Call of Duty is the first big shooter franchise to wade into the thickening fray of the battle royale genre and attempt to dethrone its current kings: Fortnite and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. The new Blackout battle royale mode in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 makes a strong case for the franchise's ascendance in this genre, too. Blackout takes a lot of things that have become signature elements of battle royale, like last-player-standing matches, huge maps, randomized weapons, and careful gameplay, and tightens up the formula with the solid mechanics and polish for which the franchise has become famous.
That doesn't mean that Blackout has won the battle royale melee just for showing up, though. Yes, developer Treyarch has made a lot of great improvements to things players are used to seeing in PUBG, Fortnite, H1Z1, and others, but it's by no means perfect. Blackout relies heavily on players' existing knowledge of other battle royale games, for instance. It introduces a lot of new systems without giving much explanation about how they work, like other battle royale games, without acknowledging that with its huge audience, it's probably introducing many players to the genre for the first time. And it's still following the lead of the games that have come before it.
Blackout is a fun mode with a lot to love. The question is, can it last, especially as more and more developers chase the battle royale trend? Here are five ways that Treyarch could improve Blackout to help it become the last battle royale game standing.
Make It Easier For New Players To Learn The Game
The great thing about Call of Duty games, and one of the things that's helped make the franchise so enduring and popular, is that they're generally very easy to pick up and play. Hopping into a standard Deathmatch game in any Call of Duty doesn't require too much background knowledge for reasonably seasoned players. You don't need to know the pros and cons of every gun, for example, to be a solid fighter, because the game provides you with loadouts that make it easy to get a sense of what works for you and what doesn't.
By its very nature, the battle royale genre upends this thinking. It's inherently a more complex concept. Spending time trying out new equipment comes at the high price, since matches are longer and more involved. In any given game, you need to know where to deploy or try to deploy; what equipment you actually need to survive and to fight; what "circle collapses" are and how they work; and how to actually engage enemies. Yet Blackout gives very little information or explanation to new players about the mode and how it works. Call of Duty has the power to bring a huge number of people to the battle royale genre yet squanders it by chasing the audience of players who already play those kinds of games. It's a huge missed opportunity.
Make Blackout More Accessible For The Less Hardcore
Continuing the last point, the folks at Treyarch could stand to try to make Blackout clearer and more accessible beyond the first couple of matches. Most of the games in the battle royale genre can already be tough to break into and understand. Not only are there things new players have to learn basically with zero assistance when they start these games, but these games are full of intricate systems and mechanics whose uses and benefits aren't very clear, even when you've built up some experience in the game.
Blackout is already a little better than most games at getting you acclimated. Hovering the cursor over weapons and equipment on the inventory screen gives players some (very brief) insights into their types, uses, strengths, and weaknesses. But you'll learn little or nothing about things like just how useful adding grips to your gun can be, or what differences to expect between 5.56 and .45 ammo. Some players and streamers even take to Reddit and YouTube to figure out all the little details about how guns, armor, and equipment in these games work--and that level of dedication inherently leaves more casual players, who don't have the time to research bullet drop or recoil reduction, on the outs. Blackout has the opportunity to make a more inviting battle royale game that's easier to understand, no matter whether you play one match a week or 50.
Audio Needs An Overhaul
A key part of battle royale is sound, especially when playing solo. Players are alone on the a vast island in Blackout, with only their wits and whatever they can scavanage, and often they can rely only on their senses to locate other players and protect themselves. In most battle royale games, sound is more important than just about anything else, because hearing other players walking, driving vehicles, or fighting one another is often the only information you can get about where they are and whether you're in danger.
Blackout currently seems to have two problems with audio. First, the sound in Blackout can be frustrating when you're relying on it. Your own footsteps and actions are very loud, while sounds from other players can be excruciating to hear and pin down. This does make the Awareness perk, which boosts your ability to hear sounds from other players, a lot more valuable, but it shouldn't be quite so hard to hear who's sneaking up on you in the first place.
On top of that, other players have complained about issues in which sound doesn't always work correctly in Blackout, or comes out of the wrong speaker or headphone channel; a player might be approaching you from the left, but you're hearing it coming from the right, for instance. That's an element that needs to be fixed in Blackout if it's going to have longevity. Even without focusing on a major problem like that, though, audio could use some work in the future to make it more viable for players to use their senses to survive.
More Zombies!
Blackout sets itself apart from the rest of the battle royale genre with a lot of little Call of Duty-type elements--like the addition of undead enemies carried over from the Zombies mode. In certain areas, your sneaking and looting can be halted by zombies popping up and trying to murder you. Right now, though, you could play several matches of Blackout and never come across a zombie. Even if you did, you'd likely never really have a need to be afraid of them, since they're easily avoided and not especially dangerous. Zombies in Blackout are little more than a novelty, but they could be a lot more.
Just simply putting zombies in more locations would instantly create a totally different battle royale dynamic, creating a middle ground between existing battle royale and Call of Duty's Zombies mode. We saw something in this vein with the Blackout beta, in which Treyarch included a zombie boss character players could encounter, and take down, during matches. Treyarch could get even more creative with zombies; the developer could add them to popular locations that see the most players at the start of every match, while smaller, more hidden locations could be safer, changing up players' incentives when they first start a match. Or the number of zombies filling the map could be more reactive to where players die. Zombie populations could climb as the circle closes, or they could pick up speed and strength as it tightens, making being caught outside the circle even more harrowing than it already is.
There are a lot of possibilities to make zombies a bigger part of the Blackout experience, even if those possibilities are relegated to additional game type options separate from the standard Blackout competition.
Lead, Don't Follow
Blackout does a great job of taking the existing battle royale formula and improving upon it. Perks, weapon selection, improved mechanics, zombies, and streamlined gameplay are all great additions that make playing Blackout familiar yet different. But they all also feel like somewhat superfluous renovations to someone else's building. Blackout is very similar to the current top battle royale titles, and because of that, it feels like it's chasing the current leaders, rather than searching for a path of its own.
Blackout has identified some of the problems of other battle royale titles and fixed them, while also putting a bit of a Call of Duty spin on the whole idea. Going forward, however, Call of Duty needs to do more than just turn out a Call of Duty version of PUBG. What exact shape that might take is tough to guess at, but in a field that's quickly filling up with battle royale options, as well as copycats and knockoffs, it's going to take more than polish and improvements for Blackout to keep players invested long-term.
When you're not robbing folks, riding from town to town, and trying to keep your gang out of trouble in Red Dead Redemption 2, chances are pretty good you'll be hunting. Tracking and killing animals keeps you and your gang fed and earns you crafting materials, as well as goods to sell to make money to get Arthur better equipment. But for any hunter in Red Dead Redemption 2, the ultimate prize are the various Legendary Animals scattered around the map, whose pelts yield unique rewards--if you're canny enough to bring them down.
In Chapter 2, you'll be introduced to your first Legendary Animal in a story mission with Hosea, in which he and Arthur set out to hunt a huge grizzly bear. You can return to the hunt later if you're so inclined, but it's possible to take the bear on your first encounter with it, if you're skilled (or more likely, lucky). If you manage to kill and skin the big grizzly, you'll get a Legendary Bear Pelt, a unique item in the world of Red Dead Redemption 2 that can be used to make special new gear.
The question is, what exactly do you do with the huge Legendary Bear Pelt once you have it? Red Dead 2 isn't very clear on this point. In fact, there are special requirements for using the pelts of Legendary Animals--you can't just sell them to any store in a town, or donate them to Pearson back at your camp. In the case of the Legendary Bear pelt, there's a good chance you won't even have heard of the person yet who you need to interact with in order to use it.
Here's what you need to know about hunting the Legendary Bear, where you'll find it, and what to do once you've killed it.
Where To Find The Bear
The easiest way to get to and deal with the Legendary grizzly is in Chapter 2, when you take on the mission Exit Pursued By a Bruised Ego from Hosea. Arthur and Hosea will head out to find the Baharati Grizzly Bear in the Grizzlies East region, north of O'Creagh's Run, and once you've finished the mission, the bear will be hanging around in the area for you to hunt. Once you've fought off the bear during the mission, Hosea will decide to take his leave of hunting giant killer animals with some "I'm getting too old for this s---" dialogue. At that point, you can choose to stick around and finish what you started and take down the bear.
It's worth noting that the bear is no pushover and it can definitely kill you if you're not careful. If you're not outfitted super well at this point in the game, you might want to take some time in the world to earn better gear and improve Arthur's well-being before you commit to the fight. That said, it's possible to kill the bear here and now--we did it with Arthur's stock weapons that he had at this point in the game.
Bring down the bear and you'll be able to skin it, taking a whole bunch of stuff, including the Legendary Bear Pelt. This is the unique item you need for crafting special clothing you can't get anywhere else.
You've Got The Legendary Bear Pelt--Now What?
Once you have the pelt, you'll probably be pretty confused about what to actually do with it. Regular shopkeepers won't take the pelt off your hands, and neither will Pearson in camp. You need to go to a specific person to deal with the pelt: the Trapper.
If you talk to Pearson, he may well off-handedly mention the Canadian fur trapper who hangs around in the area, which will mark the Trapper's location on your map. He roams around, so make sure to check your map for his icon before heading out. He also has a shop in Saint Denis, located in the southeast corner of the map, in the outdoor market, where you can reliably find him.
When you find the Trapper, you'll be able to check out his goods, all of which are unique clothes made from the pelts of Legendary Animals. The thing is, you'll need more than to just take down the bear if you want the whole outfit. Various Legendary Bear items also require other pelts, as well as for you to spend some money. Here's what you'll need to craft each piece of the Legendary Bear outfit:
Legendary Bear Head Hat: Legendary Bear Pelt, $40,
Completing the outfit also requires the Boar Riding Gloves, which require a Perfect Boar Pelt and two Perfect Rabbit Pelts, and will cost you $15.
Though each of the bear items notes that a Legendary Bear Pelt is required, there's only the one. Once you've taken down the Baharit Grizzly, you'll have fulfilled the Bear Pelt requirement for each clothing item.
What Happens If You Lose Your Bear Pelt?
You'll likely sling the Legendary Bear Pelt onto your horse and then find yourself riding for quite a ways to track down the Trapper, whether you're headed south to Saint Denis or out into the wilderness. In all that travel time, misfortune can easily befall even the most careful of cowboy, and if your horse falls or you're killed, you'll likely lose the Legendary Bear Pelt.
That's okay! Don't panic. Whether you carry the pelt physically to the Trapper or not, once you've killed and skinned the Baharati Grizzly Bear, the pelt is unlocked. That requirement will be fulfilled on the Trapper's list even if you don't actually carry the skin all the way to him. You can still access the clothing items once you have everything you need for the recipes.
There are a whole lot of other Legendary Animals to find out there in the big world of Red Dead Redemption 2--check out our guide on where to locate them all. And try our clothing guide for information about where you can get more clothes to customize Arthur's look.
A big portion of the experience of Red Dead Redemption 2 is crossing the rolling plains, deserts, and forests of the Wild West on horseback. The world of RDR 2 is huge, and while there are a lot of things to grab your attention along the way no matter where you're headed, getting anywhere is going to take time. That's not always a bad thing; the world of RDR2 is beautiful, and it's kind of nice to just sit on your horse and take it all in. But constantly steering your horse to keep it on trail and definitely get tedious.
You can make your travel in Red Dead Redemption 2 a little more relaxing by letting your horse take the lead when you ride. The game includes a feature that lets you set your horse to automatically take you to a destination by sticking to trails and roadways. Your horse is pretty smart, and once you've given it the right instructions, it can be trusted to do the traveling--you just need to pay attention to any events happening on the side of the road that you might want to check out, and to watch for any bandits who might try to get the drop on you.
In order to set your horse to autopilot, you first need to define where you want the horse to go. Do that by pulling open your map and setting a waypoint marker at your destination. The game then lays out the route to your location by way of trails, like a GPS would. That's the path your horse will follow to your destination.
When you mount up, start riding your horse like normal, and press the button to spur it (X on PlayStation, A on Xbox One) until you get up to the speed at which you want to travel. Once you're going fast enough, hold down the spur button to maintain your horse's speed, same as when you're matching speed with a companion during a mission.
While you're holding the spur button, press and hold the button to switch camera perspectives (the trackpad on PS4, View on Xbox). You'll see a small meter filling in the corner of the screen marked Cinematic Camera. Once that activates, your horse will follow the trails to your final destination with no further input from you. In fact, you can lay the camera down and watch as the camera swings around to give you different perspectives on Arthur's ride and the world around him.
Once you're going, you can tap the spur button again in time with your horse's gallop to speed it up, and touch the slow button (R1 on PS4, RB on Xbox) to reduce your horse's speed without canceling its autopilot. Pressing in the right Analog Stick switches the camera to a new angle, should you not like the one the game picks for you. You can take back control just by touching the control sticks, and you can switch the camera back to normal by tapping the camera button again.
The Cinematic Camera trick is nice when you've got a long trip and you don't want to bother steering your horse around every tiny curve in the trail, but it has some drawbacks. For one thing, you won't be able to quickly see things on the side of the road until you turn off the Cinematic Camera, should you happen to ride past an optional activity. You'll also be a bit vulnerable if you're letting the horse do the driving, should bandits, outlaws, or lawmen attack you while you ride.
Generally, though, letting your horse take the reigns is a nice way to relax as you get around Red Dead Redemption 2 and enjoy the scenery. Just be sure to keep your revolver handy--just in case.
We're still a ways off from the last season of Game of Thrones, slated to air sometime in early 2019, but some info about the show's last six episodes is finally starting to come out. Specifically, we know how the final battle for Westeros against the White Walkers will begin: with the Mother of Dragons arriving in the North.
Entertainment Weekly released a long cover feature full of tidbits about the final season, and while HBO has been extremely protective of spoilers and secrets, showrunners DB Weiss and David Benioff did give a few hints about what we can expect. Up first is the beginning of the final season, in which at least a few of the leaders of Westeros converge on Winterfell, the seat of House Stark and the fortress that's the centerpiece of humanity's defense against the Night King's undead army.
The opening of Season 8 will mirror that of Season 1, with Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) riding to Winterfell with her armies in preparation for the arrival of the Army of the Dead. It's a deliberate call all the way back to the first episode in 2011, when King Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy) rode to Winterfell to ask his old friend, Ned Stark (Sean Bean), to return to King's Landing as his Hand of the King. That request kicked off years of warfare and led to many tragic deaths, and given that this is Game of Thrones, it's definitely not unreasonable to expect Daenerys's arrival could result in the same.
"It's about all of these disparate characters coming together to face a common enemy, dealing with their own past, and defining the person they want to be in the face of certain death," co-executive producer Bryan Cogman told EW. "It's an incredibly emotional, haunting, bittersweet final season, and I think it honors very much what George set out to do--which is flipping this kind of story on its head."
Season 8 in general will be about characters we've been following throughout the show finally meeting each other, and the results of those interactions, and potential conflicts. Game of Thrones has always had the threat of the White Walkers looming in the distance, but the show is really about the characters and politics of Westeros and their endless battles for power. Those dynamics still exist in Season 8; for one thing, Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner), the Lady of Winterfell, is not super happy that her brother Jon Snow (Kit Harington) bent the knee to Daenerys last season.
Regardless of whether the humans work out their differences--there's still the treacherous Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) down south in King's Landing, likely plotting something awful--the dead are coming. EW's report also discusses the massive battle that will inevitably take place in Winterfell, noting that one episode is going to be wall-to-wall action in Winterfell. According to Peter Dinklage, who plays Tyrion Lannister, the battle in Season 8 makes the massive Battle of the Bastards at Winterfell in Season 6 "look like a theme park." In fact, the epic scale of Season 8 once led Benioff and Weiss to speculate about releasing it as three standalone movies instead of a season of TV.
Other than the broad strokes, the rest of what might happen in Season 8 is still largely unknown. There might be a few clues in the recently released Game of Thrones tie-in game, Reigns: Game of Thrones, but we're stuck speculating until the show's 2019 release. Game of Thrones won't end there, though--the show's first prequel, set thousands of years before the current series, is now casting.
New details have slowly trickled out about HBO's first Game of Thrones spin-off series, even as we're finally learning something about the hit fantasy epic's last season. The biggest reveal about the Game of Thrones prequel series so far is its name: The Long Night.
Author George RR Martin, who penned the "A Song of Ice and Fire" books on which Game of Thrones is based, revealed the title on his blog following news that Naomi Watts had been cast as the lead of the new show, which is being run by Kingsman and Kick-Ass writer and producer Jane Goldman. For Game of Thrones fans, the name provides a huge piece of information that had previously been the subject of speculation, because it suggests the prequel will hinge on a very specific, and very terrifying, moment in the history of Westeros.
The Long Night refers to a time around 8,000 years before the current events of the show, during what's known in Game of Thrones lore as the Age of Heroes. It was specifically a very long winter--the world of Game of Thrones has weird seasons that can last years, and the Long Night lasted a generation. It was so bad that, according to the Starks' servant Old Nan, "There came a night that lasted a generation, and kings shivered and died in their castles even as the swineherds in their hovels. Women smothered their children rather than see them starve, and cried, and felt their tears freeze on their cheeks."
What was extra awful about the Long Night was the arrival of the Others, or White Walkers, for the first time in Westeros. Descending from the North, the White Walkers led an army of the dead that, Nan says, routed armies, swept through castles and towns, and showed no mercy. According to Westerosi legend, it was only when an unknown figure called the Last Hero sought out and allied with the magical folk called the Children of the Forest that the White Walkers were defeated.
So it definitely seems that The Long Night is going to cover a lot of that legendary ground, likely upending fan expectations by showing a truer version than the stories that were passed down around Westeros. From previous rundowns from HBO, we also know that The Long Night will deal with a few legendary figures, specifically Bran the Builder, the founder of House Stark (who also built Winterfell and the Wall), and Lann the Clever, the founder of House Lannister.
There's also the Children of the Forest, who we know from Game of Thrones were the original creators of the White Walkers. The Children of the Forest made the first of the undead creatures in response to the original humans to settle Westeros, the First Men, basically kicking them off their land and cutting down their forests. The Long Night creates an uneasy truce in the wake of that conflict.
Finally, there's likely to be some interesting things going on across the Narrow Sea in The Long Night, as well. The generation-long winter didn't just befall Westeros, it impacted the entire world, and the eastern civilizations have their own legend about what happened. That's the story of Azor Ahai, the hero in the Lord of Light religion, who used the glowing sword Lightbringer to battle "the darkness." It's not clear what exactly that means, or whether Azor Ahai and the Last Hero are one and the same.
Martin didn't reveal any other information about the show, but he did write that there still are other Game of Thrones prequels in "active development." Without revealing any potential stories for the other shows, he mentioned that "the readers among you might want to grab a copy of Fire & Blood," his upcoming book, when it's released on November 20. That story is also a Game of Thrones prequel, but goes back through the 300 years before the original books to detail the history of the Targaryen family--another fascinating time in Martin's world, filled with intrigue, war, and dragons.
Meanwhile, we do know that Season 8 of Game of Thrones made at least one cast member cry, and that it'll have the biggest and most brutal battle in the series' history. There was also a least a short time when showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss were considering trying to make three standalone movies out of the final season. And while there aren't too many details out there about what to expect from the end of Game of Thrones, a recently released tie-in video game might hold some clues.
A lot of announcements have come out of Blizzcon 2018 so far, but the funnest and most bizarre is probably the latest news about a cereal based on a joke from Overwatch. Lucio, the skating DJ support character who uses his music to heal and speed boost teammates, is getting a real cereal from Kellogg's called "Lucio-Ohs," based on one of Lucio's sprays.
There's already a full commercial for the cereal, which Blizzard dropped on YouTube. You'll have to wait until December to tear into a box of Lucio-Ohs, though, but the part of a complete breakfast will also come with in-game Overwatch loot.
Fruity loops aren't the only Lucio product you can snag for yourself--Blizzard also released a full album of Lucio music you can download right now at luciomusic.com.
Synaesthesia Auditiva is Lucio's in-universe debut album, and it's actually been a part of the Overwatch story for quite a while. Blizzard released a fictional news story back in 2015 detailing the international DJ sensation's world tour. In Overwatch, the essential part of Lucio's character is that his music has literal healing properties, and the news story mostly provides a story explanation for them. But included with it were two real tracks from the album that fans could listen to online for free.
There hasn't been much more on the Lucio front since then, even though Blizzard shared both the cover art for Lucio's album, as well as its full track list. In the meantime, though, Overwatch has grown significantly with new characters, and Blizzard has put out several more story trailers that add details to the game's world. Lucio hasn't gotten such a trailer, but the album might be even better.
Another teaser trailer has been released for PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and Suicide Squad's crossover event. Although the video is much longer than the previous tease, it still doesn't offer much detail on what this PUBG event will entail.
In this new teaser, Joker and Harley work together to escape prison while dozens of police officers and soldiers attempt to stop them. The teaser does not reveal if Joker and Harley are facing other players or computer-controlled characters. However, the trailer does seem to imply that the upcoming PUBG event is a two-person vs. everyone else gametype, as opposed to the traditional free-for-all battle royale formula.
"Ok, honey. It's me and you."
Live on and play as two of your favorite Suicide Squad heroes, the Joker and Harley Quinn. Coming soon. pic.twitter.com/NWZhXaPBMz
There still hasn't been confirmation as to when this new PUBG event will start, or for how long it will last. However, Xbox teased that there would be "big PUBG news" during X018, so perhaps more concrete details about the Suicide Squad crossover will be announced during the event.
X018 is a global event that offers news, first looks, and surprises for games and features coming to Xbox consoles and services. Xbox has announced that the PUBG news, as well as further details for Shadow of the Tomb Raider's The Forge expansion and State of Decay 2 updates, is scheduled to air on Mixer starting at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET / 9 PM GMT.
The Xbox One's backwards compatibility feature, introduced in November 2015, lets you play original Xbox and Xbox 360 games on the current-gen console. But what games are available? We've rounded them all up--and we'll continue to update this post as new games are made available to the extensive list. More are added regularly, although new original Xbox games will be less common. [Updated November 6 with two more games.]
Xbox One Backwards Compatibility Lineup:
Xbox
New titles are bolded
Black
Blinx: The Time Sweeper
BloodRayne 2
Breakdown
Conker: Live & Reloaded
Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge
Dead to Rights
Destroy All Humans
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Full Spectrum Warrior
Fuzion Frenzy
Grabbed by the Ghoulies
Hunter: The Reckoning
Jade Empire
The King of Fighters Neowave
Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction
MX Unleashed
Ninja Gaiden Black
Panzer Dragoon Orta
Panzer Elite Action: Fields of Glory (Europe only)
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Psychonauts
Red Faction II
Sid Meier's Pirates
SSX 3
Star Wars Battlefront
Star Wars Battlefront II
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
Star Wars: Republic Commando
Xbox 360
New titles are bolded
0 Day Attack on Earth
3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures
A Kingdom for Keflings
A World of Keflings
Aegis Wing
Age of Booty
Alan Wake
Alan Wake's American Nightmare
Alice: Madness Returns
Alien Hominid HD
Altered Beast
Anomaly Warzone Earth
Arkanoid Live
Army of Two
Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed II
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Assassin's Creed III
Assassin's Creed III: Liberation HD
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
Assassin's Creed Revelations
Assassin's Creed Rogue
Assault Heroes 2
Asteroids & Deluxe
AstroPop
Aqua
Axel & Pixel (not available for purchase)
Babel Rising
Band of Bugs
Banjo Kazooie: Nuts n Bolts
Banjo Tooie
Banjo Kazooie
Batman: Arkham Origins
Battlefield: Bad Company
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Battlefield 3
Battlefield 1943
BattleBlock Theater
Battlestations: Midway
Bayonetta
Beat'n Groovy
Bejeweled 2
Bejeweled 3
Bellator: MMA Onslaught
Beyond Good & Evil HD
Bionic Commando Rearmed 2
BioShock
BioShock 2
BioShock Infinite
Bloodforge
Blood Knights
Blood of the Werewolf
BloodRayne: Betrayal
Blue Dragon
Bomberman Live: Battlefest
Boom Boom Rocket
Borderlands
Borderlands 2
Bound by Flame
Braid
Brain Challenge
Bullet Soul
Bullet Soul: Infinite Burst
Bully: Scholarship Edition
Burnout Paradise
Burnout Revenge
Cabela's Alaskan Adventures
Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2013
Cabela's Hunting Expeditions
Cabela's Survival: Shadows of Katmai
Call of Duty 2
Call of Duty 3
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Call of Duty: Ghosts
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Call of Duty: World at War
Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood -- added September 25
Call of Juarez: The Cartel -- added September 25
Call of Juarez Gunslinger
Capcom Arcade Cabinet
Carcassonne
Cars: Mater-National Championship
Cars 2
Castle Crashers
Castlestorm
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Catherine
The Cave
Centipede & Millipede
Child of Light
Civilization: Revolution
Clannad
Commanders: Attack of the Genos
Comic Jumper
Comix Zone
Condemned
Contra
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Crackdown
Crazy Taxi
Crysis -- added October 16
Crysis 2 -- added October 16
Crysis 3 -- added October 16
Crystal Quest
Crystal Defenders
Cyber Troopers Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram
The Darkness II
Dark Souls
Dark Void
Darksiders
Darksiders II
Daytona USA
de Blob 2
Dead Rising 2: Case West
Dead Rising 2: Case Zero
Dead Space
Dead Space 2
Dead Space 3
Dead Space Ignition
Deadfall Adventures
Deadliest Warrior: Legends
Deadliest Warrior: The Game
Deadly Premonition
Deathspank: Thongs of Virtue
Defense Grid
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut
Dig Dug
Dirt 3
Dirt Showdown
Discs of Tron
Disney Bolt
Disney Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse
Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
Divinity II
Domino Master
Doom
Doom II
Doom 3: BFG Edition
Doritos Crash Course
Double Dragon: Neon
Dragon Age: Origins
Dragon Age II
Dragon's Lair
Driver: San Franciso
DuckTales Remastered
Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project
Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara
Dungeon Siege III
E4: Every Extend Extra Extreme
Earthworm Jim HD
Earth Defense Force 2017
Earth Defense Force 2025
Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon
Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Encleverment Experiment
Escape Dead Island
F1 2014
Fable Anniversary
Fable Heroes
Fable II
Fable II Pub Games
Fable III
Faery: Legends of Avalon
Fallout 3
Fallout: New Vegas
Far Cry 2
Far Cry 3
Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon
Feeding Frenzy
Feeding Frenzy 2
Fight Night Champion
Fighting Vipers
Final Fight: Double Impact
Flashback
Flock
Forza Horizon
Fret Nice
Frogger
Frogger 2
FunTown Mahjong
Galaga
Galaga Legions
Galaga Legions DX
Garou: Mark of the Wolves
Gatling Gears
Gears of War
Gears of War 2
Gears of War 3
Gears of War: Judgment
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2
Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime
Gin Rummy
Girl Fight
Goat Simulator
Golden Axe
Go! Go! Break Steady
Golf: Tee It Up
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto IV
Grid 2
Grid Autosport
Gripshift
Guardian Heroes
Gunstar Heroes
Guwange
Gyromancer
Gyruss
Half-Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax
Halo: Combat Evolved
Halo 3
Halo 3: ODST Campaign Edition
Halo 4
Halo: Reach
Halo: Spartan Assault
Halo Wars
Hard Corps: Uprising
Hardwood Backgammon
Hardwood Hearts
Hardwood Spades
Harms Way
Haunted House
Heavy Weapon
Hexic 2
Hexic HD
Hitman: Absolution
Hitman: Blood Money
Hydro Thunder
I Am Alive
Ikaruga
Ilomilo
Injustice: Gods Among Us + disc-only Ultimate Edition
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
Interpol: The Trail of Dr. Chaos
Iron Brigade
Jeremy McGrath's Offroad
Jet Set Radio
Jetpac Refuelled
Jewel Quest
Joe Danger Special Edition
Joe Danger 2: The Movie
Joust
Joy Ride Turbo
Juju
Jurassic Park: The Game
Just Cause 2
Kameo
Kane & Lynch 2
Killer Is Dead
The King of Fighters '98
The King of Fighters 2002
KOF Sky Stage
Lazy Raiders
Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead 2
Lego Batman
Lego Indiana Jones
Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues
Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy -- added October 23
Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
Limbo
Lode Runner
Lost Odyssey
Lumines Live!
Luxor 2
Mad Tracks
Mafia II
Magic: The Gathering 2012
Marlow Briggs and the Mask of Death
Mars: War Logs
Mass Effect
Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 3
Matt Hazard: Blood, Bath, and Beyond
The Maw
Medal of Honor: Airborne
Meet the Robinsons
Mega Man 9
Mega Man 10
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
Metal Gear Solid: HD Edition (MGS 2 and MGS 3) -- added October 9
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker HD Edition
Metal Slug 3
Metal Slug XX
Midnight Club: Los Angeles
Midway Arcade Origins
Might & Magic Clash of Heroes
Military Madness
Mirror's Edge
The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom
Missile Command
Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine
Monday Night Combat
Monkey Island: SE
Monkey Island 2: SE
Monopoly Deal
Moon Diver
Motocross Madness
Ms. Splosion Man
Ms Pac-Man
Mutant Blobs Attack
Mutant Storm Empire
Mutant Storm Reloaded
MX vs. ATV Reflex
N+
NBA Jam: On Fire Edition
Neogeo Battle Coliseum
Nights Into Dreams
Of Orcs and Men
Omega Five
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising
Operation Flashpoint: Red River
The Orange Box
Overlord
Overlord II
Outland
Pac-Man
Pac-Man C.E
Pac-Man CE DX+
Pac-Man Museum
Peggle
Peggle 2
Perfect Dark
Perfect Dark Zero
Persona 4 Arena
Phantasy Star II
Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds
Pinball FX
Planets Under Attack
Plants vs. Zombies
Poker Smash
Portal: Still Alive
Portal 2
Prince of Persia
Prince of Persia (2008)
Prey
Pure
Putty Squad
Puzzle Quest
Puzzle Quest 2
Puzzle Quest: Galactrix
QIX++ Puzzlegeddon
Rage
Raiden IV
Raskulls
Rayman 3 HD
Rayman Legends
Rayman Origins
Red Dead Redemption
Red Faction: Armageddon
Red Faction: Battlegrounds
RoboBlitz
Rocket Knight
Rockstar's Table Tennis
R-Type Dimensions
Runner 2
Sacred 3
Sacred Citadel
Saints Row
Saints Row 2
Saints Row: The Third
Saints Row IV
Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell
Sam & Max: Beyond Time & Space
Sam & Max Save the World
Samurai Shodown II
Scarygirl
Scrap Metal
ScreamRide
Sega Vintage Collection: Alex Kidd & Co.
Sega Vintage Collection: Monster World
Sega Vintage Collection: Streets of Rage
Sega Vintage Collection: ToeJam & Earl
Sensible World of Soccer
Shadow Assault/Tenchu
Shadow Complex
Shadowrun
Shadows of the Damned
Shank 2
Shinobi
Shred Nebula
Shotest Shogi
Silent Hill: Downpour
Silent Hill HD Collection
Silent Hill: Homecoming
Sine Mora
Skate 3
Skullgirls
Skydive
Slender: The Arrival
Small Arms
Sniper Elite V2
Soltrio Solitaire
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Sonic & Knuckles
Sonic Adventure
Sonic Adventure 2
Sonic CD
Sonic The Fighters
Sonic Generations
Sonic The Hedgehog
Sonic The Hedgehog 2
Sonic The Hedgehog 3
Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode 1
Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode II
Soulcalibur
Soulcalibur II
South Park: The Stick of Truth
Space Ark
Space Giraffe
Space Invaders Infinity Gene
Spec Ops: The Line
Spelunky
The Splatters
Split/Second
Splosion Man
SSX
Stacking
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II
Steins; Gate 比翼恋理のだーりん (Japan only)
Steins; Gate (オリジナル版) (Japan only)
Steins; Gate 線形拘束のフェノグラム (Japan-only, requires game disc)
Strania
Street Fighter IV
Stuntman: Ignition
Super Contra
Super Meat Boy
Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition
Supreme Commander 2
Syberia
Tecmo Bowl Throwback
Tekken 6
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
Texas Hold 'Em
Ticket to Ride
TimeShift
Tom Clancy's EndWar -- added November 6
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
Tom Clancy's Hawx -- added November 6
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent
Tomb Raider: Anniversary
Tomb Raider: Legend
Tomb Raider: Underworld
Torchlight
Tour de France 2009
Tour de France 2011
Toy Soldiers
Toy Soldiers Cold War
Toy Story 3
Toybox Turbos
Tower Bloxx Deluxe
Trials HD
Trine 2
Tron: Evolution
Tropico 4 -- added October 23
Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon
Unbound Saga
Undertow
Vanquish
Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown
Viva Piñata
Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise
The Walking Dead: A Telltale Games Series
The Walking Dead: Season 2 - A Telltale Games Series
The Walking Dead: Michonne - A Telltale Miniseries
Microsoft has added two more Xbox One backwards compatible games, and this time around they have a common theme. Both of the additions this week sport the Tom Clancy name, the Ubisoft-licensed brand based on the near-future military fiction author's work.
The new additions are the real-time strategy game EndWar and the jet combat game Hawx. EndWar used voice commands as its primary hook, letting you control the battlefield with your voice to replicate the feeling of being a military commander. Hawx was an arcade flight game set in a world in which private military contractors have replaced the standing military in most countries. Hawx was followed up by a sequel.
As always, if you already own either game you can play it on your Xbox One at no additional charge. Physical disc copies will initiate a download to let you play, and digital copies will appear in your Games and Apps menu. You can also pick them up digitally on the Microsoft Store.
Since announcing its backwards compatibility feature, Microsoft has added hundreds of Xbox 360 games and dozens of original Xbox games to the list. You can check out our full list of backwards compatible games to see what's available. Or, if you need some help sorting the wheat from the chaff, check out our picks of the best Xbox One backwards compatible games.
Don't look now, but Black Friday is barreling toward us like a freight train--a freight train that's full of deals. For 2018, Black Friday takes place on November 23, and while that might still be a few weeks from now, it's not too early to start planning. If you're in the market for a PS4 console, accessories, or games--whether it's a gift for someone else or a gift for yourself--you likely won't find lower prices at any other time of year. We've gathered all of the PlayStation 4 deals announced so far into one place so you can get the best deal on whatever it is you're looking for. We'll keep this article updated as more retailers announce their Black Friday plans, so check back later; for now, the big ad we've gotten is from Target.
When it comes to PS4 consoles, the best deal announced so far is from Target, whose doorbuster deal will get you a PlayStation 4 Slim 1TB and Spider-Man as a pack-in game for $200. That's a great deal, seeing as the console normally costs around $300 and Spider-Man costs $60. Alternately, you can get PlayStation 4 Slim 500 GB from Sam's Club for $229, but you'll need a membership.
In terms of accessories, another doorbuster Target will offer is a PlayStation VR bundle that comes with a camera, Move controllers, Creed: Rise to Glory, and Superhot VR, all for $250. Also, both Target and Kohl's will have DualShock 4 controllers available for $40.
We've updated this post with the details for the second step of Destiny 2's Murder Mystery quest, which unlocked on November 6. How the quest shakes out remains to be seen, with another time-gated step probably unlocking with the next weekly reset on November 13. Here's what you need to know to complete the first two steps.
Destiny 2's Festival of the Lost as ended, but there's still one piece of Destiny's Halloween-themed event to go. It's a murder mystery quest line Bungie teased at the start of the Festival, in which players are tasked with figuring out what happened to Master Ives, the Cryptarch formerly seen in the Reef back in the first Destiny.
Ives' death is both a story point and, some Destiny 2 players suspect, a quest to get a new Exotic weapon. That gun is Thunderlord, a lightning-slinging machine gun from the original Destiny that hasn't shown up yet in the sequel, which recent datamining leaks have suggested is going to pop up in the Festival. It also seems from leaks the quest might take three weeks to complete--the first step unlocked on October 30 and the second on November 6.
So far, the quest to find Master Ives' killer does have the hallmarks of an Exotic quest line. To start it, head to Amanda Holliday in the Tower, where you'll receive Master Ives' journal. The pursuit item is colored gold, like other Exotic weapons quests, and requires players to search out the missing pages from Ives' diary out in the world.
Step 1: The Crytarch's Journal
Clearing that first step is actually pretty easy to accomplish. There are 10 pages to acquire, and players can get them either by finding Legendary engrams in various activities--including Gambit, the Crucible, Strikes, and everything else you already do in Destiny 2--or from killing tougher Fallen enemies in the EDZ on Earth.
Actually snagging all the pages is an easy feat to knock out if you head to the EDZ. You're looking for Fallen with orange-colored health bars, which are otherwise known as Elite bad guys. You need the orange enemies in particular; you won't get pages from Majors, who have yellow health bars, like the ones designated as high-value targets, for instance.
The quickest way to find Elite Fallen to kill in the EDZ is to find a public event and join it. The Glimmer Mining event that takes place in various places in the EDZ is a solid bet, especially if you knock it up to its Heroic level. You won't get a page for every Elite you kill, but the drop rate is pretty high--one or two public events should do it.
If you don't feel like messing around on Earth, you can also spend some shards at the Cryptarch in the Tower to quickly gather up the Legendary engrams you need to complete the step. That method will cost you 250 Legendary shards if you buy 10 engrams to get all 10 pages. Given how easy it is to get the pages in the EDZ or by earning Legendaries organically, though, you probably don't need to waste the shards.
Step 2: Hunting The Fallen
The second step is almost as quick and easy as the first. It returns you to the EDZ, this time to complete four Lost Sectors. You'll start with a batch of three that need cleaning out: Atrium, Widow's Walk, and Terminus East. If you're not familiar with the names, those are the three Lost Sectors located in the Trostland area of the EDZ.
You'll find Atrium in the church where Devrim Kay hangs out, Widow's Walk in the northwest corner of the area, and Terminus East in the northeast corner. Once you've wrecked the Major enemies in all three, you'll get a new step that directs you to yet another Lost Sector, called Whispered Falls.
Jump on your Sparrow and drive west to the Outskirts area, and look for the Lost Sector up in the hills in the west end of the area. It's north of the narrower portion of the map you drive through to access Winding Cove.
Kill the Major in Whispered Falls and you're done with the Murder Mystery for this week--as the Pursuit icon mentions in your inventory, the trail has gone cold. Presumably that means we'll be waiting until November 13 for the next (possibly concluding) step in the quest, which might finally add some actual murder, mystery, and story to the task.
The weekly reset has hit in Destiny 2, and along with the next stage of the murder mystery quest, that means Bungie has another Ascendant Challenge for Forsaken players to take one. This is actually a repeat of an earlier one seen during Week 4; it involves some annoying platforming, as per usual. Here's where to go and what to do.
Before starting, the Ascendant Challenge requires an item called the Tincture of Queensfoil. These can be obtained by completing a number of activities in the Dreaming City. Activating the item grants you a buff that allows you to see a Taken portal you can travel through to complete the Ascendant Challenge, but the buff goes away if you return to orbit. Also be sure to first grab the Ascendant Challenge bounty from Petra before jumping in.
For this week's challenge, the portal can be found in Rheasilvia. In the northeast corner, head inside a building and go straight as far as you can. Turn right, and then go left in the next area to reach Harbinger's Seclude. Go up a set of stairs and out the doorway on the right. Head straight through this area, through another doorway, and continue straight in the next zone. At the end of a bridge you'll see a statue covered in Taken Blight balls; platform your way up the objects around it and you'll be able to go through the portal on top of its head. Check out the video above for a walkthrough. If you struggle to get up, take out your ghost and you'll see some invisible platforms just off the slide of the area that can help you get up.
Going through the portal transports you to the Keep of Honed Edges in the Ascendant Plane. Platform your way across a series of rocks and you'll find an area with three knights who are immune to damage. Kill all of the other enemies and the barrier protecting a sword will go away, allowing you to pick up the relic.
At this point, more enemies spawn in and one knight will begin attacking you. Kill the knight, and the other two will join the fray along with additional enemies. Take them all out, and you'll again have to platform across a series of rocks, now with enemies to make things more challenging. There is debris moving through the area, and at least certain things you step on will disappear after a short period of time, so make sure not to linger. Make your way toward a platform with a large blue object on it to complete the challenge.
As in previous weeks, the chest you receive at the end of the Ascendant Challenge isn't anything special. But the bounty you get from Petra offers Powerful gear for completing it; this can help to boost your Power level, so ensuring you have the bounty is essential.
As 2018 nears its end, and the movie theater subscription service boom evens out, companies are altering their terms as they attempt to remain profitable. AMC just announced it would be increasing the price of the Stubs A-List ticket plan in select states beginning in 2019, and now Sinemia says it's actually bringing the cost of its subscription down for some users.
The new plans will offer tickets to movies from Monday through Thursday only, essentially making Fridays and weekends blackout days. "We're constantly striving to help people see movies more affordably, while doing so in a way that supports the entire movie-going economy," Sinemia CEO Rifat Oguz says in a press release. "With our new weekday plans, people can see movies at an even steeper discount, encouraging attendance on days where most movie theaters have many empty seats."
As part of the new plans, prices will drop anywhere from $1 each month for the one-ticket plan to $6 per month for the "unlimited" plan. The prices for the new weekday subscriptions are as follows:
$3.99 per month (compared to $4.99)--One ticket to any movie per month
$8.99 per month (compared to $10.99)--Three tickets to any movie per month
$9.99 per month (compared to $12.99)--Two tickets to any movie per month including 3D, 4D and IMAX formats
$14.99 per month (compared to $17.99)--Three tickets to any movie per month including 3D, 4D, IMAX formats
$23.99 per month (compared to $29.99)--One ticket to any movie per day (2D movie tickets)
It's important to note that Sinemia will continue to offer its full-week plans, as well as family plans for both the weekday only and full-week options. You can find all subscription price information on Sinemia's website. And if you're still unsure which movie theater subscription service is for you, take a look at GameSpot's review of Sinemia, AMC Stubs A-List, and MoviePass.
As one of the biggest surprises of BlizzCon 2018, Warcraft III: Reforged brings the series back to its real-time strategy roots. Though the franchise has been firmly rooted in the MMO genre with World of Warcraft for many years, this return to the series' past will offer newer fans of the Warcraft series an opportunity to see what came before the game that changed the franchise forever. In our chat with production lead Pete Stilwell and art lead Brian Sousa, they spoke about their personal experiences revisiting a defining game of Blizzard's history, and their hopes in reigniting fan interest in the RTS genre.
If you want to see more content from Blizzard's big event, including the trailer for Overwatch's new character Ashe, and our impressions of Diablo Immortal, be sure to check out GameSpot's roundup of all the BlizzCon news and reveals that came from this year's show.
It's been a while since we've seen Warcraft as an RTS. Can you talk about what it was like returning to this genre after the series had reestablished itself as an MMO?
Brian Sousa: From the franchise perspective, I worked on Warcraft I and II. I kind of left Blizzard for a little while when Warcraft III was being developed, but it was exciting playing that game because I didn't get to work on it in the first place. It's amazing to see how much Warcraft III would go on to influence the work in World of Warcraft, so much of it got carried forward into the following game. Knowing some of the stories of how Warcraft III was developed and seeing where Warcraft has come to at this point, it's a great opportunity for us to smooth over some of those rough edges that World of Warcraft has already expanded upon and redefined.
Being able to take Warcraft III and bring all of that lore that has happened over the last 15 years with Warcraft, that's exciting for me. That's kind of the big thing I'm getting out of this, is being able to bring the stories of the origins of Arthas, and Jaina, and Sylvanas, and all of these characters that everybody knows and loves.
Pete Stilwell: The original stories are almost always more fun. I preferred the first Iron Man over the rest of them because seeing somebody coming into their element is more compelling to me. That's the real human story, I think, it's about the journey, so that's what's cool about this. This might have kicked that all off, but its journey is now coming back, and making it relevant for a new community.
We're gonna get this right for the existing community, they're gonna love it. They're going to still have the game they know under the covers, and we want to appeal to new players and a new generation because the lifeblood of a game is a big active community, so we want the competitive scene or the custom game scene to have more people. They can be more creative because the game editor itself is so powerful. We're doing a lot to expand the editor, so if we can put that in the hands of new creative people, maybe they invent another genre of games, or evolve the existing ones. There's just so much latent potential in this game.
It was the end of the era of Warcraft RTS, but like as a statement piece, we're getting to revisit it and hopefully for a new generation, making it look new and relevant, so that it still has that modern day appeal. I think that's a huge opportunity, and I really hope it's well received.
So this is called Warcraft III: Reforged, as opposed to Remastered. It's very apparent that you're doing much more to this game than with the recent update for the original Starcraft.
Sousa: So, this was an opportunity for us. With Starcraft: Remastered, we approached that and said, "Okay, how can we do this and what does the community want?" The community is like, "Don't touch anything, don't screw it up," and so from that standpoint, we have to make this as close to the original as possible. So that a pro can instantly recognize everything, like this is a Zergling, its attacks, and so forth.
I know everything about the timing on everything. We had to stay very true to that since Warcraft III was the first 3D game that Blizzard did. Those kinds of things, like the timing and everything, that's what we're still kind of beholden to. Although we can update the graphics and we can update the animations, those animations still have to be the same, so that we can play this with the SD version. You can have your HD characters, but the timing has to be perfect, and the animations have the same timing on everything.
I assume that Reforged will include all the expansions and tweaks made to the original. Would you say that this is the definitive version of Warcraft III?
Stilwell: Yeah, we were bad at making that known. It will have Reign of Chaos and Frozen Throne as one big bundle. But yeah, I hope it is.
Sousa: Yeah, I don't want to remaster this again in 20 years. But yeah, this is the Reforged edition. We're looking at the campaign itself, like The Culling in particular. We completely redesigned the map layout and made it look like Stratholme from World of Warcraft because people have been in that location and explored it, the original didn't have any of that. It was a very different feel altogether. It had Greek columns, and it had like weird statues, and a river, and the zoo, and things that people wouldn't recognize if they were from World of Warcraft playing this game.
That was one of the things. We're like, "Well, this should look like Stratholme", so it had a complete redesign with that. As we go through more of the campaign, there's going to be more instances where we do pull on World of Warcraft for influence because they have the lore, they have grounded out all of these characters, all these locations, and they've put so much backstory into just everything. We have a huge library to pull from.
It was very interesting seeing Warcraft III's opening cinematic redone with modern tech. Will all of the cinematics from the original game have that same treatment?
Stilwell: Well, when they made the original cinematics, computers at the time couldn't handle displaying a certain fidelity, and it would have made the game too big then. So they actually greatly reduced the quality of the originals despite making them at a really high quality. We're taking those original and rendering them back up at the highest quality. This one you saw was truly like a ground-up recreation of that original one. The rest of them, well, they used to call it "smacking down" back in the day, where they'd reduce the size and the quality. Brian actually has a story related to some of the ants in the cinematics.
Sousa: Oh, yeah, so we're going through these images that were rendered before they got condensed and smacked down to 640x480, and like I can actually see there's a scene where there's a line of ants crawling on the ground. You never see this in the original smacked version because the quality was so low. Now that we can reprocess these into a higher resolution, the cinematics still hold up.
Stilwell: We are redoing the voiceover. Some people reprise their roles, but yeah, we're gonna re-record everything. We're adding even more languages, so we're going to have 13 languages total, which is awesome, so we can appeal to more people globally. We also have Christie Golden, who wrote Arthas and some of the other books and content around Warcraft, helping us with just cleaning up some of the dialogue before we get in the booth with actors, so that it's a little bit more of the universe and a little bit more solid from that perspective, which is super exciting.
Sousa: And she's helping out with some of the characters that might have been not well developed in Warcraft III, but since World of Warcraft, they're huge names and people recognize them. We're going to do a little bit more with them too, so that we can bring them up and kind of show their origins a little bit better.
World of Warcraft has been a really strong frame of reference for many fans, as it's the most developed and longest running game of the series. So it definitely seems there's a need for that consistency now--especially with how different Warcraft III looks in retrospect.
Sousa: Right. Some of the things that were done for Warcraft III are either straight up reusing models or texture swaps. When you get into World of Warcraft, the Blood Elves have been completely defined now. I remember, they did the huge expansion with the Blood Elves, and so now we can say, "Okay, this is what blood elf buildings look like, this is what the Fel Orcs look like, this is what the fel orc buildings." Rather than going back to Warcraft III and what they originally looked like, we can go to what World of Warcraft has done and amplify it from there.
Stilwell: And the good news is just like with StarCraft: Remastered, if you're the purist who wants to come and play the original game, it will still be there. You will still be able to go through the the original experience. We even have some folks on our team that are purists like that. The way we strike that balance is by making it an option. Like, you want the original VO, here it is. You want the original game truly, like in the campaign missions, here it is.
Sousa: Well, even with the Reforged UI, we've created a smaller, more compact UI, so you can see more of the screen, and the UI is not as intrusive. But even within Blizzard, it's like 'can I still play with the old UI?' We're like, 'yes, you can still play with the old UI.' We're giving you an option to play with a new one, but if you still like the one that covers a quarter of the screen, you can play that way.
It must be refreshing for you to be able to return to the roots of Warcraft as an RTS. While many fans love all that WoW has done, there is still that portion of the fanbase that wants to see more RTS games in the series.
Stilwell: Yeah, it's cathartic. Having played a ton of both games, playing WoW more recently before going back to War III, you realize the true influence that War III had on it. I wasn't lucky enough to be with the company at the time, but the guys were coming off making that one into the other, so of course, it was baked into them what this world should be and how we can take it to the next level. I think, for most of us, you don't realize how much of that foundation was there until you go back.
Even some of the campaign missions, where there's a little what we would now call a side quest and not just a little distraction on the map. It's almost like an Easter egg in Warcraft III, but you now realize that's in South Shore, or that's in Westfall, and that's exactly like the people that you run into on the cart that have their deeds in Westfall. I'm expecting a lot of players will be like, 'Hey, they stole that from WOW,' and it will be like, 'No, no, no, it was here first.' This is the foundation of that. I think that's what is so cool about it, is seeing how truly interconnected they really are.
Sousa: Yeah, for myself it was surprising to see so much from what I've played of WoW. I haven't played War III for 15 years, but going back through the arc and knowing that so much from World of Warcraft was based on Warcraft III, like, I thought World of Warcraft came up with that. I was like, 'Oh my gosh, this all came from Warcraft III.' Now we have that opportunity to bring those to life and glory compared to what the old school used to look like.
Stilwell: And some of that is wrapped up in the tech. Most people probably won't know, WoW's engine was based off of Warcraft III's engine. They just kind of took it, built it up, retrofitted a few things, and suddenly it's the WoW engine. We've kind of taken where they evolved War III's engine, and then ported it over to ourselves and taken a lot of their technology, and now we're putting even more on top of it. Even on the backend, something most people won't see, or understand, or care about, is that these games are so intertwined not just in story, but in actual creation. It's really cool.
In recent times, the RTS has fallen a bit by the wayside in favor of other genres. Most particularly the MOBA genre, which was ironically started as a Warcraft III mod. With this game, will you be looking closely at how all fans respond to this?
Stilwell: We want to be sensitive to the fact that, again, we think we have such a strong story here. If, for no other reason, we love players of other genres, and not just MOBA, but like World of Warcraft itself is very similar in that you kind of have a central player character, and you have a lot of cool abilities. They're very similar from an archetype, so giving them an avenue to come into the campaign and be comfortable with that and not be daunted by building a city, and destroying the other guy's city, and things like that, are things we are definitely thinking about, and good design challenges for our design team. Again, with that idea of Reforged, of like, let's make a version that those people can come in, really enjoy, and maybe become at RTS player on their second playthrough, where they play the hard setting and really actually get pushed to play RTS.
Sousa: Yeah, Warcraft III did not have the easy mode. It was either hard or really hard, and so now, even me, I remember playing missions over, and over, and over. This is a really hard game, so getting in there and making it a little bit more accessible for today's players, at least, to get into the RTS genre. This RTS has been around for 15 years. It's still around, people are still playing it, so we're not too worried about redefining the RTS because this already has a huge community, right, and we're not looking to change how Warcraft plays. We just want it to be a little bit more accessible and look better for today's players.
So even with the success that World of Warcraft has had over the years, do you still that there's room for a potential sequel to the traditional Warcraft RTS?
Stilwell: I mean, I wouldn't rule anything out, but we don't have any plans around that at this point. Getting this game right, I think, is our priority first and foremost. By that, I don't just mean like shipping Reforged, but like getting the gameplay to a state where people are like, hey, this is done because with SCR, you could look at it and they said, "Hey, you don't need to change balance. We can tell that a really good player of one race is going to beat the other. Not because this race has something cheesy that they can do that an inferior player can best a better one." We want to get Warcraft III into that state too, where it's like, hey, everybody agrees that it's the player and not a benefit of the faction that they were playing.
Sousa: So, yeah, the balance changes that we've been making are very small, focusing on like what makes this hero playable or unplayable? Why do people always play this way rather than this way? We're focusing on getting small changes in there. To hopefully shake up the game a little bit, people will start playing different heroes with different strategies. That will kind of keep the community alive.
Once this comes out, what are some of your big hopes for the game? It seems like you're in a really interesting position to reintroduce fans to the RTS side of Warcraft, while also gaining a new following.
Stilwell: Yeah, those are certainly things that we're hoping for, to bring new players in, to reestablish what an epic story this is, and what a great game it is. Beyond that, there's so much potential built into the custom game community, and if we're having a bunch of people coming back, and they also explore what other creative people are making with this game, that there's a whole different tale there for people to explore and be a part to. That, to me, are kind of the big pieces.
Sousa: Yeah, because already the mods that people have created, playing the Reforged version will be completely compatible, right. It will just automatically work. Where the community will have to rally around is any unique artwork that has been done by the players themselves that have brought into the games. Those will have to be done, but we're also going to be putting out our tools and some guides, so they can really recreate art and even mod it even more. We're really trying to support the community on this.
Stilwell: I think, if at the end of this we hear the community shout, 'We love this, now we want more,' that will be our ultimate success.
Editor's Note: Light spoilers will follow in the text below. If you wish to play Undertale or Deltarune yourself before any impressions, please do. Story specifics and detailed theories are not discussed in this article.
I came to terms with the possibility that Undertale would solely exist as its own contained experience--the time spent in that world may have been enough even for those who are strongly invested in it. Granted, many of the deeper story threads led to ambiguous ends, but even that ambiguity could live on its own. However, that world has been reopened with Deltarune; a surprise release, part of an episodic retro-style RPG that uses much of the foundation from Undertale. Chapter 1 is available for free, and while it only touches on its best new mechanics and leaves us with more questions than answers, Deltarune shows promise for living up to monumental expectations.
Deltarune presents itself as a variation on many of the same fundamentals and themes from Undertale, as if it exists as a parallel. After an eerie introduction that seems like a throwaway nightmare state, you'll recognize familiar faces. Toriel wakes you up and takes you to school, and you see Undyne as a police officer, Alphys as your teacher, and Temmie as a classmate, among others. All monsters living normal lives on the surface. You'll probably also see a stark resemblance in Kris, the game's protagonist, as well. Events proceed rather smoothly until the plot thickens with the introduction of a new character, Susie, who appears to be the class bully. As you reluctantly follow Susie to get Alphys' blackboard chalk, a mysterious descent into an underworld soon occurs within the school's supply closet.
Birds are singing, flowers are blooming.
Not long afterward, Deltarune introduces you to how it takes Undertale's fundamentals a step further. While navigating the environment, rooms themselves occasionally become hostile, forcing you to avoid obstacles in the same vein as the defense-phase bullet-hell in combat. Player perspective has also changed in combat from facing enemies head-on (like Earthbound) to a side-view of the battlefield (like NES/SNES Final Fantasy). Random encounters have been removed in favor of making all your potential enemies visible within the environment, which better manages the game's flow.
Like Undertale, there's an earnestness to the game's society of monsters that appear to lead peaceful lives. More often than not, you'll be smiling ear-to-ear from the witty writing, snappy jokes, and absurdist humor by good-natured characters.
No one has to get hurt, similar to Undertale. Through ACT, you can talk your way out of battles and SPARE enemies with the right sequence of dialogue options. There's still the FIGHT option where input timing dictates the damage dealt, but MAGIC opens up new options for attacking and healing; the system of TP is a sensible way to incorporate its own take on mana. And of course, enemy turns have you moving your heart (or SOUL) to dodge their unpredictable attacks. It remains an innovative system that leaves room for each battle to break convention and let the game's personality flourish, especially now that you have party members. Depending on the situation, you'll have opportunities for clever team actions; commanding Ralsei to sing puts enemies to sleep and the ability to pacify them without harm. There's nothing quite like the K.Round boss fight that has you setting the trajectory for Susie to launch Ralsei into the enemy's crown to knock it off its head. Or carefully rearranging Bloxer's body to cheer it up and send it on its merry way before it can hurt your team.
The shift in perspective affords the opportunity to see Kris and their allies shine, too. Wonderfully animated pixel art accompanies each action--the best examples being when Ralsei pulls up his scarf to cover himself for a DEFEND command, or how he gives adorable little claps when fights end. Despite the games pseudo-8-bit/16-bit style, character expressions and body language provide vivid displays of personality. The ability to communicate so much with so little is one of Undertale's greatest accomplishments, and Deltarune achieves this as well.
Who knew super-sized checker pieces with legs would make for adorable, yet terrifying enemies.
Core mechanics are in service of building a unique brand of quirky charm. But arguably, the most important piece of the puzzle is the soundtrack. Toby Fox samples his own music from Undertale in both subtle and overt ways to great effect, almost like callbacks to remind you that these two worlds are somehow bound together. As soon as "Field Of Hopes And Dreams" starts, you feel a percussive momentum complemented by a bold, catchy rhythm and piano lead. And memories of Snowdin Town begin to sink in when the melody transitions, as if to empower you with a sense of familiarity to explore uncharted territory. This extends to "Scarlet Forest," another standout track that sounds like it's performed by a full orchestra, with a staccato rhythm and marching drums that support a layered string section and whimsical woodwinds. It's an evocative score that seamlessly blends of the old and new using wonderful instrumentation.
As soon as "Field Of Hopes And Dreams" starts, you feel a percussive momentum complemented by a bold, catchy rhythm and piano lead. And memories of Snowdin Town begin to sink in when the melody transitions, as if to empower you with a sense of familiarity to explore uncharted territory.
Like Undertale, there's an earnestness to the game's society of monsters that appear to lead peaceful lives. More often than not, you'll be smiling ear-to-ear from the witty writing, snappy jokes, and absurdist humor from good-natured characters. Even knuckleheads like Lancer and Susie come around. But another of Deltarune's unique strengths is how it leverages its charm to create deeply unsettling atmospheres and implications. This paves the way for the possible impact of darker undertones, further driven by meta-narrative elements. You can't shake the feeling that something's amiss when you start to string together the ways these games might be connected. Beneath the uplifting joy and comfort that you'll see on Deltarune's surface, you get the sense that there's a bigger, more sinister picture, given what we know about Undertale and the events that unfold in Chapter 1. That could also just be the theorycrafting speaking.
Lancer, I've played Super Mario RPG a million times.
In many ways, Deltarune does feel like a prototype--Toby Fox has said as much, and also commented on the challenge of building the game with limited resources. Some sequences are a bit barebones, such as the checkered hallway that's a linear path with a simple timing puzzle, and the Card Castle that's a series monochromatic rooms (though it does feature some top-tier gags). Most of all, the best parts of the short journey are over before they can fully flesh themselves out. However, the weaving of music, dialogue, visual presentation, along with the foundation set by Undertale, there's reason to believe that Deltarune will make good on returning to the lore and putting new spins on familiar themes.
I'm beyond ecstatic that Deltarune even exists. While I wish there were more opportunities to engage in its best features, I constantly remind myself that this is the first chapter.
Its connections to Undertale are often on the nose, but I suspect that this has a purpose. I get the impression that the moments of fan-service, clear callbacks, and apparent parallels are deliberate, as if they'll lead to less obvious revelations. I'm also curious as to how the future of Deltarune handles the fact we kind of expect the game to mess with us and subvert our expectations; thankfully, it's off to a great start.
I'm beyond ecstatic that Deltarune even exists. While I wish there were more opportunities to engage in its best features, I constantly remind myself that this is the first chapter. There's no telling where the subsequent chapters will lead, but it's incredibly exciting to know that this isn't the end.
November's round of PlayStation Plus freebies is now available to anyone who has a subscription to the online service. This month adds a unique take on the first-person shooter, a detailed RPG set in modern-day Japan, and plenty of game-show and arcade action. They will be available through December 4 on the PlayStation Store.
As previously announced, the PlayStation 4 offerings this month include Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition and Yakuza Kiwami. Bulletstorm is a remastered version of the over-the-top first-person shooter, with a unique grapple mechanic that lets you yo-yo enemies to control the battlefield. Yakuza Kiwami is a remake of the very first Yakuza game from 2006, following Kazuma Kiryu as he tries to find a load of cash stolen from his gang.
PS3 owners get Jackbox Party Pack 2, the party mini-game collection that links up with your smartphones to serve as controllers. The retro-styled Arkedo Series is also available on PS3 as well. Finally, the Vita gets throwback B-movie game Roundabout and the adventure game Burly Men at Sea. Both of those Vita offerings are also available on PS4 for good measure.
As always, these games will be linked with your PlayStation Plus subscription, and will be available as long as you have it. If you unsubscribe, you'll also lose access to the games. If you're in the market for more cheap games, meanwhile, keep an eye on our Black Friday round-ups.
Fortnite's 6.22 update has arrived, bringing a new weapon as well as two limited-time modes to the hit game. While the Fortnitemares event may now be over in Battle Royale, the Halloween spirit carries on in one of this week's LTMs, a brand-new mode dubbed Team Terror.
Much like other team-based LTMs, Team Terror pits two teams of players (in this case, 32 vs. 32) against each other in a battle to be the last side standing. What sets it apart from previous modes, however, is the presence of Cube Monsters, the zombie-like creatures that first appeared during the aforementioned Fortnitemares event. These will spawn around the island as the match rolls on, adding a PvE element to the LTM.
Destroying Cube Monsters will cause them to drop weapons or ammo, giving you an incentive to take down any you come across. Resource and loot drop rates have also been adjusted for the new LTM. The likelihood of floor loot spawning has been increased by 15%, and farming resources have been increased by 75%. You can find more details on Team Terror in Epic's patch notes.
In addition to Team Terror, Epic has brought back a previous LTM this week: Blitz. This is a much faster-paced version of a standard battle royale game; the match begins with the storm already closing in on the island, and the time between storm circles is much shorter than normal, so each match will last about 15 minutes at most. Loot is also much more plentiful in Blitz mode, further speeding the action up.
Beyond the new LTMs, the 6.22 update introduced a new gun to the game: the Heavy Assault Rifle. It's available in Rare, Epic, and Legendary variants and can be found as floor loot or in chests, vending machines, and supply drops. Epic has also reverted the Pumpkin Launcher back to the standard Rocket Launcher and reduced the spawn rate of the new balloons.
In Red Dead Redemption 2, hunting is an important part of exploration and survival in the vast open world. In addition to finding food and other necessary supplies, you'll be able to use materials taken from fallen prey to craft outfits and talismans, which unlock special perks that amplify Arthur's main attributes. As you travel, you may even stumble upon an elusive animal that other explorers have rarely seen. Your first encounter with such a beast will be the Legendary Grizzly Bear, which can offer up a legendary bear pelt if you're able take it down.
These Legendary Animals can be found across the many regions of the map and take some extra effort to hunt. While some of these are small in stature, there are many that tower in size over Arthur and are quite dangerous in a fight. But if you're able to take them out, you'll acquire the means to craft some of the game's most valuable accessories and outfits. These particular animals offer the rarest pelts and materials you can find, which can be turned in to the local Trappers and Fences--those shady, black market dealers offering up some of the rarest goods. But rest assured, any materials that can't fit in your bags will be sent straight to the respective merchants.
In this feature, we're giving you all the details you need in order to track and hunt each of the game's Legendary Animals. If you want some extra tips for general survival and even fishing--which has its own set of Legendary Fish--be sure to check out our guides and features relating to each of Red Dead 2's most involved gameplay systems. Furthermore, be sure to check out our new weekly series QuickDraw, which focuses on the game's numerous gameplay features and along with a broader look on the impact of the Red Dead series.
Location: During the Chapter 2 story mission Exit Pursued By A Bruised Ego, you'll encounter your first Legendary Animal. While it's possible to take down the bear at this time, you can return later if you want better firepower. You can find it in Grizzlies East, north of the lake O'creah's Run.
Crafting: Fence: Bear Claw Talisman (Decreases health core drain by 10%) -- Legendary Bear Claw, Silver Chain Bracelet, Quartz Chunk
Legendary Beaver
Location: This rare beaver is known to wander southwest of Butcher Creek, which is directly to the west of Van Horn Trading Post.
Location: Living up to its name, this unusual ram can be found at Cattail Pond, just west of Valentine--the first town you come across in Chapter 2.
Crafting: Fence: Ram Horn Trinket (Doubles amount of Creeping Thyme, Oregano, and Wild Mint collected): Legendary Ram Horn
Legendary Boar
Location: The rare boar can be found in Bluewater Marsh, north of Lagras in the Lemoyne region.
Crafting: Fence: Boar Tusk Talisman (Decreases drain speed of horse health and stamina by 10%) -- Legendary Boar Tusk, Cobalt Petrified Wood, Gold Earring
Legendary Buck
Location: In the mountains northwest of Strawberry, you'll encounter this large buck.
Crafting: Fence: Buck Antler Trinket (Receive higher quality parts when skinning animals) -- Legendary Buck Antler
Legendary Bullgator
Location: First, you'll need to complete the Chapter 4 story mission Country Pursuits, which introduces you to the beast while showing you why it's so dangerous. Afterwards, you'll be able to encounter the massive gator in Bayou Nwa, west of Lakay--which is north of Saint Denis.
Crafting: Fence: Alligator Tooth Talisman (Decrease dead eye drain speed by 10%) -- Legendary Alligator Tooth, Gold Jointed Bracelet, Vintage Civil War Handcuffs
Legendary Cougar
Location: This fearsome feline can be found in Gaptooth Ridge, west of Tumbleweed.
Crafting: Fence: Cougar Fang Trinket (Increase stamina XP by 10%) -- Legendary Cougar Fang
Legendary Coyote
Location: The hunting grounds for this dangerous coyote can be found in Scarlett Meadows, northwest of Northwest of Rhodes and Southeast of the Old Mill.
Crafting: Fence: Coyote Fang Trinket (Increase dead eye XP by 10%) -- Legendary Coyote Fang
Legendary Elk
Location: You can find this animal east of Bacchus Station in the Ambarino region--the northern section of the map.
Crafting: Fence: Elk Antler Trinket (Increase money from looting by 10%) -- Legendary Elk Antler
Legendary Fox
Location: The fox can be found near Mattock Pond, just north of Rhodes in the Lemoyne region.
Crafting: Fence: Fox Claw Trinket (Increases eagle eye duration by five seconds) -- Legendary Fox Claw
Legendary Giaguaro Panther
Location: To encounter this incredibly dangerous animal, you'll first need to prove yourself as hunter by reaching the rank 9 challenge for Master Hunter. Afterwards, you'll find it roaming west of Shady Belle in Lemoyne. This is directly east of Braithwaite Manor.
Crafting: Fence: Panther's Eye Trinket (Decreases dead eye drain speed by 10% for three seconds) -- Legendary Panther Eye
Legendary Moose
Location: This massive moose can be seen in the area of Roanoke Ridge, which is near the northeastern corner of the map. Legendary Pronghorn Location: This rare antelope is found wandering in Rio Del Lobo Rock, just east of Fort Mercer in New Austin.
Crafting: Fence: Moose Antler Trinket (Increases health exp by 10%) -- Legendary Moose Antler
Legendary Tatanka Bison
Location: In New Austin, you can find this rare bison just southeast of the MacFarlane ranch at Hennigan's Stead.
Crafting: Fence: Tatanka Bison Horn Trinket (Decreases received melee damage by 10%) -- Legendary Tatanka Bison Horn
Legendary White Bison
Location: You can find another rare bison at Lake Isabella, just north of Mount Hagen in Grizzlies West.
Crafting: Fence: Bison Horn Talisman (Decreases the speed stamina drains by 10%) -- Legendary Bison Horn
Legendary Wolf
Location: This elusive wolf can be found in Cotorra Springs, west of Bacchus Bridge in Ambarino.
Crafting: Fence: Wolf Heart Trinket (Doubles resistance to alcohol) -- Legendary Wolf Heart
As was to be expected from a 40-minute presentation, last week's Nintendo Direct centered on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was a big one. It featured a ton of news about the game, and among the most important bits were the final members of the roster being revealed. We now know everyone who will be available on release day, and as you'd probably expect, the lineup will only grow post-launch through DLC. But even that isn't quite as simple as you might have thought.
The Direct started out with the reveal of two new characters. Street Fighter's Ken is an echo fighter of Ryu but is faster and has some other points of distinction. Pokemon's Incineroar also joins Ultimate's full character roster and boasts an array of pro-wrestling-inspired moves.
Although the video stated these two characters rounded out the final roster of 74, it didn't take long for that to prove not to be the case. Later in the stream, it was confirmed that DLC characters are on the way, and that these won't be echo fighters. Work hasn't yet started, so we'll be seeing these new characters added all the way through February 2020.
Nintendo has plans for a total of five DLC fighters, with each one being sold in a bundle alongside a new stage and music for $6 in the US. There will also be a $25 bundle called the Fighters Pass that gets you all five of these. Alongside a small discount over buying them individually, the Fighters Pass entitles you to an in-game outfit based on Xenoblade Chronicles 2 protagonist Rex.
But even that still didn't represent all of the character news we got. As a pre-order bonus of sorts, yet another fighter will be available: Piranha Plant. By purchasing the game digitally or physically (in which case you have to register the game card online) before the end of January 31, 2019, you'll get access to the character for free once it's ready "around" February 2019. A Piranha Plant stage and music are also in the works, and for those who don't qualify for the freebie, it will be available as DLC at some point in the future.
Alongside all of this character news, we learned a lot more about Ultimate, including details on the new Spirits mode and how online multiplayer works. Ultimate is due for release on December 7. There's no word on when we'll learn the identities of the DLC characters, but hey--at least there's reason for hope if you want to see Waluigi or Geno make the cut.
Fortnite has opened up a new set of limited-time challenges in honor of everyone's favorite sentient otherworldly cube. Your reward for completing the event is a Kevin the Cube to call your own, nicknamed Lil' Kev, as a new piece of back bling.
The event takes place in two phases. First, you had to log on prior to 1 PM ET on November 5 to unlock the Lil' Kev challenge pack--in other words, if you didn't get in before that deadline, you have no way to obtain these challenges and the accompany back bling. Provided you did get online, doing so provides you with a set of three challenges, which themselves are pretty simple. You'll have until November 11 at 1 PM ET to finish them to earn the back bling.
Unlike Fortnite's weekly challenges, which are usually catered toward some specific seasonal content, these challenges will be naturally obtained if you play some Fortnite over the coming week. You'll get completion simply by playing matches, earning XP, and outliving opponents. You'll need to play a minimum of 15 games to complete all three.
If you're still looking to complete this season's Battle Pass and earn your Season 6 rewards, check out our challenges guide. You can tote a new weapon into battle soon, since Epic has been teasing the addition of a new heavy assault rifle to the game that could drop any time. And if you're a Kevin fan that somehow missed the big world event over the weekend, check out our recap. The cube has been busy making all sorts of weirdness happen in the world.
Rockstar Game's latest release, Red Dead Redemption 2 on PS4 and Xbox One, is a game where you'll want to spend a great deal of time uncovering all of its secrets and details. You can spend 50-plus hours just completing the main story, slowing accumulating wealth and honor. But if you're someone looking for a shortcut--who wants to find a quick path to success while living the life of an outlaw in the last days of the wild west--we've got you covered. Much like the original game and GTA V, Red Dead 2 features an assortment of cheat codes that unlock additional resources, with some injecting odd gimmicks and quirks into your game.
To find the Cheats menu, press the pause button and select the Settings option. In this menu, press Triangle or Y (on PS4 and Xbox One, respectively) to pull up the Cheats menu. From here, you'll find a long list of locked cheats. Initially, you won't know what any of these do or how to unlock them. Many of these codes can be activated by putting in the correct phrase, but others will require some extra time and effort.
In addition to finding passwords while exploring the world, some of which are written into the ground, throughout the game you'll find newspapers for sale in towns, and some of these offer clues as to how to unlock these extra fun options. More newspapers will become available after completing main missions, which you'll see detailed in news articles. While many of these cheats introduce some mostly benign bits of fun--such as keeping your character, Arthur Morgan, perpetually drunk--activating these codes at any time will have some consequences for your save game. Once you activate these codes, all Trophies and Achievements will be deactivated on this particular file. As a result, before trying any of these codes, be sure to make a separate file for your main save.
With over 30 codes to unlock, some of which have some specific requirements, we've collected a list of cheats that we've uncovered thus far. We also have a separate feature discussing some of the most entertaining and best cheats in Red Dead Redemption 2. Be sure to check back with GameSpot as we update this page with new codes, and how to find them.
Cheat Code
Name
Description
How To Unlock
A fool on command
Drunk
Always stay drunk (can be turned off in cheat menu)
No requirements
Abundance is the dullest desire
Infinite Ammo
Unlimited ammunition for all weapons.
Unlocked by purchasing the New Hanover Gazette No. 27 in Valentine or the Blackwater Ledger No. 62. Can be done after journeying to Horseshoe Overlook in Chapter 2.
Better than my dog
Increase Horse Whistle Range
Activating will allow your Horse to find you regardless of distance.
No requirements
Greed is American Virtue
Heavy Weapons
Grants you instant access to the Bold-action Rifle, Mauser Pistol, Pump Action Shotgun, and Semi-Automatic Pistol.
Unlocked by purchasing Saint Denis Times No. 46 or the Blackwater Ledger No. 65 after completing the mission Advertising, the New American Art in Chapter 3.
I shall be better
Set Dead Eye To Level 3
Activating this cheat will upgrade your Deadeye skill. Level 3 is the initial level, but more will be added as it is unlocked.
No requirements
I seek and I find
Set Dead Eye To Level 5
Activating this cheat will upgrade your Deadeye skill. Note this is tied to the "I shall be better" cheat.
No requirements
Keep your dreams simple
Create Wagon
Activating this cheat will spawn a wagon, and along with another horse.
No requirements
Run! Run! Run!
Create Race Horse
Activating this cheat will instantly spawn a Race Horse for use.
No requirements
The lucky be strong evermore
Increase Stamina
Activating this cheat will grant infinite stamina for you and your horse
Unlocked by purchasing the Blackwater Ledger No. 68 after the mission Dear Uncle Tacitus in Chapter 5.
Virtue unearned is not virtue
Increase Honor
Activating this cheat will increase your Honor to the maximum amount (good honor)
Unlocked by purchasing the Blackwater Ledger No. 67 after the mission Banking, The Old American Art in Chapter 4.
Would you be happier as a clown?
Create Circus Wagon
Activating this cheat will create a Circus Wagon for use.
Unlocked by purchasing the Blackwater Ledger No. 73 during Epilogue Part 2.
You flourish before you die
Set Health, Stamina, and Dead Eye Bars to Full
Restores all health, stamina, and Dead Eye energy to full.
No requirements
You are a beast built for war
Create War Horse
Activating this cheat will create a War Horse for use.
Unlocked by purchasing the Blackwater Ledger No. 72 during Epilogue Part 1.
You long for sight and see nothing
Fog Of War
Activating this cheat will reveal the full map before discovery.
Unlocked by purchasing the Blackwater Ledger No. 66 or New Hanover Gazette No.31 after the mission Blood Feuds, Ancient and Modern in Chapter 3.
You seek more than the world offers
Fortify Heath, Stamina, and Dead Eye Bars
Activating this cheat will refill and fortify Health, Stamina, and Dead Eye bars.
Unlocked by purchasing the New Hanover Gazette No.36 after completing The King's Son mission in Chapter 6.
Red Dead 2 is now available on PS4 and Xbox One. If you want to hear more of our thoughts on Rockstar's expansive open-world western, check out our full Red Dead 2 review. We've got much more in store for the game in the coming weeks, which includes our new recurring series QuickDraw. For now, take a look at our round-up of fascinating and interesting facts the game doesn't outright tell players, and along with other useful tips you should know.
As revealed during the BlizzCon 2018 opening ceremony, Overwatch is getting a new character: Ashe. Based on what we've seen so far, the leader of the Deadlock gang will mix up the existing rhythms of gameplay in a major way. Following her announcement, Blizzard held the Overwatch: What's Next panel and went into detail about the character, specifically her story, the design ethos behind her creation, and how she plays. [Update: Ashe--along with the delightful BOB--is now live on the PTR.]
During the panel Michael Chu, lead writer of Overwatch, explained that Ashe--like most other villains in the game--came from a wealthy, privileged background. Her parents were CEO coaches and she had everything she could ever want. However, a chance encounter with McCree opened her eyes to the criminal world. Together, they committed crimes and Ashe found herself to be good at it, eventually deciding she could distinguish herself in the world of villainy.
With McCree and two other, nameless other figures she founded the Deadlock gang. They did big heists to make a name for themselves as they endeavored to write their names in the legend of the wild American west. Ashe's background and upbringing also allowed her to take lessons from her parents and use them to organize the gangs so they operate better, effectively establishing a criminal brotherhood. B.O.B (Big Omnic Butler/Bodyguard) is a companion character that is always by her side and also factors into the way she plays in a big way.
Discussing her design, lead designer Geoff Goodman said they wanted another weapon-focused character in the game, and this thinking has defined the way Ashe plays. Ashe's main weapon is called "Viper" and it's a lever-action rifle with two firing modes. In the primary firing mode it spits out bullets fast. However, in the alternate firing mode it's a little slower as Ashe looks down a holographic sight for precision shots. In this mode the Viper must be reloaded after each shot, but when firing players will have quite a lot of control as recoil is relatively low.
In terms of abilities, the Coach Gun is a secondary sawed-off shotgun-like weapon that does a decent amount of damage, but is mainly used to create distance. On impact it knocks Ashe and her target away, which will be very handy for getting a rampaging Winston or a charging Reinhardt off you. In these situations, you can also use it to knock enemies into the air, then use the juggle state to fire off some precise shots using the Viper.
Her next ability is Dynamite, which does a lot of damage but takes a while to explode. This is because its fuse needs to burn out fully before igniting the explosives. However, by shooting it manually the detonation can be forced, though this naturally takes a steady hand to do.
Her Ultimate ability is something completely new to Overwatch: a secondary support character for Ashe. When she pops her Ultimate ability, B.O.B leaps in from behind her and runs straight forward. The first character he connects with is smashed into the air, while other characters in the splash zone will also be knocked away. Although players can use abilities to escape him, if they're hit, they'll have no air control, leaving them open to being picked off by Ashe or other characters.
B.O.B will eventually stop moving forward and unleash a hail of gunfire. Interestingly, B.O.B functions almost like a second character in that he can be healed, buffed, and debuffed just like anyone else. This means that, for example, an Ana can Nano Boost him to up his damage output. If he's able to get into the back line of an enemy team, he could be devastating, so when he appears, he's very much intended to be a high-priority target.
Ashe was revealed through a new animated short called "Reunion." As you may have guessed, the cinematic reunites Ashe with McCree, and explores some of their history before everything descends into chaos. There's a whole bunch of other characters in the short which could be new characters in their own right, in Blizzard's own words, but for now we've got the deadly leader of the Deadlock gang. Check out the Ashe gameplay video to see more of her in action.
Heroes of the Storm, while functioning as an independent game, has also served as a mash-up of all things Blizzard. Its characters and levels all hail from Blizzard's franchises, whether those be its most well-known ones--Diablo, Warcraft, Starcraft--or older classics like The Lost Vikings. Now, for the first time, it's set to introduce an entirely original character.
The first big announcement during BlizzCon 2018's opening ceremony was the reveal of the newest addition to the HotS roster, Orphea. She's a white-haired character who is the daughter of the Raven Lord. She carries a large shield on her back that's adorned with a skull and was introduced with a cinematic trailer establishing her back story. That was followed by a gameplay montage showing off her abilities, which seem to center around summoning giant demonic entities to attack foes.
Orphea will be free for everyone attending BlizzCon, as well as everyone who purchased this year's Virtual Ticket.
Blizzard also teased some of the new content to come to the game in 2019. This includes a catapult update along with new quests, brawls, and skins. One new look that was showcased prominently was a janitor's outfit for the Skeleton King, as well as a floating soap bar mount. You can see these in the video below.
More details on what's to come for HotS are set to be announced over the weekend at BlizzCon.
Believe it or not, Black Friday 2018 is right around the corner. The end of the year is approaching, and the holiday season brings with it the biggest shopping day on the calendar in the United States, family time be damned.
Even with a couple weeks to go before Black Friday--it takes place on November 23--we've already begun to get a look at the deals that will be available. Most notably, we've gotten Target's ad early, giving us a look at what will be on sale across games, tech, and entertainment. Sam's Club is also have a pre-Black Friday sale that has some nice deals for game fans.
As always, tracking what's on sale and where can be an overwhelming task, as can determining what the best deals are. We'll be doing our best to help you stay on top of this so you can make the most of Black Friday (and Cyber Monday immediately after that) without having to drown in a sea of circulars and hastily scrawled post-it notes. Below, you'll find our complete coverage of the event; be sure to check back as more ads are revealed in the lead up to the big day.
Platforms
PS4
All PS4 Deals
If you're looking for all things related to PS4, we've collected every deal announced so far for the platform--including consoles, accessories, and games--in one story. Among the highlights is a $200 PS4 bundle that comes with Marvel's Spider-Man at Target.
For a look at all things Xbox One, we've put together a roundup of every announced deal related to the system. That includes deals on consoles, games, and accessories. One of the best offers we've seen so far is a $400 Xbox One X bundle with a whopping $120 in Kohl's Cash from (you guessed it) Kohl's.
Target was the first big store out of the gate to release its Black Friday ad early, and it included a ton of stuff of interest to game fans. You'll find a PS4 with Spider-Man for $200, among other things.
Alongside its game offerings, Target's early Black Friday ad gave us a look at its many movies and TV shows that will be on sale, and it includes some great sub-$10 4K movies.
Black Friday is always a great opportunity to pick up a new TV for relatively cheap, and 4K TVs are among the variety of tech items you'll find discounted at Target.
Kohl's doesn't sell many games, but it oftentimes has some excellent deals come Black Friday. 2018 is no exception, as it might be the best place to buy an Xbox One X.
Kohl's might primarily be a clothes retailer, but it does sell a limited number of electronics, like TVs. These are discounted in addition to netting you some Kohl's Cash.
We should have a firm idea of everything that will be on sale well in advance of Black Friday, but while we wait for all of the ads to come in, we've previewed what to expect from this year's big day. That may help you determine if you should buy something now or wait for a possible deal later this month.
Anybody can walk into a story on Black Friday or browse to a retailer's website, but there are tips and tricks to best approaching it. We've put together a guide to help you make the most of all the big sales.
If you missed out on the pre-order bonuses for WWE 2K19, you can pick them up as downloadable content. Two packs, one featuring Ronda Rousey and Rey Mysterio and the other featuring Ric Flair, are available for purchase separately.
The Ronda Rousey & Rey Mysterio Pack and the Wooooo! Edition Pack (featuring Ric Flair) are available across PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Previously Rousey and Mysterio were only available for pre-orders and Ric Flair was available in the Collector's Edition for $130. 2K also recently teased an upcoming Titans Pack but hasn't detailed a release date for it yet.
GameSpot's WWE 2K19 review appreciated the engaging MyCareer mode and stories, and the various quality-of-life tweaks, but lamented its slow character progression and some notable absentees from the roster. In particular, critic Richard Wakeling said that players are out-of-luck for Rey Mysterio or Rousey, who is the current Raw Women's Champion, unless they pre-ordered.
"Despite its flaws, WWE 2K19 is a step in the right direction for the long-running series," Wakeling wrote. "After two years toiling away with a dearth of interesting single-player content, the introduction of an engaging career mode is a welcome sight that finally captures some of the personality pro wrestling is partly built upon. The in-ring action is still inconsistent and will be as divisive as ever, but it's easier to stomach when the game surrounding the wrestling action gives you more reasons to play."
Epic Games has released Fortnite update 6.22 and detailed the contents of it with a fresh set of patch notes. The major new addition is an assault rifle called the Heavy AR, which was recently teased in-game, but there are also two new Limited-Time Modes--one of which features AI-controlled enemies.
The first of these LTMs is Team Terror. It pits two teams of 32 against each other with the goal of wiping out the opposing side. The wrinkle is that Cube Monsters, the enemies that players had to contend with during the recent Fortnitemares event, will also attack you. Of course, they can drop some nice loot, so it might make sense to deal with them before enemy players.
The second LTM is the returning Blitz. This takes the basic Battle Royale gameplay and speeds things up, as the storm circle begins closing in right from the start of the match. It will also close in more frequently than usual, leading to matches that should last no longer than 15 minutes. To further speed things up, there's more loot to find around the map.
You can check out the patch notes for the Fortnite: Battle Royale below. Head to the Fortnite website to see what's new with the Save the World mode--that includes a continuation of the co-op mode's Fortnitemares event.
Epic Games also recently announced a partnership with the NFL to bring football skins to Fortnite. These will be based on real-world jerseys, and they're set to arrive later this week, following this new update. The outfits will be available for purchase from Fortnite's in-game store, but Epic hasn't announced pricing details yet. All 32 NFL teams will be represented, and Epic says you'll also be able to customize your jersey with any number from 0-99. The skins will be available in the store beginning at 4 PM PT / 7 PM ET on November 9.
Fortnite: Battle Royale Update 6.22 Patch Notes
Limited-Time Event: Team Terror
Summary
Monsters have invadsed the Battle Royale island! Two teams will battle it out as Cube Monsters monsters join the fight. Defeat the other team to earn a Victory Royale.
Mode Details
Two teams of 32 players. Eliminate the other team to win.
Monster spawners are scattered throughout the map and also appear each time the storm closes in to a new circle.
Monsters can drop weapons or ammo when destroyed. Gold monsters and monster spawners drop Legendary items when destroyed.
Farming resources increased 75% over default.
Increased floor loot spawn likelihood by 15%.
Floor loot spawns double ammo.
Ammo boxes spawn triple ammo.
Chests spawn double ammo & consumables.
Supply drops spawn double ammo, and an extra consumable, resource drop and trap.
Limited-Time Event: Blitz!
Summary
Blitz is a faster-paced version of Battle Royale. The match begins with the storm moving towards the island, and the delay between each circle is shorter than normal, creating matches that are 15 minutes long or less. The map also has extra loot and resources. Profile Stats count in this mode, so fight hard for the Victory Royale!
Mode Details
The storm is already moving in at the beginning of the match, choose your landing spot carefully!
Wait time between storms is significantly shorter than usual; maximum match length is 15 minutes.
Increased chances of treasure chests spawning from 50-70% to 80-90%.
Increased chances of ammo boxes spawning from 65-80% to 85-95%.
Reduced empty floor loot spawn chance from 21.5% to 3.55%
Resource harvesting amounts increased by 50%.
Increased materials found on the ground from 30 to 60 per instance.
Increased number, spawn rate & the descent speed of Supply Drops.
Increased number of llamas spawned by 4x.
Removed shopping carts.
Weapons + Items
Heavy Assault Rifle
Can be found in floor loot, chests, Vending Machines, and Supply Drops
Available in Rare, Epic and Legendary Variants
Deals 44 / 46 / 48 damage
3.75 Fire Rate
Has a magazine size of 25
The Pumpkin Launcher has been reverted back to the standard Rocket Launcher.
We've reduced the spawn rate of Balloons from 12.2% to 2.3%.
Gameplay
Storm max damage cap changed back to 8 damage from 10 damage.
Bug Fixes
Players hit by a Boogie Bomb while holding Balloons will no longer have physics issues. They will now properly drop the Balloons.
At the end of the latest Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Direct event, Nintendo debuted a new cinematic trailer that provided a little tease of its Adventure mode story, known as World of Light. This time around, the excuse for having everyone literally kick and punch each other into outer-space revolves around Spirits, which are characters that have been separated from their physical forms by a mysterious force. It all happened on one fateful day, and the Smash Ultimate will explore exactly how and why, as well as who is responsible.
Accompanying the cinematic was perhaps the biggest surprise of the Direct--a Smash Bros. Ultimate theme song with vocal lyrics. Now, putting lyrics to songs in video games is a tricky endeavour. Sometimes it can go really well, like with Portal's Still Alive, Persona 5's Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There, Metal Gear Solid 3's Snake Eater and, of course, the single greatest video game theme tune of all time, Daytona USA's Let's Go Away (better known as Do-da do-da do-do-do-do do-do-do).
Other times you can get turds like the heavy metal Chocobo theme from Final Fantasy X-2, Eternity from Blue Dragon--which is bad despite the fact that it was sung by Deep Purple's Ian Gillan--or that vocal version of Ryu's theme that is jaw-droppingly bad.
Nintendo has a decent track record, most notably Jump Up! Super Star, the jazzy little ditty that was in Super Mario Odyssey. It absolutely knocked it out of the park with that one, and was no doubt given confidence to take another crack at it by the universal praise it got. The Smash Bros. Ultimate theme, however, doesn't seem like another [pause for impact] smash hit.
While the orchestral arrangement is appropriately epic, the actual lyrics are a bit on the nose--and not in the cheesy but catchy way Snake Eater does it. It sounds like a direct translation of a song that probably sounded way better in Japanese. Take a look at the lyrics (which we've transcribed to the best of our abilities) and listen to the song below for yourself.
Colours weave into a spire of flame,
Distant sparks call to a past still unnamed,
Bear this torch against the cold of the night,
Search your soul and reawaken the undying light,
On that day, when the sky fell away,
Our world came to an end,
In our eyes, did a fading sunrise in the dark, glimmer shadows
Silence grows, in the spaces between,
Stretching out beyond time,
Rising up, as a chorus of souls finds a [voice?],
Flickering through the void,
These little sparks,
Cling onto life, everyone caught in the struggle,
And then the storms of change, they fan the flames scattering ashes to the wind,
Every soul contains a whisper of light, gleaming faint beyond the dwindle from [sight?]
No escape no greater fate to be made,
in the end the chains of time will not break,
Colours weave into a spire of flame,
Distant sparks call to a past still unnamed,
Bear this torch against the cold of the night,
Search your soul and reawaken the undying light
Of course, musical tastes are subjective, so maybe the theme totally rocks your eardrums, in which case, great! Also while you're here why not watch the misheard lyrics video for Super Smash Bros. Brawl's theme, which is a classic.
In related Smash Bros. Ultimate news, two new characters have been revealed for the game: Ken and Inceneroar. Nintendo has also provided a wealth of information on how Spirits work in the game. Inn addition to being a part of the story, they factor into the gameplay in a big way. Although the core character roster is now complete, more characters will also be added to Smash Bros. Ultimate via paid DLC.
Nintendo is releasing a new line of Amiibo for each of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's new and returning characters. We've already gotten a look at figures of Wolf, Ridley, and Inkling, and during the final Super Smash Bros. Direct presentation, Nintendo revealed another handful of Amiibo and when they'll arrive.
The aforementioned Wolf, Ridley, and Inkling figures are launching alongside the game on December 7. King K. Rool and Ice Climbers Amiibo will follow next year on February 15, while figures of Young Link, Daisy, Pichu, and newcomers Isabelle and Ken will all release sometime in 2019.
On top of those Amiibo, Nintendo announced it will release a figure of the surprise DLC character Piranha Plant, which game director Masahiro Sakura says has a "nice curved form to it." The Piranha Plant Amiibo is likewise launching on February 15, while the character itself is slated to join the game "around" February.
In addition to the new figures, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will be compatible with all existing Smash Bros. Amiibo. A number of these figures will be re-released near the game's launch. However, as before, some will only be available at certain retailers. The reprinted Pac-Man Amiibo, for example, is exclusive to Best Buy stores.
Smash Bros. isn't the only upcoming Switch game to receive Amiibo. Blizzard also announced a Loot Goblin Amiibo figure for Diablo III: Eternal Edition. This figure is notable for having a unique design and packaging than other Amiibo, and it's available exclusively at GameStop.
Pokemon Go developer Niantic has just launched its newest mobile game, Ingress Prime, on iOS and Android. To celebrate its release, the studio is holding a special event in Pokemon Go that gives players their first opportunity to catch two new Shiny Pokemon.
For a limited time, two Gen 1 monsters--Cubone and Ponyta--will appear much more frequently in the wild than they normally do. Not only that, but if you're lucky, you'll also have a chance to come across Shiny variants of each as you're playing. Shiny Cubone has a greener complexion than standard Cubone, while Shiny Ponyta has a blue fiery mane rather than a red one.
In addition to the new Shiny Pokemon, Niantic is also offering players a couple of free customization items for their trainers to commemorate the launch of Ingress Prime. Right now, you can get an Ingress Prime shirt for your avatar, as well as tops featuring the logos of The Enlightened and The Resistance--the two teams vying for supremacy in Niantic's new game.
In other Pokemon Go news, Niantic has revealed the special move players will be able to learn during this month's Community Day, which takes place this Saturday, November 10. During the event, the Gen 2 starter Pokemon Cyndaquil will appear much more frequently in the wild, and if you manage to evolve it into its final form, Typhlosion, up to an hour after the Community Day ends, it'll learn the powerful attack Blast Burn.
Niantic also recently rolled out a new update for Pokemon Go, which introduced the recently announced Adventure Sync. With this new feature, the game will keep track of the distance you've walked, even when it's idle, making it much easier to hatch Pokemon Eggs and discover Candy with your Buddy Pokemon.
If you have a gaming PC, you might want to pop open Steam right now. That's because you can pick up Distraint: Deluxe Edition for free. The offer is only available for a limited time, so don't wait too long or you'll miss out--though once you add it to your account it's yours to keep forever. The developer is giving it away to build enthusiasm for Distraint 2, which launches November 13.
Billed as a "psychological horror adventure," Distraint puts you in the shoes of a man named Price, whose job it is to evict people from their homes. He's not a bad guy, though, and his actions weigh on his conscience, resulting in some mildly horrific visions. The gameplay involves solving puzzles to progress through the story.
Distraint wasn't widely reviewed when it launched toward the end of 2015, but it holds a "generally favorable" score of 76 out of 100 on our sister site Metacritic. Steam users have reviewed the game highly, giving it a "very positive" rating.
Developer Jesse Makkonen says Distraint 2 will pick up where the first game left off. According to the Steam description, "It's a sinister tale about restoring hope and finding your purpose." If you're interested in trying out the first game, you can grab it here.
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