Microsoft isn't ready yet to talk specifics about Halo Infinite, but now one of the developers has offered a tease about what to expect in terms of Master Chief's look.Halo Infinite's narrative experience director Dan Chosich appeared on the latest 343 Social Stream for a deep-dive on how Infinite's E3 trailer came to be, and one segment of the broadcast was focused on Master Chief's new look.At around 53 minutes in this video, Chosich and community manager Brian Jarrard discuss and show off Chief's new look. Chosich says the version of Master Chief 343 created for Halo Infinite is the "coolest" ever, spanning both Bungie and 343 titles."It is by far the coolest Master Chief we have ever done, or that anybody's ever really done," Chosich said.The new Master Chief design took inspiration from his look in Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 4, and Halo 5, but he'll look "a little different" in Infinite, Chosich explained. From what we've seen so far, Master Chief's Halo Infinite design looks pretty similar to his previous appearance, but Chosich teased that his final character model has yet to be revealed.Skip to 53 minutes in the Mixer video to see the segment on Master Chief's new look. The segment includes a number of close-ups and 360-degree shots of his new helmet.The entire video is well worth a watch, as it goes into ridiculous depth on how 343 planned and executed on creating the Halo Infinite reveal trailer. Over the course of about an hour, Chosich brings up 114 slides about different parts of the trailer.There are other segments dedicated to how 343 designed the Space Rhino, along with some cool behind-the-scenes looks at work-in-progress versions of the trailer. Another slide goes over the "experiential escalation" of the Halo Infinite trailer. The trailer opened in a mysterious fashion, and it was only at the end that it was confirmed that it was for the new Halo game. This was all by design, and the chart above shows what 343 wanted you to think and feel and each stage of the trailer.What you won't see, however, is any gameplay. The trailer itself was only for the Slipspace Engine, not the game itself. Jarrad said he understands people want to see gameplay, but it's not time yet.Jarrard also spoke briefly about 343's plan to release Halo Infinite early in "flighting" tests, where people will get to try the game before it's done to give feedback to 343. The studio conducted public testing periods for Halo: The Master Chief Collection's latest updates, and Jarrard said you can expect something similar with Halo Infinite.There is an intriguing rumour that claims Microsoft is planning to launch the game in two parts--first the single-player in 2019, with multiplayer coming in 2020. Microsoft hasn't made any official announcements regarding release plans, however.Halo Infinite places more of an emphasis on Master Chief, which is good to hear after Halo 5 controversially strayed away from him. It's also apparently a very big game, as Halo franchise manager Frank O'Connor said the game will have "capacious" missions/levels.No release date has been announced for Halo Infinite, but it's one of our most anticipated upcoming Xbox One games for sure.Info from Gamespot.com

Blizzard's MOBA Heroes of the Storm is undergoing some big changes. The developer announced today that it is moving some developers on the game to other projects, while the game's major competitive tournaments are coming to an end.In a blog post, Blizzard's J. Allen Brack and Ray Gresko said the developer is making the "tough choice" to move developers from Heroes of the Storm to other projects."We need to take some of our talented developers and bring their skills to other projects," Blizzard said. "As a result, we've made the difficult decision to shift some developers from Heroes of the Storm to other teams, and we're excited to see the passion, knowledge, and experience that they'll bring to those projects."Brack and Gresko added that this is nothing new for Blizzard. As part of its ongoing evaluation of its own development processes, it regularly makes "hard decisions" like this that can pay dividends down the road."We now have more live games and unannounced projects than at any point in the company’s history," they said, adding that games like World of Warcraft and Overwatch "would not exist" were in not for Blizzard's decision to scale back other projects.Even though Blizzard is scaling back development on Heroes of the Storm, the game will still be "actively" supported with more heroes, special events, and "other" new content. However, Blizzard acknowledged that updates might be slower than in the past. The overall goal is for the game to be available over the "long-term" but Blizzard didn't put any specific dates on how long it plans to support the game.Another part of the announcement was around Heroes of the Storm competitive tournaments. Blizzard is shutting down the Heroes Global Championship and Heroes of the Dorm tournament series; they won't be back in 2019."This was another very difficult decision for us to make," Brack and Gresko said. "The love that the community has for these programs is deeply felt by everyone who works on them, but we ultimately feel this is the right decision versus moving forward in a way that would not meet the standards that players and fans have come to expect."It is unclear if there were any layoffs at Blizzard related to these changes with Heroes of the Storm. We spoke with a Blizzard representative, but they said Blizzard does not discuss personnel-related matters. You can read a quick Q&A with Blizzard below.An in-depth report from Kotaku claims Blizzard management is trying to cut costs and ship more games. Some said they believe that Blizzard's culture is changing. Blizzard founder and CEO Mike Morhaime left the company in October.Heroes of thee Storm was released in 2015. The free-to-play multiplayer game features characters from across Blizzard's suite of series. A 2.0 edition of the game came out in 2017, containing a number of changes. GameSpot's Heroes of the Storm review scored the game a 9/10, with writer Tyler Hicks saying the game is a "must-play" for MOBA players and Blizzard enthusiasts.GameSpot: What led to this decision?Blizzard: With more live games and unannounced projects than ever before, we're at a point where we need to focus more of our resources in areas that could benefit greatly from the additional support. As a result, we made the difficult decision to transition some of the extremely talented developers from Heroes to other teams at Blizzard. We’ve had to make decisions like this in the past, and it’s never easy, but it’s one of the factors that’s enabled us to continue developing games that our players love.GameSpot: How many people are working on Heroes?Blizzard: We generally don't disclose specifics about team size. However, the Heroes team will continue to have a smaller but dedicated development team that will continue supporting the game with new content.GameSpot: When you say you’ll actively support the game with new content, how will that compare to before this change?Blizzard: Heroes players can continue to look forward to new content in the future, including new heroes and themed events, but at a different cadence. We'll be sharing more specifics in the future, so keep an eye out for updates from the Heroes team.GameSpot: Were there any layoffs related to this shift?Blizzard: While we don't publicly discuss personnel-related matters, this change was made at a time when we have more live games and unannounced projects than ever before, and we felt we needed to focus more of our resources in areas that could benefit greatly from the additional support.Info from Gamespot.com

The holidays are just around the corner, and in keeping with the spirit of giving, developer IO Interactive has a lot of free content in store for Hitman 2 this month. Every week in December, the studio will roll out something new to do in the game, from another Escalation Contract to a new Elusive Target and more.Beginning today, December 13, players can take on The Aelwin Augment, the second Escalation Contract to hit the game thus far. This one takes Agent 47 to the Isle of Sgail and "is sure to be a memorable visit," IO teases. You can watch us try out hand at the Contract in the video above.Following that, IO will release a "holiday surprise" in Hitman 2 next week, on December 18. The developer didn't share any further details about what the "surprise" will entail, but it notes the event will only be available for a limited time.Later that same week will see the arrival of the game's second Elusive Target, after Sean Bean: The Revolutionary. He'll be available in Santa Fortuna for 10 days beginning December 21. Finally, rounding out the month is another new Escalation Contract, The Turms Infatuation, which is scheduled to arrive on December 27. You can read more about this month's free Hitman 2 content on IO's website.Hitman 2 is available for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. GameSpot awarded it an 8/10 in our Hitman 2 review. Critic Edmond Tran wrote, "The addition of other minor mechanical changes--like concussive weapons, a picture-in-picture enemy activity alert, and visible security camera sightlines--help to improve Hitman 2 overall as a dense and accessible stealth assassination game. But the new locations are the real stars, impressive and inventive sandboxes ripe for picking apart with exciting experiments."Info from Gamespot.com

Painting Gris as a beautiful adventure is almost too obvious. Even amid the crumbling ruins that hint at better days, every element of this platformer emphasizes its undeniable loveliness. From the wide-angle shots and the ethereal music to the delicate way in which you glide gracefully to a far-off platform, Gris is enrapturing in ways that make it hard to walk away from. Though it takes a mere four hours to reach the ending credits, the time spent with Gris is so captivating that it would have felt greedy to stay with it any longer.In Gris, a young woman finds herself alone in a desolate world. Ruined buildings and broken pillars dominate the landscape, remnants from a lost civilization. Without saying a word, the woman exudes loneliness, moving forward only to fulfill the aching sense of longing that is now her only companion. The feeling of loss is palpable. You wander through a palace that could tumble with one strong gust of wind. Cracked statues lay before you, all of women. Some stand in poses of power, others of thoughtfulness, but all are only relics of what used to be. Savor the sight because the statues, the buildings, the pillars could all be turned to dust when you return.Your goal is to obtain fragments of light that complete constellations, allowing you to reach other areas. But the dreamy flow through locations is so subtle that it rarely feels as if you’re completing specific tasks. Rather, you guide the young woman down slopes, across balconies, and through ruins because the call to see what wonders await is impossible to resist. For much of the game, I felt lost as I glided across the serene landscapes, unaware of where I was going but curious to see what lay just outside of my vision. Being lost in Gris is different from other games, though. Whenever I wondered if I was going in the right direction, I wandered into a new location just as beautiful as where I had been, and I set off to wherever it felt like I was being led.As I drifted through Gris’ world, I collected the odd light fragment, but it never felt like the point of my movement--I just wanted to see where the path led me, and I solved puzzles to reach the fragments along the way. These puzzles are not mind-teasers that demand careful concentration or daring trial-and-error obstacles. Rather, you need only figure out how your given abilities work in a specific area to continue onward undeterred. In the beginning, for instance, I had to learn that I could walk up staircases I thought were only in the background. A little puzzle, yes, but one that brings joy when you realize how simple and delightful the solution is.Later sections have blocks that appear when a light shines upon them or a wintery wind that casts statues of ice in your image, but none of the puzzles are presented in such a way as to stymie a player. Gris is a game in which its lack of challenge is a positive quality because any frustrating section would have derailed the feeling of peace and serenity that it builds so wondrously as you progress. There’s no combat or death to break you from this trance, just pure pleasure throughout. I wanted to explore this world, to see breathtaking sights and soak in the melancholic score, and Gris welcomed this feeling instead of hiding its charms behind tests of skill.Despite the ease of the puzzles, there are genuine surprises in how you navigate the world. I gasped when I realized a rippling block wasn’t as solid as I had assumed and there’s a perspective-flipping section that made me laugh with joy. The magic of Gris is that it encompasses the varied move set you’d expect in a more demanding platformer, without expecting impressive feats of dexterity to progress. Instead, it introduces all those navigational twists to draw you ever deeper into this fascinating world. Because of its many surprises, it’s the rare game where I wish I could have my memory erased, to play it once more from the beginning, because few games contain surprises that were so affected.Gris is joyful and sad, a beautiful ruin, contradictions that make these experiences so exciting. The surprises that lay hidden are not plot twists or unlockable goodies but rather moments when the mechanics perfectly complement the aesthetics. Every element is used to engage your sense of awe. Gris is beautiful, yes, but it uses that beauty like a surgical knife. As you climb to the top of a pyramid, with the sun growing ever brighter and the stars beckoning, it knows to pull back the camera, to show how small you stand against the majesty of the universe.Don’t dismiss Gris as a game so caught up in its artistic splendor that it forgets what medium it's a part of, though. Strip away the resplendent visual design and enchanting score and Gris would still be enticing because of its sense of movement. The young woman moves with graceful purpose. She’s light on her feet but sure-headed, giving her a weightiness that makes it feel like you’re trying to break free of gravity but can never quite do so. There were sections when I would purposely repeat a series of jumps because it felt so good to skirt against the dreamy sky. New powers are unlocked as you get deeper into the adventure, and all of them add another layer of interactivity that not only expands your horizons but feels good to enact.Gris understands intrinsically how magical video games can be and continually pushes your imagination until you’re almost bursting with joy. The ways in which it reinvents itself as you gain powers and dive ever deeper into this world is truly special, and just as it knows exactly when to pull back the camera or introduce a new song, it’s keenly aware of when it's time to say goodbye. Like a comet streaking across the sky, Gris is full of wonder and beauty and leaves you with a warm glow in your heart.Info from Gamespot.com

The Dawning, Destiny 2's holiday-themed event, is always all about gift-giving, just like the Halloween-themed Festival of the Lost is about wearing masks. Activities during the December event usually have you finding and giving gifts to the various characters in Destiny 2, and this year those gifts have a different twist--you're baking treats for all the game's major characters.Destiny 2 is, of course, a game about shooting, so most of your confections will be crafted from the bones (and other parts) of your enemies. As you go marauding through the solar system, you'll gain items you can stick in a special oven in order to make treats. Eva, the character who puts you on your quest, gives you one recipe for cookies, but the rest you have to find through trial and error--unless you have our guide.Baking all the goods on Eva's list and giving them to the people around the Tower will net you an Exotic sparrow, as well as a number of Triumphs. The Dawning runs through the month of December, so there may well be more rewards in store as well, in a similar way to how the Murder Mystery quest of the Festival of the Lost turned out to reward players with Thunderlord. Here's everything you need to know to bake cookies in Destiny 2, as well as the recipes we've uncovered so far. We'll update this list as more information and more recipes become know.Get Your IngredientsThe stuff you use to actually make the cookies comes from out in the world and completing various activities. For each batch of cookies, you'll need three things: a common ingredient, a rare ingredient, and 15 Essence of Dawning.Killing enemies in the world yields common ingredients based on what kind of enemy you kill; there's something different for Fallen, Vex, Cabal, Taken, Scorn, and Hive. Rare ingredients drop based on the means of killing enemies. If you use explosives, you might get a Delicious Explosion ingredient; a sword kill could earn you a Sharp Taste. They're mostly pretty easy to figure out, but a few are a little confusing. Here's how to get each ingredient.Delicious Explosion: Explosive killsSharp Flavor: Sword killsImpossible Heat: Solar killsElectric Taste: Arc killsNull Taste: Void killsFlash of Inspiration: Create Orbs of LightPersonal Touch: Melee killsPerfect Taste: Precision killsBullet Spray: SMG and Machine Gun killsEssence of Dawning: Complete activities in the solar systemRecipesThese are the combinations we've found that yield specific cookies. Note that you need 15 Essence of Dawning for each recipe in order to make the oven work. We'll keep updating this list as more recipes are discovered.Gjallardoodles (deliver to Zavala): Ether Cane, Delicious ExplosionInfinite Forest Cakes (deliver to Failsafe): Vex Milk, Impossible HeatGentleman's Shortbread (deliver to Devrim Kay): Ether Cane, Perfect TasteVanilla Blades (deliver to Shaxx): Cabal Oil, Sharp FlavorRadiolarian Pudding (deliver to Asher): Vex Milk, Electric FlavorEliksni Birdseed (deliver to Hawthorne): Ether Cane, Personal touchChocolate Ship Cookies (deliver to Holliday): Cabal Oil, Null TasteTelemetry Tapioca (deliver to Banshee-44): Vex Milk, Bullet SprayTraveler Donut Holes (deliver to Ikora): Cabal Oil, Flash of InspirationJavelin Mooncake (deliver to Ana Bray): Chitin Powder, Sharp FlavorDark Chocolate Motes (deliver to the Drifter): Taken Butter, Null FlavorAlkane Dragee Cookies (deliver to Sloane): Chitin Powder, Bullet SprayIll-Fortune Cookies (deliver to Petra Venj): Dark Ether Cane, Impossible HeatCandy Dead Ghosts (deliver to the Spider): Dark Ether Cane, Flash of InspirationStrange Cookies (deliver to Xur): Taken Butter, Electric FlavorOnce you've baked one of every kind of cookie, you can upgrade your oven to a Masterwork, reducing the Essence of Dawning cost for making more cookies from 15 units to 10. That's good, because if you want to unlock everything in The Dawning, you're going to baking a lot.If you want to save yourself a little time (and it's very little), bake the cookies but don't deliver them until you get 12 sets finished. You'll need to deliver gifts as part of the quest that unlocks when you earn the Dawning Cheer sparrow.Don't Throw Away Your Failures!If you create a recipe combination that doesn't work, you'll get Burned Edge Transit cookies. You'll lose whatever ingredients you put in, plus your Essence of Dawning that you needed to do the cooking. But just because your cookies are horrible doesn't mean these are a total loss. You can't get your lost ingredients back, but you can reclaim the Essence, which is something since every batch of cookies you make costs 15 Essence, and you need to complete activities to get more.To get your Essence of Dawning back, head to the Tower and talk to the Cryptarch. He'll accept your burnt cookies as gifts and trade you back 15 Essence--the complete cost of cooking the bad batch. You can then immediately try a new recipe if you've got the ingredients, without having to go find a Public Event or some other activity to complete.Special DeliveryOnce you've made 12 Dawning deliveries, you can return to Eva for a Powerful gear reward. At that point, she'll also make her storefront available, which includes a set of bounties and the ability to trade Dawning Essence for various cookie ingredients. While you'll probably only need that stuff if you get serious about trying to complete all the Dawning Triumphs, it's worth noting that Eva has a weekly bounty that drops Powerful gear. You can complete it by cooking any six batches of cookies, which should be pretty easy to accomplish while completing other tasks during the event. Earning Your SleighTo unlock the Dawning Cheer sparrow, you need to make a few specific cookies, as well as 12 batches in total. To unlock it to start, make Vanilla Blades, Chocolate Ship Cookies, and Eliksni Birdseed using the recipes above. Once you've delivered them, you'll unlock the sparrow.After you've got the sparrow, you can set about repairing it, which unlocks several additional perks on Dawning Cheer. To get them, you have to complete bounties offered by Amanda Holliday, which only unlock after you've got the sparrow.The bounties require you to cook a bunch more cookies for various characters. The first bounty, Titan and Warlock, requires Donut Holes for Ikora and Alkane Dragee Cookies for Sloane, as well as baking 48 cookies in total. It unlocks the Happy Dawning perk on the sleigh, which shoots out glimmer presents from your sparrow while you're boosting.The second bounty, Sniper and Scribe, requires Gentleman's Shortbread for Devrim, Radiolarian Pudding for Asher, and 72 total cookies baked. It unlocks the Dawning Dare perk on your sparrow, which spawns glimmer presents any time you land a trick.The final bounty is Gunsmith and Navigator, which you can complete by delivering Telemetry Tapioca to Banshee-44 and Infinite Forest Cake to Failsafe, along with completing 120 total bakes. Complete that bounty to unlock the Transmat Preloader perk on Dawning Cheer, which makes summoning your sparrow instantaneous. Info from Gamespot.com

HBO's acclaimed cop anthology show, True Detective, is set to return for a third season in January, and a new trailer has been released. This season is clearly aiming to recapture the dark, moody rural atmosphere of 2014's Season 1, following a disappointing Season 2. The new trailer even uses the tagline: "The original series returns."The trailer focuses on main character Wayne Hays, a cop played by Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali (Moonlight, Luke Cage, House of Cards), who investigated the disappearance of two kids in the Ozarks many years ago and is still haunted by the case. The show is set across several decades, with Ali appearing as both an older man and a much younger officer. Check it out above.True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto has written the entire season, with Deadwood creator David Milch lending a hand. The cast also includes Stephen Dorff (Blade), Ray Fisher (Justice League), Carmen Ejogo (Alien: Covenant), and Scoot McNairy (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice). Hold the Dark and Green Room director Jeremy Saulnier helms the first two episodes. It premieres on January 13, 2019--check out the previous trailer here.In a recent interview with Indiewire, Pizzolatto spoke about the striking setting for Season 3 and explained that the surroundings were vital to the season's story. "The mystery of the deep woods," he said. "The fog over the mountains. The rivers. The water. The sense of scale when you get out to some of this nature. Also, what the buildings say about the lives behind them. I feel like people will see it as an extension of character, something that embodies characters' emotional journeys while influencing those journeys.""Sometimes we found things that seem to come straight out of the imagination, like this particular house that I don't want to go into it too much because of spoilers, but once we found it we couldn't believe it existed. It was almost exactly what I had written, and it needed to be very specific."Info from Gamespot.com

If you thought your chances to save money on video games ended with Black Friday, you're mistaken. GameStop has unveiled its Game Days sale, which runs between now and December 25. This sale finds huge discounts on a massive list of PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch games. That's good news for anyone still needing to buy holiday gifts or anyone looking for something new to play themselves. Let's see take a peek at the week's best deals.If you've been wanting to check out some of the biggest shooters that launched in recent months, you're in luck. You can grab Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 or Fallout 76 for $40 each. For those who find the stealthy approach more appealing, Hitman 2 is on sale for the same price. For larger-scale confrontations with tanks and fighter planes thrown in the mix, pick up Battlefield V for just $30.A starter pack for the toys-to-life game Starlink: Battle for Atlas normally retails for $75, but it's on sale on all platforms right now for $40. Each copy of the game comes with a ship, pilot, and weapons, plus a mount that lets you attach the whole thing to your controller. The Switch version also includes the in-game exclusives Fox McCloud and Arwing.Ever since it launched last month, we've been raving about Tetris Effect, a PS4 (and PSVR-compatible) game with incredible visuals and audio that combine to make it much more than "just Tetris." It's on sale for half off at $20; you can read our Tetris Effect review for details. PlayStation VR owners can also grab one of the year's best games, the Mario-like platformer Astro Bot: Rescue Mission, also for $20.That just scratches the surface of the Game Days sale. You'll find a lot more discounted titles in the list below, or you can check out the full set of deals at GameStop.PS4Assassin's Creed Odyssey -- $40Astro Bot: Rescue Mission (PSVR) -- $20Battlefield V -- $30Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 - Zombies Chronicles -- $30Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 -- $40Call of Duty: WWII -- $30Creed: Rise to Glory (PSVR) -- $20Destiny 2: Forsaken Legendary Collection -- $30Fallout 76 -- $40Far Cry 5 -- $25FIFA 19 -- $30Final Fantasy XV Royal Edition -- $25God of War -- $30Grand Theft Auto V -- $20Hitman 2 -- $40Jurassic World Evolution -- $50Kingdom Come Deliverance -- $30Lego DC Super Villains -- $30Lego the Incredibles -- $20Madden NFL 19 -- $30Monster Hunter World -- $20Mortal Kombat XL -- $15Mutant Football League -- $20NBA 2K19 -- $40NHL 19 -- $33Overcooked 2 -- $30Overwatch: Legendary Edition -- $30Persona 5 -- $30Spyro Reignited Trilogy -- $30Starlink: Battle for Atlas Starter Pack -- $40Tetris Effect -- $20Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege -- $20Xbox OneAssassin's Creed Odyssey -- $40Battlefield V -- $30Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 - Zombies Chronicles -- $30Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 -- $40Call of Duty: WWII -- $30Destiny 2: Forsaken Legendary Collection -- $30Fallout 76 -- $40Far Cry 5 -- $25FIFA 19 -- $30Final Fantasy XV Royal Edition -- $25Forza Horizon 4 -- $40Grand Theft Auto V -- $20Hitman 2 -- $40Jurassic World Evolution -- $50Kingdom Come Deliverance -- $30Lego DC Super Villains -- $30Lego the Incredibles -- $20Madden NFL 19 -- $30Monster Hunter World -- $20Mortal Kombat XL -- $15Mutant Football League -- $20NBA 2K19 -- $40NHL 19 -- $33Overcooked 2 -- $30Overwatch: Legendary Edition -- $30PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds -- $20Sea of Thieves -- $30Spyro Reignited Trilogy -- $30Starlink: Battle for Atlas Starter Pack -- $40Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege -- $20Nintendo SwitchAmerica's Greatest Game Shows: Wheel of Fortune & Jeopardy -- $20Carnival Games -- $30Diablo III: Eternal Collection -- $40Hasbro Game Night (Monopoly, Risk, Trivial Pursuit) -- $25Just Dance 2019 -- $30LA Noire -- $20Lego DC Super Villains -- $30Lego the Incredibles -- $20Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle -- $25Mutant Football League -- $20Nickelodeon Kart Racers -- $30Overcooked 2 -- $30Sid Meier's Civilization VI -- $50Sports Party -- $20Starlink: Battle for Atlas Starter Pack -- $40PCWorld of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth -- $30Info from Gamespot.com

Happy new year! Well, we're still a few weeks away from 2019 arriving, but Netflix has already revealed what is coming and leaving the service in January. There are plenty of movies and Netflix originals coming to the streaming service you'll want to watch.The most releases from Netflix comes on New Year's Day, Tuesday, January 1. The Netflix original A Series of Unfortunate Events drops its final season. Pulp Fiction lands on the service that day, and so does does The Dark Knight. However, the best thing about January 1 is that every Indiana Jones movie lands on Netflix. Watch Dr. Jones run from a giant boulder, ride in a mine cart, drink from a really old cup, and... see an alien.Later in the month, on January 29, Ant-Man and the Wasp heads to Netflix, which was one of the most fun movies of 2018. Then, one day later, Incredibles 2 arrives. If that's not enough superhero awesomeness for you, don't worry. Season 2 of Punisher arrives sometime during the month, and more than likely, it will be cancelled right afterwards, as Netflix has been parting ways with all the Marvel series recently.However, there are plenty of movies leaving the service you'll want to check out before they are gone forever. On January 1, all the Godfather and Sharknado movies will be gone. And Rogue One: A Star Wars Story leaves on January 18. If you need a Star Wars fix though, Solo arrives on January 9, so it seems like there will always be something from the Star Wars universe available on the service, at least until Disney+ launches in 2019.Check out the complete list of everything headed to Netflix--and leaving--in January. If you're interested in what's still headed your way soon, check out what's coming in December.Everything coming to Netflix in January 2019Avail. 1/1/19A Series of Unfortunate Events: Season 3-- NETFLIX ORIGINALAcross the UniverseBabelBlack Hawk DownCity of GodCOMEDIANS of the world-- NETFLIX ORIGINALDefinitely, MaybeGodzillaHappy FeetHell or High WaterI Know What You Did Last SummerIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal SkullIndiana Jones and the Last CrusadeIndiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost ArkIndiana Jones and the Temple of DoomIt Takes TwoJay and Silent Bob Strike BackJersey BoysMona Lisa SmileMr. Bean's HolidayPan's LabyrinthPinky Malinky-- NETFLIX ORIGINALPulp FictionSwingersTears of the SunThe Addams FamilyThe Boy in the Striped PajamasThe Dark KnightThe DepartedThe MummyThe Mummy ReturnsThe StrangersTidying Up with Marie Kondo-- NETFLIX ORIGINALWatchmenxXxXXX: State of the UnionAvail. 1/2/19Monty Python and the Holy GrailAvail. 1/4/19And Breathe Normally-- NETFLIX FILMCall My Agent!: Season 3-- NETFLIX ORIGINALEl Potro: Unstoppable-- NETFLIX FILMLionheart-- NETFLIX FILMAvail. 1/9/19GODZILLA The Planet Eater-- NETFLIX ORIGINALSolo: A Star Wars StoryAvail. 1/10/19When Heroes Fly-- NETFLIX ORIGINALAvail. 1/11/19Friends from College: Season 2-- NETFLIX ORIGINALReMastered: Massacre at the Stadium-- NETFLIX ORIGINALSex Education-- NETFLIX ORIGINALSolo-- NETFLIX FILMThe Last Laugh-- NETFLIX FILMAvail. 1/15/19Revenger-- NETFLIX FILMSebastian Maniscalco: Stay Hungry-- NETFLIX ORIGINALAvail. 1/16/19American GangsterAvail. 1/17/19American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni VersaceAvail. 1/18/19Carmen Sandiego-- NETFLIX ORIGINALClose-- NETFLIX FILMFYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened-- NETFLIX ORIGINALGIRL-- NETFLIX FILMGrace and Frankie: Season 5-- NETFLIX ORIGINALIO-- NETFLIX FILMSoni-- NETFLIX FILMThe World's Most Extraordinary Homes: Season 2 Part B-- NETFLIX ORIGINALTrigger Warning with Killer Mike-- NETFLIX ORIGINALTrolls: The Beat Goes On!: Season 5-- NETFLIX ORIGINALAvail. 1/21/19Justice-- NETFLIX ORIGINALAvail. 1/24/19Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes-- NETFLIX ORIGINALHotel Transylvania 3: Summer VacationAvail. 1/25/19Animas-- NETFLIX FILMBlack Earth Rising-- NETFLIX ORIGINALClub de Cuervos: Season 4-- NETFLIX ORIGINALKingdom-- NETFLIX ORIGINALMedici: The Magnificent-- NETFLIX ORIGINALPolar-- NETFLIX FILMUnbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Season 4 Part 2-- NETFLIX ORIGINALAvail. 1/27/19Z Nation: Season 5Avail. 1/29/19Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias: One Show Fits All-- NETFLIX ORIGINALMarvel Studios' Ant-Man and the WaspAvail. 1/30/19Disney Pixar's The Incredibles 2Coming SoonMarvel's The Punisher: Season 2-- NETFLIX ORIGINALLeaving Netflix in JanuaryLeaving 1/1/19Beethoven's Christmas AdventureBladeBlade IIBram Stoker's DraculaCatwomanFace/OffFinding NeverlandFriday Night LightsHow to Lose a Guy in 10 DaysI Am AliInterview with the VampireInto the WildJourney to the Center of the EarthKung Fu PandaLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit: The Fifteenth YearLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit: The Seventeenth YearLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit: The Sixteenth YearLike Water for ChocolateLove ActuallyMadagascar: Escape 2 AfricaMarie AntoinetteMeet the FockersMeet the ParentsMillion Dollar BabyMonsters vs. AliensMortal KombatRentSharknadoSharknado 2: The Second OneSharknado 3Sharknado 5Sharknado: The 4th AwakensThe 6th DayThe GodfatherThe Godfather: Part IIThe Godfather: Part IIIThe Green MileThe Iron GiantThe Princess DiariesThe Queen of the DamnedThe ReapingThe ShiningLeaving 1/4/19Pocahontas II: Journey to a New WorldLeaving 1/13/19It FollowsLeaving 1/14/19ArmageddonLeaving 1/18/19Rogue One: A Star Wars StoryLeaving 1/19/19The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Info from Gamespot.com

Nintendo has announced the first in-game event for its new Switch fighting game, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The three-day event is scheduled to kick off this Thursday night, December 13, and will make certain Spirits appear more frequently in the game's Spirit Board mode.The event is dubbed "Spectacled Spirits," and it focuses on Spirits who are wearing glasses. Throughout the weekend, bespectacled game characters such as Jeff from EarthBound, Brittany from Pikmin 3, and others will be featured on the Spirit Board. You'll also receive extra Gold if you manage to defeat them.Super Smash Bros. Ultimate features more than 1,200 Spirits to unlock, making the upcoming event a good opportunity to add more to your collection. Nintendo says that there will be other new events in the game every week.Super Smash Bros. Ultimate isn't the only Switch title holding an in-game event soon. The next Splatfest in Splatoon 2 is also set to take place this weekend. That event kicks off on Friday, December 14, at 8 PM PT / 11 PM ET and will run for 24 hours. To celebrate the launch of Ultimate, this Splatfest is themed around Smash Bros.--specifically, it asks players if they'd rather side with Smash's heroes or villains.Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is available exclusively for Nintendo Switch. Everyone who purchases the game and registers it on My Nintendo by January 31 will receive Piranha Plant as a free DLC fighter. Nintendo will also release five other DLC characters for the game throughout the year, one of which we recently learned is Joker from Persona 5.Info from Gamespot.com

ZeniMax Media and Facebook have reached a settlement in their long-running litigation, effectively ending the legal drama. This news follows shortly after Id designer John Carmack announced that his own personal legal dispute against ZeniMax had ended.In the announcement from ZeniMax, the company said it settled its litigation against Facebook and Oculus. The terms of the settlement weren't shared. ZeniMax chairman and CEO Robert Altman said, "We are pleased that a settlement has been reached and are fully satisfied by the outcome. While we dislike litigation, we will always vigorously defend against any infringement or misappropriation of our intellectual property by third parties."ZeniMax alleged that John Carmack had worked on VR while employed at Id Software--which was owned by ZeniMax--and then taken it to Oculus for the development of the Oculus Rift. Facebook was brought into the suit since it bought Oculus in 2014.The company was seeking $2 billion in damages and another $4 billion in punitive damages. The court awarded ZeniMax $500 million in damages. That included $250 million from Oculus, $100 million from former CEO Brandon Iribe, and $50 million from founder Palmer Luckey. Facebook itself was found not liable. That figure was later reduced to $250 million, and Oculus continued to appeal.ZeniMax also filed suit in 2017 against Samsung VR. That suit alleged that Carmack had worked with Matt Hooper, another former ZeniMax employee, to develop mobile VR. Then, the suit alleges, Oculus took that suit to Samsung. The settlement doesn't specify any further developments to the Samsung litigation, but given that it has settled with Carmack and Oculus in recent months, that branch of the suit may be wrapping up as well.Oculus has continued to develop as its own business within Facebook, recently releasing the Oculus Go. For more on what the sudden advent of consumer virtual reality has brought, check out our look back at VR in 2018.Info from Gamespot.com

The second season of The Punisher will hit Netflix in January. The show is one of only two Marvel series remaining on Netflix, and its future beyond this season is unknown. But a new video released by the streaming giant has confirmed that it will arrive next month.The video showcases a selection of Netflix's January releases, including The Punisher. There is some brief footage of Frank Castle, sitting in a car with a map, looking moody. We don't have a release date for the show yet, but it's good to know that the next dose of vigilante action will be with be us soon. Check it out above.The Punisher Season 2 stars Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle once more, with Ben Barnes set to return as the villainous Jigsaw. Plot details beyond that are unknown, and this could be The Punisher's final season. In the last couple of months, Netflix has cancelled three of its Marvel shows, namely Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and Daredevil. No announcement has been made about The Punisher and Jessica Jones as yet, but it remains possible that both will be cancelled after their upcoming seasons are released.The Netflix cancellations come as Disney is set to launch its own its own streaming service next year. Disney+ will feature series based around characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with a Loki show already announced, and rumors of a Scarlet Witch show and a limited series based on Winter Soldier and Falcon also in development. There are also two live-action Star Wars shows on the way.Info from Gamespot.com

Epic Games will share the technology that enables cross-platform play in Fortnite. In a post on the Unreal Engine website the company said, in 2019, it will be launching "a large set of cross-platform game services originally built for Fortnite, and battle-tested with 200,000,000 players across 7 platforms." All developers will be able to utilize this technology for free, and it will be open to all engines, platforms, and stores."Successfully launching and operating a live, online game requires a suite of services that go far beyond the functionality of a traditional game engine," it said in the post. "These services are expensive to build, test and harden in real-world conditions, but once operational, are relatively inexpensive to scale to more games and more users. At Epic, our goal is to help game developers succeed ... As a developer, you're free to choose mix-and-match solutions from Epic and others as you wish."The rollout will begin with a C software development kit that contains Epic's online services, complete with integration for Unreal Engine--the company's own engine, which is available to license--and Unity, another popular game development engine. From there, Epic plans to expand the feature set, making the following available to developers:Cross-Platform Login, Friends, Presence, Profile, and Entitlements: Coming Q2-Q3 2019 to PC, other platforms throughout 2019 -- Provides the core functionality for persistently recognizing players across multiple sessions and devices; identifying friends; and managing free and paid item entitlements. This will support all seven major platforms (PC, Mac, iOS, Android, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch) to the full extent each platform allows per-title.PC/Mac Overlay API: Coming Q3 2019 -- Provides a user interface for login, friends, and other features in a game-agnostic, engine-agnostic way.Cross-Platform Voice Comms: Coming Q3 2019 to all platforms -- Epic is building a new in-game voice communications service supporting all platforms, all stores, and all engines, which will be available for free. (For developers needing an immediately-available voice solution, check out Discord, Vivox, TeamSpeak, Ventrilo, and Mumble.)Cross-Platform Parties and Matchmaking: Coming Q3-4 2019 to all platformsCross-Platform Data Storage, Cloud-Saved Games: Coming Q2 2019Cross-Platform Achievements and Trophies: Coming Q3 2019As noted by Epic, its services operate using Amazon Web Services data centers. Fortnite is one of the few games that allows players across PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and mobile devices come together. Most importantly, it supports multi-platform logins, making it a relatively painless experience to hop between platforms.The fact that Epic is making these services available to developers at large is a big step forward for cross-play; however, it's one piece of a complicated puzzle. Platform holders Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo need to also facilitate cross-platform services. While Microsoft, with Xbox One and PC, has been very vocal about allowing player bases to unite for some time now, Sony has only just begun experimenting.After much resistance, in September, PlayStation said it had "identified a path towards supporting cross-platform features for select third-party content." Currently, Fortnite is the only game that allows cross-platform play, and it is in a beta phase."We recognize that PS4 players have been eagerly awaiting an update, and we appreciate the community's continued patience as we have navigated through this issue to find a solution," president of Sony Interactive Entertainment John Kodera said at the time. "We see the beta as an opportunity to conduct thorough testing that ensures cross-platform play is best on PlayStation, while being mindful about the user experience from both a technical and social perspective."Today, the communities around some games have evolved to the point where cross-platform experiences add significant value to players. In recognition of this, we have completed a thorough analysis of the business mechanics required to ensure that the PlayStation experience for our users remains intact today, and in the future, as we look to open up the platform."Sony has said it is "in the planning process across the organization to support [cross-play]" more widely. Rocket League is another game that cross-play is highly sought after for, and plans to introduce it are expected to be revealed in 2019, provided Sony gives the go ahead."The good news is that with Sony's recent announcements regarding full cross-platform functionality, we can now make additional changes to prepare RocketID for ALL platforms should we receive permission to do so," said developer Psyonix. "We're working incredibly hard to ensure that it’s as intuitive, stable, and polished as possible, before releasing it to the world."The response from other developers, publishers, and platform holders to Sony's change in cross-platform policy has been positive, with Microsoft showing their approval through the Xbox Twitter account.Epic Games has been made some big moves lately. In addition to this, it also launched its own store which, in numerous ways, challenges Valve's Steam service. It's currently available for PC and Mac, and is expected to come to Android in 2019. For developers, launching on the Epic Store is an enticing prospect as they'll earn 88% of their revenue. There are no tiers to the profit-sharing, just an 88/12 split between developers and Epic for listing on their marketplace. Steam, meanwhile, currently takes 20-30% of revenue based on a tiered earning structure. You can find out more about what the Epic Store offers here. Info from Gamespot.com

The PlayStation Store is closing out 2018 with a massive, multi-week holiday sale that runs between now and January 15. The discounts run far and wide, covering over 1,200 games, expansions, and other digital items--and we're only in Week 1 of the sale. To help you find the best games for the lowest prices, we've gathered some of the most acclaimed titles available now for $5 or less.You can hardly get a latte for that price, so many of these deals are no-brainers if you're even mildly tempted to play the game. PlayStation Plus members get additional discounts on some of the sale items, and those are the prices listed below. With that out of the way, let's take a look at what PS4 games you can get for $5 or less.A number of big, full-sized games are available for these pint-sized prices. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is a futuristic title that blends stealth action with RPG elements; it's on sale for $4.50. Another big one is Mad Max ($5), which finds the post-apocalyptic hero piecing together a combat-ready car and bringing down enemy fortresses in a dusty open world. Speaking of cars, 2013's Need for Speed Rivals and 2015's Need for Speed are also $5 each.If Mortal Kombat 11's announcement got you in the mood to eviscerate enemies, you can pick up Mortal Kombat XL for just $5. It comes with all the--I have to assume this is how they spell it--"kontent" released for 2015's Mortal Kombat XL, including add-on characters like Alien, Predator, Jason Voorhees, and Goro. And then there's Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition for $4.50, which gives players in an open-world version of Hong Kong's criminal underbelly. And for just $4 you can pick up Battlefield 1.You don't need to devote dozens of hours to all the games on the list, though. Smaller delightful titles like Peggle 2, Hitman Go: Definitive Edition, Alienation, and Rogue Legacy are available for just a few dollars each. You'll find more of our picks below, or you can check out the full PS4 holiday sale to find a lot more choices.Alienation -- $3Bastion -- $3.75Battlefield 1 -- $4Day of the Tentacle Remastered -- $4.50Deus Ex: Mankind Divided -- $4.50God of War III Remastered -- $3Hitman Go: Definitive Edition -- $2Journey: Collector's Edition -- $5Knack -- $4Lara Croft Go -- $2.50The Last of Us: Left Behind - Stand-Alone -- $4Life is Strange: Complete Season -- $4Life is Strange: Before the Storm Complete Season -- $5Limbo -- $2Mad Max -- $5Mortal Kombat XL -- $5Mr. Shifty -- $1.50Need for Speed -- $5Need for Speed Rivals -- $5Oddworld: New 'n Tasty -- $5The Order 1886 -- $3Overcooked -- $4.25Oxenfree -- $5Peggle 2 -- $3PlayStation VR Worlds (PSVR required) -- $4.50Psychonauts -- $2Rogue Legacy -- $4.25Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition -- $4.50Thief -- $3Transistor -- $5Until Dawn: Rush of Blood (PSVR required) -- $4.50Virginia -- $3Info from Gamespot.com

There were plenty of remasters in 2018, but this year's best souped up not only the visuals and performance of the most iconic and critically acclaimed games but introduced additional features that elevated them past their original releases--a requirement for eligibility. In no particular order, these are the five best reissued games of 2018.Shadow of the Colossus[Read the review]Shadow of the Colossus is one of the most beautiful and emotionally captivating games ever created, and it has been made even better this year thanks to the work of developer Bluepoint Games. The 2018 remake of Team Ico's masterpiece adds an awe-inspiring new level of detail; blades of grass appear crisper, mountains fill the horizon with a deeper presence, and Colossi fur looks more dense and luscious. It's tough not to be enamored of the new visual and texture work, as a world you thought stunning initially has been made to look even better than ever before. All the while, improved stability pushes the remake far beyond the sub-30fps frame-rate issues of the original, with an optional performance mode on PS4 Pro that even runs at 60fps. Whether you've played the original or are a newcomer entirely, you owe it to yourself to play Shadow of the Colossus on PS4. From a visual and performance standpoint, it is the best version to play.Yakuza Kiwami 2[Read the review]Last year's Yakuza Kiwami was a fantastic remake of the inaugural entry that started the long-running action-crime drama franchise. Yakuza Kiwami 2 refines its predecessor's changes with a sweeping list of quality-of-life improvements that bring the original to entirely new standards. This is thanks in part to the Dragon Engine--the new engine that Yakuza 6 is built on. It helps that Yakuza 2 is one of the series' best games and where the series began expanding the scope of its world and storytelling. The result is a remake that combines the best parts of past and present, simultaneously revisiting where the series hit its stride while offering the benefits of a seamless world and fluid combat system provided by the Dragon Engine.Spyro Reignited Trilogy[Read the review]After the financial success of the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, it was a no-brainer for Activision to offer the same treatment to the equally cherished Spyro the Dragon games. As a remastered collection, Spyro Reignited Trilogy does the expected and imbues the original games with increased graphical fidelity and reworked designs for familiar character and locales. The new visuals are a sight to behold, as if an otherworldly force motioned its hand to sprout an abundance of life and color across every inch of the original environments. However, Reignited Trilogy's best aspects are what it introduces under the hood. The updated control scheme makes playing Spyro feel less floaty and more responsive in turn. Movement is faster and more exciting; it's a joy to charge, glide, and breathe fire in rapid succession. In addition, an improved camera removes the navigational frustrations of the originals and allows you to better focus on the beautiful remastered sights. It's no easy task to modernize 3D platformers from a bygone era when developers were still trying to find their footing, but developer Toys for Bob have accomplished just that, revitalizing the Spyro the Dragon games for both new and old audiences to enjoy.SNK 40th Anniversary[Read the review]Another part of what makes reissued games great is the chance to play fantastic games as they were. Sure, a new coat of paint is nice, but sometimes being able to play a classic game as it is can be just as remarkable. SNK 40th Anniversary is a substantial package compiling the famed developer's most iconic games, which includes Ikari Warriors, Crystalis, Alpha Mission, and more. Each are well-emulated thanks to the work of developer Digital Eclipse, whose amazing track record (Mega Man Legacy Collection, Disney Afternoon Collection) continues here. New control schemes and the autoplay feature (something we never knew we wanted until now) further enhance the experience of playing each game. While not everything contained within is a gem, SNK 40th Anniversary's biggest charm is in its reverence for the lesser-known beginnings of its titular developer. Bonus content offers substantial history lessons looking back at SNK's formative years. And just for the sake of your reference, there are even scans of independent fan zines from the '80s and arcade game guides included as well. SNK 40th Anniversary's infectious passion for its subject matter and commitment to preserving its history is perhaps its most admirable trait, and one of the main reasons why it's one of this year's best reissued games--to say nothing of the 11 free DLC games added after launch.Divinity Original Sin 2: Definitive Edition[Read the review]Divinity: Original Sin 2 was already a phenomenal RPG when it launched on PC last year. With its immense scope, complex tactical combat, and compelling narrative, it remains one of the best RPGs out now. However, console players were out of luck if they wanted to experience developer Larian Studios' masterpiece--until 2018, that is. Divinity: Original Sin 2 finally made its way to consoles this year in the form of the Definitive Edition, which introduced a plethora of improvements and additional features (and was made available on PC as a free update). Rewritten dialogue enhanced moment-to-moment interactions, balance changes made combat more fulfilling, and additional difficulty levels offered greater challenge and accessibility. But these are only a handful of the laundry list of changes made, all of which enhance what's an already astounding 100-plus hour adventure. Divinity Original Sin 2 is a beast of an RPG that's likely to intimidate those who don't have experience handling its intricacies. But don't let that deter you: Definitive Edition stands as the best version of an already exceptional game that you can't afford to skip in 2018, regardless of whether you've played the original version or not.GameSpot will be unveiling our picks for the best games and entertainment of 2018 throughout December. Head to our Best of 2018 hub to see all the winners so far. Info from Gamespot.com

Over the next few days, we will reveal what we believe are the 10 best games of 2018, organized by release date. Then on December 19, we will reveal which of the nominees gets to take home the coveted title of GameSpot's Game of the Year. So be sure to come back then for the big announcement, and in the meantime, follow along with all of our other end-of-the-year coverage collected in our Best of 2018 hub.The new God of War from Santa Monica Studio is a masterful reinvention of a now-classic PlayStation series and, primarily, its lead character. Kratos went from being a killing machine driven solely by rage in previous games, to, well, a killing machine driven by paternal instinct and a promise made to his deceased wife. But even without being compared to his former self, Kratos' newfound sensitivity and self-awareness are as effective as they are because of how well the character and his journey are executed in general. For fans, it's great to witness the character's pivot from yesteryear's action darling to today's loving father figure in disguise, but Kratos and the game he leads are simply excellent on their own terms.Many of the new systems, narrative beats, and surprises at hand feed off of the partnership between the mighty Kratos and his scrappy son, Atreus. The boy's bow and arrow play an important role in combat, because without his chain whips in hand, Kratos is left to engage enemies up close with his Leviathan Axe, or rely on his throwing skills to strike enemies from a distance. The latter may require a bit more work on your part, but there's also nothing else in games quite like Kratos calling the axe back to his hand, a la Thor, culminating in an abrupt and meaty thwack upon arrival. Thanks to well-thought-out controls, managing both Kratos' brute force and Atreus' elementally charged bow and arrow shots is far easier than you might imagine despite also adding new layers of strategy to combat.Kratos and Atreus have to cover a lot of ground on foot in God of War. Where most games fail to treat moment-to-moment travel as anything other than an afterthought, God of War injects would-be downtime with a bit of wisdom and education from Mimir, the sage-like disembodied head attached to Kratos' waist who not-so humbly refers to himself as the smartest man alive. By his own account, he knows every corner of the world, every point in history worth remembering, and every language spoken. Tall claims, but given how he consistently offers up new bits of backstory and esoteric knowledge as you truck from point A to point B, it settles in that he might be right. More than a font of knowledge, he's also voiced remarkably well by Alastair Duncan, better known for his work as Celebrimbor in Middle-Earth: Shadow of War and Shadow of Mordor.These three characters form a trio that makes your adventure more than just a series of battles. Though Mimir's personality hardly deviates beyond that of an entertaining fanny pack (which, don't get us wrong, we love), Kratos and Atreus undergo massive changes. For Atreus, the loss of his mother and the gruff attitude of his father set him up to follow in Kratos' footsteps, which as we know from previous games could ultimately lead to unexpected and negative results. Kratos, on the other hand, must simultaneously control his own urges while trying to counteract his son's budding aggression. The result is some powerful moments between a father and son who couldn't seem more different at first, but at heart are practically one in the same despite being at different stages in their lives.Regardless of what we all expected from Sony's muscle-bound badass, God of War is simply a great video game driven by a bold directorial vision and top-tier execution from a team that clearly knows how to knock it out of the park.God of War's strong lead characters and their many brushes with death are held aloft by a world jam packed with beauty and detail. Wild, connected environments flow into one another with nary an awkward transition to be found. Through the use of a dimension hopping portal, you can also transport Kratos and son to haunting and dangerous locations that pack some of the game's biggest challenges. And the most impressive achievement therein is the game's single-shot, uncut nature. You may enter tiny waiting-room realms to travel between dimensions, but your view is never once interrupted by camera cuts or loading screens. This isn't a small game, and this feat is all the more impressive when God of War's world fully comes into view.Again, it's tough not to wrap all the things that make God of War great around the idea that it's a shockingly good revival. It certainly is that, and Santa Monica Studio deserves credit for proving that God of War can be so much more than a spectacular action game. But regardless of what we all expected from Sony's muscle-bound badass, God of War is simply a great video game driven by a bold directorial vision and top-tier execution from a team that clearly knows how to knock it out of the park.Info from Gamespot.com