At long last, we have finally gotten a look at HBO's upcoming adaptation of the Watchmen comics. Though the series won't debut until this fall, the first trailer has arrived for Watchmen, giving a peek into the world the series will be set in.
While the trailer is brief, it sets up a story that seems to be set after the events of the Watchmen graphic novel. Based on what little we see, a group clearly inspired by masked vigilante Rorschach are preparing to take up arms. "We are no one, we are everyone," the leader of the masked clan says. "And we are invisible."
It could certainly be the way the trailer is cut together, but it seems like this group the vigilantes are coming up against are the police. "We convinced ourselves they were gone," a senior officer played by Don Johnson tells his fellow cops, in reference to the vigilantes. "But they were just hibernating."
What remains to be seen is how the story will play out. It's possible HBO's take on Watchmen will largely tell the tale of vigilantes vs. police. However, the trailer also sees the character played by Regina King suiting up in a vigilante costume or her own, the centerpiece of which is a police badge.
The teaser also gives us the first look at Jeremy Irons as an older version of Ozymandias, the villainous figure central to the graphic novel. Additionally, yet another masked character is seen, though not identified.
Sadly, the official series description, released in conjunction with the trailer, doesn't give any more hints as to what the series is about. It reads, "Set in an alternate history where 'superheroes' are treated as outlaws, this drama series from executive producer Damon Lindelof embraces the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic novel of the same name while attempting to break new ground of its own."
So you're just going to have to wait for plot details. At the very least, though, we know who will appear in Watchmen. In addition to King, Johnson, and Irons, the series stars, Jean Smart, Tim Blake Nelson, Louis Gossett Jr., Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Hong Chau, Andrew Howard, Tom Mison, Frances Fisher, Jacob Ming-Trent, Sara Vickers, Dylan Schombing, and James Wolk.
Bandai Namco has announced Code Vein will have a network test prior to launch, which will allow people to try out the game. An exact timeframe for the test hasn't been revealed yet, but sign-ups are already live on Bandai Namco's website.
Code Vein is releasing on Xbox One, PS4, and PC, but the network test for the game is only going live on consoles. As it's a network test, the multiplayer features will be live, allowing you to play with a friend. The test only covers Chapter 1 of the game, which is Code Vein's character creator, tutorial, and first area. Chapter 1 ends with a boss fight, the reveal of Code Vein's first major NPC buddy, and the introduction of the game's hub area.
The time has come to rise again. CODE VEIN takes you on a dark journey where you'll search for memories of the past and hopefully escape this living nightmare. Follow the link for more info on how to join our #CODEVEIN Network Test: https://t.co/sxtfkYK8afpic.twitter.com/e6e0ZQ7NPA
If you want to know exactly what Chapter 1 entails, we played through it at a preview event. Our battles through the game's opening area and first boss can be seen in the video embedded above. A Souls-like game, Code Vein takes inspiration--both mechanically and thematically--from both Dark Souls and Bloodborne. However, the game does differentiate itself with its Blood Codes. These encourage you to regularly respec your character's stats and adapt your playstyle on the fly. Unfortunately, the game seems predisposed towards melee-focused builds. That said, you can specialize your character in the use of blood magic or rifles.
In Code Vein, you can equip one of eight different Blood Codes to boost your stats in different ways. Each Blood Code also allows you to equip up to eight different Gifts as well, most of which allow you to pull off a supernatural, vampiric-like ability. Specific Gifts and weapons can only be equipped with certain Blood Codes, creating many unique playstyles. The Fighter Blood Code specializes in slow but powerful melee combat, for example, while Prometheus transforms you into a fast rogue-like character who utilizes dodges and parries. Not all Blood Codes are tied to combat either. The Mercury Blood Code, for instance, is ideal for exploring the world, as it gives you balanced stats for journeying through any type of environment and extra stamina so you can quickly run everywhere.
After delaying Code Vein, Bandai Namco did not reveal a new release date for the game. Currently, Code Vein is scheduled to launch sometime in 2019.
US Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) announced he is introducing a bill that would potentially bar the sale of loot boxes in certain video games. If enacted, Hawley's bill, called The Protecting Children from Abusive Games Act, would ban loot boxes and "pay-to-win" microtransactions in titles targeted at or popular among minors, likening the business model to addiction.
"Social media and video games prey on user addiction, siphoning our kids' attention from the real world and extracting profits from fostering compulsive habits," Senator Hawley said in a statement. "No matter this business model's advantages to the tech industry, one thing is clear: there is no excuse for exploiting children through such practices. When a game is designed for kids, game developers shouldn't be allowed to monetize addiction. Game developers who knowingly exploit children should face legal consequences."
Hawley cites the popular mobile title Candy Crush Saga as an example, as it allows players to purchase a $150 "Luscious Bundle" to make the game easier, though it is certainly far from the only title to offer these kinds of spending options. A large number of mobile games are designed to encourage microtransactions, and many of today's most popular PC and console games, including PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Rocket League, and Overwatch, give players the option to purchase loot boxes that contain a randomized assortment of cosmetic items.
Hawley's bill will first need to pass the Senate and then the House of Representatives before potentially becoming a law, but this isn't the first time US lawmakers have taken aim at the practice. Last February, Hawaii state representative Chris Lee put forward a bill seeking to limit the sale of video games with "gambling-like mechanisms" to people under the age of 21. Other countries have also undertaken investigations into whether or not loot boxes constituted gambling.
Follow Hawley's announcement, the Entertainment Software Association released a statement in response to the proposed legislation. "Numerous countries, including Ireland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, determined that loot boxes do not constitute gambling. We look forward to sharing with the senator the tools and information the industry already provides that keeps the control of in-game spending in parents' hands. Parents already have the ability to limit or prohibit in-game purchases with easy to use parental controls."
Loot boxes have been a point of controversy in the industry for many years. 2017's Star Wars Battlefront II, for instance, garnered a lot of criticism and backlash for the way it initially incorporated microtransactions, effectively tying them to your progression. In response, publisher EA removed all loot boxes from the game just prior to launch, but that didn't help stem the push for anti-loot box legislation.
Thomas Was Alone and Volume developer Mike Bithell has announced his next game, and it's a "fast-paced, action-oriented" strategy game based on the John Wick movie series. John Wick Hex is coming to console as well as PC; it'll be exclusive to the Epic Games Store on PC and Mac at launch.
John Wick Hex is described as "fight-choreographed chess brought to life as a video game." The game, which was developed in cooperation with the minds behind the film series, aims to "captur[e] the series' signature gun-fu style while expanding its story universe."
Here is more from the game's official description: "Players must choose every action and attack they make, while considering their immediate cost and consequences. Every move in John Wick Hex feels like a scene from the movies, and every fight contributes to your progress on the job and requires precise strategic thinking."
Hex features an original story separate from the film series. As players progress they will unlock more weapons, as well as new suits for John Wick and more locations to explore. Regarding the gunplay, a press release mentions that players will need to strategically consider the weapon they use for the specific battle in front of them. Not only that, "ammo is finite and realistically simulated, so time your reloads and make the most of weapons you scavenge on the job," the developers say.
Regarding the art style, Hex aims to offer a "unique graphic noir art design." The game also features the voices of John Wick actors Ian McShane and Lance Reddick; more cast members will be announced later.
Check out the Hex announcement trailer embedded above to see the first gameplay and more. No release date was announced.
The announcement of Hex comes just days before the third John Wick movie, John Wick: Parabellum, comes to theatres on May 15.
Fortnite Season 8 is just about over, which means developer Epic Game will soon begin the transition to Season 9. If you've been here for previous seasonal shifts, you'll know that it's an exciting time. Not only does a new season usher in changes to the island map where the action takes place, but there's a fresh Battle Pass that comes replete with new cosmetic items and skins (some of which we've already gotten a glimpse at) to work toward unlocking.
Below you'll find a comprehensive guide on what we know about Fortnite Season 9 thus far. When the new season becomes available, we'll have plenty of new articles on what's new, galleries where you'll be able to see every new item Epic has added to the Battle Pass, and guides for the first batch of Season 9's weekly challenges, so make sure to check back regularly for updates.
Epic Games posted a teaser for Fortnite Season 9 on Twitter and confirmed that it will begin on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch, and mobile on Thursday, May 9. We also know have an exact time for when downtime begins. We don't know how long the process will take, but you can expect the game to come back online with new content within a few hours:
Season 9 Downtime:
1 AM PT
4 AM ET
9 AM BST
6 PM AET
Season 9 Teasers And Skins
The first teaser tweet reads, "The Future is Unknown," indicating that the theme for Season 9 may be futuristic. The accompanying image of what looks like a demonic android ninja skin certainly lends weight to this idea.
Since the initial Twitter tease, Epic has released more teaser images. The second, showed that these teasers seem to be forming a word. The first teaser had the letter "N" in it, while the second had an "E." This time around, however, the accompanying text reads, "The future is bright." There's also a little peek at another new skin. You can take a look at the second teaser tweet below.
On May 8, the third teaser arrived. "The future is Tilted," reads the message. Again, there's an up-close shot of a new character skin. Thus far, the teasers seem to be spelling "NEO," though it's unclear if that's the clue in its entirety or whether there's more to come. Epic could be spelling out "NEON," which would make sense given the vivid colours used in the teaser images. Either way, we'll find out soon enough.
One of the major changes happening for Fortnite Season 9 has actually already happened. Recently an in-game event called "The Unvaulting." During this, players gathered around Loot Lake and then jumped into the mysterious vault at its center. While in there, they freed the Tommy Gun and made it available in the game. However, when players were returned to the island, the volcano that appeared for Season 8 erupted, spewing lava and firing rocks across the island. As part of this, Tilted Towers was destroyed, and this is interesting because the third teaser tweet Epic posted says, "The future is Tilted."
Sadly, The Unvaulting event had some issues and some players that were in-game hoping to see it were instead left out. In response, Epic Games has offered players the chance to rewatch it. Additionally, those that were affected by the bug are being gifted the Arcana Glider. Anyone that already purchased the Arcana Glider using V-Bucks will be refunded the 1200 V-Bucks they spent on it, although Epic has noted it's encountered some issues with this process that it's still ironing out.
The Xbox One has been around since 2013, which is, scarily, six years ago. With console cycles typically lasting between five and seven years, that means we should be due a new Xbox pretty soon. However, there's the complicating factor that this generation included mid-cycle upgrades, the PS4 Pro and the Xbox One X.
Regardless, we know Microsoft is working on the next Xbox console, and there've been a fair few reports surrounding what to expect. Without further ado, let's dig into everything we know about the next Xbox.
Microsoft might not have unveiled its new Xbox just yet, but it is definitely working on it. The company confirmed as such during E3 last year. In fact, it could even be multiple consoles on the way. Xbox boss Phil Spencer said in June 2018 that Microsoft is "deep into architecting the next Xbox consoles where we will once again deliver on our commitment to set the benchmark for console gaming."
Of course, the pluralizing of 'console' could mean Spencer was referring in part to the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition, which was announced just recently. However, the latter half of his quote--about setting the benchmark for console gaming--surely refers to a new generation, where it sounds as if Microsoft wants to come out swinging with the most powerful console available, just as it did with the Xbox One X.
Reports from Thurrott suggest the new Xbox consoles are being developed under the umbrella codename Scarlett. Two consoles are in the works, say the reports: one is a high-power machine codenamed Anaconda that will be approximately the same price as the PS5, while the other is a budget-orientated machine known as Lockhart. The latter is potentially a streaming-centric device that does not boast much processing power itself; rather, it will ostensibly utilize Microsoft's nascent xCloud technology to play games via the cloud.
When is the new Xbox's release date likely to be?
Microsoft hasn't spoken about its timeline for the new Xbox consoles' release date(s). However, the consoles are not expected to launch until Fall 2020. For comparison's sake, we don't precisely know when the PS5 will launch either, but in May 2018 the then-head of PlayStation, John Kodera, said that the PS5 was "three years" away. However, plans change, and it's also possible Kodera was merely trying to keep a lid on the rumors that were flying around at the time which were saying the PS5 would be released as soon as 2019.
What about E3 2019?
Of course, E3 2019 is just around the corner, so can we expect to hear more about the new Xbox consoles at the convention? The answer, according to a report from Jeux Video, is yes. The site states Microsoft plans to reveal its new Xbox consoles during its E3 2019 press conference. Of course, this is all conjecture for now, but Xbox boss Phil Spencer has stated the company intends to be "as big at E3" as it's ever been.
Do we know the new Xbox console specs and price?
Unlike Sony, Microsoft has so far kept quiet about the internal specifications of its new consoles. However, all the reports point to both Anaconda and Lockhart ditching hard drives in favor of the quicker solid state storage option--a move the PS5 is also making. Of course, if those reports are proven accurate and Lockhart is essentially a streaming box, it's likely the console will eschew a disc drive and state-of-the-art specs, relying instead on Microsoft's xCloud streaming service for its playing power. Jeux Video has reported the following specs for the two Scarlett consoles:
Xbox Lockhart
Xbox Anaconda
CPU
Custom eight core
Custom eight core
GPU
Custom NAVI 4+ teraflops
Custom NAVI 12+ teraflops
RAM
12 GB, GDDR6
16 GB, GDDR6
Storage
1 TB SSD, 1 + GB / s
1 TB SSD, 1 + GB / s
The site also reports the Anaconda price will be around $500, which is the same price the Xbox One X launched with in 2017. Unverified rumors from Reddit place Lockhart, meanwhile, at around $250, which would put it at the same price point as the newly-launched Xbox One S All-Digital Edition, which also forgoes a disc drive. These are yet to be substantiated by any reputable source, however.
Sony has announced another State of Play livestream event this week, with a few announcements planned. The brief presentation will only last about 10 minutes, and that time will give more details on the PS4 remake of MediEvil and an unannounced new game. You can watch it right here as it happens.
This is the second State of Play, and Sony's approach to these announcement streams has been very similar to Nintendo Direct presentations. The first State of Play in March was a good deal longer, and included announcements or new glimpses of eight games. That included several PSVR reveals, including the announcement of Iron Man VR and No Man Sky's upcoming VR update.
Sony State of Play Stream Start Times
3 PM PT
6 PM ET
11 PM BST
8 AM (Friday, May 10) AEST
In giving word about this presentation, Sony also took a moment to announce something that won't be shown. It won't house any new information about the next PlayStation--presumably to be named the PlayStation 5.
These individual State of Play streams may be where we hear most of Sony's announcements this year, as the company has dropped out of E3. SIE Worldwide Studios head Shawn Layden explained that the company feels the event hasn't necessarily kept up with the changing needs of the industry.
Though it won't be at E3, though, it has already started sharing its plans for the next generation, making it the first company to the starting gate. Those plans include backwards compatibility with PS4 games and a re-commitment to support PSVR. Read up on everything we know about PS5.
Ubisoft appears to be preparing for a big Ghost Recon reveal, with a world premiere event being streamed on Thursday, May 9. If you want to see what's next, you can watch it all go down right here.
The event teaser was light on details, but it doesn't appear to be tied to Ghost Recon Wildlands. That game launched in 2017, and it has been supported with a steady stream of downloadable content and live events ever since. In fact, Wildlands just received another dose of content last week. The distinction from Wildlands suggests the event will focus on something new for the Ghost Recon series, possibly a full sequel.
The timing of this event is conspicuously close to E3, where Ubisoft has a press conference scheduled for Monday, June 10. Scheduling a reveal event now could either set the stage for a more in-depth look at E3, or just give the company more time to focus on other parts of its lineup.
Wildlands received a mixed reception at launch but has fostered a devoted following through continued support. Ubisoft has shifted toward long-term support for many of its games, including multiplayer titles like Rainbow Six Siege and For Honor along with single-player games like Assassin's Creed Odyssey.
"As only the second open world game in the Clancyverse, Ghost Recon: Wildlands is a middlingly safe tactical shooter and a slightly wasted opportunity given the ambitious scope of its seemingly boundless map," Miguel Concepcion wrote in GameSpot's review. "While its main strength is its mission diversity, it doesn't take long to lose the motivation after reaching El Sueno's doorstep. Even with a foursome of highly trained friends, Wildlands eventually reveals its diminishing returns. The feeling of positive immediacy and dopamine hits begin to wane sooner than you expected from a game with such a large and diverse world."
Originally scheduled for September 2018, Bandai Namco delayed Code Vein to "ensure that the final product delivers on the expectations set amongst media and fans." After playing through a gameplay demo at a preview event, we asked Code Vein producer Keita Iizuka what Bandai Namco has spent the past few months changing to deliver on these expectations ahead of the game's new scheduled release in 2019.
"After the dev team really came together and discussed--we felt that the appeal of Code Vein and what was really good about Code Vein was just not there, not enough," Iizuka said. "So we really wanted to brush up those elements so that the users can really get immersed and really feel what's so good and unique about the aspects of Code Vein a lot deeper, a lot stronger. So that's why we took some extra time to deliver."
In Code Vein, you play as a Revenant, a chosen undead born into a world defined by blood. Revenants defend themselves from the Lost, the husk-like remnants of Revenants who lost sight of who they were and succumbed to their bloodlust. In order to survive, you arm yourself with powerful weapons and supernatural Gifts--the latter of which allows you to harness the blood you take from enemies to perform spell-like attacks. Combat is entirely stamina-focused, limiting how often you can attack, defend, parry, and dodge.
Code Vein is--both thematically and mechanically--very similar to From Software's Soulsborne games. Where Code Vein aims to differentiate itself is in its Blood Codes and buddy system.
Blood Codes are items that change the stats of your character, allowing you to more easily wield specific weapons and equip certain Gifts. The melee-focused Fighter Blood Code, for example, raises your strength and dexterity stats--allowing you to more easily wield massive two-handed swords and axes. As a Fighter, you're able to equip Gifts that unlock slow, but devastating close-range attacks, and also buff your overall damage output. If brute force isn't working, you can switch to the spell casting-focused Caster Blood Code, parry-focused Prometheus Blood Code, or long-range Hunter Blood Code before jumping back into the fray. There are eight Blood Codes in total in Code Vein, and each allows you to equip up to eight Gifts at once for a variety of playstyles.
"This aspect of being able to freely create your playstyle and the flexibility of playstyles--this is something that was already in the works since the initial stages, but we wanted to focus on that aspect--to enhance it and brush it up a lot--so that the player can have more freedom and flexibility in how they play the game," Iizuka said.
"We really wanted to expand the Gift variations and how you develop [your Revenant]," he continued. "[For example], there's a Gift called Phantom Assault where you can vanish and instantly appear right where the enemy is and dish out your attack. So that's one aspect of it, and we have other Gifts that you can sort of build around that as well. And so, I think that's one of the ways we sort of added to the game to make it more [complete]."
Being able to completely respec your character into a brand-new class within seconds--as opposed to travelling to a certain location and paying an NPC to do it like in Dark Souls--is an intriguing concept, but it was difficult to discern how such a strategy works in practice based on Code Vein's opening hour. We started out with three Blood Codes (Fighter, Ranger, and Caster) and a few of their respective Gifts unlocked, but there weren't enough different enemy types to fight or weapons to find to take full advantage of what makes each Code unique. The opening area hides mostly swords and axes--implying melee builds are the way to go--so there doesn't seem to be any point in investing in the Ranger and Caster Blood Codes early on. Perhaps later areas offer more reason to switch to bayonet rifles and blood magic, though it remains to be seen.
Code Vein's other major feature, its buddy system, hasn't seen much change since the game's delay. In Code Vein, you meet other Revenants who each have their own questlines and stories. You can choose who joins you in combat, and they'll help you fight and revive you if you happen to fall in the midst of a challenging battle. Bandai Namco designed the buddy system in order to make Code Vein's difficult Souls-like combat more accessible for players new to these types of games.
"So the core concept of [Code Vein] is all about dying and trying again, kind of like [Dark Souls] and [Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice]," Iizuka said. "With that sort of difficulty level set, you have that sense of achievement, that sense of accomplishment when you finally beat that stage or beat that level. So that's something we do value in this game, and that's why we set the difficulty at where it is. However, the development staff really focused on how to motivate the player once they've failed, whether on a boss or stage. So, maybe you die once, and then we want the player to think 'Maybe if I did this again, I could do it better next time around.' So that's where we put the most effort and focus in development, and one of the ways that we motivate the player to [immediately] retry a stage is the buddy system."
One other player can join you and your NPC partner as well, though Code Vein is an entirely supportive experience. There are no PvP aspects "at this time," Iizuka said.
Code Vein's buddy system certainly makes things easier, but never to the point where the game felt actually easy. The game's opening area is comprised of large open rooms connected by winding hallways and staircases, most of which have blind corners. So it was nice to have someone walk with you who points out hidden items you missed, warns of potential ambushes, and can take some of the heat off you when you need to heal. Being able to sacrifice your own health for each other is also a fun risk vs. reward mechanic, especially when you both can choose to lose almost all your health to bring the other one back to life. It's easier to explore and try out new weapons knowing that one of you dying doesn't necessarily mean the end and getting kicked back to the last checkpoint. Through the buddy system, death changes from a punishment into a learning experience.
In terms of a new release date, Code Vein's fate is still a bit up in the air. However, the game remains scheduled for this year. "We are focusing on development for PS4, Steam, and Xbox One," Iizuka said. "But as far as the possibility of porting to Switch or [the Epic Games Store], there might be a possibility down the line. We can't really say for sure at this point."
Rainbow Six Siege has long had a problem with team-killing, but developer Ubisoft has a new solution going live soon to help alleviate the issue. Reverse friendly fire, as it's called, has been in testing for a while and arrives on public PS4, Xbox One, and PC servers on May 8.
Essentially, the system is designed to punish griefers by dealing the damage to them, rather than the poor teammate being hit. Offenders will get a brief grace period--accidents happen, after all--after which any further damage dealt will be reversed, meaning the innocent player receives no damage and the guilty party will be injured themselves.
The system applies to all primary and secondary weapons, as well as direct hits from most unique Operator gadgets. Some explosive items are exempt--some by design, and some because of a bug Ubisoft says it will fix in a future update.
The developer says the method as it stands "is not our final version of the system," which will continue to be tweaked according to data and player feedback. It has already announced changes to the system coming during Siege's Year 4, Season 2: "We will introduce situations where the system will activate for the whole squad," the company said. "How gadgets will react and behave under Reverse Friendly Fire will also be fine-tuned." Read the full patch notes for reverse friendly fire's current iteration below, via Ubisoft.
Rainbow Six Siege Reverse Friendly Fire Update
When a player abuses the friendly fire mechanic to grief their teammates, this system is activated. We believe that this first version will be a positive step forward in our fight against team killing while maintaining the same intensity and high stakes gameplay that is core to the Rainbow Six Siege experience.
The Y4S1 release of RFF is not our final version of the system. Future iterations and improvements will continue based off data and player feedback.
Community feedback so far has been invaluable and allowed us to make early iterations to the system. For example, RFF can now activate based on total friendly damage. In these cases, there is no validation screen for the offending player's teammates. We are also striving to make it clearer how operators and gadgets will react to this system. We have consolidated some guidelines below for your reference.
Effect Of Reverse Friendly Fire
On Weapons And Thrown Objects
Impacts:
Primary/secondary weapons
Direct hits from thrown unique gadgets
Exothermic-S Torch (Maverick)
SK 4-12 (Buck)
Mounted LMG (Tachanka; regardless of who's using the turret)
M120 CREM (Ash) when the breaching round directly hits someone
KS79 Lifeline (Zofia)
Airjab Launcher (Nomad)
Pest Launcher (Mozzie)
Before RFF activation:
Can cause damage to teammates
Will count towards activating RFF
After RFF activation:
Teammates will not receive damage
Will reverse damage dealt
On Explosives
Impacts:
Generic gadgets (frag grenade, C4, breach charge) that results in an explosion*
Gas Grenade (Smoke)
TAC MKO asphyxiating bolts (Capitão)
M120 CREM (Ash) when the breaching round explodes
Cluster Charge (Fuze)
*Explosive gadgets that do not do damage (i.e. stun grenades, Ying's Candela) will not be affected by RFF in any way
Before RFF activation:
Can cause damage to teammates
Will count towards activating RFF
After RFF activation:
Can cause damage to teammates
Does not reverse damage dealt*
*Explosives currently will continue to damage teammates even under RFF. This is not intended and will be fixed in Season 2.
Exceptions*:
Claymore
Entry Denial Device (Kapkan)
X-Kairos pellets (Hibana)
Exothermic Charge (Thermite)
*These explosives do not trigger RFF. While under RFF, these also do not reverse damage dealt and can continue to damage teammates. This can change in the future with feedback and further game design considerations.
On Drones And Operator Cameras
Impacts:
Evil Eye (Maestro)
Shock Drone (Twitch and Mozzie)
Before RFF activation:
Can cause damage to teammates
Will count towards activating RFF
After RFF activation:
Teammates will not receive damage
Will reverse damage dealt (onto the drone/camera)
More To Come
Further changes for Reverse Friendly Fire will come during Year 4 Season 2. We will introduce situations where the system will activate for the whole squad. How gadgets will react and behave under Reverse Friendly Fire will also be fine-tuned based on data and feedback. We look forward to sharing future developments with you.
We welcome any additional feedback on the Rainbow Six subreddit!
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds might be one of the world's biggest games, but its parent company, Tencent, has decided to discontinue the game in China. Despite the country being a huge market--70 million Chinese customers played PUBG Mobile every day--Tencent has shut down the game and replaced it with a more patriotic alternative.
Tencent's reasoning is the Chinese government's refusal to allow in-app purchases in PUBG Mobile. In response, the replacement, Game for Peace, has been given a socialist makeover to meet the strict government regulations. According to Reuters, Tencent described Game for Peace as a tactical shooting game that "pays tribute to the blue sky warriors that guard our country's airspace," in reference to the Chinese air force.
Changes include the absence of gore and blood in Game for Peace, and characters sit up and wave goodbye when they're killed. However, analyst Cui Chenyu said Game for Peace is otherwise "almost exactly the same" as PUBG. "The gameplay, the background, the graphic design, and the characters, they're almost the same," she said. In addition, players have reported their progress has carried over from PUBG to Game for Peace.
Tencent, on the other hand, says the two games belong to "very different genres." The issue is complicated further because although Tencent owns a stake in PUBG's publisher, Krafton (formerly known as Bluehole), and holds the exclusive license to publish PUBG in China, it does not own the PUBG brand outright. A spokesperson for Krafton told Reuters the publisher was looking into PUBG's status in China and declined to comment further.
PUBG Mobile launched in the west in 2018, and it will soon be joined by another huge battle royale game: EA announced just recently that Apex Legends is coming to mobile.
A little show called Game of Thrones is currently in the midst of its eighth and final season, and it is very popular. The ratings for Sunday's Episode 4 have arrived--and they are massive.
17.2 million people watched "The Last of the Starks" across all platforms--including standard television and digital networks such as HBO Go and HBO Now, according to TV Line. Some portion of those people noticed the coffee cup, which has since been digitally erased (but not forgotten).
Episode 4's 17.2 million viewers is down slightly from Episode 3's 17.8 million viewers, which is the most-watched episode of the final season so far. Episode 2 has been the least-watched, with 15.9 million viewers. You can see a breakdown of viewers by episode below.
Episode 6, which is the finale of the entire Game of Thrones series, is likely to draw the biggest crowd, but whether or not it cracks 20 million remains to be seen.
So far, the four aired episodes have been together tallied more than 68 million views, and that doesn't count all members of groups or families watching together and views from other means.
The cancellation of Bayonetta developer PlatinumGames' action-RPG Scalebound was one of the biggest news stories of 2017. Microsoft, the game's publisher, took a lot of the heat about the cancellation. But Platinum boss Atsushi Inaba says Platinum is to blame as well.
"Both sides failed," he told Video Game Chronicle. Inaba added that Scalebound the game "didn't do all of the things that we needed to do as a developer."
Inaba went on to say that it "wasn't easy" to watch fans yell at Microsoft over Scalebound's cancellation. "The reality is, when any game in development can't get released it's because both sides failed," he said. "I think there are areas where we could've done better and I'm sure there are areas that Microsoft as a publishing partner wish that they could've done better. Because nobody wants a game to be cancelled."
The studio head said Platinum learned "a lot of painful lessons" from Scalebound's cancellation, and these lessons have helped the studio grow. Neither Microsoft nor Platinum have said why Scalebound was canceled, but Inaba acknowledged that the game might have been announced too early in development.
Bayonetta director Hideki Kamiya was leading development on Scalebound, which had reportedly been in development for years before it was shut down. In the wake of Scalebound's cancellation, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said the cancellation is ultimately "better for Xbox gamers."
There was a rumor that Scalebound might be revived as a Nintendo Switch game, but that's not in the cards, according to Video Game Chronicle. J.P. Kellams, who was a producer on Scalebound, said he knows "exactly why" Scalebound was canceled but details haven't emerged as of yet.
Platinum is currently working on multiple projects, one of which is a game idea that "has never been done before." For whatever it's worth, Platinum says 2019 is an "incredibly important" year for the studio.
Microsoft is expected to announce a next-generation Xbox at E3 next month, but ahead of that, the company today launched the brand-new all-digital Xbox One S. Called the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition, the system costs $250 / £200 / AU $350, and it's available anywhere you buy consoles.
The new model is the same form factor and size, but it has no disc drive. It sports a 1 TB hard drive and it comes with three games: Forza Horizon 3, Minecraft, and Sea of Thieves.
The release of the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition is noteworthy because it's the first major home console to offer a disc-free version. Microsoft announced the system in April, at which time it said "consumer appetite for digital content and experiences are stronger today than ever before."
Indeed. Just today, Electronic Arts reported that a whopping 49 percent of all of its full-game sales on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One over the past 12 months were digital. The share of digital sales at other publishers is expected to be rising as well.
The new all-digital Xbox One S is not replacing the standard Xbox One S or the Xbox One X, both of which have disc drives. The new digital version is only an option for people who want it.
The lack of a disc drive means the console doesn't support DVDs or Blu-ray discs, but Microsoft says people can still experience 4K content through Netflix, Amazon, and other destinations. The form factor is the same, and the all-digital Xbox One has the same functionality as the standard Xbox One S. It just cannot play game discs or disc-based media.
The full version of Pokemon: Detective Pikachu has leaked online ahead of its premiere this weekend--or so a silly piece of trolling would have you believe. A YouTube account called "Inspector Pikachu" uploaded "POKÉMON Detective Pikachu: Full Picture" today, and it has the bells and whistles like studio logos and such that make it appear to be the Real Deal.
But it's not. It's actually a piece of viral marketing for Detective Pikachu. Part of the appeal here is the surprise, so we won't spoil it for you. Here you go:
Detective Pikachu comes to theatres this Friday, May 10. It stars Ryan Reynolds as the voice of Pikachu, with Justice Smith playing main character Tim Goodman. Bill Nighy, Ken Watanabe, and Kathryn Newton also star in the film that's directed by Shark Tale's Rob Letterman.
Nintendo has announced the lineup of free NES titles for Nintendo Switch subscribers in May. Paying subscribers to the online service are getting Donkey Kong Jr., Vs. Excitebike, and Clu Clu Land.
These titles will be available for download beginning on May 15. With the new additions, the catalog of NES freebies climbs to 40. The library launched last year with 20, with more titles being added on a monthly basis to expand the appeal of the service. For reference, April's additions included Punch-Out!!, Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels, and Star Soldier.
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) May 8, 2019
Access to a library of free NES games is one the perks of signing up to Nintendo Switch Online. Other benefits of Nintendo Switch Online is access to cloud saves (for some games) and of course the ability to play titles online to begin with.
A subscription to Nintendo Switch Online costs $4 USD/month or $8 USD for three months. A 12-month membership is available for $20 USD, while a Family Membership for up to eight Nintendo Account members costs $35 USD for a year. New subscribers can sign up with a seven-day free trial.
Nintendo has announced two more heroes are joining the roster of playable characters in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order. Both new characters are Avengers, though one has been around a lot longer than the other.
In a gameplay preview with Game Informer, Nintendo revealed Hawkeye will be a playable character in Ultimate Alliance 3. There have been more than one Hawkeye in the comics, but Nintendo is using the original, Clint Barton, in Ultimate Alliance 3. Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe may recognize the archer, who's portrayed by Jeremy Renner in the collection of movies. Ultimate Alliance 3 Hawkeye won't be rocking the SHIELD agent attire seen in the MCU, though, nor will he be wearing the goofy purple outfit seen in several incarnations of the character. This version of Hawkeye is stylized after the one seen in the comics created by Matt Fraction and David Aja. In Ultimate Alliance 3, Hawkeye will fight with his collection of trick arrows.
The second new character revealed during the preview is Kamala Khan, the young woman who took on the Ms. Marvel mantle after Carol Danvers became Captain Marvel (who's also in Ultimate Alliance 3). Kamala is an Inhuman who can enlarge any part of her body--a superpower she calls "embiggening." In a pinch, she can enlarge her fists or feet and then elongate her limbs to fire off devastating blows from afar. However, she can also temporarily enlarge every part of her body and grow to massive sizes to cover more ground and reach higher vantage points. So far, it doesn't seem like she'll be able to completely enlarge herself while fighting in Ultimate Alliance 3, but her combos do take advantage of her ability to stretch out her limbs and expand her hands and feet.
Releasing exclusively on Nintendo Switch, Ultimate Alliance 3 takes a few cues from the MCU--especially Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame--to tell its story. The game sees the ultimate alliance of heroes from the first two games once again come together (with a couple of new faces) to take down Thanos and his Black Order. This time around, the alliance is composed of over two dozen characters, incorporating members from the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Verse, Defenders, Inhumans, and X-Men.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order will release July 19. The game is available for pre-order.
DICE's Star Wars: Battlefront II is a "great game" that was "clouded" by the controversy surrounding its microtransactions. That's according to EA CEO Andrew Wilson. He acknowledged on an earnings call today that the 2017 sci-fi shooter had problems surrounding its microtransactions, but following their removal and DICE's ongoing effort to support and improve the title, it's in a much better place now.
"Battlefront II, on balance--and it's kind of hard to see through the mist of this--but on balance, Battlefront II was a great game," Wilson said. "We made some missteps in the context of progression and monetisation which actually clouded what was otherwise a really great game. With the ongoing commitment that the studio has had with the player community, it's now a really strong game with really strong player sentiment, and we expect that will continue to do well. We should have had that done at launch but we are a learning organisation, and we've continued to support that community."
Battlefront II found itself in controversy when early access players discovered that the game's loot boxes, which could be acquired with real money, contained items that might affect gameplay. Some argued that this bordered on "pay-to-win," and in response, EA swiftly removed all microtransactions from the game before its public release. Microtransactions eventually returned to Battlefront II but only in the form of cosmetics like those found in Fortnite that do not impact gameplay.
Battlefront II became the poster child for what could go wrong with loot boxes. Politicians and trade groups used Battlefront II as an example to push for anti-loot box legislation.
Also during the call, Wilson spoke about how EA is undertaking measures to allow for greater transparency and communication between EA and players about upcoming titles in an attempt to avoid problematic issues.
"Our entire marketing organisation is now moving out of presentation mode and into conversation mode, and changing how we communicate with players over time," he said. "So that the day we bring truly a global audience into play, we have strong confidence that 1) the game is ready; 2) that the infrastructure can handle the game at scale; and 3) that our players understand exactly what they're going to be playing and how they're going to be playing, both on the day of launch and over time."
EA has time again referred to Battlefront II as a "learning opportunity." Presumably in response to the learnings from Battlefront II, DICE's next game, Battlefield V, launched with no microtransactions.
For more from EA's earnings call today, check out the stories linked below:
Battlefield V's battle royale mode, Firestorm, launched in March. It was hugely successful in bringing players back to the World War II shooter, EA management said on an earnings call today.
EA CFO Blake Jorgensen said more than 1 million people returned to Battlefield V following the release of Firestorm. Like Fortnite, PUBG, and Apex Legends, Battlefield V's Firestorm mode is a last-player-standing mode set on the biggest map in Battlefield history. The franchise's trademark destruction and vehicles are also represented in the Firestorm mode.
EA CEO Andrew Wilson said Firestorm became the "biggest Battlefield live service event ever" in its first week. The launched of Firestorm helped the game's active player figures rise by nearly 60 percent compared to the week before it launched.
Firestorm was developed by Criterion with help from DICE.
Looking ahead, Battlefield V will welcome at least two more "live service updates," starting in the summer and continuing in the fall. Each of the updates will add "more of what fans are looking for with new maps and missions." Some of the new content will be shown off at EA Play in June.
Battlefield V launched in October 2018. It sold more than 7 million copies in two months, but that was below EA's expectations. Wilson suggested on the earnings call today that Battlefield V might have performed better if the battle royale mode was available upon release.
For more from EA's earnings call today, check out the stories linked below:
Apex Legends is already hugely popular on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, and now it's coming to a new platform and a new market. As part of publisher Electronic Arts' earnings report today, CEO Andrew Wilson confirmed that a mobile version of the battle royale game is in the works, while EA is also in "advanced negotiations" to launch Apex Legends in China.
"We are hugely excited about the future of Apex Legends ... Engagement is strong, and we have big plans for the Legends and the world they compete in," Wilson said. "We're in advanced negotiations to bring Apex Legends to China and to mobile, and we will update you on time frames when those negotiations are concluded."
Apex Legends coming to mobile is no big surprise, as the mobile game market is massive and represents another way for EA to make money from the game. The other battle royale juggernauts, PUBG and Fortnite, also have mobile editions.
In Korea, another major market for games, Wilson pointed out that EA is self-publishing Apex Legends there. "The game offers an opportunity for us to build a direct connection with our players there, and we hope to be able to leverage this for other games," Wilson said.
In his prepared remarks, Wilson noted that Apex Legends is the "fastest-growing" title in EA's history. By EA's latest count, the game reached 50 million players. He also noted that almost 30 percent of Apex Legends players are "new to EA," which is good news for the publisher.
"We're incredibly excited and humbled by the passion that fans around the world have for Apex Legends," Wilson said. "We're now very focused on delivering for this massive global community with a long-term live service, including new seasons with more robust Battle Pass content, new legends, and exciting evolutions to the in-game environment."
It's only just the beginning for Apex Legends, Wilson said. The first details about the game's Season 2 will be announced at the EA Play event in June, Wilson teased.
As part of EA's latest earnings report, EA CEO Andrew Wilson said, "The launch of Anthem did not meet our expectations." Back in February, just ahead of the game's release, EA CFO Blake Jorgensen said the publisher expected the game to sell between 5-6 million units by the end of March. He said even more money was expected to come in from sales of Anthem's microtransaction opportunities.
Today, EA did not provide any specifics about how many units Anthem has sold. Whatever the case, Anthem was not the hit EA and BioWare would have wanted. Despite that, Wilson said it remains "committed" to supporting Anthem's ongoing live service features over the "long term."
Wilson said BioWare is aware of the feedback from Anthem players that they want "more depth and variety in the mission modes of the game."
"The team is now very focused on continued improvements to the game, and will then bring more content updates and in-game events that will enhance and expand the Anthem experience," he said. "We believe in the team at BioWare, and we also believe in what they set out to achieve with this game--building a new IP and melding genres to reach a new audience."
Those who are playing Anthem are playing a lot. Together, players have logged more than 150 million hours in the game since launch, Wilson said.
Anthem's release in February marked the second best first-month sales for any BioWare game in history in the United States, only behind Mass Effect 3. On the earnings call, Jorgensen said Anthem is the "most digital game we have ever launched" in regards to sales. Overall, 49 percent of EA full-game sales across PS4 and Xbox One were digital.
However, an extended look at a scene from the trailer aired today on the Ellen show, making the concept seem even more plausible. In the scene, Tom Holland's Peter Parker is formally introduced to Quentin Beck for the first time--though he already knows him as Mysterio--and Beck knows Peter's heroics, so they've definitely already encountered one another before. Nick Fury explains that Beck is from another dimension, which Beck then clarifies. Peter's earth is "Dimension 616" while Beck himself is from Earth-833.
These numbers are pretty significant. Over in Marvel comics, Earth-616 is the popular shorthand used to describe the "main" Marvel universe where the primary shared continuity exists. The term got its start in the late 1980s as a very literal signifier of an Earth in the multiverse, but has since lost some of that concrete meaning after multiple crossover events have shaped and reshaped the multiverse. Now, rather than explicitly meaning the literal Earth-616, comics fans will use "616" to define any main continuity story in virtually any context. Most of the time it's literal, but other times it isn't.
For the comics, all you need to remember is that seeing the numbers "616" means you're reading or watching a story that is considered part of the primary continuity. Don't stress the details too much.
In the MCU, things get a little less muddy--this is the first time we've really encountered any potential alternate dimensions, so the 616 signifier is both literal and totally specific. If Mysterio is to be believed, every movie in the MCU thus far has taken place on the cinematic Earth-616 from the get go.
Mysterio himself, however, is from Earth-833. In the comics, that particular Earth is the home of a character known as "Spider-UK," a, well, British version of Spider-Man who served with the Captain Britain Corps, led by the, uh, British equivalent of Captain America.
Why would British Spider-Man drop the "Man" in favor of "UK?" Your guess is as good as ours. Sometimes the differences between different Earths in the multiverse are really, really goofy--like on Earth-999, where Spider-Man is actually a cat ("Spider-Cat") who fights a pigeon named Venom, or Earth-71912, where all of Marvel's heroes are Rugrats-style talking babies.
Earth-833 doesn't have a very long or storied history in the source material--in fact, it was recently destroyed by the machinations of a villain known as Karn, or the Master Weaver, whose goal was to scour the multiverse in search of more Spider-based powers to collect. All of which is to say the MCU could be inventing an entirely new take on the dimension with an entirely new Mysterio. It's important to keep that in mind. If anything, this is more likely given the way Mysterio tells Peter they could "use someone like him" back on his home world, implying there sadly won't be a cinematic Spider-UK cameo.
It's also important to remember: This is all assuming that the entire multiverse isn't just some incredibly specific grift Mysterio is pulling. Only time will tell.
Spider-Man: Far From Home hits theaters on July 2 and stars Tom Holland, Jake Gyllenhaal, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Zendaya, and Jacob Batalon.
WWE's weekly programming, Smackdown Live and Raw, are both in a weird place right now. Since Wrestlemania, the two shows--which are supposed to have completely separate rosters--have seen wrestlers jumping between back and forth with little to no explanation. Now, a new "wild card" "rule" has been added, allowing some superstars from each show appear to appear on the other. How will those superstars be picked? Great question. We have no idea. Nobody does.
On the May 7 episode of Raw, Vince McMahon kicked off the night with his new "Wild Card" rule, which will allow three wrestlers to make appearances on the opposite brand "on occasion." However, this new rule was broken when Lars Sullivan and Elias showed up later, so by the end of Raw, four wrestlers are able to guest star on the opposite show. That still doesn't make a ton of sense, mostly because with the addition of Lars Sullivan and Elias, there were actually five Smackdown Live superstars on Raw--six if you include Shane McMahon. Still, this could be a great way to build up to Survivor Series, which is November. This totally isn't a build-up to Survivor Series, though. My brain is just trying to make sense of all of this. It's not working.
Following the Superstar Shakeup, an event which had plenty of people continuing to bounce between shows weeks after it was over, there were still two WWE superstars jumping between shows: Shane McMahon and Becky Lynch. Shane's jump between Raw and Smackdown is pointless, as it's just him involved in two different storylines, and the one with Miz on Raw is the only one that makes sense for him right now.
Then, there's Becky "The Man" Lynch, who should be the only superstar allowed to appear on both shows as she's both the Raw and Smackdown Women's Champion. Let "Becky 2 Belts" do whatever she wants. It makes sense for the story, her character, and it's good for overall WWE programming. You could also say that Bray Wyatt also crosses over brands with his "Firefly Fun House" segments appearing on both Raw and Smackdown, but those are a treasure and should be seen by everyone, at least twice.
All this moving around and adding the "Wild Card" rule completely destroys the importance of the brand split and creates less space for the rest of the WWE roster to compete. If three or four Smackdown superstars come to Raw for one night, that's three or four spaces taken away from the midcard because you know Raw won't be keeping its main event talent off of television. Add to the fact that WWE keeps pulling talent from NXT and 205 Live (which seems it is on its way out), will there be any room on these shows for anyone who isn't a main event star on either show?
There is already super-talented wrestlers on the roster not getting any television time as is, like Luke Harper and Tyler Breeze (Hashtag Where's Breeze?) sitting on the sidelines. If you look at the WWE Superstar roster, you'll undoubtedly find talent that is rarely on TV. The "Wild Card" will just make it more likely you won't be seeing them.
What WWE is saying with the "Wild Card" rule and the constant shuffling of talent is that the brand split doesn't matter. While it's very unlikely to happen, it feels like a mere softening of the blow for when the brand split is completely dissolved later in the year. Sure, the 17 active championships in WWE is exceptionally excessive, and there are ways to cut back on that, but that creates a barrier between shows as well, making each show feel like its own promotion in a sense. Identity is key, and right now, these show's identity's are melding into one, and I hate that.
I don't want to go back to a world where Smackdown and Raw have the same exact roster because then Smackdown becomes nothing more than a Raw replay and the show loses all meaning. If you don't believe me, head over to the WWE Network and watch an episode of Smackdown before the brand split. So much of each episode is devoted to Raw recaps and matches that don't matter as nothing that happened on Smackdown ever moved the storylines forward.
Hey WWE, full stop on the wrestlers jumping to other shows, please. It's not Survivor Series. It doesn't make sense. It waters down the brand split. And most importantly, it takes spots away from other superstars on an already bloated roster. Sure, Smackdown is moving to Fox at the end of this year, and WWE ratings are down--and the NBA playoffs do factor into that--but maybe stop doing the "same old, same old" with storylines and give fans more "out there" things like what you're doing with Becky Lynch, Bray Wyatt, Daniel Bryan, and Kofi Kingston. Now is the time to flip the script and take chances, and that doesn't mean destroying what the brand split is.
The weekly reset and Update 2.2.2 added yet another big secret weapon to Destiny 2. Hidden in the game is now a secret mission, and completing it will earn you a new version of Outbreak Prime, an Exotic pulse rifle from the Rise of Iron expansion of the original Destiny. To get the new Exotic, Outbreak Perfected, you'll need to complete an arduous, timed level, similar to the one necessary to unlock Whisper of the Worm--but first, you'll need to complete the steps to access the mission to begin with.
In order to unlock the mission, you'll first need to decipher a series of clues and visit a bunch of Lost Sectors. But the hunt for the weapon brings you back to the Tower eventually, and includes an encounter with an old friend: Mithrax, a Fallen warrior you can encounter in Destiny 1, who has a fair bit of lore about him.
We're gathering all the info we can to help you get Outbreak Perfected quickly and easily. Here's how to start the quest, where to go, and how to handle the final, lengthy timed mission at the end.
Step 1: Head To Titan
To unlock the quest to get Outbreak Perfected, you'll first need to head to Titan. Land on The Rig and head south, into the area called Tidal Anchor. You'll remember this area from the story mission where you had to switch on the pistons to get the power back on in The Rig.
Keep moving until you hit a room with a big glass front window (after the room where you'd normally first try to switch on the pistons). On your right as you enter is a scannable Hive crystal, which contains a little bit of lore from Ghost. Turn left and you'll see a room lit in red, with doors with the number "7" printed on them.
Check the left door, which should prompt you to "Unlock" it. Inside you'll find a mostly empty room filled with computers.
Check for a small supply bin near the Fallen computer on the right side to find a "Fallen Transponder" item. That'll start you on your way.
Step 2: Locate Nodes
Your next item of business is to find six nodes to add to your Transponder. Open the item in your inventory and you'll see six icons arrayed in a ring around the center. Each one gives a little riddle that describes a location--in fact, they're all Lost Sectors. You can figure out each of the locations on your own, but we've run down which Lost Sectors they are and where the nodes are hidden in each below.
Node 1: The Drain, EDZ. The first Lost Sector is in the Outskirts. Head through the Lost Sector until you hit the end. Go past where the Lost Sector chest is and look for a big side room with a blue banner.
Check toward the back of that room for an object with projecting a red hologram.
Node 2: Whispered Falls, EDZ. Also in the Outskirts. The node is near the very beginning of the Lost Sector, where you drop down into a big cave filled with enemies.
Head down to the bottom where there's water and look to the right side for a small opening in the cave wall that's lit green. Head inside to find the node.
Node 3: Atrium, EDZ. The last two Lost Sectors on Earth are in Trostland. Head to the church and head into the one whose entrance is in the floor. You'll go about halfway through the Lost Sector to find this one.
Clear a room lit with only one big spotlight, and look for a doorway with a broken rusty staircase leading down; the wall will have another big "7" stenciled on it. Hop down there and check the corner immediately to your left. A small hallway leads to a dead-end corner, with the node hidden just out of view.
Node 4: Widow's Walk, EDZ. While you're still in Trostland, find the entrance set in the buildings near the church. Head to the back of the Lost Sector where you find the locked chest.
When facing the front of the chest, look up and to the right for a small ledge where you can hop up and find the node.
Node 5: The Carrion Pit, Nessus. This one's in the Glade of Echoes. Fight all the way through to the end of the Lost Sector, until you get to the chest. Straight behind it is a hole that lets you shortcut back to the entrance.
Don't drop down it, but check the black wall to the right of the chest; you should be able to jump around the edge of the wall by jumping over part of the hole, in order to find a gap behind it, where the node is hidden.
Node 6: The Rift, Nessus. Your final node is in the Exodus Black. Head into the Lost Sector into the very back, to the locked chest again. Standing facing the chest, you'll have big chuck of rock running along the left wall that you can walk on.
Look for a rectangular metal container with its end hanging off the cliff. The node is inside, but you'll have to jump around the outside of the box to enter it from the cliff side to get to it.
Once you have all the nodes, the center of the Transponder will be activated, showing a coded message. You can try to decode it, but we know where it wants you to go. Read on for the answer.
Step 3: Go Find Mithrax
Turns out, this whole quest is a tip from Mithrax, a Fallen warrior from Destiny 1 who decided to ally with the Guardians. When you talk to him next, you'll activate a timed special mission, much like The Whisper, the quest to get the Whisper of the Worm Exotic. You can take a full fireteam of three into the mission, which has a Power level of 690, but there's no matchmaking.
You can find Mithrax at the Farm. When you spawn in, head to the barn on the right side of the area, and check the outside wall next to a rusted-out truck to find a set of open cellar doors. Head inside and into the back of the basement to find Mithrax. Talk to him and you can activate the mission, which you'll need to complete with in 20 minutes.
Step 4: Zero Hour
The mission, Zero Hour, has you fighting a bunch of Fallen through the destroyed portion of the Tower, echoing a lot of what you encountered in the very first mission of Destiny 2, but in reverse. We recommend you bring weapons and Supers with solid range that are good for clearing lots of enemies quickly. Riskrunner is a great bet since you'll be fighting a bunch of Arc-wielding Fallen all the way through. We also liked Jotunn for shooting sniper shanks from long distances and 21% Delirium for dumping a lot of ammo on big targets fast. Useful Supers include things like Shadowshot with Orpheus Rig, Blade Barrage with Shards of Galanor, and Nova Bomb with Skull of Dire Ahamkara.
The mission is a bit of a maze, so you may get lost in the attempt. Unlike The Whisper, which starts with lots of platforming and then ends with a battle, Zero Hour is the opposite: mostly fighting at first, lots of platforming later, then a boss fight. If you can't find a way forward, look for a vent opening that's not obvious. Some especially tough-to-stop ones are beneath the nose of the ship when you reach an outside area of the Tower, for instance. Also, as you work through the platforming sections of the mission, look for buttons you can press. These will usually extend platforms and walkways that will make things easier for the players following you.
Before long, you'll reach the outside of the Tower, where you'll need to platform your way down across a series of small platforms and antennae to reach another vent you can crawl into. When you hit the dead end with the button, look for the vent in the ceiling.
After that, you should come into a room with a yellow covered vent on your right, and another to the left, hidden behind a box. Use the left one, which will put you into a vent with several exits on your right. Blow open the first one and look down for a platform directly beneath you; drop to that one and enter the vent there. You'll see another five or so vents scattered through this room, but they all lead to death; this is the only one forward.
Not long after that is the Ventilation room, a big room with narrow hallways. You can look down at the room through the big window, while the monitor to your left shows a map. You'll need to drop down through the vent on your right into the Ventilation room--you can then head either left or right. Pick a side (it's good to coordinate with your team to spread out) and look for side hallways splitting off from the main path. If you follow them around to the back walls, you'll find buttons, marked in red on the map. Hit them all to open a door at the far end of the room, marked at the top of the map.
While you work through the Ventilation room, a robot with a red light on it will randomly wander the halls at high speeds. It has blades on it, and will run you over if it finds you. Look for side hallways or small vents you can duck into to avoid it. You can also jump onto the pipes that through the center of the area to connect the left and right sides to stay away from the robot. Beware, also, that once you start hitting buttons, electrical forcefields will occasionally impede your progress toward the door.
After you exit the Ventilation area, you're almost done. You'll take a set of poorly maintained elevators upward and exit into a big bank vault. Head to the back left corner when the vault door is at your back to trigger a hidden door that'll open in front of you. From there, head to the back of this very large bank room and into the alcove on the right to find a hole cut in the floor. Follow the path forward to hit a big boss fight with a mess of Fallen.
You'll face a Fallen Captain, plus some giant Servitors and even two Fallen walkers. You can focus your fire on the boss, but killing him isn't enough; as best we can tell, you need to kill at least the two walkers as well (although when we beat the mission, we wound up clearing out all the enemies including the Servitors).
Riskrunner is great for this, especially against the walkers, since you can get right up in their faces and let them shock you to amp up the gun. Nova Bomb is great for killing the Servitors and shanks that accompany them, as is Shadowshot. Clearing the minion enemies will help make the battle go quite a bit easier, if you can manage it, but if you need to speed through it, go after the walkers first and then focus fire on the Captain to finish him off.
Mithrax will visit you one last time when you win, and you'll walk away with Outbreak Perfected. It's a pulse rifle that infects enemies with SIVA, the nanotech virus from the original Destiny, and does extra damage to anybody the SIVA zaps.
Finishing the mission will also unlock a Heroic version you can access from the EDZ map, as well. Much like with Whisper of the Worm, working through the mission will get you the Exotic catalyst for Outbreak Perfected, which improves it even more.
PSN's massive Golden Week sale has come to an end, but fortunately, another sale has taken its place in the PlayStation Store. Right now, you can find discounts on PS4 games from Ubisoft, including some of the publisher's biggest series like Assassin's Creed, The Division, and Far Cry. Take a look at some of the best deals below.
The Assassin's Creed collection is marked down, including the latest game, Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, for just $25.79. Assassin's Creed Origins is selling for the same price. If you own neither Odyssey or Origins, consider picking up the Assassin's Creed Antiquity Pack, which bundles both for just $45. Meanwhile, Assassin's Creed: The Ezio Collection is over $30 off, dropping from $50 to $17.49, and Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is just $15. Far Cry 5 is also discounted this week--you can get it for just $27--along with Far Cry 4 for $20 and Far Cry New Dawn for $24. Other notable deals include The Division 2, which released less than a month ago and is on sale for $48; The Crew 2, which is selling for $24; and Watch Dogs 2, available for $21.
Nearly all the best deals right now are from Ubisoft, but you can also snag Monster Hunter: World for $20 (the lowest price we've seen) as well as Anthem for $40.19.
While these sales generally last a week, the Ubisoft sale will extend until Tuesday, May 21, at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET, so you have some time to consider which games you actually want.
See some of our picks below, and browse the full list of discounted games in the PlayStation Store. As usual, these prices will be even cheaper for PS Plus members.
Treyarch has rolled out a new update for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Following its debut on PS4 last week, Operation Specter Rising has expanded to Xbox One and PC, while a double XP event for featured playlists is now live on all platforms, along with an assortment of bug fixes and other tweaks.
First, Xbox One and PC players now have access to the new Operation Specter Rising content, which includes a new Specialist known as Specter, who can be unlocked in multiplayer and Blackout after completing tier 1 of the Black Market. The Black Market has also been updated with 50 tiers' worth of new items to unlock, including weapons such as the Tigershark LMG and the Nifo'Oti.
Xbox One and PC players with a Black Ops Pass now have access to three new multiplayer maps as well: Masquerade, Artifact, and WMD. Bounty Hunter mode is also now live in Blackout on Xbox One and PC, while the mode's Alcatraz map has returned on all platforms.
In addition to that, Treyarch is offering twice the normal amount of XP for featured playlists across all of Black Ops 4's modes. Specifically, players will earn 2x XP for Map Pack Moshpit in multiplayer, 2x XP for Super Blood Wolf Moon in Zombies, and 2x Merits in Blackout's Bounty Hunter. The double XP event is available on all platforms and runs through Friday, May 10.
Rounding out the update are an assortment of balance tweaks and bug fixes, including tuning changes to the aforementioned Specter. You can see the full rundown of everything that's new on Reddit.
Activision still hasn't announced what this year's installment in the Call of Duty series will be, although some people have already played it. Back in April, a handful of American athletes posted pictures of themselves playing the new game at what appeared to be an official event. The title is presumed to be Modern Warfare 4; however, the only thing Activision has confirmed about the upcoming shooter is that it will include a single-player campaign, unlike Black Ops 4.
Although we still don't have an exact launch date for the upcoming Need for Speed and Plants vs. Zombies games, EA has revealed a release window for both titles. In the company's latest financial report, EA announces both games are expected to be released this year sometime between October and December.
In the report, EA lists new games for both Need for Speed and Plants vs. Zombies releasing during the same quarter as Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, currently scheduled to launch on November 15 for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. The Need for Speed and Plants vs. Zombies releases are listed as both console and PC games, so they too are probably launching on Xbox One, PS4, and PC.
Little has been announced about these new Need for Speed and Plants vs. Zombies games. During a previous company financial report, EA COO and CFO Blake Jorgensen announced both games. "Looking forward, we're delighted to launch Anthem, our new IP, to grow Apex Legends and related Titanfall experiences, to deliver new Plants vs. Zombies and Need for Speed titles, and to add Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order to our sports titles in the fall," Jorgensen said.
In a subsequent earnings call, EA confirmed the Plants vs. Zombies game would be a shooter. Though this is in no way a confirmation, this detail implies the upcoming game is another edition to the Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare series. The theory is further supported by a retail listing leaking the existence of Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 3. However, EA hasn't confirmed the leak's authenticity.
The latest financial report also mentions Sea of Solitude, an EA Original indie game that was teased during EA Play 2018, will be releasing on consoles and PC next quarter (sometime between July 1 and September 30). An adventure game, Sea of Solitude has you play as Kay, a young woman lost in a half submerged city filled with red-eyed creatures. Kay herself has begun to change into one of the monsters that populate the city, so she's searching for a way to become human again.
The MCU news just keeps on coming today with even more Phase 4 goodness. After announcing an official release schedule for all upcoming Marvel movies into 2022, yet another actor is joining the star-studded cast of The Eternals as reported by The Wrap.
Richard Madden, known for playing the late Robb Stark on HBO's Game of Thrones, is reportedly in talks to join Angelina Jolie and Kumail Nanjiani in Marvel's new cosmic superhero team. Details surrounding Madden's potential role are unclear, but it seems likely that he'll be taking on Ikaris, an immortal with the ability to harness and control cosmic and psionic energy.
Created by Jack Kirby back in the late 1970s, The Eternals are an "evolutionary offshoot" of humanity created by the god-like Celestials when the Earth was new. The experimentation gave the Eternals superpowers such as flight, enhanced durability, and incredible strength as well as functional immortality. Though the Eternals themselves have not been alluded to in the MCU, their progenitors have been with Guardians of the Galaxy featuring "Knowhere," a city contained within the severed head of a Celestial avatar, and Vormir a planet referred to in Avengers: Endgame as the "center of Celestial existence."
Similarly, Thanos, the villain of the MCU's Infinity Saga, is known as a "Deviant" in the comics, an Eternal with a genetic mutation responsible for his purple skin and incredible strength; however, Thanos' lineage and race was never addressed in the movies.
The Eternals will be directed by Chloe Zhao (Songs My Brothers Taught Me, The Rider) and written by Matthew and Ryan Fripo. It is rumored to focus on the love story of Sersi (Jolie), an Eternal who spends her time immersed in human society, and Ikaris, an Eternal fueled by cosmic energy.
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