With the release of Apple's new major software updates for Apple TV, Mac, iPad, and iPhone, the company has begun selling Microsoft's Xbox One controllers on its website. Strangely, there's no sign of the DualShock 4 controller right now.Purchasing the Xbox One wireless controller sets you back $60 USD, the same price it typically costs at other retailers like Best Buy and GameStop. While The Verge reports that no Apple retail stores carry the controller in stock at the moment, nabbing it through Apple's website gives you the option of next-day shipping. It's worth noting that the Xbox One wireless controller is currently on sale at Amazon for $44 USD and comes with free one-day shipping.See Xbox One controller at AppleApple introduced gamepad support for both the DualShock 4 and the Xbox One wireless controllers with the launch of its major operating system updates. These include iOS 13 for iPhone, iPadOS for iPad, macOS Catalina for Mac, and tvOS 13 for Apple TV--all of which released in September except Catalina, which become available earlier this week. All software updates are free to download for most Apple devices.These new software updates brought the inclusion of Apple Arcade, the company's subscription service that gives you access to hundreds of games for $5 USD a month. We compiled a list of some of the best games available on the platform right now. We also have an ongoing list of Arcade games available at launch and beyond. Apple has confirmed an assortment of publishers working on Arcade games, including Devolver Digital, Konami, Platinum Games, Sega, and many more. Info from Gamespot.com

The huge success of last year's Halloween reboot ensured that the long-running horror series will continue for a while longer. In July, it was announced that masked killer Michael Myers will return for two new movies, Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends, which will shoot back-to-back. Production has now started on Halloween Kills, and star Jamie Lee Curtis has posted the first image from the set.The picture is a behind-the-scenes selfie of Curtis as Laurie Strode, smiling but looking dirty, bruised, and battered--presumably from another encounter with Michael. The caption reads "NEVER SAY DIE! First day back in the battle for my life!" Check it out below.NEVER SAY DIE! First day back in the battle for my life!#HalloweenMovie #HalloweenKills pic.twitter.com/EicJ86Nq4m — Jamie Lee Curtis (@jamieleecurtis) October 8, 2019Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends are set to be released on October 16, 2020 and October 15, 2021 respectively. They will both be directed by David Gordon Green, who helmed last year's movie, while series co-creator John Carpenter is to compose the soundtrack once more.Interestingly, the original plan for 2018's Halloween was to shoot it back-to-back with a sequel. As co-writer Danny McBride told Entertainment Weekly last year: "We were going to shoot two of them back-to-back. Then we were like, 'Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. This could come out, and everyone could hate us, and we'd never work again. So, let's not have to sit around for a year while we wait for another movie to come out that we know people aren't going to like.'For more, check out GameSpot's guide to everything we know to date about Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends. Info from Gamespot.com

A He-Man and the Masters of the Universe reboot movie has been in the works for quite a while. It was back in April 2017 that it was reported the film would hit theaters this December. And while that's clearly not going to happen since December is two months from now, the new take on Masters of the Universe remains in development. However, a new report suggests the movie might not end up in theaters at all.According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sony is "exploring the prospect" of making the movie with Netflix, which would ultimately send the film to the streaming service, rather than the big screen. As THR reports, only preliminary discussions about the prospect have happened between the studio and the streamer.What it comes down to is price. While the studio could partner with someone to share the cost of the project and split the box office profits, there's no telling how profitable a Masters of the Universe reboot would be. Whereas partnering with Netflix would mean Sony gets paid and Netflix gets more library content.As streaming continues to become the way so many are regularly accessing content, Sony isn't the only studio considering cashing in online, rather than at the box office. Disney and Warner Bros. are both making content for their new dedicated streaming services, while, as THR points out, indie studio A24 has a deal with Apple to create films for Apple TV+.Meanwhile, Netflix is already cashing in on the He-Man franchise. She-Ra and the Princess of Power has been airing on the service since 2018, while a new Masters of the Universe animated series is in the works with Kevin Smith serving as executive producer.It remains to be seen what will happen to the Masters of the Universe reboot movie in the end--or if it'll ever actually happen. If it does, though, it might just be on Netflix.Info from Gamespot.com

Hipster Whale, the Melbourne-based studio behind the 2014 iOS hit Crossy Road, today revealed their next project: a multiplayer 2D platformer that will be exclusive to Apple Arcade. Crossy Road Castle sees the familiar cast of animal characters in a completely different scenario as they traverse up an endless castle tower with no roads or cars in sight.Crossy Road Castle supports up to 4 players locally and takes advantage of Apple Arcade's PS4 and Xbox controller support, as well as multi-device functionality. That means you can play together by using any combination of the devices compatible with Apple Arcade, including iPhones, iPads, iPod touches, Mac computers, and Apple TVs. The arrangement of rooms in the game's endless towers will be randomly generated, but will cater to the number of players present--you can play the game solo, and you won't be served any rooms that require cooperation to overcome. It will also feature boss fights, including one against the infamous eagle from Crossy Road.Previous games made by Hipster Whale, including Crossy Road, Pac-Man 256, Disney Crossy Road, and Shooty Skies, were all free-to-play games that featured both regular advertisements and optional in-app purchases. Crossy Road Castle, however, as with all Apple Arcade games, will not feature either. GameSpot had a chance to speak to the co-founder of Hipster Whale, Matt Hall, about their shift into the Apple Arcade business model.GameSpot: Hipster Whale is already a proven success story on the App Store (Crossy Road won an Apple Design Award in 2015, and reportedly earned over $10 million in the first three months). Why did you partner with Apple Arcade for this project?Matt Hall: With Crossy Road we had a really big success and we were super fortunate--it's not like we had made lots of games prior to that. But after Crossy Road, everything sort of changes for us. We don't have to do work for hire, we just make the things we're interested in. When Namco came up and said:" Would you like to make the new Pac Man?" We were like, "Hell yes!" And there was a super exciting opportunity making Disney Crossy Road which was a really interesting challenge as well, where we managed to make Crossy Road a better game. And so when Apple Arcade opportunity came up it was just an exciting opportunity to make something completely new, not have to worry about the constraints of monetisation, and just make something fun that everyone's going to be able to play.I've noticed that your games to date have all been free to play--why is that?I started experimenting with free to play fairly early, but back in the early days of App Store, you had a free version and a pro version, right? There was no opportunity to do in-app purchases early on. I really liked making my games for free, because it meant at least 10 times as many people were going to play it. Like, that was key for me.And that's something that putting a premium on your games limits you in?Yeah, that's right. Like, okay, you're going to get paid. But fewer people want to pay for games, because you have to convince someone that this game is for them through icon, blurb, screenshots. Apple Arcade is going to be really interesting for that, because it's going to be easier for games that can't market themselves in a single line. You know. Like, using the example of Sayonara Wild Hearts, like okay, so it's a video game with an all-female motorcycle club and you... dance to music? Is that the marketing pitch? It's very difficult to explain, but you can just get it, and the moment you see it and play it you go: "Oh okay, yeah" and so that's what Apple Arcade opens up. Apple Event News Apple iPhone 11 And 11 Pro Details And Prices Revealed Apple Arcade Price, Release Date Revealed Apple iPad 7th Generation Announced Apple TV+ Price And Release Date Revealed Every Game Confirmed For Apple Arcade So Far So you think Apple Arcade is a sustainable business model for new, up-and-coming developers?I'm really looking forward to seeing how it goes. The only thing that never changes that everything changes, so we just got to see, right? We were really excited about the way it was described to us, and we think it's a great opportunity for many developers, particularly Australian developers.Having used Apple Arcade for a while, is there anything that you can identify that would be that would help improve the experience for developers?Probably the key one for me is: the controller support is so new, and there are a huge number of people out there that are totally comfortable playing games with controllers. But at the moment, especially on Apple TV, it's difficult to see which games are 'controller-first' and which games aren't, and that could be solved with something a simple as a filter, or, you know, just something that says "these are the best controller games for Apple TV", and I think that would massively change that platform in particular.The announcement of Crossy Road Castle comes during Melbourne International Games Week, and just before the commencement of PAX Aus. Other Australian games featured on Apple Arcade include the upcoming visual novel Necrobarista, puzzle-platformer Projection: Last Light, and the adorable Fledgling Heroes. Info from Gamespot.com

Destiny 2 has improved considerably over the game's last year. The Forsaken expansion and the smaller, more frequent updates that followed it changed the feel of Destiny to something more active and expansive, with a variety of activities that meant you could earn rewards while playing your favorite content, and a long-term unfolding story. It's not a stretch to say Destiny as a franchise was the best it's ever been in the second year of Destiny 2.The new Shadowkeep expansion builds on those foundations in just about every way. While returning to the moon is a pretty good time in and of itself--the expansion leans hard on the spooky locale, which was part of Destiny 1 but refreshed and enlarged for Destiny 2--it's the smaller improvements to the way the game works that are really the standout. Shadowkeep's content offerings aren't quite as sprawling, varied, or engaging as what we saw in Forsaken, but the expansion builds on the recent tweaks in Destiny 2 to make the moment-to-moment gameplay even stronger.Forsaken made some effort to establish Destiny 2 as a game that's constantly evolving. Instead of dropping a series of big content updates with little happening between them, Destiny 2's second year became a drip-feed of new stuff that helped keep the game compelling, for the most part, month after month. Bungie has said this approach is how it wants to handle the game going forward, and Shadowkeep represents a big step in that direction. That means parts of the expansion feels a bit truncated--it teases more to come, but leaves some of Shadowkeep a bit unsatisfying.Destiny 2 story campaigns have always been a touch lackluster--they usually pack cool individual missions, but they almost always end quickly and rarely amount to more than chasing down some big enemy and putting them in the ground. Shadowkeep's main story is also on the short side, wrapping up in a four or five dedicated hours (and less once you start leveling alternate characters who benefit from the high-level gear you've already procured). It's also clearly the first part of a much larger tale, one that Bungie says will play out over the entire year. As such, it presents something of an unsatisfying journey; it's the first few steps, rather than a complete arc, and you might be a bit surprised when it's suddenly over.Shadowkeep sees the return of a Destiny 1 character, Eris Morn, who was central to two previous expansions: The Dark Below and The Taken King. Here, Eris has learned that the death-worshipping faction, the Hive, has discovered something on the moon that's conjuring up phantoms of past foes and allies, returning deadly facsimiles of them to life. In a way, it's a big reunion tour of the Destiny of old. Eris is back, you return to the D1 location of the moon, which we haven't seen in two years, and you fight slightly watered-down versions of big bad guys you've previously defeated, such as Dark Below raid boss Crota and Destiny 2 vanilla boss Ghaul. It's something of an amped-up nostalgia trip that's a good time, especially if you've got a long history with the Destiny franchise--but we're waiting to reach the long-term endgame content that will wrap up some of these story threads.It is cool, however, to hang out on the moon, especially because its spooky factor has gone up. Lunar tunnels are filled with frightening screams of hidden terrors, there are plenty of tough enemies to dispatch, and the whole place carries an air of haunted mystery. It seems we've only scratched the surface of what's hidden on the moon so far. Destiny is at its best when it's full of secrets for the community to uncover, and the game has already provided a few big, baffling mysteries that have required everyone to band together to work out. Destiny 2 Recent News Destiny 2 Update Reduces Heavy Ammo In Crucible, Fixes A Big Bug Destiny 2's Eyes On The Moon: How To Start The Vex Offensive Activity Destiny 2 Shadowkeep Review - Weird Vex But Ok Destiny 2 Shadowkeep: How To Power Above 900 And Get Raid Ready Though it ends a little too quickly, the story campaign has some exciting moments as Guardians band together to attack and infiltrate the new Scarlet Keep location and discover what the Hive is up to. The rest of the expansion's new content is engaging as well. Nightmare Hunts are pretty much mini-Strikes, making them quick and palatable boss fights that help you grab new gear. A new take on Nightfall Strikes, the tougher versions of Destiny 2's three-player Strike activities, are enticing thanks to a ramping difficulty system that gives you challenges at a variety of Power levels. Exploring the moon has a lot to offer as well--though a lot of the location is made up of old areas, they're deep and maze-like, and every trip into their depths feels deliciously dangerous.There's also the Garden of Salvation raid, which became available a few days after launch, to give Destiny 2's highest-level players something to aspire to finishing. Destiny raids are often the best, most inventive content the game has to offer, and Garden of Salvation continues the tradition of including strange and fun mechanics that push your limits of skill and team coordination. It's one of the shorter raids with only four encounters, but includes big, exciting pieces, like a chase through a field exploding with enemy fire and a Gambit-like boss battle that requires teams to split into multiple groups to gather items and defend against team-wiping attacks. Garden of Salvation isn't quite the equal of the massive Forsaken raid, Last Wish, but it's a highlight of Shadowkeep for certain.Vex Offensive, a new six-player wave-based activity that dropped alongside the raid, helps to round out the amount of stuff Shadowkeep gives you to do for its first season. Like last season's Menagerie, it has the feeling of being a lighter, easier raid-like activity that's more accessible for those who aren't quite hardcore enough to take on Garden of Salvation. The activity itself requires a little more teamwork than the usual Destiny 2 event, without being impossible to do if you're matchmaking alone. It's a fun change of pace from Strikes or Crucible, and its huge dump of rewards mean chasing the best rolls for its many guns doesn't feel like a chore.Where Shadowkeep really excels, however, is less in the content to work through and more in the myriad smaller changes Bungie has made to totally revamp Destiny 2. The biggest changes focus on making character builds a more important part of the experience, giving you a chance to experiment with weapons and armor not just to make your character more powerful in general, but more powerful in ways that specifically meet your particular play style and needs.Driving that focus is the new approach to weapon and armor mods, which allows you to mix and match elements that were previously unmovable perks on particular pieces of gear. In the past, you had to spend so much time switching gear in order to make your overall stats go up that more nuanced numbers, like how fast your grenades recharged or how quickly you moved, could generally be ignored. Making sure you had the best rolls on particular gear only really mattered in the game's toughest activities and to the most hardcore members of the community.With Armor 2.0 and the new weapon mod system, you can move those perks (now as individual mods) between armor sets to build a few pieces of gear with exactly the capabilities you want. You're also no longer penalized for experimenting since mods aren't consumed on use. It means that once you start to get some pieces of armor and weapons that work really well for you, it's possible to continually tweak them to fit how you want to play the game and your particular role on a team.Shadowkeep's tweaks to higher-level enemy encounters, like adding enemies that require specific mods to defeat, provide excellent opportunities to experiment with character builds and loadouts. Especially in Garden of Salvation, I found myself stopping to try different equipment combinations to help me deal with tough enemies or specific situations. The system provides a lot of opportunities to think about and develop character builds; more than I've been doing through most of the five years I've played Destiny. It's an improvement that makes the game's core loop of constantly chasing new gear feel like it matters to how you play the game--and it's one Destiny desperately needed.The early leveling system has been improved significantly as well, making the climb to the endgame a lot more reasonable. Leveling up your character is (mostly) gone in favor of constantly chasing gear with better Power numbers. Up to the soft Power level cap, every drop is a useful one--giving you a chance to try out a host of different weapons and armor in various circumstances before you get to Shadowkeep's toughest content. Shadowkeep's change to move experience points from a needless character-leveling system to a battle pass and new Seasonal Artifact item also helps a major ongoing Destiny problem of running out of things to do as you approach maximum level. Everything earns you experience to advance your battle pass and artifact, and the latter of which contributes to your characters' overall Power level, so there's a lot less wasted time chasing useless rewards.Much of the experience of live service games like Destiny 2 is in the continued chase after better gear and more power in the endgame. While things slow down significantly during the post-soft cap climb, progress feels steady through the game's decent variety of activities, especially with the addition of Vex Offensive. Bungie's changes to the system strike a nice balance between the issues of Year Two, when so many activities started to feel like chores, and the problems of the past, when progressing was a much slower grind. Pushing hard through a week's worth of Powerful gear drops can get you raid-ready in a hurry, but with a number of new guns to chase and new activities to master, there's still a lot for top-tier players to focus on beyond trying to raise their Power level through the roof. The new Seasonal Artifact also helps balance the grind by continually awarding additional Power points regardless of the numbers on your gear. As a result, you never feel stalled, no matter what part of the game you're playing.Shadowkeep represents a shift in the fundamentals of Destiny 2, and that has only improved the game. Returning to the moon is full of spooky fun, and while Shadowkeep might not be as huge as Forsaken, it still provides some impressive additions to the world that will take time to fully explore. More meaningful choices in Shadowkeep are pushing me to think beyond just packing my most powerful guns and shooting everything in my path. These are improvements that represent a giant leap forward for Destiny 2.Info from Gamespot.com

Sony Interactive Entertainment has reportedly laid off dozens of employees in its SIE Europe branch across several departments.Video Games Chronicle reports that the divisions impacted including marketing, PR, and the US creative services team. Some employees have also been asked to re-interview for their prior roles. The employees were notified on the same day the company shared new details about the PlayStation 5.Sony's gaming division has been undergoing a number of structural changes recently, including new CEO and President Jim Ryan being named. That was part of a restructuring that had Ryan switching places with John Kodera, who became Deputy President. Another sudden reshuffle came recently with the recent departure of Worldwide Studios head Shawn Layden.This comes as the company prepares to launch the PS5 by next holiday season. As part of its recent announcements, it revealed more about the controller, which may or may not be called a DualShock 5, and that the studio behind some high-profile remasters is working on a PS5 project. PlayStation 5 News PlayStation Controllers Explained, And What Could Be Next For PS5 "Big" PS5 Game Coming From Dev Behind Uncharted, Shadow Of The Colossus Remasters PS5 Officially Announced, Release Window Set For 2020 PlayStation 5 Gets New Controller Details, But Don't Call It DualShock 5 (Yet) Info from Gamespot.com

While Avengers: Endgame changed the MCU forever, one moment in the film was incredibly uplifting for younger female fans, as they saw the women of the MCU join forces to fight Thanos. While the moment was brief, it got a lot of people talking.Brie Larson, who plays Captain Marvel in the film, recently told Variety that the actresses who play Marvel's female heroes are passionate about this possibility and making it into a reality. "I will say that a lot of the female cast members from Marvel walked up to [Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige], and we were like, 'We are in this together, we want to do this,'" said Larson. "What that means, I have no idea. You know, I'm not in charge of the future of Marvel, but it is something that we're really passionate about, and we love and I feel like if enough people out in the world talk about how much they want it, maybe it'll happen."Earlier this year, Larson starred as the titular Captain Marvel, a film making over $1 billion worldwide. And as far as female-led Marvel movies go, there is more on the horizon with the Black Widow movie--starring Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Rachel Weisz, and Scarlett Johansson--will hit theaters on May 1, 2020.While Gwyneth Paltrow isn't likely to return to the MCU as Pepper Potts, the MCU is full of characters who could lead the way for this hypothetical movie, including Captain Marvel, Shuri, Valkyrie, Gamora, Mantis, Okoye, Wasp, and Scarlet Witch. Obviously, if this movie were to happen, it would be way down the line, as Marvel already has announced its Phase 4 slate, leading up to the end of 2022. And that's not including movies without specific release dates yet like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Blade, and Captain Marvel 2.Info from Gamespot.com

Pokemon Go's next Community Day is just around the corner. This month's event takes place around the world this Saturday, October 12, and as usual, it'll give players a brief window of time to catch a rare Pokemon and take advantage of other in-game bonuses.Each Pokemon Go Community Day typically only runs for three hours, but the event details tend to vary month by month. To help you prepare for this month's event, we've rounded up everything you need to know about October's Community Day below, from its start times and featured Pokemon to the special event-exclusive move you'll have a chance to learn. Pokemon Go News Pokemon Go Teasing New Team Rocket Characters Pokemon Go Finally Adds Mime Jr. As Part Of A New Event Pokemon Go Giratina Guide - Counters, Shiny Giratina, And How To Catch Tips Pokemon Go October 2019 Community Day Announced, Features Trapinch Pokemon Go: How To Get Unova Stones And Evolve Gen 5 Pokemon What Is October's Featured Pokemon?Each Community Day stars one specific "featured Pokemon," which will spawn in the wild much more often than normal for the duration of the event. This month, the featured Pokemon is Trapinch, the termite-like Ground-type from Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. Not only will Trapinch be much easier to find throughout October's Community Day, you'll also have your first chance to encounter a Shiny Trapinch in the game. These, however, will be rare, so if you're hoping to catch a Shiny Trapinch, you'll need to be persistent.What Is October's Special Community Day Move?We have some news that we know you’ll dig! Earth Power is the exclusive move for Trapinch #PokemonGOCommunityDay! Time to shake things up! pic.twitter.com/y293puZgEJ — Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) October 9, 2019In addition to increased Pokemon spawns, each Community Day gives you a chance to earn a special event-exclusive move. Typically, if you can evolve the featured Pokemon into its final form by the end of the event, it'll automatically know an attack that it couldn't otherwise learn in Pokemon Go.This month, the special move is the Ground-type attack Earth Power. If you can evolve a Trapinch all the way into a Flygon up to an hour after the Community Day ends, the Pokemon will know Earth Power. This applies to any Trapinch you evolve, even if you've caught it prior to the event. However, Flygon will only learn Earth Power if it evolves during the designated window of time--so if you catch a Trapinch during the event but don't evolve it until the following day, it will not learn the attack.What Time Does October's Community Day Start?Much like last month's event, October's Community Day will take place early in the day, from 11 AM to 2 PM local time. That means you'll have until 3 PM local time to evolve Trapinch and learn the aforementioned Community Day move.What Other Bonuses Are Available?On top of increased Pokemon spawns and the special event-exclusive move, you'll be able to take advantage of a few other bonuses during October's Community Day. First, you'll earn triple the normal amount of XP when you capture Pokemon during the event. This applies to any monster you catch, not just the featured Pokemon. As usual, Lure Modules will also last for an extended period of time. Any that you use during the event will remain active for three hours rather than the usual 30 minutes.Info from Gamespot.com

There's nothing quite like the bright, beautiful, and sometimes distraught world of Indivisible. It's one that wears its Southeast/South Asian influences on its sleeve, and pulls you into places you want to be in with characters you want to be around. Developer Lab Zero blends several genre elements to create a system of combat and platforming that flows seamlessly between Indivisible's seemingly disparate parts. It has so much going for it that it's disappointing when heartfelt exchanges and pivotal moments lack the gravitas they deserve or are simply glossed over. While Indivisible has trouble following through narratively, I can't shake its enjoyable moments and the sense of cultural visibility it gives a region I'm connected to.Your journey across Indivisible's world revolves around Ajna, the hard-headed but full-hearted protagonist who perpetually stumbles into revelations about her true nature. She makes new friends along the way who either have mutual goals in mind or don't need much convincing to join her cause. Other than brief surprise, no one seems to bat an eye at the fact that they get physically absorbed into Ajna's consciousness--a separate plane of existence that acts as a sort of hub area--only to be summoned in battle or in conversation. You'll have to concede having deeper explanations other than Ajna's supernatural powers and third-eye chakra which are connected to the ominous villain Kala, goddess of destruction and creation.A diverse cast of characters and a creative combat system make Indivisible's fights stand out.Although a handful of key characters are central to the story, you assemble a party of four from a large and varied roster that's built up rather quickly. You assign a party member to a position in combat that corresponds with a face button; this is how you actively send them in to deal damage in real-time during an offensive phase and have them individually defend when enemies initiate attacks. Getting the hang of Indivisible's hybrid of turn-based and real-time mechanics opens you up to inventive ways of combining different characters' movesets and timing their specific attacks at the right time. It's easy to see how Lab Zero channels elements of its previous game, Skullgirls--there's a slight fighting game touch with combos, directional attacks, guard breaks, perfect blocks, and air juggling attacks. You also build up a meter, called Iddhi, which represents Ajna and friends' ability to go into overdrive for executing powerful special attacks. Battles tend to move fast, and this layered combat system makes you eager to get into the next fight.It's not necessary to learn every character as it's viable to stick with a handful of your favorites to cycle between for certain situations (they all level alongside Ajna so no one gets left behind). But as great as combat can be, you'll be disappointed to know that its wonderful complexities are squandered by a lack of challenge towards the end of the game. Your party becomes so powerful that simple button mashing will get you by most, if not all, enemies and bosses. You'll continually recruit new members in the late-game, too, but with little reason to get in tune with their mechanics. Combat's biggest enemy is the lack of difficulty right when the stakes should be the highest.Fighting is only half of Indivisible, gameplay-wise, though--it's partly a 2D side-scrolling adventure that draws from Metroidvania-style exploration. As you accumulate new tools and powers, so too does your means of traversal. Ajna starts with an axe that she uses to propel herself upward to higher ledges, but she'll soon be pole-vaulting, pogo-sticking, and monkey-swinging with a spear to avoid hazards and reach new areas. Her own superpowers eventually let you dash across wide gaps, jump to greater heights, and break through walls. What makes all these mechanics fun to use is that you face a variety of obstacles that force you to think about the clever ways you need to string together your toolset and abilities to overcome these platforming challenges.Unlike combat, platforming steadily ramps up to a satisfying difficulty towards the end, but it's never frustrating since you only face light punishment for death. Rather than loading a previous save, you get brought back to a generously placed checkpoint should you fail a sequence. What's more, a number of boss battles merge the two gameplay styles and test you to juggle both at a rapid pace. That could sound like the game biting off more than it can chew, but the pace at which you transition between the two phases keep things moving seamlessly.From one location to another, Indivisible's imaginative art style gives you an unmistakable sense of where you are and the things that happen there. I'm still thinking about the rough streets of Tai Krung City, which come to life through neon signage, quirky apartment setups, lavish clubs, and sketchy alleyways. Even the grimy, oppressive Iron Kingdom clearly communicates a hardship among the common folk who inhabit the cobblestone roads, and you feel the bustle of the markets that occupy the colorful seaside town of Port Maerifa. That rich sense of style extends to each of the characters, who are beautifully realized in expressive, hand-drawn artwork. It's an evolution of the imaginative style and designs from Skullgirls, and it helps distinguish each member of the wide, diverse cast.Excellent platforming scenarios challenge you to use all your tools and powers.Indivisible's sensational soundtrack tops off the joy of exploration and complements the feelings you get from soaking in the beautiful visuals. The infectious tunes solidify the personality of Indivisible's locations, a favorite among the tracks being the song that plays in Tai Krung City--its steel drums and upstroke guitar riffs hook you, but its somber melody reflects the town's dreary side. And the energetic tempo and horn section of the club area's song propels you to keep going, especially when it doubles as the battle theme. The Pacific Islander-influenced region of Kaanul features a theme with catchy woodwind instrumentation and a solemn string section. Indivisible's soundtrack is very much part of the atmosphere it aims to build, and it's one that's worth listening to on its own.I want to love Indivisible unconditionally; it has so many great pieces, and it's a special thing to feel seen. I'm happy to have a game that's distinctly Southeast Asian, giving some earnest representation to a part of the world I belong to and one I'm even more curious about now.Indivisible roots itself in broad-reaching concepts from Southeast/South Asian mythologies and history. Every in-game region's introduction is written in Sanskrit. Mount Sumeru, the critical location for which Indivisible starts and concludes, is derived from the sacred mountain in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain mythology that harnesses all things physical and spiritual. An important character, Thorani, who treats Ajna as one of her own, calls her luksao, the Thai word for daughter. You can also spot smaller pop culture references, too--special shout out to the Jollibee reference in Tai Krung City, and a charming wannabe-Kamen Rider stand-in. Even down to character names, there are so many more connections to draw. While Indivisible doesn't necessarily explore these cultures in any particular depth or in more meaningful ways, it gives the stage to a diverse region to tell a simple story of personal growth, self-acceptance, and sacrifice.I wonder how the three-piece chickenjoy and halo-halo are at Jolly Katydid.With that said, while Indivisible has the foundation to portray something powerful it doesn't exactly follow through. Many of Indivisible's major story beats lack the necessary impact they need to stick with you and get you fully invested in Ajna's fight to save the world. While there's an assortment of likeable personalities and quips between characters, and the voice acting performances shine, many dialogue sequences don't reflect the gravity of the situations that unfold. For example, Ajna internalizes life-altering events in ways that frame them as frustrations to her rather than tragedies. And when she inadvertently causes destruction, it's largely brushed off as an accident with consequences that aren't communicated. Characters are quick to change their minds about things without portraying the process through which they came to their conclusions, undermining possible emotional stakes.There are key moments when other characters push back and confront others to think harder about what they're doing. Whether it's characters who open themselves up to feel any sort of positive emotion, go through a sincere redemption arc, or provide unquestioning support, you can identify the times Indivisible gets it right. I can't help but wish that the story contained these highlights more often than not.I want to love Indivisible unconditionally; it has so many great pieces, and it's a special thing to feel seen. I'm happy to have a game that's distinctly Southeast Asian, giving some earnest representation to a part of the world I belong to and one I'm even more curious about now. As a whole, it sometimes doesn't come together; it's missing weight to its narrative and the challenges necessary to flex its wonderful combat system. But it stands out as an RPG that's doing something genuinely different, and it brings joy to its clever platforming with the tune of an infectious soundtrack. For all its faults, Indivisible has its heart in the right place.Info from Gamespot.com

Call of Duty Mobile was downloaded over 100 million times in its first week after launch, a record-breaking number according to mobile app analytics experts Sensor Tower. It generated 56.9 million installs on iOS alone, which far exceeds the entire launch week numbers for other popular mobile competitors across both mobile platforms. To compare, PUBG Mobile and Fortnite saw 28 million and 22.5 million installs in their launch weeks, respectively.According to Sensor Tower's data, Call of Duty Mobile saw the most installs in the United States, with about 17.3 million or 16.9 percent of the downloads, followed by India with 13.4 percent, and finally Brazil with 7 percent. Call of Duty Mobile, developed by Tencent subsidiary Timi Studios and published by Activision, is not out in China yet, but if Activision earns approval for launch in that market, where mobile games remain extremely popular, installs could potentially skyrocket.Call of Duty Mobile Breaks Record with 100 Million Downloads in Its First Week: https://t.co/5Z7WNNjucG #callofduty #callofdutymobile pic.twitter.com/YkWU6ZM5gy — Sensor Tower (@SensorTower) October 8, 2019The Wall Street Journal reports that Activision is indeed in the midst of seeking approval to launch Call of Duty Mobile in China, which makes up about 25% of the mobile gaming market in the entire world, according to Business Wire.Activision Blizzard, or more specifically Blizzard (partially owned by Tencent via Activision Blizzard), is currently under fire from fans for its decision to punish professional Hearthstone player Ng Wai Chung (aka "Blitzchung") after the player expressed support for the Hong Kong protests in an interview. Many in the Hearthstone community are now boycotting the game. Call of Duty News Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare Special Ops Mode Returns Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare Pre-Order Guide Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare PC Specs Revealed On Blizzard Battle.net Last week saw another huge mobile game launch in Mario Kart Tour, which earned a record-breaking 10.1 million downloads on launch day. In its first week, it racked up 90 million downloads, making Mario Kart Tour one of Nintendo's most successful mobile game launches ever.Info from Gamespot.com

Toys R Us closed down all 800 of its US retail stores in 2018, signaling the end of an era for the iconic toy shop. But it's not quite dead yet, and its parent company is planning to piggyback on another retailer as it starts rolling out further expansion.CNN reports that the company Tru Kids has partnered with Target stores. Under the agreement, users can do their toy shopping through the relaunched Toys R Us website, and then have their purchases delivered or picked up in Target stores.Tru Kids won the rights to the Toys R Us brand following its bankruptcy, and it has a plan to revitalize the brand. The partnership with Target is just one part. Tru Kids also partnered with Kroger to set up "Geoffey's Toy Box" sections in 600 grocery stores over the holidays. It is also planning to open two new stores in Texas and New Jersey and expand to 10 locations by the end of 2020.The death of Toys R Us, while not final, signaled an increasing struggle for brick-and-mortar retailers to compete with online giants like Amazon. The video game retailer GameStop is going through a tumultuous time as well, but it similarly has announced plans for a refreshed approach.Info from Gamespot.com

Xbox's vice president, Mike Ybarra, is leaving the company after 20 years.Ybarra tweeted the news, saying it is time for him to move on. "It's been a great ride at Xbox and the future is bright," Ybarra said. He has yet to clarify what his next venture is, but Ybarra confirmed that details will be revealed in the near future.After 20 years at Microsoft, it’s time for my next adventure. It’s been a great ride at Xbox and the future is bright. Thanks to everyone at TeamXbox, I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished and I wish you the best. More soon on what’s next for me (super excited)! 1/2... — Mike Ybarra (@XboxQwik) October 9, 2019Xbox boss Phill Spencer replied to Ybarra's tweet, thanking him for his work and wishing him the best in his next stage. "[You] have consistently driven to keep games at the center of everything we do," Spencer said of Ybarra.Thank you (@XboxQwik) for your many contributions to Microsoft and Xbox. You've been a strong advocate for our fans from day one, and have consistently driven to keep gamers at the center of everything we do. All of us at TeamXbox wish you the best. — Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) October 9, 2019Ybarra had a short stint as a software development engineer at HP prior to joining Microsoft as a systems engineer in June 2000. He worked his way through the ranks before becoming Xbox's partner studio manager between June 2011 and July 2014. Ybarra entered the corporate side soon after, taking on the role of vice president of program management of Xbox for a couple of years before landing in the vice president role in January 2017.Similar to Microsoft, both Nintendo and Sony have experienced shakeups at the executive level. Earlier this month, Shawn Layden confirmed he is leaving Sony. SIE Japan Asia's president, Atsushi Morita, announced his departure immediately following Layden's. Both positions have yet to be filled, but Kazuhiko Takeda will reportedly serve as the new corporate director of Sony's Japanese branch. Nintendo's president and COO, Reggie Fils-Aime, announced he was retiring before E3 2019, though he was swiftly replaced by Doug Bowser. It remains unclear who will take over Ybarra's role at Xbox.Info from Gamespot.com

John Wick is an orchestrator of death. He efficiently uses both the tools and space around him in a fight, delicately flowing between enemies and intelligently picking them off. John Wick Hex effortlessly replicates the slick violence of the films, allowing you to embody the feared assassin in combat scenarios that are both challenging and satisfying to overcome. It also introduces a fast-paced spin on traditional turn-based action, letting you think and act like the elusive Baba Yaga while also looking as refined and controlled as he is.At the core of John Wick Hex is an overhead timeline, which records actions both you and enemies take. Each action takes a set amount of time, represented plainly in the timeline to give you a clear view of when you’re taking a shot versus when you have to dodge an incoming one, for example. After each turn, the action you’ve made plays out in real-time, only pausing if a new enemy enters your line of sight or if you take damage to let you adjust accordingly. You’re always aware of how the action is going to play out when it starts moving again, which lets you plan ahead and position yourself for your next turn.The choices you make in combat are vital, though. Sometimes an enemy might be quicker on the draw than you, forcing you to decide between potentially taking a hit or throwing your gun to stun them in time. This has its own set of consequences. If the enemy is too far, you’ve now disarmed yourself with too much ground to cover for a close-quarters takedown, or left yourself vulnerable to the surprise appearance of another foe. Each turn is a new step in a moving puzzle, rewarding careful consideration of positioning, sight lines, and resource management with a graceful flow of murder.Aside from health, you have to consider both ammunition and a resource called focus. John Wick is great with a gun, but Hex limits the number of bullets you can carry at a time to force you to experiment with new weapons that you find. Knowing how many bullets you have in the magazine before a fight helps you manage how many enemies you think you can dispatch before needing to find a new one, which in turn helps you move efficiently from one kill to the next, collecting dropped firearms in the process. It’s a satisfying balance; I constantly had to adapt to the firing speeds and effective ranges of new weapons, which in turn changed the way I advanced on or retreated from a fight.Focus governs most of your actions outside basic movement and shooting. Everything from performing an instant melee takedown to reloading your weapon requires some focus points, making it the backbone to most of your available repertoire. Although it can be replenished easily enough, finding space in a fight to do so without taking too much damage is tough, encouraging you to only bite off as much as you can chew and space your enemies out to avoid becoming overwhelmed. Your successes and failures are governed but how well you’re able to manage both ammunition and your distribution of resources, with Hex focusing less on hit percentages and random rolls and more on the choices you make and your ability to anticipate how things will play out.Levels are designed to challenge your understanding of movement and its inherent risks, too, stuffing you into long, cramped corridors laden with doors that enemies can spawn through at any point. Sight lines are obscured to keep you guessing about who's just around the corner; a reckless roll could put you in the firing line of a group of previously hidden enemies. Each step you take towards the exit of each level has to be a calculated one, taking into account acute angles of doorways and the benefits of elevation from overhead balconies.When you hit a stride with this balancing act, John Wick Hex feels like it’s almost moving in real time. Your decisions will start feeling instinctive, with moves playing out as if you’re beholden to a ticking clock. Hex is tuned to make you feel like you’re always one step ahead. Because you have a beat or two to react to new enemies before they make their moves, you'll often feel like your reaction times are split seconds ahead of them--so long as you're thinking carefully. But it’s equally unforgiving if you’re too bold. If you don’t learn how to break sight lines while moving, you’ll quickly find your timeline overwhelmed with enemy actions that you can’t address entirely. Hex is a power fantasy with the odds ever so slightly tilted in your favor, but it’s also a game that wants you to understand the fine margins that John Wick operates within during every fight.With such dynamic and engrossing combat at its center, it’s disappointing that John Wick Hex’s original story fails to live up to the same standard. It takes place well before the events of the first film--when John was the most dangerous weapon the High Table had in their employ, and before he ever met his wife--with John searching for series stalwarts Winston and Charon, reprised by Ian McShane and Lance Reddick respectively (Keanu Reeves' likeness is used in the game's stylized cartoonish aesthetic, but John Wick has no dialogue to speak of). Hex, a new villain to the series, has kidnapped the pair in an attempt to dismantle the High Table in a fit of revenge, inviting the wrath of John Wick as he ruthlessly hunts him down over a variety of locales, like neon-soaked night clubs with harsh electronic music and silent, snow-slicked forests which quickly become drenched in bright pink streaks of blood from fallen foes.While the narrative gives the game a reason to bounce from one location to the next, it never taps into the intriguing layer of lore that sits on top of the high-octane action from the films. You’ll learn nothing new about the High Table or their seedy, mysterious Continental hotels, and even less about John’s time before giving up his assassin lifestyle in pursuit of something quieter. Hex’s revenge tale also fails to establish any interesting backstory or lasting impression on the franchise, making the story feel meaningless in the grander scheme of things.It’s a disappointing thread that ties together the exceptional gameplay, which faithfully captures the feeling of being John Wick in a strategic and pulsating formula. John Wick Hex has turn-based gameplay at a pace you’ve likely not experienced before, and it intricately balances its systems to give you a sense of being an expert hitman while also making it feel earned. It’s a slick and well-oiled game that succeeds in giving you a new, engrossing way to experience John Wick and its signature brand of chaotic action. Info from Gamespot.com

What the Golf prides itself in being a golf game for people who don't like golf. Its absolute irreverence means that, for long periods, it only resembles golf in that the controls are similar to other touch-screen golf games, especially Desert Golfing--you aim in a direction, pull your finger back to gauge your distance, and then let go for the swing (although here you're just trying to hit the pin, not land in the hole). But as often as not, you're not actually shooting a golf ball here. Sometimes you're firing off a soccer ball, or hurling a golf club, or an object that's not even golf-adjacent like a rocket that needs guiding through a mess of trees or a crab that must be protected from rising tides. What you're doing changes completely, but the controls, and the humorous sense of surprise, remain unchanged for the majority of the game.Often, the first shot on any course is a punchline. On one early level, you go to shoot the ball, but on release, the on-screen golfer gets flung forward instead, rag-dolling towards the green. In other instances, the punchline comes at the end of the hole: you'll hit the pin and discover that the whole reason for putting in a level about driving a car was so that they could hit you with the pun 'driving range'. What the Golf is an inventive, charming and funny game, one that speeds through ideas, jokes and oddities at a steady clip so that none of its ideas ever have a chance to get old. It's fast, strange and pretty easy--the exact opposite of real golf, and all the better for it.What the Golf's high-concept golf japery isn't trying to deliver a serious or deep experience. Each level is short--getting the ball (or equivalent) to the pin rarely requires more than a few shots, and while the overworld that you navigate through to access each level contains only the mildest of traversal puzzles. The whole point of the game is to make you laugh at how flexible its internal definition of 'golf' is. It's literally a weird flex, but it's more than okay.The game's irreverence for golf doesn't tick over into malice, nor are there any real elements of parody--golf simply provides a rough framework and theme for the game to build on. Levels are divided up by rough themes and concepts: some levels are set in space, for instance, or based on other sports, or require you to switch your phone orientation, switching to a first-person control scheme. Some even bring in augmented reality elements, asking you to move your phone around to fully comprehend a 3D level. The level of creativity on display here is what makes the game so charming, and right up until the end it's still finding new ways to wring joy out of some very simple control mechanics.It's literally a weird flex, but it's more than okay.Unfortunately, if you're playing on PC, some of these fun gimmicks have been excised or cut back--this is a game clearly designed with mobile devices in mind. It's also not as intuitive to control, as moving a mouse is not as immediate or satisfying as using a finger, especially in levels that require you to take numerous shots in quick succession. But the game remains very funny, no matter how you play it. To explain too many of the game's gags would dilute their power, but it does a very good job of baking the comedy into the mechanics. What the Golf repeats the same basic gags often to great success--a favourite is when you think you're controlling the ball, but when you take your shot some other object gets propelled, which is somehow funny every single time. Even the soundtrack, which is largely made up of discordant tunes and singers singing "what the hell" and "golf" repeatedly, is funny.The game is at its most fun the more recognisably connected to golf it is, although that doesn't mean that all the best levels have you shooting a ball at a pin. The game turns into a spot-on homage to Superhot for a few levels, for instance, where you pick up new clubs to fire balls at enemies who only move--and shoot--when you do. It's a committed homage, right down to the “SUPER. PUTT.” voiceover after you complete each level. There are other direct game parodies in here (and even one challenge that feels like a direct homage to Untitled Goose Game), and most of them are a delight. At a few other points, though, the game stumbles somewhat--some levels have so little to do with golf that the game's central joke feels briefly abandoned, and it would be nice to have a few more levels that required some outside-the-box thinking. Even with all the zaniness, a lot of the gameplay boils down to simply pointing at the pin and firing, and some more puzzle-based levels would not have gone amiss.Thankfully, the two extra challenges holes attached to each level do a lot to flesh the game out. You can finish What the Golf in about two hours, but it's worth going back and trying to 100% it (which can still be done in about six hours). These extra levels are a 'par' challenge, and then another level that usually provides a significant shake-up, one that's often unrecognisable from the hole's first challenge. Often there will be new gags or ideas to enjoy tucked away in these challenges, so it's worth going back for them.What the Golf is a comedy game first and foremost, and it succeeds at its primary goal. Perhaps the game's most telling feature is the 'Show To A Friend' option on the main menu, which runs you through a quick playable "best of" reel of some clever challenges the game offers up. What the Golf is an experience that can be shown off, fully understood, and effectively sold to a player in the span of about two minutes--and like all great jokes, you'll want to share it. Info from Gamespot.com

Doom Eternal has been delayed into 2020. Id Software sent an announcement explaining that Doom Eternal's release date is now set for March 20, 2020. The studio also shared a few development updates on various Doom projects, including the Invasion mode, Nintendo Switch version, and the re-release of classic game Doom 64."Throughout the development of Doom Eternal, our goal has been to deliver a game that exceeds your greatest expectations across the board," the statement reads. "To make sure we're delivering the best experience--for Doom Eternal to live up to our standards of speed and polish--we've made the decision to extend our launch date by a few months to March 20, 2020. We know many fans will be disappointed by this delay, but we are confident that Doom Eternal will deliver a gaming experience that is worth the wait."An update on DOOM Eternal: pic.twitter.com/2LWrfh6e4Z — DOOM (@DOOM) October 8, 2019Along with the delay, the studio announced a few other updates. The Invasion mode multiplayer, which lets you jump into others' games as a demon, will be coming as a free update shortly after launch. The Nintendo Switch version will be coming after the other platforms, with a separate date to be announced later.Finally, the Doom 64 re-release, which was previously only announced for Nintendo Switch, is also now coming to PC, PS4, and Xbox One. That will also hit on March 20, 2020, because it's being added as a pre-order bonus for Doom Eternal.Info from Gamespot.com