The idea of what the Super Smash Bros. games are, and what they can be, has been different things during the series' 20-year history. What began as an accessible multiplayer game also became a highly competitive one-on-one game. But it's also been noted for having a comprehensive single-player adventure, as well as becoming a sort of virtual museum catalog, exhibiting knowledge and audiovisual artifacts from the histories of its increasingly diverse crossover cast. Ultimate embraces all these aspects, and each has been notably refined, added to, and improved for the better. Everyone, and basically everything, from previous games is here--all existing characters, nearly all existing stages, along with the flexibility to play and enjoy those things in different ways. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a comprehensive, considered, and charming package that builds on an already strong and enduring fighting system.If you've ever spent time with a Smash game, then you likely have a good idea of how Ultimate works. Competing players deal damage to their opponents in order to more easily knock them off the stage. The controls remain relatively approachable for a competitive combat game; three different buttons in tandem with basic directional movements are all you need to access a character's variety of attacks and special abilities. There are a large variety of items and power-ups to mix things up (if you want to) and interesting, dynamic stages to fight on (also if you want to). You can find complexities past this, of course--once you quickly experience the breadth of a character's skillset, it allows you to begin thinking about the nuances of a fight (again, if you want to). Thinking about optimal positioning, figuring out what attacks can easily combo off of another, working out what the best move for each situation is, and playing mind games with your human opponents can quickly become considerations, and the allure of Smash as a fighting game is how easy it is to reach that stage.Complexity also comes with the wide variety of techniques afforded by Ultimate's staggeringly large roster of over 70 characters. Smash's continuing accessibility is a fortunate trait in this regard, because once you understand the basic idea of how to control a character, many of the barriers to trying out a completely new one are gone. Every fighter who has appeared in the previous four Smash games is here, along with some brand-new ones, and the presence of so many diverse and unorthodox styles to both wield and compete against is just as attractive as the presence of the characters themselves. In fact, it's still astounding that a game featuring characters from Mario Bros, Sonic The Hedgehog, Pac-Man, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy, and Street Fighter all interacting with each other actually exists.On a more technical level, Ultimate makes a number of under-the-hood alterations that, at this early stage, seem like positive changes that make Smash feel noticeably faster and more exciting to both watch and play. Characters take more damage in one-on-one fights; continuous dodging is punished with increased vulnerability; fighters can perform any ground-based attack, including smash moves, immediately out of a running state; and short-hop aerial attacks (previously a moderately demanding technique) can be easily performed by pressing two buttons simultaneously. Refinements like these might go unnoticed by most, but they help define Ultimate's core gameplay as a tangible evolution of the series' core mechanics.A number of Ultimate's more superficial changes also help Smash's general quality-of-life experience, too. Some make it a more readable game--additions to the UI communicate previously hidden elements like meter charges and Villager's captured items, a simple radar helps keep track of characters off-screen, and a slow motion, zoom-in visual effect when critical hits connect make these moments more exciting to watch. Other changes help streamline the core multiplayer experience and add compelling options. Match rules can now be pre-defined with a swath of modifiers and saved for quick selection later. Stage selection occurs before character selection, so you can make more informed decisions on which fighter to use.On top of a built-in tournament bracket mode, Ultimate also features a number of additional Smash styles. Super Sudden Death returns, as does Custom Smash, which allows you to create matches with wacky modifiers. Squad Strike is a personal favorite, which allows you to play 3v3 or 5v5 tag-team battles (think King of Fighters), and Smashdown is a great, engaging mode that makes the most of the game's large roster by disqualifying characters that have already been used as a series of matches continues, challenging your ability to do well with characters who you might not be familiar with.The most significant addition to Ultimate, however, lies in its single-player content. Ultimate once again features a Classic Mode where each individual fighter has their own unique ladder of opponents to defeat, but the bigger deal is World of Light, Ultimate's surprisingly substantial RPG-style campaign. It's a convoluted setup--beginning as Kirby, you go on a long journey throughout a huge world map to rescue Smash's other fighters (who have incidentally been cloned in large numbers) from the big bad's control. Along the way, you'll do battles with Spirits, characters hailing from other video games that, while not directly engaging in combat, have taken control of clones, altered them in their images, and unleashed them on you.Though there is some light puzzling, the world is naturally filled with hundreds upon hundreds of fights--there are over 1200 Spirit characters, and the vast majority have their own unique battle stages that use the game's match variables to represent their essence. The Goomba Spirit, for example, will put you up against an army of tiny Donkey Kongs. Meanwhile, the Excitebike Spirit might throw three Warios at you who only use their Side+B motorbike attacks.It may seem like a tenuous idea at first, but these fights are incredibly entertaining. It's hard not to appreciate the creativity of using Smash's assets to represent a thousand different characters. Zero Suit Samus might stand in for a battle with The Boss from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater by donning a silver-palette costume and fighting you in a flower-filled Final Destination, but she also stands in for the spirit of Alexandra Roivas from Eternal Darkness by using a black-palette costume and fighting you in the haunted Luigi's Mansion stage, with a modifier that makes the screen occasionally flip upside down (Eternal Darkness was a GameCube horror game whose signature feature were "Sanity Effects", which skewed the game in spooky ways to represent the character's loosening grip on reality). If I knew the character, I often found myself thinking about how clever their Spirit battle was.Defeating a Spirit will add it to your collection, and Spirits also act as World of Light's RPG system. There are two types of Spirit: Primary and Support. Primary Spirits have their own power number and can be leveled up through various means to help make your actual fighter stronger. Primary Spirits also have one of four associated classes, which determine combat effectiveness in a rock-scissors-paper-style system. These are both major considerations to take into account before a battle, and making sure you're not going into a fight at a massive disadvantage adds a nice dimension to the amusing unpredictability of this mode. What you also need to take into account are the modifiers that might be enabled on each stage, which is where Support Spirits come in. They can be attached to Primary Spirits in a limited quantity and can mitigate the effect of things like poisonous floors, pitch-black stages, or reversed controls, or they can simply buff certain attacks.There are a few Spirit fights that can be frustrating, however. Stages that are a 1v4 pile-on are downright annoying, despite how well-equipped you might be, as are stages where you compete against powerful assist trophies. On the flip side, once you find yourself towards the end of the campaign, there are certain loadouts that can trivialize most stages, earning you victory in less than a second. Regardless, there's a compulsive quality to collecting Spirits, and not just because they might make you stronger. It's exciting to see which obscure character you run into next, feel validated for recognizing them, and see how the game interprets them in a Spirit battle. There's also just a superficial joy to collecting, say, the complete Elite Beat Agents cast (Osu! Takatae! Ouendan characters are here too), even though these trophies lack the frills of previous Smash games.Some hubs in the World of Light map are also themed around certain games and bundle related Spirits together to great effect--Dracula's Castle from Castlevania, which changes the map into a 2D side-scroller, and the globe from Street Fighter II, complete with the iconic airplane noises, are personal standouts. Despite the dramatic overtones of World of Spirit's setup, the homages you find within it feel like a nice commemoration of the games and characters without feeling like a pandering nostalgia play. One of the most rewarding homages of all, however, lies in Ultimate's huge library of video game music. Over 800 tracks, which include originals as well as fantastic new arrangements, can all be set as stage soundtracks as well enjoyed through the game's music player.There is one significant struggle that Ultimate comes up against, however, which lies in the nature of the console itself. Playing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in the Switch's handheld mode is simply not a great experience. In situations where there are more than two characters on screen, the view of the action often becomes too wide, making the fighters too small to see properly, and it can be difficult to tell what you or your opponent is doing. The game's penchant for flashy special effects and busy, colorful stages doesn't help things at all, and unless you're playing a one-on-one match, you'll likely suffer some blameless losses. This is a situational disadvantage and may not affect all players, but it puts a damper on the idea of Smash on the go.The need to unlock characters also has the potential to be an initial annoyance, especially if your goal is to jump straight into multiplayer and start learning one of the six brand-new characters. In my time with the game, I split my attention between playing World of Light (where rescuing characters unlocks them everywhere) and multiplayer matches, where the constant drip-feed of "New Challenger" unlock opportunities (which you can easily retry if you fail) came regularly. I naturally earned the entire roster in roughly 10 hours of playtime, but your mileage may vary.Super Smash Bros. Ultimate also features online modes, but they were not active during Ultimate's pre-launch period. The game features skill-based matchmaking, private lobbies, and voice chat via Nintendo's smartphone app. It also features a system where defeating another player will earn you their personalized player tag, which can be used as a currency to unlock spirits, music, and costume items for Mii fighters. I'll begin testing these features once the service launches with the game's public release and will finalize the review score once I've had substantial time with the matchmaking experience.Situational downers don't stop Super Smash Bros. Ultimate from shining as a flexible multiplayer game that can be as freewheeling or as firm as you want it to be. Its entertaining single-player content helps keep the game rich with interesting things to do, as well as bolstering its spirit of loving homage to the games that have graced Nintendo consoles. Ultimate's diverse content is compelling, its strong mechanics are refined, and the encompassing collection is simply superb. Info from Gamespot.com

Ring of Honor's Jay Lethal is on top of the world right now: He's ROH World Champion, has what will be an epic match with Cody coming up on December 14 at Final Battle, and has a backlog of video games he needs to catch up on. However, Lethal is a huge Pokemon fan and has plenty of tips on how to catch those pesky pocket monsters in Pokemon Go.Lethal travels quite a bit as a professional wrestler, and in doing so, ends up playing a whole lot of Pokemon Go while travelling the world. Of course, a champion like Lethal is going to have some tips to catch them all. "Number one tip from Lethal is you gotta just be lucky, which is the way I live my life," he jokingly told GameSpot.Photo credit: Ring of Honor"I think you gotta load it with berries," Lethal continued. "I really haven't had too many issues where I had trouble catching anything. Although there's some nightmare stories of my buddy, he just couldn't catch anything. I've gotten lucky too because I got a couple shiny Eevees too. Back when they were doing a shiny Eevee program. I got maybe 20 of them. But my buddy who's always next to me and in the same spots that I was, he didn't get any."Lethal explained that he loves using psychic type Pokemon in the game, with Abra and Kadabra being his favorites. He's not much of an electric type player, which may explain why he attacked a Pikachu statue. "I actually have a picture of me super kicking a Pikachu," Lethal recounted. "There was a little Pikachu statue in Miami. Some convention I was there for, and there was a Pikachu, and I said I'll take a picture. And I pretended to super kick it, and that was my profile picture for awhile."Photo credit: Ring of HonorWhen it comes to collecting or attacking Pokemon or just life in general, Lethal's tip remains to just be lucky. "There are plenty of other wrestlers out there who I feel are better than me. There's always someone better, but I've been lucky with the opportunities presented to me. I've been in the right place at the right time to be Ring of Honor World Champion for the second time. To get to do some of the things I've done: hang out with Lanny Poffo, talk to the Macho Man, work with Ric Flair, meet Hulk Hogan, wrestle Kurt Angle live on pay-per-view. I've just been very, very lucky, and I've had a great wrestling career so far. I really feel like I won the lottery. Yeah, to say that my biggest tip, not only for Pokemon go but for life is to be lucky is an understatement."You can see Jay Lethal defend his world title against The Elite member Cody next week at Ring of Honor's Final Battle PPV, which airs live from New York City on Friday, December 14. The show will start at 8 PM ET / 5 PM PT on PPV, free for HonorClub VIPs, a 50% discount for HonorClub Standard, and on FITE TV. Check out ROH Wrestling or the ROH app for more details.For more on Jay Lethal, check out our full interview from earlier this year, where the champ discusses playing Nintendo Switch and his infamous segment with Ric Flair. Info from Gamespot.com

The landscape of multiplayer games has changed significantly as more developers take on the games-as-a-service approach. So many multiplayer games look and feel much different in their current states compared to the launch product as new content, balance tweaks, and seasonal events transform the original experience. It's what entices player bases to stick around for the long-haul and how these games continue to stay relevant well after release.So, with our Best Evolving Multiplayer Games category, we look back at five games that underwent meaningful changes in 2018 and highlight what made these great experiences even better. For this category, initial release date and status as a final product were not factors, but rather our criteria was based on what made these games stand out and how they went above and beyond in the calendar year. In no particular order, the following are the five best evolving multiplayer games of 2018.Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege[Read the review]Ubisoft has been ambitious with its approach to sustaining its tactical first-person shooter Rainbow Six: Siege, and it's been paying dividends big time. Following a mild launch in 2015, Ubisoft stuck with it by serving the player base with constant patches and major content drops which helped elevate the game's great foundation. In 2018 alone, Rainbow Six Siege had four major content updates: Chimera, Para Bellum, Grim Sky, and Wind Bastion. Collectively, these updates brought eight operators, two new maps, major map changes, and numerous tweaks to how existing equipment and operators work. Ubisoft has been able to maintain a delicate balance even when introducing additional operators who bring new abilities and tactics to the table.No two matches are the same with environmental destruction, countless tactical possibilities, and unique in-match situations. Siege continues to thrive by supporting its community, being transparent with its roadmap, and delivering a distinct, deep competitive shooter experience that keeps on giving.Fortnite: Battle Royale[Read the review]If you had to point to the biggest story in all of games in 2018, you'd point to Fortnite. The free-to-play battle royale game has become a cultural phenomenon with the largest active play base in all of games, and propelled Epic Games to new heights of success. Fortnite separates itself from the pack by incorporating the building elements from the original Save The World mode which leads to so many tactical possibilities and unpredictable combat scenarios. But its rise in 2018 can be attributed to the impactful changes that come with each new season. Fortnite has been running on seasons which are broken into 10-week increments (its currently on season seven), and in this year alone, we've seen significant changes to the map, new weapons, different modes, inventive challenges, and wacky twists (like the limited time event that let you play as Marvel villain Thanos and use the Infinity Gauntlet to tear up opponents).Sure, Fortnite still only has one map, but large swaths of it are hardly recognizable from its original layout as they've been reworked to fit a loose narrative that comes with each season. At one point rifts appeared that teleported players across the map, at another, a mysterious meteor came down to obliterate a whole town, and the swamp area eventually turned into a desert paradise. Fortnite has gone in so many different and intriguing directions already,, and it just keeps growing.Overwatch[Read the review]Since its release in 2016, Overwatch established itself as a premier competitive shooter. It might not be much of a surprise considering Blizzard's pedigree and history of finely crafting multiplayer experiences, but it was its first foray into first-person shooters. In 2018, Overwatch continued the tradition of seasonal festivities with new character skins, thematic changes to it presentation, and occasional modes to fit the event. For example, the annual Summer Games took place in Overwatch with its vaguely-Olympic theme and included new cosmetics and the return of Lucio Ball, the 3-on-3 Rocket League-esque game mode. Lunar New Year and brought a whole assortment of creative skins, and the Winter Wonderland event is happening this month. Overwatch Archive: Retribution brought back the four-player cooperative PvE mode from last year's Uprising, but made some tweaks and offered new pieces of narrative. And of course, new heroes are always changing how the game is played; 2018 introduced Brigitte, Wrecking Ball, and Ashe, all characters with their own backstories and unique abilities. Between its updates, additional content, and competitive spirit, Overwatch isn't slowing down any time soon.Warframe[Read the review]Warframe is a prime example of how a game can completely transform itself into something greater over time. The free-to-play cooperative third-person shooter had two expansions in 2018, designated The Sacrifice and Fortuna. These updates delivered a slew of content and reworked several elements of the core game. The Sacrifice in particular had a whole solo-only campaign questline and rewarded players with the Excalibur Umbra warframe. However, Fortuna brought more significant changes to the game by introducing an entirely new open-world planet to explore with a neon-lit city below its snowy surface. Traversal also changed with the K-Drive hoverboard which players can customize to zip around the surface in fashion. For the more quiet moments, Fortuna has fishing and mining, and the new hunting activity. It's Warframe's biggest expansion yet that's on PC and will soon be on PS4 and Xbox One. Speaking of platforms, Warframe is now available on Nintendo Switch; although it's made some concessions to run properly, there's nothing quite like it on that console-handheld hybrid.Pokémon Go[Read the review]Pokémon Go is a unique experience that extends beyond the game itself. It's very much that mobile AR game that got you up and out in the real world to catch Pokémon scattered throughout your city, but continual support has kept it alive and more active than ever before. This year, the game ushered in Gen 3 Pokémon (which brought over 130 additional creatures to collect) and have begun to rollout Gen 4 Pokémon along with a whole wave of super-rare Shiny forms. There's also a weather system that accounts for the actual conditions in your environment; there are a number of status effects and boosts to certain types depending on the weather, like with rain that boost Bug, Electric, and Water type Pokémon.Community events around the world have brought so many players together face-to-face to party up in real life to go on raids and catch new Pokémon. 2018 introduced Community Days that happen monthly and offer an exclusive move for a particular Pokémon that spawns at a higher rate and a shiny version of it to catch.Info from Gamespot.com

It's hard to deny that "Elseworlds" is going to mean big things for Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl. It's a crossover event loaded with firsts, from a visit to Gotham City and the arrival of Batwoman (Ruby Rose), to a trip to Smallville and the introduction of Lois Lane (Elizabeth Bulloch). One of the most exciting firsts, though, is the first meeting between Superman (Tyler Hoechlin), The Flash (Grant Gustin), and Green Arrow (Stephen Amell).As you can see in the clip below, which GameSpot and TV Guide are debuting exclusively, the iconic moment is also a bit confusing. Thanks to whatever is going on with "Elseworlds," Barry and Oliver have switched bodies, leaving the Green Arrow with speedster abilities and The Flash with a great talent for archery. Still, even with the identity crisis, this is a very cool moment.And, of course, it's also a little funny. Upon realizing they're in the presence of Superman, Oliver quicky puffs out his chest and is immediately called on it by Barry. Something tells us watching these two navigate whatever is happening to them is going to be very entertaining.What this clip doesn't show, however, is the superheroes in their costumes. As we've seen from the massive collection of photos released for the three-night event, though, there will be plenty of costumed action, including Amell suited up as The Flash and Gustin wearing Green Arrow's hood. Fans will also get to see Superman in a black suit for reasons that have yet to be revealed.Based on everything we've seen so far, "Elseworlds" looks like the biggest and craziest crossover yet. You're not going to want to miss this event. "Elseworlds" kicks off Sunday, December 9, and concludes on Tuesday, December 11, on The CW.Info from Gamespot.com

Telling a story of the cyclical nature of light and dark and possessing both stamina-focused combat and larger-than-life bosses, Ashen is easy to compare to From Software's Dark Souls. However, Ashen establishes its own identity by delivering an experience that focuses on creating a sense of community and trust with those you meet. The weapon system can occasionally take away from some of the more strategic elements of the game's combat when playing solo, but Ashen still delivers an incredible adventure, regardless if you play by yourself or with others.In Ashen, you start as a nameless nobody listening to the origin of your world, its three races, and how everything became blanketed in darkness after the disappearance of the Ashen--a god-like figure of immense power. When a sudden explosion briefly brings light back to the land, allowing everyone to see clearly for the first time in years, it sparks a search for the Ashen in hopes its return will push the last vestiges of darkness away. Leading the charge, you take over a bandit camp and transform it into an outpost called Vagrant's Rest. From there, you set out into the world in search of people to join your new home, as well as a means of finding the Ashen.Your journey takes you from one fast travel point to the next within an interconnected series of open environments, and you'll find a diverse assortment of enemies along the way. Caverns and dilapidated castles entice you to explore off the beaten path and enjoy lengthy expeditions for hidden weapons, armor, and treasure. You'll need to sprint and jump your way through most of it at the start, but Ashen's controls are fairly tight and ledge grabs ensure you safely recover most of the time. It never feels like you're unfairly leaping to your death over and over again, and unlocking a fun new navigational ability halfway through the game will see you returning to old locales to search for secrets you couldn't leap to before.There are very few options for long-range combat in Ashen so for the most part, you're in the thick of things with your opponents and trying to out maneuver each other. Attacking, defending, and dodging all use different amounts of stamina, and carefully managing how much you have left is key to survival. If you've played a good Souls-like game before, Ashen works exactly as you would expect. The controls produce a methodical approach to combat that's enjoyable to just lose yourself in.On your travels, you'll recruit characters and send them back to Vagrant's Rest to set up shop, where you can interact with them again for side quests and special items. Most will even join you on your adventure whenever you exit camp, aiding you in combat and reviving you if you happen to fall. They can also help with exploration, too, as dungeon doors require two people to open and some ledges can only be reached if a team boosts each other up. As more people join Vagrant's Rest and you complete more quests for them, your settlement will grow. Roads are paved, structures are built, and the community becomes a thriving town. You can't manage how Vagrant's Rest grows, unfortunately, but there are fun little nods to the quests you undergo. Vorsa wears an outfit composed of the pelts from the animals you hunted for her, for example, and Eila constructs a dock so you can ride down the nearby river in a barrel--an activity she speaks of when you first meet her. In a game where enemies are constantly respawning, it's incredibly fulfilling to see your hard work actually having a permanent impact on your corner of the world.You can forge relationships with other players, too. If you play Ashen online, you enter a shared world where you can encounter people. Other players will appear as the NPCs you've recruited to Vagrant's Rest, and whether or not you choose to interact with them is up to you. With no voice chat, actions define a person's character, and this can form powerful bonds that last for the entire game. For example, seeing a player-controlled Jokell silently step in front of my character and take a spear to the chest when I had a sliver of health has, for me, left a long-standing positive impression for the pipe-smoking explorer. I brought a computer-controlled Jokell along with me every chance I had after that, cheering for him when he did something incredible and dropping everything to revive him when he fell. It's a rather simple example of transference at work when all is said and done, but it's remarkably effective at creating trust (and I imagine distrust in some cases) with the characters you meet.If working with others isn't really your thing, you can play offline with NPCs or use an early game item that allows you to play completely solo. It certainly ups Ashen's difficulty to play without others and it creates a more traditional Souls-like experience. However, the greater challenge of playing completely by yourself isn't worth losing out on the misadventures you find yourself in when traveling with another character. Even if you play offline with computer-controlled characters, you'll still form bonds with a one or two of them, and that improves Ashen's entire experience. If you really want that greater challenge, there's a mode that lowers your max health and stamina, which is a much better way of making the game harder.There is one unfortunate wrinkle that becomes apparent when playing with computer-controlled characters, however, and it has to do with Ashen's weapons. Weapons can be one of three types--axe, club/hammer, or spear--but tools from the same class can attack very differently. Some axes use a leaping vertical slam animation that allow you to get the jump on your enemy before they react, while others have a horizontal slash that can more easily hit multiple targets, for example. This adds additional levels of battle strategy other than simply picking whatever in your inventory is strongest. Problems arise when you're playing with NPCs though, as you're unable to choose which weapon a computer-controlled character brings into battle. Pretty much every enemy in Ashen can be tackled with whatever weapon you want, but there are a few locations and one boss battle where a weapon's animation speed has a pretty substantial effect on you and your partner's chances of survival. Not having the choice to pick your partner's weapon introduces an unfortunate element of luck into some battles that should be entirely based on skill. It rarely happens, but it's noticeable when it does.Despite how you play, boss battles are where most of your deaths are probably going to come from, as each are five- to 15-minute affairs that push you to constantly adapt on the fly. No two bosses behave the same way, and many have a gimmick that can transform the fight. For example, one of the mid-game bosses is a staff-wielding giant woman who uses her magical lantern to deliver devastatingly powerful area-of-effect attacks and buff her health. If you put some distance between the two of you, you can bait her into throwing her lantern at you in frustration and then destroy it. Doing so allows you to carve out larger chunks of her health, but she goes into a violent frenzy and starts attacking you differently once her precious lantern is destroyed. It's up to you whether or not you destroy the lantern, and when you'll do it if you decide to do so.In some cases, like this example, finding a boss' gimmick makes the battle much easier, but it can also just change how it plays out--which is a wonderful thing for any fight you're struggling with. Instead of feeling like you need to implement the same strategy over and over against every boss and just do it better, you're occasionally rewarded for experimenting and trying something new. It helps dull any frustration that might arise from repeatedly losing to the same foe, too.Ashen does more than enough to differentiate it from other Souls-like games. Although its combat utilizes the same stamina-focused mechanics, the inclusion of features that promote a sense of community with the game's characters makes for a wholly different experience. It's frustrating to spawn and see that your computer-controlled partner has a weapon that doesn't complement the one you're using. However, even when playing with NPCs, your allies' efforts to assist you in battle cause you to care about the fates of the colorful cast of people you meet on your journey. The relationships you forge define your adventure through Ashen, and helping your new friends is a powerful motivator that drives you forward through the game's beautiful world.Info from Gamespot.com

Earth Defense Force 5 is a clear culmination point for a series that’s been around since the PlayStation 2, reaching a scale that could surprise even the most hardened of EDF veterans. While it retains many of the familiar tropes from the franchise--four player classes, a huge variety of missions, unlockable weapons and items, and obscenely terrible in-game dialogue that's so bad it’s good--EDF 5 ratchets everything up to 11 and remarkably pulls it off. With bullet-hell style action and massive, open battlefields where every building is destructible, it feels like there’s no better time to get out there and save the world from rampaging space insects and their alien masters.You play a nameless civilian who gets caught up in the invasion as the giant bugs start pummeling an EDF outpost. As you emerge from the underground base the scale of the attack becomes apparent, with you eventually joining the EDF and rising through the ranks to become Earth’s best hope for survival. It’s a fun, if typical, premise that plays out through the cheesiest in-game dialogue I’ve ever heard. It takes numerous hard turns, culminating in one of the most outlandish and audacious boss fights imaginable. Watching the story weave as it tries to connect the dots is like watching a slow motion trainwreck you cannot take your eyes away from--it’s so brash and ridiculous that you can’t help be charmed by it. Though while the dialogue and story can have you gritting your teeth at the levels of cringe, the action is something else entirely.Before getting out onto the battlefield, you’re given a choice of playing through each mission with one of four character types, each with different play styles and their own customisable loadouts. The Ranger is the stock standard soldier type and by far the easiest to use in direct combat, while the Wing Diver is fast, good for close combat, and can fly herself out of dangerous situations. While you can play through any missions as any player type, some choices certainly made for an easier time than others. Choosing an Air Raider, a character who can request long-range cannon fire and vehicle drops, for an underground mission isn’t the best use of its skills. But the game will let you do it anyway, happily letting you test things out and work it out for yourself. Loading times are quick, so if you make a poor choice of loadout, it’s only a quick hop back to the menu to change it up before getting back out there.Fighting the alien hordes can be a completely overwhelming experience. The scale of everything is imposing, especially when faced with a swarm of very angry bugs that are clawing and climbing over not just themselves but apartment buildings, factories, and homes to get at you. The maps are huge, giving you a wide playspace to enact your destruction, and for the most part they use that scale and space well. Calling in a bombing run as an Air Raider will zoom the camera out to show a wide shot of the area, with the sky lighting up bright orange as the bombs carpet the landing zone. Various vehicles like tanks and armored suits can be called in or found scattered around, and although they can feel pretty loose and unwieldy at the best of times, they are at least a good way to move from one side of the map to another or to put some space between yourself and the horde.Player movement also feels a little sloppy. Moving from a standard run into a dash feels more cumbersome than it should, as does general running about. Thankfully, aiming feels snappy and tight, so regardless of whether you’re in tight space or out on a mountain overlooking a wide-open beachside, combat always feels more rewarding than not.Replayability is encouraged through battle. As you chew through swarms of giant ants, spiders, carpet bugs and more, blasting them apart in a flurry of brightly-colored blood and chunks, and downed enemies will drop armor as well as weapon and health pickups. While the health pickups heal both you and your nearby AI allies--who you can find out in the battlefield and enlist under your supervision--weapon and armor pickups both manifest after the mission is over, giving you access to new and upgraded weaponry and a higher base HP number respectively. The difficulty level you play will also influence your rewards, with higher difficulties giving you stronger weapons with higher base stats, encouraging you to come back on a higher difficulty level to grind out better gear.Although the offline single player is fun, EDF 5 and the differing play styles of each character type really come into their own in the cooperative multiplayer, where up to four people can join together and take on the entirety of the 110-mission-long campaign. Although offline and online campaign progress is separated, which annoyingly means you’ll need to play through the missions twice to unlock and access them in each, blasting through aliens with others takes the core gameplay to a new level. In one session, my Wing Diver went down while I was standing atop a large tower while attacking a mob of giant hornets. My co-op partner couldn’t reach me to revive me and instead resorted to destroying the tower, bringing me down with it so I could then be revived. Similarly, a guided missile weapon they were using as a Ranger took on a whole new level of lethality when combined with my laser sight to guide it for them, increasing its range far beyond its normal capability. Classes are balanced so they can helpfully support each other in unique ways, which you simply don’t get in the single-player mode where everything is put squarely on your shoulders.For everything that’s happening on screen, with bullets, missiles, bodies and debris flying every which way, you might expect EDF 5 to experience frame drops on occasion. But only once did performance slow to crawl during an especially busy scene involving a mothership, a crumbling city, hundreds of enemies and a rainstorm. Some of the grimier textures and character models give it a dated look, though while it’s not the best-looking game around, it has the headroom to handle the sheer volume of things happening around you without severe performance hits when the action gets out of hand.Despite the series' long-running nature, Earth Defense Force 5 is a standout action game, revelling in its own absurdity while crafting a brilliantly fun and lively action game around it. Its huge battles are a joy to watch play out both from up close and afar, and the wide variety of weapons and play styles with each player type offers plenty of reason to come back for more after the final bullet has been fired. Info from Gamespot.com

Not a day goes by that I'm not thinking to myself, "If I were a character from the Transformers Universe, who would I be?" Obviously, I'd be Hot Rod. But when it comes to the Transformers movie universe, I'm left puzzled, wondering about the nature of my own existence. However, no longer will I have to spend countless hours asking myself this, and neither will you.GameSpot's sister site, iDaily, have put together the "Which Transformer are you" quiz, basing all of its results on the big screen adaptation of the cartoons/toy lines. Are you like me, Megatron, someone who is trying to destroy mankind? I guess that's been my motive all along. Or are you the gentle, yet heroic Bumblebee, and yes, I'm calling you "yellow."Obviously, this is all leading up to the first spin-off of the main Transformers franchise, Bumblebee. The new movie is a prequel to the Transformers series, taking place in the '80s. The film stars Hailee Steinfeld, John Cena, Jorge Lendeborg, Jason Drucker, Ricardo Hoyos, and Gracie Dzienny. Bumblebee is directed by Travis Knight, who you may know from the critically acclaimed animated movie Kubo and the Two Strings.Back over the summer, we talked to the designers behind the new Transformers toy line at Hasbro, and they told us that making the new toy look like it did in the film as well as making it functional was pretty tough. "You have to make sure the [Volkswagen Beetle] is spot-on, but all those pieces find their way into the parts of his body," explained John Warden, Senior Design Manager for the company's Transformers line. "I think it brought a lot of challenges, when we think about the smooth rounded legs of Bee. He's got a lot of bulk and mass, even though he's sort of a small bot."Bumblebee hits theaters on December 21.Info from Gamespot.com

The Game Awards airs tonight, December 6, so if you tune in you'll see some of the year's best games get the acclaim they're due. But it's not just the makers of the games who get to benefit. To celebrate the year in games, Sony is running a Game Awards Sale on PSN, dropping prices up to 40% on a host of PS4 games. The deals are live between now and December 11, so let's take a look at some of highlights.Some of the heavy hitters in the group include the recently released Assassin's Creed Odyssey on sale for $40 and the even newer game Battlefield V on sale for even cheaper at $36. We're expecting a big Far Cry announcement, which will almost certainly make now a good time to catch up on Far Cry 5 for $24.While the standard edition of Red Dead Redemption 2 isn't on sale, Sony is shaving a few bucks off the Special Edition ($70) and the Ultimate Edition ($90), both of which come with additional digital goodies. And if you missed Monster Hunter World when it launched earlier this year, you can pick it up now for $25.A smattering of acclaimed indie games is on sale as well, including A Way Out ($21), a title whose maker had a notably spirited speech at last year's awards ceremony. The action roguelike Dead Cells is on sale for $20, and the ultra-challenging platformer Celeste is down to $14.You'll find more of our picks below, or you can check out the full list on the PlayStation Store.A Way Out -- $21Assassin's Creed Odyssey -- $40Battlefield V -- $36Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 -- $48Celeste -- $14Dead Cells -- $20Destiny 2: Forsaken - Legendary Collection -- $36Dishonored 2 -- $13Doom -- $15Donut County -- $9Dragon Age: Inquisition GotY Edition -- $10Dragon Quest XI -- $42The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition -- $24Fallout 4 -- $15Far Cry 5 -- $24FIFA 19 -- $30Final Fantasy XIV Online Complete Edition -- $30Grand Theft Auto V -- $20Life is Strange: Before the Storm - Complete Season -- $5Mega Man 11 -- $24Monster Hunter World -- $25Moss - $20NBA 2K19 -- $30No Man's Sky -- $30Persona 5 -- $25Rainbow Six Siege -- $15Red Dead Redemption 2: Special Edition -- $70Red Dead Redemption 2: Ultimate Edition -- $90Resident Evil 7: Biohazard -- $15Shadow of the Tomb Raider -- $30Starlink: Battle for Atlas -- $45Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition -- $20Valkyria Chronicles 4 -- $30What Remains of Edith Finch -- $10Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus -- $20Info from Gamespot.com

Just like Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo is currently running a sale in honor of The Game Awards, which airs tonight, December 6. And like the sales on the other platforms, this one is filled with great deals on some of the best recent games to hit the Eshop. Let's roll up our sleeves and dig into the discounts.It's practically an old adage in the world of gaming deals that first-party Nintendo games rarely go on sale. Here's an exception that proves the rule: Super Mario Odyssey is currently discounted to $42. If you're a Switch owner who doesn't have this epic platformer, now's a good time to grab it.It's also a good time to pick up Diablo 3: Eternal Collection, which comes with everything Blizzard has released for the game to date, because it's on sale for $40. If you're into anime and fighting games, Dragon Ball FighterZ is a solid bet at $42. And for anyone who enjoys open-galaxy shooters but isn't keen on the toys that come with the physical edition, you can grab Starlink: Battle for Atlas for $45.RPG fans can nab Xenoblade Chronicles 2 for $42. People who want to riddle Nazi scum with bullets can get Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus for $30. A number of notable indie games are on sale as well, including Celeste for $16, Dead Cells for $20, Into the Breach for $10, and The Messenger for $14. Phew.You'll find more picks below, or you can see every digital Swtich game that's currently on sale on Nintendo's Eshop page.Banner Saga 3 -- $20Blazblue Cross Tag Battle -- $38Celeste -- $16Dead Cells -- $20Diablo 3: Eternal Collection -- $40Doom -- $30Dragon Ball FighterZ -- $42The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim -- $30FIFA 19 -- $36Into the Breach -- $10Mega Man 11 -- $24The Messenger -- $14NBA 2K19 -- $30Overcooked 2 -- $19Starlink: Battle for Atlas -- $45Super Mario Odyssey -- $42Valkyria Chronicles 4 -- $30Xenoblade Chronicles 2 -- $42Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus -- $30Yoku's Island Express -- $10Info from Gamespot.com

2018 may be winding down, but there's still one big release in store for Nintendo Switch before the new year comes along. This week sees the arrival of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the latest installment in Nintendo's crossover fighting series. True to its name, it's also the biggest, boasting the largest selection of characters, stages, and music in the franchise's long history.On top of bringing back every character to have ever appeared in a Smash game (along 11 new additions to the roster), Ultimate introduces a number of changes and new features to the series' formula, not least of which are Spirits--collectible characters you can equip to imbue your fighter with stat boosts and abilities. One of the ways you can collect these is in World of Light, an expansive new RPG-style campaign that's one of the deepest single-player experiences the series has offered.With its release quickly approaching, reviews for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate have begun appearing online, and the critical consensus is that it's another fun fighting game packed to the brim with content. We've rounded up a sample of Smash Ultimate reviews below. You can also visit GameSpot sister site Metacritic for a much broader look at what critics think of the new brawler.Game: Super Smash Bros. UltimateDeveloper: NintendoPlatform: Nintendo SwitchRelease date: December 7Price: $60 US / £60 / $89.95 AUGameSpot -- 9/10"Situational downers don't stop Super Smash Bros. Ultimate from shining as a flexible multiplayer game that can be as freewheeling or as firm as you want it to be. Its entertaining single-player content helps keep the game rich with interesting things to do, as well as bolstering its spirit of loving homage to the games that have graced Nintendo consoles. Ultimate's diverse content is compelling, its strong mechanics are refined, and the encompassing collection is simply superb." -- Edmond Tran [Full review-in-progress]CNET"For now, SSBU plays like a well-balanced game with new elements to keep it fresh and interesting for a long time. The meta game could develop to a point where one character is broken and overpowered, but until then, SSBU has a great shot at bringing Smash players from across the fandom together." -- Alfred Ng [Full review]IGN -- 9.4/10"Super Smash Bros. Ultimate lives up to its name, offering the most comprehensive game in the series to date. It has an absurd amount to play, fight, and unlock--though that can be to its detriment at times. While the World of Light adventure mode isn't reason alone to get Smash Bros., it's still a consistently amusing and shockingly large campaign, and a worthy compliment to Ultimate's incredible multiplayer core. The Smash Bros. series has always maintained a wonderful balance of chaotic beat-em-up fun and tense fighting game action, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate refines and improves on both sides of itself without abandoning either one." -- Tom Marks [Full review]GamesRadar+ -- 4.5/5"The amount of content in Ultimate blows most other fighters out of the water. The fact that every match feels like a fair, if chaotic, fight is incredible, especially with a roster of more than 70 superstar characters. While some of the polish doesn't hit the mark completely and the absence of a variety of single-player modes is disappointing, Ultimate is a fighter I’ll be playing for years to come." -- Aron Garst [Full review]EGM Now -- 9.5/10"Considering you can make a custom Smash fight with Spirits available, players will have even more ways to customize fights with friends, and that's what Super Smash Bros. should always offer. The series has stuck around as long as it has because it has given players depth, freedom, and fun when playing with friends. It's the fact that Ultimate has amplified these traits--not just throwing in new stages and fighters--that makes it a true culmination of the series." -- Evan Slead [Full review]Game Informer"I'll have my final impressions when the game is ready, but I'm confident in saying that it's outstanding. Unless the patch bungles things in an unexpected way, the core game is as silly and fun as it's ever been. I'm completely in love with the wealth of new options that the game offers, including the ability to easily set up custom rulesets and have them surfaced on the main Smash menu--no more menu fiddling to get things set up for stock matches! I also like the new option for having final smashes come from filling a meter instead of having to break the smash ball. It's a nice twist on the mechanic that makes things feel a little more fair." -- Jeff Cork [Full impressions]Info from Gamespot.com

Season 7 of Fortnite: Battle Royale is now underway on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile. Developer Epic has introduced a load of new content to the game for this season with a big update, including new areas of the map to explore, as well as a plane vehicle, more pets, and of course, new challenges to complete and cosmetics to unlock.As usual, Epic will release a new set of challenges for Fortnite every week throughout Season 7. These are once again divided up into two categories: those available to everyone, and those only for Battle Pass owners. Completing the challenges will reward you with XP and level your Battle Pass up, thereby allowing you to unlock the new Season 7 Battle Pass rewards.On top of the standard weekly tasks, Epic has also added new Snowfall challenges this season. These are Season 7's equivalent of the Hunting Party challenges from Season 6, meaning you can only complete them by finishing all of the challenges from a given week. Doing so will unlock a special loading screen that contains a clue pointing to a free item hidden somewhere around the island.If you've completed all of the challenges from one week, you'll unlock the loading screen above. It depicts Zenith--one of the two new progress skins you'll receive automatically for purchasing a Season 7 Battle Pass--ziplining down the side of the snow mountain that was introduced to the island this season. If you look just left of the character, you'll spot a a crashed submarine on one of the peaks in the background, above which is the faint silhouette of a Battle Star.The submarine pictured above is the same one you need to dance atop as part of one of Week 1's multi-stage challenges. It's located on the mountain to the east of Frosty Flights. Head to the area at the beginning of a match, locate the submarine, and the Battle Star will appear above it. Collect it as you would any other item and you'll level your Battle Pass up by one tier.As was the case with Season 6's Hunting Party challenges, this Battle Star won't appear on the island if you don't first complete the related Snowfall challenge and unlock the aforementioned loading screen. That means you won't simply be able to go to the right location and collect it until you've finished enough challenges. If you need any help doing so, you can find tips and guides in our Season 7 challenges roundup.Fortnite Season 7, Week 1 ChallengesFreePick up an item of each rarity (5) -- 5 Battle StarsDance in different forbidden location (7) -- 5 Battle StarsPlay matches with at least one elimination (5) -- 10 Battle StarsBattle PassStage 1: Dance on top of a crown of RVs (1) -- 5 Battle StarsDeal headshot damage to opponents (500) -- 5 Battle StarStage 1: Search ammo boxes in a single match (5)-- 10 Battle StarsEliminate opponents in different named locations (5) -- 10 Battle StarsReward: 5K XP (after completing four challenges, only for Battle Pass owners)Fortnite Week 1 Challenges: Dance In Forbidden Locations, Crown of RV's, And MoreFortnite Guide: Where Are Forbidden Locations?Fortnite Guide: Dance On Crown Of RV'sInfo from Gamespot.com

The Game Awards is airing tonight, December 6, which means a number of the year's best games will get recognized for excelling in various categories. But as they say, it's an honor just to be nominated. Speaking of the nominees, Steam is running a sale on Game Awards nominees, which means many of the year's best titles are available at sizable discounts. Let's take a look.You can go treasure hunting to stave off the apocalypse in Shadow of the Tomb Raider for $30. You can thin out the population of Ancient Greece in Assassin's Creed Odyssey for $40. If party-based epic RPGs are more your speed, Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age is a smart choice for $42, as is Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom for $30. And anyone interested in taking down massive beasts and crafting their body parts into weapons and armor can pick up Monster Hunter World for $40.Fighting game fans have a couple of appealing options with Dragon Ball FighterZ, an over-the-top anime brawler for $24, and the weapon-based combat of SoulCalibur VI for $42. Anyone into action games with retro-style graphics can pick up Dead Cells for $20 or The Messenger for $14. And if you'd like to get mad at your family members, significant other, or roommate, Overcooked 2 will provide that service for $19.You'll find more games on sale below, but you can also check out Steam's deals page for more discounts.Assassin's Creed Odyssey -- $40The Banner Saga 3 -- $18Battletech -- $28Blazblue: Cross Tag Battle -- $38Celeste -- $16Dead Cells -- $20Donut County -- $10Dragon Ball FighterZ -- $24Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age -- $42Far Cry 5 -- $30Into the Breach -- $10Mega Man 11 -- $24The Messenger -- $14Monster Hunter World -- $40NBA 2K19 -- $30Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom -- $30No Man's Sky -- $30Overcooked 2 -- $19PES 2019 -- $30Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire -- $33Shadow of the Tomb Raider -- $30SoulCalibur VI -- $42Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition -- $20Valkyria Chronicles 4 -- $30Yoku's Island Express -- $10Info from Gamespot.com

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate launches very soon, and it boasts the biggest character roster to date. It not only includes every playable character from past entries, but also a number of newcomers like King K. Rool, Animal Crossing's Isabelle, and Castlevania's Simon and Richter Belmont. However, when you first boot up the game, you'll find only a very limited number of characters are available--specifically, the original cast from the first game. Here's how to unlock everyone else.For better or worse, there's not a specific path to unlocking a particular character; it really comes down to just playing the game enough. That said, you do have a few paths to getting access to additional fighters.Play World Of LightWorld of Light is the intriguing new RPG-style mode in Ultimate, where the new Spirits system comes into play. You'll start out with Kirby and work your way through a huge number of fights, earning Spirits and various upgrades along the way. In the course of completing the story, you'll rescue other playable characters. Doing this unlocks them for use in all modes.Just Complete MatchesWhether you don't care to play solo or are simply uninterested in World of Light, you can also unlock characters by simply playing regular multiplayer matches. In doing so, you'll be presented with the series' standard "New Challenger" opportunities, where you square off against a locked character.Successfully defeating the character in question will unlock them for use. Fortunately, you can retry these fights easily, so there isn't necessarily a ton of pressure to pull out the win on your first try.In our experience, a new one of these fights would present itself every 3-4 matches, or about every 10 minutes. You'll encounter them in between multiplayer matches, so if you're in a rush to unlock characters, you may want to periodically back out of World of Light mode to take advantage of your next opportunity.Complete Classic Mode RunsIn addition to World of Light, solo players also have the returning Classic mode to play. Completing a run is another way to trigger a New Challenger fight. This may be your fastest route, as going through Classic mode only takes around six minutes.Future Releases: Piranha Plant And DLC FightersAlongside everyone in the base game, even more fighters are on the way. The first of these will be Piranha Plant, whom you can get by purchasing and registering the game by January 31, 2019. Beyond that, five more DLC characters will be released by February 2020. You can purchase a pack with each of these and some other content individually, or you can pick up the Fighters Pass that bundles it all together at a discount. The identities of the DLC characters have not yet been announced.In our experience, it took around 10 hours to unlock the full roster of characters in the game at launch. That figure may vary greatly depending on how your experience plays out. There's no way to skip the unlocking process.While that might prove to be frustrating to those who want to immediately get some time with a returning favorite or one of the new additions, it seems as if this is a game you'll want to spend some time with. In our Super Smash Bros. Ultimate review in progress, Edmond Tran writes, "Situational downers don't stop Super Smash Bros. Ultimate from shining as a flexible multiplayer game that can be as freewheeling or as firm as you want it to be. Its entertaining single-player content helps keep the game rich with interesting things to do, as well as bolstering its spirit of loving homage to the games that have graced Nintendo consoles. Ultimate's diverse content is compelling, its strong mechanics are refined, and the encompassing collection is simply superb."Ultimate releases for Nintendo Switch on December 7.Info from Gamespot.com

A demo for Capcom's Devil May Cry 5 will be available tomorrow, according to a Facebook post from Xbox Portugal. Although the message has since been deleted, it contained a new gameplay video, which we expect was supposed to make its debut at The Game Awards later today.The video showed that the demo will be available exclusively on Xbox One on December 7, and also confirmed that Bloody Palace mode will return for the fifth mainline entry in the series. Bloody Palace will be introduced as a free update for Devil May Cry 5 in April 2019.Also, the Bloody Palace returns and will be available as a free update in April 2019 pic.twitter.com/FERSaHgMHS — Nibel (@Nibellion) December 6, 2018Developed internally at Capcom, Devil May Cry 5 is set for a worldwide release on March 8, 2019 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The game was last publicly shown at X010, the Microsoft event held in Mexico. Producer Matt Walker and director Hideaki Itsuno appeared on stage to discuss Void Mode, a training suite that's designed to teach players the intricacies of playing Devil May Cry 5.Devil May Cry 5 casts Nero as its leading man again. However, Dante, the most recognizable--and most beloved--character in the series will also be. We've seen a fair bit of both of these characters in action, however there is a third character joining them called V. Little is known about V, as he is a completely original character created for this game. Devil May Cry 5 is set years after the Devil May Cry 4, with Nero now running his own demon-hunting company.We had the opportunity to play the game earlier this year at Tokyo Game Show. You can read our impressions of Devil May Cry 5 to find out what we though, and we also have a gameplay video above where you can see it in action. If you're eager to put your money down and get prepared for Devil May Cry 5's release, you can start pre-loading the game now. Info from Gamespot.com

The massive success of Fortnite and battle royale games in general have prompted some of the biggest shooters on the market to offer their own take on the mode. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 introduced Blackout, while Battlefield V will get Firestorm early next year. Next, it's Valve's turn, as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive--still a wildly popular game and routinely among Steam's three most-played games--is introducing something called Danger Zone.This move coincides with GO becoming a free-to-play game. Danger Zone is available to all players and is described as a "fast-paced battle royale game mode built on CS:GO's tactical gameplay where players use their wits, skill, and resources to fight to the finish."As is perhaps to be expected from something built on the existing GO framework, the maximum player count is much lower than the 100 seen in competing games. Danger Zone matches include either 18 players (when entering in a squad of two or three) or 16 (when queuing solo). The action follows the basic battle royale premise, as players drop into a map known as Blacksite and fight to be the last one standing. Matches last around 10 minutes by Valve's estimate.That's not to say the experience is entirely identical to what we've seen before. Players earn cash over the course of the match by completing contracts, cracking open safes, and carrying hostages to a rescue zone. That cash is then used to acquire gear (delivered via drone) you can use to help you better survive. You also have access to a tablet that can be upgraded to provide you with different advantages, such as tracking enemy deliveries, enemy locations, or a preview of where the danger zone will seal off next.Danger Zone uses the same weapons and gear from GO, and Valve says they "have the same behavior and damage." But because players' health can go as high as 120, you might find that what would have been a lethal attack in other modes doesn't get the job done in Danger Zone.You can download GO for free now on Steam and jump in. Existing owners of the gamer have been upgraded to what's called Prime Status now that the game is free-to-play, while newcomers can upgrade for $15 in the US (netting you various freebies in-game). Those with Prime Status are entitled to a free weapon skin, Souvenir MP5-SD | Lab Rats, for a limited time. To get it, you'll first need to earn 250 XP in Danger Zone. XP is accumulated by killing enemies, completing objectives, and surviving.And a Souvenir skin for the MP5 that is only available to users with Prime Status for a limited time - the MP5-SD | Lab Rats: pic.twitter.com/XcHnvjkCIG — CS:GO (@csgo_dev) December 6, 2018 Info from Gamespot.com