A change to one of the bonus items included in the Fallout 76 Collector's Edition has raised the ire of some fans, and Bethesda is apologizing for an apparent brusque response from its support team. However, it's still unclear whether Bethesda notified customers of the impending change to its expensive collector's edition before release. [Update: As an apology of sorts to buyers, Bethesda is now offering free in-game currency to those who purchased the Collector's Edition.]
The item in question is a tote bag that came in the $200 Collector's Edition. It had been advertised as a "Canvas West Tek Duffel Bag," but Reddit users noticed the canvas bag had been swapped for a nylon one. One Reddit user reached out and received a response from the Bethesda Gear Store support team, stating that the prototype bag was "too expensive to make" and that the company is "not planning on doing anything about it."
GameSpot reached out to confirm the support email, and received the following statement from Bethesda:
"We're investigating the response from the Bethesda Gear Store Support team and we apologize to the customer who took the time to reach out," it read. "The support response was incorrect and not in accordance with our conduct policy. Unfortunately, due to unavailability of materials, we had to switch to a nylon carrying case in the Fallout 76: Power Armor Edition. We hope this doesn't prevent anyone from enjoying what we feel is one of our best collector's editions." [Update: The company is now offering free in-game currency to disappointed buyers.]
GameSpot followed up with an inquiry regarding when the change was made and whether customers had been notified, but has not received a response as of the time of writing. The official store listing currently shows nylon listed in the text, though the image still says canvas. On a cached version of the same page from November 20, a week after release, the text still read canvas as well.
Fallout 76 has received a middling reception from critics, including in GameSpot's review. "Bethesda has stated it intends to continue supporting the game for a long time, but at launch, Fallout 76 is a poor experience," wrote critic Edmond Tran. "There are echoes of the series' admirable qualities, but look past that facade, past the cute Vault Boy animations, past the familiar radio tracks, and you'll find no heart--just an inconsequential wasteland doomed to be nuked over and over again."
Bethesda has acknowledged some "frustrating issues" and promises patches for a long time to come. Some of the ones coming in the immediate future have already been detailed.
This week, Rockstar Games launched the beta for Red Dead Online, the hotly anticipated multiplayer mode for Red Dead Redemption 2 on PS4 and Xbox One. Much like in the original game, players will be able to take part in missions, themed events, and take out rival players as they explore the massive open world at their leisure. This time, however, Red Dead Online is taking more cues from Grand Theft Auto V's online mode, allowing you to create your own character and build up their influence as they rub shoulders with some of Red Dead's most well-known individuals.
With the beta, players will get an early look at what to expect from the online experience of Red Dead 2. Unlike the main story, the entire map is available to explore early on, allowing you to freely move about once you've gotten your feet wet. During our time spent exploring and taking part in a variety of events, we had a number of takeaways of how Red Dead Online functions as a whole, which we've detailed here in this feature. In addition to some familiar faces making a return, we've also gotten a better look at the new character progression system, which is a big change from the main story. There was certainly a lot to take in with how Red Dead Online works, be sure to share your thoughts below on what stuck out for you with the new mode.
Rockstar plans to gradually roll more players into the beta. So far, it's just limited those who played the game in the initial days after launch or if you own the ultimate edition. In the coming days, more players players will be able to dive in and experience the online mode. If you want to see when you can play, check out our write-up here.
For more on Red Dead Online, be sure to keep up with our continuing coverage. And if you're still playing the main story, be sure to check out our guide on the hidden weapons in the game, along with some other strange events and easter eggs that are worth keeping an eye out for.
It's Set Before The Main Story
Taking place sometime before the events of Red Dead Redemption 2's story--just prior to the disastrous Blackwater heist that forced the Van der Linde gang on the run--you'll play as a newly incarcerated prisoner in Sisika Penitentiary. After creating your character, you'll quickly dive into the lengthy tutorial detailing the new systems--such as the new ability cards, multiplayer, and co-op, you'll also get to know some of the new characters exclusive to the online mode. Once you've set up your own camp, you're free to take part in a number of activities, which include horse racing, co-op missions, and of course competitive gunfights with rivals. By setting the online mode's story before the main game's plot, it will allow newcomers and those that haven't finished the main story to dive into the different setting spoiler-free.
Familiar Faces Return
While exploring the online world, you'll come across many new characters in your travels who won't be seen outside of Red Dead Online. However, some missions will not only have you cross paths with some returning characters from Red Dead 2, but also those from the previous game. In one early mission, your character will meet up with the Davies brothers, who helped Arthur Morgan flip stolen horses during the main story. In RDO, they assist you with purchasing horses and supplies, and will even offer up a free upgrade from your default steed. In another, more surprising appearance, players will meet up with Bonnie MacFarlane, a returning character from the original game who is notably absent from Red Dead 2's single-player story. Just like in GTA Online, you'll see different sides of some returning characters, as they task you with helping them out with various missions.
There's A Battle Royale Mode
Similar to Red Dead 1's online mode, there are a variety of gameplay modes to dive into. In addition to free-roam, letting you loose in the open world, there's also a suite multiplayer modes called the Showdown Series. By selecting this option, you can join different multiplayer modes, including team-deathmatch, capture the territory, and free-for-all. However, Red Dead Online is also taking cues from the biggest trend in recent years, allowing you to take part in the open world western's take on the popular battle royale game-mode. Known as Make It Count, this mode puts 32 players together in a large-scale skirmish to see who's the top outlaw. Armed with a bow and arrow, and along with a knife, you'll have to use your wits and quick reflexes to stay one step ahead of the others, all while the field of battle shrinks down. Here's a list of the multiplayer modes on-hand in RDO.
Shootout & Team Shootout: Classic gunfight modes with unlimited lives. Compete to rack up the most kills before the timer runs out. Sudden death will trigger in the event of a tie: whoever gets the first kill wins.
Make it Count: A true test of resourcefulness in two game modes: use nothing but a bow and a handful of arrows or throwing knives to be the last one standing. With a gradually shrinking player area, there's nowhere to run.
Most Wanted: A tactical race to the top. Every kill pushes you up the scoreboard, but watch out: the closer to the top you are, the more points everyone else gets for killing you.
Hostile Territory: Work in teams to control the land. Capture a territory to start racking up points: the team with most points wins - or you can win outright by capturing every territory.
Name your Weapon: Demonstrate your personal specialty in this free-for-all or team based match: the trickier the weapon you use to land the killing blow, the more points you get.
Character Growth Works A Bit Differently
In Red Dead Redemption 2's campaign, the Cores systems divide Arthur's attributes across three different areas: Health Stamina, and Dead Eye. To upgrade these areas, you simply have to perform actions associated to each area, which included hunting, fist-fighting, shooting, and sprinting long distances. While the basic concept of Cores carry over to Red Dead Online, actual character growth is very different. During character creation, you'll be able to form the basis of your character's stats--letting you put points into whichever attributes you prefer. Your character will gradually rank up after gaining enough experience points and acquire Ability Vouchers to unlock new perks--including the perk A Moment To Recuperate, which allows health regen during Dead Eye. With up to four perks available to you, one focused on Dead Eye, and the others offering passive traits that help you and your teammates, you'll be able to gradually mold your character into the style of outlaw you wish.
The New Economy
Over the course of your journey moving up the outlaw ladder in New Hanover and New Austin, you'll slowly acquire more funds to purchase better gear and resources. Many of the systems and the economy from the base game carry over, but with the online mode, there have been some changes to make things a bit more balanced. In addition to access being restricted by your level, many of the items are much more expensive compared to the single-player mode. Along with earning cold, hard cash money from fallen enemies, completing missions, and looting chests, you'll also acquire gold, which is used to purchase premium items. Unsurprisingly, many of the more elite items in Online will require gold, which can be found on your own, or purchased with real money (though this option is not yet available).
There's much more to see and find in Red Dead Online, and we're still learning more about what the mode has to offer. Be sure to check out our roundup of all the details in RDO.
The Dragon Age franchise has been quiet since 2014's Dragon Age: Inquisition, but that's set to change soon. BioWare's Casey Hudson says that the company is preparing to say more about its plans for the series sometime in December.
"If you've been following these blogs, or myself and Mark Darrah on Twitter, you know we're also working on some secret Dragon Age stuff," Hudson said on the BioWare blog. "Dragon Age is an incredibly important franchise in our studio, and we're excited to continue its legacy. Look for more on this in the coming month (though I won't tell you where to look…)"
The reference to the coming month is December, during which the biggest game event is the annual Game Awards. That also happens to house a lot of debuts and announcements alongside the accolades, so it wouldn't be surprising to see the impending Dragon Age announcement show up there. Inquisition won the top honor of Game of the Year at 2014's Game Awards.
Dragon Age was one of two major franchises that BioWare was alternating between in the last generation, the other being Mass Effect. Mass Effect made the journey to the new generation of consoles with Mass Effect: Andromeda, but Dragon Age has not had a new game created exclusively for this generation.
Fortnite's Week 10 challenges have arrived on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile, which means Season 6 of the hit battle royale game is winding down. Now that the final batch of challenges are available, you only have a few more days to complete them and unlock any remaining Season 6 Battle Pass rewards before Season 7 kicks off.
Developer Epic Games still hasn't confirmed when Season 7 of Fortnite will begin, but according to the game's website, Season 6 is slated to run until Thursday, December 6. That doesn't necessarily confirm that the new season will begin immediately after; for instance, Season 6 began two days after Season 5 concluded. That said, it does give us an indication of when we can expect it to start.
As for what awaits in Season 7, Epic has been characteristically silent about the new season, although as per usual, it has been dropping some subtle hints about it within the game itself. In the lead up to nearly every season thus far, players would begin witnessing some unusual happenings around the island, such as the arrival of the mysterious purple cube prior to the start of Season 6, and that trend has continued this season with the appearance of distant clouds in the ocean surrounding the island.
Since players first began to notice these clouds, there have been other subtle indications that the temperature around the island has been dropping, hinting that Season 7 could be winter-themed. It appears the mysterious clouds are also shrouding an iceberg that is slowly approaching the island. What this portends for Season 7 is anyone's guess at this point, but it's another indication that a new snowy area may be on the way to the game.
We're officially in the final week of Fortnite: Battle Royale Season 6. Week 10 challenges have been released, and while they cap off the season, they're not anything especially unusual. Among other things, you're tasked with visiting a camel and other objects, as well as completing vehicle timed trials. We've put together guides for these, but keep in mind that Season 7 is just around the corner, so you'll want to complete these challenges while you still can.
As Season 6 of Fortnite: Battle Royale rolls on, 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)
It's now Week 10, the last week of Fortnite: Battle Royale Season 6. What Epic Games has in store for the wildly popular battle royale title in Season 7 remains a mystery, but what we do know is that time is running out to get this season's Battle Stars, level up your Battle Pass, and unlock the cosmetic items attached to it. Once the season is over, it could be a long time before any of those items return, so if you've had your eye on a skin, bling, or harvester, it's now or never. Here's what to expect from Week 10 challenges.
Week 10's challenges are now available and, as always, come in two categories: free to everyone and exclusive to paid Battle Pass owners. In the free section, players will need to build 250 structures in exchange for five Battle Stars. Visiting a ship, a camel, and a crashed Battle Bus will also net you five Battle Stars (check out our guide for exact locations), while searching seven chests at either Tilted Towers or Paradise Palms will get you 10 Battle Stars.
In the paid Battle Pass section, meanwhile, you'll need to place Mounted Turrets in three different matches for five Battle Stars and complete three vehicle timed trials for 10 Battle Stars. This tier also has two multi-stage challenges. The first starts by landing at Lazy Links, while the second begins by getting a shotgun elimination. As you complete those, additional stages will reveal themselves. Take a look at the full list of challenges below.
Fortnite Season 6, Week 10 Challenges
Free
Build structures (250) -- 5 Battle Star
Visit a Viking ship, a camel, and a crashed Battle Bus (3) -- 5 Battle Stars
Search chests at Tilted Towers or Paradise Palms (7) -- 10 Battle Stars
Battle Pass
Place Mounted Turrets in different matches (3) -- 5 Battle Stars
Epic has launched Fortnite update 6.31 and, as part of it, a new feature that allows players to gift items to others. According to the studio this feature isn't going to be around for long, but it's described as an "initial gifting period," suggesting it could return in the future. The item shop currently allows players to buy cosmetics as a gift and then select someone on their friends list to send the item to.
In order to make use of the gifting feature, you'll need to have multi-factor authentication enabled, and you'll need to have been friends with a person for at least 48 hours before a gift can be sent to them. Gifts are limited to three in a 24-hour period and Epic will not refund any gift purchases. Fortnite's 6.31 update also added new shotgun variants and a fresh limited-time mode, among other things. You can get all the details in the full patch notes here.
Week 10 challenges for Fortnite: Battle Royale Season 6--now in its final week--have been revealed, and while they're all pretty straightforward, one will require you to have good knowledge of the island. For Week 10's free challenges, developer Epic Games wants players to visit a Viking ship, a camel, and a crashed Battle Bus. In return, they'll be awarded with five precious Battle Stars that can be put towards leveling up their Battle Pass and unlocking cosmetics. Here's where to find all three locations.
If you've played a lot of Fortnite, you should have a pretty good idea of where to find these landmarks on the island. However, if you need a helping hand, we're here to provide it. The Viking ship can be found on the southwest of the map at coordinates B6. It's huge, so if you glide over there you will not miss it. The camel, meanwhile, is near Lucky Landing at the coordinates G9. Again, another one that you can't miss. The Battle Bus is slightly trickier as it has moved recently. While it used to be around Shifty Shafts, it's now at the map grid E3, which is to the west of Lazy Links.
All you've got to do to finish the challenge is head to those locations. However, make sure you finish the game--win or lose--as if you quit out immediately it will not count. To make things a little easier we've put together a video of ourselves completing the challenge, which you can watch above. Below you'll find the exact locations of the three landmarks.
Fortnite Viking Ship, Camel, Crashed Battle Bus Locations
Viking Ship: Southwest at B6, on top of the snowy mountain
Camel: Northeast at G9, near Lucky Landing
Crashed Battle Bus: West of Lazy Links at E3
That's just one of the challenges for Season 6, Week 10, alongside vehicle timed trials and other things. As previously noted, this is the final week of challenges for the season, which means it's also the last week you can unlock the cosmetics tied to the Battle Pass for this season. Once it's over, there's no telling when they'll be available again, so it's worth spending some time finishing challenges from this week, and previous ones, so you can get everything you want.
It might seem daunting, but we've been putting together guides for all the hardest challenges week by week. If you use our Fortnite Season 6 complete challenge guide, you'll get everything done in no time. You'll want to act fast, as Fortnite Season 7 is just around the corner.
Season 6 of Fortnite: Battle Royale is winding down, and its final set of challenges of this season are now available for Week 10. Among them is one tasking you to complete vehicle timed trials. You'll need to do a total of three, but there's no indication of where the timed trials are located or how to go about completing this challenge. Here's where to go and what to do.
At a basic level, the vehicle timed trials are similar to the non-vehicle ones in the past; you go to a location, start the trial, and race through markers as you make your way to the finish. The key difference here is that you'll first need to secure a vehicle; you aren't given one when you start the trial. You're able to try completing it on foot, but in our experience that isn't realistically possible.
Vehicle spawns are generally random in Fortnite, but you may have luck tracking down a golf cart at Lazy Links. Alternatively, a reliable spot we've found is just outside Junk Junction. To the east, just on the line separating C1 and C2, you can find a race track with four ATVs available. Conveniently, two of the timed trials are located fairly close by, so you should at least be able to easily use these ATVs (provided they do spawn in) to complete those.
However you obtain a vehicle, you'll next want to head to one of the timed trials locations. There are at least five on the map, including those near Lazy Links, Junk Junction, Flush Factory, and Dusty Divot. Once you start the timed trial, a series of flags will appear, and you'll need to make your way through each of them before time expires. The actual racing is relatively straightforward; you shouldn't have any trouble seeing the flags or where you need to go--the tricky bit is securing a vehicle and finding the timed trial itself.
Fortnite Vehicle Timed Trials Locations (Week 10)
northwest of Junk Junction, in the middle of B1
northwest of Lazy Links, in the bottom left of F2
east of Dusty Divot, in the middle of G5
east of Retail Row and south-southwest of Lonely Lodge, in the top-middle of I6
north-northeast of Flush Factory, in the upper right of D9
Alongside the other Week 10 challenges, such as the one that tasks you with visiting a camel and other objects, this represents the end of Season 6. Season 7 is just around the corner, although there's been no official word regarding what it will consist of or exactly when it will launch.
Even after more than a dozen releases, the Mario Party franchise remains incredibly popular. Nintendo has announced that the newest entry, Super Mario Party for Nintendo Switch, has already passed 1 million copies sold in the United States alone following its release on October 5. That makes it the fastest-selling entry in the history of the Mario Party franchise.
This news was disclosed as part of Nintendo of America's wider announcement that the Switch had a great Black Friday. Over the five-day period between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, the Switch became the best-selling Nintendo console ever for that five-day period, even eclipsing sales of the Wii over any of its Thanksgiving-Cyber Monday periods.
While Black Friday and Cyber Monday have come and gone, Nintendo still has one more major release coming up. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will launch for Switch on December 7, and it is expected to be a big hit.
The wait for Path of Exile on PlayStation 4 just got a little longer. Developer Grinding Gear Games has announced that the PlayStation 4 edition won't launch in December as planned.
In a blog post, the developer apologised for the delay, and explained that the studio "underestimated the amount of work it would take to finish the certification process during the busy Christmas period."
Grinding Gear is now expecting to finish the certification process by January, with the game potentially launching in early February on PS4. The studio won't be sitting by idly twiddling its thumbs between now and then, as the studio said the extra time will allow the developer to further improve Path of Exile's performance and frame rate for PS4.
"Again, we're very sorry about this," the studio said. "We promise that Path of Exile will be awesome on PlayStation 4 when it is released early next year."
A free-to-play role-playing game, Path of Exile originally launched in 2013, and here at GameSpot we gave it our PC Game of the Year that year. The Xbox One version came out in 2017. In May 2018, Chinese internet and gaming giant Tencent acquired Grinding Gear Games, but the company claims to continue to operate independently.
While Path of Exile is no longer coming to PS4 in December, the game will welcome a new expansion, Betrayal, that month. For lots more, check out GameSpot's in-depth coverage of Betrayal here, while you can check out the announcement trailer in the embed above.
Following a controversy surrounding changes to a physical item in the Fallout 76 Collector's Edition, Bethesda is offering a make-good in the form of in-game currency. The offer extends only to those who bought the $200 Collector's Edition, which was discovered to contain a nylon duffel bag rather than the canvas one that had been advertised in promotional materials.
In a tweet, the company directed affected users to support page that outlines how to open a request. Those who can provide a proof of purchase for the Collector's Edition will be given 500 Atoms, the in-game currency for Fallout 76. 500 Atoms is a relatively low amount of currency, though. It equals about $5, and can purchase one or two of a few small cosmetic items.
The controversy began when purchasers of the Fallout 76 Collector's Edition noticed the bag delivered wasn't as advertised. One such fan reached out to Bethesda support, and received a curt reply that the company was "not planning on doing anything about it." The company subsequently apologized for that response, and blaming the change on "unavailability of materials."
The official store listing now shows nylon listed in the text with an image that still refers to the bag as canvas. On a cached version of that store page from November 20, the text still reads canvas as well. Bethesda has not responded to GameSpot's inquiries regarding when buyers were notified of the change.
Troubles seem to be mounting for Fallout 76. After a rocky launch with a mixed reception, this backlash has added to a poor perception that appears to be building around it. On top of that, a law firm is looking into its refund policy for disappointed customers. For its part, Bethesda has acknowledged some "frustrating issues" surrounding the game and has committed to supporting it long-term. It has already laid out a roadmap of upcoming changes.
Bungie has unveiled numerous details about Destiny 2's next DLC expansion, The Black Armory, and Season 5 this week, which has brought new Exotic items to Eververse. Along with the details about new activities and a new Raid comes a look at four new Exotic weapons to chase once the DLC releases next week.
Those four Exotics are Anarchy, Le Monarch, Izanagi's Burden, and Jotun, detailed in Bungie's Black Armory vidoc (watch it above). Three of the Exotics are modeled after the three different Golden Age families--French, Japanese, and Norse--at the heart of the story of the Black Armory, who each worked to become the greatest weaponsmiths of all time. The last Exotic, Anarchy, takes its design from the Fallen. We also know about a fifth Exotic, which Bungie says will be a returning weapon from Destiny 1.
Anarchy, the first Exotic, is a Fallen-styled grenade launcher. Its big cool perk is Arc Traps, which turn its grenades into proximity mines that stick to surfaces. It sounds like the gun will live up to its name by creating ridiculous chaos, especially in Crucible Control matches.
Le Monarch is an Exotic bow in the style of the French family. It takes a page from the Destiny 1 gun Thorn: its perk, Pestilence Arrows, create a cloud that damages enemies around whoever you're shooting at.
From the Japanese family comes Izanagi's Burden, a sniper rifle that also looks kind of like a sword. Its perk is Honed Edge, which allows you to hold down the reload button to slam the entire four-round magazine into one shot. According to Bungie, the resulting blast is so powerful it can take down an enemy in a single body shot--which will make this a powerful option for the Crucible, and a weapon that can stand up to favorites Sleeper Simulant and Whisper of the Worm.
The last Exotic, Jotun, is shown in Bungie's vidoc. It's a fusion rifle players wear on their hands (the developers call it the "arm blaster"), and fires a large flaming slug that explodes on impact. It also tracks enemies, which will make it deadly in the Crucible.
As far as the last Exotic, we don't know which Destiny 1 gun it'll be, but Bungie might have dropped a few clues in the vidoc and with its long-term schedule for Destiny 2's Year 2 content. In the vidoc, when the final Exotic gets mentioned, footage from the strike The Corrupted is shown. It's the version of the strike that players run through when they're working on the quest for the Exotic Malfeasance, during which they're sent by the Drifter to find the grave of a Guardian named Callum Sol.
Speculation is that the Drifter is closely related to Dredgen Yor, a figure from Destiny lore who supposedly created Thorn, an Exotic hand cannon from Destiny 1. Yor famously became corrupted, and was eventually hunted down and defeated in a duel by Shin Malphur with another Exotic hand cannon, Last Word. We know from Bungie's content roadmap in Season 5 that an Exotic quest is coming on January 29. That quest's name: The Draw. Given those clues, it seems we could be seeing either Thorn or Last Word popping up in Destiny 2 come January. From a story perspective, that'd make sense, since Season 6 is all about the Drifter.
Unfortunately we'll have to wait and see what Exotic finally does pop up in The Black Armory, and how player will go about getting the four Bungie has detailed. Destiny 2's next expansion drops on December 4.
If you missed out on the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, there's no need to despair. A number of great deals on recently released games are still alive and well. For instance, you can get Battlefield V for just $30. But if you prefer the Call of Duty style of shooter, you're not left out in the cold. Even though it just came out last month, you can get the PS4 or Xbox One versions of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 for just $40 right now, no strings attached.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 comes with all-new versions of the series' well-established multiplayer and Zombies modes. But instead of the third pillar being a single-player campaign like in previous installments, developer Treyarch has introduced a new online mode called Blackout. Blackout is a battle royale-style mode that has around 100 players drop onto an island and fight it out as the playing field shrinks. The match ends when only one player or team is left standing.
Critic Kallie Plagge scored the game 8/10 in GameSpot's Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 review, summing it up like this: "Black Ops 4 isn't short on content, and its three main modes are substantial. Multiplayer introduces more tactical mechanics without forcing you into them, and it largely strikes a good balance. Zombies has multiple deep, secret-filled maps to explore, though its returning characters don't hold up and prove distracting. Finally, Blackout pushes Call of Duty in an entirely new direction, making use of aspects from both multiplayer and Zombies for a take on the battle royale genre that stands on its own. Sure, there isn't a traditional single-player campaign, but with the depth and breadth of what is there, Black Ops 4 doesn't need it."
If that sounds like a game you want to try for yourself or buy for someone on your shopping list this holiday, grab it quickly. The sale price ends today at Target, and Walmart may follow suit.
While Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee are heavily inspired by Pokemon Yellow, the pair diverge from the classic Game Boy title in some dramatic ways. Rather than starring Red and Blue, the protagonist and rival of the original game, the pair cast players in the role of a brand-new trainer who is setting off on a journey to become a Pokemon Master alongside a new rival character.
But while Red and Blue no longer share the spotlight in Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee, they do play a role in the games. As we learned from a recent trailer, both classic characters appear at some point during the adventure--as does Green, the female trainer who was seen standing alongside the other two characters in the original artwork for Pokemon Red and Blue.
All three trainers can be battled at different points in Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee, but as in previous games, Red is the most difficult to find and defeat of the three. While Blue and Green will challenge you to a match when you've made it to a certain part of the story, you'll need to fulfill a few conditions before you're able to take on Red. Some mild spoilers follow below.
If you're hoping to test your battle prowess against the iconic Pokemon trainer, you'll first need to complete the main story by defeating the Elite Four. Once you've taken the mantle of Pokemon League Champion, a new slew of characters known as Master Trainers will begin appearing around the Kanto region. Each Master Trainer specializes in one particular Pokemon, and you'll need to use that same Pokemon to defeat them in a one-on-one battle. True to their name, however, Master Trainers pose a significant challenge; the Pokemon they specialize in has high stats and knows attacks that give it an advantage over you.
In order to battle Red, you'll first need to defeat any six Master Trainers in Let's Go Pikachu or Eevee. Once you've accomplished that feat, Red will appear outside of the Pokemon League in the Indigo Plateau, where you can talk to him to initiate the battle. He has a diverse team that consists of Pikachu, Snorlax, Arcanine, Lapras, Machamp, and Mega Venusaur, all of which are level 85, so you'll need to bring a powerful team of your own to stand a chance.
After defeating Red, you'll earn the title of Battle Master, which you can display to other players in-game when challenging them to Link Battles. Red will then leave the area, but you'll be able to re-battle him in the same spot by defeating the Elite Four again.
Pokemon: Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee are now available on Switch, marking the series' proper debut on Nintendo's hybrid console. While not direct remakes of Pokemon Yellow, the pair follow its template very closely, featuring the same setting, story beats, and the original 151 Pokemon (plus their Alolan variants, which could be acquired either from certain NPCs or by transferring them over from Pokemon Go).
Despite their many similarities to Yellow, Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee do introduce some new elements to the series--most notably Meltan, a brand-new Mythical Pokemon that hasn't appeared in any previous mainline Pokemon game. Fittingly for a Mythical Pokemon, Meltan can't be acquired through normal means, so we've put together a guide explaining just how you can add it and its evolved form, Melmetal, to your collection.
How To Catch Meltan
The key to getting a Meltan in Let's Go involves connecting the games to Pokemon Go. As previously mentioned, you can link the mobile title to Let's Go via Bluetooth and transfer any Gen 1 Pokemon you've captured there over to the Switch games. The Pokemon you've transferred will then appear in the Go Park, a new facility that replaces the Safari Zone in Fuchsia City. See our full guide to connecting Go and Let's Go for more details.
To begin a transfer, simply speak to the receptionist at the front desk of the Go Park and follow the on-screen prompts. This is a one-way process; any Pokemon you send from Go to Let's Go can't be returned to the mobile game. However, you'll need to complete at least one transfer in order to catch Meltan, as sending a Pokemon to Let's Go will reward you with a special item in Go: the Mystery Box.
The Mystery Box is the key to summoning Meltan in Pokemon Go. Once opened, the Mythical Pokemon will begin appearing in the wild for a limited time, and you'll be able to capture it just as you would any other monster. However, you'll need to act quickly to catch as many as you can; the Mystery Box only remains open for 30 minutes, and you'll need to wait a full seven days before you can activate it again by transferring another Pokemon.
While you can typically only transfer the original 151 Pokemon, Meltan is the sole exception. Once you've managed to catch one in Go, you'll be able to send it over to the Let's Go titles the same way you would any Gen 1 Pokemon. You'll then be able to recapture it in the Go Park to add it to your team.
At the moment, this is the only way to obtain Meltan in either Go or Let's Go. You won't be able to find it in the wild in the Switch games, so if you're hoping to add one to your collection, you'll need to link the two titles together. However, The Pokemon Company has teased that a new Special Research questline revolving around Meltan will be available for Pokemon Go players sometime this winter, suggesting there will be other ways to acquire it in the future.
Meltan is a pure Steel-type Pokemon that stands at eight inches tall, making it one of the smallest monsters in the Pokemon universe. While it may not look particularly intimidating, it does have a notable distinction: Meltan is the first Mythical Pokemon capable of evolving, and it's able to grow into a hulking monster called Melmetal.
How To Evolve Meltan
As before, Pokemon Go is the key to obtaining Melmetal. In order to evolve Meltan, you'll need to feed it enough Candy in Go, just as you would evolve most other Pokemon in the mobile game. These are acquired each time you catch a Meltan or send one to Professor Willow, but be warned: you're going to need to capture a lot of Meltans if you're hoping to get its evolution, as the Mythical Pokemon requires a whopping 400 Candies to evolve.
Given how long it takes to reopen the Mystery Box, amassing enough Candy to evolve Meltan is a daunting prospect. Fortunately, if you've stocked up on Rare Candies, you'll be able to use them to expedite the process. You can also feed Pinap Berries to Meltan during the capture phase, which will increase the number of Candies you receive if you successfully catch it. Once you've evolved Meltan, you can transfer your Melmetal to the Let's Go games and recapture it in the Go Park.
Just as its base form, Melmetal is a pure Steel-type Pokemon. According to the series' lore, it was worshiped in ancient times because of its ability to create metal. It is also capable of learning a brand-new move called Double Iron Bash, a two-hit Steel-type attack that can make the opposing Pokemon flinch.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday may be over, but saving money never goes out of style. We've seen a number of fantastic deals pop up out of the blue this week for anyone quick enough to grab them. Now we can add one more to the pile: Ebay is running a promotion that gets you 25% off eligible items for a limited time. Similar promotions in the past have been good on video games, consoles, and accessories, so this will likely be an opportune time to grab anything you might have missed over the big shopping weekend.
All you have to do is fill your cart with eligible items and enter promo code PSAVE25 (or click the check box next to the PSAVE25 code) at checkout. All items eligible for the promotion will have the coupon code displayed on the checkout page. The promotion is live from 8 AM PT (11 AM ET) November 29 to 11:59 PM PT December 1 (2:59 AM ET December 2).
As you can probably imagine, some additional restrictions apply. The discount is capped at $25, so even if you buy a $500 Xbox One X, you'll only save $25. The discount applies only to the purchase price of the item, not to costs associated with shipping, handling, or taxes. And while the code can be used on multiple eligible items in your cart, you can only use it once per account, so you'll want to make sure you have everything you want before finalizing your purchase.
And if you've read this far but live in the UK, you can grab 15% off by entering promo code PRESENTS--but you'll have to hurry, because this offer is only good on November 29.
Treyarch has released another update for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. This latest patch makes an assortment of tweaks and fixes across game modes on all platforms, including another round of stability improvements for Zombies, a new multiplayer playlist for PS4, and more.
First, Treyarch has introduced the Safeguard playlist to the PS4 version of Black Ops 4. This mode has two teams vying to escort a robot into enemy territory while preventing the opposing side from doing the same. On top of that, the studio has added three other new Featured playlists on all platforms: Hardcore Nuketown, Mercenary Objective Moshpit, and Chaos Hardpoint.
Along with the new playlists, Treyarch has added nighttime versions of two popular maps to the game. Seaside Sunset and Firing Range Night are available now for free for all players in the multiplayer map rotation and will remain in the game "indefinitely."
For the battle royale-style Blackout mode, Treyarch has added a new weapon: the Bowie Knife. It can be found in equipment stashes or as drops from Zombies, and it allows for "stealthy 1-hit kills" according to the patch notes the developer shared on Reddit. Additionally, the Blightfather event is available once again on PS4, and Treyarch has introduced Character Missions to unlock Dempsey, Nikolai, Takeo, and Richtofen.
Rounding out the update are more stability improvements and crash fixes for Zombies modes. These apply to all maps, as well as a few specific to IX. Treyarch teases that there will be "some exciting additions to Zombies in the coming weeks." You can read the full patch notes for the update below and on Reddit.
Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4 November 27 Update Patch Notes
Summary
Multiplayer
Safeguard playlist (PS4).
Seaside Sunset and Firing Range Night MP maps.
Hardcore Nuketown, Chaos Hardpoint, and Mercenary Objective Moshpit playlists.
Exploit/bug fixes for Nuketown and Summit.
Blackout
Zombies Origins Character Missions (PS4).
Blightfather Event with lower health in Solos and Duos (PS4).
Bowie Knife now available on all platforms.
Zombies
Stability fixes across all maps.
General
Specialist HQ and After Action Report improvements.
All Platforms
Multiplayer
Playlists
Featured Playlist changed to Safeguard (PS4) / Hardcore Mercenary Moshpit (Xbox One and PC).
Hardcore Nuketown added to Featured category.
Chaos Hardpoint added to Featured category.
Hardpoints spawn in a random order
Score increases with each teammate on the Hardpoint
Score limit increased to 1000
6v6
Mercenary Objective Moshpit added to Featured category.
Added Seaside Sunset and Firing Range Night to all playlists.
Closed exploits in Nuketown that allowed Ruin to grapple outside of the map.
Resolved an issue where the scoreboard would flash on screen after ending a game on Nuketown.
Resolved an issue on Summit that allowed Care Packages deployed on a ramp in the eastern part of the map to float.
Create-a-Class
Resolved an issue that removed an attachment from weapons with maximum attachments and a Clan Tag or Kill Counter equipped.
Challenges
Tactical Mask Challenge now properly tracks kills while an enemy Counter UAV is active.
Blackout
Weapons
Bowie Knife now available in Equipment Stashes, as a random drop from killing Zombies, and as a randomized item spawn in Zombies-themed locations on all platforms.
Character Missions
Zombies Origins Character Missions (Dempsey, Nikolai, Takeo, Richtofen) now available to find and complete (PS4).
Playlists
Blightfather event enabled in all playlists (PS4).
Reduced the health of the Blightfather in Solo and Duo playlists.
Zombies
Gameplay
IX
Resolved an issue where sliding under a Blade Trap without taking damage would not contribute to another player's challenge.
Stability
General
Fixed a crash that could occur occasionally when using Anywhere But Here.
Fixed a rare crash that could occur when a player disconnected while another player was downed.
Fixed a rare crash that could occur when a player disconnected during Fast Travel.
IX
Fixed a crash that could occur when killing enemies with traps in IX.
Fixed additional crashes related to a player helping another with challenges in IX.
General
Specialist Headquarters
Improved Torque tutorial mission scripting.
After Action Report
After Action Report in Multiplayer and Blackout will now display all earned Tier Rewards and allow the player to scroll through the Tier Rewards menu.
Epic Games has launched Fortnite update 6.31 and has detailed the tweaks, changes, and new additions in the full patch notes. The headliners in the Battle Royale mode are the Team Rumble Limited Time Mode and two new rarities of the Pump Shotgun. For the Save the World mode, meanwhile, there's a new Constructor called Airheart, who arrives with a Rotating Omni-directional Sentry Integrated Exoskeleton (R.O.S.I.E). Here's what's new.
Team Rumble, as you may have guessed, involves two teams of 20 players battling each other, with the first to reach 100 eliminations crowned the victor. To spice things up players will respawn five seconds after they are killed and will keep their inventory when they re-join the battle. Furthermore, eliminated players spawn a random type of ammo and a random stack of either 120 Wood, 90 Stone, or 60 Metal materials when they're taken out.
The new Pump Shotguns are Epic and Legendary varieties. They do 105 / 110 maximum damage, respectively, and their introduction coincides with some differences to maximum damage and damage fall-off (compared to before, they'll do more damage up close but less from further away). These two types of Pump Shotgun can be found from floor loot, chests, Supply Drops, and Vending Machines. With this change, Epic has removed the Double Barrel Shotgun from floor loot, so expect the shotguns you find on the ground to be of the Pump variety more often.
Another weapon-related change of note involves Dynamite, which was recently added. It's now possible to pick up a Dynamite that's been thrown and chuck it elsewhere; this is done by using the interact button/key while nearly it.
Finally, Epic announced it has introduced a gifting feature for a limited time (except on iOS). This feature will at least initially only be available for a week, but it allows you to buy items from the store and send them to friends. Doing so has several requirements, as outlined by Epic:
Make sure you have Multi-factor authentication enabled on your account. If you're not sure how to get this setup then check out the instructions here.
You must have been friends with somebody for at least 48 hours before you can send a gift to them.
You will only be able to gift three times within a 24 hour period.
Any gifts that are purchased are NOT refundable.
You can only gift an item that is currently available in the Item Shop.
Take a look at the full patch notes for Battle Royale below, and click here for more on the Save The World mode. Since the update's release, we've also gotten Week 10 challenges, including one that has you track down the location of a camel, among other things.
Limited Time Mode: Team Rumble
Summary
Two large teams fight for the Victory Royale in an action-packed mode where the first team to get 100 eliminations wins!
Mode Details
Two teams of 20 players.
Players will respawn after 5 seconds when eliminated, keeping their inventory.
Eliminated players spawn a random type of ammo upon elimination, as well as a random stack of either 120 Wood, 90 Stone, or 60 Metal materials.
Only Uncommon weapons (or better) are available.
The first team to 100 eliminations wins.
Weapons + Items
New Epic and Legendary Pump Shotgun
105 / 110 maximum damage
Available from floor loot, chests, Supply Drops, and Vending Machines.
Shotguns will now always apply at least 3 pellets worth of damage if only 1-2 pellets hit the target.
NOTE: Bonus pellets can never be critical hits.
Pump Shotgun maximum damage and fall-off changes.
Pump Shotgun maximum damage increased from 80 / 85 to 95 / 100
Pump shotguns will do higher damage in shorter range buckets but damage falls off quicker. This means you'll do more damage to closer targets but less damage to farther targets.
Added Stink Bombs to Supply Drops
Removed Double Barrel Shotguns from floor loot
Mounted Turret
Adjusted Mounted Turret collision to make it easier to land shots against anyone occupying it.
Removed the ability to repair the Mounted Turret
Fixed players being able to clip into turret barrels and get stuck.
Supply drops will automatically open if landing on a Mounted Turret
Drop rate reduced from 1.719% to 0.915%
Bug Fixes
The Mounted Turret can no longer fire through its own floor.
Fixed an issue with players not having an audio cue while gliding after respawning.
Fixed an issue with Chiller effects not applying properly to players' feet.
Gameplay
Reduced the in-air speed when using the Glider Redeploy feature in supported game modes.
Added functionality that allows the placement of map markers in the world without needing to go into the fullscreen map.
You'll be able to look at a position in the world and use the "Place Marker" keybind to place a map marker. This command will only be available by default while in Combat Mode.
This command is defaulted to Left on the D-pad for controllers and the Middle Mouse button for PC and Mac.
For Mobile players, this command will be bound to an optional button in the HUD Layout Tool.
Added the ability to pick up and throw back Dynamite with a lit fuse.
To throw the Dynamite with a lit fuse, get near it and use the interact key.
Bug Fixes
Increased the Dynamite explosion height against players from 192 units to 300 units.
This was done to prevent players from being able to jump over the explosion area on flat ground without taking damage.
Events
New Tournament: Alchemist Pop-Up Cup
Pop-Up Cups are tournaments testing temporary, Limited Time Modes. Alchemist will continue our testing of several gameplay adjustments and may differ day to day.
Initial Mode Settings:
A material cap of 500 Wood, 500 Stone, 500 Metal
Harvesting Rate Increased by 40%
+50 Health on Eliminations
Storm Surge
If a certain amount of players are remaining by the time the Storm finishes closing, a Storm Surge will activate. This periodically deals damage to players who have the least amount of damage dealt during the match.
Circle 1: 60 Players Remaining
Circle 2: 44 Players Remaining
Circle 3: 30 Players Remaining
Circle 4: 20 Players Remaining
Circle 5: 16 Players Remaining
Circle 6: 14 Players Remaining
Circle 7: 12 Players Remaining
Circle 8: 6 Players Remaining
Circle 9: 2 Players Remaining
Your highest score or pin during any event session will now be displayed on the tournament poster in the Events tab.
Pins will now reflect tournament colors on the Event Details screen.
Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue where players would receive points during warmup island which would be later removed.
Performance
Improvements to level streaming performance on Xbox One and Switch (improving building load times during skydiving)
Audio
Player in-air falling audio cue volume has been increased.
The Mounted Turret overheat audio loop volume has been reduced.
Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue where the Glider in-air audio cue wouldn't play for players who glide in after respawning.
Social
Bug Fixes
Fixed a crash on Nintendo Switch that occasionally occurred when logging in for the first time.
Art + Animation
Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue where player nameplates disappear after scrubbing a replay.
Mobile
Map Marker button added to the HUD Layout Tool
Fortnite is also having another crossover with Disney. While the last one resulted in Thanos appearing on the island, this time it's Ralph from Disney's Wreck-It Ralph movie series. He popped up recently in Fortnite as part of an unpublicised Easter egg, likely to help promote the new film Ralph Breaks The Internet.
Red Dead Online, the multiplayer mode for Red Dead Redemption 2, has started to roll out to select beta participants; it's expanded today and will continue building to a full launch later this week. If you pre-ordered or bought a special edition, you have some bonuses waiting for you in the online Wild West, but you may be unsure where to claim them.
For any bonuses, first you have to complete the Red Dead Online tutorial. From there, you can find your extras in a couple of different locations. To claim a horse, just sell the default one to make space and then pick up a new one from the stable. For guns and outfits, you can visit a store, or just consult the catalog that you carry with you wherever you go. The catalog is given to you during the tutorial.
Only Ultimate Edition players had access to Red Dead Online on Tuesday, but that has expanded now to include everyone who played the base game on launch day. After that, on November 29, the beta will open for anyone who played by October 29. Finally, on November 30 the mode will be widely available for anyone who owns any version of Red Dead Redemption 2. The initial launch began at 8:30 AM ET / 5:30 AM PST / 1:30 PM GMT / 12:30 AM AEDT, so we expect each phase to launch at that time on their respective days.
However, the launch didn't go off without a hitch. Rockstar Support dealt with an issue impacting Xbox One owners of the Ultimate Edition that prevented them from accessing the beta. In our own playtime, we've gotten into the game but suffered frequent errors that eject us. Rockstar has warned that this is very much a beta, and that issues are expected.
Red Dead Online launches this week, with Red Dead Redemption 2 Ultimate Edition owners and those who played the game on day one being granted access to the multiplayer mode. But what awaits them when they take their gunslinging ways online? Rockstar has addressed that question, delivering details on what players can expect.
Rockstar describes Red Dead Online as a "continually expanding experience" and, as such, it intends to make additions and updates throughout the beta period. However, beginning right away, players will be able to form a Posse, establish a camp, and take on story-based cooperative missions. There are also strangers awaiting them in the open-world, free roaming challenges, activities such as fishing, and some good old-fashioned exploration.
As players undertake these activities they'll rack up experience that contributes towards rank and bonuses. Over time, items can be unlocked and character attributes can be improved. There are also 12 categories that players can earn distinctions in, such as combat, hunting, sharpshooting, and survivalist.
Red Dead Online begins in Sisika Penitentiary, where players will first get a horse, set up camp, find treasure, equip an Ability Card and, according to Rockstar, "meet some fateful characters with a larger story to tell; one that involves chasing truth, revenge, and honor."
The action-based honor system from the main game is also present in Red Dead Online, with your decisions and behaviour shaping how the world views your character. Depending on your alignment, the world around you will respond differently and Rockstar says "the nature of certain missions will reveal themselves to you based on your current honor states."
Rockstar has also provided details on the various Red Dead Online modes you can expect to see right away. The lineup includes one PvP mode that sounds a lot like battle royale.
As previously revealed, the Red Dead Online beta is now available for select players. As part of a gradual rollout, anyone with the Ultimate Edition or who played Red Dead Redemption 2 on its launch day given now have access. Those that played Red Dead Redemption 2 at any point between launch and October 29 will be able to jump into the beta from November 29. And then anyone who owns the game can check it out from November 30. This gradual rollout, Rockstar says, will help it "ease into the beta and to mitigate major issues."
Since the release of Destiny 2's Forsaken DLC in September, Bungie has done a better job than in the past of addressing complaints about content droughts. The weekly reset has routinely brought new content over the past few months, and it appears that the start of the new season and launch of the Black Armory DLC will see that continue in the coming weeks and beyond.
Alongside the newly released vidoc (watch it above) and a new update, Bungie has detailed much of the new content that's on the way. The Black Armory is the first piece of the Annual Pass, a set of paid expansions and content that will launch between now and August 2019. Season 5--Season of the Forge--officially begins today, November 27, with a bunch of new Exotics and items available now. The Black Armory itself launches on December 4, but that will be followed by a gradual rollout of more events and other happenings.
As part of Bungie's attempt to be more transparent about what to expect, it's released both a short-term and long-term calendar of new content. For Annual Pass owners, new Forges (part of the Black Armory DLC) will unlock throughout December, while the new Raid--Scourge of the Past--launches on December 7. A new Exotic quest called The Draw will be available starting on January 29; it's one of several new Exotics you can collect.
In terms of what all Destiny 2 players can access, The Dawning, the annual Christmas/holiday-themed event, begins on December 11. That's followed by another event, the Valentine's Day-themed Crimson Days, on February 5.
The long-term calendar highlights some other notable additions to come through August--and there's a ton to take in. This includes a "new Gambit experience," additional max Power level increases, Xur bounties, a new six-player matchmade activity, another new Raid, and more. While the schedule could still change, it seems clear that Destiny 2 players will have a lot to keep them busy in the year to come.
A new Red Dead Redemption 2 update is now available and introduces Red Dead Online to the game. The mode is officially live and has expanded to include not just those with the Ultimate edition, but also those who played Red Dead 2 on its launch day, October 26 (according to Rockstar's internal data). More players are being added over the course of the week; you can check out the exact schedule below.
Rockstar has finally revealed when Red Dead Redemption 2's online multiplayer mode will launch: it will initially debut tomorrow, November 27. But in order to prevent Red Dead Online's servers from collapsing due to high demand, Rockstar will have a gradual rollout that starts exclusively with owners of the game's Ultimate edition (which, as luck would have it, is still on sale for Cyber Monday).
When you're able to play the beta depends on the version of the game you have or when you actually started playing the game. The first group of people that will be able to play the game are those that purchased the Ultimate Edition. Anyone who has that version will be able to jump into the beta from November 27 at 8:30 AM ET / 5:30 AM PST / 1:30 PM GMT / 12:30 AM AEDT (November 28).
The next group of people to be given access is anyone who played the game on October 26 (that's Red Dead Redemption 2's launch day). If you're one of those people, you can head online on Wednesday, November 28. If you played the game between October 26 and October 29--according to Rockstar's data--you'll be able to join the fun from November 29.
Finally, public access to Red Dead Online will be available to anyone that owns Red Dead Redemption 2 from November 30. This rollout method will help Rockstar "ease into the beta and to mitigate major issues." The studio is being very candid about potential performance issues, saying that the beta is "the first step in what will be a continually expanding and dynamic world."
As such, Rockstar is expecting the "inevitable turbulence of launching any online experience of this size and scale" and it is asking the Red Dead Redemption 2 community to report any issues and share their feedback so that Rockstar can shape the experience with them in mind. You can find out more about Red Dead Online here.
Red Dead Online Start Dates And Times
Tuesday, November 27: All Red Dead Redemption 2: Ultimate Edition owners from November 27 at 8:30 AM ET / 5:30 AM PST / 1:30 PM GMT / 12:30 AM AEDT (November 28)
Wednesday, November 28: All players who played Red Dead Redemption 2 on October 26th according to Rockstar's data
Thursday, November 29: All players who played Red Dead Redemption 2 between October 26th to October 29th according to our data
Friday, November 30: All players who own Red Dead Redemption 2
Red Dead Redemption 2 earned a 9/10 in GameSpot's review, with Kallie Plagge saying it "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."
"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." Read our full Red Dead Redemption 2 review for a more in-depth analysis of the game.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate owners will need to download a day one update when it launches for Switch on December 7, Nintendo has confirmed. In an interview with Famitsu (via ComicBook.com), Smash director Masahiro Sakurai said the patch is necessary for the game's replay system to work as intended.
"We will distribute our first update on launch day," the developer stated. "Players who purchased the digital version don't need to worry, but players who purchased the physical version should apply this day-one patch before you play. This will also prevent your replays from going off-track. By the way, if you save your replays as videos, you can keep them forever, but note that they take up a lot of space!" Sakurai did not confirm the size of the patch.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the first game in the series to launch for Nintendo Switch. It includes every character and stage ever seen across all entries in the franchise, plus some new characters such as Ken, Incineroar, and Isabelle.
In addition, Nintendo will release five as-yet-unannounced DLC characters for the game throughout 2019 as part of the Fighters Pass, plus one additional surprise fighter, Piranha Plant, which you'll receive for free if you register Ultimate on My Nintendo by January 31, 2019. You can read more about the game in our roundup of everything we know about Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Red Dead Redemption 2's online beta, named Red Dead Online, has begun today for select users with the release of a new update. For the time being it's only available to Ultimate Edition owners, and it will expand to a wide release beta in two phases to take place later this week. The progressive roll-out is meant to help mitigate any issues from a wide public launch. It has already hit some reports of Xbox access and general errors causing the game not to work, however.
As of Tuesday, November 27, only users of the Ultimate Edition have access to the beta. Some Xbox One Ultimate Edition owners have reported issues with their access, and Rockstar Support has stated that it is aware of the problem and investigating. The support account has not mentioned any similar problems on PlayStation 4. [Update: The Xbox One-specific issues involving Online access have now been resolved, according to Rockstar. In our experience, players are still being periodically booted out the game, though.]
Those who are getting into the game are also getting their own share of errors. In our own time with the beta, we've seen several errors that have booted us out of the game in progress.
The next phase of the beta will be any early adopters, as defined by those who played the game on launch day, gaining access on November 28. After that anyone who played by October 29 will gain access on November 29. Finally, the beta will go to a full public launch on November 30. The initial Ultimate Edition launch began at 8:30 AM ET / 5:30 AM PST / 1:30 PM GMT / 12:30 AM AEDT, so it's likely the other days' expansions will too.
Red Dead Online aims to blend the multiplayer from the original Red Dead Redemption with lessons Rockstar says it has learned since then, likely referring to its years of experience with Grand Theft Auto Online. It touts the "deeply detailed landscapes, cities, towns and habitats of Red Dead Redemption 2 into a new, living online world ready to be shared by multiple players."
Using Red Dead 2's vast open world as a the core of the online experience makes sense, given that it was one of the most widely praised aspects of the campaign.
"Red Dead Redemption 2's version of America is vast and wide open, stretching from snowy mountains and the Great Plains down to the original game's New Austin in the southwest," said critic Kallie Plagge in GameSpot's Red Dead Redemption 2 review. "Further to the east is the Louisiana-inspired Deep South, which is still feeling the effects of the Civil War after nearly 40 years. There's a distinct shift when traveling from region to region; as grassy hillsides become alligator-filled swamps, Union veterans give way to angry Confederate holdouts, and good intentions and casual racism turn into desperation and outright bigotry."
With a new Destiny 2 DLC, The Black Armory, launching next week, Bungie has released the game's latest major update. Patch 2.1.0 is out now, and while we'll have to wait for the DLC for the big nenw content, this free does mark the start of Season 5--the Season of the Forge--and add a wide variety of new items as well as numerous changes and tweaks that are detailed in the full patch notes.
When you first log in with the update installed, you'll likely want to head to Tess at Eververse first. There you'll be able to see the season's new Bright Engram, the Etched Engram, and its contents. This includes some awesome-looking cosmetics and other Exotics items; there's a firey sparrow, new Exotic weapon ornaments, and much more to collect. You can see a handful of these below.
As for the patch notes, a variety of weapons have been tweaked. Prometheus Lens gets a damage buff, while Ace of Spades' Memento Mori perk has been "reduced to five bullets, but can now be refreshed on reload without having to get rid of all the bonus damage bullets." Machine guns get a slight accuracy boost, while submachine guns get slightly increased range.
Crucible sees the return of Mayhem as a 6v6 playlist, and both Lockdown and Showdown are back in a rotating playlist. Shaxx has new voicelines you'll encounter across an assortment of modes. Shaxx also has new items for direct purchase, as well as new seasonal items and a pinnacle weapon quest. Progression-wise, Valor and Glory now work like Gambit ranks, as they are each divided into three sub-ranks. Legend, however, is not divided into subranks, and you don't have to win at Legend rank to increase your Valor.
Gambit sees progression changes of its own, as rewards should "better match Valor and Glory;" ranking up a subdivision will net you a guaranteed piece of Legendary Gambit gear. Gambit bounties reward twice as many Infamy points as before, and they should be easier to complete. The catch-up mechanic has also been adjusted so that the team in the lead has a better chance of holding onto that lead.
Decreased camera shake and screen flash on hit in an attempt to alleviate feelings of motion sickness when using the Burning Maul Super
Thundercrash
Adjusted camera during flight sequence in an attempt to alleviate feelings of motion sickness when using Thundercrash Super
Exotic Armor
Fixed an issue in which Ophidian Aspect was not increasing the melee range on various Warlock charged melees (Igniting Touch, Ball Lightning, Entropic Pull, Devour, and Atomic Breach)
Fixed an issue in which buffs granted by Lunafaction Boots would last for only 15 seconds inside Well of Radiance rather than the entire duration
Fixed an issue on Ursa Furiosa so that Super gain from guarding is more consistent between PvE and PvP
Weapons
Warden's Law
Replaced perks on Warden's Law that did not function properly with the weapon's archetype
Triple Tap replaced with Feeding Frenzy
Fourth Time's the Charm replaced with Zen Moment
Warden's Law now has bullet contrails
Updated the intrinsic perk text on Warden's Law to distinguish it from Aggressive Burst Sidearms
High-Impact Scout Rifles
High-Impact Scout Rifle damage increased by 1.87%
Dev commentary: Previously it was possible to, at VERY high resilience levels, survive three headshots from a high impact scout rifle. This change will ensure that players at any resilience level will be defeated by three headshots.
Note: A fix that will return High-Impact Scout Rifles to 150 RPM is planned for Destiny 2 Update 2.1.1, scheduled for 12/4/2018
Shotguns
Rapid-Fire Frame on Shotguns now increases the reload of all Shotgun shells when empty instead of just the first shell
Trench Barrel
Trench Barrel perk now deactivates after three shots
Trench Barrel description updated to reflect new behavior and also fix an error where it called out increased accuracy instead of increase reload speed
Submachine Guns
Slightly increased range on Submachine Guns
Machine Guns
Slightly increased accuracy on Machine Guns
Exotic Weapons
Prometheus Lens
Prometheus Lens damage increased by 10%
Hard Light
Fixed an issue where Hard Light could overpenetrate an enemy Banner Shield"
Ace of Spades
Memento Mori reduced to five bullets, but can now be refreshed on reload without having to get rid of all the bonus damage bullets
General
Fixed mantle animation for the Queenbreaker
Fixed an issue where some particle effects were appearing in first-person view when using One Thousand Voices
Fixed an issue where Bows would sometimes become invisible when equipped
Polished the Blade Barrage animation for when the player is holding a Bow
Buffed out a missed spot on the Refer-a-Friend Borealis ornament
Fixed an issue that would delay the nocking of an arrow when the player picked up ammo while the Bow was both stowed and out of ammo
Fixed an issue where the Headseeker perk would no longer function after being activated numerous times without dying
Fixed an issue where the Ikelos Hand Cannon and Shotgun where displaying icons for Malfeasance and Chaperone in the obituary
Polished Grenade Launcher strafing animations to remove up and down reticle veering
Polished Grenade Launcher animations while jumping to prevent stocks from blocking the first-person camera
Polished Sniper Rifle and Machine Gun animations while jumping to prevent stocks from blocking the first-person camera
Fixed an animation issue that would occur when firing and walking with a Machine Gun
Polished Tractor Cannon's sprint animation to feel more natural
Fixed an issue where Swords dropped with mods intended for Rocket Launchers, and Rocket Launchers dropped with mods intended for Swords
Rapid Hit now displays a status effect buff on activation
Known issue: Sniper Rifle precision kills will stack the perk twice; this will be fixed in a later patch
Updated Oathkeeper's Exotic perk to remove text for Bow charge speed
Tireless Blade perk description updated to match actual behavior where ammo is returned on every other powered Sword kill
Fixed an issue where the Momentum Transfer perk was not functioning properly
Crucible
Modes
Mayhem will return as a 6v6 rotating playlist with scoring support for new Forsaken Supers
Lockdown and Showdown will return as rotating playlists and have been added to Private Matches
Scorched and Team Scorched have been added to Private Matches
New Shaxx lines, spread between Rumble, Lockdown, Showdown, and a few special medals
Single round modes (Clash, Control, etc.) now end with a "Match Complete" countdown similar to those displayed at round complete in round-based modes
Added new Crucible medals and associated Triumphs for Forsaken Supers, the Machine Gun weapon archetype, and the Lockdown game mode
Added two new gold-tier medals—happy hunting!
Fixed an issue where "The Cycle" medal was not being tracked properly
Iron Banner now awards unique Iron Banner-themed medals with unique audio cues
Iron Banner uses new unique Match Complete banners
Ranks
Valor and Glory are now subdivided into three sub-ranks similar to Gambit
Valor and Glory have NOT subdivided the Legend rank
Valor does NOT require players to win at Legend
Shaxx
Shaxx has a new rotation of items available for direct purchase.
Players must earn Valor to collect these items
A new set of Seasonal Items has been added to Shaxx's inventory
Previous seasons' exclusive items have been removed
A new pinnacle weapon quest has been added to Shaxx's inventory
To allow players to make progress on any character, each step features account-wide objectives
This quest requires two types of objectives to be completed: Reach a specific Rank and complete a specific Triumph; players can complete these objectives in any order
Previous pinnacle weapon quests continue to be available on Shaxx
Gambit
Ranks
Adjusted Infamy rank rewards to better match Valor and Glory. Subdivision rank ups will now always award Gambit Legendary gear
Bounties and Quests
Infamy Rank Point rewards from all Gambit bounties have been doubled
Many bounties have had their objectives retuned to take less time and be easier to complete
Added a new daily bounty for killing Primeval envoys, and slotted it into the daily rotation
Fixed an issue where the Malfeasance quest could be progressed in Crucible modes
NOTE: Once S5 begins and Infamy is reset, you must play one Gambit match before redeeming any bounties. Players who turn in these bounties after Season of the Forge begins, but before playing a Gambit match, will not correctly receive points to their Infamy rank from these bounties.Primeval Mechanics
Catch-up mechanics have been adjusted to ensure that the leading team retains more of an advantage
The trailing team will now receive a maximum of only one bonus stack of the Primeval Slayer buff (previously, they received up to three stacks depending on how far behind the trailing team was)
The time before the bonus stack kicks in has been increased to 32 seconds, up from 22 seconds
Primevals will hard ping less often, to reduce stunlock against highly coordinated teams
Matchmaking
Further addressing error codes that could occur during matchmaking, leading to potential quitter penalties
Clans
General
Last Wish raid bounties are now available to anyone who has access to the Last Wish raid.
Does not require Clan Rank 4
A new season of progression is available, with new perks to pursue
Items and Economy
General
Fixed an issue where the "Rainmaker" consumable didn't provide showers of Glimmer from defeated enemies
Fixed an issue where Public Defender Ghost perk wasn't properly applying to public events on Mars, the Tangled Shore, or the Dreaming City
Fixed an issue where Nightfall unique rewards were not dropping at the rate intended for non-Forsaken owners
Fixed an issue where not picking up Prime Engrams could allow players to earn more than the Prime Attunement buff allows for, putting them in a deficit of further Prime Engrams for a time corresponding to the number of extra Prime Engrams received
Triumphs
Fixed an issue where the title of Triumph "Steadfast" was "Meet Sloane on the moon Titan" (you must still meet Sloane on the moon Titan)
Collections
Added missing Year 2 gunsmith weapons to Collections (not purchasable due to random rolls)
Fixed an issue where the BrayTech RWP Mk. II Scout Rifle was not counting towards Collections for some players
Unearned Season 4 gear is now hidden
PC
Controls
Added new "Take Screenshot" keybind (defaults to the "Print Screen" key)
Text Chat
Added new friend management commands
/addfriend
/removefriend
Added new fireteam management commands
/invite
/join
Note: The fireteam commands can target any player by providing the player's full BattleTag, allowing players to assemble fireteams without sending friend requests.
UI
General
Adjusted item tooltips to fix an issue where perks or other information was cut off on the Character Screen
Fixed an issue where the rank-up banner for Crucible and Gambit was not being appropriately displayed on 21:9 resolutions
Fixed an issue where players were unable to return to orbit while the Results Screen was up at the end of an activity
Localization
Traditional Chinese
Fixed an issue where some parts of the Traditional Chinese UI was not loading properly in-game
Misc
Performance
Improved activity and destination load times on consoles
Note: We are actively investigating load times for loading the player inventory screen, switching between UI tabs starting up the game, signing on, and selecting characters. See This Week at Bungie - 11/08/2018 for more details.
HDR
Fixed an issue where brightness was not adjusting properly for players
General
Fixed an issue with missing Transmat FX on Amanda's exchange
Fixed an issue with erroneous source strings on multiple Dawning and Crimson Days items
Fixed an issue that caused several shaders to be unavailable for bulk exchange at Rahool
Fixed an issue where some UI elements would not load properly if interacting with a vendor and launching into character inventory
Fixed an issue where the Fortunate Projection was causing visual effects issues in third person
Fixed an issue in which the IGR version of the "High and Mighty" bounty did not count wanted escapee kills
Fixed an issue in which the IGR version of the "I'm Not Sorry, I'm Lost" bounty required too many points for completion
Fixed an issue in which the IGR version of the "Through the Crucible" bounty required too few points for completion
Fixed an issue that caused high amounts of Baboon errors in the Tower
The Russos Q&A has come and gone, and unfortunately, there was no Avengers 4 trailer along with it. The anniversary of the Infinity War trailer has also passed, so it seems as if Disney and Marvel aren't concerned about lining up the timing with that. Still, it's almost December, and a trailer is due out this year, so we may still end up seeing it soon. The original story follows.
Avengers 4 is already among the most anticipated movies of 2019, promising to resolve not just the cliffhanger left by Infinity War, but the entire last decade of Marvel films. The public hasn't even seen a trailer yet, but there's reason to believe that may change soon.
The ArcLight Hollywood is hosting a special screening of the film tomorrow evening, November 28, which will be followed by a Q&A from the co-directors, the Russo brothers. The original Infinity War trailer premiered on November 29. Marvel is publishing a "Prelude" comic on December 5, before which we expect the title of Avengers 4 to be revealed. Plus we already know that the Avengers 4 trailer is coming sometime this year.
Putting all the pieces together, it seems reasonably likely that tomorrow's ArcLight event will premiere the trailer to the small audience in attendance. Then, the full trailer could drop on the Internet later in the evening or the following day--the one-year anniversary of the last trailer. And it would pave the way for the title reveal in time for the comic.
The title for Avengers 4 has been kept under wraps, though the Russos have dropped cryptic hints. So far the most likely one appears to be Avengers: End Game, a reference to a line (and major plot point) from Doctor Strange in Infinity War.
We expect Avengers 4 to conclude the Thanos arc of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. First teased in a post-credits sequence in the original Avengers film, Thanos has not interacted with the MCU heroes directly until Infinity War. In that film his full plan for the Infinity Gauntlet was revealed: to obtain the power to snuff out all life in the galaxy by sheer will and a snap of his fingers. The resulting events killed off lots of well-established characters in the MCU, leaving a cliffhanger ending for Avengers 4.
Before it comes, though, we'll be getting a dose of reinforcements. In a post-credits sequence in Infinity War, Nick Fury calls in one last contingency plan: Captain Marvel. The implication is that she'll be the heroes' trump card, and we'll see exactly why--and where she's been all this time--in her own standalone movie on March 8, 2019. Avengers 4 will follow on May 3.
With Red Dead Redemption 2's multiplayer mode, Red Dead Online, launching today, Rockstar has provided new details--really, some of the first--regarding what to expect. Specifically, it's outlined two key activities in Red Dead Online's open world.
The first of these is Free Roam Missions, which appear as Stranger icons and can be embarked on either alone or with a Posse. Rockstar teases that these will involve "familiar faces" and that the way things play out will depend on your Honor level.
"For example, an honorable gunslinger may be asked to help escort a convoy, defending it from attacking gangs or even other players' Posses, whereas a dishonorable outlaw may be asked to help spring a felon from the law," Rockstar explained.
A Land of Opportunities, meanwhile, is described as a "deeper cooperative strand for two to four players" that Rockstar intends to continually expand. This is "a multi-part series of missions, with some parts changing as your honor changes on a larger journey to seek truth and justice, or revenge."
For those with a competitive edge, the online world will also have an assortment of competitive player-versus-player modes. At launch, Red Dead Online has five modes that are part of "a larger series of Showdowns," which seem to be playlists. Matchmaking is used to put players into these modes, including one that sounds a lot like battle royale called Make It Count:
Shootout & Team Shootout -- Classic gunfight modes with unlimited lives. Compete to rack up the most kills before the timer runs out. Sudden death will trigger in the event of a tie: whoever gets the first kill wins.
Make it Count -- A true test of resourcefulness in two game modes: use nothing but a bow and a handful of arrows or throwing knives to be the last one standing. With a gradually shrinking player area, there's nowhere to run.
Most Wanted -- A tactical race to the top. Every kill pushes you up the scoreboard, but watch out: the closer to the top you are, the more points everyone else gets for killing you.
Hostile Territory -- Work in teams to control the land. Capture a territory to start racking up points: the team with most points wins - or you can win outright by capturing every territory.
Name your Weapon -- Demonstrate your personal specialty in this free-for-all or team based match: the trickier the weapon you use to land the killing blow, the more points you get.
Red Dead Online is now available on PS4 and Xbox One in beta for select players. Availability will open up over the course of the week, culminating in a full release of the beta on Friday, November 30. You can check out when Red Dead Online unlocks in our detailed schedule.
November is nearly over, but there's still plenty of new stuff to stream if you didn't find what you wanted on Black Friday. Netflix has shared what is coming to its service for the full month of November 2018 (as well as December), as well as what is leaving the subscription service. You can also check out the video above for some recommendations.
Kicking off the month, Netflix brought a slew of movies on November 1. If you haven't seen it yet, you'll need to watch From Dusk Till Dawn. The 1996 action/horror film is by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino and follows two criminals on the run who take a family in an RV hostage. They all end up at a strip club in Mexico that's filled with vampires. Also now on the service is Cape Fear, Marvel's Doctor Strange, and Sixteen Candles.
If Netflix's originals are more up your alley, then you're in luck, as there are 46 movies and series coming in November. Most notable was the return of House of Cards, for Season 6, which will be its final season. This time around, Kevin Spacey won't be involved after sexual abuse allegations came out against the House of Cards star. The final season will follow Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) as the President of the United States, which was revealed in the first trailer.
There are plenty of other original series to get excited about as well. Mystery Science Theater 3000 has returned for another season to make fun of some terrible, old movies, as of November 22. Also, She-Ra--He-Man's superpowered cousin--has gotten a fun and bubbly reboot as of November 16. Along with a new collection of The Great British Baking Show that's now available, you'll have a ton to watch.
The full the list for Netflix is below, and make sure to check out what's coming to Hulu and Amazon for the month of November as well.
Everything coming to Netflix in November
Avail. 11/1/18
Angela's Christmas-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Bring It On: In It to Win It
Cape Fear
Children of Men
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Cloverfield
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
Doctor Strange
Fair Game - Director's Cut
Follow This: Part 3-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
From Dusk Till Dawn
Good Will Hunting
Jet Li's Fearless
Julie & Julia
Katt Williams: The Pimp Chronicles: Pt. 1
National Lampoon's Animal House
Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow
Planet Hulk
Scary Movie 2
Scary Movie 3
Sex and the City: The Movie
Sixteen Candles
Stink!
The English Patient
The Judgement-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin
The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep
Transcendence
Vaya
Avail. 11/2/18
Brainchild-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
House of Cards: Season 6-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
ReMastered: Tricky Dick & The Man in Black-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Holiday Calendar-- NETFLIX FILM
The Other Side of the Wind-- NETFLIX FILM
They'll Love Me When I'm Dead-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Trolls: The Beat Goes On!: Season 4-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Avail. 11/3/18
Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil
Avail. 11/4/18
Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj (Streaming Every Sunday, begins October 28)-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Avail. 11/5/18
Homecoming: Season 1
John Leguizamo's Latin History for Morons-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Avail. 11/7/18
Into the Forest
Avail. 11/8/18
The Sea of Trees
Avail. 11/9/18
Beat Bugs: Season 3-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
La Reina del Flow-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Medal of Honor-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Outlaw King-- NETFLIX FILM
Spirit Riding Free: Season 7-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Super Drags-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Great British Baking Show: Collection 6-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Treehouse Detectives: Season 2-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Westside-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Avail. 11/12/18
Green Room
Avail. 11/13/18
Loudon Wainwright III: Surviving Twin-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Oh My Ghost-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Warrior-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Avail. 11/15/18
May The Devil Take You-- NETFLIX FILM
The Crew-- NETFLIX FILM
Avail. 11/16/18
Cam-- NETFLIX FILM
Narcos: Mexico-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Ponysitters Club: Season 2-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Prince of Peoria-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs-- NETFLIX FILM
The Break-Up
The Kominsky Method-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Princess Switch-- NETFLIX FILM
Avail. 11/18/18
The Pixar Story
Avail. 11/19/18
The Last Kingdom: Season 3-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Avail. 11/20/18
Kulipari: Dream Walker-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Motown Magic-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Sabrina-- NETFLIX FILM
The Final Table-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Trevor Noah: Son of Patricia-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Avail. 11/21/18
The Tribe-- NETFLIX FILM
Avail. 11/22/18
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Gauntlet-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The Christmas Chronicles-- NETFLIX FILM
Avail. 11/23/18
Frontier: Season 3-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Fugitiva-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Sick Note-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Sick Note: Season 2-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
To Build or Not to Build: Season 2
Avail. 11/25/18
My Little Pony Friendship is Magic: Best Gift Ever
Avail. 11/27/18
Bumping Mics with Jeff Ross & Dave Attel-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Avail. 11/29/18
Pocoyo: Season 4
Avail. 11/30/18
1983-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding-- NETFLIX FILM
Baby-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Death by Magic-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
F is for Family: Season 3-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Happy as Lazzaro-- NETFLIX FILM
Rajma Chawal-- NETFLIX FILM
Spy Kids: Mission Critical: Season 2-- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
The World Is Yours-- NETFLIX FILM
Tiempo compartido-- NETFLIX FILM
Leaving Netflix in November
Leaving 11/1/18
Amelie
Crossfire
Cruel Intentions
Cruel Intentions 2
Cruel Intentions 3
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park III
Oculus
Phenomenon
Run to me
Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball
Steel Magnolias
The Invasion
The Land Before Time
The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure
The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving
One of the first images on the screen at the start of Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse is an "Approved By The Comics Code Authority" stamp, trailing right behind a glitched out slideshow of different studio logos. It's a nod that comics history buffs will no doubt appreciate, both as a fun Easter egg, and as a perfect tone setting introduction. This is a comic book movie--not a movie based on characters from comic books. It is literally a comic book turned into a movie, and every single piece, from the character designs to the animation itself, has been designed from the ground up to make that possible. The result is visually stunning and completely unique.
Into the Spider-Verse is the story of Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), a slightly put-upon but otherwise unassuming teenager in Brooklyn who is struggling under the weight of his parents' lofty expectations. However, during a slightly less-than-legal graffiti excursion with his slightly less-than-reputable Uncle Aaron, Miles' life is turned upside down when he's bitten by a dimension-hopping radioactive spider. Dimension-hopping becomes a recurring theme--it's the basis for the titular "Spider-Verse," an inadvertent convergence of Spider-people from different universes, brought about by a villain's scheme. It's all pretty sci-fi, but never too sci-fi, even for those who are less well versed in comic book science than others--especially not in the same year as Thanos's snap or Ant-Man's exploration of the Quantum Realm.
In fact, Into The Spider-Verse's self awareness of just how over-the-top its own science is makes for some of the most clever gags in the movie. It's brilliantly playful in introducing a supporting cast of various alternate reality Spider-people to the mix, like Nicolas Cage's Spider-Man Noir, a nazi-punching 1930s detective who is animated in perpetual black and white; John Mulaney's Spider-Ham, an anthropomorphic pig animated like a Loony Toon; or Hailee Steinfeld's Gwen Stacy--A.K.A. Spider-Woman--who carves her own path of cool through this film. At one point, Miles points out that Noir's constant rain-slicked, windblown look makes no sense--they're inside--but Noir shrugs and says that "wherever I go, the wind follows." And that's the end of that, even if Miles is practically left looking directly into the camera and contemplating how his life has gone so far off the rails.
The entire movie oozes this same sort of style. It's an explosion of color--part motion comic, part music video, part traditional animation--with a driving, almost frantic energy that carries every scene. There are montages that pluck real life comic covers off the shelves, word balloons splashed on screen to represent internal monologues, benday dots smearing over shadows to convey depth--really, you name it. There seems to have been no limit to the aesthetic experimentation allowed here, and the end result is an animation style that feels completely and totally new. It may take some getting used to for the purists out there, but by the second act even the weirdest visual quirks manage to level themselves out and become totally endearing.
Somehow even more endearing is the relationship between Miles and Peter Parker (Jake Johnson)--not the Peter of Miles' Earth, but one from an alternate dimension who is a little past his prime. Peter becomes Miles' unwilling mentor, which builds into as many laugh-out-loud gags as it does genuinely touching moments. Sure, this Pete may be a decade or so away from the youthful exuberance of someone like, say, Tom Holland, but that doesn't make him any less familiar--in fact, it really only makes him even more relatable for the twenty and thirty something crowd.
That relatability is really Into The Spider-Verse's core, when you get down to it. The premise may be bundled in a sci-fi camp wrapping and served up as a desperately stylish, rapid fire visual extravaganza, but its heart is pretty simple. Anyone, anywhere, has the power to be as heroic and as special as Spider-Man. It doesn't matter if you're an angst ridden teen struggling through high school, a middle aged divorcee down on their luck, or a cartoon pig with no concern for the laws of physics--the ability to do good, the ability to make the world a better place, is universal. It's multiversal, even. It's a constant.
It may seem a bit saccharine, typed out in so many words, but it's a message that superhero comics--that Spider-Man comics specifically--have been touting for ages, and something that's been long overdue for a big screen debut. It probably wouldn't work if Into The Spider-Verse weren't just so funny, self aware, and bleeding-edge modern--but it is, and it does. It manages to blow right past the dangers of sinking into after school special territory by believing wholeheartedly in its own message and delivering it with appropriately genuine stakes. The end result is an instant animated classic, and, with any luck, the first of many of its kind.
The Good
The Bad
Incredible, unique animation and style
Johnson and Moore's hilarious chemistry
A great message
Almost too many easter eggs for comics fans to count
For those who are Amazon Prime subscribers, they've got a slew of new movies and TV series coming to its video service for the month of December. There are plenty of films from the past few years you'll want to watch, classic movies you need to see, and ones from your youth. Cowabunga.
Speaking of weird slang from the late-80s, early-90s, you can relive your childhood through the 1990 live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which is a whole lot darker than you remember. TMNT comes to Amazon on December 1, the same day as the classic Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day and the Jim Henson classic The Dark Crystal.
December 1 is the main day to focus on for Amazon, with classic films A Clockwork Orange and A Fistful of Dollars coming as well. One day you'll want to mark on your calendars is December 27 when one of the year's best horror movies--Hereditary--comes to Amazon, and you'll want to watch it.
On the side of Amazon originals, the second season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel arrives on December 5, while a new original called LOL: Last One Laughing hits the service on December 14. Finally, Niko and the Sword of Light: Season 2 comes to Amazon at the end of the month on December 28.
Check out the full list for everything coming to Amazon below and make sure to also check out what's coming to Netflix in December.
Coming to Amazon Prime Video in December
December 1
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
A Fistful of Dollars (Per un pugno di dollari) (1964)
All the President's Men (1976)
Bad Girls from Mars (1990)
Because I Said So (2007)
Bestseller (2015)
Beverly Hills Vamp (1989)
Blue Hill Avenue (2001)
Boogie Nights (1997)
Bright Lights, Big City (1988)
Event Horizon (1997)
Gargoyle (2004)
Groundhog Day (1993)
Happily N'Ever After (2006)
Happily N'Ever After 2 (2009)
Hitman's Run (1999)
King of the Mountain (1981)
Line of Duty (2013)
Livin' by the Gun (2011)
Margin Call (2011)
Mars Attacks! (1996)
Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994)
Ordinary People (1980)
Promised Land (2012)
Silent Tongue (1993)
Sleepover (2004)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
The Black Stallion (1979)
The Dark Crystal (1982)
The Firm (1993)
The Game (1997)
The Godson (1998)
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991)
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
Trucks (1997)
Ulee's Gold (1997)
Valkyrie (2008)
War (2007)
Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins (2008)
Wild Wild West (1999)
Windtalkers (2002)
December 5
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Original series), Season 2
December 7
Killers (2010)
Why Did I Get Married Too? (2010)
December 8
Before I Fall (2017)
Collide (2016)
December 14
LOL: Last One Laughing (Prime Original series), Season 1
December 15
4 Blocks, Season 2
Life of Crime, Mini-series
December 16
Evan Almighty (2007)
December 19
A Most Wanted Man (2014)
December 21
Life Itself (Prime Original movie)
Vanity Fair (Prime Original series), Season 1
December 25
Iron Man 2 (2010)
December 27
Hereditary (2018)
December 28
Niko and the Sword of Light (Prime Original series), Season 2
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