Game Freak is best known for its work on Nintendo's Pokemon franchise, but the studio has made several other games as well, such as the Metroidvania-inspired Giga Wrecker. An expanded version of the game, titled Giga Wrecker Alt, is scheduled to release later this year, and it's also launching on Xbox One, PS4, and Switch.
Giga Wrecker is a 2D action adventure platformer that first released on PC in 2017. You control Reika Rekkeiji, a teenage girl who struggles to survive on a future Earth, one that's been nearly destroyed by powerful robots. Reika becomes humanity's only hope after she's grafted with cybernetic parts that allow her to reshape debris into different forms, including weapons and tools. As Reika, you must journey across a devastated world in search of the robots' leaders--that take the form of various bosses--in order to defeat them and grow stronger. As Reika learns new attacks, she'll acquire additional means of navigating the world as well, which allows her to traverse to previously unreachable areas.
The expanded version of the game, Giga Wrecker Alt, adds new puzzle stages for you to complete in the game's campaign. Alt also implements features that allow you to change the type of experience you can have. For example, for players who want a harder combat experience, you can turn on Giga Wrecker Alt's new Ironman mode. "Simply put, the enemies are much stronger and...players will be able to enjoy the challenge of a really tough fight against the bosses," Game Freak lead game designer Hiroto Ito and director Masayuki Onoue said in a joint statement to GameSpot. "That being said, in terms of the puzzles, we've ensured that the balance of thinking about the solution and solving them and playing the game is maintained."
If you want to remove the challenge of the game's puzzles entirely and focus on just combat, Alt offers a new companion character that will help you get through the brain twisters and back to the action. "This companion character will aid you by providing hints on some of the puzzles stages but it's optional so you could simply play the game with no hints whatsoever," Ito and Onoue said. "In terms of the story, this character is an escapee from the robot army that Reika is fighting against. In fact, there's a deep connection between this character and with Reika, but you'll have to play the game to find out more."
Conversely, for those who want more puzzles, Giga Wrecker Alt features new content in that regard as well. "In the Steam version we had about 100 stages and quite a lot of players tended to clear them in about 10 hours," Ito and Onoue said. "We've added 20 puzzle stages which would make it about one to two hours on top of that so I think the total play time would be something in the region of 11-12 hours. In these extra stages, there are hidden sub-events that allow the player to discover the story in more depth. If all the sub-events are seen, the story towards the end changes, allowing the player to see a different ending."
Giga Wrecker was first conceived as a part of Game Freak's Gear Project, an in-house initiative that allows individual developers to pitch their game ideas to executives. When accepted, these games are typically worked on in-between Pokemon releases. In Giga Wrecker's case, Ito and Onoue pointed to "the mechanics of using the physics engine to destroy things and incorporating that with playing with the various topography" as the deciding factor for following through on its pitch. After the pitch was accepted, the game took about a year to complete, releasing between Pokemon Sun/Moon and Pokemon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon.
According to Giga Wrecker Alt's publisher Rising Star Games, the game will release digitally on Xbox One, PS4, and Switch all on the same day, with further details announced "in the coming weeks." Giga Wrecker Alt will also release physically on Switch and PS4 via a partnership with Limited Run Games. Game Freak has no sequels for Giga Wrecker planned "at the moment" but the studio will monitor the reactions to Alt and "consider that possibility for the future."
Kotaro Uchikoshi is the mind behind the wild series of puzzle-adventure-mystery games known as Zero Escape (999, Virtue's Last Reward, and Zero Time Dilemma), and fans of his imaginative direction should keep an eye on his upcoming game AI: The Somnium Files. But Uchikoshi-san is doing things a little differently this time around. A character in the game, Iris Sagan, has become a virtual idol and streamer/influencer in the real world under the stage name A-set--and he's helping produce and promote her.
When the team at publisher/developer Spike Chunsoft reached out and offered an opportunity to interview Uchikoshi-san and Iris (or A-set), I wondered how this would fly with my managing editor Peter Brown. But me being a huge fan of virtual idols such as Hatsune Miku and the vocaloid family, Haruka Sawamura of Yakuza fame, and Rise Kujikawa of Persona, I couldn't say no and Pete knew this was a job that only I could do.
We tried to get more details on AI: The Somnium Files itself, which will have players taking on the role of detective Kaname Date to investigate a series of murders--but those efforts proved fruitless as some questions were declined. While we wish there were more talk about for the game, our interview doesn't disappoint. Well, we'll let you be the judge.
AI: The Somnium Files is set to release sometime this year on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC. The following interview was conducted via email correspondence with translation from Spike Chunsoft.
What's your opinion on the Zero Escape games? Which is the best?
A-set: They're all good! I still remember beating each one, it was like, mind-blowing! My brain felt so fuzzy after that I had to disconnect from social media for a few days just to process them. I know people say that the second is the best one, but I honestly think they're all awesome! But as for which one is my favorite? It's too hard to pick one! It's like trying to pick my favorite Alien or Indiana Jones movie. Except those had more than three...never mind!
What are you doing to keep surprising Zero Escape / Danganronpa fans who've seen so many wild things happen already?
A-set: I don't have any surprises planned... But I'm up for any ideas! My fans mean everything to me, so if anyone has any requests, you can always find me on Twitter, @Lemniscate_Aset!
Uchikoshi: Hm, let me think. Isn't surprising yourself more important than surprising others? And to do that, every night before I go to sleep I down three gallons of tequila. Trust me, if you do that, you'll forget everything that happened that day. Which means that when you wake up the next morning, every idea you have, even if it's an old one, will seem fresh and exciting!
The tag-team itself: Iris Sagan/A-set (left), and Kotaro Uchikoshi (right)
Is AI: The Somnium Files something you would stream?
A-set: That would be amazing, I'd love that! Will Spike Chunsoft let me? *laughs*
Best girl and best boy in the Danganronpa series?
A-set: Best girl: Junko. Best boy: Nagito.
Is a full-length record in the works?
A-set: Of course I'd like to make one, but I'm still new to the scene. Right now, I just want to focus on promoting [the song] "Invincible Rainbow Arrow."
Best Hatsune Miku song or vocaloid song?
A-set: "Sand Planet"!
Are there any idols that you look up to yourself?
A-set: When I was young, Rihanna and Ke$ha were big. Lady Gaga also brought this fun, art-pop style that I enjoyed. I wanted to put some of that influence into my music. Start with poppy, catchy tunes and maybe eventually grow into something else. Ariana Grande is also putting out great stuff right now, but her vocal style is pretty different than mine, so... As for personal idols? The Powerpuff Girls!
How is it working with Uchikoshi-san?
A-set: Intimidating, but kinda weird.
How is it working with A-set?
Uchikoshi: Intimidating, but kinda weird.
Iris made her first appearance at Anime Expo 2018 during a panel for AI: The Somnium Files
Why promote a virtual idol now? How is this leading into something bigger?
Uchikoshi: First of all, A-set is not a "virtual" idol. She's a real idol with a real flesh-and-blood body. She just seems "virtual" because her presence is mostly online. I'm an old friend of Mr. Okiura, the president of Lemniscate, A-set's agency. He introduced me to her. He was pushing A-set, saying, "This is our agency's hottest new net idol!" To be honest, I was totally mesmerized by her dancing. I told him, "Well then, how about I produce her?" That's how it went. "Something bigger?" I don't know exactly what you mean, but it would be amazing to see her become something bigger. So please, support A-set, everyone!
What do you say to those who are skeptical of virtual idols? How do you help open their minds to the idea?
A-set: Well, I wouldn't know much about that. I'm a real idol, not virtual. But anyway, I put my heart and soul into everything that I do. I know that, if you just give me a chance, I can make my way into your heart and soul! *laughs*
Uchikoshi: When you get home, fill your bathtub with hot water, sink in, and then chug three gallons of tequila. If you do, your neocortex will go numb and you'll be more willing to accept idols like A-set. If your pupils dilate, so will your heart. Please give it a try.
Anthem's multiplayer focus represents a fairly massive change of pace for BioWare, which is best known for its choice-driven, single-player role-playing games. The developer's newest game even reminds you that it's best played with other people whenever you switch from Public play to Private. That said, you're still probably going to get a better experience playing by yourself--at least initially.
In Anthem, you'll experience the story via a repetitive cycle. You'll talk to some NPCs in Fort Tarsis, get your story mission, head out in your javelin, hear some more narrative details over your radio, complete the quest, and be forced back to Tarsis to talk to some more people and get your next story mission. It's actually not all that different from how you complete the story in Mass Effect: Andromeda or Dragon Age: Inquisition, aside from being forced back to your hub area upon completing a quest. In theory, experiencing Anthem's story piece by piece with your friends is a cool idea, but in practice it usually results with you missing crucial details.
If you decide to play Anthem with others, you're going to find yourself regularly shushing your companions or muting them entirely lest they speak over an important conversation. You're probably also going to be yelling at them to wait for you. If your allies get too far ahead of you, the game informs you that you're being left behind and will teleport you so that you can catch up. Getting teleported throws you into one of Anthem's many loading screens, during which you can miss out on a portion of an important in-game conversation or cutscene. This means it's not in your best interest to explore Anthem's world while playing the story if you're with others. Journeying into a mysterious cave or reading a text log typically results in being left behind and missing out on story beats as a consequence.
As said before, you also can't start your next story mission until you return to Fort Tarsis and speak to the NPC who has your next quest. However, plenty of other minor characters populate Fort Tarsis--some carry side quests, while others are just fun to talk to. Some of the stories you hear from the NPCs in Fort Tarsis represent the best bits of narrative in Anthem. But again, it's hard to hear them when you have friends chatting in your ear--especially if they're egging you on to hurry up and just unlock the next mission so you can all get back to taking down enemy hordes and soaring through the skies. Every part of Anthem's story just becomes so rushed when you're with others.
Where playing with friends does help, though, is when you're ready to tackle the endgame content. Destroying a titan with devastating combos composed of various primers and detonators set up by a team of Ranger, Colossus, Interceptor, and Storm javelins or tackling one of the more lengthy Stronghold missions are some of Anthem's best instances of gameplay. Although there are moments of idle radio chatter between your freelancer and some NPCs during the endgame missions, none of them have any major impact on understanding or appreciating Anthem's story. By the time you've completed the story and unlocked most of Anthem's endgame content, you should be close to level 30 as well, which allows you to tackle the more challenging Grandmaster difficulties where you can find the best loot and weapons in the game.
So if you're set on jumping into Anthem, consider playing through the campaign the first time on your own. Playing the game on Easy or Normal makes combat a breeze--even Hard isn't all that difficult solo, but you'll have to be more strategic with how you play. Once you've gotten through the story at your own pace, then invite your friends to join you in tackling any leftover side missions you haven't completed, or jump into the Grandmaster difficulties and start grinding freeplay world events and Strongholds for loot with your fellow freelancers. It's not the way BioWare wants you to play Anthem, but, for now, it's the best way.
If you're still on the fence about picking up the game, check out our Anthem review. Kallie Plagge gave the game a 6/10, writing "Anthem has good ideas, but it struggles significantly with the execution" and remarking how it's "a co-op game that works best with no one talking."
While playing Anthem, keep track of what you and your team are doing in freeplay mode. The game will cap how much experience you earn for world events, so doing a bunch in a row isn't in your best interest.
In Anthem, you stop earning experience for completing world events after completing your third in a session. You should be returning to Fort Tarsis on a regular basis regardless in order to turn in your loot, see what you've found, level up, and reconfigure your Javelin. However, if you and your friends realize that you've been playing long enough in freeplay to complete three events, just head back to Fort Tarsis to reset your counter before continuing to play. That way, you'll be able to keep gaining the experience bonuses that are unlocked for completing world events.
BioWare has announced what's coming to Anthem in the three months post-launch. There isn't much planned for February and March outside of additional freeplay events, new cosmetics, and Legendary missions. However, April sees Anthem getting a new Stronghold called The Sunken, as well as a huge social play update that adds weekly Stronghold challenges, leaderboards, and guilds. In May, the Cataclysm, an event BioWare has long teased will affect Anthem in numerous ways, will begin in the game.
If you've picked up Anthem and you're looking for more tips on how to play--given how little the game actually tells you--be sure to read through our guides. We've listed them below.
In our Anthem review, Kallie Plagge gave the game a 6/10, writing, "Anthem has good ideas, but it struggles significantly with the execution. It's a co-op game that works best with no one talking; it buries genuinely interesting character moments and puts its most incomprehensible story bits at the forefront; its combat is exciting until you get to the boss fights and find your wings have been clipped. Even the simple, exhilarating act of flying is frequently interrupted by the limitations of your javelin, and you never quite shake that feeling of disappointment--of knowing, throughout the good parts of Anthem, that you'll inevitably come crashing back down."
We're in the final stretch of Fortnite Season 7, but before Season 8 officially arrives, developer Epic Games is giving players a slew of Overtime challenges to complete. Much like standard weekly challenges, these task players with different objectives to aim for while you play, from taking down opponents with specific weapons to visiting certain locations around the island, and completing them will net you XP and unlock new cosmetics.
Most of the Overtime challenges are fairly straightforward, so they shouldn't pose too much of a problem, but there is at least one that may give you some trouble, particularly if you aren't too familiar with the island: visit seven different waterfalls. This can be fairly difficult if you don't know where to look, but we've put together a map to help you along.
Complete this challenge and you'll earn 500 XP. More importantly, it'll put you one step closer to getting Season 8's Battle Pass for free; in an unexpected move, Epic is giving the pass away to players who finish all of Season 7's Overtime challenges. Each Battle Pass typically costs 950 V-Bucks (just under $10), so it's a good idea to complete as many challenges as you can and try to snag the pass without spending any money.
With Season 8 just around the corner now, Epic is holding one more double XP weekend in Fortnite to help players level their Battle Pass up and unlock any remaining rewards, from February 22-24. You can get another look at all of the skins and other cosmetics up for grabs in our Season 7 Battle Pass rewards gallery.
BioWare has announced what players can expect to come to Anthem in the next 90 days. For the next three months, which BioWare is calling Act 1, Anthem is getting several freeplay events, cosmetics, missions, and quality of life improvements.
For the rest of February, BioWare has three freeplay events planned for Anthem. The first, There Be Giants, is already live and it spawns four uniquely powerful titans in the world for you and your friends to hunt down and destroy. Both Outlaw Outrage and Shaper Surge are also scheduled for this month.
March is when a lot more content starts to drop. Both There Be Giants and Outlaw Outrage will return to freeplay. However, two new events, both unnamed, will premiere as well. March also sees Anthem get the first phase of its Legendary Missions, and new item rewards for completing contracts. The Elysian Stronghold caches will start containing new cosmetics as well, allowing you to customize your Javelin's look in different ways.
In April, seven new freeplay events come to Anthem, as do even more rewards for you to earn and an expanded progression system. The second phase of Legendary missions come out as well, along with a new Stronghold--titled The Sunken. Social play also gets an update, with weekly stronghold challenges, leaderboards, and guilds getting added to Anthem. More freeplay events, missions, and item rewards are planned for May in Anthem's biggest planned content drop this year--the Cataclysm. This massive event was first teased in Anthem's gameplay reveal at E3 2017.
In our Anthem review, Kallie Plagge gave the game a 6/10, writing, "Anthem has good ideas, but it struggles significantly with the execution. It's a co-op game that works best with no one talking; it buries genuinely interesting character moments and puts its most incomprehensible story bits at the forefront; its combat is exciting until you get to the boss fights and find your wings have been clipped. Even the simple, exhilarating act of flying is frequently interrupted by the limitations of your javelin, and you never quite shake that feeling of disappointment--of knowing, throughout the good parts of Anthem, that you'll inevitably come crashing back down."
Season 8 of Fortnite is only a few days away, making this your last chance to mop up any remaining Season 7 challenges. To help you do just that, developer Epic is holding another double XP weekend in the battle royale game right now on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch, and mobile.
Through February 24, you'll earn twice the usual amount of XP by playing Fortnite, allowing you to level your Battle Pass up much quicker than normal. You have until the season ends next week on February 28 to unlock Season 7's Battle Pass rewards, so you'll want to take advantage of this bonus while you can.
This marks the second double XP weekend Epic has held in as many weeks; the previous one ran from February 15-17. Both are part of the ongoing Share the Love event, which also encompasses a slew of new Overtime challenges that unlock special Valentine's Day-themed rewards, such as new styles of the Trog, Powder, and Onesie skins.
Epic is giving players an additional incentive to complete Overtime challenges; if you finish all of them before the season ends, you'll receive Season 8's Battle Pass for free. Each of these passes typically costs 950 V-Bucks, which works out to just under $10, so this is a good opportunity to get one without shelling out any money.
If you need help finishing up any remaining challenges from this season, you can find tips and guides for the trickier ones in our complete Season 7 challenges roundup. This is also your last chance to unlock the Prisoner skin variants; you can see how to unlock them here.
The MCU may not be known as the most romantic shared universe in film history, but there are still some truly heartwarming love stories to be found beyond the glitz and glamor of heroes punching villains and saving the world--and Captain Marvel is no different. But the love story that pans out for Carol Danvers might not be the one you expect.
The connection between Carol and her airforce comrade Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch) is what Brie Larson calls "the great love of the movie." She continued at the Captain Marvel press junket in Beverly Hills, "Without being too showboating about it, theirs is the love lost and this is the love found again. This is the reason to continue fighting and to go to the ends of the Earth. [For Carol] that's her best friend and her best friend's daughter."
"I've seen the movie with some friends and there's that moment, they left the theater like, 'Oh, Maria's the love,' and I'm always like 'Yeah!'" Larson continued, "It's not something that we made a big deal about, but we didn't need to--that love is just so strong. [...] It's like the movie totally shifts when Lashana is on screen. There's a level of power that she commands in [her performance.]"
So where does that connection stem from? Lasha Lynch pointed out the importance of Carol and Maria's shared experience and history together, which has been teased in the trailers. "They're both military, they both come from these male dominated worlds. There's that energy between them that draws them together. They also have the same sarcasm," Lynch laughed. "That's the best thing about Brie's representation of Carol, she's just this normal person. She's sarcastic, she's dry, she's funny."
Larson was quick to pick up that even without their shared military history, Carol and Maria would have likely wound up being friends--but the ability to lean on each other and support each other is key. "Going through what they went through together, going through military training, being the only women, being able to lean on each other and support one another was so important. The recognition of their experiences--it's really special."
This specific brand of deeply resonant friendship viewed as a type of "love story" isn't exactly new for the MCU--the connection between Maria and Carol has echoes of the relationship between fan favorites Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes, but Carol doesn't have a Peggy Carter to juggle in the mix. But whether or not Maria and Carol will ignite with a fan following similar to the "Stucky" enthusiasts remains to be seen. "Mariol" or "Caria" certainly has a nice ring to it.
There's certainly the possibility for Maria to have a presence in future MCU films--or the possibility for her daughter, Monica, to return. Both Maria and Monica have some comics history as heroes in their own right, and as an adult Monica even held the Captain Marvel mantle for a while in the comics. The time jump between Captain Marvel's 1995 setting and the modern MCU has plenty of room for exploration built in--so there's always a chance.
Captain Marvel hits theaters on March 8th and is the final entry into the MCU before Avengers: Endgame on April 26th.
Captain Marvel isn't just another entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's the second movie in the company's history taking place decades in the past. The upcoming movie centers around the Earth during a very important decade, the 1990s.
Aside from the super rad '90s-inspired website the movie got, the cast and crew came together to lament the past at a Captain Marvel junket recently. They were asked what they missed about the '90s. Director Ryan Fleck said he missed VHS tapes, while Samuel L. Jackson simply said, "Laserdiscs."
Director Anna Boden remembers a world where we were less connected as she talked about one thing she greatly missed: "Pay phones because then I wouldn't have to check my email all the time," she explained. One thing Brie Larson mentioned was butterfly clips, while Jude Law missed the band The Verve, who had a hit with their song "Freshman."
"I wish MTV had videos again," explained Clark Gregg. "I mean not just '90s MC Hammer, which were awesome. But just videos, music videos."
Since Captain Marvel takes place during this time period, you can expect a lot of references to the '90s, but will the movie have the courage to discuss the greatest game of the decade, pogs? Or maybe there will be a scene of Nick Fury playing with some Gak. More than likely, there will be a bit of nostalgia in the film.
Niantic has announced the first details for next month's Pokemon Go Community Day. The event is scheduled to take place on Saturday, March 23, and as usual it'll only run for three hours. This time, however, Niantic is doing things a little differently with the event hours.
Up until now, the time that each previous Community Day took place was designated for an entire region; for instance, North America's events would run from 11 AM - 2 PM PT. March's event, however, will run everywhere from 3-6 PM local time. This should make it much easier to remember when the event is happening, as you won't need to convert the event hours to your time zone as you previously had to.
Niantic has also revealed the featured Pokemon for March's Community Day. This time, it'll be the Gen 3 Grass-type starter Treecko. Throughout the event, Treecko will spawn more frequently in the wild than it normally does. Based on past Community Days, players will presumably also have a chance of finding a Shiny Treecko.
Moreover, if you manage to fully evolve Treecko into its final form, Sceptile, up to an hour after the Community Day ends, it'll know a special event-exclusive move it wouldn't be able to learn in Go otherwise. Niantic hasn't confirmed what this move will be, but previous Grass Pokemon that have been featured during Community Days all learned Frenzy Plant.
In the meantime, Niantic has a lot of other events lined up for Pokemon Go. First, the Legendary Pokemon Latias has returned to the game for a special Raid event from February 22 to March 1. On top of that, the developer is hosting a new Limited Research event on February 23 that will give players their first chance to capture Clamperl. Niantic is also introducing a new Team Medallion item to the game next week that will let players switch teams--but only once a year.
Captain Marvel is still a couple weeks away from flying into theaters as the first Marvel Cinematic Universe movie of 2019, but we're learning a few things about what it was like to work on the set. More specifically, what it was like to work with Reggie, the cat who plays Goose in the upcoming film.
During a press junket for Captain Marvel, the cast revealed that their lovable, furry castmate wasn't the best to work with for the two human stars of the movie. "No, I am not a cat person," Samuel L. Jackson explained. "But I'm also not a dog person or a fish person either... Reggie is like most animals that people bring to the set that have been trained to do this, that, or the other. He's snack orientated. He shows off. You give him something to eat, you talk softly and nice to him, give him something to eat again. There were actually four cats, but Reggie did the majority of the heavy lifting, most of the time."
While Jackson put aside his animal bias to be a professional on set, the other star of Captain Marvel had severe troubles working with Reggie and the three other cats who played Goose. Jackson explained that Brie Larson had more problems with the cat than he did. "Not personally," Larson explained. "I'm severely allergic. It's not sort of like 'diva,' we couldn't work together."
Luckily, Jackson didn't reveal anything big this time around. Back in January, he let it slip that Captain Marvel can time travel. We'll learn more about that and Goose's role in the film when Captain Marvel hits theaters on March 8, but check out the first reactions to the movie on Twitter.
Only a few days remain in Season 7 of Fortnite, which means time is running out to complete any outstanding challenges from this season. If you've managed to finish at least 60 weekly challenges, you'll receive the Legendary Prisoner skin, but it also has a few different variants that you can unlock by completing an additional set of hidden tasks.
As with other Season 7 content, you'll need to complete these Prisoner challenges before the season ends next week on February 28 to unlock the different variants. The game isn't clear as to what these tasks actually are, but they're fairly straightforward once you know where to look.
As you can see in the image above, there are three additional variants for the Prisoner skin on top of its base look, and they must be unlocked in a specific order. The game doesn't outright tell you where to go or what to do to unlock them, but it involves equipping the skin then visiting specific areas of the island and interacting with certain objects.
To unlock the second stage of the Prisoner skin, you'll need to go to the castle atop Polar Peak. Land there at the beginning of a match and make your way inside to the top floor, where you'll find a room furnished with bookcases, tables, and a fireplace. On the far table will be a key; interact with it and you'll unlock the second stage.
To get the third stage, make your way to the desert on the other side of the island. Atop the mountain north of Paradise Palms will be a campfire (just as pictured in the week 10 Snowfall challenge loading screen). Light it and you'll unlock the third Prisoner variant. We recommend doing this step at the start of a match, as if another player lights the campfire before you arrive, you won't be able to use it again that round.
For the fourth and final stage, you'll need to go to the northeastern corner of the map, to the mountain north of Wailing Woods. There you'll find a stone pedestal of sorts ringed by a circle of torches. After you've unlocked stages 2 and 3, step in the center of the ring and the torches will automatically ignite, thus unlocking the final variant.
You can see exactly where you need to go to complete each stage of the Prisoner challenge on the map below. You can also watch us complete each step of the challenge in the video at the top of this guide.
As previously mentioned, Season 7 of Fortnite officially ends on February 28, so you have until then to complete any remaining challenges. If you need a helping hand, you can find tips and guides in our complete Season 7 challenges roundup. You'll also want to complete all of the game's Overtime challenges before the season ends; doing so will allow you to get the Season 8 Battle Pass for free.
You'll shoot a lot of guns in Anthem, but the best and most fun part of combat is using your javelin's special abilities with your teammates to execute combos against bad guys. These combination attacks do massive damage and create status effects on enemies to turn the tide of battle, and each kind of javelin suit gets its own benefits from a successful combo. The Ranger have increased power against a single enemy, the Colossus creates an area-of-effect explosion, the Storm can transfer status effects to multiple enemies, and the Interceptor gets an aura that afflicts any nearby enemy.
The trouble with combos in Anthem is that the game isn't very clear on how they work. We've got a complete combo guide to help you make the most of your javelins' abilities, but for a top-level understanding of how to execute combos, you just need to know about two things: Primers and Detonators. Primers are abilities that set up a combo; Detonators are abilities that trigger them for massive damage and other effects.
The big question is, how do you know if an ability is a Primer, a Detonator, or neither? Anthem provides that information for you when deciding what gear to add to your javelin's loadout, if you know where to look. You'll sometimes see an icon next to the name of a gear piece--that's how you know if it can be used in a combo or not, and what its function is.
Primers are marked by a circle icon with a dot inside that kind of looks like a bullseye.
Detonators have icons beside them that resemble throwing stars, like an explosion.
When you use a Primer in the field, you'll know an enemy is ready for a combo when a red icon appears next to their nameplate. The icon will also tell you what status effect the enemy is suffering from because of the Primer, like freezing or burning. Using a Detonator on enemies with those icons will trigger the combo.
It's not a hard-and-fast rule, but you'll want to generally try to bring a Primer ability and a Detonator ability with you on every mission. That way, you can set up combos for your teammates, complete the combos they set up, and even "self combo" where you use Detonators on your own Primers. Combos are what make Anthem fun and especially at later levels and harder difficulties, they're essential, so make sure you're picking the right gear for your javelin to make the most of them.
We've got plenty more Anthem coverage coming in the days ahead, including more guides to make you the best javelin pilot you can be. Until then, check out our Anthem review.
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