Repeat the process two more times and you'll receive an endless supply of Super energy that will help you to kill all of the remaining Taken in the area. Once they're dealt with, you can complete the bounty (netting you Dark Fragments and Powerful gear) and open a chest.
Given that the bounty (not the chest) offers Powerful gear--a reliable way of increasing your Power level--this is an activity you'll definitely want to take part in once you're able. But bear in mind it is a challenge, so be sure to come prepared. It can be done solo, but having multiple teammates to grab charges and draw the enemies' attention can help immensely.
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