The titles offered through Xbox Live's Games with Gold program for March have been announced. As usual, two Xbox One games are being offered--one at the start of the month and one halfway through--and two older titles from previous console generations will be free with a Gold subscription as well.
Despite the notable Xbox One offerings this month, the two older titles are the highlight of March's Games with Gold. From March 1-15, you can download Star Wars: Republic Commando, a squad-focused first-person shooter that came out for the original Xbox. In our Star Wars: Republic Commando review, we wrote, "If you're a fan of Star Wars or action games, Republic Commando is easy to recommend." With Games with Gold, you can nab Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, an atypical addition to the Metal Gear franchise that abandons stealth for head-on sword-focused combat, from March 16-31. In our Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance review, we wrote, "If you're even vaguely interested in the Metal Gear series or intelligent hack-and-slash games, do not pass up a chance to play this exciting and addictive hybrid." Both Republic Commando and Revengeance are Xbox One backwards compatible, and X-enhanced for One X.
As with all Games with Gold titles, you must have an Xbox Live Gold online subscription in order to download these games during the dates they're available. Several of February's Games with Gold offerings are still live, but you're running out of time on them.
Fortnite has been slowly teasing the start of Season 8, with a series of poems that teased a vaguely pirate theme and the image of a volcano and a skull. Each of the pieces has also included an image (barely) hidden in the background, which presumably show some icon of relevance or an upcoming skin. For example, the latest appears to show a little banana man.
It's a little odd, next to the other teasers that have shown pirate hooks, vipers, and a tiger face, but Fortnite has never been a game to take itself too seriously. The latest poem doesn't shed much more light on what we can expect from this season, whereas previous verses have talked of loot and mysterious threats lurking from the waves.
When all four images are compiled, they form an image of a volcano erupting, with a skull forming from the smoke and fire. Season 8 begins February 28.
Explore the world Challenge your fate Unearth the secrets Adventure awaits. Season 8 starts tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/7RqNbhSeFG
That gives you just a single day left to Prisoner Skin levels and Waterfall challenges to earn your rewards. The volcano may be the big world event to usher in the changeover to the new season, but only time will tell. Fortnite recently set a new record for concurrent players and announced a huge prize pool for this year's esports tournament.
Nintendo has finally revealed the next generation of Pokemon games, called Pokemon Sword and Shield. The two games are coming to Nintendo Switch in late 2019, and the seven-minute video explained the finer points and left some intriguing clues. Here's everything we learned about Gen 8, and you can still rewatch the Direct to see it all for yourself.
Three New Starters
One of the most iconic parts of any new Pokemon game are its three starters--the Pokemon you select from at the beginning of the game. Nintendo made them the star of the debut, holding back on any mention of other Pokemon or new legendaries. They follow the usual elemental types from prior games: the Grass-type chimp Grookey, Fire-type rabbit Scorbunny, and Water-type lizard Sobble. So far we haven't seen their ultimate evolutions, so it remains to be seen what other types and abilities they could have once they're leveled up.
The New Galar Region
As usual for new main Pokemon games, Sword and Shield introduces a new setting. The Galar region is full of cottages and Victorian architecture, and even has a structure resembling the Big Ben clock tower in London, England. All of this suggests that the new region is based loosely on the UK, similarly to Alola (Hawaii) or Kalos (France). A full look at the map provides an overview of all the sights, including what appear to be elemental gyms.
Mysterious Stones And Carvings
The Galar region is home to more than quaint homes and bustling cities. A handful of the views of the environment showed stones with mysterious carvings, and one hill featured a carving of what could be a new legendary Pokemon. It remains to be seen if these carvings mean anything to the gameplay or story, but they're intriguing nonetheless.
Returning Favorites
As the eighth generation of Pokemon, Sword and Shield are bound to introduce plenty of new monsters to collect, trade, and battle. But each game also includes a selection of Pokemon from previous games as their foundation, and this one is no different. We saw no less than a dozen returning Pokemon, from classic mainstays like Pikachu to more recent ones like Grubbin from Sun and Moon.
For more details on Pokemon Sword and Shield, check out our pre-order guide.
The eighth generation of Pokemon games, Pokemon Sword and Shield, have finally been revealed. The trailer, which you can watch below, shows off the new starter Pokemon, a new region, and how Pokemon will look on Nintendo Switch. But it also has a few shots that raise more questions than they answer.
At two points in the trailer, you can see stones with symbols carved into them. These symbols are different from previous Pokemon puzzles, like Gen 2's Unown and Gen 3's braille, and they could just be decoration--the new region, Galar, might be inspired by England, and these could be Stonehenge-esque stones. But they're featured prominently in their respective shots, so it's hard not to wonder.
Also shown in the trailer is a large carving in a hillside of what might be a Pokemon. Aside from another indication that this might be an England-inspired region, it could represent a legendary Pokemon; it appears to be both breathing fire (or smoke) and shooting out lightning bolts, and there are small figures at its feet that seem to be having a bad time.
In a Nintendo Direct earlier this morning, Nintendo announced two new Pokemon games, which are titled Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield. The two games will arrive on Switch in late 2019, marking the first main series Pokemon games to arrive on the console. The Direct also gave us a brief look at the games' gorgeous new region, Galar, and the three new starter Pokemon: Grookey, a grass monkey; Scorbunny, a fiery rabbit; and Sobble, a shy water lizard.
More information, including the exact release date, will be revealed in the coming months, but if you're already mentally throwing your money at Nintendo and counting down the days, pre-orders for the game are slowly opening up. Best Buy, Amazon, and GameStop already have listings for Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield live on their sites, so you can pre-order the games right now. We'll update this post as more retailers begin offering pre-orders.
Where to pre-order Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield
Pre-order bonuses for Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield
As of right now, the only pre-order bonus available is at Best Buy, where you can receive $10 reward credit for pre-ordering one of the Pokemon games. However, to be eligible, you must be a Best Buy member. Signing up for their membership program is free.
As part of a special Nintendo Direct to celebrate Pokemon Day, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company have finally pulled back the curtain on Pokemon Sword and Shield, the series' upcoming eighth generation titles for Nintendo Switch. On top of revealing details about the games' setting, we got our first look at their brand-new set of starter Pokemon, which represent the first Gen 8 Pokemon.
As in previous Pokemon games, players will be presented with a choice of three different Pokemon when they first begin their adventure in Sword and Shield. This time around, the options will be the Grass-type chimp Grookey, the Fire-type rabbit Scorbunny, and the Water-type lizard Sobble. You can see all three of them below.
No other new Pokemon have been revealed yet, but we did get a glimpse at a ton of returning Pokemon, including a handful from Sun and Moon--you can see all the Sword and Shield Pokemon in our gallery. Sword and Shield are set in the new Galar region, which appears to be based on Britain and spans idyllic countryside, rustic towns, and frigid mountains.
Pokemon Sword and Shield are being directed by Shigeru Ohmori, who also served as director of Sun and Moon. Based on the footage revealed thus far, Sword and Shield appear to be much more traditional takes on the series than the recent Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee; random encounters seem to be back, and players will once again be able to battle wild Pokemon before capturing them. It's also been confirmed that Gyms are returning after they were dropped from Sun and Moon. We also spotted some mysterious symbols, though it's unclear what significance they have, if any.
Pokemon Sword and Shield release exclusively for Nintendo Switch in late 2019. That doesn't appear to be all that awaits Pokemon fans this year, however. Toward the end of the presentation, The Pokemon Company president Tsunekazu Ishihara teased that the company has "plenty in the works for the Pokemon brand that we hope will delight you."
Nintendo debuted the new Pokemon RPGs coming to Nintendo Switch this year during its special Pokemon Nintendo Direct. In the process, it revealed a lot about its new setting. Pokemon Sword and Shield are set in the Galar region, and the gameplay video gives some sense of the real-life setting that inspired it.
Based on what we've seen so far, Galar looks to be very heavily inspired by the UK. It's full of cottages and Victorian architecture, and an overview even showed a tall clock tower that appears similar to the famous Big Ben tower in London, England. The setting also appears to offer a variety of weather types, including winter weather that requires a change of clothes. You might also notice some mysterious symbols scattered throughout; we're not sure if they have any significance at this point, but they could prove to be significant.
The names "Sword" and "Shield" also invoke imagery of Medieval knights, often associated with English history. In a tweet from 2018 that may have slyly teased the game, Game Freak specifically tagged Nintendo of Europe. At one point in the trailer the player character dons a soccer-like uniform and enters a huge stadium, which contributes to the European feel.
This wouldn't be the first time Pokemon has been set in a region inspired by Europe. While many of the earlier Pokemon RPGs have been set in areas based on Japanese settings, the Kalos region of Pokemon X and Y was based on Paris and the surrounding French countryside. Other notable non-Japanese regions have included Unova from Black and White (based on New York City) and Alola from Sun and Moon (based on Hawaii).
During a special Nintendo Direct for Pokemon Day, Nintendo has finally revealed its upcoming Pokemon games for Nintendo Switch, which seem to represent Generation 8. Named Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield, the games will be released in "late 2019." You can see the game in action in the trailer below.
The games are set in a new region named Galar, which looks to be similar in appearance to Britain. The three starter creatures were shown off in Nintendo's Pokemon Direct presentation; they are a grass monkey named Grookey, a fire bunny named Scorbunny, and a sad water lizard, Sobble. Gameplay was shown in the Direct but was not detailed extensively, though it seems like this will bring back random encounters, among other things.
Sword and Shield are directed by Shigeru Ohmori, who previously directed Sun and Moon and has worked on the series since 2002's Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. Following Sword and Shield's trailer, which you can watch below, The Pokemon Company teased it was working on more in the Pokemon franchise besides these new titles. No more details were confirmed.
The Pokemon Company first announced it was working on new Pokemon games at E3 2017. Since then, the publisher said little else about the upcoming titles--only that they are "core RPG Pokemon titles" and that they would launch in the latter half of 2019.
The "core RPG" description is in contrast to the most recent Pokemon games, Let's Go, Pikachu and Let's Go, Eevee, which were released for Nintendo Switch in November 2018 as remakes of sorts of Pokemon Yellow. They incorporated some elements of the mobile phenomenon Pokemon Go in an attempt to ease newer players into the mainline series.
February 27 is Pokemon Day, The Pokemon Company's yearly celebration of its huge pocket monster franchise. Pokemon Go is holding a special event, with generation one creatures spawning more frequently along with shiny versions of Pidgey and Rattata.
NetherRealm Studios has added another familiar face to Mortal Kombat 11's roster of fighters: Johnny Cage. The movie star turned kombatant has been a mainstay since the very fist entry in the fighting game franchise and, over time, has changed his look in various ways. In Mortal Kombat 11 he's a little older and greyer, but still embodies the classic self-involved Hollywood actor stereotype.
You can see Cage in action over on IGN ahead of a full reveal later today. Cage looks to have retained the majority of his iconic moves, like the flip kick, fireball, rising punch, and shadow kick. However, he's also got some new tricks, such as using a camera's flash to momentarily stun his enemy, and calling another Johnny Cage--presumably a stunt double--to hold his opponent down while he pummels them. His Fatality is pretty funny, but we'll let you see that for yourself.
NetherRealm Studios is set to host a Kombat Kast stream today at 1 PM PT / 10 AM ET / 9 PM GMT / 8 AM AEDT (February 28). During these streams members of the development team usually breakdown aspects of the game such as new characters in a great deal of depth. We expect Johnny Cage will be the subject of the latest Kombat Kast, so make sure to watch the stream here on GameSpot.
A Mortal Kombat 11 beta is planned for March 28 for those who pre-order, and the game will be officially released for PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch on April 23. Check out our pre-order guide for all of the various versions of the game, including the $300 edition that includes a wearable Scorpion mask.
THQ Nordic, the publisher of Darksiders 3, Biomutant, and other big games, has apologized for holding an ask me anything (AMA) session on infamous internet forum 8chan. The message board is known for hosting threads relating to subjects such as child pornography and white supremacy; THQ Nordic says it was not aware of the site's affiliation with these topics before agreeing to the AMA.
"I personally agreed to this AMA without doing my proper due diligence to understand the history and the controversy of the site," said THQ Nordic's PR & marketing director, Philipp Brock. "I do not condone child pornography, white supremacy, or racism in any shape or form.
"I am terribly sorry for the short-sightedness of my (!) decision, and promise to be far more vigorous in my assessment of these activities in the future. This was not about being edgy, this blew up and I very much regret to have done it in the first place."
THQ Nordic announced the AMA in a tweet, saying "we're doing an 8chan AMA and we have no idea why. Come join us!" After industry figures criticized the company for this move, it then replied to its initial tweet and stated "the opportunity was here and we took it, we got apporached [sic] in a very friendly and polite manner and were assured, said person (shoutout to Mark) will take care of the nasty stuff. So, here we are." The tweet announcing the AMA has since been deleted.
8chan content was blocked from appearing in Google searches in 2015. Google also warned 8chan contains "suspected child abuse content." Since then, 8chan has become embroiled in various controversies surrounding gamergate, swatting, racism, and white supremacism.
Warner Bros. has shut down a campaign campaign seeking to digitally erase the rat from the ending of Martin Scorsese's Oscar-winning gangster drama The Departed. Organiser Adam Sacks announced on Twitter that Warner Bros., the studio behind The Departed, was alerted to the fan campaign and took action against it. The now-deleted Kickstarter campaign, which was seeking $4,000 to hire an editor to digitally erase the rat from the ending, was taken down to comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), Sacks said.
He said he could fight the measure, but doesn't have enough funds of his own to go up against a media giant like Warner Bros. "Although we live in an era when money and copyright laws allow corporations to stop a Kickstarter, nothing can stop ideas," Sacks said. He said there was a groundswell of support for his rat-less vision of The Departed, and he pointed out that that he wasn't even the first person to seek to remove the rat from The Departed's final scene.
"If there is a silver lining here (besides me not having to actually follow though on this), it's that maybe all this online controversy about the rat will convince Warner Brothers to release a 4K Blu-Ray of The Departed," he said. "And maybe, just maybe, they will include an alternate rat-less ending. I'm fairly confident it would make them at least an additional 4,000 dollars."
In his video announcing the campaign, Sacks acknowledged that Warner Bros. might shut him down. "I don't know if I'm allowed to do this," he said at the time, adding that he was aware of the likelihood that Warner Bros. would send him a cease and desist order.
2006's The Departed, which stars Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio, won four Oscars including overall Best Picture. The final scene shows a rat crawling across a balcony that serves as a blatant metaphor for the "rats" within the police and mob that are the focus of the movie. The use of the rat was seen as a cheesy device in an otherwise enjoyable movie.
Scorsese's next mobster movie, The Irishman starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, is in the works for Netflix. The first teaser trailer premiered during the Oscars--watch it here.
The increased sales of Resident Evil 2 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC pushed total Resident Evil franchise sales to more than 90 million units since the series debuted in 1996 as of February 26, 2019. This is up from 88 million units back in January.
The 1998 original Resident Evil 2 reached sales of 4.96 million copies to stand as the fourth best-selling Resident Evil game, so the remake is coming up on that milestone.
Resident Evil 2's free DLC, Ghost Survivors, was released on February 15. GameSpot's Resident Evil 2 review called it "a terrifying experience like no other."
"Resident Evil 2 is not only a stellar remake of the original, but it's also simply a strong horror game that delivers anxiety-inducing and grotesque situations, topping some of the series' finest entries," wrote critic Alessandro Fillari. "But above all, the remake is an impressive game for the fact that it goes all-in on the pure survival horror experience, confidently embracing its horrifying tone and rarely letting up until the story's conclusion."
Topher Grace is not only the actor who starred on That '70s Show and more recently in the Oscar-winning movie BlacKkKlansman. He also does editing work, and his most recent project was a big one. Collaborating with editor Jeff Yorkes, Grace created a five-minute "mega-trailer" for Star Wars that combines footage from all 10 live-action Star Wars movies, including Rogue One and Solo.
"10 movies. 2 nerds. 1 weekend (when our wives were out of town). Enjoy…" Grace wrote on Twitter. Yorkes added, "Why don't studios make 'mega-trailers,' tying all the movies of one franchise together, reminding you why you fell in love in the first place? Wouldn't that kick ass?! Well, that's what my pal Topher Grace and I thought..."
Titled Star Wars: Always, the trailer is slick with its use of memorable scenes and music that, even when stitched together in this non-traditional format, combine together nicely. It follows Luke's journey as its through-line, mostly. Check it out below.
The next Star Wars movie is Episode IX, which hits theatres in December. The film recently finished filming. "It feels impossible, but today wrapped photography on Episode IX," director JJ Abrams said earlier in February. "There is no adequate way to thank this truly magical crew and cast. I'm forever indebted to you all."
Beyond Episode IX, which is the third and final instalment in the new trilogy that began with The Force Awakens, Lucasfilm is producing a new trilogy from Rian Johnson. Outside of that, there will be a new Star Wars TV show called The Mandalorian.
As part of a wide-ranging new interview, 343 Industries boss Bonnie Ross spoke candidly about Halo Infinite and what Microsoft wants to achieve with the Xbox One and PC game. She also responded to the battle royale phenomenon and confirmed that Halo Infinite will be at E3 2019.
Starting off, Ross told IGN Halo Infinite is a "spiritual reboot" of the Halo franchise. After the struggles of Halo: The Master Chief Collection and shortcomings related to Halo 4 and Halo 5, Ross said 343 took a step back to better consider what Halo Infinite should be.
"There has been a lot of introspective time to really reflect on what have we done as 343, where have we made mistakes, where have we hit it right, and what does Halo mean to all of us," Ross said. "[Halo Infinite] is coming from [a place of], 'What does Halo mean to all of us?' The trailer that we did [at E3], that's what Halo means to the studio. Maybe it took us two games to get there. We've done good things and bad things. But what does Halo mean to us? It's about hope and wonder and heroism and humanity and community and bringing a community together. That's what that trailer is, and that's what we want to do [with Halo Infinite]."
Ross went on to say that she was proud of Halo 4's campaign, but acknowledged that the multiplayer "lacked what we needed." As for Halo 5, the game made improvements to the multiplayer package, but its story was "overwhelming," she admitted. Halo Infinite aims to get it right with both single-player and multiplayer.
"So I look at Infinite as, we're going to put the whole thing together," she said. "Story is incredibly important and so is multiplayer. We have audiences that champion both sides--and then a lot of them that like both of them."
Also during the interview, Ross responded to the current craze around battle royale games. She acknowledged that 343 is aware that some fans want to see a battle royale mode in Halo Infinite. She praised Respawn for Apex Legends, and said that game feels more like Halo than Fortnite, which could be a clue to Microsoft's plans for Halo Infinite. But will Halo Infinite have a battle royale mode? "We have conversations all the time about what the right thing to do is," she said, adding that the sandbox nature of Halo's multiplayer allows for lots of different game modes, potentially including battle royale.
Whatever Microsoft decides to do with regards to battle royale or any other new game modes, Ross stressed that fans can rest assured that 343 won't do anything that doesn't feel right for Halo.
"Whatever we do needs to be the right thing for Halo. Whether or not you call it a battle royale or how we're thinking about things going forward, the team thinks about, 'This needs to be right for Halo,'" She said. "It's always an active conversation, but I'm not saying anything more about [battle royale] right now."
The interview also touched on the long gap between Halo 5 and Halo Infinite. In the past, mainline Halo games typically came out every three years, but that's being extended for Halo Infinite. She confirmed that Microsoft considered releasing what she called "Halo 5.5" or a "Halo 6: ODST" type of Halo game that could launch as quickly as two years after Halo 5, but she and Xbox boss Phil Spencer ultimately decided it was "not the right thing for the fans." Importantly, Ross stressed that no actual development work went into Halo 5.5 or Halo 6: ODST; it was only brainstorming.
She and Spencer had discussions about how to build a foundation for Halo that would set up the franchise for continued success over the next 10 to 20 years. Launching a "truncated" or "half-baked" Halo game, as Ross called them, would have potentially damaged the Halo brand. She acknowledged that Halo 5 lacked the kind of innovation that fans were looking for, so the team is taking extra time with Halo Infinite to ensure it's an innovative game that also appeals to veteran fans.
Halo Infinite is rumoured to be a launch title for a new Xbox console said to be launching in 2020. Ross said Microsoft's philosophy is to make sure a game is great before releasing it. It would seemingly be advantageous for a new Xbox platform to launch with a Halo game to help boost hardware sales, but she stressed that Microsoft is more focused on making sure the game is great instead of timing it to launch with new hardware. For reference, Halo: Combat Evolved was the only Halo game to be released as a launch title for Xbox hardware, and that was all the way back in 2001.
Another interesting tidbit from the interview include Ross stating that Microsoft eventually wants to try again to make a Halo movie. There is a Halo TV show coming up sooner, and Ross said TV is a good format for a Halo story because its provides more time for character development. She also briefly spoke about the canceled Halo Mega Bloks game. She said the game, which had a more "whimsical and fun" take on Halo, lacked a clear design focus, and added that it was in development for a year longer than it should have been. Regarding other more experimental Halo games, Ross said 343 holds "hack-a-thon" events internally to come up with new ideas that could be made into Halo games after Halo Infinite.
Ross was recently inducted into the AIAS Hall of Fame. The first woman in the AIAS Hall of Fame, Ross joins other industry legends like Bethesda's Todd Howard, along with Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, Metal Gear designer Hideo Kojima, and Valve founder Gabe Newell.
A wide selection of deals are available this week for Xbox One and Xbox 360 owners. Ubisoft has a huge sale going on right now, so Assassin's Creed games are discounted across the board, including the latest installment in the series, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, which you can pick up for $24 (originally $60). Snatch up Far Cry 5 for just $15 (originally $60), Starlink: Battle for Atlas for $24 (originally $60), For Honor: Complete Edition for $60 (originally $110), Watch Dogs 2: Gold Edition for $20 (originally $100) and more while this publisher sale lasts.
Meanwhile, we're in the final days of Anime Month in the Xbox Live store, so don't miss the chance to save money on your favorite anime game titles, like Valkyria Chronicles 4, which is selling for $30 (originally $60). One Piece: Burning Blood is down to $15 (originally $60), and the Mega Man games are all slightly discounted, with the Mega Man 30th Anniversary Bundle selling for $48 (originally $60). These anime classics are way cheaper than usual for only two more days.
See more of our picks from this week's Xbox Live deals below, and check out the full list on Major Nelson's blog. These deals will expire March 5 at 3 AM PT / 6 AM ET / 12 PM BST, so act fast!
A new Walking Dead game from Payday developer Starbreeze Studios, Overkill's The Walking Dead, released back in November--and it was a major disappointment. Now, Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman's media company, Skybound, has ended its contract with Starbreeze for the game, citing the poor quality of the game.
In a statement, Skybound said it worked hard with Starbreeze since 2014 to create a unique and compelling Walking Dead FPS, but it didn't work out.
"As of today, we have terminated our contract with Starbreeze Studios and will discontinue all efforts on Overkill's The Walking Dead," Skybound said in its statement. "Our creators and their stories are the core of Skybound, and since 2014 we have worked hard to expand the world of The Walking Dead into an exceptional co-op action FPS."
While Overkill's The Walking Dead did not work out the way Skybound would have wanted, the company said it continues to be dedicated to making more Walking Dead video games.
"We did our best to work with Starbreeze and resolve many issues that we saw with the game, but ultimately Overkill's The Walking Dead did not meet our standards nor is it the quality that we were promised," Skybound said. "We are exceedingly sorry to our fans and share their disappointment in the game. We remain dedicated to providing our fans with the most premium quality content we can offer, and will continue to look for alternative video game options for the IP."
Overkill's The Walking Dead launched in November for PC. The game was also announced for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with publisher 505 Games handling the publishing of the console editions. As of last week, the console editions were still planned for release, but it's not clear if today's announcement. We've contacted Starbreeze and 505 to get more details.
We just wanted to clear the position on the OVERKILL's The Walking Dead on console and confirm that the game has not been cancelled, purely postponed whilst development is on-going. We will share further news as soon as possible.
This is just the latest blow for Starbreeze as a company. Back in November, Starbreeze admitted that sales of Overkill's The Walking Dead were lower than expected, and as a result, the company would undergo a restructuring of its business. As part of this, Starbreeze CEO Bo Andersson resigned from the company, while other members of the Board of Directors also left.
Treyarch has rolled out another update for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Following its arrival on PS4 last week, the big Operation Grand Heist update is now live on Xbox One and PC, bringing a new character, maps, weapons, and more to both platforms.
First, the update adds a new Specialist for multiplayer and Blackout modes: Outrider. She can be unlocked in Tier 1 in the Black Market, and just as in Black Ops 3, her weapon is the Sparrow, which can fire explosive arrows. Her Hawk drone can also tag any enemies in its sights.
The update also brings three new weapons for multiplayer: the Switchblade X9 SMG, Rampage full-auto shotgun, and Cha-Ching money bag melee weapon. These likewise can be unlocked through the Black Market. Black Ops Pass holders also get access to two additional multiplayer maps, Lockup and Casino.
Elsewhere, the island in Blackout has been expanded with a new area, Ghost Town. Its aboveground portion is based on the Outlaw map, while the caverns below ground are inspired by the Zombies map Buried. Black Ops Pass holders also get access to another new character, the Zombie gorilla Cosmic Silverback.
Rounding out the update is a new Gauntlet for Zombies mode as well as new Featured Playlists in multiplayer, including One in the Chamber. Players have three lives and a single bullet in this mode; when they shoot an enemy or hit them with melee attacks, they'll earn another bullet and 100 points. You can read the full patch notes on Reddit.
The popular battle royale game Fortnite can struggle to maintain a solid frame rate on all platforms in certain scenarios, but the Nintendo Switch edition, at least at one point, had the toughest time maintaining a smooth frame rate in action-packed battles. During a recent Reddit AMA, someone asked Epic if the studio would be able to get Fortnite's Switch edition running at 60 FPS. It's not going to happen.
"I'm afraid that is not in the cards," a developer said.
Not only that, but Epic doesn't plan to bring back video capture for replays on Switch, the developer said. Video capture was dropped from Fortnite's Switch edition last year in a move that Epic said was undertaken in an effort to try to improve overall performance. While client-side replays aren't expected to come back to Fortnite, Epic said it is planning to introduce server-side replays sometime down the road.
Blizzard has released the full patch notes for the update that's now live on the Overwatch PTR test server. The most notable part of the update is the addition of Overwatch's new Hero, Baptiste, but the patch makes changes to several older characters, such as Lucio and Widowmaker, as well.
Baptiste is a Support Hero in Overwatch, whose unique abilities allow him to keep his squad fighting longer and more effectively. He can use Regenerative Burst to heal himself and nearby allies over time, and Immortality Field to prevent friendly players from dying. His Ultimate, Amplification Matrix doubles the damage of friendly projectiles. He can also jump higher than most other Hero characters with his Exo Boots.
In terms of the other Hero characters, the update buffs Doomfist, Hanzo, Lucio, McCree, Mei, Moira, Pharah, Soldier 76, Sombra, Torbjorn, and Wrecking Ball, and nerfs Ana, Orisa, and Widowmaker. The two most notable changes are to Hanzo and Widowmaker. The former has become less effective at detecting enemies with his Sonic Arrow, while the latter's Infra-Sight has become riskier to use. The update also implements over a dozen bug fixes across all its Hero characters, as well as two of its multiplayer maps, Hollywood and Paris. The full list of Hero changes and bug fixes are outlined below.
Overwatch is available on Xbox One, PS4, and PC but the PTR test server is only available on PC. Blizzard uses Overwatch's PTR to test out updates for the game before they go live across all systems, so these patch notes may not reflect every change coming to the full game at a later date.
Overwatch PTR February 26 Update Patch Notes
Hero Updates
Ana
Nano Boost
Heal reduced from 300 to 250
Developer Comments: Giving Nano Boost an instant heal effect enabled players to survive longer and made Ana's ultimate valuable. However, it needs to be slightly less effective for refilling large health pools.
Doomfist
Rising Uppercut
Cooldown reduced from 7 to 6 seconds
Seismic Slam
Cooldown reduced from 7 to 6 seconds
Developer Comments: Reducing the downtime of Doomfist's abilities should make his gameplay feel more fluid.
Hanzo
Sonic Arrow
Detection radius increased from 7 to 9 meters
Developer Comments: Because of how dense the environment is on some maps, the Sonic Arrow can feel ineffective in some areas. Increasing Sonic Arrow's detection radius should make it more effective.
Lúcio
Sonic Amplifier
Soundwave now counts towards Offensive Assists
Developer Comments: The knockback on Lúcio's Soundwave is a great tool for pushing enemies into situations that get them killed, so they should be rewarded an offensive assist for doing so.
McCree
Fan the Hammer
Damage reduced from 55 to 50
Deadeye
Damage per second increased from 275 to 550 after locking onto targets for 2.5 seconds
Developer Comments: After reducing armor's effectiveness for all heroes, Fan the Hammer doesn't need to deal quite as much damage. Increasing Deadeye's damage after being locked on for a bit makes it more effective when attacking high health, static targets (like barriers) and heroes with over 600 health. It will not impact how dangerous this is for heroes under 600 health.
Mei
Endothermic Blaster
Primary fire damage increased from 2.25 to 2.75 (45 to 55 damage per second)
Ice Wall
Health reduced from 500 to 400
Developer Comments: Increasing the damage of Mei's primary fire should make her Freeze and Icicle move combination more potent. Making the pillars on Mei's Ice Wall easier to destroy means less waiting for the wall to disappear on its own and more opportunities to counter it.
Moira
Biotic Grasp
Heal over time duration increased from 3 to 4 seconds
Total healing increased from 50 to 65
Developer Comments: These minor changes make Moira's passive healing effect on Biotic Grasp slightly more effective when topping off an ally's health.
Orisa
Fusion Driver
Movement speed penalty while firing reduced from 50% to 30%
Developer Comments: As a defensive tank, Orisa can have trouble pushing forward with the team. Allowing Orisa to move faster while firing should make it easier to apply pressure on the enemy team and use her barrier in proactive ways.
Pharah
Rocket Launcher
Minimum explosion damage increased from 16.25 to 20
Developer Comments: This change sets the Rocket Launcher's minimum damage to where it was before we rebalanced its direct impact and explosive damage in a recent patch.
Soldier: 76
Pulse Rifle
Damage increased from 19 to 20
Sprint
Delay before you can fire the weapon after using Sprint reduced from .5 to .3 seconds
Tactical Visor
Can target RIP-Tire and Immortality Field
Developer Comments: This change should potentially allow Soldier: 76 to kill an enemy hero one shot sooner. Reducing the time between when you use Sprint and when you can fire should make the ability more fluid and responsive. Giving Tactical Visor the ability to target Junkrat's RIP-Tire and Baptiste's Immortality Field drone is a quality of life improvement, since these are both critical targets.
Sombra
Hack
Cooldown is reduced by half when hacking a health pack
Developer Comments: The cooldown on Hack often made it feel less effective to target health packs instead of players. This will make both health packs and players viable targets for hacking.
Torbjörn
Base health increased by 50 armor (250 maximum health)
Overload
Armor gain reduced from 150 to 100
Developer Comments: Torbjörn's survivability was a bit low, so we've shifted some power from his Overload ability to his base health.
Widowmaker
Infra-Sight
Reveals enemy health bars
Now canceled on death
Developer Comments: Infra-Sight had no counter to its effect, so it now ends when Widowmaker dies. To balance out its higher risk of use, Infra-Sight now reveals enemy health bars to Widowmaker's team.
Wrecking Ball
Adaptive Shield
No longer cancels Roll mode
Developer Comments: This will make Adaptive Shields a more powerful survival tool, since being forced out of Roll mode left Wrecking Ball more susceptible to fire.
Bug Fixes
Callouts
Fixed a bug where the "Need Healing" callout wouldn't display in chat if the hero you targeted didn't have healing abilities
Camera
Fixed a bug where, when playing certain heroes, the camera would clip into the hero when looking straight upwards
Career Stats Menu
Fixed a bug where the season labels for Competitive CTF and Competitive 6v6 Elimination didn't display
Hero Gallery
Fixed a bug where, if switching between Junkrat Skins, one of the bombs on his vest would spin
Heroes
Ana
Fixed a bug where Ana's clothes would clip into her hip pouch while doing the Yut Nori emote
Ashe
Fixed a bug that prevented audio feedback from playing to indicate ammo was low on Ashe's rifle if it had three or fewer bullets
D.Va
Fixed a bug that made D.Va very difficult to knock back while she was firing her Fusion Cannons
Genji
Fixed a bug that caused Genji's Dragonblade to end before the deflect duration was complete
Fixed a bug where Genji would be knocked back unusually far when using Swift Strike to hit Doomfist's Rocket Punch
Hanzo
Fixed a bug where Hanzo's leg would visibly move while he was in his Meditate pose
Mercy
Fixed a bug where Mercy's left knee would bend unnaturally when stunned by McCree's Flashbang
Orisa
Fixed a bug that made Orisa very difficult to knock back while she was firing her Fusion Driver
Reaper
Fixed a bug where a button on the shoulder of Reaper's Lu Bu skin appeared to be floating
Reinhardt
Fixed a bug where a piece on Reinhardt's back displayed incorrectly while using the Guan Yu skin in the Hammer Down highlight intro
Fixed an issue that allowed Reinhardt's Earthshatter to hit people further off the ground than intended in specific circumstances
Sombra
Fixed a bug where Sombra's stealth exiting sound effect wouldn't play if an emote was used to exit stealth mode
Fixed a bug where Sombra couldn't quick melee while using her Hack ability
Symmetra
Fixed a bug where Symmetra would gain ultimate charge while casting Photon Barrier
Torbjörn
Fixed a bug that prevented Torbjörn from using Molten Core in custom games if Ability 2 was disabled
Widowmaker
Fixed a bug that prevented Widowmaker's Venom Mine from damaging a hero if they triggered it at the edge of its trigger radius
Maps
Hollywood
Fixed a bug where the winning team's hero lineup wouldn't display correctly
Paris
Fixed a bug where the sounds coming from the Nous vous surveillons apartment weren't playing
Respawn has released a new patch for its free battle royale game, Apex Legends. This update only applies to the PC version and fixes an exploit that allowed players to get the Apex Legends Twitch Prime Pack without a Prime membership.
Like other Twitch Prime freebies, the aforementioned Apex Legends pack is only intended for those who have Amazon Prime. It contains five Apex Packs--Legends' equivalent of loot boxes--as well as the exclusive Omega Point skin for the lovable robot Pathfinder, but players were able to get it by modifying the advanced launch options in Origin.
"With this update, the Omega Point Pathfinder skin will be removed from any accounts that obtained it using the exploit," Respawn said. It's unclear if the Apex Packs that were also acquired through the exploit will likewise be removed.
If you do have Prime but still haven't claimed the free Apex Legends pack, you can do so by clicking on the crown-shaped Prime Loot icon on Twitch's website. The pack is available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, but you can only redeem it once, and only on the first platform you log into with your linked EA Account. You can read more in the FAQ.
Apex Legends surprise launched earlier this month and has quickly proven to be a hit, surpassing 25 million players in its first week. It's also received positive reviews. GameSpot gave it a 9/10 in our Apex Legends review and called it a "competitive, team-based game that gets at all the best parts of battle royale while addressing a lot of the weaknesses."
NetherRealm is preparing another Mortal Kombat 11 livestream, which will include another kombatant. The third Kombat Kast will take place Wednesday, February 27 at 1 PM PT / 10 AM ET. This time, the studio isn't playing coy with what they'll be revealing, as the announcement tweet directly states that it will host a "kharacter reveal." You can watch the stream right here on GameSpot.
The studio followed up with a tweet teasing the character reveal. It's a very vague look, but given the attitude, fans have speculated that it's Johnny Cage. [Update: Sure enough, ahead of the Kombat Kast, Johnny Cage was confirmed Mortal Kombat 11. It's unclear if the Kombat Kast will feature another reveal or simply detail Cage further, but it sounds like the former.]
We could have guessed the stream would include a new character. Both of the previous Kombat Kast streams have debuted a character--Kabal in the first and Jade in the second. Those join old favorites like Scorpion, Sonya Blade, and Kano, along with new additions like the time manipulator Geras. No Shaggy, though. You can check out the full roster so far.
The new fighter debuts tend to include an overview of their abilities and a lengthy, utterly gross look at one of their fatalities.
This game introduces "kosmetic" options, with tons of loot and character variations so you can kustomize your fighter as much as you kare. Check out all the skins we've seen so far. A beta is planned for March 28 for those who pre-order, and then the game will release on April 23. Check out our pre-order guide for all of the various versions of the game, including the pricey $300 edition that includes a wearable Scorpion mask.
Warner Bros. and The Pokemon Company have shared a new trailer for Detective Pikachu, the upcoming live-action movie based on the game of the same name. Alongside it, the companies have revealed a new Detective Pikachu movie poster, which contains a ton of subtle references and Easter eggs for eagle-eyed fans to spot.
Just as the trailer, the poster features a number of new Pokemon that hadn't previously been seen in the movie. The most obvious are the two Aipom hanging out on the Detective Pikachu logo, but you can also spot Treecko and Loudred by the neon signs in the lower lefthand corner of the poster. Even further below, you can see Snorlax, in typical fashion, in the middle of the street blocking traffic.
Most interesting, however, is Mewtwo. The Legendary Psychic Pokemon appears toward the end of the new trailer, and it can be spotted in the distance standing atop the farthest building to the left. Just what Mewtwo's role in the film will be remains a mystery, but the Legendary Pokemon also played a major part in the Detective Pikachu game.
Much like the 3DS game, the Detective Pikachu movie follows the story of Tim (Justice Smith), who has the unique ability to understand Pokemon. His father, a famous private detective, has gone missing, so Tim teams up with Pikachu (Ryan Reynolds) to investigate his disappearance. The cast also includes Kathryn Newton (Blockers), Ken Watanabe (Godzilla, Inception), and Bill Nighy (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows).
Detective Pikachu arrives in theaters on May 10. The movie is directed by Rob Letterman, who previously helmed Goosebumps, Captain Underpants, and Shark Tale. In addition to the new trailer, Warner Bros. recently released a humorous promotional video for Detective Pikachu, in which Ryan Reynolds discusses the different methods he used to fully inhabit the role of the iconic Pokemon.
There are also plenty of other discounted games in the PlayStation story right now. Here are the highlights:
Far Cry New Dawn Ultimate Edition, which includes Far Cry New Dawn, Far Cry 5, and the latter's season pass that comes with three DLCs and Far Cry 3, is discounted at $91 (originally $130).
Plenty of video games have had distinctive art styles but few have managed to soar quite as high as Cuphead, the vintage cartoon inspired run-and-gun that took the world by storm back in 2017--and fans are going to have a chance to relive all that visual magic this coming October.
From Dark Horse Comics and Studio MDHR, Cuphead is getting a brand new, oversized, 160-page art book full of early concepts, hand drawn frames, and retro designs as Cuphead and his pal Mugman worked to reclaim their souls from the devil. And that's not all--the game's stunning artwork will be accompanied by commentary and insight from game directors Chad and Jared Moldenhauer.
In our review, we cited Cuphead's art as a major asset of the challenging side-scrolling game. "But difficult battles only tell half of the story. Cuphead's 1930s cartoon aesthetic is endlessly charming, popping with color and expression unlike anything seen at this scale in a video game before. The sheer variety of characters and settings yields consistent delight as you go from one stage to the next, with everything bearing the telltale signs of grainy '30s film and rudimentary production techniques. Cel-shading means something to a lot of people, but Cuphead truly re-creates the look of hand-drawn cel animation."
Want even more Cuphead goodness to tide you over until October? Cuphead is getting its very first DLC--"The Delicious Last Course"--this year! We've got a look at just what to expect here from Studio MDHR themselves.
The Art of Cuphead goes on sale October 22 and is available for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, TFAW, and at your local comic shop for $30.
Not long after Nintendo's big February 2019 Direct, the company has delivered another presentation, this one focusing entirely on the new 2019 Pokemon RPGs releasing for Nintendo Switch later this year. The broadcast aired on the series' anniversary, Pokemon Day, and it delivered information on what we now know is called Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield.
The presentation was roughly seven minutes long and revealed the Gen 8 starters Grookey (Grass-type), Sobble (Water-type), and Scorbunny (Fire-type). Beyond those newcomers, the look at the game only showed us existing creatures; we've rounded up all the Pokemon in Sword and Shield we've spotted so far. There are quite a few returning favorites, but not necessarily any big surprises. We don't know the identity of any new Legendaries yet; as such, we don't know precisely what the differences between Sword and Shield are at this point.
The Direct also showcased the Galar Region, where the two games are set. Interestingly, the location seems to be inspired by Britain, and at one point the main character is shown wearing a soccer uniform and is walking into a stadium. The shape of the region is very reminiscent of Britain, as are the location of the biomes. There's also some smaller touches like cottages and other buildings that look distinctly British. We also spotted some mysterious symbols, though what they mean is anyone's guess at this point.
The Pokemon Company has said the games will be released in the latter half of 2019 and will receive a simultaneous worldwide launch. They'll be available exclusively on Nintendo Switch.
The latest Pokemon games, Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee, released on Switch last November. The pair are remakes of sorts of Pokemon Yellow, featuring the same setting and the original 151 Pokemon. However, they also diverge from the series in some dramatic ways; unlike most mainline games, they don't feature abilities or held items, and they eschew wild Pokemon battles for Pokemon Go's catching mechanics.
No comments:
Post a Comment