Like its predecessors, Exodus is a single-player first-person shooter set in Russia during a post-apocalyptic future that's been ravaged by both nuclear fallout and mutant monsters. Those that survived did so by hiding in the country's metro stations. Unlike the last two games, Exodus mostly ditches the cramped, underground setting for one on Russia's surface. The game isn't completely open world, though. Instead, it's a series of connected open spaces. Survival still proves challenging in Exodus, as you'll encounter mutants and antagonistic survivors, and need to scavenge for materials to keep your weapons and equipment working.
In our Metro Exodus review, Michael Higham gave the game an 8/10, writing, "At first glance, Metro Exodus gives you that wide-open, free, and dangerous world unbound by tunnels, though the scope of its tale focuses on what drives you personally and the lengths you're willing to go to protect what matters most. The open sandboxes may not be strongest addition, but the game still embraces the sense of vulnerability and post-apocalyptic terror alongside impactful weapons used in refined combat and stealth scenarios. You may miss the mystery and intrigue of the previous games, but Exodus puts together a charismatic crew of friends and family that you'll want to follow to the ends of the earth."
If you're ready to pre-order Metro Exodus, you might be wondering which of its two editions to buy, where you can find them, and what pre-order you can expect for buying the game early. We've outlined all that information below.
Metro Exodus Pre-Order Bonus
For Metro Exodus, each platform gets its own unique pre-order bonus. If you pre-order the game for PS4, you'll get a dynamic Metro Exodus theme for your console. Xbox One pre-orders come with a free code for Metro 2033 Redux. Lastly, PC pre-orders come with a digital artbook and the Metro Exodus soundtrack.
Metro Exodus Standard Edition
The standard edition just comes with the game and the applicable pre-order bonus.
In addition to the platform-specific pre-order bonus, physical copies of the Aurora Limited Edition include a steelbook case, a World of Metro artbook, and the game's expansion pass. Digital copies are priced $5 cheaper, but they only come with the expansion pass.
Set to launch February 15, Far Cry New Dawn is both a post-apocalyptic reskin of and sequel to Far Cry 5 that introduces a new story, allies, and weapons. You won't have to shell out the typical $60 USD to grab this brand-new game, though, as New Dawn has a $40 price point. The game launches on Xbox One, PS4, and PC.
The canonical ending of Far Cry 5 saw nukes dropping from the sky, wiping out nearly all life in Hope County, Montana. But that wasn't the end of the story, not by a long-shot. Jumping 17 years later, Far Cry New Dawn sees the remnants of Hope County try to rebuild society, only to come into conflict with a pair of power-hungry twins and their bloodthirsty army of outlaws.
In our Far Cry New Dawn review, Edmond Tran gave the game a 6/10, writing, "There's a lot of potential in the ideas seeded in New Dawn, but there isn't enough room for many of them to breathe and feel fully realized. Not the post-apocalyptic theme, not the RPG mechanics, not the weapons, vehicles, plot, or characters. Advancing through the adventure is an enjoyable experience, especially once you get your superhuman powers, but this is largely because Far Cry 5's combat and progression models remain compelling enough to propel you forward. For its part, New Dawn is a palatable but unremarkable spin-off that feels like it could have achieved so much more."
If you're looking to lock in your pre-order for Far Cry New Dawn, you'll probably want to know what comes in the game's two different editions, where you can buy them, and how much each costs. We've compiled all that information below.
Far Cry New Dawn Pre-Order Bonus
Regardless of which edition you pre-order, doing so nets you the colorful (and deadly) Unicorn Trike vehicle.
Far Cry New Dawn Standard Edition
Pre-ordering the standard edition of Far Cry New Dawn will get you the full game, plus the pre-order bonus listed above.
The digital deluxe edition of Far Cry New Dawn comes with additional sets of in-game items, including the Knight Pack (SVD Claymore and Sidecar Motorbike), Hurk Legacy Pack (Wrath M249, Legacy Offroader, and Hurkling Outfits), M133M Shotgun, and RAT4 Rocket Launcher.
Part two of the four-part crossover event The Price, which hops back and forth Batman and The Flash's comic book series through the month of February, hit shelves this week, and it brought with it the return of a newer DC Comics character who hasn't been around for a while. Gotham Girl, Claire Clover, has made her slightly less-than-triumphant reappearance, and she's brought with her a whole slew of trouble for Barry Allen and Bruce Wayne. As if things weren't already complicated enough.
Now, there's a pretty good chance the name Gotham Girl doesn't sound familiar to you, and if that's the case, don't panic. She was first introduced only three years ago in the first arc of Batman's Rebirth reboot, which you can find in trade paperback format under the title Batman: I Am Gotham. On the surface, her story pretty typical--tragic past, murdered parents, an idolized brother who imparted a need to do good--but that's where things start to get a little complicated.
To bring you up to speed, if you haven't checked out I Am Gotham, Claire and her brother were inspired to become superheroes in much the same way Bruce Wayne was after losing their parents, only they opted for a much quicker and deadly method, submitting themselves to experiments that gave them metahuman powers that slowly chip away at their bodies and minds with use. Things, unsurprisingly, did not end well--Claire was ultimately the only survivor of their encounter with Batman, and it only got worse from there. Traumatized and manipulated by supervillains, Claire all but broke down and dropped off the map for a while. At least, until now.
So what does this have to do with Batman and Flash now? It all plays into the bigger picture The Price is exploring, according to writer Joshua Williamson who spoke with GameSpot earlier this week.
"With Claire, it's a chance to talk about how weird it is to experience tragedies secondhand," Williamson explained. "Her brother saw their parents murdered, she had to hear about it from him. He was inspired to become a hero, she just followed his lead--and since then, she's been corrupted by all these people. So sitting with her, it's interesting to start thinking about what choices she's actually made and which choices were made for her. Is being a hero even what she actually wants?"
This begins to touch upon what Williamson sees as one of the core thesis statements The Price wants to look at: where responsibility and free will really come into play in the world of superheroes and their proteges. "Claire is a character who keeps being used," Williamson explained--and not always by people who intend to hurt her. "When Barry looks at her, sees how lost she's feeling without her brother, he sees some of himself after the loss of Wally [West] [...] he thinks to himself, 'no, not again, I won't let this happen again.'" Meanwhile, when Bruce looks at her, he sees yet another person he's inspired putting themselves in the line of fire. At the end of the day, both heroes are motivated to step in and try and make Claire's choices for her in service of their own agenda--which, obviously, may not be the best or most heroic way to proceed.
These tricky questions are where The Price really finds its footing. It's hard, if not impossible, to really objectively answer big questions like "do superheroes cause the problems they fix?" or "are superheroes really doing more harm than good by inspiring others to take on their cause?" but confronting the characters themselves with these moral quandaries is easily the next best thing. And things only get more interesting when you place two of these characters who have a fundamental difference of opinion on the matter in a room with one another and force them to wrestle with an answer.
"That's really what Issue #2 is about for me," Williamson said. "It's about two people who are trying to put everything aside and work together, but aren't sure if they can." Claire may be the root of the contention at the moment, but these are struggles that reach much deeper than the present day, connecting all the way back the scaffolding that makes Bruce and Barry who they are. "Everyone knows exactly who Barry Allen is, right?" Williamson laughed, "He's on this pedestal. He's the hero who sacrifices himself. But everyone has a different idea of who Batman is, sometimes totally the opposite idea. [...] I wanted to challenge that idea about Barry [...] show him stumbling and falling before he gets back up."
The Price continues next week in Batman #65. Parts 1 and 2 are available on shelves now in Batman #64 and The Flash #64.
By Anonymous on Feb 14, 2019 11:30 pm (Presented by Far Cry New Dawn) Join Chastity and Ben as they take down some denizens in the world of Far Cry New Dawn, releasing Friday 2/15!
The second of NetherRealm's Kombat Kast broadcasts dedicated to Mortal Kombat 11 is scheduled to take place today, February 14. It begins this afternoon, and you can watch the live stream here through the embed below.
The Kombat Kast starts at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET / 9 PM GMT (8 AM AET on February 15). NetherRealm hasn't shared exactly what to expect, but the first of these streams brought word on a new character--Kabal--along with a full breakdown of him, so that might again be the case with another fighter.
Shortly after that Kombat Kast, an Inside Xbox stream delivered the reveal of another returning character, D'Vorah. She was not showcased in great detail, nor has another character, Kano; further information on those two is also possible during the stream. You can see everyone who has been confirmed so far in our roundup of the Mortal Kombat 11 character roster. So far, it's light on new fighters, with Geras being the lone original character to be confirmed at this point.
Whatever the case, we do know Mortal Kombat 11 releases for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC on April 23 (though the Switch version comes to Europe on May 10). It features new ways to customize your characters and some new fighting mechanics. It's also as brutal as ever; with the gameplay and fatalities we've seen so far, NetherRealm is not holding back on the violence at all.
Bandai Namco has announced every playable fighter that will be included in Jump Force at launch. There's 42 in total, with all but two coming from one of 16 different Shonen Jump manga. Click through the following gallery to check out every single one.
The two fighters that don't come from any manga, Galena and Kane, are original characters made specifically for the game. The other 40 playable fighters come from major manga series. At launch, Jump Force is pulling fighters from Black Clover, Bleach, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, City Hunter, Dragon Ball, Dragon Quest: The Adventures of Dai, Fist of the North Star, Hunter x Hunter, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, My Hero Academia, Naruto, One Piece, Rurouni Kenshin, Saint Seiya, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Yu Yu Hakusho. Although they're not playable, characters from other Shonen Jump manga, such as Death Note, are in Jump Force as well.
According to the Jump Force's Character Pass, more playable fighters are scheduled to come to the game in post-launch DLC. Which other Shonen Jump manga do you hope gets featured in Jump Force, and who do you want to see make it into the battle? We'd love to see To Love-Ru's main heroine Lala Satalin Deviluke, Nisekoi: False Love's trigger-happy Seishiro Tsugumi, and Assassination Classroom's Koro-sensei make the cut.
In our Jump Force review, I gave the game a 7/10, writing, "Jump Force is a worthy celebration of the legacy of Shonen Jump manga, but it honors its source material a little too well with how filler-heavy the middle of its story arc is. However, even if the game rarely provides a clear motivation for stopping evil other than good must always oppose it, the act of stomping out villains in Jump Force's frantic bouts of tag-team arena combat is an enjoyable test of strategy. And with over 40 characters to master, there's ample opportunity to develop new strategies and reach greater feats of combat prowess in online multiplayer."
Asta (Black Clover)
Black Clover borrows numerous elements from other popular shonen manga, but the growth of its protagonist, Asta, over the course of the story has allowed the series to find its own place amongst the greats. An orphan born without the ability to use magic in a world defined by magical talent, Asta dreams of becoming the next Wizard King. Through sheer physical ability alone, he's able to keep up with most aspiring wizards and witches, and with his special five-leaf clover grimoire, he's able to use Anti-Magic and nullify the abilities of others.
Blackbeard (One Piece)
Possessing one of the more powerful abilities in One Piece, creation and control of black holes, Blackbeard is a force to be reckoned with on the high seas. He acquired his abilities by killing his crew mates, and, after being promoted to a position of power in the World Government, he abuses his authority to create a pirate crew composed of prisoners.
Boa Hancock (One Piece)
Hancock, also known as Snake Princess and Pirate Empress, is leader of an all-female tribe. She becomes one of Luffy's allies after falling in love with him, and only agrees to assist the World Government that was once responsible for her enslavement after Luffy asks for her help.
Boruto Uzumaki (Boruto: Naruto Next Generations)
The son of Naruto first appeared in the finale to his father's manga series before getting his own spin-off in Shonen Jump. Although he looks a lot like his dad, Boruto's dreams for his future could not be more different, as he desires to follow in the footsteps of Naruto's best friend and rival Sasuke. Although Boruto has a similar fighting style to his father, he can also utilize the same Gentle Fist technique used by his mom, Hinata Hyuga.
Cell (Dragon Ball)
One of the more famous antagonists in Dragon Ball, Cell is an artificial life form from the future that travels back in time to the present day in order to grow stronger and become the perfect being. Cell is composed of the genetic information of Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Frieza, and King Cold, and thus can utilize the abilities and skills of all five warriors.
Dai (Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai)
As the name of the manga implies, Dai is the protagonist of the Dragon Quest manga that's based off of the video game series of the same name. A young orphan, Dai grows up amongst monsters on an island, where he dreams of becoming a hero. His aspirations become a reality when Avan, the world's previous hero, arrives on the island to instruct Dai in how to use his super strength and magical abilities to help others.
Dio Brando (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)
Dio is the major villain of the popular manga/anime series, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. A ruthless, calculated 19th century vampire with a God complex, Dio will stop at nothing to get what he wants, including killing a dog, sacrificing the lives of his allies, and forcing an unassuming politician to run over a crowd of innocent civilians with a car. In addition, he can literally stop time--at least for a moment--with his Stand, The World. Even in death, Dio's influence runs deep within the 30+ year old JoJo universe he exists within, ruining the lives of countless individuals with his selfish ambitions. -- Matt Espineli
Dragon Shiryu (Saint Seiya)
One of the main heroes from the Saint Seiya manga, Shiryu wears armor that grants him enhanced strength, speed, and durability. His armor is stronger than most others, coming equipped with a shield that can block almost any attack and a gauntlet that can pierce pretty much any surface.
Frieza (Dragon Ball)
Although not seen until the second half of the manga, Frieza is regarded by many as the main antagonist of Dragon Ball, as his decision to destroy the Saiyan's homeworld is the entire catalyst to Goku's story. Like the Saiyans he sets out to destroy, Frieza is able to change his form and achieve different abilities as a result. Although Frieza is eventually killed, he's temporarily resurrected to help Goku, Vegeta, and the other heroes in Dragon Ball Super's Tournament of Power, and is completely brought back to life afterwards in repayment for his help.
Gaara (Naruto)
Gaara is best described as a foil for Naruto, as the villain is, just like the titular hero, possessed by a demon, ostracized by others, and a talented fighter. However, unlike Naruto, these experiences influenced Gaara to grow up cynical, narcissistic, and blood-thirsty. Upon meeting Naruto, though, Gaara changes his ways, and also aspires to become the leader of his village to make it better for all.
Galena (Jump Force)
Galena is a fighter who is original to Jump Force's story. Her background is unknown to the player at the game's outset, but is slowly revealed over time. She possesses cryokinesis powers, which allows her to freeze her enemies in place before skewering them with a barrage of icicles.
Gon Freecss (Hunter x Hunter)
The protagonist of Hunter x Hunter fits the template of other Shonen Jump heroes: brash, physically strong, and quick to anger when his friends are in trouble, while also being high-spirited and sometimes friendly to a fault. Gon becomes a Hunter in order to find his father, who is also one of the traveling specialists who take on odd jobs around the world.
Himura Kenshin (Rurouni Kenshin)
The protagonist of Rurouni Kenshin, Kenshin is a former assassin who travels the Japanese countryside in order to find atonement for his past actions. He ultimately ends up in Tokyo, where he settles down and tries to make a new life for himself, all while his past returns to both help and haunt him.
Hisoka Morow (Hunter x Hunter)
Hisoka is both an adversary and ally to Gon, letting him live through the Hunter Exam only so that Gon and his friends could become worthy opponents for him to fight and kill one day. One of the most narcissistic and arrogant characters in Hunter x Hunter, Hisoka takes great delight--to the point of sexual arousal--in toying with his prey, especially if said opponent is strong enough to extend the duration of the fight.
Ichigo Kurosaki (Bleach)
The protagonist of one of the most popular Shonen Jump manga out there, Ichigo is one of many sword-wielding fighters in Jump Force. A bit of an anti-hero, Ichigo is a Soul Reaper, a person who fights evil spirits, called Hollows, and helps good ones, called Wholes. However, most of Ichigo's adventures focus on the inner workings and politics within the Shinigami Order, as well as tensions between his group and rival factions.
Izuku Midoriya (My Hero Academia)
Born without a superhuman Quirk in a world where possessing one is the norm and becoming a superhero is a career path, Izuku defies all odds when he's given a powerful ability, called One For All, as a gift from his role model, All Might. One For All fills its wielder with enormous amounts of energy, allowing their muscles to move faster and hit harder. Currently unable to use One For All beyond 17 percent without breaking his body, Midoriya utilizes small portions of the Quirk to deliver fast punches and devastating kicks that, like All Might, he names after US states and cities.
Jotaro Kujo (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure)
One of the last characters announced for Jump Force, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 3 protagonist Jotaro Kujo fits the "delinquent with a heart of gold" archetype. While the series has several heroes, Jotaro remains a fan-favorite due to his cool yet calculated demeanor and over-the-top appearance (his schoolboy hat literally fuses into his hair). Like many other characters in the series, Jotaro is blessed with a Stand that possesses superhuman strength and speed. However, his tactical mind, unyielding confidence, and ability to stop time puts him in a league all his own. -- Matt Espineli
Kaguya Otsutsuki (Naruto)
A member of the Otsutsuki clan and primary antagonist of Naruto, Kaguya was once revered as a goddess. However, her lost faith in humanity led to her committing ever more cruel and horrifying acts, until her subjects began referring to her as a demon.
Kakashi Hatake (Naruto)
Kakashi is the teacher to the series' main protagonists Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. He fits the shonen mold of the seemingly apathetic sensei who secretly cares deeply for their students. A skilled ninja, Kakashi invented the Chidori technique and its Lightning Blade variation, two moves that utilize electricity to devastating effect.
Kane (Jump Force)
Kane is a fighter who is original to Jump Force's story. The primary antagonist of Jump Force, Kane is responsible for the event that caused every Jump world to crash into the human one, an act he hopes will lead to total destruction so that he may remake his world in his own image.
Kenshiro (Hokuto no Ken)
The main hero of one of Shonen Jump's more violent series from the '80s, Hokuto no Ken, Kenshiro defeats his enemies by applying pressure to certain points on an enemy's body, which causes them to die in a delayed, yet explosively bloody way. Because of this, Kenshiro will take the time to tell an opponent, "You are already dead," just prior to their death. While all this makes Kenshiro sound like a cold-blooded killer, he's actually a kind and compassionate hero who will do anything it takes to defend the innocent from the evils of the post-apocalyptic world he inhabits. -- Matt Espineli
Killua Zoldyck (Hunter x Hunter)
One of Gon's friends, Killua is as mischievous as he is bloodthirsty. His body count in Hunter x Hunter is higher than most characters, and he passed his Hunter Exam by simply killing all of the other applicants and winning the trials by default. Killua does care about his friends though, as they're the only individuals he's ever put before himself.
Kurapika (Hunter x Hunter)
Another one of the heroes in Hunter x Hunter and ally to Gon, Kurapika is the last surviving member of his race. He becomes a Hunter in order to acquire the necessary resources to take revenge on the ones responsible for the death of his people. Unlike the rest of Gon's group, Kurapika is fairly level headed, and solves many of his problems through intellect as opposed to force.
Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece)
After accidentally eating the supernatural Gum-Gum Fruit, One Piece protagonist Luffy becomes living rubber, which allows him to stretch, reshape, and expand his body in a variety of ways. Recruiting a crew that he names the Straw Hat Pirates, Luffy sails in search of the legendary One Piece, a treasure that will earn him the title of the King of Pirates.
Naruto Uzumaki (Naruto)
The image of Naruto has become almost synonymous with manga and anime. An aspiring ninja, Naruto is rather carefree and childish, although he's fairly dense too. Naruto's appearance in Jump Force is closer to his teenage years--titled Part II in the manga--when the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox within his body had begun to give him claws and fangs.
Pegasus Seiya (Saint Seiya)
Protagonist of Saint Seiya, Seiya is a 13-year-old boy and one of the 88 mythical warriors, called Saints, who serve the goddess Athena. Like other Saints, Seiya's unique armor--his is named after the Pegasus constellation--gifts him with superhuman strength and speed. However, Pegasus also provides Seiya with enhanced durability and flight.
Piccolo (Dragon Ball)
Piccolo was initially an enemy of Goku, before becoming the Dragon Ball protagonist's friend and a better father to his son, Gohan, than Goku ever was. Although not as powerful as Goku or Vegeta, Piccolo has held his own against some of the series' Saiyans, as he possesses superhuman strength and regeneration, as well as the power to fly, extend his limbs, fire energy blasts, and read minds.
Renji Abarai (Bleach)
Initially an antagonist to Ichigo, Renji quickly became a friend and ally to the Bleach protagonist. A powerful Soul Reaper in his own right, Renji is also the childhood friend and eventual love interest to Rukia, who's also a playable fighter in Jump Force.
Roronoa Zoro (One Piece)
One of the first to join Luffy on the quest for the One Piece, Zoro is a talented swordsman who wields a blade in either hand and holds a third in his mouth. Zoro has a poor sense of direction, is insecure, and--unlike most of the other Straw Hat Pirates--is not averse to killing. He does, however, live by an honor code.
Rukia Kuchiki (Bleach)
The main heroine of Bleach, Rukia is the supernatural Soul Reaper who gifts her powers to series protagonist Ichigo after she suffers severe injuries. The act leaves her too weak to return to her world, so she remains with Ichigo to teach him how to be a Soul Reaper in her stead. Despite no longer being able to fight at full strength, Rukia is far from helpless, and her natural talent of restraining opponents makes her a capable ally for Ichigo and a strong contender in Jump Force.
Ryo Saeba (City Hunter)
Protagonist of City Hunter, a shonen manga from the late 1980s and early '90s, Ryo is a underground private detective that splits his time between solving crimes and aggressively pursuing women. Unlike many of the fighters in this gallery that regularly utilize their fists or swords in combat, Ryo wields a gun--specifically a Colt Python .357 Magnum.
Sabo (One Piece)
Sabo is the sworn brother to Luffy, after the two exchange cups of sake--along with Ace--in a yakuza-like ritual. He's stricken by amnesia after surviving a devastating naval attack, but reading about Ace's death causes his memories to return.
Sanji (One Piece)
One of Luffy's Straw Hat Pirates, Sanji is an excellent cook. In order to protect his precious hands that he needs to make food, he only ever fights with his feet and legs. Although a formidable combatant, Sanji refuses to cause a woman harm, which can be easily exploited by anyone who utilizes a female fighter in Jump Force.
Son Goku / Kakarot (Dragon Ball)
This wouldn't be a Shonen Jump-focused game without everyone's favorite idiot Saiyan. Like Naruto, Goku is one of the most recognizable characters in both manga and anime, first starring in the Dragon Ball manga back in 1984, before becoming more mainstream in the Dragon Ball Z anime in 1989. His most recent adventures occurred in the hugely popular Dragon Ball Super series, which continued in the Dragon Ball Super: Broly movie. Super saw Goku surpass his limits and go to even greater levels of power beyond Super Saiyan 3, known as Super Saiyan God and Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan. He's able to achieve the latter in Jump Force.
Sasuke Uchiha (Naruto)
Sasuke is the best friend and rival of Naruto, as well as the role model and mentor to Boruto. A mostly silent character, Sasuke is a powerful ninja, utilizing sword-based and lightning focused techniques to great effect. Despite his rather cold demeanor, he does care about his friends and when he teams up with Naruto--like in their battle against Momoshiki in Boruto: Next Generations--their natural affinity makes them second to none.
Shishio Makoto (Rurouni Kenshin)
One of protagonist Kenshin's enemies, Shishio is a ruthless antagonist, his bloodthirsty nature only tempered by a dark sense of humor and steadfast intelligence. The bandages he wears are to hide scars all over his body, a result of his enemies trying to burn him alive in order to keep him from spilling their secrets.
Sosuke Aizen (Bleach)
Sosuke is the main antagonist for the first half of Bleach, a traitor to the Soul Society that Renji and Rukia are a part of. Although he seems humble and caring on the outside, Sosuke is actually quite cunning and merciless in his quest to achieve his goals. Like the other Bleach fighters in Jump Force, Sosuke carries a sword into battle.
Trunks (Dragon Ball)
Son of Vegeta and Bulma and best friend to Goku's grandson, Goten, Trunks is one of the most popular characters in Dragon Ball. There are two versions of Trunks, the first nicknamed Future Trunks and the second Present Trunks. Future Trunks is from the future, a 17-year-old who travels back in time in order to prevent a catastrophe, while Present Trunks is an infant--and later a young child--in the series. Future Trunks is the playable fighter in Jump Force, although Present Trunks hasn't been ruled out as potential DLC.
Vegeta (Dragon Ball)
Much like other shonen rival characters, Vegeta initially was an enemy to protagonist Goku before becoming an ally. Like Goku, Vegeta is a Saiyan, and able to achieve greater feats of strength by improving his power level through sheer force of will. Although arrogant to a fault, Vegeta has become popular amongst fans, especially when he revealed his softer side and fell in love with Bulma, the closest Dragon Ball has come to a main heroine.
Younger Toguro (Yu Yu Hakusho)
The younger of the two Toguro brothers is one of the antagonists in Yu Yu Hakusho. A human turned demon, Younger Toguro possesses immense physical strength and desires to face off against someone who will push him to using 100 percent of his power.
Yugi Muto / Yami Yugi (Yu-Gi-Oh!)
The protagonist of Yu-Gi-Oh is a master at playing games, and aspires to unlock the Millennium Puzzle in hopes it will grant him his wish to have friends. Instead, unlocking the Puzzle releases the spirit Yami Yugi, who possesses Yugi and aids its new host whenever he's in trouble. These moments typically occur whenever Yugi is at a disadvantage during a card game duel, allowing Yami to turn the tide back to his host's favor.
Yusuke Urameshi (Yu Yu Hakusho)
A delinquent turned hero, Yusuke is considered a bad person until his decision to sacrifice his life for a child earns him the respect of heaven and hell. Instead of being sent to either, he's allowed to be resurrected and resume his life, albeit now as a detective that investigates the supernatural. Possessing a powerful level of spirit energy, Yusuke is able to fire aura blasts from his finger with great precision.
A live-action Anthem story short from Neill Blomkamp, director of District 9, Chappie, and Elysium, has been released. Titled 'Conviction,' the three-minute video is set in the world of BioWare's upcoming action game, but decades before the game's own story. It is narrated by a female character, who recounts the history of humanity, its enslavement, fight for freedom, and efforts to rebuild as it struggles for survival.
Freelancers--the Javelin-wearing characters that players take control of in the game--are shown to have discovered a mysterious woman in the jungles. However, her discovery ignites a new conflict, with lines being crossed, betrayals, and explosive battles. "The Anthem swims through your mind, it knows you, it knows us all," she says.
While the details of the story are vague, perhaps purposefully so, the short does a good job of depicting the world of Anthem and teasing some of the sci-fi intrigue that BioWare will no doubt further explore in the game's narrative. Check it out above.
Blomkamp's ability to realize sci-fi worlds and tell stories within them is on show in the short, even if it is a bit brief. The director has some history with video games, having previously been attached to a Halo movie adaptation. The Javelins look especially cool, which is making us pine for the Halo movie he may have once created.
Anthem, meanwhile, is set to launch on February 22. However, those with an EA or Origin Access membership will be able to play from February 15. Ahead of its release, BioWare shared an update roadmap and endgame details to give players an idea of what they'll be able to experience beyond the main campaign.
EA is expecting BioWare's newest game to sell as many as 6 million copies by March, and CFO Blake Jorgensen said the company is confident that the game will reach these numbers based on the popularity of the game's VIP and open demos. However, it will also face heavy competition from Fortnite, which is as popular as ever, Apex Legends, another EA title which launched for free and has already reached 10 million unique users, and Ubisoft's The Division 2, which delivers a similar games as a service experience.
Happy Valentine's Day, my friends. It's truly a day where we all celebrate with our loved ones or complain on social media about how it's a stupid, consumer-driven holiday. Either way, I bring good tidings upon you all--as long as you're a person who enjoys professional wrestling. Last year, I quickly slapped together some WWE Valentine's Day cards in Photoshop, and it was a lot of fun--for me.
This year, I thought it was time to expand on this newly created GameSpot tradition by including other promotions like Ring of Honor and All Elite Wrestling. So I loaded up Photoshop and looked up "How to do cool gradient fills" on YouTube in order to create this year's batch of highly anticipated wrestling Valentine's Day cards. So, we present to you, 16 more dumb Valentine's Day cards. Sometimes, they're funny; most times, they're dumb, but they're all for you to print out on your work computer (color ink is expensive) to give to the person you love.
If you need more wrestling in your life, WWE's Elimination Chamber is just days away, and we have the match card and predictions for you to check out. Make sure to come back to GameSpot on Sunday, February 17 for live coverage of the event and a review of it all after the dust settles.
Becky Lynch (WWE)
Alundra Blayze (WWE Hall of Fame)
The Boys (ROH)
Brock Lesnar (WWE)
Chelsea Green (WWE)
Please just imagine the apostrophe in "What's" is there. I assure you, it is, but Photoshop layered it over the "t."
Nikki Cross (WWE)
Goldberg (WWE Hall of Fame)
Flip Gordon (ROH)
Well, this is a deep cut from Being The Elite, isn't it?
Hangman Page (AEW)
Brother (Brother)
No one
I don't care if the meme is dead. I will continue to do this until the day I die.
MJF (AEW)
PCO (ROH)
Sorry, wine drinkers. I had just finished watching a DVR'd episode of Total Bellas when I made this.
Hollow Knight developer Team Cherry has announced a full sequel that's planned for release on Nintendo Switch and PC. Hollow Knight: Silksong was originally DLC for the first game funded through a Kickstarter stretch goal. It would allow players to take control of supporting character Hornet. However, instead of building off the original Hollow Knight to offer a sub-chapter or a character swapping mechanic, Team Cherry has opted to take the character to a new location in her own game.
"As we kept going and kicking around ideas, the idea of having Hornet going on an adventure in a whole new kingdom was an interesting idea to us," co-director William Pellen said in a candid developer diary. "The other part is we have no idea how to make DLC... It seems like a weirdly complicated thing," added Ari Gibson.
According to the co-directors, Silksong is a "huge game" and it's still growing. Further information about the sequel's inception can be found on the developer's official website: "Almost from the very start, Hornet's adventure was intended to take place in a new land, but as we dove in, it quickly became too large and too unique to stay a DLC, as initially planned. We do know that makes the wait a little longer, but we think the final, fresh world you'll get to explore is worth it.
Those that backed the Hollow Knight Kickstarter will be be given a copy of Hollow Knight: Silk Song at no additional cost. "Any backer of the game from the $10AUD and above tiers can choose to receive their copy of Hollow Knight: Silksong free on either PC or Nintendo Switch, at launch," Team Cherry said. "We'll shoot out a simple survey as we get closer to release to find out which version you'd like to receive.
"Higher tier backers who received multiple copies of Hollow Knight will also receive multiple copies of Hollow Knight: Silksong, the same rules apply as for Hollow Knight. You can elect for your primary copy on either Nintendo Switch or PC, with all additional copies as PC versions."
Although Hollow Knight: Silksong has only been announced for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Nintendo Switch, Team Cherry has said "more platforms may happen." The developer noted, however, that it is still made up of just three people. It has also broken down what players can expect from Silksong in a handy list that you can see below.
Discover a whole new kingdom: Explore coral forests, mossy grottos, gilded cities and misted moors as you ascend to the shining citadel at the top of the world.
Engage in lethal acrobatic action: Wield a whole new suite of nimble moves as you dance between foes in deadly, beautiful combat.
Craft powerful tools: Master an ever-expanding arsenal of weapons, traps and mechanisms to confound your enemies and explore new heights.
Solve shocking quests: Hunt down rare beasts, unearth ancient mysteries and search for lost treasures to fulfil the wishes of the downtrodden and restore the kingdom's hope. Prepare for the unexpected!
Face over 150 all-new foes: Beasts and hunters, assassins and kings, monsters and knights – defeat them all with bravery and skill!
Experience a stunning orchestral score: Hollow Knight's award-winning composer, Christopher Larkin, returns to bring melancholy melodies, symphonic strings and heart-thumping, soul strumming boss themes to the adventure.
Challenge Silk Soul mode: Once you conquer the game, test your skills in an all-new mode that spins the game into a unique, challenging experience.
In GameSpot's Hollow Knight review, Alessandro Barbosa awarded the game a 9/10. "Hollow Knight feels exceptional because so many of its smaller, expertly designed parts fit so well together over an extraordinarily long adventure that could easily have fallen prey to poor pacing.
"But its expansive enemy roster and routinely surprising areas and platforming challenges ensure that your journey through this fallen bug kingdom is one you're unlikely to forget. Hollow Knight offers a surprisingly large and harrowing adventure, and it's a treat that every bit of it is just as divine as that last."
Editor's note: This review in progress covers only the campaign portion of Crackdown 3. We will be updating and finalizing the review once we have access to the Wrecking Zone multiplayer mode and have spent sufficient time with it. Keep an eye out for the final review in the coming days.
It's been a long wait for Crackdown 3. Delays can be a positive thing, offering developers time to refine and polish a game. In other cases, it can result in what feels like a dated experience. At least in terms of its campaign--we don't have access to the Wrecking Zone multiplayer mode yet--Crackdown 3 firmly falls in the latter category, offering some amusement but little in the way of interesting new ideas or fun things to do. It's large and bombastic, with plenty of chaos and collateral damage, but few redeeming values--like a video game version of Man of Steel.
You play as a superpowered member of The Agency who is sent into a city to dispense justice as you systematically eliminate the comically evil members of a nefarious evil corporation. You start out relatively weak but progressively grow in power, jumping higher and gaining the ability to perform ground pounds, pick up and throw increasingly heavy objects, and so on. Enemy factions are responsible for certain aspects of the criminal operation, such as manufacturing a sort of poison, and taking them out weakens that area and makes your ultimate goal of taking down the big bad leader more feasible. There will be collateral damage along the way that is frowned upon--kill too many innocents, and a local militia puts up a halfhearted effort to put you down--but is soon forgotten. Yes, I'm describing Crackdown 3, not its 2007 progenitor.
It would be fine for this to feel so familiar if the action itself were more engaging. The core of collecting orbs (to level up your agility and jump height) and wreaking havoc remains enjoyable, but it isn't strong enough to make up for Crackdown 3's numerous shortcomings. From the moment you gain control of your character, it's hard to shake the sense that this doesn't feel like a game from 2019. Draw distance aside, the visuals are underwhelming, leaning too heavily on recreating the simple cel-shaded look of past Crackdown games. The one technological advancement the game may have to boast about--large-scale destruction, powered by Microsoft's Azure cloud servers--is reserved entirely for the online Wrecking Zone mode, which we have not yet gotten to try in the full game. There's no meaningful destruction in the campaign, and the end result is a world that feels lifeless, as if some key element of it is missing.
The game's opening takes place in a small area of the city and lays out the basic structure of your goals: Take over a particular boss's various bases to locate him or her and then complete a boss fight, which, in most cases, is a pretty standard encounter where the enemy has more health than usual. This tutorial is somewhat of an off-putting start; for a game about freedom and doing badass superhero things, you're stuck in a tightly confined area, underpowered, and tasked with a goal that entails killing some enemies and then removing a pair of batteries powering a propaganda station. Before long, the game opens up and you're given access to the full city and a wider selection of objectives to tackle, at which point there's some hope that the newfound freedom and variety will provide the excitement that's lacking in this early area.
The problem is, what you do in that opening section is representative of the entire game; there's very little variety to speak of. Ostensibly, each of the different factions presents its own unique challenges and objectives for you to complete. Yet it quickly becomes apparent that what distinguishes them are only surface-level details. No matter the faction, you're always mindlessly shooting an endless wave of foes as you work your way toward objective markers. Once you're there, you'll usually hold a button. Sometimes you'll have glowing targets to shoot. For a certain objective, you have to shoot a piece of machinery or throw a rock underneath it (always two times) to destroy it. After multiple hours of this, the action begins to bleed together. All of these bases you complete are just another box you can check off the to-do list, rather than a satisfying challenge you look forward to dealing with. I suffered a crash midway through the game that might have resulted in me losing some small amount of progress, but with how same-y many of the objectives are, I honestly wasn't sure if I was repeating one I had already completed. One of the major criticisms of the original Crackdown was a lack of things to do, and while there might be more here on paper, far too much of it feels like filler, rather than worthwhile missions.
Interesting enemies could have made these rote objectives more exciting, but they too suffer from a lack of diversity. There are different archetypes with their own attack patterns, but they do little to shake up the action, even if some do fly, have shields, rush at you, or pilot mechs. Snipers, due to the heavy damage they inflict, were the only enemies that prompted me to break from my otherwise uniform approach of attacking whatever was closest to me. Weapons have certain types of targets they're more or less effective against, but certain guns are so powerful that I found little need carefully evaluate what I was using. You move from one objective on the map to the next, hold down the trigger to lock on to enemies, hope it picks the target you want (not always a given), and then blast away.
it's just sort of a constant white noise, like you're taking a weed wacker at whatever is in front of you
And that's okay. Crackdown 3 isn't a game where you should need to carefully consider your loadout and the precise manner in which you need to approach a fight; you're supposed to be a superhero who can dominate whatever is in front of you. But the combination of stale objectives and cannon-fodder enemies makes combat mindless and, at times, even boring, which is strange for a game filled with explosions and enemies flying off of rooftops. If you were to chart the excitement of playing through the campaign, there would be few peaks or valleys; it's just sort of a constant white noise, like you're taking a weed wacker at whatever is in front of you. It's not until much further into the game that you gain the weapons (like a gun that creates black holes) and high-level abilities (like being able to pick up and throw tanks) that make combat more entertaining. By that point, the repetitive goals and encounters have long since become stale. Making your way up the skyscrapers that serve as headquarters for the final few bosses provides some of the only memorable combat sequences, but these only serve to emphasize how rote so much of the game is otherwise.
Outside of the core objectives, there is some fun to be had. Stunt rings that require you to drive a vehicle through them are an amusing challenge, even if the solution is often to rely on your transforming vehicle's ability to jump into the air. (Your Agency car can be summoned at almost any time and transforms into various forms, which is a cool concept that's spoiled by the poor driving controls that make it feel like you're riding across a sheet of ice.) Rooftop races that have you going from checkpoint to checkpoint on foot, often by leaping from one building to the next, are a thrill. Likewise, climbing puzzles that have you ascend tall structures make for a chest-pounding activity. Just be sure to do those as soon as you meet the recommended agility level designated on the map; wait too long, and the satisfying rush of landing a difficult jump is gone due to your ability to skip obstacles with massive leaps.
Co-op multiplayer improves things across the board, letting you race against a friend and engage in general shenanigans. The old Crackdown standby of picking up someone driving a car and throwing it--whether to help them reach a distant goal or simply to doom them--is a hilarious way to interact with another player, and it's nice that rooftop races can be a competitive activity. But all of this only masks the underlying problems of the game; the action is just as repetitive, and I found myself wishing my partner and I had something worth doing together. Still, co-op is easily the best way to play the campaign.
Leaping high through the air across rooftops and collecting orbs--which still feature one of the all-time great sound effects--is fun and rewarding, because that pursuit has a direct correlation to further improving your jump height. Lifting large objects and chucking them at foes is likewise an entertaining alternative to typical gunfights. Just like in its predecessors, these two superpowers are the primary source of what entertainment there is to be had in Crackdown 3. But it soon becomes apparent that the campaign has little new to offer. It certainly delivers on letting you blow things up and jump around the city. However, a dozen years after the first Crackdown offered that same experience but failed to provide you with enough interesting content surrounding that, it's truly disappointing to see this latest iteration suffer from the very same problems.
We'll finalize this review once we have access to Wrecking Zone and have had time to put it through its paces.
Fortnite developer Epic Games is getting into the Valentine's Day spirit with the release of a new patch and event called "#ShareTheLove Valentine's Surprise." As part of this, it is launching a series of challenges which, if completed, will unlock a free Battle Pass for Season 8 of the game. This move perhaps not so coincidentally comes shortly after the launch of Respawn's Apex Legends, which has gotten off to a hugely successful start, racking up more than 25 million players already.
"Everyone who completes 13 free Overtime Challenges by February 27 will receive the upcoming Season 8 Battle Pass for free," Epic explains on the Fortnite website. "If you don't have an outfit, now is your chance to get several for free. With the Battle Pass, you'll receive two Season 8 Outfits instantly and you can earn up to five more. Save your V-Bucks, this one's on us."
This is quite a big deal, as the Fortnite Battle Pass enables players to unlock a huge variety of cosmetics that can be used to customize their character. Additionally, it grants owners access to an exclusive set of weekly challenges, which are crucial to levelling up the Battle Pass and getting those cosmetics quicker.
The first set of Overtime Challenges that can be be completed to work towards that free Fortnite Season 8 Battle Pass are now available in the game, and will require players to spend some time in the Creative mode, hunt for chests or ammo boxes, and play with a friend in duos. Learn more about them and see the full list of Overtime Challenges here.
Season 7's challenges may be over, but there's still time to get any uncompleted ones you have done before Season 8 launches. If you need a helping hand, take a look at our complete Fortnite Season 7 challenges roundup, which compiles all the tips and guides we've written for Season 7's trickier challenges.
Fortnite's weekly challenges for Season 7 are over and the game is now preparing to make the transition to Season 8. However, that doesn't mean there are no challenges to undertake at all--quite the opposite in fact. Developer Epic is keeping the train rolling with the Overtime Challenges, which begin today, February 14, and unlock every three days up until February 23. In an unexpected twist, however, completing these challenges not only nets you experience and the odd cosmetic unlock, but also a free Season 8 Battle Pass.
To get the new Battle Pass at no cost you just need to complete 13 of the Overtime Challenges, the first set of which are available now. The initial batch ask the player to collect coins in the Creative Islands, seek out ammo boxes or treasure chests, and drop onto the island as a duo and place in the top 15. As you complete the challenges, you'll also unlock skins from Fortnite Season 7 at the five, 10, and 15 challenge mark. You can see the full list of challenges below.
Fortnite Overtime Challenges
Collect Coins in Featured Creative Islands (15) -- 500 XP
Search chest or ammo boxes at a motel or an RV park (7) -- 500
Place Top 15 in Duos with a friend (3) -- Wrap
Epic has also released update 7.40 for Fornite and the full patch notes alongside it. The Valentine's Day event is one of the big new additions introduced in the update, but there's also a new weapon, and the ability to gift an item. You can read the full list of changes, tweaks, and additions in the Fortnite update 7.40 patch notes.
It is expected that Season 7 of Fortnite will end on February 28, so you've got a little more time to complete any outstanding challenges. If you need a hand, check out our comprehensive Fortnite Season 7 challenges roundup, which collects all our tips and guides into one, convenient location.
Given that the Overtime Challenges will be available until February 27, we expect Season 8 will begin on February 28. Before that, however, Epic is expected to hold two double XP weekends; the first is set for February 15-17, while the second takes place February 22-24.
Spoiler alert: At the end of Far Cry 5, the United States gets nuked. Seventeen years later, the region and residents of Hope County have endured and mostly recovered from the devastation anew. The vegetation is more abundant, society has been reshaped, and there is a hell of a lot more duct tape everywhere. Everything feels new and different--well, except for that fact that there's ruthless, tyrannical oppression taking over everything and it's up to you, and basically only you, to stop it. Some things never change. That's Far Cry: New Dawn--despite a few new novelties and a great mechanical twist, New Dawn feels exactly like what it is: a direct continuation of Far Cry 5.
That's not inherently a bad thing. New Dawn features the same kind of forward-thinking approach to open-world exploration and progression as Far Cry 5. While main missions are mapped out for you, the discovery of side activities like enemy outposts, treasure hunts (formerly prepper stashes), and companion recruitment missions mostly comes from your own organic exploration. Earning perk points to improve your abilities is tied to your discovery of hidden caches and diversifying the activities you undertake. New Dawn is a more concise game--the map is smaller than Far Cry 5 and there's less curated content to discover this time around--but the emphasis is still on staying out in the world and soaking up the environment.
That sense of freedom has been diminished, however. It's not the fact that you're revisiting Hope County, but rather how New Dawn sets up the pins. In Far Cry 5, you began in the middle of the map and were allowed to explore in any direction you wished; New Dawn starts you off in the bottom corner of the map and basically pushes you in a steady, linear sweep north as you slowly reclaim territory, and asks you to regularly bring resources back to your base in that starting area to bolster it.
What's to stop you from just darting ahead? Well, damage numbers. New Dawn introduces RPG elements, like damage numbers, into its design for the first time in the series. The game's guns and enemies fall into four different tiered ranks, and getting ahead requires that you go out into the world to scavenge crafting materials to upgrade your base so you can upgrade your weapons workshop and eventually craft better guns to take down the higher rank enemies impeding your progress. Outfits, armor, and defense numbers don't factor in your growth, just weapons. Guns at rank 1 and 2 will do a minimal amount of damage to well-armored rank 3 and elite rank enemies.
Early on, this can be annoying if you try to push the limits of the game in a way you're not meant to. Heading too far into the map and needing to use up hundreds of bullets to take down a rank 3 bear you encounter isn't terrifying as much as it is silly, and eventually, the demands of story missions will stop you from going too far.
But if you dial down your Far Cry 5-style expectations of freedom and go with the flow, you run into these awkward predicaments far less often. Your guns feel like they do the damage they're supposed to, and enemies feel like they have an acceptable level of resistance. In fact, once you get access to the top-tier arsenal, things will start to swing wildly in your favor--your guns will feel overpowered to the point where even shooting rank 1 enemies in the foot might be enough to take them out--which feels great when you're getting overwhelmed. Played the right way, the game's RPG-style systems basically feel invisible, and you can enjoy Far Cry's style of weighty gunplay and feel like an incredibly competent one-person army. The feeling of eventually being able to overcome New Dawn's elite enemies is good, but you're left wondering why you needed to be held back by artificial gating at all.
It doesn't help that there's no tangible sense of growth with weapons and vehicle crafting; New Dawn's selection of guns and cars isn't dramatically different enough between ranks to make the large distinction in damage output believable. Rank 1 weapons are a varied suite of handguns, rifles, and shotguns, and higher-rank arsenals are basically defined by the increasing amount of duct tape and junk on that same suite, as if that stuff has magical properties that makes the guns perform better. There are lots of guns to choose from, but if you've played Far Cry 5 you'll immediately recognize them, duct tape or no.
The one nice exception is the new Saw Launcher, which shoots circular saw blades. Higher tier versions of the weapon actually have noticeably different properties, like the ability to shoot saw blades with ricocheting, homing, and boomerang traits. It's the only weapon which truly feels like it was borne out of the post-apocalypse, improvised from scavenged parts. Aerosol cans, pipes, and spray paint might give the other guns and cars a cool look, but it doesn't change how familiar they feel.
The same can be said of the world itself. Far Cry 5's Hope County already felt a bit post-apocalyptic--the rural setting was isolated from the world thanks to antagonist Joseph Seed--so even though there are plenty of visible differences to the region, the impact of those changes isn't massive. There are a few key locations that provoke some amusement in their discovery, but the strength of Far Cry 5's Hope County was its natural environments--the forests, lakes, rivers, and mountains. The conceit that the region was re-vegetated by a super bloom after nuclear devastation means that the vibe in New Dawn is basically identical, despite dramatic increases in upended cars and graffiti. It's a pretty post-apocalypse, but it doesn't have the feeling of desperation you might associate with the theme. Scavenging for materials doesn't feel like a drastic necessity, just a way to get ahead. New Dawn doesn't feel like it takes the theme to enough of an extreme to feel meaningful or different.
The solid bones of Far Cry's combat are still here, though, and they're still very good. Taking on outposts (within your rank), whether that be via stealth or aggression, is still enjoyable, and the game encourages you to repeat them at increased difficulties to earn more resources. New Dawn also introduces seven self-contained missions called Expeditions. These are large, diverse maps set outside Hope County, and they feature setpieces like a New Orleans amusement park, an aircraft carrier, and even a Splinter Cell-themed plane crash. Expedition environments are a highlight, but the snatch-and-grab objectives mean that you're never really encouraged to stop and appreciate them--you're more concerned with getting the hell out of there as a non-stop stream of enemies comes after you.
The concise nature of the game means there's a remarkable lack of time given to the characters and plot, too. A few of the major characters feel like they could be interesting, the twin sister antagonists especially, but the few interactions you have with them are definitely not enough to develop them and make you care. While the performances have gusto, key moments of pathos just feel completely unearned. Something major happened to a key character and I was surprised how little empathy I felt. A detestable deal is made and I was mad at how little time they spent justifying it. Underdeveloped connections to characters also exacerbate the relative mundanity of the story missions compared to the game's side and open-world activities--turret sequences, bland chases, forced melee fights, and even a slow boat ride, all of which go on for way too long.
You do get a double jump, though. That is, the ability to jump in mid-air. You also get the ability to basically turn invisible and give yourself super speed and strength. The Far Cry series has always dabbled in the mystic, but yes: In a strange turn of events, New Dawn eventually says "screw it" and gives you access to superhuman powers. And the way it changes how you approach the world is undoubtedly the best thing about the game.
These sudden powers let you lean hard into superhero fantasy, allowing you to bound over fences and onto buildings, using your newfound mobility and invisibility to completely terrorize enemies like you're the Predator, or perhaps jumping high into the fray and firing off explosive arrows, pretending you're Hawkeye from The Avengers. Maybe you're more of a Wolverine, activating the berserker ability to rush an outpost at super speed and send heavily armed assailants and bears alike flying with your bare fists. A minor new mechanic lets you temporarily pick up shields from enemies and toss them like you're Captain America (supporting characters even refer to you as "Cap"), and I'm shocked they didn't do more with this--the inability to permanently keep a shield is a big disappointment.
The powers are so good that it's almost a shame they come at a point late in the game where you'll likely already be well-equipped to deal with elite rank enemies, since a few scenarios that challenge your ability to use these effectively definitely would have been a welcome addition. But as it stands, they're a fantastic expansion of Far Cry's combat vocabulary. They completely elevate your confidence to rip through everything and everyone, suddenly turning New Dawn's familiar, pedestrian experience into a raucous blast.
There's a lot of potential in the ideas seeded in New Dawn, but there isn't enough room for many of them to breathe and feel fully realized. Not the post-apocalyptic theme, not the RPG mechanics, not the weapons, vehicles, plot, or characters. Advancing through the adventure is an enjoyable experience, especially once you get your superhuman powers, but this is largely because Far Cry 5's combat and progression models remain compelling enough to propel you forward. For its part, New Dawn is a palatable but unremarkable spin-off that feels like it could have achieved so much more.
Following a delay, Epic Games has released update 7.40 for Fortnite. With its release, the company has released the full patch detailing exactly what's being added, tweaked, or changed. The headline features for the update are the start of the Valentine's Surprise event, which rewards those who complete 13 Overtime Challenges with a free Battle Pass for Season 8.
Another big new feature added as part of the update is Gifting which, for a limited time starting now and lasting until February 22, lets players send the Heartspan Glider to someone else for free. The Glider will be free until Friday, February 15 at 7 PM ET.
A new weapon has also been introduced: the Infantry Rifle. There are Common, Uncommon, and Rare variants of it, which deal 41, 43, and 45 damage, respectively; land a headshot, and that damage is doubled. If you want to give it a try, you'll find it as floor loot or in chests and vending machines. It uses medium ammo and doesn't experience damage falloff, making it a useful weapon at long range.
With Epic speeding up the frequency of its limited-time modes, it's introduced a new one with this patch. It's called Catch, and it removes all weapons from the game excerpt for thrown items like certain grenade types and Port-a-Forts (standard grenades have been vaulted). Also now available is Team Rumble, where two teams compete to secure 100 kills first.
Beyond all this, you'll find changes and nerfs to various items and weapons. Those are all detailed in full Fortnite: Battle Royale update 7.40 patch notes below. To see what's changing in the Creative and Save The World modes, head to Epic's website.
Click image to view in full screen
Limited Time Mode Rotations
As mentioned last week, we're continuing with rotate through LTMs at a faster pace throughout the week moving forward. The first mode is detailed below, check the in-game client on Thursdays and Saturdays to see what other modes are available!
Limited Time Mode: Catch!
Summary
In this mode, all guns have been removed. The only weapons are grenades and other items that can be thrown or tossed. Get in there and throw the enemies back to the lobby!
Available grenades/items:
Smoke Grenades
Clingers
Remote Explosives
Port-a-Forts
Impulse Grenades
Shockwave Grenades
Mode details:
Chest spawns and Floor Spawns set to 100.
Can only get consumables out of Chests, Floor Loot, and Supply Drops.
Increase Supply Drops throughout the game.
Faster circle times.
Increased drop stack counts.
Limited Time Mode: Team Rumble
Summary
Two large teams fight for the Victory Royale in an action-packed mode where the first team to get 100 eliminations wins!
Reduced likelihood of Storm ending up near the center of the map.
Overtime Challenges & Rewards
Looking to earn a free Season 8 Battle Pass? Starting with the v7.40 release, complete 13 free Overtime Challenges by February 27 to receive the upcoming Season 8 Battle Pass for FREE! Additionally, unlock 5 new rewards including the Valentine Wrap and Vines Contrail for completing these Challenges.
And for current Battle Pass owners, the Overtime Challenge rewards will include new unlockable styles for the Trog, Powder, and Onesie outfits.
Weapons + Items
Infantry Rifle
Available in Common, Uncommon and Rare variants.
Deals 41, 43, 45 damage. 2x headshot multiplier.
Can be found from Floor Loot, Chests, and Vending Machines.
Uses Medium Ammo.
Fires quick-moving projectiles without damage falloff.
Improvements to the Bush consumable.
Now absorbs one instance of weapon damage before being removed from the owner. Fall damage will not remove the Bush.
Now translucent (for the Bush wearer only!) in order to allow for better visibility of surroundings.
Hand Cannon
Epic rarity
Reduced environmental damage from 150 to 100.
Legendary rarity
Reduced environmental damage from 157 to 105.
Rocket Launcher
Shifted availability of Rocket Launchers out of Chests and into Supply Drops.
Removed Rocket Launchers from Chests.
Increased the chance of receiving a Rocket Launcher from Supply Drops from 25% to 50%.
Epic rarity
Reload speed increased from 2.66 to 3.42.
Now only available from Vending Machines
Legendary rarity
Reload speed increased from 2.52 to 3.24.
Unvaulted
Clingers
Cupid's Crossbow - Limited Time Item
Epic Rarity.
Infinite ammo.
Bodyshot Damage: 79.
Headshot Damage: 197.
Can be found in Floor Loot and Chests.
Does 1 environmental damage.
Vaulted
Grenades
Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue causing projectile weapons to fire inaccurately when aiming at other players from very close range.
Fixed an issue that was causing explosive splash damage to be blocked when players didn't actually have cover.
Gameplay
Added Pop-Up Cup settings to default playlists
We're introducing a few larger changes into the default Fortnite playlist as a test. We've seen these settings in pop-up cups result in more engaging fights and allowing players to gain more consistent rewards for the risk of engagement.
Based on the positive feedback we received during these specific Pop-Up cups, we're implementing the following adjustments:
50 Health (or Shield) based on your health when the Elimination occurs.
50/50/50 materials dropped on Elimination
500/500/500 Cap on materials
Harvest rate increased by 40%
We'll be closely monitoring feedback on this change - play a couple matches and let us know what you think!
Removed the ability for the X4 Stormwing to break through structures and large objects.
Small props will still be destroyed from direct hit from an X4 Stormwing.
Changes to Ziplines
Ziplines are now interact to engage.
Ziplines grant fall damage immunity.
Ziplines now have an audio visualizer icon.
Final Circle adjustments
Increased the travel distance by 48%.
Shrink time has been increased from 45 seconds to 75 seconds.
PC, Mac, and console players can now crouch while in Edit Mode.
Gamepad players can assign this through custom gamepad controls.
Note: This functionality is coming to mobile soon.
Turbo Building
Reduced the initial timer for turbo building from 0.15 to 0.05.
Added the ability to swap the item in the currently selected slot with a new item by holding interact instead of tapping.
Added UI text to show players they're able to use swap.
Not available on touch input.
Floor traps will automatically build a floor piece for you if needed. You must have the required resources.
Logitech and Razer RGB peripherals will now react when doing emotes.
Sneaky Snowmen will be destroyed if they fall from a high distance.
Stand on the head of a Sneaky Snowman to avoid fall damage.
Removed HUD bar for the minigun overheating mechanic.
Adjusted the distance of the Bottle Rocket sound indicators so that they match the max distance of the sound effects.
Added a Bottle Rocket sound indicator for the explosion of rockets.
Bug Fixes
Aim Assist "Snap-To" Adjustments
We've added a compounding time delay to the aim assist "snap-to" feature when spamming the Aim Down Sight button. Each button press after the first will apply a time delay, up to 5 seconds, before the aim assist "snap-to" effect is applied.
We are making this change to prevent situations where players would spam the Aim Down Sight button on enemies, which caused the crosshair to stay locked on to targets indefinitely.
This change should prevent the lock-on mechanic from being abused while retaining the same Aim Assist feel. We'll be closely monitoring feedback about this change.
Fixed an issue where Bottle Rockets would not align to specific slope angles.
Cozy Campfire logs no longer block movement.
Prevent weapon auto-reload from canceling emotes.
Fixed an issue that allowed traps to trigger through lab tunnel walls in Dusty Divot.
Fixed auto pickup not occurring when landing from skydiving.
Fix issue where a player with no traps would switch to the build tool if they hit the button to equip traps.
Fixed an issue where glider items could be triggered right after teleporting with a Rift-to-Go which would block subsequent skydiving.
Fixed an issue that would block building beneath a mounted turret.
Fixed an issue where Snowmen placed on the map would appear invisible or under the map.
Events
New Tournament Series - 'Share The Love Series' (Solo & Duo)
Available from February 14 until February 24.
Players will compete across any of four division tournaments:
Open Division
Prospect Division
Contender Division
Champion Division
Earning enough points during any nightly session to receive a pin will unlock the next highest division.
Earning a pin during a Champion Division session will advance to Round 2 - the Champion Division Finals!
'Share the Love Series' Sprays will be granted based on the highest division achieved, including the Champion Division Finals.
All divisions run simultaneously and share the same tournament schedule. The full schedule for your server region can be viewed from the Events tab.
New Tournament - 'Trios One Day Cup'
Available on February 17
Grab a couple of your best friends and join in for the Trios One Day Cup, going from a fully Open tournament to an intense final round with the best Trios in a single day.
The tournament takes place across three rounds - earn a pin during each round to advance.
The full schedule for your server region can be viewed within the Events tab.
Tournaments can now take place across multiple rounds, with players needing to earn a pin in order to unlock the next round of the tournament.
Multiple tournaments are now able to be running at the same time.
Reduced the maximum matchmaking time for tournaments from 5 minutes to 4 minutes.
This value limits the amount of time a player can wait for a match in a tournament before they create the best match possible at that time.
Increased the minimum amount of players for tournament matches from 80 to 90.
Streamer Mode can now be used during tournament play.
In-game leaderboards are now fully available in all regions, for each tournament session. These can be accessed inside of the tournament page by clicking on any tournament session.
Audio
Add audio when squadmates ready up in the lobby.
The following audio improvements have been made for Mobile/Switch platforms:
Improve skydiving wind audio.
Add more variation to gunshot environment impacts.
Bug Fixes
Fixed the Air Horn emote only having 1 variation on Mobile/Switch.
UI
Stats v2
The ability to track all of your play in one place and view it across all platforms.
This includes the ability for mobile and Switch players to view their stats in-game.
Breaks up stats by each individual Limited Time Mode.
Players now receive a pop-up prompt informing them if a player they recently reported has had action taken against their account.
When eliminated by the Storm, instead of saying "You Eliminated Yourself", the text now says "Eliminated by the Storm"
Improved look and implementation of Bad Network Indicator and updated Bad Connection Indicator UI to track bad vs severe ping.
Yellow indicates poor status, red indicates severe status, flashing red indicates dropped signal
Slash commands have been improved and re-enabled in chat windows.
Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue where you could switch between different tabs in the background if you were in the Player Feedback menu.
Fixed missing Remove Marker map icon on Mac.
Fixed Battle Pass info not displaying properly in the lobby in certain cases.
Fixed an issue where elimination counts and names for teammates were not calculated properly in large team modes.
Replay
Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue causing weapon animations to sometimes play twice for each shot fired in replays.
Social
Gifting returns for a Limited Time
The Gifting feature is back for a limited time! You'll be able to send or receive presents from friends until February 22.
Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue that would result in incorrect or duplicate party suggestion text bubbles to appear in the lobby.
Mobile
Adding an optional Targeted Edit button to allow you to edit without having to touch the screen. This allows the player to edit using their crosshairs, similar to other platforms.
The Targeted Edit button can be found in the extra buttons section under the HUD Layout Tool.
Edit and Edit Reset Buttons will now capture touches.
No more editing through the edit button.
Adding visual feedback to many mobile buttons to allow for better instant feedback and help us better diagnose issues seen in the community.
Now backing up the most recently saved hud layout to the player's cloud save.
Bug Fixes
Fixing an issue with the input blocked message appearing on mobile when leaving a game.
Fixed an issue causing some key-bind widgets to display incorrectly on mobile with controllers.
Quick switching from a weapon to a consumable no longer briefly fires the equipped weapon.
Fixed multiple issues with Turbo Building or weapon firing stopping when switching weapons or switching between Build, Edit, Combat mode.
Fixed an issue with touch input causing controllers to stop responding when scrolling.
Fixed multiple issues to support more controller hardware as well as fixed many issues related to parts of the UI that may not be properly navigable by controllers.
Season 7 of Fortnite ends on February 28, so players only have a little more time to complete any remaining challenges. We have all the tips and guides you need for the trickier ones in our complete Fortnite Season 7 challenges roundup. Epic is also expected to hold two double XP weekends before the season ends to give players another opportunity to level their Battle Pass up; the first is set for February 15-17, while the second takes place February 22-24. It has not yet been confirmed when Season 8 of Fortnite will begin.
A rumor popped up today that claimed Rian Johnson would no longer work on the previously announced new Star Wars trilogy. However, that's a bunch of baloney.
Johnson himself clarified on Twitter that he's still working on the new trilogy of Star Wars movies that will follow Episode 9 later this year. "No, it isn't true," he said of the rumors.
The rumour seemed to stem from the site SuperBroMovies. Responding to the origin of the rumour, Johnson said he's shooting down the rumor "with all due respect to the movie bros, who I'm sure are lovely kind bros with good fraternal intentions."
No it isn't true, I'm still working on the trilogy. With all due respect to the movie bros, who I'm sure are lovely kind bros with good fraternal intentions.
Discussing the new trilogy last year, Johnson said the films will feature "new characters, new places." He said Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy responded positively to his ideas. While Johnson will oversee the story for the three films, he may not direct all of them.
Johnson directed 2017's The Last Jedi, which was the second of three films in the new trilogy that began with 2015's The Force Awakens and wraps up with this December's Episode IX. The Last Jedi made more than $1.33 billion at the worldwide box office.
In addition to the new trilogy of Star Wars films, Johnson is writing and directing the mysterious movie Knives Out featuring Daniel Craig, Michael Shannon, Chris Evans, and Toni Collette.
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