Souls-like action game Mortal Shell was designed to punish players with its deliberate and challenging combat, and if you can't wait to play the full game, you can try out a slice with the beta on Epic Games Store right now. If you're skilled, you can get through it in an hour, but Cold Symmetry and publisher Playstack warn that it can take much longer for everyone else.The big hook in Mortal Shell are the titular shells, which are bodies you can possess in order to gain their powers and arsenal. The beta contains two shells called Harros and Tiel, giving you a chance to shake up the combat to best serve your situation. We also discovered two shells during our time previewing the game.The beta is spoiler-free and you can only access a small portion of the Fallgrim area in order to stop you from getting too far off-track. The deliberate and brutal battles should keep you plenty busy anyway, and if you're struggling, you'll want to carefully learn enemies' attacks in order to create your own strategy. You can also use a "harden" ability mid-fight in order to take a non-damaging attack.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

New Releases highlights some of the hottest video games launching each week. This episode is bringing some dark and mysterious sequels, with Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise and Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2. There's also a double dose of racing thanks to F1 2020 and NASCAR Heat 5. Finally, console gamers can get their hands on CrossCode.CrossCode -- July 9Available on: PS4, Xbox One, SwitchCrossCode got its PC release some time ago, but now console gamers can try out this 16-bit action-RPG. It's got more than 120 enemies to battle, 30-plus bosses to beat, seven unique dungeons to explore, and over 100 quests to complete. What's more, Xbox Game Pass members can jump in on day one.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The New Zealand government has given the green light for entertainment projects to begin filming again in the country, and this includes Amazon's big-budget Lord of the Rings TV show.Variety reports that The Lord of the Rings show, in addition to Netflix's Cowboy Bebop and other shows and movies, have been cleared to start or resume production in the country after COVID-19 shutdowns in March.The New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment made the announcement recently. It comes after the local government already cleared James Cameron's Avatar sequels to return to work. The TV show Power Rangers Beast Morphers and the movies The Greatest Beer Run Ever and Sweet Tooth are getting back to work in New Zealand, too.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Activision has announced that the upcoming Call of Duty League post-season schedule--including the Championship--will be held as a virtual tournament, not an in-person LAN event as has been the case in the past. The announcement is not a big surprise, as the regular season took place online due to the COVID-19 crisis. With the pandemic still gripping the USA and other parts of the world, this year's event has moved to an online-only setup."Due to continuing health risks associated with COVID-19 and our collective priority focus on protecting the safety of our teams, players, league staff, and partner personnel, the remainder of the season will be held online," Activision said in a news release. "This decision was made with great care, communication, and consideration over the course of many discussions."To support this change, the League is giving all competitors a "universal camera setup" that will be switched on for the entirety of matches. This will give League officials the ability to ensure players are not keeping things above the line. "The cameras will provide visibility for league officials to view and check each competitor's console, controller, and monitor as needed," Activision said. "Once a match reaches an official ready check status, players will need to be seated and on camera."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Sleeping Dogs looks to be moving ahead with its film adaptation, which was announced back in 2017 but has not started production yet. The film, based on the 2012 game by United Front Games and Square Enix London Studios, might begin shooting soon.The movie, which we've heard little about since 2018, will star Donnie Yen (Ip Man, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) as Wei Shen, the game's protagonist. Yen has posted an update to his Weibo account, which was picked up on by Niko Partners senior analyst Daniel Ahmad on Twitter. In it, he teases that he is working on a new movie, and he uses the hashtag "#sleepingdog".Unless this is, by some huge coincidence, a relevant term to another movie he's attached to, he's likely referring to this video game adaptation.Donnie Yen posted to his Weibo (it's like Chinese twitter) that he is "Excited to start his next challenge" and is preparing for a new movie. Sleeping Dogs is tagged which indicates that filming for the video game adaptation will start soon. pic.twitter.com/9CBjOn4aNC — Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) July 5, 2020The Sleeping Dogs franchise never really took off, despite the first game being well-received. A spin-off, Triad Wars, was cancelled during its beta, and United Front Games shut down in 2016. The game received a re-release on PS4 and Xbox One, but never got a sequel. The movie could still be a while away, with no director, or cast aside from Donnie Yen, announced yet. While many films have delayed production or release due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there's at least one more major video game adaptation due in cinemas in 2020, with Paul WS Anderson's Monster Hunter due September 3. Info from Gamespot.com

The mobile version of the free-to-play battle royale game PUBG has crossed a new sales milestone. Research firm Sensor Tower reports that the Tencent-developed battle royale game has passed $3 billion in lifetime revenue.PUBG Mobile has brought in an estimated $1.3 billion so far in 2020--March 2020 was the highest month on record with $270 million alone. This uptick in microtransaction sales is thought to be fueled in part by the COVID-19 pandemic, which is keeping people at home playing more games.The $3 billion in lifetime microtransaction revenue for PUBG Mobile includes the western game, which is called PUBG Mobile, and the Chinese edition that is called Game For Peace.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (known as Professor Layton and the Lost Future in some territories) has been announced for mobile devices, bringing the now 10-year-old puzzle game to a wider audience. The game, which originally launched on the Nintendo DS, will be updated with HD visuals for mobile devices.The Professor Layton Twitter account announced the game's impending release, and it's not far off at all. It's due to release on July 13, and the game's name will depend on your region. It's coming to both iOS and mobile, and a new site details the game's improved graphics and beloved story.Professor Layton and the Lost Future / Unwound Future is coming to mobile devices in HD on the 13th of July, 2020!Remember, a true gentleman never reveals spoilers. #ProfessorLaytonhttps://t.co/wJEBaqkDHn pic.twitter.com/vUi0kIiTCR — Layton Series (@LaytonSeries) July 3, 2020The game follows Professor Layton and Luke in a time-travelling adventure, in which the two team up with an older Luke from the future to prevent something terrible from occurring. It was well-received at launch, and is regarded by many as the best game in the series.The first two Layton games are available on mobile, as well as Layton's Mystery Journey, starring Professor Layton's daughter Katrielle Layton. That game debuted on mobile before making its way to the 3DS and Switch. Spin-off Layton Brothers Mystery Room, meanwhile, remains a mobile exclusive.A price has not been announced, but previous games in the series have generally launched at $16 on the App Store.GameSpot gave the game an 8.5/10 on DS back in 2010. "Whether you fancy obliterating the many brainteasers or just getting by with the minimum, one truth will remain clear: The gentleman's sport of solving a puzzle will never go out of style," wrote reviewer Bethany Massimilla--and that certainly remains the case. Info from Gamespot.com

The World Ends With You, the cult-classic Nintendo DS 2008 RPG that received an updated Switch port in 2018, is getting an anime, and now the first trailer is here to show off its fantastic art style. The trailer, released as part of Anime Expo Live, reveals that this is a pretty direct adaptation of the anime.The trailer has launched alongside an updated website, which reveals the character designs and plot details--albeit in Japanese. The series is set to debut next year.You can watch the trailer for The World Ends With You: The Animation below. Production is being handled by Domerica and Shin-El Animation.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Doom Eternal launched earlier this year on PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Stadia, but the promised Switch port has not yet come out. Considering the quality of the first game's Switch port, expectations are high for the sequel, but a release date still hasn't been announced. According to the game's producers, that's set to change soon.In an interview with Gamereactor, picked up on by Nintendo Everything, Id Software's Marty Stratton and Hugo Martin have promised that more news on the port, which is being handled by Switch port specialists Panic Button, will be revealed before too long. "We’ll be talking about the release date pretty soon," Stratton said. "We haven’t announced that yet – I can’t do that now. It’s really made great progress."Stratton, who calls the other console versions of the game a "feather in the cap" of Id Software's tech team, believes that the Switch version will be similarly impressive on Nintendo's scaled-down hardware. "I think it’ll be every bit as good as Doom 2016 was, and I’m super excited for people to get it," he says.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Take-Two is reviving the BioShock franchise, but series creator, designer, and writer Ken Levine is not working on it. He's instead working on a different, more experimental project within Take-Two. The project has been in the works for years, but it remains unannounced and largely a mystery.Speaking at the GameLab 2020 event, Levine shared a few further teases about his new game, while he also offered a wider outlook on his thoughts on game design and production."I can't really talk about the new game, but there's some weird sh** in that game," he said.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The military has long had a foot in gaming, most notably as a recruitment tool with efforts like the early 2000s' America's Army series. The army's gaming arm came back into the public eye this week, after the U.S. Army's esports account tweeted "UwU" in response to a tweet by chat app Discord. It was odd. In 2020, however, few things are surprising.UwU 💕 — U.S. Army Esports (@USArmyesports) June 30, 2020The tweet went viral, with many criticizing the army's use of the esports initiative as a recruitment tool to target young people. Naturally, hilarity ensued. The team was not in on the joke.uwu pwease enwist and commit waw cwimes uwu — jay is antifascist, pro-Black lives (@shutupfish) June 30, 2020Soon, a new speedrun challenge spawned on Twitter where users competed to get banned from the US Army esports Discord server the fastest, Polygon reported. The server was flooded with users posting in an effort to try and get banned--while some posted classic "copypasta" text, others simply linked to the Wikipedia page for "United States war crimes."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Call of Duty: Warzone has gotten a new update with some patriotic flair for Independence Day. While you're waiting on the Warzone lobby, you can watch the skies for a jet flyover with colored smoke trails like you'd see in an air show.The fansite CharlieIntel tweeted a look at the jet flyover with red and white stripes. The sky is also littered with fireworks which may be difficult to find this year in real life due to events being canceled in light of the coronavirus pandemic.Call of Duty stories often focus on the American military, in part as a coalition with militaries from allies like the UK. Activision has also closely tied the series with American military veterans with moves like its Call of Duty Endowment, a non-profit that helps veterans find civilian jobs after ending their service.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Pascal isn't a newcomer to the Animal Crossing series, but he did make his first appearance in Animal Crossing: New Horizons after wave one of its summer update went live this week. The red sea otter loves scallops and will trade you DIY recipes in exchange for them. He can also gift you pearls, a rare crafting item requires for certain recipes, including the new mermaid set.How To Find Pascal On Your IslandYou can find Pascal while swimming and diving in your island's oceans. If you don't know how to do either yet, check out our Animal Crossing swimming guide for instructions on where to get a wet suit and how to swim.He waits...Once you're in the water and start diving for sea creatures, Pascal will eventually appear, but only when you find a scallop. He won't appear every time you catch a scallop or even the first time--it's random, and we're not quite sure what the rate is, but it seems to only be once a day. It does seem like he can appear on your island alongside other special visitors, however. Leif was in my island's town square on the same day I met Pascal.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Diablo III's Season 21 content is now live for all regions and platforms, bringing with it new class sets, item and skill changes, and season journey rewards. You'll be able to get cosmetic rewards previously available from Season 9 as part of the content update, but there are a couple of new additions, as well.Season 21's theme is Trials of Tempests, and during the season your character will occasionally channel an elemental power that you can utilize for a short time. You can crush enemies with snowballs, breathe lightning, rain meteors, conjure a flame wall, or even cast tornadoes.Those who complete the season's journey in the Trial of Tempests will get the Stupendous Contraption pet and the Industrial Portrait frame. This is in addition to the Season 9 items that are also available for completing it.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Ubisoft executive Maxime Beland has resigned from his position on the company's editorial team following accusations of assault and sexual harassment. Beland had previously been suspended pending the outcome of an internal investigation, and the investigation is continuing despite his departure.Ubisoft confirmed Beland's resignation in a statement to GameSpot, adding that VP of editorial and creative services Tommy François has been placed on disciplinary leave as a second investigation is conducted and one employee from Ubisoft Toronto had been fired outright.Watch Dogs product and brand marketer Andrien Gbinigie, who was accused of sexual assault in June, worked out of the Ubisoft Toronto location. However, Ubisoft did not confirm if he was the employee in question.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com