Bandai Namco has announced that My Hero Academia protagonist Izuku Midoriya will be a part of Jump Force. Although the studio did not come out and confirm it, an image in a tweet implies Midoriya will be a playable character and not just a part of the story like Death Notes' Light and Ryuk.
Midoriya has worn three different costumes in the My Hero Academia manga and anime, and each showcases growth in his development of his superpowered Quirk, One For All. The images of him in Jump Force show him wearing the initial design for Costume Gamma, a more heavily armored variation of his suit that comes equipped with braces for his arms and iron soles for his feet. Midoriya first wears this costume when he adopts his new "Shoot Style" fighting form that focuses on kicks instead of punches, so we can assume his combos will probably include more than his fist super moves like Detroit Smash and Delaware Smash.
So far, Midoriya is the only character from My Hero Academia to be confirmed for Jump Force. However, other franchises included in the game--such as Dragon Ball and One Piece--have included half a dozen characters from their respective manga/anime, so there's a possibility for more of Midoriya's allies or enemies to appear in Jump Force. Jump Force could also implement a similar system to My Hero One's Justice and include multiple versions of Midoriya with different fighting styles.
Jump Force is a celebration of 50 years of Shonen Jump manga and anime. The tag-team arena fighting game includes characters from Black Clover, Bleach, City Hunter, Dragon Ball, Fist of the North Star, Hunter x Hunter, My Hero Academia, Naruto, One Piece, Rurouni Kenshin, Saint Seiya, Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu Yu Hakusho, and Death Note. The game will tell an original story, where characters from across the Shonen Jump multiverse need to unite in order to defeat an evil that threatens all of their respective worlds.
Jump Force launches in Japan on February 14, 2019 and then for North America on the following day. The game will be playable on Xbox One, PS4, and PC.
The 14 Days of Fortnite event is now underway in Epic's hit battle royale game. From now until January 2, Fortnite players on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile can take part in new and returning limited-time modes, purchase new seasonal outfits from the in-game shop, and even earn daily rewards.
On top of the aforementioned LTMs, Epic will offer a new challenge each day during the 14 Days of Fortnite event, which will net you a free seasonal reward once completed. If you manage to finish all 14 of the challenges from the event, you'll also unlock a special mystery item.
Epic is revealing the 14 Days of Fortnite challenges day by day, so we'll be rounding up a list of all the tasks from the event and the rewards you get for completing them as they're unveiled. Be sure to check back here each day of the event as we update the list with challenges, rewards, and tips on how to get them once they're available.
The first 14 Days of Fortnite challenge is straightforward. You'll simply need to create or join a server in the game's new Creative mode, which allows players create their own games and play around as they see fit in their own private matches. Once you do that, you'll unlock the first of the events daily rewards: an Ornament Spray featuring the letters "GG."
In addition to daily challenges, Epic will feature a variety of new and returning limited-time modes during the 14 Days of Fortnite event. These will rotate frequently throughout the event; according to the developer, "large team modes" will switch every 48 hours, while "small team modes" will change every 24.
14 Days Of Fortnite Challenges
Start or join a Creative server (1) -- "GG" Ornament Spray
By Anonymous on Dec 19, 2018 11:30 pm Red Dead Redemption 2 is a moving, often heartbreaking, and oddly hopeful story that stands independently of its predecessor--and that's only part of the reason why it's GameSpot's 2018 Game of the Year.
In 2010, GameSpot's Game of the Year was none other than Red Dead Redemption. Eight years later, that game remains one of our all-time favorites, and leaving John Marston behind to step into Arthur Morgan's story wasn't easy. Red Dead Redemption 2 ended up being everything we could have wanted in a prequel, but it's also a moving, often heartbreaking, and oddly hopeful story that stands independently of its predecessor--and that's only part of the reason why Red Dead 2 is GameSpot's 2018 Game of the Year.
It's fair to say that Red Dead Redemption 2 faced incredibly high expectations. For fans, there was the matter of how to follow the original Red Dead Redemption. More generally, there was the simple fact that GTA V, Rockstar's previous game, is among the most successful entertainment properties of all time, as well as the promise that Red Dead 2's open world would be vast and incredibly detailed (including the horse anatomy). Going into Red Dead 2, you'd be forgiven for expecting it to be a big cowboy playground where you can go anywhere and do anything an outlaw might care to do. And in some ways, it is--but it's remarkable for the ways in which it isn't.
When you first start Red Dead 2, the scope and detail of its world are almost overwhelming. In a series of tutorial missions woven into the exposition, you're presented with a variety of cowboy-ish activities you can undertake: fishing, horse-rearing, robbing, hunting, and more robbing, plus personal grooming and the need to eat. It's easy to dismiss the story missions entirely to follow the pastime of your choice, which inevitably leads you to another random activity or a chance encounter on the side of the road and then, before you know it, to a town far from where you are "supposed" to be. Your choices seem endless, the world impossibly large, and the freedom of wandering through it on your horse is too enticing to ignore.
Even more impressive is how the world shifts to react to you. Getting into a deadly fight in a bar, for example, doesn't just put your own honor level at risk; townspeople will remember you for it, and you will not be very popular. An expensive horse gets oohs and ahhs from passersby, while running into someone with your horse will (understandably) make them very, very upset. The world is both fantastic and mundane, populated by criminals and honest citizens alike, and getting a cheery greeting from a random person in the street draws you into the world just as much, if not more, than discovering a serial killer's hideout or robbing a train does.
There's a point where this sense of wonder and freedom will clash with what the story is doing, and that point may be different for everyone. It might be the mission structure, which often devolves into firefights even if you try your hardest to avoid them; it might be the pacing, which is slow and deliberate and sometimes exhausting; it might simply be the nature of getting from place to place, which, due to limited fast travel options, means you'll be spending a lot of time with your horse. No matter how you're trying to play, whether it's as an honorable Arthur or a terrible one, you'll often find yourself doing things you didn't particularly want or intend to do.
This is where Red Dead 2 tests your patience, and it can feel like you're fighting against the game just to play it. But far more than being a detailed, living open-world game, Red Dead Redemption 2 is a focused narrative experience, and you, the player, are not at the center of it. This story belongs to Arthur Morgan, to the Van der Linde gang, and to the death of the Wild West; everything you do feeds that story. The choices you make are not as important as the process of making them, and that's precisely why the story is as impactful as it is.
Arthur Morgan is a man caught between two versions of himself: the man he is and the man he would like to be. He's caught between his loyalty to Dutch and the doubt that creeps in as more and more things go wrong. The act of playing Red Dead 2, as you're caught between what you want to do and what you are able to do, brings you closer to Arthur. Your frustration when a mission goes south is Arthur's frustration; any guilt you feel toward the end of the game, when you're meddling in matters that don't concern you, is Arthur's guilt.
There's an overwhelming sense of inevitability in everything you do, which is exacerbated if you played the original game and know what becomes of the Van der Linde gang. Many of the people you're building relationships with, you assume, will die before the events of Red Dead Redemption, and the ones who don't can make you sad for other reasons. But despite that, Red Dead 2's story is ultimately a hopeful one, and fleeting moments of levity and optimism offer a respite even when you can sense a cruel fate is only a few story beats away.
It's hard to shake the kind of connection you develop with Red Dead Redemption 2's world and characters. It's a game that can try your patience, for sure, but it simply wouldn't be the same if it didn't. It's an unforgettable experience that challenges your expectations as often as it meets or exceeds them, and there's no question that it's our Game of the Year.
GameSpot's nominee countdown for the Best Games of 2018 is over and our choice for Game of the Year has finally been revealed. Each game we've highlighted is among this year's best and should be at the top of your queue if you haven't played them already. Our list was formed by our global team of GameSpot editors and video producers, who spent hours locked in fierce debate fighting for the games they felt most passionate about.
Like in 2017, this year's nominees were difficult to compile. After all, there was no shortage of amazing games to play across PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile in 2018. The toughest decision was narrowing down which game we wanted to be Game of the Year. This year, we selected 10 unranked nominees and then selected the Game of the Year from those candidates, rather than ranking our entire list.
After several hours, we were able to compile a nominee list of the 10 best games culminating in our overall Game of the Year choice. The games in this features are informed by an array of tastes and preferences, reflecting our team's diverse gaming backgrounds and opinions. Read on to see why we chose each game as one of the best for 2018, and scroll to the very bottom to see our choice for Game of the Year 2018.
For more on our picks of the best games of the year across various categories, as well as features focusing on the year's performance, check out our Best of 2018 hub. In the meantime, which games did you love the most this year? Let us know in the comment section below.
Monster Hunter World
"It's been said over and over again this year that Monster Hunter World is the most accessible game yet in the long-running Japanese action RPG series. Monster Hunter's detractors know that doesn't mean much--World may be the easiest entry point yet, but it's still pretty obtuse for all but the most diligent, attentive, and detail-oriented newbies. Either you need to have the dedication and persistence to fight through hours of ignorance while you speed-Google every new thing the game throws at you, or you need a monster-hunting veteran friend to lend a hand. But that's fine--some subjective concept of "accessibility" isn't what makes MHW so great. And besides, cooperative multiplayer happens to be exactly where Monster Hunter World shines brightest." -- Michael Rougeau, Senior Entertainment Editor
For more on why we chose Monster Hunter World as one of the best for 2018, check out our full write-up.
Into The Breach
"Into The Breach is focused. It is an exceptional distillation of turn-based tactical strategy. The compact, chessboard-sized 8x8 maps mean that confrontations and problems arise immediately. The short missions means there's a constant urgency. The clear transparency of its systems shows you absolutely everything that is going to happen in the next turn--what enemies are targeting, how much damage they will deal, and any effects that will occur. It's a game that tells you everything you need to know, keeps randomness to a minimum, and never wastes your time." -- Edmond Tran, Senior Editor and Producer
For more on why we chose Into the Breach as one of the best for 2018, check out our full write-up.
God of War
"The new God of War from Santa Monica Studio is a masterful reinvention of a now-classic PlayStation series and, primarily, its lead character. Kratos went from being a killing machine driven solely by rage in previous games, to, well, a killing machine driven by paternal instinct and a promise made to his deceased wife. But even without being compared to his former self, Kratos' newfound sensitivity and self-awareness are as effective as they are because of how well the character and his journey are executed in general. For fans, it's great to witness the character's pivot from yesteryear's action darling to today's loving father figure in disguise, but Kratos and the game he leads are simply excellent on their own terms." -- Peter Brown, Managing Editor
For more on why we chose God of War as one of the best for 2018, check out our full write-up.
Dead Cells
"On paper, Dead Cells is an amalgamation of familiar ideas, some of which have been recycled to the point of overexposure; the exploration, discovery, and gradual empowerment of Castlevania and Metroid, the trial-and-error runs of Spelunky, and the oblique world of Dark Souls. But what truly distinguishes Dead Cells is the harmony it achieves between these individual elements. Developer Motion Twin successfully captures the essence of each of the games it is inspired by and uses them to give life to an experience that is refined and refreshing." -- Tamoor Hussain, Senior News Editor
For more on why we chose Dead Cells as one of the best for 2018, check out our full write-up.
Marvel's Spider-Man
"Marvel's Spider-Man is special, if for no other reason than that it's the closest a video game has come to capturing what it feels like to be everyone's favorite friendly neighborhood wall-crawler. It's exhilarating to step off a skyscraper and hear the orchestral score begin to swell, only to crescendo and level out as you start swinging towards your next objective; there's never a moment in the game's 20-hour run-time where you don't want to be flying through the air. You're constantly unlocking or discovering tricks that Spidey is known for pulling off in the comics--like firing out a web from both shooters to slingshot yourself through a hanging pipe--that make traveling from point A to point B the most thrilling part of the game." -- Jordan Ramee, Associate Editor
For more on why we chose Marvel's Spider-Man as one of the best for 2018, check out our full write-up.
Return of the Obra Dinn
"Armed with a magical pocket watch that allows you to see and explore each victim's final moment and a mostly empty notebook to fill in--as well as your own detective skills and possibly a real-life notebook--you go from corpse to corpse gleaning what you can from short snippets of voiced-but-not-animated scenes frozen in time. Your notebook includes a passenger manifest with names, jobs, and countries of origin as well as an artist's rendition of life on the ship, and differentiating between one seaman and another is no small feat. Return of the Obra Dinn does not hold your hand, and you have to pay very close attention to keep track of who's who, how they died, and, if they were murdered, who did it." -- Kallie Plagge, Reviews Editor
For more on why we chose Return of the Obra Dinn as one of the best for 2018, check out our full write-up.
Tetris Effect
"Tetris Effect is unquestionably the prettiest version of Tetris there is and it uses that aspect of its personality to enhance the core draw of the puzzle game within, making it easier for you to find that unspeakable bond between mind and game. It's an unforgettable experience that marks a new chapter for one of the medium's most familiar and beloved properties, and when people talk about Tetris from now on, Tetris Effect will undoubtedly be used to reference the original game's timeless appeal." -- Pete Brown, Managing Editor
For more on why we chose Tetris Effect as one of the best for 2018, check out our full write-up.
Hitman 2
"Like its predecessor, Hitman 2 can be many things to many people. The variety of possible approaches allows for wildly different experiences. You might opt for a more head-on plan that involves killing anyone who gets in your way. Maybe you use the briefcase for its intended purpose and sneak in a sniper rifle to take your target out from a distance. Or perhaps you opt for something far more elaborate: Discover the use of a high-powered fan in a movie shoot, recover and deliver a missing script to the crew so filming can continue, and then rig the fan to blow your target off the roof once the cameras are rolling. (It made for great footage, the film's producer concedes in a private phone call afterward.) It all sounds sadistic on paper, but with Hitman 2, developer IO Interactive has continued to hone its comedy chops by instilling a sense of humor into so many of your actions and every corner of the map." -- Chris Pereira, Engagement Editor
For more on why we chose Hitman 2 as one of the best for 2018, check out our full write-up.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
"Over 70 unique characters from nearly 30 different video game franchises, with more to come. A refined combat system that is still exciting, still accessible, and still has a high skill ceiling. A number of varying modes to enjoy on your own or with others. An immense library of great video game music. There are so many wonderful things packed into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate that, even in the short time between its release and our Best Of The Year discussions, it has filled us with an immense amount of joy." -- Edmond Tran, Senior Editor and Producer
For more on why we chose Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as one of the best for 2018, check out our full write-up.
Game of the Year: Red Dead Redemption 2
"It can be frustrating, in an open world game, to be forced into actions you didn't want to take. Red Dead Redemption 2 gives you a ton of choices but very few outcomes; there's often nothing you can do to change how a story mission ends. It can feel like you're fighting against the game, but that's why it's brilliant. Your weariness and your frustration are also Arthur's, and that gives you a greater understanding into the inner turmoil he experiences throughout the story. Those feelings draw you into him, his relationships, and his world, and that's a connection that's hard to shake when it's all over. Of everything about Red Dead Redemption 2, from its responsive, living world to its most meticulous details, that is its greatest achievement." -- Kallie Plagge, Reviews Editor
For more on why we chose Red Dead Redemption 2 as our Game of the Year in 2018, check out our full write-up.
The Whisperers are coming. It's something we've known for a while about The Walking Dead and, thus far in Season 9, we've gotten lots of teases for the new villains on the show but have yet to actually meet any of them. Well, that changes now.
AMC has released new key art for the show's return in February, which prominently features new cast member Samantha Morton as Alpha, leader of the Whisperers. If she doesn't look too familiar in the image below, there's a reason for that. The Whisperers are unlike any other force your favorite survivors have come up against before. They move among the walkers by wearing the skin of the dead over their own. Yes, it's as disgusting as it sounds and GameSpot will have plenty more details about the new group as we get closer to the mid-season premiere.
However, in living among the walkers, it brings the Whisperers a kind of freedom many in this horrible world don't have. It seems they don't necessarily fear the dead, which is a powerful trait to have.
A plot description of the show's return reads, "The second half of The Walking Dead Season 9 finds our groups of survivors, both old and new, continuing to deal with the impact of events that took place during the six years that have passed. Since the disappearance of Rick, many of these characters have become strangers to each other, and in some ways, strangers to themselves. What they do know is that they are in undeniable danger. They will soon realize the world just beyond does not operate as they thought. The group's rules and ways of survival no longer guarantee their safety. A whole new threat has crossed their paths, and they soon discover it's unlike any threat they have encountered or endured before. The group will start to question what they think they see. What may appear to be normal in this post-apocalyptic world could actually be more disturbing and terrifying than when the apocalypse first broke out. All that is certain is the stakes are high and numerous."
Morton won't be alone in leading the group. Sons of Anarchy and Bates Motel alum Ryan Hurst has also joined the cast as Beta, her second-in-command. Together, these two will lead the Whisperers as they attempt to take out the survivors in Alexandria, Hilltop, and the Sanctuary.
Unfortunately, it'll be some time before we find out how successful they are. The Walking Dead returns Sunday, February 10, on AMC.
This is not an instant win. No purchase necessary. Competition ends at 5:00 PM PT on December 19, 2018, in which 30 winners will be chosen at random and emailed a code for the full game (MSRP: $30).
The next Fast & Furious movie isn't scheduled to be released until 2020, but fans of the series won't have to wait that long for the next entry in that universe. Hobbs & Shaw is a spin-off focusing on the characters played by Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham and it arrives in August next year. A first official image has now been released.
The picture comes via Entertainment Weekly. In it, former federal Agent Luke Hobbs (Johnson) and mercenary-for-hire Owen Shaw (Statham) are facing down some adversaries in what looks like a warehouse, armed only with bits of wood. Check it out below:
This image follows some earlier behind-the-scenes shots that Johnson posted on Instagram. Hobbs & Shaw is directed by Deadpool 2's David Leitch and also stars Idris Elba as the movie's main villain, plus Mission Impossible: Fallout's Vanessa Kirby. It releases on August 2, 2019.
In an interview with EW, Johnson spoke about what will set Hobbs & Shaw apart from the insane, over-the-top action of the main Fast & Furious movies. "The main thing that we can do and focus on is how can we evolve," he said. "So instead of thinking of whatever the biggest explosions are with the biggest vehicles and let's drop them from the moon, this is where finding the perfect director comes in with a very unique point of view and perspective, and someone who understands not only action but understands stylistic action mixed in with story and character."
"David Leitch just did the new Deadpool and John Wick and Atomic Blonde," Johnson continued. "So you can see the stylistic approach that he has, and he really just stepped up to the plate and took great ownership of this spin-off. He's really been delivering, and if his past movies are an example of what he's been doing, wait until you see this one."
In terms of the main series, the currently untitled Fast & Furious 9 is currently scheduled for an April 2020 release. The decision to delay the movie by a year to make way for Hobbs & Shaw caused some controversy last year, when co-star Tyreese suggested that if Johnson were to appear, he would not. This follows the reported on-set feud between Johnson and star/producer Vin Diesel during the production of 2017's The Fate of the Furious.
Hide-and-seek is so central to a child's sense of play that it's surprising how infrequently it's been explored by video games. A recent vogue for "asymmetrical multiplayer," in which one player at a time faces several others, does channel some of the exhilarating imbalance of being It. But even titles such as Friday the 13th or Dead by Daylight tend to emphasize escape over taking cover and ultimately feel more like run-and-chase than the slower, calmer, more observational game that's forever fascinated kids. So it is a considerable pleasure to discover that Typhon Hunter, the new multiplayer expansion for the science-fiction immersive sim Prey by Arkane Studios, very closely resembles the traditional format of the familiar childhood pastime--with the slight difference that this hide-and-seek involves bloodthirsty aliens and takes place on a space station orbiting the moon.
In its previous incarnation, Prey was an ambitious and original game with a strong conceit and too many crude mechanics--intermittently intriguing but on the whole unrefined, sometimes outright broken. It cast players as Morgan Yu, among the few surviving humans aboard a space station overrun by aliens known as the Typhon. The Typhon are shapeshifters, capable of taking the form of the inanimate objects around them; wandering through the desolate station in a bid for survival, you often found them scattered about mimicking ashtrays and coffee mugs, poised to leap up and attack at any moment.
Since the cool reception when Prey was released last spring, Arkane has continued to revise and expand the game. Most notably, it released a premium expansion in June called Mooncrash, a rogue-lite adventure set on a satellite that retained the mechanics and milieu of Prey but applied them to an entirely different genre. Another six months later, we now have Typhon Hunter, an expansion that once again takes Arkane's promising source material and attempts to reimagine the kind of game it can be.
A hide-and-seek version of Prey is more compelling than Prey in its original form, it turns out. Like the rogue-lite twist of Mooncrash, the sneaky, delightful Typhon Hunter multiplayer is simply a more rewarding application of Prey's basic elements; it ports over the environments from the campaign and repurposes the unique enemy design for the core of the new experience. Typhon Hunter is a game for six players: five are Mimics, the crawling baby aliens that can morph into the stuff around them, and one is Morgan, the wrench-wielding human whose objective it is to eradicate them before the five-minute countdown elapses. Rounds mostly consist of Morgan hunting high and low as Mimics in the shape of garbage cans or cardboard boxes sit very still, hoping not to be seen or awaiting an opportunity to attack.
Walking into a room littered with random furniture and detritus when you know damn well that five other players could be lurking there among it all feels overwhelming in the most satisfying way. There's a real sense of danger and suspense just wandering from one room to another, swinging your wrench at every errant martini glass that looks out of place or wine bottle that strikes you as suspicious, only to be petrified, again, when the stack of old magazines in the corner suddenly lunges at your face. When the Mimics kill Morgan, there's a 10-second breather that allows them to move around or find a new hiding place, and rather than frustrating I found these brief moments of repose pumped me up to charge back in there and scrutinize every item I happened upon. Each Mimic, meanwhile, only has one life, and players default to spectating until the round's end if they die.
As a Mimic, hiding can sometimes seem almost too easy, because the environments are so extensively populated with the kinds of objects that lend themselves to mimicry--every kitchen counter covered in cups, every maintenance hallway strewn with boxes, all spread about in a disorderly fashion that makes it seamless for even a somewhat careless player to blend in. Objects are left in unlikely places and positions to throw the human player off, and in contrast to, say, the online infiltrations in Watch Dogs, it is never immediately obvious to the naked eye what's an innocuous component of the game and what's human-controlled. On several occasions I watched wracked with tension as a Morgan player strolled by just inches away without noticing me. It reminded me of the attraction of hide-and-seek, which is how wildly thrilling it is to hide.
Imbalance is a common problem with asymmetrical multiplayer, as different character types and abilities expressly designed to be uneven are difficult to make seem 100% fair. I did find, over the course of my time with the game, that Mimics seemed to win matches much more often than Morgans, regardless of which side I chose; it didn't seem so much an issue of the Mimics being too hard to find as being sometimes difficult to kill once found, especially when using one of the underpowered pistols scattered across the maps. Still, I never felt any great injustice when I failed to vanquish the Mimics within the time allotted, just an urge to look harder and swing faster next time. Besides, the sensation of being alone against everyone is a fundamental part of being It.
With such a limited number of maps and this one hide-and-seek game mode, Typhon Hunter is not a multiplayer experience of much longevity. As fun as it can be to skulk around a space station as an unassuming box of pizza, biding your time to strike, the format inevitably loses its novelty after a few dozen rounds, once it starts to seem that there isn't any object left that as a Mimic you haven't turned into and as a human you haven't been killed by or destroyed. That said, this is of course a free expansion to a game that came out almost two years ago, and one that takes Prey's best elements and applies them in better ways. It's commendable that Arkane continues to return to Prey with fresh ideas, and if you have the game already you'd be remiss not to play.
A forthcoming (free) update, set to release in January, will bring Typhon Hunter to virtual reality, making it possible to ferret out Mimics with a VR headset. In the meantime, Typhon Hunter includes a kind of secondary mini-expansion called TranStar VR, which offers about an hour of virtual reality content set in the familiar Prey world. Like other VR supplements to non-VR titles, such as those included with Star Wars Battlefront and Rise of the Tomb Raider, TranStar has the feeling of an extended tech demo rather than a complete standalone game, both in the brevity of its runtime and the limited integration of the tech. There's certainly nothing here that would justify the purchase of a PSVR for anyone who doesn't have one already lying around.
It's commendable that Arkane continues to return to Prey with fresh ideas, and if you have the game already you'd be remiss not to play.
With that said, those who do have a headset may be surprised to find that TranStar is more interesting than expected, given that its late release and inclusion with another expansion suggests it was more of an afterthought. Arkane has landed on another pretty crafty, auspicious use for this material--this time as grist for a series of puzzle games designed to resemble the real-life escape rooms that have over the last several years become a worldwide craze. Players enter one of three self-contained environments--each pulled from the original Prey but lavishly recreated in VR--and follow a complex sequence of prompts that test your observation, problem-solving skills, and lateral thinking.
The puzzles are well-conceived and, some technical problems aside, well-realized in virtual reality. For instance, in one level--familiar to Prey veterans as the simulated apartment from the beginning of the campaign--a giant display screen must be switched on by entering a code whose digits are printed in a cipher on clipboards hidden around the room. At one point a clipboard crucial to solving the puzzle fell straight through a table and clipped into the floor, both obscuring the information I needed and making it impossible to pick it up again. A wonderful moment that hinges on a voice synthesizer and a karaoke hologram had me feeling delighted when I solved it, until a glitch made it necessary to reset. Such problems are hardly the end of the world, but frustrating when they disrupt the flow of a puzzle that is coming together nicely.
It's strange to say of a free add-on to an underwhelming game, but TranStar is actually on the upper end of experiences on the PSVR, succinctly showing off the immersive features of the technology. Considering it isn't even the main attraction of the DLC and is more like a bonus, it's clear that Typhon Hunter is another worthy, generous expansion from Arkane, who have by this point more than made up for Prey's shortcomings. This package highlights the strongest attributes of the game's already appealing core mechanics, and it's an excellent capper on the qualities that earned Mooncrash its place on our list of the best expansions of 2018.
Today only, anyone in the US with a Twitch Prime membership can get a copy of Grand Theft Auto V on PS4 or Xbox One effectively for free. You'll have to pay $15 up front, but you'll receive a $15 credit in your Amazon account within a week after purchase. At the time of this writing, the promotion works on the physical PS4 version and both the digital and physical versions for Xbox One. You'll want to hurry, because the offer goes away at tonight at 11:59 PM PT (2:59 AM ET December 20).
As you might expect, there are a number of caveats. First off, you have to be an Amazon Prime member. Next, you have to have linked your Prime membership with your Twitch account to become a Twitch Prime member (here's how to do that). The offer also only applies to copies of the game sold by Amazon.com or Amazon Digital Services LLC, meaning it won't work with third-party sellers. The $15 promotional credit expires on January 31, 2019, so you'll want to spend it before then. Read the full set of terms and conditions for more information.
Even with all that in mind, this is still a fantastic deal for anyone who doesn't have GTA V on PS4 or Xbox One. The single-player campaign is lengthy, and Rockstar has been updating the included GTA Online mode each week for years.
In GameSpot's Grand Theft Auto V review, Mark Walton wrote, "Aside from a few mild frame rate issues that sometimes take the edge off its more dramatic moments, this is the definitive version of GTA V, and the bar by which all other open-world games, or indeed any game that aims for a cinematic feel, should be judged. It is beautiful, and thought-provoking, and thrilling throughout. Even if you've played through GTA V once already, it's worth going back just to be reminded of what an outstanding achievement it is."
Fortnite is one of the most popular games on the planet, and the PS4 is currently the best-selling console of this generation. That means there are probably a lot of PS4 owners who enjoy playing Fortnite. If you fall into that category and you happen to be a PlayStation Plus member, here's some good news. You can grab the Fortnite: Battle Royale PlayStation Plus Celebration Pack for free.
The Celebration Pack is a bundle of three in-game items: Prodigy outfit, Tabulator back bling, and a 2D Pizza emoticon. Like all Fortnite gear, these items are purely cosmetic and don't affect gameplay. And while you normally have to spend V-Bucks or complete challenges to get in-game items like these, this pack is available for free just for being a PS Plus member.
The Prodigy outfit consists of glasses, a red handkerchief worn around the neck, and a blue sweater vest adorned with math symbols. The Tabulator back bling is a giant calculator that displays the number of eliminations you've gotten during the current match, and the 2D Pizza emoticon is a slice of cheesy pepperoni pizza.
This isn't the first free pack of Fortnite gear for PS Plus members. Previous packs have vanished from the PlayStation Store after a few weeks, so it's safe to assume this one will do the same. Before it does, be sure to add it to your account.
Hearthstone is making some big balance changes much sooner into a new expansion than usual. The patch, which is set to release December 19, is entirely breaking two popular combos, severely limiting another, and making some more fundamental changes to the Druid toolbox.
The two decks that are being undone entirely are Shudderwock Shaman and Kingsbane Rogue, with nerfs to Saronite Chain Gang and Leeching Poison, respectively. Saronite Chain Gang's card text will change slightly to impact the way it copies itself. That copying mechanic was used in Shudderwock Shaman to create infinite copies of the Legendary card Shudderwock, so this change essentially cuts off that strategy. Leeching Poison is changing its effect to only give your weapon Lifesteal for a single turn, so that you can't use a powered up Kingsbane forever to stay alive. Its cost is also changing from 2 Mana to 1.
The Paladin card Level Up will be changing to 6 Mana rather than 5. This severely hobbles but doesn't quite break the "Odd Paladin" deck, since it gets an upgraded hero power by limiting it to odd-costed cards. Since Level Up will no longer be allowable in Odd Paladin decks, players will have to choose between flooding the field with recruits or upgrading them, rather than both.
Finally, Druid is getting a couple of changes to some of its classic cards. Wild Growth and Nourish are both going up by one Mana apiece, to 3 and 6 Mana respectively. Blizzard notes that these cards have been so dominant in Druid deck-building that the class can start to feel stale and repetitive, and "stifle creative deckbuilding decisions."
The latest expansion for Hearthstone, Rastakhan's Rumble, launched in early December. Usually Blizzard allows more time to pass with a new expansion before rolling out balance changes, but the studio notes that it's "opted to make these changes earlier in the expansion cycle than we normally consider." It invites feedback from players regarding the timing of the update, along with the actual changes themselves. You can read more details at the Hearthstone Blog.
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