January saw the release of two of the year's most anticipated titles, Kingdom Hearts III and Capcom's Resident Evil 2 remake, and both unsurprisingly had strong debuts in the US. According to the NPD Group's latest sales report, the two were the best-selling games in the country last month, with New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe following at third.While the NPD Group doesn't disclose sales numbers, it notes that Kingdom Hearts 3 was the US's best-selling game for January. Furthermore, the title's total launch month dollar sales were two-and-a-half times higher than the series' previous best, Kingdom Hearts II.Resident Evil 2 took the runner-up spot last month and similarly had 2.8 times higher dollar sales than the original, which released on PS One back in 1998. New Super Mario Bros. Deluxe, meanwhile, generated 30% higher launch month dollar sales than the original Wii U title did when it released alongside the system in 2012.While Kingdom Hearts may have been the best-selling game, the Nintendo Switch was the US's best-selling console last month in both units and dollars. Moreover, NPD says Switch was the only platform to grow year-on-year, and the Switch Pro Controller was the best-selling accessory last month.Despite these strong sales, NPD reports that overall video game spending last month was down 19% compared to January 2018. That's not all bad news, however, as the group notes that January 2019 still had "the second highest market total achieved in a January month since the $917 million reached in January 2013."January 2019's Best-Selling Games In The USKingdom Hearts IIIResident Evil 2New Super Mario Bros. U DeluxeCall of Duty: Black Ops 4Super Smash Bros. UltimateRed Dead Redemption 2Ace Combat 7: Skies UnknownNBA 2K19Mario Kart 8 DeluxeGrand Theft Auto VMadden NFL 19Tales of VesperiaThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the WildBattlefield VSuper Mario PartyMinecraftAssassin's Creed OdysseyMarvel's Spider-ManFIFA 19Super Mario OdysseyInfo from Gamespot.com

The new Resident Evil 2-themed mode, titled Zombie: Survive Till Dawn, has gone live in PUBG Mobile. The crossover introduces Resident Evil 2's enemies into the mobile version of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, and also adds the extra challenge of bosses to the battle royale game.Added in patch 0.11.0, Zombie: Survive Till Dawn, has 60 players face off in a 30-minute battle royale match that's divided into three days and two nights. During the day, you still must contend with other players and scavenge for weapons and resources, but wandering computer-controlled enemies from Resident Evil 2--such as lickers and undead police officers--present an added challenge. Killing these enemies rewards you with resources, but doing so might telegraph your position to other players.At night, the game gets even more tricky. The darkness makes it hard to see, and computer-controlled enemies become much more aggressive. During both the day and night, you'll have to be on the lookout for the mode's bosses as well. William Birkin, aka G1, spawns in PUBG Mobile's police station. Regardless of the time, you'll have to contend with him if you want the location's excellent loot. Resident Evil 2's Tyrant, aka Mr. X, randomly appears around air drops to pursue those who try to claim them. To help hold back these threats, the Zombie: Survive Till Dawn introduces the new MI34 minigun.If you play Zombie: Survive Till Dawn, you can unlock Leon and Claire skins for use in PUBG Mobile, as well as costumes inspired by Ada and Marvin. PUBG Mobile is available for both Android and iOS.After braving the horrors of Resident Evil 2 in a battle royale setting, consider picking up the actual game as well. In our Resident Evil 2 review, we gave the game a 9/10, describing it as "a stellar remake of the original" that "delivers anxiety-inducing and grotesque situations" and tops "some of the series' finest entries."Info from Gamespot.com

The rumored foldable phone from Samsung, the Galaxy Fold, is finally a reality. Samsung formally unveiled the device during its Unpacked event, showcasing what it can do and announcing both a release date and price--the latter of which is eyebrow-raising, to say the least.The Galaxy Fold releases on April 26 and starts in price at $1,980. That is not a typo. With Apple having pushed premium mobile phone pricing well above the $1,000 mark with its iPhone X line, Samsung is taking things much further with its new innovation.As detailed by CNET, the Galaxy Fold features a 7.3-inch display when it's unfolded into its tablet format; while folded, its screen is a 4.6-inch display. It features two different batteries--one for each side, to provide power while enabling the folding functionality--and is equipped with a whopping six cameras. It also has 12 GB of RAM and is available in four colors: Cosmo Black, Space Silver, Martian Green, and Astro Blue.Image credit: CNETTo facilitate the folding, Samsung is using a new type of screen technology called Infinity Flex Display, which it says will prevent the screen from being damaged by repeatedly folding and unfolding it. Apps can be used in both form factors and will transition from one to the other. Taking advantage of the tablet-sized display, when the Fold is unfolded, you can use up to three apps at once.Alongside the Galaxy Fold, Samsung also announced the next of its more mainstream mobile devices during Unpacked, the Galaxy S10, as well as the S10E and Galaxy S10 5G. The latter will arrive first on Verizon before expanding to other carriers later in the year.Info from Gamespot.com

Rockstar has announced an update to Red Dead Online, the online multiplayer mode in Red Dead Redemption 2. The update is scheduled for next week on February 26, with some of the content--such as clothing and a new melee weapon--exclusive via PS4 early access. This content will come to Xbox One in time, though. For now, Red Dead Online still remains in beta.The update introduces a new in-game event called Fool's Gold in Free Roam. The event spawns a suit of golden armor, which can be worn. Doing so and killing players nets you points towards winning Fool's Gold. If you're not wearing the armor, you must track down and kill the person who is in order to claim it for yourself.New competitive fishing challenges will be added in the new update as well, as will three new Showdown modes: Up in Smoke, Spoils of War, and Plunder. A new race variation, called Target Races, is also included. In terms of weapons, the update adds the Evans Repeater rifle and the Rare Shotgun, both of which will be available via the Wheeler & Rawson Catalogue and local Gunsmiths. A variety of new clothes and emotes are also being added, allowing you customize your Red Dead Online character in new ways.In our Red Dead Redemption 2 review, Kallie Plagge gave the game a 9/10, writing, "While Red Dead Redemption was mostly focused on John Marston's story, Red Dead 2 is about the entire Van der Linde gang--as a community, as an idea, and as the death rattle of the Wild West. It is about Arthur, too, but as the lens through which you view the gang, his very personal, very messy story supports a larger tale. Some frustrating systems and a predictable mission structure end up serving that story well, though it does take patience to get through them and understand why. Red Dead Redemption 2 is an excellent prequel, but it's also an emotional, thought-provoking story in its own right, and it's a world that is hard to leave when it's done." Her impressions of the Red Dead Online beta, however, were not as positive.Red Dead Redemption 2 is available for Xbox One and PS4.Info from Gamespot.com

All of the characters of Apex Legends handle a little bit differently. Combining their abilities is what sets Respawn Entertainment's game apart from other battle royale shooters and adds an element of team-based strategic thinking that can help you win matches. It all comes down to picking the right character and knowing exactly what their abilities and limitations might be.If you're looking for a hardcore offensive approach to Apex Legends, Bangalore is a good choice. The Professional Soldier has abilities great for messing with an enemy squad, distracting them, confusing them, and taking away their capacity to fight. Smoke grenades and airstrikes can stun and confuse opponents, and Bangalore's increased speed makes her great for getting into fights, flanking enemies, and escaping bad situations.Check out the tips below for a full rundown of everything Bangalore's capable of, and some of the ways you can use her abilities to get the upper hand against your opponents. We've also run down a whole lot of useful information Apex Legends doesn't tell you, and spent some time myth-busting to find out exactly what is and isn't possible in Apex Legends, so check those out. You might also want to read our Apex Legends review.Other Character GuidesLifeline Guide: Tips On How To Be The Best Combat MedicMirage Guide: Tips On How To Be The Best Holographic TricksterPathfinder Guide: Tips On How To Be The Best Forward ScoutCaustic Guide: Tips On How To Be The Best Toxic TrapperWraith Guide: Tips On How To Be A Dangerous BamboozlerGibraltar Guide: Tips On Playing As The Shielded FortressBangalore General OverviewBangalore's abilities are mostly geared toward offense, so you want to play her pretty aggressively. It's definitely possible to drop her smoke grenades and added speed to help you escape, but they're more effective when used to help you take down squads. That doesn't mean you should act like an unstoppable killing machine as Bangalore--you're just as vulnerable as the professional soldier as with any other character--but her offensive capabilities can be formidable in battle situations, and if you play her too defensively, you'll miss out on those benefits.Getting good with Bangalore is about learning how to get into the right position at the right time. Effectively combining smoke grenades to obscure your approach with the speed boost you get under fire can get you right up on top of an enemy squad before they can deal with you, and the same is true for escaping battle situations or getting around cover to flank enemies. Stay mobile and work on attacking enemies when they don't expect and you'll rack up the kills with Bangalore.Bangalore's AbilitiesPassive Ability: Double TimeGetting shot at can actually be a good for Bangalore: Her passive ability makes her sprint faster when taking fire. That means you can quickly get away from being shot in a lot of cases, but Bangalore's Double Time ability is even better for closing range against an enemy squad before they can effectively deal with you, forcing them into a closer fight than they might want.Tactical Ability: Smoke LauncherBangalore can shoot a set of three smoke grenades with her Tactical ability, blanketing an area and greatly reducing visibility. Smoke arcs like any thrown grenade, then creates a big smoke screen that spreads out into quite a large area to make a thick wall.Ultimate Ability: Rolling ThunderFor an ultimate ability, Bangalore can call in an airstrike called Rolling Thunder. It drops a series of missiles from the air that slam into the ground before exploding shortly afterward. Unlike Gibraltar's mortar strike ultimate, which concentrates on a circular area, Bangalore's rolls out in a straight line over a given area. The missiles that land do damage as well as stun anyone who's caught in them, which makes it possible to keep fighting in the midst of a strike and finish off enemies who are caught in it.Tips For Playing As BangaloreBangalore is a good choice if you're new to Apex, because her abilities are highly offensive. Unlike playing someone like Gibraltar, Lifeline, or Recon, you don't really have to worry about using your abilities to save teammates. Bangalore does have some defensive options, which are great to have in a pinch, but if you want to learn the ropes of Apex Legends, Bangalore is a good character to use to do it.Go nuts with the Smoke Launcher. Shoot it at enemies to mess with their ability to shoot at you, pop it near your squad so they can move around without being seen, or use it to block off visibility when crossing open ground. You can seriously hamper an enemy's ability to fight if you can take away their ability to see, and the cooldown on the Smoke Launcher means you can fire them pretty quickly even in a combat situation. Dump smoke into a fight to make it hard for enemy squads to combine fire on your teammates at range, and to even up the odds at close quarters.The Smoke Launcher can help you in defensive situations, too. Use smoke to help you get out from under fire and to revive downed teammates. As with other characters' abilities, dropping smoke where you don't plan to be can distract enemy squads.Bangalore's smoke combines very well with Bloodhound's abilities. He can see through the screen with his ultimate ability, and working together you can effectively blind an enemy squad while tearing into them while they're defenseless. You can also see through the scope with any high-tier digital scope, if you can find one. Check supply drops!The Double Time ability is great for crossing open ground quicker than other characters. If you can avoid getting killed, you can use Bangalore's speed to draw fire from an enemy squad while the rest of your team gets into position for flanking. Stay in communication to create smart tactical situations. You can also use Double Time and smoke to catch up to enemies quickly, or to get out of a bad situation and heal up. The speedier sprint is also handy for running through your own Rolling Thunder strike, allowing you to get to opponents while they're worried about staying alive.Rolling Thunder is great for any battle situation, but be aware that it can stun your teammates (and you) as well as enemies. It's still best used in battle situations where it can mess with the enemy, allowing you to down them or finish them off quickly. Just be careful about when and where you throw it, and make sure your teammates are ready to deal with it.Combining Rolling Thunder with smoke creates serious chaos. Chuck a few grenades at enemies who are blinded and stunned and you can create even more.It's important to note that Rolling Thunder is an offensive ability that's meant to supplement your fighting, but not replace it. Warheads dropped in the strike don't explode right away and can potentially be avoided--but it will always send enemies scrambling. Use it to flush people out of cover and out of position and sow confusion, or sprint through it to catch people running for safety when they're not ready for a fight. Info from Gamespot.com

Rockstar is rolling out a big update for Red Dead Redemption 2 next week. The developer is introducing a variety of new modes, clothing, weapons, and other features to the game's online component, Red Dead Online, as well as a new set of timed-exclusive content for those playing on PS4.First, PS4 players will have early access to Open Target Races before they go live on Xbox One. These are variants of the new Target Races coming in the update, and they have players competing in an open space to shoot the most targets while riding on horseback.Additionally, PS4 players will get early access to a handful of items. Chief among these is the Jawbone Knife, which Rockstar describes as "a unique melee weapon with a handle artfully carved from the remains of a slain animal's jaw." PS4 players will also be the first to get "a range of new clothing options," as well as three new emotes.The Red Dead Online update will roll out for both PS4 and Xbox One on February 26. Rockstar hasn't specified when Open Target Races and the Jawbone Knife and other items will arrive on Xbox One, but previous timed PS4 content remained exclusive to Sony's console for 30 days, so that will presumably be the case with this batch.In addition to the timed PS4 content, next week's update will add a new Free Roam event called Fool's Gold, which has players vying to wear a ridiculous-looking gold-plated suite of armor. There will also be new competitive fishing challenges, three new Showdown modes--Up in Smoke, Spoils of War, and Plunder--and a handful of weapons. You can read more details on Rockstar's website.Info from Gamespot.com

Whacha gonna do when Thor trades in Mjolnir for a handlebar mustache and 24-inch pythons, and then runs wild all over you? Although the immortal Hulk Hogan has had some controversial moments in the past decade, he is still synonymous with wrestling. And now, he'll be played by Chris Hemsworth in an upcoming film.The film will be directed by Todd Philips and written by Scott Silver, who are currently working on the DC Comics movie, Joker. According to THR, Michael Sugar and Bradley Cooper will produce the movie under their banner Joint Effort. Additionally, the two will be joined by the former president of WCW--one of the largest wrestling promotions of the '80s and '90s--Eric Bischoff.While Hogan's career is undeniably gigantic, covering decades upon decades from New Japan Pro Wrestling to AWA to WWF to WCW to TNA, this movie will primarily focus around his origin story and the rise of Hulkamania and his work in WWF. So we probably won't get the formation of the NWO or anything involving Hogan's work in WCW. This movie is all going to be about Hogan telling fans to say their prayers and eat their vitamins.Aside from dominating weekly WWF television during this time period, Hogan had his own cartoon series, action figures, numerous movie roles--including playing himself in Gremlins 2--and many other merchandising opportunities. Even if you never watched WWF programming, you knew who Hulk Hogan was. He was Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson years before The Rock even stepped foot into the ring.At this time, there is no set release date for the movie. Hopefully, Cooper and Bischoff do the right thing and hire Bo Dallas to play I.R.S., even if it's just for a montage.Info from Gamespot.com

Freelancers and perspective Freelancers rejoice, Dark Horse has just given you an opportunity to expand your understanding of the high stakes, mech-infested world of Anthem even further with a brand new, three issue prequel comic. Creative team Alexander Freed, Mac Walters, and Eduardo Francisco have jumped into the years leading up to the player's journey in the game with two characters--Kismet, a young orphan who was originally created for the comic, and Jani, his adopted sister who will feature in the game as an adult.In an interview with GameSpot, Freed described the comic's story as something fans both new and familiar to Anthem's in-game lore can appreciate. "[For new fans], it's an intimate, character-driven adventure in an alien world, taking a look at what it means to grow up and find purpose on a dangerous frontier. Flying power armor and over-the-top monsters and imaginative technology live alongside sibling rivalries and small-town dreams. For someone already passionate about the game, the comic is a way of diving deeper into the setting, exploring what daily life is like in the world of Anthem, and providing more background on certain characters and events. A comic can't match the visceral intensity of a video game, but it can offer depth in places the game can't."Take a look at the first seven pages from issue number one here in this exclusive preview.On the design side, artist Eduardo Francisco spoke about the challenge of matching BioWare and EA's specific design aesthetics for a new medium. "BioWare's artists beautifully crafted the backgrounds, armor, and every single detail, and every element has a purpose or function in the game," he said. "In a way, it was intimidating to try to match that quality in sequential pages. I had to find a way to simplify the elements in the scene to optimize the production, so I just focused on storytelling. Kismet is original to the comics, so his design was up to me. The other main character in the comics, Jani, will appear in the game, as an adult. Jani appears as a young girl in issue #1, so I just needed to reverse engineer her appearance based on how she looks as an adult in the game."And speaking of Jani and Kismet, Freed continued by teasing the importance of their relationship in Anthem's ongoing story. " Without giving too much away, Jani and Kismet are both troubled youths who balance out one another's extremes. Alone, each spirals into self-destructive behavior--Jani, born in Fort Tarsis, is desperate for a thrill to make her forget her difficult home life, and Kismet is brilliant but traumatized and fearful from a childhood encounter with the horrifying Scars. Over time, each finds a role among Anthem's strange factions. But balance is rarely stable, and the pendulum swings back and forth. Jani and Kismet are in for a rough road."It's that rough road and tenuous balance that will propel the final two issues of the prequel forward, Freed said, while continuing to expand on the depth and the mythology of the game's rich world.Anthem #1 is on sale now. Make sure to check out GameSpot's review in progress of Anthem, which Kallie Plagge said, "I'm currently treating Anthem's disparate missions as an excuse to try a new weapon or special attack, which, combined with flight, gives me incentive to keep going. I'm hoping that I get more out of the story as I go on, but so far it's too generic to get its hooks in me. I'll keep playing on PC--I've luckily only been kicked due to server issues twice--so look out for the full review in the next few days." Info from Gamespot.com

Ubisoft has announced it's teaming up with Atlas Entertainment to develop a TV series that adapts its upcoming pirate adventure game, Skull & Bones. In a rather surprising vote of confidence, Ubisoft is starting production on the show before Skull & Bones even releases."Ubisoft is known for creating innovative video games that combine immense worlds with rich narratives," Ubisoft director of development for television Danielle Kreinik told The Hollywood Reporter. Kreinik is scheduled to be executive producer on the new series alongside Ubisoft film and television head Jason Altman.The Skull & Bones TV series is described as a female-driven drama that takes place in the same setting and time period as the game: the Indian Ocean at the end of the golden age of piracy. Amanda Segal, who's previously been an executive producer for Person of Interest and The Mist, is scheduled to write the series' pilot episode.Skull & Bones isn't the first video game Ubisoft has adapted for other media. In 2016, Assassin's Creed got its own live-action movie starring Michael Fassbender. That same year, Ubisoft announced The Division would be getting a movie as well, which will star Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Chastain. The Division movie is being both written and directed by Oscar winner Stephen Gaghan, and Ubisoft has confirmed it is "well on the way." Ubisoft's Women's Film and Television Fellowship is creating additional adaptations as well, including Child of Light and Werewolves Within.Skull & Bones builds on what made Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag great, with its surprisingly deep ship-to-ship combat. One of Skull & Bones' modes, called The Hunting Grounds, is a PvPvE shared-open world competition "where every player encounter matters." In this mode, you sail the Indian Ocean and loot merchant ships, set up trade routes, or attack other vessels. You can team up with others to take on more formidable threats, or betray the players you encounter and steal away their treasure.Skull & Bones is scheduled to launch for Xbox One, PS4, and PC in 2019.Info from Gamespot.com

Bethesda has released another update for Fallout 76. This week's patch--version 1.0.6.0 across platforms--is now live on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, and it makes another assortment of gameplay tweaks and bug fixes to the online RPG.The new patch weighs in at approximately 4.5 GB on consoles and 3.5 GB on PC. Among other things, Bethesda has once again increased players' maximum stash size, this time to 800 pounds (up from 600). The developer has also made it easier to contest ownership of another player's Workshop; you can now do so from anywhere within its build area.Additionally, Bethesda has made a few adjustments to the game's Wanted system; now you must completely destroy objects either in another player's CAMP or Workshop to earn a Wanted status. The developer says this change "should reduce cases of accidental crime."Beyond that, Bethesda has increased the time between Scorchbeast Sonic Screams, giving players a slightly longer reprieve between attacks. Bethesda says it has been looking over "lots" of feedback regarding the monsters and plans to make further balance adjustments to them.Rounding out the update is another long list of bug fixes. You can read the full patch notes, courtesy of Bethesda's website, below.Bethesda still has many more updates planned for Fallout 76. Among other things, the studio is working on a more competitive Survival PvP mode that removes the restrictions currently around the game's PvP encounters. Bethesda hasn't said exactly when this mode will go live, but the studio plans to release it in beta sometime in March.Fallout 76 Feb. 19 Update Patch NotesTable of Contents [hide]Fallout 76 Feb. 19 Update Patch NotesGENERALBALANCE AND DESIGNC.A.M.P., CRAFTING, AND WORKSHOPSENEMIESPVPSOUNDUSER INTERFACEBUG FIXESGENERALServer Maintenance: As we work on world servers that have been running for a long time and hitting some lag issues, we’ll be performing maintenance on those servers more frequently. You may receive an in-game message alerting you to this maintenance when it occurs, and you may be asked to join another world. This should improve the play experience for everyone during your adventures in Appalachia.BALANCE AND DESIGNPower Armor: The amount of springs required to craft and repair level 25, 35, and 45 Excavator Power Armor Legs has been significantly reduced.Weapons: Flare Guns have been removed from the legendary weapon list, as they can’t benefit from legendary mods.C.A.M.P., CRAFTING, AND WORKSHOPSStash Limit: The storage limit for the stash has been increased from 600 to 800 pounds. Dev Note: We’ve been reading your feedback that the current stash limit of 600 lbs could use an additional increase, and after some investigation found that we could offer some more storage space in the Stash.C.A.M.P. Placement: If a player’s current C.A.M.P. location is occupied upon joining a world, a message will now display which gives them option to stay in the current world or attempt to join a new one. If the player chooses to find another world, they will be removed from the current world and matchmaking will attempt to place them in a new one.This process can be repeated if the player’s C.A.M.P. location happens to also be occupied in the new world.Workshops: Players no longer need to interact with claimed Workshops directly to contest ownership, and Workshops can now be contested and captured from anywhere within the build area. Dev Note: The ability to contest a claimed Workshop is intended and encouraged behavior as part of Workshop design. This change should prevent situations where a Workshop owner could prevent others from attempting to contest it without becoming Wanted by destroying something or picking a lock to reach the Workshop.ENEMIESScorchbeasts: Increased the timer between successive Sonic Scream volleys to 10 seconds for Scorchbeasts and the Scorchbeast Queen in order to reduce the frequency of these attacks. Dev Note: This change should help players have some more time to react between Sonic Scream volleys. We’ve also been reading lots of feedback about Scorchbeasts in general that the community has been sharing, and we’re looking into further improvements and balance changes we can bring to them in the future.PVPWanted: Damaging a C.A.M.P. or workshop object created by another player no longer causes the attacker to become Wanted. The object must now be completely destroyed by the attacker in order to flag them as Wanted. Dev Note: We’ve received feedback from players who felt that it was too easy to become Wanted accidentally by damaging others’ C.A.M.P. and Workshop objects. We agree and made this change to help limit cases where a stray bullet could result in a bounty on your head.SOUNDSound Effects: Pulling the pin on a grenade to prime it before throwing now play audible sound effects for nearby players.Map: Sound effects now play when placing or moving custom Map markers.USER INTERFACEPlayer Icons: Hovering over a player’s name on the Map will now display their current player icon.Player Icons: Hovering over an owned Workshop on the Map will now display the current owner’s player icon.Turrets: Viewing a Turret placed by another player in their C.A.M.P. or at a Workshop will now display the owner’s name and player icon in the Turret’s nameplate.Voice Chat: The color of Voice Chat speaker icons on player nameplates now update based on that player’s current status: Neutral players display a pale-yellow icon, Allies display gold, and Hostile and Wanted display red.BUG FIXESPERFORMANCE AND STABILITYLoading: Addressed an issue that could cause controls to lock up if the player opened the Pip-Boy immediately after encountering a loading screen.Loading: Fixed an issue that could cause the player to encounter an infinite loading screen if they quit to the main menu immediately after joining a world.Loading: Fixed an issue on PC that could result in an infinite loading screen if multiple players on a team joined a world simultaneously.Loading: Fixed an issue that could cause a player to encounter an infinite loading screen due to an inventory discrepancy.Performance: Addressed an issue that could cause hitching while scrapping items.Performance: Attempting to craft many items at very high speed will now result in a delay of up to 1 second between subsequent crafting attempts after the first few. This was done to help improve server performance and should not affect normal crafting.Performance: Addressed an issue that could impact server performance when scrapping a large number of items in rapid succession.Performance: Addressed an issue that could cause reduced framerates when many players were firing weapons simultaneously in the same area.Stability: Addressed a crash that could occur when interacting with a Power Armor Station while wearing Power Armor.ART AND GRAPHICSApparel: Hair no longer clips through the Nuka-Girl Rocketsuit helmet.Apparel: Underarmor no longer remains visible while wearing the Silver Shroud costume.Emotes: Fixed an issue causing reduced framerates during the Snowball Fight! Emote’s animation.Enemies: Fixed an issue that could cause a second head to appear on a specific Scorched variant after decapitating it via headshot.Graphics: Switching outfits or weapons while the Chameleon mutation or legendary effect is active no longer causes those items to appear visible to other players.Nuke Code Pieces: Letters and Numbers displayed by Nuke Code Pieces will no longer appear misaligned on pickup.Perks: The throwing arc displayed by the Fire in the Hole perk now remains visible if the player moves while holding a fragmentation grenade.Photomode: Returning to first-person view after exiting Photomode with a ranged weapon equipped no longer causes the character model’s hands to appear offset or dark graphic effects to appear onscreen.C.A.M.P., CRAFTING, AND WORKSHOPSBlueprints: Blueprints containing a mirror ball can now be placed correctly and no longer cause an “Object is floating.” error message to display.Blueprints: Attempting to place a blueprint containing objects that have been placed on shelves no longer causes an “Object needs support” error message to display.Blueprints: Blueprint names now support a maximum of 25 characters.Budget: Tamed creatures no longer permanently consume C.A.M.P. budget after they are killed.C.A.M.P.: Fixed an issue that could cause a C.A.M.P. dialog to display to a new character before they had placed their C.A.M.P. for the first time.Crafting: Fixed an issue that could prevent items from being crafted or repaired despite having the required materials if those materials were split between the inventory and stash.Crafting: Players who have exceeded the absolute weight limit of 1,500 lbs plus their current maximum carry weight are now correctly notified that they are unable to craft items while over the limit.Exploit: Addressed an exploit that could allow items to be duplicated when moving C.A.M.P. locations.Exploit: Addressed an exploit that could allow items to be duplicated if a blueprint failed to save properly.Recipes and Plans: Fixed an issue that could prevent a player from crafting a Recipe or Plan they had previously learned.Scrapping: Bleached Dogwood is now protected from autoscrapping when crafting. However, it can still be scrapped manually.Workbenches: Attempting to place a Power Armor Station on a foundation in a structure that has multiple levels no longer causes the station to be placed on the second floor.ENEMIESScorchbeast Queen: The Scorchbeast Queen can now correctly drop Plans from the full range of Ultracite Power Armor Mod Plans in her loot list, and players now correctly receive a random roll from her loot list.Mothman: Fixed an issue in which Mothman would not leave the area when approached or respond to attacks.ITEMSApparel: The Clean Clown Outfit now correctly counts toward completion of the "Kill Wendigos" side mission at Freddie's House of Scares.Apparel: The Nuka-Girl Rocketsuit can no longer be equipped or unequipped while wearing Power ArmorApparel: The Nuka-Girl Rocketsuit outfit has been separated into two pieces - the body piece and the upper helmet. Dev Note: For the moment, the upper helmet, when not worn with the body piece, looks to be floating partly from the player character. This is temporary until we can rework the helmet itself. This was a necessary change to prevent poor interactions with Power Armor and underarmor. Players who already own the Rocketsuit, will automatically have access to craft the helmet.Armor: The Punishing legendary effect no longer reflects “slap” damage dealt by another player. This should prevent cases where a player wearing Punishing armor could become Wanted unintentionally due to reflected damage that killed their attacker.Armor: Fixed an issue causing damage reflected by the Punishing legendary effect to be reduced based on the defending player’s resistances.Cap Containers: Now award the correct number of Caps and no longer generate only 1 Cap as loot.Exploits: Removed an apparel Recipe that was not intended to be available in-game, as well as items created using that Recipe.Headlamps: Removed an erroneously added Atomic Shop flag from all non-Mothman Power Armor Head Lamps. Also added a separate red Mothman headlamp that works once Mothman Power Armor is equipped.Holotapes: Choosing to stop a Holotape now correctly stops that Holotape from continuing to play.Mods: Aiming down the sights after applying the Recon Sensors mod to a Power Armor helmet now correctly marks enemies on the compass.Power Armor: Resistances are no longer incorrectly reduced when entering Power Armor while wearing Underarmor.Power Armor: Now correctly prioritizes using the Fusion Core in the player’s inventory that has the least remaining charge, rather than selecting them at random.Power Armor: Fixed an issue that could allow Power Armor pieces with Atomic Shop paints applied to be transferred into containers.Weapons: The M79 Grenade Launcher and the Auto Grenade Launcher are now classified as heavy weapons, and correctly benefit from all heavy weapons perks except Heavy Gunner, as they benefit from Demolitions Expert instead.PERKSLast Laugh: Explosive Bait is no longer dropped on death while the Last Laugh perk is equipped.Martial Artist: Now only applies its attack speed bonus to melee weapons and no longer incorrectly increases the Gatling Gun’s rate of fire.Ricochet: The Ricochet perk fanfare no longer displays repeatedly when its effects are triggered multiple times in quick succession.Team Effects: A team invite must be accepted, and a team formed, before team-based perks, such as Squad Maneuvers, will apply their team effects.PVPRespawn: Being killed by a friend, selecting “Respawn”, and then using the Social Menu to respawn at a that friend’s location no longer causes those players to remain hostile toward each other.QUESTS, EVENTS, AND CHALLENGESQuest Containers: Non-quest items can no longer be transferred into the Feed the People and Path to Enlightenment event quest containers.One of Us: The Congressional Access Card is no longer lost if the player is disconnected or the server crashes.SURVIVALAddictions: Fixed an issue which prevented Addictions currently affecting the character from displaying in the Pip-Boy’s Status menu.Diseases: Rad Worms now only increases radiation damage taken by 50%, and no longer incorrectly increases Mutation and other effects.Mutations: Fixed an inconsistent interaction between the Class Freak, Barbarian, and Evasive perks that could cause them to stop functioning while affected by the Herd Mentality mutation.Mutations: The Healing Factor mutation no longer causes players to become invincible while in the downed state.USER INTERFACEC.A.M.P.: A player’s name will now correctly appear onscreen when viewing their C.A.M.P., even if that player is not nearby.Controls: Plugging in a controller after launching Fallout 76 on PC using a keyboard and mouse no longer causes the button indicators for interactable objects, like containers or workbenches, to disappear until the client is relaunched.Controls: Pressing the Quick Swap key (Default: Left D-pad) after the current weapon breaks now correctly swaps to an alternate weapon.Crosshairs: Fixed an issue causing crosshairs to expand and contract incorrectly for players running the game using 21:9 aspect ratios.Game Camera: Changing the face preset in the Change Appearance menu outside of Vault 76 no longer causes the camera to show an unintended angle in third-person view.Holotapes: Attempting to play a blank terminal holotape no longer causes the Pip-Boy to display a blank screen.Localization: “Perk Card Pack” text that displays when opening a new Perk Card Pack is now correctly localized in non-English versions of the game client.Map: Fixed an issue that could prevent player icons from displaying on the Map when choosing a respawn location.Map: Overencumbered players who die inside a Nuke Zone can now correctly respawn at the nearest Map marker.Notifications: “Ammo Removed” messages no longer appear onscreen when harvesting flora or other materials shortly after firing a weapon.Notifications: The “You have joined a team.” notification now correctly displays console controls, rather than PC hotkeys, in its subtitle text while playing on consoles.Notifications: Fixed an issue where players could sometimes receive a “Max weight limit reached.” message when attempting to trade with other players.Photomode Frames: Photomode frames that were purchased from the Atomic Shop now correctly display the Atom symbol in the photomode menu.Shop: Fixed an issue on PC that could cause controls to lock up when purchasing Atoms.Shop: Purchasing multiple items from the Atomic Shop in quick succession no longer prevents those items from appearing in crafting menus until the client is relaunched.Shop: Preview images have been added for the Kill, Laugh, Love Neon Sign.Teams: Attempting to join a teammate in a world from the main menu using the social menu no longer causes a message to display stating that they will be removed from the team.Teams: Fixed an issue that could prevent team members from loading into a world with the team leader after the leader selected “Play”.Teams: Fixed an issue in which the "Play with Team" option on the Main Menu became non-functional when attempting to rejoin teammates in a world following a crash or disconnect.Transfer Menu: The transfer bar now correctly stops at 1 when scrolling to reduce the transfer quantity.Voice Chat: The voice chat speaker icon now correctly appears in player nameplates, in team chat, and in the area chat list when a player is speaking. Info from Gamespot.com

Celebrating 20 years in 2019, the Age of Wonders series has always been nestled comfortably within the high-fantasy genre. However, with the upcoming release of Planetfall, the 4X (expand, explore, exploit, exterminate) strategy-sim will be moving away from the familiar swords and sorcery angle, to take the conflict star-side--dealing with the politics and ensuing drama that comes from building a galactic empire from the ground up.We recently got a chance to check out the upcoming strategy game, seeing its expanded scope and the greater focus on the little details in the new setting for the series. Though it's now firmly in the realm of science-fiction, Planetfall still hangs onto some of those familiar tropes and themes from the previous games.In Planetfall, you'll take control of one of six factions following a 200 year long dark age after the collapse of deep-space communication. The many civilizations that have evolved during that time have once again come in contact, and they'll now have to cooperate or enter fierce conflict with one another to find a foothold in the new age. With factions having its own unique campaign, you'll be able to create your own custom commander from the character creator and build up your empire through either careful diplomacy or with an iron fist.Here's a quick breakdown of all the game's factions:The Amazons: A bio-engineered faction using skills and traits focused on wildlife and the environment.The Assembly: A cyborg faction that assimilates organic life to bring them into their fold.The Dvar: Former humans that evolved into subterranean dwellers. They possess advanced engineering technology that have helped them survive the harsh climates.The Kir'Ko: An insect race that communicates through a hive-mind. They seek to rebuild their empire and expand further.The Vanguards: Tech-focused human faction who have awoken from hyper-sleep to find the galactic civilization in a vastly different state. They use mechs and other high-tech weaponry to survive in the field.The Syndicate: A shifty feudal empire that specializes in politics and rough trade to secure its goals.Planetfall's approach to science-fiction takes a decidedly retro and somewhat over-the-top approach--which certainly adds a level of fun that you wouldn't expect to see from a rather involved 4X strategy-sim. Channeling the same tone found from '80s sci-fi like the classic Battlestar Galactica or even more modern films like Starship Troopers, there's a really amusing vibe throughout, even when you're nose-deep in the finer details of building up your empire.For those into 4X games, you'll find a lot of the familiar micromanaging, political discourse, and empire-building gameplay that you'd expect from the sub-genre. However, for those fairly new to 4X, there's a bit of a learning curve as you'll have to manage many systems at play. Even for those who know what they're getting themselves into, it can be easy to feel a bit lost in the weeds when checking out all the necessary data for your commander and units. However, each faction's main campaign also serves as a tutorial, which preps you for what's to come in the other game modes. When you feel you've got a handle on what's to come, you enter the Scenario mode, where you're totally free to build up a new civilization and amass an army on the planet of your choosing.Though you can take a more diplomatic approach to engagements, there will be times where you'll need to defend yourself against enemy forces. In similar fashion to another combat-strategy game like XCOM, movement and actions are performed over the course of turns--allowing you to plan out your attack carefully. Units and resources that helped you in the early hours can be upgraded to face off against new threats, which include planetary wildlife and rival factions. There are alot of factors to consider when in combat, such as terrain, enemy attack range, or the type of foes you're facing, but the combat in Planetfall offers a lot of options for you to take on the enemy as you can.At first look, Planetfall is certainly a big change for the series. However, it still presents that very familiar and detail-oriented 4X gameplay that the franchise is known for. With a planned launch on PC, PS4, and Xbox One on August 6, the next game in the Age of Wonders series will mark a new beginning for the 4X strategy-sim.Info from Gamespot.com

Former EA executive vice president of worldwide studios Patrick Soderlund has announced his indie studio, titled Embark, is beginning development on its first game. In a blog post, Soderlund detailed the type of game Embark is working on."Lots about this first game of ours will change and evolve as we progress," Soderlund wrote. "With that caveat out of the way, I can tell you that it’s a cooperative free-to-play action game set in a distant future, about overcoming seemingly impossible odds by working together." Embark is using Epic's Unreal Engine to develop the game.Soderlund left EA in August 2018, but not before playing a key role in the company's development of the Battlefield and Star Wars Battlefront franchises, including Battlefield V and Battlefront II. "From his early vision for Frostbite, which has now become a cornerstone for our technology strategy, to being a champion for Players First experiences, Patrick has always ensured we put creative at the center of everything we do," EA CEO Andrew Wilson said when announcing Soderlund's departure.After Soderlund's departure, there was an internal shakeup within EA, and the company announced a renewed focus for how players consumed its games. "We're deepening our focus on user experience, and welcoming Jason Wozencroft to our studios to lead a strong, unified UX approach for our games and services," Wilson said. "And with new games and content playing a vital role in our networked future, the EA Originals and EA Partners teams led by Rob Letts will join our Strategic Growth group."Info from Gamespot.com

What can be said about Tetris that hasn't been said already? Well, that depends on the type of Tetris game in question. Tetris Effect changed the conversation around the classic puzzle concept last year by directly tying your actions and the flow of stages to the fluctuating rhythm of an eclectic (and all-around amazing) soundtrack. In the case of the Switch-exclusive Tetris 99, the moment-to-moment gameplay is more immediately recognizable, but a new twist helps it stand out from Tetris games of old: a 99-player last-player-standing competition. It's chaotic, which can work in your favor or lead to moments that feel practically unfair. Thankfully, with the solid gameplay at its foundation and a quick means of getting into a new match, no game of Tetris 99 feels like time wasted.The competitive aspect of Tetris 99 is something most people are familiar with, albeit based on less ambitious setups. Clear some lines, and a batch of junk lines will appear in a queue next to your opponent's puzzle space. If they can clear lines of their own, the junk-in-waiting can be negated; if no new lines are completed, the weight of your success will bear down on their board and reduce the free space for mid-drop tetrimino trickery.This straightforward setup has, in the past, been utilized in two-player scenarios. With 99 players competing at once here, all visible next to your puzzle space with lines appearing and disappearing between players every few seconds, your early matches will feel a little confusing.Somewhat frustratingly, Tetris 99 offers no explanation of its inner workings nor the function of various attack modes you can pick from during a match. You can get really far by simply playing Tetris the way you always have, but an uninformed player will always be at a severe disadvantage. Even though all the info is a quick internet search away, it's disappointing that Tetris 99 is bereft of these details or explanations.So here it goes: You can influence automated attack patterns using the right analog stick, determining whether your offensive lines get sent to randoms, players attacking you, people near death, or players who have done the most killing in the match. Playing handheld, you can also use the Switch touchscreen to target players manually. Less intuitively, when playing docked, the left analog stick can be used to cycle through the phalanx of players on either side of your screen.The control given to you by most of these options can be used in strategic ways, but none more so than by attacking killers, AKA the "badges" option. It's named thusly because killing a player nets you a portion of a badge and, better yet, any belonging to the defeated player. These badges enhance the output of your attacks, throwing more lines per combo and making the final moments of a match a living hell for your opponents. With the increasing speed of a Tetris 99 match, manually picking your targets based on small icons is an expert's game, so these automated attack profiles are ultimately to your benefit, even if they aren't explained well and could potentially be a source of confusion for new players.The beauty of Tetris 99 is the tried-and-true game at the center of it all. Tetris is a god among games, and competitive Tetris only enhances the rising tension of a match. Tetris 99, being a game with so many competitors and a default "random" attack pattern, means that you will inevitably enter matches where the odds feel stacked against you from the beginning with no rhyme or reason. And when that happens, you may find that you have no recourse with a screen full of junk lines.Even though each loss isn't always a lesson learned, it's also just a small roadblock, as a new match is generally seconds, rather than minutes, away. Simply hold down a button to start a search for new players, and watch the screen fill up with opponents in the blink of an eye. There may come a time when the countdown clock expires and matches have less than 99 players, but at launch, that is a very rare occurrence.Tetris 99 may not be a proper battle royale game, but it taps into the same emotional well, where a large number of players vying for supremacy creates an ever-present intensity that's difficult to shake. Add that layer to a game that's plenty capable of instilling tension on its own, and you've got a riveting experience that even at its worst is still a game very much worth playing. There's obvious room for improvement, but that's the last thing on your mind when the pieces start falling and the players start dropping.Info from Gamespot.com

Launching upward off a jungle floor and bursting through a thick canopy of trees, bobbing and weaving your way under a waterfall as you take in the lush landscape below you, is one of the highlights of Anthem. Flight, in these moments, is freeing, serene and exhilarating all at once. But you will eventually have to come back down to earth. When you don't have a means to cool down in the air, you have to interrupt your flight to cool off on the ground--or else your suit will overheat and send you careening downward much more violently. This is what Anthem is like as a whole: a game where promising moments are bookended by frustration, where good ideas are undone before they can be fully realized.It can take a while to warm up to Anthem in the first place. In its intro mission, you are a rookie Freelancer--a hero type who battles threats to humanity in mechanized combat suits called javelins. But that brief mission ends in failure, and after a two-year time skip, you're now an experienced Freelancer. As a result, everyone talks to you as if you know everything about the world, even though much of the game's space-fantasy jargon is explained only in codex entries. "Shapers," "Arcanists," to "silence" this or that "relic"--all the dialogue is structured as if you already know what all these things are, so there's not even an element of mystery to it. It's just hard to follow.The story and overall worldbuilding do a great disservice to the characters, which have elements of what you might think of as BioWare's pedigree. The main cast is well-acted and genuine, with complicated emotions and motivations that might have been interesting had they been given time to grow. Two characters are mad at you for the events of the tutorial, even though it's never quite clear why; that bad blood spills over into your relationship with your current partner-in-Freelancing, Owen, and there's enough believable awkwardness there to make you almost feel bad for him. But because the narrative is so poorly set up, the drama feels unearned, the "emotional" reveals robbed of their impact, and any connection you might have had to the characters just out of reach.Exacerbating all of this is Anthem's loot game core, which is simple on paper. After every mission, you return to your base of operations, Fort Tarsis, to talk to people, get new missions, and tinker with your javelins using the loot you picked up from the previous mission. Missions themselves almost universally involve some quick narrative setup followed by flying, completing routine tasks, and plenty of combat (with more brief plot-related stuff thrown in via radio chatter).But this general structure doesn't work well in practice. You're told up front that playing Anthem with others is the best way to play and that you'll get better rewards in a group, but this means asking your friends to be quiet every few minutes so you can hear a bit of dialogue or to wait patiently while you tweak your loadout. Playing solo is better if you want to take your time and talk to different characters, but doing so can make missions more difficult or tedious. Matchmaking with random people is the best option, since you'll have people with you for grindy parts but will leave you alone for the story--but even then, it's easy to lose track of what's going on, especially if someone in your team is ahead of you and triggering dialogue early.And no matter what, you'll have to return to Fort Tarsis after each expedition, which makes for choppy pacing in both the story and the gameplay. There's no way to change your loadout on the go and no way to just continue on to another mission right away, and there are currently a number of loading screens in between leaving and returning to Fort Tarsis. It's hard to really get into any kind of flow.When I finally took the time to talk to NPCs in between missions, I found endearing characters and brief but interesting bits of story spread between them. There's one girl who just loves animals no matter how dangerous, and she'll happily tell you all about them; there's the oldest man in Fort Tarsis, who admits to doing some shady things to earn that title; there's an old woman whose daughter has been missing for years and might just need some kindness. Though it took some patience to do it, I was glad I stopped to listen to them.Throughout all of this, combat is the main thing keeping Anthem afloat. There are four types of javelins--Ranger, Storm, Interceptor, and Colossus--that are essentially a soldier, mage, assassin, and tank, respectively. Each plays differently, with a different pool of abilities, and you aren't locked into the one you start with; you unlock them as you level up. That, combined with a handful of new weapons and abilities after each mission, means that you're almost always experimenting with new loadouts and playstyles.I initially picked the Ranger, thinking it would be a good all-around class while I was learning the basics. But the guns alone aren't enough to make Anthem combat's exciting; I found a lot of the weapons, especially shotguns, to feel ineffectual. The Ranger's abilities are pretty straightforward, too--you get grenades and missiles and the like--which left me largely unimpressed with combat in the beginning. But then I unlocked the speedy Interceptor, whose gymnastic jumps and swift melee strikes are incredibly satisfying, and I started to get excited about trying new things in each successive mission.The Storm javelin became my favorite, though, because it both has interesting elemental abilities and can hover for minutes, not seconds, at a time before overheating. Its assortment of powers lends itself well to getting combos, which result in a satisfying explosion of sorts and a more chaotic battlefield. But more importantly, it's the only javelin that doesn't require frequent stops on the ground, and as a result it provides the most dynamic combat--you can go from shooting basic enemies in a hallway to floating above the battlefield, raining down lightning to wipe out five at once while scoping out the area for your team.Generally, all of the javelins can easily jet out of sticky situations in a pinch or briefly hover in the air to gain the upper hand, and combining movement with your abilities is consistently a good time. But when fighting titans and certain other bosses, there's a catch; a lot of them use fire attacks that overheat your suit and ground you instantly, robbing the fight of much of what makes combat interesting. You can still use your abilities, but they don't do much in these fights, and they fall flat compared to the often bombastic impact they have on regular enemies. This extends to the final fight, which is especially underwhelming.The endgame thus far is to complete high numbers of the various mission types, which amounts to repeating many individual missions. The draw is better gear, but without compelling high-level fights, you don't have anything to build toward with all that grinding. A post-credits cutscene has the most intriguing plot point in the game and serves as a preview of what might come later on--but right now it's just a promise, rather than a true incentive to keep going.It's worth noting that the early access period saw a number of technical hiccups. Dropped audio, server issues, long loading times, missions not registering as complete--I didn't have a single session without some sort of problem. A day-one patch aims to iron much of this out, but overall, the poor structure and pacing are a more frustrating problem.Anthem has good ideas, but it struggles significantly with the execution. It's a co-op game that works best with no one talking; it buries genuinely interesting character moments and puts its most incomprehensible story bits at the forefront; its combat is exciting until you get to the boss fights and find your wings have been clipped. Even the simple, exhilarating act of flying is frequently interrupted by the limitations of your javelin, and you never quite shake that feeling of disappointment--of knowing, throughout the good parts of Anthem, that you'll inevitably come crashing back down.Info from Gamespot.com

Amazon Prime has begun to tease its upcoming Lord of the Rings original show, with a series of posts on social media that both show maps of Middle-earth and quote the famous poem cited in Peter Jackson's film trilogy. As a result, fans have begun speculating on where and when the series will be set.The first teaser was a tweet that displays a wide map of Middle-earth, conspicuously unlabeled, with the phrase "three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky." A threaded reply included a link to explore or download the map, complete with labels. A follow-up on Instagram quotes the next part of the poem, "seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone."The teases are a clear reference to the poem from the series of novels that details the backstory of of how the Rings of Power were distributed and how the One Ring was used to deceive the various factions of the world. Gandalf, played by Sir Ian McKellen, memorably quotes a piece of the poem in the first Peter Jackson film. The full poem reads:Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky; Seven for the Dwarf-lords in halls of stone; Nine for Mortal Men, doomed to die; One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne; In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie; One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them; One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them; In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.That leaves six more lines left to quote, if Amazon plans to slowly cite the entire poem. We know this will be a prequel, and the community seems to believe it will detail the events that led to the War of the Ring--the climactic battle between Sauron's armies and the free peoples of Middle-earth.Other than stating it takes place before Fellowship of the Ring, Amazon has been notoriously tight-lipped about its plans for its original series. We know it's an expensive project for the company, and that it has hired writers from Star Trek 4.Info from Gamespot.com