It's your last chance to complete Fortnite's ongoing Ice Storm challenges before the world event officially wraps up. Developer Epic Games confirmed the event will end on all platforms tomorrow, January 29, with the release of Fortnite's 7.30 update, which looks set to introduce another new weapon and more to the battle royale game.Downtime for the update is scheduled to begin at 1 AM PT / 4 AM ET / 9 AM GMT, Epic confirmed on Twitter. As usual, the developer hasn't estimated how long this maintenance period will last, but it has given fans a peek at a new item that will presumably be arriving with the update: the Chiller Grenade.The Grenade is advertised as "coming soon" in Fortnite's in-game News feed. Continuing the season's wintry theme, it fittingly resembles a snowman's head and sounds like it will function similar to the vaulted Chiller Trap. "Give your enemies cold feet with this winter blast," its accompanying description reads.You have until downtime begins to finish any outstanding Ice Storm challenges. The event began earlier this month when the mysterious icy sphere in Polar Peak burst opened and revealed the Ice King, who blanketed the entire map in fog and snow and summoned the zombie-like Ice Legion. Throughout the event, Epic offered new daily challenges to complete and rewards to unlock; you can find the full list in our Ice Storm challenges roundup.We're also nearing the end of Season 7. Epic hasn't shared any details on what awaits in Season 8, although some strange objects have begun appearing in the game ahead of the new season. In the meantime, you still have a few more weeks to complete this season's challenges. You can find tips for the trickier ones in our complete Season 7 challenges guide.Info from Gamespot.com

The Super Bowl is this Sunday, marking one of the biggest events in professional sports. As usual, EA has run a simulation game in its annual football release, Madden NFL 19, and concluded that the Los Angeles Rams will defeat the New England Patriots.The final score of the simulated game was 30-27, showing a high-scoring game with tons of offensive play. The Patriots led in the first half 17-3, but the Rams came back big in the second with three touchdowns and two field goals. The simulation also pegged Aaron Donald for the MVP award, given a record four sacks in a single Super Bowl game.EA has used Madden to predict every Super Bowl game since 2004. While the simulation is never bullseye-accurate on the exact score or game-winning plays, the simulations have come away with a pretty solid 10-5 record of success in predicting the winner. One of those misses was just last year, however, when the game showed the Patriots winning against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles ended up winning in an upset, and QB Nick Foles received the MVP award instead of Patriots QB Tom Brady."Madden 19 is an excellent football game that improves on last year's entry in almost every way," critic Eddie Makuch wrote in GameSpot's review. "There are problems, but there has never been a football game that more authentically represents the NFL than this in terms of presentation, controls, and depth."Info from Gamespot.com

Treyarch has another update on the way for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. This week, the developer will be rolling out patch 1.12, which will make some big changes to the way armor works in Blackout mode, add classic weapons to Zombies, and kick off another limited-time event on PS4.In a post on Reddit, Treyarch outlined the biggest tweaks and additions that are coming in this week's update. Among other things, the developer will be making further tuning changes to armor, concussions, and cluster grenades in Blackout mode.The full list of changes will be detailed in this week's patch notes, but Treyarch says it is reducing damage protection for armor "across the board." On top of that, the developer is raising the number of armor plates it takes to repair level 3 armor, while the time it takes for cluster grenades to detonate is also being increased.In Zombies mode, this week's update will introduce five weapons to the Mystery Box across every map, as well as to the Zombies Armory: the MP 40, Grav, Daemon 3XB, SWAT RFT, and KAP 45. Treyarch says the MP 40 and Grav "will be unlocked by default in the Armory." The PS4 version is also getting its second Zombies Gauntlet beginning January 29: "Vini, Vidi, Zombie!” for the IX map.Also on PS4, Treyarch is kicking off another limited-time mode in Blackout. This one is called Ambush. It's set to replace the current Down But Not Out mode and only features sniper rifles, melee attacks, launchers, and a continuously collapsing circle. Down But Not Out mode will remain available on Xbox One and PC for one more week.Info from Gamespot.com

The Super Bowl is as much an event because of the ads as the game, since so many companies go over the top with the commercials airing during the year's most coveted TV time. But just because someone spends a lot of money to make an ad doesn't mean it's going to be very good. Case in point: The Stella Artois ad teased last week that sees Jeff Bridges reprise his role as The Dude from The Big Lebowski.The Stella ad, which is now up on YouTube ahead of Sunday's game, hinges on the idea of The Dude changing up his usual drink order. Throughout the Coen Brothers' 1998 movie, the stoner detective drinks White Russians--but in the Stella ad, he changes his order and goes for the Belgian pilsner.He's not the only one. The Dude is joined by Carrie Bradshaw, Sarah Jessica Parker's iconic character from Sex and the City, who is known for drinking Cosmopolitans but switches things up in the ad. The change for the two characters shocks surrounding waitstaff so much, they drop several people's dinners onto the ground. It's not an especially good ad, seeing as neither Parker nor Bridges have good lines despite the fact both characters were birthed by comedies.At least the ad is pushing a good cause as well as beer, though. The final moments of the commercial makes a very brief reference to a larger campaign Stella Artois is running, #PourItForward, which is defined by the idea of making social change as well as changes to drink orders. "Watch what happens when Carrie Bradshaw and The Dude change up the usual," the YouTube description of the ad reads. "If every pour of Stella Artois can help provide access to clean water for someone in need, why choose anything else? Join Carrie and The Dude as they choose to change up the usual and do good." As our sister site CNET notes, the #PourItForward campaign is a partnership with Water.org; for every Stella Artois purchased between now and March 31, Stella is donating a month of clean water access to someone who doesn't have it.But somewhat disappointingly, that the tease for the ad Bridges tweeted is not some indication of more substantive content featuring The Dude coming down the pipe. There may yet be a little more of The Big Lebowski, though. John Turturro, who played bowling sex offender Jesus Quintana in the movie, apparently wrote and directed a spin-off film about the character called Going Places a few years ago--so while it doesn't seem there's more of The Dude on the horizon, there may yet still be something related to The Big Lebowski waiting in the future.Info from Gamespot.com

There are a bunch of items and resources in Resident Evil 2 that are completely optional, such as hip pouches that expand your inventory space or ammo for some of your most powerful guns. These are typically hidden inside safes or lockers with letter dial locks. You can find the combinations for these either in memos or even scribbled somewhere on a wall.Whether you're playing as Leon or Claire, the solutions remain the same and can be accessed without grabbing the memo that hints at their solution. The only exception to this are the items you grab by developing film rolls--though, there is a minor exception even to that. Regardless, below you can find details on all the optional items locked behind safes, lockers, or hidden in the environment.For more guides, be sure to check out our beginner's tips, as well as our gun upgrades location guide. Otherwise, be sure to read our Resident Evil 2 review.Table of Contents [hide]SafesWest Office (RPD 1F)Waiting Room (RPD 2F)Dial LocksShower Room (RPD 2F)West Hallway (RPD 3F)Control Room (Upper Sewers)Film Roll ItemsCommemorative PhotoHiding Place PhotoPocket SafesShower RoomLinen RoomSafesThere are two safes in the RPD--one in the West Office and the other in the Waiting Room. Both yield valuable resources well worth grabbing. We won't spoil what's inside each here (spoiler: they're all useful items), but we will reveal how to open them. The safe solutions are found in memos scattered around the building, which we've detailed the locations of for all of you completionists out there.West Office (RPD 1F)The West Office safe's combination is as follows: 9 Left, 15 Right, 7 Left. If you're curious where to find the memo containing this solution, you can find it in Captain Wesker's office in the S.T.A.R.S. Office on the second floor.Waiting Room (RPD 2F)The Waiting Room safe's combination is as follows: 6 Left, 2 Right, 11 Left. If you're inclined to grab the memo associated with this safe, you can find it in the Observation Room on the first floor.Dial LocksThere are three lockers in the game that are sealed by letter dial locks. Each hold valuable ammunition for your more powerful guns that you don't wanna miss.Shower Room (RPD 2F)The Shower Room's dial lock combination is CAP. Interestingly enough, you can find this solution written on a whiteboard in the connecting room between the Operations Room and the Records Room on the first floor.West Hallway (RPD 3F)This locker is located in a hallway you can reach by getting to the third floor from the western side. It's right beside the broken wall and the mannequin shadow. The dial lock combination is DCM. This is the only film roll item that doesn't require you to first develop the film to get (more on this later).Control Room (Upper Sewers)The Control Room locker is located in the Upper Sewers by a desk. The dial lock combination is SZF. If you're curious where this solution was found, it was on a Jazz festival flyer found in the Workers' Break Room.Film Roll ItemsOther optional items don't show up until you've developed a film roll with photographs that point you to their locations. Whenever you find a roll, develop it in the Dark Room on the western side of the police station. The resources you gain by completing these are typically more lucrative, so try to set aside time to complete these item hunts.Commemorative PhotoThis film roll is interesting in that it doesn't point you to the location of resources; rather, it points you to an item you can use to gain some valuable stuff. Located in the Safety Deposit Room, grab the film roll by keying in the proper code to unlock the locker its sealed in. Though, you're by no means required to develop the film roll to get the items its photograph hints towards, but it does help direct you towards what you need to doWhen you develop the film roll in the Dark Room, it reveals a photo of a statue found in the Art Room. Before you go there, you'll need to grab the Red Book in the Library by the door with the Spade insignia on the second floor. Once you've got this, head back to the Art Room, grab the stone arm beside the statue and combine it with the Red Book. Then take the arm and insert it back into the statue to unlock the scepter from its right hand.Examine the scepter to obtain the Red Jewel. This goes into the Bejeweled Box, which you can get in the Interrogation Room. Accessing this area requires the Club Key, so if you don't have that yet, keep progressing the story until you get it. Once you've got the Bejeweled Box, combine it with the Red Jewel to get the S.T.A.R.S. badge. You can use this item in two locations: the Underground Stairs in the Middle section of the Underground Facility, and the S.T.A.R.S. Office.The badge serves as a key to unlock the white holding case holding the gun parts for either Leon's Magnum or Claire's Sub-machine Gun in the Underground Stairs. These are good to grab, as you'll be following up to use the badge in the S.T.A.R.S. Office to get the weapons themselves. But before you combine the badge with the computer tower, examine the badge's backing to reveal a hidden USB. This can then be used to open the armory.Hiding Place PhotoThis film roll is found in the Work Room in the Upper section of the Sewers; you'll see it in-between a cardboard box and tool kit on a small table. Develop the roll in the Dark Room back at the RPD to reveal a photograph showing you two locations--that you might recognize if you've got a keen eye.The first photograph points to Captain Wesker's desk in the S.T.A.R.S. Office on the second floor. Open the drawer to get a wooden box containing a gun part.The second photograph points to a boombox found in the Press Room on the RPD's first floor. Open the drawer to nab the treasure.Pocket SafesThe RPD's Safety Deposit Room is packed with useful resources, but not all of them are accessible at first. To get everything in those pesky electronically sealed lockers, you'll need to get two replacement keypad keys. These can be found inside Pocket Safes scattered throughout the police station. To open a Pocket Safe, simply examine it and then input the correct button pattern. This require a little bit of trial and error to find out, but keep at it and you'll unlock it in no time. Below you can find details on where each Pocket Safe is located.Shower RoomYou're likely to find this Pocket Safe first. It's located in the Shower Room on the second floor of the RPD. When you enter the room, turn right and you'll see it on top of a shelf beside some lockers.Linen RoomThe second Pocket Safe is found in the Linen Room on the second floor. You won't be able to open this room without the Diamond Key, so if you don't have the means to access it, simply progress the story until you do. Info from Gamespot.com

Maybe you recognize him from the Nintendo Nindies Showcases. Maybe you could've sworn you saw his face at E3 one year. Maybe you saw him on that one episode of the Kinda Funny Gamescast. Either way, Nintendo's senior manager of publisher and developer relations, Damon Baker, has announced he's jumping ship. Moving from Nintendo to Microsoft, Baker announced via Twitter that he's "pursuing a new opportunity."According to a later Twitter post, Baker confirmed he's now the Head of Portfolio for Xbox. As stated by Gamasutra, Baker's new role at Xbox is similar to the one he held at Nintendo, which will now see him "working to further Xbox's efforts with external developers."Before taking the new role over at Xbox, Baker, a self-described indie advocate, spent the last 12-plus years supporting "the 3rd party business as an advocate for their amazing work," he wrote in a statement. "Your support for great content has helped define this generation of platforms and realize the dreams of many."Baker played a pivotal role at Nintendo through his tenure, most notably as one of the many curators for the indie push during the Nintendo Switch's 2017 launch. Since then, he's gone on to host a number of Nindies Showcases.Becoming Xbox's head of portfolio means Baker will play a bigger role in evaluating all second- and third-party content on the platform with the help of ID@Xbox director Chris Charla, Xbox Games Marketing general manager Aaron Greenberg, and Xbox head Phil Spencer. "I am both humbled and proud to be in proximity of that magic," Baker wrote in his farewell statement. "...Thanks again for your support of awesome games and the people who make them!"Info from Gamespot.com

There's more to war than just weapons and politics. Ace Combat is a series that showed us just that, hitting its stride in the early '00s with an enchanting mix of jet fighting and human melodrama. But in the past decade, its entries suffered from putting less importance in its signature stories. It dropped four games' worth of fictional lore in favor of real-world locations, traded pathos for machismo, and attempted to add cinematic blockbuster bombast to the clinical nature of flying jets, all at the cost of losing its identity. Thankfully, Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown brings the series back on course and is a significant return to what it was in its prime: a thrilling interpretation of modern aerial combat that also tells a war story with heart, a conscience, and personal stakes.The narrative of Skies Unknown dives back into the fictional series universe last seen in 2007 and deals with a conflict between the familiar powers of the Osean Federation and the Kingdom of Erusea. You play a silent, faceless Osean pilot who will go through some changing allegiances, but half of the plot actually occurs in cinematics that run parallel to and separate from your actual missions, and come from the perspective of seemingly minor players around the periphery. It's a war story that pivots with the actions of its small cast of characters as much as it does military victories, and leans heavily into themes of the human condition--the greys of fabricated ideas like nationality, borders, and cultural identity as well as the ethics of advancements in technological warfare.To be clear, there aren't many nuanced discussions to be had between the pronounced personalities of the cast; this is a drama first and foremost. Radio chatter is filled with bold statements of ideology ("As long as our nation stands the young will carry on!"), and sometimes it feels like there's a naivety in the writing for entirely different, slightly juvenile reasons ("How penal is this penal colony?"). It's regularly hammy and melodramatic, but the entire endeavor is so wide-eyed and earnest, so endearingly heartfelt and ultimately optimistic in nature, that it's easy to let yourself be swept up and moved by it all.Larger-than-life voices amp you up over the radio when you're flying into a sortie, adding an infectious passion to the affairs. They remind you what you're fighting for and sometimes make you feel bad and question your actions. The overlapping conversation can be a little distracting when you're trying to dodge a missile, but it's that vital human element that keeps you really invested in this game about shooting down planes.But that's not to say that aerial combat in Ace Combat 7 is anything but superb. The fundamental actions of chasing down enemies at high speeds, out-maneuvering them to line up a clear shot, or banking hard to avoid an incoming missile while your dashboard beeps and flashes wildly at you is enough to keep you on the edge of your seat constantly. Skies Unknown strips away recent mechanical additions to the series seemingly in service of returning to simplicity--gone are the wingman commands of Ace Combat 6: Fires Of Liberation and, thankfully, so are the in-your-face, on-rails close combat mechanics of Ace Combat: Assault Horizon.Your focus lies solely on your plane and your surroundings. There's a variety of familiar factors to take into consideration while flying--different air and ground-based threats, the topography of terrain when fighting at low altitudes--but a significant new element is clouds and the tangible risks and possibilities they invite. Juking into a bank of clouds can break missile locks and give you the element of surprise, but come at the cost of reduced visibility, the possibility of icing up your plane and hindering maneuverability, and even things like strong wind currents and lightning strikes messing with your ability to keep control of your jet. Clouds are legitimately useful strategic considerations, on top of just being a pretty thing to admire, and they make the skies of Ace Combat 7 a more interesting place to be.There's also an impressive variety of distinct scenarios across the game's 20 campaign missions. Generally, the scope of most battles are quite large and require you to split your attention between different kinds of skirmishes across the map with a broader objective in mind. But many missions also come with unique challenges that make for some memorable moments--dogfighting in a thunderstorm at night, stealth canyon runs, and avoiding huge area-of-effect blasts in the midst of a busy battle are some enjoyable standouts. The game's few boss-style encounters are a highlight too, as you go up against impossibly good ace fighters and the game's white whale superweapon--which itself fills the map with a terrifying amount of hostile drones. There are a few scenarios that aren't as exciting, however--hunting for trucks in a sandstorm and chasing ICBMs grew tiring pretty quickly, and the game's final challenge was a tricky exercise in plane maneuvering that feels like it necessitates multiple retries by design, which puts a damper on an otherwise grand finale.The act of retrying will inevitably come with a pang of resentment, too, since checkpointing in Skies Unknown is sparse. Checkpoints typically only occur only at the halfway point of a mission, and it's common to get 20 minutes into a battle before failing to hit an objective and having to start from the very beginning. This can get frustrating in the tail end of the campaign, where threats are more abundant and more relentless and the overall demands are higher. Granted, there is a light emphasis on score performance, and your mission score persists even if you need to retry from the halfway point, but a little more generosity wouldn't have gone astray.Ace Combat 7 features a straightforward, peer-to-peer online multiplayer component featuring 8-player Battle Royal (free-for-all deathmatch) and team deathmatch modes. Dogfighting with other human beings is certainly a lot more challenging and frenetic, and because matches are only five minutes in length, they consistently feel fast-paced and full of excitement. The planes and equipment you unlock as part of the campaign carry over to multiplayer and vice versa, but everything has an assigned value and you're able to play matches that have a limit on how much you can bring, which helps keep a level playing field.Online sorties also feature a weighted scoring system where leading players are clearly marked and have a higher score value attached to their destruction. In my experience, it's an idea that works well in practice, stopping you from being a target if you're doing poorly and keeping you on your toes if you're doing well. It also allows for some great match dynamics too--there were plenty of times where I was falling behind in score, decided to zero in on the leading player, and made a spectacular comeback to take the lead in the last few seconds.The PlayStation 4 version of Skies Unknown also features an exclusive VR mode consisting of an Ace Combat 4-inspired mini-campaign. There are only three missions, and their objectives are less complicated than those of the main campaign, but even so, the experience of flying from the cockpit of a plane is engrossing. The feeling of speed and height is literally dizzying, the ability to freely look around and track a target with your gaze is terrific, and the act of pitching and rolling your plane is so effective at eliciting a feeling of actual g-force that I personally had a hard time doing more than one mission at once without breaking out into a nauseous sweat. It's a shame that there's no option to play the main campaign in VR--the head tracking and freelook alone would be incredibly useful--but the mode is a great addition nonetheless.Good aerial combat is important for a game involving jet fighters, but it's a given quality for Ace Combat. Skies Unknown boasts a beautiful photorealistic world, entertaining mission variety, and a reason to get excited about clouds. But most importantly, it carries renewed devotion to the history and stories of its fictional universe, and with that, it brings back the human, emotional center that makes it remarkable. Ace Combat 7 is a fantastic return for a series that is at its best when it wears its heart on its wings.Info from Gamespot.com

Of all the major PC games coming out in February, three will not be sold on Steam. Instead, they're launching on other PC game stores.These aren't small titles either. 4A Games' Metro Exodus, BioWare's Anthem, and Sumo Digital's Crackdown 3 all won't be available on Steam. For PC, Metro is releasing on the Epic Games Store, while Anthem is launching on EA's Origin, and Crackdown 3 is releasing on Microsoft's Windows Store. It's a trend that will continue throughout 2019. Although February's Far Cry New Dawn is releasing on Steam, another big Ubisoft game--March's The Division 2--left Valve's store and is now scheduled to launch on Epic.Steam hasn't been totally left out in February. The store is still getting the aforementioned Far Cry New Dawn, as well as Jump Force, but it's clear the overall landscape of PC gaming is changing. Steam has held a fairly large monopoly on the PC gaming market for the past decade, but developers' decision to create their own stores has created unprecedented competition.Although alternate PC game stores have existed for a while, it really wasn't until late 2018, and the announcement of the Epic Store, that Steam found itself losing high-profile launches. Epic offers developers a more lucrative split of the profits they might make off of their games--especially if the title is made with Unreal Engine. Other than Metro Exodus and The Division 2, Epic also has the exclusive rights to the PC versions of Journey, Ashen, Hades, the final two episodes of The Walking Dead: The Final Season, and several other games as well. Epic has also changed its refund policy to match Steam's.As you might assume, Valve isn't happy to see plenty of high profile games leave its store. The company described the decision for 4A Games to take Metro Exodus off of Steam and put it onto Epic as "unfair" for Steam's customers, and one made by the game's publisher without Valve's knowledge beforehand.Anyone who's previously pre-ordered Metro Exodus on Steam will still be able to play on the platform, but future orders must be done through Epic. That said, the PC version of Metro Exodus is only $50 USD on Epic, as opposed to the previous $60 on Steam.Info from Gamespot.com

Halo Infinite developer 343 Industries has made a new hire, and it's for what sounds like a completely new role. Justin Robey, a 17-year Microsoft veteran who worked as a Software Test Engineer and then a Senior Producer for nearly two decades is now the "Director of Player Voice" at 343. In his new role, Robey will communicate and work with members of the Halo community so that their "voice" is heard by developers throughout the production process."This new role is about working with you, the player, to have an active voice throughout the development, launch, and lifetime of Halo Infinite. Let's rock this together," he said in a tweet.Not that it's much of a surprise, but the hiring of Robey in the new Director of Player Voice role seemingly confirms that Halo Infinite will use the games-as-a-service model similar to previous Halo games and titles from the wider industry in general.It surely sounds like good news that Microsoft believes in engaging with the community so much that it created a new position dedicated to it. Halo boss Bonnie Ross recently admitted that 343 had made "mistakes" after taking over for Bungie on Halo's ongoing development. One of those was surely elements of Halo: The Master Chief Collection, which had a rocky launch, but has since not only stabilised, but improved in a serious, significant, and highly enjoyable way.Halo's overall community director, Brian Jarrard, also congratulated Robey on joining the 343 team for Halo Infinite. He added, "When the voice of the players is heard and acted on, we all win!" Halo franchise manager Frank O'Connor commented on Robey's hiring as well, saying--in his own way--that just because Microsoft wants to hear your voice doesn't mean the company will deliver on every request that comes in.I am excited to announce that I have joined the 343 team as their new Director of Player Voice. This new role is about working with you, the player, to have an active voice throughout the development, launch, and lifetime of @Halo Infinite. Let’s rock this journey together! pic.twitter.com/f3DTD2BJ3C — Robeyonekenobi (@Robeyonekenobi) January 28, 2019Welcome aboard! We're excited to partner w/ Robey to connect the community directly into the development team. When the voice of the players is heard and acted on, we all win! https://t.co/mjWLeZiK2t — Brian Jarrard (@ske7ch) January 28, 2019ProTip: You'll be heard loud and clear as long as you're polite and descriptive. Doesn't mean you'll definitely get a pony for Christmas, and remember that not everyone wants a pony, despite how many pony posts are in the thread and that the definition of a pony is contextual. https://t.co/ZO9HtGNx0n — Frank O'Connor (@franklez) January 28, 2019There is no word on when Halo Infinite will be released, but we do know it'll launch first in a "flighting" phase for testers. While you wait for that, 343 is planning to make some kind of announcement about The Master Chief Collection soon.Info from Gamespot.com

With its simple character designs and a game world that often looks like a young kid designed it by cutting up and sticking together different bits of colored paper, Pikuniku sometimes feels like a video game adaption of a children's book. It tells a simple story that doesn't always quite make sense, it's pointedly very silly, and there are scenes within it that seem to be based on how a child understands the world. A giant company pays a town by making money rain from the sky; a trendy nightclub will only let you in if you dress "cool" by wearing sunglasses; you play a game someone "invented," but which is, essentially, just basketball mixed with soccer.But Pikuniku (Japanese for "picnic") never feels like it was designed specifically for children. It's a game about battling a corporate takeover, and the writing has the playful, sarcastically irreverent tone you're more likely to see from someone in their 20s or 30s. But the childish veneer is charming, and while Pikuniku isn't the deepest game around, it's lovely, funny, and engrossing in its own weird way.At the game's opening, your character--Piku, an entity made up of an oblong red body with dots for eyes and two long spindly legs coming out of it--awakens in a cave, prompted by a ghost to go outside. The opening tutorial doesn't take long, because the controls are simple: You can jump, causing Piku to spin haphazardly as he moves through the air, you can kick in any direction, and you can curl your legs into yourself and roll around in ball form. You spend the rest of the game wandering through the small game world, encountering characters and helping solve their problems until, eventually, you find yourself fighting against Sunshine Inc, a giant corporation that is sending robots all over the land to harvest natural resources from the game's three regions.Progression rarely requires much thoughtful effort. You explore the world on a 2D plane, talking to as many people as you can, kicking at everything, and solving objectives as they're handed to you. There are platforming elements that require some finesse, especially when you explore some of the slightly more challenging optional side quests that pop up throughout the game. Pikuniku is entertaining rather than challenging, though, and even the hardest areas you'll find are unlikely to trip you up for longer than a few minutes. But this is to the game’s advantage--it’s accessible to inexperienced and young players, and I never felt like the game would have been more enjoyable if it pushed me harder. Piku’s weird, wobbly walk, his awkward jump, and the force of his kicks mean that just moving through the game world is inherently entertaining.Your ability to kick everything and everyone is crucial, and much of the puzzle solving in the game comes down to kicking an object from one place to another. The kick mechanic is great fun, with objects reacting differently depending on the angle and distance you hit them from, although there are occasional moments of frustration when, for instance, a box gets wedged into a corner and is tricky to get out. Getting stuck for a moment kicking something out of a corner, or dealing with an object that isn’t behaving how you’d like, can interrupt the flow of gameplay.You can kick every character you meet in the game with no real punishment, which rarely stops being funny. In a few other instances Piku needs to don different hats or use items he has collected to push forward. Again, the mechanics around this are quite simple--if you see a blooming flower, for instance, you know that you need to use the watering can hat on it because a silhouette of that hat will appear above it. This makes it easy to keep track of what you might now be able to do or unlock when you find a new item. It’s not the deepest mechanic, but it means that finding a hat or item can spark immediate excitement when you already know what it’ll do.Pikuniku throws little minigames and oddities at you among all the platforming to mix things up. At one point early on, you're asked to draw a new face for a scarecrow using the analog stick; later, you need to win a button-matching dance-off against a robot. There's even a Dig Dug parody, which amusingly devolves into a little joke about how some retro games don't age well. There are boss fights, too (there's no combat in the game otherwise), and while they're not super involved affairs they use the game's simple mechanics to good effect.Pikuniku is a funny game on numerous levels--the script often undercuts tension and plays with tropes in amusing ways, the goofy way you flip when you jump is a constant source of amusement, and the game will often throw you into strange situations without much explanation. Mess with a toaster in someone's house, for instance, and you'll be hurled into the "toast dimension," which is essentially a dungeon area that you can escape by completing the simple platforming challenge within. In another instance, you enter a pottery store that is clearly begging you to smash everything inside it--it's a clear Zelda homage, but the real delight is in the merchant's zen approach to your destruction. Pikuniku is playful and mischievous. Even the soundtrack is wonderfully kooky, and often faintly reminiscent of Koji Kondo's work with Nintendo. However, Pikuniku doesn't last long. You can jump back in after the end credits, which roll within about three hours, and enjoy the aftermath of everything you achieved, but even mopping up the last few missions and trying to collect all the optional trophies scattered around the game world doesn't add much. The world you're exploring is compact, and it doesn't take long for you to feel like you've seen everything there is to see. Pikuniku is so charming, and so much fun, that I wanted more time with it (even though the ending is great and absolutely bonkers). The game wrapped up before I was ready to leave it behind, and more story content, or another village to explore, would have gone a long way.Pikuniku also comes with nine two-player levels, as well as a multiplayer version of Baskick, the aforementioned basketball/soccer hybrid featured in the campaign. These levels are divided between co-op challenges where Piku and his identical friend Niku need to work together and competitive levels where you race one another. You can play with two detached Joy-Cons, and the game holds up well on the smaller screen if you're playing in portable mode. This is not a major component of the game, though, so don't expect a whole second campaign. You're unlikely to get more than an hour out of these levels, but its simplicity makes it ideal to play with a younger relative or someone with little gaming experience.While Pikuniku is a light experience, it's got enough charm and verve to stick with you well beyond completion. From Piku's weird wobbly gait and looping jumps in the opening right through to the game's funny, bizarre ending, Pikuniku is more gripping than its simple aesthetic and playful tone would suggest. It'll make you feel like a kid again.Info from Gamespot.com

As we steadily approach February, there's no shortage of entertainment to consume in the month of Black History. In an effort to support black entertainment, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures has announced that Ryan Coogler's Black Panther will return to the big screen for one week.The news comes via Twitter, where the official Walt Disney Company Twitter account confirmed that the Academy Award-nominated and Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG) winner will begin playing in theatres starting February 1. Tickets will be free and two showtimes will be available each day at 250 participating AMC theatres.In addition to supporting Black History Month, the Walt Disney Company has announced that it'll donate a $1.5 million grant to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) to help minority students access and move through college. According to the press release, UNCF is the nation's largest and most effective minority education organization who, for 75 years, has helped support "students' education and development through scholarships and other programs, strengthens its 37 member colleges and universities, and advocates for the importance of minority education and college readiness."Black Panther stars Chadwick Boseman (Get On Up, Gods of Egypt) in the titular role of T'Challa/Black Panther, who becomes the king of the African nation of Wakanda after his father T'Chaka (played by John Kani) is killed in the Russo brothers' Captain America: Civil War. As T'Challa rises to the throne, N'Jadaka/Erik "Killmonger" Stevens (played by Michael B. Jordan) takes this as an opportunity to compete for control of the nation. What follows is a rivalry over who's more deserving of the title of king.In our Black Panther review, we called the film "a top tier Marvel movie with all the humor, style, action, passion, and fun that the MCU has come to embody," calling it "a cultural event that's going to be hard for Marvel to top, no matter how many worlds Thanos conquers later this year in Infinity War."You can view where Black Panther will be playing here.Info from Gamespot.com

Ubisoft has announced the full patch notes for the upcoming February update for Rainbow Six: Siege. The Y3S4.2 Patch will launch first for PC on February 5, before also coming to consoles on February 6.This new update is primarily geared at rebalancing Operators based on how often they're picked and their win rate. Each Operator's performance after the last update is outline in a blog post on Siege's main website. Currently, Caveira has too high a win rate, and Ubisoft said it's getting reports of people referring to her as "frustrating to play against." She's receiving fairly large changes as a result, with a decrease to her damage output and an increase to the amount of recoil she has to deal with.Clash is also getting some rather drastic changes. Ubisoft is "not satisfied" with the Operator, as the adjustments made to her in the last update did little to improve her underperformance. Thus, Clash is being further buffed, with the fire rate of her signature weapon increasing to full auto. This, along with a few other changes, should make Clash a more viable option for players, as they are designed to make her strong enough to hold out on her own until her teammates arrive to assist.Kaid, Rook, Nomad, and Doc are all also being rebalanced as well, but their changes aren't quite as severe as Caveira and Clash. The patch also implements a long slew of bug fixes across several Operators, two multiplayer modes, general gameplay, and the user experience. These changes are outlined below.Rainbow Six Siege Y3S4.2 Patch NotesBalancingCaveiraLuison Damage decreased to 65 (from 99).Adjustments to damage falloff to align with other pistols for consistency.Reduced magazine size to 12 (from 15).Increased recoil to make chaining shots at long-range more challenging.Increased hipfire spread to reduce the viability of spamming non-ADS shots.ClashSPSMG9 Upgrade to full-automatic fire mode from 2-round burst fire mode.Updated recoil to align with other full-auto weapons.Increase total ammunition at 161 (from 121)Increased damage to 33 (from 30).KaidAUG A3 Increase ADS speed by 33% to align with other SMGs.Doc And RookMP5 Decrease max damage to 27 (from 30).NomadYellow light on Nomad's Airjab will now blink during activation delay.Bug FixesGameplayFIXED - Visual graphics glitch that impairs player sight. (Also known as the "Bird Box" glitch)FIXED – The shield collision box is not synced properly when the player looks up and down.FIXED – On Bomb, counter defuser will instantly appear in operators’ hands instead of playing counter defuser animationFIXED – Missing frames on crouch replays on end of round replay and death cam replay.FIXED – Defusing at the last moment will not stop the round timer and prevents the round from ending.FIXED – The holographic sight reticle thickness.FIXED – Players can become immune to Stun/Flashbang effects after being stunned multiple times in Hunt.FIXED – Recruit operator has Fuze's default green ballistic shield skin instead of a black shield skin.Game ModeTerrorist HuntFIXED - Users in a PVE squad session can be stuck in an infinite loading screen after voting to retry.CustomFIXED – In Pick and Ban, if player votes ‘No ban’ for the first ban, the ‘No ban’ option is automatically selected in the second ban-round.FIXED – In Custom matches, the Operator art remains grayed out when ‘Change Operator’ button is pressed during 6th pick.FIXED – In Custom matches, players cannot re-pick their previous Operator selection during 6th pick.FIXED – In Custom matches, when the Attacker’s Unique Spawn option is set to off, the Attacker’s tactical map may have missing or displaced icons.FIXED – In Custom matches, when a player leaves after spawn location vote, their vote count text remains.FIXED – Players who are Clearance Level 5+ can't create a Custom Online game when in a squad with users who have a CL less than 5.OperatorsNomadFIXED – Drone collision issues with Nomad's Airjab when deployed on any surface.FIXED - Fire damage from any environmental map sources will not destroy Nomad's Airjab.FIXED – Nomad's Airjab does not deploy on some types of debris.FIXED – Certain gadgets are not destroyed even when Nomad's Airjab pushes an Operator through them.FIXED – Mute’s jammer can cause incorrect Airjab detonation behavior.FIXED – One of Nomad’s VO lines does not play properly during Airjab detonation.FIXED – When Nomad deploys an Airjab inside a smoke grenade, she can sometimes gain vision inside the smoke grenade's area of effect.FIXED – Nomad's Airjabs can sometimes be activated and destroyed at the same time.FIXED – The yellow laser on Nomad's Airjab will shift left when the unequip animation is interrupted.AlibiFIXED – Alibi's Prisma will not activate when dropped by Alibi after being pushed-back by Nomad's AirjabKaidFIXED - Addressed recoil differences of Kaid's TCSG12 with mouse vs controller input.FIXED - A round remains in the chamber while performing a full reload of Kaid's TCSG12.FIXED – Lesion's Gu Mine will deploy in electrical barbed wire if deployed before or at the same time Electroclaw activates.FIXED - The Electroclaw visual zone effect disappears after being deployed when switching operators in Support mode.FIXED – Gadgets will still remain electrified by Kaid's Electroclaw even after destroying the barbed wire on which the gadget was originally deployed.FIXED – Some parts of Kaid's uniform clips with the player’s camera when prone against a wall.FIXED – The AOE effect indicator for Kaid's Electroclaw is missing or is smaller while the gadget redeploys itself after falling off from a deployable shield.Level DesignFIXED – Some walls do not respond properly to destruction after being hit in the same spot repeatedly.FortressFIXED – Sound propagation issues in Kitchen / Central Stairs on Fortress.FIXED – Operators bodies clip through the wall of 1F Kitchen on Fortress.FIXED – Operator bodies can clip through a box on 1F Hammam.FIXED – Floating debris when destroying ceiling surfaces in 2F Bathroom.FIXED – Players sometimes pass through the indestructible separator walls of 1F Courtyard on Fortress when activating Nomad’s Airjab from a certain angleCoastlineFIXED – Players can vault through the floor to 2F Bathroom on Coastline.ChaletFIXED – When placing Fuze's Cluster charges on the floor above certain metal beams, the pellets will detonate but will not deal damage to the environment or the players.FIXED – Certain ceilings on Chalet don’t destruct properly due to horizontal pillars blocking explosions.KanalFIXED – Players sometimes clip through wooden walls of Kanal.User ExperienceFIXED – Ranked match summary displays the individual MMR earned from the match, and not the Player's current total MMR.FIXED – Players sometimes receive a [2-0x00009008] Game Full error in Casual matchmaking.FIXED – Voice chat audio continues to transmit even when alt-tabbed out of the client.FIXED – Erroneous menu UI visual effects when using a controller.FIXED – Menu UI tabs sometimes overlap when using two different inputs.FIXED - Two observation tool key binding popups still erroneously popup on first boot for new players.FIXED - Scrollbar overlaps the end of the details list for seasonal weapons.FIXED - Incorrect compass location is displayed when drones are close to the ceiling.FIXED – Players can duplicate weapon skins between two weapons.FIXED – 2D visual corruption when vaulting over any thin objects.FIXED – VFX issue with Reflex sigh on Spetsnaz attachments.FIXED – FNP9 Pistol Iron sight not centered properly.FIXED – Killcam replay moves sporadically when an operator dies from a thrown C4.FIXED – Kaid and Nomad's default headgear is misnamed.FIXED – The "Canadian Trenches" Uniform for Frost has a clipping issue around the chest area.FIXED – Glaz's Elite Uniforms & Headgears have missing titles on the Operator screen.FIXED – Headgears are not arranged by order in player's inventory.FIXED – Sorting charms by price leads to an alphabetical sort in the shop.FIXED – The Vigil Chibi Charm visual effects missing around the sides of his maskInfo from Gamespot.com

It looks like Star Wars: Episode XI is coming along. Actor Anthony Daniels, who plays C-3PO, tweeted that today, January 28, was his final day on set for the big-budget sci-fi film."I'll miss everyone, but I'm glad to know that we've been making something exceptional together, to share with the waiting world," Daniels wrote, giving nothing away about the story. It's not immediately clear if other actors have finished filming their scenes as well.Today was 3PO's last on Episode IX. He's sad - so am I. But we're so proud to have worked with such a lovely, talented cast & crew lead by J.J. & Kathy. I'll miss everyone but I'm glad to know that we've been making something exceptional together, to share with the waiting world. — Anthony Daniels (@ADaniels3PO) January 28, 2019As Entertainment Weekly reminds us, Daniels has appeared in every live-action Star Wars movie to date, including the spinoff Solo: A Star Wars Story, in which he played a different character.Episode IX, which doesn't have a title or a trailer yet, hits theatres this December. It is the third and final instalment in the new trilogy that started with 2015's The Force Awakens. The movie was set to be directed by Jurassic World's Colin Trevorrow, but he was fired and replaced by JJ Abrams, who directed The Force Awakens.Lost and Lord of the Rings actor Dominic Monaghan will play an unspecified role in Episode XI, while some of the other newcomers include Keri Russell and Richard E. Grant, among others. It is purely speculation, but the Super Bowl often hosts big movie trailers, so fans might have something to look forward to on February 3 during the big game.In other Star Wars news, EA has reportedly canceled a new open-world Star Wars game in development at EA Vancouver. However, the company says it remains "fully committed" to making more Star Wars games in the future.Info from Gamespot.com

Online services issues are afflicting Fortnite players, apparently making it impossible to login to the game. As many took to Twitter to voice their frustrations, developer Epic Games acknowledged the problem and said it was working on a solution.Many players seem to be dealing with an error message when trying to enter Fortnite, but judging from the ongoing discussion on social media, many who were already logged into the game already are continuing to play. But those trying to sign on are encountering trouble at the title screen, which claims some users don't have permission to play the game. The trouble seems to be affecting all versions of the game.According to Epic Games' online services status page, game services, logins, and the Epic Games Store website are all suffering a "major outage" as of this writing. "We have identified an issue with logins and some players may have trouble connecting to Epic Games services," Epic wrote on the page. "We will keep you updated as we work towards a resolution."We’re aware that players are experiencing issues when attempting to use Epic Games services. We’re currently working on a resolution and will keep you updated. — Fortnite (@FortniteGame) January 29, 2019Other portions of the online service, like forums, friend lists, and in-game matchmaking, are still operational, the page reports.The outage is particularly frustrating for anybody working to complete Ice Storm challenges during the timed Fortnite event. Ice Storm was officially scheduled to end overnight at 1 a.m. PT / 4 a.m. ET / 9 a.m. GMT on January 29, when scheduled maintenance would add update 7.30 to the game. Epic hadn't said how long it intended the update to last, but it looks like it will add the Chiller Grenade to the game once it's complete.Info from Gamespot.com

In his time at Firaxis as the lead designer on Civilization V, Jon Shafer showed he wasn't afraid to uproot a settled and successful series and venture forth in search of something better. With At The Gates, his first release under the one-man studio moniker Conifer Games and his first game proper since Civ V, you get the feeling Shafer challenged himself to pack up the whole 4X genre and find fertile new ground on which to start over again.Connections to the past remain--technologies are researched, resource nodes are exploited, wars are inevitably waged--but Shafer's pioneering vision here is of a genre that is narrower in scope and more concerned with how players respond to the figurative hand of cards they're dealt. At The Gates is a promising starting point that, with a few thoughtful additions, has the potential to develop into a thriving empire.It all starts with a settlement. At first, you play as the Goths on a randomly generated map that represents 400 A.D. Europe. On each map is a number of rival clans, some of whom are always vastly more powerful than you are right from the start, as well as two factions of the fading, but still intimidatingly large, Roman Empire. Your aim is to grow your settlement into an empire and eventually win via one of two victory conditions: by conquering the Romans by military force or by training your own Roman Legion to assume control, i.e. an economic victory. Cleverly, factions other than the Goths are unlocked to play once you’ve met and formed an alliance with them in a previous game.As the early turns tick by, clans of people will join the settlement and you can put them to work extracting resources from the surrounding tiles. Each clan can be trained in a profession drawn from one of six disciplines, all of which are unlocked by generating knowledge to progress through the tech tree. Early decisions are influenced by the mysteries of the randomly-generated map algorithm. If it has spawned you in an area with a lot of mineral deposits you will probably want to focus your efforts on metalworking professions, a couple of diggers to extract the iron, and, say, a dredger to multiply their production.But how should you employ your fourth and final clan? While the map informs your strategy in certain directions, the whims of your population will often be tugging you in the complete opposite direction. Clans are randomly rolled a handful of traits when they arrive at your settlement's door. Some traits are unambiguously beneficial, like a +1 bonus to their movement points or with a few levels already earned in the crafting discipline, while others are downright bad, like a tendency to commit crimes; others yet are merely circumstantial, like preferring an active profession like explorer over a settled one like cheese-maker.These elements quickly start to create compelling conundrums. What do you do when, on the one hand, the mineral-rich starting area of the map might be telling you to invest in mining, but on the other hand the clans you're being sent bear all the characteristics of some really effective soldiers? Or cheese-makers? Clans can, of course, be retrained as the need for new or more advanced professions arises, but it cannot be done instantly and any experience they had accumulated in their previous profession is lost. If you've only got a village of farmers and bards when the bandits turn up, you're quickly going to regret not training at least one of them to wield a spear. Balancing the demands of the map with the skills of your clans is the core strategic concern of the entire game. Along the way--and this is where At The Gates really starts to shine--there are many ways that relationship between the map and your people can change.For one, you're not committed to your starting position on the map. In fact, at any moment you can pack up your settlement, move to a new location, and resettle. For the first 50-odd turns you'll be living something of a nomadic existence, exploring the lands, foraging for food, hunting and trapping animals, and collecting wood before moving on, crossing those mountains to the eastern coast or trekking across the steppes to the lush riverlands of the south. On a mechanical level, all the early technology you have at your disposal depletes resources--send a gatherer to work a fruit tree and they'll keep picking until the tree is exhausted. It's not until the mid to late game that you're able to build structures that don't deplete a resource and, in the case of a fruit plantation, can even replenish it. And it's at this point that you'll want to have found somewhere to make your permanent home.This makes for an early game flow that is fascinating and unusual for the 4X genre. You want to be researching technology and training clans to suit your immediate situational needs, while also identifying (but, crucially, not yet exploiting) a resource-rich region you can later claim for your eventual empire. Sometimes this is straightforward enough--in one game I spawned on a narrow land bridge connecting two continents. I fished and picked berries until I was ready to journey southeast and declare my kingdom in a river valley full of wheat and horses. Other times it's more challenging, like the time I spawned on a tiny peninsula with only a bare handful of tiles separating my settlement from the border of the Huns. The beauty here is that even when the enemy is literally at the gates, you have enough flexibility to find an alternative--in this case, several hundred miles away, preferably.The beauty here is that even when the enemy is literally at the gates, you have enough flexibility to find an alternative...The map itself also intriguingly shifts in fundamental ways thanks to both seasonal and situational changes in weather. During cold months you have to worry about supplying any units traveling outside your territory, or else that scouting party might not make it back home. It's also vital to maintain a surplus of food for the winter as many of your food sources will no longer be operational. Heavy rains, flooding, and even blizzards on specific tiles also keep things interesting, as they can see units immobilized for multiple turns, potentially throwing into chaos your carefully planned assault on a rival settlement or, if you're lucky, delaying that bandit raid on your logging camp.As the environment changes over the years, so do the people. Two clans might get into a feud and you'll be forced to pick a side. Another might be caught stealing and you'll have to decide their punishment. It's up to you to sort things out--retrain clans, shuffle them around to new locations, placate them with alcohol--before morale drops too low and everyone's unhappy. This might seem fiddly and a little prescriptive, but it's rarely as simple as it may sound. Clan Dankward may now hate Clan Waller, but the Dankwards are your best breadmakers and the Wallers your best blockcutters, you can't just send one of them out to run the sheep pasture. Besides which, the Wallers are afraid of animals and refuse to work in livestock. Working out a solution to these problems often means having to make tough decisions and uneasy compromises.None of these clans are fleshed-out characters; they're just a collection of buffs and debuffs attached to a random name and portrait. But the way their traits and desires are expressed through their abilities and little exchanges goes a long way to make you feel like you're ruling a loose collection of real people. They're not people, of course, but they're your people.The same cannot be said of the opponents you face, though. You’re always pitted against the same opponents on every map, but to my mind this is acceptable within the bounds of the scenario Shafer chose to depict. Instead, the more significant problem here is the lack of interaction with those AI opponents. To begin with, they don't particularly care about you--that's how small and insignificant you are in your initial nomadic phase. As you grow they start to take notice, but it's rarely more than a raised eyebrow here and there. Occasionally a dialogue box pops up and you can give a gift or rudely refuse one, and that's pretty much it until you're at war or you form an alliance. Essentially, you're either utterly indifferent to the AI, or you're their best friend or worst enemy, with barely any negotiating in between.Indeed, it feels like the late game in general is underdeveloped. The absence of compelling diplomacy with the AI factions plays a huge part here, as for much of the game it's perfectly possible to adopt an isolationist strategy and focus on the more economically focused victory. Pursuing the military route extends your interactions with the AI to throwing your stacked military units at theirs until you occupy their settlements and structures. Combat will be familiar to anyone who’s played Civ IV and it gets the job done in a similarly efficient, if tactically unspectacular, fashion.Even trade is handled in a curiously neutral manner, having you buy and sell goods through an anonymous caravan rather than through any interaction with the AI factions. Worse still, the concept of religion is relegated to a checkbox that has an unclear effect on an AI faction's disposition toward you. Shafer has admitted that the diplomacy features are still in their infancy and he has plans to continue to work on them post-launch. That's an encouraging sign, and one we hope also applies to these other areas, because the late game in its current form is desperately undernourished.That makes At The Gates difficult to wholeheartedly recommend. What's there right now is undeniably good; however, what's missing makes you yearn for how good it could yet be. It's a fresh, invigorating, more personal take on the grand strategy game. But at the same time, it's lacking in a few areas, and they really do hold it back from greatness. Jon Shafer has found that fertile new ground on which to settle. He just needs to give it a few seasons to grow. Info from Gamespot.com