FIFA 19 has finished top of the UK physical games chart for the second week in a row, according to sales monitor Chart-Track. EA's sports title maintains its run at the top despite Red Dead Redemption 2 gaining ground by finishing at No.2 for the week ending December 1.Below the two huge games lies another behemoth, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, which is down one place to No.3, while Battlefield V finishes at No.4 for the second week running. Forza Horizon 4 rounds out the top five.The only new entry this week was Darksiders 3, which finished at No.32. THQ Nordic's action title has suffered from poor reviews, including a 4/10 from GameSpot. "Darksiders 3 retrogrades on its predecessors with an unfocused approach that constantly clashes with itself," wrote critic Richard Wakeling. "There are remnants of a good game here, buried within the vivacious combos of a combat style this game doesn't want to embrace. Unfortunately, it's buried far too deep to ever salvage." For more, read our full Darksiders 3 review.Super Smash Bros. Ultimate launches for Nintendo Switch this week, so it'll be interesting to see what effect that has on the UK sales chart. Check back next week for the outcome.You can read the full top 10 sales chart for this week below, courtesy of UKIE and GfK Chart-Track. Note this table does not include digital sales data, and so should not be considered representative of all UK game sales.FIFA 19Red Dead Redemption 2Call of Duty: Black Ops 4Battlefield VForza Horizon 4Spyro Reignited TrilogyPokemon Let's Go, PikachuAssassin's Creed OdysseyMario Kart 8 DeluxeFortnite: Deep Freeze BundleInfo from Gamespot.com

There's a good chance you still have holiday shopping left to do, either for someone else or--ahem--for yourself. If the person you're buying for is into video games, Star Wars, Marvel, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, or other things of the sort, here's a tip: For four hours, today only, between 1 PM - 5 PM ET (10 AM - 3 PM PT), you can get half off anything on Thinkgeek's online store. All you have to do is visit the site during that time, and enter promo code HALFELF at checkout.You can peruse Thinkgeek at your leisure to see what you might want to get with this generous discount, but we've highlighted some of our suggestions below, along with their prices after the discount.Pokemon Snorlax Bean Bag ChairSure, you can sit on any old chair. But when you could be sitting on this enormous Snorlax bean bag, why would you want to rest your body on anything else? (You wouldn't.)Buy it here -- $75_____________________Harry Potter: Hagrid's LanternThis human-sized version of Hagrid's lamp lights up the room with a low-power LED candle that flickers realistically. Just note that the three AA batteries it requires are sold separately.Buy it here -- $17.50_____________________Captain Marvel Crossbody PurseThe Captain Marvel movie is slated to hit theaters on March 8. If the superhero fan in your life is in need of a purse, you can't go wrong with this stylish one.Buy it here -- $21_____________________Game of Thrones Jon Snow Fur HoodieFor anyone in the northern hemisphere, winter is literally coming. Be prepared with this fur hoodie inspired by Jon Snow's iconic cloak.Buy it here -- $35_____________________Fallout Nuka-Cola Quantum Mood LightFor the Fallout fan in your life, get the only bottle of soda that comes with its own atomic glow. Batteries are included, but you can also power this nuclear nightlight using a USB cable (also included).Buy it here -- $15_____________________Star Wars Choose Your Side CapDo you want to represent the Empire or the Rebellion? You can pick your side with these simple, stylish caps--or buy one of each so you can switch them out depending on which side of the Force you're feeling on any given day.Buy it here -- $12.50Info from Gamespot.com

Video game spending in the US increased in the third quarter of 2018 over the previous year, according to a report by the NPD Group. The sales tracking firm said the games having the biggest impact on the figures were Candy Crush Saga, Fortnite, Madden NFL 19, Spider-Man, and NBA 2K19.Altogether the firm says that total spending on video games increased 24% from July-September, over the same period in 2017. It reached a total of $9.1 billion. "Video game content" accounted for $7.9 billion, but that broad category includes full games, DLC, and subscriptions. Mobile games and digital content sales had the highest growth.Hardware grew by 11% to $737 million, while accessories like headsets grew by 44%. Game cards had a particularly sharp increase of 63%, marking the first time they've beaten accessories during this period of the year.This isn't the first we've heard of games like Spider-Man and Fortnite lifting the industry up. Earlier this year NPD announced similarly rising figures on the back of Fortnite and God of War. Similarly, Sony boasted in September that Spider-Man had broken sales records set by God of War, and sales have apparently been so strong that the PlayStation business lifted Sony's financial forecast as a whole. "The Video Game market in the U.S. continues to thrive with compelling gaming content expanding the market, driving higher spending of hardware, accessory and software," said Mat Piscatella, games industry analyst at The NPD Group. "And with the sales strength of recent releases such as Marvel's Spider-Man and NBA 2K19, combined with cross-platform titles such as Fortnite, there appears to be no slowing down as we head into the final stretch of the holiday shopping season." Info from Gamespot.com

A strange mutation has made one of the world's ugliest real animals look like one of the cutest fictional ones. A brushtail possum was brought to a clinic in Melbourne, Australia, with unique golden coloring. The caretakers there affectionately named her Pikachu, after the famous Pokemon.The Age reports that Pikachu (the possum, not the Pokemon) has low levels of melanin which causes the fur color abnormality. She also happens to have large ears, which helps the comparison. She was found lying on the ground and vets say she probably fell off her mother's back. Though she's in good health now, the vets say she probably won't be released into the wild because her unique coloring makes her an easy target for predators.The golden possum abnormality isn't unheard of, but they usually don't live long due to their vulnerability. Caroline Dazey from Wildlife Victoria says the state has "little pockets" of the critters, but they try to keep their location secret.This orphaned brushtail possum is affectionately known as Pikachu, for obvious reason https://t.co/IpVC76vvUf — The Age (@theage) November 30, 2018The family resemblance makes sense. Pikachu the Pokemon is classified as an "Electric Mouse," so its design was loosely based on a member of the rodent family. Possums are similarly rodents, so all it takes is a little coloring and a cute complexion to bear some similarity.Pikachu has been the breakout star and mascot of the Pokemon franchise since the early days. Most recently, he's getting a starring role voiced by Ryan Reynolds in the upcoming Detective Pikachu film, and was one of the two mascot characters to appear on the cover of Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee.Info from Gamespot.com

Xbox One, Microsoft's successor to the Xbox 360, turned five-years old in 2018. This year, Xbox One still lacked the sheer volume of quality exclusives that its competitors produced. However, Microsoft took steps towards improving Xbox One's future by increasing the appeal of the console for anyone who already owns one.So as we say goodbye to 2018, let's look back at the type of year Xbox One had.More Controller Options Makes Games More Accessible For AllXbox One still has one of the better standard controller designs out there, but Microsoft's decision to expand on what people can use to play games in 2018 is an excellent step towards appealing to players who don't like it or can't easily use it.Of the major strides Microsoft made on the controller front this year, the release of the Xbox Adaptive Controller is the bigger of the two. First announced in May 2018, the Xbox Adaptive Controller released on September 4 for $100 USD. Although it's nearly double the price of a standard controller, the Adaptive Controller fills a void that's existed in gaming for far too long. There have been third-party devices before, but the Adaptive is the first official modern-day game controller for those with limited mobility. It's pretty forward-thinking, and an important piece of game tech for the industry as a whole (the controller can be used on other platforms). Microsoft even designed the Adaptive's packaging to be easier to open for those with mobility considerations. It's a shame the company hasn't taken the same steps with the boxes for the One S or One X, but at least Microsoft is moving in the right direction.In 2018, Microsoft also added mouse and keyboard support to Xbox One. Developers still need to decide whether or not they'll implement the control scheme in their game, but adding the option opens up new play styles that Xbox One can support in the future. Some computer role-playing games, like Divinity: Original Sin II, have been adapted to work with a standard controller on Xbox One, but those games are originally designed to be played with a mouse and keyboard and it stands to reason that they handle better that way. Both InXile Entertainment and Obsidian--recently acquired by Microsoft and responsible for computer RPGs like Wasteland 2 and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II respectfully--are sure to take advantage of the new control scheme in upcoming titles.If anything, this announcement hopefully paves the way for more developers to consider porting their PC-exclusive games to Xbox One. Despite how powerful the One X is--it could theoretically play certain PC titles the original Xbox One can not--it still has the same game library as its predecessors. Giving the One X an extended library of games that include PC titles might motivate some more players to upgrade to Microsoft's more powerful console.Some Good Exclusives, But Not Enough To CompeteThe divide in quality exclusives between Microsoft and its two main competitors, Sony and Nintendo, is a bit smaller this year than it was in 2017. But that's mostly because both Sony and Nintendo had fewer exclusive games this year. In terms of quality, Microsoft still feels like it's pulling up the rear.It would have been difficult for Sony to match the number of quality exclusives that launched on the PS4 last year, but 2018 still saw a few Game of the Year contenders like God of War and Marvel's Spider-Man. Nintendo had some strong exclusives in 2018 too, such as Octopath Traveler and Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu / Let's Go Eevee, not to mention what looks like a very promising game in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Meanwhile, Microsoft went another year without a new Halo or Gears of War, and Crackdown 3 was delayed again. Halo Infinite and Gears 5 were at least announced at E3 2018, but we don't even have scheduled release dates for them yet.2018 saw the release of Forza Horizon 4, as well as PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds leaving Early Access--both of which are pretty good games. However, Xbox One's other big 2018 exclusives, State of Decay 2 and Sea of Thieves, were not as well received, and PUBG has been overshadowed by the far more popular Fortnite and Black Ops 4 Blackout mode. Xbox One did have some good-looking console exclusive indie titles lined up this year, but for whatever reason Microsoft did little to market or push many of them. Games like Pit People could have done more for Microsoft's console with additional marketing, and titles scheduled for 2018 that still haven't come out and are probably being delayed to 2019--such as The Last Night--are an unfortunate loss.True, in 2018 Microsoft did manage to secure ports of some of Sony's 2017 exclusives, like Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice in March and Nier: Automata in June. Getting more first-party titles would have been better than playing catch-up, but at least securing these games is a major plus.Games As A Service Is Finally Worth ItMicrosoft started its Game With Gold program back with the Xbox 360, first supported EA Access in 2014, and implemented Game Pass last year. 2018 saw dozens of quality games offered through all three programs, allowing people to play new titles for a fraction of the retail price. For the first time, Microsoft's promised dream of a Netflix-style library of games seems both practical and desirable.Although Games With Gold had a weak start in 2018, it ended Q1 with Crazy Taxi and Superhot and then went on to offer quality games like The Witness, Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, Forza Horizon 2, Overcooked, Battlefield 1, Dead Space 2, Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, and Dragon Age II. Including For Honor as a Games With Gold in August--a few months after Ubisoft announced its Marching Fire DLC and one month before the expansion actually released--was an especially nice touch.Xbox One is still the only console to support EA Access, which lets people play whatever they want from a collection of 50 plus games after paying a subscription fee. Subscribing also gets you 10 percent off all digital purchases for EA games on Xbox One and early access to certain new titles. This year, that includes games like Madden NFL 19 and Battlefield V. Next year, EA Access members get early looks at titles like Anthem and Sea of Solitude. Respawn's Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order and third Titanfall game will probably have early access through the subscription too.Xbox Game Pass was the true star, though, as Microsoft announced in January 2018 that the service would now include all first-party titles on the day the games launched. So not only were older Xbox One console exclusives added to the service, like Halo: The Master Chief Collection, but new 2018 games like Sea of Thieves, State of Decay 2, and Forza Horizon 4 all launched on Game Pass on day one. When Crackdown 3, Halo Infinite, Gears 5, and Ori and the Will of the Wisps launch, it will be the same thing. Plenty of excellent third-party games from 2016 through 2018 joined Game Pass as well, such as Laser League, OnRush, Fallout 4, and Doom, with more titles like Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden and Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice scheduled to be added this December.Smart Acquisitions Could Spell A Promising FutureDisappointingly, Microsoft spent most of its E3 2018 presentation showcasing games that wouldn't release until 2019 or later. However, it was a pleasant surprise to hear that the company had acquired four game studios and established another. Later in the year, Microsoft followed up with an announcement that the studio had acquired both InXile Entertainment and Obsidian as well. That's seven more studios developing games for Xbox One.The four acquired studios that Microsoft announced at E3 2018 are Undead Labs, Playground Games, Compulsion Games, and Ninja Theory, which are responsible for this year's State of Decay 2, Forza Horizon 4, We Happy Few, and the Xbox version of Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, respectively. The fifth studio, The Initiative, is established by Microsoft and based out of Santa Monica. It's led by Darrell Gallagher, who's best known for heading up 2013's Tomb Raider and working in the past for Rockstar, Sony, and THQ. As stated before, InXile develops the Wasteland series, but it also created Torment: Tides of Numenera and The Bard's Tale IV: Barrows Deep. Obsidian is responsible for plenty of solid RPGs, but its most well-known titles are Fallout: New Vegas, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords, South Part: The Stick of Truth, and Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire.That's a lot of new talent working for Microsoft. It doesn't do much for this year, but it does mean we can probably expect more first-party titles at the end of the Xbox One's lifespan and on whatever console Microsoft has planned next. Of course, there's no way of knowing if these studio acquisitions translate into good exclusives for Xbox One until we see what games are being developed, but given some of these companies' track records--especially Playground, Team Ninja, and Obsidian--it inspires a hopeful future.Other Matters, In BriefAs more studios begin honing in on player's nostalgia, Xbox One is still the best when it comes to playing older games. Xbox One features an ever-growing list of backwards compatible Xbox 360 and original Xbox games--some of which are freely offered through Games With Gold, EA Access, and Game Pass. This allows you to play older titles if you still have the disc or by downloading them. Some classics, such as Final Fantasy XIII, are even Xbox One X-enhanced so their more noticeable flaws are patched away for a superior gaming experience.Rather than improve the Xbox One UI--which the console desperately needs--Microsoft's October 2018 patch implemented updates that added new Avatar customization options as well as Cortana and Alexa voice support. Neither changes how confusing it is to navigate through the Xbox One dashboard, with the latter only making things slower since you have to speak specific phrases instead of press buttons.In 2018, Microsoft has seemingly left behind its consoles' 500GB standard and instead switched to mostly selling Xbox One S and One X with 1TB hard drives. With game sizes getting larger--and X-enhanced assets being a mandatory download on Xbox One regardless if you have a One X to utilize them--this is a welcome change.VerdictEverything Microsoft did for Xbox One in 2018 is all well and good if you already own one of the consoles, but it might not have been enough to convince people to go out and buy a new Xbox this year. The Adaptive Controller opens up gaming to a new audience, but since it works with other systems, you don't need to buy an Xbox One to take advantage of its unique design. Despite how good Xbox Game Pass has been in 2018, the heavy hitters--the console exclusives for Microsoft's major IPs--are primarily scheduled for 2019 or beyond. And, as stated before, the studio acquisitions mostly set a stage for future releases that could be years away.Microsoft spent most of 2018 looking forward. That's great, as it could mean Xbox One has a chance to have a really good 2019 or 2020. But as it stands, 2018 was mostly a repeat of 2017. Microsoft doubled down on its attempts to improve its relationship with its existing player base--and it succeeded--but players were faced with another year where Xbox One doesn't have many exciting exclusives to point to.The GoodThe BadXbox One X is still the most powerful console on the market, delivering the best way to play almost any game that isn't also on PC, like Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption 2Microsoft continues to struggle with delivering more than one or two exciting triple-A console exclusives a year on Xbox OneBetween Game Pass, EA Access, and Games With Gold, there are hundreds of quality titles to play on Xbox One for a fraction of their retail priceXbox One UI is still a messReleasing the Adaptive Controller and implementing mouse and keyboard support are welcome additions to playing on Xbox One Xbox One is still the only current generation console doing backwards compatibility, offering the best way to play games from the last two console generations Info from Gamespot.com

Analogue has just announced a collaboration with Ghostly International, a music and fashion label with a logo that may look familiar to fans of Pac-Man. Available today, Analogue is selling a limited run of 1,000 bright white Super Nt consoles, bundled with a matching controller and receiver, for $250. The Ghostly Edition also features a new boot animation from Phil Fish, with a rotating assortment of accompanying sound effects produced by musicians on the Ghostly label.The Super Nt is an FPGA-based Super Nintendo clone from Analogue that is the best third-party solution money can buy. It supports games from all regions, and most important of all, it's designed to play nicely on modern displays without the usual blurry image stretching or input delay found in cheaper products. You can check out our full impressions of the Super Nt in our review.Analogue usually charges $190 for the standard Super Nt color schemes, but the $250 price point for the Ghostly International version isn't as outrageous of a markup as it sounds: the included wireless controller and receiver are usually sold separately for $40. In the end, the price of exclusivity tops out at an extra $20. It's worth noting that Analogue doesn't ship for free; UPS ground shipping in the in the US will cost an additional fee of roughly $20, depending on the destination.Also on the way, coming in April 2019, Analogue will release the previously announced Mega Sg, an FPGA-based 8- and 16-bit Sega console. It's also priced at $190 plus shipping, and is currently available for pre-order in four different color schemes.Info from Gamespot.com

The fourth season of Black Mirror arrived on Netflix nearly a year ago, and while we know that Charlie Brooker's acclaimed sci-fi satire is set to return at some point, it hasn't been clear when this would be. However, a now-deleted tweet from the streaming giant suggests we might be getting some more Black Mirror before the end of the year.As reported by Forbes, Netflix tweeted a list of shows and movies that are set to debut on the service throughout December. While most of these have already been announced, there was one title that had not--Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, which is seemingly scheduled for December 28. The tweet was rapidly deleted, but not before it was screen-captured.Netflix is yet to confirm this show, and we don't know for sure what 'Bandersnatch' refers to. However, it has rumored that an interactive "choose-your-own-adventure"-style Black Mirror episode has been in development, and if this was to be a standalone episode it would make sense that it might get released ahead of a full season. Netflix are also reportedly working on a number of other interactive shows.The Bandersnatch is a creature in Lewis Carroll's classic fantasy story Alice Through the Looking-Glass. In addition, a video game with that title was developed back in 1984, and behind-the-scenes images of the Black Mirror set taken in April this year suggest that an episode with an '80s setting was in production.It had also been rumored that the next season of Black Mirror will also return to the worlds of two previous episodes--namely, Season 2's White Bear and Season 3's Juniper. However, Brooker has subsequently denied this.For more on Black Mirror, check out GameSpot's guide to the most WTF moments in Season 4.Info from Gamespot.com

Season 6 of Fortnite is coming to an end this week, which means Season 7 of the hit battle royale game is just around the corner. As it has done in the lead up to previous seasons, developer Epic has now shared the first teaser image for Season 7 on Twitter, confirming that the season will kick off later this week, apparently with a snow theme."A bitter ice spreads... 3 days to Season 7," the official Fortnite Twitter account tweeted. That means that the new season is set to begin this Thursday, December 6--the same day that Season 6 formally ends. That's a much shorter gap between seasons than usual; typically, there would be at least a day or two between when one season ended and the next one began, as was the case with Season 6.The tweet also seems to confirm that Season 7 will have some sort of winter theme, as players had speculated. The accompanying teaser image further reinforces this, as it features a mysterious icy silhouette of what will presumably be one of the new skins coming to the game. If that wasn't enough, the right side of the image also features a character skiing or snowboarding down a slope.Players first began speculating that Season 7 would be winter themed when they noticed distant clouds appear in the ocean surrounding the island. Since then, there have been other subtle indications that the temperature on the island is dropping, and players have discovered that the aforementioned clouds are actually shrouding an iceberg that is slowly approaching.What all this means for Season 7 remains to be seen, but we won't have to wait too long to find out. In the meantime, you still have a few more days to complete any remaining Season 6 challenges and unlock the last Season 6 Battle Pass rewards. If you need a helping hand, you can find tips for the trickier missions in our complete Season 6 challenges guide.Info from Gamespot.com

Crunchyroll has announced the Anime Awards are coming back for a third year in a row. The ceremony itself won't happen until 2019, in order to give 2018 Fall anime series time to conclude.The full list of categories and the roster of judges will be announced in mid-December, and voting will start on January 11, 2019 before ending on January 18. Winners for each category will be revealed on February 16, 2019.The hit series My Hero Academia dominated the second annual Anime Awards, winning Best Animation, Best Opening, Best Action, Best Boy, Best Girl, Hero of the Year, and Villain of the Year. The show did not, however, nab the top prize of Anime of Year, which instead went to Made in Abyss. Other notable standouts were Your Name for Best Film, Land of the Lustrous for Best CGI, and My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness for Manga of the Year.If you need to catch up on anime prior to Crunchyroll's Anime Awards, refer to our guide of anime you should be watching for the Fall 2018 season. It lists every series airing on Crunchyroll, Funimation, Hidive, Netflix, and Amazon so you can catch up on dozens of quality anime. Bloom Into You is a notable standout, telling the story of two girls who struggle with accepting themselves until they learn to rely on each other. Zombie Land Saga is also a pretty good show this season, mixing together idol tropes and zombie story stereotypes to create a story that runs the gambit of bizarre to heartfelt. If you're not watching either one, you should consider adding them to your queue.Info from Gamespot.com

Amazon doesn't do regularly scheduled deals like you'll find at other video game retailers, but that doesn't mean the online megastore is above knocking a few bucks off games to get you to buy them. Right now Amazon has some killer deals on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch games, so we've highlighted some of our favorites below. But if you find a deal you want, grab it fast, because stock is running out quickly.Perhaps the best gaming deal at Amazon right now is Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, which you can get for $33 on both PS4 and Xbox One. That's a great deal for one of the biggest games of the year, considering it just launched in October. And if you have a PS4 and haven't picked up Spider-Man yet, you might want to grab it while it's on sale for $40 in both physical and digital formats.Xbox One owners can grab the delightful murder-sandbox game Hitman 2 for $30 or Okami HD for just $12. If you're interested in saving some cash on upcoming games, you can lock in your copy of Doom Eternal for $52 or Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition for $40.Switch owners aren't left out in the cold, either. You can pick up The World Ends with You: Final Remix or SNK 40th Anniversary Collection for $33 each, or snag the action-RPG Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate for $37.Check out the list below for even more deals at Amazon, or take a peek at today's gaming-focused 12 Days of Deals for more bargains.PS4The Banner Saga Trilogy -- $20Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 -- $33Darkest Dungeon: Ancestral Edition -- $18Hitman 2 -- $46Lego DC Super Villains -- $30Spider-Man -- $40Spider-Man (digital) -- $40Xbox OneThe Banner Saga Trilogy -- $25Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 -- $33Doom Eternal (pre-order) -- $52Hitman 2 -- $30Lego DC Super Villains -- $30Okami HD -- $12Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition (pre-order) -- $40Nintendo SwitchThe Banner Saga Trilogy -- $34Darkest Dungeon: Ancestral Edition -- $25Lego DC Super Villains -- $30Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate -- $37Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire (pre-order) -- $44SNK 40th Anniversary Collection -- $33The World Ends with You: Final Remix -- $33Info from Gamespot.com

Marvel Studios is reportedly eyeing its first tentpole superhero franchise with an Asian lead, focused on the character Shang-Chi. The studio is said to be keen to replicate the success of Black Panther by applying similar sensibilities to the production of a film with Asian and Asian-American themes.Deadline reports that the screenplay will be penned by the Chinese-American writer Dave Callaham, and the studio is currently looking into Asian and Asian-American directors. Callaham has had a hand in co-writing Wonder Woman 1984, and he's currently at work on a sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. He also has comic credits to his name, having written the scripts for Jackpot and America: The Motion Picture.Shang-Chi in the comics was launched alongside the rise of films like Enter the Dragon, and meant to capitalize on that success. The character is the son of a reclusive Chinese globalist, raised and educated in his personal compound. Once he's eventually allowed to explore the outside world to help with the family business, he learns his father isn't exactly a humanitarian, having earned the nickname The Devil's Doctor. Shang-Chi is one of the few completely mortal Marvel heroes, though his skill in martial arts has made him a match for superpowered opponents.The character would likely be a part of the next phase of Marvel films, which will begin after this phase wraps up with the release of Avengers 4. That movie is said to be book-ending the first decade-plus of Marvel movies that began with Iron Man. After the cliffhanger ending of Avengers: Infinity War, we just have Captain Marvel and then Avengers 4 to go. We have yet to see much of either of them, but that could change soon.Info from Gamespot.com

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate replaces the series' long-standing trophies with Spirits, collectible game characters that can be equipped to augment your fighter's stats and abilities. The title features hundreds of Spirits drawn from a wide range of video game franchises, and while they're primarily unlocked through the World of Light and Spirit Board modes, you'll get a free one if you've played either Pokemon: Let's Go Pikachu or Let's Go Eevee.Nintendo announced that players who have save data of either of the Pokemon games on their Switch will automatically receive a Pikachu or Eevee Spirit, depending on the version they've played. As you can see in the images below, each one is an Ace-level Support Spirit; Pikachu slightly increases attack and movement speed, while Eevee greatly increases attack, defense, and speed after eating food items.In Super #SmashBrosUltimate, those with save data for Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! will unlock the Partner Pikachu Spirit, and those with save data for Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! will unlock the Partner Eevee Spirit! Be sure to have your #PokemonLetsGo save data ready on 12/7! pic.twitter.com/g9pJB4urM6 — Nintendo Versus (@NintendoVS) December 2, 2018Even if you don't own either Let's Go Pikachu or Eevee, you will still be able to unlock the Partner Pikachu and Eevee Spirits through normal gameplay, but this is a nice little bonus for players who've picked up the new Pokemon games. Nintendo did something similar for Super Smash Bros. Melee as well. Players who had save data of Pikmin on their memory card would unlock a special Captain Olimar trophy in Melee.As previously mentioned, Spirits can be unlocked in the Spirit Board and the World of Light adventure mode. We recently went hands-on with both and felt they were a much more compelling single-player experience than what past titles had offered. We also tried out many of the game's new fighters such as Ken, Incineroar, and Isabelle; you can watch them in action here.Super Smash Bros. Ultimate launches on December 7. If you buy a physical copy of the game, you'll need to install a day-one update for the game's replay system. Everyone who registers Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on My Nintendo by January 31, 2019 will also receive an additional surprise fighter, Piranha Plant, for free. Nintendo is also releasing five other as-yet unannounced DLC characters as part of the Fighters Pass.Info from Gamespot.com

A month after Red Dead Redemption 2 first released, its online multiplayer portion is now in beta. Red Dead Online borrows from both GTA Online as well as the multiplayer portions of the original Red Dead Redemption and incorporates RDR 2's massive open world, with all its fine details and mechanics. But Red Dead Online lacks what made that vast, slow, meticulous world work, and as a result it leaves the weakest parts of it painfully exposed.Red Dead Redemption 2--the single-player experience--is not concerned with your priorities. There are plenty of side distractions, and a few details will change here and there depending on your honor, but there are some missions you just can't roleplay--you're locked into one playstyle or one outcome. That can be frustrating in the moment, but it's also a brilliant narrative device, one that gives you deeper insight into Arthur and his own struggle between what he wants to be and what he is. The fight against the game's guiding hand is what gives the story its impact; you have to be a little tired of Red Dead Redemption 2 to fully appreciate what it's trying to do narratively.All that is to say Red Dead Redemption 2 is not what I'd call "fun." In single-player, that's a good thing. But in Red Dead Online, the things that don't always feel good to play--the need to eat and sleep, the limited fast travel options, the often clumsy gunplay--have nothing to anchor them. There's a small amount of story content at the moment, but nothing so engaging and personal as to give you a purpose in this world. The purpose, it seems, is either to kill or be killed, and frequently, though there doesn't seem to be much of a reason to kill another player except to create chaos.Currently, it's difficult to achieve anything or get anywhere without being killed, disconnected from the server, or both. But even when you do get to play the game, it feels dated. Your character is understandably silent, and NPCs even acknowledge it, commenting often on your reticence. But the disconnect between your character and the rest of the world is pronounced. A solo mission given by Red Dead Redemption's Bonnie MacFarlane, for example, involves a brief cutscene to give context, and then you're tasked with the chore of locating and returning a cart of hers. When you return with the cart, there's nothing--no cutscene, no acknowledgment from Bonnie at all. Just a pop-up with your slim reward.Competitive multiplayer fares a little better. The snappy auto-aim is useful and gives some modes a looser, more fun feel, despite the clumsy gunplay, and getting headshots still takes skill. But movement is also clumsy, and it drags down the head-to-head modes. Accidentally ambling over rocks or struggling to mantle over a wall during a gunfight grinds everything to a halt, and the frustration is hard to shake.Red Dead Redemption 2 as a whole is a lonely game filled with things to do. In single-player, riding alone through the plains and looking up at an enormous, open sky is powerful. In Red Dead Online, your emotional connection to the world and its inhabitants is missing entirely. There's also a lack of content in general--you can wrap up the story missions in a number of hours, and after that, you're left mainly to scrounge for money and wander aimlessly. In its current form, there's nothing about Red Dead Online that makes me want to keep playing. It just makes me want to go back to Arthur's story.As much as I like Red Dead Redemption 2, I would be more compelled to play Red Dead Online if it shedded the single-player's more belabored mechanics and opted for a faster, looser approach to the Wild West. The multiplayer experience would be better as a Western playground in earnest, rather than the blend of slow, solitary activities with potentially fun multiplayer chaos that it currently is. If GTA Online is any indication, there's a lot of potential for Rockstar to iterate upon and expand Red Dead Online, both in the amount of content available and the nature of that content. But for now, I'll stick with Arthur and the gang.Info from Gamespot.com

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse is just around the corner, and although it's bringing some fresh faces to the forefront with Miles Morales and his friends, it's also drawing on some pretty familiar comic book history. Or more accurately, you could call it recent history--Miles himself is less a decade old in terms of publication, so don't be too hard on yourself if you're not familiar with all of his background. There's been a lot of it in not a lot of time.One of those background elements revolves around a new version of a familiar Spider-Man baddie, a man called The Prowler, who was completely reimagined for Miles' universe and is subsequently being brought to life for Into The Spider-Verse. He may not be the most famous villain making an animated big screen debut, but he's probably going to be one of the most painful challenges Miles has to face for the movie, and it's all thanks to one simple fact: If the movie keeps his backstory the same as the comics, Prowler will turn out to actually be Miles' uncle, Aaron Davis.To really understand what that means, you'll have to wrap your head around the basic concept of the "Spider-Verse" as a whole. Miles exists in a reality that is actually separate from the traditional Spider-Man story--Miles' world, the Ultimate Universe, has its own Peter Parker, who is still Spider-Man, and it's still populated with heroes and villains with names you'd know. But there are some major differences, too. It's essentially an alternate reality where only some things are changed. Back on the standard Spider-Man Earth--the one we know from the comics, generally called Earth 616 for the sake of clarity--Prowler is essentially a d-list villain who has had a couple of incarnations, none of them all that impactful.Ultimate Prowler is a different situation, however, and a whole lot more relevant to the situation at hand. Aaron Davis actually had a direct hand in Miles' spider-empowerment in the comics. A petty thief and cat burglar, Aaron had attempted to steal a case of experimental tech from an Oscorp lab, but in doing so, unknowingly spirited one of the genetically modified spiders Norman Osborn had been working with (in an attempt to replicate the Spider-Man phenomena) out of the building. Miles, not realizing what his uncle had just done, visited Aaron's apartment only to be bit by the spider and, well, you know how that particular story goes. Miles and Peter aren't that different when it comes to how they actually got their powers.Prior to the spider-incident, Miles and Aaron had been pretty close, much to the dismay of Miles' father, Jefferson, who used to run with the same less-than-reputable crews as his brother before going straight and becoming a cop. However, with the Oscorp job officially botched and Aaron now on the run--not to mention the complications built into Miles' new dual identity as the new Spider-Man--things began to get pretty rocky. Aaron went on the run, Miles came into his superheroic own, and Jefferson forbade Miles to spend time with his uncle should he ever come back.He did come back, of course, and things began to go even more down hill. Aside from the obvious conflicts between Prowler, a costumed villain, and Spider-Man, a superhero, there was also the matter of Aaron slowly piecing together just what had happened with his nephew and, eventually, learning his secret. The knowledge put him at a crossroads, not wanting to hurt his nephew, but seeing the opportunity it presented for things like blackmail. Afterall, the life of a supervillain gets considerably easier when they're able to keep the local heroes off their back. Prowler's career blackmailing his own nephew came to a tragic conclusion after a showdown between he and Miles resulted in the fatal malfunction of his gear--or, at least, the sort of fatal malfunction of his gear. Despite "dying" in the Ultimate Universe, Aaron Davis was mysteriously resurrected following the massive multiverse-wide event known as Secret Wars, which transplanted Miles from his home Earth to Earth-616. Somewhere in the chaos, Aaron was returned to life and brought to Earth-616 as well, where he co-opted the Iron Spider identity and began working for the Sinister Six.So what does this mean for Into The Spider-Verse? Well, it's a little complicated. We know from our sneak peak at NYCC that Aaron and Miles are going to have a relationship at the start of things that is pretty similar to their comics counterparts. Miles sees Aaron as a cool mentor figure, despite his dad's reservations. Miles' origin story is slightly modified for the movie, however, so Aaron's attempted robbery of Oscorp isn't how Miles ends up getting spider-bitten.That said, it would seem like Aaron is still an active criminal in the Spider-Verse universe. In the Venom post-credits scene, we saw Prowler--or at least, a version of Prowler--pursuing Miles (and an unconscious alternate dimension Peter Parker.) The interesting thing to observe here is that Miles is not actually disguised for this chase, so if the Prowler hunting him and Peter down actually is his Uncle Aaron, he may already be aware of Miles' secret identity at this point in the movie. (It's worth noting, as an aside, that Aaron Davis was also portrayed in Spider-Man: Homecoming, albeit as more of a cameo. He was played by Donald Glover and Tom Holland's Peter Parker confronted him in a parking garage.)The other possibility here, given the multiversal shenanigans in play for all of Into The Spider-Verse, is that there are actually two different versions of Aaron Davis in play--the one Miles knows and loves, and a considerably crueler one from another dimension, working for Kingpin. Either way, Miles is probably going to get a very rude awakening about his favorite uncle when and if that purple mask comes off.Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse hits theaters December 14. Read our full review to find out what we thought. Info from Gamespot.com

Ubisoft has announced the next update for Ghost Recon Wildlands, titled Special Operations 3. The update launches on all platforms on December 11 and mostly introduces new PvP features.Special Operations 3 includes a new PvE mission and in-game rewards, including two PvP classes inspired by the theme of the update's mission. Ubisoft has not announced what the theme of this mission might be, but previous ones have included characters from other Tom Clancy games like Rainbow Six Siege and Splinter Cell. The update also adds two new PvP multiplayer maps.The mission, in-game rewards, and maps will be available for all players starting December 11. Both new PvP classes will only be available for Year 2 Pass owners on December 11, and will only unlock for other players one week later.A new Photo Mode is also included in Special Operations 3. The mode will allow players to capture any in-game moment, as well as edit pictures with effects and filters. Special Operations 3 also implements community feedback into Wildlands' in-game store. Over 90 new items will be added, and changes will be made to the game's Prestige Economy. Ubisoft has announced it will release more information on what those changes might be "soon."In our Ghost Recon Wildlands review, Miguel Concepcion gave the game a 7/10, writing, "As only the second open world game in the Clancyverse, Ghost Recon: Wildlands is a middlingly safe tactical shooter and a slightly wasted opportunity given the ambitious scope of its seemingly boundless map. While its main strength is its mission diversity, it doesn’t take long to lose the motivation after reaching El Sueno's doorstep. Even with a foursome of highly trained friends, Wildlands eventually reveals its diminishing returns. The feeling of positive immediacy and dopamine hits begin to wane sooner than you expected from a game with such a large and diverse world."Ghost Recon Wildlands is available for Xbox One, PS4, and PC.Info from Gamespot.com