There was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the fate of the Trine series after 2015's divisive Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power. That game marked a bold step for the burgeoning franchise, eschewing the 2.5D gameplay that defined its predecessors for full 3D environments. But developer Frozenbyte's ambitions came at a steep cost; the game's budget exceeded $5 million, nearly triple the amount it took to develop Trine 2, and the studio consequently had to pare the scope of the adventure back, leading to criticism that it felt unfinished.Since then the series has largely lain dormant, but it is set to reemerge later this fall with the release of Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince, the first new installment in four years. Frozenbyte has evidently taken the criticisms leveled at Trine 3 to heart, as The Nightmare Prince brings the series back to its 2.5D roots. As the studio explained during a recent hands-off demo session, the impetus behind this decision was twofold: the developers found that the 2.5D gameplay was a better fit for the game's puzzles, and fans had wanted to see the series return to the style of earlier titles.Just as in the previous games, The Nightmare Prince follows the adventures of three heroes: Pontius the knight, Zoya the thief, and Amadeus the wizard. This time around, the trio have been dispatched by the Astral Academy to retrieve a missing prince who's suffering from a curious affliction: his dark dreams are able to manifest in the real world and terrorize the people of the kingdom. As before, each of the three protagonists has their own unique abilities, which you'll need to utilize fully on your quest to rescue the prince: Amadeus is able to conjure up large boxes that can be used to press down on switches or reach inaccessible areas; Zoya can fire arrows and tie objects together; and Pontius is capable of deflecting projectiles and rays of light with his shield.You're able to freely swap between all three characters on the fly as you play--and in fact you'll need to do just that in order to progress through the adventure, as you'll often come across bosses and environmental obstacles that can only be overcome by using the heroes' abilities in tandem; a chasm, for instance, can be crossed by first conjuring a block with Amadeus, then using Zoya's arrows to tie it to another object, creating a makeshift tightrope that you can walk across. Boss battles will likewise have puzzle elements to them; in the demo we witnessed, the rotund Pontius came face to face with a hulking undead knight. The creature was impervious to standard attacks, so Pontius had to first clear the vines choking the room's windows to allow light to filter in, then reflect the beams at the foe.While the entire adventure is playable solo, the series is best as a cooperative experience, and just as previous installments, Trine 4 allows other players to jump in and join the journey at any time locally or online. According to Frozenbyte, some of the game's puzzles will even differ depending on if you're playing alone or with friends, and you'll be prompted whether you'd like to encounter the solo or co-op versions of the puzzles when in a multiplayer session. The developer also confirmed that the robust skill trees from the first two installments are returning in Trine 4, adding another layer of depth to the adventure.After the ambitious missteps of Trine 3, Trine 4 is a clear reset for the beloved puzzle-platforming series. Frozenbyte is drawing heavily from the formula established by the first two Trine games for its latest installment. For fans of those titles, however, that is likely assurance enough that the series is returning to form. Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince launches for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam this fall.Info from Gamespot.com

The neon-soaked hallways and dirty streets of Katana Zero do a great job of sucking you into its broken world. Gangsters operate unhindered as society is still reeling from a devastating war, one whose loss has littered the streets with homeless war veterans and bars with resentful and drunken citizens looking for a fight. You are that fight--a ruthless sword-wielding assassin with the ability to slow down time--and Katana Zero gives you delicately designed scenarios to slice and dice your way through. Its abrupt ending is an unwelcome surprise, but the riveting action is complemented by an intelligently presented narrative with a variety of captivating themes that is difficult to pull away from.Katana Zero puts you in the shoes of a nameless assassin haunted by the fractured misdeeds from the past war. This war forms the backbone of Katana Zero's central mystery, which does take time to unravel. What starts out as straightforward assassination missions ordered by a shadowy organization slowly unfurls to encapsulate themes of post-traumatic stress, war crimes, and government killings. This plays out across multiple acts, comprised of small side-scrolling stages containing violent and thoughtful combat throughout.Genetic experimentation and drug use are central to both Katana Zero's story and gameplay. Thanks to a steady supply of a blue serum, you're able to augment your simple sword slashes with the ability to slow down time. This lets you pull off some incredibly stylish maneuvers and experiment with a malleable dynamic to the otherwise straight-forward combat. Slow-motion rolls can be combined with precise movement to quickly close distances, and your sword is not just for close-quarter slashing--it can be used to perfectly time a bullet deflection back to its sender. When combined with stage-specific items that can be used as long-range projectiles and security systems that can be transformed from a deterrent into an environmental weapon, Katana Zero doesn't struggle to keep its combat exciting.It helps that each stage is thoughtfully compact given how dangerously fragile you are. A single hit will send you back to the beginning of a stage, with fast respawns making the transition almost instant. This not only avoids the sting of detrimental progress loss, but also gets you back into the engrossing action quickly. There are a few stages that feel excessively long and end up being frustrating, but they're thankfully few and far between.The variety of enemies keeps each encounter from feeling repetitive, gently introducing more dangerous foes that will force you to change up your comforting strategies. Enemies with shields will push you away before swiftly firing at you on the ground, while knife-wielding gangsters can stagger you and delay your attacks for a brief (but deadly) moment. The ways levels combine these different enemies turns each of them into clever combat puzzles, where your twitchy instincts need to be supplemented by thoughtful planning and careful consideration of who to target first.Katana Zero doesn't shy away from telling its story through scenes of unsettling torture and vivid violence, yet it successfully contrasts this with delicately quiet character moments and some heartfelt relationships that help ground a protagonist that would otherwise be impossible to empathize with. It works incredibly well thanks to a creative approach to character conversations, which are often just as important as your violent exploits outside of them. Instead of just being given choices for responses, conversations allow you to interrupt characters to alter both the tone and direction of the scene. Characters react intelligently to your manners during an exchange, expressing disgust at your audacity to cut them off or surprise at your unexpected courtesy.Depending on how you respond, certain small narrative changes can take place too. In one instance I found myself pretending to love anime to convince a hotel receptionist to let me pass, which later helped me avoid the police as she corroborated my alibi. The same conversation played out differently the second time, as my short temper with the same receptionist led her to turn on me when getting questioned about my blood-soaked clothing. Small diversions like this don't have an impact on the trajectory of the main story, and there are a handful of scenarios where you'll be forced into a specific response in order to progress. But Katana Zero mostly handles your branching conversational decisions with grace, eloquently incorporating them into small but inconsequential changes to its excellently written dialogue.Each character moment lands thanks to the sublime pixel artwork. There's an immense amount of detail packed into each sprite, bringing the colorful yet distressing world around you to life with its sheer variety. Character sprites are the most impressive, featuring delicate animation that lends a lot of emotion to each conversation and story beat. These extend to the thoughtful effects applied to simple dialogue bubbles, which use a combination of flashing colors, moving parts, and aggressive screen shake to allow important interactions to hit hard. Katana Zero doesn't just use its retro-inspired style to pull on nostalgic strings. It elevates the style entirely with a sense of depth and detail that is difficult not to appreciate.Katana Zero doesn't shy away from telling its story through scenes of unsettling torture and vivid violence, yet it successfully contrasts this with delicately quiet character moments and some heartfelt relationships.The real pity is that despite its slick presentation and enthralling dialogue, Katana Zero's story just doesn't wrap up in a satisfying way. It starts introducing its central themes about halfway through and only increases in momentum from there, seemingly building to an enticing climax. But it swerves unexpectedly at the end to reveal that this entry is only the first chapter in a larger tale. After four or so hours you're left with a number of unhandled narrative threads and an unsatisfying conclusion, which dampens the exciting momentum that was building up. It's a deflating and abrupt end to the proceedings, with no promise of more to come in the future.The uncertain future of the story that Katana Zero so brilliantly sets up is concerning, but that shouldn't deter you from diving into this compelling introductory chapter. Its combat provides an exciting challenge that tests both strategy and reflex, while also giving you clever abilities to make it as stylish as possible. The narrative contextualization of both your abilities and role within Katana Zero's world is expertly written, with a clever dialogue system letting you inject personality into character interactions. Katana Zero is bloody and brutal, but it's also a heartfelt tale that you shouldn't overlook lightly.Info from Gamespot.com

Sony began to share details on its next-generation PlayStation console this week. Among other things, Mark Cerny explained that it will be backwards compatible and use a customized solid-state drive for quicker load times. One of the details we haven't heard about the presumptive PlayStation 5 is the price, but Sony has signaled not to worry about breaking the bank.While the subject of price didn't come up in the interview, Wired writer Peter Rubin did broach it during his discussion with Cerny, and he shared their exchange on Twitter. Naturally, Cerny was coy about saying too much about the topic, but he did tease the system will launch with an "appealing" price tag. "I believe that we will be able to release it at an SRP [suggested retail price] that will be appealing to gamers in light of its advanced feature set," he said.Of course, Cerny's response leaves a lot of wiggle room, and his comment about the console's "advanced feature set" suggests it won't be cheap, although we likely won't know just how much it'll cost until closer to launch. As for when that will be, Sony hasn't yet announced a release window for its next console. Last May, however, head of PlayStation John Kodera said the new system was three years off, so it presumably won't arrive until 2020 at the earliest.In addition to confirming backwards compatibility, Cerny revealed that the PS5 will use an AMD chip with a CPU based on the third-generation Ryzen, as well as a custom version of Radeon's Navi graphics chips. The system is also said to support 8K. Beyond that, Sony didn't share many other details about its upcoming console, and it's unclear when the company will reveal more information. For the first time since entering the gaming market, Sony is skipping this year's E3, so any more news about the system will likely be reserved for its PlayStation Experience event or new State of Play streams, assuming the company plans on revealing it this year.Info from Gamespot.com

Earth Day is quickly approaching--it's next Monday, April 22, in case you didn't know--and in the spirit of reuse and avoiding waste, Amazon is offering 20% off used PS4, Switch, and Xbox One games, consoles like the Nintendo Switch, wireless controllers, PC gaming accessories, and more this week. Because they're used, many of these products are already discounted, so there are some pretty decent deals with the additional markdown.The 20% off discount will be applied automatically during checkout--you'll be able to see the reduction when you get to the Shipping & Payment portion. And if you have Prime, you'll get free two-day shipping as usual. While used, the products are all in "good," "very good," or "like new" condition and are shipped and sold by Amazon, so you can rest assured the deals are legit.It's a good time to pick up a Nintendo Switch, as you can grab one here for around $210. There's an excellent price on the HTC VIVE VR system, which generally sells for $500 but is available here for $338. Used Xbox wireless controllers are available for well under $40 in multiple colors, with the white version selling for just $27. Meanwhile, you can pick up a black DualShock 4 wireless controller for only $34.There are quite a few used games to pick from in this sale, but the highlights include a Bayonetta 2 + Bayonetta bundle for Switch for about $33, Kingdom Hearts III for $26 on PS4 and $28 for Xbox One, Pokemon: Let's Go, Eevee for $34 and Let's Go, Pikachu for $38, God of War for $21, and Fallout 76 for the record-low price of $15.37 on PS4.The Amazon Warehouse Earth Week sale is running now through April 22.Shop Amazon Warehouse Earth Week gaming deals »See some of our gaming-related picks from the sale below--we've already calculated the 20% off discount for you so you can see the price that will show up at checkout.Consoles / Systems:HTC VIVE Virtual Reality System -- $338.45NES Classic ("Like New" condition) -- $59.07New Nintendo 3DS XL (Black) -- $115.39Nintendo Switch (Red and Blue Joy-Con) -- $210.54Nintendo Switch (Gray Joy-Con) -- $209.41PlayStation Vita -- $112.15Games:Assassin's Creed Origins (PS4) -- $14.86Assassin's Creed Origins (Xbox One) -- $13.58Bayonetta 2 (physical) + Bayonetta (digital) (Switch) -- $33.13Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (PS4) -- $21.94Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (Xbox One) -- $21.94Call of Duty: WWII (PS4) -- $8.94Fallout 76 (PS4) -- $15.37Fallout 76 (Xbox One) -- $20.12Final Fantasy XV (PS4) -- $9.94God of War (PS4) -- $21.11Halo 5: Guardians - Limited Edition (Xbox One) -- $15.74Kingdom Hearts III (PS4) -- $26.29Kingdom Hearts III (Xbox One) -- $28.07Metro Exodus - Aurora Limited Edition (PS4) -- $42.49Metro Exodus - Aurora Limited Edition (Xbox One) -- $42.49Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor - Game of the Year Edition (PS4) -- $12.69Nier: Automata - Game of the Yorha Edition (PS4) -- $21.12Pokemon: Let's Go, Eevee (Switch) -- $33.97Pokemon: Let's Go, Pikachu (Switch) -- $37.74Accessories:DualShock 4 Wireless Controller for PS4 (Black) -- $34.18HyperX Cloud Stinger Gaming Headset -- $26.11Razer Cynosa Chroma Gaming Keyboard -- $30.27Razer Kraken Pro V2 Gaming Headset -- $31.39Seagate 2TB Game Drive for Xbox One, Xbox 360 -- $59.51SteelSeries Rival 600 Gaming Mouse -- $37.30Turtle Beach Recon 50X Gaming Headset (Xbox One) -- $21.79Turtle Beach Recon 50X Gaming Headset (PS4) -- $21.09Xbox Elite Wireless Controller ("Like New" condition) -- $85.85Xbox One Controller Charging Station -- $21.22Xbox Wireless Controller (Red) -- $34.77Xbox Wireless Controller (Phantom Black Special Edition) -- $39.87Xbox Wireless Controller (White) -- $27.48Info from Gamespot.com

The new Kinetic linear fusion rifle Arbalest is the latest Exotic to pop up in Destiny 2. It's the last of the new Exotics that's part of the Season of the Drifter and comes as part of the new Revelry event. You can earn it by completing Triumphs tied to the Revelry and its new activity, the Verdant Forest. Like the other Exotics that come from lengthy quests, it requires a fair bit of grinding to get to the reward.While you'll need to spend some time blasting through the Verdant Forest and working on other activities to get your Arbalest, that doesn't mean it has to take you until the end of the Revelry on May 7 to get it. There are 10 Triumphs to earn in the Revelry, but you only need seven of them to unlock your Arbalest. With the right approach, you can knock out the Triumphs relatively quickly, provided you know what you're doing.Here's how you can knock out the Revelry Triumphs most quickly, and grab your Arbalest with the least pain and grinding.Visit Eva LevanteYour quest for Arbalest starts when you visit Eva Levante at the Tower. She'll give you the Reveler's Tonic, which gives you special perks when you spend a new item called Reveler's Essence that drops in various activities. She'll also send you to fight through the Verdant Forest, a new version of the Infinite Forest.Start by completing your first run in the Verdant Forest--it doesn't matter how well you do, but clearing all five bosses at the end can get you some of the Revelry armor set, which you want--then head back to Eva. Once you do, she'll offer you weekly and daily bounties. You'll need them to get your Arbalest as quickly as possible.Clear Some StrikesYou'll be doing a bunch of Verdant Forest runs, but first you might want to complete Eva's weekly bounties, because they drop Inaugural Revelry armor. Wearing pieces of that armor set (and the Vernal Growth set you can get from Eververse) increases the effectiveness of your Reveler's Tonic perks. Once you get four of them, bosses you kill in the Verdant Forest will start to count toward your Budding Fashion Triumph, so getting the armor earlier is better.While you're running Strikes, activate the grenade or melee perks with your Reveler's Tonic. That'll make your grenade or melee abilities recharge super quickly--like once every two or three seconds. As you're running Strikes, use your abilities constantly; kills with grenades will count toward your Fireworks Triumph, and melee kills count toward the Melee Mayhem Triumph. You'll need to finish five Strikes to complete the bounty, and that should be plenty to get you the kills you need for one or both of the Triumphs as well.When you're not getting grenade kills, focus on precision kills. They have a chance of generating extra Super orbs thanks to the Revelric Light perk from the Revelry, and count toward another weekly bounty. Use those orbs to rack up as many Super kills as you can in every activity you do, since they all count toward the Super Celebratory Triumph.Get CompetitiveThe same thinking about Strikes applies to Crucible or Gambit matches. You'll probably want to go with Gambit, as it'll give you more opportunities to generate Orbs of Light, snag grenade and melee kills, and get Super kills. You'll need to complete five matches to clear the weekly bounty and unlock another piece of Revelry gear. Snag enough precision kills between Strikes and Competitive matches and you'll finish another weekly bounty to gain a third piece of Inaugural Revelry armor.Wear Your Revelry Armor To The Verdant ForestNow you're ready for some Verdant Forest runs. Wear any Inaugural Revelry armor you've got, including the Vernal Growth armor from Eververse--both sets together seem to count toward the Budding Fashion Triumph. Your goal in the Verdant Forest is to clear as many branches as you can before the timer runs out, because more branches means more time for the boss fight at the end. You'll face five bosses in the final encounter, and if you can defeat all of them, you'll get a Powerful drop that often includes more Revelry armor.As you fight through the Verdant Forest, try to get as far as you can (use our guide to help), but focus on precision kills and Supers to generate as many Orbs of Light as possible. The goal is to clear out the Verdant Light Events Triumph, which requires you to earn 200 orbs in the Verdant Forest or in Black Armory forges. You'll also get through the Spring Cleaning Triumph, which needs 50 cleared branches to unlock, but that should be doable in two or three runs with a decent team.When you get to the boss fight section, killing three bosses in one go will get you the Spring Hunt Triumph; killing 20 bosses with four pieces of Revelry armor on unlocks the Budding Fashion Triumph.After that, it's just grinding: get Super kills to finish off the Super Celebratory Triumph; grenade kills and melee kills in Strikes and Competitive matches for the Fireworks Triumph and Melee Mayhem Triumph; and 50 branches for the Verdant Light Events Triumph. In total, with five Strikes, five Competitive matches, and anywhere between four and eight or so Verdant Forest runs, Arbalest should be yours.Arbalest is a pretty sick weapon if you use it right. It's a lot like the Queenbreaker linear fusion rifle, but it's a kinetic weapon, rather than a power weapon. It does a ton of damage when you hit enemies in the head, and it does bonus damage when you use it to break shields. The only drawback is that it doesn't carry much ammo, so make sure you use it wisely.Info from Gamespot.com

The next patch for The Division 2, Title Update 3, has been delayed, along with the raid scheduled to come with it. Originally with a planned release date for April 25, Title Update 3 will now launch on Xbox One, PS4, and PC sometime in May."The final release date of Title Update 3 will be based on results from further testing and balancing of the game," Ubisoft wrote in a blog post. "Operation Dark Hours will be your biggest challenge to date, and we want to make sure that we've properly tested the large amount of balance changes that are coming to both PvE and PvP and listen to your feedback about the changes before introducing the raid."To test these changes, Ubisoft has opened the Public Test Server (PTS) on the PC version of The Division 2. "The plan is to structure the PTS in phases, each lasting a few days and focusing on a specific part of the game," Ubisoft wrote. "We will have surveys and dedicated forum threads (together with our traditional general and technical issues forums) to cover these topics."The PTS is now live, and includes every piece of new content coming in the Title Update 3 except for the raid. Although the raid is the major piece of new content in Title Update 3, the patch also implements several Talent buffs and nerfs as well. There are some balancing changes for Conflict and Dark Zones. Ubisoft hasn't released the full patch notes for the update, but YouTuber Arekkz Gaming has outlined all of the major changes.In our The Division 2 review, Edmond Tran gave the game a 9/10, writing, "The range of enemy types continues to keep combat encounters challenging, the equipment I earn and pick up continues to feel different, valuable, and asks me to consider new ways of play. The ravaged environments continue to intrigue, and sometimes they're so stunning I find myself needing to take screenshots before I move on. It might not have much to say, but The Division 2 is a perpetual cycle of tension, relief, and reward that's difficult to stay away from."Info from Gamespot.com

Developer Treyarch continues to expand Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 with updates, and there's a new one available now on PS4, Xbox One, PC that adds a map variant for free. There's also two new modes on the way and plenty more.The new map variant is named Arsenal Sandstorm. As you might deduce from the name, it's a version of Arsenal that has been overtaken by a dangerous desert storm, and it's available for free for all players now.PS4 players have a new mode called Deathmatch Domination to enjoy. Treyarch describes it as a "first-of-its-kind mode for the Black Ops series" in which teams can increase their score by capturing objective points and by killing enemies. It's essentially a cross between Team Deathmatch and Domination, then.Xbox One and PC players aren't totally left out. While they can't enjoy Deathmatch Domination just yet, they do now get to play Infected, which was previously only available to PS4 players and is now live on all platforms. The mode involves infected players running around attempting to pass on their disease to survivors in order to turn them to the infected side.The remainder of the update is primarily made up of balance tweaks--most notably to the Rampart 17 and KN-57 assault rifles--and stability enhancements. You can read the full patch notes below, via Treyarch.Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4 April 17 Update -- Patch NotesTable of Contents [hide]Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4 April 17 Update -- Patch NotesFree Arsenal Sandstorm MapDeathmatch Domination Debuts on PS4Infected Now Live on All PlatformsSummaryAll PlatformsMultiplayerWorld League HubBlackoutZombiesPS4MultiplayerXbox One And PCMultiplayerFeatured PlaylistsPCMultiplayerBlackoutFree Arsenal Sandstorm MapAs we put the finishing touches on three additional Multiplayer maps launching with our next Operation later this month for Black Ops Pass holders, we're excited to release our newest alternate-weather map free for all players: Arsenal Sandstorm.Hot on the heels of Contraband Hurricane, Arsenal Sandstorm is our most intricate map makeover yet in Black Ops 4. Players will need to adapt their playstyles to waves of sand sweeping across the environment, with limited visibility throughout the facility encouraging shorter-ranged engagements. We're excited to see how player strategies will evolve on Arsenal Sandstorm, now in rotation on all platforms.Deathmatch Domination Debuts on PS4If you've ever wished your team could play the objective in Domination even if they're just there for the streaks, we've got great news. Introducing Deathmatch Domination on PS4, a first-of-its-kind mode for the Black Ops series. In this new take on Domination, teams now have two ways to earn points toward the score limit: by capturing objectives, and by earning kills throughout the match. No matter how you play, you'll be playing for the team. Get out there and let us know what you think in the comments.Infected Now Live on All PlatformsInfected is now live in Multiplayer on all platforms! We've also made some improvements to gameplay and stability, including the addition of 10 seconds to the game clock instead of 30 when a Survivor becomes infected, to help keep matches from running longer than intended. Check out the patch notes below for what's new, and if you're an Infected newbie, be sure to get familiar with the preset Survivor classes so you're ready to hit the ground running... for your life.We've also made additional updates across all modes since our last community update, including weapon tuning to the Rampart and KN-57, an extension to the final Collapse timing in Blackout's Alcatraz map, and more. Read on for the full list of what's new.SummaryFree Arsenal Sandstorm Multiplayer map in rotation today on all platforms.Deathmatch Domination added as Featured Playlist in Multiplayer on PS4.Infected added as Featured Playlist in Multiplayer on Xbox One and PC.Barebones Moshpit, Stockpile, Mercenary Deathmatch Moshpit (consoles), and Half-Off Heist (Xbox One) added to Featured category in Multiplayer.Weapon tuning for Rampart and KN-57 in Multiplayer, Blackout, and Zombies.Alcatraz final Collapse time increased from 60 seconds to 120 seconds.PC curated playlists updated, including new Lone Wolf playlist.Gameplay and stability improvements added for Infected.All PlatformsMultiplayerMapsArsenal SandstormFree alternate-weather version of Arsenal in rotation today on all platforms.Game ModesInfectedWhen a Survivor becomes infected, 10 seconds will now be added to the game clock instead of 30.General stability fixes for Infected.Weapon TuningRampart 17Increased ADS-in speed.KN-57Slightly reduced recoil.Increased ADS-in speed.Quickdraw: Increased ADS-in speed.World League HubStatisticsChoosing Fresh Start will no longer clear World League Hub stats.BlackoutAlcatrazIncreased the final Collapse time from 60 seconds to 120 seconds.Weapon TuningRampart 17Increased ADS-in speed.KN-57Slightly reduced recoil.ZombiesWeapon TuningRampart 17Increased ADS-in speed.KN-57Slightly reduced recoil.Increased ADS-in speed.Quickdraw: Increased ADS-in speed.PS4MultiplayerGame ModesDeathmatch DominationAdded as new Featured Playlist on PS4.Teams have two ways to earn points toward the round score limit: capturing objectives and earning kills.Addressed an issue where Medals were not displaying properly.Featured PlaylistsBarebones Moshpit, Infected, Stockpile, and Mercenary Deathmatch Moshpit join Deathmatch Domination in the Featured category this week.Xbox One And PCMultiplayerInfectedInfected added as Featured Playlist on PS4.Players are divided into two teams: Survivors vs. Infected, with one player randomly selected as the first Infected.Infected players hunt down the Survivors and attack them to spread their disease, converting their victims into members of the Infected team.Survivors choose from preset classes and kill/avoid the Infected throughout the match.Survivors win by having at least one surviving member when the timer runs out. Infected team wins by infecting every Survivor in the map before time runs out.Infected team can respawn an infinite number of times. Survivors have one life before they become Infected.Timer resets every time a Survivor falls victim to the Infected team, or when a Survivor becomes Infected via suicide.Preset classes for Survivors include:ScrapperPrimary Weapon: Cordite w/ Laser Sight and Extended MagsSecondary Weapon: Mozu w/ High CaliberEquipment: ConcussionPerks: Gung-Ho, Lightweight, DexterityWildcard: Perk 2 GluttonyImpalerPrimary Weapon: VAPR-XKG w/ ELO and BayonetSecondary Weapon: StrifeEquipment: MolotovPerks: Scavenger, Dexterity, Dead SilenceWildcard: Primary Operator ModLead SpitterPrimary Weapon: Titan w/ Reflex, Stock, and QuickdrawSecondary Weapon: RK 7 GarrisonEquipment: FragPerks: Skulker, Dexterity, and Team LinkWildcard: Perk 2 GreedPerforatorPrimary Weapon: ABR 223 w/ Suppressor, Quickdraw, and Extended MagsSecondary Weapon: StrifeEquipment: MolotovPerks: Scavenger, Skulker, and Dead SilenceWildcard: Primary Gunfighter 1Meat BaggerPrimary Weapon: Mozu w/ Speed Loader and QuickdrawSecondary Weapon: MOG 12 w/ QuickdrawEquipment: ConcussionPerks: Scavenger, Dexterity, and Team LinkWildcard: UnderkillHeadhunterPrimary Weapon: Paladin HB50 w/ High Caliber and StabilizerSecondary Weapon: MOG 12 w/ Long Barrel and Barrel ChokeEquipment: NonePerks: Dexterity, Skulker, and TrackerWildcard: Perk 2 GreedFeatured PlaylistsXbox OneInfected, Barebones Moshpit, Stockpile, Mercenary Deathmatch Moshpit, and Half-Off Heist added to the Featured category this week.PCInfected, Barebones Moshpit, and Stockpile added to the Featured category this week.PCMultiplayerCore Playlist UpdatesTeam DeathmatchSearch & DestroyMercenary Deathmatch MoshpitTeam DeathmatchKill ConfirmedObjective MoshpitControlHardpointDominationSafeguardLone Wolf MoshpitFree For AllOne In The ChamberGun GameHeistMatch Start RequirementsReduced Mercenary Deathmatch Moshpit match start requirements from 10 players to 8.Reduced Hardcore Deathmatch Moshpit match start requirements from 10 players to 8.Reduced Objective Moshpit match start requirements from 8 players to 6.Reduced Hardcore Objective Moshpit match start requirements from 8 players to 6.BlackoutMatch Start RequirementsReduced match start requirements from 100 players to 80 in current and future Blackout modes when applicable.Info from Gamespot.com

Swamp Thing has been a favorite of DC fans for many years, but most viewers would probably agree that neither of his previous two on-screen adaptations captured the spooky, horror edge that made his comic books so popular in the '70s and early '80s. Hopefully that will all change next month when the new Swamp Thing show launches on DC Universe. The first teaser has now been released.The video doesn't reveal much actual footage from the show, but it's still highly effective. The camera tracks slowly across the waters of a spooky swamp, before stopping to show us Swamp Thing emerging from its depths. The creature's make-up looks fantastic and the teaser certainly suggests that the show will be going in a horror-based direction. Check it out above.Swamp Thing stars Andy Bean (Agents of SHIELD, the upcoming It: Chapter 2) as Dr Alec Holland, the biologist who transforms into the elemental monster after working in the Louisiana swamp. Derek Mears, who is best known for portraying the iconic killer Jason Vorhees in the 2009 reboot of Friday the 13th, plays the creature. The cast also includes Virginia Madsen (Candyman), Jennifer Beals (Flashdance), and WiIl Patton (Halloween). It hits DC Universe on May 31.The first season of Swamp Thing was originally intended to be 13 episodes. However, it was reported this week that production was abruptly halted and the season will now run for 10 episodes. According to The Hollywood Reporter, "creative differences" have led to the shortened season, but DC and Warner have not commented on the issue.Nevertheless, there are plenty of other shows in the works for DC Universe. The DC Universe panel at Wondercon last month gave fans a first look at Courtney Whitmore in Stargirl, which will premiere in early 2020. In addition, it was recently reported that Game of Thrones star Iain Glen has been cast as Bruce Wayne in the second season of Titans, which is scheduled for a Fall 2019 release. Info from Gamespot.com

The Last of Us: Part II is one of the most anticipated PS4 games of the moment, but things have been pretty quiet since the game's E3 2018 gameplay reveal. However, developer Naughty Dog has now offered a small glimpse into the post-apocalyptic game's development progress.Creative director Neil Druckmann tweeted an image of the game's final script page. The page simply reads, "Cut to black. The end." His caption, meanwhile, states the team has finished shooting that scene.Just shot this scene... so... 😔 pic.twitter.com/uyjbpTdfxC — Neil Druckmann (@Neil_Druckmann) April 17, 2019The image comes just a few days after Druckmann posted an image on Instagram stating Laura Bailey, who plays an as-yet-unknown character, has wrapped her shooting schedule on the project. It therefore appears Naughty Dog has finished--or is close to finishing--shooting its motion capture scenes.While development of the game could still be ongoing for a while yet, finishing this stage is nevertheless an important milestone. In any case, many fans feel they've been starved of information about The Last of Us: Part II, so to see it approaching the end of at least one important phase of development is a promising step. View this post on InstagramThat’s a performance capture wrap for @laurabaileyvo ! Thanks for helping to bring one of my favorite characters to life. You crushed it.A post shared by Neil Druckmann (@druckmann) on Apr 12, 2019 at 7:42pm PDTNo release date, or window, has yet been announced for The Last of Us: Part II. A spoof website recently reported the game would launch in 2019, but Naughty Dog responded by saying it would share more information when it's ready. For more on the much-awaited PS4 game, check out everything we know about The Last of Us: Part II.While we know The Last of Us: Part II is coming to PS4, Sony has, somewhat surprisingly, released the first details about the PS5. We know some of the device's specs, while Sony has already confirmed the PS5 will be backwards compatible with PS4 games.Info from Gamespot.com

Nearly 20 years after the first movie was released, the Fast & Furious series is bigger than ever. Next year will see the release of the ninth movie in the franchise, and before we get to that, the spin-off Hobbs & Shaw arrives in August. A new trailer has now been released.Like January's first trailer, this latest one is pretty long, so be warned if you don't want to know a lot of the movie's plot. But it looks like massive fun, with Agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and mercenary-for-hire Owen Shaw (Jason Statham) reluctantly teamed up to take on Idris Elba's genetically enhanced bad guy. There's also plenty of action from Mission Impossible: Fallout star Vanessa Kirby, playing Shaw's sister, and a hilarious-looking family reunion for Hobbs. Check it out above.Hobbs & Shaw is directed by Deadpool 2's David Leitch, and also stars Eiza González (Baby Driver) and Eddie Marsan (Deadpool 2), with Helen Mirren reprising her role as Shaw's mom from 2016's The Fate of the Furious. It releases on August 2, 2019.As for Fast & Furious 9, that is now in production ahead of its April 2020 release. It's directed by Justin Lin, who has helmed four of the previous movies in the series. It stars Vin Deisel once more, but won't feature Johnson or Statham.Info from Gamespot.com

It's finally here. The first full trailer for the upcoming Child's Play reboot has arrived and, with it, the first real look at the new version of Chucky, who happens to be voiced by Mark Hamill. While we previously didn't know much about the film, the new movie gives a lot of insight into what makes this take on Child's Play so different.The big takeaway is that this isn't just some doll. It's 2019 and now Chucky is from the Buddi line of smart toys. As the trailer says, he can connect to all of your smart devices--which already sounds like a bad idea--and is controlled by an app. Of course, as the trailer teases, that app is going to go haywire as Chucky goes on a murdering spree.And while the trailer doesn't get too gory, it certainly looks as though Chucky is going to be very creative with his kills. From wrapping up one victim in Christmas lights, to seemingly taking control of electronic devices like drones to carry out his misdeeds, this murderous little doll is dangerous--and downright creepy. Check it out above.One thing the trailer doesn't do is give much context to the relationship between Chucky and his owner, the 13-year-old Andy (Gabriel Bateman). However, during a preview event for the trailer's release, GameSpot and select press were shown an additional scene from the movie.In it, Chucky and Andy are playing a board game, as the doll learns more about his owner. When a cat scratches the boy, though, Chucky goes on the offensive against the feline in a pretty disturbing moment. Thankfully, Andy stops him before it's too late, while Chucky says it's because the cat caused him pain.It certainly gives the impression that Chucky thinks he's protecting Andy when he gets violent, at least at first. Given that this is a Child's Play movie, though, clearly, Andy isn't going to remain safe. And when you consider that a doll like the new Chucky can control pretty much any device it wants to, it opens up a bunch of truly horrific possibilities.While this is the first real trailer for Child's Play, you're not going to have to wait much longer to see more. Child's Play, which also stars Aubrey Plaza and Bryan Tyree Henry, is in theaters on June 21.Info from Gamespot.com

Sega has revealed 10 more games coming to its Mega Drive Mini (known as the Genesis Mini in the US). The lineup of classic titles includes Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Earthworm Jim, and more beloved games.Fans will be pleased to see both Caste of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck included with Sega's miniature console. The device also comes with Streets of Rage 2, Contra: Hard Corps, and Shinobi 3.A further 20 games are to be revealed over the coming months. We already knew Ecco the Dolphin, Sonic the Hedgehog, Castlevania: Bloodlines and more were to be pre-installed on the console, which will come with 40 games in total. You can read all 20 games revealed so far at the bottom of this article.The Mega Drive Mini / Genesis Mini launches worldwide on September 19, costing $80 / £70 / AU $140. It's based on the Model 1 version of the original console, except approximately 55% smaller. The box contains the console, a power adapter, two replica three-button USB controllers, one USB to micro-USB power cable, and one HDMI lead.The game ports that are on the Genesis Mini were handled by M2, a team that is well known for its work on emulation and re-releases. M2 previously worked on Sega Ages and Sega 3D Classics Collection.Releasing Mini versions of classic consoles has become something of a trend recently. Nintendo led the way with the NES Classic and the SNES Classic, both of which were received well by critics and went on to be hot commercial items. Sony followed suite with the PlayStation Classic, which wasn't received as warmly.Sega Mega Drive Mini / Genesis Mini Games Lineup (So Far)Sonic the HedgehogEcco the DolphinCastlevania: BloodlinesSpace Harrier 2Shining ForceDr. Robotnik's Mean Bean MachineToeJam & EarlComix ZoneAltered BeastGunstar HeroesCastle of IllusionWorld of IllusionThunder Force IIISuper Fantasy ZoneShinobi IIIStreets of Rage 2Earthworm JimSonic the Hedgehog 2Contra: Hard CorpsLandstalkerInfo from Gamespot.com

Mortal Kombat 11 is releasing on the Nintendo Switch, marking the first MK game on a Nintendo system since the series reboot. The Switch version is a little less beautiful than its contemporaries, but what it lacks in visual fidelity it makes up for with portability. So it's no surprise that the official Switch trailer emphasizes the on-the-go aspect.The trailer (above) shows a piece of a cutscene before pulling back and showing gameplay on a smaller Switch window playing footage of the fights. It's difficult to see due to the smaller screen size but the fights are a little low-fi compared to what you may have gotten accustomed to seeing in other gameplay trailers and Kombat Kasts.We knew that the Switch version would lose some graphical bells and whistles, though. A recent hands-on preview showed that despite the downgrade, the game ran smoothly to keep the fighting consistent. That means that if you want a portable version, you probably won't compromise the integrity of the systems for the benefit.NetherRealm slowly revealed the MK11 roster in the lead-up to launch, most recently announcing the return of Kitana. The studio is now preparing its downloadable content, which will begin with Shang Tsung. After this game the studio may be looking to explore new franchises or even genres.Mortal Kombat 11 releases on April 23 for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. For more details, check out our pre-order guide.Info from Gamespot.com

Ever since its reveal last year, developer id Software has been very clear about Rage 2 being the game that the original should have been. Co-developed with Avalanche Studios, the sequel has been touted as a true open-world game compared to its predecessor's attempt at one, leaning heavily on hectic gameplay within a vast and dynamic environment. Though Rage 2 is all about blending together the fast, punchy corridor-shooter action that id software is known for with Avalanche's sense of scale and breadth of content from their world-exploring games, our last few impressions didn't give us the opportunity to see those aspects really come together.However, we recently got to play two hours of the final game ahead of its May 14 release. While exploring the setting at our leisure, we got more of a clearer picture of how Rage 2 injects id Software's old-school design within the framework of a modern open-world game. We also spoke with id studio director with id Software studio director Tim Willits about the making of the sequel to the 2011 post-apocalyptic open-world shooter, and how it's introduced them to some new rethink their familiar design philosophies.Editor's Note: This interview has been edited for clarity and readability.When you think back to the original game after playing this one, they're pretty night and day by comparison. Rage 2 feels like it's entirely its own thing.Yes, it is. Firstly, I like to say that Rage 2 delivers on all that Rage 1 promised. I've joked that the biggest lesson I've learned from Rage is don't make an open world game without an open world technology, which is what we did with our id Tech 5 engine for the original. But you're right, it's kinda like we're launching a new franchise. It's very exciting. We often get people asking, "Well, do I need to have played the first one?" And I'm like, "No. Don't worry about it. We got you covered." You can just jump in and play. Don't be nervous by the 2.After playing about two hours of this game, I do have to say that it felt more comfortable with being an id-shooter in an open world. Whereas the original felt like it was trying brute force its way into that mold.I'm glad you noticed that. It was the number one thing we set out to do with this game. When we were started pitching the game internally, I made this presentation and one slide had said "Rage 2." People were like, "okay, Rage 2, that's cool," and then the next slide was the Id logo and the Avalanche logo, and when people saw that they were like, yeah, that's cool! And then everything from there just made sense.It seems like Avalanche coming on was very instrumental in helping id Software transition its particular gameplay into the open world.Well, the great thing about working with the Avalanche team is they not only bring the Apex Engine technology, which is awesome, but they also bring that experience. They've been making open-world action games for a long time, so they just think about things differently. How we tell the story, how we write the dialogue, and how we approach the missions, those things really leveraged on a lot of their expertise. We have some amazing technology, but just for this style of game, we found that it was better to work with a company that had the experience with their own [open-world] tech and gameplay. Working with Avalanche on this game was kind of a match made in heaven.Truth be told, I played Rage 2 previously at other conventions, and it was difficult getting a sense of the world and scale of the game. The previous demos tended to focus more on enclosed encounters--which seemed more in-line with traditional id shooters, rather than an open world game.Yeah, it's not the same experience getting to dive into this game at your own pace versus playing a 20-minute chunk at a show. At E3 last year, we had the Eden's Gate complex, which is very classic id Software style-level. It was fun, it was cool, but you are right--We stuck you in a box, and obviously, this game is not a box. We wanted people to believe that we had that id-style combat in this world, so we really focused on proving that first, which is one of our biggest milestones in the project. We really had to figure out how it felt to play, what the endgame content was like, and what the weapons were like. Are they loud enough, powerful enough, fast enough? So it was definitely a hurdle we needed to jump over early.But I'm glad you were able to play a big part in the game just now. You know, it's funny, now, when you play the game, you'll get that Eden's Gate mission, and you'll be like, "this is so small compared to everything else I saw". When you play through it normally, you'll just blast through it. It's such a different feeling when you actually get to see it the world.This game will also see some interesting updates after launch which will affect the state of the world. In a recent trailer, there were some references to in-world event that has you fight mutants for a TV program.Yes! So, we'll have events and we can churn in activities on the occasion. But you do not need to always be online for this game. So was a little bit of confusion recently, but if you are connected to the internet, you can participate in these live events. If you're not, then just play the base game and have fun. We can make these cool events happen that will kinda keep people engaged as we can deliver them more content in the future.So Rage 2 six to seven month from now will potentially be a different game than the one we've got at launch?Yes, that's the plan! Hopefully, people will stay with it. I do think we have a good plan. We have some cool beats that we'll talk about after the game launches, and what the framework looks like moving forward. When you play the full game, you can see that there's room for things to expand, and we will continually layer things in to keep people engaged.It seems like the idea of the evolving game or a games-as-a-service title is becoming more commonplace now. Is Rage 2 in that similar school of thought?No, it will just be a supported game. I don't know, it's so hard to--like someone needs to come up with a perfect definition of what a "games-as-a-service" game actually is. Many people have different ideas of that, and I may have confused people originally when I started talking about this. What we're planning on doing is creating some updates and content for this game after we launch. So, we monitor the game, we monitor the players, we act in the community, we're gonna support it, we're gonna update it. It's not like a subscription or a free-to-play game. But it will be supported.Though previous id Software shooters have seen updates after launch, this game seems more about expanding the world itself and the content therein. This seems to be new territory for you all.That's true, but it's honestly the direction that the industry is moving toward. Fans spend so much time with our games, and people want to know that the thing that they enjoy is being supported and that the developers stand behind it, and that they will continue to improve the experience. If you're gonna dedicate so much of your time, when there are so many other things to do, you want that commitment from the other side. So that's what we are gonna try to do, which is something that's new for us, so hopefully, it'll work.Though the game itself is very modern in its focus, it still feels very old-school in its design. And we see that in its focus on offering cheat codes, which seems to be a rarity in today's age.We don't take ourselves too seriously all the time, and those cheat codes should be pretty fun. The game shines when players just sit down and do what they want to do. I really believe, the more time you spend with the game, the more enjoyable it is. If you rush through it, you're not gonna have as much fun as the person that spends twice as long. So, I would encourage people to take their time, experiment with the powers and upgrades, because there's a lot. It's definitely rewarding for people who spend the time.There's one cheat in particular called "Git Gud", which kills all enemies in one hit once activated. It seems to be a reference to online game challenge culture. Do you have a particular stance on how you want your games to be designed in terms of difficulty and the barrier for entry?So I'm a bit more old-school, I like to get thrown into a new mission and told to find the red key somewhere in the level. But in a game that's this big and open, we do need to help players when they feel like they need some help and we do need to kinda direct them [with the GPS]. As for difficulty, we have several different difficulty settings, of course. If you want that extra challenge then you can play the Nightmare difficulty. You really have to strategize and play smart, it's so tough. But yeah, if you're a pretty hardcore player, I'd encourage you to play it on hard, not normal.The openness that we have is the nature of this game, nothing is really off-limits. We may point you in the right direction, but we don't really scale the difficulty of the enemies. So if you find an area that's too tough, you can just come back to it when you have more upgrades and more abilities, and you can just tear through it. We give you that opportunity. With the open world nature of the game, I do believe that it allows for more accessibility than some of our other games. We tend to make intense games at id, and sometimes people accuse us of being a little too hardcore. But even though this game's fast and can be tough, because it can change based on what you do and how you play it, I actually think it's more accessible than any of our others games.I think what's especially noticeable about this game compared to the original is that it has a lot more personality.Yeah, the first one sold well and people enjoyed it, but I definitely feel that we are firing on all the cylinders with the sequel. We have the right personality, we have the right developers, we have the right tech, we have the right style. It's a good time, also, for this type of game. Because it is a little bit more unique than a lot of the other, kind of, post-apocalyptic games. And yes, you are absolutely correct. We really tried to make the game fun. So, if people play it, and their friend says, "Well, what do you think of Rage 2?" If they say, "That was fun!", then I'm happy.Info from Gamespot.com

It's been an exciting week so far, with PS5 details and an Avengers: Endgame leak. If you're a Fortnite fan, the week is about to get even better with a new wave of challenges to complete. Naturally, spending the time and effort to finish these mini-quests will score you Battle Stars that level up your Battle Pass and unlock cosmetics.As always, there are two sets of challenges. The first is a free set that's available to anyone playing the game, while the second is exclusively for those that have spent V-Bucks on a premium Battle Pass. In the former's category, players will need to find a treasure map, use vending machines, and dish out damage to enemies while also using a balloon.Meanwhile, if you've got a premium Battle Pass, you'll need to search Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces, dial the Durrr Burger number on a specific phone, take out enemies in Dusty Divot or Lucky Landing, and then kill two enemies from at least 50m away.Fortnite Season 8, Week 8 ChallengesFreeStage 1: Search the treasure map signpost in Paradise Palms (1) -- 2 Battle StarUse Vending Machines in different matches (3) -- 5 Battle StarsDeal damage to opponents while using at least one balloon (100) -- 10 Battle StarsBattle PassSearch Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces under bridges and in caves (7) -- 5 Battle StarsStage 1: Dial the Durrr Burger number on the big telephone west of Fatal Fields (1) -- 2 Battle StarsEliminate opponents at Dusty Divot or Lucky Landing (7) -- 10 Battle StarsEliminate opponents from at least 50m away (2) -- 10 Battle StarsThe latest Fortnite update added a new LTM oriented around dogfighting. Patch 8.40 introduced Air Royale, which lets players "pilot the X-4 Stormwing in this Limited-Time Mode as you fight to become the last plane flying! Complete free Challenges to unlock brand-new Wraps as you rule the skies."Alongside it, Epic also brought back the Food Fight LTM, but as a variant called Deep Fried. It features higher restaurant bases, which means teams must build up to them to protect their mascots. There are a number of other tweaks and changes to the game, and you can see it all in the Fortnite update 8.40 patch notes.Info from Gamespot.com