Although it hasn't been officially confirmed by Ubisoft, it appears as if the next game in the Assassin's Creed franchise will take place in a Viking setting. The game is expected to launch in 2020, with 2019 devoted to the release of a remastered edition of Assassin's Creed III and Odyssey's Fate of Atlantis episodic DLC.
Theories that the next mainline Assassin's Creed game will take place in the era of Vikings sprung up with the discovery of odd posters in The Division 2. YouTuber JorRaptor noticed that the numerous Viking posters located in The Division 2's Potomac Event Center seemed to feature a Norse god or traveller holding what appears to be an Apple of Eden. Kotaku has since confirmed from two independent sources "familiar with the game" that the next Assassin's Creed title--codenamed "Kingdom" and scheduled for 2020--stars Vikings.
One of Assassin's Creed's Pieces of Eden, the Apple, has been one of the most prominent ties in the Ubisoft franchise, with versions of it appearing in the original game, Assassin's Creed II, Brotherhood, Revelations, III, Syndicate, and Origins, as well as many of the comics, novels, and the live action movie. These ancient technologies were developed by a fictional race that lived centuries prior to most of the events of the Assassin's Creed franchise, and they--along with the other Pieces of Eden--have been repeatedly used as the main source of power for history's seemingly supernatural or divine figures.
If the next Assassin's Creed does have a Viking setting, it flies in the face of fans' repeated requests for a game in Japan, and discounts the 2016 leak that revealed the franchise's next titles would be a trilogy telling the origin of the Assassin and Templar conflict--set first in Egypt, and then followed by Greece and finally Rome (although getting two out of three settings isn't that bad).
The Viking Age commonly refers to the period of time in Northern Europe between the ninth and eleventh centuries, which could put this next Assassin's Creed game anywhere between 100-400 years prior to the events of the very first game. Both Origins and Odyssey have detailed how forgotten members of history discovered the value of killing key figures as opposed to waging wars, giving rise to the Hidden Ones. But the franchise still hasn't shown how the Hidden Ones become the Assassin Brotherhood seen in the first game, nor how their enemies, The Order of Ancients, become the Assassins' foes, The Templar Order, also seen in the first game.
It's been a great few weeks for deals in the Xbox and Playstation stores, which have offered discounts on high-quality games recently. Now, it's GameStop's turn--the retailer is kicking off its massive spring sale this Sunday, April 7 with significant markdowns on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch games; deals on consoles, gaming accessories, and memberships; discounts on toys and merchandise; and special trade-in offers. The deals will be available online, in stores, and on the GameStop app. Except where otherwise stated, these offers will be available until Saturday, April 20. Here's a quick breakdown of the deals that will be available.
Many of the best game discounts are for PS4 and Xbox One. Of the deals that have been announced so far, notable discounts include Resident Evil 2 for $40, Far Cry New Dawn for $20, and Kingdom Hearts 3 for $40. Red Dead Redemption 2 will be marked down to $40, and its GameStop-exclusive Ultimate edition, which includes exclusive story mode content, bonus online content, additional weapons, an exclusive printed map, and collectible steelbook, will sell for $70. Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, a turn-based tactics game developed by Ubisoft for the Nintendo Switch, will be discounted to $25.
There will be a ton of console and accessories deals, such as 20% off select Nintendo Switch accessories and up to $60 off select gaming headsets. If you buy an Xbox One X or S from April 7 to 13, you'll receive a $50 GameStop gift card; then starting April 14, you'll receive an Apex Legends Founders Pack and save $50 with any Xbox One purchase.
Be sure to check out the deals on apparel, collectibles, and toys as well. From April 7 to 13, it's buy one, get one 50% off on all apparel, including T-shirts, hats, socks, bags, and wallets. There will also be an Easter deal where it's 25% off all toys, collectibles, apparel, and more that you can fit inside an exclusive Thanos bag (which itself costs $5), making a great Easter gift for young gamers (or to treat yourself, we're not judging).
The discounts will be available starting this Sunday, and we'll keep this post updated with any notable deals. Check out some of the confirmed deals below!
Easter Stuff & Save Bag - toys, collectibles, drinkware, board games, statues, and apparel -- 25% off everything you can fit in an exclusive Thanos bag (begins April 14, excludes discounted products, bag itself costs $5)
Special trade-in offers:
$250 trade credit for any PlayStation 4 Pro or Xbox One X consoles
$200 trade credit for Original or Slim PlayStation 4 or Nintendo Switch consoles
$150 trade credit for Xbox One S console
50% extra credit on any games traded (only April 7-13)
We've reached Week 6 of Fortnite Season 8, and there's a new set of challenges to complete across PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile. Clear this week's missions and you'll earn Battle Stars, leveling up your Battle Pass and bringing you one step closer to unlocking this season's secret Legendary skin, Ruin.
As usual, there's an extra incentive to complete as many challenges as you can besides unlocking the new Season 8 Battle Pass rewards. If you manage to clear all of the objectives from a given week, you'll in turn complete one of this season's Discovery challenges, earning you a special loading screen that hides a subtle clue pointing to a free Battle Star--which levels your Battle Pass up by one tier--or a Banner--which can be used as a profile icon--waiting somewhere around the island.
Clear six weeks' worth of Season 8 challenges and you'll receive the loading screen pictured below. This one depicts Master Key trying to retrieve one of his keys from a shadowy figure. The key, it turns out, is the clue that'll lead you to this week's secret Banner. Look closely at its handle and you'll see a set of coordinates: E2, E3, F2, F3.
The secret Banner will appear where those four coordinates converge, just west of Lazy Lagoon. We've circled the exact location on the map below. Glide to the area at the beginning of a match and you'll be able to find the Banner beneath a tree. Pick it up then finish the match and it'll be yours to use as a snazzy new profile icon. If you need more help finding it, you can watch where we go in the video above.
Like other secret Banners and Battle Stars, there are a few caveats to be aware of before setting out to find the item. Most important, this particular Banner won't appear unless you've completed six weeks' worth of challenges and unlocked the above loading screen; you won't simply be able to go to the right area and pick it up unless you've done all of the necessary steps. Fortunately, we have tips and guides in our Season 8 challenges roundup if you need help completing any of this season's missions.
Epic recently rolled out Fortnite's 8.20 content update. This time, the developer introduced a new weapon called the Boom Bow to Battle Royale mode. What makes this particular bow unique is that its arrows are outfitted with shotgun shells, which will explode on contact. Epic also kicked off another Sniper Showdown LTM and made a few other changes to the game, such as buffing peppers. You can find the full patch notes on the official Fortnite website.
If you've attempted to purchase tickets to what's arguably the biggest movie this spring, there's a decent chance you clicked away disappointed. Tickets for Avengers: Endgame were snapped up quickly, with many unable to even look at seats on ticketing sites like Cinemark and Fandango. Demand has led to listings on eBay that purport to be selling the highly coveted tickets, but at astronomical prices.
According to a CBS News report, scalpers on eBay are attempting to sell them for upwards of $25,000 on the high end. On the low end, a set of five tickets is being offered for $600. The five ticket package even comes with a financing option: $29 USD for 24 months through PayPal. Two tickets to a 3D showing of Endgame in Newport are going for $400.
As it stands, it's unclear whether the tickets are actually being purchased at these ridiculous prices. The listing for two tickets to a New York theatre for $5,000 has ended, but the original item listing states, "This listing was ended by the seller because there was an error in the listing." Another two tickets that were priced at $10,000 is also no longer available, and a message reads, "This listing was ended by the seller because the item is no longer available."
Reports suggest that Endgame could debut at an estimated $200-250 million during its opening weekend. It's possible Endgame could surpass this estimate, as Avengers: Infinity War pulled in $257 million in its opening weekend, well over its estimated $180-225. Avenger: Endgame hits theatres on April 26.
Ahead of its release, Disney and Marvel released a new trailer. We've taken a close look at it and have an Avengers: Endgame trailer breakdown that analyzes every bit of new information it offers. A small slice of Avengers: Endgame was also shown at CinemaCon, but behind-closed-doors. While the general public won't be able to see it, details of what it includes have been published.
The tragedy of Pet Sematary's Creed family, and how the loss of a kid destroys the entire family once the barrier between the living and the dead evaporates, is well established, thanks to Stephen King's original novel and the successful 1989 adaptation. So when the second trailer for the newest adaptation of Stephen King's Pet Sematary, fans were quick to notice a major deviation from the novel.
That trailer showed that it would be 8-year-old Ellie, and not the adorable 3-year-old Gage, who would bite the dust thanks to a speeding truck. This means no cute toddler chasing people with a knife and making the audience think about whether they should scream or go "aww." But according to the cast and crew of Pet Sematary, this change allowed them to go darker and deeper than even the previous film.
It was originally Matt Greenberg, who wrote the first draft for the new Pet Sematary, who came up with the idea, and at first, it raised a few eyebrows among the cast and crew. "It took me 24 to 36 hours before I finally started coming to terms with the change," writer Jeff Buhler told GameSpot the day after the film's world premiere during SXSW. "By then the initial shock wore off and I started getting excited about the implications of the change and all the things you could do with it."
Jason Clarke, who plays Louis Creed, is a self-proclaimed Stephen King fan, and he was also surprised by the change in the script. "That's always the litmus test," Clarke told GameSpot. "They tell you they changed some things and when you read it you can't believe what they did. But I loved what they did with Ellie. I don't want to be working with a doll, or a stand-in or a tennis ball. I love that I get to work with a real actress that does a great job, and that change makes it easier to establish that father-daughter relationship, which is the core of the story. I thought it was a very smart move."
The change opened some big doors for the filmmakers, and directors Dennis Widmyer and Kevin Kölsch think they got to have a more adult conversation about death than if it was a toddler that returned from the grave. "You have a character that now is the older child and has the presence of mind to know what's happening to her and talk about it," said Kölsch. "We always find the psychology of this movie the most terrifying of things, and having this child, [who asks] about death earlier in the movie, now asking about her own condition, makes you see instantly why this change works."
Buhler also added a new dimension to the story that wasn't present in previous versions: Ellie's relationship with her neighbor Judd. In the book, Judd, now played by John Lithgow, acts as a surrogate father to Louis, but Buhler saw an opportunity to do something different. "He's just so likable," the writer explained. "So by having him interact with Ellie, it makes you ask yourself if you really trust him or not. He acts like a sympathetic old man, but you get a sense that he's hiding something. And because it's an 8-year-old, she instantly trusts him, even if her parents don't."
Amy Seimetz, who plays Rachel Creed, thinks the character switch makes sense for a new adaptation. "Horror only works with the unexpected," she told GameSpot. "You can't just make a word-for-word remake of the book or the film, because it's so well known." Her co-star, Jason Clarke, agrees. He drew an interesting comparison: "You have to be bold with an adaptation," Clarke said. "I love The Shining, and Kubrick made that movie his own. We're not making this to read at home alone, we're making this to watch in a room with hundreds of people."
The Dark Humor
Along with the changes in plot, Pet Sematary has another trick up its sleeve: its humor. As our review points out, the film has a morbid humor that makes you laugh even in the bleakest of scenes. "It's the absurdity of it all," Clarke told us. "And you just have to play with that. There's a scene where we're arguing about telling Ellie about death, and Rachel doesn't want to say anything and suddenly Ellie says 'but mom, what about your sister?' and it's just like 'Oh my God!' It is just built in there naturally."
The directors agree that it's not meant to be just comedic, but a darker, more morbid humor. "I think the laughs serve as decompression," Dennis Widmyer said. "The movie has a lot of anxiety, and these moments let you nervously laugh and enjoy the movie a bit more than if it was utterly bleak the whole way through."
Buhler, on the other hand, was surprised to even hear people laughing during the film's world premiere. "We played everything really straight," Buhler explains. "I was surprised that people were really yacking it up last night and I thought 'what is wrong with people?' I think what happens is that the movie is so messed up and absurd, you're laughing because you can't believe what is happening onscreen, as opposed to an actual comedy like Shaun of the Dead that has built-in jokes."
Sharp-eyed viewers will also notice a little nod to another famous Stephen King story in Pet Sematary. Dennis Widmyer thinks it was just natural to include something, but they made sure they did it right. "Stephen King does that himself in a kind of multiverse," Widmyer said. "Even in the Pet Sematary book there's a reference to the dog from Cujo, so we already had the groundwork done for us, we just didn't want to be cute about it. The production design team really got excited and started pitching things like a Danny Torrance hardware store, and we decided against it because Danny would never have a hardware store. What we did was to think about things that could exist within this book. If Rachel Creed is driving up I-95 from Boston to Ludlow, on Stephen King's map of Maine she would pass Derry at one point, so we could do that as long as it doesn't go beyond the reality of this story."
The Ending Changes
Of course, while the Ellie/Gage switch is a huge departure from the book, Pet Sematary doesn't stop there. The film's ending, in which both Creed parents and Ellie are seen walking out of the sematary and towards a defenseless Gage, is different than the book and the previous film--and it is also a bonkers and fun way to end such an absurd and dark film. Thing is, this was nowhere near the original ending.
According to Buhler, the production tried "every ending imaginable," Buhler told GameSpot, with different characters coming out of the sematary and others being left behind, dead. The ending we got was sort of a surprise. "Someone suggested it as a joke on a roundtable discussion, and I thought that it sounded like a weird but maybe fun idea, so we shot it and played it with the movie. That's when we realized that this ending worked best, because it made the movie fun again. After such a bleak story, you want to go out of the theater and get pizza with your friends, and this ending makes you want to do just that."
While Buhler wouldn't give up details on the other endings they tried, we did get some information on a couple of finished scenes that were cut from the theatrical version of the film. Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura told us that they should make their way into the Blu-ray. "The first scene is between Jason Clarke and John Lithgow, where they talk about family and what's happening in the town," di Bonaventura said. "It was a nice scene that gave some insight into John's character, but it got cut because you already knew what the conversation was about before you got there, so it felt repetitive."
The second one sounds super interesting, and we are bummed that it got cut. "The other was about Rachel when she goes back to her parents' house," explains di Bonaventura. "When she sees the blood coming out and her kid starts crying. We had her parents come down and they sort of fight, because Rachel's parents think she is hysterical. She's saying she knows something is wrong with Louis and she has to go back, and they try to calm her down while Gage is crying. She tells her parents to give her back her kid, and they say 'not in your state'. Then she finally gets mad at them and yells 'I'm not going to be like you, you pretended that Zelda never existed. Ellie did.' It's a heavy scene, and a great scene, and there's not really another scene that duplicates what it tries to say. Unfortunately the place that scene is in, it just gets in the way of the movie's flow, so it got cut."
Toys-to-life as a concept infiltrated the games industry toward the end of the last console generation. Production of the plastic figurines has significantly slowed down since then, with a few heavy-hitters--such as Disney Infinity and Lego Dimensions--discontinuing production altogether. Ubisoft's open-world game, Starlink: Battle for Atlas, is following suit, as the developers have announced that the game won't get any more toys.
In an update posted to the official Starlink website, the Starlink development team confirmed that physical toys will not continue to roll out. "Despite the immense and continuous support from our players, the sales for Starlink: Battle for Atlas fell below expectations. Consequently, we recently made the decision to not release any additional physical toys for the Spring update and in the future."
While the news is saddening for fans, the Starlink team isn't done with with the game altogether, as it's preparing to release the "biggest update to the game so far."
"Starlink: Battle for Atlas has been a passion project for us from the start, and we are incredibly proud of the modular Starship technology we have developed, and how well players have responded to it," it said.
The update the team is referring to was announced during Nintendo's February Direct. Along with Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Super Mario Maker 2, and Tetris 99 reveals, the rest of the Star Fox team--Falco Lombardi, Peppy Hare, and Slippy Toad--will join Fox McCloud in a new series of missions in Starlink on Switch. Each pilot comes with their own special abilities and skill trees and can be used to play any mission available in the game. In addition to the inclusion of the Star Fox team, Starlink will receive more content in this forthcoming update, such as Starship Races, Factions Missions, and more. The update is planned for this April, but no specific release date has been given.
In our Starlink review, we called it "an interesting and enjoyable open-world game," but lamented that "if you're interested in the physical models, you'll have to spend more to get the same experience as the digital version."
Starlink: Battle for Atlas is available now for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Shazam! May be a fun, kid-friendly blast of positive energy for the DCEU that stands well on its own, but that it also sets up some big things to come in the future--after all, for all the jokes and the bright colors, this movie is introducing a whole new corner of DC's long and complicated comic book history into the mix for the movies.
And its post-credits scene just takes it all one step further with even more vintage comic book insanity brought to life on the big screen.
Shazam Spoilers below, so proceed with caution.
The movie leaves us off with a clear set up for a sequel--not only does Billy successfully battle both Sivana and the seven deadly sins, he also empowers his foster family in the process. The newly formed team establishes their very own lair within the Rock of Eternity, where they'll probably make more than a few messes in the process of keeping the magical world safe from evil. C'mon, who could blame them? They're kids set loose in an extremely dangerous (and wonderful) candy store--and there are some pretty major threats looming just over the horizon.
Meet Mr. Mind
Alright, I hope you're ready to get weird, because we're about to get really, really weird. The first post-credits stinger features an incarcerated Dr. Sivana--looking a whole lot more like the original comic book Dr. Sivana of the 1940s, stooped over, wearing glasses, and so on. He's frantically trying to find his way back to the Rock of Eternity by endlessly scribbling on his cell walls and apparently having absolutely no luck.
But just as his pencil breaks and he feels all hope is lost--a voice. A computer generated voice that just so happens to be coming from a worm. A worm with a plan to break Sivana out of jail.
So, OK, those words together in that sentence probably seem like nonsense even in a movie as goofy as Shazam. But don't worry, it's not a gag or even a punchline. This is all real-deal comic book stuff. Remember back at the beginning of the movie when young Sivana was first transported to the Rock of Eternity, and there was a brief shot of a tiny caterpillar in a glass case? And later, when Billy was transported to the Rock, the caterpillar's case was broken and the caterpillar itself was missing?
Well, we found him. Or rather, he found Sivana. Mr. Mind may not look like the most intimidating supervillain in the world--he's, well, a bug, no beating around the bush there--but he's actually got a pretty devious track record in the DC Universe. There's a reason the wizard had him locked up like a magical trophy.
Mr. Mind got his start back in the 1940s, when superhero comics were just getting their start, as an intentionally goofy threat. He was a non-threatening, easy-to-understand pastiche of fascism--something that the kids reading comics in the Golden Age would have definitely heard their parents talking about, even before Pearl Harbor, but probably didn't completely understand. He was a megalomaniacal worm from outer space with a genius level intellect and "the conscience of Hitler" (no, really.)
Of course, he was largely made to be pretty easily dispatched by Billy and friends--but that didn't stop Mind from constantly trying to scheme his way into world domination. As part of said schemes, Mind actually founded one of the first ever supervillain team ups in comics history: the Monster Society of Evil, an extremely goofy name for a pretty goofy group of ne're-do-wells with a revolving roster that traditionally included both Mind and Sivana alongside some of Billy's other frequent foes.
Obviously the post credits scene here--Mind breaking Sivana out of prison--is implying the formation of a live action Monster Society in one way or another, but the group's goals (and other members) are still largely mysterious. As with most of the vintage comics campiness that has persisted to the modern day, Mr. Mind and the Monster Society have been overhauled a few times over to make them less hilarious and more genuinely scary--including a reveal that Mind's worm form was merely his larval stage, prior to his metamorphosis into a giant cosmic moth capable of eating the space time continuum.
So, what we're saying is there are a lot of potential avenues a live action Monster Society could take. We might see Mr. Mind turn into a silly gag villain, or we might see him destroy the entire DCEU. Your guess is as good as ours.
Talking To Fish
The final post credits sequence is considerably less jam packed with foreshadowing. We get to see yet another of Freddy and Billy's super power tests--this time to check out whether or not Billy can talk to fish--an obvious wink to Aquaman.
Outside of the occasional t-shirt, Freddy makes no mention of Arthur Curry in his superhero fan collections, so this moment is actually the only real Aquaman reference in Shazam. He's probably still too new on the scene for Freddy to have found much real life merch, right? After all, the whole Atlantis thing did just happen.
Who knows, maybe someday Arthur will show up at Fawcett High to impress all of Billy and Freddy's friends like Clark did at the end of the movie--though we probably shouldn't get our hopes up for that one.
Following 2015's sleeper-hit Her Story, creator Sam Barlow initially wasn't keen on making a similar game right after. However, as the framework for his follow-up took shape, the writer/director found his past's game approach to storytelling as a compelling hook for his new tale. In Telling Lies, you'll investigate the lives of four strangers over a period of two years; each of them has their own secrets and personal trauma. By witnessing brief glimpses of their lives from private videos, you'll uncover the larger story that connects them all together.
With an air of voyeurism similar to films like Steven Soderbergh's Sex, Lies, and Videotape and Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation, the overarching story unfolds on a modern desktop with access to an NSA database. Playing heavily to the modern paranoia surrounding increased surveillance, this conceit allows you to search through hours of recorded footage taken from phones, computers, and dashboard cameras, revealing plenty of personal and raw moments. According to Barlow, when the larger story begins to form, you'll come to understand why you're examining these characters in the first place.
Similar to Her Story, Telling Lies will have you comb through footage looking for the key information that fills in the blanks of a fractured timeline. Moving away from Her Story's '90s-era tech, the player interface in Telling Lies--another desktop--is more modern, allowing for greater flexibility in how you can interpret and piece together the story. By searching keywords, you'll be able to find clips that include the use of that word. Engaging the clip will start you at the point where the keyword is spoken by the person of interest. From here, you'll be able to play the video for its duration, even if you landed on the last word spoken in the clip, or scrub it back to see what came before--possibly unearthing a new clue.
Barlow explained that Telling Lies not only examines intimacy in the modern age but also plays with the concept of context and what you bring with your perspective. In Her Story, it became apparent over the course of the game that figuring out the crime that Hannah was suspected of wasn't necessarily the true goal. Rather, it was more of a character study and an exercise in fostering empathy for her, faults and all. According to Barlow, Telling Lies is about "exploring the larger story through the negative space," an idea that stuck with him during the making and ensuing reception of Her Story.
"It's kind of doubling down on the sense of narrative I had with Her Story," Barlow said. "People would play that game and one of the big positives they came away with was they felt like they had an intimate experience when spending that time with that character, listening to her talk, and it felt like they had a connection and empathized with her in a way. Despite it being essentially a computer interface, it all felt quite organic and human in a way. You get to explore [the story] through these more character-driven and intimate moments, which is a very different texture to most video games."
Some clips will show various characters during some mundane moments, without anything of consequence happening. However, another video might show a pivotal, and likely serious, event, which can give previous clips new meaning. Discovering the context of many of these clips can add new layers to the key characters, which can affect your perception of their relationships with others. Though it all seems to be in a similar vein as Her Story, and Barlow said that Telling Lies hits something more social than its predecessor could.
"I think it's an interesting question when you make something that is as different and weird as Her Story," said Barlow. "I deliberately did not immediately want to make a sequel with Her Story, and I gave myself some distance from it. Once I came back to it and I was like, 'What was interesting to me about that game that I think I could do more with? What direction can I take it in?'"
One of the more remarkable things about Her Story was the way it used its detective conceit as a means to examine its key character. Thanks to its non-linear approach, you could unearth details about the lead at your own pace. Barlow seems to be aware of what made the original work, reinforcing the flow of the narrative and the sense of distance from a story that's long since past. However, the new focus on a larger cast can make for a more intriguing plot, which may play out in its most raw and intimate forms.
Telling Lies is set for release sometime in 2019 and will be published by Annapurna Interactive.
It's the weekend, which means for Destiny 2 players, it's time to party with Xur. That means accepting his Invitation of the Nine, and purchasing some Exotic weapons and armor from the Agent of the Nine to fill out your collection.
Head out to Titan to find Xur this week--he's hanging out on The Rig. Head to the north end of the platform and check inside a low building near its edge to find him. This week, you can pick up D.A.R.C.I., a sniper rifle that offers a bunch of targeting perks. Its Personal Assistant gives you information about enemies when you aim at them through the gun's scope, and using the perk gives you better target acquisition and extra precision damage.
While there was a dearth of Forsaken Exotics in Xur's bag last week, this week is a little less disappointing. Hunters can grab the Gwisin Vest chest armor from Forsaken, which gives back Super energy for the kills you make with Spectral Blades in between activating the Super's invisibility. For Titans, there's the Antaeus Wards leg armor, another Forsaken Exotic. The boots let you reflect incoming projectiles when sliding, and using the reflection perk gives you Super energy. Warlocks aren't as lucky--they're stuck with Winter's Guile from the Year One collection, which boosts your melee damage for every melee kill you rack up.
Here are all the Exotics Xur offers this week and what they'll cost you:
You can also buy a Fated Engram, if you can afford it. Dropping 97 Legendary Shards on the item will grant you one Year One Exotic you don't already have for that character. Xur also offers the Five of Swords challenge card for free, which allows you to add difficulty modifiers that increase your score in Nightfall runs.
Xur brings another Invitation of the Nine this week, a weekly bounty that gives you a Powerful gear drop, a bit of story about the Nine, and a new Lore entry. If you've been keeping up each week, this one will send you to Io to complete The Pyramidion strike. You'll also need to kill Cabal, Taken, and Vex enemies.
We're more than halfway through Season 8 of Fortnite now, which means players who have been keeping up with the game's weekly challenges should be getting close to unlocking this season's secret Legendary skin. In an uncharacteristic move, Epic Games has given fans an early glimpse at the outfit, and it looks very cool.
Battle Pass holders who manage to complete eight weeks' worth of challenges in Season 8 will unlock the Ruin skin. Epic revealed the ominous-looking outfit on Twitter, and while it didn't share any further details about the character or how it ties into the game's lore, it will presumably have something to do with the impending Season 9.
Battle Pass Owners… Prepare for Ruin. The Week 8 Battle Pass Outfit has been revealed! Complete your Weekly Challenges now to unlock Ruin in Week 8. pic.twitter.com/5iokGrqbQp
Fortnite's 8.20 content update arrived earlier this week. The highlight of the update was another new weapon: the Boom Bow. Unlike a typical bow, this one has shotgun shells on its arrow tips, which will explode on impact. Epic also brought back the popular Sniper Showdown limited-time mode and made a few other tweaks to the game, such as buffing peppers, one of the new scavenged items recently added to the game.
Xbox Live Gold subscribers will soon need to pay more for their membership, as Microsoft confirms it's raising the price of its premium service across the UK. The new prices will take effect from May 8.
"To ensure gamers have consistent pricing for Xbox Live Gold across Europe we are making changes to UK pricing from May 8," a Microsoft spokesperson told GameSpot. "Prices will rise by £1 a month for our monthly subscriptions, £3 for our quarterly subscriptions, and by £10 a year for an annual membership. This new pricing is aligned to the changes we made in [Europe] in 2016 as we strive to offer our members premium gaming and entertainment services at a fair price. We have notified members whose accounts are on recurring billing in the UK so they are aware well in advance."
Taking the rise into account, the new cost for a month of Gold will be £7, while a quarterly subscription will set you back £18. A yearly subscription, which Microsoft says is its best-value option, will cost £50. The company did not state if its 6-month option, currently priced at £30, will see a price hike.
Xbox Live Gold pricing is now approximately in line with that of PS Plus in Europe. Other regions will seemingly not be affected by the changes.
Xbox Live Gold prices increased across some parts of Europe in 2016, but it's been many years since the UK (or US) saw its prices rise. Since 2016, however, the British pound has suffered poorer exchange rates with many other countries' currencies.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection has received yet another major update, and this one includes a series of significant changes, one of which should make most multiplayer games run smoother.
The new update available now "upgrade[s] the rate at which network packets are sent by the server" for Halo 2, Halo 2 Anniversary, Halo 3, and Halo. Additionally, the amount of data that individual packets can hold is increased. What this means is that each game should now run more smoothly and reliably. For Halo 3 specifically, the clients previously sent 15 packets per second, with the server sending 30 per second. But with the update, servers and clients send 60 packets per second. That puts it in line with the 60FPS frame rate.
Here's how Microsoft's Dana Jerpbak summed up the changes:
"We've upgraded the rate at which network packets are sent by the server in Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 4, and Halo 2A. We have also increased limits on how much data each individual packet can contain," Jerpbak said. "This includes data about the position of bipeds, where they're aiming, what projectiles they're firing, etc. The server prioritizes what data is contained in a packet until it reaches a maximum size. In gaps where the client hasn't received a certain type of information from the server (due to latency or prioritization), the client predicts what this information should be based on the last data received. It then corrects its predictions upon receiving new data."
"This can result in cases of rubber-banding' where a biped's position is predicted locally and then corrected by the server. By increasing the allowed size of packets as well as their frequency, we have significantly reduced these gaps. This results in less prediction and correction due to more frequent and more complete updates from the server. In Halo 3, the clients would send 15 packets per second to the server, while the server would send 30 packets per second to all clients. Now both servers and clients will be networking at 60 packets per second, aligning with the framerate."
You may still experience some rubber-banding, as the rate at which packets can be sent depends on your network environment. But overall, Jerpbak said "the increased send rates should generally result in an overall smoother online experience. This improvement affects dedicated servers as well as peer servers in peer-to-peer matches."
Jerpbak said Microsoft conducted "extensive" internet and external testing, and Microsoft has concluded that the changes will have a positive impact.
The new MCC update also comes with makeover themed around Yapyap The Destroyer from Halo Wars 2. You'll immediately notice that the splash screen and the main menu have received a Yapyap-themed takeover, while there is a nice Yapyap game selection option in Social Matchmaking; if you play enough you can earn a Yapyap nameplate and more.
The new MP loading screen
Another big update is that loading screens in multiplayer now display lots more detail, including the map name, the primary starting weapon, the time limit, the score to win, the Gamertags of people in your session, the data center hosting dedicated server of the match, as well as the game type and description and other helpful hints and tips.
For campaign, the new loading screens now display the mission name, the difficulty, and the Skulls you have turned on, among other things.
In other news, Halo: The Master Chief Collection is coming to PC, and the rollout process begins with a beta test for Halo: Reach later this month. A similar beta test, or a "flight" in the Microsoft parlance, will be held on Xbox One.
Halo: Reach is coming to Halo: The Master Chief Collection on Xbox One and PC, and now Microsoft has shared the first image of what the game looks like from the main menu. Microsoft shared a work-in-progress version of Reach in the campaign section of MCC on Xbox One. As you can see, it's left of Halo: CE, as it's a prequel to that game.
Halo: Reach is expected to come to both Xbox One and PC later this month through its first "flight" AKA beta test. To get in to the test, you need to register to become a Halo Insider, which you can do here. For PC, you'll need to upload your DxDiag and link your Steam ID.
The number of people who signed up already "blew away" Microsoft's expectations, the company said, so it further warns that it "simply cannot accomodate everyone."
On PC, each title within the Halo: The Master Chief Collection will be sold individually, but the "flights" are free, if you get in. And in a big change for the series, Halo: The Master Chief Collection will be available through Steam.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection originally launched in November 2014 for Xbox One. It faced serious and significant server issues at launch that made the title basically unplayable for some. Microsoft improved the experience significantly over time, and today the title is mostly stable and highly populated with players thanks in part to its inclusion with Xbox Game Pass.
The next big update for The Division 2 is coming very soon, and it adds a new, more challenging difficulty mode, as well as a new World Tier, weekly invasions, new weapons and gear, and more. Not only that, but the first raid is on the way at the end of the month.
The new update, Tidal Basin, is part of the first post-launch free content, Invasion: Battle for D.C., and it arrives on April 5--here's exactly when. It adds a new stronghold, Tidal Basin, which is occupied by the Black Tusk faction. "Tidal Basin is now home to some of the most powerful enemies in the game, and they're not going down easy," Ubisoft says.
Players who successfully complete the stronghold will rise to World Tier 5, and in turn this lets players get gear scores in the range of 450-500. Reaching World Tier 5 unlocks new weekly invasions that see Black Tusk enemies take over missions and strongholds throughout D.C. They are described as "harder" than other challenges, and the reward for completing them is better loot and gear.
Additionally, Invasion: Battle for D.C. adds a new Heroic difficulty setting that Ubisoft says makes for "some of the most challenging gameplay yet." On top of that, new two exotic weapons, Pestilence and Nemesis, along with gear sets True Patriot, Hardwired, and Ongoing Directive, are coming to The Division 2 in the update.
In addition, a new PvP map titled Fort McNair is added in the update, while there are more cosmetics to acquire through the Invasion Apparel Event.
Looking ahead, The Division 2's first raid, Operation Dark Hours, is slated to arrive on April 25. It's an eight-player raid that is described as "the toughest of all challenges," and one that will "test the teamwork of the most experienced agents."
Even further out, Ubisoft will add a new Specialization to The Division 2, but there is no word yet on what it'll be or when it'll release.
Invasion: Battle for D.C. is the first of at least three free content drops for The Division 2 in its Year 1. The others include Episode 1: DC Outskirts Expedition (Summer 2019), Episode 2: Pentagon: The Last Castle (Fall 2019), and Episode 3 (Winter 2019).
For Mario Odyssey, this will come in the form of three new mini missions that involve collecting musical notes and coins. These are apparently set in the Cap, Seaside, and Luncheon kingdoms.
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) April 5, 2019
As for Breath of the Wild, it seems the entire game is playable with Labo VR, with the one exception being that pre-rendered cutscenes do not support VR. You can simply toggle Labo VR on or off from the settings menu, and thankfully you do not need to create a new game to play with Labo VR.
Both games will be updated on April 25 to support Labo VR.
The Nintendo Labo VR set launches on April 12. The $80 USD kit is billed by Nintendo as the "most immersive, robust Nintendo Labo kit to date..." The kit also comes with a "programming tool" that can be used to create VR games. Check out the video embedded above to see how it works.
Today at the CinemaCon event in Las Vegas, Paramount Pictures presented new trailers and details for the next big video game movie: Sonic the Hedgehog. The event was not streamed and the trailers have not been released, but Gizmodo was in attendance and has a report.
One trailer shows a police officer patrolling a town called Green Hills, when he sees a blue object speed by; the officer (played by James Marsden) looks at this speed gun and sees the blue blur is traveling at 760 mph. Of course it's later revealed to be Sonic.
"Marsden's officer finds Sonic in a house and is startled by him. Later they're in a car together and Sonic explains he's here to save the world," Gizmodo reported. "Meanwhile, a large tank comes up behind them, so Sonic jumps out of the car, races at the vehicle, and smashes through it. He thinks he's won, but then another vehicle drops from the remains of the previous one."
A second trailer showcased more of Jim Carrey's evil Dr. Robotnik. Gizmodo summarised Carrey's interpretation as Robotnik thusly: "Think Ace Ventura. Loud, boisterous, a little annoying, that's Carrey's take on the character."
Robotnik is trying to capture Sonic and take him apart to find out how he moves so fast. Another scene shows the scientist dancing to "Everybody Dance Now." He later meets Marsden's character, and they don't get along. Go to Gizmodo for more details and insight from the two trailers.
There is no word on when the trailers will be shown publicly, or if these trailers were custom-made for CinemaCon and not planned for release. CinemaCon is a trade event where movie theatre owners get together; major studios attend and preview their upcoming films. Disney used its presentation to show new footage of Avengers: Endgame, The Lion King, and Aladdin.
Sonic opens in theatres on November 8. Ben Schwartz voices Sonic. The movie is directed by Jeff Fowler, who picked up an Oscar nomination for Gopher Broke, while Deadpool director Tim Miller is producing.
Update: Server downtime lasted a bit longer than expected, but they're now back online. And with that, Ubisoft has released the Tidal Basin update, the first major content patch since the game's debut. While we know much of what it adds, we're still waiting for Ubisoft to share the full patch notes for the update. In the meantime, we've also learned when the first raid will be released. The original story follows.
Ubisoft is bringing down The Division 2's servers tomorrow for an extended period of maintenance. The downtime, which will run for about three hours, will begin Friday, April 5 at 12:30 AM PT.
That works out to 3:30 AM ET, 9:30 AM CEST, and 5:30 PM AEDT. Ubisoft will use the downtime to roll out the new Invasion: Battle for D.C. update, in addition to the regular maintenance.
Heads up, Agents! Maintenance to deploy Invasion: Battle for D.C. incoming tomorrow, April 5th at 09:30 AM CEST / 03:30 AM EDT / 12:30 AM PDT, approximately 3 hours. Details: >> https://t.co/8DbyfUr6Inpic.twitter.com/lHZLTScQtl
Invasion: Battle for D.C. is the first of The Division 2's free post-release updates. It introduces a new stronghold, Tidal Basin, which features the strongest enemies to date, along with a new Heroic difficulty setting. It also adds two new exotic weapons, Pestilence and Nemesis, along with multiple new gear sets. You can find out more about the update in GameSpot's coverage here.
Here at GameSpot we scored The Division 2 a 9/10, and it's exciting to think about the new update and other opportunities to continue to explore and spend time in The Division 2's world.
The Xbox Game Pass catalog grows today with one of the biggest games on planet Earth. As announced during the Inside Xbox briefing in March, Microsoft's sandbox game Minecraft comes to Game Pass today. It's the full Bedrock version of the game, not some limited slice.
What's more, people who get Minecraft through Xbox Game Pass have access to all future updates, including the upcoming Village & Pillage update that arrives later this month.
Minecraft supports cross-play between Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PC (via Windows 10), Gear VR, iOS, and Android. Minecraft is one of the most popular games in history. By Microsoft's latest count, it has 91 million monthly players, which is many millions more than Fortnite has.
Xbox Game Pass is Microsoft's all-you-can-eat subscription service on Xbox One that provides members access to a growing catalog of games that users can download and play for as long as their membership remains active. Minecraft is just the latest big-name game to come to Xbox Game Pass; some of the other marquee titles include Halo 5 and Halo: The Master Chief Collection, as well as Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Just Cause 4, all the Gears of War games, Doom, and more.
The service costs $10 USD/month, but new subscribers can sign up for $1 USD/month. It's only available on Xbox One, but Microsoft has talked about bringing it to every device.
Xbox Game Pass is separate from Project xCloud, which is Microsoft's upcoming game-streaming service that will enter public trials later this year.
It's perfect timing to play Borderlands: The Handsome Collection--the two games included, Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, just received free Ultra HD texture packs that greatly enhance the graphics on Xbox One X, PS4 Pro, and PC. Plus, Borderlands 3 finally has a confirmed release date and is now available to pre-order.
Then there's WWE 2K19, which marks the 20th game in the WWE game series. WWE 2K19 introduces minor quality-of-life improvements for in-ring action and, outside the ring, a plethora of new content and game modes, including a story-driven MyCareer mode.
Finally, you can try out the special edition for Dead By Daylight, a multiplayer horror game that pits four players (the "Survivors") against one other player (the "Killer") in an eerie environment. The survivors are tasked with repairing five generators in order to escape before the killer can find and take them out.
All three games are free to play until Monday, April 8 at 12 AM PT / 3 AM ET. To download the games on your console, navigate to the Gold member area on your Xbox One dashboard. If you enjoy the games, you can buy them at a discount this weekend and continue playing with all of your progress.
Season 8 of Fortnite rolls on with a new set of challenges to complete across PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch, and mobile. Week 6's challenges run the gamut from visiting animal-shaped structures to finding the highest elevations on the island, but another one that may throw you for a loop is to search where the knife points on the Treasure Map loading screen. Fortunately, we've got you covered.
Much like the similar challenge from Week 4, all you need to do is look where the knife rests on the Treasure Map loading screen (pictured below), then head to that location to find a free Battle Star. What makes this a bit tricky is that the map isn't labeled, so if you aren't familiar with the layout of the island, it may not be entirely clear where you need to go, but the Battle Star can be found near Lonely Lodge.
Specifically, the star will appear in the middle of a forest located in-between Lonely Lodge and the racetrack north of Paradise Palms, near the top of quadrant J6. Pick it up like you would any other item, then finish the match and you'll complete the challenge. If you need more help finding it, you can watch us collect the Battle Star in the video at the top of this guide.
There are still a few weeks remaining in Fortnite Season 8, so you still have time to complete any outstanding challenges from earlier weeks and unlock all the new Battle Pass rewards. If you need help finishing them, you can find tips and guides for all of the trickier tasks in our complete Fortnite Season 8 challenges roundup.
Week 6's challenges follow shortly after the release of Fortnite's 8.20 content update, which added another new weapon to the game: the Boom Bow. Unlike typical bows, this one has shotgun shells on its arrow tips which will explode upon impact. On top of that, the update brought back the Sniper Showdown LTM and gave a buff to peppers, one of the new scavenged items recently added to the game.
Fortnite's Week 6's challenges are now live on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch, and mobile, giving players across all platforms another opportunity to earn Battle Stars and level up their Season 8 Battle Pass--and to work toward the upcoming Ruin skin. Unlike recent weeks, which had especially straightforward challenges to complete, a couple of those in Week 6 may require some assistance. This includes one that asks you to visit a wooden rabbit, stone pick, and metal llama. If you're not sure where to go, this handy guide will point you in the right direction.
As you can probably gather from the challenge's name, you'll need to find the giant, animal-shaped structures somewhere around the island to claim your Battle Stars. This can seem a bit daunting, particularly if you aren't too familiar with Fortnite's map. Fortunately, however, you don't need to visit all three within a single round, so you can simply glide from the Battle Bus to a different animal structure across three matches and complete the challenge.
The wooden rabbit can be found in quadrant A4, on a hill located between Haunted Hills and Snobby Shores. The stone pig, meanwhile, is directly east of Lucky Landing, and the metal llama is just northwest of Junk Junction. We've marked their exact locations on the map below. You can also watch the video at the top of this guide to give you a better look at where you need to go.
Once you've visited all three of the structures, you'll earn five Battle Stars, bringing you another step closer to unlock Season 8's Battle Pass rewards. Most of Week 6's other challenges are more straightforward, so you should be able to complete them just by playing the game normally. However, you may have trouble knowing where to find the highest elevations on the island, so we've put together another guide laying out where they are located. We've also got a guide to where the knife points on the treasure map loading screen. You can get help on all of Season 8's challenges in our guide; we now know what the secret Ruin skin looks like that awaits if you can complete every challenge in eight different weeks this season.
Week 6's challenges arrive on the heels of Fortnite's 8.20 content update, which introduced another new weapon to the game: the Boom Bow. What makes this bow unique is that it has shotgun shells on its arrow tips, making them explode upon impact. The update also brought back the Sniper Showdown limited-time mode and buffed peppers, one of the several scavenged items recently added to the game.
It's been a week full of Borderlands announcements, so it's no huge surprise that Borderlands: The Handsome Collection is free to play on Xbox One (Gold members only) and Steam this weekend. The bundle is also discounted in the PlayStation and Microsoft stores, Steam, and Best Buy, where you can currently buy it for $15.
The free-to-play weekend deal has already begun and will end Sunday, April 7 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET for Steam and Monday, April 8 at 12 AM PT / 3 AM ET for Xbox.
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection is Free to Play now through Sunday on Xbox One and Steam! Gather your fellow Vault Hunters and kick some Ultra-HD badonkadonk! XBOX ONE: Apr 4 at 12am PT - Apr 7 at 11:59pm PT STEAM: Apr 4 at 10am PT - Apr 7 at 10am PT pic.twitter.com/aPyX7o7mV5
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection includes Borderlands 2, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, and all DLC. It also allows for online co-op gameplay for up to four players.
Xbox's free-to-play weekend deals, which are exclusive to Xbox Live Gold members, also include WWE 2K19 and Dead By Daylight: Special Edition in addition to Borderlands: Handsome Collection. You can install those here. To download and play for free on console, navigate to the Gold member area of your Xbox One dashboard, where you'll find the games.
In addition, free Ultra HD texture packs were just released for both games in the Handsome Collection on PC, Xbox One X, and PS4 Pro, so it's a great time to dive into these games and check out the new enhancements. These graphical improvements include 4K and HDR support for console players and remastered environments, characters, and vehicles. The enhanced PC version doesn't provide HDR support but comes with many other improvements.
According to the studio, most of the focus for this update has been on improving the new Firestorm battle royale mode. To that end, this update changes the loot behavior and adjusts the way safes work, along with patching up some visual issues and making the Flare Gun usable underwater. In the full patch notes (below), Firestorm clearly gets the lion's share of the attention.
Other adjustments include bug fixes and quality-of-life tweaks, plus the addition of the the soldier stance icon from single-player in response to fan requests. It also adds an in-game shop that sells cosmetics and time-savers. The shop also offers "value bundles" that offer combinations of cosmetics, currency, and time-savers.
Check out the full patch notes below, and make sure to check out the details of the new Firestorm mode. If you're looking to get into Battlefield 5 now is a pretty good time, as it's on sale for cheap.
Battlefield 5 April Update Patch Notes
Firestorm – Gameplay fixes and changes
Fixed an issue which was causing a weapon to be misaligned when a player was in a man down state while being spectated.
V-1 and Artillery Strikes now count as "gadget kills".
Pistols that have been picked up by the player now properly drop on the ground if the player dies.
Players are now able to use the Flare Gun while in water.
Increased the draw distance for grenades and melee weapons.
Grenades now collide with the cover of the pickup truck instead of going through it.
Fixed an issue where the active VOIP icon would not always show if the entire squad would be talking at the same time.
Players will no longer deploy a grenade automatically when dropping an item as a passenger.
When in a tank, the player will no longer switch to the selected tank gun while zooming on the map.
Added a red outline for the Artillery Strike on the map to make it more visible.
The health cooldown UI no longer freezes if a player drops their healing items when it is in progress.
Getting an invite from a player while looking for players enables you to join the squad.
If the user cancels and resumes the interaction with a safe, it will always reset.
When the player is watching another player being revived, the camera will remain in the same position.
The Napalm Helmet will no longer obstruct the player when aiming down sights.
Players can now jump as soon as they reach the start of the jump location.
When waiting for the other players, the squad list shows the correct Armor Plates number that the player had before death.
Players will no longer reload when opening doors.
The loot rarity icon is no longer visible through soldier bodies and vehicles.
When getting killed by another player, the text for the weapon used will show properly.
Switching weapon while dropping a weapon will no longer make the weapon being held invisible.
The Swap and Drop button callouts are updated if the player changes the keybind in-game.
Interaction detection has been improved to avoid issues with loot near Objectives and vehicles.
The interaction prompt for safes will no longer be offset when the player interacts with it repeatedly.
The interaction prompt for safes will no longer double when the player interacts with it repeatedly.
Interacting with a safe repeatedly will no longer make the progress bar disappear.
When the player is killed by an Artillery Strike, an icon is displayed in the kill feed.
The first wave of capture points now start earlier, before the zone starts to shrink for the first time.
Firestorm – Map improvements and fixes
Improved the rock wall textures near Pluto (Dig Site A).
Removed a piece of terrain that was clipping through the bridge towards the farm from the lake, causing vehicles to flip if they drive over it with speed.
Fixed a floating telegraph pole that was placed east from Nannahavn.
The crates located west of Hansen Farms are no longer floating in the air.
Fixed a floating tree west of the Halvoy Dam.
Players can no longer get stuck between the gap of the barrels inside Hansen Farms.
The shed door is no longer clipping through the barrels at Minerva Docks.
Players can no longer interact with the backside of the ladder near Guderos.
Players can no longer get stuck while prone under the wooden platform next to the fishing cabin near Halvoy Dam.
Players can no longer get stuck between the wall and the railway sleeper stacks East of Minerva Docks.
Players can no longer get stuck when jumping between the metal bars at Pluto (Dig site A).
Improved rock textures near the Odenberg area.
Player can no longer get stuck between the tree and the wall north of Minerva Docks.
Players can no longer hide behind the waterfall South of Minerva Docks.
The wooden crates are no longer floating above the floor inside the shed southeast of Hansen Farms.
The wooden crate no longer blocks the player from vaulting through the window in arctic house west of Hansen Farms.
Snow effect is no longer present inside the house southeast of Hotstad as well as the house north of Minerva Docks.
Fixed an issue that was causing mild flickering around the windshields inside vehicles.The PAK-40 AT towable located southeast of Halvdeler has been moved ten meters to make it more useful.
Vehicles
Fixed a bug that enabled players to use airplanes during the match start timer period. The animation when entering and exiting vehicles is now smoother and should have less unintended sudden camera movements.
Fixed an issue that could cause a temporary black screen when reloading a stationary turret while using its zoom functionality at the same time.
Made audio improvements to audibility of other players' tanks.
Weapons, Gadgets, and Specializations
Fixed the Ribeyrolles aperture sights being misaligned and using the wrong magnification.
Tweaked the Gewehr 43 reflex sight to look better.
Tweaked the Bren max recoil which was too low.
Reduced the M1897 damage drop-off start distance by 1 m for all ammo types. Our data indicated that the 1897 had a bit too much range compared to other shotguns.
Changed the way camera recoil works. When firing, weapons are allowed to go a bit more off center now. The true point of aim will follow the weapon and is not fixed to the screen center.
Changed the way SMG and assault rifle dispersion increases while firing in ADS. The second, third, and sometimes fourth shots (for low rate-of-fire weapons) are now more predictable while later shots are less predictable. Also shortened the time it takes for dispersion to decrease when no longer firing. This means short bursts are a bit more effective, while long bursts or mag dumps are a bit less effective.
Fixed an issue that would prevent shotgun damage decals to appear on vehicles.
The knife animation no longer triggers after firing the last round of a Panzerfaust.
Bullet impact sounds have been further localized and the amount by which they can attenuate non-player weapons has been reduced.
Improved audibility of single-shot weapons.
Improved audibility of late reflections for automatic weapons based on distance from listener.
Adjusted headphone mix for low frequencies to smooth out positioning.
Soldier
Fixed a bug with the Medic class that would result in the weapon floating in the air while the player was running briefly after reviving another player.
The first-person animation when picking up health packs and ammo packs have been moved to take less screen space for improved visibility.
Maps and Modes
Fixed an issue in the Practice Range where vehicles would not spawn when the user restarts the range.
Fixed a visual bug in the Practice Range which would cause the player's body to be invisible while driving the Kubelwagen in third person.
UI/HUD/Options/Assignments
Fixed an issue where the ticket counter was not visible when playing Breakthrough, Frontlines, and Airborne.
Disabled the saturation effect when regenerating health.
Fixed a hang that could occur if players looked at server info from within the social hub while being in the Your Company screen.
Fixed a bug which could prevent players from deploying, prompting the error message "The Class you have selected is violating the server rules" if they had equipped a newly unlocked sight.
Fixed a bug which prevented players from speeding up the bleed out timer when being in a down state.
Improved responsiveness and accuracy of the Commo Rose and the Squad Reinforcements Rose when using a controller.
Fixed an issue that would cause equipped vanity items to get unequipped when players purchased and equipped something else.
Fixed the placement of the buy button in the Replace Weapon screen to no longer clip into the divider line.
Fixed an issue where players would purchase something with Company Coin and get a "Not enough Company Coin" error message even if they had enough currency.
Fixed a bug that would cause the idle kick functionality to not always work.
Improved how class characters are loaded when scrolling through them while in the hangar between matches.
Added the soldier stance icon from single-player into multiplayer.
In the grenade selection menu, the smoke grenade selection will no longer show the Frag Grenade demonstration video.
Stability
Made multiple crash fixes and stability improvements.
PC-Specific Improvements
Increased maximum ray count in DXR Ultra to improve reflection quality.
DLSS is now also supported in borderless mode.
Made improvements to DLSS sharpness.
Fixed an issue that caused the Customization screen to be darker than intended when having DX12 enabled.
Fixed a rendering issue that could cause graphical corruption when spamming various player actions.
Fixed a bug that would cause the game to hang if the player mashed all the keyboard and mouse buttons while in the key binding menu. The player that found this must have eaten too much pineapple pizza.
In Firestorm, opening the map and using the "scroll" button while inside a tank in the gunner position will no longer switch the selected tank gun as well.
One of the best games released so far this year is already on sale--Resident Evil 2, Capcom's remake of the horror classic--is selling for just $40 (33% off). Resident Evil 2 released on January 25, less than three months ago, so this is an excellent time to pick up the game for Xbox One or PS4 if you haven't already.
For Amazon, GameStop, and Best Buy, it's unclear how long this $20-off discount will last, and the PlayStation Store's deal will end this coming Monday, April 8, at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET, so hop on this offer fast if you're interested in buying the game.
Resident Evil 2 has a dual narrative where you can play as either Leon Kennedy, a police officer who shows up late for his first day on the job to find himself in the midst of a zombie outbreak (terrible luck), or Claire Redfield, a college student who arrives in Raccoon City looking for her brother, recurring series protagonist and police offer Chris Redfield. After you complete one campaign, you'll unlock the option to play the second character's campaign.
The game received a 9/10 in GameSpot's Resident Evil 2 review, where Alessandro Fillari praised the game for its fantastic visuals, strong survival horror gameplay, expanded story, and more. "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," he wrote. "Though Resident Evil 2 has its roots firmly in the past, it reworks the familiar horrors into something that feels brand new and all its own."
Resident Evil 2's first DLC, The Ghost Survivors, released in February and introduces new characters, gameplay elements, and storylines. The DLC is free to download for all consoles.
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