After an announcement back in November 2018 and a release date reveal in March 2019, Neon Genesis Evangelion has finally arrived on Netflix. This includes all 26 episodes of Hideaki Anno's classic anime and the two films--The End of Evangelion and Evangelion: Death(True)2--available to stream to all with an active Netflix account.Death(True)2 is a further edit of 1998's Evangelion: Death(True), which is the original 1997 Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth re-edited by episode director Masayuki Yamaguchi without footage from episodes 21–24. Death(True)2 sees some of that removed footage re-added, with the inclusion of some brand-new footage never before seen in either prior incarnation, making Death(True)2 the final, most complete version of the Death movies.Evangelion has had a difficult road traveling to the West, a Polygon report reveals. While it's possible to purchase "complete" editions of the series on DVD, they're usually sold by third-party vendors for astronomical prices. (A brief Amazon search shows prices ranging from $30 USD for two episodes to $200 USD for a part of the Platinum Collection to $500 USD for the Platinum: Perfect Collection.) What seems to have made Evangelion so difficult to obtain and/or watch was the limited availability of physical media, as well as the decline in physical media production for the series. These and a myriad of other factors--like a lack of Blu-Ray releases and confusion among the various kinds of "collections"--impacted Western English releases. Netflix bringing Evangelion to its platform makes watching it easier and more complete, a blessing to both anime diehards who love the series and casual anime consumers who've heard so much about the series.The Netflix release does come with a few changes, particularly to the English voice actors. Rei Ayanami's voice actor Amanda Winn Lee confirmed she's been replaced in a now-deleted tweet. The same goes for some of the series' main characters, including Asuka Langley Soryu (voiced by Tiffany Grant), Misato Katsuragi (voiced by Allison Keith), and Shinji Ikari (voiced by Spike Spencer). At the time of the March 2019 report, Lee said that Netflix "never had any intention of even auditioning us in the first place." Grant corroborated Lee's statement in a Facebook post, saying she knew for "months that we were all being replaced."In addition to voice actor alterations, the Evangelion Netflix release sees some music cues and end theme changed. There's speculation that the issue is music licensing, as Netflix Japan retains the covers. Further, a Twitter user shows side-by-side translations between the Netflix release and the original seemingly censoring a gay theme involving a key character.The series follows Shinji Ikari, a pilot of giant mechs called Evangelions, which are used to fight alien beings called Angels. Evangelion explores Ikari's experience being both a teenage boy and a pilot risking his life for the sake of human preservation, and deals with heady subject matter like violence, psychology, religion, and sexuality.Info from Gamespot.com

Sony Music Entertainment has launched a new imprint called Lost Rings, creating a space to promote artists who produce original content that combine their love of video games and music. Currently, Lost Rings is a collective of three artists: BlackKrystel, BunnyMightGameU, and Sunzi."Gamers have such an authentic community," Lost Rings A&R Tebs Maqubela said. "They tend to be passionate, super involved with their world, and experts in their craft. They can tell right away when someone is an outsider; in that sense, it is very similar to music, especially genres like hip hop. Those characteristics that Bunny, BlackKrystel, and Sunzi have on lock--knowing your space, having a specific identity, building a world around you--are all qualities that they learned and perfected in gaming that translated over to songwriting and music making. They are writing about themselves and their world and they intrinsically knew how to do that and felt comfortable doing so."Alongside the reveal of Lost Rings, all three of its artists have each released a new song and accompanying music video. BlackKrystel's is Party Up, while Bunny's is Game U, and Sunzi stars in Joystick 'Em Up. While each song focuses on gaming, they reflect each of the artists' other passions as well. BlackKrystal's Party Up also celebrates her love of anime, for instance. You can listen to or purchase the three songs via the links below.BlackKrystel -- Party UpSunzi -- Joystick 'Em UpBunnyMightGameU -- Game U"Working with the Lost Rings artists is seamless as I mostly just had to find the right collaborators for them, collaborators who would be long term partners," Maqubela said. "For example, Bunny and Sunzi have the same producer, and the other day they were hanging out and playing PS4. There is a true working relationship there. The feedback I had for the artists was always structural and pertaining to arrangements. The verses, subject matter, world play, and raw matter was all them. They always came to the table with fleshed out ideas. For example, Bunny speaks Spanish and loves Latin music, and brought up doing a song in Spanish, so we set about working on that."Senior director of publicity Sarah Cunningham added that each artist was 100 percent involved in creating their song, the accompanying music video, and their style. The references in each song were decided by each artist as well. "They bring their own ideas to the table and they fully sign off on all of their own creative," she said. "We work collaboratively with them."Info from Gamespot.com

PlayStation Plus has been unusually cheap these days, starting with Sony's E3 2019 Days of Play sale that offered the annual membership for $40 and an already sold-out flash sale at Newegg with the same deal. However, the latest discount on PS Plus is the most affordable deal we've seen, and it's going down over at MassGenie now through June 30 (or while supplies last). For a limited time, you can get a year of PS Plus for only $36--and thousands have already claimed the deal.Get 12 months of PS Plus for $36 at MassGenie »Here's how the deal works: Click the link above, and you'll be prompted to either sign in or create a free account at MassGenie (there's no guest checkout for Power Deals). After that, you'll be redirected to checkout, where you'll see the PS Plus 12-month membership is already in your cart with the promo code PSPLUS12MO applied, dropping the price to $36. At that point, you just have to fill out all the normal checkout information and click "submit Power Deal." Within a few days, you'll receive an email with the PS Plus digital code, and you'll also be able to view the code in your order history, listed as the "tracking ID." You can check out the PS Plus deal page for more info.The PS Plus code can then be redeemed in the PlayStation Store, and even if you still have some time left on your membership, PS Plus subscriptions can be stacked to automatically extend your time, saving you money in the future.A PS Plus subscription is a must-have for most PS4 players, as it enables you to play online with friends and people around the world. In addition, you'll get regular discounts on games like Persona 5, which is only $14 for members right now, or Shenmue I & II, which is $18, as well as free monthly PS4 games. PS Plus members often get early access to demos and beta tests for upcoming releases, like Monster Hunter World's new full-size expansion, Iceborne, which is available exclusively for PS Plus members this weekend.Info from Gamespot.com

Fortnite's Week 7 challenges are now live, which means we're quickly nearing the end of Season 9. While there are still a few weeks remaining before Season 10 officially kicks off, if you play Fortnite on PC, you may need to upgrade your rig in order to join the battle next season. That said, the new demands are not especially high--and in fact, it's more a matter of enforcing the existing requirements.Developer Epic Games has announced that Fortnite's effective minimum requirements on PC will change in Season 10. "Starting with Season 10, the PC version of Fortnite will require a graphics card capable of running Microsoft DirectX 11," Epic wrote on its website. As the developer explains:"While a DirectX 11-capable graphics card has always been one of Fortnite’s system requirements, we’ve kept support online for players with older graphics cards--so they could keep playing! However, when Season 10 begins, Fortnite will no longer be compatible with these older graphics cards. This allows us to focus our development and testing efforts to further optimize the Fortnite experience for all players."A DX11-capable card is not an especially high bar, so you shouldn't have too much trouble meeting these demands. Keep in mind, you've got plenty of other choices of supported Fortnite platforms, too, including Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and iOS and Android mobile devices.Epic hasn't yet announced an exact start date for Season 10, but Season 9 is slated to end on August 1 according to the game's website. That means you'll have until then to complete any challenges and unlock all the Season 9 Battle Pass rewards. If you need help completing any of those, you can find tips for the trickier ones in our full Fortnite Season 9 challenges guide.Fortnite's most recent update, patch 9.30, arrived earlier this week an introduced a new healing item to the game: the Chug Splash. When thrown, the item will heal you and other players who are within the range of its explosion. A subsequent patch addressed a variety of bugs and other issues that have impacted the game over the last few days.Info from Gamespot.com

While everyone's looking ahead to upcoming Star Wars releases such as Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (November 15) and Star Wars: Episode 9 – The Rise of Skywalker (December 20), video game publisher Electronic Arts announced some new content for the not-yet-forgotten Star Wars Battlefront 2.Dennis Brännvall, franchise design director for Star Wars Battlefront, took to Twitter to outline the new content in a community update video. The update, set to launch sometime this month, introduces new characters and firepower. Droidekas and the Galactic Republic TX-130 tank from the Clone Wars will finally roll out, alongside a new set of digs for Anakin Skywalker and the 212th Recon Division and 41st Scout Battalion troopers. Check out the announcement below.We also got a sneak peek at what's to come. A new planet called Felucia is in the works, as well as "new ways to play the game." Brännvall didn't specify when Felucia will be available nor did he clarify what "new ways to play" means.EA CEO Andrew Wilson said Star Wars Battlefront 2 is "a great game" in a May 2019 earnings call. Wilson was keenly aware of what microtransactions did to the game's reception, noting that they "clouded what was otherwise a really great game." However, he called attention to developer DICE's continued effort to support and improve the title, stating the shooter is now "a really strong game with really strong player sentiment."In our Star Wars Battlefront 2 review, we gave it a 6/10 at launch, saying, "While its main narrative feels unresolved, and the general loop of the multiplayer carries a number of issues, Battlefront II still manages to evoke that same sense of joy and excitement found in the core of what the series is all about."Info from Gamespot.com

From Software's new game Elden Ring boasts a high-profile partnership with fantasy author George RR Martin, but it's shaping up to be more than a Souls game infused with Martin's lore. The transition to an open world game, and some of the world-building from Martin, are making it into what Dark Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaki feels is the next logical step for the genre he helped to create."With a larger world, new systems and action mechanics inevitably become necessary," Miyazaki told IGN. "In that sense, I think that Elden Ring is a more natural evolution of Dark Souls."For example, the protagonist of Elden Ring can travel the world on horseback, and even fight enemies while mounted. Miyazaki says this leads to more diverse combat situations, rather than restricting players to combat within tightly confined spaces. The addition of horseback also means that spaces can be set further apart, including villages. But unlike many RPGs, these villages won't be safe havens full of NPCs and happy shopkeepers."Villages will be the dark dungeon-like ruins that you have come to expect from us," Miyazaki said. "Creating a more open game is a big challenge for us. If we were to add towns on top of that, it would become a bit too much, so we decided to create an open-world-style game focused on what we are best at."Miyazaki also says the division of labor with Martin has resulted in an interesting process developing the lore. Your character is created and so the protagonist of the story has no fixed identity. Martin's work has been to lay the groundwork with the lore and history of the world, while Miyazaki's team has been developing the events within the timeframe of the game. Both worked independently, but their work would impact each other."Storytelling in video games--at least the way we do it at From Software--comes with a lot of restrictions for the writer," he said. "I didn’t think it was a good idea to have Martin write within those restrictions. By having him write about a time the player isn’t directly involved in, he is free to unleash his creativity in the way he likes. Furthermore, as FromSoftware we didn't want to create a more linear and storydriven experience for Elden Ring. Both issues could be solved by having Martin write about the world’s history instead."Elden Ring is coming to PC, Xbox One, and PS4. For more on Elden Ring, check out our pre-order guide.Info from Gamespot.com

John Wick films are riveting to watch because of how fluid and precise all of Keanu Reeves' moves are. You get a sense that he's always one step ahead, able to predict the next movements of his foes and adjust accordingly. It's not always perfect though; John gets battered and bruised when he makes an error, reminding him that death is just a second away should he not maintain a death-dealing rhythm. With Bithell Games' interpretation of this action franchise, all these pillars of John Wick's combat are upheld, which is surprising given the turn-based nature of John Wick Hex.John Wick Hex puts you in control of the titular assassin during his lucrative time as an assassin before any of the films, when John's skills were at their sharpest. You overlook the action from above, moving John around the linear stages by clicking on points for him to move to. Each action takes up time, represented by a bar on top of the screen that lets you easily see what commands you've enacted, and how long they will take to execute down to the second.Directly underneath this is another timeline for enemy actions, letting you compare how long their moves will take in comparison with yours. While time is paused between your turns, you can cycle through each of your available moves and get an idea of how long it will take to execute in the timelines above. This lets you make the best decision possible for the scenario, calculating your actions so that you can pull off a headshot on an enemy before they get to return fire, or just as quickly duck behind cover before poking out on the other side to return a shot.Despite being turn-based, John Wick Hex lets you take turns so quickly that it's easy to string multiple actions together fluidly once you feel more comfortable with the repertoire of offensive actions open to you. It felt great to throw my handgun across a small courtyard to stagger an enemy about to fire at me, then use the afforded time to take down another enemy close by before picking up their handgun and finishing off the previous one. When strung together Hex flows by much faster than you might expect for a strategy game, while still pushing clever decision making to the forefront of its gameplay.John Wick Hex aims to make you feel like your scripting one of the many action sequences in one of the films. Each small decision you make influences the full symphony of death that John orchestrates, with a feature at the end of each level letting you see your actions unfold in real-time. Bithell Games co-founder, Mike Bithell, explained that they were also careful to ensure this approach made logical sense. Games like XCOM will often introduce randomization in what should be a certain situation, which is one example where Hex makes some changes based on their title character."It's the logic of the fight that when you're watching as a viewer, you think, yeah, that seems how you would fight, and that's the driving principle of every choice we're making is, does this feel like it's sensible?" explained Bithell. "Like you say, if I'm directly in front of a guy, the chance of me hitting him is 100% every time. Because it is. If I'm John Wick, he would not miss at this range. One of our starting assumptions with the game was that we thought that John Wick never misses. You go back, watch the movie, he totally does, but he misses in places where that feels logical."So far Hex feels incredibly faithful to its source material, while also being a tactically satisfying turn-based strategy game too.Bithell was coy regarding just what story Hex was going to tell, given that it is detached from the trilogy of films out now. But he did say that Lionsgate has given him and his team a lot of freedom to experiment with both their own story and its effect on the series' mythos, allowing them to tell a tale that Bithell says will be surprising to fans.John Wick Hex excels so far at making you feel like the ultra-instinctive and clinical assassin that Wick is. It will be crucial to see how its enemy variety and level-design both test your strategies as you become more comfortable with your abilities. But so far Hex feels incredibly faithful to its source material, while also being a tactically satisfying turn-based strategy game too. Info from Gamespot.com

While WWE has spent decades as a dominant force in wrestling or sports entertainment, there is another popular aspect of contemporary WWE that you won't see on its streaming service or weekly programming, and that's a video gaming channel. UpUpDownDown was created by WWE Superstar and New Day member Xavier Woods, and it is a celebration of Woods' passion for gaming.Woods, going under the name Austin Creed on the channel, debuted it back in 2015, and his videos feature the host talking to other WWE Superstars about gaming, playing games, challenging each other. It has evolved many different directions with popular shows like Battle of the Brands--where Creed and Tyler "Prince Petty" Breeze play GM Mode of Raw vs. Smackdown 2006 and the UpUpDownDown Championship matches, where current UpUpDownDown Champion Kofi Kingston plays random games against opponents.While Kingston wasn't the first champion on this channel--that honor goes to Mikaze AKA Mr. Castle--he's the current champ, beating Swagatha Christie (Jack Gallagher). Most recently, Kingston--who goes by Mr. 24/7 AKA Mr. Gotcha as in Mr. Gotchyoura**--was challenged by fellow New Day member Big E at E3, which resulted with another successful title defense for the champ. Additionally, Kingston is also the WWE Champion, and he'll be defending that title on Sunday at Stomping Grounds against Dolph Ziggler.Kingston has been and will continue to be a prominent cast member of this channel, and he spoke to us about the channel's growth, his series on UpUpDownDown, his gaming techniques, and about Zack Ryder's Internet Championship.GameSpot: With the New Day, you guys are obviously friends, and there's a lot of camaraderie. For you, how does it feel to see Xavier Woods' UpUpDownDown channel grow?Kofi Kingston: It is awesome, because number one, I know how passionate he is about video games. I thought that I was really passionate and then I met him, and I was like, “Oh, he's on a whole other level.” He has a ridiculous range of games that he plays and enjoys, and then on top of that too, just knowing the kind of person that he is, he's really like a visionary, you know?A lot of us play video games for a long time on the WWE roster, and as soon as he announced, “Oh, let's do a gaming channel.” As soon as he had that idea, all of us are like, “Huh, why didn't we think of that?” It was right there in front of us, but at the same time, he's the only guy that could ever run it, because of infectious personality. He's a real people person. He meets people wherever he goes. He always jokes around about that, so it's only natural that this channel would grow to the extent that is has and it's awesome to see, because I know how much work he puts into it, how much sacrifice, and then on top of that, we get to play video games at work; it's all good.You also have your own show called "I Just Love Kicks" where you're talking about sneakers. When did sneaker culture become a passion for you?I feel like I've always been into sneakers, and it wasn't until I became a WWE superstar that I was actually able to afford the ones that I wanted to buy, and I always wanted to come out and have a pair of sneakers that would be like eye-catching, and it just kind of spiraled from there. Kind of grew from there, my passion, coming out and meeting a lot of different people who were sneakerheads really kind of fueled more of a passion within me, and it was actually Woods who had the idea of in an effort to get more content on the channel, and make it more than just the video game channel.He was like, “Yeah, maybe you should do a sneaker show.” I was like, “I don't really know if anybody would be interested in this. I don't really know what I'm talking about.” But as we speak now, after we get off the phone, I'm going to do another review of a pair of Air Max 720s that I've been trying to review, and hopefully I'll have that free pocket of time to do that and have that episode go up. It's cool to actually share a passion with people, because this is the way that a lot of sneakerheads, you find them in the funniest places, regardless of whether they're hip-hop artists or graphic designers. We went to the Nickelodeon studios and did Double Dare, and one of the executive producers there was a big sneakerhead.Which is crazy to be on the set of Double Dare and have rare and expensive sneakers, because you're probably going to get slime on them, so that guy lives on the edge, but you find sneakerheads in the strangest places, and the common thread of having sneakers really brings us all together. It's a way that I can kind of be involved with the sneaker community, as well as staying, I guess, in tune with what the latest trends are and what the most fashionable sneakers are, and what looks cooler or whatever. It's a way that I can kind of keep in that community as well.Primarily on the channel you are a competitor, Mr. 24/7, and throughout your competitions, on all these episodes you've been on, who do you feel is your biggest competition for the UpUpDownDown Championship?It's really funny. I guess I would have to say Mikaze, only because in an effort to try and become UpUpDownDown Champion, I actually went up against him three or four times before I was able to actually beat him; so he's kind of my kryptonite, to be honest, on the show. And then over the years, we've had several Madden competitions and different games like that, but it really just depends on the game. We have such a wide spectrum of palettes, and everyone has their own specialties, like Samoa Joe is actually pretty good at a lot of different games. He's good at fighting games, he'll be on shooting games too. I stink at shooting games. I'm probably one of the worst, if not the worst, but when it comes to fighting games I can hold my own, so it's really all about matchups.Even in particular fighting games, you might go up against somebody, like in Tekken, Jimmy Uso is really, really good, but whenever he goes up against his brother [Jey Uso], his brother can beat him every time. But I'll go up against Jay, and I'll be able to beat him, you know? It's really all about those matchups.In competition, for you, how much of the playing the video game is about head games?Oh, I think that's for me, that's my whole thing. I come out there and talk a lot of trash. Whether I'm winning or whether I'm losing, getting in my opponents head and frustrating them to where you're not thinking about the mechanics of the game. You're really thinking about really anything else, that's definitely a big part of my strategy, is to kind of distract people by talking trash and being loud and obnoxious, you know? That's a big part.Who would you say is a bigger sore loser when you lose a game? Would that be you, or would it be Xavier during the Battle of the Brands?That's tough, that's tough. I'm not a good loser, I know that for sure. A lot of times people get mad when they beat me, because I almost make it seem like I won. You know what I'm saying? It depends on the day to be honest, and it depends on the game or the situation, but I do not lose well. I cannot stand losing, especially when it comes to video games. I oftentimes on the channel you'll see just raw emotion, I think that's why people like to go the channel so much, because you get to see WWE superstars outside of the ring. You know, you get to see them doing every day things that the average Joe does at home. We play video games just like everybody else, so I think a lot of people like that.You currently have two belts, the WWE Championship, and the UpUpDownDown Championship, is there any plan to challenge Zach Ryder for the Internet Championship?Wow, you know what? That's not a bad idea, because he's been sitting on that Internet Championship for a long time. As a matter of fact, he's probably the longest-reigning champion in the history of the company. I think actually he passed Bruno Sammartino a little while ago, I think it was a little underground thing, you know? But I have not thought about that, I'll definitely put it into the tank, people are talking about the actual 24/7 Championship, because that's my name; number one. Now Truth is running around with me, but he was my former tag team partner, so I feel like I can live vicariously through him and be champion through him, but who knows man. I've got a really long torso, and I'd like to put a lot of belts around it.We've seen you go up against a lot of WWE superstars that are great at gaming and are regulars on UpUpDownDown, but is there anybody that's in WWE currently that's not on the channel that you think is a formidable gaming foe?Has Ricochet been on the channel yet? I don't know if he's been on yet. Maybe he has, I don't know, but he's actually pretty good at Mortal Kombat, and I didn't expect him to be, but he's actually been getting really, really good. Maybe him? I don't know. Most of the people who are gamers have found their way onto the channel in some way shape or form. If you're a gamer, Woods will sniff you out, he'll get you on the channel by some means. I guess off the top of my head all I can think of is Ricochet. Yeah, most of the gamers are pretty much on the channel right now.What's the game you're most excited for that you haven't played yet?Yeah, well the new Final Fantasy, I believe the remake has been announced at E3, as far as the release date. I would love to get hands on that for sure, because I grew up on Final Fantasy, that was the role playing game and series that I came up on, you know. And even in a remake, I ended up downloading Final Fantasy VII on my phone now, which is crazy to me that you can put such, what used to be a large game and it's accessible on your phone, it's wild. You know, that used to have three discs on the PlayStation, you know what I'm saying?Now you can literally open up your phone and save it on your phone, you know, technology is crazy. But, yeah, any kind of incarnation of the Final Fantasy series, I'm all about. Especially these days, I don't really have a whole lot of time to play RPG because they take up so much time, but if I can get my hands on that new Final Fantasy that'd be great.I don't know if you've played it in a long time, and it was only a one disc game, but you can get Final Fantasy Tactics on your phone, which is a pretty seamless port and just a lot of fun.Really? I didn't know that. I wish you hadn't told me that, because that's going to be another thing I've got to play to take up more time. Info from Gamespot.com

Detective Pikachu released to critical and popular acclaim on May 10--the box office hit is already slated for a sequel--and now the first live-action Pokemon film is gearing up for its next release in digital, DVD, Blu-Ray, and UHD/4K formats. While we don't have an exact release date for the film on physical and digital media, it's likely the physical version will release sometime in August 2019, with the digital version becoming available a few weeks beforehand, based on precedent. Pre-orders are now up at several retailers, so it's a safe assumption Pokemon fans won't have to wait much longer to own the animated film starring Ryan Reynolds as Pikachu.In GameSpot's Detective Pikachu review, entertainment editor Michael Rougeau was impressed by how well the world of Pokemon translated into a live-action film. "Detective Pikachu should prove enjoyable for any and all Pokemon fans, young or old," he wrote. "It presents fun answers to the fantasy of what life would be like if Pokemon were real. It introduces new wrinkles to the world of Pokemon, although not all of them completely work. Still, as the first official live-action trip to the world of Pokemon, Detective Pikachu presents characters I want to see again and a setting I'd like to return to."No special features have yet been announced for Detective Pikachu's home release, but we do know a steelbook version will be available, as it's already open for pre-order at Best Buy. An image of the Blu-ray cover does list something called "Detective Mode" as being included, but there's no word on what that entails. As soon as all those details are revealed, we'll include that info here, but if you already know you need this film in your collection, read on for where to pre-order.Pre-order Detective PikachuYou have a few different options for pre-ordering the film, ranging from a digital-only version to a collectible steelbook containing digital, DVD, Blu-ray, and UHD / 4K Blu-ray formats.Digital-only -- $20Get it at iTunesGet it at Google PlayGet it at Fandango NowDVD -- $20Get it at AmazonGet it at Best BuyGet it at TargetBlu-ray + Digital -- $25Get it at AmazonGet it at Best BuyGet it at Target4K Ultra-HD + Blu-ray + Digital -- $30Get it at AmazonGet it at Best BuyGet it at TargetBlu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + Digital -- $30Get it at Best BuySteelbook (4K Ultra-HD + Blu-ray + Digital) -- $35Get it at Best Buy Info from Gamespot.com

After an impressive showing during EA Play at E3 2019, new details about Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order have emerged. A Respawn Entertainment developer cites the Metroid series as a prominent influence on how exploration is handled in the upcoming third-person action-adventure game.Lead level designer Jeff Magers sat down with GameInformer to discuss Jedi: Fallen Order's exploration. Magers said it's "an exploration game from the level design perspective, at its core" and that "traversal feels snappy [and] responsive." But while things like "mixing in [the] wide range of traversal tools [to] make the moment-to-moment feel really good" and "no UI objectives in the world" sound nice, things got interesting when Magers mentioned how Metroid (among other titles like The Legend of Zelda franchise and the Dark Souls games) influenced the hotly-anticipated Star Wars game."Metroid absolutely served as an inspiration for us," Magers told GamerInformer. "What the Metroid-style level design does for us is somewhat [of] a way to give the player guided exploration. A ton of freedom within the world, but at the same time we can deliver really handcrafted moments and really focus on the moment-to-moment." Magers then described design sensibilities common in Metroidvanias: hidden secrets, backtracking, abilities/weapons that unlock new areas. For Jedi: Fallen Order, "Force powers are lock-and-key mechanisms," meaning that behind the Force push gate you couldn't get through earlier, "Maybe there's a whole other area [or] maybe there's a little secret."Since hidden pathways and secrets to discover abound, Jedi: Fallen Order is not really linear. "We have linear sections of the game," Magers said. "And each, I'd say 30-minute to one hour section that we call a level... will be somewhat linear, although there [are] different branching options, different choices to make, different secrets to find [and] areas to explore. But when it really opens up is kind of at a macro level. You will be retraversing through these levels that earlier was kind of more of a linear experience... with your new tools and your upgraded hero. It really aligns with kind of the goal of the game, which is to become a Jedi." It sounds like the Jedi has become the master of Jedivania.Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order will launch on November 15 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.Info from Gamespot.com

Niantic's new Harry Potter game, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, has officially arrived. Given its pedigree, the title is unsurprisingly very similar to Pokemon Go. Wizards Unite is clearly built around the same style of augmented-reality gameplay (albeit with a Harry Potter twist), and many of the game's elements even have direct analogs in Pokemon Go: Fortresses are Harry Potter's equivalent of Gyms, for instance, while Portkeys serve the same function as Eggs, among many other examples.Despite their similarities, however, Wizards Unite also differs from Pokemon Go in a few notable ways. Not only has the game launched with more content and features than Pokemon Go had at its outset (with the glaring exception of Adventure Sync), Niantic has also incorporated a number of RPG-like mechanics that Go lacks, chief among them the Professions system. Once you reach a certain level in the game, you're able to select from one of three different classes for your character, each of which boasts its own distinct attributes and comes with a skill tree that can be leveled up to unlock additional skills and perks.Elements like these help make Wizards Unite a deeper experience than Pokemon Go, and the latter would benefit from pilfering some ideas from its sister title. Of course, no proper Pokemon game has allowed players to pick a class before, so Wizards Unite's Professions system may not exactly be in keeping with the spirit of the series, but something similar could be implemented. Players have been pit against a wide variety of specialized Pokemon trainer in the mainline games, from Bug Catchers to Bird Keepers to Hikers, and these classes could serve as the basis for a Pokemon Go-style Professions system.Other elements from Wizards Unite that Pokemon Go would benefit incorporating are daily quests and login bonuses. Pokemon Go does already have its own quest system of sorts in the form of Field Research tasks, but to acquire these missions, you must travel to a Poke Stop, and you can only have a certain number of active tasks at a time, so you can't stockpile them. Wizards Unite, meanwhile, offers players a list of daily challenges to complete, as well as a little bonus each day they log in. A combination of the two methods would certainly add more incentive to fire up Pokemon Go every day.Wizards Unite also features a potion-brewing system. As you play, you'll encounter materials on the overworld that can be used to brew different types of potions. Potion brewing would feel out of place in a Pokemon game, but the series has allowed you to craft certain items in the past; in Pokemon Gold and Silver, for instance, you could collect different kinds of Apricorns and forge them into specialized Poke Balls, such as the Lure Ball, which makes it easier to catch Water Pokemon. A similar kind of crafting system would work very well in Pokemon Go.Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is available for free on iOS and Android devices. If you're just getting started in the game, be sure to check out our full Wizards Unite coverage. We've put together guides detailing how to get more Spell Energy, as well as breakdowns of how Wizarding Challenges work and how to pick the best Professions for you.Info from Gamespot.com

As any number of women's magazines will tell you, 80% of women are wearing the wrong bra size. That's probably because bra shopping is hell on earth and basically impossible unless you invite a total stranger into the fitting room to help measure you properly, but it might also be a result of our society's complete misunderstanding of what bra sizes even are. If the video game discourse is any indication, most people seem to think bra sizes stop at DD and that anything smaller than "huge badonkers" is in the A-to-B range.I'm talking, of course, about Tifa Lockhart, who has been accused of having B-cup breasts--as her character model in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake looks different from her extra-busty appearance in the PS1 era--as well as the entire female cast of Mortal Kombat 11, for that matter. Now, these are fictional women who have top-of-the-line physics engines supporting them, so it's not like they really need the extra support from an $80 Lululemon sports bra. But if we're going to use bra sizes as shorthand to talk about fake women's bodies, we're going to do it right, goddammit.Lucky for you, I know a thing or two about this. Bra sizes have two main components: the cup size and the band size. The cup size is denoted by letters, like B or DD, and refers to the actual breast part of the bra. The band size is a number based on the size of the person's ribcage area (right under the actual breasts), and it's secretly the more important size.While most people tend to focus on the cup letter, it's band size that determines cup size. So if you have two people whose actual breasts are exactly the same size, but whose band sizes are different, they'll wear different cup sizes. A 36DD, for example, is the same as a 34DDD--those two people have the same size breasts, but one has a smaller rib cage, so the cup size scales up a bit. Why does Big Lingerie do this? Because the cup size represents the difference between your band measurement and your breast measurement, with one inch difference being an A, two being a B, and so on. The bigger the difference, the bigger the cup size.Anyway, back to Tifa. Tifa is a Woman of Small Ribcage, so I'm going to guess and say she's a 28 band size. If you look at her for even two seconds, you can see that her chest is a lot bigger around than her ribcage. I'd say it's at least a six- or seven-inch difference, which puts her in the F or G range. Did you know bra sizes go up that far? They sure do!On top of that, there's also been some discussion around Remake Tifa's bra--specifically that she's wearing a sports bra. Sports bras are generally a bit more constricting in terms of fit, and while some retailers do offer traditional bra sizing options, you'll often see sports bras sold in dress sizes (2, 4, 6, 8, etc.) or in the small-medium-large metric. Because of the design and further size confusion, sports bras often make chests look "flatter" than they are. In Tifa's case, however, it looks like she's wearing a $100-plus designer sports bra that imitates the look of a regular bra. I'd argue the type of bra she's allegedly wearing has little to no effect on the perceived size of her chest... or how hard she punches the hell out of things.So while it may be true that Tifa's chest looks smaller than it used to be (or perhaps how you imagined it), it's by no means a small chest. Even if you did think she wears a B-cup bra, though, you can still look at her and see that it is not a small chest. Now that you know how bra sizes work, you can go back to the cast of MK 11, too, and observe that they have different bodies and thus fit a variety of bra sizes. And finally, consider that there's nothing at all wrong with small boobs to begin with.In conclusion, if you think that video games are being censored because suddenly "every" female character has A- or B-cup boobs, you're just plain wrong. And if you must complain, you should maybe consider complaining about ribcage size instead.Info from Gamespot.com

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, Niantic's follow-up to Pokemon Go, is now available on iOS and Android. It's a dense game; Pokemon Go players will notice a number of parallels to Go's mechanics, for example. One of the most iconic things about the Harry Potter universe is also the trickiest: wands. In Wizards Unite, you customize your own wand (in the books, the wand "chooses the wizard"). You can choose from wood types, pick a core, change the wand's flexibility, and then select the length. Having so many choices can be intimidating!If you've read the Harry Potter books or watched the movies, you might have a passing understanding of the series' wand lore. In short, different materials are suited for different types of magic, like charms or defense (among other things), and witches and wizards have a kind of bond with their wands. While your wand in Wizards Unite doesn't affect anything in the game, it can still be fun to fully immerse yourself in the role of a witch or wizard. In that spirit, we've gathered all the details we can about famous Harry Potter characters' wands so you can match yours to your favorite witch or wizard.For the purposes of this feature, we've referenced Pottermore for each character's wand materials and length. Some characters have complete wand information, but for those who don't, usually the flexibility is missing--so have fun with that one and make it your own! There are also some popular characters whose wands we know nothing about, so we've included some of them here for your reference.Harry Potter: holly wood, phoenix feather core, "reasonably supple" flexibility, 11 inchesRon Weasley's first wand: ash wood, unicorn hair core, 12 inchesRon Weasley's second wand: willow wood, unicorn hair core, 14 inchesHermione Granger: vine wood, dragon heartstring core, 10 and 3/4 inchesRubeus Hagrid: oak wood, 16 inches (broken)Albus Dumbledore/The Elder Wand: elder wood, Thestral tail hair core [not available in Wizards Unite], 15 inchesMinerva McGonagall: fir wood, dragon heartstring core, "rigid" or "solid" flexibility, nine and a half inchesLuna Lovegood: no dataNeville Longbottom: cherry wood, unicorn hair core, 13 inchesGinny Weasley: no dataDraco Malfoy: hawthorn wood, unicorn hair core, 10 inchesVoldemort: yew wood, phoenix feather core, 13 and a half inchesSeverus Snape: no dataCedric Diggory: ash wood, unicorn hair core, 12 and 1/4 inchesCho Chang: no dataViktor Krum: hornbeam wood, dragon heartstring, "rigid" flexibility, 10 and 1/4 inchesSirius Black: no dataRemus Lupin: cypress wood, unicorn hair core, "pliant" flexibility, 10 and 1/4 inchesNymphadora Tonks: no dataBellatrix Lestrange: walnut wood, dragon heartstring core, 12 and 3/4 inchesDolores Umbridge: birch wood, dragon heartstring core, 8 inchesNewt Scamander: no dataLily Potter: willow wood, 10 and 1/4 inchesJames Potter: mahogany wood, 11 inchesGarrick Ollivander: Hornbeam wood, dragon heartstring core, "unyielding" or "quite bendy" flexibility, 12 and 3/4 inchesFor more on Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, you can find all the important details in our roundup article. We have a guide to battles, fortresses, and Wizarding Challenges, a feature on how to get more Spell Energy, and an explainer on Professions--be sure to check them out!Info from Gamespot.com

A new month is upon us, which means Pokemon Go players will soon have a new batch of Field Research tasks to complete in the game. Niantic will be rolling out a new set of quests around the world beginning at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET on July 1, and they'll give you a chance to encounter more Legendaries, as well as another Shiny Pokemon.From July through the beginning of September, each Research Breakthrough you achieve will lead to a chance to catch one of the following Legendaries: Latios, Latias, Kyogre (which has briefly returned to Raid Battles), or Groudon. Additionally, Spinda featuring a new spot pattern will be available through new Field Research tasks, and those lucky enough will be able to encounter a Shiny version.As usual, you can acquire Field Research tasks by spinning the Photo Disc at Poke Stops. The first one you complete each day will reward you with a stamp; if you manage to collect seven stamps, you'll achieve a Research Breakthrough, which will then lead to an encounter with one of the aforementioned Legendaries. You can read more details on the official Pokemon Go website.Before the new Field Research tasks arrive, Niantic is bringing a new Pokemon to EX Raids. Beginning June 23, players will be able to encounter the Speed Forme of the Mythical Pokemon Deoxys in EX Raids for the first time. Unlike standard Raid Battles, EX Raids are invite-only; you can only participate in one if you've receive an EX Raid Pass, and the only way to do that is if you've recently won a Raid at a qualifying Gym.As previously mentioned, you don't need to wait for July's Field Research to find Kyogre. The Legendary Water Pokemon is available in standard Raid Battles again until June 27, when it'll be replaced by Groudon. Niantic is also bringing the Legendary dog Raikou back to Raids for a limited time. To reward players for completing enough Global Challenges during the recent Pokemon Go Fest event, Niantic is holding a Raikou Raid Day on Saturday, June 29, from 4-7 PM local time.In other news, Niantic's Harry Potter mobile game, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, is now live in the US and UK. The title was slated to launch on June 21, but has arrived in both regions a day early. While its premise is very similar to Pokemon Go's, Wizards Unite also differs in a few notable ways. You can read more about the game in our hands-on impressions of Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, as well as some Wizards Unite features we think Pokemon Go should take.Info from Gamespot.com

The monetization of nostalgia is nothing new, but the process seems to have accelerated in this current generation of consoles. HD remasters and "built-from-the-ground-up" remakes litter store shelves, and we're invariably delighted to lap up these colorful reminders of our gaming past. Occasionally, these are cynical ways to mine our memories for cash, but other times they give old gems the polish they need to shine once again. Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is, happily, the latter, and thanks to modern updates in the right places it feels as good today as the original did 20 years ago.There was a danger Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled would show its 1999 progenitor up to be a dated game best left in the past. Instead, developer Beenox has proved how impressive and durable Naughty Dog's original work was while also tweaking it in the right ways. The original game's list of 18 tracks has been expanded upon with 13 more from its sequel, Crash Nitro Kart, and these provide an extended list of topographically and visually distinct circuits, from underwater tunnels to ice caves to desert pyramids. Those visuals have of course also been given a facelift, and while no track looks bad, some look especially stunning. Coco Park has gorgeous pink flowers strewn across the road, for example, while Tiger Temple looks like it was taken directly from Uncharted 4 and Electron Avenue feels like racing through Blade Runner's vision of Los Angeles.The handling takes a bit of getting used to, mind you. For anyone who's played any amount of Mario Kart, for example, over the past few years, Crash Team Racing's power slides will feel decidedly alien, at times too sensitive and at others not sensitive enough--and this leads to quite a few missed crates or headlong collisions with stationary objects. However, once you reacquaint yourself with the mechanic--which requires you to hold one bumper down to drift and press the other bumper with the correct timing to gain a boost--it reveals itself to be of greater depth than comparable turning methods in other kart racers. You can chain these boosts for even faster acceleration (but at the risk of spinning out), so while it's harder to get to grips with, Crash Team Racing's power sliding nets bigger rewards for those willing to dance with the drifting devil.Nitro-Fueled's array of power-ups are the other obstacles in your path to the finish line. They are derivative of Mario Kart's selection--Crash's green beakers are Mario's bananas, Crash's Aku Aku and Uka Uka are Mario's Super Star, and so on--but, again, Crash Team Racing provides an interesting twist. Collecting Wumpa Fruit both speeds you up and turbocharges your power-ups. Green beakers transform into the more deadly red beakers, TNTs--which can be shaken off--become the instantly detonating Nitros, and so on. When the power-ups, boost pads, and handling combine, Nitro-Fueled boasts an exhilarating sense of speed.These power-ups do, however, occasionally become frustrating during CTR's Adventure mode, which tasks you with coming first in every single race across the original game's tracklist, in addition to some optional challenges like beating certain times or collecting a certain number of crystals. Winning on every track is certainly manageable, barring a couple of trickier races, until you reach the boss fights, which feel a little unfair as bosses are quicker than any playable character and boast unlimited power-ups. Over time, after yet another run ruined by yet another bomb, it's enough to make you want to turn off Adventure--though perhaps just until you're back to craving that triumphant adrenaline rush the boss battles admittedly conjure.In a welcome attempt to modernize the mode, Beenox has added a Nitro-Fueled variant of Adventure. This allows you to switch characters between races and adjust the difficulty, which goes a long way to resolving the campaign's more irritating moments. If you prefer the more punishing, "authentic" method of progressing, you can do that too. Mercifully, the game autosaves after every race, though those giant green screens are still around if you fancy saving there for old time’s sake. (Incidentally, this is an attitude Beenox has applied to the game's soundtrack, which allows you to switch between the revamped version and the original PlayStation audio--a nice touch.) Nitro-Fueled mode solves many of Adventure's problems and so allows the campaign's challenges, relics, and crystals to supply lone players an incentive to keep coming back.Outside of Adventure, there are of course the standard single races or cups, as well as an extensive Battle mode. Within this are varied game types such as Capture the Flag and a battle royale-style Last Kart Driving. These are fun, but the relative lack of players (a maximum of eight, including AI in local play) limits the chaos somewhat, so matches can sometimes feel a little lifeless. Following a day one patch, online races can readily be found and run smoother than before, however some lobbies still suffer from half a second of lag--you'll sometimes find yourself blowing up just a split second before your bomb nemesis rolls into view.As well as Adventure mode, character customization has also been modernized. As in the 1999 game, you can choose characters depending on your preference for higher top speed, quicker acceleration, or better handling. However, you can now also change your kart and character's appearance, with a selection of skins, badges, paint jobs, outfits, and whole new karts and characters to choose from. These are unlocked through normal play, but can also be purchased with in-game currency via the store. While they are, mechanically speaking, meaningless, they add a nice bit of flavor--and some of the outfits are pretty cool. My favorites are Robo-Cortex and the adorable Fisherman Polar. Look at him! Look at him!Simply put: This is a remaster done right. Nitro-Fueled maintains the spirit and rock-solid foundations of a childhood favorite while building on it and modernizing it where necessary--even if the handling might take a bit of getting used to. Adventure mode's classic variant feels a little tough, but your first race on Roo's Tubes or Sewer Speedway will bring a nostalgic grin to your face regardless. When the nostalgia fades, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled remains fun and engaging enough to keep you racing on with a smile on your face for much longer yet. It's good to have Crash back.Info from Gamespot.com