Days Gone has suffered from a variety of nagging since launch, with multiple reports of audio and bug issues affecting the game. Developer SIE Bend Studio has released a slew of patches that operate as quick-fixes to some of these issues.The Oregon-based developer took to Reddit to announce three separate patches that have recently hit for its zombie-infested, open-world action game. The three patches--patch 1.05, 1.06, and 1.07--are short and sweet, and handle auto-save functionality, dropped audio, streaming complications, and more. You can read the full patch notes below to see what's been changed and fixed over the past few days. These are all available now.Patch 1.05General FixesA fix for a streaming issue in a certain locationsCrash FixesFixed a bug where some players experienced a crash when booting up the gameKnown IssueAudio dropping out/muted. If you are experiencing this, equip the default exhaust to your bike. We are looking into a resolution for this issue.Patch 1.06General FixesAuto-save function will now save the correct number of saves to your save cloud accountAudio should no longer be cut out/dropped when it involves equipping certain engines and certain exhausts to your bikeDifficulty settings are retained through patchesKnown IssuesThe crash on startup and other issues in this scope are being investigated. As of now, if you haven't downloaded Patch 1.06 and start-up Days Gone, you will remain with Patch 1.05 active. Updates to comePatch 1.07General FixesAudio should no longer be cut out/dropped when it involves equipping certain engines and certain exhausts to your bikeDespite facing performance issues, Days Gone still managed to pull the UK's top sales spot, according to sales monitor Chart-Track. Additionally, Days Gone will receive free DLC this June, including a new survival mode and challenges centered around the bike, horde, and combat.In our Days Gone review, we said, "Riding a souped-up motorcycle through the world and taking out zombie nests and hordes is satisfying in the way that completing open-world checklists often is, but by the end, you're left to wonder what the point of it all was."Info from Gamespot.com

Crunch is currently one of the hottest conversations in the games industry, with big-budget titles like Epic's Fortnite, NetherRealm's Mortal Kombat 11, and Rockstar Games' Red Dead Redemption 2 reportedly pushing developers to extremely long work weeks. In light of this information, Path of Exile developer Grinding Gear Games has vowed to avoid allowing such a thing happen to its staff."A big topic in the gaming industry recently is development crunch. Some studios make their teams work 14 hour days to pack every patch full of the most fixes and improvements possible," writes Grinding Gear Games' CEO Chris Wilson. "I will not run this company that way."The news comes via Reddit where Wilson chose to answer growing concerns over the state of the game. "However, one thing that the Q&A doesn't address is how we got here," Wilson leads the post, referencing a Q&A scheduled for later this week. "I wanted to personally post an explanation of what has been going on behind the scenes at Grinding Gear Games that led to this state."In the post, Wilson lays out the studios plans for addressing the issues Path of Exile currently faces in the Synthesis update. "Synthesis was more work than we expected," Wilson writes. "While our improvements after its launch have helped a lot and many players are enjoying it, we fully acknowledge that it is not our best league and is not up to the quality standards that Path of Exile players should expect from us."According to the post, there are "a large number of critical projects" happening simultaneously. "[From] 3.7.0 through to the eventual release of 4.0.0, [we] are going to make massive and lasting fundamental improvements to Path of Exile." While it's a huge undertaking, the New Zealand-based company will not overwork its employees, according to Wilson."Sometimes when we read our own Patch Notes threads and community feedback, we feel that we are being asked to do the same," Wilson says. "While there's inevitably a bit of optional paid overtime near league releases, the vast majority of a Path of Exile development cycle has great work/life balance. This is necessary to keep our developers happy and healthy for the long-term, but it does mean that some game improvements will take a while to be made."With the action RPG finally out on consoles, Wilson confirms that, while there are "promises that we haven't yet fulfilled," the studio will "make headway on console features."But first, update 3.7.0 will be detailed soon. "When we reveal 3.7.0 in three weeks, you'll see that its league has a focus on repeatable fun, and the combat revamp has a lot of focus on improving the fundamentals of Path of Exile's gameplay," Wilson says.Info from Gamespot.com

As the year progresses, we're slowly getting our hands on a variety of fantastic games across PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC. And with E3 2019 just around the corner, the number of what's coming is about to skyrocket. Until then, there are plenty of big-name games and smaller indie experiences releasing soon to keep you busy.May's biggest release has to be Rage 2, the latest open-world shooter from developers id Software and Avalanche Studios. Other big highlights include Team Sonic Racing and Total War: Three Kingdoms. The former is the newest entry in the cult favorite Sonic kart racing spin-off series, while the latter is the highly-anticipated twelfth mainline entry in the Total War series.If you're big on Switch ports, there are a bunch coming this month. You can expect versions of classic Assassin's Creed and Resident Evil games all showing up on the portable platform. For a look at everything releasing in May, you can see all of the biggest game releases in the table below. For a wider look at what's ahead this year, be sure to check out our complete list of game release dates in 2019.Rage 2 (PS4, Xbox One, PC) -- May 14Rage 2 is one of the most unexpected sequels to be announced in a while. Both Id Software and Avalanche Studios are responsible for the upcoming open-world first-person shooter; the talent on both sides certainly helps. Avalanche Studios has years of experience crafting large and chaotic worlds in its games, with vehicle combat and special effects being a bit of its specialty as of late. On the other hand, Id Software is well-capable of making fantastic first-person shooters.Further Reading:Rage 2 Dev On Rethinking The id Shooter And Making An Evolving Single-Player GameWe've Done A Complete 180 On Rage 2You're An Unstoppable Superhero In Rage 2...When You're Not Too Busy DrivingTeam Sonic Racing (PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch) -- May 21Team Sonic Racing is the third game in the well-received Sonic kart racing series. This time around it's focusing on cooperative play, having you work with a team and share power-ups in order to win a race.Further Reading:Kart Racers Are Back, But Can Both Sonic And Crash Keep Up With Mario Kart?Why Team Sonic Racing Doesn't Have Team Fortress, Shenmue, And Other Games' CharactersSonic's New Game Makes Racing A Lot More CooperativeTotal War: Three Kingdoms (PC) -- May 23The highly successful strategy series from the Creative Assembly and Sega finally will finally return this month with Total War: Three Kingdoms. Set just prior to China's Three Kingdom's period in the 14th century, the game takes you through the quintessential historical conflict often depicted in popular film and games. Featuring two distinct game modes, Romance mode plays off the supernatural character tropes defined in the classic novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, while Classic is more focused on realistic warfare akin to what you've seen in previous mainline entries of the series.Further Reading:Is Total War: Three Kingdoms The Best Total War Yet?Full May Release ScheduleGamePlatformRelease DateThe Legend of Heroes: Trials of Cold Steel IIPS4May 7Life is Strange 2: Episode 3PS4, Xbox One, PCMay 9Yakuza Kiwami 2PCMay 9Saints Row: The ThirdSwitchMay 10A Plague Tale: InnocencePS4, Xbox One, PCMay 14Rage 2PS4, Xbox One, PCMay 14Bubsy: Paws on Fire!PS4, Switch, PCMay 19Assassin's Creed III RemasteredSwitchMay 21Everybody's Golf VRPSVRMay 21ObservationPS4, PCMay 21Resident Evil 0SwitchMay 21Resident EvilSwitchMay 21Resident Evil 4SwitchMay 21Team Sonic RacingPS4, Xbox One, PC, SwitchMay 21Total War: Three KingdomsPCMay 23Blood & TruthPS4May 28Trover Saves The UniversePSVRMay 31Info from Gamespot.com

Thanks to Disney's acquisition of Fox, the X-Men are now under the Disney/Marvel umbrella. And due to the sheer amount of time it takes to make movies, it will have to be years before we see them on the big screen as an integrated part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe--if we ever do. There's already a slew of movies slated for the next era of the MCU, known as Phase 4: a Black Widow solo film, a Guardians of the Galaxy three-quel, and a Black Panther sequel, just to name a few. There's even a Shang-Chi film in its planning stages. And none of those involve the X-Men.Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, who is notoriously cagey about the future of the MCU, was clear on the X-Men's hiatus in an interview with io9, where he discussed the new merger:“It’s all just beginning and the five-year plan that we’ve been working on, we were working on before any of that was set. So really it’s much more, for us, less about specifics of when and where [the X-Men will appear] right now and more just the comfort factor and how nice it is that they’re home. That they’re all back. But it will be a very long time.”It's probably for the best; fans will need some time and space to accept anyone as Wolverine other than Hugh Jackman.But Avengers: Endgame may have already set some X-Men-related plot points, though we may not see them pay off for another decade. And they have everything to do with the three Snaps in Infinity War and Endgame: the first by Thanos, the second by Hulk, and the third by Iron Man.The Hulk had a potentially key line of dialogue, right before he performed the second Snap at the Avengers compound. He explained to the group that he must be the one to do use the Infinity Stones, because the resulting, massive amounts of gamma radiation they release would kill the average person. And since it was gamma rays that created the Hulk, he would stand the best chance of survival. But just because everything looked normal on the outside, doesn't mean it was. What if these gamma rays affected more than just the Snapper, and also mutated people's genes? Maybe one Snap wouldn't do that, but there were three Snaps total, and the last two happened in close succession.If a fraction of that gamma radiation could create a massive green rage monster, what could multiple Snaps, which affected not only Earth but the entire universe, have upon living creatures? And especially the ones closest to the epicenter, on Earth?Could it cause varied, odd mutations in certain people? Like the ability to absorb life through touch? Or the ability to read minds? Or even the ability to control the weather? It would continue a key, running theme in the MCU: that many of our heroes' problems are the unintended consequence of trying to do good.Tony Stark built weapons for America's troops, only to find out they were being used to kill them. After the Chitauri attack on New York, Stark Industries stepped in to help clean up New York, and inadvertently caused a bitter, unemployed Adrian Toomes to become The Vulture. In Avengers 2, Stark and Bruce Banner created an artificial intelligence to protect the Earth, only for it to gain sentience and grow evil. The Sokovia Accords were meant to bring accountability, but they turned out to be just another level of corrupt bureaucracy.That the two "positive" Snaps--the first by Hulk, the second by Iron Man--could create such a life-altering, catastrophic effect, would be both thematically consistent and karmically justified. You can't do or undo something that big, and expect to get away with it scot-free.So if the Snaps create mutants in the MCU's future, how will they explain the existence of older mutants, like Magneto and Professor X (assuming they keep the X-Men timeline true to the source material at all)? Maybe by exposure to the Infinity Stones earlier in the timeline, as seen throughout the MCU movies. Nazis experimented with the Tesseract in World War II in Captain America: The First Avenger (in the comics, Magneto was imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp as a child), and it was later studied as a part of Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S., which we saw in The Avengers. The Stones could have been in any number of places on Earth or space since the beginning of the universe. And if a young Sabretooth and Wolverine came in contact with a stone centuries ago, they may be lying low, thinking they're the only mutants out there.This would also dovetail with Marvel's timing issue. It might take several years for these mutant "gifts" to manifest; in the comics, they were often latent, triggered by puberty or a moment of trauma. There could be Phase 4 and a Phase 5--perhaps even a Phase Six--before the first wave of new mutants begin appearing.And lastly, in the comics, Xavier's mansion was located in Westchester, New York. With the new, upstate Avengers facility now destroyed, what better place to build the mansion than on the land where the last two Snaps occurred? It would be a symbolic gesture on Xavier's part; he embraces his new students for who they are and how they came to be.In short, the ending of Endgame is a little too neat. There has to be a loose end or catch to playing God. And this unexpected consequence would be a masterful way to bring the X-Men into the MCU fold where they belong.More Avengers: Endgame:Doctor Strange's Plan From Infinity War To EndgameScenes From The Trailers That Weren't In The MovieEndgame's Endings ExplainedWhat Happened With Loki And The TesseractHow Captain America's Ending Ruins The MovieHaving No Credits Stinger Was The Right CallHow Endgame Fails Black Widow And Most Of Its Other CharactersIron Man's Story Is The Best Part Of EndgameHow Endgame's Time Travel WorksInfo from Gamespot.com

Though it turned out that Clint Barton's "protege" in those Avengers: Endgame trailers was actually his daughter, Lila, and not Kate Bishop, there's still room for Kate to make her debut--especially considering we're going to be getting a Hawkeye-focused Disney+ series here at some point in the future. But for all Endgame lacked in teenaged archery heroes, it did pave the way for another new hero to take the spotlight in a giant way.Yes, pun intended, because we're talking about Cassie Lang, otherwise known over in Marvel Comics as Stature--Ant-Man's daughter and a member of the Young Avengers.Cassie is by no means a new character for the MCU. She made her debut in Ant-Man 1 as Scott Lang's very young daughter--her age is never directly confirmed but Abby Ryder Fortson, who played her, was around six or seven during filming. Later, during Ant-Man & The Wasp, Fortston reprised her role at age ten. Though both movies showed her taking particular interest in her dad's line of work, both as a superhero and as a thief, she was way too young to be seriously considered for any sort of codename or mantle.However, after Endgame's five year time jump, Cassie is now around fifteen or sixteen years old, right smack dab in the middle of the Young Avengers demographic and a suddenly limitless potential for the future of the MCU both in theaters and in streaming TV.So, who is Stature?Over in the comics, Cassie's story is actually pretty close to what we see onscreen, except she also has a heart condition, which helped motivate Scott to steal Hank Pym's tech in the first place so he could help wrangle a doctor to save her. The heart condition thing will come up again in a second, just bear with us.Much like her live action counterpart, Cassie loved and admired her dad--both as a hero and as a thief, which inspired her to start experimenting with stolen Pym Particles on herself. This went on for a few years, though Cassie never quite got the hang of just how they worked and never saw the effects. A few major things happen--namely Scott dying during the Avengers Disassembled event--that inspired Cassie to try and sever ties with her mother and go on the run, first playing with the idea of joining the Runaways and then later seeing news about the formation of a new kid superhero team, the Young Avengers, which captures her interest.The Young Avengers initially reject her application, but the stress of the moment triggers the Pym Particles within her (apparently) and allows her to manipulate her size just like her dear departed dad. Impressed, the Young Avengers leader and financer, Kate Bishop, welcomes her aboard. Rather than take on the name Ant-Girl or Giant-Girl, Cassie lands on Stature for her new alter ego.For the most part--supervillains and life threatening peril notwithstanding--things go pretty well for Cassie for a while, until her mom discovers her secret (though it really couldn't have been that hard--the list of suspects when it comes to size-manipulating teenagers in the Marvel Universe is pretty short). She doesn't outright make Cassie retire, but she does fear that the heart condition Scott had effectively become Ant-Man to cure all those years ago would return thanks to all the continuous size-changing.A few years down the line, she went on to join the Avengers: Initiative after the Young Avengers disbanded, but was tragically (temporarily) killed by Dr. Doom. Upon her eventually resurrection, her heart was stolen (like, literally, as in a forced heart transplant) which effectively depowered her.Will all of that happen in the MCU? Probably not--but there's definitely the groundwork laid. Cassie's been interacting with Pym Particles for two entire movies and most of the moving parts of her backstory have been dealt with in one way or another. Also, now she's got five whole years of off screen time where anything could have happened--for all we know Stature is already an active hero in the MCU and has been for the last year or so.Either way, the five year time jump solved the issue of Cassie's youth just in time for the next phase of movies to start rolling in. And while the original six Avengers may be done, at least for now, no one said their kids can't get in on the action at some point. And Scott Lang isn't counted among the dead or the retired--both he and Hope are still active in the MCU, meaning Cassie could start her superhero career with the Stature codename under their supervision. Now all we have to do is keep an eye out for teases of other Young Avengers staple characters--anyone have any theories about how Wiccan, Hulkling, and Patriot could make their debuts? Info from Gamespot.com

If not for the studio logo when you start up Giga Wrecker Alt, you'd never know it was made by one of the most successful video game developers in history. It isn't just that this lacks any connection to Game Freak's iconic Pokemon series. Giga Wrecker Alt, an enhanced port of the 2017 PC release, doesn't have the cohesion present in the Pokemon games, and its blend of clever ideas is held back by poor implementation.The core mechanic behind Giga Wrecker is novel: You destroy robots to gather debris, which can then be formed into objects like blocks, weapons, and tools. These help you to resolve both platforming and puzzles, and the giant debris blocks also make a handy melee weapon against the bots. The bigger the debris pile you carry around with your cybernetic arm, the better it will serve as a bludgeon against larger robots, and the more and bigger tools you can create.For example, many puzzle rooms have pressure-sensitive switches that are only activated by the maximum size debris block. The solution, then, comes from taking down progressively heftier machines to build a big enough stockpile. Junk piles can also be cut or drilled through to make platforms, or a block piece can be used to deflect a laser. It's an inventive idea that merges combat, puzzle-solving, and platforming under a single gameplay hook.However, it isn't long before the concept meets its limitations. Giga Wrecker often asks more of you than it's willing to give, making for an unforgiving and frustrating experience. Most pervasively, the physics systems at the heart of the game are inconsistent. Even when you already know the solution, you'll spend a significant amount of time performing it over and over waiting for the pieces to fall in place just so. Then, with the puzzle resolved, you'll be asked to escape to a door without falling into an instant-kill trap, which is where poor checkpointing issues arise--if you fail, you'll need to begin the puzzle again. At one point, I solved a particularly tricky puzzle and then jumped onto a moving platform, only to have the camera pull away to highlight that I had solved it. By the time camera control was restored, I was in a spike pit, dead.The checkpointing that does exist is odd and erratic. Since the physics-based puzzles are prone to unresolvable errors, each major room includes a reset point highlighted in noticeable hot pink. These are activated by pressing up, which leads to unintentional activation on a fairly regular basis. If you don't hit these reset points, though, you'll find yourself sometimes checkpointed at the start of a puzzle and other times checkpointed when you first entered a room and repeating a dialogue sequence. I got in the habit of hitting a reset point as soon as I entered any room, just to make sure I set the checkpoint there.Even putting aside unlucky moments and fiddly checkpoints, though, the platforming can be a struggle. The controls are imprecise, and you'll often continue to slide after releasing a direction or move an uncertain distance from a light, fine-tuned tap. Inching closer to an edge to prepare for a tricky jump will occasionally result in going right over it.The platforming and puzzles are scattered across three major areas joined by a central hub. Progression generally comes from solving rooms to activate nodes, which then open up doorways locked behind a set number of those nodes. Rinse, repeat. The overworld map that shows how these areas connect is nonsensical, only giving the vaguest idea of direction to find the next doorway, but the areas are small enough that memorization eventually sets in.The one area that works as intended is combat, but this element is underserved. The robot destruction is mostly about gathering debris, so enemies are few and far between, and you dispatch them with environmental hazards more than your limited arsenal of weapons. The more challenging combat comes from the boss battles: three named characters with two battles apiece, followed by a single final battle. These rare moments are where the combat shines, relying on the same debris-gathering mechanic but challenging you to gather it by countering their moves in between dodging devastating attacks. These fights are challenging, and as opposed to the rest of the game, they leave you with a feeling of accomplishment rather than exhausted relief.Even putting aside unlucky moments and fiddly checkpoints, the platforming can be a struggle.While much of the game grows more complex over time, the story actually becomes simpler and more accessible. You're put into the shoes of Reika Rekkeiji, a young girl who barely survived an apparent robot apocalypse thanks to an emergency surgery that gave her a cybernetic arm. The art style helps reinforce Reika's mindset, as her cyborg arm has a spindly sense of body horror. It looks twisted and unnatural on her frame, and as she starts to encounter humanoid "Astra" class robots, their appendages are similarly awkward, elongated, and misplaced on their bodies. It's a subtle and creepy way of showing rather than telling one of the story's major themes.Giga Wrecker uses some staid plot tropes, like the classic amnesiac protagonist, and at first it feels like showing up to a book club without having done the reading. Characters make multiple inside references to the ongoing robot conflict with such ease and familiarity that I genuinely wondered if it was adapted from an existing franchise. As the story proceeds it slowly clarifies itself. It all carries a distinct tone of anime melodrama, complete with soul-searching soliloquies about the nature of war and violence. It isn't breaking new ground, but it's fine enough.Despite its glimmers of inventiveness and artistry, Giga Wrecker Alt is its own worst enemy. The puzzles are too frustrating and the platforming too fiddly to recommend it. Game Freak set out to make something very different than the series it's most known for, and the studio's trademark creativity shines through in brief moments. The execution on the whole, though, is sadly lacking.Info from Gamespot.com

Despite its departure from the novel, the film adaptation of World War Z was compelling because of its terrifyingly fast and uncharacteristically cooperative zombies. Seeing hundreds and thousands of undead bodies crawling over one another to create haunting swarms or towering pillars helped make the staple fictional enemy feel fresh, and it’s the exact energy that gives its loose video game adaptation the same strong foundation. When it's all about gunning down thousands of enemies with a couple of friends, World War Z is at its most entertaining.Simplicity is at the heart of World War Z. Each of its 11 stages are filled to the brim with undead enemies for you and up to three friends to mow your way through, using an assortment of firearms, special weapons, and explosives. There's not much else to each of these missions that make them more complicated, which works for World War Z in its initial hours. The straightforward nature of gameplay makes it incredibly easy to jump into a match and immediately understand how to contribute. Pointing a gun at enemies and pulling the trigger rewards you with satisfyingly gruesome kills that thin the horde, allowing you to push further to the next objective. Optional lower difficulties for each stage let you get by without much synchronized play, letting you get to grips with World War Z's multiple classes.Unlike Left 4 Dead, which is clearly an inspiration for the cooperative gameplay, World War Z gives you the flexibility to choose which roles you fulfill in a team. Although you're able to equip any weapon you find, classes determine what you start with and what unique abilities you bring to each match. The Exterminator, for example, excels at lobbing Molotovs into gathering waves of undead enemies and has an upgrade tree that increases damage done to enemies that are on fire. The Medic can heal teammates without a first aid kit, and Gunslinger can distribute ammunition for use across all weapons. Classes can be tweaked slightly with unlockable traits (which you purchase with in-game currency earned from playing matches), though you can only equip a handful at a time.The classes are fun to experiment with, and as you start taking on harder versions of each stage, they become more crucial to your success. At higher difficulties enemies are more ferocious and deadly, while you have fewer chances to revive downed teammates before they die. Friendly fire also becomes more unforgiving, making the frenetic nature of firefights a lot more challenging to deal with. These combine to better encourage well-balanced team configurations that capitalize on both healing and offensive abilities in order to survive, highlighting the usefulness of each class ability better than lower difficulties.Playing as your favorite class unlocks perks for said class faster, and the same applies to the weapons you pick up. Kills accumulated with each weapon levels them up, giving you new attachments to purchase that increase damage, handling, reload speeds, and more. Weapons are separated into ascending tiers, with tiers increasing as you progress through a stage. Although you'll start with a Tier 1 pump-action shotgun, for example, you can just as easily find a magazine-loaded and automatic version before the climactic final battle of each story chapter. This gives you a reason to slow down and poke around each of World War Z's maps, as well as hunt down valuable explosives that give you entry into weapon-laden safe rooms. Picking up a new and improved weapon has an immediate and tangible effect on your ability to cut down increasingly large hordes, which makes finding the perfect one rewarding.Stage-specific objectives are less exciting, though, only serving to push you from one combat encounter to the next without much strategy. Most of them just pad each mission with uninteresting interactions with switches or terminals just to group everyone up again before the next big zombie encounter. They're boring and rarely offer any opportunities for synchronized team play. Only a handful of scenarios attempt to add some variety into the mix, and even fewer succeed. One standout encounter tasked me and my team to venture into a multi-level room filled with toxic gases, forcing us to hunt for keycards that could be used to interact with terminals and bring the gas level down. This one scenario makes you wish there were more like it spread throughout the multiple story chapters, and it's frustrating that it isn't the case.The combat set-pieces these objectives funnel you towards are more regularly engaging. World War Z replicates the signature dread of its film adaptation by inundating you with hundreds of enemies at a time. These "swarms" are fantastically exciting to strategize around. You'll get the chance to place up some defenses before the swarm invades, setting up automated gun turrets or electrified fences to aggressively attack chokepoints or establish new ones to slow down their movement. The sheer scale of these battles is impressive. It's haunting to watch zombies cascading off the sides of buildings or collecting to scale tall fences, all with the single mind to come and tear you and your team apart. Breaking down these swarms is both challenging and satisfying, giving you a sense of accomplishment when the tide subsides and enemy numbers thin to a slow trickle.Each swarm is fun to battle against, but their predictability and placement in each stage quickly diminishes their effect on the action. World War Z's stages don't change outside of difficulty scaling. Sneaky Lurker enemies who can jump and pin you down will appear in the exact same areas of each map every time; a large and dangerous Bull will charge at you during the same set-piece battles that trigger in the same places during each chapter, while enemy-attracting Screamers will pool together foes at choreographed stages during each level. The predictable placement of these special enemies makes return trips to story chapters less exciting due to their predictability, which diminishes their appeal.Breaking down these swarms is both challenging and satisfying... but their predictability and placement in each stage quickly diminishes their effect on the action.This swarm mechanic permeates World War Z's limited PvP modes too, turning simple team deathmatches or king-of-the-hill skirmishes into fights not only against other players, but also dynamic pockets of undead enemies. This is the only surprising spin on PvP, considering that the loose shooting buckles under the weight of the precise requirements of more serious competitive play. It's nice to have something outside of the limited chapters in PvE, but it has a severely limited appeal without any competitive-focused progression or exemplary modes to make your time invested feel worth it.It doesn't take long for the 11 chapters to feel tiresome, especially when World War Z struggles to remain stable and keep you in games. I had the game hard crash and boot me back to the PS4 dashboard on numerous occasions, during anything from intense firefights to simply joining an online game. The frame rate was also wildly unstable, especially when being rushed by hundreds of foes on screen. It's not surprising that it happens, but it still negatively impacts the fluidity of each encounter. The four locations that house each of the chapters are delightfully varied and immediately recognizable (the two chapters in the cherry blossom petal-littered streets of Tokyo were particularly beautiful), but they can sometimes also fall prey to flat and boring textures that struggle to enrapture you with the desolate apocalypse around you.World War Z has many rough edges that are easy to spot, exacerbated by limited content that makes repeated playthroughs less interesting with each run. But it's also a cooperative shooter that has the space for those dynamic and ridiculous player stories to emerge in. The rush of taking down a swarm with friends is core to what makes World War Z's action work so well, and it rewards you well for the time spent on the classes and weapons you like. It could benefit from having more to go around, but if there's a future for World War Z and its chaotic cooperative action, this is a good foundation to build it on.Info from Gamespot.com

The unofficial annual holiday known as Star Wars Day is coming up this weekend on May 4, but Microsoft is kicking off its deals early with a "May the 4th be with you" sale on several Star Wars titles. The deals are available in the United States, UK, and Australia, and you can grab these games at a discount through the weekend. Here's what's available:Star Wars Battlefront's Ultimate edition, which includes the Deluxe edition and a season pass with new content, is only $5, a full 75% off; meanwhile, Star Wars Battlefront II is 70% off--you can grab it for just $7.50 right now. If you want to grab both, just get the Star Wars Battlefront Hoth bundle, which comes with both games (including all Ultimate edition bonuses) plus Hoth appearances for Luke, Han, and Leia in Battlefront II. The bundle is selling for just under $10 (67% off).If you enjoy the Lego games, pick up Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens while it's marked down this week. The standard edition is available for 50% off at just $10, while the Deluxe edition is also half off at $15 for the base game and all season pass content. In this local co-op game, you can play as all the characters from The Force Awakens, including Rey, Finn, Han Solo, Kylo Ren, and even BB-8. The game also includes brand-new story content set in the time between Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.This deal dropped early, but expect more May the 4th deals to drop as Saturday draws closer. Stay tuned--we'll keep you updated on all the best Star Wars savings.Shop these Xbox One Star Wars Day deals:Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens -- $10 (50% off)Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Deluxe Edition -- $15 (50% off)Star Wars Battlefront II -- $7.50 (70% off)Star Wars Battlefront: Hoth Bundle -- $9.90 (67% off)Star Wars Battlefront - Ultimate Edition -- $5 (75% off) Info from Gamespot.com

Following its release in New Zealand, Pokemon Go developer Niantic's newest game, Harry Potter Wizards Unite, is available now in Australia and New Zealand for everyone. It's just a beta at this stage, so you should expect some bugs and missing features, but it provides a really good look at what to expect from what could become the next big mobile game.GameSpot explored downtown Sydney, Australia today with Wizards Unite. We joined a House (Gryffindor, of course), built a wand, and fought monsters in the augmented reality game. You can check out around 15 minutes of new gameplay footage in the video embedded above.There is no word as of yet regarding when Wizards Unite will release in the United States or other parts of the world. It's typical for big mobile games to have their "soft" launch in Australia and New Zealand as a test of sorts before a wider release around the world.Wizards Unite is a free-to-play game supported by microtransactions. You can spend money to buy Gold, which can be spent on numerous different time-savers and more. For more on the game's microtransactions, check out GameSpot's breakdown here.Harry Potter: Wizards Unite was originally scheduled to launch in 2018 before being delayed into this year. You can read more about the title in our hands-on impressions, and Android users can pre-register for it on Google Play. There is no word as of yet regarding when the final game will be available around the world.Info from Gamespot.com

Microsoft recently updated its "Community Standards for Xbox," and it is good to see a company as big as Microsoft take a hard line against nasty behaviour online. One section of the document pertains to "acceptable trash talk," and Microsoft provides some funny-sounding examples.But before we get to that, Microsoft wants to make clear that hate and harassment have no home on Xbox. "To make Xbox Live a place where everyone can hang out, and to prevent people from feeling uncomfortable or unwelcome, we all need to be stewards," Microsoft says. "This means more than just not harassing other players--it means embracing them. It means saving those unsavory jokes for people you know will enjoy them. It means taking particular care for others while you play, keeping in mind how they might interpret your content."Microsoft said it understands that gaming competition is at the heart of many online experiences, and some multiplayer matches can "get heated." Some "trash talk" is acceptable on Xbox Live, Microsoft says, but it becomes a problem when it transitions to harassment.Microsoft officially describes trash talk as: "Any lighthearted banter or bragging that focuses on the game at hand and encourages healthy competition."Harassment, meanwhile, is defined by Microsoft as: "Any negative behavior that's personalized, disruptive, or likely to make someone feel unwelcome or unsafe. To qualify as harassment, the behavior doesn't have to be drawn-out or persistent. Even a single abusive message could harm someone's experience. Know when to draw the line, when to back off. Know and respect the other player."To make its point clearer, Microsoft provided examples. Here they are, as written by Microsoft (via Kotaku AU):Acceptable trash talk includesGet destroyed. Can’t believe you thought you were on my level.That was some serious potato aim. Get wrecked.Only reason you went positive was you spent all game camping. Try again, kid.Cheap win. Come at me when you can actually drive without running cars off the road.That sucked. Get good and then come back when your k/d’s over 1.Going too far looks likeGet . Can't believe you thought you were on my level.Hey , that was some serious potato aim. Get wrecked, trash.Only reason you went positive was you spent all game camping. KYS, kid.Cheap win. Totally expected from a .You suck. Get out of my country--maybe they'll let you back in when your k/d's over 1.In terms of enforcement and consequences, Microsoft says it will temporarily suspend people in many cases. "We know people make mistakes, and we believe lapses in judgment can be significant opportunities for growth," the company said.Players who are found to have violated the Xbox Community Stands may face temporary suspension of access to "features that are most closely associated with the problematic behavior." For example, you may be temporarily restricted from playing games online, sending messages, communicating over voice, or broadcasting gameplay, among other things.People who repeatedly behave badly may be permanently suspended, with access to all game licenses and other content revoked forever. It sounds like you'd have to be a huge jerk to get banned. "We may permanently suspend a profile or device if we can no longer trust it due to a severe violation, or if our attempts to correct repeated negative behaviors are unsuccessful," Microsoft says.You can read the full Community Standards For Xbox document here.Info from Gamespot.com

The PlayStation 5 is coming. While it hasn't been formally announced by Sony as of yet, system architect Mark Cerny recently began talking about it as the company prepares for a proper unveiling.One of the first things we learned is that the next-generation console will feature an AMD chip. AMD CEO Lisa Su recently discussed the company's partnership with Sony, saying the chip will help power the PlayStation 5's "special sauce.""We are so honoured and proud to be part of Sony's next-generation PlayStation," Su told Jim Cramer. "This has been a really long-term partnership with them. We love gaming. We think gaming is a really good secular growth market. What we have done with Sony is really architect something for their application, for their special sauce. It's a great honor for us. We're really excited about what the next generation PlayStation will do. And happy to be a part of it."The AMD chip in the PS5 that has a CPU based on the third-generation Ryzen. It has eight cores of the seven-nanometer Zen 2 microchip. Additionally, the AMD chip in the PS5 enabled 3D audio, a key part of helping players become more immersed, according to Cerny.AMD is also working with Google on their new streaming service, Stadia, while Su also previously spoke about working with Microsoft on a new console. This may be one of the new Xbox consoles Microsoft has in the works that could be announced at E3 this year.The PlayStation 5 will have an "appealing" price point for its specs, according to Cerny, but there is no word on specifics as of yet. The console will also support backwards compatibility for PS4 games. Other features include a solid-state drive, and the potential to support 8K resolution. You can read up on all of the technical specs we know so far.As for a release date, the PlayStation 5 is not launching during Sony's current fiscal year, which means it will not arrive until after March 2020. Info from Gamespot.com

Despite Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford's announcement to the contrary during the Borderlands 3 May gameplay livestream reveal, the newest entry to the Borderlands franchise does allow you to buy in-game content with real money. In Borderlands 3, you'll be able to purchase cosmetic items, similarly to how you could for Borderlands 2.These cosmetic items are skins and heads for your Vault Hunter, so they do not affect gameplay. That said, they are small in-game purchases done with real money, very much considered a form of microtransaction. Pitchford has said that Borderlands 3 aims to steer clear of "that free-to-play junk" when it comes to microtransactions, though. "We're not doing any of that free-to-play junk. There's not going to be any microtransactions, there's not going to be any of that nonsense," he said.Borderlands 3 creative director Paul Sage said skins, heads, and other cosmetic items can be purchased with real money but they won't lead to a pay-to-win situation and that Borderlands 3 overall is not designed as a games-as-a-service title.Sage told Game Informer, "We're selling cosmetic items, but we're not going to nickel and dime players. DLC will come down the line, but the game won't have anything excessive."A spokesperson for Borderlands 3 publisher 2K Games told USGamer about the game's microtransactions, "Players will have the option to purchase certain cosmetic items like character, vehicle, and weapon skins, but none of these purchases would be considered pay-to-win or impacting on the gameplay, like weapons or actual gear."Additionally, Borderlands 3 will receive multiple expansion packs over time that will also be paid, just like Borderlands 2. At least four story campaign add-ons with new missions and other extras are included with the Borderlands 3 season pass. We also learned today that Borderlands 3 has no loot boxes.Borderlands 3 launches on September 13 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.Read next: Borderlands 3: You Can Totally Play Solo, And It's Pretty GreatInfo from Gamespot.com

Epic Games has updated Fortnite: Battle Royale once again, and as usual there's plenty to sink your teeth into in terms of new content. Update 8.51's big new item is the shadow bomb, which you can read more about in the patch notes at the bottom of this article, via Epic. The update is available now on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile.The shadow bomb shrouds the user in, as you might expect, a shadow, and makes them invisible to enemies. It also increases movement speed and provides the ability to double-jump and jump off walls. However, you're unable to attack, build, or loot while under a shadow bomb's effects, which last for six seconds. You can hold up to six shadow bombs, which are available in uncommon rarities in floor loot, chests, supply drops, and supply llamas.Update 8.51 also brings a fix for the audio issues some people were experiencing with jetpacks, while Epic Games says it's investigating a problem "where players are unable to access the Battle Royale map from Creative and Playground modes."It was announced just recently that Epic Games is purchasing the developer of Rocket League, Psyonix, which is one of multiple aggressive moves the company has made following the success of Fortnite. The studio has been challenging Steam with its own Epic Games Store by offering free games.Fortnite: Battle Royale Update 8.51 Patch NotesShadow BombBecome one with the shadows! Engulf yourself in darkness with this new item, becoming invisible to enemies, increasing your speed, and allowing the ability to perform double jumps.Weapons And ItemsShadow Bomb Shrouds yourself in shadow, briefly becoming invisible to enemies. 6-second durationUser becomes more visible to others near the end of the effect.Increases your movement speed, provides the ability to double jump, and wall jump. Players are unable to attack, build, or loot while under the effects of the Shadow Bomb.Rarity: UncommonCan hold a maximum of 6Can be found from Floor Loot, Chests, Supply Drops, and Supply Llamas.GameplayBug Fixes & ImprovementsSound effects for Jetpacks were occasionally playing much louder than they should be.UIBug Fixes & ImprovementsThe Victory Royale UI animation was displaying for all players in Limited Time Modes with respawning enabled.Info from Gamespot.com

Fortnite Season 8 continues apace, with another new set of challenges available on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch, and mobile devices. One of this week's challenges is a high-flying daredevil stunt that takes advantage of the pirate outposts littered throughout the map. You can fire yourself out of one of those cannons through some flaming hoops like a circus performer, and earn some progression in the process.To complete the mission, just find the three flaming hoops scattered across the map and fire yourself out of one of this season's pirate cannons to reach them. You can go hunting across the map yourself, but we've outlined their general locations below if you want a shortcut. In broad terms, you can find them near Lazy Lagoon, near the giant volcano, and by Salty Springs.Lazy Lagoon - The Lazy Lagoon hoop is floating above the pirate ship, and accessible with the cannon facing the ship. You'll need to aim quite a bit higher than the hoop for the arc of your shot to reach it, though. Try lining up your shot with the top of the volcano.Giant Volcano - From there, you'll be well positioned to run to the south of the volcano and use the cannon in the pirate camp there to aim for the flaming hoop. You don't need to aim as high this time, so just slightly above the hoop will be enough to hit your target.Salty Springs - Finally, head for the pirate camp outside of Salty Springs, and make sure to break the wooden obstruction that's blocking your shot. As in the last shot, aim just slightly above the hoop to make it through.This new set of challenges accompanied the game's 8.51 update, which includes bug fixes along with a new Shadow Bomb item that makes you temporarily invisible to enemies. While you're invisible, you also get enhanced speed and double jumps for extra mobility. You can also still take part in the ongoing Avengers Endgame LTM, which lets you equip some special superheroic weapons and earn themed rewards. Info from Gamespot.com

Fortnite is now in Week 10 of Season 8 and we're quickly approaching the end of the season. Before we get there, however, there are Battle Stars to be earned. You'll need these to level up the Battle Pass and get some of the cool cosmetics, so if you've got your eyes on a particular item you should make it a point of doing this week's challenges and finishing up any existing ones from previous weeks.In Week 10, players will need to launch themselves through three flaming hoops using a cannon (guide here), complete a multi-stage harvesting challenge, and then take out enemies in either Tilted Towers or at The Block.If you've spent V-Bucks on a premium version of the Battle Pass, there are a few extra challenges to do. The first of these asks you to deal damage using rifles. Once that's done, you'll also need to find the map signpost in Junk Junction and follow it to the treasure (guide here). Volcano Vents are also back this week, and you'll need to deal damage within 10 seconds of landing after using one. The final challenge in the premium Battle Pass section asks you to simply take out a couple of enemies from closer than 5m away. Take a look at the full list of challenges below.FreeLaunch through flaming hoops with a cannon (3) -- 5 Battle StarsStage 1: Havest Wood in a single match (500) -- 2 Battle Stars Harvest Stone in a single match (400)Harvest metal in a single match (300)Eliminate opponents at Tilted Towers or The Block (3) -- 10 Battle StarsPremiumDeal damage with an Infantry Rifle or Heavy Assault Rifle (500) -- 5 Battle StarsStage 1: Search the treasure map signpost found in Junk Junction -- 2 Battle Stars Follow the treasure map signpost in Junk JunctionDeal damage within 10s of landing after using a Volcano Vent (100) -- 10 Battle StarsEliminate an opponent from closer than 5m away (2) -- 10 Battle StarsFortnite update 8.51 is available now and its biggest new addition is the Shadow Bomb. This little item allows players to sneak around undetected and move faster, but makes it so you can't attack, build, or loot while under its effects. You can read more about the Shadow Bomb and the other tweaks the update makes in the Fortnite update 8.51 patch notes.Info from Gamespot.com