Treyarch has a number of patches lined up for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 this month. The developer rolled out the first of these--which added new Featured playlists, among other things--earlier this week, and now it's given fans a preview of what's coming in the game's next update.
Over on Reddit, the studio outlined what's in store for Black Ops 4 next week. All three of the game's modes will be receiving some attention. Zombies is set to get Gauntlets, which Treyarch describes as "curated 30-round challenges with unique rules for each round." The developer is also holding a 115 Day Celebration Event in the mode from January 15-18. The event will be available on all platforms and offers double XP, weapon XP, and Nebulium Plasma.
For the Blackout battle royale mode, Treyarch will be implementing a new looting interface on consoles, making it easier to loot specific items. The developer says it will also hold two limited-time modes in Blackout next week. No further details have been provided yet, but Treyarch teases that it will reveal more info about the modes--as well as "more Blackout news"--soon.
Finally, in multiplayer mode, next week's update will add both Elevation and Madagascar to the map rotation for those who have the Black Ops Pass. Treyarch says that future maps will be added to the full rotation "as they're released." The update will also bring new Featured playlists, as well as stability improvements and other fixes.
Later in the month, Treyarch will introduce League Play to Black Ops 4. This will make competitive multiplayer more akin to what's seen in professional matches, with skill-based matchmaking putting participants into 50-player groupings.
The Epic Games Store has announced a change in its refund policy. Epic Games director of publishing strategy Sergey Galyonkin revealed the change on Twitter, writing that people will be able to refund a game provided it is "within 14 days of purchase and under 2 hours played." You will also now have unlimited refunds through Epic, giving the game store the same policy as Steam.
According to Variety, to previously refund a game on Epic, you had to submit a ticket. From there, you'd get a verification request where you'd need to fill out several fields of information, including your public IP address, the date your Epic Games account was created, an invoice ID, your location, your account's display name, the final four numbers of the debit or credit card connected to your account, and the date of your last login. Only then would your ticket be reviewed.
Now, provided you ask within the 14 days and two hours played guidelines, you only need to submit a ticket through player support to get the refund. "The team is working on the self-service solution, but for now, you'll have to go through player support," Galyonkin said.
When Deadly Class debuts on Syfy--it's already available online--you might find the level of graphic content in the series to be a little surprising. After all, this show is adapted from a graphic novel about a high school for assassins, the training ground for contract killers. With subject matter like that, you might be expecting gunfights left and right, with blood splattered on the walls.
Deadly Class, though, isn't the ultraviolent playground you might think it is. Yes, there are still plenty of fight sequences and based on the first three episodes made available to the press, some heinous kills. However, if you're walking into this series expecting the type of violence you might see on a show like DC Universe's Titans, it's time to temper your expectations. That's not what Deadly Class is attempting to be. Instead, it's carving out its own place in the crowded world of comic book adaptations, where what's far more interesting than the violence on display is seeing the toll is takes on the characters forces to participate in it.
"In this show, we tell stories about the cost of violence," Luke Tennie, who plays Willie, told GameSpot during a visit to the show's set. "We are not glorified. It's not casual. If there is a loss of life on our show, we see everything about the price. We don't spend time on blood and gore, and we don't glorify the violence."
That's a price that will vary, depending on the student that finds themself in the middle of it. While it may bring certain characters joy, there are others enrolled in King's Dominion Atelier of the Deadly Arts that struggle with its murderous teachings. "[Marcus] just really wants friends and a family and that's what he's creating over here," star Benjamin Wadsworth explained of his character, a newcomer at the school. "But he does not like violence. When he was on the streets he saw that all the time. He saw homeless guys beat up women. He saw money stolen. He's forced to get in these violent situations and he personally gets to feel the ramifications of violence... And it kind of teaches everyone at the school when we do this stuff it's gonna affect us physically and mentally."
Given his outlook on this world he's being immersed in, Marcus quickly finds an ally in Willie. While the leader of the Final World Order clique may present himself as a stone-cold killer, the truth is quite a bit different. "He hates it. No one knows he does, and the only time he opens up is with Marcus, and that's something you find in the comics right off the bat between Willie and Marcus," Tennie admitted.
Then, of course, there's those who don't necessarily love or hate the terrible acts they're learning to commit. There are some, like punk rock outcast Billy (Liam Jones), who simply don't know any other way of living. "From a very young age, he's dealt with violence outside of his school," the actor said, referring to his character's past in an abusive home. "If all of that violence was for nothing, it would be really hard for him to take. So I think he's trying to harness what he's had to deal with."
In truth, much of the way these characters react to the violence is pulled straight from the comics. With Rick Remender, the writer of the comic book series by Image, serving as one of the showrunners on Deadly Class, this is an adaptation that sticks very closely to its source material.
However, when looking at the more violent aspects of the show, there is one major change being made to the source material. The series is set in 1987, but the creative team behind it is sensitive to the world of 2019. Though this is an academy for budding assassins, you will never see guns used as weapons on school grounds.
"When I first cooked this up six, seven years ago, the amount of school shootings, whatever's going on in our society, whatever this f***ing meltdown is, makes it abundantly clear to me as we're developing this, that I don't want to see a gun in the school," Remender said. That's not to say you won't see guns anywhere in the series, but they won't be brandished in the halls of King's Dominion, which is a change from the comic. The explanation given within the show is that Master Lin, the headmaster of King's Dominion played by Benedict Wong, loathes firearms and sees them as a tool of the weak.
Instead, viewers will see a lot more hand-to-hand combat and the student body finding more creative ways of expressing themselves through violence, whether it's a through Lana Candor's expert use of a katana or María Gabriela de Faría doing some serious damage to police officers using bladed fans in the role of Maria. And truthfully, that's far more interesting to watch than someone swinging around a pistol anyway.
Deadly Class premieres on Syfy on Wednesday, January 16.
January may traditionally be a slow period for game releases, but this month is certainly an exception, with some big games coming to each platform. That's especially true for Nintendo Switch this week, as more than 30 titles have arrived in the Eshop.
Headlining this week's releases is the 2D Mario adventure New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe. This port contains both the Wii U launch game New Super Mario Bros. U and its DLC expansion, New Super Luigi U. It also features two new characters: Nabbit, who is invulnerable to damage (and was previously only playable in New Super Luigi U), and Toadette, who can use the exclusive Super Crown power-up to transform into Peachette, allowing her to double jump and hover through the air.
Also available on Switch this week (as well as on PS4 and Xbox One) is Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition. Originally released in 2008, Vesperia stands as one of the most beloved entries in the Tales series, and the Definitive Edition features all of the additional content that was added to the game's Japan-exclusive PS3 port, as well as all the paid DLC that was originally released for it. You can read more about the title in our Tales of Vesperia impressions.
Other highlights this week include Bury Me, My Love, a poignant text-based adventure game about a refugee fleeing war-torn Syria. There's also the classic Sega racer OutRun, as well as the Neo Geo fighting game Kizuna Encounter. You can see the full list of this week's Nintendo Switch releases below.
From Software has revealed additional details concerning the hub area in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Like the Dark Souls games and Bloodborne, Sekiro features an enclosed area, titled the Dilapidated Temple, that's safe from enemies where you can buy items and upgrade your abilities.
According to Game Informer, the Dilapidated Temple shares a lot of elements with the hubs seen in past Soulsborne games, including the area's expansion as you recruit other characters. "If you're familiar with the Souls games, you know how you can find NPCs in the world," From Software marketing and communications manager Yasuhiro Kitao said. "Maybe they're vendors, maybe they do something with you, maybe they head back to the hub, where you can speak to them and progress their quests."
Like other Soulsborne games, you'll be able to fast travel to Sekiro's hub too. You can either rest at the bonfire-like sculptor's idols or use items that immediately send you to the temple if an idol isn't nearby. While in the Dilapidated Temple, you'll have the opportunity to increase the number of healing items you can carry at a time as well.
The Dilapidated Temple does differ in a few ways from recent Soulsborne hubs though. For one, there's a character in the Dilapidated Temple, called The Immortal Soldier, who teaches you combat moves and how to use items, and willingly offers himself as a test dummy for you to practice different attacks. Also, unlike Dark Souls III and Bloodborne's hub areas--both of which you must teleport from to explore the world--Sekiro's Dilapidated Temple connects to multiple areas. In turn, several of these areas are also interconnected with each other.
"We feel like Sekiro's probably on the higher end of the spectrum in terms of the freedom the player has to explore the world if we're to compare it to our previous games," From Software director Hidetaka Miyazaki said. "Particularly from the mid-game onward, the world really opens up, and you have a great deal of choice and freedom about which order and way you choose to explore." Miyazaki did not reveal just how often Sekiro's many areas would connect with one another, but with the game on the near horizon, we'll find out soon enough.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice releases for Xbox One, PS4, and PC on March 22. The standard version of the game releases alongside a Collector's Edition, both of which are available for pre-order.
Following cancellations throughout 2018, there are two Netflix/Marvel shows from the Defenders universe still standing: The Punisher and Jessica Jones. These also happen to be the two shows with upcoming seasons still outstanding, with Punisher Season 2 dropping on January 18.
Clearly, Netflix is waiting to actually release these final seasons before cancelling them too, judging by the fact that Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Daredevil were all canned after their seasons aired last year. If I'm wrong, great! These shows haven't exactly been consistent in quality, but overall I've enjoyed becoming immersed in the world of Netflix's Defenders. On the other hand, if I'm right--well, at least for now we can enjoy the carnage that is The Punisher Season 2.
The Punisher Season 2 is very much more of the same, as far as Frank Castle's bloody hijinks go. Season 1, which released in 2017, left Frank in the wind, having maimed but not murdered his rival Billy Russo, and been cut loose by the powers that be. When we catch up with the Punisher in Season 2, he's sort of just drifting, staying in motels and hanging out in bars. It's very un-Punisher like; he even meets a nice lady, although predictably, that doesn't last long. You see, the Punisher's gotta Punish. It's what he does.
Frank's little fantasy drifter life as Pete Castiglione doesn't last long, as trouble quickly finds him in the form of damsel-in-distress Amy (Giorgia Whigham), a young girl being hunted by a small army of douchebags. The story of why plays out over the course of the season, and it proves to be somewhat relevant to the times in which we live, though probably not too relevant that it will ruffle any particular feathers.
Needless to say, Frank tangles himself up in the whole mess through a misguided but lovable desire to protect the innocent by executing as many of the guilty as possible. He faces off this season with two main villains: John Pilgrim (the very creepy Josh Stewart), a religious fundamentalist who paradoxically loves murder almost as much as Frank does, and the escaped Billy Russo, whose face isn't nearly as disfigured as everyone makes it out to be, which is a shame, because that would have been cool. Like last season, Homeland Security Agent Dinah Madani (Amber Rose Revah) and Castle's former squadmate Curtis Hoyle (Jason R. Moore) play prominent roles, and some other characters from the all-but-dead Defenders universe even crop up, which was clearly planned before the whole thing got cancelled.
On what could be its last time around the Netflix merry-go-round, Punisher Season 2 presents a mess of morals, motivations, and messages. Its portrayal of veterans as mainly degenerate dickheads looking for any excuse to do violent crimes remains problematic. Billy has selective amnesia, and remembers being best friends with Frank, but not why Frank now wants to kill him, which is just boring and never really pays off in the way you want it to. Frank, meanwhile, is still undoubtedly a psychopath, but the show seems hesitant to call a spade by its name, and Madani spends half the season trying to convince other characters (Royce Johnson's no-BS Detective Sergeant Mahoney, and Floriana Lima's imitation Harley Quinn, Dr. Krista Dumont) that he's really a good guy deep down. That may be the case, but it's easy to see the other side of it too.
That's really what makes The Punisher fun to watch: Castle is a deceptively complex character. Even though he's on the right side of these various conflicts, you kind of want someone to check Frank Castle's unstoppable macho killing spree. And yet, that would mean stopping Jon Bernthal too, which would be a shame, because he remains an absolute joy to watch. He's the manliest man on the planet; his endless grunting and hollering causes lesser beings to crumple in fear (also, he punches them really hard). Castle takes more bullets, slashes, and various hard knocks than any real human could possibly withstand, but the show never stretches disbelief too far, because Bernthal really seems that tough. The whole thing wouldn't work without him.
The Punisher Season 2 rests comfortably in that middle ground Netflix's Marvel superhero shows have too often occupied: It's pretty good, not mindblowing like the best of them, and nowhere near the dizzying lows they've hit over the years. It's entertaining more often than not, and mostly well made. If they'd all been like this and public opinion hadn't turned against the Defenders, maybe the whole thing would have played out differently. Maybe it still will--who knows! For now, stream The Punisher Season 2 on Netflix next Friday, January 18, and enjoy the carnage while you can.
Some highly anticipated PS4 games are heading our way in 2019, but you won't likely find deals on many of them until well after they launch. But if you want to pre-order digital versions of select PS4 games from Green Man Gaming, you can save 7% right now. The discount also applies to PlayStation Store credit that you can spend on anything you like, including already-discounted PS4 games. Below are some of the items that qualify for this 7% off deal.
In terms of pre-orders, $55.79 lets you reserve a copy of the long-in-the-making Disney/Square action-RPG Kingdom Hearts 3; it's set to release January 25. Releasing the same day is a very different game: the survival horror remake Resident Evil 2. The standard edition is on sale for $55.79, while the Deluxe edition, which comes with additional in-game items, is marked down to $65.09.
The standard edition of Metro Exodus, an open-world shooter set in Russia after a nuclear war, is marked down to $55.79, while the Gold Edition is on sale for $79.04. It's set to release on February 15. The final discounted PS4 digital pre-order is Left Alive, a survival shooter from Square Enix that doesn't have a release date but is expected this year.
There is one game in the sale that's already available, and it's one that has gone on sale very rarely since launch. It also happens to be GameSpot's 2018 Game of the Year. It's Red Dead Redemption 2, and you can buy the standard edition of this open-world western for $55.79 or the Ultimate edition for $92.99.
You'll find the full list below, including links to the PS Store credit you can also get for 7% off.
Warner Bros. has tapped Peter Sollett to direct the big-screen adaptation of Minecraft, Variety reports. Sollett is known for films like the critical hit Raising Victor Vargas, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, and Freeheld.
The adaptation has been in the works since WB acquired the movie rights to the popular game in 2014. Various directors have been in talks at different points, including Shawn Levy and Rob McElhenney. Each had a different idea for the film, from a Goonies-style adventure to something more off-the-wall. Steve Carell was also said to be in talks to star as well.
Mojang, the studio behind Minecraft, is listed as one of several producers on the film, and has been heavily involved in the story direction. Mojang COO Vu Bui said in 2015 that the company didn't want this to be seen as the definitive Minecraft story, because the building game is all about making your own. "We don't want any story that we make, whether it's a movie or a book, to create some sort of 'this is the official Minecraft, this is how you play the game' thing," Bui said. "That would discourage all the players who don't play in that way. When coming up with a story [for the movie], we want to make sure it is just a story within Minecraft, as opposed to the story within Minecraft."
This adaptation will follow a teenage girl and her friends as they attempt to save the blocky Overworld from the Ender Dragon.
Sony has announced the top downloaded games in 2018 across each of its systems. The lists are divided into PS4, PSVR, Free-to-Play, PS Vita, PS4 Themes, and PS Classics.
2018 didn't see quite as many popular first-party exclusives on its systems in comparison to 2017, so it's no surprise to see a lot more third-party titles getting into the top spots this year. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 takes the top spot for PS4, while Job Simulator is number one on PSVR, Fortnite Battle Royale is first for free-to-play (no real surprise there), and God of War: Collection is the most downloaded title on PS Vita. The Monster Hunter: World theme is the most downloaded PS4 theme and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas proves it still has legs and comes in on top for PS Classics.
It is pretty incredible to see both Marvel's Spider-Man and God of War get nudged out of the top spots by both Black Ops 4 and Red Dead Redemption 2, as both exclusives released much earlier in the year and are both critically acclaimed. However, Red Dead Redemption 2 did earn Game of the Year from a few outlets--including us--so it might have had a surplus of downloads in December. Also, Black Ops 4 did shake up the Call of Duty formula by dropping a traditional single-player campaign and adding a new battle royale mode. Perhaps the biggest surprise is seeing Grand Theft Auto V in the top five games for PS4. With that game repeatedly remaining in the top 10, it's a wonder there's still enough people to keep downloading the game each year.
The full list for each category is outlined below. Remember, these lists are not ranked by quality. They only reflect which games and themes were downloaded the most in 2018.
Most Downloaded PlayStation Games And Themes In 2018
PS4 Games
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
Red Dead Redemption 2
Marvel's Spider-Man
God of War
Grand Theft Auto V
NBA 2K19
FIFA 19
Monster Hunter: World
Far Cry 5
Madden NFL 19
PSVR Games
Job Simulator
Beat Saber
Superhot VR
PlayStation VR Worlds
Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality
Arizona Sunshine
Moss
Until Dawn: Rush of Blood
Driveclub VR
Surgeon Simulator: Experience Reality
Free-To-Play Games
Fortnite Battle Royale
H1Z1: Battle Royale
Brawlhalla
Warface
Paladins
Warframe
Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 Lite
Fallout Shelter
DC Universe Online Free-to-Play
America's Army: Proving Grounds
PS Vita Games
God of War: Collection PS Vita
Persona 4 Golden
Jak and Daxter Collection
Minecraft: PlayStation Vita Edition
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth – Hacker's Memory
Stardew Valley
Adventures of Mana
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater – HD Edition PS Vita
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