After nearly a decade, the end of the Game of Thrones TV show is in sight. Fortunately, fans of the series have new things to look forward to, but even for those with faith in George RR Martin, the prospect of a new Song of Ice and Fire novel looks increasingly unlikely. Similarly, what the future holds for video game adaptations of the franchise is unclear. Telltale is all but dead, and for a series that has proven to be such a phenomenal success in other mediums, it's surprising that there haven't been more game adaptations. Reigns: Game of Thrones may not be the Elder Scrolls-style RPG you're hoping for, but it does nonetheless offer a welcome use of the license--even if it does occasionally stumble with repetition.Reigns: GoT has you take on the role of king or queen of Westeros. You're faced with a series of situations, and you respond to each card that pops up with a binary choice by swiping left or right. Your decisions impact four different meters you must constantly balance: military, religion, citizens, and money. It sounds simple, but you have to prevent all of these meters not just from emptying, but also from filling all the way up. Becoming overwhelmingly popular with the people sounds great, but it's a one-way ticket to losing your throne thanks to jealous lords who launch a coup. You're able to preview the impact of any decision, but you're only told which meters will be affected and whether it'll be a minor and major effect, not whether it will increase or decrease.This results in a certain amount of guesswork when you're initially presented with any scenario, which can lead to a swift death--I've had runs end with my very first swipe. In time you'll develop an understanding for how to approach situations, and the challenge comes in being prepared for anything. You're never sure what opportunity or obstacle lies around the next corner, and deftly handling whatever is thrown at you is the key to success.As is appropriate for Game of Thrones, no character is untouchable, and that's true for each of the rulers you can play as. Like in the previous Reigns games, your death is the very likely outcome of any run, but it comes in many forms, and discovering them all (whether it's contracting greyscale, getting lost in the tunnels of the Red Keep, or being burned to death by wildfire) is one of the most entertaining aspects of the game. It's a rarity that death is a legitimately enjoyable moment in a game, but that's undoubtedly the case here.That's thanks in large part to the excellent writing. Despite each card consisting of a few sentences at most, characters are colorful, distinct, and full of personality. And although the subject matter is often serious, and the world brutal, the game manages to maintain an air of lightheartedness throughout. Some part of that is due to the apparent decision to leave out the sexual assault and rape that is a common element of Martin's novels and the TV show. The game is better off by not trivializing these things by having you respond to them with a Tinder-style swipe, and their absence makes you feel no less like you're inhabiting the world of the books and show.The use of well-established characters is thankfully not heavily reliant on quotes or wink-wink references to the show, like you might expect. While it makes sense that your own ruler's personality is dictated by your choices, there are the occasional moments where characters feel less like themselves and more like generic individuals who share the name and look of their book/show counterparts, but these instances are few and far between.Reigns: GoT embraces its non-canonical status, building loosely on the state of the world from Seasons 6 and 7 and allowing it to expand in many different directions. You're able to make decisions that run contradictory to what we know about these characters; there's nothing stopping you from making Cersei into a benevolent leader or Jon Snow into a materialistic jerk. You will face resistance where you'd expect; Winterfell is not inclined to take kindly to Cersei's attempts at diplomacy. This helps to deepen the sense that you are occupying this world, and not one that just happens to have characters whose names you recognize.The game is well suited to mobile, where you can quickly knock out a brief run. It's designed to be replayed over and over as you take different paths and try different rulers and approaches. In time, you recognize patterns and scenarios that emerge repeatedly, and playing begins to feel like exploring an elaborate maze. You can't save your progress during any run, so you're unable to do the old choose-your-adventure book trick of peeking ahead to see if you're making the "wrong" choice. While there were times that I wished I could place a bookmark I could return to in order to see how differently things could have played out, the absence of such a feature provides a weight to each of your decisions. You'll just have to live (or, well, die) with your decisions, whether or not you like the outcome.As with discovering the many deaths that await you, much of the fun comes from finding every corner of the maze, rather than successfully navigating your way out of it. The threat of the White Walkers is constantly looming in the background, and some runs do prove to be repetitive and dull, offering nothing new to see or do. But more often, you'll be faced with some well-written scenario to see through, be it a war with Dorne, the threat of the Greyjoys, or experiments with wildfire. While this could have felt directionless, vaguely described optional objectives--win a tavern brawl, make Dothraki pie, and so on--provide you with a loose path to pursue as you seek to check everything off your list.While the Game of Thrones license is the headlining feature, there are some advancements here that provide welcome variety and iterate on the formula established in Reigns and Reigns: Her Majesty. You'll periodically have the opportunity to pick from a handful of branches of a decision tree (though these still lead to swipe left or right choices). Slightly more elaborate sequences have you making a series of decisions that, rather than directly affect your four reputation meters, determine whether you successfully complete a long trip or win a battle. In the latter case, you'll have to make tactical decisions about which of your forces to use against specific opponents. StarCraft this is not, but these sequences help to break up the action and make these moments feel like the significant events that they should.Reigns: GoT is by no means perfect. It doesn't lend itself to long play sessions thanks to the potential for repetition, which can make the action feel tedious. But that's ultimately a minor quibble for what's a genuinely fun experience: a choose-your-own adventure where you're faced with non-stop decisions and a seemingly endless combination of ways for things to play out.Info from Gamespot.com

Just over a week since release, developer Treyarch has rolled out numerous updates for Black Ops 4. The latest such patch introduced a variety of bug fixes and stability improvements, while multiple upcoming updates will focus on improving network performance. A Halloween event has also been announced, and Treyarch has brought back the series' Black Market feature where you can acquire new cosmetics. Read on for our full review (originally published on October 17).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

Like Lucas Pope's previous game, Papers, Please, Return of the Obra Dinn is primarily concerned with processing information. In the latter, you play as an insurance clerk assessing claims on a mysteriously abandoned ship rather than a customs agent assessing documents at the border of a totalitarian country, but in both games, you are presented with fragments of data and asked to check their veracity through cross-reference and deductive logic. Both games are also grim in their own ways, but while Papers, Please forces you to consider your personal moral compass and where you're willing to see it compromised, Return of the Obra Dinn leaves you in a more detached role as the time-traveling observer of a naval journey gone horribly wrong.In 1802 the "good ship" Obra Dinn set sail from London to "the Orient" but never reached its destination. Five years later it is found drifting into the port of Falmouth in southwest England with no one left alive on board. As a clerk at the East India Company it's your job to explore the ship and find out what happened. You're given a nifty book--which includes a full crew and passenger manifest, annotated deck maps, a glossary of basic sailing terms, and a group sketch of the people on board drawn by one of the passengers--into which you are expected to record all the relevant details.Like most insurance clerks, one suspects, you are also equipped with a magical pocket watch that, when opened and activated in the presence of a corpse, allows you to travel back in time to the moment of the person's death. It's almost literally a single moment, too, as the screen fades to black and you hear but a few seconds of speech or other sounds leading up to the fatal incident before you find yourself inside a scene that's been frozen in time, and the investigation begins.In this space (which, like the entire game is explored in first-person) you can walk around a confined section of the ship but you cannot interact with anything. You can only zoom in for a closer look at any object, and beyond the immediate surroundings, the background just fades out into nothingness. The entire game is presented in a starkly beautiful monochromatic color scheme, a graphical style described by the developer as "1-bit". When still, it resembles something from an early '80s PC, albeit displaying at a much higher resolution. But in motion, when you're walking around the decks, it looks quite unlike anything seen before--a startling retro throwback that is as alien as it is familiar, and that inherent strangeness works only to enhance the sense of mystery.Once inside an investigation space--or memory, as the game refers to them--the first thing you're compelled to do is examine the now-deceased body in front of you, matching their face to the artist's sketch in your book to commence the process of identification. You still don't know their name, but perhaps there was something you heard just before they died that could be a clue? Maybe there's something about what they were doing or wearing or where they were on the ship or who they were with? You also need to determine their fate--were they shot or stabbed or poisoned or crushed or worse? And, if they were murdered, then by whom? Which likely means having to identify someone else through another series of clues. Or maybe you'll need to find the answers in another memory instead?At first, you won't have enough information to draw any firm conclusions about the fate of the ship. However, as you explore the ship and find more bodies, which in turn open up new areas of the ship and reveal yet more bodies, the gaps in your knowledge will start to close. Soon you'll have access to a series of memories that, by the time you're done identifying everyone and discovering their fates, come together to tell the story of the Obra Dinn and the sixty people on board. It's at this point, as you stand over an unknown corpse with your trusty notebook in hand, that Return of the Obra Dinn solidifies into an exceptionally compelling representation of detective work.Unlocking a person's identity requires you to pay attention to every last detail across multiple memories. To narrow your search you can bookmark a specific person and revisit only the memories in which they appear, letting you focus on their individual story in an attempt to clarify their actions and link them to a particular role on the ship. Further, the Obra Dinn had a fairly multicultural crew so you'll do well to note the different languages spoken and the varying accents of the English-speaking majority, as well as the details of each person's physical appearance.At any point, you can pull out your book to pencil in a detail. Perhaps you think this chap is the First Mate or this fellow with the beard got shot by the ship's surgeon. Correctly identify three people and their fates and the game will let you know by properly typesetting your penciled notes. Some will be obvious, most will not, and many will require keeping track of multiple scenes and threading together numerous what-at-first-seemed-inconsequential pieces of information. When a clutch of clues fall into place and you crack the case, as it were, it feels immensely satisfying.Plenty of games promise to make you feel like a detective only to have you checking boxes, but here it's different. Return of the Obra Dinn gives you all the tools you'll need to solve its puzzles--the book interface is a masterpiece of connected design--and then trusts that you'll be capable of arriving at the correct answers by yourself.But it's more than that. Your magical pocket watch and its time-traveling, corpse-identifying mechanic offers far more than just an exceptionally clever puzzle game--as if that wasn't already enough. It also delivers a wonderfully evocative method of storytelling as you gain glimpses into the lives of each person on board at vital moments along the Obra Dinn's journey and piece together who they were, what they had to deal, what motivated them, and how they responded when tragedy struck. You may only see them in scratchy monochrome stills and hear them in brief snatches of urgent conversation, if at all, but if you're paying attention then you should feel like you know (almost) every one of these sixty people intimately by the end of the game. Info from Gamespot.com

Pokemon Go's next Community Day is almost here. Niantic's monthly event returns this Sunday, October 21, giving players around the world another opportunity to capture rare Pokemon, take advantage of in-game bonuses, and even add a special move to their repertoire.While every Community Day lasts three hours, the particulars of each event vary by month. To help you get prepared, we've rounded up all the information you need to know about October's Community Day below, from its start time in each region to the bonuses that are available and featured Pokemon you'll be able to catch.What Is The Featured Pokemon?During each Community Day, one particular species of Pokemon will appear in the wild much more frequently than usual, giving you a chance to further fill out your Pokedex. While the newly added Gen 4 Pokemon may be on all players' minds right now, the featured Pokemon this month is Beldum, a Steel/Psychic-type first introduced in the series' Gen 3 games, Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire.Beldum is a highly sought after Pokemon, so you won't want to miss your chance to catch as many as you can; not only is it fairly rare, it's capable of evolving into Metagross, an especially powerful monster that would make a great addition to anyone's team. You'll also have a chance of finding a Shiny Beldum during the event.There's an added benefit to capturing as many featured Pokemon as you can. Typically, if you manage to evolve the monster into its final form before the event ends, it will learn a move it normally isn't able to. Such is the case with this month's Community Day; if you evolve Beldum into Metang and then Metagross during the event hours, it'll learn the powerful attack Meteor Mash.Any Metang that evolves during the event will learn the move, even if you've obtained it before the Community Day began. However, it will only be able to learn the move if it evolves during the event, which means you'll have a fairly brief window of opportunity to get the attack. Fortunately, this time Niantic is giving players one extra hour after the Community Day ends to evolve Metang and learn Meteor Mash, so you'll have a little more time than usual to get it.What Time Does It Start?Unlike most of Pokemon Go's other real-world events, which are typically hosted at a particular location, each month's Community Day takes place during a specific window of time, meaning you can participate from anywhere. The event is also available around the world, although its hours will vary depending on your region.Regardless of where you live, the Community Day runs for three hours, during which time you'll find increased spawns of the featured Pokemon and be able to take advantage of the featured bonuses. These hours are typically consistent each month, so if you've participated in previous events, you'll already know when it'll be available. If you're new to the game or simply need a refresher on its schedule, you can see the event hours for each region below.North America11 AM - 2 PM PT2 PM - 5 PM ETEurope, Middle East, and Africa11 AM - 2 PM BST10 AM - 1 PM UTCAsia-Pacific12 PM - 3 PM JSTWhat Other Bonuses Are There?On top of increased spawns of a particular Pokemon, Niantic always offers players a helpful bonus to take advantage of during the Community Day. This time, Pokemon Eggs will hatch at a quarter of the distance they typically require, meaning you'll be able to hatch Pokemon four times as fast while the event is running. There's also one recurring bonus in each Community Day: any Lure modules that are used during the event will remain active for three hours, rather than their typical 30-minute duration.Info from Gamespot.com

Forza Horizon is back for another year, and that means Barn Finds are back too. If you're new to series, all you need to know is that as you play through Forza Horizon 4, you'll periodically get a call telling you that there's a beat-up old car somewhere for you to find on the map. This will unlock a particular Barn Find, and you'll be given a rough area to search. But, it's up to you to explore the zone and pinpoint the location of the barn yourself.Sometimes this is easy, and sometimes it can really tricky--barns can be in plain sight or hidden within a dense forest. But finding them is worth it--the rare and iconic cars will be restored over time and gifted to you for free, adding a nice boost to your Car Collection level. If you're having trouble locating some of these Barn Finds, or just want to save yourself some time, this guide will help you find the exact location of the barns for particular cars.How To Use This Guide: We've provided screenshots of the barn locations on the world map, a photo of what it looks like in-game, and a shot of the restored car you'll get. We suggest using these images along with Horizon's Drone Mode (use RB to boost!) to quickly track these down.A Quick Note: Forza Horizon 4 features a version of Great Britain that has rolling seasons, which change every 7 real-world days. As such, there are a small handful of Barn Finds that are exclusive to Autumn, Winter, Summer, and Spring. At the time of writing, we've only experienced Autumn, Summer, and Winter, but we'll update this guide with information about the other Barn Finds as the seasons change, so come back then!Additionally, there is one Barn Find that is exclusive to one of the game's Properties, Bamburgh Castle, so you'll have to cough up a cool 10 million Credits to buy and unlock that one. You may also encounter Barn Finds in a slightly different order to our list, but a quick reference of the World Map should let you know what you're looking for.For more on Forza Horizon 4 be sure to read our review. We said that "Playground Games continues to excel at making the act of virtual driving exciting, approachable, and entertaining without sacrificing complexity."Table of Contents [hide]1983 Audi Sport Quattro1986 Ford Escort RS Turbo1993 Jaguar XJ2201961 Jaguar E-Type S11997 Lotus Elise GT11966 MG MGB GT1965 Mini Cooper S1998 Subaru Impreza 22B STI1962 Triumph Spitfire1998 TVR Cerbera Speed 12Spring Season Exclusive - Ford GT40 MKISummer Season Exclusive - 1962 Peel P50Autumn Season Exclusive - 1960 Aston Martin DB4 GT ZagatoWinter Season Exclusive - 1973 Land Rover Range RoverProperty Exclusive - 1930 Bentley Blower1983 Audi Sport QuattroThis B-Class Audi Sport is an All-Wheel Drive built for both road and rally. The barn is located within a forest just below Derwent Reservoir, as in, literally just below the "Derwent Reservoir" name on the world map. 1986 Ford Escort RS TurboThis Ford Escort is was limited to just 5000 models when it was released back in the 80's. It's a C-Class vehicle in Horizon 4, and you can find its barn at the peak of a mountain in the Scottish Highlands, west of Glen Rannoch. Make sure you bring an AWD to climb those inclines! 1993 Jaguar XJ220The XJ220 is built for racing and was the fastest production car from 1992-1993. It's ranked S1, and you'll find its barn tucked away on a private country road east of Ambleside. 1961 Jaguar E-Type S1This rare Series 1 version of the E-Type roadster is a C-class in Horizon 4. You'll find the barn just off a dirt road in the south of Tarn Hows. 1997 Lotus Elise GT1Who left this one to rust? The Lotus GT1 touring car is an S1 vehicle and hidden just west of Horizon 4's slate quarry. 1966 MG MGB GTA real British classic, the MGB is a D-Class car in a fetching gumboot green that will make you feel like you've gone back in time. This one's hidden on a small hill on the edge of a strip of trees in Astmoor. 1965 Mini Cooper SWho doesn't love a Mini? Well, anyone who needs luggage space, I guess. Regardless, this D-class version of the classic little car is hidden in a small valley on the far west of the map, on the southern end of Derwent Water. 1998 Subaru Impreza 22B STIAnother classic rally staple, this 90's WRX STI is only a B-class initially but is screaming for an upgrade. It's hidden in a creepy part of Lakehurst Forest, by the side of a dirt road. 1962 Triumph SpitfireYet another British classic, the Spitfire convertible doesn't have a lot of grunt, but is perfect for relaxing country drives. This one is hidden very sneakily within a thick patch of bushes and trees just outside the Express Railyard, which we spent far too much time in during our hunt. 1998 TVR Cerbera Speed 12This high-performance concept car never went into production, but thanks to the magic of video games, you can own and drive one for free! It's an S1 class vehicle, and its barn is located just east of the Greendale Airstrip.Spring Season Exclusive - Ford GT40 MKIThis monstrous Ford GT can only be found in spring. You'll find the barn near the Moorhead Wind farm. Summer Season Exclusive - 1962 Peel P50The adorable little D-class Peel micro-car is only available during summer. It's hidden in a forest between Ashbrook and Broadway, and perfect for those quick trips down to the shops. Autumn Season Exclusive - 1960 Aston Martin DB4 GT ZagatoLike the name suggests, this Aston Martin is only available during the autumn season. Another 60's classic, only around 25 of these things were produced. You can pick it up very easily just south of the Horizon Festival Site, in a nice open field.Winter Season Exclusive - 1973 Land Rover Range RoverThis hardy Range Rover is a great vehicle to tackle the ice and snow of Horizon's Winter. You'll find the barn on a small island in the middle of the Derwent Water lake, which is completely frozen over during winter.Property Exclusive - 1930 Bentley BlowerWe'll update this article when we can afford to spend 10 million credits on Bamburgh Castle. If you've saved up 10 million credits in Forza Horizon 4... well, that's an amazing effort.What's your favorite Barn Find in Forza Horizon 4 and how do you think it compares to previous Barn Find selections? Let us know in the comments below.Info from Gamespot.com

This week, the stakes of Supergirl Season 3 became all the more clear as the zealous Graves siblings revealed they have not been acting alone and tipped their hand regarding their plans for the future. It's pretty simple, really: Together with the mysterious masked Agent Liberty, Otis and Mercy Graves plan on exposing and destabilizing the entire alien population of America, all in the name of--well, making it great again.The political allegories in this one are anything but subtle.What's more, Agent Liberty himself spent a bit more time in the spotlight, thanks to he and Mercy's partnership. That gave us our first real look at his civilization followers, the "Children of Liberty," as they'll soon be known according to series producer Robert Rovner. "We learn more about Agent Liberty's backstory in episode 4," Rovner teased when speaking with GameSpot and a group of reporters at The CW earlier this week. "It's an origin story, which I think adds a lot of depth to our villain. You get to see where he came from and how he got to be the way he is."But perhaps more interesting that Agent Liberty alone is his partnership with Mercy Graves, which was explored in this episode, along with Mercy's former partnership with Lex Luthor, who was announced this week as an upcoming addition to the season. Mercy was, according to Lena, Lex's right hand for quite some time before their partnership came to a rather disastrous end. Apparently Mercy wanted to push Lex and his ideals even further than he was comfortable with--which seems a bit difficult to believe, considering Lex's reputation as one of the worst of the worst over in the comics.Speaking of the comics--Mercy's connection to the Luthor name won't come as a surprise to DC fans. In the comics, Mercy was brought in (a transplant from the Animated universe, like Harley Quinn) as Lex's personal secretary and bodyguard. She's a cybernetically enhanced Amazon who has all the ruthless cunning of her boss, with added superhuman strength and invulnerability, making her quite the force to be reckoned with. We saw a small sample of that this week as Mercy went toe-to-toe with Lena using pieces of Lena's own L-Corp exosuit--a nod to Lex's comic book power armor.Significantly, a large part of Mercy's comic book history revolves around Lex Luthor's campaign (and eventual tenure) as President of the USA, and considering how up-in-the-air the presidency is in the Supergirl universe right about now, that may be something to keep an eye on in the future. Rovner was, of course, unable to confirm or deny whether a President Luthor plotline was in the show's immediate future, but there are certainly political seeds being sown.Agent Liberty, too, was shown conducting a town hall-like meeting with his soon-to-be "Children of Liberty" promising the tides of change for those humans who feel disenfranchised by the aliens on Earth. Along with exposing the alien threat, Liberty also seems to want to make a power play of his own--to what end, we can't be sure. But let's just say there's a chance that the man behind the mask isn't a total stranger to Mercy or to Lena after all, and that maybe Mercy and Lex's partnership isn't as over and done with as Lena would like to believe.Of course, a Luthor reveal for Agent Liberty would be a left turn for the character. His comic book counterpart is a man named Benjamin Lockwood, a former CIA agent turned tech-based superhero. That incarnation of Liberty was more frequently a morally ambiguous anti-establishment figure who rallied against the government and occasionally teamed up with the Justice League.Regardless of whether Agent Liberty is, in fact, Luthor in disguise, another member of Team Supergirl is about to find themselves in the crosshairs of the conflict. James Olsen's editorial with CatCo Worldwide Media is going to make some waves, Rovner explained, that may or may not bring some unwanted attention to him. "His relationship with the Children of Liberty is an interesting one. It has its roots in this episode, but it's going to get much more complicated as we get deeper into the season."What, exactly, constitutes "complicated" for James Olsen is certainly up for debate, but with the chaos Agent Liberty has already wrought in National City this season--and the promise for more to come, best practice seems to be paying close attention to the possible clues about whoever is behind the mask. Luthor or not, he's certainly not a threat to be taken lightly. Info from Gamespot.com

PAX Aus takes place this week in Melbourne, and now Microsoft has joined PlayStation and Ubisoft in announcing all of the games it will bring to the mega-show.Microsoft's booth on the show floor will include more than 80 Xbox One X consoles, with unreleased games like Ori and the Will of the Wisps and Battlefield V available to play. For Battlefield V, this will be 32-player multiplayer on the Rotterdam map for Conquest mode.PUBG will also be playable, featuring the War mode on the new map Sanhok. What's more, Microsoft will have Forza Horizon 4 available to play, while the company is also bringing an actual McLaren 720S to its booth to show off.A number of indie games will also be playable in Microsoft's booth, including Tunic, Bendy and the Ink Machine, Supermarket Shriek, and Ashen.Outside of the playable games, Microsoft is hosting an briefing called "Xbox Presents: Gaming for Everyone" at the EB Live Stage on Friday, October 26 at 1 PM. What's more, ID@Xbox boss Chris Charla will be on panel called Indie Dev Support: THE CSR of the Industry at 6 PM that day.Additionally, Xbox is partnering with the NEXT Exhibit to show off its new Adaptive Controller. The controller will also be available at the Diversity Lounge, where streamer Hand Solo will give a presentation.PAX Aus kicks off on October 26 with a keynote address by Rhianna Pratchett, who worked on the Tomb Raider reboot and its sequel, Rise of the Tomb Raider. She also wrote Mirror's Edge, Heavenly Sword, and the Overlord series. During her PAX Aus keynote, she'll be engaging directly with fans, answering questions about any number of topics.GameSpot's theatre, the GameSpot Dropbear Theatre, will have programming running Friday through Sunday. We'll be hosting panels on Fortnite's coverage in the mainstream media, voice acting featuring actors from Telltale's The Walking Dead and Fallout 4, and hacking a video game, among other topics. You can see the full programming lineup for the GameSpot Dropbear Theatre here, while a full list of every PAX Aus panel can be seen here.Also new for this year is that PAX Aus and another big-time Australian gaming show, the EB Expo, are joining forces. PAX Aus three-day tickets are sold out, but you can still buy single-day tickets for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday here on the event's website. Xbox PAX Aus Games LineupXbox One GamesOri and the Will of the WispsPUBGBattlefield VForza Horizon 4ID@XboxTunicSupermarket ShriekAshenBendy and the Ink MachineXbox Game Pass titles featured in the Xbox LoungeShadow of the Tomb RaiderRocket LeagueHuman Fall FlatHalo 5The DivisionQuantum BreakInfo from Gamespot.com

Netflix has announced that Luke Cage will not be returning for a third season. The news comes just a few days after the announcement that Iron Fist has been canceled, leaving just Jessica Jones and Daredevil as the last Defenders standing on the streaming service."Unfortunately, Marvel's Luke Cage will not return for a third season," reads a joint statement from Netflix and Marvel. "Everyone at Marvel Television and Netflix is grateful to the dedicated showrunner, writers, cast and crew who brought Harlem's Hero to life for the past two seasons, and to all the fans who have supported the series."Showing solidarity, Iron Fist star Finn Jones posted an image on Instagram in response to the news. It shows his character, Danny Rand, combining the power of the Iron Fist with Luke Cage's own overwhelmingly destructive abilities. View this post on Instagram🤜🏼❤️🤛🏿A post shared by Finn J (@finnjones) on Oct 19, 2018 at 8:02pm PDT While the Iron Fist series had a shaky start, general consensus is that its second season showed some improvement. Luke Cage, however, started much stronger. Like many of the Netflix and Marvel shows, it suffered from bloat, with more episodes than there perhaps needed to be. Despite this, Luke Cage had a distinct identity and a grit that many appreciated. Its first season was bolstered by strong performances from Mike Colter (Luke Cage), Simone Missick (Misty Knight), Rosario Dawson (Claire Temple), and Mahershala Ali (Cottonmouth).The series also had a visual and musical flair that many of the other Marvel shows on Netflix don't. It very much leaned into an aesthetic that could carry the feeling of living in Harlem and the culture that shaped it and represents it. In one memorable scene Mahershala Ali's Cottonmouth watches on as rapper Jidenna delivers a performance of Long Live The Chief to an empty club. In another, an iconic image of rapper Biggie Smalls is used to perfectly encapsulate Cottonmouth as a character.The two cancellations come at a time when Disney is working on its own streaming service. Thus far Disney has confirmed Season 7 for Star Wars: The Clone Wars and a new live-action Star Wars series are in production for the service. In terms of Marvel offerings, Disney has said it will have TV shows based on "beloved superheroes" that may not have had their own spotlight on the big screen. Reports have suggested that Tom Hiddleston is lined up to reprise his role as Loki and Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch for these.Daredevil Season 3, meanwhile, is available now and returns to the struggle between Matt Murdock and Filson Fisk that made the first season so compelling. However, the third season also introduces another Marvel villain into the mix. Read our Daredevil Season 3 review to find out whether if it's successful or not.Info from Gamespot.com

Even some 20 years after it debuted, the Pokemon series remains one of Nintendo's most beloved and lucrative franchises, but developer Game Freak is making a concerted effort to broaden its appeal even further with Pokemon: Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee. Rather than continuing to build upon the mechanics that have been steadily accumulating with each successive generation, the upcoming Switch games deliberately simplify many of the series' elements in order to draw in new and lapsed fans. From what we've seen of the games thus far, this results in some genuinely welcome quality-of-life changes, but for hardcore players, it also makes the titles feel a little rudimentary compared to other installments.We recently had an opportunity to go hands-on with a new demo of Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee. Whereas the E3 build was set entirely within the Viridian Forest, this demo dropped us off at the foot of Mt. Moon. In past games, caves had always been some of the most frustrating areas to explore (particularly so in the original Red, Blue, and Yellow versions) due to how frequently you would be beset by random encounters. In the Let's Go titles, however, wild Pokemon appear in the overworld, so you're now free to choose whether you want to engage a Pokemon or continue exploring. There is still some randomness to where and when Pokemon will appear; occasionally a monster will spawn unavoidably, forcing you into an encounter anyway. But by and large, having Pokemon roaming the overworld makes traversing the Kanto region more enjoyable.Since their unveiling, Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee have been billed as reimaginings of Pokemon Yellow rather than straight remakes, and that distinction was evident as we explored Mt. Moon. While the titles seem to follow the same general story beats as the classic Game Boy game, they also diverge in some unexpected ways, most notably in our encounter with Team Rocket. In the original Yellow version, Jessie and James first appear toward the end of the cave, after you've obtained one of the fossils. Here, you cross paths with them immediately upon entering Mt. Moon. Rather than battle you on the spot, however, the villains flee, leading you into the heart of the cave. Pokemon: Let's Go director Junichi Masuda teased that there are many other new instances like this peppered throughout the game, and Team Rocket in particular will play a more prominent role, showing up more frequently throughout the course of the adventure than they did in the original.Another notable new feature in Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee is local co-op play. While previous Pokemon games allowed you to team up with a friend for Multi Battles, the Let's Go titles are the first to give another player the ability to drop in and join the adventure at any time simply by waving a second Joy-Con. The second player is fairly limited in terms of what they can actually do; they're not able to initiate battles nor pick up items, and the camera will not follow them if they happen to venture off-screen. Rather, their purpose is primarily to assist the main player. During battles, for instance, they'll also send one of your Pokemon out onto the field, turning the contest into a two-on-one affair. They can help capture wild Pokemon as well by throwing their own Poke Ball during the catching phase, greatly increasing your chance of success. Older players likely won't have much reason to use this feature, as it makes what is already a more leisurely take on the series even easier, but it's particularly well-suited for parents who want to adventure alongside and guide their children through the game.The biggest difference between Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee and past games is how you capture Pokemon. As previously revealed, the Let's Go titles employ Pokemon Go's catching mechanics, meaning you won't need to battle a wild Pokemon and whittle its health down in order to capture it. Despite this, your party will still earn experience points each time you catch a new Pokemon, just as they would if you had battled it, giving you an incentive to collect as many monsters as you can. This greater emphasis on catching Pokemon also means you now carry your Pokemon Box around in your item bag. This is a particularly handy change, as you can now swap Pokemon in and out of your party from the menu screen rather than having to visit a Pokemon Center each time you want to change them out. You're also able to rename any Pokemon you capture directly from the party screen instead of through the Name Rater, another convenience brought over from Pokemon Go.Still, while you don't fundamentally lose any of the benefits you'd typically receive from wild Pokemon battles, their absence will likely be the most divisive aspect of Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee. Wild battles have always been the perfect opportunity to raise and test out new Pokemon; without them, the only battles you'll engage in are against other trainers, who traditionally could only be challenged once. The games also eschew held items and Pokemon abilities, two other staple elements of the series. While this brings them closer in line with the original Yellow version, since both of those mechanics were introduced in later games, it removes a layer of strategy from battles.It remains to be seen if Pokemon: Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee will have enough depth to sustain hardcore fans' interest, but they're shaping up to be a good entry point for new and younger players. The games launch for Nintendo Switch on November 16. Alongside them, Nintendo is releasing a Poke Ball-shaped controller called the Poke Ball Plus, which retails for $50 and comes with the Mythical Pokemon Mew. You can read more about the titles in our roundup of everything we know about Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee.Info from Gamespot.com

Barring a small handful of spin-offs, the Pokemon series is making its proper debut on Nintendo Switch next month with the release of Pokemon: Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee. Based largely on the classic Pokemon Yellow version, the Let's Go games return the franchise to its roots in many ways. As in the original, the story is once again set in the Kanto region, and you'll only encounter the first 151 Pokemon (plus the newly revealed Meltan) during your adventure.The Let's Go games also diverge from tradition in some dramatic ways, particularly in their connection with Pokemon Go. Not only are you able to transfer certain monsters you catch in the mobile game over to the Switch titles, they also employ Pokemon Go's catching mechanics, meaning you're no longer be able to battle wild Pokemon.GameSpot recently had an opportunity to sit down with Pokemon: Let's Go director Junichi Masuda and lead game environment designer Kensaku Nabana. Through an interpreter, we discussed what it was like reimagining the traditionally 8-bit world of Kanto in 3D, what changes the development team made in bringing the games to Switch, and how the new Mythical Pokemon Meltan came to be.Despite being inspired by Pokemon Yellow, Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee seem to introduce a lot of new elements not found in previous Pokemon games. What new things should we expect?Junichi Masuda: The main flow of the story plays out very much like Pokemon Yellow Version. One of the reasons we wanted to do this is that we imagined a lot of fans of the original game were going to be playing through it. There are different parts, but I think they'll recognize the main beats of the story and feel some nostalgia there.At the same time, we did add a decent amount of sub-events that weren't in the originals. It kind of gives it a different feel because there's a lot of trainers alongside their Pokemon in the actual world itself, so it would be a different impression than the original game, while also covering the same story.Team Rocket seems to play a more prominent role in Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee. Does this mean we'll see more of Jessie, James, and Meowth during the story?Masuda: Yeah, they definitely appear more in the game than in the original Pokemon Yellow Version. With these two games, we really set out at the very beginning with a main target in mind, which was younger kids who maybe didn't own their own smartphones and weren't able to really participate in the Pokemon Go craze that happened. They weren't able to go out and join in on that fun, so really providing them with a really fun experience that also had some of that Pokemon Go gameplay. But at the same time, we wanted to introduce these new players, for whom this might be their first Pokemon game, through the original story, kind of ease them into the Pokemon experience that way.Also, I thought it would be fun if players who maybe enjoyed the original game--they're now much older, probably in their 30s--they'd be able to interact with maybe their own kids or other kids that they know that are playing the game. They would actually know the general flow of the story, maybe able to give advice like where to go next and things like that. With Team Rocket, because the animated series is popular--it's in like 85-plus countries--I imagine a lot of those younger kids will have seen the animated series, even if they haven't played the game. So, we're trying to add in the elements like that to make it easier for them to get into the world and recognize the setup.In the original games, your rival was a huge jerk, but the one in Let's Go seems much friendlier. Why the change?Masuda: I think the biggest reason that rivals were more of a jerk in the early days is that we were just limited with what we could express with the pixel graphics. There's not much you can do with that kind of little sprite on the screen, so we worked harder to characterize them through dialogue and give them certain personalities. Also, because it's just dialogue and there's not a whole lot going on on the screen, it doesn't give as harsh of an impression even if they're jerks, I think. Now we have HD graphics and the visuals are much more impressive. If you also made him a jerk, the impression would be a lot stronger on players. Another thing, just my own personal take, is that it feels that people with those kinds of personalities these days are not as accepted by players, I think, as they were back then.In the original games, there was text or some sort of setting where "Pidgey eat Caterpie," for example. That was fine back then, I think everybody liked it. But, I think, as Pokemon has gone on, the fans kind of have their idea of what Pokemon should be. If we did that now, I think a lot of people wouldn't really like it, it would give them a bad reaction.What about the old man standing outside Celadon Gym who says he loves looking at the pretty girls? Did you have to tone that down as well?Masuda: Yeah, we definitely re-evaluated all those kinds of things. But at the same time, the fact that you remember that means that it was something memorable. We had to be very careful about which things to change and which things to keep as they were. Definitely check it out for yourself and see if he's still around.What was it like having to reimagine the Kanto region in 3D? How hard was it to recreate the world for an HD console?Kensaku Nabana: I was in elementary school when Pokemon Yellow Version came out, and I remember playing those games as well as a fan myself. So, when we were first starting out in the development of this game, we all went back and played Pokemon Yellow Version again, and I just tried to remember the world of Pokemon that was in my imagination when I was playing those games, because you had to fill in the gaps a lot back then. Really try and take what was in my imagination then and redesign the areas to look like that image I had in my head.Also, keeping in mind that we put the focus on having a lot of Pokemon in the environment, walking around in the overall world this time around, so [we focused on] making the visuals look like something where that wouldn't seem strange. We initially explored a more photorealistic direction, but we settled on this more anime style approach, these cuter visuals.It definitely leaves a strong impression, seeing how different some very famous scenes from the old game are in Let's Go, such as the first time you come to the S.S. Anne and see how much more majestic it looks. For some areas like Lavender Town, which was very creepy in the original games, how did you go about expressing that in Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee?Nabana: Lavender Town is definitely one that I don't want to talk too much about and have you discover for yourself, but I definitely have the same impression as you. It's kind of this creepy, unsettling place. So, I initially approached it with that in mind and designed it to make it look like it would give that impression. But that wasn't enough for Mr. Masuda. He was like, "You've got to make it feel even creepier." He gave me a lot of specific directions to do that. So, I think it will be fun to see what it looks like.It doesn't seem like held items and abilities are in these games. What is the reason for that?Masuda: Yeah, that was actually a conscious decision. We don't have held items or abilities or eggs, or a lot of features that weren't in the original generation that got added later on. We had to be very careful in selecting which things we would update from the original games and which ones we would keep the same. I did like the appeal of the simplicity of the original Generation 1 games, as this being an entry title for new players joining the franchise to really experience something very similar to what kids did 20 years ago, but [we also wanted people to] enjoy some of these new gameplay gimmicks, like the Poke Ball Plus and the connectivity with Pokemon Go.But, of course, we did have to update some other things. For example, we added more types later on and Pokemon got re-typed, so those exist in the game. And, obviously, you weren't able to run in the original game. We were only able to create four-way movement, so we decided that we probably couldn't do that today and it made it much easier to move around, I think.Even though held items aren't in it, we've seen that Mega Evolutions are. Can you tell us how that's going to work? Traditionally, your Pokemon has to hold the right item to Mega Evolve.Masuda: No real details, but I can guarantee it's very simple. We didn't really think too much about it and just kept it very simple to trigger Mega Evolutions.Please tell us more about the new Pokemon, Meltan. Was it always planned to debut first in Pokemon Go? And was it designed in collaboration with Niantic, or internally at Game Freak?Masuda: We definitely planned to debut it in Pokemon Go from the very beginning. We had talked about in the early stages of even Go's development that we want to debut a Pokemon, and we worked with Niantic to kind of figure out that functionality. I've been working on the development of Go since the beginning as well, so I've always had it in mind. But the design, that was done internally at Game Freak. I gave some specific setting directions to one of our designers who was also a fan of the original games and played them as a kid, so he had a really good idea of what I was looking for, based on this kind of very simple metal nut design. He definitely probably had the original Kanto Pokemon designs in his mind and tried to keep it as simple as possible. You know, they were more kind of basic back then compared to some of the more modern designs. He worked on that, and then once it was finished, we gave all the assets and everything to Niantic, we planned the event and had them execute on that, and it worked out.Following up on Meltan's design, here in the States he's been given a joking/affectionate nickname of "Nut Boy." I'm curious how you feel about that nickname and if, perhaps, he has a similar nickname in Japan?Nabana: I haven't really seen a lot of nicknames in Japan yet, but for the design, we really tried to make it look like it was kind of a more realistic-looking object, like something that maybe you could see it in real life. It would look weird, but it wouldn't stand out too much. Initially, I thought this would be a very divisive design, like some people might like it but some people won't. It looks really strange, but if you look at it more closely, it's kind of cute at the same time. But it seems like the reaction has been generally really positive, and that's been a lot of fun. There's been tons of fan art already and it was revealed just recently, so it's been exciting for us.In the DS and 3DS games, there were a lot of events at stores that gave out free Pokemon via download codes. Is anything similar planned for Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee?Masuda: The functionality from the previous games is in there, it's called Mystery Gift. It's in the game and I'm sure there'll probably be something, but I think with the limited selection of Pokemon, they're all fairly easily catchable in other games. I'm not sure how often or how frequent it's going to be with these particular games.We’ve talked about transferring between Pokemon Go and Let's Go. When the "core" Pokemon game planned for 2019 arrives, will there also be transfer possibilities between Let's Go and that title?Masuda: We're definitely always thinking of that kind of forward-moving functionality, especially since we've introduced the Pokemon Bank. Now, up to Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, you're able to store your Pokemon. We know they're very important to everyone. I mean, obviously, people would be very sad if they couldn't use their Pokemon in a future game. So, it does get complicated when you talk about the details and we're still figuring it out, but we do have plans to find ways to let players use their Pokemon in the next game.What are your favorite Pokemon games?Masuda: Definitely Red and Green for me is the most memorable. It was a six year development with just nine of us, so we have a lot of memories from that time, both good and bad. One of the other things was that we didn't have much expectation that the game would be played by millions of people at the time. We were just developing it. At any time the company could have gone under and it may not have been released. But yeah, a lot of memories from that time.Nabana: Red and Green, that's where I started as well. I played those games and I have great memories playing them, but over the 20 years as time went on, I think the memory got glamorized even more. It starts to just become this legend in my mind. Of course, we tried to make Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee, the re-imagining of that, to kind of live up to those. It gets more and more beautiful in your mind as time goes on, so that's what we tried to do. So those are probably my favorite games, just in my memory.But as a developer, I think being able to work on these games and try and update them for the modern time and work as a team lead on these games, that was probably my favorite experience so far.Going back to Red and Green and how arduous the development process was. Is there anything from back then that you wanted to specifically address or implement when updating the adventure for Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee?Masuda: With Red and Green and even games after that, at Game Freak we always wanted to have Pokemon appear in the overworld, in the field itself. But, specifically with the original games, there was no way of doing that with the Game Boy hardware. It just couldn't handle it. We really wanted to make them feel like living creatures that are in the world with you, so you'll see on Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee they'll all have their own little unique movement characteristics. Some of them will run up and stop. They're kind of curious. It'll be fun to just discover how they all react to you.One final question: any chance we see Pikachu's scrapped evolution, Gorochu, someday?Masuda: You're probably not going to see it. None of the Pokemon that we worked on, got to a point, and then discarded them have actually ever re-appeared yet, so I would say the chances are low. One of the reasons for that is that we always have this base criteria at Game Freak of being able to explain why a certain Pokemon is in the world or why it exists in that world, trying to make it feel believable within the fantasy. And usually the ones that get rejected are Pokemon that we weren't able to justify, I think. Usually there's a reason for why they weren't implemented, and as long as that reason still exists, they probably won't be put in the game.We always say Pokemon isn't a "character game." It's not a game where it's just the characters, but it's a game that shows this world where these living creatures are existing in a space. That's kind of a slight nuance, but that's what we always try to go for at Game Freak. It's not good enough that they're just cute. (Laughs) They have to have something more to it.Nabana: I've worked on Pokemon designs myself and it really is a very arduous, time consuming process. You've got to talk to a lot of people, a lot of back-and-forth and really be able to justify it before we get to a final design. Info from Gamespot.com

It's easy to assume that because Starlink: Battle For Atlas is geared toward younger audiences, it isn't for you. The toys-to-life component and the cast of Saturday morning cartoon characters are both major aspects of the game that might fly right over your head--it's definitely where I sat for much of the game's pre-release marketing.But after only a few hours with the game, Starlink's strengths quickly pushed through to me: It’s a satisfyingly accessible spaceship combat game, with seamless exploration that takes the best cues from games like No Man's Sky and Elite: Dangerous, and comes with all the trimmings of Ubisoft's brand of open worlds (for better and worse, according to our review.)There's one specific thing that's really piqued my continued interest in Starlink, though: At E3 in 2018, I saw a behind-closed-doors demo of the then most recent technical demo of Beyond Good & Evil 2. And if you want to know what this mysterious sequel is going to feel like, playing Starlink is your best bet.BG&E2 is a game that still has an air of mystery about it, especially if you haven’t been following the development blogs and livestreams very closely. There’s a lot to describe about what I saw (read the preview if you’re interested) but essentially, the game has an ambition to be a massive and multiplayer open-world space exploration game, and Starlink is just that.The demo I saw at E3 showed a co-op duo exploring, sneaking, and fighting in an underground tomb, and over the course of 30 minutes, seamlessly transition into city, planet, space, and galaxy exploration and combat. They hoped onto vehicles and got into dogfights above the city, flew high in the sky to marvel at the enormous curvature of the planet, blasted off into the stratosphere to reach their mothership parked in space, and hit hyperspeed to start heading towards new planets.At the time, my only points of reference were No Man’s Sky and Elite Dangerous—both games with impressive scope, and both games I thought of as outliers in terms of what to expect from massive, open-world games. But now, a few months later, Starlink has shown me a much closer example of what Beyond Good & Evil 2 looked and felt like to me, both technically and structurally. Starlink’s seamless and gradual transition between ground-based combat and questing, free-range dogfighting, and space travel has distinct parallels to what Beyond Good & Evil 2 is trying to achieve, though the BG&E2's pace felt slower, making its scope--the world, the galaxy--feel much larger.There’s other Ubisoft technology I could see in Beyond Good & Evil 2 pulling from, as well. The enormous, persistent map of The Crew 2 is an example of how they're possibly going to systematically render their world, allowing multiple people to exist at opposite ends of a land mass. The sheer size of Assassin's Creed Odyssey's map makes me believe that populating the enormous planet I saw in the BG&E2 demo is a feasible feat--albeit one that could only be achieved with the enormous development manpower the company wields.And if you’ve played Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, released only a couple of weeks before Starlink, you might have noticed that Ubisoft is attempting to ape, or at least try their hand at integrating a lot of the major ideas from other open world games into their own. There were arguably various levels of success there, a lot of these components get me excited about how they might be adapted to the Beyond Good & Evil 2 narrative. Branching quests from The Witcher 3, with their varied consequences, has the obvious benefits of enriching world building. The recruitment system from Metal Gear Solid V would make sense in building your crew of Space Rebels. The nemesis system from Shadow of Mordor could potentially be incredibly exciting if you had bounty hunters tracking you down across the galaxy. In the same way, Starlink is the latest, and most directly analogous experiment into exploring Ubisoft's capabilities in adapting the No Man’s Sky and Elite Dangerous model of open-world galaxies for their grand space opera.Ubisoft is pulling Beyond Good & Evil out of the cult-classic status, and it's likely to become a major flagship release for them in the future. But in the meantime, their open-world releases suggest that they're taking steps towards learning how to build the enormous open-world galaxy they need to tell their story. The lofty ambition for the game that I saw in that E3 demo is now a much more palpable idea in my head, with Starlink providing a tangible jumping-off point. So, if you have any interest in Beyond Good & Evil 2, that Ubisoft toys-to-life game might be more exciting to you than you think.Info from Gamespot.com

We're giving away PS4, Xbox One, and PC codes for Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4 to fifteen (15) lucky fans! Scroll down to enter.This is not an instant win. No purchase necessary. Competition ends at 12:00 PM PT on October 26, 2018, in which 15 winners will be chosen at random and emailed a code for the full game (MSRP: $60).Enter below: Info from Gamespot.com

Destiny 2 players eager to get their hands on some new Exotic items are (possibly) in luck. Xur, the mysterious merchant and servant of the Nine, has popped up once again in Bungie's shooter with a refreshed lineup of Exotic items for sale, and he's got something that may be of use for Titans, Warlocks, and Hunters. Here's what he's selling from now until the next weekly reset on Tuesday, October 23, as well as where to find him.Xur is apparently a fan of moons of Jupiter; he was recently found on Io, and that's again where he's located for this week. Bungie continues to reuse his standard spot for each map, meaning he can be found in Giant's Scar. Spawn in at that landing zone and make your way forward through the building in front of you, and then follow the path to the left. Just up on a hill, you'll find a small cave he's hanging out in.Festival of the Lost and Iron Banner may be underway, but there's nothing unusual about Xur's lineup of items. He has a piece of Exotic armor for each class, as well as one weapon: Crimson, the hand cannon. This is an excellent gun, firing a three-round burst and featuring the Cruel Remedy perk, which heals you when you get a kill and refills the magazine when you get a precision kill.On the armor side, Hunters can pick up The Dragon's Shadow chest armor, which reloads your guns and provides a speed and handling buff after a dodge. Warlocks get the Crown of Tempests helmet, which speeds up arc ability recovery when you get arc ability kills. And Titans can get the Ashen Wake gauntlets, which improve fusion grenades by letting you throw them faster and causing them to explode on impact.The full lineup and prices are as follows:Xur Exotic Items (October 19-23)Crimson (Exotic hand cannon) -- 29 Legendary ShardsThe Dragon's Shadow (Exotic Hunter chest armor) -- 23 Legendary ShardsCrown of Tempests (Exotic Warlock helmet) -- 23 Legendary ShardsAshen Wake (Exotic Titan gauntlets) -- 23 Legendary ShardsAlso from Xur, you can pick up a Five of Swords challenge card for adding modifiers to Nightfall strikes (which is needed to do the weekly Powerful gear challenge to score over 100,000 in the Nightfall). Additionally, he has the Fated Engram, which is pricey at 97 Legendary Shards but is guaranteed to decrypt into a Year One Exotic you don't already have.As noted above, Xur's lineup may not be thrilling (though Crimson genuinely is great), but there's plenty else happening in the game. You can get curated Iron Banner rewards from taking part in the Crucible mode, and we're still in the first week of the three-week-long Halloween event, Festival of the Lost. This features a new activity called the Haunted Forest that's fun and offers a path to a 600 Power level auto rifle called Horror Story--just be careful when going for the chest at the end. Info from Gamespot.com

It's been obvious for a very long time that Lego games iterate more than innovate. If you pick up a Lego title, you are guaranteed a wholesome romp in whichever licensed universe is at hand. Everything is breakable and spits out glittery, golden collectibles when destroyed. Beloved characters are Lego-fied and reenact their famous antics with an extra dollop of cartoon absurdity. Those qualities remain appealing, but every so often, developer Traveller's Tales stumbles onto an idea that requires an extra bit of creativity to really make it sing. Sometimes TT steps up to the plate, like it did for Lego City Undercover and Lego Dimensions. Other times, well, it doesn't. It's a little sad to see Lego DC Super-Villains fall into the latter category.The issue here really comes down to the premise. The idea of subverting the Lego Batman playbook and making a game that's all about DC Comics villains is a great one in theory. However, opening up the game to the entire roster of DC villains has the unfortunate side effect of highlighting just how weak DC's broad slate of evil is. Sure, you're doing fine when you've got The Joker using Lex Luthor as a straight man, or when big, unique baddies like Sinestro and Gorilla Grodd start showing up, but much of the game's story mode has you saddled with third-string riff-raff like Heat Wave and Malcolm Merlyn for extended stretches. Somehow, both Captain Cold and Killer Frost figure heavily into the main story, but the far more compelling Mr. Freeze doesn't.There's a fertile concept in the idea of the loser villains hatching a plan to head up to the big leagues, but the actual plot takes a far less interesting course: The Justice League gets captured and replaced by the Justice Syndicate, who comic fans probably know as the Crime Syndicate of America, a super-powered group from alternate dimension Earth-3. On the surface, it looks like the Syndicate is doing a great job cleaning up crime, but the Syndicate's going a lot harder on the bad guys than the League ever would, leading the Legion of Doom to gather up a slew of recruits and take the fight to the Syndicate.The wild card would appear, at first glance, to be you. At the outset, you get to create your own custom villain who ends up joining the Legion. It's an impressive slew of options you get at the start of the game, and an even more extensive selection is available as you play, earn more powers, and unlock more parts. Everything from your villain’s haircut, to their weapon of choice, which arm they use to shoot energy at their enemies, to even what that energy looks like can be customized. It’s an extensive collection of options from the moment you start the game, and almost intimidatingly vast by the end. My first villain took maybe an hour to create and be happy with, after which I watched as my lovingly crafted superhero was sidelined for most of the story.Unfortunately, your custom villain is not the star of the game--they don't even have a voice--and no matter how badass you make yourself, all the other villains simply refer to you as Rookie (except for Harley Quinn, who calls you Dr. Doesn't-Talk-Much). You're occasionally called upon to use your technical skills to open a specific door, and you are able to absorb new powers along the way, but for the most part your budding baddie has almost no impact or meaningful presence in the story. Instead, most of the game's levels boil down to a formula: A group of one or two big-ticket villains and one or two small-timers go to a familiar locale--Gotham, Metropolis, Smallville, Belle Reve prison--to free some more of their criminal friends, and run into some of the remaining small-time heroes in the process, e.g. the Teen Titans or Nightwing.The moment-to-moment gameplay remains as simple and accessible as ever; combat boils down to spamming a single attack button, with the safety net of infinite lives, and there's some very rudimentary platforming. Finding secrets usually just means running around breaking everything until a shiny new toy pops out. There's nothing really wrong with that by itself, given the Lego games’ appeal to a younger audience, and watching Lego structures explode into a million pieces really hasn’t lost much of its innate joy, even after all this time. The problem is, only a few esoteric sliding tile puzzles differentiate the game mechanically from things the Lego Batman games were doing 10 years ago.The level design in particular is a major strike against the game. It attempts to evoke a sense of chaos and disorder for the villains to feel at home in, but everything is so cluttered and elaborate, it's hard to know what's breakable and what's not, which character you're controlling, and what you can actually interact with. The wanton destruction that’s kind of Lego’s bread-and-butter loses something when the area being destroyed looks like a mess to begin with.The villains themselves are well-animated, and great care has gone into differentiating the hundreds of playable baddies from each other, be it all of the Joker's attacks ending with theatrical flourishes, Killer Frost's ballerina moves, or Gorilla Grodd being able to literally leap over tall buildings in a single bound. There's a ton of overlap from the small-timers, though, and the alternative choices don't provide you with a reason to want to use them. Even the relatively easy attention grab that comes from having much of the voice cast from both the Superman and Batman Animated Series from the '90s show up--including Mark Hamill's iconic Joker, and a delightfully up-for-anything Michael Ironside reprising his role as Darkseid--doesn't quite land due to the more interesting villains taking a backseat.Playing as all villains, you'd think there'd be more opportunity to wreak havoc on Metropolis or Gotham City, even if it's in an E-for-Everyone kind of way, but there isn't. The best part of the game is once the main story is over and you can just roam around the rather expansive open areas at will. Any and all villains unlocked during the game are accessible, and there's tons of little sidequests and races to take on. This is always the best part about the Lego games, though.Ultimately, Lego DC Super-Villains goes down as another cookie-cutter Lego game, and while there's still plenty of merry mayhem to unleash, it's the same kind of mayhem we've seen before. What should be as wild and riotous as the Clown Prince of Crime comes off as just another mild-mannered reporter.Info from Gamespot.com

Pokemon Go's next Community Day is almost here. Niantic's monthly event returns this Sunday, October 21, giving players around the world another opportunity to capture rare Pokemon, take advantage of in-game bonuses, and even add a special move to their repertoire.While every Community Day lasts three hours, the particulars of each event vary by month. To help you get prepared, we've rounded up all the information you need to know about October's Community Day below, from its start time in each region to the bonuses that are available and featured Pokemon you'll be able to catch.What Is The Featured Pokemon?During each Community Day, one particular species of Pokemon will appear in the wild much more frequently than usual, giving you a chance to further fill out your Pokedex. While the newly added Gen 4 Pokemon may be on all players' minds right now, the featured Pokemon this month is Beldum, a Steel/Psychic-type first introduced in the series' Gen 3 games, Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire.Beldum is a highly sought after Pokemon, so you won't want to miss your chance to catch as many as you can; not only is it fairly rare, it's capable of evolving into Metagross, an especially powerful monster that would make a great addition to anyone's team. You'll also have a chance of finding a Shiny Beldum during the event.There's an added benefit to capturing as many featured Pokemon as you can. Typically, if you manage to evolve the monster into its final form before the event ends, it will learn a move it normally isn't able to. Such is the case with this month's Community Day; if you evolve Beldum into Metang and then Metagross during the event hours, it'll learn the powerful attack Meteor Mash.Any Metang that evolves during the event will learn the move, even if you've obtained it before the Community Day began. However, it will only be able to learn the move if it evolves during the event, which means you'll have a fairly brief window of opportunity to get the attack. Fortunately, this time Niantic is giving players one extra hour after the Community Day ends to evolve Metang and learn Meteor Mash, so you'll have a little more time than usual to get it.What Time Does It Start?Unlike most of Pokemon Go's other real-world events, which are typically hosted at a particular location, each month's Community Day takes place during a specific window of time, meaning you can participate from anywhere. The event is also available around the world, although its hours will vary depending on your region.Regardless of where you live, the Community Day runs for three hours, during which time you'll find increased spawns of the featured Pokemon and be able to take advantage of the featured bonuses. These hours are typically consistent each month, so if you've participated in previous events, you'll already know when it'll be available. If you're new to the game or simply need a refresher on its schedule, you can see the event hours for each region below.North America11 AM - 2 PM PT2 PM - 5 PM ETEurope, Middle East, and Africa11 AM - 2 PM BST10 AM - 1 PM UTCAsia-Pacific12 PM - 3 PM JSTWhat Other Bonuses Are There?On top of increased spawns of a particular Pokemon, Niantic always offers players a helpful bonus to take advantage of during the Community Day. This time, Pokemon Eggs will hatch at a quarter of the distance they typically require, meaning you'll be able to hatch Pokemon four times as fast while the event is running. There's also one recurring bonus in each Community Day: any Lure modules that are used during the event will remain active for three hours, rather than their typical 30-minute duration.Info from Gamespot.com