The lawsuit between Borderlands developer Gearbox Software's CEO Randy Pitchford and former company lawyer Wade Callender has come to an end. Both sides have "resolved all claims between them."A joint statement filed in 162nd Judicial District of Dallas, Texas confirms that Randy Pitchford has been "exonerated" from the claims against him. The two sides reportedly apologized, while "all misunderstandings between the parties have been corrected."The document asks the Court to dismiss the case "with prejudice," which means it cannot be revisited at a later date."Upon review of all the evidence in the case, it was of the opinion of counsel that the evidence exonerated Randy Pitchford from the allegations against him; all misunderstandings between the parties have been corrected, and apologies were exchanged," reads a line from the statement. "Because the parties are mutually bound by confidentiality, no additional statements will be forthcoming."This seemingly brings about an end to a bitter, drawn out legal battle between Pitchford and Callender. Gearbox sued Callender for fraud, and Callender fired back with his own lawsuit containing numerous and significant claims. Callender alleged that Pitchford awarded himself a secret bonus of $18 million that Callender claims should have gone into a pool spread between developers. Callender also claimed that Pitchford accidentally left a USB drive at a Medieval Times restaurant that he says contained secret company documents and videos of "underage" pornography and that Pitchford held parties at his home where "adult men reportedly exposed themselves to minors." Gearbox has consistently denied this and other claims.While this lawsuit may have come to an end, Pitchford has been a focal point of other controversies as well. Another former employee, David Eddings, explained why he won't be resuming his role as Claptrap for Borderlands 3. That led to a testy exchange with Pitchford until Eddings ultimately alleged that Pitchford had physically assaulted him at GDC 2017, and subsequently stalked him on social media.Gearbox's latest release, Borderlands 3, launched in September and sold 5 million copies in 5 days to set a new franchise sales record. Info from Gamespot.com

Code Vein establishes its own identity from the outset. It may latch onto a Dark Souls formula that has come to define a generation of action-RPGs, but Bandai Namco's latest manages to set itself apart from the rest by presenting a post-apocalyptic world filled with what are essentially anime vampires. Interesting concepts and mechanics filter out from this central blood-soaked idea, resulting in a game that feels familiar yet wildly different from its inspiration. Yet it's the parts that are most recognisable, such as its combat, where Code Vein stumbles.After an apocalyptic cataclysm ravages the world, those who died are brought back to life as immortal beings called Revenants. The only price they have to pay for reincarnation is an insatiable thirst for blood. There's no neck biting, disintegrating in sunlight, or anything else you would usually associate with traditional vampires here. If a Revenant goes for too long without satisfying its thirst for blood, however, they lose their humanity and transform into grotesque creatures known as the Lost. Fortunately, Revenants don't have to feed on the last remaining humans to survive. Blood Beads grow on plants throughout the world and function as suitable substitutes for human blood, nourishing a Revenant's bloodlust in much the same way. The problem is, Blood Beads are becoming increasingly scarce, so you have to find the source and hopefully attain a steady supply. That's the basic plot, anyway, but it doesn't take long to deviate into other areas and introduce world-ending stakes.In stereotypical protagonist fashion, you begin the game by waking up with amnesia before finding out you're the chosen one. You see, each Revenant in Code Vein has a class known as a Blood Code. Your created character is special due to the fact they're not confined to a single Blood Code like everyone else is. This malleability allows you to swap between various classes whenever you feel like it, with your arsenal of available Blood Codes expanding the further you progress through the game.Blood Codes are tailored to a specific style of play that often fits into a typical RPG class template--think warrior or mage. Gifts are Code Vein's version of abilities, granting you access to a wide range of passive and active skills that are tied but not limited to each Blood Code. You're able to mix and match Gifts to a certain degree, with the most exciting ones letting you unleash flashy special attacks in melee combat. That's not all they're capable of, however, as others allow you to fire projectiles of piercing Ichor, boost your attack power, temporarily add a stun effect to your weapon, and many more. The character creator is already comprehensive enough, but Code Vein provides a plethora of options when it comes to finding a playstyle that suits you.Killing enemies earns Haze that can be spent on levelling up your character, purchasing weapon and armor upgrades, or attaining various items like poison cures and throwing daggers. When you die, you lose all of the Haze you had accrued up to that point unless you can return to the location of your demise and pick it back up. Haze is relatively easy to accumulate, though, so walking around with pockets full of the stuff never feels as stressful as it maybe should. Levelling up your character is also simplistic to a fault because it doesn’t let you min-max your stats. Everything it tied to Blood Codes so it’s unclear why information such as your character's strength and dexterity is even surfaced.Either way, incorporating Gifts amid regular attacks makes for some satisfying combos, and there's a gratifying heft behind each slash and crunch of Code Vein's melee combat. Defeating enemies is based on rationing light and heavy attacks, and you have access to a decent array of weaponry, too, cycling through the usual assortment of broadswords, halberds, giant hammers, and spears. Most of them are ludicrously large in typical anime fashion as well. There's not a lot of variety between each moveset within a weapon's specific class, but bouncing around between weapon types offers some tangible deviation.Each Gift consumes from a pool of Ichor that's replenished by simply defeating enemies or refilled in larger doses by performing drain attacks, parries, and backstabs. This incentivizes you to use Gifts regularly, approaching each enemy with an offensive mindset to unleash a bevy of special attacks and then quickly regain any lost Ichor. You need to pick the right moment to use a drain attack because of its lengthy windup, but backstabs are relatively easy to pull off, while parries require precise timing.Wailing on enemies is satisfying, and Gifts spruce up each fight with their inherent flexibility, yet combat is a disappointingly by-the-numbers affair because of the AI's shortcomings. There's an adequate variety of enemy types, but this variety generally only applies to their visual design as opposed to their behavior and movesets. They're surprisingly static, spending most of their time simply idling instead of reacting to your attacks. Each weapon you wield is usually able to stagger enemies on the first or second hit, allowing you to dispatch each foe with almost no resistance, and this remains true throughout the entirety of the game. There are a few enemies that break away from this mould, requiring you to actually dodge and make use of your Gifts, but they're an anomaly amid a sea of one-sided slugfests. Bosses aren't quite as easy to take down, but they're not far from it. There's no need to learn patterns or delicate back-and-forths that require you to engage with every aspect of Code Vein's combat. It's simple enough to beat each boss on your first or second attempt by simply manoeuvring behind them. This only deviates as you approach the end credits and bosses receive a sudden difficulty spike as they rely on powerful area of effect attacks and homing projectiles.Code Vein doesn't have to adhere to Dark Souls' challenging difficulty, but it also misses the mark by never forcing you to learn or deepen your understanding of the game to progress. Combat devolves into a mindless task where the only thing you need to watch out for is enemy placement and quantity. Difficulty is contrived by throwing numerous enemies at you at once which feeds into a focus on cooperative play. You can traverse through Code Vein's world with another player or by using one of its many AI companions. The latter can more than hold their own in a fight, proving especially useful when you're overwhelmed by multiple enemies--though their presence against singular opponents doesn't do much to quell the simplistic routine of defeating them.Exploring each environment is engaging, at least. The level design has a tendency to wrap in and around itself, offering secret paths and capturing the elation that's derived from opening a shortcut or discovering a new checkpoint to rest at and spend the Haze you just acquired. One sprawling area even borrows Anor Londo's distinct Il Duomo-inspired aesthetic, reimagining the pearly white castle as a labyrinthine maze. It's just a shame the visual design is regularly pedestrian. You spend the vast majority of your time traversing through bland post-apocalyptic streets and damp caves where rubble is Code Vein's most distinguishing feature. The addition of fire and sand shakes up the typical dilapidated cityscape, but it's not nearly enough to shake the feeling that you've seen it all before. There's even a late area that adopts the Anor Londo aesthetic for a second time, with the only difference being that it's now inside and slightly darker. Evoking memories of Dark Souls' most memorable location doesn't do it any favours.Code Vein adopts the Souls-like formula in its structure, presenting a familiar cycle of progression and basic combat similarities, and there are some interesting ideas here, too, built around the use of various Blood Codes and their distinct Gifts. You can see the fragments of a fantastic game hidden within these systems and its meaty combat feedback, but the mundanity of its enemies and the effect they have on nullifying the combat's enjoyment prevent Code Vein from ever realizing its potential.Info from Gamespot.com

The Writers Guild of America--the union that represents writers across movies, TV, and video games--has scrapped its video game category for the next edition of the show. WGA has honored video game writing since 2008, so this is a big change--and developers are sounding off about it.A spokesperson for WGA told The Hollywood Reporter that it will not hand out a Video Game Writing Award in 2020 due to a lack of WGA-covered games. The category may return in the future if the number of video games covered by the WGA reaches a "critical mass," the group said.A bigger number of WGA-covered games will lead to a "meaningful award selection process," WGA said. The five nominees for the Video Game Writing Award for 2018 included Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Batman: The Enemy Within, Episode 5- Same Stitch, God of War, Marvel's Spider-Man, and Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. Sony's God of War ultimately won the award. Some of the previous winners included Horizon: Zero Dawn, Uncharted 4, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and The Last of Us: Left Behind. To be nominated, a game must feature on-screen writing credits, while credited writers must have already been or applied for membership in the WGA Video Game Writers Caucus. This incurs a $100 fee. WGA said in the past that it also considered games that were not developed "under WGA jurisdiction," though the new statement specifically called out a lack of WGA-covered titles as one of the reasons the award category is going away.While the WGA has abandoned its video game writing award, other prestigious awards shows, including BAFTA, still honor video games in multiple categories. The reaction to this news from video game writers and developers came swiftly and passionately. Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann, who has won multiple WGA Video Game Writing Awards in the past, said on Twitter that he is "very disappointed" by the WGA's decision to remove the category. "A misguided slap in the face for writers in games," he said.You can see some of the other responses below, including messages from Patrick Weekes (BioWare), Josh Scherr (Naughty Dog), Chet Faliszek (Portal, Half-Life), and others. An incredibly short-sighted move on the @WGAWest's part. There is currently no way for a game writer to become a full-fledged WGA member, so if their excuse is not enough studios are signatories or working with union writers, well... 🤷‍♂️https://t.co/Nujr4dY376 — Josh Scherr (@joshscherr) October 3, 2019Was just told the WGA suspended their Game Writing award category this year.One step forward, seven steps back 🙄 — BloodyMary Kenney☠️🍹 (@maryknews) October 2, 2019The WGA Game Writing Award was never more than a way for the WGA to build its membership among game writers, incentivizing us to pay dues in exchange the privilege of being eligible for that award. https://t.co/TdrArFtHbo — Shawn Kittelsen (@kittelsen) October 2, 2019I’ve never joined the WGA and never will. To win this award you have to be a member. When they asked us to join so we could win - we could pay dues, but not vote because game writing isn’t real writing, not like have a short story published in a zine read by 12 people. https://t.co/o9UFzWf0U7 — Chet Faliszek (@chetfaliszek) October 2, 2019Listen, it was an honor just to be nominatedI hear.https://t.co/QvMyCPEfLd — Patrick Weekes (@PatrickWeekes) October 3, 2019I've had the honor of working with some of the best writers in all of games. They deserve recognition. I established Telltale's opening credits, which *always* began with "A Telltale Story by" as the very first credit. More props to all game writers!https://t.co/qsEaE43j6R — Kevin Bruner (@kevbru) October 3, 2019 Info from Gamespot.com

As with every new big content drop for Destiny 2, Shadowkeep has its share of special new Exotic weapons to chase down. So far, the toughest to get and most interesting is the Deathbringer rocket launcher, which requires you to wreck a whole bunch of Hive enemies in order to get it. The Exotic also handles differently from most rocket launchers; it's a gun you use indirectly, shooting over your targets for the best effect.The lengthy quest to unlock Deathbringer will take you all over the moon to unlock it, and has some pretty significant grind attached. The good news is, it's possible to knock out the quest relatively quickly if you know where to go, what to do, and which enemies to concentrate on for the fastest progress. We've got a complete list of all the steps below, plus all the tips you'll need to get Deathbringer quickly and relatively painlessly.Complete The Story CampaignBefore you can go after Deathbringer, you need to finish up Shadowkeep's campaign. When you finish the mission called Beyond, head back to Eris Morn on the moon and speak with her. She'll give you a new quest: Memory of Sai Mota. It's not a gold Exotic quest, but it'll put you on the path to getting what you need for Deathbringer. Grab the Lunar Spelunker bounty from Eris, which you'll need to complete in order to advance the quest.Clear Out The Lost SectorsThe Memory of Sai Mota quest will send you through all four of the moon's Lost Sector locations. You'll need to do three for the first part of the quest: K1 Crew Quarters, K1 Logistics, and K1 Communion. Those are the three southernmost Lost Sectors--the last is in Sorrow's Harbor, so don't worry about that one yet.The Lost Sectors are pretty straightforward, but you'll need to raise your Power level to a pretty decent height before you can handle them. The story campaign should bring you high enough to handle them, but you'll want to be at least around 840 before getting started.Explore K1 RevelationOnce you've handled all three Lost Sectors, you'll get a Firewall Data Fragment item for completing the Lunar Spelunker bounty. Complete the K1 Revelation Lost Sector by clearing out all the Revenant Wizards and destroying the crystals they protect, then finishing off the Nightmare Ogre at the end of the area. Once you've done that, climb up into the tunnel on the right side of the arena, where you'll find a door you can use the Firewall Data Fragment to enter. Activate the console inside to advance the quest, which now requires you find pieces of Sai Mota's Necklace. Destiny 2 Recent News Destiny 2 Necromantic Strand Location: Where To Go For Essence Of Brutality Quest Destiny 2 Horned Wreath Location: Where To Go For Essence Of Vanity Quest Destiny 2 Captive Cord Location: Where To Go For Essence Of Failure Quest Destiny 2 Shadowkeep: How To Power Above 900 And Get Raid Ready Destiny 2 Shadowkeep Battle Pass: New Exotics, Weapons, And Armor You Can Earn Get The Necklace PiecesThis part's mostly easy. Head to Sorrow's Harbor and kill Nightmares there--or jump into a Nightmare Hunt. Either way, you need to use Arc abilities to clear 10 Nightmares (it doesn't matter how strong they are), with each one dropping two pieces of the necklace. Once you have 20, return to Eris, who's now waiting inside the portal, to complete the Memory quest and unlock the Exotic quest for Deathbringer.Head To The Circle Of BonesYou'll next be prompted to "Explore the Circle of Bones," where you'll find a mission that will start the Deathbringer quest proper. To reach the spot, transmat into Sorrow's Harbor and head south to the Hellmouth. Go toward the opening into the Hive temple and descend downward. Keep going through the Gatehouse area and beyond until you hit a much larger, wide-open area--the Circle of Bones. From here you can find the mission flag that will send you descending further into the Hellmouth. Head toward the Summoning Pits and kill the boss there to get a new item: the Silent Skull. You'll need it to create Deathbringer.Gather The BonesWith the mission complete, your next job is to zip around the moon completing a few activities. Two are pretty straightforward: Head to the Hellmouth area and complete a Public Event to get your first bone fragment. For the second, you'll need to complete the K1 Revelation Lost Sector again, located in Sorrow's Harbour. They should be easy to handle at this point.Your last item on the list might require a bit of searching and waiting. From Eris's transmat location, jump on your Sparrow and head to the right toward Anchor of Light. When you get there, hang out a bit until you see an elite, yellow-bar enemy called the Bone Collector. This is a Hive Acolyte who will wander through the area like a high-value target, and when it spawns in, you'll see a notification in the bottom-left corner of your screen. He's usually right out in the middle of things near the big dome building and spawns pretty regularly. Kill him to complete the quest step.Back To The Scarlet KeepNext, you'll need to return to the Scarlet Keep Strike. Load into it from the Director's moon map and run it as normal. You're looking for a Hive Wizard called the High Conductor--look for it during the elevator portion when you're ascending the tower of the Scarlet Keep. The High Conductor shows up on the second floor of the area among the other wizards, and is easy enough to deal with in the regular course of fighting enemies. Once the wizard is dead, you can complete the Strike as normal or head back to orbit--either way, you have your next step.Another Grind In Sorrow's HarborYou're almost done. In order to charge the skull, you have to gather the screams of your enemies. The step basically just means you have to kill a whole bunch of enemies: around 200 minor enemies, roughly 50 elites, and 10 bosses. That sounds like a lot, but this step goes pretty quickly if you know where to go for the best results.The short answer is Sorrow's Harbor. Turns out, the Nightmare Ogres that spawn regularly in Sorrow's Harbor all count as bosses, which makes what would be the toughest step on the list into one of the easiest. The smaller Nightmares that spawn with the ogres are also very useful--they count as elites, which will give you progress on the middle bar. And of course, any random regular enemies around are good to kill too.Once you've killed the bosses, you'll probably have made some decent progress on the other two bars, but Sorrow's Harbor isn't really the best place to kill a bunch of minor enemies. You can make solid progress on both the other two requirements in either the Scarlet Keep Strike or in the K1 Revelation Lost Sector. The Strike might be the better way to go, since it seems that enemies killed by teammates also count toward your progress. In fact, if you have other activities to complete to earn Powerful gear, this is a good time to do some of it to double-count your progress--although you'll move faster if you kill enemies on the moon. We found one run of Scarlet Keep and one run through K1 Revelation completed the requirement for killing minor enemies and nearly completed the elites requirement. To shore up the last of the latter, we went back to Sorrow's Harbor and quickly mopped up a few more Nightmares.With that out of the way, you're down to one last mission, located, once again, in the Circle of Bones.Go Kill Some DeathsingersDrive back to the Hellmouth and dive down to the Circle of Bones to find another mission flag for "Choir of the Damned." Your job now is to turn the deadly song of Hive Deathsingers into a gun. Follow the markers down into the Catacombs, which you'll remember from the story campaign when you found the Cryptoglyph. This is a 920 Power level mission, so you might want to recruit a friend or two as backup. The good news is, despite the numbers attached, this is actually a pretty easy mission. The toughest part is quickly dealing with the Deathsingers without getting overwhelmed by enemies.As you head into the Catacombs, you'll start to see glowing green energy appearing around the edges of your screen. That's the Deathsong--you'll also notice a timer ticking down when that happens. Once the Deathsong starts, you only have a minute to kill the Deathsinger using the spell, or you'll be wiped. These are Hive Wizards and they get objective markers, so they're easy to find. They'll also stop singing if you break their shields or stagger them, so the situation isn't quite as dire as it seems.The tough part about reaching and killing each Deathsinger is the big group of enemies you'll have to fight through to get there. But in most cases, as it turns out, you can sprint past most of the baddies and just drop the Deathsinger, then advance to the next area when the door beyond each one opens.You'll kill three Deathsingers before you reach the boss at the end of the mission. The situation hasn't changed, except now you'll have more enemies to deal with, including a couple of ogres. The boss Deathsinger will also try to fly away from you mid-battle and start a Deathsong--but again, doing some damage will stop it, so you don't really need to worry about it much.With the boss dead, you're all done. Return to Eris and she'll give you your prize: the Deathbringer rocket launcher. It's a little different from the other launchers you're used to, firing shells that explode into void orbs that seek enemies. The orbs become more powerful the farther they fall through the air, and you can remotely detonate your Deathbringer shells by letting go of the fire button--so the best way to use the rocket launcher is more like a mortar. Fire it above your target, then release the fire button to remotely detonate the shell and drop void orbs on it. Info from Gamespot.com

Shortly after the launch of Destiny 2: Shadowkeep, Bungie released the next trailer showcasing the next raid known as the Garden of Salvation. Bringing players back Destiny 1's Black Garden, which closed out the main story of the game, the Vex stronghold that's between the realms of time and space is home to a new threat that the Guardians will need to take out. This time, Guardians will be bringing with them a full fireteam to face the new menace within.During the brief glimpse of the raid in the trailer, the enigmatic Guardian Eris Morn offers warnings for the major threat within the Black Garden. Just like in the original game, the Black Garden will focus primarily on the Vex faction, the machine race intent on rewriting history. However, the returning force known as The Darkness will also have a role to play, which was referenced throughout Shadowkeep. Just as with previous raids, your fireteam will encounter several obstacles focusing on combat engagements, puzzles, and even some involved platforming sections.The raid is expected to go live on October 5, 10 AM PST, and as is tradition, players are currently grinding out loot to acquire more strength for the raid. To participate, you and your fireteam will need to be at least 890 Power. During that launch window, players will go through the new raid blind, and they'll have to figure out what to do with their comrades. Just like previous launches for Destiny raids, Bungie devs will monitor the various attempts at the raid.Groups that can finish within the first 24 hours will get a special emblem, others who finish before October 15 will get to purchase a special raid jacket, and of course, the first clan to finish the raid will get all previously mentioned prizes and also a coveted World's First championship belt. Other Unlike previous raids, Bungie will introduce a limited time modifier for first-time raiders, which will cap Power at 920. This will ensure players aren't overpowered for the raid. Also, the exotic weapon Jotunn has been banned from the raid for 24 hours, as it's been proven highly effective against enemies and bosses. Garden of Salvation Raid Start Time10 AM PST7 AM EST11 AM GMT9PM AETThere's plenty of new loot to acquire in the raid, but in order to participate, you'll need to finish the campaign and its following missions, along with getting up to 890 Power. If you're looking for more info on how to get raid-ready, check out our various guides and features highlighting tips and other details about the important things of note. Destiny 2 Recent News Destiny 2 Necromantic Strand Location: Where To Go For Essence Of Brutality Quest Destiny 2 Horned Wreath Location: Where To Go For Essence Of Vanity Quest Destiny 2 Captive Cord Location: Where To Go For Essence Of Failure Quest Destiny 2 Shadowkeep: How To Power Above 900 And Get Raid Ready Destiny 2 Shadowkeep Battle Pass: New Exotics, Weapons, And Armor You Can Earn Info from Gamespot.com

Playing Sayonara Wild Hearts' best levels is an intangible, hard-to-describe feeling. When the art, the movement, and the music all come together in a track, it's absolutely captivating. But it's also fleeting, and I spent the majority of my time playing Sayonara Wild Hearts chasing that feeling. It came through in a few standout levels, but for most of the game, I found myself on the verge of falling in love with songs only to fall short of that high.It's an interesting kind of music game. The main goal is to simply flow with the music, rather than hit a series of precise rhythm-based inputs or dance along to beats. Crystalline hearts line the paths you ride (or fly) through, and often, following the hearts is the best way to get through a level safely without scrambling to avoid oncoming obstacles. Timed inputs are reserved for flashier moves--big jumps, deft dodges, graceful attacks--and these sequences are all scripted, so all you have to do is hit the button somewhat on time and then watch as the moves play out to the music. The camera and forward movement, including your speed, are automatic, too, leaving you to move only from side to side with rare exception. This all lends Sayonara Wild Hearts a dreamlike feel; you are both participant and observer, somewhat in control but mostly just along for the ride.Initially, the dreaminess of Sayonara Wild Hearts is enchanting. The scripted moves, which often come during fight sequences against brightly colored antagonists, have a distinct magical-girl flair. Dodging an attack becomes a balletic leap, a flurry of punches culminates in an explosion of color, and even punch-induced vomit (in one level) is so colorful and abstract that it flows seamlessly with the overall aesthetic. Some levels are bathed in electric neons, while others are more pensive, dark blue interdimensional affairs. And yet all of them, even at their most bright and exciting, are tinged with melancholy, largely due to the heartbreak-infused pop soundtrack--it's the kind of music that, if it were to come on in a bar, would make you feel incredibly lonely but also kind of like dancing.When this all works together, it really works. My favorite level, Dead of Night, closely matches the music with the action and, as a result, the song has impact. During the buildup, you ride your motorcycle through the forest, weaving between trees and picking up hearts while all is calm. Ahead of you are four masked enemies; they strike a group pose, and then, right as the drop hits, their three-headed wolf tank appears and the mini-boss-like sequence begins. You slide side to side to dodge attacks, then hit X with the prompt to leap over the tank as the music swells. It's timed beautifully, and you feel a sort of abstract sadness as the singer belts, "I'm the only one alive in the dead of night," and the tank slides, defeated, on the forest floor. You've "won," but it's bittersweet.Most of the levels, however, aren't as finely tuned. A lot of times, the timing-based moves feel offbeat, like you should hit them a moment or two early or late to really be in-time with the music--or like they aren't really set to the tempo at all. It makes it hard to get into a lot of the songs, even though the soundtrack as a whole is excellent, and distracts from the overall spectacle of a level--you have to watch the prompts' visual cues rather than listen for the right timing most of the time.Movement, too, can disrupt the flow of things. It can be hard to line yourself up properly for hearts, turns, and jumps; you might find yourself a little bit to the right or left of where you thought you'd be. This is largely caused by the independent camera, which sometimes leaves you blind going into turns or unsure of how obstacles and collectibles will line up. The highly stylized, dreamy feel of each level also leaves some ambiguity as to the placement of things. I found myself wishing there were either fewer obstacles or tighter controls; while the flowy feel of moving side to side fits the aesthetic perfectly, it's hard to stay in the zone when you're constantly tipping the analog sticks slightly to better line yourself up.Each level continues into the next not like tracks on an album would, but with short breaks in between. On top of that, the main story mode kicks you to the menu after each level to see your score and select the next song. There is a seamless mode of these same levels in the extras section, and the broken-up structure lends itself well to mobile or handheld play--but the story is the first mode you're introduced to, and it's only about the length of a long album. Where you might listen to an album all the way through at least once before jumping around and picking songs, you do the opposite in Sayonara Wild Hearts, and that saps it of its momentum.On repeat playthroughs, I found myself getting more and more used to Sayonara Wild Hearts' quirks and better appreciating each level as I gained the muscle memory for them. Only a few hit me like Dead of Night did, and those levels are stellar. But the rest are either forgettable or somehow discordant, whether because of movement issues or strange timing. I wanted to get lost in the daydream it presented, but I kept getting ripped back to reality, just a bit more melancholic than when I started.Info from Gamespot.com

The Home Alone reboot has found a director. Collider reports that Dan Mazer, who is known for writing the Sacha Baron Cohen movies Borat and Bruno, is in talks to direct the film. Mazer also wrote Bridget Jones's Baby and Office Christmas Party. He earned an Oscar nomination for Borat.The movie is being written by Mike Day and Streeter Seidell, who currently write for and act on the popular NBC comedy show Saturday Night Live.The story of the new Home Alone movie is a little different than the MaCaulay Culkin original. According to Collider, the reboot will tell the story of a "married couple who go to war with a young boy who has stolen something from them."The original Home Alone's story was about a young boy who must fight off thieves after his parents accidentally leave him .... home alone.Filming on the new Home Alone will begin in the first three months of 2020, according to Collider. Actress Melissa McCarthy is said to be in consideration for one of the parent roles, with Will Ferrell reportedly in talks for the other. The role of the child is reportedly written for a boy, though it's unknown who will play the part. The 1990 original Home Alone was directed by Christopher Columbus, who would go on to direct multiple Harry Potter films. Culkin starred in the original film and its 1992 sequel, Lost in New York. A third movie, Home Alone 3, premiered in 1997, but the movie focused on a new boy played by a different actor. Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House (2002) and Home Alone: The Holiday Heist (2012) followed later as made-for-TV movies.The Home Alone franchise was produced by Fox. Following Disney's acquisition of Fox and the majority of the company's entertainment assets, the new Home Alone movie is being developed for Disney streaming service Disney+. Disney is also making a reboot of Night at the Museum, which was another Fox property before the Disney acquisition.Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds, meanwhile, has an idea for another Home Alone movie called "Stoned Alone." In this movie, Reynolds misses his flight and then goes home and gets baked. He becomes paranoid when he hears someone breaking into his house. Someone actually is, and then Reynolds must defend his home while stoned.Disney+ launches in November, priced at $7 USD per month. Disney has also announced a value option that bundles Disney+ with ESPN+ and Hulu for $13/month USD. Info from Gamespot.com

Untitled Goose Game is a bona fide hit, having recently reached the top spot on the Nintendo Eshop--and displacing The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, no less. Those without a Switch or PC may feel like they're missing out on the avian mischief, but the studio is looking into expanding to other platforms.The team told ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) that it hopes to put the game on PS4 and Xbox One before moving to its next project, but it didn't specify release plans. It also said on Twitter that it is "still chewing" on the idea of a mobile version and would have to figure out how to make the game work with touch controls.We're still chewing on this. It'll take a lot of design work to make a version that works good for touch controls! — Cabel (@cabel) October 1, 2019Still, the official site acknowledges that it is actively working on bringing the game to other platforms. The same support page also notes it has no plans for a physical release.Untitled Goose Game is still on sale on both the Eshop and Epic Game Store, with a Steam release planned for next year. The simple concept puts you in the role of a goose, who causes mayhem around a small town because geese are jerks."The important thing is that Untitled Goose Game is a hoot," James O'Connor wrote in GameSpot's review. "It's a comedy game that focuses on making the act of playing it funny, rather than simply being a game that features jokes. Wishing that it was longer speaks to how much fun I had with it. There's nothing else quite like Untitled Goose Game; it's charming and cute despite being mean, and both very silly and very clever. It's also probably the best non-racing game ever to feature a dedicated 'honk' button."Info from Gamespot.com

AlphaDream, the developer of the popular Mario & Luigi RPG series, has filed for bankruptcy, according to reports.Yahoo Japan states the studio filed the claim on October 1 following years of financial difficulty. As of March 2018, the company's debt stood at ¥465m (approximately $4.3m US).AlphaDream was first formed in 1991, then working as a construction firm. In the 2000s the company's focus shifted to video games. It produced multiple Japan-only titles as well as the critically acclaimed Mario & Luigi series.That line of games started with the Game Boy Advance entry Superstar Saga and went on to spawn a further four main entries and two remakes. We awarded the most recent of those an 8/10 in our Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey review.Our thoughts go out to all those affected by AlphaDream's bankruptcy claim.Info from Gamespot.com

Super Mario Maker 2 was well-received, but it's gone several months without a promised post-launch feature. That has now changed, as the new 1.1 patch adds online multiplayer modes with your friends, instead of restricting it to random players. The new update adds a few other new features and tweaks as well.According to the announcement, Version 1.1.0 lets you play with people on your friends list for both versus and co-op modes, for courses uploaded to Course World along with anything saved to Coursebot. The update also adds voice chat support for the mobile app, so you can talk with your friends while running courses too. Nintendo notes that a Switch Online membership is required.A few other additions were included in the update as well. The "Nearby Play" function now lets you play in co-op mode as well, and if you play a Coursebot stage the host system doesn't need to be connected to the Internet. It also added an Official Makers list so you can more easily find levels made by Nintendo. Finally, it adds a Play Together option directly from courses uploaded to a player's profile, Maker Profiles now include more info, and you can play with a horizontal Joy-Con in all modes.The word that Mario Maker 2 wouldn't include friends list co-op came out just before the game's release, and fans quickly expressed dissatisfaction. Nintendo responded by promising it would come in a free update at E3, again before the game released, but it didn't give an expected timeline. The news didn't seem to slow down the game's sales, as Nintendo announced it had hit 2 million copies in its first three days."The Mario series is worth all the admiration it gets, and Super Mario Maker 2 is an excellent tool for picking it apart by pushing its enemies, mechanisms, and Mario, to their limit," Peter Brown said in GameSpot's review. "I've yet to make a stage of my own that I think is worthy of sending out to other players, but I'm committed to getting there. Whether exploring the full potential of a single element or throwing things at the wall to see what sticks, I've got the itch to join the creator's club. Mario Maker 2 makes the learning process intuitive and enjoyable. Most importantly, it's enabled designers amateur and professional alike to share their creativity with the world. The community is off to a great start, and thankfully, the fun has only just begun."Info from Gamespot.com

Like the character himself, the Joker movie has become the center of numerous controversies--and its October 4 release date hasn't even arrived yet. That fact hasn't stopped commentators and critics all over the internet from weighing in, regardless of whether they've actually seen the film yet.But that might not be a bad thing for the movie--films can often provide a solid jumping off point for cultural debates, as is already happening with Joker. And Todd Phillips, the movie's director and co-writer, told GameSpot that he always intended Joker to be a "real movie"--one that would reach a wide audience than includes both comic book fans and the general moviegoing public."I always enjoy movies that are difficult to speak about right after [you see them]," Phillips said during a Q&A after a recent Joker screening in Los Angeles. "You go, 'I want to process this a little bit.' I always find those to be particularly rewarding...where you can't necessarily distill it down into a one-line thing really simply."Following the Q&A, Phillips told GameSpot and other journalists about the moment he had the idea for this movie, as he exited the premiere for his 2016 semi-true crime drama, War Dogs."I was like, 'Alright, we made a good movie. Who's going to really see this? People don't go to these movies like this anymore,'" the director recounted. "And I'm staring across [the street] looking at a billboard for a comic book movie--one of many--and I'm like, 'That's where this business is headed.'"He remembered thinking that movies he loves, like A Clockwork Orange, Apocalypse Now, and Taxi Driver, couldn't get made at a big studio today. "And I said, 'Well, you might be able to do it, if you do it about one of those guys.' And that's really where it came from." Joker Coverage Joker Review: The Antihero Comic Book Movies Need Joker Movie Director Responds To Criticisms -- "Outrage Is A Commodity" Warner Bros. Addresses Joker Controversy With Gun Violence Statement When he pitched the idea for Joker to Warner Bros., the studio went back and forth. "And I go, 'We're gonna sneak a real movie in under the guise of [a comic book movie],'" the director continued. That apparently did the trick.Of course, that's a controversial statement, as it implies that comic book and superhero movies aren't what Phillips considers "real movies." The director took a moment during his story to clarify: "I don't mean that like disparagingly to comic book movies--those are real movies," he said. But he went on to double down a moment later."All of a sudden kids who wouldn't care or go to this movie if it was called 'Arthur' are going to go sit in this movie and be exposed to something entirely different than Avengers: Endgame," he continued. "I love those movies. [Robert Downey Jr.] is my boy. But they just watched a real movie, in a way."One problem Phillips sees with contemporary comic book movies is they all start to blend together. "How do you cut through the fog?" he asked. "It can't all be CGI parking lot fights. It's gonna just burn itself out."A Character StudySome of Joker's detractors--including both those who have and haven't seen the movie--are worried about the violence it might inspire in disenfranchised fans who view the villain as a role model. Given the current climate around issues like shootings and gun control, that's a valid conversation to have.But it's not a black and white issue. Joker may be painted as an antihero throughout the film, but most viewers will find they stop rooting for him at some point--although that point will vary from person to person, according to Phillips."Our thing was let's make an origin story about a villain who's actually the hero in the beginning, and you love him until you can't love him anymore," he said. "Other people I've shown it to stop rooting for him at different points. But like I said [after the screening], I watch Scarface, I'm rooting until the end of the credits.""That's the fun thing about the movie, and that is one of your goals as a filmmaker--inspire conversation and theories and things," Phillips continued. "There's nothing more thrilling than that debate." Phillips said he intended Joker as a character study first and foremost. Given the film's relative lack of connections with the rest of the DC universe, it's fair to ask why it's a Joker movie at all--couldn't it have just been called "Arthur" and avoided all the messy baggage that comes with this character?"Could it have been called 'Arthur' and just be about a clown? Maybe," Phillips said. "I just thought there's a new way to tell a comic book movie--and maybe I'm wrong--let's do it as a character study." He added that another goal was to "deconstruct the comic book movie a little bit."Setting the movie around the late '70s or early '80s (it's somewhat ambiguous) helped as well. "Tonally, the movie is very much a character study," Phillips said. "There's movies we grew up on and loved, and you go, 'God, those movies don't get made as much anymore.' They get made--The Social Network is a great one, There Will be Blood is probably the best in the last 20 years--but in the '70s and '80s they were much more frequent. So in a weird way, it was also just an homage to that time. We're making a movie that feels like that, why not set it there?"We'll soon know whether all these gambles paid off, as Joker hits theaters October 4. Read our Joker review here, and keep an eye on GameSpot for more Joker coverage up to and following the movie's release.Info from Gamespot.com

Call of Duty Mobile has officially launched, and it's off to a strong start. The mobile version of the blockbuster series quickly reached 3 million downloads in its first day, according to a mobile analytics firm.VentureBeat reports that the milestone was caught by data tracker Sensor Tower. It is also the top free iOS app in the US and 32 other markets, and reached the top five in another 30 countries. It also reached #59 in terms of revenue on the US App Store after only a few hours on the market.Each of those stats were achieved before the game had even been out for 24 hours, and it's only grown since then. A follow-up from Sensor Tracker on Twitter says the game has now passed a whopping 20 million downloads, and generated $2 million in revenue.Call of Duty Mobile is a full-fledged Call of Duty multiplayer game on mobile devices, including a battle royale mode. It's free-to-play with in-app purchases in the form of "COD Points." Those range in price from $1 to $100 for the massive "Prestige Pack." A separate currency is available through gameplay and both can be used to purchase rewards like guns, skins, and other items in the shop. Call of Duty News Call Of Duty Mobile Is Out Now On iOS And Android Call Of Duty: Mobile Controller Support Missing After Update Call Of Duty Mobile Passes 3 Million Installs In First Day Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare Story Trailer Officially Debuts The mobile game features modes like Gun Game and Team Deathmatch across fan-favorite maps like Hijacked and Nuketown. Seasonal updates will add new content, and the debut event is called "Lighting Up The World." That event has players working together to unlock rewards as a community. The battle royale mode includes single, duo, and quad modes.The launch hasn't been without its issues, though. An update removed controller support, causing confusion among the community, and some players found themselves stuck on a loading screen.Info from Gamespot.com

The launch of Destiny 2's Shadowkeep expansion and New Light was a bit rough, with long queues and servers even being taken down for a period of time on release day. Much of that seems to have been already smoothed out, but there are a variety of other issues that Bungie has acknowledged. One in particular is potentially serious for gameplay, but it's thankfully something you can avoid if you're aware of it.One of the key new additions in update 2.6.0.1 is the Artifact. This is a new type of item players acquire and then level up during the course of the season. You can acquire this whether or not you've purchased Shadowkeep; you just have to level up the new battle pass to Tier 7. Once you do, you can claim it from the Seasons menu--but it's imperative you don't do so if you're currently playing an activity where equipment is locked (such as a Nightfall).Bungie issued a warning on Twitter that players are not receiving the Gate Lord's Eye when they attempt to claim it while their equipment is locked. You don't have to worry about hitting Tier 7 while in an equipment-locked activity as long as you don't actively go and claim it, as you might be tempted to do.We’re investigating an issue where players aren’t receiving The Gate Lord’s Eye artifact at rank 7 if it’s claimed while in an equipment locked activity, like the Nightfall.This item should only be claimed after players have confirmed their activity is not equipment locked. — Bungie Help (@BungieHelp) October 2, 2019Bungie said it's investigating the issue, but there's no word on how soon it might be able to get the item into players' hands. That's unfortunate because it's something you want to acquire as soon as possible. Once you have the Artifact, your XP gains will level it up, unlocking rewards and boosting your Power level. This can only be done during the current Season of the Undying, which runs until mid-December. At that point, the Artifact and its rewards will go away for everyone, paving the way for a new Artifact, rewards, and Power climb in the next season. Destiny 2 Recent News Destiny 2 Necromantic Strand Location: Where To Go For Essence Of Brutality Quest Destiny 2 Horned Wreath Location: Where To Go For Essence Of Vanity Quest Destiny 2 Captive Cord Location: Where To Go For Essence Of Failure Quest Destiny 2 Shadowkeep: How To Power Above 900 And Get Raid Ready Destiny 2 Shadowkeep Battle Pass: New Exotics, Weapons, And Armor You Can Earn There is a running list of known issues impacting Destiny 2 right now on Bungie's forums. More problems are sure to emerge in the coming days, but for the time being it at least seems that most of the ones preventing people from playing are behind us.Info from Gamespot.com

Season 10 of Fortnite: Battle Royale is almost over, but developer Epic Games is giving players a little more time to earn XP and unlock rewards. As part of its 10.40.1 patch notes, the studio has announced it is extending Season 10 by an additional week, and it'll soon roll out a set of overtime challenges that includes some new end-of-season prizes to unlock.Beginning Tuesday, October 8, players will be able to take on a set of "Out of Time" overtime missions. These will be available until October 13, the last day of Season 10. Complete the challenges and you'll earn XP and unlock rewards, including new cosmetics and a commemorative Season 10 loading screen.While Fortnite's Batman crossover challenges may be over, you'll have a little more time to purchase Batman skins and other cosmetics from the in-game store. The items were originally slated to leave the store on October 6, the original end date of Season 10, but the cosmetics will now be available until October 13. Among the items you can purchase is a Caped Crusader Pack, which includes two different Batman outfits, a Batwing-style glider, and a Batman-themed harvesting tool. The Gotham City Rift Zone will also remain in the game until that day.As for what's new in Fortnite this week, Epic has unvaulted the Flint-Knock Pistol and made some changes to the Zone Wars limited-time modes. Now the modes are grouped into two playlists, and you have the option to either queue up by yourself or with a party.Fortnite Creative, meanwhile, gets a new meteor prop gallery, while Save the World receives the new Surround Pound hammer and an escort quest. You can see all of this week's changes to Fortnite: Battle Royale below; the full 10.40.1 patch notes can be found on Epic's website.Fortnite: Battle Royale 10.40.1 Patch NotesWeapons & ItemsUnvaulted Flint-Knock PistolGameplayWe may be almost out of time, but we're not out just yet--Season X has been extended a week! Gotham City and the Batman Caped Crusader Pack will be available until the end of Season X.Out of Time Season X's Overtime Mission is coming soon! The Out of Time Mission will be available from Tuesday, October 8 at 9 AM ET until Sunday, October 13 at 2 PM ET.Complete Out of Time's objectives to earn end-of-Season rewards, including XP, cosmetics, and a Loading Screen that serves as a Season X memento.Zone Wars Zones Wars Desert, Vortex, Colosseum, and Downhill River LTMs have been consolidated into two LTM playlists. Queue into either playlist to play one of the four Zone Wars maps at random. Zone Wars: Party Queue with a party larger than one into a free-for-all experience.Zone Wars: Solo Queue by yourself into a free-for-all experience.Bug FixesResolved an issue involving some players having difficulty queuing into The Combine. Because this issue has been resolved, The Combine has been re-enabled on iOS and Android.PerformanceBug FixesResolved a level streaming issue that occurred with v10.40 causing an increase in players landing in low-detail environments on Nintendo Switch. Please note that this fix will result in a larger download for the system.Improved the performance of a cosmetic material to address hitches caused by the material.Art & AnimationBug FixesThe map now shows the correct aerial view for Gotham City.MobileParty Hub Improved the search bar functionality to make it easier to search for friends.Bug FixesResolved a visual issue in which microphones would be displayed as on when players weren't in voice chat.RecapFrom server on September 27 Resolved an issue involving some display names not being presented properly on The Combine's leaderboards.Info from Gamespot.com

When Zombieland hit theaters in 2009, it was an instant hit, taking in over $100 million at the box office. At the time, it seemed, a sequel was a guarantee. Then the years started passing, and it looked like a potential follow-up wasn't going to happen. Better late than never, though, Zombieland: Double Tap is ready to hit theaters a decade after the first film. So what took so long?For Ruben Fleischer, who directed both films, it's a matter of the right idea and the right time. As it turns out, there was a sequel in the works after Zombieland was a hit. "Immediately after the success of the first film studio naturally wanted to do a sequel and we developed a script with Paul [Wernick] and Rhett [Reese], the original writers," the director admitted to GameSpot and a small group of other outlets during a visit to Double Tap's edit bay. "But it just kind of didn't hit all the... it wasn't quite what I think everybody was excited to go make. And so we kind of put it on the shelf."After that, everyone became pretty busy and a lot harder to pin down for a followup. "I went made a couple other movies, [Wernick and Reese] went and [wrote] Deadpool, Emma [Stone] went and won an Academy Award and Jesse [Eisenberg] got nominated for one, I think. Woody [Harrelson] got nominated for two and so everybody kind of went off and did their own thing," he said. "But it was sometime after Gangster Squad that I was like, 'Huh, you know what, in hindsight that Zombieland move is pretty awesome. And that cast was pretty amazing, those writers are pretty good. Maybe we should figure out how to how to get that sequel going again.'"That was in 2013. While Fleischer said Sony was ready to dive into a sequel, Wernick and Reese were knee-deep in Deadpool. "So they came on as executive producers and we worked with the writer named Dave Callaham to come up with the story for a sequel," he explained. "And we did a couple of drafts of that, until the point where Paul and Rhett came in and did their pass on it. And it was that draft that the cast all agreed to make."The script was vital, as the cast was determined to make sure the sequel would live up to the first film--especially Harrelson. "Woody has said that, of all the movies he's made, when fans come up to him, the movie that they are always mentioned is Zombieland," the director said. "And so he felt like a real responsibility that we don't tarnish the original, and making a sequel. So he especially was like very exacting when it came to the script."Once the script was approved, Fleischer was already working on 2018's Venom. Thankfully, the waiting game wouldn't last much longer. "As soon as Venom was done, I had a week off and then immediately started prep on [Zombieland: Double Tap], and was in Atlanta again, where we shot the original and prepped it in the fall, and then started shooting in January," he recalled. "We're just finishing [post-production], and it comes out in October. So it was a pretty quick turnaround from the actual moment of like getting a script and actors lined up. But it was a long ten years between the original to the release of this one."It's arguably more impressive that Fleischer was able to gather this cast a decade later than had he done it right after the first film. Does the post-apocalyptic comedy sequel stand up as tall as the first movie, though?You'll find out when Zombieland: Double Tap hits theaters on October 18.Info from Gamespot.com