For a limited time, GTA Online is offering extra opportunities to earn in-game cash. From now until June 12, the online component of Grand Theft Auto V is offering double GTA$ and RP rewards in certain missions.
Until June 12, you can earn double GTA$ and RP from completing Contact missions, the Doomsday Scenario Finale, Occupy, Hardest Target, or Juggernaut. Logging into GTA Online this week (April 18-24) will unlock a free Skulls Livery for the Mammoth Avenger and TM-02 Khanjali. If you're a biker clubhouse owner, then April 25 through May 1, you'll receive GTA$250K for free. In prep for this second bonus, the Great Chaparral Clubhouse is being temporarily lowered to GTA$50K--a 75 percent discount.
"If you've got GTA$20K and the poise to take on seven other racers for the shot at a podium finish payday, you can join Premium Races either through the Quick Job App on your in-game phone or via the yellow corona at Legion Square," Rockstar wrote in a press release. "First place takes a grand prize of GTA$100K, while second and third place finishers will receive GTA$30K and GTA$20K respectively."
Grand Theft Auto V is one of those games that's as much fun to watch as it is to play, largely because of the hilariously stupid ways your characters can die. Despite releasing in 2013, Grand Theft Auto 5 remains one of the top-selling games--even appearing ahead of Rockstar's more recent Red Dead Redemption 2 in the list of top selling PS4 games on PSN in January 2019.
In our Grand Theft Auto V review, Mark Walton gave the game a 9/10, writing, "Aside from a few mild frame rate issues that sometimes take the edge off its more dramatic moments, this is...the bar by which all other open-world games, or indeed any game that aims for a cinematic feel, should be judged. [Grand Theft Auto 5] is beautiful, and thought-provoking, and thrilling throughout."
Fortnite's Season 8, Week 8 challenges are now live on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile, giving players across all platforms another opportunity to level their Battle Pass up and unlock this season's cosmetic rewards. While many of this week's objectives are fairly straightforward, a few of them may throw you for a loop if you aren't familiar with Fortnite's map, like the one that asks you to dial the Durrr Burger number on the big telephone west of Fatal Fields. That's why we're here to help.
The big telephone challenge is one of two multi-step missions available this week (the other ask you to search treasure map signposts). Fortunately, this task is a lot simpler than it may initially sound. To complete the first step, you'll need to head to the oversized telephone mentioned in the challenge name; it can be found atop a snowy mountain directly west of Fatal Fields. Once you get there, you'll see the Durrr Burger number already displayed on the phone's dial, so all you need to do is shoot the numbers in the correct sequence to move on to stage two.
Once you've dialed the first phone, you'll be asked to dial the Pizza Pit number on the big telephone east of The Block; you can see its exact location on the map below. As before, the number is already displayed on the phone, so all you need to do is shoot them in the right order to complete the challenge and earn your Battle Stars. If you need another look at where to go, you can watch us walk you through the whole challenge in the video above.
There are only a few weeks remaining in Fortnite Season 8, so you still have a little time to complete any outstanding challenges and unlock this season's Battle Pass rewards. If you need some assistance, you can find tips for this season's trickier tasks in our complete Fortnite Season 8 challenge guide, which we've been updating as new challenges are rolled out. You can also see all the skins and other cosmetics up for grabs in our Fortnite Season 8 rewards gallery.
Week 8's challenges arrive hot on the heels of Fortnite's 8.40 update, which kicked off a new limited-time mode called Air Royale. This LTM revolves around dogfighting and features its own set of challenges to complete, which will net you special Wraps. The patch also brought back the Food Fight LTM, but this time around it's called Deep Fried and features elevated restaurant bases, requiring you and your teammates to build up to them to protect your mascot.
Konami has revealed the full set of games to be included in the Castlevania Anniversary Collection, and it includes a ton of classics along with one game officially coming to the west for the first time. It's set to come on May 16 for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, priced at $20.
The latest additions that complete the lineup include Castlevania: The Adventure, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, Castlevania Bloodlines, and Kid Dracula. The Adventure was the franchise's first release on handheld devices, and Simon's Quest introduced RPG mechanics. Bloodlines was a Genesis game that complemented the SNES Super Castlevania IV, which is also in the collection.
The gem of the collection may be Kid Dracula, a cute cartoon spin-off that released on the NES in 1990. Konami boasts that it was previously unreleased outside of Japan. The adorable little cartoon vampire adventure probably doesn't technically count as Castlevania canon, unfortunately.
Altogether, that makes the game library as follows:
Castlevania
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
Super Castlevania IV
Castlevania The Adventure
Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge
Castlevania Bloodlines
Kid Dracula
Bonus ebook
The emulation is being handled by M2, and the bonus ebook includes an interview with the animated series producer Adi Shankar.
The stylish shooter XIII is coming back as a remake slated for release on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch this year. The original 2003 game was known for its mind-bending story, and the remake is said to be borne out of a desire to introduce the story-driven game to a new generation who may have missed it more than a decade ago.
The reveal on the PlayStation Blog includes a few pieces of concept art for both the environments and one character, showing off the new visual style. Among other things XIII was known for its cel-shaded aesthetic, which has been maintained here but updated with a lot more detail.
In XIII, you play as an amnesiac soldier named Thirteen. You've been accused of killing the President of the United States, and the story revolves around your efforts to uncover the truth with only a few clues to go on. This remake is said to be based on the first five volumes of the comic series.
"XIII has a unique and potentially interesting premise, and some will certainly want to drag their way through the single-player campaign just to watch the story unfold, but the game doesn't really differentiate itself from the wide array of other first-person shooters on the market," said critic Jeff Gerstmann in GameSpot's 2003 review. "The cel-shaded graphical style works in the context of trying to re-create a comic book, but the models and other graphical elements fall short. Given the extreme amount of competition in this genre, fans of first-person shooting are advised to spend their time elsewhere."
Two weeks have passed since The Witness was made free to download for Epic Games Store members, which means the latest PC game giveaway is now here. Next up is Transistor, the acclaimed science-fiction action RPG from Supergiant Games, who also made Bastion and Pyre. From now through May 2, you can download Transistor for free from the Epic Games Store, and it'll be yours to keep. If you don't already have an Epic Games account, it's free to create one, and it's well worth your time, as these free PC game giveaways are happening every two weeks this year to celebrate the Epic Store's first 12 months in business.
Transistor tells the story of a famous singer named Red who is attacked by a robotic force known as The Process. After escaping, Red stumbles across a glowing sword called the Transistor, and wielding its power, she resolves to hunt down the sinister group controlling The Process and save the city of Cloudbank from invasion. The battles involve turn-based strategy, and like most RPGs, Red earns experience points that allow her to unlock new powers. In GameSpot's Transistor review, critic Carolyn Petit praised the game for its unique, compelling narrative, empowering combat, and overall superb visuals and musical score.
"Transistor asks you to trust in it, to come along on the journey even though you have no idea where you're going," wrote Petit. "And it rewards your trust, weaving a beautiful and unconventional sci-fi tale with a human heart, and empowering you with a wonderfully flexible combat system that fuses real-time and turn-based action to create something that feels unique."
On May 2, Transistor will be replaced by Epic's next free PC game, World of Goo, a puzzle game that involves building with globs of goo.
Today we're putting your Melee knowledge to the test: can you name every Super Smash Bros. Melee character in under five minutes? Once you're done, be sure to comment your score in the comments below, and remember to share with your friends to see who has the superior gaming knowledge.
Fortnite Season 8 is now in its eighth week, which means there are new challenges to be completed. You can see a full list of the Season 8, Week 8 challenges here, and you'll no doubt notice that there are a few tricky ones among them. One of those asks players to "search the treasure map signpost found in Paradise Palms."
This is a multi-stage challenge and has two parts. Naturally, treasure hunts can lead to a lot of head-scratching and aimless wandering, but we're here to make sure that doesn't happen. To save you time and effort, we've completed the challenge and put together a guide that shows you exactly where you need to go and what you need to do.
To complete this challenge, you'll need to first head to Paradise Palms--obviously. More specifically, you'll need to head to the center of the area and find the little alley there. Stick to the rooftops and you'll spot the map signpost on a wall below you. For part two of the challenge, you'll need to follow the map to find the Battle Star. It actually leads you to Frosty Flights, specifically at the end of the runway. Once you've made it there, the challenge should complete.
Take a look at the map below for more details on where you can find the Battle Star.
Fortnite Signpost Treasure Map Locations
Signpost Treasure Map: This is located at the center of Paradise Palms in an alley behind the building there.
Treasure Map Battle Star Location: Frosty Flights at the end of the runway.
If you still need a hand completing challenges, make sure to check out our complete Fortnite Season 8 challenge guide. We've been keeping that up to date with guides on the difficult challenges on a week-by-week basis. Season 8 is going to start to wind down soon, so if you want to unlock all the cosmetics, that companion piece will be very useful.
In other Fortnite news, a new LTM oriented around dogfighting has been added to the game. Patch 8.40 introduced Air Royale, which lets players "pilot the X-4 Stormwing in this Limited-Time Mode as you fight to become the last plane flying! Complete free Challenges to unlock brand-new Wraps as you rule the skies."
Epic has also thrown the Food Fight LTM back into the mix, but this time it's in the form of a variant called Deep Fried. There are a number of other tweaks and changes to the game, and you can see it all in the Fortnite update 8.40 patch notes.
Coming to Amazon Prime Video on July 26 is the latest comic book adaptation, The Boys. Amazon recently revealed the first trailer for the upcoming show, and it is most certainly not safe for work. Seriously, watch this on your own time.
Based on the Dynamite comic of the same name, the series follows a world where superheroes have become celebrities, and a group titled The Boys are tasked with covering up said heroes' screw-ups when they abuse their powers. Check out the first trailer for the series below.
The Boys are made up of Hughie (Jack Quaid), Billy Butcher (Karl Urban), Mother's Milk (Laz Alonso), Frenchie (Tomer Capon), and The Female (Karen Fukuhara). Additionally, Simon Pegg guest stars as Hughie's father. There are also the featured superheroes on this series, The Supes of the Seven, which consists of Homelander (Antony Starr), Starlight (Erin Moriarty), Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott), A-Train (Jessie T. Usher), The Deep (Chace Crawford), and Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell).
The original comic series, which also was for a more adult audience, debuted in 2006 under the Wildstorm banner--before moving to Dynamite six months later. It was created by writer Garth Ennis and artist Darick Robertson, and the series was known for its over-the-top moments.
GameSpot spoke with Simon Pegg back at New York Comic-Con about his role and the adaptation as a whole. "They showed me the stuff that they'd already shot that was surprising and shocking, but for all the right reasons," he said. "I think Garth almost and Darick together, obviously because Darick Robertson was drawing it, together they were trying to almost dare somebody to adapt it. It was almost the unadaptable comic book, even more so than Preacher I think."
A shipwreck on a mountain top, a flying tentacle beast, and psychotic hallucinations of skin melting off people's faces. With an opening as eerie as this, it wasn't difficult to get swept up in the bizarre intrigue of The Sinking City, the latest from Frogwares--a studio that's known for its work on the cult favorite Sherlock Holmes adventure games. But any lover of H.P Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos should find these motifs familiar. It's the sort of stuff that makes these tales of eldritch abominations and the unfortunate souls who discover them so captivating. Attempting to unravel these mysteries kept me thoroughly invested in my demo of The Sinking City, but it was the unsettling world and its potent realities that gripped me the most.
Set in the fictional half-submerged city of Oakmont, Massachusetts during the 1920s, you play as Charles Reed, a troubled WW1 veteran and private investigator traveling in search of a cure for his persistent hallucinations. But the moment The Sinking City begins, this task becomes far more complicated. Mysterious creatures known as wylebeasts infest Oakmont's streets, and worse yet, the city is embroiled in a tense race war between two grotesque human-animal hybrids. Even the normal humans who occupy Oakmont have their own personal prejudices against outsiders and the hybrid races.
The first hybrid I met was a wealthy man named Robert Throgmorton, whose ape-faced appearance threw me off-guard. Aside from Charles' initial hallucinations, everything I'd seen up to that point felt grounded in a semblance of reality. But talking to Throgmorton changed all that--at least until he was revealed to be a pompous and repulsive being whose xenophobic and eugenics-fueled rhetoric disgusted me. Suddenly, my disbelief came barreling down to an ugly reality that was all too true to life.
My first case had me trying to find Robert Throgmorton's missing son in exchange for information about Reed's mysterious visions. The search took me all around the Oakmont Pier where I mostly interviewed suspects, searched crime scenes, and gathered evidence. Exploration and investigation in The Sinking City are incredibly open-ended, challenging you to chase up your own leads across the game's large world as opposed to being told where to go. At times, my investigation was disturbed by otherworldly forces, as portals into a spectral realm opened up in and around crime scenes. I even began to hear voices speaking in tongues to me. All the while, more hallucinations spawned on screen--a phenomenon determined by your exposure to disturbing imagery found in the world.
This is what The Sinking City seems most effective at, shocking you and forcing you to suspend your disbelief only to reveal a darker, more grim reality underlying its haunting surrealist visuals.
Oddities like this occurred often, but the stories I discovered in their midst remained the same: violence and murder as the result of an ugly cycle of intolerance and greed, whether intentional or not. This is what The Sinking City seems most effective at, shocking you and forcing you to suspend your disbelief only to reveal a darker, more grim reality underlying its haunting surrealist visuals.
As I explored Oakmont's flooded streets and pieced together clues, I couldn't stop thinking about the unnerving racial conflict discussed in my conversation with Robert Throgmorton. His family despises another hybrid race known as the Innsmouthers, who are migrants that are fish-like in appearance. However, that hatred is shared on both sides, as the Innsmouthers aren't above equally hateful beliefs and behaviors. And each one I met wasn't shy to let that fact be known.
The end of my first case inevitably forced me to make a choice: incriminate an Innsmouther in the murder of Robert Throgmorton's son or let them walk free. Without spoiling it, the facts set before me made that choice incredibly complicated. I ended up choosing the latter, but I still find myself second guessing that decision, even now. But with one mystery solved, there opened up numerous others that all seemed to dive deeper into all of society's worst tendencies and the grander, mysterious phenomenon that potentially play a part in fueling them. This is still a Lovecraftian mystery, after all.
The Sinking City's bleak world and characters suck you into its bizarre, yet grimy tales of otherworldly urban crime. The surprisingly convincing racial conflict the game sets up colors the storytelling in a way that's both haunting and engrossing. While this isn't the first time we've had a backdrop like this in games, The Sinking City's surreal depiction of 1920's-era racial prejudice and violence was undoubtedly its most standout quality for me; clumsy shooting mechanics and somewhat glitchy animations notwithstanding. Whether or not the game makes good on the social commentary it introduces, The Sinking City has at least piqued my interest--even if playing it may mean enduring an ugly cycle of violence that calls to mind the worst of what can still be seen today.
The Sinking City is set to release on PS4, Xbox One, and PC on June 27.
Following its surprise announcement earlier this week, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's big 3.0 update is now live. The patch adds a wealth of new content and features to the acclaimed Switch fighting game, including a new playable character and Stage Builder mode, plus a long list of balance tweaks for various fighters.
Headlining the update is Persona 5's Joker, who is now available as a DLC character. Joker comes alongside a brand-new stage, Mementos, as well as nearly a dozen music tracks lifted from the Persona series and a handful of Persona Spirits. Additionally, an assortment of Persona- and Sonic-inspired Mii Fighter costumes are available for purchase. The costumes run for $0.75 each, while the Joker Fighter Pack costs $6. Joker is also included as part of Smash Ultimate's $25 Fighters Pass.
The aforementioned Stage Builder, meanwhile, is available free for everyone, and it allows player to create and share their own Smash Ultimate levels. Nintendo has also added a video editor. This feature gives players the ability to combine their saved video clips and adds subtitles, sound effects, and more. The videos can likewise be shared with other players through the new Smash World hub in the Nintendo Switch Online smartphone app.
Rounding out the update is a litany of gameplay adjustments. Among other things, several of Diddy Kong's attacks have been buffed, and now all characters will be penalized more for continuous dodging. You can see the full list of character tweaks on Nintendo's support website, while the general patch notes for the 3.0 update can be found here.
Nintendo still has four more unannounced DLC characters on the way for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, as well as a few more Amiibo figures. Three of them--Pichu, Pokemon Trainer, and Isabelle--will hit retailers starting July 26. Figures of Squirtle, Ivysaur, Snake, and Simon Belmont are also on the way this year, although no release date has been announced yet.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Update 3.0 Patch Notes
Offline
Stage Builder added to Games & More. You can now draw your own custom stages by hand.
Note: Camera controls are not available when converting a replay that contains a custom stage into a video.
Edit Video feature added to Vault → Replays. You can now create new movies using several videos made from replays.
Note: Only videos from Ver. 3.0.0 or later can be used as source material. There are planned expansions to the Edit Video feature in future updates.
DLC Spirits option added to the Spirits menu.
Note: DLC spirits can only be used if you have purchased the corresponding downloadable content.
The following spirits will appear in the Vault Shop:
Morgana
Ryuji Sakamoto
Ann Takamaki
Yusuke Kitagawa
Makoto Niijima
Futaba Sakura
Haru Okumura
Goro Akechi
Caroline & Justine
Igor
Phantom Thieves of Hearts
Online
You can now share replays, videos, Mii Fighters and custom stages with people around the world in Shared Content.
Note: You can only post replays and videos created with Ver. 3.0.0 and on. You cannot post replays of online/local wireless battles on custom stages, or videos that include custom stages.
You can now sync your game with Smash World, a service accessible via the Nintendo Switch Online smart device app. Available features include viewing some of the things posted to Shared Content, and creating spirit teams from the spirits you have collected.
Note: The Smash World service is planned to begin after the distribution of Ver. 3.0.0. If you still don't see Smash World in your list of services, please try again later.
It is now easier to be matched with players who have a similar Global Smash Power in Quickplay. Further improvements and adjustments to matchmaking are planned.
General
The following downloadable content will be usable after purchase:
Joker Challenger Pack
Persona 3 Protagonist Wig + Outfit
Persona 4 Protagonist Wig + Outfit
Teddie Hat
Morgana Hat
Tails Hat + Outfit
Knuckles Hat + Outfit
You cannot make videos of replays that contain DLC you have not purchased (fighters, stages, music, Mii Fighter costumes, etc.).
Game-balance adjustments have been made.
Several issues have been fixed to improve gameplay experience.
It's been an exciting week so far, with PS5 details and an Avengers: Endgame leak. If you're a Fortnite fan, the week is about to get even better with a new wave of challenges to complete. Naturally, spending the time and effort to finish these mini-quests will score you Battle Stars that level up your Battle Pass and unlock cosmetics.
As always, there are two sets of challenges. The first is a free set that's available to anyone playing the game, while the second is exclusively for those that have spent V-Bucks on a premium Battle Pass. In the former's category, players will need to find a treasure map, use vending machines, and dish out damage to enemies while also using a balloon.
Meanwhile, if you've got a premium Battle Pass, you'll need to search Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces, dial the Durrr Burger number on a specific phone, take out enemies in Dusty Divot or Lucky Landing, and then kill two enemies from at least 50m away.
Fortnite Season 8, Week 8 Challenges
Free
Stage 1: Search the treasure map signpost in Paradise Palms (1) -- 2 Battle Star
Use Vending Machines in different matches (3) -- 5 Battle Stars
Deal damage to opponents while using at least one balloon (100) -- 10 Battle Stars
Battle Pass
Search Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces under bridges and in caves (7) -- 5 Battle Stars
Stage 1: Dial the Durrr Burger number on the big telephone west of Fatal Fields (1) -- 2 Battle Stars
Eliminate opponents at Dusty Divot or Lucky Landing (7) -- 10 Battle Stars
Eliminate opponents from at least 50m away (2) -- 10 Battle Stars
The latest Fortnite update added a new LTM oriented around dogfighting. Patch 8.40 introduced Air Royale, which lets players "pilot the X-4 Stormwing in this Limited-Time Mode as you fight to become the last plane flying! Complete free Challenges to unlock brand-new Wraps as you rule the skies."
Alongside it, Epic also brought back the Food Fight LTM, but as a variant called Deep Fried. It features higher restaurant bases, which means teams must build up to them to protect their mascots. There are a number of other tweaks and changes to the game, and you can see it all in the Fortnite update 8.40 patch notes.
Ever since its reveal last year, developer id Software has been very clear about Rage 2 being the game that the original should have been. Co-developed with Avalanche Studios, the sequel has been toted as a true open-world game compared to its predecessor's attempt at one, leaning heavily on hectic gameplay within a vast and dynamic environment. Though Rage 2 is all about blending together the fast, punchy corridor-shooter action that id software is known for with Avalanche's sense of scale and breadth of content from their world-exploring games, our last few impressions didn't give us the opportunity to see those aspects really come together.
However, we recently got to play two hours of the final game ahead of its May 14 release. While exploring the setting at our leisure, we got more of a clearer picture of how Rage 2 injects id Software's old-school design within the framework of a modern open-world game. We also spoke with id studio director with id Software studio director Tim Willits about the making of the sequel to the 2011 post-apocalyptic open-world shooter, and how it's introduced them to some new rethink their familiar design philosophies.
Editor's Note: This interview has been edited for clarity and readability.
When you think back to the original game after playing this one, they're pretty night and day by comparison. Rage 2 feels like it's entirely its own thing.
Yes, it is. Firstly, I like to say that Rage 2 delivers on all that Rage 1 promised. I've joked that the biggest lesson I've learned from Rage is don't make an open world game without an open world technology, which is what we did with our id Tech 5 engine for the original. But you're right, it's kinda like we're launching a new franchise. It's very exciting. We often get people asking, "Well, do I need to have played the first one?" And I'm like, "No. Don't worry about it. We got you covered." You can just jump in and play. Don't be nervous by the 2.
After playing about two hours of this game, I do have to say that it felt more comfortable with being an id-shooter in an open world. Whereas the original felt like it was trying brute force its way into that mold.
I'm glad you noticed that. It was the number one thing we set out to do with this game. When we were started pitching the game internally, I made this presentation and one slide had said "Rage 2." People were like, "okay, Rage 2, that's cool," and then the next slide was the Id logo and the Avalanche logo, and when people saw that they were like, yeah, that's cool! And then everything from there just made sense.
It seems like Avalanche coming on was very instrumental in helping id Software transition its particular gameplay into the open world.
Well, the great thing about working with the Avalanche team is they not only bring the Apex Engine technology, which is awesome, but they also bring that experience. They've been making open-world action games for a long time, so they just think about things differently. How we tell the story, how we write the dialogue, and how we approach the missions, those things really leveraged on a lot of their expertise. We have some amazing technology, but just for this style of game, we found that it was better to work with a company that had the experience with their own [open-world] tech and gameplay. Working with Avalanche on this game was kind of a match made in heaven.
Truth be told, I played Rage 2 previously at other conventions, and it was difficult getting a sense of the world and scale of the game. The previous demos tended to focus more on enclosed encounters--which seemed more in-line with traditional id shooters, rather than an open world game.
Yeah, it's not the same experience getting to dive into this game at your own pace versus playing a 20-minute chunk at a show. At E3 last year, we had the Eden's Gate complex, which is very classic id Software style-level. It was fun, it was cool, but you are right--We stuck you in a box, and obviously, this game is not a box. We wanted people to believe that we had that id-style combat in this world, so we really focused on proving that first, which is one of our biggest milestones in the project. We really had to figure out how it felt to play, what the endgame content was like, and what the weapons were like. Are they loud enough, powerful enough, fast enough? So it was definitely a hurdle we needed to jump over early.
But I'm glad you were able to play a big part in the game just now. You know, it's funny, now, when you play the game, you'll get that Eden's Gate mission, and you'll be like, "this is so small compared to everything else I saw". When you play through it normally, you'll just blast through it. It's such a different feeling when you actually get to see it the world.
This game will also see some interesting updates after launch which will affect the state of the world. In a recent trailer, there were some references to in-world event that has you fight mutants for a TV program.
Yes! So, we'll have events and we can churn in activities on the occasion. But you do not need to always be online for this game. So was a little bit of confusion recently, but if you are connected to the internet, you can participate in these live events. If you're not, then just play the base game and have fun. We can make these cool events happen that will kinda keep people engaged as we can deliver them more content in the future.
So Rage 2 six to seven month from now will potentially be a different game than the one we've got at launch?
Yes, that's the plan! Hopefully, people will stay with it. I do think we have a good plan. We have some cool beats that we'll talk about after the game launches, and what the framework looks like moving forward. When you play the full game, you can see that there's room for things to expand, and we will continually layer things in to keep people engaged.
It seems like the idea of the evolving game or a games-as-a-service title is becoming more commonplace now. Is Rage 2 in that similar school of thought?
No, it will just be a supported game. I don't know, it's so hard to--like someone needs to come up with a perfect definition of what a "games-as-a-service" game actually is. Many people have different ideas of that, and I may have confused people originally when I started talking about this. What we're planning on doing is creating some updates and content for this game after we launch. So, we monitor the game, we monitor the players, we act in the community, we're gonna support it, we're gonna update it. It's not like a subscription or a free-to-play game. But it will be supported.
Though previous id Software shooters have seen updates after launch, this game seems more about expanding the world itself and the content therein. This seems to be new territory for you all.
That's true, but it's honestly the direction that the industry is moving toward. Fans spend so much time with our games, and people want to know that the thing that they enjoy is being supported and that the developers stand behind it, and that they will continue to improve the experience. If you're gonna dedicate so much of your time, when there are so many other things to do, you want that commitment from the other side. So that's what we are gonna try to do, which is something that's new for us, so hopefully, it'll work.
Though the game itself is very modern in its focus, it still feels very old-school in its design. And we see that in its focus on offering cheat codes, which seems to be a rarity in today's age.
We don't take ourselves too seriously all the time, and those cheat codes should be pretty fun. The game shines when players just sit down and do what they want to do. I really believe, the more time you spend with the game, the more enjoyable it is. If you rush through it, you're not gonna have as much fun as the person that spends twice as long. So, I would encourage people to take their time, experiment with the powers and upgrades, because there's a lot. It's definitely rewarding for people who spend the time.
There's one cheat in particular called "Git Gud", which kills all enemies in one hit once activated. It seems to be a reference to online game challenge culture. Do you have a particular stance on how you want your games to be designed in terms of difficulty and the barrier for entry?
So I'm a bit more old-school, I like to get thrown into a new mission and told to find the red key somewhere in the level. But in a game that's this big and open, we do need to help players when they feel like they need some help and we do need to kinda direct them [with the GPS]. As for difficulty, we have several different difficulty settings, of course. If you want that extra challenge then you can play the Nightmare difficulty. You really have to strategize and play smart, it's so tough. But yeah, if you're a pretty hardcore player, I'd encourage you to play it on hard, not normal.
The openness that we have is the nature of this game, nothing is really off-limits. We may point you in the right direction, but we don't really scale the difficulty of the enemies. So if you find an area that's too tough, you can just come back to it when you have more upgrades and more abilities, and you can just tear through it. We give you that opportunity. With the open world nature of the game, I do believe that it allows for more accessibility than some of our other games. We tend to make intense games at id, and sometimes people accuse us of being a little too hardcore. But even though this game's fast and can be tough, because it can change based on what you do and how you play it, I actually think it's more accessible than any of our others games.
I think what's especially noticeable about this game compared to the original is that it has a lot more personality.
Yeah, the first one sold well and people enjoyed it, but I definitely feel that we are firing on all the cylinders with the sequel. We have the right personality, we have the right developers, we have the right tech, we have the right style. It's a good time, also, for this type of game. Because it is a little bit more unique than a lot of the other, kind of, post-apocalyptic games. And yes, you are absolutely correct. We really tried to make the game fun. So, if people play it, and their friend says, "Well, what do you think of Rage 2?" If they say, "That was fun!", then I'm happy.
Mortal Kombat 11 is releasing on the Nintendo Switch, marking the first MK game on a Nintendo system since the series reboot. The Switch version is a little less beautiful than its contemporaries, but what it lacks in visual fidelity it makes up for with portability. So it's no surprise that the official Switch trailer emphasizes the on-the-go aspect.
The trailer (above) shows a piece of a cutscene before pulling back and showing gameplay on a smaller Switch window playing footage of the fights. It's difficult to see due to the smaller screen size but the fights are a little low-fi compared to what you may have gotten accustomed to seeing in other gameplay trailers and Kombat Kasts.
We knew that the Switch version would lose some graphical bells and whistles, though. A recent hands-on preview showed that despite the downgrade, the game ran smoothly to keep the fighting consistent. That means that if you want a portable version, you probably won't compromise the integrity of the systems for the benefit.
Sega has revealed 10 more games coming to its Mega Drive Mini (known as the Genesis Mini in the US). The lineup of classic titles includes Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Earthworm Jim, and more beloved games.
A further 20 games are to be revealed over the coming months. We already knew Ecco the Dolphin, Sonic the Hedgehog, Castlevania: Bloodlines and more were to be pre-installed on the console, which will come with 40 games in total. You can read all 20 games revealed so far at the bottom of this article.
The Mega Drive Mini / Genesis Mini launches worldwide on September 19, costing $80 / £70 / AU $140. It's based on the Model 1 version of the original console, except approximately 55% smaller. The box contains the console, a power adapter, two replica three-button USB controllers, one USB to micro-USB power cable, and one HDMI lead.
The game ports that are on the Genesis Mini were handled by M2, a team that is well known for its work on emulation and re-releases. M2 previously worked on Sega Ages and Sega 3D Classics Collection.
Releasing Mini versions of classic consoles has become something of a trend recently. Nintendo led the way with the NES Classic and the SNES Classic, both of which were received well by critics and went on to be hot commercial items. Sony followed suite with the PlayStation Classic, which wasn't received as warmly.
Sega Mega Drive Mini / Genesis Mini Games Lineup (So Far)
It's finally here. The first full trailer for the upcoming Child's Play reboot has arrived and, with it, the first real look at the new version of Chucky, who happens to be voiced by Mark Hamill. While we previously didn't know much about the film, the new movie gives a lot of insight into what makes this take on Child's Play so different.
The big takeaway is that this isn't just some doll. It's 2019 and now Chucky is from the Buddi line of smart toys. As the trailer says, he can connect to all of your smart devices--which already sounds like a bad idea--and is controlled by an app. Of course, as the trailer teases, that app is going to go haywire as Chucky goes on a murdering spree.
And while the trailer doesn't get too gory, it certainly looks as though Chucky is going to be very creative with his kills. From wrapping up one victim in Christmas lights, to seemingly taking control of electronic devices like drones to carry out his misdeeds, this murderous little doll is dangerous--and downright creepy. Check it out above.
One thing the trailer doesn't do is give much context to the relationship between Chucky and his owner, the 13-year-old Andy (Gabriel Bateman). However, during a preview event for the trailer's release, GameSpot and select press were shown an additional scene from the movie.
In it, Chucky and Andy are playing a board game, as the doll learns more about his owner. When a cat scratches the boy, though, Chucky goes on the offensive against the feline in a pretty disturbing moment. Thankfully, Andy stops him before it's too late, while Chucky says it's because the cat caused him pain.
It certainly gives the impression that Chucky thinks he's protecting Andy when he gets violent, at least at first. Given that this is a Child's Play movie, though, clearly, Andy isn't going to remain safe. And when you consider that a doll like the new Chucky can control pretty much any device it wants to, it opens up a bunch of truly horrific possibilities.
While this is the first real trailer for Child's Play, you're not going to have to wait much longer to see more. Child's Play, which also stars Aubrey Plaza and Bryan Tyree Henry, is in theaters on June 21.
Nearly 20 years after the first movie was released, the Fast & Furious series is bigger than ever. Next year will see the release of the ninth movie in the franchise, and before we get to that, the spin-off Hobbs & Shaw arrives in August. A new trailer has now been released.
Like January's first trailer, this latest one is pretty long, so be warned if you don't want to know a lot of the movie's plot. But it looks like massive fun, with Agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and mercenary-for-hire Owen Shaw (Jason Statham) reluctantly teamed up to take on Idris Elba's genetically enhanced bad guy. There's also plenty of action from Mission Impossible: Fallout star Vanessa Kirby, playing Shaw's sister, and a hilarious-looking family reunion for Hobbs. Check it out above.
Hobbs & Shaw is directed by Deadpool 2's David Leitch, and also stars Eiza González (Baby Driver) and Eddie Marsan (Deadpool 2), with Helen Mirren reprising her role as Shaw's mom from 2016's The Fate of the Furious. It releases on August 2, 2019.
As for Fast & Furious 9, that is now in production ahead of its April 2020 release. It's directed by Justin Lin, who has helmed four of the previous movies in the series. It stars Vin Deisel once more, but won't feature Johnson or Statham.
The Last of Us: Part II is one of the most anticipated PS4 games of the moment, but things have been pretty quiet since the game's E3 2018 gameplay reveal. However, developer Naughty Dog has now offered a small glimpse into the post-apocalyptic game's development progress.
Creative director Neil Druckmann tweeted an image of the game's final script page. The page simply reads, "Cut to black. The end." His caption, meanwhile, states the team has finished shooting that scene.
The image comes just a few days after Druckmann posted an image on Instagram stating Laura Bailey, who plays an as-yet-unknown character, has wrapped her shooting schedule on the project. It therefore appears Naughty Dog has finished--or is close to finishing--shooting its motion capture scenes.
While development of the game could still be ongoing for a while yet, finishing this stage is nevertheless an important milestone. In any case, many fans feel they've been starved of information about The Last of Us: Part II, so to see it approaching the end of at least one important phase of development is a promising step.
No release date, or window, has yet been announced for The Last of Us: Part II. A spoof website recently reported the game would launch in 2019, but Naughty Dog responded by saying it would share more information when it's ready. For more on the much-awaited PS4 game, check out everything we know about The Last of Us: Part II.
Swamp Thing has been a favorite of DC fans for many years, but most viewers would probably agree that neither of his previous two on-screen adaptations captured the spooky, horror edge that made his comic books so popular in the '70s and early '80s. Hopefully that will all change next month when the new Swamp Thing show launches on DC Universe. The first teaser has now been released.
The video doesn't reveal much actual footage from the show, but it's still highly effective. The camera tracks slowly across the waters of a spooky swamp, before stopping to show us Swamp Thing emerging from its depths. The creature's make-up looks fantastic and the teaser certainly suggests that the show will be going in a horror-based direction. Check it out above.
Swamp Thing stars Andy Bean (Agents of SHIELD, the upcoming It: Chapter 2) as Dr Alec Holland, the biologist who transforms into the elemental monster after working in the Louisiana swamp. Derek Mears, who is best known for portraying the iconic killer Jason Vorhees in the 2009 reboot of Friday the 13th, plays the creature. The cast also includes Virginia Madsen (Candyman), Jennifer Beals (Flashdance), and WiIl Patton (Halloween). It hits DC Universe on May 31.
The first season of Swamp Thing was originally intended to be 13 episodes. However, it was reported this week that production was abruptly halted and the season will now run for 10 episodes. According to The Hollywood Reporter, "creative differences" have led to the shortened season, but DC and Warner have not commented on the issue.
Nevertheless, there are plenty of other shows in the works for DC Universe. The DC Universe panel at Wondercon last month gave fans a first look at Courtney Whitmore in Stargirl, which will premiere in early 2020. In addition, it was recently reported that Game of Thrones star Iain Glen has been cast as Bruce Wayne in the second season of Titans, which is scheduled for a Fall 2019 release.
Developer Treyarch continues to expand Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 with updates, and there's a new one available now on PS4, Xbox One, PC that adds a map variant for free. There's also two new modes on the way and plenty more.
The new map variant is named Arsenal Sandstorm. As you might deduce from the name, it's a version of Arsenal that has been overtaken by a dangerous desert storm, and it's available for free for all players now.
PS4 players have a new mode called Deathmatch Domination to enjoy. Treyarch describes it as a "first-of-its-kind mode for the Black Ops series" in which teams can increase their score by capturing objective points and by killing enemies. It's essentially a cross between Team Deathmatch and Domination, then.
Xbox One and PC players aren't totally left out. While they can't enjoy Deathmatch Domination just yet, they do now get to play Infected, which was previously only available to PS4 players and is now live on all platforms. The mode involves infected players running around attempting to pass on their disease to survivors in order to turn them to the infected side.
The remainder of the update is primarily made up of balance tweaks--most notably to the Rampart 17 and KN-57 assault rifles--and stability enhancements. You can read the full patch notes below, via Treyarch.
Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4 April 17 Update -- Patch Notes
As we put the finishing touches on three additional Multiplayer maps launching with our next Operation later this month for Black Ops Pass holders, we're excited to release our newest alternate-weather map free for all players: Arsenal Sandstorm.
Hot on the heels of Contraband Hurricane, Arsenal Sandstorm is our most intricate map makeover yet in Black Ops 4. Players will need to adapt their playstyles to waves of sand sweeping across the environment, with limited visibility throughout the facility encouraging shorter-ranged engagements. We're excited to see how player strategies will evolve on Arsenal Sandstorm, now in rotation on all platforms.
Deathmatch Domination Debuts on PS4
If you've ever wished your team could play the objective in Domination even if they're just there for the streaks, we've got great news. Introducing Deathmatch Domination on PS4, a first-of-its-kind mode for the Black Ops series. In this new take on Domination, teams now have two ways to earn points toward the score limit: by capturing objectives, and by earning kills throughout the match. No matter how you play, you'll be playing for the team. Get out there and let us know what you think in the comments.
Infected Now Live on All Platforms
Infected is now live in Multiplayer on all platforms! We've also made some improvements to gameplay and stability, including the addition of 10 seconds to the game clock instead of 30 when a Survivor becomes infected, to help keep matches from running longer than intended. Check out the patch notes below for what's new, and if you're an Infected newbie, be sure to get familiar with the preset Survivor classes so you're ready to hit the ground running... for your life.
We've also made additional updates across all modes since our last community update, including weapon tuning to the Rampart and KN-57, an extension to the final Collapse timing in Blackout's Alcatraz map, and more. Read on for the full list of what's new.
Summary
Free Arsenal Sandstorm Multiplayer map in rotation today on all platforms.
Deathmatch Domination added as Featured Playlist in Multiplayer on PS4.
Infected added as Featured Playlist in Multiplayer on Xbox One and PC.
Barebones Moshpit, Stockpile, Mercenary Deathmatch Moshpit (consoles), and Half-Off Heist (Xbox One) added to Featured category in Multiplayer.
Weapon tuning for Rampart and KN-57 in Multiplayer, Blackout, and Zombies.
Alcatraz final Collapse time increased from 60 seconds to 120 seconds.
PC curated playlists updated, including new Lone Wolf playlist.
Gameplay and stability improvements added for Infected.
All Platforms
Multiplayer
Maps
Arsenal Sandstorm
Free alternate-weather version of Arsenal in rotation today on all platforms.
Game Modes
Infected
When a Survivor becomes infected, 10 seconds will now be added to the game clock instead of 30.
General stability fixes for Infected.
Weapon Tuning
Rampart 17
Increased ADS-in speed.
KN-57
Slightly reduced recoil.
Increased ADS-in speed.
Quickdraw: Increased ADS-in speed.
World League Hub
Statistics
Choosing Fresh Start will no longer clear World League Hub stats.
Blackout
Alcatraz
Increased the final Collapse time from 60 seconds to 120 seconds.
Weapon Tuning
Rampart 17
Increased ADS-in speed.
KN-57
Slightly reduced recoil.
Zombies
Weapon Tuning
Rampart 17
Increased ADS-in speed.
KN-57
Slightly reduced recoil.
Increased ADS-in speed.
Quickdraw: Increased ADS-in speed.
PS4
Multiplayer
Game Modes
Deathmatch Domination
Added as new Featured Playlist on PS4.
Teams have two ways to earn points toward the round score limit: capturing objectives and earning kills.
Addressed an issue where Medals were not displaying properly.
Featured Playlists
Barebones Moshpit, Infected, Stockpile, and Mercenary Deathmatch Moshpit join Deathmatch Domination in the Featured category this week.
Xbox One And PC
Multiplayer
Infected
Infected added as Featured Playlist on PS4.
Players are divided into two teams: Survivors vs. Infected, with one player randomly selected as the first Infected.
Infected players hunt down the Survivors and attack them to spread their disease, converting their victims into members of the Infected team.
Survivors choose from preset classes and kill/avoid the Infected throughout the match.
Survivors win by having at least one surviving member when the timer runs out. Infected team wins by infecting every Survivor in the map before time runs out.
Infected team can respawn an infinite number of times. Survivors have one life before they become Infected.
Timer resets every time a Survivor falls victim to the Infected team, or when a Survivor becomes Infected via suicide.
Preset classes for Survivors include:
Scrapper
Primary Weapon: Cordite w/ Laser Sight and Extended Mags
Secondary Weapon: Mozu w/ High Caliber
Equipment: Concussion
Perks: Gung-Ho, Lightweight, Dexterity
Wildcard: Perk 2 Gluttony
Impaler
Primary Weapon: VAPR-XKG w/ ELO and Bayonet
Secondary Weapon: Strife
Equipment: Molotov
Perks: Scavenger, Dexterity, Dead Silence
Wildcard: Primary Operator Mod
Lead Spitter
Primary Weapon: Titan w/ Reflex, Stock, and Quickdraw
Secondary Weapon: RK 7 Garrison
Equipment: Frag
Perks: Skulker, Dexterity, and Team Link
Wildcard: Perk 2 Greed
Perforator
Primary Weapon: ABR 223 w/ Suppressor, Quickdraw, and Extended Mags
Secondary Weapon: Strife
Equipment: Molotov
Perks: Scavenger, Skulker, and Dead Silence
Wildcard: Primary Gunfighter 1
Meat Bagger
Primary Weapon: Mozu w/ Speed Loader and Quickdraw
Secondary Weapon: MOG 12 w/ Quickdraw
Equipment: Concussion
Perks: Scavenger, Dexterity, and Team Link
Wildcard: Underkill
Headhunter
Primary Weapon: Paladin HB50 w/ High Caliber and Stabilizer
Secondary Weapon: MOG 12 w/ Long Barrel and Barrel Choke
Equipment: None
Perks: Dexterity, Skulker, and Tracker
Wildcard: Perk 2 Greed
Featured Playlists
Xbox One
Infected, Barebones Moshpit, Stockpile, Mercenary Deathmatch Moshpit, and Half-Off Heist added to the Featured category this week.
PC
Infected, Barebones Moshpit, and Stockpile added to the Featured category this week.
PC
Multiplayer
Core Playlist Updates
Team Deathmatch
Search & Destroy
Mercenary Deathmatch Moshpit
Team Deathmatch
Kill Confirmed
Objective Moshpit
Control
Hardpoint
Domination
Safeguard
Lone Wolf Moshpit
Free For All
One In The Chamber
Gun Game
Heist
Match Start Requirements
Reduced Mercenary Deathmatch Moshpit match start requirements from 10 players to 8.
Reduced Hardcore Deathmatch Moshpit match start requirements from 10 players to 8.
Reduced Objective Moshpit match start requirements from 8 players to 6.
Reduced Hardcore Objective Moshpit match start requirements from 8 players to 6.
Blackout
Match Start Requirements
Reduced match start requirements from 100 players to 80 in current and future Blackout modes when applicable.
"The final release date of Title Update 3 will be based on results from further testing and balancing of the game," Ubisoft wrote in a blog post. "Operation Dark Hours will be your biggest challenge to date, and we want to make sure that we've properly tested the large amount of balance changes that are coming to both PvE and PvP and listen to your feedback about the changes before introducing the raid."
To test these changes, Ubisoft has opened the Public Test Server (PTS) on the PC version of The Division 2. "The plan is to structure the PTS in phases, each lasting a few days and focusing on a specific part of the game," Ubisoft wrote. "We will have surveys and dedicated forum threads (together with our traditional general and technical issues forums) to cover these topics."
The PTS is now live, and includes every piece of new content coming in the Title Update 3 except for the raid. Although the raid is the major piece of new content in Title Update 3, the patch also implements several Talent buffs and nerfs as well. There are some balancing changes for Conflict and Dark Zones. Ubisoft hasn't released the full patch notes for the update, but YouTuber Arekkz Gaming has outlined all of the major changes.
In our The Division 2 review, Edmond Tran gave the game a 9/10, writing, "The range of enemy types continues to keep combat encounters challenging, the equipment I earn and pick up continues to feel different, valuable, and asks me to consider new ways of play. The ravaged environments continue to intrigue, and sometimes they're so stunning I find myself needing to take screenshots before I move on. It might not have much to say, but The Division 2 is a perpetual cycle of tension, relief, and reward that's difficult to stay away from."
The Arbalest is the latest Exotic to pop up in Destiny 2--and the last of the Season of the Drifter. It's comes as part of the Revelry event, and is earned through completing Triumphs tied to the event and its new activity, the Verdant Forest. Like the other Exotics that come from lengthy quests, it requires a fair bit of grinding to get to the reward.
While you'll need to spend some time blasting through the Verdant Forest and working on other activities to get your Arbalest, that doesn't mean it has to take you until the end of the Revelry on May 7 to get it. There are 10 Triumphs to earn in the Revelry, but you only need seven of them to unlock your Arbalest. With the right approach, you can knock out the Triumphs relatively quickly, provided you know what you're doing.
Here's how you can knock out the Revelry Triumphs most quickly, and grab your Arbalest with the least pain and grinding.
Visit Eva Levante
Your quest for Arbalest starts when you visit Eva Levante at the Tower. She'll give you the Reveler's Tonic, which gives you special perks when you spend a new item called Reveler's Essence that drops in various activities. She'll also send you to fight through the Verdant Forest, a new version of the Infinite Forest.
Start by completing your first run in the Verdant Forest--it doesn't matter how well you do, but clearing all five bosses at the end can get you some of the Revelry armor set, which you want--then head back to Eva. Once you do, she'll offer you weekly and daily bounties. You'll need them to get your Arbalest as quickly as possible.
Clear Some Strikes
You'll be doing a bunch of Verdant Forest runs, but first you might want to complete Eva's weekly bounties, because they drop Inaugural Revelry armor. Wearing pieces of that armor set (and the Vernal Growth set you can get from Eververse) increases the effectiveness of your Reveler's Tonic perks. Once you get four of them, bosses you kill in the Verdant Forest will start to count toward your Budding Fashion Triumph, so getting the armor earlier is better.
While you're running Strikes, activate the grenade or melee perks with your Reveler's Tonic. That'll make your grenade or melee abilities recharge super quickly--like once every two or three seconds. As you're running Strikes, use your abilities constantly; kills with grenades will count toward your Fireworks Triumph, and melee kills count toward the Melee Mayhem Triumph. You'll need to finish five Strikes to complete the bounty, and that should be plenty to get you the kills you need for one or both of the Triumphs as well.
When you're not getting grenade kills, focus on precision kills. They have a chance of generating extra Super orbs thanks to the Revelric Light perk from the Revelry, and count toward another weekly bounty. Use those orbs to rack up as many Super kills as you can in every activity you do, since they all count toward the Super Celebratory Triumph.
Get Competitive
The same thinking about Strikes applies to Crucible or Gambit matches. You'll probably want to go with Gambit, as it'll give you more opportunities to generate Orbs of Light, snag grenade and melee kills, and get Super kills. You'll need to complete five matches to clear the weekly bounty and unlock another piece of Revelry gear. Snag enough precision kills between Strikes and Competitive matches and you'll finish another weekly bounty to gain a third piece of Inaugural Revelry armor.
Wear Your Revelry Armor To The Verdant Forest
Now you're ready for some Verdant Forest runs. Wear any Inaugural Revelry armor you've got, including the Vernal Growth armor from Eververse--both sets together seem to count toward the Budding Fashion Triumph. Your goal in the Verdant Forest is to clear as many branches as you can before the timer runs out, because more branches means more time for the boss fight at the end. You'll face five bosses in the final encounter, and if you can defeat all of them, you'll get a Powerful drop that often includes more Revelry armor.
As you fight through the Verdant Forest, try to get as far as you can (use our guide to help), but focus on precision kills and Supers to generate as many Orbs of Light as possible. The goal is to clear out the Verdant Light Events Triumph, which requires you to earn 200 orbs in the Verdant Forest or in Black Armory forges. You'll also get through the Spring Cleaning Triumph, which needs 50 cleared branches to unlock, but that should be doable in two or three runs with a decent team.
When you get to the boss fight section, killing three bosses in one go will get you the Spring Hunt Triumph; killing 20 bosses with four pieces of Revelry armor on unlocks the Budding Fashion Triumph.
After that, it's just grinding: get Super kills to finish off the Super Celebratory Triumph; grenade kills and melee kills in Strikes and Competitive matches for the Fireworks Triumph and Melee Mayhem Triumph; and 50 branches for the Verdant Light Events Triumph. In total, with five Strikes, five Competitive matches, and anywhere between four and eight or so Verdant Forest runs, Arbalest should be yours.
Arbalest is a pretty sick weapon if you use it right. It's a lot like the Queenbreaker linear fusion rifle, but it's a kinetic weapon, rather than a power weapon. It does a ton of damage when you hit enemies in the head, and it does bonus damage when you use it to break shields. The only drawback is that it doesn't carry much ammo, so make sure you use it wisely.
Earth Day is quickly approaching--it's next Monday, April 22, in case you didn't know--and in the spirit of reuse and avoiding waste, Amazon is offering 20% off used PS4, Switch, and Xbox One games, consoles like the Nintendo Switch, wireless controllers, PC gaming accessories, and more this week. Because they're used, many of these products are already discounted, so there are some pretty decent deals with the additional markdown.
The 20% off discount will be applied automatically during checkout--you'll be able to see the reduction when you get to the Shipping & Payment portion. And if you have Prime, you'll get free two-day shipping as usual. While used, the products are all in "good," "very good," or "like new" condition and are shipped and sold by Amazon, so you can rest assured the deals are legit.
It's a good time to pick up a Nintendo Switch, as you can grab one here for around $210. There's an excellent price on the HTC VIVE VR system, which generally sells for $500 but is available here for $338. Used Xbox wireless controllers are available for well under $40 in multiple colors, with the white version selling for just $27. Meanwhile, you can pick up a black DualShock 4 wireless controller for only $34.
See some of our gaming-related picks from the sale below--we've already calculated the 20% off discount for you so you can see the price that will show up at checkout.
Sony began to share details on its next-generation PlayStation console this week. Among other things, Mark Cerny explained that it will be backwards compatible and use a customized solid-state drive for quicker load times. One of the details we haven't heard about the presumptive PlayStation 5 is the price, but Sony has signaled not to worry about breaking the bank.
While the subject of price didn't come up in the interview, Wired writer Peter Rubin did broach it during his discussion with Cerny, and he shared their exchange on Twitter. Naturally, Cerny was coy about saying too much about the topic, but he did tease the system will launch with an "appealing" price tag. "I believe that we will be able to release it at an SRP [suggested retail price] that will be appealing to gamers in light of its advanced feature set," he said.
Of course, Cerny's response leaves a lot of wiggle room, and his comment about the console's "advanced feature set" suggests it won't be cheap, although we likely won't know just how much it'll cost until closer to launch. As for when that will be, Sony hasn't yet announced a release window for its next console. Last May, however, head of PlayStation John Kodera said the new system was three years off, so it presumably won't arrive until 2020 at the earliest.
In addition to confirming backwards compatibility, Cerny revealed that the PS5 will use an AMD chip with a CPU based on the third-generation Ryzen, as well as a custom version of Radeon's Navi graphics chips. The system is also said to support 8K.
Beyond that, Sony didn't share many other details about its upcoming console, and it's unclear when the company will reveal more information. For the first time since entering the gaming market, Sony is skipping this year's E3, so any more news about the system will likely be reserved for its PlayStation Experience event or new State of Play streams, assuming the company plans on revealing it this year.
Noted invisible professional wrestler and former WWE Champion John Cena may finally be throwing his hat into the superhero movie ring. The self-proclaimed "Doctor of Thuganomics" is reportedly in talks to join the cast of the Suicide Squad follow-up being written and directed by Guardians of the Galaxy helmer James Gunn.
The news comes from Variety, which says Cena may join Margot Robbie and Jai Courtney--who starred in the first Suicide Squad as Harley Quinn and Captain Boomerang, respectively--as well as Idris Elba in the film. At this point, Elba and Cena's roles remain a mystery, as does the state of the rest of the Squad. However, Variety previously reported Will Smith would not reprise his role as Deadshot.
Interestingly, this wouldn't be Gunn's first time working with a WWE star. He previously directed Dave Bautista in both Guardians films, with a third installment in the works. It would, however, be Cena's first role in a movie adaptation of a comic book. His previous big screen work includes roles in Bumblebee, Blockers, and the animated film Ferdinand. He'll next be seen on the big screen in Project X-Traction, alongside Jackie Chan.
Gunn's Suicide Squad film hasn't started filming yet but is scheduled to hit theaters on August 6, 2021. As for Cena, he recently made his WWE return at Wrestlemania during a segment with the guitar-strumming Elias, though there's been no mention of him getting back in the ring anytime soon.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's big 3.0 update wasn't the only Smash news Nintendo had to share this week. The company has also announced that a trio of new Amiibo figures are on the way, and they're slated to hit stores this summer.
Starting July 26, players will be able to pick up the Pichu, Pokemon Trainer, and Isabelle Super Smash Bros. Amiibo at retailers. Nintendo hasn't specified how much these new figures will cost, but previous Smash Ultimate Amiibo have run for $16 USD each. You can take a look at images of the new figures below.
Nintendo has released nine other Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Amiibo thus far, with even more on the way this year. The most recent batch, which consisted of Young Link, Daisy, and Ken, arrived earlier this month. Figures of Squirtle, Ivysaur, Snake, and Simon Belmont are also slated to release sometime in 2019.
In the meantime, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's 3.0 update arrives today, April 17. The biggest addition is undoubtedly Persona 5's Joker, who is joining the roster as a playable character. Joker arrives alongside a new stage, Mementos, as well as an assortment of music tracks taken from the Persona series. The whole Joker pack is available for $6 / £4.49, or as part of the $25 Fighters Pass.
In addition to Joker, the 3.0 update introduces a Stage Builder to the game, allowing players to create and share their own levels. Additionally, the Nintendo Switch Online phone app is receiving an update that adds the previously announced Smash World hub, which lets players view user-created videos and stages. Finally, the update adds a new assortment of Persona and Sonic Mii Fighter costumes to purchase.
If you're in the market for an Xbox One and have been waiting to buy it for less than $200, here's a solid deal for you: An Xbox One S bundle with Battlefield V is available for $175 via GamerCandy at Rakuten right now. While listed at $200, members get $25 off their purchase, and all you have to do is set up a free Rakuten account. Once you're signed in, just apply coupon code GAMEC25 during checkout. It'll drop to $175, complete with free shipping and no sales tax.
This exact bundle is selling for between $200 and $250 at other retailer sites, so this is currently the best discount you'll find. The coupon is only valid for the rest of today, April 17, so hurry if you want to claim this deal.
This deal follows the announcement of Microsoft's new Xbox One S All-Digital Edition, which doesn't have a disc drive for playing physical games or DVDs, but is otherwise identical to the regular Xbox One S. That all-digital console is selling for $250, a price some fans have felt is too high considering the Xbox One S is regularly on sale for $250, $200, and as Rakuten shows, sometimes even less. We can only wait and see how the price fluctuates on the digital Xbox One down the road, but for now, you can pick up the original Xbox One S--disc drive and all--for the very reasonable price of $175 while this promotion lasts.
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