By Anonymous on Dec 07, 2018 11:54 pm Happy Super Smash Bros. Ultimate launch day! We want to celebrate by throwing down with you, the lovely viewers. Join our in-game Battle Arena (Details in the stream) and get ready to smash!
The first trailer for Avengers 4 has finally arrived, delivering both a title--Avengers: Endgame--and a look at where many of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's characters stand after the devastating ending of Infinity War. For a trailer that runs nearly two and a half minutes long, it manages to not reveal a whole lot about the movie's plot. Instead, it's just left us with some big questions about where things are going.
Things will undoubtedly be kept somewhat vague until the movie's release, and we've still got the release of another film, Captain Marvel, before Endgame arrives. That movie will likely address some things, like where Carol Danvers has been between the events of that movie and current events. It might also establish the possibility of some other explanations (is Hawkeye a Skrull?) for what's going on. But in the meantime, let's have a look at our most pressing questions after this debut Endgame trailer, starting with the most important matter of all.
Why Did Captain America Shave His Beard???
It was one thing to end Infinity War with the gut punch that was Thanos's snap, but the Russo brothers wasted little time in providing another blow: the loss of Steve Rogers' beard. Following Tony Stark's touching message to Pepper Potts, we quickly learn that Cap has done away with his magnificent beard from Infinity War. This was not a mere trimming; the entire thing is just gone as if it never happened, and we can't help but wonder why. Did he think he fought more poorly with it? Does he blame Thanos's victory on the beard? Is he a fool? This will hopefully be addressed head-on in Endgame, perhaps with a pre-title, Star Wars crawl-esque recap.
How Much Time Has Passed Since Infinity War?
We get to see many of the surviving characters from Infinity War, but there's very little sense for how long it's been since the events of that movie. Tony is running out of resources on the ship he's on, but we don't know how long he's been floating there. Cap had time for a shave, but did that only come after another year with it on? Thanos has abandoned his armor, perhaps to serve as a scarecrow for his garden, but did he do so right away? Natasha recapping what Thanos did and Bruce reviewing survivors would presumably happen pretty soon after the last movie, but that's still not particularly helpful. Meanwhile, you'd expect Hawkeye's apparent transition into Ronin (more on that in a moment) to take some time, so just where does that leave us in the timeline?
Why Has Hawkeye (Seemingly) Turned Into Ronin?
A brief moment in the trailer revealed a new look for Clint Barton, who has seemingly abandoned his bow and Hawkeye name in favor of something new. Based on what we know from the comics, it seems likely he's adopted the name Ronin and picked up a sword as his new weapon. Assuming the MCU sticks with that name, the big question becomes what prompted Clint's change. We know he cut a deal after Civil War that allowed him to go home to his family, but were they victims of Thanos?
How Did Scott Get Out of the Quantum Realm?
We knew to expect both Hawkeye and Ant-Man in the fourth Avengers film after their Infinity War absence, but the events of Ant-Man and the Wasp left the latter in a precarious situation. When we last left him, he was stuck in the Quantum Realm, working with Hank Pym, Hope Van Dyne, and Janet Van Dyne, harvesting energy to cure Ava's affliction. In the Endgame trailer, he walks up to Avengers HQ as if nothing happened. That scene looks to be a comedic beat in the movie, but hopefully there's some attempt to address just how he got there.
So, What's the Plan?
Natasha and Cap talk about having some plan, which we can safely assume is meant to undo what Thanos has accomplished. But there's zero sense given of what that plan is. Do the two of them somehow become aware of Nick Fury's attempt to contact Captain Marvel? Did she leave on bad terms and they're concerned that reaching out to her is a mistake? We know she's set to play a part in the movie, but whether she's key to the big plan or someone who happens to show up to save the day, we'll have to continue waiting for answers.
What's Going on With Thor? Is He in a Cell?
Thor is surely upset with himself after failing to kill or stop Thanos when he had the chance, but we get only a single, brief glimpse of him in the trailer. You could be forgiven for thinking he's ended up in some kind of prison cell, perhaps to contain his rage after his Infinity War failure. We've got no evidence of this one way or the other, but it might be reassuring to know your brain isn't just playing tricks on you; the background of the room he's in does bear some resemblance to the cells we see on The Raft in Civil War. We don't think he's there, but it explains the jump some have made. He may not be in prison, but the isolated shot does suggest he might have broken off contact with the Avengers.
Was Shuri Dusted?
The trailer shows Bruce reviewing the status of various characters, specifically Scott Lang, Shuri, and Peter Parker. Scott is clearly labeled as "missing," and that appears to also be the case for the other two. We know Lang is just fine, but Parker was among the many characters to be dusted. Given that Shuri was in Wakanda with so many of the surviving Avengers, they presumably would know if she was alive and well. Does that mean Shuri was another of Thanos's victims?
Where Is Korg?
There are numerous characters to wonder about the fate of, but one closest to our hearts is Korg (he's made of rocks, but don't let that intimidate you). Taika Waititi's delightful performance as him in Thor: Ragnarok made him a fan-favorite along with his buddy Meek, and while things certainly did not look good for Ragnarok's survivors in Infinity War, we've got our fingers crossed he will ultimately make it out alive. Here's hoping we don't have to wait all the way until Endgame's release to be reassured.
By Anonymous on Dec 07, 2018 11:39 pm The Bloody Face Killer is finally reveled, and we meet little Jenny Reynolds. Ryan and Greg are back to break down episodes 5 and 6 of American Horror Story's Asylum.
As part of GameSpot's year-end coverage, we're looking at different aspects of the game industry and pointing out any significant changes we noticed in 2018, such as the effect of microtransactions in video games. One of the more interesting changes we noticed this year is Nintendo Switch's game library, which looks a lot different this year than it did in 2017.
In 2018, Switch delivered the same type of bite-sized experiences that 3DS used to, but it also still has those major first-party titles that Nintendo fans crave. As 2018 comes to a close, the console feels like a haven for top-tier indies. We saw a bit of this in 2017 with Golf Story and Battle Chef Brigade, but the Switch really seemed to embrace this identity in 2018.
In comparison, 2018 hasn't seen nearly as many of Nintendo's noteworthy franchises get releases. Kirby Star Allies released in March, but Switch saw no more major properties get a sequel until June with Mario Tennis Aces. Switch got a new RPG though--Octopath Traveler--and more Wii U games were remastered for Switch. Most of these games were fairly well received, but none of them matched the popularity of what came out in 2017. Switch had to wait until the end of the year for its biggest hitters--Super Mario Party, Pokemon: Let's Go, Pikachu! / Let's Go, Eevee!, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate--to release.
None of this is to say that the Switch had a bad year, or that people turned to this year's indies because they had nothing better to do. Quite the opposite in fact. 2018 saw dozens of indie titles release on Switch, and plenty of them are really good. Most are ports of games that released in 2017 or earlier, but there were some new ones too--11 of which stand out and are listed below.
Not every one of these 10 games started on Switch either. Several launched in the first half of the year on Xbox One, PS4, PC, or mobile and then were ported to Switch at a later date, and they found a better home. For games that were already popular and critically acclaimed, like Iconoclasts and Into the Breach, porting to Switch allowed them to reach a brand new audience of players. However, this move mostly seemed to help games that didn't garner much traction upon their original release, like Full Metal Furies and Forgotton Anne, find new life on a system that is increasingly becoming the best way to play smaller games. It certainly seems like developers are beginning to notice that indie games tend to have a much better track record on Switch than Xbox One and PS4, and it wouldn't be surprising at all to see the number of indies on Nintendo's console in 2019 be even higher than this year.
As 2018 comes to a close, the Switch feels even less like a direct competitor to the powerhouse Xbox One X and first-party-exclusive-heavy PS4 Pro, and more like what the PlayStation Vita strove to be. We didn't see many grand adventures, like Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey, this year. Instead, the strongest stories told on Switch were small and personal, or experimental in how their gameplay directly related to the plot of the story.
Into the Breach, a turn-based strategy game that released on PC in February and ported to Switch in August, best exemplifies this. The mechanics for Into the Breach are very simple and easy to learn, but they're used to make one of the most complex and challenging games of 2018. Into the Breach packs a fairly heavy emotional punch too, relying on small text bubbles to convey the fears and doubts of the mech pilots you command and citizens you're responsible for protecting.
As the game relies on tiny pixelated sprites that are more difficult to discern at a distance, it works on Switch because you can play the console in handheld mode close to your face. It's possible Into the Breach could work on Xbox One or PS4, but considering the game feels better suited in the Switch's handheld mode as opposed to docked, those versions may require further tweaking, if they materialize.
There have been some emotionally powerful indie games this year too--Celeste uses the act of climbing a mountain to metaphorically describe the hardships of living with depression and The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories uses body horror to convey the struggles of growing up both gay and transgender--these two, and many others, found their way onto Nintendo Switch. These games aren't very long, making them ideal for playing in 20- to 30-minute chunks, which you can do almost anywhere with Switch.
The promise of a system geared specifically for indie games has been realized in the Switch. Going into 2018, it would have been fair to have been worried about Nintendo's console, what with so many major first-party titles scheduled for October or later. Yet the Switch didn't falter, even surpassing Nintendo's popular Wii console in sales this year. People are looking for a way to play games in small chunks throughout their day or between larger triple-A releases, and Switch's indie-filled 2018 has proven that it's the console best suited to fill that void. Nintendo will undoubtedly continue to produce sequels for franchises like The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Super Mario, and Pokemon, but 2018 has proven that players are content with using the Switch solely for indie games--both old and new--for extended periods of time.
11 Games That Launched In 2018 And Helped Define Switch As A Haven For Indies
Celeste
In our Celeste review, Oscar Dayus gave the game a 9/10, writing, "It's a testament to convincing writing and ingenious design that after playing Celeste I felt like I'd been on the same journey as Madeline. Her struggle is one made easy to empathize with, her low points painful to watch, and her high notes exhilarating to experience. Her tale is delicately told and beautifully illustrated, confidently coalescing with the satisfying, empowering game it lies within. Not bad for a game about climbing a mountain."
Chasm
In our Chasm review, Tom Mc Shea gave the game an 8/10, writing, "...Chasm is a well-crafted adventure, and during the more than 12 hours I spent playing through my first time, I got lost only once. That's a huge bonus in a genre where getting lost is often the most frustrating aspect. Even after I finished, I was eager to venture forth on a new adventure, to test my combat mettle against harder foes and find the one secret that eluded me the first time through."
Dead Cells
In our Dead Cells review, Daniel Starkey gave the game a 9/10, writing, "Dead Cells is a phenomenal effort to blend together some very disparate genres into a tight, cohesive whole. It's one of the better examples of how to remix ideas without losing their individual strengths."
Forgotton Anne
Beautifully animated and featuring an incredible musical score, Forgotton Anne is an emotional tale about a young woman learning that her world is not as black and white as she was led to believe. You'll have to navigate tough dialogue choices if you want the best possible ending for Anne and the characters she encounters, but you can also be merciless if you prefer and end the lives of all who oppose you. Regardless of how the story plays out for you, the ending's gut-wrenching impact will stick with you long after you've seen the credits roll.
Full Metal Furies
In our Full Metal Furies review, I gave the game an 8/10, writing, "So yes, Full Metal Furies is primarily a brawler, and a good one that promotes teamwork instead of button-mashing. But it's also a very hard puzzle game, one that challenges you to perceive each level, as well as the game's mechanics and characters, in new ways."
The Gardens Between
In our The Gardens Between review, Peter Brown gave the game an 8/10, writing, "It may only take two to three hours to see everything The Gardens Between has to offer, but the warm and fuzzy feelings from start to finish ensure that your memories of playing it will live on. The expressive faces of the two teens and the relatable memories they share will speak to anyone who's ever had a close childhood friend, and while the puzzles won't go down as the most ingenious or demanding, they nevertheless give you more time to spend frolicking in a nostalgic and heartwarming world where friendship is all that matters."
Iconoclasts
In our Iconoclasts review, Matt Espineli gave the game a 9/10, writing, "After solving every puzzle and witnessing the finale of its poignant narrative, you can't help but reflect on the growth of [Iconoclasts'] characters and your impact onto the world. The game will shock and surprise you with how gripping its story is, and it's likely to do so again in subsequent playthroughs of New Game+ with your expanded knowledge of character histories and events."
Into the Breach
In our Into the Breach review, Edmond Tran gave the game a 9/10, writing, "Into The Breach's focus on foresight makes its turn-based encounters an action-packed, risk-free puzzle, and the remarkable diversity of playstyles afforded by unique units keeps each new run interesting. It's a pleasure to see what kind of life-threatening predicaments await for you to creatively resolve in every new turn, every new battle, and every new campaign."
The Messenger
In our The Messenger review, Alexander Pan gave the game an 8/10, writing, "The Messenger takes the best parts of the action-platformers it takes influence from and reinterprets them well. With clever writing, well-designed levels, and balanced difficulty curve, the game continuously hooks you with enticing skill-based challenges and satisfying payoffs.
Minit
In our Minit review, Alessandro Barbosa gave the game an 8/10, writing, "[Minit is] a slickly presented adventure that continually manages to surprise you with every new area you uncover or item you procure, pushing you to pick away at its seams to uncover every drop of what it has to offer. With a delightful ending and more promised after its first run of credits, Minit is far more than just a collection of seconds."
The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories
In our The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories review, David Wildgoose gave the game an 8/10, writing, "The Missing is smaller and more mechanically conventional than Deadly Premonition or D4, but its components remain focused on distinctly a Swery game: a dark, idiosyncratic experience that tells a deeply personal story that's as confronting as it is sincere."
Pokemon Let's Go, Eevee and Let's Go, Pikachu might have only just recently launched, but Nintendo Switch owners have another Pokemon game to look forward to in the coming months. The currently untitled "core RPG" for Switch is scheduled to launch next year, but what else do we know about it? Read on to find out.
What Is Pokemon For Switch?
The new Pokemon game for Nintendo Switch was announced at E3 2017. Tsunekazu Ishihara, president and CEO of The Pokemon Company, appeared during Nintendo's presentation to tease the game. He called it "a core RPG Pokemon title" developed by Game Freak for Nintendo Switch, saying it might not release for over a year. Game Freak has developed all the main Pokemon RPGs; the spinoff games are made by other studios.
When Will Pokemon For Switch Launch?
The Pokemon Company has confirmed that the core Pokemon RPG for Nintendo Switch is set to come out in the latter half of 2019. The announcement came alongside the reveals of Let's Go Pikachu, Let's Go Eevee, and Pokemon Quest, all of which have now been released.
What Happens To My Old Pokemon?
Asked whether Game Freak was looking at allowing Pokemon to move between Let's Go and the next core entry, Pokemon director Junichi Masuda assures that the development team is working to make that possible.
"We're definitely always thinking of that kind of forward-moving functionality, especially since we've introduced [Pokemon transfer service] Pokemon Bank," Masuda told GameSpot. "Now, up to Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, you're able to store your Pokemon, and we know they're very important to everyone. I mean, obviously, people would be very sad if they couldn't use their Pokemon in a future game. So, it does get complicated when you talk about the details and we're still figuring it out, but we do have plans to find ways to let players use their Pokemon in the next game."
Will It Signal A New Generation?
Neither The Pokemon Company nor Game Freak have stated whether the new Pokemon game will be a brand-new entry--or entries--in the series, signaling the start of generation eight, or if it will simply be a remake or "upper version" of a previous game. However, since Let's Go Eevee and Let's Go Pikachu are themselves remakes of sorts of Pokemon Yellow, and the previous games, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon for 3DS, are upper versions of Sun and Moon, it would be a surprise if the upcoming RPG was not a totally new game. With any luck, that means we'll get to explore a new region with all-new creatures in less than a year! Roll on 2019.
Mobile gaming often gets a bad rap, but your phone is actually home to a wide variety of great games that are, of course, perfect for playing on the go. This includes the smaller, more self-contained games you're used to seeing on phones as well as games heavily inspired by (or even direct ports of) ones on consoles and PC. Some are even games you might sit down with and play for longer stretches, just because. While we're still playing Pokemon Go, the games eligible for this list were all released in the 2018 calendar year. In no particular order, these are the five best mobile games of 2018.
Florence takes less than an hour to play from start to finish, but its story stayed with us all year. Its beauty is in its simplicity; Florence tells the story of an average relationship, with all its ups and downs, and relies on gorgeous art and music instead of tons of dialogue or complex mechanics to do it. In fact, one of its simplest gameplay elements is its most powerful: speech bubbles are broken into puzzle pieces, and you have to fit them together to progress a wordless conversation. At first, the bubbles are broken up into multiple pieces, but as the relationship develops, it becomes easier and easier to put the pieces together. While Florence's story is about one couple in particular, the intense emotion contained within is universal, and it hits you incredibly hard when the brief, beautiful tale is over.
Though it came out on PS4 and PC as well, Donut County is at its best on mobile. Its laidback puzzle gameplay is well-suited to playing in short bursts--you control a hole in the ground that grows as more things fall into it, and all you have to do is move it around an area until everything has fallen in. You might clean up a beach, including the lifeguard tower, or swallow up an entire mountain after figuring out how to break it into pieces. The art is colorful and cartoony, and its star character is a delightful garbage fire of a raccoon who's easy to love despite his terrible judgment. Donut County also has some of the best-written "internet speak" we've ever seen in games, with plenty of humorous quips throughout to keep you smiling.
Reigns: Game of Thrones is both a great use of A Song of Ice and Fire's world and a fun choose-your-own adventure in its own right. Like Reigns and Reigns: Her Majesty, you're put in the role of a ruler--this time, the king or queen of Westeros--and tasked with making binary decisions by swiping left or right on card prompts. These decisions carry a lot of weight, as you can and will die and you have no way of saving in order to reload after a risky choice goes south. The game's clever writing doesn't overly rely on references to the HBO series while still giving characters distinct personalities, and despite the serious nature of Game of Thrones, the Reigns adaptation still has a lighthearted air. Interesting, branching stories let you play out what-if scenarios, and improvements to the Reigns formula help Reigns: Game of Thrones stand out even if you aren't a big fan of the series.
Pocket City
The city-building genre can be difficult to scale down to mobile, as the many interconnected parts you need to manage can result in a busy UI (or at least a lot of menus and inputs). Pocket City is impressive not just because it's intuitive to play but because it has all the features you'd want in a city-builder--you manage power and water, fire and police departments, housing and job demands, natural disasters, and the struggles of expansion, with new buildings and features steadily unlocking as you improve your city and level up. There are also no microtransactions, so you can settle in and get building to your heart's content. Pocket City is the perfect way to unwind on the go, but it's also hard to stop playing once you've reached your destination.
Part Time UFO
Best known for the Kirby, Smash Bros., and Mother series, HAL Laboratory made a great mobile game in 2018: Part Time UFO. As the name implies, you play as a cute UFO--both in the alien sense and in the claw machine sense--and you take on odd jobs. The actual gameplay is very much inspired by crane games, both in its simplicity and the trickiness involved in trying to get a handle of its physics. To complete missions, the little UFO is asked to do things like pick up cargo that has fallen off a truck and put it back on--much harder than you might think when you're running out of time and those darned boxes keep swinging around--use the claw to grab up some fish to help a fisherman out, or stack cheerleaders into a winning pose. Part Time UFO is exactly the kind of charming game you'd expect from HAL Laboratory: easy to pick up, devilishly difficult to put down.
GameSpot will be unveiling our picks for the best games and entertainment of 2018 throughout December. Head to our Best of 2018 hub to see all the winners so far.
It's the weekend, and in Destiny 2 that means it's time to make the weekly trip out to find Xur, the seller of Exotic wares. While players this week have been struggling to dig into the fresh content that comes with Destiny 2's latest expansion, The Black Armory, Xur's arrival means you can at least get a shiny new Exotic weapon or piece of armor. Here's what you need to know about where to find Xur and what he's selling this week.
The arrival of The Black Armory might have added new ground to the Tower in the form of the Annex, but you'll find Xur this week in one of his old haunts. He's on the Tower on the Hangar side, down behind the Dead Orbit faction area.
As usual, Xur is packing Exotics from the Year One collection--sorry, still no Forsaken Exotics for sale. His Exotic weapon this week is Suros Regime, along with one piece of Exotic armor for each of the three classes. Suros, a powerful auto rifle, packs two rates of fire. The first is a super-fast rate for firing from the hip, which increases the longer you hold down the trigger. Aim down the sights and you'll get a slower firing rate, but the gun will deal more damage, making it versatile in a lot of situations.
Ophidia Spathe is Xur's armor offering for Hunters this week. The chest armor gives Hunters running the Gunslinger subclass a second throwing knife charge, which is especially cool with Way of a Thousand Cuts and its Playing With Fire cooldown perk. For Warlocks, there's the Crown of Tempests helmet, which increases the cooldown rate of your Arc abilities every time you get a kill with one of those Arc abilities--pretty great with Attunement of Control's Ionic Traces, which also reduce your ability cooldowns. Finally, Hunters get the ACD/0 Feedback Fence gauntlets, which is great for Titans who love melee attacks. Racking up melee kills builds up energy in the gauntlets, so when someone finally hits you with a melee attack, the collected energy explodes.
Xur's arrival on December 7 also corresponds with two big changes to The Black Armory--first, the second of the four forges is now available. The first, the Volundr Forge, was a source of derision in the Destiny 2 community, as the Power level requirement for the three-player horde mode activity was too high for players to jump into at launch. Bungie lowered the Power requirement to make it a bit easier, but with the second forge available today, the grind in The Black Armory is in full swing.
The second major development is The Black Armory's new Raid, Scourge of the Past. If it's anything like past raids, it'll be quite a few hours before the first team manages to work its way through it, and even longer for players to discover all its secrets.
It's official, Mortal Kombat 11 is scheduled to launch on April 23 for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. We don't know much about it yet aside from the game's retail description and the above trailer featuring Scorpion fighting Raiden. NetherRealm Studios is planning to pull back the curtain further in a reveal event on January 17.
We do know it will have a roster filled with new and returning fighters, and it's based on a new graphics engine "showcasing every skull-shattering, eye-popping moment." Also touted are Custom Character Variations, which will give players "unprecedented control to customize the fighters and make them your own."
Whether you're a longtime fan of the series or you simply want to give this one a try, you might be wondering what you get for pre-ordering. We have all that information below, along with where it's available now, what comes in each edition, and how much it costs.
Pre-Order Bonus
If you pre-order any version of Mortal Kombat 11, you'll receive Shao Kahn as a playable character. Pre-order the game on PS4 or Xbox One, and you'll get access to a beta that's scheduled for March on those platforms.
Mortal Kombat 11 Standard Edition
The standard edition of Mortal Kombat 11 just comes with the game itself, plus whatever pre-order bonuses you're eligible to receive.
The premium edition of Mortal Kombat 11 comes with the base game, plus the Kombat Pack. The Kombat Pack hasn't been detailed yet, but it will give you access to fighters and skins released post-launch.
All six of MCU Clint Barton's fans can rest easy today, having seen their favorite archer finally return to the big screen in the Avengers: Endgametrailer--but it seems like his time away from the spotlight has left him a changed man. Gone are the days of the bow and arrow and the purple(-ish) costume. Hawkeye is gone. Meet Ronin.
We've known Clint was going to get a codename change up for a while now, thanks to some leaked set photos featuring Jeremy Renner in a new costume, but the trailer provided all the confirmation we could hope for: a dramatic scene in the rain on the streets of Tokyo, Clint wielding a katana, not an arrow to be found. It's all pretty on the nose, and something the MCU is lifting directly from the source material.
Clint's transition from Hawkeye to Ronin over in the comics actually happened following Clint's death and resurrection around the House of M and Civil War events in the early 2000s. It's all a little messy (and involves Scarlet Witch literally deleting Clint from existence more than once--don't worry too much about it) but the end result of his brushes with morality and non existence were, unsurprisingly, a bit of an existential crisis. Rather than jumping back into the fray as if nothing had changed, Clint took on a new identity and went off on his own for a while, adopting the name and costume Ronin from the original Ronin, a woman named Maya Lopez, who had since started going by Echo.
Clint operated as Ronin with the New Avengers, keeping his identity secret from most everyone for a not insignificant amount of time, before he eventually came clean, unmasked himself, and allowed Kate Bishop to take over as the new Hawkeye officially--think of it as a sort of codename musical chairs game, if that helps. He stuck with the Ronin identity through the Dark Reign and Siege events, before finally returning to his old archery-themed self during The Heroic Age, circa 2010.
So what does that mean for the MCU? Well, possibly a couple major things.
Clint's Ronin-shift in the comics is pretty contingent on issues involving death, rebirth, and memory. Having no real idea what, exactly, Clint's been up to since Captain America: Civil War, it's hard to say how those big concepts could come into play, but given Clint's history--and connection to the Infinity Stones (remember Loki used the Mind Stone to control him back in The Avengers) it's not totally out of line to say that Thanos's snap could have affected him differently than the other heroes in the mix. He may not have literally died and came back, and he may not literally be suffering from amnesia, but there's the potential for some problems there, any of which could have lead him to question his own role and identity.
Of course, it's probably worth noting that there is a pointed bit of voice over in the trailer about losing "parts of ourselves" when Clint is revealed so there's also the chance that Clint literally is just suffering some sort of Stone-related mental breakdown and doesn't actually recognize Nat after she tracks him down. That would certainly explain why he's off fighting thugs on the streets of Tokyo on his own rather than working with the survivors.
Though, with Captain Marvel about to introduce the shape shifting alien Skrulls into the mix, it's probably worth mentioning that we could be well on our way to an even more shocking reveal. After all, who can really say that the real Clint Barton hasn't been Ronin this entire time? The person we've known as Hawkeye since 2012 could, honestly, have been an imposter all along.
It's definitely best not to count anything out just yet--and to keep your eyes peeled for more Ronin/Hawkeye clues in the future. There's definitely more to this story, but the puzzle pieces have yet to be totally revealed. For more, check out our Avengers: Endgame trailer breakdown.
The first trailer for Avengers: Endgame is with us. It has left fans with lots of questions and inevitably there will be much speculation about certain moments. But it also seems to confirm a couple of things too. We know that Hawkeye survived the devastating end of Infinity War, and that tragically Steve Rogers' beard did not. But the trailer also suggests that fan-favorite Shuri was one of Thanos's victims.
During the montage of the surviving Avengers looking very sad about the death of their friends, we see Bruce Banner looking at a series of holographic screens of the missing heroes. Among them is Shuri. She was last seen towards the end of Infinity War, trying to extract the Mind Stone from Vision's head. Shortly after this, the action switched to the forest where the rest of the Wakanda sequence plays out, and we never return to her.
Given 50% of every living creature in the universe is now gone, there was always a good chance that Shuri might be one of the victims. But with her brother T'Challa having also disappeared at the end of Infinity War, fans were hoping that the same fate didn't await her. Of course, Scott Lang is also on the missing list, and we now know he survived, so maybe there is still hope.
Avengers: Endgame releases on April 26, 2019 and is directed once more by Joe and Anthony Russo. Virtually all the major actors from the MCU are set to return, so that means Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Ruffalo, Elizabeth Olsen, Sebastian Stan, Scarlett Johansson, and so on. It had been rumored that this might be the last Marvel movie for some of the MCU's longest-running stars--in particular Evans--but nothing has been confirmed about their future in the franchise.
For more, check out the first Endgame poster, and read GameSpot's full breakdown of everything we learned about the movie from the trailer.
It's been a wild couple weeks of everyone asking, "When is the Avengers 4 trailer going to drop?" Well, the answer was early morning on December 7, which felt like it came out of nowhere. Regardless, the Avengers: Endgame trailer here, and of course, it looks awesome. And it has Scott Lang in it, trying to get past a gate, so I'm all in.
The ending of Avengers: Infinity War left everyone stunned. Spoilers ahead, but if you haven't seen the biggest movie of 2018 by now, I'm assuming you hate movies or you've been trapped in the Quantum Realm. Anyway, Thanos collected all the Infinity Stones and used the power within them to eliminate half the life in the universe. That means most of our favorite superheroes were turned to dust at the end of the movie. With so many people dead, who is going to undo what Thanos did?
In the latest trailer, we do find out there are a few people still alive in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that can help out--although there was so sign of Captain Marvel, and that was a bummer. However, there are still a few heroes left alive to take down Thanos, and here's who we saw in the trailer.
Avengers: Endgame comes to theaters on April 26, 2019.
Tony Stark/Iron Man
The trailer doesn't give a lot of hope for Iron Man fans as he's floating adrift in a spaceshift. He's running out of air, and he ran out of food and water days ago. What a bleak way to start things off. Anyway, if you're the type of person who enjoys looking at blurry set photos taken by people hanging out their window, you know he'll come out of this ok, but he won't be leading the fight.
Steve Rogers/Captain America
When Thanos wiped out half of life in the universe, we were all shocked. However, what was more shocking was seeing the clean shaven, babyface Steve Rogers in the Endgame trailer. I'm assuming his glorious beard was a living thing, and it got turned to dust during the Thanos Snap. RIP Steve Rogers' beard, 2016-2018. Anyway, it's very apparent that Rogers will be leading the charge in the next movie, even though in the trailer, his confidence is shaken.
Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow
Of course, Black Widow is back as well, and she's spending plenty of time hanging with her BFF, Steve Rogers. She comes off as a bit more expositional during the trailer, but it's obvious she'll play a big role in Endgame.
Bruce Banner/Hulk
After Thanos punched the living hell out of Hulk, the green monster went into hiding, tired of doing Bruce's dirty work for him. There isn't one Hulk sighting in this trailer. In fact, we only see Bruce once, looking at MIA pictures of other heroes. While Bruce is nothing but brains, it's gonna take some brawn to beat Thanos, so Hulk will be needed.
Thor
The overly-cocky Thor didn't go for Thanos' head in Infinity War because he wanted to get a few words in before the Mad Titan's demise. This mistake led to half of life in the universe dying, so of course, Thor is not happy. We see him briefly, and he's not in his costume and not near his ax, Stormbreaker. However, this team is going to need some muscle, and Thor is the man for the job... well, so is Hulk, but who knows if he'll actually come back.
Clint Barton/Hawkeye/Ronin
Hawkeye has gone through some changes, as we briefly see him beating up people in Japan, most likely under the guise of Ronin now--as he looks exactly like his comic book counterpart. He was missing from Infinity War, and the team could have used his exceptional marksman abilities to fight off Thanos. And there you have it, every member of the original Avengers team is back.
Nebula
Nebula is briefly seen, later on, in the trailer, mourning the loss of her sister, Gamora. Wait, is she on the same ship as Tony? Why aren't they hanging out? Her ruthlessness and abilities will come in handy when trying to take down her father, Thanos, during Endgame.
Scott Lang/Ant-Man
Finally, there's the delightful Scott Lang, who somehow made it back from being trapped in the Quantum Realm, which we saw in the post-credit sequence of Ant-Man and the Wasp. However, Scott's biggest obstacle is getting past security at the Avengers HQ, which has a really tall gate--in Scott's defense.
Avengers Endgame Team, so far: Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Hulk(?), Thor, Ronin, Nebula, and Ant-Man.
Avengers: Endgame's trailer has finally been released
The wait is finally over. After weeks of speculation and false starts, the trailer for Avengers 4--er, sorry, Avengers: Endgame, officially--is finally here, and we now have our first ever real-deal look at just what we can expect for the MCU next spring.
It's all just as bleak as you'd probably expect, considering Infinity War's ending. Tony is apparently lost in space, the first shot of Steve Rogers features him with a not-so-subtle tear streaming down his cheek, last ditch plans are being made--the works. All told (and unsurprisingly) the Endgame trailer has brought with it more questions than it has answers--but it's not all doom and gloom. At least we know what questions we should be asking, instead of blinding theorizing in the dark and, hey, that counts for something, right? (But really, Korg had better be okay.)
So it's with that in mind that we've taken a fine-tooth comb to each scene featured in the trailer and pulled out every bit of relevant information that we could find, from costume changes to long awaited returns. Here's everything we learned from our first look at Avengers: Endgame, including another devastating confirmed loss.
You'll have a slightly shorter wait than expected for the film, as Endgame's release date is now set for April 26. That's a week sooner than the previously announced May 3 date for many markets, including the US.
Tony's adrift in space, ready to die--and, apparently, alone.
Our first look at Avengers: Endgame is appropriately bleak, featuring a look at Tony Stark living out his very own sci-horror fantasy of being adrift in space with no food, no water, and oxygen that's about to run out entirely. He's recording a heartbreaking message to Pepper on the remains of his Iron Man helmet, which looks like its also on its last legs. If you remember from Infinity War, Tony's suit is now made up of nanobots, which means he's likely been using parts of his suit to form/reform necessary components of the ship or systems within it, meaning he's probably only got enough left to build that much of his armor. You know, if you needed this to be even more tragic.
Perhaps more pertinent, however, is the fact that Tony seems to be completely on his own. When Thanos snapped, he and Nebula were the only two people on Titan who didn't crumble into dust. We see a moment later in the trailer that makes it look like Nebula was on board the ship as well, which makes Tony's apparent isolation even stranger--is she still around? And if not, where did she go?
Tony (and Nebula?) comendered the Milano to get off Titan
It looks like Tony is in the Milano, the Guardian's ship which brought them to Titan in the first place--which would make sense, considering he, Peter Parker and Dr. Strange, crash landed onto the planet after taking over one Corvus Glaive's ship--not exactly an ideal two-way trip.
Thanos really is living as a farmer
If you couldn't already tell from Infinity War's final shot, Thanos was completely serious about turning it all in and living a quiet life somewhere in the far reaches of the galaxy as a farmer. So serious, in fact, that he's turned his gold armor into a scarecrow. It would probably be kind of cool, if it weren't so insulting to all the lives that were lost.
Shuri is potentially among the missing
We have no real confirmation of this yet, but Bruce Banner seems to be studying a screen displaying portraits of the missing. Scott Lang, who met a less-than-favorable fate in the post credits of Ant-Man & The Wasp is shown next to her portrait, possibly implying that she too has yet to be found. Her portrait swaps out for Peter Parker midway through the scene who would also be counted as MIA, according to the Earth-based team.
We didn't actually see what happened to Shuri at the end of Infinity War, but it's looking like it wasn't great.
Thor is still on Earth, and doesn't seem too happy about it.
Despite being the one Avenger around who is capable of autonomous interstellar transport thanks to his fancy new, Bifrost enabled ax, Stormbreaker, Thor seems to have decided to stay on Earth--and he looks pretty pissed about it. This is understandable, all things considered, since it's more than likely that he's currently blaming himself for not going for Thanos's head in the heat of the moment, but it's still a little curious.
We can't tell based on the single shot just where exactly Thor is--the framing of the shot almost makes it look like he's being held in some sort of cell--but his civilian clothes make it seem like at least a little time has passed since the fight, and he's stuck around.
Hawkeye's back, but he's Ronin now
Clint Barton's notable absence from Infinity War drew the ire of some fans--where was he? What was he doing? Why wasn't he with the team?
The answer, apparently, was "Japan" and "because he was crafting a new identity for himself." That identity is Ronin, a codename Clint picked up for a time in the comics that we've been expecting ever since leaked set photos showcased Jeremy Renner in a new costume last year. Ronin is less an archer than he is a sort of proto-samurai who uses swords more frequently than bows. We don't know what prompted Clint's change of heart but, judging by Nat's face when she's sees him, it's coming as a surprise to everyone.
Stranger still, he seems to have been fighting a group of people when Nat tracks him down--who, after half the Earth's population was dusted--is left to fight on the streets of Tokyo?
Steve's wearing the Winter Soldier-era Stealth Suit again
We may be mourning the loss of Steve's beard (RIP, taken from us much, much too soon) but Captain America fans can celebrate the return of the fan-favorite blue-and-silver "stealth" suit as a consolation prize. This probably isn't a real plot-point, but it's a great looking suit, and we're going to take our victories where we can for this one.
He also kept his compass
Of course, this isn't the only bit of costuming making a return for Steve. He's apparently kept his WW2-era compass complete with Peggy Carter's photo in it all this time. While this isn't necessarily surprising, it does cast a potentially interesting light on the rumored inclusion of time-travel in the movie--and the shot does look suspiciously similar to the moments in Captain America: The First Avenger just before Steve sent the Valkyrie into the ocean.
Steve and Nat have a plan, and it better work
Steve and Natasha are doing what they can to pull things together on Earth, and that has apparently involved coming up with a plan that, in Steve's words, better work or he "doesn't know what he's going to do."
We don't know enough about the plan itself to make any real guesses as to what it might entail, but it is worth noting that the other survivors of the Snap seem to be suspiciously absent from the proceedings. Notably Okoye, Rhodey and Rocket, who were all in Wakanda when everything went south. What are they doing and what part are they going to play? Your guess is as good as ours.
Scott Lang made it out of the Quantum Realm....somehow
One of the biggest post Infinity War mysteries we've had to work with came to us care of Ant-Man & The Wasp, which featured a post-credits scene of Scott being sent into the Quantum Realm just moments before the snap dusted Hope, Hank Pym, and Jan Van Dyne. We've been working on the assumption that this would leave Scott stranded in the Quantum Realm, much like Jan had been--but apparently that isn't the case.
At the end of the trailer, Scott shows up at the Avengers compound, asking to be buzzed in. How, exactly, did he manage to get himself out of the Quantum Realm? Did he have help or was he truly on his own?
The trailer for Avengers 4--now dubbed Avengers: Endgame--has finally released, and with it Marvel announced a new US release date for the upcoming film. It's now due in April, not May, seemingly to match the European release dates.
According to a Marvel Studios tweet, the movie is coming on April 26, 2019. It had previously been set for May 3 in the United States, and for April in France, Germany, and the UK. This appears to bring all the territories in-line.
We had received word that this could happen over the summer, when IMAX released its schedule of upcoming films for 2019. That showed Avengers in the April spot, alongside other films showing their US release date. IMAX said at the time that it was simply showing the first available showing across all territories.
This isn't unprecedented. When Marvel was preparing to release Avengers: Infinity War, it staged a social media stunt to announce the changed release date. This announcement is a bit less flashy, but likely made for the same reason. Avengers: Endgame will be the culmination of a story arc ten years in the making, and a simultaneous worldwide release means Americans don't need to worry about having important plot points spoiled from across the pond before they even have a chance to see it.
This puts it just under two months after the release of Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019. That film will likely lead neatly into Endgame, since a post-credits sequence in Infinity War implied that the Captain Marvel character is being called into action. While you count the days until then, check out our in-depth trailer breakdown.
Here's some good news for fans of open-world shooters: a new Far Cry game is in the works. And while the setting might not be a surprise to anyone who finished Far Cry 5, the release date and price might be unexpected. Far Cry New Dawn is a post-apocalyptic shooter that's set to launch February 15 for $40.
The canonical ending of Far Cry 5 saw nukes dropping from the sky, wiping out nearly all life in Hope County, Montana. New Dawn jumps forward 17 years, when human and animal life has returned. That said, this is still a Far Cry game, so you know any peace and tranquility will be short-lived.
New Dawn takes place in a colorful post-apocalyptic version of Far Cry 5's map and puts you up against a pair of power-hungry twins. You'll find a lot more details in our Far Cry New Dawn preview, and you'll also be pleased to know that New Dawn fixes Far Cry 5's greatest flaw.
If you're ready to lock in New Dawn your pre-order, you'll probably want to know what comes in the various editions, where you can buy it, and how much each version costs. Read on for the goods.
Far Cry New Dawn Pre-Order Bonus
Pre-order either version of Far Cry New Dawn, and you'll get the colorful (and deadly) Unicorn Trike vehicle.
Far Cry: New Dawn Standard Edition
This version simply comes with the game itself and the pre-order bonus.
The digital deluxe edition of Far Cry: New Dawn comes with additional sets of in-game items, including the Knight Pack (SVD Claymore and Sidecar Motorbike), Hurk Legacy Pack (Wrath M249, Legacy Offroader, and Hurkling Outfits), M133M Shotgun, and RAT4 Rocket Launcher.
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