Red Dead Redemption 2 is fast approaching, and you can be prepared to venture into the Old West by having it loaded and ready to go for launch. Rockstar has announced that pre-loading will begin on Friday, October 19 at 12 AM ET, or 9 PM PT on Thursday.In the tweet announcing the pre-load timing, the studio also gave word that the launch trailer will debut on Thursday at 10 AM ET / 7 AM PT. That should be our last long look at the game before its launch next Friday, October 26. Rockstar is giving plenty of time for the pre-load, which makes sense given that it weighs in at a whopping 90 GB.Pre-loading also means you pre-ordered, which will net you a cash bonus for the story mode, and some bonus GTA$ for Grand Theft Auto Online. Those who pre-ordered by July 31 will also get a treasure map for a head-start on making their fortune on the frontier. The physical editions come with a wide variety of bonuses, including physical items in the Special and Ultimate editions. A separate Collector's Box, which doesn't include the game, comes with a bunch of tchotchkes like a pin set, bandana, playing cards, and tithing box with lock and key. You can read more details in our pre-order guide.The Red Dead Redemption 2 Launch TrailerDebuting tomorrow, Thursday October 18 at 10AM ETPre-order now on digital and begin pre-loading this Friday at 12AM ET: https://t.co/dvyUu5JJSO pic.twitter.com/76FjGrLwUr — Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) October 17, 2018It appears Rockstar has crafted a massive open world to explore, with no shortage of activities and detail. You can fish and hunt, your clothes will degrade, and dialogue will shift based on your personal hygiene. Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser estimates it has 500,000 lines of dialogue.All that ambition appears to have come at a cost, though, as Houser also stated that the studio has had 100-hour work weeks to deliver on the promise. He later clarified that he was referring only to a few senior members of the team having intensive writing sessions, and that the studio doesn't expect such long hours from its team as a whole.Info from Gamespot.com

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (read our review) has issued a new patch aimed at stability and crash fixes, but it still has some new gameplay tweaks to try out that will make a substantial difference. The biggest change is to Blackout, which is testing different player counts in a few of its modes.100-Player Duos and 88-Player Quads are now in the playlist under Blackout, in an effort to prod at different formulations of the player count. Some other multiplayer maps have gotten updates as well. The TDM playlist now supports parties of 6 up from 5, and the Featured multiplayer playlist has changed to Heist. Activision says these will regularly rotate and more details on how the Featured playlists will work are coming soon.Custom games have been fixed to conclude after one team wins six rounds, and the studio has fixed a crash caused by earning multiple Medals in a single match. Plus in Zombies mode, a fix has been issued to a UI error caused by a loss of Internet connection in split-screen play. The PC version has gotten a few bug fixes of its own as well.In the immediate future, the studio says it's keeping an eye and working on the Easter Egg quests in Zombies mode, reports of multiplayer audio volume bugs, and teammate names disappearing. On PC it's investigating a crash associated with the Hellion Salvo launcher, and on Xbox it's looking into some user reports that their Shadowman and Classified content isn't showing up.If you're just cracking into Black Ops 4, check out our tips for beginners. Or if you're still on the fence, you can make sure your PC is up to snuff and read all about how it compares to battle royale competitors Fortnite and PUBG.Info from Gamespot.com

Microsoft is once again teaming up with Taco Bell to give away a frankly absurd number of Xbox One consoles as prizes. This year, though, the special edition Xbox One X consoles are customized to remind you of Taco Bell with the restaurant's bell "ring" sound whenever you power on your console.Yes seriously.Purchasing a $5 Double Chalupa Box between October 18 and November 21 will enter you to win the Xbox One X Platinum Limited Edition Bundle. That includes the Taco Bell branded Xbox One X, a white Elite Wireless Controller, and three months of Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Live Gold. To sweeten the pot, the prizes will be given out approximately every 10 minutes throughout the promotion, and they'll be distributed to the winners a zippy 72 hours after winning. That translates to roughly 5,000 Xbox One X consoles altogether.The Double Chalupa Box includes the oversized double chalupa or spicy double chalupa, a crunchy taco, cinnamon twists, and a beverage. It also includes a code you can text to the number provided to check if you're a winner. You can check the official rules for the fine print and to enter the contest with no purchase necessary."We are excited to partner again with Xbox, but this time on a collaboration that is entirely exclusive to fans of both Xbox and Taco Bell," said Taco Bell brand officer Marisa Thalberg in the announcement. "It delights us to delight our fans with unique experiences, and what better way in this case than through the best in 'boxes.'"Info from Gamespot.com

IO Interactive has announced its first Elusive Target mission for Hitman 2, and it stars none other than the man of many lives (and deaths), actor Sean Bean. Bean plays Mark Faba, an MI5 agent gone rogue as a freelance assassin. Faba has gained a reputation for faking his death, even earning the nickname "The Undying." Agent 47 might have a thing or two to say about that.The Undying will release as the first Elusive Target on November 20, one week after the release of Hitman 2. The mission takes place in Miami, where Faba is trying to complete his own contract at the Global Innovation Race event in Miami. You'll have ten days to complete it. As with the first Hitman, Elusive Targets are free, temporary missions that you'll only have one chance to complete.A live-action trailer accompanying the announcement stars Bean as Faba, talking with a therapist about his life as an assassin and describing the various ways he's eluded death. The role as an expert in faking his own death serves another purpose as a meta-joke, as Sean Bean has become known for playing characters who ultimately die. This is similar to the last Hitman game, which set actor Gary Busey as an Elusive Target.Hitman 2 adds a new Sniper Assassin mode, which lets you take down targets from a distance solo or paired with a partner. You can gain access to that instantly by pre-ordering, or pre-order a Silver or Gold Edition for more bonuses like extra gear. The Gold Edition also includes four days of early access to the game. You can read more details in our pre-order guide.Info from Gamespot.com

The seventh season of the Netflix hit TV show Orange is the New Black will be its last. The ensemble cast confirmed in a video today that the prison drama is ending in 2019.Orange is the New Black, along with House of Cards, was one of Netflix's first original shows. Created by Weeds creator Jenji Kohan, the show is based on the memoir by Piper Kerman, who like main character Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling), was locked up in a women's prison.Warning: This may make you cry. The Final Season, 2019. #OITNB pic.twitter.com/bUp2yY0aoK — Orange Is the New... (@OITNB) October 17, 2018"After seven seasons, it's time to be released from prison," Kohan said in a statement (via Refinery29). "I will miss all the badass ladies of Litchfield and the incredible crew we’ve worked with," Kohan said in a statement of the end of the series. "My heart is orange but… fade to black."Orange is the New Black premiered in 2013, with new seasons airing on a yearly basis. The final season will debut sometime in 2019. In addition to Schilling, the show stars Laura Prepon, Uzo Aduba, Danielle Brooks, Natasha Lyonne, and Kate Mulgrew. Info from Gamespot.com

The fall release season means the biggest games, and it doesn't get much bigger than Activision's annual Call of Duty franchise. This year revisits one of its most popular series with Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. But for the first time in the long-running franchise, this one eschews a single-player campaign altogether in favor of more multiplayer modes and standalone stories with each of its operators.Reviews are rolling in, and the conclusion from critics appears to be that the lack of a traditional campaign hasn't hurt the total package. Our own Black Ops 4 review found that the three main modes were substantial enough to make up the difference, and the depth and breadth of the multiplayer offerings kept reviewer Kallie Plagge from missing the usual bombastic story mode. Read on for a variety of critical responses, and take a look at GameSpot's sister site Metacritic for more reviews from around the industry.Game: Madden NFL 19Developer / Publisher: Electronic ArtsPlatforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox OneRelease date: August 10Price: US $60 / £60 / AU $69GameSpot -- 8/10"Black Ops 4 isn't short on content, and its three main modes are substantial. Multiplayer introduces more tactical mechanics without forcing you into them, and it largely strikes a good balance. Zombies has multiple deep, secret-filled maps to explore, though its returning characters don't hold up and prove distracting. Finally, Blackout pushes Call of Duty in an entirely new direction, making use of aspects from both multiplayer and Zombies for a take on the battle royale genre that stands on its own. Sure, there isn't a traditional single-player campaign, but with the depth and breadth of what is there, Black Ops 4 doesn't need it." -- Kallie Plagge [Full review]Game Informer -- 9.5/10"Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 makes a sacrifice that's sure to be off-putting to some with the lack of a campaign, but the surrender of tradition comes with sweeping and significant benefits. Blackout is the best battle-royale experience available today, zombies offers crazy customizable co-op, and multiplayer keeps things grounded for those looking for the classic core." -- Daniel Tack [Full review]VentureBeat -- 90/100"I hope that Treyarch and Activision see this as a new jumping off point, with frequent updates to add new experiences and maps to Blackout and the other modes. But we'll see just how much the Call of Duty community appreciates what Treyarch has done." -- Dean Takahashi [Full review]EGM -- 8.5/10"This always seemed like the inevitable conclusion we faced as Call of Duty fans. With the exception of the side-thought that is the Specialist HQ, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is a wholly social experience, and it stands all the stronger because of it. Committing to three full-fledged multiplayer modes was a necessary risk for making a Call of Duty game that will likely have longer legs than any installment before it. Quality single-player campaigns are always welcome in our Call of Duty games, but if this is Treyarch's new direction for the series, that works too." -- Nick Plessas [Full review]Destructoid -- 8/10"Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 can't just operate with the same business-as-usual mentality from Activision, now that it's taken this step. Blackout has the potential to be its own game in the same way Epic tore its Battle Royale mode from the main package as a separate entity. Leave it to Treyarch to create a conundrum after introducing a non-traditional project into the fray." -- Chris Carter [Full review]Variety -- No Score"While it lacks the reinvention of some of its predecessors, Call of Duty: Black Ops IV is dutifully crafted, meticulously polished, and the best Call of Duty multiplayer outing in years." -- Luke Winkie [Full review]Info from Gamespot.com

Chinese networking and mobile giant Huawei introduced a new smartphone this week that it claims is a competitor in the video game space to the Nintendo Switch. The Mate 20 X is a 7.2-inch smartphone that CEO Richard Yu boasted as "the best portable mobile gaming machine."Variety reports that the event was ostensibly to debut two new phones, but Huawei finished its presentation with the surprise announcement of the Mate 20 X as well. After comparing its performance to phones like the Galaxy Note9, Yu showed a gamepad add-on and began comparing the Mate to the Switch, complete with side-by-side comparisons.Yu said the Mate 20 X has a larger screen than the Switch at 7.2 inches, higher resolution with a 1080p OLED screen, and a larger battery. It features a vapor chamber and graphene film designed to keep the chips working at lower temperatures. As a phone, it comes equipped with a 40 MP camera. And it comes in two colors, Phantom Silver and Midnight Blue. You can check out the full specifications here."We bring you an extra display, extra power and also extra performance," Yu said.The Mate 20 X is priced at €899 or around $1,040. That makes it significantly more than a Nintendo Switch, and aligned more with the price of higher-end iPhone models.The Switch has provided a financial boom for Nintendo, joining its mobile and console markets. It's clear enough why a mobile manufacturer would want to position its latest device as a direct competitor. Some of Nintendo's success, though, comes down to Nintendo's own first-party games and third-parties getting on-board with specialized software. Huawei is a huge name in China, so it may use that leverage to attract its own development community.Info from Gamespot.com

What truly distinguishes SoulCalibur from its genre contemporaries is a pervading sense of adventure. It tells a grand tale of knights and ninjas, axe-wielding goliaths and pirate warriors, all struggling over mythical weapons of good and evil. It accents this with a rousing orchestral score and grandiose narrations about entwined destinies and inescapable fates. Sure, deep and rewarding mechanics are at the heart of every good fighting game--and SoulCalibur VI certainly has that--but for this series, adventure has always been the soul.That spirit of adventure is most evident in SoulCalibur VI's two story modes. Libra of Souls is the meatier of the two and takes inspiration from SoulCalibur II's beloved Weapon Master Mode. It's part fighting game, part role-playing game, part Dungeons & Dragons campaign; you create and customize your own unique fighter using options that, while serviceable, aren't nearly as robust as the ones in Bandai Namco's other fighter, Tekken 7. From there you embark on a journey that will take you across the world, and along the way you'll cross paths--and swords--with both named characters and generically named bit-parters.Libra of Souls tells its story primarily through text, but it's all surprisingly engaging, with dialogue and descriptions setting the stage for the inevitable fight and giving even its throwaway opponents a bit of flavour. The story's conceit for making you travel around the world is that you're "malfested" with an evil energy and must absorb Astral Fissures to stay alive. Although you're ushered between main quest missions, various side-quests pop up around you, with NPCs asking for a hand solving their problems. Naturally, the solution each time is a sword-swinging contest, but the game does a valiant job of world building along the way to give texture to its fantasy universe. You'll learn that Ceylon is a major producer of cinnamon, which is favoured by royalty and thus very precious, and that hamlets are being decimated by a rampaging Azure Knight with a thirst for souls. You'll meet a would-be entrepreneur who, while affable, is mostly after handouts; a weaponsmith who is looking to impress the royal family to win a contract; and a priestess who doubts her abilities, among others.Completing these missions rewards you with experience that levels you up, and this is where the RPG hooks are strongest. As you grow, you'll be able to use stronger weapons that have different visual styles and properties. Enemies also become hardier and, on top of that, special battle conditions spice up fights. These may make one type of attack more effective while decreasing the strength of others, thus forcing you to diversify your skillset within the battle system. Another wrinkle to the RPG mechanics is the ability to select a food item to take into battle. These bestow bonuses such as increased counter damage, a boost to health at the start of a new round, or extra experience for a win, to name a few. If you’d rather let someone else do the dirty work, you can visit the Mercenaries Guild and hire a fighter, outfit them with a weapon and food, then send them into battle. At best the AI will secure a victory; at worst they’ll knock off some health from the enemy before you step in.There are also little touches in Libra of Souls that reinforce the idea that you're a wandering warrior on an epic journey. One of them is an indicator at the top of the world map that ticks down the years as you progress, establishing a passage of time as you bounce between locations and fights in rapid succession. Another is the decision-making moments, some of which will simply dictate how you act towards a character, while others will weigh your soul towards good or evil, impact the story, and decide how the ending battle plays out. The eventual consequence of your actions is small, but it's a neat way to give you a tiny bit of authorship in the story.The main issue with Libra of Souls is the ratio of storytelling to actual gameplay. The mode is very text-heavy, which would be less of a problem if its battles weren't so quick. In the hands of a capable fighting game player, many enemies can be dispatched within as little as 10 seconds, which means time spent in Libra of Souls is heavily skewed toward reading over fighting. And although the loading screens before and after battles are quite short, they can become increasingly tedious. The mode is also lacking in variety, so beyond the occasional battle condition, it does very little to keep you on your toes. For the most part, applying an aggressive strategy will see you emerge victorious.The second mode, Soul Chronicles, is a more typical take on a fighting game story but is still expansive and has an interesting approach to laying out its narrative. It features a main story that chronicles what happens with the legendary Soul Edge but supplements this with 19 character-specific campaigns, drilling down on what they're doing while the broader story takes place. Although they're heavily reliant on static artwork, they're fully voiced and the artwork itself has an eye-catching, sketch-like style. There's a microcosm of Libra of Souls' issues here too, though, as battles can be over in the blink of an eye, and that means more hitting buttons to advance text.Nevertheless, Libra of Souls and Soul Chronicle make for a satisfying single-player offering, with the former lasting upwards of eight hours and the latter taking around four. Idiosyncrasies aside, both give you plenty to do and provide a comprehensive, engrossing story throughout. By the time it's over, you'll have travelled the world, met a variety of colorful characters, and fought all manner of strange creatures. Quite the adventure.SoulCalibur VI doesn't demand hours of study and experimentation ... you can pick up a controller and feel like you're competent in no timeThe beauty of SoulCalibur's gameplay is its simplicity, and in that respect SoulCalibur VI is a bit like rock-paper-scissors. At its most superficial, the rules of engagement are simple and the pace of battles means decision-making is based on instinct as much as considered tactics and being reactive. Admittedly, the same can be said of most fighting games, but unlike them SoulCalibur VI doesn't demand hours of study and experimentation to do this; you can pick up a controller and feel like you're competent in no time. Although there are complicated systems and techniques to consider, an inability to interact with them doesn't loom over you. Before long vertical attacks will reveal themselves as powerful but slow, you'll quickly realise that horizontal attacks interrupt sidesteps and are a safe way to apply pressure, and kicks are a nice balance of the two but with limited range. It takes little time to internalize those fundamentals, and so their intricacies become apparent quicker than in most fighting games. Throw in blocking and movement, both of which are intuitive, and the pick-up-and-play factor becomes a key strength of SoulCalibur VI.The surface simplicity belies more complex systems beneath, and SoulCalibur VI is mechanically dense. It layers systems from throughout the series on top of each other so even veterans will need to examine the individual pieces and figure out how they fit together. Although each character has a relatively limited range of attacks, the eight-way run movement lets you modify them. Attacks also land at different heights--high, mid, and low--and in turn blocking becomes a three-tiered system. More confident players can react to an attack by executing a last-second Guard Impact to repel and leave their opponent open, but a staggered player can retaliate with a Reversal Impact--a reversal reversal.From there it only gets more complicated. Reversal Edge is a special stance that will counter incoming attacks at any height. It's executed with a single button and the longer it's held the more attacks it can absorb. This makes defending against an onslaught of attacks really easy, but the ease of execution means it also steps on the toes of the more skill-based Guard Impact. Reversal Edge seems to be aimed at casual players as, while a successful Guard Impact places the initiator in a more advantageous position, Reversal Edge establishes a neutral playfield by initiating a clash. Here the action slows, the camera swoops in close, and the two fighters effectively bet on what the other player will do and counter it. This is a useful way to create some breathing room when being smothered, but the guessing game leads to a feeling of randomness that can be frustrating. The workaround here is to land an unblockable break attack to stop a Reversal Edge.Beyond that there are Critical Edges, which are the game's equivalent of super moves. These are governed by the Soul Gauge, which is built up by attacking, defending, and taking damage. Once one level is attained, it can be spent on executing an incredibly powerful and outlandish cinematic attack. A Soul Gauge can also be spent on a Soul Charge, a comeback state of sorts that opens a separate set of moves up for a character to use, powers up normal attacks, and makes them cause damage to blocking opponents for a brief period.Click image to view in full screenThose are just a few of the systems in SoulCalibur VI, so for those that want to become students of the game, it offers plenty to learn. However, at times it can also feel needlessly complex. This is likely a symptom of creating a collection of systems that give the hardcore fighting game players the depth they crave while also enabling casual players to stand their ground against them. On paper that might seem like a good approach, but the end result is a construction that is at odds with itself, as if built out of both K-Nex and Lego--the simpler parts undermine the complex ones, and although it works, it's inelegant. A good player with an understanding of all the systems will almost always triumph over someone only making use of the basic ones, so the biggest issue this superfluousness presents is that it makes the path from casual to expert a little less appealing to walk. That complexity is overwhelming when it doesn't need to be, and if there are simpler and easier options there's less incentive to dig beneath the surface.SoulCalibur VI is a fighting game that's easy to recommend. Like all the best titles in the genre, it has a low barrier to entry and high skill ceiling. For those looking to get in a few games with friends it's welcoming and immediately enjoyable. For those committed to ploughing the depths of its systems to get tournament ready, it has plenty to unpack and understand. Better still, those that want to play alone will find SoulCalibur VI has some of the most substantial single-player content in any fighting game today.At the time of writing, SoulCalibur VI's online servers aren't live. GameSpot will test the game post-release and update this review with an assessment of its online performance. Info from Gamespot.com

As a continuation of the Black Ops subseries, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 both benefits from and is limited by its past. All three of its major modes--multiplayer, Zombies, and the new battle royale mode Blackout--pull from and build upon previous games. Multiplayer is largely successful in its mix of old and new, while Zombies struggles more with dated elements. Blackout, though, strikes an excellent balance, putting a clever Call of Duty spin on a genre entirely new to the series.While Black Ops 4 doesn't have a traditional single-player campaign, it does have a helpful set of character-focused tutorial missions. Called Specialist HQ, it introduces you to each of the 10 multiplayer Specialists one by one, taking you through their unique abilities and a practice multiplayer match. It does have a bit of a story and some gorgeous (and gory) cutscenes threading each mission together, but it's all in service of getting you acquainted with the new Specialist mechanics--which is well worth the three or so hours it takes, since some of those mechanics appear in Blackout as well. One mission even weaves in a bit of general Zombies training, an unexpected but welcome touch that helps make the largely separate modes feel a little more cohesive.MultiplayerMultiplayer is the most straightforward of the modes, and Black Ops 4 attempts to be more tactical than previous entries. The wall-running and thrust-jumping of Black Ops 3 is gone, replaced with weighty, grounded movement, and healing is now manual and on a cooldown timer. The combination forces you to be more thoughtful about your positioning, since you can't just jet and dodge enemy fire until your health regenerates--you need to make sure you have adequate cover and time to heal yourself in your immediate vicinity. This encourages a slightly slower, more cautious pace on an individual level, and it's refreshing to play it smart instead of just fast. But time-to-kill is still low and respawning still near-instant, ensuring that matches don't stagnate.The more tactical feel extends to the Specialists, which build upon those introduced in Black Ops 3. Each has a unique weapon and equipment with a specific combat focus, like area control or high damage output. Each Specialist's weapon is tied to a longer cooldown and functions as a superpowered attack (or defensive ability, in some cases), while their equipment varies from a special grenade to trip mines and other gear with a clear strategic purpose. This includes roles other than offensive ones--there's even a pseudo-healer Specialist, Crash--and it's a change that gives multiplayer more variety.Certain Specialists and strategies are more useful in some game types than others, though. Area control is best for objective-based modes like Domination, for example, and far less effective in the more scattered Team Deathmatch. Generally, your choice of Specialist and your team's composition won't matter in any mode if you aren't skilled in basic shooting and positioning, even if you're in a more defensive or supporting role. This means you can play selfishly and still emerge victorious, which works well for those of us who often solo queue and would rather not risk trying to communicate with randoms. But it can also make playing support-focused Specialists less rewarding if you aren't working as a team, since your efforts are useless if your teammates don't take advantage of them. It's a surprisingly good balance overall, though, giving you the flexibility to be only as tactical as you want or are able to be and enjoy the match regardless.The map design, too, facilitates that flexibility. Each map has areas perfect for different Specialists to take advantage of, like blind corners where Nomad's trip mines can take enemies by surprise or high ceilings where Recon can shoot and hide his Sensor Dart that reveals enemies on your radar. But the long and narrow three-lane structure each map is built on is a strong foundation for more traditional shooting as well, with both long sightlines good for sniper and tactical rifles and tight spaces for close-range automatic weapons.The Specialist strategies are best showcased in the new Control, an objective-based mode in which each team, one attacking and one defending, shares 25 lives. You win by either exhausting all of the enemy team's lives or gaining or maintaining control of the two objectives. A defensive Specialist like Torque, who has Razor Wire perfect for placement under windows and a Barricade "weapon" for extra cover, is a great option if you're trying to hold an objective, for example. An offensive Specialist, on the other hand, can aim to wipe out the enemy team.ZombiesBlack Ops 4's Zombies is as broad as it is deep, with two separate storylines across three maps (or four if you have the Black Ops pass included in the game's special editions). The first two, IX and Voyage of Despair, are part of the brand-new Chaos story, while Blood of the Dead and Classified round out the selection of maps to make up the returning Aether story. All of them follow the familiar Zombies formula--fighting waves of the undead, saving money to access better weapons and new areas, and uncovering wacky secrets and puzzles along the way--but each has its own quirks that take time and effort to discover.The Chaos maps are strong aesthetically, with rich level design and clever puzzles to match--draining water that has seeped into the Titanic's depths so you don't drown while searching for other secrets, for example. Like previous Zombies maps, a lot of the fun comes from figuring out how the map ticks while also trying not to die, and both IX and Voyage of Despair have the complex layouts that lend themselves to thorough yet hectic exploration. Voyage is a personal favorite, with narrow, creepy hallways and presumably drowned zombies that have water gushing from their heads.On the Aether side, Blood of the Dead is based on Black Ops 2's Mob of the Dead, while Classified is a reimagination of Black Ops' Five. Although they're definitely familiar, there are still surprises to entertain returning players--some puzzles don't unlock what you expect them to unlock, for example. However, the Ultimus crew hasn't aged particularly well, even considering that each of them is stereotyped to the extreme. The jokes just don't land anymore, especially Takeo's overdone Japanese accent where Ls are replaced with Rs at every opportunity. In Blood of the Dead it's distracting, but in Classified, lines about the Emperor and eating sushi are just plain offensive. You'll also hear these same lines every time you start a new run, which doesn't help.On top of the already hefty amount of Zombies content, Black Ops 4 introduces a new mode of fighting the undead, Rush. It's a much faster-paced version of Zombies where you don't have to do any thinking or puzzle-solving; you're just there to kill them horde-style. There's no money, so you don't need to save up to buy a weapon or unlock a door. You're instead told which area will have the next Rush wave, and you're directed from room to room as you go. It's too intense to be a tutorial, per se, but it's a great way to familiarize yourself with the map, test weapons, and plan where to go next if you get stuck in Classic mode.BlackoutThe third and most exciting of Black Ops 4's three main sections is, of course, Blackout. Like other battle royale games, Call of Duty's take puts 100 players on one map with the goal of being the last person or squad standing, and a collapsing circle of death forces you in closer and closer proximity. It's unlike anything Call of Duty has done before, and slight alterations to its mechanics, like the addition of bullet drop on some weapons, help it adapt to the very different gameplay style.Brilliantly, experience in both multiplayer and Zombies benefits you in Blackout. Perks and Specialist equipment can be looted during a match, and knowing how to both use and counter them can give you an advantage. There are also zombie-infested areas that offer powerful loot at the risk of attracting human players to your position, and that PvE twist in particular helps distinguish Blackout from the likes of PUBG. A successful Blackout round can last over 20 minutes, so if you're impatient or more used to Call of Duty's shorter multiplayer formats, seeking out zombies and causing a ruckus mid-match is a great way to see more action.The map itself is also distinctly Call of Duty, filled with references to previous games, including the fan favorite Nuketown. Vibrant and varied design makes each region stand out from the next, and the map as a whole is easy to navigate as a result. That in turn facilitates the strategic movement and positioning necessary to succeed; it's easy to pivot if a lot of other people are nearby, for example, if you know where you are in relation to the next-best loot area.The combination of Call of Duty-specific mechanics with PUBG-style health, loot, and shooting systems is executed well, with quality-of-life improvements to UI--notably, you can quick-equip weapon attachments without going into your menu. The twists are balanced, too, and the Specialist equipment in particular doesn't make things feel unfair. Like in multiplayer, you can ignore anything you don't want to bother with, and survival ultimately comes down to your situational awareness, your skill with various weapons, and a bit of luck with looting and the circle. That makes victory feel earned and, as a result, immensely gratifying--Blackout definitely captures the tense, shaky excitement that makes battle royale such a popular genre.Black Ops 4 isn't short on content, and its three main modes are substantial. Multiplayer introduces more tactical mechanics without forcing you into them, and it largely strikes a good balance. Zombies has multiple deep, secret-filled maps to explore, though its returning characters don't hold up and prove distracting. Finally, Blackout pushes Call of Duty in an entirely new direction, making use of aspects from both multiplayer and Zombies for a take on the battle royale genre that stands on its own. Sure, there isn't a traditional single-player campaign, but with the depth and breadth of what is there, Black Ops 4 doesn't need it.Info from Gamespot.com

This week, a ton of Netflix Original series and movies arrive on the streaming service. You won't be able to see many of them before Friday, but there are a few new shows to watch while you wait.The second season of Netflix's popular anime about the seven cursed knights who protect the fictional land of Britannia is back. The Seven Deadly Sins: Revival of The Commandments sees the demon Meliodas, giantess Diane, fairy King, immortal Ban, wizard Merlin, and living doll Gowther reunite with Escanor, the Sin of Pride, to once again defend the kingdom with the help of the princess Elizabeth and talking pig Hawk. No longer criminals, the Seven Deadly Sins use their newfound freedom to fulfill promises they each made to friends and family long ago, as well as battle the group of demons that represent the ten Biblical Commandments. For more anime coming to Netflix this month--as well as Crunchyroll, Funimation, Amazon, and HIDIVE--check out our fall 2018 anime guide.A huge assortment of series and movies are coming to Netflix on Friday. Most notable is Marvel's Daredevil Season 3, which sees Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil, once again go up against Wilson Fisk. Although he was the major villain of Season 1, Fisk was regulated to a background role in Season 2. Vincent D'Onofrio has already provided chilling performances as the Kingpin of Crime in Season 3's trailers, and his return seems to plunge Matt into one of the darkest MCU stories told yet. Charlie Cox and Deborah Ann Woll return to reprise their roles as Matt Murdock and Karen Page respectfully, and Wilson Bethel joins the cast to portray Bullseye, one of Daredevil's most iconic villains.Below, you'll find the list of every new series, movie, and Original coming to Netflix this week, and you can check out the full list of October add-ons if you want a peek at what's to come.Netflix: October 14 - October 20 (US)Available October 15Octonauts: Season 4The Seven Deadly Sins: Revival of The Commandments-- NETFLIX ORIGINALAvailable October 16Ron White: If You Quit Listening, I'll Shut Up-- NETFLIX ORIGINALAvailable October 19Accidentally in Love-- NETFLIX ORIGINALAsk the Doctor-- NETFLIX ORIGINALBest.Worst.Weekend.Ever.: Limited Series-- NETFLIX ORIGINALDerren Brown: Sacrifice-- NETFLIX ORIGINALDistrito salvaje-- NETFLIX ORIGINALGnome Alone-- NETFLIX FILMHaunted-- NETFLIX ORIGINALHip-Hop Evolution: Season 2-- NETFLIX ORIGINALIllang: The Wolf Brigade-- NETFLIX FILMLarva Island-- NETFLIX ORIGINALMaking a Murderer: Part 2-- NETFLIX ORIGINALMarvel's Daredevil: Season 3-- NETFLIX ORIGINALThe Night Comes For Us-- NETFLIX FILMWanderlust-- NETFLIX ORIGINALInfo from Gamespot.com

Blizzard has addressed the rumors that Diablo 3 is getting cross-play support. Although the developer knows of players' excitement, it confirmed Diablo 3 cross-play isn't in the works at all right now."While we love the idea of bringing our players together across platforms, we do not have any plans to implement cross-platform gameplay for Diablo at this time," a Blizzard rep told Comic Book. Diablo 3 exists on several different platforms, including consoles from two different generations. With Sony's decision to try console cross-platform play with Microsoft and Nintendo in Fortnite, some players have looked to other games that could benefit from cross-play. With Diablo 3 on so many platforms, it's been a popular candidate.Prior to Comic Book's confirmation, in an interview with Business Insider, a Blizzard rep said that Diablo 3 cross-platform play was "a question of when, not if." This led to several rumors that the dungeon crawler role-playing game would be supporting cross-play soon. Some theorized the feature might be announced at this year's BlizzCon, but--much like Diablo: Reign of Terror being a new game--it doesn't look like that's the case.Blizzard previously released a statement that there were several Diablo projects in the works. The first one, Diablo 3 coming to Nintendo Switch, has already been announced. However, Blizzard has not revealed what the other projects might be. "Some of them are going to take longer than others, but we may have some things to show you later this year," said community manager Brandy Camel.BlizzCon 2018 starts November 2.Info from Gamespot.com

Before the HD re-release of Shenmue I & II was announced, there was a full Shenmue remake in the works. From the appearance of gameplay footage, the remake would have looked a whole lot better.According to VG247, Digital Foundary acquired gameplay of the cancelled Shenmue remake. Said remake was canned sometime back in 2017, but Sega has not announced why. The footage contains almost 10 minutes of gameplay and still shots. The video compares scenes from the original game to how it appears in the remaster, as well as how it would have looked in the remake.Shenmue I & II is a remaster of the original two games that adds high resolution textures and improves the lighting and character models. In our Shenmue review, we gave the original game a 7.8/10, writing, "[Shenmue is] a game rich in story, visuals, and environmental stimuli, but light on overall gameplay. Fans of whodunits and RPGs will take quicker to the game's overall premise, but there is enough to please the casual gamer as well." In our Shenmue II review, we gave the game an 8.7/10, complimenting the game for its story and music, but criticizing its graphics. Sega has announced a sequel, Shenmue III, is in the works. First advertised in 2015 as a Kickstarter, Shenmue III is scheduled to release for PS4 and PC on August 27, 2019.Info from Gamespot.com

THQ Nordic has announced more details regarding the post-launch DLC plans for Darksiders 3. The expansions will add puzzles, items, and enemies to the game, which can be found in two new areas. THQ has not revealed exactly when either DLC will launch.The first DLC is called The Crucible, which adds a horde mode to Darksiders 3. Completing each wave will let you earn new rewards and items to help you in Fury's main quest. The second DLC, titled Keepers of the Void, has Fury journey to the Serpent Holes to deal with an ancient threat. The series The Legend of Zelda-like puzzles will be the main focus of this expansion, but there will also be new types of enemies for Fury to fight as well. Beating Keepers of the Void nets you The Abyssal Armor.Darksiders 3 continues the series' story of the four horsemen of the apocolypse and focuses on Fury, the third horsemen and sister to War and Death. Fury is the most powerful of her siblings and leader of the horsemen, possessing the magical abilities of a mage. As a result, Fury can change her form at will, allowing her to wield different types of weapons and attack with a wide range of spells. Her Flame Hollow form, for example, lets her use speedy nunchucks and fly through the air as a fireball, while her Force Hollow form gives her the strength to handle a heavy hammer and walk on walls.Darksiders 3 releases on November 27 for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. The game has special Deluxe, Blades & Whip, Collector's, and Apocalypse editions. Darksiders 3's DLC comes included in the Blades & Whip, Collector's, and Apocalypse editions. Pre-ordering Darksiders 3 gives you access to an exclusive armor set.Info from Gamespot.com

EA has announced that it is considering a PC remaster of some of the Command & Conquer games. Command & Conquer Rivals is still scheduled for mobile platforms, but EA wants to respect the long-time fans of the franchise who played the original games on PC."Following the reveal of Rivals, we heard you loud and clear: the Command & Conquer community also wants to see the franchise return to PC," wrote EA producer Jim Vessella in a Reddit post. "And as a fan of C&C for over 20 years, I couldn't agree more. With that in mind we've been exploring some exciting ideas regarding remastering the classic PC games, and already have the ball rolling on our first effort to celebrate the upcoming 25th Year Anniversary."The original Command & Conquer first released on PC in 1995 and celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2020. Vessella's post hints that EA already has something planned for the anniversary in the works, but whether or not it's a remaster of the original game remains to be seen. Vessella's original post implies more than one of the Command & Conquer PC games will be remastered, but did not reveal if each title would be released separately or in one collection.In the comments section of his Reddit post, Vessella wrote about definitive details about the remaster if it does come to be, focusing on answering people who wanted to know if the game would have loot boxes or purchasable time savers. "We will not be adding any microtransactions to a C&C Remaster," he wrote.Every Command & Conquer game, from the 1995 original to 2012's MMO Command & Conquer: Tiberium Alliances, is playable on PC. Even without counting spin-offs, there are nearly a dozen games.Info from Gamespot.com

The fall 2018 anime season is underway, and there's a bunch of new series airing on Netflix, Amazon, Crunchyroll, Funimation, and HIDIVE. Here are our seven top recommendations you should add to your queue.Of all the anime this season, Bloom Into You is the must watch. This love story between two high school girls also addresses the pressures of living with low self-worth and the struggles of understanding asexual love. Despite the heaviness of the story's drama, there are both brief snippets of hilarity and quiet moments of internal resilience that draw you into the changing dynamic between the second-year student council president--who can't escape her dead sister's shadow--and the young first-year--who dreams of falling in love but doesn't feel the emotions that manga and music say she should.Animated by Troyca, Inc--the studio responsible for the spectacular 2017 anime Re:Creators--and featuring music by Michiru Oshima--who's composed music for anime like Fullmetal Alchemist and video games like The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess--Bloom Into You might be the most gorgeous anime this season, both to watch and listen to. The series is exclusively airing on HIDIVE in both Japanese and English.Zombie Land Saga is about an ordinary high school girl who leaves her house to start her first day of school--only to be struck and killed by a passing truck. She wakes up 10 years later, revived as a zombie by an eccentric young man who wants to manage an idol group entirely composed of the living dead. The story mixes together idol tropes and common zombie story stereotypes to create something truly bizarre, but it's all surprisingly fun to watch. The series airs in English on Funimation and in Japanese on Crunchyroll.A bit more somber, Iroduku: The World in Colors is a series about a teenage witch, named Hitomi, who's colorblind and lives in the year 2078. That is, until her grandmother transports Hitomi 60 years into the past to 2018. Now lost in a world she doesn't completely recognize and lacking the know-how to complete certain tasks--like needing paper money to pay for things--Hitomi struggles to find the teenager who will one day grow up to be her grandmother so she can go home. The anime is already setting itself up to explore similar themes to what we saw in 2016's Orange. Which isn't surprising, as Yuuko Kakihara--who worked on the script for five of Orange's episodes--is the writer for The World in Colors.This season also features a few new isekai--stories where a normal person from our world is transported to another--but the one you want to watch is That Time I got Reincarnated as a Slime. It's pretty much exactly about what the name implies. A dude from our world dies and he's reborn as a cute little blob of sentient goo in a fantasy world of dragons and goblins. The series is a little weird at first, but stick with it--the manga that the anime is based on goes to some charming places. The show is airing in the original Japanese on Crunchyroll and in English on Funimation.Ms. Vampire who lives in my neighborhood is a cute story about a doll-loving middle-schooler moving in with a centuries-old otaku vampire who looks to be no older than a high school first-year. The first episode tackles the "but where are the parents" problem that most anime have with a humorous twist, and flips the regular person meeting a vampire dynamic by having the normal girl be the strange one with habits that are difficult to comprehend. The first episode of Ms. Vampire who lives in my neighborhood possesses tremendous comedic timing and plays off your expectations of slice-of-life tropes in pretty hilarious ways. You can watch the anime on Crunchyroll.Golden Kamuy returns on Crunchyroll and Funimation with a second season, continuing the adventures of our favorite band of ridiculous treasure seekers who are racing to find certain escaped convicts who have strange tattoos all over their bodies. When combined, the tattoos complete map that leads to a massive pile of gold, which pretty much everyone in the anime wants for themselves. Golden Kamuy's first season aired this past spring, and ended fairly abruptly in the middle of the anime's story, so it's good to see the show continue again so quickly.Castlevania is also getting its second season this fall. Once again, the anime is exclusive to Netflix, but that also means you get the whole season up front. Capturing the aesthetic of the video game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Castlevania the anime portrays the bloody tale of Trevor Belmont's quest to defeat Dracula. Castlevania delves into murder, gore, and heroes and villains that are both right in their own way and also deeply flawed. Think Berserk or Devilman Crybaby. Castlevania can be unsettling at times, but the show captures the essence of the Castlevania video game because of itThe full list of anime series and movies that have been confirmed to premier this fall on Amazon, Crunchyroll, Funimation, HIDIVE, and Netflix are listed below. We'll update the list if additional titles are announced.Fall 2018 Anime Release Date Schedule (U.S.)AmazonOctober 5 Boarding School JulietIroduku: The World in ColorsOctober 11 Le Cirque de KarakuriCrunchyrollOctober 1 That Time I Go Reincarnated as a SlimeOctober 3 RErideD: Derrida, who leaps through timeOctober 4 Zombie Land SagaOctober 5 Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 5: Golden WindOctober 6 Goblin SlayerRadiantSSSS GridmanSword Art Online: AlicizationOctober 7 Ulysses: Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemist KnightOctober 8 Golden Kamuy (Season 2)October 12 Senran Kagura Shinovi MasterFunimationOctober 1 Space Battleship Tiramisu Zwei (Season 2)That Time I Go Reincarnated as a SlimeOctober 6 Ace Attorney (Season 2)SSSS GridmanOctober 8 Golden Kamuy (Season 2)October 9 Tokyo Ghoul:re (Season 2)HIDIVEOctober 1 The Girl in TwilightOctober 5 Bloom Into YouOctober 7 Release The SpyceNetflixOctober 3 Violet Evergarden: SpecialOctober 15 The Seven Deadly Sins: Revival of The CommandmentsOctober 26 Castlevania (Season 2)October 30 Fate/EXTRA Last Encore: Illustrias Geocentrism TheoryInfo from Gamespot.com