US politician and New York's 14th congressional district representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is apparently an avid fan of League of Legends, sharing her latest rank promotion on social media.AOC posted on her Instagram Story that she recently reached Silver IV in Ranked Solo/Duo. She captioned the photo with "I did it," followed by a blushing emoji. Silver IV is three tiers into LoL's ranking system, with Unranked and Provisional, Iron, and Bronze coming before it. AOC's photo was shared on the official LoL subreddit and her official Twitter account, with the founder of Spanish esports organization G2 Esports tweeting at her directly to visit the team in Berlin sometime.Just last year, AOC stated she was "dusting off" her LoL account and was approaching Bronze V. She also said her mains are Miss Fortune and Morgana, though this was announced on Reddit over three years ago.AOC isn't the only politician to go where video game players congregate. Vermont senator and 2020 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders announced that he joined Twitch as part of "Bernie TV," an initiative to increase his online presence in other video-centric platforms like Facebook and YouTube. Further, another presidential hopeful, Andrew Yang, launched his Twitch channel last year.Developer Riot Games announced a slew of projects based on LoL, including a first-person hero shooter similar to Overwatch, a Hearthstone-inspired collectible card game, an animated series, and more. The studio also confirmed that LoL is headed to consoles and mobile sometime in 2020.Info from Gamespot.com

Joe and Anthony Russo, the director duo who brought you Avengers: Endgame are producing a streaming docu-series about the rivalry between Marvel and DC for the streaming service Quibi, Entertainment Weekly reports. Titled Slugest, the series will be heavily inspired by the 2017 book Slugfest: Inside The Epic, 50-Year Battle Between Marvel And DC by Reed Tucker.The series will encompass the companies' rivalries in the film arena and beyond, digging deep into their race to "establish culture-changing mythologies" in the "indomitably American industry" of comic books from the mid-1930s to the modern-day. The series will be directed by Don Argott and Sheena M. Joyce.As for the optics of having two of the most wildly known MCU architects producing a series about the rivalry between Marvel and DC, we can't be sure. As far as anyone knows, the Russo Brothers do not have any upcoming commitments to Marvel Studios in the wake of Avengers: Endgame, but we can only hope that some DC Comics and DCEU masterminds get to throw in their two-cents as well. Needless to say, it's probably best not to count on the series ending any long-fought social media fights about the superiority of one franchise over the other--if anything, Slugfest is probably going to fuel those fires even more.Quibi is scheduled to launch on April 6, 2020. Info from Gamespot.com

Google Stadia is less than a week from launch, and Google is still answering questions about the game-streaming service. The company took part in a Reddit AMA, explaining more details on topics ranging from the launch roll-out to family controls and Google Home connectivity.The most pressing question from fans was the roll-out plan, especially given the recent revelation that those who pre-ordered may not get theirs on launch day. However, the rep notes that Stadia is a service, not just a box, so you can create your account and start playing in your browser as soon as you get an invite code via email. The emails will be sent when your unit ships. The community manager even offered to deliver one in the Bay Area personally on launch day.Other tidbits were scattered throughout the AMA. Several features were confirmed for day one, but some will be limited in various ways. Family Link will allow you to set parental controls right out of the box, but Family Sharing won't come until early 2020. Until then you'll have to buy your kids' games separately inside their own account. You can also start earning game achievements immediately, but a dedicated interface to let you view all of them will come later. Some Google Home/Assistant features like remote starting a game will also be available from the jump, but more features are said to be in the works.Other features and announcements are forthcoming later. Buddy Passes, which let you gift a friend with a temporary Pro subscription if you bought the Founder's Edition, will be coming about two weeks after launch. Google also doesn't have a time set for when it will outline its lineup of Pro subscription games, but that schedule is said to be coming soon.Finally, the Google rep answered one important question for those who regularly use a Chromecast for other functions like watching TV. What happens if someone starts casting to your Chromecast while you're mid-game? The answer is you get booted out of your game, of course, but the Stadia servers will continue running your game for 10 minutes afterwards while you sort it out.All this comes as Google has just announced its launch lineup of 12 games, with 14 more to come by the end of the year. Lucy Morris, developer of Stadia launch game Kine, recently told GI.biz that some developers are hesitant to jump on board since they're afraid Google could pull the plug. Google Stadia News Here's Google Stadia's Launch Lineup And 2019 Games Google Stadia Games: Full List Plus Launch Games Info from Gamespot.com

Hopefully, by now, you've finally gotten to watch the first episode of The Mandalorian on Disney+, which has a mindblowing ending. But how does this ending fit into the grand scheme of things when it comes to the Star Wars universe? We have an idea, and it's all connected to Yoda.Warning: Spoilers for the first episode of The Mandalorian ahead.As a whole, Star Wars is all about lineage. The people who birthed you and those who raised you shaped who you are now, and that can be said about real life as well. So the revelation that the Mando (whose name is Din Jarron) finds a 50-year-old alien baby--which is the same species as Yoda--raises a lot of questions. We all assumed Yoda was the last of his species, so where did this baby come from and who are its parents?The most well-known of this alien species is Yoda, who passed on in Return of the Jedi at the ripe young age of 900. However, another one of this unnamed species was introduced in the Star Wars universe years ago, in Episode 1: The Phantom Menace.Back in 1999, Star Wars fans were introduced to the Jedi High Council, and one of its members was Yaddle, a female of Yoda's alien species. The two served on the council together during this time. Yaddle only appeared in Phantom Menace, but her story didn't end there.After the Battle of Naboo, Yaddle left the Jedi High Council, where she was replaced by Shaak Ti. This was revealed in the book Ultimate Star Wars. Years later, approximately a decade before the Battle of Yavin, Yaddle was killed at The Battle of Fortress Vader by Lord Vader himself, in a comic book series from Marvel Comics.So The Mandalorian takes place 10 ABY (After the Battle of Yavin), and 20 years after the death of Yaddle. Considering she's the only female of this species we've seen in current canon, and she worked with Yoda on the Jedi High Council, it's not too out-there to speculate that Yoda and Yaddle are the parents of the baby in The Mandalorian. Star Wars News The Mandalorian Episode 1: 41 Star Wars Easter Eggs, References, And Other Things You Might Miss Disney Plus: Han Shoots First Scene From Star Wars: A New Hope Has Been Changed Again Star Wars: The Mandalorian Review Disney Plus: Every Star Wars Movie And TV Show Available On Day One Star Wars Episode 9: Everything We Know About The Rise Of Skywalker Since this infant is actually 50 years old, that puts its birth around 40 BBY, eight years prior to the events of The Phantom Menace. Yoda and Yaddle were presumably on the Jedi High Council together during this time. So maybe part of Yaddle's decision to leave it was so she could raise their eight-year-old child. And after Anakin killed all the younglings, she could have gone into hiding, before joining other Jedi to try and take down Darth Vader at his battle on Mustafar.Where the baby went after that is a mystery. Maybe Yoda took it to Degobah with him and had it hidden away while he was training Luke Skywalker. However, this is all conjecture. We don't know the lineage of the Yoda-like baby at this time. All we know is its age and that there were two others of this species in current Star Wars canon, but considering how many of the characters in the Star Wars movies and TV series are connected, this is a good bet. Yoda and Yaddle could very well be the parents to this child.In his review of The Mandalorian, GameSpot's Chris E. Hayner said, "The Mandalorian has made a statement about what a live-action Star Wars TV show looks like. Now, with the remaining seven episodes in Season 1, it needs to make a statement about how a Star Wars plot should unfold over a longer form of storytelling."We'll more than likely learn more about the Yoda baby in upcoming episodes of The Mandalorian. New episodes air every Friday, with Episode 2 landing on November 15. Info from Gamespot.com

The Uncharted movie continues to take shape. Following the news that Bumblebee director Travis Knight will helm the film, it's been reported that Mark Wahlberg is set to join Tom Holland in the cast.According to Variety, Wahlberg is in "final talks" to play Victor "Sully" Sullivan in the adaptation of the hit video game. Sullivan is described as an American treasure hunter, fortune seeker, and businessman, as well as a friend to main character Nathan Drake, the role Holland is playing. Sullivan is a recurring character in the video game series.This isn't the first time Wahlberg has been attached to a movie version of Uncharted. Back in 2007, the star was set to play the role of Drake, with David O. Russell (American Hustle, The Fighter) writing and directing. However, Russell left the project in 2011, and the film has been stuck in development ever since.Knight was announced as director in September, replacing Dan Trachtenberg. Knight scored a big hit last year with Bumblebee, his first live-action film, and he was Oscar-nominated for the acclaimed animated movie Kubo and the Two Strings. Uncharted is currently slated for a December 18, 2020 release.Info from Gamespot.com

While the recently-announced Diablo IV is not coming out anytime soon, Blizzard confirmed that a planned February 2020 update will show a behind-the-scenes look at the progress being made on the game. Before then, we'll be getting some new information and clarifications in the near future.Game director Luis Barriga announced Blizzard's intention to release "a series of quarterly updates," with one planned for this coming February as the first to kick the series off. Barriga didn't clarify what these updates will contain but said the studio is "excited about [the] cool update" for February.Alongside these quarterly announcements, Barriga also said that Blizzard's lead systems designer, David Kim, will provide updates of his own "in the coming weeks." Kim will provide information on items and stats, as well as "address some of your open questions" in various online channels.Blizzard added some new features to Diablo IV, including mounts to make travel faster. A big feature that was supposed to be in Diablo III, player-versus-player, has made its way to Diablo IV. In a hands-on preview, we said that it seems "Diablo IV [may] offer a pretty different take on the franchise from its predecessor."Diablo IV was announced at BlizzCon 2019, though the action-RPG was leaked prior to Blizzard's annual event. The studio has since shown off the game's three current classes, announced that all versions are online-only, and confirmed plans to include cosmetic microtransactions. BlizzCon News BlizzCon 2019 News: Overwatch 2, Diablo 4, And Everything Else Announced New Hero Confirmed For Overwatch 2: Sojourn BlizzCon Schedule: Overwatch 2, Diablo 4 Unveiling, And More Overwatch 2 Announced, Includes PvP And PvE What Overwatch 2 Means For Current Players Diablo 4 Announced At BlizzCon 2019 Diablo 4 Gameplay Trailer Shows The New RPG In Action New WoW Shadowlands Expansion Trailer Released At BlizzCon 2019 Hearthstone Expansion "Descent of Dragons" Announced, Coming In December Here's Every Hearthstone "Descent Of Dragons" Card (So Far) Info from Gamespot.com

Nowhere in the first episode of The Mandalorian does the main character eat or drink anything. We get to see where he goes to the bathroom, but the Disney+ series doesn't let us know what his favorite foods are. Well, there's a new cookbook, based on the theme park Galaxy's Edge, that gives us deeper insight into the world of Mandalore and it's food.You've probably watched the first episode of The Mandalorian already, but have you done so while eating food? If you really want to roleplay while enjoying the Disney+ series, why not cook yourself something inspired by the fine warrior people of Mandalore? Insight Editions newest cookbook--available now--has plenty of meals and drinks you can make for yourself at home, all inspired by the stories and cuisine from Galaxy's Edge. Insight Editions gave us a look at Spicy Mandalorian Stew if you want to cook it up for yourself. Star Wars News The Mandalorian Episode 1: 41 Star Wars Easter Eggs, References, And Other Things You Might Miss Disney Plus: Han Shoots First Scene From Star Wars: A New Hope Has Been Changed Again Star Wars: The Mandalorian Review Disney Plus: Every Star Wars Movie And TV Show Available On Day One Star Wars Episode 9: Everything We Know About The Rise Of Skywalker The cookbook features the contributions of best-selling author Chelsea Monroe Cassel and Eisner and Harvey award nominiee Marc Sumerak. The Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge Cookbook is now available in stores and online for $35, and you can check it out here. If you're interested in more pieces about cookbooks with licenses attached, you should really watch me cook some recipes from the Overwatch and WWE cookbooks.Info from Gamespot.com

Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order, the new, single-player melee action game from the makers of Titanfall and Apex Legends, is almost here. The game officially launches on Friday, November 15, but copies of the game have begun to appear in the wild already.There are reports on Reddit and elsewhere of people getting their hands on the much-anticipated Star Wars game ahead of time. Players who are keen to avoid spoilers are advised to be extra careful on social media, as information about the story could emerge.Jedi Fallen Order takes place five years after Revenge of the Sith. The story, which is canon, follows a Jedi Padawan named Cal Kestis (played by Gotham's Joker, Cameron Monaghan) who is trying to outrun Empire forces trying to eliminate all Jedis. The main enemy is Darth Vader's trainee, the Second Sister, who is chasing Cal across the solar system.Unlike other EA-published games, Jedi Fallen Order is not available early for EA Access subscribers. That's a bummer, as playing upcoming EA games early is in part what makes the subscription service so attractive. However, EA/Origin Access subscribers are getting free bonus content for Jedi Fallen Order.Early copies of Jedi Fallen Order emerging in the wild have appeared just as pre-loading for the game has begun. Respawn announced on Twitter that people who pre-ordered a digital copy of the game can start pre-loading now on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The file size relatively small compared to other big AAA games, weighing in at around 37 GB (on Xbox One, at least).As for when you can actually start playing Jedi Fallen Order, the game will reportedly unlock at midnight local time.#JediFallenOrder is available for preload on Xbox One, PS4, and PC! Pre-order now and download to be ready to play on November 15. pic.twitter.com/bg1hsQVZ31 — Respawn (@Respawn) November 13, 2019Jedi Fallen Order is expected to be a massive success commercially, as EA is expecting the game to sell as many as 8 million copies at launch. The NPD expects it to be among the best-selling games of 2019 in the US. In other news, Mad TV actress Debra Wilson appears in Jedi Fallen Order as a Jedi named Cere Junda. She spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the significance of her character and why she's excited to be in the game."I believe I'm the first black female Jedi as far as video games are concerned," Wilson said. "To be a part of the Star Wars universe in this regard is amazing. Growing up with Star Wars from a very early age--well not that early because I'm a little older--it had a very powerful impact on me."Info from Gamespot.com

John Carmack, the video game legend known for his work on id Software games like Quake, Doom, and Wolfenstein, is leaving his job at Oculus. He announced on Facebook that, as of this week, he will transition to become a "consulting CTO" with Oculus instead of working at the company full time."I will still have a voice in the development work, but it will only be consuming a modest slice of my time," Carmack said.Going forward, Carmack will spend more of his time working on "artificial general intelligence." He said it's something he's wanted to pursue for some time already, and he wants to go after it known "before I get too old.""I think it is possible, enormously valuable, and that I have a non-negligible chance of making a difference there, so by a Pascal's Mugging sort of logic, I should be working on it," Carmack said. "For the time being at least, I am going to be going about it Victorian Gentleman Scientist style, pursuing my inquiries from home, and drafting my son into the work."Carmack had served as full-time CTO at Oculus since 2013. Prior to that, he worked at the Texas-based game developer id Software, which is owned by Bethesda parent company ZeniMax.Carmack's time at Oculus wasn't always smooth. ZeniMax sued Carmack (and others), claiming that Oculus stole virtual reality technology from ZeniMax. Oculus was ordered to pay ZeniMax $500 million in the case, though it was later knocked down to $250 million. Carmack sued ZeniMax on claims that the company did not pay him what he was due for its purchase of id. This matter has also since been resolved.It is not clear at this stage if Oculus, which is owned by Facebook, will look for a permanent replacement for Carmack in the CTO role. Oculus is a very different company these days, as all six of the company's founders have now left.The latest Oculus product is Oculus Quest, a standalone virtual reality headset that doesn't require a computer. In addition to working on the hardware itself, Oculus funds the development of VR games through its Oculus Studios division. Oculus also operated a studio that made animated VR movies, but Facebook closed the company in May 2017. Info from Gamespot.com

Netflix and Nickelodeon announced a huge new deal where Nickelodeon will make new TV shows and movies for the streaming network. The release didn't contain any details on the shows, but The New York Times has details on one specific project that could be a big deal.The outlet reported that Nickelodeon is making a "music-based" SpongeBob spinoff focused on the underwater sponge's grumpy octopus neighbor Squidward. The report had no further details on this or any of the others projects that Nickelodeon might be working on. It is unknown of the Squidward project is a TV show or a movie.Squidward is voiced by Rodger Bumpass on the TV show but there is no word on if he'd be back for this new program on Netflix. Squidward is an accomplished musician, known for his clarinet-playing. Squidward also led a marching band in the Season 2 episode "Band Geeks." Check out the video above to see more of Squidward's musical moments.In the news release, Netflix said the deal covers original animated shows and movies based on Nickelodeon characters as well as new IP. Netflix and Nickelodeon have already worked together for shows like Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling and Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus.SpongeBob also has a history with Netflix. Nickelodeon licensed the show to Netflix from 2009 up until 2013 when it removed the show for various reasons.Unlike other media giants, Nickelodeon owner Viacom is not creating its own streaming service. The company instead is positioning itself as a "Hollywood arms dealer," according to NYT, with its ambition being to create content and sell it to the highest bidder. Sources told NYT that Netflix is paying $200 million to Nickelodeon for the new deal.SpongeBob premiered in 1999 and it remains on TV. Season 13 was announced in July this year and is set to premiere sometime in the future. The show was created by Stephen Hillenburg, who died in 2018. Outside of the main show, there have been two SpongeBob movies released in theatres.Disclosure: Viacom and GameSpot parent company CBS merged earlier this year. Info from Gamespot.com

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege will change how bullet penetration works in its Y4S4 season update so that shots will do more realistic damage to their human targets. These updates will mean that some weapons will be able to hit more than one target per shot, while others will be able to pierce through one body part of an Operator and hit another, potentially doing more damage.The exact details have been explained on the game's dev blog, complete with a diagram explaining the levels of penetration different guns and bullets can achieve. This ranges from no penetration to full penetration (get your laughs out now because we're going to use that word a lot in this write-up). This change aims to make shots more lethal and "reduce the impression of inaccurate hit registration."When this system is in place, shotguns and machine pistols will work much the same as they did before--your shots will hit the body part they hit without passing through. This is how most guns in Rainbow Six Siege have operated up until this point, and these ones will continue to have no penetration.Simple penetration, which will effect most types of guns, will mean that bullets can pass through one part of an Operator's body and hit another point. For example, the post states that if an Operator is shielding their face after a flashbang and you shot them in the hand with an assault rifle, the bullet will pass through their hand and potentially hit them in the head, resulting in a headshot. For guns with simple penetration, the damage taken from a shot will be modified by which parts the bullet passes through, but the essential takeaway is that you'll now do more damage if your bullet penetrates. Bullets operating under simple penetration rules will not penetrate through to a third body part, though, nor will they pass through and hit anyone else.Designated marksman rifles and sniper rifles will offer full penetration, meaning that if you shoot someone with one of these guns you could potentially hit the person behind them, too. If your bullet hits a second Operator, they will take 70% of the damage they would from an equivalent full shot, meaning that a well-timed sniper bullet will be extremely dangerous. Bullets cannot pass through into a third person, though.This system will go up on the test server ahead of launch in the full game. Ubisoft is also currently working on Rainbow Six Quarantine, a PvE spin-off that will come to both current and next-gen consoles.Info from Gamespot.com

The Crew 2 has received a major new free update on PC, PS4, and Xbox One as part of patch 1.5.0, expanding Ubisoft's ambitious open-world racer with more events, cars, and vanity items to unlock. A new weekly schedule for the game will provide players with several opportunities to unlock rewards based on their performance.The new Blazing Shots update brings with it new weekly LIVE Summit events, which will be PvE competitions that play out over nine activities pulled from The Crew 2's numerous different styles and racing disciplines. Your performance, and where you place on the leaderboards, will dictate the rewards they unlock at the end of the week. There will also be a once-a-month Premium LIVE Summit, where players can potentially win a special edition vehicle.The update launches with a heap of new content, and events and unlockables for the first four weeks have been announced. The Mix Master Live Summit is available right now, with four new vehicles and 8 new vanity items up for grabs. From November 20, the H2O Live Summit goes up, plus a new PvE event and 3 new vanity items. On November 27 the Ghost Recon themed Ghost Road Live Summit will bring a Summit Special Edition vehicle, three new vanity items, and another new event, and from December 4 you'll be able to take on the Street Fight Live Summit, along with two other events, to gain one new vehicle and three new vanity items. Within a month, a total of 78 vanity items will have been added, and there will be more beyond that too. The update also introduces the Elite Bundle 3, which is available for a month at a 20 percent saving. It features the Ferrari 599XX EVO touring car, the Porsche Carrera GT hypercar, and the Citroën GT hypercar. All in all, it's a hefty free update for the game, which first released in July 2018.Previous updates for the game have brought a demolition derby and hovercraft racing with them, among other additions and changes. In our original 8/10 review of The Crew 2, Edmond Tran said that the game "displays admirable strengths, which lie in its player-friendly features, freedom of movement, and its willingness to bend the rules in order to make things exciting and varied for an accessible, American-themed thrillride." Info from Gamespot.com

Shenmue III has been a long time coming, but soon fans will finally be able to continue Ryo Hazuki's adventure. It's been over 18 years since Shenmue II's September 6, 2001 launch on the Dreamcast, and after the console's death and the commercial failure of the first two games, a third seemed unlikely. But now, Shenmue is finally coming back.Shenmue III will release on PlayStation 4 and PC on November 19, which, as this new launch trailer (entitled "The Story Goes On") reminds us, is a bit of a miracle. "18 years ago the clock stopped," an opening text reads. "Time vanished into an unfathomable future. But passions never waver. A moment in motion, a story renewed."The trailer features Ryo and Ling Shenhua, as well as series antagonist Lan Di, who was responsible for the death of Ryo's father in the original game. It shows many of the elements fans are nostalgic for--including some fairly wooden voice acting--and hints at elements of the Shenmue plot that are being carried over into this third entry in the series. The initial Kickstarter for the project opened on June 15, 2015; now, over four years later, the game (which broke Kickstarter records) is finally complete. Director Keiji Okayasu returned for the project, and while there has been some controversy over the game's Epic Games Store exclusivity, fans have been eagerly anticipating this release. Last year, a Shenmue I & II HD Collection was released, marking the first time the original game had ever been made available on a system other than the Dreamcast; unfortunately, a planned full Shenmue remake never happened. From the beginning, Shenmue was envisioned as a multi-part epic, and Shenmue III is not planned as a conclusion to the series--if it does well, we could see a Shenmue IV.If you're excited for Shenmue III, be sure to check out our hands-on report and interview with series director Yu Suzuki. Info from Gamespot.com

Shovel Knight, the 2014 indie darling that started life on the Wii U and 3DS before eventually making its way to the current generation of systems, is due for one last major update. Two expansions will release soon for owners of the Treasure Trove edition of the game, and now we have a release date for them.Developer Yacht Club Games has announced on Twitter that Shovel Knight: King of Cards and Shovel Knight: Showdown will both release on December 10. The games will be available as part of the Treasure Trove collection, or can be purchased separately from digital storefronts. In King of Cards, players will take on the role of the titular king, and Yacht Club Games is promising that it will feature "more levels, mechanics, secrets, and content than any Shovel Knight game to come before it." Showdown is a multiplayer spin-off, which offers a competitive take on the Shovel Knight formula, complete will a full story mode and AI bots. Let the countdown begin! Shovel Knight Showdown and King of Cards arrive December 10th. Read on to find out where you can play our latest and greatest adventures! https://t.co/2pagsMUYFW pic.twitter.com/vVgihipbFj — Yacht Club Games (@YachtClubGames) November 13, 2019Shovel Knight Showdown will not be available on 3DS or PS Vita, whereas King of Cards will be made available on all systems. The game also still has a trio of amiibo on the way, based on Plague Knight, Specter Knight, and King Knight, and the game is getting a new physical release that will bundle together all of this content on December 10 as well (although the PS4 physical release has been delayed into 2020). While this will wrap up the Treasure Trove collection, there's already another Shovel Knight game in the works--Shovel Knight Dig, which will see Shovel Knight using his shovel for its intended purpose through underground dungeons. Yacht Club Games also has another game in the works, Cyber Shadow, which is a retro-styled ninja action game. It's not yet clear when either game will launch. Info from Gamespot.com

With each new Pokemon game comes a new set of Pokemon, mechanics, and a region to discover, and Sword and Shield are no exception. The vibrant Galar region is a consistent delight to explore, incentivizing and rewarding collecting and battling in equal measure, and grandiose battles add an exciting dimension to the familiar Gym formula to deliver an engaging adventure beginning to end. But most notably, Sword and Shield cut down on the tedious and protracted elements from previous games in favor of amplifying what makes Pokemon great in the first place. This is the most balanced a Pokemon game has felt in a long time, and with that, Sword and Shield mark the best new generation of Pokemon games in years.The games waste no time in getting you a starter Pokemon and off on your way to becoming the Champion. You can even skip some of the hand-holding you'd get in previous games, including the "how to catch Pokemon" tutorial, which hasn't been done since 2001's Pokemon Crystal; if you simply catch some Pokemon right away, the character who would have taught you acknowledges that you're already good to go instead. You can reach the new Wild Area, an open-world expanse filled with all kinds of Pokemon of all levels, within an hour or so of starting your adventure.And the Wild Area is the show-stopping feature of this generation. Pokemon roam the fields and lakes, changing with the day's weather. They pop up as you walk by, and you can even identify Pokemon out of your direct line of vision by their cries. It's all too easy to set out for one destination only to be distracted by a Pokemon you haven't caught yet, an item glittering on the ground in the distance, or even an evolved form of a Pokemon that you didn't realize you could catch in the wild. There's constantly something new to do or discover, and it's there to engage you right out of the gate.Both in the Wild Area and outside of it, the Galar region is stunning. Locales from industrial city centers to rolling hills in shades of green and gold are vivid and beautiful, and small details, like Wooloo playing in a field, add a lot of charm. The United Kingdom-inspired motif includes both crumbling medieval castles and booming football-inspired stadiums, punk musicians and posh snobs--though Galar is still surprising to explore, not adhering so close to theme as to be totally predictable. I even found myself pushing ahead to the next town hoping to find a boutique with new clothes and accessories, on top of everything else waiting to be discovered in each locale, because the UK-inspired plaids and streetwear looks are cute.You're given much more freedom to explore than in previous generations. Sword and Shield go even further than Sun and Moon did in banishing HMs for good; you can fast travel to locations you've visited before from anywhere outside starting quite early in the game, and you have a bike that can later convert to a water vehicle to replace Surf. All other roadblocks, like trees in your path you need to Cut or large stones you need to move with Strength, are relics of the past. There are still hooligans that will artificially block your path at certain points in the story, but the actual hurdles to movement are completely gone.Random encounters are also gone, and instead, you see Pokemon roaming all of Galar--even in the traditional routes and caves--which helps distinguish one area from the next. There are some Pokemon that remain hidden in the tall grass, denoted by an exclamation point, but you have to run toward the rustling grass to actually initiate the fight, so you're never caught totally by surprise. Some Pokemon can only be found this way; this further encourages you to explore each locale thoroughly while making return trips painless, free of constant interruptions by wild Pokemon or stopping to use Repels to keep them away.For wild Pokemon, battles are true to the established formula, but for big battles, Sword and Shield strip out Mega Evolution and Z-moves in favor of a new battle mechanic, Dynamaxing, which is sort of a combination of the two and can only be activated in certain locations. A Dynamaxed Pokemon grows to a massive size and is stronger overall, and its moves convert to superpowered ones based on type. It's much more bombastic than Mega Evolution or even Z-moves, but functionally, it's simpler--and that's refreshing. After years of using both Mega Evolution and Z-moves in high-level battles, Dynamaxing is a welcome reset that also feels like a natural evolution of the increasingly high-octane battle mechanics of recent games. Any Pokemon can Dynamax, too; you're just limited by location rather than an item, so it's a more flexible way to battle that works for relaxed and competitive battles alike.Dynamaxing is a fixture of the new Max Raids, in which you and three other people or NPCs take on a giant Pokemon at certain locations in the Wild Area. Raid Pokemon can vary from run-of-the-mill, easy-to-catch Pokemon to ones that are incredibly hard to find in the wild, but regardless, the rewards are fantastic; completing a raid, even if the Pokemon escapes and you fail to catch it, nets you tons of rare and important items. Plus, the Pokemon you get from raids are guaranteed to have some perfect stats, so even duplicate Pokemon are worth catching again.At the lower levels, the raids are pretty easy, and you'll likely have no trouble taking them on with only NPCs in tow. But the four- and five-star raids are challenging to the point where I couldn't even complete some of them without the help of other human players. This is a welcome level of difficulty in the post-game, and communicating locally to get a raid group together is seamless--all you have to do is put out a call for raid partners (or people to trade or battle with in general), and nearby players will get a notification and have the option to join you from the social menu. It's a great alternative to traditional competitive play after you've beaten the game, and while it does feed into competitive battling in both the item rewards and the caliber of Pokemon you're catching, it's satisfying just to overcome the challenge with friends.The new Pokemon themselves are fantastic as a set. Quite a few of them seem geared for competitive play, with abilities and moves that inspire interesting strategies. Galarian Weezing, for example, has an ability that neutralizes opponents' abilities; because many battle strategies involve use of abilities like Intimidate or Sand Stream to set up the battlefield to your advantage, Weezing could be a serious threat. There are also the aesthetically-inclined Pokemon, like the incredibly goth Corviknight or the adorable electric corgi Yamper, to inspire collectors. Throughout my journey, I was consistently delighted to discover each new Gen 8 Pokemon and the Galarian forms of older ones.The starters, sadly, are among the worst of the new Pokemon; while they're cute at first, their final evolutions are all not great. Each fits the British theme in a clever way and has a unique move to go with it, but on a purely visual level, all three are awkward with no clear winner among them. I still feel guilty confining my starter to the Pokemon Box, but it at least freed up a spot in my party to try out the new Pokemon I do like.The Pokedex features a healthy mix of old Pokemon from each previous generation as well. There are certainly surprising omissions, but like with the new Pokemon, the list includes both fun Pokemon and competitive ones, plus an even spread of types. Sword and Shield might not have every Pokemon in existence, but what's here is balanced exquisitely for battle, cuteness factor, and type. And because there are items that give Pokemon experience points now--and because you can access your Pokemon boxes almost anywhere--you can easily change up your team on the fly without having to stop and grind just to get a new Pokemon caught up in level. I experimented with different Pokemon more during Shield's main story than I ever did in a previous Pokemon game, and it made me appreciate the Gen 8 Pokemon even more.It also makes for a more digestible experience. The Wild Area is expansive, and because the available Pokemon change with the weather, it can look very different from one day to the next. There are enough Pokemon to keep things dynamic and surprising as you explore each day, but with some consistency across each biome so you know at least what kinds of Pokemon to expect. Even after 55 hours, there are still Pokemon I have no idea how to find, and uncovering the Wild Area's secrets bit by bit has been a treat.If anything, the constant draw of the Wild Area made the pacing of the story a bit choppy. I wandered and explored for five hours before challenging my first Gym, then defeated the next two in quick succession before breaking again to revisit the Wild Area. That said, I also was never too over- or underpowered for each Gym, and I was eager to explore in between them regardless. You can also do more in the Wild Area than just battle and catch Pokemon--you can camp out and make curry with your Pokemon, and that ended up being a lovely distraction. Making curry and playing with my Pokemon was a great way to break up longer excursions, plus a convenient way to heal everybody at once, and it's really just an adorable way to spend a few minutes.The Gyms themselves are a refinement on the longstanding formula in which you would have to go through a maze or solve a little puzzle to reach the Gym Leader. Similarly, each has a Gym Challenge, but they vary from herding Wooloo to competing with NPC trainers to catch a Pokemon, and this keeps things from getting stale. Dynamaxing combines with anime-style drama to make the Gym battles themselves appropriately exciting, too, as your opponents tend to put on quite the show when they enter the stadium. While the Gym and other story battles are largely pretty simple, some of the later ones do take more thought (and a few revives, in my case).For competitive battles, small but significant quality-of-life tweaks greatly reduce the remaining barriers to entry. There are now items that allow you to change a Pokemon's nature, which was the main missing piece in getting Pokemon battle-ready without hours and hours of tedious breeding and soft-resetting. You can also leave two Pokemon of the same species in the Daycare together, and one can pass Egg Moves to the other, meaning you don't have to re-breed a Pokemon just because you forgot to put one Egg Move on it or changed your strategy a bit. The post-game Battle Tower also includes rental teams right off the bat to introduce you to some basic strategies, which also means you can start climbing the ranks without scrambling to prepare a slipshod team of your own first. All of this gets you battling at a competitive level much more quickly than was possible before, which is the whole point.In collecting, battling, and exploring, Sword and Shield cut out the bloat and focus on what makes these pillars of the Pokemon games so captivating in the first place. You're not held back by overly complicated back-end systems or hoops to jump through; from the outset, you can start wandering the Galar region, seeing its new Pokemon, and trying out its new battle strategies with very little in your way. This leaves you free to enjoy what Pokemon is all about, and that makes for an incredibly strong showing for the series' proper debut on Switch.Info from Gamespot.com