Super Smash Bros. Ultimate replaces the series' long-standing trophies with Spirits, collectible game characters that can be equipped to augment your fighter's stats and abilities. The title features hundreds of Spirits drawn from a wide range of video game franchises, and while they're primarily unlocked through the World of Light and Spirit Board modes, you'll get a free one if you've played either Pokemon: Let's Go Pikachu or Let's Go Eevee.
Nintendo announced that players who have save data of either of the Pokemon games on their Switch will automatically receive a Pikachu or Eevee Spirit, depending on the version they've played. As you can see in the images below, each one is an Ace-level Support Spirit; Pikachu slightly increases attack and movement speed, while Eevee greatly increases attack, defense, and speed after eating food items.
In Super #SmashBrosUltimate, those with save data for Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! will unlock the Partner Pikachu Spirit, and those with save data for Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee! will unlock the Partner Eevee Spirit! Be sure to have your #PokemonLetsGo save data ready on 12/7! pic.twitter.com/g9pJB4urM6
Even if you don't own either Let's Go Pikachu or Eevee, you will still be able to unlock the Partner Pikachu and Eevee Spirits through normal gameplay, but this is a nice little bonus for players who've picked up the new Pokemon games. Nintendo did something similar for Super Smash Bros. Melee as well. Players who had save data of Pikmin on their memory card would unlock a special Captain Olimar trophy in Melee.
As previously mentioned, Spirits can be unlocked in the Spirit Board and the World of Light adventure mode. We recently went hands-on with both and felt they were a much more compelling single-player experience than what past titles had offered. We also tried out many of the game's new fighters such as Ken, Incineroar, and Isabelle; you can watch them in action here.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate launches on December 7. If you buy a physical copy of the game, you'll need to install a day-one update for the game's replay system. Everyone who registers Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on My Nintendo by January 31, 2019 will also receive an additional surprise fighter, Piranha Plant, for free. Nintendo is also releasing five other as-yet unannounced DLC characters as part of the Fighters Pass.
Amazon doesn't do regularly scheduled deals like you'll find at other video game retailers, but that doesn't mean the online megastore is above knocking a few bucks off games to get you to buy them. Right now Amazon has some killer deals on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch games, so we've highlighted some of our favorites below. But if you find a deal you want, grab it fast, because stock is running out quickly.
Perhaps the best gaming deal at Amazon right now is Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, which you can get for $33 on both PS4 and Xbox One. That's a great deal for one of the biggest games of the year, considering it just launched in October. And if you have a PS4 and haven't picked up Spider-Man yet, you might want to grab it while it's on sale for $40 in both physical and digital formats.
Xbox One owners can grab the delightful murder-sandbox game Hitman 2 for $30 or Okami HD for just $12. If you're interested in saving some cash on upcoming games, you can lock in your copy of Doom Eternal for $52 or Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition for $40.
Crunchyroll has announced the Anime Awards are coming back for a third year in a row. The ceremony itself won't happen until 2019, in order to give 2018 Fall anime series time to conclude.
The full list of categories and the roster of judges will be announced in mid-December, and voting will start on January 11, 2019 before ending on January 18. Winners for each category will be revealed on February 16, 2019.
The hit series My Hero Academia dominated the second annual Anime Awards, winning Best Animation, Best Opening, Best Action, Best Boy, Best Girl, Hero of the Year, and Villain of the Year. The show did not, however, nab the top prize of Anime of Year, which instead went to Made in Abyss. Other notable standouts were Your Name for Best Film, Land of the Lustrous for Best CGI, and My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness for Manga of the Year.
If you need to catch up on anime prior to Crunchyroll's Anime Awards, refer to our guide of anime you should be watching for the Fall 2018 season. It lists every series airing on Crunchyroll, Funimation, Hidive, Netflix, and Amazon so you can catch up on dozens of quality anime. Bloom Into You is a notable standout, telling the story of two girls who struggle with accepting themselves until they learn to rely on each other. Zombie Land Saga is also a pretty good show this season, mixing together idol tropes and zombie story stereotypes to create a story that runs the gambit of bizarre to heartfelt. If you're not watching either one, you should consider adding them to your queue.
Season 6 of Fortnite is coming to an end this week, which means Season 7 of the hit battle royale game is just around the corner. As it has done in the lead up to previous seasons, developer Epic has now shared the first teaser image for Season 7 on Twitter, confirming that the season will kick off later this week.
"A bitter ice spreads... 3 days to Season 7," the official Fortnite Twitter account tweeted. That means that the new season is set to begin this Thursday, December 6--the same day that Season 6 formally ends. That's a much shorter gap between seasons than usual; typically, there would be at least a day or two between when one season ended and the next one began, as was the case with Season 6.
The tweet also seems to confirm that Season 7 will have some sort of winter theme, as players had speculated. The accompanying teaser image further reinforces this, as it features a mysterious icy silhouette of what will presumably be one of the new skins coming to the game. If that wasn't enough, the right side of the image also features a character skiing or snowboarding down a slope.
Players first began speculating that Season 7 would be winter themed when they noticed distant clouds appear in the ocean surrounding the island. Since then, there have been other subtle indications that the temperature on the island is dropping, and players have discovered that the aforementioned clouds are actually shrouding an iceberg that is slowly approaching.
What all this means for Season 7 remains to be seen, but we won't have to wait too long to find out. In the meantime, you still have a few more days to complete any remaining Season 6 challenges and unlock the last Season 6 Battle Pass rewards. If you need a helping hand, you can find tips for the trickier missions in our complete Season 6 challenges guide.
The fourth season of Black Mirror arrived on Netflix nearly a year ago, and while we know that Charlie Brooker's acclaimed sci-fi satire is set to return at some point, it hasn't been clear when this would be. However, a now-deleted tweet from the streaming giant suggests we might be getting some more Black Mirror before the end of the year.
As reported by Forbes, Netflix tweeted a list of shows and movies that are set to debut on the service throughout December. While most of these have already been announced, there was one title that had not--Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, which is seemingly scheduled for December 28. The tweet was rapidly deleted, but not before it was screen-captured.
Netflix is yet to confirm this show, and we don't know for sure what 'Bandersnatch' refers to. However, it has rumored that an interactive "choose-your-own-adventure"-style Black Mirror episode has been in development, and if this was to be a standalone episode it would make sense that it might get released ahead of a full season. Netflix are also reportedly working on a number of other interactive shows.
The Bandersnatch is a creature in Lewis Carroll's classic fantasy story Alice Through the Looking-Glass. In addition, a video game with that title was developed back in 1984, and behind-the-scenes images of the Black Mirror set taken in April this year suggest that an episode with an '80s setting was in production.
It had also been rumored that the next season of Black Mirror will also return to the worlds of two previous episodes--namely, Season 2's White Bear and Season 3's Juniper. However, Brooker has subsequently denied this.
For more on Black Mirror, check out GameSpot's guide to the most WTF moments in Season 4.
Analogue has just announced a collaboration with Ghostly International, a music and fashion label with a logo that may look familiar to fans of Pac-Man. Available today, Analogue is selling a limited run of 1,000 bright white Super Nt consoles, bundled with a matching controller and receiver, for $250. The Ghostly Edition also features a new boot animation from Phil Fish, with a rotating assortment of accompanying sound effects produced by musicians on the Ghostly label.
The Super Nt is an FPGA-based Super Nintendo clone from Analogue that is the best third-party solution money can buy. It supports games from all regions, and most important of all, it's designed to play nicely on modern displays without the usual blurry image stretching or input delay found in cheaper products. You can check out our full impressions of the Super Nt in our review.
Analogue usually charges $190 for the standard Super Nt color schemes, but the $250 price point for the Ghostly International version isn't as outrageous of a markup as it sounds: the included wireless controller and receiver are usually sold separately for $40. In the end, the price of exclusivity tops out at an extra $20. It's worth noting that Analogue doesn't ship for free; UPS ground shipping in the in the US will cost an additional fee of roughly $20, depending on the destination.
Also on the way, coming in April 2019, Analogue will release the previously announced Mega Sg, an FPGA-based 8- and 16-bit Sega console. It's also priced at $190 plus shipping, and is currently available for pre-order in four different color schemes.
Xbox One, Microsoft's successor to the Xbox 360, turned five-years old in 2018. This year, Xbox One still lacked the sheer volume of quality exclusives that its competitors produced. However, Microsoft took steps towards improving Xbox One's future by increasing the appeal of the console for anyone who already owns one.
So as we say goodbye to 2018, let's look back at the type of year Xbox One had.
More Controller Options Makes Games More Accessible For All
Xbox One still has one of the better standard controller designs out there, but Microsoft's decision to expand on what people can use to play games in 2018 is an excellent step towards appealing to players who don't like it or can't easily use it.
Of the major strides Microsoft made on the controller front this year, the release of the Xbox Adaptive Controller is the bigger of the two. First announced in May 2018, the Xbox Adaptive Controller released on September 4 for $100 USD. Although it's nearly double the price of a standard controller, the Adaptive Controller fills a void that's existed in gaming for far too long. There have been third-party devices before, but the Adaptive is the first official modern-day game controller for those with limited mobility. It's pretty forward-thinking, and an important piece of game tech for the industry as a whole (the controller can be used on other platforms). Microsoft even designed the Adaptive's packaging to be easier to open for those with mobility considerations. It's a shame the company hasn't taken the same steps with the boxes for the One S or One X, but at least Microsoft is moving in the right direction.
In 2018, Microsoft also added mouse and keyboard support to Xbox One. Developers still need to decide whether or not they'll implement the control scheme in their game, but adding the option opens up new play styles that Xbox One can support in the future. Some computer role-playing games, like Divinity: Original Sin II, have been adapted to work with a standard controller on Xbox One, but those games are originally designed to be played with a mouse and keyboard and it stands to reason that they handle better that way. Both InXile Entertainment and Obsidian--recently acquired by Microsoft and responsible for computer RPGs like Wasteland 2 and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II respectfully--are sure to take advantage of the new control scheme in upcoming titles.
If anything, this announcement hopefully paves the way for more developers to consider porting their PC-exclusive games to Xbox One. Despite how powerful the One X is--it could theoretically play certain PC titles the original Xbox One can not--it still has the same game library as its predecessors. Giving the One X an extended library of games that include PC titles might motivate some more players to upgrade to Microsoft's more powerful console.
Some Good Exclusives, But Not Enough To Compete
The divide in quality exclusives between Microsoft and its two main competitors, Sony and Nintendo, is a bit smaller this year than it was in 2017. But that's mostly because both Sony and Nintendo had fewer exclusive games this year. In terms of quality, Microsoft still feels like it's pulling up the rear.
It would have been difficult for Sony to match the number of quality exclusives that launched on the PS4 last year, but 2018 still saw a few Game of the Year contenders like God of War and Marvel's Spider-Man. Nintendo had some strong exclusives in 2018 too, such as Octopath Traveler and Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu / Let's Go Eevee, not to mention what looks like a very promising game in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Meanwhile, Microsoft went another year without a new Halo or Gears of War, and Crackdown 3 was delayed again. Halo Infinite and Gears 5 were at least announced at E3 2018, but we don't even have scheduled release dates for them yet.
2018 saw the release of Forza Horizon 4, as well as PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds leaving Early Access--both of which are pretty good games. However, Xbox One's other big 2018 exclusives, State of Decay 2 and Sea of Thieves, were not as well received, and PUBG has been overshadowed by the far more popular Fortnite and Black Ops 4 Blackout mode. Xbox One did have some good-looking console exclusive indie titles lined up this year, but for whatever reason Microsoft did little to market or push many of them. Games like Pit People could have done more for Microsoft's console with additional marketing, and titles scheduled for 2018 that still haven't come out and are probably being delayed to 2019--such as The Last Night--are an unfortunate loss.
True, in 2018 Microsoft did manage to secure ports of some of Sony's 2017 exclusives, like Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice in March and Nier: Automata in June. Getting more first-party titles would have been better than playing catch-up, but at least securing these games is a major plus.
Games As A Service Is Finally Worth It
Microsoft started its Game With Gold program back with the Xbox 360, first supported EA Access in 2014, and implemented Game Pass last year. 2018 saw dozens of quality games offered through all three programs, allowing people to play new titles for a fraction of the retail price. For the first time, Microsoft's promised dream of a Netflix-style library of games seems both practical and desirable.
Although Games With Gold had a weak start in 2018, it ended Q1 with Crazy Taxi and Superhot and then went on to offer quality games like The Witness, Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, Forza Horizon 2, Overcooked, Battlefield 1, Dead Space 2, Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, and Dragon Age II. Including For Honor as a Games With Gold in August--a few months after Ubisoft announced its Marching Fire DLC and one month before the expansion actually released--was an especially nice touch.
Xbox One is still the only console to support EA Access, which lets people play whatever they want from a collection of 50 plus games after paying a subscription fee. Subscribing also gets you 10 percent off all digital purchases for EA games on Xbox One and early access to certain new titles. This year, that includes games like Madden NFL 19 and Battlefield V. Next year, EA Access members get early looks at titles like Anthem and Sea of Solitude. Respawn's Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order and third Titanfall game will probably have early access through the subscription too.
Xbox Game Pass was the true star, though, as Microsoft announced in January 2018 that the service would now include all first-party titles on the day the games launched. So not only were older Xbox One console exclusives added to the service, like Halo: The Master Chief Collection, but new 2018 games like Sea of Thieves, State of Decay 2, and Forza Horizon 4 all launched on Game Pass on day one. When Crackdown 3, Halo Infinite, Gears 5, and Ori and the Will of the Wisps launch, it will be the same thing. Plenty of excellent third-party games from 2016 through 2018 joined Game Pass as well, such as Laser League, OnRush, Fallout 4, and Doom, with more titles like Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden and Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice scheduled to be added this December.
Smart Acquisitions Could Spell A Promising Future
Disappointingly, Microsoft spent most of its E3 2018 presentation showcasing games that wouldn't release until 2019 or later. However, it was a pleasant surprise to hear that the company had acquired four game studios and established another. Later in the year, Microsoft followed up with an announcement that the studio had acquired both InXile Entertainment and Obsidian as well. That's seven more studios developing games for Xbox One.
The four acquired studios that Microsoft announced at E3 2018 are Undead Labs, Playground Games, Compulsion Games, and Ninja Theory, which are responsible for this year's State of Decay 2, Forza Horizon 4, We Happy Few, and the Xbox version of Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, respectively. The fifth studio, The Initiative, is established by Microsoft and based out of Santa Monica. It's led by Darrell Gallagher, who's best known for heading up 2013's Tomb Raider and working in the past for Rockstar, Sony, and THQ. As stated before, InXile develops the Wasteland series, but it also created Torment: Tides of Numenera and The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep. Obsidian is responsible for plenty of solid RPGs, but its most well-known titles are Fallout: New Vegas, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords, South Part: The Stick of Truth, and Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire.
That's a lot of new talent working for Microsoft. It doesn't do much for this year, but it does mean we can probably expect more first-party titles at the end of the Xbox One's lifespan and on whatever console Microsoft has planned next. Of course, there's no way of knowing if these studio acquisitions translate into good exclusives for Xbox One until we see what games are being developed, but given some of these companies' track records--especially Playground, Team Ninja, and Obsidian--it inspires a hopeful future.
Other Matters, In Brief
As more studios begin honing in on player's nostalgia, Xbox One is still the best when it comes to playing older games. Xbox One features an ever-growing list of backwards compatible Xbox 360 and original Xbox games--some of which are freely offered through Games With Gold, EA Access, and Game Pass. This allows you to play older titles if you still have the disc or by downloading them. Some classics, such as Final Fantasy XIII, are even Xbox One X-enhanced so their more noticeable flaws are patched away for a superior gaming experience.
Rather than improve the Xbox One UI--which the console desperately needs--Microsoft's October 2018 patch implemented updates that added new Avatar customization options as well as Cortana and Alexa voice support. Neither changes how confusing it is to navigate through the Xbox One dashboard, with the latter only making things slower since you have to speak specific phrases instead of press buttons.
In 2018, Microsoft has seemingly left behind its consoles' 500GB standard and instead switched to mostly selling Xbox One S and One X with 1TB hard drives. With game sizes getting larger--and X-enhanced assets being a mandatory download on Xbox One regardless if you have a One X to utilize them--this is a welcome change.
Verdict
Everything Microsoft did for Xbox One in 2018 is all well and good if you already own one of the consoles, but it might not have been enough to convince people to go out and buy a new Xbox this year. The Adaptive Controller opens up gaming to a new audience, but since it works with other systems, you don't need to buy an Xbox One to take advantage of its unique design. Despite how good Xbox Game Pass has been in 2018, the heavy hitters--the console exclusives for Microsoft's major IPs--are primarily scheduled for 2019 or beyond. And, as stated before, the studio acquisitions mostly set a stage for future releases that could be years away.
Microsoft spent most of 2018 looking forward. That's great, as it could mean Xbox One has a chance to have a really good 2019 or 2020. But as it stands, 2018 was mostly a repeat of 2017. Microsoft doubled down on its attempts to improve its relationship with its existing player base--and it succeeded--but players were faced with another year where Xbox One doesn't have many exciting exclusives to point to.
The Good
The Bad
Xbox One X is still the most powerful console on the market, delivering the best way to play almost any game that isn't also on PC, like Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption 2
Microsoft continues to struggle with delivering more than one or two exciting triple-A console exclusives a year on Xbox One
Between Game Pass, EA Access, and Games With Gold, there are hundreds of quality titles to play on Xbox One for a fraction of their retail price
Xbox One UI is still a mess
Releasing the Adaptive Controller and implementing mouse and keyboard support are welcome additions to playing on Xbox One
Xbox One is still the only current generation console doing backwards compatibility, offering the best way to play games from the last two console generations
A strange mutation has made one of the world's ugliest real animals look like one of the cutest fictional ones. A brushtail possum was brought to a clinic in Melbourne, Australia, with unique golden coloring. The caretakers there affectionately named her Pikachu, after the famous Pokemon.
The Age reports that Pikachu (the possum, not the Pokemon) has low levels of melanin which causes the fur color abnormality. She also happens to have large ears, which helps the comparison. She was found lying on the ground and vets say she probably fell off her mother's back. Though she's in good health now, the vets say she probably won't be released into the wild because her unique coloring makes her an easy target for predators.
The golden possum abnormality isn't unheard of, but they usually don't live long due to their vulnerability. Caroline Dazey from Wildlife Victoria says the state has "little pockets" of the critters, but they try to keep their location secret.
This orphaned brushtail possum is affectionately known as Pikachu, for obvious reason https://t.co/IpVC76vvUf
The family resemblance makes sense. Pikachu the Pokemon is classified as an "Electric Mouse," so its design was loosely based on a member of the rodent family. Possums are similarly rodents, so all it takes is a little coloring and a cute complexion to bear some similarity.
Pikachu has been the breakout star and mascot of the Pokemon franchise since the early days. Most recently, he's getting a starring role voiced by Ryan Reynolds in the upcoming Detective Pikachu film, and was one of the two mascot characters to appear on the cover of Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee.
Video game spending in the US increased in the third quarter of 2018 over the previous year, according to a report by the NPD Group. The sales tracking firm said the games having the biggest impact on the figures were Candy Crush Saga, Fortnite, Madden NFL 19, Spider-Man, and NBA 2K19.
Altogether the firm says that total spending on video games increased 24% from July-September, over the same period in 2017. It reached a total of $9.1 billion. "Video game content" accounted for $7.9 billion, but that broad category includes full games, DLC, and subscriptions. Mobile games and digital content sales had the highest growth.
Hardware grew by 11% to $737 million, while accessories like headsets grew by 44%. Game cards had a particularly sharp increase of 63%, marking the first time they've beaten accessories during this period of the year.
This isn't the first we've heard of games like Spider-Man and Fortnite lifting the industry up. Earlier this year NPD announced similarly rising figures on the back of Fortnite and God of War. Similarly, Sony boasted in September that Spider-Man had broken sales records set by God of War, and sales have apparently been so strong that the PlayStation business lifted Sony's financial forecast as a whole.
"The Video Game market in the U.S. continues to thrive with compelling gaming content expanding the market, driving higher spending of hardware, accessory and software," said Mat Piscatella, games industry analyst at The NPD Group. "And with the sales strength of recent releases such as Marvel's Spider-Man and NBA 2K19, combined with cross-platform titles such as Fortnite, there appears to be no slowing down as we head into the final stretch of the holiday shopping season."
There's a good chance you still have holiday shopping left to do, either for someone else or--ahem--for yourself. If the person you're buying for is into video games, Star Wars, Marvel, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, or other things of the sort, here's a tip: For four hours, today only, between 1 PM - 5 PM ET (10 AM - 3 PM PT), you can get half off anything on Thinkgeek's online store. All you have to do is visit the site during that time, and enter promo code HALFELF at checkout.
You can peruse Thinkgeek at your leisure to see what you might want to get with this generous discount, but we've highlighted some of our suggestions below, along with their prices after the discount.
Pokemon Snorlax Bean Bag Chair
Sure, you can sit on any old chair. But when you could be sitting on this enormous Snorlax bean bag, why would you want to rest your body on anything else? (You wouldn't.)
This human-sized version of Hagrid's lamp lights up the room with a low-power LED candle that flickers realistically. Just note that the three AA batteries it requires are sold separately.
The Captain Marvel movie is slated to hit theaters on March 8. If the superhero fan in your life is in need of a purse, you can't go wrong with this stylish one.
For the Fallout fan in your life, get the only bottle of soda that comes with its own atomic glow. Batteries are included, but you can also power this nuclear nightlight using a USB cable (also included).
Do you want to represent the Empire or the Rebellion? You can pick your side with these simple, stylish caps--or buy one of each so you can switch them out depending on which side of the Force you're feeling on any given day.
FIFA 19 has finished top of the UK physical games chart for the second week in a row, according to sales monitor Chart-Track. EA's sports title maintains its run at the top despite Red Dead Redemption 2 gaining ground by finishing at No.2 for the week ending December 1.
Below the two huge games lies another behemoth, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, which is down one place to No.3, while Battlefield V finishes at No.4 for the second week running. Forza Horizon 4 rounds out the top five.
The only new entry this week was Darksiders 3, which finished at No.32. THQ Nordic's action title has suffered from poor reviews, including a 4/10 from GameSpot. "Darksiders 3 retrogrades on its predecessors with an unfocused approach that constantly clashes with itself," wrote critic Richard Wakeling. "There are remnants of a good game here, buried within the vivacious combos of a combat style this game doesn't want to embrace. Unfortunately, it's buried far too deep to ever salvage." For more, read our full Darksiders 3 review.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate launches for Nintendo Switch this week, so it'll be interesting to see what effect that has on the UK sales chart. Check back next week for the outcome.
You can read the full top 10 sales chart for this week below, courtesy of UKIE and GfK Chart-Track. Note this table does not include digital sales data, and so should not be considered representative of all UK game sales.
Ubisoft's massive Assassin's Creed Odyssey offers the series' largest open world to date, greatly dwarfing the scale of its predecessors. With no plans for another AC game in 2019, fans will be firmly set in the realm of Ancient Greece for some time, though the developers at Ubisoft plan to keep things interesting for the foreseeable future. Players have already seen some new events in the form of the free Lost Tales of Greece series, along with tweaks to the core gameplay. Now, the debut installment of the first major DLC releases on December 4 for season pass holders on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. With the first episode, Odyssey shows off a promising start for its post-launch initiative.
In Legacy of the First Blade, the lead character will encounter Darius, son of Xerxes and one of the earliest assassins to wield the original hidden blade. Fans with a sharp eye will recognize the character from one of the hidden tombs visited in Assassin's Creed II, and you'll eventually team up with him to take down a new threat in the form of the Order of the Ancients. As something of a mini-series, Legacy of the First Blade will span across three episodes, with the conclusion coming sometime in early 2019. We had the opportunity to play the first episode prior to launch, and we also spoke with game director Scott Phillips about how much has changed since release and where Ubisoft plans to take things from here.
"We've been very happy with the feedback from fans so far," said the director. "It's been very cool to see the reception from people that like the big things we've all worked on, such as the role-playing and progression aspects, the dialog systems, the massive world, the naval [systems], and all that stuff. People have been coming back for the daily and weekly events, and so on. So having players being continually engaged with the events has been super fun to see. We wanted to keep that going for the long-term with this new DLC."
Legacy of the First Blade feels very much like a continuation of the gameplay loop from Odyssey. Taking around four to five hours to complete, the new questline will unlock after completing the events on Naxos in Chapter 7, with a minimum level cap of 29. In the first episode, Hunted, you'll travel to the existing region of Makedonia in the northern section of the map and find it in turmoil. Though this location, along with others, felt underutilized in the main game, the area is put to better use in the DLC. Once you learn of the Order of the Ancients--setting the stage for their appearance in Origins--you'll work with Darius to dismantle their influence. Continuing the Cultist gameplay from the main game, you'll find a brand-new page in the sub-menu to dive into, with the following episodes adding even more targets to uncover.
Prior to the first story DLC, Odyssey has had many updates since launch, which includes a new level cap, new quests, and mastery levels that allow you to spend ability points on stats boosts. In Legacy of the First Blade, a brand-new skill is also added to the mix. In the Assassin ability tree, you'll find a new passive skill known as Death Veil. With this ability, any target that's killed with a stealth takedown, and without any witnesses nearby, will vanish instantly--leaving no traces behind. Though it only has a single rank, as opposed to the typical three levels, the passive skill is a great fit and should make stealth-focused players feel more at ease during some of the more challenging encounters in the episode.
Over the course of the first episode, we took on missions that covered the gamut of what you'll find in Odyssey: investigations, stealth gameplay, naval travel and battles, and plenty of on-foot combat. Though the missions themselves consist of the sort of events you'd find in the main game--save for a few standout encounters--the narrative in the DLC offers many surprising and heartfelt moments with the lead character as they realize the growing impact their choices have throughout the world. Moreover, seeing the earliest traces of the Assassin order in Odyssey's world--which is largely devoid of their influence--is interesting. Though it all manages to tie back into the larger story, especially if you've played the game to completion, the developers wanted to keep it as a side story for the sake of those who haven't seen the game's main arc to completion.
"We knew that there were certain systems that were sort of infinite and would continue to expand--such as the mercenaries and conquests--but it was important for us to gradually expand and pace things out for players to keep them coming back to the game with interesting events," says Phillips. "We're aware that more people will be coming into the game later on as the months go by, so we wanted to make sure that new content we are adding wouldn't negatively impact the core game itself. This DLC is a great way for newcomers especially to level up and take part in an interesting quest while stepping away for a bit from the longer term odyssey."
The most apparent thing playing through Odyssey to completion is the massive scale of the game. However, the first episode of The First Blade sticks with the island of Makedonia, making it feel like an interlude during many of the core chapters throughout the game. That's not a bad thing. Given the scale of Odyssey, easing into a new quest that slowly builds up to what's to come is a nice change of pace--especially for those that have already completed all the main stories.
It is a bit of an adjustment seeing Assassin's Creed take a different approach to launching new content. The series has seen all sorts of standalone DLC over the years, so having a continuing story unravel over several weeks could make for a more engaging story. Along with the free updates adding new quests and enemies to fight, there always seems to be something new happening in the world. The events in the first episode of Legacy of the First Blade does keep things a bit subdued compared to some of the larger events in the main game. However, the teases for what's to come during the brisk first episode hints at a much larger battle with greater stakes, and it'll be intriguing--especially for longtime fans--to see how it all manages to play out within the broader setting of the world.
The Nintendo Switch continues to get great games. Developer Campo Santo has announced that its acclaimed 2016 adventure game, Firewatch, is coming to Switch very soon.
You don't have to wait long at all to pick it up on Nintendo's hybrid console, as it arrives in the eShop on December 17 in the Americas, Europe, Australia, and Japan. It's being published by the Portland, Oregon-based independent studio Panic. Campo Santo announced Firewatch for Switch earlier this year, at the time pegging it launch in spring 2018, so the wait has been longer than expected.
Firewatch is coming to Nintendo Switch on December 17th! We'll be in the Americas, Europe, Australia, and Japan eShops. pic.twitter.com/BJvPnTd4KU
Set in 1989, Firewatch takes place in the Wyoming wilderness and puts you in the role of Henry (voiced by Mad Men's Richard Sommer), a man with a troubled past who seeks a new life as a fire lookout. The other main character is Delilah (Cissy Jones), whom Henry speaks with using a walkie-talkie. The game was originally released in February 2016 for PC and PlayStation 4, before landing on Xbox One in September of that year.
A Firewatch movie is currently in the works at Good Universe, the film company that also produced the well-received horror movie Don't Breathe and Last Vegas.
Campo Santo's next game is the intriguing-looking In The Valley Of Gods, which was announced during The Game Awards last year. In other news, Valve acquired Campo Santo earlier this year for an undisclosed sum.
The revival/reboot era of television is truly in full swing, with shows like Full House, Roseanne, Twin Peaks, Will & Grace, and many others returning after years away with varying degrees of success. Could the American version of The Office be next? There have been a few reports stating the show is coming back, but NBC has yet to make any official announcements.
While we wait for official word, the teases for an Office revival continue. Angela Kinsey, who played Angela from accounting on the show, posted a picture on Twitter today of herself and (almost) all of the main cast attending some kind of get-together. The gathering, whatever it was for, took place at the home of Greg Daniels, who famously adapted Ricky Gervais' The Office for American TV.
Some of the old gang got together today... it was so great to see everyone! I turned to Ed and said, "I feel like we are at a family reunion." He smiled and said, "We are." ❤️ Thanks Greg for hosting! For those who couldn't make it... you were missed! pic.twitter.com/DwF42lNGHk
Pictured here are Rainn Wilson (Dwight Schrute), Jenna Fischer (Pam Beesly), Leslie David Baker (Stanley Hudson), Brian Baumgartner (Kevin Malone), Ed Helms (Andy Bernard), Paul Liberstein (Toby Flenderson), Phyllis Smith (Phyllis Vance), Creed Bratton (Creed Bratton), and Oscar Nunez (Oscar Martinez), along with Kinsey and Daniels.
As you'll immediately notice, some people are missing. John Krasinski, who played Jim Halpert, is nowhere to be seen, nor is Steve Carrel, the glue that held the show together with his character Michael Scott. According to one report, the character Michael Scott won't be in the reboot, with the show instead bringing in a new boss. As for Krasinski, there are any number of reasons as to why he wasn't in the picture, though intriguingly he re-tweeted Kinsey's picture today. Also missing are B.J. Novak (Ryan Howard) and Mindy Kaling (Kelly Kapoor), who in addition to their acting duties, wrote some episodes of The Office. Kate Flannery, who played Meredith Palmer, is also nowhere to be seen, nor are any of the characters from the newer seasons such as Ellie Kemper (Erin Hannon).
Back in July, Krasinski said he would love to reunite with his Office castmates for something new; he called them his family. Krasinski also said he thinks The Office could return as a one-off Christmas special.
On a November episode of Saturday Night Live, Carrel trolled the audience with a playful opening monologue in which cast members talked about bringing the show back because they need the money. Even Carrel's real-life family urged him to do it. You can watch the silly segment below.
Before that, Carell said in an interview that he thinks it's a bad idea to bring back The Office. Not only should the show not come back, but it also might not work if it has a similar tone.
"The climate's different. I mean, the whole idea of that character, Michael Scott, so much of it was predicated on inappropriate behavior."
Michael Scott being out-of-touch and kind of a jerk is the point, Carell said, but this attitude probably wouldn't fly in 2018. "A lot of what is depicted on that show is completely wrong-minded. That's the point, you know? But I just don't know how that would fly now. There's a very high awareness of offensive things today--which is good, for sure. But at the same time, when you take a character like that too literally, it doesn't really work," he said.
Would you like to see The Office return? Let us know in the comments below!
The second season of Netflix's witch show Chilling Adventures of Sabrina will premiere on April 5, 2019, the network has announced. Not only that, but Netflix revealed a teaser trailer for the second season, while it also posted a brief synopsis of what to expect in the sophomore season.
"Get ready, mortals. Our girl's gone full witch," reads a line from the description. "Join Sabrina as she navigates the Path of Night while holding on tight to her friends who walk the Path of Light. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina continue on April 5." You can watch the reveal trailer above.
Kiernan Shipka plays Sabrina in the show, which is far darker and edgier than the more family friendly version of the show starring Melissa Joan Hart in the late '90s show.
In addition to Shipka, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina stars Lord of the Rings' Mirando Otto as her aunt Zelda and Wonder Woman's Lucy Davis as her other aunt Helga. The cat Salem is also in the show, but he doesn't talk like he did on the '90s show.
The 10 episodes of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina premiered on Netflix at the end of October. While you have to wait until 2019 for Season 2, a Christmas special premieres on December 14.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina generated some amount of controversy after the Satanic Temple sued Netflix and production company Warner Bros. for $50 million over the show's use of the Temple's goat-headed Baphomet creature. The companies eventually settled amicably.
A new trailer for Marvel's next big movie, Captain Marvel, is coming very soon. Marvel has announced that the premiere trailer will debut during Monday Night Football on ESPN today, December 3. The game starts at 8:15 PM ET / 5:15 PM PT, but there is no word as of yet as to when the trailer will drop during the matchup between the Washington Redskins and the Philadelphia Eagles. Whatever the case, we'll post it here on GameSpot as soon as we can.
To help ease the wait for the trailer, Marvel released a brand-new poster for Captain Marvel, showcasing Brie Larson as the star. Check it out below.
Monday Night Football airs on ESPN, whose parent company is Disney (which owns Marvel), so the Captain Marvel trailer premiering on the sports network makes a lot of sense.
Captain Marvel is set to premiere in March 2019. The first Captain Marvel trailer came online in September--you can check out GameSpot's in-depth breakdown in the video above.
For the first time in E3's history, Sony is skipping the annual big-time gaming show next year. Microsoft, meanwhile, will attend the event. Now, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has shared some insight into why Microsoft remains committed to E3 after its biggest competitor dropped out.
According to Twinfinite, during Microsoft's Extra Life livestream event, Spencer acknowledged how E3 has changed over the years. E3 began as a very business-focused event that retailers would attend to determine how many games to order for the holidays. That still happens, and E3 remains important for business reasons, but show is now open to the public and overall it's taken more of a consumer and press focus in recent years. Spencer said Microsoft continues to enjoy and support E3 is because it's a "celebration" of gaming that helps bring people today.
He admitted that Microsoft could host its own gaming event outside of E3 or a "direct" in the fashion of Nintendo. But Microsoft won't do that because "it's an awesome and frankly convenient way for the fans to experience video games. I think we do it because it's a U.S. celebration in L.A. It's easy for people in the U.S. to come to one place and just share their love of video games."
Spencer went on to say that he hopes E3 grows bigger still in the future, while at the same time acknowledging that he also expects the show to change "in some ways" in the future.
In addition to E3, Microsoft recently resurrected its X018 event, holding the show in Mexico City last month where it announced the acquisitions of Obsidian and inXile, among other things. Spencer said in the new livestream that Microsoft is "really happy" with how X018 went, and while he stopped short of confirming a 2019 show, he said, "We want to do it again."
Explaining its decision to not attend E3 next year, a Sony representative said, "We are exploring new and familiar ways to engage our community in 2019 and can't wait to share our plans with you."
The company added: "As the industry evolves, Sony Interactive Entertainment continues to look for inventive opportunities to engage the community. PlayStation fans mean the world to us and we always want to innovate, think differently and experiment with new ways to delight gamers. As a result, we have decided not to participate in E3 in 2019."
The major gaming companies--Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo--have all adjusted their E3 plans in recent years. In 2018, Microsoft notably moved nearly its entire presence offsite to the Microsoft Theater, with only Mixer present on the showfloor, while Nintendo has forgone live press conferences in favor of pre-recorded video presentations for the past several years. Sony, too, tried something different with its E3 2018 showing by focusing primarily on four of its upcoming games and presenting them through a "guided experience," which garnered a mixed reaction from viewers.
While Sony is skipping E3 2019, Microsoft and Nintendo, as well as Ubisoft, Activision, Take-Two, and other notable gaming companies are confirmed to attend the event.
E3 2019 takes place June 11-13. It is notably the final show confirmed for the Los Angeles Convention Center--the venue it has traditionally been held in for much of its history. Former ESA CEO Michael Gallagher had previously said the organization may pursue other options if the LACC does not modernize and upgrade the facility.
The next big patch for Bethesda's multiplayer RPG Fallout 76 is coming soon, and now developer Bethesda has posted the full patch notes for the December 4 update.
As announced previously, this patch will increase the maximum stash storage to 600 pounds, and it could expand further down the road, Bethesda said. The update also introduces stability improvements to the Fallout 76 client and servers, which in turn should lead to a better experience overall.
In terms of balance changes, the Fallout 76 patch makes bosses drop 2-4 items per boss (depending on difficulty and level), while weapon damage has been increased by 20 percent "across the board," so it sounds like you'll feel more powerful right away with this update.
As for bug fixes, on console Bethesda has fixed an issue that could lead to an infinite loading screen when players signed out of their console while playing the game. And on Xbox One specifically, the patch addresses a crash scenario for a specific situation related to team invites. There are UI, Survival, and Perk changes, too, included in this update. You can see the full patch notes below, as posted by Bethesda on their website.
Performance: PC framerates are once again uncapped. However, reaching very high framerates will no longer cause movement speed to increase. This was originally fixed in the November 19 patch.
Stability: The Fallout 76 game client and servers have received additional stability improvements.
C.A.M.P., CRAFTING, AND WORKSHOPS
Stash: Maximum stash storage has been increased by 50%, to 600 pounds. This is a conservative adjustment, and we plan to increase the storage cap further in the future once we've verified this change does not impact the stability of the game.
BALANCE
Enemies: XP rewards for killing high-level creatures have been reduced.
Bosses: Fixed an issue affecting instanced Boss loot. Players should now correctly receive 2-4 items per boss, depending on the creature's difficulty and level.
Weapons: Automatic weapon damage has been increased by approximately 20% across the board.
PVP
Weapon Effects: Hitting another player with a Cryolator now applies a Chilled, Frosted, or Frozen status based on how many times they are hit. The duration of movement speed reductions applied by these effects have been significantly decreased.
BUG FIXES
STABILITY AND PERFORMANCE
Console: Fixed an issue that could cause the player to encounter an infinite loading screen when signing out of their console account while playing Fallout 76.
Xbox: Addressed a crash that could occur when sending multiple team invites immediately after exiting Vault 76 to a player who is not a friend.
GENERAL
Power Armor: Fixed an issue affecting Power Armor frames that could prevent the player from exiting their Power Armor.
Nuke Silos: Flipboards inside Nuke Silos no longer display portions of launch codes too soon after the codes were reset for the week.
C.A.M.P., WORKSHOPS, AND CRAFTING
C.A.M.P.: Moving C.A.M.P. locations will now correctly move standalone items built by the player into the build menu's Stored tab.
Workshops: On PS4, wires will no longer appear to float in mid-air when attempting connect two or more objects.
Turrets: Will no longer become invisible if the player is not present at their C.A.M.P. when their turrets are destroyed.
PERKS
Perk Cards: Ranking up a Perk Card will no longer cause a duplicate card to appear.
SOCIAL
Teams: Fixed an issue that could prevent a team from being correctly formed in a game world after creating the team on the Main Menu when both players are using new characters.
Teams: Display durations for social notification have been reduced when many notifications are pending. This should help address an issue in which players did not see that they successfully joined a team.
SURVIVAL
Mutations: The Electrically Charged and Unstable Isotope Mutations no longer provide the player with bonus Health.
USER INTERFACE
AFK: Players will now be disconnected from a game world after 10 minutes of inactivity and will be prompted with a timer 1 minute before being kicked.
Atomic Shop: On PC, cursor position will no longer be disjointed from clicks in the Atomic Shop while using 16:10 resolutions.
Enemies: Red crosshairs and enemy health bars will no longer persist on-screen when an enemy is no longer in view.
Localization: Subtitles will now appear correctly, and English voiceover will play, for game clients in languages that do not have their own localized voiceover when listening to a Holotape or interacting with robots.
Pip-Boy: Fixed an issue that could cause duplicate data to appear in the Pip-Boy's Stat and Effects interfaces.
Respawn: Dying while severely overencumbered will no longer remove all map markers when attempting to respawn. Instead, the player can now respawn at the nearest discovered Map Marker.
Quest Tracker: Quest objective notifications will no longer appear for inactive Quests immediately upon connecting to a world.
The new Star Wars TV show, The Mandalorian, has added another high-profile cast member. Nick Nolte is joining the cast that already includes Pedro Pascal and Gina Carano.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, which revealed the news, the new show will allow actors to "come and go," while the nature of the show allows the producers to cast people later in production than normal. Nolte has been acting for decades; he's been nominated for three Oscars, for the movies The Prince of Tides, Affliction, and Warrior.
Image credit: StarWars.com
The Mandalorian was written by Iron Man director Jon Favreau, and individual episodes will be directed by established Hollywood and TV veterans like Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi and Jurassic World star Bryce Dallas Howard, among others.
Pascal, who starred on Game of Thrones and Narcos, will play the lead role in The Mandalorian. He'll play a "lone gunfighter," in a story set after Return of the Jedi.
"After the stories of Jango and Boba Fett, another warrior emerges in the Star Wars universe. The Mandalorian is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. We follow the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic," reads the TV show's official description.
The Switch may appear to live in the same family as tablets and smartphones at first glance, but Nintendo, perhaps wisely, has kept those comparisons at arm's length. The Switch OS doesn't react when you pivot the system from landscape to portrait orientation, and the vast majority of Switch games feature only minimal support for touchscreen interaction. These limitations aren't generally an issue, but there is a subset of Switch games that may cause you to question Nintendo's apparent rigid view of the system's identity.
Thanks to the efforts of developers such as Hamster Corp. and Digital Eclipse, the Switch plays host to numerous arcade ports, a large number of which were designed to be played with the screen rotated 90 degrees. Playing them that way, of course, requires you to disconnect the Switch's Joycons so you can prop up the system. That's all well and good if you're in a suitable environment, but the process is easier said than done on the go. Thankfully, the $12 Flip Grip has arrived to pick up where Nintendo's design team left off.
Inexpensive, straightforward, and hugely impactful in the right situation, the Flip Grip quickly feels like a must-own accessory once you start using it. Simply disconnect the Joycons, rotate and insert your Switch into the Flip Grip, put your Joycons into the tracks on both sides of the bracket, and you're basically ready to go.
One caveat of an attachment like Flip Grip in a world where Nintendo isn't concerned with portrait mode is that navigating the system requires a bit of roundabout thinking on your part. Because the Flip Grip will obstruct access to the power button and the volume toggle, you will have to resort to pressing the Home button and using menus as an alternative means of powering off the system and adjusting your audio. Once in a game, you will also have to enter a menu to rotate the image into portrait mode. There is a bit of an adjustment period while you get these habits down, but once you're used to the process it's hard to imagine playing certain games on Switch without Flip Grip.
Arcade ports like Punch-Out and Donkey Kong go from using a small portion of the Switch's display to filling up the entire screen, and rather than sitting away from your Switch with a controller in hand, you get to be up close and personal with it while you play--the way Nintendo originally intended. It's not only a more enjoyable experience, but when playing vertical shooters like Ikaruga or Gunbird 2, the larger viewable area makes it easier to navigate complex bullet patterns and live to fight in another level.
While you're enjoying your newfound appreciation for Switch, it's easy to take the Flip Grip's finer details for granted, but they are worth noting both for piece of mind and for the added appreciation of the accessory's thoughtful nature.
The Flip Grip is a simple yet versatile Switch accessory that, for the right person, is worth far more than the modest asking price.
The inside of the bracket's support wall features four felt pads that prevent scratches and smooth out the insertion process. Nearby is a flexible plastic tab with a rubber stopper that helps secure your Switch in place by slotting into one of the two speaker grooves on the back of the system. Releasing it requires just a little tug from the backside of the Flip Grip, but not so little that you'd disengage the stopper by accident.
Most important of all, long gaps along the inside edge of the Flip Grip allow for sound and air to move relatively unimpeded. And while you may not realize it at first, you can also slot a plastic card into one side for a makeshift vertical stand.
With adequate safety measures, thoughtful design considerations, and a very modest asking price, there's almost no reason to think twice about Flip Grip if you have interest in the Switch's current and upcoming vertically oriented games. The only other minor considerations to keep in mind are that the Joycons won't be able to charge while you play and that the OS isn't built to support the Flip Grip the way some games are. These grievances aside, 12 bucks is a trivial cost for an improved gameplay experience. The Flip Grip will make you think twice about what the Switch is capable of--and perhaps wonder why Nintendo hasn't capitalized on an obvious opportunity.
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