The new big bad in Mortal Kombat is named Kronika, and she's causing a ruckus by messing with time and rewriting history. Characters are getting erased or colliding with their past selves, while alliances are reverting and new ones are being made--it's the kind of chaos that's ripe for conflict. Nothing that happened with Mortal Kombat before really matters anymore; the series is giving itself a clean slate, and not just with the lore in the story. NetherRealm's multifaceted fighting system has been streamlined, and comprehensive tutorials and practice functions are focussed on making sure no matter where you're coming from, you're well-equipped to dive deep into Mortal Kombat 11.It's hard not to get excited about the story mode in a NetherRealm game given the studio's history of crafting involved narratives, and Mortal Kombat 11 unsurprisingly delivers an entertaining and polished blockbuster-style cinematic experience with its tale of Kronika's time-bending antics. Combat is woven in with a number of cutscenes, though you'll probably spend more time watching well-choreographed action rather than participating. But the story is a great primer for some of the series' more popular characters nonetheless, and the joys of Kronika's time manipulation means that even if you're a passing fan and aren't up-to-date with all of the wacky stuff that's happened in the universe lately, you can still get a kick out of seeing classic versions of familiar faces, who are just as baffled as you about what's happened to their future selves since.Watching the character interactions between young and old selves are a highlight, and with the exception of a somewhat flat Sonya Blade, the solid performances are endearingly sincere with some unexpected moments of introspection. By the time it ended I was eager for more--more of Johnny Cage being embarrassed by his younger self, more of the bromance between Liu Kang and Kung Lao, the sappy dynamic between parents and children. But the story mode hits that perfect balance of being just enough and not overstaying its welcome. The plot conceits are regularly ridiculous, especially when family members and lovers get into fatal tiffs, but it's a delightfully bombastic and outlandish visual spectacle if nothing else.Mortal Kombat 11's eclectic roster includes a solid selection of the series' iconic fighters, along with some of the great additions from Mortal Kombat X, like gunslinger Erron Black and the grotesque insectoid D'Vorah. Three brand new characters do their best to help the lineup branch out--Geras is an imposing heavy with the ability to rewind and manipulate time, Cetrion is an elder god with flashy elemental projectiles, the Kollector has a wonderfully unsettling and bamboozling six-armed demonic design--and they all add an inspired diversity to the familiar roster of magical ninjas and military hard-asses. Character variations also help to keep things diverse. A returning concept from Mortal Kombat X, each character can select between different sets of special moves that alter their playstyle. You can now customize these loadouts in MK11, but only two predetermined movesets are acceptable for serious competitive play. Even so, it means there are a few things to consider when picking which fighter to use.Some key changes streamline the mechanics of MK11, resulting in a fighting system that feels more active and aggressive than its predecessors. The special meter system has been simplified, allowing for amplified maneuvers to be used at almost any time--gone is the idea of needing to hold back and save up two or three bars of a meter to perform a particular kind of technique. Separate meters for offensive and defensive techniques, along with rapid recharge rates, mean they can be used more liberally, too. "Fatal Blows" replace MKX's X-Ray techniques, serving as a last-ditch comeback mechanic that can be activated once per match when your health is nearly depleted, adding a heightened tension when things get down to the wire. Significant block damage discourages you from being overly defensive, while learning the perfect-timing demands of the "flawless block" system is encouraged to mitigate some damage and open up turnabout opportunities. Running and stamina meters have been removed and dash distances feel shorter, honing MK11's focus on always being within striking distance of your opponent. All of these tweaks mean there is rarely a low moment in a Mortal Kombat 11 fight.If you're new to the series, learning all those intricacies of the fighting system, special moves, and combo strings for characters can be intimidating. Fortunately, Mortal Kombat 11 does a lot to help onboard you to almost all of its concepts. Following the good work seen in Injustice 2, Mortal Kombat 11 features a comprehensive series of fantastic practical tutorials, with everything from teaching you basic attacks to more advanced lessons on managing the ebb and flow of a match, strategies on how to change or maintain the dynamic of a fight (like dealing with corners or projectile spam), and how to approach building your own combos. What's more, there are also a series of tutorials that succinctly break down expert-level concepts, such as one that shows you what frame data is and how it works in clear, visual terms. Not only that, there are lessons on how to interpret that information and use it in a practical scenario--it'll teach you what makes a move "safe" or "unsafe," how to create pressure in a fight, and even how to perform frame traps. It's an impressive resource that doesn't just give you a better understanding of Mortal Kombat 11's systems, but a deeper understanding of fighting game mechanics in general--knowledge that you can take to any other title.Character-specific tutorials exist, too, and are more than just a simple rundown of all available techniques. These helpful lessons focus on the most useful and practical abilities and combos for a particular character and give you suggestions on when to use them, the pros and cons of doing so, and what you could follow up with. Furthermore, the in-game move lists are incredibly comprehensive, providing all sorts of helpful data for each move's properties, so you can easily discern something like which of your character's moves has the quickest startup. It's valuable information and knowledge that NetherRealm has been building upon in its last few games and is presented at its best in MK11. Of course, if you're the kind of player that couldn't care less about the advanced stuff and just wants to jump in and see blood spilled, Mortal Kombat 11 can certainly be just as entertaining. Predetermined combo strings, flashy special moves, and humorously over-the-top barbarity means that the game is a joy to watch and participate in, whether the players are just messing around or taking it seriously.In addition to the game's story mode, MK11 sees the return of Klassic Towers, a more straightforward single-player mode where you fight a series of opponents before eventually facing big boss Kronika. But the real meat of the single-player offering is the Towers Of Time, MK11's version of the limited-time ladders seen in other NetherRealm games, which feature unique modifiers that can affect the playing field, combatants, and mechanics.When our review-in-progress was first published, the balance of difficulty seen in the Towers Of Time was in such a state that the odds were always stacked against you--negative environmental modifiers only affected you and not your opponent, AI difficulty was relentlessly high, opponents were more robust, and as a result the challenges often felt horribly cruel and unbalanced. The mode's focus on using "Konsumables," a variety of limited-use items that you can equip and activate during the fight, did little to even the playing field, and their method of attainment was too dependent on luck to even make them a reliable strategy in the first place. In fact, the drip-feed of rewards you received from completing towers were overall too meager (and random) at the game's release to justify the amount of effort they demanded.One week later, NetherRealm released a major patch (1.03) that acknowledged and adjusted a large number of variables related to the Towers of Time, reducing (and in some cases, eliminating) a number of unbalanced modifiers, normalizing the resilience and difficulty of AI opponents, and increasing the amount of rewards for completing activities across the board. That's fortunate, because the modifiers in the Towers of Time add genuinely interesting dynamics to MK11's already enjoyable fighting flow. One tower might pit you against a series of fighters who can poison you if they get a string of hits in, another might place a totem in the middle of the stages that electrocute whoever is standing closest. Other towers might team you up with two or three other online players to take down a particularly hardy "boss" fighter, letting you tag each other in, or perhaps assist the active fighter with Konsumables.These kinds of challenges are a welcome exercise that push you to consider different ways to approach a MK11 fight, forcing you to, say, become extra defensive or keep a closer eye on your positioning. The variety of Konsumables--which have abilities that range from letting you call in another character to perform an assist attack, rain missiles down from the sky, or simply replenish your health--can give you extra tools to help keep a handle on the situation. But, in my experience after the 1.03 patch, using Konsumables isn't strictly necessary, so long as you're playing diligently.As they stand at the time of writing, the Towers of Time succeed in providing an endless, compelling palette of single-player content to tackle once you've completed the story mode. The difficulty curve and number of challenges you need to tackle are reasonable enough that achieving the prizes at the end of a tower, and the end of a whole island of towers, always feels within reach. What was previously a frustrating experience at launch is a compulsive one a week later. Even the demanding boss fight-style challenges only ask you to endure one round before showering you with the payouts on offer. They're enticing pools of goods, too--the aforementioned Konsumables, character cosmetics, and large denominations of the various currencies needed to open chests in the Krypt, MK11's third-person quasi-puzzle-adventure mode designed for unlocking even more collectibles.The Krypt in Mortal Kombat 11 is a completely reimagined recreation of Shang Tsung's island, the location of the very first Mortal Kombat game from 1992. Exploring the location, which involves finding items to open up paths to new areas, is an exciting experience in itself--there's a basic joy in simply taking in the visual splendor of certain locations, especially if you retain any memories of Mortal Kombat's stages (although it should be noted that the Nintendo Switch version is noticeably less visually splendorous). A mess of treasure chests litter the island, requiring one of three different currencies to open them, but the catch is that aside from chests that require "Hearts," the rewards you get seem to be completely randomized. Regardless of their asking price, chests have the capacity to furnish you with something exciting, like new costumes or brutality finishers for a specific character, or something as basic as a piece of concept art. It can be a bummer to come away from a Krypt session with nothing of value for your favourite fighter, but it's at least heartening to know that the game doesn't have any avenues to let you spend real-world money to open more chests, and that your pool of currencies will continue to grow at a steady, reasonable rate by simply playing the game.Now, it's pertinent to mention that Mortal Kombat 11 relies on a persistent online connection to keep track of progression in every single mode. Naturally, being offline means that you can't access the game's rotating Towers of Time, but it also means you won't get rewarded for playing the story mode or tutorials until you reconnect. In most cases, given the ever-connected nature of PCs, PS4s, and Xbox Ones, this aspect should rarely present any major issues, but it certainly can. There was one instance where game servers went down on all platforms, and I lost my progress on a Tower of Time. Losing progress can also be an issue if, for example, you duck out to your console's dashboard to share a video clip of a close victory, which will suspend your game and disconnect you from its servers. The always-online nature of the game can pose a much larger concern on Nintendo Switch, however, especially if you're looking to play the game in handheld mode away from a wireless connection. Even if you're content to simply hang out in practice mode or play a standard tower on the train, you'll be hounded by network error messages every step of the way.There are a range of online multiplayer modes, of course, including ranked and casual matchmaking, a king-of-the-hill mode, and forthcoming ranked seasons, as well as private options like lobbies and the ability to use practice mode with a friend. MK11 also features tools that help you have some control over your experience--in casual matches, you have the ability to see your opponent's win/loss ratio, your estimated chance of success, and information about each player's internet connection--and the game thankfully allows you to decline a match if you think you're going to have a bad time. I encountered no major issues with online play during the game's first week, and found matchups to be fairly even in most cases, meaning fights were often heart-poundingly close. The robust online options make it a worthwhile avenue to pick a fight without the modifiers of the Towers Of Time.MK11 isn't just a sequel for series fans and NetherRealm devotees, it's a gateway into the realm of fighting games for anyone who has a passing interest in watching ruthless warriors beat each other silly. Streamlined mechanics keep the act of fighting furiously exciting no matter what your skill level, and comprehensive tutorials encourage you to dig into the nitty-gritty. There's a diverse roster of interesting characters and playstyles, and the story mode is an entertaining romp. The randomization of Krypt rewards and the odd issue with the game's always-online nature can occasionally chip away at your patience, but Mortal Kombat 11 absolutely hits where it matters. Info from Gamespot.com

Avengers: Endgame wrapped up a lot of story threads across the Marvel Cinematic Universe, bringing 21 movies across 11 franchises to a huge, climactic conclusion. It didn't answer every question fans had about everything in the MCU, though, and in some cases, it created new ones. One of those new questions, specifically, is what the heck happened to Ned Leeds, Spider-Man's best friend?The question derives from a particular moment at the end of Endgame. After the Avengers manage to gather all the Infinity Stones and undo Thanos's snap, all the people he wished away come back into the world. In the aftermath, there were some tearful reunions between people who turned to dust and people who haven't seen them in five full years--like the one between Peter Parker and Tony Stark. During their conversation during that reunion, Peter explained that it was Doctor Strange who informed him five years had elapsed since the snap occurred. But it sounds like from Peter's perspective, almost no time had passed since he "got all dusty." He didn't exist during those five years and remembered nothing from that time, it seems.So then we have the reunion between Peter and Ned at the end of the movie, after Thanos has been defeated and all 50% of the life he wiped out of the universe has returned. It was a tearful, emotional moment between the two friends, taking place when Peter returned to high school seemingly for the first time since the Snap.So wait a second: If both Peter and Ned got dusted, then basically no time would have passed for either of them, which means from their perspective, the last time they both saw each other would be maybe a few days or weeks earlier. But if Ned was all (understandably) emotional because he'd finally reunited with his pal Peter after a long last five years--why was Ned still in high school?The question of whether Ned was just having a more emotional reaction than most to returning from a state of nonexistence, or if he's just not great at school, has vexed audiences since Avengers: Endgame's release. Fortunately, thanks to directors Joe and Anthony Russo, we finally have an answer.In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the Russos clarified that Ned didn't get held back in school for years and years because of his trauma over Thanos, and specifically, the fact that Peter was not around to help him reconstruct his Lego Death Star. In fact, Ned was also dusted in the Snapture.The scene we see between them in Endgame might be a more emotional reunion because Ned was consoling Peter on the death of Tony. Or maybe it was just that, even though the two of them had missed the last five years, the whole "alien invasion and ridiculous genocide" thing is, uh, a lot to cope with. So Ned and Peter are both going back to high school right where they left off, but what about the rest of Peter's class? Half should be twenty-somethings now, right? And perhaps most importantly: Are Martin Starr's Mr. Harrington and Hannibal Burress's Coach Wilson still teaching?The trailer for Spider-Man: Far From Home seems to suggest at least most of the important folks, such as Michelle and Flash, also missed the last five years of MCU history because of Thanos. We're still waiting to see how the aftermath of the Endgame time skip and the trauma of the Mad Titan's campaign affects everyone in Marvel's universe, though.If you can't get enough Avengers: Endgame, we've got lots more coverage. Check out our full review of the movie; we've got rundowns of all the Easter eggs hidden throughout its three hours, and a list of every MCU character that appears in the film. You can also get an explanation of the movie's ending, and read our opinions on why Captain America's final moments don't match his character and how the movie lets down Black Widow and several other Avengers. Info from Gamespot.com

One of the most exciting and ambitious Xbox projects in the works is xCloud, which is Microsoft's game-streaming service. It's now reached a major development milestone.Xbox boss Phil Spencer said on Twitter that the team working on xCloud recently completed the "takehome release" for xCloud. That's a big deal because it means people at Microsoft are now able to test the service at home in a real environment as opposed to a studio lab.Spencer added that xCloud remains on track to become available for more people through public trials later in 2019; that's always been the plan.Congrats to Project xCloud team for completing their takehome release. Excited to get feedback from our internal teams ahead of public trials later this year. pic.twitter.com/un1T8mg0d4— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) May 1, 2019According to Microsoft insider Brad Sams, Microsoft may plan to show off xCloud in a home environment during E3 2019 in June. The takehome release suggests that could happen.xCloud is the working title of the streaming service. Microsoft is promising "console-quality gaming on any device" with xCloud, and we've already seen Forza Horizon 4 running on the service.xCloud will go up against other similar streaming services like Google Stadia. Microsoft's Mike Nichols recently said that Google lacks compelling content to make the service attractive.Cloud-based gaming is a fairly new and complex technology; be sure to check out our detailed explainer on everything you need to know about cloud gaming.Info from Gamespot.com

Pokemon Go developer Niantic's AR game Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is out now in Australia and New Zealand, at least in beta form. Major mobile titles often release in the ANZ region before coming to the United States, Europe, and other parts of the world, so thisWizards Unite is available for free on iiOS and Android. Because it is a beta, the game lacks some features, while the overall appearance and design is subject to change. Additionally, some languages that will be supported in the final release are unavailable now.Players who get into the beta should also expect to run into some technical hiccups due to its unfinished state. Niantic said it hopes players communicate their feedback so the studio can make the game better for everyone when it's available worldwide.Wizards Unite's beta already released in New Zealand in March. You may be able to change your country in the App Store and Google Play, but this doesn't always work.Like Pokemon Go and other free-to-play titles, Wizards Unite is supported by microtransactions. Players can purchase "Gold" from Gringott's Bank in the game at multiple levels. The bundles range from 80 Gold ($1.50 AUD) to 10,000 Gold ($160 AUD). In addition, you can buy Anti-Calamity ($8 AUD) and Advanced Anti-Calamity Kits ($31 AUD). These kits come with allotments of Gold, potions, spell energy, and keys. Outside of the bundles, you can spend Gold on a huge variety of things, including Dark Detectors (reveals special items), Runestones (for Wizarding Challenges), Healing potions (restores stamina), and so much more. Given that Wizards Unite remains in beta, pricing could change.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.While you may have to wait a while longer to play Wizards Unite, the other new Harry Potter mobile game, Hogwarts Mystery, is available around the world right now. 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

This review contains minor spoilers about mission structure and overall story direction. There are no spoilers for major narrative moments.Around 10 hours into Days Gone, you're thrown into a hunting tutorial apropos of nothing. The over-the-top libertarian character takes you out with a rifle and shows you how to track a deer, although you've already had a tracking tutorial. You're then tasked with getting more meat for you and your buddy because your supply is running low, something you never have to do again. You also don't cook or eat; you can only donate meat to camps around the map to earn a negligible amount of trust and money with them. After a little while, even stopping to get meat off wolves that attacked you doesn't seem worth it.Like many things in Days Gone, hunting exists just to be there, an idea that is picked up and then abandoned at random. Unlike hunting, some of those ideas are even good in the moment. But most aspects of Days Gone lack purpose. Its many narrative threads flirt with being meaningful and interesting but never quite commit, with characters whose actions and motivations don't make sense. 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.The first act of the game--about 20 hours or so--sets up quite a few narrative arcs. Two years after the initial "Freaker" outbreak, biker buddies Deacon St. John and Boozer have become drifters doing odd jobs for nearby survivor camps and keeping mostly to themselves. Deacon's wife, Sarah, had been stabbed at the very beginning of the outbreak; Deacon put her on a government helicopter bound for a refugee camp so she could get medical attention, but when he and Boozer arrived, the camp has been overrun by Freaks, and Sarah had apparently died. Deacon is understandably not coping with it well. Boozer suggests riding north and leaving the memories behind, but Deacon's bike breaks down and is subsequently looted for parts, so one of your main goals is to earn trust and credits at the nearby camps in order to rebuild your motorcycle.The motorcycle is central to everything you do in Days Gone. Getting anywhere, including by fast travel, requires your bike, and if you want to save while out in the world, you better be right next to it. Getting off your bike is a matter of both your entrance and your exit; you need to stop far enough away from enemies so they don't hear you coming, but you also need to be able to run to your bike quickly if things go south and you need to escape. And, as you're sneaking past Freakers to loot things like bandages and ammo, you also need to be on the lookout for a gas can and some scrap metal to keep your bike in top shape--if it breaks down or runs out of gas, you're basically screwed. That said, gas and other loot do regenerate if you leave and return to a location, so you'll never truly run out of anything so long as you put in the time to look for it.At the beginning, you do jobs for two camps: Copeland's conspiracy theorist stronghold and Tucker's hellish forced-labor camp. Copeland's has a mechanic capable of upgrading your bike, while Tucker's has a well-stocked weapons merchant. Your starter junk bike gets about a mile per gallon, and you can't store a gas can on your bike or your person, so you either have to return to a camp to fuel up or constantly scrounge for gas cans out in Freaker territory. This makes wandering around and doing things in the open world frustrating at first, so you do a lot of throwaway missions for the two camps to start.Many of these early missions consist of cookie-cutter bounty-hunting and rescue jobs in which you go to a place, track a person using your apparently psychic Survival Vision to highlight footprints and other clues, and then kill some bandits or Freakers. Some of these require you to take the target alive, which often means chasing them on your bike and shooting at their tires with your pistol. If you happen to run out of gas or ammo, or if your bike is already weak and breaks down after a couple of bumpy turns, you auto-fail these missions and have to start over. You also accelerate with R2 and shoot with R1, which, while not horrible, is clunky and awkward.One early scene involving a drug thief kicks off a series of missions like these that, once completed, has no bearing on the rest of the game despite initial appearances; once you track down the stolen drugs you have to choose which camp to return them to, but there are no consequences either way, and then the situation is dropped entirely. The only result is getting some trust and credits with one of the camps--I chose Copeland simply because I wanted money for a better fuel tank. A lot of the story missions going forward, as you discover a third, more narratively relevant camp, follow the same structures as these earlier missions. But the focus on Tucker and Copeland specifically amounts to hours of nothing in the grand scheme of the story. Tucker's forced labor doesn't come back to bite anyone, and while Tucker and Copeland don't seem to like each other, doing work for one camp doesn't affect your relationship with the other. Once you get to the third camp, Lost Lake, Tucker and Copeland cease to matter at all, not least because Lost Lake has both a better mechanic and better weapons.Once you upgrade your bike a bit, though, the world opens up. No longer bound by low gas mileage and a weak arsenal, you can head further out and more handily take on enemy-controlled areas around the map. You clear ambush camps by killing everyone present and eliminate Freaker infestation zones by burning all their nests. In addition to trust and credits, clearing an ambush camp nets you resources to loot, a map of the area, and a new fast travel point; destroying an infestation zone allows you to fast travel in the area. Unlocking the map and neutralizing threats is satisfying in the way that cleaning up clutter bit by bit is, and you can see your work pay off in your bike's upgrades. However, there's little variety between each ambush camp and infestation zone, and they get repetitive early--especially because Deacon dry-heaves and whines about the nests smelling horrible at each one.The real motivation to do all of this is twofold. Early on in the game, Deacon's best friend Boozer is attacked by a group of Rippers, a doomsday cult with a number of bizarre rituals. The Rippers singe a tattoo off Boozer's arm and leave him with third-degree burns, so Deacon's purpose in life is to keep Boozer alive and healthy. This mostly involves finding sterile bandages and the one mission where you gather meat for him. On top of that, though, Deacon sees a helicopter belonging to the government agency NERO, which had been involved in the initial relief effort, flying overhead. That gives Deacon a bit of hope that Sarah might still be alive, since he'd put her on a NERO helicopter after she was stabbed, so you start stalking the NERO soldiers and scientists to investigate further.There are a number of flashbacks to Deacon's relationship with Sarah before the outbreak, bolstered by his hope that she's alive. They're largely awkward cutscenes interspersed with short sections of walking slowly while Sarah and Deacon talk about surface-level topics, and they don't ever provide a convincing reason why they're together. Deacon is a biker and Sarah is a "nice girl" scientist, which is fine, but "opposites attract" isn't enough to make their relationship compelling. It's romantic in that Deacon hasn't given up on Sarah, but the main takeaway from the flashbacks is that they're physically attracted to each other and that Deacon doesn't talk about his feelings.The NERO arc is where things really pick up. Spying on the NERO scientists consists of insta-fail stealth missions. They can be frustrating before you unlock abilities to improve your stealth skills, but the conversations you overhear are legitimately interesting and answer questions that other zombie fiction often neglects. For example, you learn from one eavesdropping on a scientist studying Freaker scat that they eat more than just other people and each other--they also eat plants, and that means they're not going to starve any time soon (like in 28 Days Later). Deacon quickly gets in contact with a NERO researcher who uses government resources to track down what might have happened to Sarah. Even though their relationship is confusing, it is a tempting mystery.Abandoned Nero medical units and research sites contain more small details, including recorders that play snippets of scenes--a scientist studying a Freaker specimen, the moment a camp got overrun, or just banter between soldiers. Getting inside a unit is a matter of refueling the generator, making sure to find and disable every speaker nearby so the noise doesn't attract Freakers. Finding each speaker can be a bit tricky at certain sites, which makes the moment you turn the power on more exciting and the realization that you're in the clear more of a relief. And in addition to satisfying your curiosity, you're also given the more tangible reward of an injector that improves your health, stamina, and bullet-time-like focus ability.As you learn more about NERO and the Freakers, you're introduced to new, more powerful types of Freaks, including a berserker and an all-female variant that screams to attract more Freaks your way. They don't really provide new challenges so much as slow you down, and they feel like a stopgap measure to tide you over until the first horde-based mission around 40 hours into the game. That first horde mission is exhilarating--running around while using tight spaces and molotovs to keep the horde off you, eventually taking out hundreds of Freakers, is a well-earned victory. But that mission is followed very quickly by another one, and after a short break, you have two more nearly back-to-back horde missions that lead up to the end of the main story. Without any breathing room, the hordes are exhausting to deal with, and you'll likely have to stop everything to loot and rebuild your stockpile of resources after each one just so you can progress.Ultimately, though, Days Gone isn't about NERO or Sarah or the Freakers. It's about Deacon, and what he wants is what matters. Narrative threads are dropped as soon as Deacon no longer has a use for them. Copeland and Tucker only matter until Deacon gets to a camp that has better supplies. Boozer's health is only important because it's Deacon's reason for living. Even the fascinating little details about the Freakers are useless to Deacon, who only cares about Sarah--but not what Sarah wants or needs, just that his "ol' lady" might be alive somewhere. Every character is seen through this Deacon-focused lens, and as a result, they're two-dimensional.Deacon is selfish, and it's simply boring that the game is uncritical of him.Deacon does not learn anything over the course of the game, and the story is concerned with validating his actions and feelings above all else. When one character urges him not to kill anyone in cold blood, Deacon "proves" that murder is better than mercy. As Boozer nearly breaks through to Deacon about learning to let go, Deacon learns something new about NERO and clings to his hope even harder. Deacon also has a policy where he doesn't kill unarmed women, which does not affect the story in any way and goes completely unexamined. There's no introspection here; Deacon is selfish, and it's simply boring that the game is uncritical of him.I did a lot of things in Days Gone. I burned every single Freaker nest; I cleared every ambush camp; I maxed out my bike; I took out a few optional hordes just because. Like Deacon with Sarah, I kept going because I hoped to find something, to follow a thread to a possibly fascinating or satisfying or impactful conclusion. But at the end of it all, I'd only gotten scraps.Info from Gamespot.com

A new update for Mortal Kombat 11 has arrived, and it's a big one. The new update, which is available now on PC and PS4 (and is coming to Xbox One and Switch soon), fixes exploits and issues, makes changes to matchmaking, introduces some AI adjustments, and a lot more. You can see the full patch notes posted at the bottom of this story.In addition to the update, today marks the release of developer NetherRealm's response to the Mortal Kombat 11 microtransaction controversy. The studio maintains that it does not want to artificially push people toward spending money on microtransactions.And in a "thank you" effort and a measure of good faith, the company is releasing a free in-game currency bundle for all Mortal Kombat 11 players. This bundle--which includes 500,000 Koins, 500 Hearts, 1,000 Souls, and 1,000 Time Crystals. The bundle is coming to PS4 with the new update today, and should arrive on other systems soon.You can see the full patch notes below, as posted by NetherRealm on Reddit."There's a diverse roster of interesting characters and playstyles, and the story mode is an entertaining romp," Edmond Tran wrote in GameSpot's Mortal Kombat 11 review-in-progress. "The unfulfilling approaches to the game's dynamic single-player content and progression may feel like they've totally whiffed (at least at this early stage), but Mortal Kombat 11 hits where it matters."Mortal Kombat 11 Patch Notes:• Fixed an exploit that allowed for more than one variation of a character to be set as default, which could then result in an online desync when trying to select that character• Fixed a rare issue that occurred if the user lost internet connectivity while customizing their character, which would sometimes result in that variation being saved with some items being locked• Fixed a rare issue that was affecting some user progression after using Kenshi’s blindfold in the Krypt to fully drain their Soul Fragments• Move list and frame data corrections• Integrated launch day gameplay server-side data• Tweaks to online matchmaking• AI adjustments• Fixed a rare crash involving trying to use quick moves list in story mode• Fixed a rare crash in the Totem Pole tower in The Gauntlet• Fixed a crash related to pausing and unpausing the game• Corrected some incorrect instruction text in tutorial mode• Enabled Dev Slayer functionality• Kitana's Fans will no longer sometimes remain invisible if she is interrupted out of Edenian Fade with specific timing• Hotfix server data will no longer sometimes become invalid when the game is booted up online• Fixed a rare crash involving using a consumable near a chest in The Krypt• Increased rewards for breakables in The Krypt• Adjusted rewards from AI Battle mode• Increased Koin rewards for winning Ranked MatchesTowers of Time Adjustments• Adjusted AI difficulty curve• Further opponent health reductions in higher level Towers• Performing a Fatal Blow while standing in an active modifier will no longer sometimes cause unexpected behavior or a crash• Ice based modifiers will no longer attempt to freeze players during invalid states• Adjusted and removed modifiers from many Daily Towers• Increased Koin Rewards for kompleting Towers and Tower Platforms• Increased Dragon Challenge Koin rewards• Increased post fight Koin rewards• Increased amount of Hearts earned from Fatalities, Brutalities, and Mercies• Lowered modifier damage for many modifiers• Adjusted the lifespan of several modifiers• Dramatically increased cooldowns on Tag Assist modifiers• Fixed a missing Reduced Damage modifier in The Gauntlet• Several Gift/Curse Modifiers are now considered projectiles allowing them to interact with moves that effect projectiles as intended• Adjusted Gauntlet difficulty and progression requirements• Disabler Konsumables now work with all intended modifiers• Improved targeting for several Konsumables• Sektor Hunter Killer Protocol Modifier is now disabled by the Rocket Disabler Konsumable• Corrected some multipliers on Augments for some characters which were inconsistent with others• Fixed incorrect Armor interactions with some Modifiers• Decreased Konsumable cooldowns for players Info from Gamespot.com

Epic's popular free-to-play battle royale game Fortnite has added another Marvel skin. Joining the Black Widow skin is the new Star-Lord Outfit based on Chris Pratt's appearance as the Guardians of the Galaxy superhero.The Star-Lord outfit and related Back Bling are sold together in a bundle for 1,500 V-Bucks. There is also the Dance Off emote (500 V-Bucks), the Guardian Axe (500 V-Bucks), and the Milano glider (1,200 V-Bucks) that are also available to buy. Here's a video of the outfit and the dance, while you can see more in the image gallery below.Time for a dance off, bro.Get the new Dance Off emote along with Marvel's Star-Lord Outfit. The Guardians of the Galaxy Set is available in the Item Shop now! #FortniteXAvengers pic.twitter.com/veEPdRjnOO — Fortnite (@FortniteGame) April 30, 2019In other Marvel/Fortnite news, Fortnite has a new "Endgame" mode available now where players can side with Thanos and his Chitauri Invaders or the Heroes trying to stop them. There is also a set of Fortnite Endgame challenges to complete, which will unlock more Avengers-inspired cosmetics.Additionally, Season 8, Week 9's challenges are available now, which means the current season is likely coming to an end soon. If you need any help, we've rounded up tips for the trickier tasks in our complete Season 8 challenges guide.Star-Lord Outfit Set Info from Gamespot.com

Actor Chris Pratt has shared an "illegal" video from the set of Avengers: Endgame, and it's quite a treat. The behind-the-scenes video, which contains what could be considered spoilery material, showcases a moment on set when the Avengers assembled.In the single video we can see Chris Hemsworth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Rudd, Mark Ruffalo, Don Cheadle, Dave Bautista, Jeremy Renner, Tom Holland, Robert Downey Jr., and Chris Evans, among other huge names. It appears that Pratt shot the video secretly--sort of. As you'll see, Chris Evans catches him in the act and jokes that Pratt is going to get in trouble for filming what Pratt called a "really illegal video." The video has since gone viral, racking up more than 14.6 million views. View this post on InstagramI remember being blown away in this moment on the @avengers set. Nobody was allowed to film anything on their phones. I said screw it. No rule was going to stop me from seizing this once in a lifetime opportunity to capture this collection of stars, a groupthat likely will never be in the same room again. We are so blessed.A post shared by chris pratt (@prattprattpratt) on Apr 29, 2019 at 12:57am PDT Pratt's caption reads: "I remember being blown away in this moment on the Avengers set. Nobody was allowed to film anything on their phones. I said screw it. No rule was going to stop me from seizing this once in a lifetime opportunity to capture this collection of stars, a groupthat likely will never be in the same room again. We are so blessed."Endgame released last week and shattered box office records with $1.2 billion over its first five days worldwide.Read next: Avengers: Endgame Could Have Been Much Different, Here's HowInfo from Gamespot.com

Avengers: Endgame is finally in theatres, and it brings about an end to storylines and narrative arcs that started a decade ago.One major storyline has been the Infinity Gauntlet narrative that's been the driving force of the interconnected stories thus far with the evil Thanos . Jim Starlin, who created Thanos (and Gamora and Drax) and also wrote the Infinity Gauntlet comic, has now shared his thoughts on Avengers: Endgame and Thanos's fate. SPOILERS FOR AVENGERS ENDGAME FOLLOW BELOWSpeaking to IGN, Starlin said he was "amazed" and "flabbergasted" by the events of Endgame. "The up and downs that you have on it. There's some really heartbreaking moments mixed in with a lot of really funny little instances here and there," he explained.Thanos is killed twice in Endgame; once by Thor, who lops his head off, and a second time--for good--when Tony Stark wields the Gauntlet and snaps Thanos out of existence. Starlin remarked that he was particularly impressed by the way actor Josh Brolin performed Thanos's final moments, when he accepted his fate and sat silently, awaiting his doom."His final moments in the movie I think are just priceless," Starlin said. "His demeanor once he realizes what's happening, I think that's just one of those little moments in film that everyone is gonna remember. It's like acceptance and taking it like a man, you know? I thought that was perfectly played."Also in the interview, Starlin said the character Gamora in the Marvel movies is above all the closest representation of what he created in the comics.You can watch the full interview here at IGN.Read next: Chris Pratt Shares "Illegal" Avengers Endgame Video From Film SetInfo from Gamespot.com

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who recently won an Oscar for Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse, have signed a new deal with Sony that's reportedly worth $100 million or more.According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lord and Miller will work on a lot of new and different projects as part of the nine-figure overall deal. This includes creating and producing new comedy and drama projects of their own and supervising others. They will also work on a number of TV shows based on Sony's Marvel characters, including Spider-Man and related villains, as well as Venom, Morbius, Black Cat, and Silver Sable. All of the characters from Into the Spider-Verse may also get their own spinoffs that Lord and Miller may work on."This is a significant milestone for our television business, having the opportunity to work with two of the most creative forces in the industry in both our film and television businesses," Sony Pictures Television chairman Mike Hopkins said in a statement. "Building on our strong IP and creating new franchises has been a key focus for SPE, and the best way to do that is to invest in remarkable storytellers like Phil and Chris."Lord and Miller already had an extensive working relationship with Sony, as the pair directed Sony's Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, 21 Jump Street, 22 Jump Street, and The Lego Movie, before producing Into the Spider-Verse.Outside of Sony, Lord and Miller were announced as the directors of the Star Wars spinoff Solo, but Lucasfilm fired them and brought in Ron Howard."Together we aim to make groundbreaking work of the highest quality and integrity, and to place that work in convenient proximity to your eyeballs and earholes, wherever you may be," Lord and Miller said in their own statement. Info from Gamespot.com

Despite how surreal the idea of a live-action Sonic the Hedgehog movie may seem, it is in fact happening and inevitable. If the numerous cast confirmations haven't been enough to convince you that we will soon live in a world where a wide-eyed blue hedgehog that runs fast will inhabit the same space as real human beings, the newly released trailer certainly will.The trailer, which you can watch above, gives us a nice overview of the story. As you might expect, it's a familiar tale of Sonic going up against Robotnik, who is up to no good in San Francisco. This time, though, the bad doctor appears to be affiliated with the military G-men investigating what's up with the blue hedgehog. He's also surprisingly sassy for an evil doctor, and the end of the trailer teases a more familiar look for him.Although Sonic will be brought to life via CGI, the beloved character is being voiced in the movie by Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation, House of Lies), who is a seasoned voice actor having appeared as Dewey Duck in the new Duck Tales Show and Rutabaga Rabitowitz in BoJack Horseman.Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, meanwhile, is being played by Jim Carrey. In the games, he's portrayed as a mad scientist, an archetype that Carrey has played numerous times across his illustrious career. In an interview, Carrey said that that the Sonic movie will appeal to families, but will also have an edge to it. "I made sure that there are some winks and nods, and edgy things that are still acceptable to both age groups," he explained.James Marsden, who is known for his recent work in HBO's Westworld, will also be in the film as a state trooper who catches onto Sonic's super speed. The new trailer shows him forming a buddy relationship with the speedster and getting into hijinks.The Sonic movie is being directed by Jeff Fowler (Gopher Broke), with Deadpool director Tim Miller producing. It is set for release on November 19, 2019; it was originally expected to premiere in 2018 before being delayed.Info from Gamespot.com

May is almost upon us and Microsoft has announced a new slate of Xbox Game Pass titles joining the subscription line-up over the course of the month. As usual this initial burst of announcements covers the first half of May, with more announcements likely to come later and fill out the remaining days.First, on May 2, Game Pass subscribers will get access to Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus. The first-person shooter inserts you deep into Nazi-occupied America with a cast of colorful characters at your side. That same day the service will also add Wargroove, the retro turn-based strategy game reminiscent of Advance Wars.On May 9, the service will add the resource management sim Surviving Mars and Tacoma, the sci-fi narrative adventure game from the makers of Gone Home, along with the MMORPG Black Desert. The strategy RPG For the King is being added as well, and while it officially launches on May 10, Game Pass subscribers get it three days early on May 7. As detailed in a separate announcement, the rogue-like Descenders will also leave early access and launch on Game Pass (and Steam) on May 7 as well. Finally, on May 16, Game Pass will add tough sci-fi Souls-like The Surge along with the notably more family-friendly Lego Batman 3.This month will also get a little bonus benefit outside of the slate of included games. Rocket League, which is already included in Game Pass, is launching an Xbox Customization Pack with in mid-July. Game Pass members get the pack early, and free.Xbox Game Pass is an all-you-can-eat subscription service for $10 / £7.99 / AUD $10.95 per month, offering full game downloads. This is separate from Xbox Live Gold, which just outlined its own free games for the month of May. The two also recently got an "Ultimate" bundle that packages them together. If you haven't tried out Game Pass yet, you can sample it for cheap for a limited time. The offer gives you 3 months for just one buck.Xbox Game Pass Games For MayWolfenstein 2: The New Colossus (May 2)Wargroove (May 2)For the King (May 7)Surviving Mars (May 9)Tacoma (May 9)Black Desert (May 9)The Surge (May 16)Lego Batman 3 (May 16)Info from Gamespot.com

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, like Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing before it, contained a number of characters from outside the Sonic universe. Wreck-It Ralph, Football Manager Man, and others all battled for racing supremacy with the titular blue hedgehog and his friends, but the next game in the series, Team Sonic Racing, eschews these supplementary characters."The reason we [dropped non-Sonic universe characters]," explains Sumo Digital's studio design director, Derek Littlewood, "was so we could dive into the Sonic universe in more depth, and tell a canon Sonic universe story, with our team adventure mode. That was very important for us."It was a difficult decision for us, but we feel like that was the right direction to go in. Because it's allowed us to create a very new kind of unique experience for Team Sonic Racing that I think people won't have had with the previous titles."The move has other advantages, too. Ben Wilson, designer on Team Sonic Racing, says it has made team interaction more viable: "Because this game's set in a universe with characters who have relationships already, it's let us do a dialog system where they're on track and they're yelling at each other, and they have familiarity with each other and make references to history, which we wouldn't have been able to have done really [had other franchises' characters been present]. Or at least, not in as smooth a way. So it's let us do some additional stuff as well."Later in the interview, Littlewood says many members of the Sumo team are "old-school Sega fans [who] are really keen to continue doing the All-Stars aspect of the game." When pressed by GameSpot on whether there's more All-Stars content in the pipeline, Littlewood was coy: "There's nothing we have to announce, or even anything that is currently on the cards. But it's something that we would love to be able to go back to."Team Sonic Racing launches for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC on May 21. For more, check out our feature on how, with Crash Team Racing and Mario Kart Tour also on the way, kart racers are making a comeback. You might also be interested in the new Sonic the Hedgehog live-action movie trailer.Info from Gamespot.com

Kart racing games are back, baby. By the time Team Sonic Racing launches on May 21, it will have been almost seven years since the last game in the series, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, graced our consoles. In that time, only one kart racing franchise of note has stuck around: Mario Kart.Compare that with the glory days of the early 2000s and you can see the contrast: Looney Toons Racing, Toy Story Racer, Digimon Racing… I could go on, but you get the point. Around this time, every major franchise had a kart racing spinoff, and while these attempts persisted half-heartedly into the early 2010s--ModNation Racers and LittleBigPlanet Karting, we hardly knew ye--the genre has all but died off save for Nintendo's frontrunner, which continues to dominate. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the best-selling game on Nintendo Switch with nearly 17 million copies shifted. Mario Kart 8 was also the best-selling game on Wii U with 8.5 million units sold. That's all well and good, but it's a five-year-old game, and there's only so many times I can go round Mario Kart Stadium (and only so many times I can bear getting hit by a blue shell). I need some new challengers.Luckily, Sumo Digital and Beenox are entering the fray with their own respective kart racers: Team Sonic Racing and Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled. They're each their own experiences, of course, but it's encouraging seeing more developers and publishers greenlight these kinds of projects. As Mario Kart's success shows, there's a huge audience for kart racing games out there.Derek Littlewood, studio design director at Sumo, agrees. "I don't think the market for great karting games has ever gone away," he tells me. "I think part of the success we had with a game like [Sonic & All Stars Racing] Transformed was … because it was a cracking game, but it was also because those people were there, and they wanted that game. And they didn't have Nintendo systems and they weren't playing Mario Kart. [Transformed] did really well on Nintendo systems as well, which just says even those people who are playing Mario Kart are still saying, 'I want more of this.'"Still, it's strange--though pleasing--to see two big names in the genre returning so close to one another: Crash Team Racing's remaster will launch just exactly a month after Sonic's new car-focused adventure. That's before you get to Mario Kart Tour, Nintendo's first mobile kart racer, which is also scheduled to launch this summer.Of course, each game offers different flavours, and Team Sonic Racing's distinguishing features offer a surprising amount of depth. The game is centered around team play--even if you play alone, you're put into a team with two other Sonic heroes. Each team member contributes to a shared ultimate meter, which when filled can be activated to accelerate your team and sharpen up their handling. You fill the ult meter by performing team-oriented actions, such as helping them up when they spin out--passing close to them will get them back in the race more quickly--or slipstreaming behind teammates to gain a small boost.This focus, Sumo says, was decided by Sonic Team head Takashi IIzuka, who wanted a game he could play with his kids where they could all contribute to a shared success. Littlewood, however, says Team Sonic Racing isn't just family-friendly fodder: "I think the unique thing that the team play allows us to do is make the game more accessible for less skilled players, because you can play with someone who is better than you at the game, and they can help you be better at it, rather than you always competing with each other. But at the same time, we've added a lot of depth to the different team actions and team play in general that allow high-level players to get more out of it."Sumo clearly believes this is enough to set Team Sonic Racing apart from its competition. The inclusion of such iconic characters also helps, of course, but there's no doubting TSR's team play and kart customization, which allows you to tweak the stats of each character to make them quicker or easier to handle, for example, provide a decent amount of depth. The different classes--speed, technique, power--and their respective strengths of speed, handling, and offroading, do the same.Tracks are a joy to race around, too, with some beautifully diverse styles and different optimal routes depending on which class you opt for. Sonic, for example, is best staying on smoother roads and racing in straight lines wherever possible. Tails, as a technique character, can slalom around obstacles, but Knuckles is best equipped to power straight through them.However, at the preview stage at least, Sonic Team Racing lacks the shine of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Power-ups don't feel quite as fun to play with, and handling is currently less satisfying thanks to a somewhat loose-feeling drift. There is a story mode--which is the justification for excluding non-Sonic characters after Transformed--but is a text-based narrative much of an attraction for players, or would they rather skip it and get back to the racing?I'm skeptical the game can unseat Mario Kart as the reigning champion of the kart racing genre, but perhaps overtaking Nintendo isn't the point. "For people who are fans of that kind of game, they each offer something different," says Littlewood. "The moment-to-moment gameplay of our game is different enough from Crash or Mario Kart that we don't really think about it in terms of competition. In my mind they have completely different pace and feel. We're happy there's more for fans to play."Info from Gamespot.com