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

HBO has released a new teaser for the upcoming eighth and final season of the network's acclaimed fantasy drama Game of Thrones. Disappointingly, the video doesn't actually contain any new footage. Instead, it serves more as a mood piece, featuring a a frosty direwolf and a frozen dragon, along with a burning lion. You can put the pieces together and probably theorise as to what that may mean.You can check out the full teaser below.Game of Thrones Season 8 is set to premiere in April 2019, and the final season will have a number of "surprises and shocking moments." What we do already know is that the season will mirror the beginning of Season 1 in some capacity.In addition to the final season, HBO is producing a reunion special featuring Sean Bean and other former and current Game of Thrones cast members.While Game of Thrones is ending, HBO is producing a spin-off that begins production in 2019. Naomi Watts is set to play one of the leads, while more casting details have also come to light.Info from Gamespot.com

Microtransactions are nothing new in the gaming world, but in 2018, the controversial business practice underwent a number of changes and evolutions from what we've seen in the past. As part of GameSpot's year-end features, we're looking at the current state of microtransactions in video games, including how they've been used in the big games of 2018, what's different, better, and worse than before, and other relevant topics.Going back to 2017 is important to set the stage for what happened in 2018. At the end of 2017, Electronic Arts launched Star Wars: Battlefront II, a sequel to its massively successful multiplayer game from 2015. The game looked gorgeous and, in a move that fans generally enjoyed, it introduced a single-player campaign after the earlier title left it out due it part so it could launch alongside Star Wars: The Force Awakens and piggyback on the hype. Things did not go to plan for EA, as much of the conversation surrounding Battlefront II focused on its use of microtransactions. Specifically, people took issue with how the game allowed players to spend real money on loot boxes that could contain items that affect gameplay.It wasn't as direct as paying for specific weapons or other game-affecting upgrades, but paying for the chance to get something that gave players the upper hand on the battlefield understandably rubbed some players the wrong way. And it also brought up concerns that Battlefront II was, in essence, a form of gambling (more on that later). In response to an avalanche of criticism and concern stemming from the game's early access, pre-release play period, EA removed all forms of microtransactions from Battlefront II on the eve of the game's public launch.Microtransactions were reinstated months later, but in a very different way. In their new and current form, players can only spend money on cosmetic items; that is, skins and other items that have no bearing on how a player performs on the battlefield. Although EA changed course, the high-profile nature of Battlefront II--it's a Star Wars game, after all--led to a ripple effect that heated up in 2018 and affected the future output from EA and other publishers. Thanks to the Disney/Star Wars connection, the discussion around loot boxes extended beyond gaming circles and into mainstream media coverage around the world. In turn, this meant that basically every company that implements microtransactions in their games faced an increased level of scrutiny, and one can hope this led to more pro-consumer tactics as it relates to MTX.Lawmakers from the United States and around the world took aim at Battlefront II (and other titles), with politicians calling paid-for loot boxes a form of gambling and seeking to create a legal precedent that could stop the business practice from spreading and holding offending companies accountable. Proposals for new laws relating to loot boxes were put forth in places like Hawaii, where state senator Chris Lee proposed a bill that would limit the sale of video games with "gambling-like mechanisms" to people under the age of 21. Lee, who worked with other politicians from other states in America, said he believed the legislation could have a snowball effect and spread to other parts of the country that enact their own similar laws. Nothing ever came of this bill, which is no surprise given that only around 4 percent of bills ever become law. Internationally, Belgium's Gambling Commission declared that some video game loot boxes amounted to illegal gambling. In the wake of this decision, Blizzard yanked loot boxes from Overwatch in the country. EA reportedly defied Belgium's Gambling Commission, refusing to take action, a move that could lead to further legal action down the road.EA, as well industry groups like the ESRB, ESA, and IGDA, have publicly come out to say loot boxes are not a form of gambling, while regulators in New Zealand and France also stated this year that loot boxes in video games do not constitute gambling. In Australia, a recent Senate inquiry called for a "comprehensive review" of loot box mechanics to determine what action to take. Another major development came in November when the United States Federal Trade Commission said it agreed to the idea of investigating loot boxes at the request of Democratic senator Maggie Hassan.What will be done about loot boxes in the future? Trade groups like the ESA and IGDA believe the industry should self-regulate when it comes to loot boxes. Politicians, meanwhile, will argue that laws are necessary to ensure that something is being done to protect young people from falling into dangerous gambling habits. Self-regulation may be a good idea in theory, but actual laws or regulations would put more pressure on developers and publishers.Those who believe loot boxes are a form of gambling come to that conclusion by asserting that, like a slot machine, people are encouraged to pay real money for the chance to get something they want. Some video games, like Overwatch, disclose odds, but only in some regions such as China. For its part, Blizzard believes its loot box system is not problematic because the items contained within its loot boxes are cosmetic only.Parent company Activision Blizzard is likely happy to keep things the way they are, as the company pulled in $4 billion from microtransactions in 2017 alone. This figure covers all of Activision's business units, including Candy Crush giant King, but Overwatch certainly contributed as well. It's not just Activision Blizzard that makes buckets of money from microtransactions. Every major publisher has posted year-over-year gains in the money it makes from selling extra content, whether that be beyond the initial sale price for full-price games or as optional add-ons in free-to-play titles. In 2018 (and years prior) it was more newsworthy and noteworthy when a major game did not feature a MTX system of some sort.The evidence seems to suggest that microtransactions, or recurring consumer spending, or whatever you want to call it, is only going to increase in the time to come. For example, Take-Two, the parent publisher of games like Red Dead Redemption, GTA, Borderlands, NBA 2K, and others, reiterated this year that it wants microtransactions in every game it makes. (This apparently does not extend to Take-Two's indie publishing label, Private Division, as Obsidian's new game won't have any microtransactions).Another high-profile microtransaction story this year came from Microsoft and Halo developer 343 Industries. 343 is hiring an "online experience designer" who will, among other things, use psychology to encourage players to spend more time in Halo Infinite--and spend more money. Going back to Activision, management at the company recently said that it is looking at how it can put more microtransactions in Destiny 2 after the game's Forsaken expansion failed to sell up to the company's expectations, though developer Bungie has said it's not disappointed with Forsaken's performance.While loot boxes as a form of microtransactions may be fading away, publishers are constantly looking into how they can keep players engaged with their games--and spending money--over a longer period of time. One trend in 2018 that became even more popular was letting players spend money on cosmetic items, and some of this growth might have been driven by the overwhelming success of Fortnite. Epic's battle royale game features a store where players can spend real money on all manner of things from tomato head skins to Oktoberfest-themed gliders to, more recently, NFL jersey skins. None of these items affect gameplay, and instead act as another way for fans to express themselves.From a business perspective, these types of add-ons are likely very margin-rich, and as such, quite lucrative. Another wrinkle that Fortnite executes so well is how its skins and other cosmetic items are only available for a short period of time, creating a feeling of scarcity regardless of whether or not it's true. The game effectively tells you, "Here's a cool skin; buy it now or you may never have another chance." There is even a countdown timer that informs players when skins and other items are set to rotate out of the store. In reality, skins and other cosmetic items are often re-circulated at a later date, but Epic doesn't give much heads up. In turn, this encourages players to keep coming back to see what's new. It's a smart system, and it seems to be paying off for Epic.Part of the reason so many people feel uneasy about microtransactions is because of the speculation and reports that some games are purposefully designed to push players towards spending more money on microtransactions. In 2018, this trend continued. NBA 2K19 and NBA Live 19 were criticised for their microtransaction elements, specifically how some of the game's modes can feel like a grind if you don't pay up. The Ultimate Team modes in EA's Madden and FIFA franchises have been criticised for years about this, and in 2018, EA CFO Blake Jorgensen revealed in an earnings call what many had always suspected. He confirmed that FIFA 19 was designed to steer players towards the microtransaction-filled Ultimate Team mode. "We know the game is designed to ultimately steer [players] into Ultimate Team," Jorgensen said during an earnings call in October.Microtransactions in video games are here to stay, but (messaging issues aside) it appears EA is keen to avoid making the same mistake twice, with other publishers taking note, too. At E3 this year, DICE developers spoke frankly about Battlefront II's failings as it relates to microtransactions. And when other DICE developers got on stage to talk about Battlefield 5, the studio opened by proclaiming the game won't feature any loot boxes. Not only that, but the game launched in November without any form of microtransactions whatsoever. Cosmetic microtransactions are coming to the World War II shooter sometime after launch, with the aim of giving players the opportunity to dress up their soldier and weapons in unique and personalised ways. This seems to be the middle-ground EA is content with, as BioWare has said its 2019 game Anthem won't have loot boxes but will instead feature cosmetic-only microtransactions. It's not the same for every publisher and game. For example, Blizzard's popular hero shooter Overwatch has used loot boxes since launch to drive extra revenue, and former Blizzard executive Mike Morhaime spoke frequently and passionately about how loot boxes are here to stay. Flipping back again, Microsoft's racing game Forza Motorsport 7 released an update this year to remove loot boxes (though microtransactions are still featured in the store).Another big-time example of microtransactions in video games this year was Assassin's Creed: Odyssey. While the franchise has implemented microtransactions in some capacity for many years already, Odyssey was the first entry to allow players to pay a fee--$10 USD--to get a permanent double XP boost. This allows players to effectively level twice as fast, and some argued the $10 XP boost was the game's best feature. That's up for debate, but what's clear is the game was a big hit--and microtransactions played a part. Ubisoft disclosed that Odyssey's launch was the most successful Assassin's Creed release in half a decade thanks in part to the extra revenue that the game's microtransactions brought in.Some say it is icky for big-budget, AAA games to ask for more money beyond the initial sale price, which can be $60 USD or more depending on where you live and what you're after. Publishers will say microtransactions are completely optional, and because they do not impact gameplay--or, if they do, are limited to single-player--they don't affect balance or the general integrity of the game. Being able to craft a character that is uniquely you is part of the appeal of many games today. The issue for many is that games now offer the ability to buy content that, in the past, might have been included on the disc right out of the gate. Publishers might counter that the price of games has not gone up, despite inflation and rising development costs.Whatever the case, regulatory bodies and other industry groups are taking notice of the discussion and enacting some changes in response. The Entertainment Software Rating Board this year announced that it would introduce a new label on some games with microtransaction systems. The overall goal is to inform consumers--and in particular, parents--about which games offer a way to spend additional real-world money from right within the game itself, but whether or not this has any actual impact remains to be seen.The ESRB's new label, which will read "In-Game Purchases," is located near the rating category (E for Everyone, M for Mature, etc.) but will not be housed inside the same box as content descriptors (Sexual Content, Comic Mischief, etc.). What's more, the ESRB launched a new website intended to inform parents about the ESRB's ratings system, how in-game purchases work, and how to use parental tools to control what and how children play games. Disappointingly, the new label will offer no specifics about the type of in-game purchases available so as to avoid overwhelming parents with too much information, the ESRB says.Another notable development this year in the world of microtransactions came from the Entertainment Software Association, which lobbies on behalf of the video game industry and runs E3 every year. Generating some amount of controversy, the organisation said it would rather see self-regulation by video game groups like the ESRB than the kind of government-mandated changes that the lawmakers are proposing. This reaction is understandable. Any law that would, even in some small way, limit the sale of video games is not something that the ESA would so easily or willingly get behind. The IGDA's Jen MacLean echoed the ESA's sentiment in her own statement where she called on the industry to address the loot box controversy to avoid government intervention.2018 was a fast-moving and news-filled year when it came to microtransactions, and it is reasonable to expect that microtransaction systems will remain in all of the major franchises, and ramp up. Every major publisher in video games is investing in microtransaction systems, and they'll remain attractive to them because they consistently deliver a steady stream of revenue at a high margin. One of the key elements in this discussion is how microtransaction systems are delivered, and while publishers like EA, Ubisoft, and others are saying the right things when it comes to their implementation, what happens in practice as we move into 2019, remains to be seen. Info from Gamespot.com

Valve's popular tactical shooter, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, has gone free-to-play. Alongside the release of the new Danger Zone battle royale mode, the publisher announced that Steam users can now download and play CS: GO at no cost, while all existing players are automatically upgraded to Prime Status.As an added perk, those who've been updated to Prime Status are entitled to a free weapon skin for a limited time: the Souvenir MP5-SD | Lab Rat. In order to get it, you'll need to earn 250 XP in the aforementioned Danger Zone, which can be done by killing enemies, completing objectives, and surviving. New players can also choose to upgrade to Prime Status for $15.Much like Fortnite and other battle royale games, Danger Zone drops players onto a shrinking map, with the goal being to be the last one remaining. Valve describes it as a "fast-paced battle royale game mode built on CS:GO's tactical gameplay," and it features some elements not commonly found in other games of its kind, like the ability earn money by completing contracts, opening safes, and carrying hostages to a rescue zone.Another area where Danger Zone differs from other battle royale games is its player count. Rather than supporting 100 players, Danger Zone's cap is limited to either 16 players when jumping in solo or 18 when playing as a two- or three-person squad. Given this smaller player count, Danger Zone matches are also much shorter than those in other battle royale games, typically lasting around 10 minutes by Valve's estimate.Danger Zone is available now as a free update for CS: GO. The mode will be installed automatically when players login to the game.Info from Gamespot.com