Twitter has announced the top tweeted about games in 2018, and surprisingly it's not Fortnite. Despite the battle royale game's popularity, Fortnite came in second behind Fate/Grand Order.
Be sure to take this data with a grain of salt, as Twitter's blog seems to suggest game tweets were ranked by tags, such as "@FortniteGame" instead of "Fortnite." Considering the former is longer than the latter and Twitter is a platform where every letter counts, it's likely more people referred to the battle royale game by its name only and not by its full tag. So these results could be skewed.
We've outlined the top gaming topics of 2018 below.
Most Tweeted Games In 2018
Fate/Grand Order (@fgoproject)
Fortnite (@FortniteGame)
Monster Strike (@MStrikeOfficial)
Splatoon (@SplatoonJP)
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (@PUBG)
Granblue Fantasy (@granbluefantasy)
Ensemble Stars (@ensemble_stars)
Super Smash Bros. (@NintendoAmerica)
Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch)
Final Fantasy (@FinalFantasy)
Top Countries That Tweeted About Gaming In 2018
Japan
United States
United Kingdom
France
Korea
Spain
Brazil
Canada
Mexico
Germany
Most Tweeted Gaming Events In 2018
E3
Tokyo Game Show 2018
The Game Awards 2018
2018 League of Legends World Championship
Overwatch League Inaugural Season Championship
ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018
FACEIT Major: London 2018
Gamescom 2018
BlizzCon 2018
TwitchCon 2018
Fate/Grand Order is a mobile free-to-play RPG that's loosely based around the Fate/Stay Night visual novel. The Fate franchise follows the magical wars between Masters and Servants across multiple timelines and universes. Masters are powerful magicians that are pulled into wars where the prize is the granting of any one wish and losing typically means death. In order to accomplish their goal, Masters summon and use Servants, who are powerful warriors from different historical periods such as King Arthur, Medusa, Jack the Ripper, or Cú Chulainn.
Fate/Grand Order transforms this story into party-focused, card-based combat, where you are a Master that can recruit multiple Servants. New Servants are recruited through a microtransaction-focused lottery mechanic, where you need to spend either earned in-game currency or real-world cash to unlock random characters. Fate/Grand Order is available on mobile, for both Android and iOS.
4A Games has released the PC specs for Metro Exodus, the upcoming third entry to the studio's Metro series. The developer outlines the exact requirements your machine will need to meet in order to achieve minimum, recommended, high, or extreme performance.
Metro Exodus minimum graphical requirements are a tad higher than what you'd see in most games, running at an average performance of 30fps at 1080p. But the game will run on an Intel Core i5 processor and you don't need a Windows 10 OS. The same cannot be said for recommended performance or higher. To get 60fps or anything higher than 1080p, you'll need Windows 10 and your PC will need to at least be running on an Intel Core i7 processor.
The full list of specs for each level of performance are listed below, and can also be seen in a comparison chart on Metro Exodus' main website.
Minimum
Average Performance: 1080p at 30fps
Graphics Settings: Low
OS: Windows 7, 8, or 10
CPU: Intel Core i5-4440
RAM: 8 GB
GPU: GTX 670, GTX 1050, or Radeon HD 7870
VRAM: 2 GB
Direct X: 11 or 12
Recommended
Average Performance: 1080p at 60fps
Graphics Settings: High
OS: Windows 10
CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K
RAM: 8 GB
GPU: GTX 1070, RTX 2060, or AMD RX Vega 56
VRAM: 8 GB
Direct X: 12
High
Average Performance: 1440p at 60fps
Graphics Settings: Ultra
OS: Windows 10
CPU: Intel Core i7-8700K
RAM: 16 GB
GPU: GTX 1080 TI, RTX 2070, or AMD RX Vega 64
VRAM: 8 GB
Direct X: 12
Extreme
Average Performance: 4K at 60fps
Graphics Settings: Extreme
OS: Windows 10
CPU: Intel Core i9-9900K
RAM: 16 GB
GPU: RTX 2080TI
VRAM: 11 GB
Direct X: 12
We're excited for Metro Exodus based on what we've seen so far, despite the risky new direction for the series with the addition of large open spaces. The game still feels at its best when it sticks to its roots and puts you into cramped, enclosed locations, though.
Metro Exodus releases for Xbox One, PS4, and PC on February 15.
Another weekend arrives in Destiny 2, and with it, the Agent of the Nine and his bag of Exotic weapons and armor. Xur is back in the solar system, ready to sell cool items from Destiny 2's Year One to help you grab anything you're missing from the time before Forsaken.
You'll find Xur this week on Titan, in The Rig region. From the transmat point where you start in the area, head east and to the north edge, to check a small outbuilding near the edge of the platform.
As is always the case, Xur offers a small group of random Exotic weapons and armor: One Exotic gun, and one piece of Exotic armor for each character class. The gun this week is Crimson, a phenomenal hand cannon that's awesome in the Crucible, as well as everywhere else. It fires three-round bursts like a pulse rifle, but with the same power a hand cannon usually carries. Landing kills with Crimson also heals you, as if you were a vampire, and precision kills refill the gun's magazine. Crimson is a pretty devastatingly great gun, and if you don't already have it, you should get it.
In the clothing department, Xur is offering the Frost-EE5 boots for Hunters, which speed up your ability cool down timers when you sprint, and make you run faster after dodging. Titans get the Ashen Wake gauntlets, which make your solar fusion grenades explode on impact and make your grenade throws faster. Finally, for Warlocks, there's the Transversive Steps leg armor. They make you run faster and automatically reload your equipped weapon after a few steps.
Here are all the Exotics Xur offers this week and what they'll cost you:
Crimson (Exotic hand cannon) -- 29 Legendary Shards
Ashen Wake (Exotic Titan gauntlets) -- 23 Legendary Shards
Frost-EE5 (Exotic Hunter leg armor) -- 23 Legendary Shards
Transversive Steps (Exotic Warlock leg armor) -- 23 Legendary Shards
Xur also packs a couple of other handy items. One is a Fated Engram, an expensive pathway to a new Exotic. Dropping 97 Legendary Shards on the item will grant you one Year One Exotic you don't already have for that character. You can also snag a Five of Swords challenge card for free, which allows you to add difficulty modifiers that increase your score in Nightfall runs.
There's not much going on in Destiny 2 this week, but that's about to change. The January 29 reset brings with it a new Exotic weapon mission called The Draw. If Xur's wares aren't doing anything for you, The Draw should offer something new: Destiny data miners have found evidence the quest will bring back a Destiny 1 Exotic, The Last Word hand cannon. The mission should also have some major story implications for everyone who has been following along with what's going on with the Drifter, the character who runs Destiny 2's Gambit mode. Check out the full rundown of what Bungie has planned for the rest of the year right here.
BioWare has finally announced the award you'll receive if you play the VIP demo for Anthem this weekend. The reward is a stylish blue vinyl for your Javelin, which can be equipped to any of the four in-game exo-suits.
All you need to do to unlock the vinyl is play Anthem's VIP demo. To get invited to the demo, you'll either need to pre-order the game, be an EA or Origin Access subscriber, or receive a friend code from someone who has already been invited. The VIP demo starts today and continues until Sunday, January 27 at 6PM PT / 9PM ET, which is January 28 at 2AM in the UK. BioWare lead producer Michael Gamble tweeted out that he doesn't think you'll have to play the demo on the system you'll ultimately use for the main game in order to unlock the vinyl, which implies the cosmetic is tied to your EA account.
There are many parts of Anthem's Javelins that can be customized, both in the demo and in the main game. You can choose the type of material for each section of a suit, as well as the color of armor plates. The overall wear state of the Javelin can be changed as well, ranging from brand-new to dirty, and a vinyl can be applied for an extra dash of color and style. Each Javelin can be equipped with up to three custom emotes too, as well as a unique landing animation and victory pose.
But before you get to all of that, you'll need to pick out which Javelin is right for you. Although you'll be able to unlock all four in the main game, the VIP demo starts you with the Ranger and then only allows you to unlock one other Javelin after reaching level 12. The Ranger is best suited for those who prefer to fight with precision-based attacks that will support their teammates. The Interceptor's light armor, high speed, and powerful melee attacks make it ideal for close-range, hit-and-run tactics. The Colossus may be a lumbering giant, but it's got the highest defense in the game and is the only Javelin strong enough to wield heavy weapons. Finally, the Storm can hover in the air a lot longer than its fellow Javelins, and with its fast cooldown rates it can almost continuously fire off powerful blasts of ice or summon lightning strikes.
There's a second Anthem demo that's free for everyone from February 1-3. Anthem comes to Xbox One, PS4, and PC on February 22, but you can play a week early on Xbox One or PC if you're an EA or Origin Access subscriber.
The Walking Dead returns to screens next month for the second half of Season 9, and a new teaser has been released. With Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Maggie (Lauren Cohan) having now left the series, this will be the first batch of episodes without them as main characters. However, the upcoming episodes will feature the arrival of villains that fans have been waiting a long time to see--The Whisperers.
The Whisperers wear the faces of the dead to blend in with zombies, and the new trailer gives us our first good look at them. There's also a hint at the arrival of Samantha Morton, who will play the Whisperer leader Alpha. While we don't see her, her daughter Lydia teases how scary she is. "My mom, you don't mess with her," she tells Darryl (Normal Reedus). Check the trailer out above.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Kang spoke about the upcoming conflict between The Whisperers and the show's heroes. "It's this amazing idea from the comics and we really delve deep into what that means," she said. "It really takes a pretty brutal philosophy to believe that it's not even worth trying to be something that approximates human in the way that we think of it.
"I think that really brings them right up against the things that our people are thinking about as they're trying to rebuild something that's like a civilization, and just the fact that this group just doesn't even think any of that is worth preserving."
Although Andrew Lincoln will no longer appear in the show, he is not finished with it entirely. In November it was announced that he will reprise his role as Rick in a Walking Dead movie. AMC is currently developing three spin-off films that the franchise's chief content officer Scott Gimple described as "big, epic entertainments."
A controversial bit of Assassin's Creed Odyssey downloadable content will be changed in a future patch following a backlash from fans. Spoilers follow for the Shadow Heritage episode of Odyssey's DLC.
At the end of the Shadow Heritage episode, your character has a child from a heterosexual relationship. Those who had spent hours playing their Kassandra or Alexios as LGBTQ--or simply not interested in relationships at all--felt forced into a plot development.
The backlash was enough to prompt an apology from Ubisoft, and now the company is taking it a step further. In a production update, the studio said that it will change a cutscene and dialogue choices for those who don't want the storyline to go in that direction, and it will also change to the name of the associated trophy/achievement. All this will be coming in an upcoming patch, and Ubisoft is looking into the next episode, called Bloodline, to make sure that it doesn't create a similar issue.
The bloodline aspect was the given reason for the controversial ending in the first place, as creative director Jonathan Dumont said that the idea was to show how "your character's bloodline has a lasting impact on the Assassins." At the same time, he acknowledged the problem.
"We want to extend an apology to players disappointed by a relationship your character partakes in," he said. "Alexios/Kassandra realizing their own mortality and the sacrifice Leonidas and Myrrine made before them to keep their legacy alive, felt the desire and duty to preserve their important lineage. Our goal was to let players choose between a utilitarian view of ensuring your bloodline lived on or forming a romantic relationship. We attempted to distinguish between the two but could have done this more carefully as we were walking a narrow line between role-play choices and story, and the clarity and motivation for this decision was poorly executed."
The LGBTQ organization GLAAD celebrated the move in a tweet, saying it is pleased with Ubisoft's decision and that the change is "an important first step toward mitigating the damage done by the game's latest DLC."
While Assassin's Creed Odyssey received a mostly positive reception, including in GameSpot's review, the romance options were criticized as shallow.
"Romancing side characters is also possible in Odyssey. While some of these scenes can be amusing, they're mostly just bizarre shows of affection that have no real purpose," wrote critic Alessandro Fillari. "These scenes almost always result in a shallow aside during the conversation, with the characters slinking off-screen before returning to the conversation without skipping a beat. Most often, these awkward romance opportunities appear immediately after (or during) otherwise harrowing events. Aside from seeing some additional scenes with certain characters, there's really no benefit to engaging in romance at all. The inclusion of these scenes feels cheap and can sully otherwise interesting conversations."
Nintendo has provided an update on the state of Metroid Prime 4. In a video, senior managing executive officer Shinya Takahashi admitted that development of the game thus far hasn't reached the standards the publisher wanted and the project has been rebooted. Additionally, Retro Studios, the Texas-based team that developed the three previous entries in the series, has been brought back to work on the sequel.
"Although this is very regrettable we must let you know that the current development progress has not reached the standards we seek in a sequel to Metroid Prime series," Takahashi said. "Nintendo always strives for the highest quality in our games and in our development phase, we challenge ourselves and confront whether the game is living up to that quality on a daily basis.
"From this perspective, we have determined that the current development status of [Metroid Prime 4] is very challenged, and we had to make a difficult decision as a development team. We have decided to re-examine the development structure and change it."
Takahashi went on to confirm Kensuke Tanabe, producer on the game, will work "in trust and collaboration with the studio that developed the original Metroid Prime series, Retro Studios ... and restart development from the beginning." This collaboration, he said, will allow Nintendo to make a sequel that will meet the expectations of fans.
Takahashi also attempted to reset some of these expectations, particularly around how soon people will be able to see and hear more about Metroid Prime 4. "This change will essentially mean restarting development from the beginning," Takahashi reiterated, "So the completion of the game will be delayed from our initial internal plan.
"It will be a long road until the next time we will be able to update you on the development progress, and development time will be extensive. However, we will continue developing the game so that when it is completed, it will stand shoulder to shoulder with the past Metroid Prime series titles."
Metroid Prime 4 was first announced at E3 2017, with a very short teaser that simply showed a logo and a message that read "Metroid Prime 4 - Now in development for Nintendo Switch." Shortly after its reveal, it was confirmed that Retro did not have any involvement in the project. Reports later suggested that Bandai Namco was working on the game in some capacity. Bandai Namco has collaborated with Nintendo on multiple Smash Bros. games, but its involvement with Metroid Prime was never confirmed.
The return of Retro Studios will no doubt come as good news for fans of the Metroid Prime series. The team itself has changed somewhat since it was last working on Metroid, with key members of the Prime development team leaving to establish Armature Studio. Retro Studios has maintained a strong relationship with Nintendo, developing Mario Kart 7 for Nintendo 3DS and various Donkey Kong Country games for Wii, 3DS, Wii U, and Switch.
Epic Games is giving away a free PC game every two weeks this year via its new Store, and the next of those titles has now been announced. From February 7 until February 21, Axiom Verge will be available for the low, low price of nothing.
All you need to do is create an Epic account on the company's Store and claim the game within those dates. You'll then be able to play it for free whenever you like, even after February 7. Currently, the free game is the Jackbox Party Pack, but that promotional price will expire on February 7.
Axiom Verge is a Metroidvania-style platformer that launched in 2015. "Axiom Verge is a game that's easy to fall in love with because it hits so many high notes," wrote Peter Brown in our Axiom Verge review. "It takes the Metroidvania model and adds layers of ingenuity that are in a league all of their own, the most notable being the Address Disruptor.
"Yes it's occasionally drab looking, and some enemies may not fit in with the rest of the world, but when a game is this good, these blemishes quickly fade into the back of your mind. The chilling sci-fi setting, mysterious plot, and a seemingly endless number of abilities keep your mind busy, and your curiosity at fever pitch. It's not a stretch to say that Axiom Verge is better than the games that inspired it, because it's so inventive and thoughtfully crafted. There's no excuse to hold onto the past when the present is this amazing."
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds developer PUBG Corp. has announced a new version of the PC game. Titled PUBG Lite, the new product is a standalone free-to-play edition of the hit battle royale game that's now in beta in Thailand.
PUBG Corp. says PUBG Lite is designed for "players in areas where the core game's required specifications are more difficult to achieve due to the hardware available." This free-to-play version is therefore playable on lower-spec PCs.
The beta includes the first PUBG map, Erangel, though PUBG Corp. says the free-to-play title has "its own dedicated dev team that will create exclusive content and quality of life features while also adding maps and content familiar to PUBG players."
Thailand is the only confirmed territory for PUBG Lite's beta "for now." The beta will help PUBG Corp. "determine if this is a viable product for other regions," so it remains to be seen if the free-to-play edition makes its way to the west in the future.
PUBG's PS4 and Xbox One versions, meanwhile, recently added the new Vikendi map, the game's fourth map to date. Vikendi is a snow-covered mountainous region that includes a new vehicle, the snowmobile. Arriving alongside Vikendi is the Vikendi Survivor Pass. Much like Fortnite's Battle Pass, it gives players a variety of challenges to complete over 10 weeks. Doing these challenges will level the pass up, which in turn will unlock cosmetics and other rewards.
The original Resident Evil 2 was notorious for bonus characters that were difficult to obtain. For the Resident Evil 2 remake, Capcom has eased off the difficulty of gaining those extra characters, making them much more obtainable for the average player.
The two hidden bonuses are the 4th Survivor scenario, in which you play as Hunk, and Tofu Mode, starring a squishy block of the soy-based meat substitute. Those characters used to require finishing both scenarios and finishing them in a very particular pattern, respectively. The remake, on the other hand, unlocks the 4th Survivor simply by finishing the game, and then completing the The 4th Survivor scenario unlocks Tofu.
That's still a time commitment, of course, but the method is a lot less complex and would probably naturally show up for most people in the course of a regular play. This is probably a sign of changing times, as nowadays the Internet has rendered obscure hidden secrets largely obsolete.
If you feel a little rusty on your Resident Evil lore, you can catch up with all the story you need to know to prepare yourself for this remake. And while you're at it, read up on our pre-order guide to see which bonuses you might want to take advantage of.
Netflix is currently developing a Resident Evil TV series, according to a Deadline report. There has been no confirmed announcement for the series though, or any indication as to when it might premiere.
According to the report, Constantin Film, the same studio behind the Resident Evil movies, is at the helm for this new series. However, a showrunner has not been selected yet. Details are seemingly still rather vague, with the show supposedly being made to further expand upon the games' lore and deepen the mythology of the expanded Resident Evil universe. It seems, much like the movies, this series is only using the Resident Evil games as a loose template, although signature elements and Easter eggs will be included to tie back to the source material.
On the game side of things, Resident Evil 2 has gotten a remake that comes out tomorrow. In our Resident Evil 2 review, Alessandro Fillari gave the remake a 9/10, writing, "Resident Evil 2 is not only a stellar remake of the original, but it's also simply a strong horror game that delivers anxiety-inducing and grotesque situations, topping some of the series' finest entries. But above all, the remake is an impressive game for the fact that it goes all-in on the pure survival horror experience, confidently embracing its horrifying tone and rarely letting up until the story's conclusion. Though Resident Evil 2 has its roots firmly in the past, it reworks the familiar horrors into something that feels brand new and all its own."
Free DLC has already been confirmed for the remake, as has the return of the fan-favorite 4th Survivor and Tofu Modes from the original Resident Evil 2. If Capcom's new remake is your first step into Resident Evil, check out our guide of beginner's tips that will help you survive the zombie apocalypse.
Resident Evil 2 is coming to Xbox One, PS4, and PC on January 25.
Funimation has announced that Dragon Ball Super: Broly has earned more than $24 million USD in the US within the first five days of its premiere. This makes the movie the third highest-grossing anime film in the US of all time.
"Response to Dragon Ball Super: Broly has been nothing short of overwhelming. Earning a spot among top three highest-grossing anime films of all time in the US in just five days has been extremely gratifying," said Funimation CEO and president Gen Fukunaga. "Our goal for this release was to honor both its iconic franchise and its incredibly diverse fanbase. I believe we are well on our way with the film's historic box office to date."
In terms of worldwide numbers, according to Box Office Mojo, DBS: Broly doesn't even break the top 10 for anime movies, coming in at number 12 behind films such as Your Name, Spirited Away, Pokemon: The First Movie, and Pokemon: The Movie 2000. It's still fairly impressive to see an anime movie do so well in the US though. DBS: Broly is currently number three in the US box office, according to Comic Book, coming in behind Glass and The Upside.
Dragon Ball Super: Broly is only in select theaters for a little while longer. If you haven't seen it yet, we recommend trying to catch a screening before it leaves theaters. This original movie takes place after the final arc of the last season of Dragon Ball Super, offering a rebooted origin for Broly, a fan-favorite Saiyan who possesses an incredibly high power level. His battle with both Goku and Vegeta is one of the best animated fights ever seen in Dragon Ball, and the reemergence of Gogeta is pretty cool too.
If you're looking for more anime to watch, check out our Winter 2019 anime guide. It outlines every series and movie scheduled to releases on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Crunchyroll, Funimation, Hidive, and VRV, as well as in select theaters, between January and March.
Earlier this month, Project Cars 2 developer Slightly Mad Studios announced its plans to create its own standalone game console called the Mad Box. While the system is still very much in the early phases of development, company CEO Ian Bell shared some of its possible designs, and now he's given us a look at its potential controller.
On Twitter, Bell shared several mock-ups of one potential design for the Mad Box gamepad. This concept bears a cursory resemblance to an Xbox controller, albeit with more angular grips and a display in the center of the pad. In a follow-up tweet, Bell shared another image that showed off rear paddles. You can see the mock-ups below.
When the Mad Box was first announced, Bell claimed it would be "the most powerful console ever built" and feature specs that "will be equivalent to a very fast PC two years from now." He also said the system will offer 4K visuals, support "most major VR headsets," and allow up to 90 frames-per-second "per eye" for virtual reality play.
Beyond that, not much else has been revealed about the Mad Box. Bell says the company is in the process of making deals with component makers, and he estimates the system is still three years away from release, assuming the project makes it that far.
To drum up excitement for the Mad Box, Bell has asked fans to come up with a slogan for the console, offering money and free games to the person who comes up with the best one. He also said the company will provide a free game engine to studios who want to develop games for the system.
There are plenty of items you might miss during your first run through Resident Evil 2, but there's one in particular you'll want to take the time to find. That's the Magnum, the series' quintessential endgame firearm typically reserved for its toughest baddies. Resident Evil 2 Remake's iteration of the weapon is known as the "Lightning Hawk." It's a sweet name, I know.
Sealed behind an electronic lock in the RPD's S.T.A.R.S. Office, you can easily miss the Magnum if you're not careful. The way to obtain it involves solving a rather simple puzzle using several key items you pick up along your adventure. The Magnum can only be acquired by Leon, but it's important to note these are also the exact steps to follow in Claire's run to acquire the sub-machine gun and all of its upgrade parts.
Below we detail exactly how to get this overpowered hand cannon, as well as pointing you to the locations of its various upgrades. For more Resident Evil 2 guides, be sure to check out our feature highlighting all sorts of useful beginner's tips. Otherwise, be sure to read our Resident Evil 2 review.
How To Get The Magnum
It's interesting to note that you get a small clue early on that leads you down the road towards getting the Magnum. This comes in the form of the Commemorative Photo, which you get after developing the Film Roll you can get from Locker 106 in the Safety Deposit Room. You're by no means required to get this to get the Magnum, but it helps direct you towards what you need to do.
You encounter the stone statue pictured in the photo in the Art Room on the second floor of the RPD's eastern side. However, it's missing the Red Book seen in its left hand. Lucky for you, it's actually nearby. Head to Library on the western side, just opposite of the waiting room entrance on the second floor. You should see the book on a desk beside the door marked with the Ace insignia.
Once you've got the Red Book, head back to the Art Room, grab the stone arm beside the statue and combine it with the book. Then take the completed arm and insert it back into the statue to unlock the scepter from its right hand. Examine the scepter to obtain the Red Jewel.
The Red Jewel is meant to be used on a special Bejeweled Box you can grab in the Interrogation Room on the eastern side of the first floor, which you can only access using the Spade Key. If you can't get into this area yet, try progressing further in the story. Once you've gained entry, you should find the Bejeweled Box on a desk near the broken two way mirror.
Combine the Red Jewel with the Bejeweled Box two to reveal its contents: the S.T.A.R.S. Badge. This unassuming item may seem like worthless at a glance, but it has all the value in the world. It's your key to obtaining the Magnum.
Head back to the S.T.A.R.S. Office with the badge in tow, but before you use it on the computer, first examine the back of the badge to reveal a hidden USB. This can then be inserted into the computer tower to open the armory containing the Magnum.
How To Get The Upgrade Parts: Long Barrel And Scope
You can nab the Long Barrel part in the Underground Stairs located in the Middle section of the Underground Facility. This area is opened after using the three Medallions to reveal the "escape route." You can get there by going through the statue in the Main Hall and taking the elevator down. Use the S.T.A.R.S. Badge to unlock the white case holding the parts.
The Scope requires a bit more work. It can only be obtained by developing a Film Roll that points you to its location. You find the Film Roll found in the Work Room in the Upper section of the Sewers; you'll see it in between a cardboard box and tool kit on a small table. Develop the roll in the Dark Room at the RPD to reveal a photograph showing you two locations.
The location on the first photograph is the one you care about. It points to Captain Wesker's desk in the S.T.A.R.S. Office on the second floor. Open the drawer to get a wooden box containing the Magnum Scope.
Hi-Rez has announced that Paladins: Champions of the Realm will support cross-platform play. The update is now live in the game with the 2.02 patch.
Currently, the update does not add cross-platform play to PS4, and only implements support for cross-play on PC, Xbox One, and Switch. If you play on both PC and Xbox One, your progression will be saved across platforms as well, allowing you to jump back and forth between the two systems. There are currently no announced plans for also implementing cross-progression on Switch, but Hi-Rez did write in the update's patch notes that support for other platforms is already ready to go if the opportunity were to suddenly arise.
If you don't want to face off against people on other systems, there is an option to turn cross-play matchmaking off. However, Hi-Rez writes that "you will find higher quality matches more quickly with cross-play matchmaking enabled." Patch 2.02 also takes advantage of Xbox One's November 2018 update, and adds keyboard and mouse support for Paladins to the console.
Paladins: Champions of the Realm is a free-to-play online shooter that's drawn comparisons to both Overwatch and Team Fortress 2 with its art style, team-focused game modes, and unique hero-based champions. Much like Fortnite, a battle royale mode--titled Battlegrounds--was added to Paladins after launch when the game type started becoming more prominent across the industry. Battlegrounds became as popular as, if not more than, the original four modes, so it was spun off into its own standalone game called Realm Royale, which is also free-to-play but still in early access.
Realm Royale follows the same basic concept as other battle royale games, with 100 players battling it out across a massive map. However, there are a number of key differences as well. Realm Royale introduces classes into the mix, allowing players to start with one of five different assortments of unique perks and abilities. For example, if you play as a Mage then you can cast spells and do damage from far away, while choosing to be an Engineer lets you create defensive barriers. In the spirit of the original Paladins, Realm Royale is also entirely team-focused, with matches always pitting four-person squads against one another without an option for free-for-all. Finally, scavenged items can be disenchanted into shards, which can be collected and brought to a forge on the map to craft legendary-level armor, weapons, and abilities.
Paladins: Champions of the Realm is available for Xbox One, PS4, PC, and Switch. Realm Royale is available for Xbox One, PS4, and PC.
Kingdom Hearts III director Tetsuya Nomura has announced that he's reconsidering whether or not to do simultaneous worldwide releases for his future games. This decision comes as a result of Kingdom Hearts III leaking outside Japan, an incident that Nomura does not wish to see happen again with other titles.
In an interview with Famitsu, which was translated by Siliconera, Nomura confirms that only four copies of Kingdom Hearts III leaked prior to the game's official release. "That being said," he continued, "the only thing that really disappointed me about everything is that it brought sad thoughts to people who were looking forward to Kingdom Hearts III. The risk is higher with simultaneous worldwide releases, and because of this incident I can't help but reconsider what I'll do for my next games, including simultaneous worldwide releases of physical copies at the very least."
Kingdom Hearts III is already out in Japan, but the game releases for the rest of the world next week. The practice of two release dates is not unheard of, with many past Japanese developed games releasing in their native country just prior to a worldwide release. However, if a title's release dates are close together--like how it is for Kingdom Hearts III--then the game typically ships out to worldwide distributors all at once. In these instances, miscommunication can cause international copies to leak before they're supposed to officially release. In order to avoid that, some developers release their games staggered, with different launch dates that are separated by anywhere from several weeks to a few months.
If you're on the fence about picking up Kingdom Hearts III, consider reading our review. Tamoor Hussain gave the game an 8/10, calling the game "enjoyable, if uneven" and promoting its combat and diverse worlds while criticizing how its preoccupation with fan service occasionally bogs down the story and lore.
Kingdom Hearts III releases worldwide on January 29 for Xbox One and PS4.
Bethesda has a number of new features in the works for Fallout 76 this year, including a more competitive type of PvP mode. The developer has shared some new details about this mode in its latest blog post, along with an early glimpse at what's coming in its next update for the online RPG.
Dubbed Survival, the new mode was devised to offer players a much more challenging PvP experience. "Since the launch of Fallout 76, we've received lots of feedback from some of our more competitive players who requested greater challenge, fewer restrictions, and more incentives when it comes to PVP combat," Bethesda wrote. "With this in mind, we began developing Survival mode, which will bring a new way for you to engage in even more demanding, high-stakes, and deadly adventures in Fallout 76."
When Survival launches in beta later this year, players will be able to choose between it or Adventure mode--the standard Fallout 76 experience--when they boot up the game. Both modes will feature the same quests, events, and story, but Survival eschews the restrictions that previously governed PvP encounters. All players outside of your teammates will automatically be flagged as hostile, and you won't need to retaliate against another player to initiate a battle.
There will also be some steep penalties and rewards in this mode. Bethesda says it will continue to tweak these rules based on player feedback, but when Survival first launches, players won't be able to use the "seek revenge" respawn option; instead, they'll only be able to respawn at their CAMP or Vault 76. If you kill another player, you'll receive twice as many Caps, and there's a chance they'll drop their Aid alongside their junk.
Bethesda is planning to roll out the Survival beta in March. In the meantime, the developer has another patch coming at the end of January. This one will fix another "massive round" of bugs and make a handful of gameplay and quality-of-life tweaks, like the addition of a "(Known)" tag for recipes and plans that you've already learned. You can read more on Bethesda's website.
Overwatch has kicked off its Lunar New Year 2019 event, marking the Year of the Pig. It brought the usual spate of nifty new skins and the return of a favorite game mode, while at the same time introducing a set of balance changes. As detailed in the latest patch notes, these mark some significant changes to particular characters.
First, though not tied to any changes, armor will now reduce damage to 3 instead of 5, capping at half. Blizzard notes that this will mostly impact heroes who fire in bursts. As an example the studio cites Soldier 76's Heavy Pulse Rifle, which will do 16 damage per shot instead of 14. It says that armor was just "a bit too strong overall, especially when heroes were being healed quickly and often."
Meanwhile, two characters have had their abilities slightly tweaked to nerf them. The armor from Brigitte's Rally has been capped at a maximum duration of 30 seconds. D. Va's Defense Matrix cooldown has been increased from 1 second to 2 seconds. In both cases, the change is aimed at giving opponents a chance to respond around the triggering of the abilities.
The one character to have gotten a buff was Reaper, whose passive life steal ability has gotten a big boost from 30% to 50% of damage dealt. "This change allows him to keep the pressure up while he's dishing damage to his enemies," Blizzard notes. "The added life steal is particularly effective against tanks, as they tend to do less damage than other heroes, and also take more damage from his Hellfire Shotguns due to their larger hit volumes."
These changes come along with a wide array of bug fixes. The Lunar New Year event brought back the capture the flag mode and older Lunar New Year cosmetics, along with a bunch of new skins for this year. Those include the Legendary skins Lu Bu Reaper, Huang Zhong Hanzo, Guan Yu Reinhardt, Zhang Fei Torbjorn, Zhuge Liang Zenyatta, and Hong Gildong Tracer, plus the Epic skins Sanye Orisa and General Brigitte.
Season 7 of Fortnite is winding down, but a lot has been happening in the lead up to Season 8 of the popular battle royale game. In addition to the ongoing Ice Storm event, which introduced its own set of daily tasks to complete, Epic has now rolled out Week 8's challenges across all platforms, the trickiest of which has players searching between a hatch, giant rocky lady, and a precarious flatbed. Per usual, completing these tasks will reward you with Battle Stars, which in turn will level your Battle Pass up and unlock Season 7 cosmetics and rewards.
Getting your hands on this season's new items is a good incentive to complete as many challenges as you can, but if you manage to finish all of the tasks from a given week, you'll also complete a Snowfall Challenge. Doing so will unlock another bonus: a special loading screen that features a subtle clue pointing you to a free Battle Star or Banner--depending on how many weekly sets of challenges you've completed--hiding somewhere around the island.
If you've finished eight weeks' worth of challenges, you'll receive the loading screen pictured below. This one depicts the Ice King, who recently emerged from the mysterious icy sphere above Polar Peak and blanketed the entire map with snow, standing atop a tower overlooking the island. If you look closely just beneath the Ice King's right leg, you'll see a set of coordinates--A8, B8, A9, and B9--etched into the tower.
The spot where the coordinates meet is where you'll find the secret Banner. A quick look at the map reveals that the area in question is a snowy field just south of Frosty Flights. Make your way to the location and the Banner will appear. Collect it as you would any other item, finish the match, and you'll be able to use the Banner as a new profile icon. You can see its exact location on the map below.
Of course, the usual caveats apply when it comes to this free Banner. The item will only appear in the game if you've completed the requisite number of weekly challenges and unlocked the special loading screen above; you won't simply be able to go to the right area and find it unless you've first put in the necessary work.
Only a few weeks remain in Season 7 of Fortnite, which means there's only a little time left to complete any remaining challenges from this season. If you need some assistance, we've put together helpful tips on the trickier tasks in our complete Season 7 challenges guide. You can also use the links below to see where all of this season's other free Battle Stars and Banners are hiding.
Asobo Studio has released the first video in a web series to promote its upcoming game, A Plague Tale: Innocence. At the end of the video, Asobo announces that A Plague Tale will release on May 14.
The video also details the backstories for its protagonists, as well as how their journey will change them. As the name of the game implies, the core theme of A Plague Tale is innocence, and the game's young heroes will face the loss of theirs as they overcome numerous hardships, such as the act of needing to kill other people. In order to make this theme come through the game, Asobo made sure to recruit actors that closely matched the age of the characters they voiced, and tried to incorporate phrases and words that a teenager and child might use as opposed to an adult.
A Plague Tale is a puzzle survival game that has you control Amicia, a teenage noblewoman, as she and her younger brother, Hugo, try to survive 14th century France--a time when the Black Death was sweeping across Europe. How far Amicia is willing to go to both survive and protect Hugo is up to you, with the noble girl able to use her trusty sling to knock out enemies or kill them in gruesome ways. One of the more horrifying means of dispatching enemies is using fire to redirect plague rats at them, as the hungry mass of rodents will eat anything, whether it's alive or dead.
Asobo Studio's A Plague Tale is one of the big new games coming out that we think you should look out for. The developer behind the game has been responsible for contributing to a wide variety of titles, including the Xbox 360 port of The Crew and the creation of both the world and enemies in ReCore.
A Plague Tale: Innocence is scheduled to release for Xbox One, PS4, and PC.
A second season of She-Ra and the Princesses Of Power has been announced. The Netflix exclusive will be returning this year on April 26.
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is a reboot of the 1980s She-Ra: Princess of Power, which is a spin-off of the popular He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series. The new Netflix animated series is helmed by Noelle Stevenson, with protagonist Adora and antagonist Catra respectively voiced by Elena of Avalor's Aimee Carrero and Steven Universe's AJ Michalka.
— She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (@DreamWorksSheRa) January 24, 2019
In Season 1, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power follows the adventures of Adora, a young woman raised by the Evil Horde. Adora leaves behind all she knows after meeting and befriending rebel fighters Glimmer and Bow, both of whom show Adora the horrors that the Horde have enacted on the rest of the world of Etheria. Armed with a magical sword that can transform her into an amazonian warrior known as She-Ra, Adora sets out with Glimmer and Bow to create an alliance amongst Etheria's princesses to defeat the Horde. All the while, Adora's childhood friend Catra--feeling betrayed after being left behind--enacts a plan to rise within the ranks of the Horde and destroy the Princess Alliance.
Although the first season ended with the immediate threat thwarted, there are still several storylines that have yet to be addressed. Hopefully Season 2 continues most of these lingering threads. She-Ra and the Princesses of Power developed a fierce fanbase with its first season, with most critics pointing to the show's diverse cast of characters and portrayal of Adora and Catra--whose relationship fluctuates between friendship, bittersweet love, and murderous intent--as the highlights.
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