Microsoft has announced that this coming weekend will be a Free Play Days For All event on Xbox One. So whether or not you have an Xbox Live Gold membership, you'll be able to play with your friends online in whichever game you want.The Free Play Days For All event begins on January 31 and continues until February 3. Microsoft's advertising for the event leans heavily on Fortnite, but you'll be able to play any game you own. Whether that means you jump into another battle royale game, such as PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, or into something else, like Titanfall 2 or Dark Souls III, is up to you.If you do jump into Fortnite, you'll be able to cross-play with friends on other systems, including Switch and PS4. The game is currently experiencing a DJ Marshmello-themed mini event, with an in-game challenge to track down Showtime posters. Two more challenges are expected to open up on February 1, just in time for the Free Play Days For All event.If you're on the fence about pre-ordering Anthem, this weekend is the perfect opportunity to try the game prior to its launch--which is staggered out over multiple days in a manner even EA admits is confusing. BioWare's upcoming multiplayer-focused, third-person shooter is having a free demo February 1-3, so if you have an Xbox One, you'll be able to play without the additional requirement of purchasing a Gold membership.Anthem's VIP demo ran into several technical problems, but hopefully some of those issues have been ironed out for the free one this weekend. If you played the VIP demo, your progress will carry over into the free one, including having all four Javelins unlocked.Info from Gamespot.com

Two more Xbox 360 games are joining Xbox One's growing backwards compatible library. Major Nelson has announced that Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes and Port Royale 3: Pirates & Merchants will both be playable on Microsoft's current-generation console beginning today, January 31.Both of this week's BC games originally released in 2012. Lego Batman 2 is a humorous open-world adventure that sees the Caped Crusader team up with other DC heroes like Superman and Wonder Woman to save Gotham from the combined threat of Joker and Lex Luthor. Port Royale 3, meanwhile, is a simulation game that cast players in the role of a sea captain.As usual, if you have a physical copy of either game, you can pop the disc into your Xbox One, which will initiate a download allowing you to play them on the console. On the other hand, if you've previously purchased either game digitally, you'll find them automatically waiting in the Ready to Download section of the console's My Games and Apps tab.Microsoft has been steadily adding new backwards compatible games nearly every week this month. Other recent additions include Battlestations Pacific, Fuel, and Rayman Raving Rabbids, as well as two Command and Conquer games, Tiberium Wars and Red Alert 3. You can see the full list of Xbox One BC games here.In other Xbox news, Microsoft recently announced February's free Games with Gold. Beginning February 1, Xbox Live Gold members will be able to download Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon and Assassin's Creed Rogue, with Super Bomberman R and Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy following later in the month. A big Assassin's Creed sale is also underway in the Microsoft Store.Info from Gamespot.com

This weekend, Anthem has its second and final demo before the game officially launches. Below, we've outlined every bit of information you need to know about the open demo, including how you can participate and what you'll be able to do.Anthem is an upcoming multiplayer-focused, third-person shooter RPG developed by BioWare. You take control of a Freelancer, one of the disgraced heroes who protect the inhabitants of Fort Tarsis, who ventures out into the world to fulfill contracts, explore uncharted territory, and handle threats for others. You do this with the help of Javelins, powerful exo-suits that grant their pilots superpowered strength, reflexes, and abilities and come equipped with flight jets and deadly weapons.There are currently four Javelins in Anthem, each of which gives you a different range of abilities. Ranger exists primarily as a support Javelin, but its assortment of powerful grenade, rocket, and laser abilities provides it enough explosive firepower to stand on its own. Colossus is the slowest of the Javelins, but it also has the toughest armor and is the only one strong enough to carry heavy weaponry and a near-indestructible shield. Interceptor, on the other hand, trades defense for lightning-fast speed that gets it into an enemy's face where it can deal massive melee damage before twirling out of harm's way. Finally, Storm also has light armor, but its personal force field and powerful elemental attacks gives it plenty of long-range potential.Anthem releases for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. The game has a staggered launch, but will be available for all come February 22. Both of its editions are available for pre-order.When Is The Anthem Demo?The Anthem demo starts February 1 at 9AM PT / 12PM ET / 5PM UK. It ends on February 3 at 6PM PT / 9PM ET, which is February 4 at 2AM in the UK.How To Participate In The DemoTo participate in the open demo, you'll need to download the client first. It's 26 GB on consoles and 44 GB on PC, and you can pre-load the client right now if don't want to spend time over the weekend downloading it.When the demo is finished downloading, you'll need to sign into your EA or Origin account to access the game. On Xbox One and PS4, you'll need a Gold/PSN subscription, as Anthem, even when you play solo, is an always-online game. Microsoft is having a Free Play Days For All event this weekend, from January 31-February 1, so you'll be able to play the first day of the Anthem demo on Xbox One without paying for a Gold subscription.What Can You Do In The Demo?The Anthem demo takes place just before the halfway point of the full game's story, and you'll be able to play through two story missions. You'll also be able to explore a portion of Anthem's full map in freeplay mode, and take on one of the game's harder pieces of a content: a Stronghold.With the exception of the Stronghold--which must be tackled with four players--every part of the demo can be done solo or as a group. However, you receive experience boosts when playing with others, so it's worth your time to team-up. You'll start at level 10 in the demo and be able to reach 15. Everyone starts with the Ranger Javelin, and at level 12 you'll be able to unlock one of the three others: Colossus, Interceptor, or Storm. You'll only be able to unlock one other Javelin the whole demo, so choose wisely.If you played the Anthem VIP demo, your progress from that demo will carry over into this one. Your progress from either demo, however, will not carry over into the full game.Info from Gamespot.com

Nintendo has indicated that we may not have long to wait before beloved RPG Final Fantasy VII is available on the Switch. In a new, rather short commercial, the game is shown on the handheld hybrid console, with the video's description reading: "Final Fantasy VII coming soon!"Final Fantasy developer and publisher Square Enix originally revealed its intention to bring the game to the Switch in September 2018, when it was announced for the platform alongside Final Fantasy IX, the X and X-2 remaster, and Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age. However, they only gave a vague "2019" release window. While "coming soon" doesn't exactly give us a specific release date, at least we know we won't be waiting until the end of the year for it.Square Enix previously confirmed that these versions of the Final Fantasy games will be based on recent ports either to other consoles or PC--obviously, this is not the in-development Final Fantasy VII remake. Final Fantasy VII was released for PC in 2013, with the game also available on the PlayStation Store digitally. Along with the Switch release, these games will also be making the jump to Xbox One, which is a first for a number of them.Other Final Fantasy games on their way to Switch include the compilation game World of Final Fantasy and an updated version of GameCube title Crystal Chronicles.Info from Gamespot.com

Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth has been confirmed for a western release, heading to the US and Europe on June 4, 2019. The 3DS exclusive will cost $40 at launch, and like its predecessor, it crosses over the casts of various Persona games.Persona Q2 is a spin-off featuring the Phantom Thieves of Persona 5. The heroes have to battle their way out of dungeons, each themed after a movie genre with its own set of tropes. They'll join up with both original characters and notable names from the Persona series along the way. Those will include characters from Persona 3, Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4, and Persona 5. Clever team-ups between characters will grant special rewards through a new "Unison" battle system. It will be Japanese-only with subtitles.Atlus paired the announcement with word of a special "Showtime Premium Edition" for $70. That will include a Koromaru plush, art book, four buttons featuring the four protagonists, and a deck of playing cards with characters across the Persona series. Pre-orders also include the buttons set.Persona Q2 was among our most anticipated games this year, as a follow-up to the well-received spin-off Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth."It's an ambitious crossover that unites my favorite games, characters, and soundtracks in one place," wrote Michael Higham. "It's as if I had different groups of dearly beloved friends somehow meet each other, get along, and band together in a stylish fight for what's right. This might be the 3DS's swan song, and it'd be a hell of way for the storied handheld to end its tenure when it comes to the West on June 4, 2019."Info from Gamespot.com

Eleven Arts has announced that A Silent Voice is finally getting a physical disc set release in North America. The anime movie is releasing in a deluxe package that includes the Blu-ray, DVD, and digital versions.First premiering in Japanese theaters in 2016, the home release of A Silent Voice will be available for purchase in North America on April 2, according to Crunchyroll. The disc set includes both the original Japanese version of the film and the English dubbed version.A Silent Voice rapidly gained popularity in Japan when it first released, and its emotional story captured American audiences when the film released internationally the following year. The movie is a condensed version of the story told in the seven volume manga of the same name--titled Koe no Katachi in Japan--that was created by Yoshitoki Oima. A Silent Voice follows the changing relationship between Shoko and Shoya, a girl who's deaf and the male peer who used to cruelly bully her in elementary school. Shoya reaches out to Shoko when the two are in high school in an effort to make amends, as well as come to terms with his own guilt, and the two eventually spark an unlikely friendship that begins to grow into something more.While you wait for A Silent Voice to come out, there are plenty of other options for anime you can watch. If you're looking for something new, we've put together a guide of series to both watch and keep an eye on during the current Winter 2019 season. For older titles, consider looking at our guide for anime series from the Fall 2018 season or a list of our favorite anime from 2018. Sentai Filmworks also released several new home release disc sets in January 2019, including a cool-looking special steelbook collection for Land of the Lustrous--one of 2017's best anime.Info from Gamespot.com

Nintendo has announced a new expansion to its mobile games business. Following the release of its latest earnings report, which brought news that Mario Kart Tour has been delayed, the company revealed a new partner and game: Dr. Mario World.Very little has been shared about the game so far; we don't have any screenshots, just the logo below. Nintendo describes it as an "action puzzle game" and says it's due out early this summer. It'll be free-to-play and available on both iOS and Android devices.Dr. Mario World is being co-developed by LINE, a Japanese company known for a variety of things, including the development of games that have proven successful in Asian markets. Those include Disney Tsum Tsum and Cookie Run. Nintendo had previously suggested it was looking for additional partners with which to develop mobile games as it seeks to make them a more prominent part of its business.Info from Gamespot.com

If you're in the market for something new to play on Nintendo Switch, a bunch of games are on sale now in the US Eshop. Some of the system's quirkiest indie gems are discounted as part of the Weird and Wonderful sale, while Nicalis and NIS America are offering deals on a range of titles in their respective publisher sales.Disgaea 1 Complete, the recent remake of the classic PS2 tactical RPG, is down to $40, while the series' latest installment, Disgaea 5 Complete, is available for $30. NISA's Etrian Odyssey-like dungeon crawler Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk is on sale for $40, while the action RPG Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana is $42. You can also pick up the horror game Yomawari: The Long Night Collection for $30 and the humorous brawler Penny-Punching Princess for $20.Nicalis, meanwhile, is offering The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ and the beat-'em-up Code of Princess EX each for $20. Additionally, the Zelda-like adventure game Ittle Dew 2+ is $10, and the beloved Metroidvania game Cave Story+ is $15. You can also get the classic top-down shooter Ikaruga for $10 and the crossover fighting game Blade Strangers for $15.Other notable deals include West of Loathing for $8.47, The Flame in the Flood: Complete Edition for $7.49, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime for $9, Snake Pass for $8, World of Goo for $7, and Pool Panic for $5.09. You can see more deals below; the full list can be found on Nintendo's website.As usual with Eshop deals, these sales are set to end on different days, so if you see something you're interested in, you should act fast and pick it up while you can.The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ -- $20Blade Strangers -- $15Cave Story+ -- $15Code of Princess EX -- $20Disgaea 1 Complete -- $40Disgaea 5 Complete -- $30The End Is Nigh -- $5The Flame in the Flood: Complete Edition -- $7.49Happy Birthdays -- $30Human: Fall Flat -- $7.49Ikaruga -- $10Ittle Dew 2+ -- $10Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk -- $40Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime -- $9The Longest Five Minutes -- $20Octodad: Dadliest Catch -- $5Penny-Punching Princess -- $20Pool Panic -- $5.09Save Me Mr. Tako: Tasukete Tako-San -- $5Slime-san -- $6Snake Pass -- $8SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy -- $30Tiny Barbarian DX -- $10VVVVVV -- $5West of Loathing -- $8.47World of Goo -- $7Yomawari: The Long Night Collection -- $30Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana -- $42Info from Gamespot.com

Another fighter has been confirmed for Mortal Kombat 11: Kano. NetherRealm announced the character during a stream in Brazil, before confirming Kano's inclusion in the game for international audiences via Twitter.Despite being one of the seven original characters in the Mortal Kombat series, Kano hasn't appeared in too many games. He was, however, a part of the last game in the series, Mortal Kombat X. Like Scorpion, Kano has a fairly good projectile attack and a fast moveset. His trademark attack, Kano Ball, has him roll into a ball and launch himself at his opponent, which does more damage at close range.It's probable that Kano was supposed to be revealed during a Mortal Kombat 11 stream that was originally scheduled for this week, before being postponed due to the harsh weather in the eastern US. We got our first good look at the upcoming game's gruesome new gameplay during a January 2019 reveal event. Several series staples, such as Sub-Zero and Scorpion, return in Mortal Kombat 11's roster, alongside characters that haven't been seen in a while and brand-new fighters. NetherRealm also showed off some of the new Fatalities during the event, and they're just as bloody as ever. A new trailer for the game's story was revealed as well, which looks to be as filled with gore as recent entries in the series.If you pre-order Mortal Kombat 11, you'll unlock both Shao Kahn and access to the game's beta--which begins on March 28. There are three editions of the game: the $60 standard edition, $100 Premium edition, and $300 Kollector's Edition.Mortal Kombat 11 releases for Xbox One, PS4, PC, and Switch on April 23. For lots more, check out our interview with series creator Ed Boon.Info from Gamespot.com

The British Empire is on the verge of collapse. Government House, nestled on a headland just across the Thames from the center of London, is somehow simultaneously underwater and ablaze. Once the home of Oasis, the city of Manchester is now little more than a shrinking island as entire coastal neighborhoods disappear into the rising sea. Maybe the sun never sets, but it’s getting awfully late in the day.However, this is no post-Brexit apocalypse. It’s simply the state of play in my game of Civilization VI. The upcoming expansion, Gathering Storm, introduces the concept of climate change and, as I and every other civilization on the planet burn through consumable fuel resources, global temperature rises precipitate the polar ice to melt and the ocean to breach the walls of London. Time to rethink my strategy.Following last year’s Rise & Fall, Gathering Storm is the second major expansion for Civ VI and, based on the evidence so far, it suggests a continuation of Firaxis’ efforts to disrupt the established meta. Where Rise & Fall delivered the ability to transition from a Golden Age into a Dark Age and back again--a system designed to chart the ebb and flow of an empire throughout history--Gathering Storm is more concerned with a gradual accumulation of choices slowly building over the course of the game before unleashing fury towards the end. You can see the dark clouds approaching. The question is: how long can you keep them at bay?“We usually look at the second expansion of a Civilization title as the one where we make sure our content is robust and complete all the way to the end of the game,” explains Civilization franchise lead designer Ed Beach. “For Civilization V, that was the additions of ideologies in Brave New World, with an emphasis on the World War period.“We’re taking a different tack in Civilization VI--this time we are focusing on the present time and the ecological struggles with climate change that face mankind in the 21st century. That’s the big new addition with Gathering Storm, confronting players with decisions about how they are relating to the planet. There are winning strategies both ways: the diplomatic player probably wants to treat the planet well and participate in worldwide climate accords; a more militaristic player may not care and may even consider the fact that rising sea levels could deal damage to some of his coastal enemies.”Beach says Firaxis built their climate model using the predominant scientific conclusions on how the Earth is changing. It’s a fairly straightforward relationship: CO2 emissions from exploiting resources such as coal and oil add to the global temperature. As the planet gets warmer, polar ice melts, sea levels rise, and finally flooding, storms, and droughts become more frequent.Weather events occur from the very beginning of the game. Settle on the floodplains of a river and at some point, the banks will break. Similarly, some mountain tiles are now designated as volcanoes, which can become active, erupt, and cover adjacent tiles with lava. More randomly, blizzards, typhoons, and dust storms can now spawn on the map and trace a path of destruction through your lands.Early on, these events aren’t too bad, and can even be beneficial. A flood might injure a warrior you had stationed along the river or require you to repair damage to a wheat farm. But once the flood passes and you’ve cleaned up the mess, it’s likely the tiles' soil will have been fertilized, providing additional resources for the rest of the game.The idea of “playing the map” was a big part of the design ethos driving the development of Civ VI. Opening specialist districts constructed outside the city center to all kinds of bonuses based on adjacent terrain, as well as restrictions on where World Wonders can be built, requires you to adapt to the specific circumstances in front of you. You’re playing the map as presented, rather than relying on some pre-defined optimal strategy. This idea is explicitly reflected in Gathering Storm’s climate change and weather events.“These changes were indeed deliberate additions to accentuate this feeling of playing the map,”“These changes were indeed deliberate additions to accentuate this feeling of playing the map,” says Beach. “Settling in a floodplain or near a volcano is obviously fraught with peril, yet mankind has continued to do just this for centuries. Why? Well, these are some of the most fertile agricultural areas on earth. With these tradeoffs in mind, these two natural disasters were the first ones we prototyped for Gathering Storm. They proved immensely popular with our testers so we kept going and added coastal flooding, droughts, and four kinds of storms before we were done.”In the late game, as storms and floods hit with greater frequency and severity, these events can be devastating. In my game as England, I’d been engaged in a border skirmish with India when a freak storm ripped through the city of Bristol, pillaging my only Encampment district. At a crucial moment in the war, I was unable to resupply my frontline with reinforcements until the armory and stable had been repaired. Thanks to the weather, I had to pursue a peace deal or risk being overrun.Worse, in the situation I describe at the top of the page from later in the same game, the rising sea meant my Government Plaza district was destroyed, presumably for good, taking with it the powerful bonuses of its Audience Chamber and other internal buildings. Meanwhile, Manchester lost five workable tiles, including a Neighborhood district, its sole lumber mill, and the very spot I’d planned to build a Theater Square, leaving it with a population of 23 but a housing capacity of just 14. The Civ late game has rarely been so unpredictable and dynamic.Indeed, according to Beach, “Our primary goal with this expansion is to make the world and map seem more dynamic, more alive.” He also helpfully points out where my England game might have started to go wrong, and suggests some of the choices I could have made to, if not prevent environmental catastrophe, then perhaps mitigate or decelerate it.“Our primary goal with this expansion is to make the world and map seem more dynamic, more alive.”“Coal, and subsequently Oil, unlock much earlier in the game than their renewable alternatives,” Beach says. “We have added extensive bonuses to the third tier district buildings if your cities are powered, so you’ll want to get going initially with coal and oil so you don’t spend three eras of the game missing out on these significantly higher yields.“Once uranium and renewables come online, there are several more factors to consider. Solar and wind farms consume a tile around your city late in the game when such spots are very precious. A nuclear plant has high output and very low CO2 emissions, but you need to spend city resources maintaining it regularly or an accident could result. All in all, we have eight different buildings or improvements that generate power all with unique terrain or resource requirements, outputs and tradeoffs.”Along with some of the other existing civs and leaders, England has had its abilities revised to suit the new features found in Gathering Storm. Specifically, England gains extra Iron and Coal resources, and derives greater additional yields from powering its cities. In combination, this means England comes into its own during the Industrial Era and, to gain full advantage of the country's unique abilities, you should be building coal power plants in every city and, uh, filling the skies above London and Manchester with horrible black smoke. Needless to say, the first time I checked the in-game World Climate report, my empire was responsible for over 90% of the world’s CO2 emissions. As the water lapped at the door of No.10 Downing St I really only had myself to blame.Since the beginning of time--well, 1991, to be precise--Sid Meier’s Civilization has tended to view humanity through an optimistic lens. Of course, it’s a very Western Civilization-centric perspective that, amid depicting the atrocities of war and colonization throughout history, one can remain hopeful and keep faith in the idea of the march of progress. So, perhaps, all is not yet lost for England, just like all is not yet lost for our own planet.“Our warming planet is a story that is still unfolding and will take at least the first half of this century before we get to any conclusive outcome,” says Beach.“So to give that phenomenon time to play out, we needed to extend our game 25 to 50 years into the future. That meant adding a few new steps or considerations to both our Science and Culture victories. It also meant the era needed to include new tools to battle climate change, help with these extended victories, and provide high-tech military options.“Since all these items are advances that mankind hasn’t yet fully unlocked, we felt it was a bit presumptuous for us to know their precise order. That’s why we hit on the idea of shuffling their order and position within the trees each game. The contents of those nodes remain hidden until you research the prerequisite.”In previous Civ games, you would still pump Science or Culture into researching generic “future” technologies and civics once you reached the end of their respective trees. There was little point to this--it was merely counting down to the eventual winner. With Gathering Storm, there’s the admission that, however hopeful we might be, we still don’t quite know what the future holds. And as a strategy game, Civilization still has that one final curveball to throw our way. Will it be enough to save England?Civilization VI: Gathering Storm releases on February 14. Info from Gamespot.com

Zen Studios has announced its upcoming RPG, titled Operencia: The Stolen Sun, will release as an Xbox One console exclusive. The game will also be enhanced on One X and launch day one on Xbox Game Pass."Much of our development team grew up on classic RPG series like Wizardry, The Bard's Tale, and Eye of the Beholder--and we're just not seeing many games like those these days, especially on console. So not only would creating a CRPG for Xbox One be something we want to play--it would also fill a void," Zen Studios creative director Chris Baker wrote in a blog post.Operencia represents yet another title that the Epic Games Store has managed to nab away from Steam. The RPG was originally scheduled to launch on Valve's store when it was first revealed during the Kinda Funny Games Showcase. However, in a blog post, Zen Studios announced that Operencia caught the eye of Epic after the showcase, and a deal was made. Epic has quickly become a competitor to Steam's dominance of the PC gaming market by grabbing impressive exclusives, like Hades and Ashen, and securing triple-A games that were originally scheduled for Steam, such as The Division 2 and Metro Exodus. Valve described the loss of Exodus as "unfair" to customers.Operencia takes place in the fantastical, titular place. The land of Operencia is referred to in several folktales told in Central Europe, and the game takes the concept of these fictional stories to deliver an expanded universe that incorporates both fantasy creatures and real historical figures. The game is played in first-person and has tile-focused, turn-based combat. For a more challenging experience, you can turn on permadeath mode and/or turn off automapping.Operencia: The Stolen Sun is scheduled to launch on Xbox One and PC in Spring 2019.Info from Gamespot.com

The upcoming spin-off RPG starring an ensemble of Persona characters, Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth, was recently confirmed to come to North America and Europe later this year. It's the Nintendo 3DS exclusive that gives the casts adorable chibi designs and brings them together in an alternate, sinister movie-themed dimension for a wild ride. But despite Persona 3, 4, 5, and all other spin-off games having an English voice cast, Persona Q2 will not.Atlus USA confirmed to us and other outlets that the game will only feature the Japanese voice track with English subtitles. This may come as a disappointment to some fans, especially since the localized versions of Persona 3 and Persona 4 had English voice work exclusively and didn't offer the opportunity to enjoy the Japanese voice overs. It's not entirely surprising, however. Considering the deep cast of characters spanning three other games and the fact that the 3DS is at the end of its life cycle, bringing in the necessary number of voice actors may not have been cost-effective for Atlus, unfortunately.Along with the announcement of the North American/European release date, Atlus also showed off the collector's edition called the "Showtime" Premium Edition. It includes a plushy of good boy Koromaru, a deck of cards with character designs, an art book, a four-button set with each protagonist, and an exclusive box along with the game.Persona Q2 launched in Japan on November 29, 2018 and will make its way to the West on June 4, 2019 for Nintendo 3DS. Prior to the announcement, I was confident enough in the game getting localized that I declared it my most anticipated game of 2019.Info from Gamespot.com

Fortnite's Week 9 challenges have arrived, which means we're nearing the end of the game's seventh season. This week's missions involve popping golden balloons and dancing on a sundial, oversized coffee cup, and metal dog head, among other tasks, which will net you Battle Stars and level your Battle Pass up once completed.As usual, there's an added benefit to completing as many challenges as possible. If you clear all of the ones from a given week, you'll also complete a Snowfall challenge, which will unlock a special loading screen that contains a subtle clue pointing to a free Battle Star or Banner hidden somewhere around the island.If you've finished all nine weeks' worth of challenges thus far, you'll receive the loading screen pictured below. This one features the Prisoner--the Legendary skin you'll earn for completing 60 weekly challenges--emerging from its cell in Polar Peak's dungeon. Look carefully at the ice wall on the left side of the image, however, and you'll spot an etching of a Battle Star above what appears to be a giant sled.The sled in question can be found in the area to the south of Shifty Shafts. Glide there at the beginning of a match, head under the sled, and the Battle Star will appear. Collect it and finish the match, and your Battle Star will be leveled up by one tier. If you need more help finding it, we've marked its exact location on the map below.As is the case with other Snowfall challenges, this Battle Star won't appear unless you've completed the required number of challenges. You won't be able to just head to the right location and pick it up until you've completed nine weeks' worth of challenges and unlocked the above loading screen. Fortunately, we have tips for this season's trickier missions in our complete Season 7 challenges guide.There are only a few weeks remaining in Season 7, so you only have a little more time to complete any remaining challenges and unlock this season's Battle Pass rewards. If you need help finding any of Season 7's other free Battle Stars and Banners, we've put together guides leading you to their locations below.Fortnite Season 7 Snowfall Challenge GuidesFortnite Secret Battle Star Location: Week 1 Snowfall Challenge GuideFortnite Secret Banner Location: Week 2 Snowfall Challenge GuideFortnite Secret Battle Star Location: Week 3 Snowfall Challenge GuideFortnite Secret Banner Location: Week 4 Snowfall Challenge GuideFortnite Secret Battle Star Location: Week 5 Snowfall Challenge GuideFortnite Secret Banner Location: Week 6 Snowfall Challenge GuideFortnite Secret Battle Star Location: Week 7 Snowfall Challenge GuideFortnite Secret Banner Location: Week 8 Snowfall Challenge GuideFortnite Secret Battle Star Location: Week 9 Snowfall Challenge GuideInfo from Gamespot.com

Update: Three years on, Downwell continues to be a gripping, fast-paced action game that thrives by pushing you into taking huge, exciting risks. The new Switch version of the game is on par with other versions but carries a few unique pros and cons. Playing Downwell in the Switch's standard handheld mode means that the vertical play area of the game is dramatically reduced in size, which makes it hard to follow the game's frenetic action. On the other hand, the console's unique capability to remove the Joycons and position the screen as you wish allows the game's built-in tate mode (which optimizes the play area for vertical screens) is perfect for an undocked Switch, provided you have some method of safely propping up the body of the console at a 90-degree angle (like the Flip Grip). Downwell's play area perfectly covers the whole screen in this method, and it's a wonderful way to experience the game. -- Edmond Tran, February 1, 2019, 10:00 AM AESTOriginal text, published November 6, 2015: Jumping into a bottomless pit is terrifying. Gravity shows no mercy and no matter how prepared you might be, you’re probably going to hurt yourself. Downwell’s premise embodies this fear. Downwell is a game about diving into the unknown and learning to adapt to the consequences, and it’s a thrilling, action-packed descent.In Downwell you control a character using only three inputs: left, right, and an all-purpose action button. Pressing the action button while on the ground makes your character jump. Pressing the action button while mid-air causes your character to fire a limited number of bullets downwards, and these bullets can break destructible floors, eliminate enemies, and let your character hover for a brief period. There is only one objective: get to the bottom. And when you die, you start from scratch. The basic systems are straightforward, but the benefit is that it makes the game especially easy to pick up and play. Eliminating the need to think about moving in any other direction, or even switching between two separate buttons to jump and fire, successfully allows players to completely concentrate on the task at hand.No platforms, no problem.Each level is randomly generated, and there’s no way to stop and look ahead to gauge what enemies or traps may appear. There are pickups that increase your health, ammo capacity, and give you new kinds of weapons, but there’s no guarantee which pickups you might stumble across. End-of-level character upgrades give you useful abilities, such as causing blocks to explode into bullets and the ability to consume dead bodies for health, but are also chosen from a randomly selected pool.These rogue-like elements are nothing new, but Downwell’s unique contribution to the mix is its use of gravity. The only way to progress through the game’s stages is to keep dropping down, and as it turns out, gravity makes your character fall pretty damn quickly. Downwell’s design focuses on dealing with the situations caused by unseen dangers below you as you fall into them at great speed. Your character is vulnerable from the top, and if you don’t manage to deal with an enemy once you’ve dropped past, it’s usually safer to keep jumping down before they bear down on you. The narrow, vertical stages leave little room to manoeuvre, and death comes quickly if enemies trap you. Aside from avoidance, jumping on heads and shooting is the only way to deal with enemies, but certain types can only be defeated by one or the other. Learning and correctly responding to these dangers as you speedily free-fall through the stages is a mentally taxing, but satisfying task if executed successfully.Trapped platforms appear early on to make sure you keep moving.The speed of the game is frustrating at first, and it’s tempting to try and take it slow, descending one platform at a time, making sure all enemies are clear, and taking a short breather before moving on. It’s also tempting to hold out for your favourite weapon module, one whose damage spread and ability to slow your descent matches your preferred playstyle. This works for the first few levels, but past the game’s first world, this calculated approach only causes even more frustration. Terrain traps are introduced, which cause damage if your character lingers too long, a time-based mechanic forces a race to the end of the level, and solid platforms to rest on become increasingly scarce. But once you start to become familiar with the game’s array of obstacles and learn how to better react to situations, playing Downwell at a quicker pace becomes incredibly enjoyable. Keeping up with your character's fast falling speed and making snap decisions on how to deal with enemies while speeding past platforms can occasionally lead to disaster. But managing to hurtle through a large stretch of a level while dealing with everything that comes your way without even touching the ground is a joyus feeling, when you pull it off."...managing to hurtle through a large stretch of a level while dealing with everything that comes your way without even touching the ground is a joyus feeling, when you pull it off."Your character begins each run with a small amount of health and bullet capacity, and one method of improving these traits is to find pickups in side-rooms that occasionally appear throughout the stages. The caveat is that each pickup also acts as a new weapon module. This clever design decision results in some interesting choices: To replenish health in a near-death situation or upgrade your weapon capacity for later levels, you must change your weapon to something you may not necessarily be comfortable with. While learning to be familiar with how to use all the weapons can be a nice side-benefit, at times the weapon available may turn out to be completely unsuitable for the kind of trials that may lie ahead. Never knowing if a decision you make is going to severely hurt you is initially annoying, but you soon come to appreciate the additional layer of unknown to the game’s equation, which positively magnifies Downwell's ever-present sense of danger.First you get the combos. Then you get the money. Then you get the upgrades.Downwell’s biggest incentive to keep playing fast and risky is the game’s combo system: Every enemy the player kills before touching the ground counts towards a combo multiplier, which can eventually reward you with increased ammo capacity, and large amounts of currency to spend at sporadically-placed upgrade stores. Because your character has a limited number of shots in the air before running out of ammo, and jumping on enemies refreshes that ammo, maintaining a long combo becomes a challenging feat of perception, quick decision making, and adept execution. Leaping on an enemy while avoiding another, shooting a gap in the floor and falling through it, then stabilizing yourself and manoeuvring to a position where you can stomp onto another enemy to refresh your ammo is an action-packed thrill. Learning the skills and vocabulary of the game gives you the confidence to risk chaining large combos, and it’s at this level where you can experience Downwell's most exhilarating moments again and again."Learning the skills and vocabulary of the game gives you the confidence to risk chaining large combos, and it’s at this level where you can experience Downwell's most exhilarating moments again and again."The idea of plummeting into the unknown is terrifying, but Downwell is a game where the systems coerce you to take big risks, and enjoy the reward and thrill of pushing your limits to achieve a new personal best. The difficulty and diligence required to master Downwell does not make it an easy task, but its straightforward controls, utilitarian lo-fi presentation, and steady stream of exciting moments make the journey a consistently enjoyable and engaging experience, no matter how many times you may die on the first stage. Info from Gamespot.com

February is almost upon us, which means a new set of free Games with Gold will soon be available for Xbox Live Gold subscribers. That also means that time is running out to grab January's free titles, which are scheduled to go back to their regular prices on February 1.If you haven't grabbed this month's offerings yet, this is your last chance to download the critically acclaimed platformer Celeste and Ubisoft's beloved shooter Far Cry 2, both of which will remain free for Xbox Live Gold members through January 31. Thanks to backwards compatibility, the latter is also playable on Xbox One.In addition to those titles, another free game is available right now for Xbox Live Gold subscribers: the off-road racer WRC 6 FIA World Rally Championship. This one will remain free until February 15, so you still have a little more time left to download it if you haven't already. You can see the full list of January's free games below.On February 1, Microsoft will roll out its next batch of free Games with Gold, which includes Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon--a retro Castlevania-style spin-off of the upcoming Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night--and Assassin's Creed Rogue. Then, partway through the month, Super Bomberman R and the original Xbox Star Wars game, Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, will be free to download.In other Xbox news, Microsoft has rolled out a new batch of Deals with Gold. From now until February 5, Xbox Live Gold members can get discounts on Destiny 2's Forsaken expansion, Forza Horizon 3, and more games in the Microsoft Store. The entire Assassin's Creed series is also discounted across Xbox One and Xbox 360 as part of this week's Spotlight sale.January 2019 Games With GoldXbox OneCeleste (Jan. 1-31)WRC 6 FIA World Rally Championship (Jan. 16-Feb. 15)Never Alone (Dec. 16 - Jan. 15)Xbox 360Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light (Jan. 1-15)Far Cry 2 (Jan. 16-31)Info from Gamespot.com