Three classic Resident Evil games are headed to Nintendo Switch in the near future, Capcom has confirmed. The original, Resident Evil 0, and Resident Evil 4 all have an Eshop release date of May 21.Switch owners in North America can purchase Resident Evil and Resident Evil 0 as part of an Origins Collection at retail, though it appears the games will not receive physical versions in Europe. Pre-orders begin in all territories on February 28; pricing has not yet been revealed. There's no word regarding any additions or changes to these versions of the games.Nintendo Switch previously received Resident Evil: Revelations and Resident Evil: Revelations 2, but May will be the first time a mainline title from the popular horror series come to the Switch. The original Resident Evil first released in 1996, and many of its successors are third-person survival-horror games, while others are more action-centric or play out in first-person. The 2002 prequel Resident Evil 0 and 2005's Resident Evil 4 are considered some of the best games in the series.The franchise's most recent entry is a remake of Resident Evil 2, which launched for PS4, Xbox One, and PC in January. We awarded the game a 9/10 in our Resident Evil 2 remake review, saying it's a "stellar remake of the original," but as yet it is not listed for release on Nintendo Switch.Info from Gamespot.com

Even after massive hits like Rockstar Games' Red Dead Redemption series, the setting of the old west isn't something you see games used that often. But with the upcoming Outlaws of the Old West, coming from developer Virtual Basement, this online open-world survivalist take on the timeless concept of the Western aims to give the setting a different spin. Throughout your journey in the open world, you'll be able to explore the vast plains and snowy mountains in order to survive the lawless lands of the old west.Releasing in early access on March 12 for PC, Outlaws of the Old West brings up to 150 players into an open-world where they'll scrape together resources found from exploring and foraging throughout the environment. In familiar survival game fashion, everyone starts out with little to no resources, and you'll have to slowly acquire the necessities to survive. If you aren't able to meet your character's basic needs, such as food and water, then they'll meet their end fast--and anything you had on you at the time of your death will be free for others to take. Much like in the old west, you'll have to contend with constant threats from nature and the occasional ruthless bandit or two that want what's yours.We spent some time checking out an early build of the game and got to see what to expect in the online world. With the game being in development for more than two years, Outlaws' core gameplay is very familiar as far as survival-focused adventures go, though what sets this apart from other titles is the setting itself. During our session, executive producer Tim Hesse explained why they set their sights on the old west."One of the primary reasons why we chose the setting was because of how underutilized it is," said Hesse. "The developers had experience working on other survival games, and they love the Western setting, and honestly, there aren't that many games like that out there. In some ways, it's a little more challenging making a game set in the West, because if you did a sci-fi survival game you could come up with anything you would want. With Outlaws, we are limited to the time period, which keeps things focused."Outlaws features some rather strict rules with its take on survival gameplay. If you're able to gain enough resources and survive the elements long enough, you'll gradually work your way up to become a seasoned survivor, giving you the means to explore further into the wild. Eventually, you'll be able to build houses and even take up minor professions. Though there are NPC characters that roam around--including bandits, some townsfolk, and even miners holed up in their gold mines--the majority of the interactions to be had are with other players. Though you can form parties, and even create guilds, you're still free to become a true outlaw and rob others. Doing this, however, will affect your standing in the world, and if you cause enough chaos, other players can put a bounty on you, painting a large target on your back.With that steep focus on survival-gameplay and resource gathering, the mechanics and itemization in the online game can get extremely granular. For instance, to acquire a lasso you'll first need to get plants to serve as the precursor materials, which then need to be taken to a spinning wheel for crafting. And of course, the spinning wheel will need to be made first from spare wood materials before you can do all of this. It was interesting to see how deep the crafting was in the game, which seems to go a bit further than other survival-focused games out there.With the PC serving as the testing grounds for the game, the full retail release will eventually make its way to PS4 and Xbox One. According to the developers, they'll be directly engaging with the community while in the early access period. From our experiences, the pre-release was noticeably rough around the edges on the technical side of things, but the concept still showed solid promise. It'll be interesting to see how Outlaws of the Old West can act upon the rich and underused setting of the old west and evolve its online world from there.Info from Gamespot.com

Season 8 of Fortnite is just around the corner. With only a few days remaining in Season 7, developer Epic Games has now confirmed that the new season of the battle royale game will kick off across all platforms this Thursday, February 28.Just as it has done in the run up to previous seasons, Epic is dropping teasers in the days leading up to Season 8. Each of the hints thus far has come in the form of a poem that suggests the new season will have a pirate theme; the first references "X marks the spot" and treasure, while the second warns players to beware "those who arrive on the waves."What this means as far as gameplay goes remains to be seen, but it'll presumably somehow tie into the earthquakes that have been occurring in the game. Players first began experiencing these tremors earlier this month following the release of Fortnite's 7.30 update, and they've been growing in intensity since, so much so that cracks are now appearing in the island.We'll find out soon enough what all this means for Season 8, but in the meantime, players still have a few days to complete any remaining Season 7 challenges, including the new Overtime challenges. Epic is giving the Season 8 Battle Pass to players for free if they finish these Overtime challenges, so you'll want to complete them before the season ends to get your hands on the pass without having to shell out any V-Bucks.You also have until the end of Season 7 to unlock all the variants of the Prisoner skin. If you need help finishing any of this season's challenges, you can find all of GameSpots tips and guides in our complete Season 7 challenges roundup.Info from Gamespot.com

Avengers: Endgame promises the culmination of a story arc that has lasted more than a decade. The ambitious Marvel Cinematic Universe has borrowed liberally from the criss-crossing continuity that comic fans have known for years, and evolved into a sprawling movie empire. And because it has become so larger-than-life, it’s easy to forget that it began with a single hero. Tony Stark was our unlikely introduction to this universe. Now it’s time for his character to exit, and in the process, to finish one of the longest continuous character arcs in filmmaking history. By the time the credits roll on Endgame, Tony Stark should be deceased.The MCU has introduced or reintroduced dozens of heroes to the big screen, but none has had a single coherent character trajectory quite like Tony Stark. Captain America has become disillusioned and questioned what his patriotic symbolism means, and Thor has gone through a variety of relationship ups-and-downs with his brother Loki, but Stark has had the most room to subtly grow. Part of that is his sheer screen-time. Due to a combination of his appearances in his own trilogy of Iron Man films, all of the Avengers films, and even cameos in others like Spider-Man: Homecoming, actor Robert Downey Jr. and the MCU writers have had the space to develop Stark to an incredible degree.In addition, he’s one of the few Marvel heroes who is utterly mortal, making his character that much more identifiable. Other regular humans like Black Widow or Hawkeye just haven’t taken center-stage like Stark. All this builds a relatable human story of a man--a particularly gifted one intellectually, but just a man nonetheless--responding to and coping with the existence of profound knowledge and unfathomable stress.In the original Iron Man, Tony Stark was a selfish, smug jackass. It took a near-death experience and seeing the consequences of his irresponsible lifestyle firsthand to force him to confront his own complacency. This was the crucial first step to his growth as a person, although he only extended his heroism to correcting his own mistakes and interdicting the misuse of Stark weapons against innocent people. He hadn’t yet learned how to look outside himself or work with others in any meaningful capacity.This was partially corrected in Iron Man 2, which, although it was the sloppiest of all the movies in characterization, did knock Tony down a peg and allow him to see the value in having support from others. In this sequel, he started to act self-destructively, and only survived thanks to help from his friends Rhodey and Pepper, and to a larger extent, Black Widow and Nick Fury.By the time The Avengers arrived, Tony Stark was still cocky, but he’d accepted some amount of a mantle of leadership and an appreciation for teamwork. At this point, it’s precisely because of this increased sense of responsibility that he clashes with Captain America. Cap’s criticism after Agent Coulson’s apparent death is harsh, but correct: Tony Stark isn’t a soldier, and deep-down he simply doesn’t believe that sacrifices are necessary. This is fundamental to understanding Tony Stark, and his relationship with Cap puts it into sharp relief. As we know from Captain America: The First Avenger, Steve Rogers was the type of man to jump on a grenade just to protect those in his company--most of whom thought he was a worthless wimp. Tony Stark didn’t have that trait. His clash with Cap is about a disagreement that comes up over and over throughout the series. Stark always believes that he can engineer a clever solution, a backdoor, a failsafe. His origin story is grounded in outwitting a problem to keep himself safe, and that continued to define his approach. That’s why, when he made the impulsive decision to fly into space at the end of The Avengers, it was a moment of real growth. But it also devastated him, and led to a series of decisions driven by trauma.When Iron Man 3 began, he was wracked with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. He had seen the expanse of the universe and grappled with the magnitude of its threats. A man utterly confident in his ability to deal with anything the world threw at him suddenly had to cope with the idea that there are other worlds, and he felt a responsibility to be the guardian of his own.It was this realization that led him to build the Iron Legion, an army of his own equipped to take on any conceivable specialized task. This reckless sense of unilateral responsibility also led him to build Ultron, dubbed “a suit of armor around the world.” This is when he conspicuously pointed out that cosmic threats were “the end-game” that all of his machinations revolved around. And most crucially, the vision shown to him by Scarlet Witch was one of mass death of all his allies and friends. The worst part, he confided in Nick Fury, was that he didn’t die with them. This was a major shift in his perspective and values. As the team entered Infinity War, Tony Stark had developed more healthy interpersonal relationships, but we quickly learned that he was still constantly mindful of intergalactic danger. In fact, he’d developed a suit that is on him at all times, equipable in seconds, and specifically engineered to deal with cosmic threats. Arguably his decision to venture into the far reaches of space itself carried an implicit acknowledgement that he may not make it back to Earth. By the end of that film, his absolute worst fear was realized when his mentee, Peter Parker, died in his arms.We can glean additional meaning from the actions of one of Stark’s fellow heroes. Doctor Strange only gave up the Time Stone to save Tony, after explicitly stating that he would rather let his allies die than surrender it. We can infer that he did this because, after peering into the possible futures, he saw only one that was a success: the one in which Tony Stark lives.Consider Tony Stark’s position and mindset as Avengers: Endgame approaches. He’s finally internalized that sacrifice is sometimes necessary, and he feels survivor’s guilt over living through the randomness of Thanos’s cataclysmic snap. Yet he appears to be crucial to whatever eventuality will stop Thanos. Whatever the Avengers are planning to restore the other heroes and set things right, it’s now Tony Stark who is most primed to sacrifice himself for the greater good. No more failsafes, no more witty solutions, no more outsmarting the problem. Just sacrifice. Someone will need to hold the line, and while Captain America will be more than willing, Tony Stark needs to make sure that it’s him in order to satisfy this decade-long character arc. It’s possible that the trajectory of Tony’s character arc has happened by chance--that this is all the coincidence of several different script writers planting seeds that will never quite bear fruit. It’s possible that the various teases and winks that Captain America will die in Avengers Endgame are not clever misdirects after all. Maybe the Russo brothers feel they’ve already devastated us with death, and this victorious conclusion will be all catharsis and joy.But I hope not.As much as I love Tony Stark and Robert Downey Jr.’s portrayal of him, Marvel has a chance to use its enormous ongoing universe to deliver a powerful conclusion for the character who started it all. It would be a fitting, emotionally resonant send-off to the franchise that brought a new level of serialized storytelling to the silver screen. Tony Stark helped us all become part of a bigger universe. It’s time for him to make a satisfying exit from it.Info from Gamespot.com

Ubisoft has released the full patch notes for the final scheduled February update for Assassin's Creed Odyssey. Titled Patch 1.1.4, the update comes to Xbox One, PS4, and PC tomorrow, February 26.The most notable addition included in the update is New Game Plus, a much requested feature from the Assassin's Creed community for Odyssey. To access New Game Plus, you'll need to finished the Family Quest Line, which is the largest of the three mainline campaign stories in Odyssey. Once you've completed that storyline, you'll see the option to play New Game Plus on the main menu between Load and Options. Playing New Game Plus puts you back at the beginning of Odyssey's story, but you keep all of your gear, mounts, spear and ship upgrades, abilities, drachmae, and crafting materials. You'll also have the choice of continuing to play as your Kassandra or Alexios or switch to the other playable protagonist if you want a change of pace.Patch 1.1.4 also adds 10 decorative frames for use in Odyssey's in-game Photo Mode. There are also new accessibility options included in the update that allow you to further customize how subtitles appear in-game. Support for Odyssey's upcoming Legacy of the First Blade Episode 3: Bloodline DLC--coming to all systems March 5--and the next month's Lost Tales of Greece missions is included in the patch too.Most of Patch 1.1.4 contains miscellaneous and balancing updates, as well as over five dozen bug fixes. We've outlined the full list below. Spoiler warning: the bug fixes contain major story details from late-game campaign, Lost Tales of Greece, and Legacy of the First Blade DLC missions.Assassin's Creed Odyssey Patch 1.1.4 NotesMiscellaneousThe tier of the perks available on a Lieutenant obtained from Ubisoft Club and the Store will now scale based on the player level.Hard mode fights in the Arena are now a bit harder.Added an option to hold down the respective key to increase the number of items quicker.Improved some UI aspects of Photo Mode to increase usability.Increased maximum player level to 99. NINE NINE.Added new Ship tiers to the game.Added more Mastery Levels.Added two Mercenary tiers and rewards.Added 22 Viewpoints that can be fast traveled to.BalancingDrachmae acquisition has been rebalanced across several sources Lowered Drachmae gained with Contracts.Increased Drachmae gained with Bounties and Conquest Battles.Crafting Materials acquisition from Naval sources have been rebalanced Added chance to loot Iron Metal and Soft Leather from sinking ship and looting floating loot.Scaled floating loot quantity based on player level.Lower chance to loot Precious Gem and Obsidian Glass from sinking ship.Increased Wood quantity from Epic Ship.Athenian Hero set bonus will be improved to give: All Arrows Pierce Shields and +30% Hunter Damage.Added a missing perk to the Epic Heavy Bladed Champion's Axe.The Bounty cost for high-level players at a high level of bounty has been slightly increased.Celestial Crown will now increase damage to swords, as intended.Bug FixesDLCAddressed various issues with the Protector of Persia quest.Adjusted a cutscene and tweaked some dialogue in Shadow Heritage.Main GameGameplay Addressed various issues with engravings and perks.Addressed an issue where players couldn't obtain Nestor's rewards under certain circumstances.Addressed an issue causing the big battle in Achaia to end before enemy forces were depleted.Special Lieutenants can be hired after multiple recruiting. Back to work, Misthios!Hephaestus declares players will no longer be lit on fire by candles or when lighting braziers in tombs.Invisible mercenaries will no longer be easy to track when activating the Multi-Shot ability. Say that again, but slowly.Rapid fire will now work as intended on the various NPC types.Addressed an issue preventing players from dealing damage when attacking with a melee weapon.Addressed an issue allowing the "Tamed animals deal poison damage" legendary engraving to be unlocked from the beginning.Addressed an issue causing players to spawn on a building when fast traveling to Georgios' Reach.The Daughters of Artemis will no longer be hostile to players after becoming their leader or being provoked. Overthrow averted.Addressed an issue where Kallisto the Bear would leave the Arena invincible.Patrols will no longer grab corpses that were made invisible with the Death Veil ability.Addressed an issue preventing players from dismounting a horse while talking. Don't ride and talk, Misthios.World Addressed an issue causing several cultists to spawn underground.Players will no longer be swarmed by hordes of wannabe centaur NPCs when entering towns for the first time.Addressed an issue preventing players from looting Orichalcum fragments in several areas.Addressed an issue preventing players from purchasing items from Sargon if the item shared a name with one in their inventory.Addressed an issue causing too many mercenaries to rally to Mykonos under certain circumstances.Addressed an issue causing players to remain trapped in a room at the Farm of Elais.Addressed an issue preventing new weekly contracts from appearing until reloading.Addressed various issues that could prevent Belos the Beast, Cyclops, or Medusa's minions from scaling to the player's level as intended.Crane of Georgios can now be fast traveled to.Addressed an issue causing players to be stuck in the Leader House in Keos.Players should now be able to complete Trachis Fort.Quest Addressed an issue preventing Myrrine from traveling to her destination.Addressed an issue preventing players from progressing in She Who Controls the Seas.Addressed an issue causing the objective to disappear in Persian Puppetry under certain circumstances.Addressed an issue preventing players from continuing A Family Legacy.Addressed an issue preventing players from continuing We Will Rise.Addressed an issue preventing players from completing Prince of Persia under certain conditions.[MOTHER OF ALL SPOILERS] Addressed an issue in Ancient Revelations preventing players from killing Pythagoras.Addressed an issue causing the Find and Rescue the Actor objective in The Curse of Fame to display incorrectly.Main quests will now appear after completing the Unearthing the Truth quest.Addressed an issue during Awaken the Myth preventing players from completing the Sphinx after defeating Stentor inside the Arena.Addressed an issue during Heart for a Head where the quest item was not available in player's inventory.Addressed an issue preventing players from triggering the cinematic to complete A Fresh Start.Testikles will remain alive for players to pick up in Delivering a Champion.Addressed an issue during A Good Toast where an invulnerable NPC could be found in the Leader House.Addressed an issue preventing players from beginning More Questions Than Answers if fast traveling when the letter was open.The quest item located in the chest at the Cave of Arktoi will now be available in Hard to Artemis.Addressed an issue preventing players from receiving the By the Fates quest.Addressed an issue preventing players from completing the On the Grapevine quest if killed, upon respawn.Addressed an issue allowing the ship of Nestor the Formidable to be destroyed by enemy ships.Addressed an issue where NPCs would no longer follow their objective after saving or loading in Learning the Land.Addressed an issue causing the Daughters of Artemis to remain invincible after completing Daughters of Lalaia.Addressed an issue preventing players from interacting with Barnabas to complete A Night to Remember.Addressed an issue preventing players from completing Hunter Camps after finishing Daughters of Artemis.Addressed an issue preventing Athenian ships from entering into conflict with the Adrestia in The Battle of Pylos.[SPOILER] Daphnae can now be killed in deep water during Artemis's Request.Addressed an issue preventing the legendary boar from dropping its pelt during Daughters of Artemis.Addressed an issue preventing players from completing the Poison in the Air weekly quest.Addressed an issue preventing players from completing the Burned Bodies and Broken Skulls weekly quest.The Clear the Land for Athens contract will now generate where Daughters of Artemis spawn.Addressed an issue with the Ostraka Killer View.Character & AI Addressed various animation issues with NPC and player character.Addressed an issue causing Mercenary's pets to attack if players shoot fire arrows at them. Also: please don't shoot arrows at any pets, thanks.Addressed a variety of inappropriate NPC reactions.Addressed a variety of incorrect player controller actions.Photo Mode Using the reset option will now function as intended in Photo Mode.Addressed an issue causing Depth of Field to be disabled when using the left stick while editing in Photo Mode.Addressed an issue in Photo Mode causing Bloom to be very dim.Addressed an issue causing flickering in Photo Mode under certain circumstances.Adrestia & Naval Addressed an issue preventing some players from boarding when prompted.Addressed an issue preventing the game from autosaving when entering open waters or calling the Adrestia.Increased the Adrestia's health regeneration rate when players are out of combat.Ship upgrade stats will correctly be reflected in the player stats card.[PC] The Aim action toggle is now working for Naval combat.Addressed an issue preventing players from upgrading the Adrestia.Addressed an issue where DLC Lieutenants needed to be manually reassigned.Performance & Stability Addressed various issues causing long loading times.Addressed several freezing issues.Addressed a game crash when the cinematic for the Cyclops begins.[PC] Addressed an issue causing low FPS when using the latest Nvidia drivers on GTX 1060 Max-Q GPU.[PC] Addressed an issue causing juddering and unusual CPU usage on some laptops.Graphics, Animations, & Audio Addressed various graphical issues with world objects.Addressed various lighting issues.Addressed various sound issues.Addressed various visual effects with weapons and outfits.Addressed various camera issues.[PC] Addressed a graphical issue that could occur if 8 GB VRAMs reached maximum capacity.User Interface, Menu, & Subtitles Addressed various UI/HUD display issues.Addressed incorrectly displayed text.Addressed various dialogue mismatches.The "!" above the Inventory tab will now disappear after players have hovered above the acquired items. Praise be.Recruiting enemy NPCs will no longer add to the quest objective counter if asked to "kill" enemies.When using the All filter in the menu, Chapter and Legacy quests will be in order.Addressed an issue causing background flickers in the Options menu.Rewards for defeating the Mythical Creatures will now be displayed in the quest description.Addressed an issue where the Transmogrification menu wouldn't become available as intended on Level 8.Mercenary Tier S2 players will be granted Hephaistos's 20% discount in the Workshop, as intended.Addressed an issue preventing players from gaining Ability points after reaching 207.Addressed an issue causing the 200 Free Helix Credits to be missing.[SPOILERS] Addressed an issue preventing players from being rewarded the Abraxas horse skin when reaching the Tier 1 Mercenary rank.[PC] Corrected several CPU and GPU miscalculations displayed in Performance Analyzer.[PC] Addressed an issue preventing players from scrolling through detailed stats with the mouse wheel.[PC] Addressed an issue preventing the HDR option from applying correctly.[SWITCH] Added support for the in-game store on Nintendo SwitchTM system.Ubisoft Club, Achievements, & Trophies Changed the description of the Lord of the Seas achievement to match new progression.Addressed an issue that prevented Legacy of the First Blade achievements from unlocking.Info from Gamespot.com

Despite what he says in this newly published video promoting Warner Bros.' upcoming Detective Pikachu movie, Ryan Reynolds isn't actually known for disappearing into his roles--unless you count putting on the Deadpool mask as disappearing. But it seems the actor is giving it his all to truly become the electric yellow mouse at the heart of Detective Pikachu.In the video, Reynolds contends he did everything he could to lose himself in the role of Pikachu. He stopped picking his daughters up from school, practiced living at Pikachu height by lying flat on public sidewalks, and attempted to lose 182 pounds to match the character's weight. The video even features a special guest to weigh in on the toll the actor's exhaustive dedication has taken--but you'll have to watch the video to find out the rest.Detective Pikachu is the live-action adaptation of the strangely conceived game of the same name, in which Pikachu takes on a human voice and solves mysteries. Here's the official plot synopsis from Warner Bros.:The story begins when ace detective Harry Goodman goes mysteriously missing, prompting his 21-year-old son Tim to find out what happened. Aiding in the investigation is Harry’s former Pokémon partner, Detective Pikachu: a hilariously wise-cracking, adorable super-sleuth who is a puzzlement even to himself. Finding that they are uniquely equipped to work together, as Tim is the only human who can talk with Pikachu, they join forces on a thrilling adventure to unravel the tangled mystery. Chasing clues together through the neon-lit streets of Ryme City--a sprawling, modern metropolis where humans and Pokémon live side by side in a hyper-realistic live-action world--they encounter a diverse cast of Pokémon characters and uncover a shocking plot that could destroy this peaceful co-existence and threaten the whole Pokémon universe.It's a weird idea, but honestly, that sounds kind of incredible. And based on the movie's trailers, Detective Pikachu might actually be the live-action Pokemon movie we always wanted. Check out our Detective Pikachu hub if you want to dig deep and find out everything we know about this weirdly compelling film, and check it out in theaters May 10.Info from Gamespot.com

It's hard to argue that the Stan Lee cameo fans saw in the Academy Award-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is one of the comic book legends best yet. That the film's release came so soon after Lee's death gave the appearance even more impact for fans. However, what fans don't realize is that Lee is in almost every scene of the movie.While it was previously revealed that Lee also popped up as a passenger on a train, thanks to a tweet shared by Sony animator Nick Kondo, it turns out that's only the tip of the iceberg. "He was a model that every animator wanted to use in the New York scene, so he often appeared quickly or briefly in a number of shots throughout the movie," producer Chris Miller revealed at an event celebrating the release of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse on digital and Blu-ray. "Almost anytime there is a train going by, Stan's in it."As it turns out, though, Lee isn't just in train scenes. "There's a scene when Miles and Peter land on the sidewalk and he says, 'Thanks New York' and the person walking over him is Stan on the phone, not noticing," Miller continues. "And there are many, many others, just tiny little bits because every animator wanted so desperately to be the one that animated Stan."Of course, for sticklers who want to believe that each of the cameos is the same character popping up again and again, it creates a pretty insane day for Lee. As co-director Rodney Rothman joked, "The story of Stan's character in the movie if you were to lay it out is, he goes to work at his merch shop, he goes home [and] gets his dog, walks his dog, goes home, and then rides a train for 35 straight hours."While Lee was animated into a number of scenes throughout the movie, he only provides his voice for the moment in which his character sells Miles Morales a Spider-Man costume. Recording that dialogue was a very special event for Rothman and his co-directors Bob Persichetti and Peter Ramsey, though."He was a sweetheart! He was kind of a sweet, little old man," Ramsey told GameSpot. "When we recorded him at his office, his health already wasn't the greatest and his eyesight wasn't very good. But, he was jovial, joking around, stiff upper lip. Not an unpleasant second in that whole experience."As Persichetti explained, the role allowed Lee to, "Pass the torch in a very real way, which he was really down to do, and it meant a lot to us that he even knew our movie existed and clearly supported it and understood." He continued, "The spirit behind what he created is very much present in Miles, even though it is expressed differently and it meant a lot to us that he was part of our project."Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is out on digital on Tuesday, February 26. The Blu-ray release follows on March 19.Info from Gamespot.com

If Apex Legends has one thing going for it, it's the feeling of being complete--something not every battle royale game can claim. The shooter sub-genre's huge popularity means there are lots of games that do last-player-standing competition well, but with a few troubles along the way. Some well-established shooters are adding battle royale to their offerings, fitting their existing gameplay into its framework. Other battle royale games are constantly struggling with balancing issues and bug fixes, adding and removing elements as they figure out what works and what doesn't. And still others started life as something else and managed to retrofit their mechanics into the battle royale mold, with some ideas fitting better than others.Apex Legends, on the other hand, focuses on doing one thing extremely well. That thing is team competition in the battle royale genre; at launch, it only includes a team-based mode where 20 groups of three players square off against each other. Everything in Apex Legends works to further teamwork: that includes a number of improvements to issues that plague the whole genre, like cleaning up inventory management and increasing accessibility, and the addition of new ideas, like squad composition elements and special character abilities.Apex Legends excels by combining good ideas that have worked in shooters before. The battle royale ruleset is the same as in similar games, with very few changes: Teams skydive onto a huge island with nothing and scramble to gather up weapons and items to use against any other teams they encounter until only one team survives. While there are no titans or wall-running, it's still possible to see the bones of Titanfall 2 undergirding Apex, which reuses Titanfall's weapons and some of its fluid movement mechanics, like sliding and mantling. But the core of the formula here is the tight, three-player squad structure, which all the other pieces benefit.Another big change to the battle royale formula in Apex Legends is one extremely similar to what Blizzard brought to multiplayer FPS games in Overwatch. At the start of each match, each player chooses one of eight characters, each with specific abilities that serve specific roles. The defensive Gibraltar can drop a shield and call in an airstrike to drive another team back; the offensive Wraith can create portals between two locations and briefly disappear to avoid damage; the supportive Pathfinder uses grappling hooks and ziplines to help the team reach areas where they might have a tactical advantage.It all plays back into the focus on teamwork, since no character is especially powerful, and no abilities are useful all the time. You're not a lone wolf--instead, you have a specific role that complements teammates as you play, and that works to help find a new side of battle royale that hasn't been explored before.Moment-to-moment, though, what's remarkable about Apex Legends is that it just works. Battle royale is a bit of an obtuse genre with a lot of moving parts; in most games, you find weapons, gun attachments, armor, healing items, and more. You'll spend lots of time digging in menus to manage inventory. Apex streamlines all of that with user interface tweaks that make it possible to instantly identify what you need and ignore the things you don't. Ammo types are color-coded to the guns that use them. Attachments automatically join with guns they fit and swap to appropriate new guns when you pick them up, while things you can't use or don't improve your gear are brightly marked as such. It's an even more accessible version of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's battle royale improvements with its Blackout mode, and the rest of the genre should adopt it.The best feature in Apex Legends is its extremely robust "ping" system, which lets you press a button to create a marker on your teammates' screens. The ping system is super smart--aim it at a gun or a helmet and your character will identify that object's location to everyone else. You can ping in your menu to call for things you need, mark places you want to go, or identify spots other players have passed through. Most importantly, you can use pings to mark enemy locations. The system is so responsive and well-implemented in Apex Legends that it can fully replace talking to your team at all. In fact, the accuracy of a ping on-screen can often be better at helping you quickly convey information than talking.A revival system also helps you get more engaged with your team. If a teammate falls in battle and is knocked out of the match, you can recover their banner, an item that drops with their loot, and use it to respawn them into the game as if they just started. The system adds some intense, harrowing strategy to Apex that requires you to risk everything to save your squad; you can only call back dead teammates at specific, single-use Respawn Beacons on the map, but you're completely exposed while doing so. Pull off a clutch play, though, and you can bring your team back from the brink. The system provides a great incentive to stay in matches and keep talking to and aiding your team, instead of just leaving when you die to join another match.Like in Respawn's previous games, shooting here is hefty and satisfying, and Apex sports a wide variety of cool guns to learn and master. However, gunplay sometimes gets held back because lots guns carry strangely small magazines. Players have a lot of health, which gets increased greatly with the addition of armor, so it often takes a lot of shots to take people down. Ideally, you're always shooting someone with the help of a pal, but the small magazines have the effect of making you feel underpowered alone. In most matches I've played, shotguns get the most use from players because they have the highest likelihood of actually taking down an opponent, while many of the other guns spray bullets too much and leave you vulnerable as you reload and reload and reload.Apex Legends is a mix of smart shooter ideas that makes for a competitive, team-based game that gets at all the best parts of battle royale while addressing a lot of the weaknesses.As a free-to-play game, Apex Legends includes both loot boxes and in-game items that can be purchased with real money, and loot boxes can also be earned by playing. Everything on offer is cosmetic, much like in Fortnite or Overwatch, so paying money isn't essential to playing the game and staying competitive, and you can largely ignore microtransactions if you aren't interested in paying.The one place Apex Legends' microtransactions can irritate is in trying to unlock new characters. At launch, six characters are available for free, with two that can be unlocked either with paid or earned currency. Neither is essential--they offer different abilities but not better or worse ones--but as an average player, it still took me around 17 hours of play to earn enough currency to buy one character (it'll be shorter if you get more kills and more wins). With Respawn adding more characters to the game in the future, it's fully possible trying to unlock new characters will become a slog that turns off casual players and those unwilling or unable to pay.Apex Legends is a mix of smart shooter ideas that makes for a competitive, team-based game that gets at all the best parts of battle royale while addressing a lot of the weaknesses. Respawn's intense focus on team play makes Apex more than just a worthy addition to the genre; it's an indicator of where battle royale should go in the future.Info from Gamespot.com

Ubisoft has hosted a couple of private betas for The Division 2, but this weekend, the publisher is giving all players across PS4, Xbox One, and PC a chance to try out the upcoming shooter with its first open beta. Ahead of the test, Ubisoft has shared a new trailer showing off some of the content players will be able to experience.The Division 2 open beta will run on all three platforms from March 1-4. During that time, players will be able to embark on three main missions on Normal and Hard modes. Two of these, Grand Washington Hotel and Jefferson Trade Center, were previously featured during the game's private betas, while Viewpoint Museum is new for this test.The open beta will differ from the private tests in a few other ways. First, Ubisoft is raising the level cap to 8. There will also be an additional Skirmish PvP map (Capitol Ruins), as well as another Skill, Chem Launcher, which has two variants: Riot Foam and Explosive Vapor. Finally, Ubisoft is adding two additional Settlement Projects.On top of that, players will be able to try out five side missions during the open beta, as well as a slice of The Division 2's endgame content. Once players complete Jefferson Trade Center, they'll unlock an endgame mission and three level 30 characters. The endgame mission will then begin when players log in as one of the unlocked characters.Ubisoft has shared more details about this weekend's open beta on the game's official website. The Division 2 launches for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on March 15. In the meantime, you can read more about the title in our roundup of everything we know about The Division 2 and our favorite new features.Info from Gamespot.com

Marvel’s Spider-Man launched as a PS4 exclusive last September for $60, but if you’ve been waiting for that price to drop, today might be your best chance to snag this Insomniac Games hit title. Earlier this month, Insomniac Games announced Spider-Man has had a permanent price drop from $60 to $40, and you can snag the game for even cheaper right now at Newegg, where the standard edition is being sold for $35 (with free shipping!) through Thursday.The game is also a few dollars off at Amazon, selling for $37 with free two-day shipping if you're a Prime member.Spider-Man made GameSpot's list of the top 10 games of 2018 for its strong narrative, exciting combat, and impressive physics of wall-crawling and web-slinging around Manhattan. "It's exhilarating to step off a skyscraper and hear the orchestral score begin to swell, only to crescendo and level out as you start swinging towards your next objective," wrote associate editor Jordan Ramee. "There's never a moment in the game's 20-hour run-time where you don't want to be flying through the air."And the best part about jumping into Spider-Man this late in the game is that all three chapters of the post-launch DLC, "The City That Never Sleeps," are available to play now as well, giving you hours of extra content to enjoy once you finish the main story. There's no better way to step into Spider-Man's shoes (and dozens of fantastic suits) and experience what it's like to be everyone's friendly neighborhood superhero.Info from Gamespot.com

Back in October, the recently crowned WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns announced that he would be vacating the title as he had been diagnosed with leukemia and needed to take time off. However, Reigns returned to Raw on February 25 to reveal that he's in remission and ready to compete in the WWE again.There has been a lot of speculation around Reigns the past week, as WWE put out a press release stating the superstar would appear on the February 25 episode of Raw. During the opening moments of the show, Reigns came out to the ring and declared, "The good news is I'm in remission, y'all. So with that being said, the big dog is back!"It was back on the October 22 episode of Raw where Reigns gave a speech to the world about his leave of absence, vowing to return: "Sometimes life throws you a curveball," Reigns said. "And right now, the best thing for me to do is to go home and focus on my family and my health... But I want to make one thing clear. By no means is this a retirement speech. After I'm done whooping leukemia's ass once again, I'm coming back home."Now that Reigns is back, he's just in time for Wrestlemania season--and the Fastlane PPV airing on the WWE Network on March 10. He didn't actually announce any plans for where he goes from here, though, whether he'll be back in the ring for Fastlane or the upcoming biggest show of the year.However, with all eyes focused on Wrestlemania on April 7, where Brock Lesnar defends the Universal Championship against Seth Rollins--Reigns' former Shield partner--it's impossible to count him out for the granddaddy of them all. Could we see a triple threat match for the title, and more importantly, are we finally done with the era of Brock Lesnar? Or will he find another place on the card?Whatever the case, welcome home, Roman Reigns. It's good to have you back.Info from Gamespot.com

True Detective's Season 3 finale was an oppressively strange episode of television, even by True Detective's standards. The entire hour and 20 minutes rode a tense, haunting score that had me holding my breath between every scene, waiting for some awful, final other shoe to drop. Even as Wayne's discoveries turned happy--or, at least, as happy as this show is capable of getting--the tone remained oddly ominous. And then, it was over--just like that, no final revelations or satisfying last note. True Detective Season 3 ended with a sigh, and it felt utterly flat.The reasons for that aren't hard to discern. Series creator Nic Pizzolatto has been open about wanting to make Season 3 more straightforward; he said at a press conference before the season began airing that he wanted to have "no tricks up his sleeve.""Because 2015 and 1990 are happening at the same time as 1980, you're sort of constantly being told what is going to happen," Pizzolatto said. "It's telling you everything that's going to happen before it happens. I wanted to be able to do that--to not play any cheap games with the viewer, to respect their attention and their time, but still reward them with revelation and reversal."In this, he definitely succeeded. It just wasn't a great idea to begin with. The mystery genre is dependent on withholding information from the audience until it's time to make the big reveal, but True Detective Season 3 took a different tact. Instead of a shocking twist, Season 3's mystery--the missing kids--unfolded gradually throughout the entire season. There wasn't a final reveal, but a series of smaller, successive realizations that built throughout all eight episodes. As a result, the finale held no surprises for anyone who was paying attention. From the one-eyed man's magical exposition dump to the ultimate role Mike Ardoin played, every "reveal" in the final 80 minutes was clearly telegraphed and easily predicted. While that may have done the characters justice, it wasn't exactly an exciting high note on which to end.The whole season felt deliberately written to throw off the armchair sleuths on Reddit who dissect every frame of each new episode. There were red herrings everywhere, giving rise to more outlandish new theories week after week: Was Amelia really the killer, getting close to Wayne and writing true crime books to hide in plain sight? Did the Hoyt family run a pedophilia ring to which Lucy Purcell was pimping out her kids? Were Tom and Roland secretly lovers? Had Roland actually betrayed Wayne years ago, and Wayne simply forgot because of his increasing dementia?Turns out, nope. Amelia simply fell in love with Wayne, there was no pedophilia ring, Roland was always on Wayne's side, and Hoyt knew that Wayne had had something to do with Harris's disappearance because--unsurprisingly--security cameras caught the detectives tailing Hoyt's head of security. Like a deeply unsatisfying Occam's Razor, the answer to every question during True Detective Season 3 was simpler than fans guessed. And the whole season felt designed to guide us onto false trails. Compare this all to another HBO show with an unsatisfying recent arc: Westworld Season 2. The latest season of the sci-fi cowboy caper was unbelievably convoluted, with timelines, characters, and twist after twist all muddled together until viewers could hardly tell what was going on. It was the exact opposite of True Detective Season 3's problems, but it felt like it came from the same point of origin: a desire on the creators' parts to befuddle theorizing fans on the internet.This, in turn, feels like an indictment of said fans--and nobody enjoys being admonished, especially by the creators of something we love. In True Detective Season 3, the documentary interviewer in the 2015 timeline can be read as a stand-in for us. And she's not meant to be a sympathetic character. She pries at every small crack in Wayne's story, poking and prodding in an attempt to learn truths that, at that point in the story, Wayne himself hadn't even discovered. Wayne grudgingly submits to this questioning, despite wanting to keep his secrets to himself, and he weathers the onslaught like a righteous rock facing an annoying tempest. To top it off, the interviewer is also probably sleeping with Wayne's married son, Henry--a pointless detail that just makes her that much more villainous.True Detective Season 3 wasn't all bad by any stretch. Mahershala Ali and Stephen Dorff's portrayals of the two detectives throughout their lives were incredibly nuanced, and those impressive performances alone might warrant re-watching the show again in the future. But when the thing you're "reversing," as Pizzolatto put it, is fans' expectation that the show's central mysteries will conclude with a satisfying payoff, it's understandable that True Detective's Season 3 finale felt flat. Info from Gamespot.com

Pokemon Go's new AR photo mode is now live for all players level 5 and above, and it comes with an added surprise: a new Pokemon. By using the feature, players will have their first chance of encountering the elusive Gen 2 Pokemon Smeargle in Niantic's mobile game.According to Pokemon fansite Serebii, Smeargle may appear in photos you take using the Go Snapshot feature. If the Painter Pokemon does show up in one of your pictures, it will be waiting in the wild after you exit out of the mode, giving you an opportunity to capture it.It's unclear if there's a way to ensure that Smeargle will appear in your photos, but if you do manage to encounter one, it will have the same moves as the Pokemon it photobombed. You'll also receive a new Photo Bomb medal after you find one.Smeargle is unique among Pokemon in the mainline series due to the fact that it can only learn one move, Sketch, every 10 levels. This move will permanently copy the last move the opponent Pokemon used, effectively giving Smeargle the ability to learn any attack.Once you've hit the requisite level, you'll be able to use the Go Snapshot feature any time by selecting the Camera in your item bag. The mode allows you to position one of the Pokemon in your collection around the screen and take photos of it. These pictures will be automatically saved to your device, allowing you to easily share them with friends and on social media.In other Pokemon Go news, Niantic has brought back the Gen 3 Legendary Pokemon Latias for a limited time as part of a special Raid event. The developer is also introducing a new item to the game this week called the Team Medallion, which will give players the ability to switch teams.Finally, to celebrate the Pokemon series' anniversary, Niantic is holding a special Pokemon Day event this week from February 26-28. During the event, players will have a chance of encountering special versions of Pikachu and Eevee wearing floral crowns, as well as Shiny variants of Pidgey and Rattata.Info from Gamespot.com

Red Candle Games has removed its game, Devotion, from Steam. The removal occurs after a weekend of bad PR for Devotion, which saw heavy review bombing after being caught in controversy.According to PC Gamer, Devotion launched to positive reviews. However, the Taiwanese first-person horror game came under fire when a piece of in-game art that seems to mock Chinese president Xi Jinping was discovered. The art compares the president to Winnie the Pooh, a comparison the Chinese government frequently objects to. Red Candle Games issued an initial apology--which implied the image was simply a placeholder--but after Devotion came under heavy review bombing, the developer followed up with a longer, more comprehensive apology."When the art material was made, each teammate was busy working on one's own tasks while chasing the deadline," Red Candle Games wrote in the second apology. "None of the other colleagues were aware of this. It was until we received a private report made by a player on February 21 that we realized what was exactly written on that art material. Upon learning of this, we immediately replaced the art material within an hour.""We would also like to take this opportunity to reaffirm that Devotion's publisher Indievent and Winking Entertainment did not know about the art material beforehand and were not involved in this incident at all," the developer continued. "Currently our partnership has terminated." Red Candle Games ended the apology with the announcement that Devotion is now removed from Steam China. However, as of writing this article, the game is gone from Steam entirely. Every trailer for the game has been removed from Red Candle Games' YouTube channel as well.Devotion is Red Candle's second game, which follows the developer's horror title, Detention. Both games borrow elements of Taiwanese and Chinese religion and mythology to create terrifying experiences that also critique elements of both countries' cultures. In Devotion, you explore an abandoned apartment complex in Taiwan during the 1980s, only to discover a religious family that lived there suffered some spooky, cult-like events.Red Candle Games hasn't yet announced whether Devotion will return to Steam. The game was only available on PC exclusively through Steam so you can no longer buy it.Info from Gamespot.com

There's a blacksmith, toiling away in the markets of the capital of Nava, who thinks making swords is boring. Why create something, she argues, when death is its only use? She'd rather make a kettle any day of the week. So I bought her kettle, and now I can brew all kinds of delicious, and at times mysterious, tea whenever I hole up and camp in the wilderness. And I still haven't found a sword.Eastshade is a non-violent, first-person adventure game set in a rolling open world full of quests. Imagine an Elder Scrolls game was an old boot, and you picked it up, turned it upside down and shook it until all the combat and magic and loot, every orc and dragon and bandit fell out. Then you took a shoehorn and eased a walking simulator inside the wrinkled leather before setting off on a delightful stroll across the countryside. Eastshade is just about the loveliest, prettiest, and just bloody nicest game I've played in years.You play an artist, recently shipwrecked in Eastshade near the small coastal village of Lyndor. After a kind chap finds you on the beach and lets you rest in his cozy cave until you recover, you resume your journey to visit and then paint your just-passed mother's favorite places in Eastshade. It's a simple setup, paying tribute to a lost loved one, and it's indicative of the kind of sincere, touching gestures you'll carry out over the course of the game.The flow of Eastshade will be familiar to anyone who has played an open-world RPG in recent years. You speak to NPCs, at first enquiring about the local history and points of interest before delving into something more personal and finally unlocking a unique quest. A child and aspiring painter asks you to help her acquire some art supplies. A smitten merchant wants some advice on how she should pursue her romantic interest. A park ranger needs your assistance in catching and caring for an injured waterfox. Not everyone has a story to tell--there are plenty of mute, generic NPCs filling the streets--but the ones you do meet almost always open up to you in the sweetest of ways.Most quests involve tracking down the next person in the quest chain or venturing afar to find a particular item. Some, however, require your talents as an artist. Indeed, it seems that once an Eastshadian discovers you can paint, they're quick to realize how much they'd really like some oil on canvas hanging over the fireplace. One keen art-lover asked me to paint him a picture of a chicken, so I made my way over the markets where I'd earlier spied some chickens nestling among the hay, set down my easel and painted the perfect poultry portrait.The act of painting itself isn't simulated in any way. You simply use the mouse to drag a frame across the screen. Anything within that frame is then captured, rendered in a painterly style, and reproduced on the canvas. In essence, you're taking screenshots. As such there's much pleasure to be had in framing your subject, as anyone who has unearthed the joys of a game's photo mode can attest. I was asked by a particularly pompous villager to paint his portrait, and fully capture all his self-described nobility and heroism. He was sitting in a tavern at the time, next to a huge fireplace whose chimney stretched to the double-story ceiling, so I framed him as this tiny figure dwarfed by the imposing stone furnace. He was grateful, of course--I'm sure the game logic merely checks if the required subject is in the frame--but I found it extremely satisfying.At a certain point you will also gain the ability to register with another local artist and begin taking commissions to earn glowstones, the local currency. It functions much like a job board: you check in, accept the gig, then return later with the finished painting and collect your cash. Each commission gives you a description of the type of painting desired and it's up to you to figure out where you need to go and what you need to include in the frame. Some are easy to identify, like a specific request for a windmill, but you may have no idea where to find it. Others are more vague, like a “starry cavern” or a “natural arch.” Either way, it's enjoyable to have your memory of the landscape tested as you struggle to recall elements of the terrain.Sometimes you won't have a spare canvas to paint on, meaning you'll have to obtain the materials necessary to craft a new canvas. Fortunately, there are wooden boards and piles of cloth lying around the various towns and villages, and NPCs don't seem to mind at all if you walk into their homes and grab some. It's a good idea to thoroughly explore every area and collect any such craftable materials as there doesn't seem to be any limit on how much you can carry. I found I typically had enough canvases to complete quest-critical paintings, but if I'd wanted to paint for fun, as it were, I would have had to tediously wait for previously collected materials to respawn or spend my hard-earned glowstones to buy them.Money's tight, you see, and there are other things worth purchasing. This isn't an RPG, so you won't be selling loot to finance your endeavors--though there is a sort of joke merchant who will buy anything off you for the princely sum of one glowstone. However, there are items you will need in order to access new areas of the world. A coat, for example, lets you continue to explore the countryside during the cold nights, while a tent lets you camp outdoors overnight or simply rest for a while if you need to meet someone at a certain time of day.You'll find yourself walking a fine line between securing what you need to complete your current tasks and saving up to afford what you need to unlock new quest possibilities. I remember standing in the markets and agonizing over whether to spend what little money I had on a fishing rod (because one quest wanted me to catch a particular type of fish) or a kettle (because my pockets were already bursting with all different kinds of plants and herbs). It was a genuinely stressful moment in a game otherwise conducted entirely in serene contemplation.Eastshade is a slow game. There's an awful lot of walking, or running once you realize there's the option, and you'll spend almost all your time trekking back and forth between villages or strolling across town from one shop to the next, ferrying this item to that person and hoping to speak to so-and-so about this-and-that. It would quickly grow tiresome were it not for the dinky penny-farthing bicycle you can buy and the presence of craftable fast travel items, and more importantly, the immense natural beauty found in every corner, along every path, and over every crest of the world.Indeed, Eastshade is a slow game that moves at just the right pace. From the warm, golden sunlight filtering through the dense canopy of the Great Tree to the pools of water on the terrace farms that skirt the city glittering in the morning light, you'll constantly find yourself stopping to catch your breath. Even after treading the same cobbled road a dozen or more times, hours later I would still find myself admiring the scenery, expansive vistas and minute details alike.The pace perfectly complements your actions, too. This is a game about taking your time and paying attention to the environment through which you're moving. You have a quest log and a map of the land, but there are no quest markers or waypoints telling you where to go. You have to read the lay of the land and remember details of where you've been. As you travel, the geographical contours of the world gradually become imprinted in your mind until you could paint them almost from memory alone. Almost.By giving you a paintbrush (and a kettle) instead of a sword, Eastshade is a rare first-person open world game that's not about killing but rather about doing good deeds, helping people see the error of their ways, and bringing communities together all through the power of art. It's a breath of fresh Eastshadian air and a genuine, unironic feel-good game. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to put the kettle on.Info from Gamespot.com