Another teaser trailer has been released for PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and Suicide Squad's crossover event. Although the video is much longer than the previous tease, it still doesn't offer much detail on what this PUBG event will entail.
In this new teaser, Joker and Harley work together to escape prison while dozens of police officers and soldiers attempt to stop them. The teaser does not reveal if Joker and Harley are facing other players or computer-controlled characters. However, the trailer does seem to imply that the upcoming PUBG event is a two-person vs. everyone else gametype, as opposed to the traditional free-for-all battle royale formula.
"Ok, honey. It's me and you."
Live on and play as two of your favorite Suicide Squad heroes, the Joker and Harley Quinn. Coming soon. pic.twitter.com/NWZhXaPBMz
There still hasn't been confirmation as to when this new PUBG event will start, or for how long it will last. However, Xbox teased that there would be "big PUBG news" during X018, so perhaps more concrete details about the Suicide Squad crossover will be announced during the event.
X018 is a global event that offers news, first looks, and surprises for games and features coming to Xbox consoles and services. Xbox has announced that the PUBG news, as well as further details for Shadow of the Tomb Raider's The Forge expansion and State of Decay 2 updates, is scheduled to air on Mixer starting at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET / 9 PM GMT.
Microsoft has added two more Xbox One backwards compatible games, and this time around they have a common theme. Both of the additions this week sport the Tom Clancy name, the Ubisoft-licensed brand based on the near-future military fiction author's work.
The new additions are the real-time strategy game EndWar and the jet combat game Hawx. EndWar used voice commands as its primary hook, letting you control the battlefield with your voice to replicate the feeling of being a military commander. Hawx was an arcade flight game set in a world in which private military contractors have replaced the standing military in most countries. Hawx was followed up by a sequel.
As always, if you already own either game you can play it on your Xbox One at no additional charge. Physical disc copies will initiate a download to let you play, and digital copies will appear in your Games and Apps menu. You can also pick them up digitally on the Microsoft Store.
Since announcing its backwards compatibility feature, Microsoft has added hundreds of Xbox 360 games and dozens of original Xbox games to the list. You can check out our full list of backwards compatible games to see what's available. Or, if you need some help sorting the wheat from the chaff, check out our picks of the best Xbox One backwards compatible games.
Don't look now, but Black Friday is barreling toward us like a freight train--a freight train that's full of deals. For 2018, Black Friday takes place on November 23, and while that might still be a few weeks from now, it's not too early to start planning. If you're in the market for a PS4 console, accessories, or games--whether it's a gift for someone else or a gift for yourself--you likely won't find lower prices at any other time of year. We've gathered all of the PlayStation 4 deals announced so far into one place so you can get the best deal on whatever it is you're looking for. We'll keep this article updated as more retailers announce their Black Friday plans, so check back later; for now, the big ad we've gotten is from Target.
When it comes to PS4 consoles, the best deal announced so far is from Target, whose doorbuster deal will get you a PlayStation 4 Slim 1TB and Spider-Man as a pack-in game for $200. That's a great deal, seeing as the console normally costs around $300 and Spider-Man costs $60. Alternately, you can get PlayStation 4 Slim 500 GB from Sam's Club for $229, but you'll need a membership.
In terms of accessories, another doorbuster Target will offer is a PlayStation VR bundle that comes with a camera, Move controllers, Creed: Rise to Glory, and Superhot VR, all for $250. Also, both Target and Kohl's will have DualShock 4 controllers available for $40.
By Anonymous on Nov 06, 2018 11:38 pm Join Erick and Ben as they check out Bulletstorm Full Clip Edition and Yakuza Kiwami the two free games for PS Plus members in November.
We've updated this post with the details for the second step of Destiny 2's Murder Mystery quest, which unlocked on November 6. How the quest shakes out remains to be seen, with another time-gated step probably unlocking with the next weekly reset on November 13. Here's what you need to know to complete the first two steps.
Destiny 2's Festival of the Lost as ended, but there's still one piece of Destiny's Halloween-themed event to go. It's a murder mystery quest line Bungie teased at the start of the Festival, in which players are tasked with figuring out what happened to Master Ives, the Cryptarch formerly seen in the Reef back in the first Destiny.
Ives' death is both a story point and, some Destiny 2 players suspect, a quest to get a new Exotic weapon. That gun is Thunderlord, a lightning-slinging machine gun from the original Destiny that hasn't shown up yet in the sequel, which recent datamining leaks have suggested is going to pop up in the Festival. It also seems from leaks the quest might take three weeks to complete--the first step unlocked on October 30 and the second on November 6.
So far, the quest to find Master Ives' killer does have the hallmarks of an Exotic quest line. To start it, head to Amanda Holliday in the Tower, where you'll receive Master Ives' journal. The pursuit item is colored gold, like other Exotic weapons quests, and requires players to search out the missing pages from Ives' diary out in the world.
Step 1: The Crytarch's Journal
Clearing that first step is actually pretty easy to accomplish. There are 10 pages to acquire, and players can get them either by finding Legendary engrams in various activities--including Gambit, the Crucible, Strikes, and everything else you already do in Destiny 2--or from killing tougher Fallen enemies in the EDZ on Earth.
Actually snagging all the pages is an easy feat to knock out if you head to the EDZ. You're looking for Fallen with orange-colored health bars, which are otherwise known as Elite bad guys. You need the orange enemies in particular; you won't get pages from Majors, who have yellow health bars, like the ones designated as high-value targets, for instance.
The quickest way to find Elite Fallen to kill in the EDZ is to find a public event and join it. The Glimmer Mining event that takes place in various places in the EDZ is a solid bet, especially if you knock it up to its Heroic level. You won't get a page for every Elite you kill, but the drop rate is pretty high--one or two public events should do it.
If you don't feel like messing around on Earth, you can also spend some shards at the Cryptarch in the Tower to quickly gather up the Legendary engrams you need to complete the step. That method will cost you 250 Legendary shards if you buy 10 engrams to get all 10 pages. Given how easy it is to get the pages in the EDZ or by earning Legendaries organically, though, you probably don't need to waste the shards.
Step 2: Hunting The Fallen
The second step is almost as quick and easy as the first. It returns you to the EDZ, this time to complete four Lost Sectors. You'll start with a batch of three that need cleaning out: Atrium, Widow's Walk, and Terminus East. If you're not familiar with the names, those are the three Lost Sectors located in the Trostland area of the EDZ.
You'll find Atrium in the church where Devrim Kay hangs out, Widow's Walk in the northwest corner of the area, and Terminus East in the northeast corner. Once you've wrecked the Major enemies in all three, you'll get a new step that directs you to yet another Lost Sector, called Whispered Falls.
Jump on your Sparrow and drive west to the Outskirts area, and look for the Lost Sector up in the hills in the west end of the area. It's north of the narrower portion of the map you drive through to access Winding Cove.
Kill the Major in Whispered Falls and you're done with the Murder Mystery for this week--as the Pursuit icon mentions in your inventory, the trail has gone cold. Presumably that means we'll be waiting until November 13 for the next (possibly concluding) step in the quest, which might finally add some actual murder, mystery, and story to the task.
The weekly reset has hit in Destiny 2, and along with the next stage of the murder mystery quest, that means Bungie has another Ascendant Challenge for Forsaken players to take one. This is actually a repeat of an earlier one seen during Week 4; it involves some annoying platforming, as per usual. Here's where to go and what to do.
Before starting, the Ascendant Challenge requires an item called the Tincture of Queensfoil. These can be obtained by completing a number of activities in the Dreaming City. Activating the item grants you a buff that allows you to see a Taken portal you can travel through to complete the Ascendant Challenge, but the buff goes away if you return to orbit. Also be sure to first grab the Ascendant Challenge bounty from Petra before jumping in.
For this week's challenge, the portal can be found in Rheasilvia. In the northeast corner, head inside a building and go straight as far as you can. Turn right, and then go left in the next area to reach Harbinger's Seclude. Go up a set of stairs and out the doorway on the right. Head straight through this area, through another doorway, and continue straight in the next zone. At the end of a bridge you'll see a statue covered in Taken Blight balls; platform your way up the objects around it and you'll be able to go through the portal on top of its head. Check out the video above for a walkthrough. If you struggle to get up, take out your ghost and you'll see some invisible platforms just off the slide of the area that can help you get up.
Going through the portal transports you to the Keep of Honed Edges in the Ascendant Plane. Platform your way across a series of rocks and you'll find an area with three knights who are immune to damage. Kill all of the other enemies and the barrier protecting a sword will go away, allowing you to pick up the relic.
At this point, more enemies spawn in and one knight will begin attacking you. Kill the knight, and the other two will join the fray along with additional enemies. Take them all out, and you'll again have to platform across a series of rocks, now with enemies to make things more challenging. There is debris moving through the area, and at least certain things you step on will disappear after a short period of time, so make sure not to linger. Make your way toward a platform with a large blue object on it to complete the challenge.
As in previous weeks, the chest you receive at the end of the Ascendant Challenge isn't anything special. But the bounty you get from Petra offers Powerful gear for completing it; this can help to boost your Power level, so ensuring you have the bounty is essential.
As 2018 nears its end, and the movie theater subscription service boom evens out, companies are altering their terms as they attempt to remain profitable. AMC just announced it would be increasing the price of the Stubs A-List ticket plan in select states beginning in 2019, and now Sinemia says it's actually bringing the cost of its subscription down for some users.
The new plans will offer tickets to movies from Monday through Thursday only, essentially making Fridays and weekends blackout days. "We're constantly striving to help people see movies more affordably, while doing so in a way that supports the entire movie-going economy," Sinemia CEO Rifat Oguz says in a press release. "With our new weekday plans, people can see movies at an even steeper discount, encouraging attendance on days where most movie theaters have many empty seats."
As part of the new plans, prices will drop anywhere from $1 each month for the one-ticket plan to $6 per month for the "unlimited" plan. The prices for the new weekday subscriptions are as follows:
$3.99 per month (compared to $4.99)--One ticket to any movie per month
$8.99 per month (compared to $10.99)--Three tickets to any movie per month
$9.99 per month (compared to $12.99)--Two tickets to any movie per month including 3D, 4D and IMAX formats
$14.99 per month (compared to $17.99)--Three tickets to any movie per month including 3D, 4D, IMAX formats
$23.99 per month (compared to $29.99)--One ticket to any movie per day (2D movie tickets)
It's important to note that Sinemia will continue to offer its full-week plans, as well as family plans for both the weekday only and full-week options. You can find all subscription price information on Sinemia's website. And if you're still unsure which movie theater subscription service is for you, take a look at GameSpot's review of Sinemia, AMC Stubs A-List, and MoviePass.
As one of the biggest surprises of BlizzCon 2018, Warcraft III: Reforged brings the series back to its real-time strategy roots. Though the franchise has been firmly rooted in the MMO genre with World of Warcraft for many years, this return to the series' past will offer newer fans of the Warcraft series an opportunity to see what came before the game that changed the franchise forever. In our chat with production lead Pete Stilwell and art lead Brian Sousa, they spoke about their personal experiences revisiting a defining game of Blizzard's history, and their hopes in reigniting fan interest in the RTS genre.
If you want to see more content from Blizzard's big event, including the trailer for Overwatch's new character Ashe, and our impressions of Diablo Immortal, be sure to check out GameSpot's roundup of all the BlizzCon news and reveals that came from this year's show.
It's been a while since we've seen Warcraft as an RTS. Can you talk about what it was like returning to this genre after the series had reestablished itself as an MMO?
Brian Sousa: From the franchise perspective, I worked on Warcraft I and II. I kind of left Blizzard for a little while when Warcraft III was being developed, but it was exciting playing that game because I didn't get to work on it in the first place. It's amazing to see how much Warcraft III would go on to influence the work in World of Warcraft, so much of it got carried forward into the following game. Knowing some of the stories of how Warcraft III was developed and seeing where Warcraft has come to at this point, it's a great opportunity for us to smooth over some of those rough edges that World of Warcraft has already expanded upon and redefined.
Being able to take Warcraft III and bring all of that lore that has happened over the last 15 years with Warcraft, that's exciting for me. That's kind of the big thing I'm getting out of this, is being able to bring the stories of the origins of Arthas, and Jaina, and Sylvanas, and all of these characters that everybody knows and loves.
Pete Stilwell: The original stories are almost always more fun. I preferred the first Iron Man over the rest of them because seeing somebody coming into their element is more compelling to me. That's the real human story, I think, it's about the journey, so that's what's cool about this. This might have kicked that all off, but its journey is now coming back, and making it relevant for a new community.
We're gonna get this right for the existing community, they're gonna love it. They're going to still have the game they know under the covers, and we want to appeal to new players and a new generation because the lifeblood of a game is a big active community, so we want the competitive scene or the custom game scene to have more people. They can be more creative because the game editor itself is so powerful. We're doing a lot to expand the editor, so if we can put that in the hands of new creative people, maybe they invent another genre of games, or evolve the existing ones. There's just so much latent potential in this game.
It was the end of the era of Warcraft RTS, but like as a statement piece, we're getting to revisit it and hopefully for a new generation, making it look new and relevant, so that it still has that modern day appeal. I think that's a huge opportunity, and I really hope it's well received.
So this is called Warcraft III: Reforged, as opposed to Remastered. It's very apparent that you're doing much more to this game than with the recent update for the original Starcraft.
Sousa: So, this was an opportunity for us. With Starcraft: Remastered, we approached that and said, "Okay, how can we do this and what does the community want?" The community is like, "Don't touch anything, don't screw it up," and so from that standpoint, we have to make this as close to the original as possible. So that a pro can instantly recognize everything, like this is a Zergling, its attacks, and so forth.
I know everything about the timing on everything. We had to stay very true to that since Warcraft III was the first 3D game that Blizzard did. Those kinds of things, like the timing and everything, that's what we're still kind of beholden to. Although we can update the graphics and we can update the animations, those animations still have to be the same, so that we can play this with the SD version. You can have your HD characters, but the timing has to be perfect, and the animations have the same timing on everything.
I assume that Reforged will include all the expansions and tweaks made to the original. Would you say that this is the definitive version of Warcraft III?
Stilwell: Yeah, we were bad at making that known. It will have Reign of Chaos and Frozen Throne as one big bundle. But yeah, I hope it is.
Sousa: Yeah, I don't want to remaster this again in 20 years. But yeah, this is the Reforged edition. We're looking at the campaign itself, like The Culling in particular. We completely redesigned the map layout and made it look like Stratholme from World of Warcraft because people have been in that location and explored it, the original didn't have any of that. It was a very different feel altogether. It had Greek columns, and it had like weird statues, and a river, and the zoo, and things that people wouldn't recognize if they were from World of Warcraft playing this game.
That was one of the things. We're like, "Well, this should look like Stratholme", so it had a complete redesign with that. As we go through more of the campaign, there's going to be more instances where we do pull on World of Warcraft for influence because they have the lore, they have grounded out all of these characters, all these locations, and they've put so much backstory into just everything. We have a huge library to pull from.
It was very interesting seeing Warcraft III's opening cinematic redone with modern tech. Will all of the cinematics from the original game have that same treatment?
Stilwell: Well, when they made the original cinematics, computers at the time couldn't handle displaying a certain fidelity, and it would have made the game too big then. So they actually greatly reduced the quality of the originals despite making them at a really high quality. We're taking those original and rendering them back up at the highest quality. This one you saw was truly like a ground-up recreation of that original one. The rest of them, well, they used to call it "smacking down" back in the day, where they'd reduce the size and the quality. Brian actually has a story related to some of the ants in the cinematics.
Sousa: Oh, yeah, so we're going through these images that were rendered before they got condensed and smacked down to 640x480, and like I can actually see there's a scene where there's a line of ants crawling on the ground. You never see this in the original smacked version because the quality was so low. Now that we can reprocess these into a higher resolution, the cinematics still hold up.
Stilwell: We are redoing the voiceover. Some people reprise their roles, but yeah, we're gonna re-record everything. We're adding even more languages, so we're going to have 13 languages total, which is awesome, so we can appeal to more people globally. We also have Christie Golden, who wrote Arthas and some of the other books and content around Warcraft, helping us with just cleaning up some of the dialogue before we get in the booth with actors, so that it's a little bit more of the universe and a little bit more solid from that perspective, which is super exciting.
Sousa: And she's helping out with some of the characters that might have been not well developed in Warcraft III, but since World of Warcraft, they're huge names and people recognize them. We're going to do a little bit more with them too, so that we can bring them up and kind of show their origins a little bit better.
World of Warcraft has been a really strong frame of reference for many fans, as it's the most developed and longest running game of the series. So it definitely seems there's a need for that consistency now--especially with how different Warcraft III looks in retrospect.
Sousa: Right. Some of the things that were done for Warcraft III are either straight up reusing models or texture swaps. When you get into World of Warcraft, the Blood Elves have been completely defined now. I remember, they did the huge expansion with the Blood Elves, and so now we can say, "Okay, this is what blood elf buildings look like, this is what the Fel Orcs look like, this is what the fel orc buildings." Rather than going back to Warcraft III and what they originally looked like, we can go to what World of Warcraft has done and amplify it from there.
Stilwell: And the good news is just like with StarCraft: Remastered, if you're the purist who wants to come and play the original game, it will still be there. You will still be able to go through the the original experience. We even have some folks on our team that are purists like that. The way we strike that balance is by making it an option. Like, you want the original VO, here it is. You want the original game truly, like in the campaign missions, here it is.
Sousa: Well, even with the Reforged UI, we've created a smaller, more compact UI, so you can see more of the screen, and the UI is not as intrusive. But even within Blizzard, it's like 'can I still play with the old UI?' We're like, 'yes, you can still play with the old UI.' We're giving you an option to play with a new one, but if you still like the one that covers a quarter of the screen, you can play that way.
It must be refreshing for you to be able to return to the roots of Warcraft as an RTS. While many fans love all that WoW has done, there is still that portion of the fanbase that wants to see more RTS games in the series.
Stilwell: Yeah, it's cathartic. Having played a ton of both games, playing WoW more recently before going back to War III, you realize the true influence that War III had on it. I wasn't lucky enough to be with the company at the time, but the guys were coming off making that one into the other, so of course, it was baked into them what this world should be and how we can take it to the next level. I think, for most of us, you don't realize how much of that foundation was there until you go back.
Even some of the campaign missions, where there's a little what we would now call a side quest and not just a little distraction on the map. It's almost like an Easter egg in Warcraft III, but you now realize that's in South Shore, or that's in Westfall, and that's exactly like the people that you run into on the cart that have their deeds in Westfall. I'm expecting a lot of players will be like, 'Hey, they stole that from WOW,' and it will be like, 'No, no, no, it was here first.' This is the foundation of that. I think that's what is so cool about it, is seeing how truly interconnected they really are.
Sousa: Yeah, for myself it was surprising to see so much from what I've played of WoW. I haven't played War III for 15 years, but going back through the arc and knowing that so much from World of Warcraft was based on Warcraft III, like, I thought World of Warcraft came up with that. I was like, 'Oh my gosh, this all came from Warcraft III.' Now we have that opportunity to bring those to life and glory compared to what the old school used to look like.
Stilwell: And some of that is wrapped up in the tech. Most people probably won't know, WoW's engine was based off of Warcraft III's engine. They just kind of took it, built it up, retrofitted a few things, and suddenly it's the WoW engine. We've kind of taken where they evolved War III's engine, and then ported it over to ourselves and taken a lot of their technology, and now we're putting even more on top of it. Even on the backend, something most people won't see, or understand, or care about, is that these games are so intertwined not just in story, but in actual creation. It's really cool.
In recent times, the RTS has fallen a bit by the wayside in favor of other genres. Most particularly the MOBA genre, which was ironically started as a Warcraft III mod. With this game, will you be looking closely at how all fans respond to this?
Stilwell: We want to be sensitive to the fact that, again, we think we have such a strong story here. If, for no other reason, we love players of other genres, and not just MOBA, but like World of Warcraft itself is very similar in that you kind of have a central player character, and you have a lot of cool abilities. They're very similar from an archetype, so giving them an avenue to come into the campaign and be comfortable with that and not be daunted by building a city, and destroying the other guy's city, and things like that, are things we are definitely thinking about, and good design challenges for our design team. Again, with that idea of Reforged, of like, let's make a version that those people can come in, really enjoy, and maybe become at RTS player on their second playthrough, where they play the hard setting and really actually get pushed to play RTS.
Sousa: Yeah, Warcraft III did not have the easy mode. It was either hard or really hard, and so now, even me, I remember playing missions over, and over, and over. This is a really hard game, so getting in there and making it a little bit more accessible for today's players, at least, to get into the RTS genre. This RTS has been around for 15 years. It's still around, people are still playing it, so we're not too worried about redefining the RTS because this already has a huge community, right, and we're not looking to change how Warcraft plays. We just want it to be a little bit more accessible and look better for today's players.
So even with the success that World of Warcraft has had over the years, do you still that there's room for a potential sequel to the traditional Warcraft RTS?
Stilwell: I mean, I wouldn't rule anything out, but we don't have any plans around that at this point. Getting this game right, I think, is our priority first and foremost. By that, I don't just mean like shipping Reforged, but like getting the gameplay to a state where people are like, hey, this is done because with SCR, you could look at it and they said, "Hey, you don't need to change balance. We can tell that a really good player of one race is going to beat the other. Not because this race has something cheesy that they can do that an inferior player can best a better one." We want to get Warcraft III into that state too, where it's like, hey, everybody agrees that it's the player and not a benefit of the faction that they were playing.
Sousa: So, yeah, the balance changes that we've been making are very small, focusing on like what makes this hero playable or unplayable? Why do people always play this way rather than this way? We're focusing on getting small changes in there. To hopefully shake up the game a little bit, people will start playing different heroes with different strategies. That will kind of keep the community alive.
Once this comes out, what are some of your big hopes for the game? It seems like you're in a really interesting position to reintroduce fans to the RTS side of Warcraft, while also gaining a new following.
Stilwell: Yeah, those are certainly things that we're hoping for, to bring new players in, to reestablish what an epic story this is, and what a great game it is. Beyond that, there's so much potential built into the custom game community, and if we're having a bunch of people coming back, and they also explore what other creative people are making with this game, that there's a whole different tale there for people to explore and be a part to. That, to me, are kind of the big pieces.
Sousa: Yeah, because already the mods that people have created, playing the Reforged version will be completely compatible, right. It will just automatically work. Where the community will have to rally around is any unique artwork that has been done by the players themselves that have brought into the games. Those will have to be done, but we're also going to be putting out our tools and some guides, so they can really recreate art and even mod it even more. We're really trying to support the community on this.
Stilwell: I think, if at the end of this we hear the community shout, 'We love this, now we want more,' that will be our ultimate success.
Editor's Note: Light spoilers will follow in the text below. If you wish to play Undertale or Deltarune yourself before any impressions, please do. Story specifics and detailed theories are not discussed in this article.
I came to terms with the possibility that Undertale would solely exist as its own contained experience--the time spent in that world may have been enough even for those who are strongly invested in it. Granted, many of the deeper story threads led to ambiguous ends, but even that ambiguity could live on its own. However, that world has been reopened with Deltarune; a surprise release, part of an episodic retro-style RPG that uses much of the foundation from Undertale. Chapter 1 is available for free, and while it only touches on its best new mechanics and leaves us with more questions than answers, Deltarune shows promise for living up to monumental expectations.
Deltarune presents itself as a variation on many of the same fundamentals and themes from Undertale, as if it exists as a parallel. After an eerie introduction that seems like a throwaway nightmare state, you'll recognize familiar faces. Toriel wakes you up and takes you to school, and you see Undyne as a police officer, Alphys as your teacher, and Temmie as a classmate, among others. All monsters living normal lives on the surface. You'll probably also see a stark resemblance in Kris, the game's protagonist, as well. Events proceed rather smoothly until the plot thickens with the introduction of a new character, Susie, who appears to be the class bully. As you reluctantly follow Susie to get Alphys' blackboard chalk, a mysterious descent into an underworld soon occurs within the school's supply closet.
Birds are singing, flowers are blooming.
Not long afterward, Deltarune introduces you to how it takes Undertale's fundamentals a step further. While navigating the environment, rooms themselves occasionally become hostile, forcing you to avoid obstacles in the same vein as the defense-phase bullet-hell in combat. Player perspective has also changed in combat from facing enemies head-on (like Earthbound) to a side-view of the battlefield (like NES/SNES Final Fantasy). Random encounters have been removed in favor of making all your potential enemies visible within the environment, which better manages the game's flow.
Like Undertale, there's an earnestness to the game's society of monsters that appear to lead peaceful lives. More often than not, you'll be smiling ear-to-ear from the witty writing, snappy jokes, and absurdist humor by good-natured characters.
No one has to get hurt, similar to Undertale. Through ACT, you can talk your way out of battles and SPARE enemies with the right sequence of dialogue options. There's still the FIGHT option where input timing dictates the damage dealt, but MAGIC opens up new options for attacking and healing; the system of TP is a sensible way to incorporate its own take on mana. And of course, enemy turns have you moving your heart (or SOUL) to dodge their unpredictable attacks. It remains an innovative system that leaves room for each battle to break convention and let the game's personality flourish, especially now that you have party members. Depending on the situation, you'll have opportunities for clever team actions; commanding Ralsei to sing puts enemies to sleep and the ability to pacify them without harm. There's nothing quite like the K.Round boss fight that has you setting the trajectory for Susie to launch Ralsei into the enemy's crown to knock it off its head. Or carefully rearranging Bloxer's body to cheer it up and send it on its merry way before it can hurt your team.
The shift in perspective affords the opportunity to see Kris and their allies shine, too. Wonderfully animated pixel art accompanies each action--the best examples being when Ralsei pulls up his scarf to cover himself for a DEFEND command, or how he gives adorable little claps when fights end. Despite the games pseudo-8-bit/16-bit style, character expressions and body language provide vivid displays of personality. The ability to communicate so much with so little is one of Undertale's greatest accomplishments, and Deltarune achieves this as well.
Who knew super-sized checker pieces with legs would make for adorable, yet terrifying enemies.
Core mechanics are in service of building a unique brand of quirky charm. But arguably, the most important piece of the puzzle is the soundtrack. Toby Fox samples his own music from Undertale in both subtle and overt ways to great effect, almost like callbacks to remind you that these two worlds are somehow bound together. As soon as "Field Of Hopes And Dreams" starts, you feel a percussive momentum complemented by a bold, catchy rhythm and piano lead. And memories of Snowdin Town begin to sink in when the melody transitions, as if to empower you with a sense of familiarity to explore uncharted territory. This extends to "Scarlet Forest," another standout track that sounds like it's performed by a full orchestra, with a staccato rhythm and marching drums that support a layered string section and whimsical woodwinds. It's an evocative score that seamlessly blends of the old and new using wonderful instrumentation.
As soon as "Field Of Hopes And Dreams" starts, you feel a percussive momentum complemented by a bold, catchy rhythm and piano lead. And memories of Snowdin Town begin to sink in when the melody transitions, as if to empower you with a sense of familiarity to explore uncharted territory.
Like Undertale, there's an earnestness to the game's society of monsters that appear to lead peaceful lives. More often than not, you'll be smiling ear-to-ear from the witty writing, snappy jokes, and absurdist humor from good-natured characters. Even knuckleheads like Lancer and Susie come around. But another of Deltarune's unique strengths is how it leverages its charm to create deeply unsettling atmospheres and implications. This paves the way for the possible impact of darker undertones, further driven by meta-narrative elements. You can't shake the feeling that something's amiss when you start to string together the ways these games might be connected. Beneath the uplifting joy and comfort that you'll see on Deltarune's surface, you get the sense that there's a bigger, more sinister picture, given what we know about Undertale and the events that unfold in Chapter 1. That could also just be the theorycrafting speaking.
Lancer, I've played Super Mario RPG a million times.
In many ways, Deltarune does feel like a prototype--Toby Fox has said as much, and also commented on the challenge of building the game with limited resources. Some sequences are a bit barebones, such as the checkered hallway that's a linear path with a simple timing puzzle, and the Card Castle that's a series monochromatic rooms (though it does feature some top-tier gags). Most of all, the best parts of the short journey are over before they can fully flesh themselves out. However, the weaving of music, dialogue, visual presentation, along with the foundation set by Undertale, there's reason to believe that Deltarune will make good on returning to the lore and putting new spins on familiar themes.
I'm beyond ecstatic that Deltarune even exists. While I wish there were more opportunities to engage in its best features, I constantly remind myself that this is the first chapter.
Its connections to Undertale are often on the nose, but I suspect that this has a purpose. I get the impression that the moments of fan-service, clear callbacks, and apparent parallels are deliberate, as if they'll lead to less obvious revelations. I'm also curious as to how the future of Deltarune handles the fact we kind of expect the game to mess with us and subvert our expectations; thankfully, it's off to a great start.
I'm beyond ecstatic that Deltarune even exists. While I wish there were more opportunities to engage in its best features, I constantly remind myself that this is the first chapter. There's no telling where the subsequent chapters will lead, but it's incredibly exciting to know that this isn't the end.
By Anonymous on Nov 06, 2018 10:28 pm Aardman is making its first in-house console game in 11-11: Memories Retold. It's a decidedly more sombre subject matter than most of Aardman's work--the most famous of which includes Wallace and Gromit, Chicken Run, and Shaun the Sheep. Take a look at why Aardman is turning to video games in our documentary feature.
November's round of PlayStation Plus freebies is now available to anyone who has a subscription to the online service. This month adds a unique take on the first-person shooter, a detailed RPG set in modern-day Japan, and plenty of game-show and arcade action. They will be available through December 4 on the PlayStation Store.
As previously announced, the PlayStation 4 offerings this month include Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition and Yakuza Kiwami. Bulletstorm is a remastered version of the over-the-top first-person shooter, with a unique grapple mechanic that lets you yo-yo enemies to control the battlefield. Yakuza Kiwami is a remake of the very first Yakuza game from 2006, following Kazuma Kiryu as he tries to find a load of cash stolen from his gang.
PS3 owners get Jackbox Party Pack 2, the party mini-game collection that links up with your smartphones to serve as controllers. The retro-styled Arkedo Series is also available on PS3 as well. Finally, the Vita gets throwback B-movie game Roundabout and the adventure game Burly Men at Sea. Both of those Vita offerings are also available on PS4 for good measure.
As always, these games will be linked with your PlayStation Plus subscription, and will be available as long as you have it. If you unsubscribe, you'll also lose access to the games. If you're in the market for more cheap games, meanwhile, keep an eye on our Black Friday round-ups.
Fortnite's 6.22 update has arrived, bringing a new weapon as well as two limited-time modes to the hit game. While the Fortnitemares event may now be over in Battle Royale, the Halloween spirit carries on in one of this week's LTMs, a brand-new mode dubbed Team Terror.
Much like other team-based LTMs, Team Terror pits two teams of players (in this case, 32 vs. 32) against each other in a battle to be the last side standing. What sets it apart from previous modes, however, is the presence of Cube Monsters, the zombie-like creatures that first appeared during the aforementioned Fortnitemares event. These will spawn around the island as the match rolls on, adding a PvE element to the LTM.
Destroying Cube Monsters will cause them to drop weapons or ammo, giving you an incentive to take down any you come across. Resource and loot drop rates have also been adjusted for the new LTM. The likelihood of floor loot spawning has been increased by 15%, and farming resources have been increased by 75%. You can find more details on Team Terror in Epic's patch notes.
In addition to Team Terror, Epic has brought back a previous LTM this week: Blitz. This is a much faster-paced version of a standard battle royale game; the match begins with the storm already closing in on the island, and the time between storm circles is much shorter than normal, so each match will last about 15 minutes at most. Loot is also much more plentiful in Blitz mode, further speeding the action up.
Beyond the new LTMs, the 6.22 update introduced a new gun to the game: the Heavy Assault Rifle. It's available in Rare, Epic, and Legendary variants and can be found as floor loot or in chests, vending machines, and supply drops. Epic has also reverted the Pumpkin Launcher back to the standard Rocket Launcher and reduced the spawn rate of the new balloons.
Believe it or not, Black Friday 2018 is right around the corner. The end of the year is approaching, and the holiday season brings with it the biggest shopping day on the calendar in the United States, family time be damned.
Even with a couple weeks to go before Black Friday--it takes place on November 23--we've already begun to get a look at the deals that will be available. Most notably, we've gotten Target's ad early, giving us a look at what will be on sale across games, tech, and entertainment. Sam's Club is also have a pre-Black Friday sale that has some nice deals for game fans.
As always, tracking what's on sale and where can be an overwhelming task, as can determining what the best deals are. We'll be doing our best to help you stay on top of this so you can make the most of Black Friday (and Cyber Monday immediately after that) without having to drown in a sea of circulars and hastily scrawled post-it notes. Below, you'll find our complete coverage of the event; be sure to check back as more ads are revealed in the lead up to the big day.
Platforms
PS4
All PS4 Deals
If you're looking for all things related to PS4, we've collected every deal announced so far for the platform--including consoles, accessories, and games--in one story. Among the highlights is a $200 PS4 bundle that comes with Marvel's Spider-Man at Target.
For a look at all things Xbox One, we've put together a roundup of every announced deal related to the system. That includes deals on consoles, games, and accessories. One of the best offers we've seen so far is a $400 Xbox One X bundle with a whopping $120 in Kohl's Cash from (you guessed it) Kohl's.
Target was the first big store out of the gate to release its Black Friday ad early, and it included a ton of stuff of interest to game fans. You'll find a PS4 with Spider-Man for $200, among other things.
Alongside its game offerings, Target's early Black Friday ad gave us a look at its many movies and TV shows that will be on sale, and it includes some great sub-$10 4K movies.
Black Friday is always a great opportunity to pick up a new TV for relatively cheap, and 4K TVs are among the variety of tech items you'll find discounted at Target.
Kohl's doesn't sell many games, but it oftentimes has some excellent deals come Black Friday. 2018 is no exception, as it might be the best place to buy an Xbox One X.
Kohl's might primarily be a clothes retailer, but it does sell a limited number of electronics, like TVs. These are discounted in addition to netting you some Kohl's Cash.
We should have a firm idea of everything that will be on sale well in advance of Black Friday, but while we wait for all of the ads to come in, we've previewed what to expect from this year's big day. That may help you determine if you should buy something now or wait for a possible deal later this month.
Anybody can walk into a story on Black Friday or browse to a retailer's website, but there are tips and tricks to best approaching it. We've put together a guide to help you make the most of all the big sales.
If you missed out on the pre-order bonuses for WWE 2K19, you can pick them up as downloadable content. Two packs, one featuring Ronda Rousey and Rey Mysterio and the other featuring Ric Flair, are available for purchase separately.
The Ronda Rousey & Rey Mysterio Pack and the Wooooo! Edition Pack (featuring Ric Flair) are available across PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Previously Rousey and Mysterio were only available for pre-orders and Ric Flair was available in the Collector's Edition for $130. 2K also recently teased an upcoming Titans Pack but hasn't detailed a release date for it yet.
GameSpot's WWE 2K19 review appreciated the engaging MyCareer mode and stories, and the various quality-of-life tweaks, but lamented its slow character progression and some notable absentees from the roster. In particular, critic Richard Wakeling said that players are out-of-luck for Rey Mysterio or Rousey, who is the current Raw Women's Champion, unless they pre-ordered.
"Despite its flaws, WWE 2K19 is a step in the right direction for the long-running series," Wakeling wrote. "After two years toiling away with a dearth of interesting single-player content, the introduction of an engaging career mode is a welcome sight that finally captures some of the personality pro wrestling is partly built upon. The in-ring action is still inconsistent and will be as divisive as ever, but it's easier to stomach when the game surrounding the wrestling action gives you more reasons to play."
Epic Games has released Fortnite update 6.22 and detailed the contents of it with a fresh set of patch notes. The major new addition is an assault rifle called the Heavy AR, which was recently teased in-game, but there are also two new Limited-Time Modes--one of which features AI-controlled enemies.
The first of these LTMs is Team Terror. It pits two teams of 32 against each other with the goal of wiping out the opposing side. The wrinkle is that Cube Monsters, the enemies that players had to contend with during the recent Fortnitemares event, will also attack you. Of course, they can drop some nice loot, so it might make sense to deal with them before enemy players.
The second LTM is the returning Blitz. This takes the basic Battle Royale gameplay and speeds things up, as the storm circle begins closing in right from the start of the match. It will also close in more frequently than usual, leading to matches that should last no longer than 15 minutes. To further speed things up, there's more loot to find around the map.
You can check out the patch notes for the Fortnite: Battle Royale below. Head to the Fortnite website to see what's new with the Save the World mode--that includes a continuation of the co-op mode's Fortnitemares event.
Epic Games also recently announced a partnership with the NFL to bring football skins to Fortnite. These will be based on real-world jerseys, and they're set to arrive later this week, following this new update. The outfits will be available for purchase from Fortnite's in-game store, but Epic hasn't announced pricing details yet. All 32 NFL teams will be represented, and Epic says you'll also be able to customize your jersey with any number from 0-99. The skins will be available in the store beginning at 4 PM PT / 7 PM ET on November 9.
Fortnite: Battle Royale Update 6.22 Patch Notes
Limited-Time Event: Team Terror
Summary
Monsters have invadsed the Battle Royale island! Two teams will battle it out as Cube Monsters monsters join the fight. Defeat the other team to earn a Victory Royale.
Mode Details
Two teams of 32 players. Eliminate the other team to win.
Monster spawners are scattered throughout the map and also appear each time the storm closes in to a new circle.
Monsters can drop weapons or ammo when destroyed. Gold monsters and monster spawners drop Legendary items when destroyed.
Farming resources increased 75% over default.
Increased floor loot spawn likelihood by 15%.
Floor loot spawns double ammo.
Ammo boxes spawn triple ammo.
Chests spawn double ammo & consumables.
Supply drops spawn double ammo, and an extra consumable, resource drop and trap.
Limited-Time Event: Blitz!
Summary
Blitz is a faster-paced version of Battle Royale. The match begins with the storm moving towards the island, and the delay between each circle is shorter than normal, creating matches that are 15 minutes long or less. The map also has extra loot and resources. Profile Stats count in this mode, so fight hard for the Victory Royale!
Mode Details
The storm is already moving in at the beginning of the match, choose your landing spot carefully!
Wait time between storms is significantly shorter than usual; maximum match length is 15 minutes.
Increased chances of treasure chests spawning from 50-70% to 80-90%.
Increased chances of ammo boxes spawning from 65-80% to 85-95%.
Reduced empty floor loot spawn chance from 21.5% to 3.55%
Resource harvesting amounts increased by 50%.
Increased materials found on the ground from 30 to 60 per instance.
Increased number, spawn rate & the descent speed of Supply Drops.
Increased number of llamas spawned by 4x.
Removed shopping carts.
Weapons + Items
Heavy Assault Rifle
Can be found in floor loot, chests, Vending Machines, and Supply Drops
Available in Rare, Epic and Legendary Variants
Deals 44 / 46 / 48 damage
3.75 Fire Rate
Has a magazine size of 25
The Pumpkin Launcher has been reverted back to the standard Rocket Launcher.
We've reduced the spawn rate of Balloons from 12.2% to 2.3%.
Gameplay
Storm max damage cap changed back to 8 damage from 10 damage.
Bug Fixes
Players hit by a Boogie Bomb while holding Balloons will no longer have physics issues. They will now properly drop the Balloons.
Recent Articles:
You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website.
Join Erick and Ben as they check out Bulletstorm Full Clip Edition and Yakuza Kiwami the two free games for PS Plus members in November.
Aardman is making its first in-house console game in 11-11: Memories Retold. It's a decidedly more sombre subject matter than most of Aardman's work--the most famous of which includes Wallace and Gromit, Chicken Run, and Shaun the Sheep. Take a look at why Aardman is turning to video games in our documentary feature.
No comments:
Post a Comment