While Christmas is the time to receive gifts from others, Black Friday is the time for buying up those gifts, along with a few personal items for the purchaser. We’ve constantly round up and delivering the latest best Black Friday entertainment deals, but let’s pull in that focus on all the big PlayStation 5 deals that are out there.

Not that this is solely about playing some of the best video games out there — let’s all celebrate the magnificence of Astro Bot — because the PS5 is just as much of a streaming hub as Roku devices and Amazon Fire Sticks, and serves as a centerpiece for all things movies, TV, music and gaming.

Before heading to the PlayStation Store to see about getting Spider-Man 2 or The Last Of Us' remastered editions, be sure to check out all the best Black Friday streaming deals so that you can go from gaming to bingeing without having to leave the couch.

Best Black Friday PlayStation 5 Deals

Best Black Friday PS5 Hardware Deals

• Also available at: TARGET

• Also available at: TARGET

Owning all the PS5 hardware is only part of the equation that results in maximum entertainment. You gotta have games, too! Check out some of the best Black Friday deals for games, both physical copies and digital versions.

The Best Black Friday PS5 Game Deals

• Star Wars Outlaws Gold Edition: $75.50 (Was $109.99)
• Madden NFL 25 Standard Edition: $29.99 (Was $69.99)
• College Football 25 Standard Edition: $29.99 (Was $69.99)
• NBA 2K25 Standard Edition$29.99 (Was $69.99)
• FC 25 Standard Edition: $29.99 (Was $69.99)
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth [Exclusive Amazon Edition]: $39.99 (Was $69.99)
• RoboCop Rogue City: $29.83 (Was $59.99)
• Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth: $24.99 (Was $69.99)
• Metaphor: ReFantazio Launch Edition: $49.99 (Was $69.99)
• Life Is Strange: Double Exposure: $39.99 (Was $49.99)
• Metro Exodus Gold Edition: $5.99 (Was $39.99)
• Back 4 Blood Standard Edition: $5.99 (Was $59.99)
• Alan Wake Remastered: $7.49 (Was $29.99)
• The Quarry: $9.79 (Was $69.99)
• Ghostrunner 2: $9.99 (Was $39.99)
• Gotham Knights: $10.49 (Was $69.99)
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition: $12.49 (Was $49.99)
• Fallout 4 Game of the Year Edition: $15.99 (Was $39.99)

Combine all those games with all the streaming services that are available on PS5, and you're talking about literal months worth of entertainment to get through before any sense of boredom can set in. And these Black Friday VPN deals will help unlock a few more paths to movies and TV that might not be otherwise available.

For gamers who have the funds to spend a little extra, check out all the big Black Friday Meta Quest 3 deals, and keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more discounts throughout the holiday shopping week.

Prior to 2024's impressive movie schedule, I wrote about how 2023 was one of the best ever years for video game adaptations, and one of the main reasons for that was 2023's Gran Turismo. Prior to that, we got 2022's Uncharted from Playstation Productions, and in 2025, we’re set to get the adaptation for Until Dawn.

And sure, it's cool. I mean, it's not the adaptation of Shadow of the Colossus that I've been pining for, but Until Dawn is a solid thrasher thrill, so I can dig the motivation.

But, do you know what PlayStation series I wish was being set next on the 2025 movie schedule and beyond? Astro Bot! PlayStation's most recent brand-celebrating mascot is the perfect anchor for PlayStation Productions' next feature development cycle, and here's why!

I Want To Know More About Astro Bot's Backstory

Now, you’d probably think the story of Astro Bot is paper thin, but you might be surprised. While I won’t spoil it for you here, I will say that it has much more of a narrative than the first Super Mario Bros. game where Bowser just captured the princess and your portly plumber had to rescue her.

In the latest PlayStation 5 exclusive, an alien named Space Bully Nebulax basically does as his namesake says and bullies Astro Bot, making him crash land in a desert, which scatters all of Astro’s crewmates across the galaxy. Throughout the story, you find pieces to your ship, and also your crew mates along the way.

And, yeah. That’s a serviceable enough story. But, I want to know even more. For example, all of the other bots salute Astro when he passes them by, and I want to know why. Like, was he a hero before the events of Astro Bot? Also, why does Space Bully Nebulax go after Astro Bot in the first place? What’s his deal?

Also, what about the universe itself? Why is practically everything in these worlds a robot? Is this some kind of Wall-E situation where all the people left, and the robots took over (I mean, Astro kind of even looks like Eve from Wall-E, if you squint).

Honestly, I just want to learn more about the Astro Bot universe, and I think a full-length movie would be the perfect place to start!

I Would Like To See An Animated Movie From PlayStation Productions

PlayStation Productions has made some interesting adaptations so far. When it came to television, they hit us hard with The Last of Us, which was critically acclaimed, as well as Twisted Metal, which was entertaining, and ended on a cliffhanger. However, both shows were definitely geared toward mature audiences.

And then, on the movie side, we’ve gotten Uncharted, which was enjoyable, and then Gran Turismo, which some of us here liked a great deal, as you can see from our Gran Turismo review. It looks like Amazon MGM's violent God of War series is starting over, and next, we’re getting Until Dawn, which is based off of an M-rated horror game. And, are you noticing a trend?

While yes, PlayStation is often known for its mature, single player experiences, the company also has a history with family-friendly titles, such as Crash Bandicoot, Ratchet & Clank (which got its own middling animated movie many moons ago), and yes, now Astro Bot, and I’m just wondering: Why hasn’t PlayStation Productions made an animated movie yet?

I mean, it makes sense, doesn’t it? Just look at the billion dollar hit that was The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and it almost seems like Sony is sleeping on a goldmine here. Sure, Astro Bot isn’t as much of a household name as Mario, but now is as good a time as any to make him a household name. It’s definitely possible. Especially if the rating is right. Speaking of which…

I Would Love To Take My Nephew, Who's Still Fairly Young, To His First Movie

Whatever happened to the G-rated movie? When even flicks like Inside Out 2, and Despicable Me 4 are rated PG, you kind of have to wonder, where did the G-rated movie go?

And, look, I get it. We’re now living in an age when parents are more skeptical than ever about what their children watch. I mean, not me. I took my then-six year old son to see Godzilla Minus One in the theaters, and we’ve watched all four Jaws movies together.

But, I know a lot of parents don’t want their children seeing anything that they think may be too much for them, so ratings-boards have to slap on a PG-rating for kids' films just in case. That said, I don’t see any reason why an Astro Bot movie would be anything but G, as the game is definitely for anybody.

And, I would love to take my nephew to see his first movie in theaters. My daughter’s first movie was 2018’s Ralph Breaks the Internet, and my son’s was 2019’s The Secret Life of Pets 2, but my daughter and son are 9 and 7, respectively, and they want to see more “grown-up movies” now (Which is why I watched Jaws the Revenge with my son not too long ago).

But, I miss that sense of wonder at taking a very young child to the movie theater for the first time, and I’d love to take my nephew, who is 2 at the time of this writing. Sure, I wouldn’t take him until about 5ish, but that gives PlayStation Productions more than enough time to get this Astro Bot movie rolling, right? Right?!

I Would Buy Up Every Last Piece Of Merchandise Possible If Astro Bot Became A Movie

Another thing I would absolutely love to see if Astro Bot were the next PlayStation movie is all the merchandise that would be rolled out for the film.

I'm talking toys, plushies, posters. You name it, I'd buy it! But, since the Astro Bot series is pretty much just PlayStation, The Commercial (I mean, in his most recent, full-length game, his ultimate mission is to fix his ship, which is a PlayStation 5 console), I'd love to see what other kinds of digital merchandise they could milk out of me.

Like, would they have a movie-exclusive costume that I could buy in the game? Could I spend money to have new characters from the movie in my next playthrough?

Honestly, I'd just spend so much freaking money on merch if there were an Astro Bot movie. I just love the series that much!

It Could Act As A Love Letter To Other Sony Series, Which Means References Galore

Lastly, if the recent Astro Bot game is anything, it’s a shameless advertisement for all things PlayStation-related. But, instead of feeling cheap, and like one long commercial, a la The Wizard, Astro Bot feels like every homage is lovingly placed in there.

I swear, there are actual PlayStation titles that I forgot even existed (Like Intelligent Cube!) that are referenced in Astro Bot, and I smiled from ear to ear with each deep cut bot that I rescued in the game. And, this just gets me to thinking about what an Astro Bot movie would be like if it were made.

I couldn’t even fathom all of the PlayStation references that could potentially be jam-packed into an Astro Bot film, sort of like The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which was stuffed to the gills with easter eggs.

However, while there were some subtle nods to other Nintendo games in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, like Punch-Out!! and Kid Icarus, an Astro Bot movie would likely go all out with references, just like in the game.

For example, who needs a God of War movie or TV show, when there is a whole God of War segment in Astro Bot where our hero essentially turns into Kratos? Something like that in an Astro Bot movie would be so much fun, and could even reference the mature titles Sony has without actually being so hardcore.

I mean, seriously, how cool would it be to have a PlayStation lovefest on the big screen? I'm a Nintendo fanboy for life, but I've been a PlayStation gamer since the very beginning, and I’m not alone. Make it happen, Sony!

So, that's why I crave an Astro Bot movie. But, what do you think? For more news on other PlayStation-related properties on the big and small screen, be sure to swing by here often!

One of the reasons that we love superhero origin stories is because there’s nothing quite like that moment when the main character becomes a hero. Sometimes it happens early in the film, and sometimes it’s what the entire story builds towards, but emotions can run wild when we see that hero moment. Quite possibly the best ever put to film is Miles Morales "leap of faith" in what may be the best Spider-Man movie, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. It was an epic moment on the screen, and it’s nearly as impressive on a PlayStation 5.

The highly anticipated sequel to Insomniac’s excellent Spider-Man video game came out last weekend, and one fan took things to an entirely new level when, with a bit of music and editing, he recreated the iconic “What’s Up Danger?” sequence from Into the Spider-Verse in the PlayStation game. It may not be Superior, but it is just as Amazing and equally Spectacular. Check it out.  

I love everything about this. Apparently the one shot you couldn’t recreate in-game is the one where Miles is falling straight down, but the shot is inverted to make it look like he’s flying up rather than falling. Everything else looks near perfect. From the first panicked and flailing limbs to when Miles gets under control and begins to swing through the city. It’s incredibly well put together, and the game's own ability to have Miles pull off tricks, once he's comfortable, only adds to the experience.

While there is some obvious editing necessary to make this sequence work as much like it did in Into the Spider-Verse as possible, what’s impressive is the amount of editing we don’t see. Much of the sequence is done in long takes without cuts. It may have taken several tries to get everything just right, but it's all worth it.

The new Spider-Man 2 has been highly anticipated since the previous Spider-Man game became a fan favorite and the Spider-Man: Miles Morales spinoff continued to let players live out their web-slinging dreams. The new game lets players take on the role of both Peter Parker and Miles, so you get to play your favorite Spidey, whomever that is... unless you’re a Gwen Stacy fan. I guess Ghost Spider fans will have to wait until the next game. 

We are certainly living at a time of peak Spider-Man, with the character existing all over the place, but the amazing thing is that from live-action films to animated films to video games, the quality of the material has been incredibly good. When the fans get ahold of it, they just elevate it even more it seems.

Honestly, I may need to pick up a PlayStation 5 just so I can play the new Spider-Man game. I reviewed the last Spider-Man game and found it near-perfect. This just makes me want to play the whole game with the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack blasting.  Or I may just go watch all the Spider-Man movies streaming.

Director Neill Blomkamp’s Gran Turismo is not your standard video game movie. The game it’s based on is a racing simulator that doesn’t feature any kind of plot for filmmakers to try and adapt, so the creatives behind the project had to take a special approach. Instead of opting for the purely fiction route, the film instead tells the fascinating true story of Jann Mardenborough – a British gamer who had never competed in a motorsport before being selected to attend the GT Academy and becoming a professional racing driver.

It’s a much different approach than what we’re used to seeing from Hollywood when it comes to bringing video games to the big screen, but it’s also worth noting that it’s also quite different than most biopics we see. This is because the real Jann Mardenborough was not only an important behind-the-scenes consultant on the Playstation feature, but also one of the production’s primary stunt drivers.

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to dive deep into the world of the Gran Turismo movie when I visited the production’s edit bay and got to sit down with Neill Blomkamp for an extended look at the project. While watching footage and discussing the filmmaker’s work, one question I asked was about Jann Mardenborough’s involvement. While some based-on-a-true-story films prefer to keep their subjects at arm’s length, that was definitely not the case here, as Blomkamp explained that the professional driver was a key resource for him during development and filming. Said the director,

In a million years, I wouldn’t have guessed that Jann Mardenborough’s psych up music would be the smooth saxophone stylings of Kenny G, but that was the answer that Mardenborough told Neill Blomkamp, and that’s a detail that did end up making its way into Gran Turismo.

Continuing, the filmmaker explained that it wasn’t just about tiny details either. In addition to informing the screenplay by Jason Hall and Zach Baylin on a “much more structural sort of truthful biographical level as well,” the production also found a way to get the film’s subject actively involved in the making of the movie. As Blomkamp explained, one of the challenges that the production had to deal with during development was finding a stunt double for star Archie Madekwe – as it was tough to find both someone with the right look and the necessary skills:

While that search was happening, Blomkamp noted, he was being asked by Jann Mardenborough if there was some way for him to cameo in the video game blockbuster… and then everything clicked. Said Blomkamp,

It’s certainly not a typical thing for an actor playing a real person to be doubled by the person who are playing, but that’s a weird and fun bit of trivia behind Gran Turismo – which just launched its exciting first trailer this morning:

Starring Archie Madekwe, David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, Geri Halliwell Horner, and Djimon Hounsou, Gran Turismo is now just a few months away from release – set to hit theaters everywhere on August 11. You can stay up to date with all of the game adaptations in the works with our Upcoming Video Game Movies And TV guide, and check out our 2023 Movie Release Calendar to learn about all of the films scheduled to arrive in cinemas and on streaming in the coming weeks and months.

If you thought the 2023 TV schedule was already filled with weirdness, then prepare yourself for a trailer that’s bound to rev your motor with laughter and fear. The Anthony Mackie-starring adaptation of Playstation’s Twisted Metal series is finally on its way and we’ve got the first trailer to prove it! While Mackie’s first series since The Falcon and the Winter Soldier looks to show him having fun, things are excitingly creepy as we also got our first look at infamous villain Sweet Tooth in the flesh. Check out the trailer above!

Peacock showed us the goods with a quick but upbeat look at the “post-apocalyptic landscape” that Anthony Mackie’s John Doe will have to navigate. Fans of the legendary Sony exclusive game series will feel right at home seeing a souped-up speed machine with machine guns belting bullets like nobody’s business. But the fun comes from the fact that despite people already asking if Rob Zombie will be a part of the soundtrack, Mackie is shown rocking out to Len’s pop hit “Steal My Sunshine.” That is pretty much what you’d expect from a creative crew that includes Deadpool writers Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick.

However, diehard fans are probably wondering how Sweet Tooth fits into Twisted Metal’s first glimpse of glory. Well, patience is truly rewarded with this streaming series teaser, as a familiar-looking ice cream truck appears, its tune floating in the wind at Las Vegas’ ruins. Which then leads to this fantastic sneak peek: 

That definitely doesn’t look like a character series that producer Will Arnett would be playing, unless that chilling giggle at the end happens to belong to his voice. But that really doesn’t matter, as Twisted Metal looks like it’s definitely ready to deliver the sort of high-caliber excitement that’s been hitting home consoles since 1995. Come to think of it, it does feel a bit weird that it took this long to get Sweet Tooth and his friends into a TV show, as the saga unfurling in these dark and... well, twisted games has always had a cinematic flair to it. 

TV audiences have been digging PlayStation apocalypse narratives as of late, as HBO’s first season of The Last of Us crushed records and broke hearts through its eight episodes. Don’t go into Twisted Metal expecting Linda Ronstadt tearjerkers on the radio though, as the soundtrack is presumably going to reflect this seriously weird world that Anthony Mackie’s about to travel across. Although if the massive success of “Long Long Time” is any indication, there’s plenty of musical hits that could come out of this potential new streaming hit.

It might be a good idea to keep an eye on Len’s streaming numbers throughout the next couple of days, just to see if this Twisted Metal teaser is truly a hit. That’d certainly pass the time, as the series won’t start its engines of chaotic evil on July 27th. If you’re looking for the keys to this particular speed machine, you’re gonna need a Peacock subscription to get in the door. 

Friends, we just might be in the golden age of video game adaptations. A prospect once frowned upon and met with eyerolls has now turned out prime TV like The Last of Us and blockbuster movies like Uncharted. Coincidentally enough, both of those titles are Playstation exclusives, and the 2023 new movie releases has another on the way in Neill Blomkamp’s Gran Turismo. 

And yet, there are some amazing PlayStation video games that still need adaptations ASAP, especially if they’re as lovingly crafted as those examples. Here’s five projects that should seriously be considered since so many video games adaptations have been well received as of late. 

The Sly Cooper Series

We almost had a film version of the Sucker Punch franchise that saw a raccoon, a turtle,and a hippo going all Ocean’s Eleven on a vast criminal network of thieves. Sly Cooper was in the pipeline for 2016, around the same time Ratchet and Clank was being made into a cinematic abomination that actually got released. 

If there’s a prize for “the one that got away” in video game movies, Sly and the gang surely deserve it. A heist caper story that saw three orphans trying to restore a family legacy, Sly Cooper has always been chock full of wit, intrigue, and style.

If we were able to convince the likes of Guy Ritchie, or maybe even Steven Soderbergh, to bring this series to animated life, it could be Christmas for fans who never got that first movie. Bonus points if George Clooney, Matt Damon and Brad Pitt are cast as the three leads, for old time’s sake.

Infamous

In a world where superheroes are still bringing in the big bucks, it’s nice to have some options that aren’t as restricted as the mainstream. Much like how 1989’s Batman spawned adaptations of The Rocketeer, The Shadow and The Phantom, the Marvel vs. DC conflict is fertile ground for heroes that don’t come from those canons. So why the hell isn’t Infamous already its own cinematic universe? You know, besides the fact that THR had announced an adaptation with former Marvel Studios producer Avi Arad back in 2009.

Starting up around the same time Iron Man was blowing people’s minds, this fellow Sucker Punch game series centered around augmented humans who have accidentally been given elemental powers. Through their adventures fighting fascism, discrimination and the criminal elements, the varied protagonists of the titles across the Infamous series would be tempted to go light or dark with their abilities. Maybe if someone could convince the powers that be to make another game in this franchise, the world could be convinced just how awesome this cinematic voyage could be. 

Shadow of the Colossus

Every canon needs an epic that really shakes the foundations of genre and spectacle, and Sony’s PlayStation is no exception. Shadow of the Colossus is that sort of project that, if broken into a trilogy, could truly capture the quest of young Wander and his efforts to try and resurrect the love of his life. When that quest includes 16 Colossi that are massive and formidable in scope, you can see why it’d need to be several films long.

There was a period of time where directors like IT’s Andy Muschetti and Chronicle’s Josh Trank were on board to make a potential Shadow of the Colossus movie happen. But seeing as you’re reading the title on this list, you can see where those efforts wound up. 

It’s not a bad idea to bring to the screen, as a massive IMAX-friendly saga could see this adventure of heartbreak and battle become a theatrical must-see event. Of course, that depends on the weirdness threshold of whomever is tapped for the duties, as Shadow of the Colossus does get weird with its creatures and storyline. 

Ape Escape

Whether it’s Minions, Gremlins or Rabbids, the world can’t seem to get enough of cute, but mischievous groups of creatures that bring havoc to the world. Sony had its own series of mischief makers in the early PlayStation 1 days, courtesy of the game series Ape Escape.

The premise itself was pretty simple: a smart monkey named Specter uses a system of helmets that boost ape intelligence to unleash an adorable army upon the world, and you have to stop him. It’s simple, colorful and a project that has seen monkeys cause mayhem on Earth, as well as in space. 

Acting as a crossroads between the ever theme park-ready Minions adventures and a less apocalyptic version of Planet of the Apes, Ape Escape could be the next family blockbuster franchise waiting to go to the movies. Considering how many crossovers the PlayStation game franchise actually landed with games like Ratchet and Clank and fellow adaptation-in-wait Metal Gear Solid, there’s just as much potential for the monkeys to meet up with another kids movie saga in the name of doing comedic damage. 

Incredible Crisis

I will fully admit that this last candidate is an oddball, as Incredible Crisis isn’t a huge IP that saw Sony sequelize it to no end. Come to think of it, I remember this 1999 game being rather hard to get your hands on after a certain point in the US market. It was totally worth it though, as playing through this game was a chaotic, but brilliant experience that has a lot of movie DNA already in its blood.

Ever wanted to play a game where E.T, Titanic and Independence Day all influenced one unlucky family’s day from Hell? Sure you have, and that’s what’s at stake, and more, in this title! The best part about Incredible Crisis is that it doesn’t need to be a huge saga that spans platforms and entries. 

Rather, it’s one insane journey that is compressed into a day, and perfect for a raucous anime extravaganza to cover all the bases. Bucking the trend of all the other titles mentioned, Incredible Crisis would work best as individual bursts of WTF that see people shrunk, enlarged, chased by gigantic rolling globes, and abducted by aliens. Oh, and the soundtrack has to be done by the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, as only their music could capture the insanity of this improbable comedy. 

PlayStation's expansive library of exclusives undoubtedly has even more potential movies waiting to be made in its library. That's on top of games like Metal Gear Solid that are well associated with the platform, but aren't total exclusives anymore. Since Sony's already off on a good foot with The Last of Us and Uncharted, it's probably a good idea to stick to the home team for the moment. After a couple more successes under its belt, maybe the company can start partnering up with other parties; but only time and further experimentation will tell.

Fans had high hopes for The Last of Us leading up to its premiere, but I’m not sure many would’ve anticipated that the show would be as good as it’s proving to be. HBO’s live-action take on the acclaimed Playstation game is a masterpiece. Co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckman have not only successfully recreated the game – they’ve crafted what’s easily the greatest video game adaptation of all time. There’s a lot to love about the post-apocalyptic drama, and I can’t wait to see the remainder of the first season. And all the while, the series is making me wish that its home network would tackle another PS classic – Uncharted. 

Obviously, the Uncharted franchise was adapted by Sony Pictures with the 2022 film that saw Tom Holland play lead character Nathan Drake. The breezy action flick has its charm and some nice references to Naughty Dog’s video game series. However, there was definitely room for improvement in certain areas. Now, after seeing what the Home Box Office is doing with Last of Us, I’m now more than ever pining for a small-screen version of the adventure franchise. There are a few specific reasons for my newly ignited desire for such a project, and we’re going to talk them out now:

The Last Of Us Was The Result Of A Strong Partnership Between HBO And Naughty Dog

Video game adaptations are massive undertakings, and they can live or die by the relationship between a game developer and studio. Considering just how protective Naughty Dog is of its IP, I was slightly nervous about whether it might clash with HBO during the development process. Both companies are major players in their respective entertainment fields, and they could’ve been hesitant to compromise with each other on LoU. It’s likely that there were some intense creative discussions here and there (as is the norm). However, based on the final product, one gets the impression that they worked together quite well. 

If that was the case, I can’t help but think about what that same collaboration would do for an Uncharted adaptation. As a matter of fact, following the release of The Last of Us, a series centered on the adventures of Nathan Drake would really come together nicely. Neil Druckmann, who’s also the co-president of Naughty Dog has clearly built up a solid relationship with the premium cable channel. So if the two sides could somehow collaborate on a Drake adventure, I’m sure they’d have no problem plotting it out. 

HBO Provided The Last Of Us With A Budget That Would Also Be Suitable For Uncharted

Something that's really impressed me about LoU is its scale, which isn’t that common for a small-screen production. The massive set pieces are sights to behold, and the visual effects are glorious as well. This is all because HBO invested a considerable amount of cash in the drama series. As early as 2021, it was reported that the show was shaping up to be the network’s biggest since Game of Thrones, from a financial standpoint. One report alleged that the project exceeded the eight-figure mark per episode. (Yeah, that’s a lot of cheddar.)

So while watching the show and keeping all of this in mind, I can’t help but wonder what an Uncharted series could do with that kind of money. Sure, Ruben Fleischer’s movie had a sizable budget that allowed for some major action sequences. But based on what I’ve seen of The Last of Us, I truly believe that HBO could effectively capture the scope of Nathan Drake’s globe-trotting adventures on TV.

HBO Has Seamlessly Expanded Upon The Last Of Us’ Original Story And Could Do The Same For Uncharted

What’s been particularly amazing to see on Last of Us over these past several weeks is just how well the original story has been tailored to suit TV. Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann haven’t undone the events of the 2013 game (much to the delight of most fans). However, what they’ve also done is add to the mythology, filling in some much-needed blanks or enhancing backstories for certain characters. Sarah’s slightly expanded presence and Bill and Frank’s lovely story come to mind here. Such additions amazingly never feel like unnecessary padding but instead always come off as important pieces of the narrative.

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune – the first game in that franchise – is definitely good on its own, but I wouldn’t mind seeing some elements tweaked in a TV series. I’d love to see more time devoted to fleshing out Nate’s relationship with Elena Fisher. The game’s main antagonists – Atoq Navarro and Gabriel Roman – could also get more time to shine in a show. I wouldn’t even mind a flashback that details Nate’s first meeting with modern-day pirate Eddy Raja. There are a plethora of storytelling possibilities, and I can’t help but get excited while thinking about them.

After Seeing The Last Of Us’ Stellar Cast, I Want Uncharted To Get Its Own Formidable Roster

Don’t get me wrong, I mostly enjoyed what Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg and their co-stars brought to the Uncharted movie. Yet it’s hard to compare just about any cast to that of The Last of Us, which features a number of heavy-hitters. Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey – who play Joel and Ellie, respectively – set the tone, and they perfectly embody the beloved characters. The same is true of Anna Torv’s Tess, Gabriel Luna’s Tommy and Nick Offerman’s Frank. Not only that, but even the new or expanded-upon players like Kathleen (portrayed by Melanie Lynskey) or Frank (Murray Bartlett) are extraordinary. 

Emmy winner Victoria Thomas serves as casting director on the show, and I bet she could find exceptional talent to play Nathan Drake, Elena Fisher, Victor Sullivan and co. I’ll be honest in saying that no specific stars come to mind at the moment. But then again, some of the most inspired casting decisions are unexpected, and I never anticipated some of the aforementioned actors to so perfectly portray the LoU characters.

It’s rather doubtful that HBO will ever get its hands on the Uncharted franchise, as it appears that Sony is planning more for it. Though I’ll continue to dream of a TV show that does as much just to its source material as The Last of Us has done for its own. Check out new episodes of the show when they air Sundays at 9 p.m. ET as part of the 2023 TV schedule, and you can stream installments afterwards using an HBO subscription.

PlayStation has been known to make some awesome video games from The Last of Us (which is getting its own TV show) to God of War, but another big game they released four years ago was Marvel’s Spider-Man, or commonly known as Spider-Man, an acclaimed game that followed the friendly neighborhood superhero as he took on mission after mission in a brilliant open world style. 

From that game, a spinoff came out two years later, called Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, following a character from the previous game whom we were introduced to, who has similar powers to Peter. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Miles Morales was the main protagonist in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Yes, Spider-Man really is everywhere, and now, you’ll be able to bring the games home on Black Friday with these excellent deals. 

Spider-Man (2018) - PlayStation 4

We have to start off this list with the original. Spider-Man, released on PlayStation 4 back in 2018, and followed the legendary Peter Parker in New York City. This game tells the story of him confronting Mister Negative, who plans to release a virus that would kill most of New York City – while also dealing with his own normal problems as a civilian, from finding a job to romantic relationships. 

While Tom Holland as Spider-Man is great in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, many fans have agreed that this version of Peter Parker is one of the most accurate they have seen in a long time that is comparable to the comics, and as someone who has played the whole entire game, I can fully agree. This Black Friday, you can find deals for the original game on PlayStation 4 at several stores, like Target, Gamestop, and more.

• Get Spider-Man for $19.99 at Target.
• Get Spider-Man for $19.99 at Gamestop.
• Get Spider-Man for $19.99 at Best Buy.
• Get Spider-Man for $15.00 at Walmart.

And for those who are wondering if there is a version for PlayStation 5, there is but there’s a bit of a caveat for those who want to play it – which we’ll get into down below. 

However, the original Spider-Man is actually backwards compatible with both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, so if you were one of the lucky ones who was able to score a PlayStation 5 despite them always selling out, you can play the game on both consoles. 

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales - PlayStation 4

Like I mentioned before, the original Spider-Man game that came out in 2018 was such a huge hit that fans wanted more. And boy did they get that with Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales. The game now follows Peter’s partner from the first game, Miles Morales, in his own superhero story, as he learns to harness his true spider powers – as well as some new interesting ones that even Peter Parker never had. 

I've always loved Miles Morales, and yes, I am so excited for Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse, but Spider-Man: Miles Morales is something I seriously enjoyed too, and you probably will as well. For those who want to play Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, the game is on sale at several stores today.

• Get Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales for $20.00 at GameStop.
• Get Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales for $19.99 at Target.
• Get Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales for $19.99 at Best Buy.
• Get Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales for $20.00 at Walmart.

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales - PlayStation 5

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales was originally released in 2020 when the PlayStation 5 just came out, so of course, there is a version of the game available for sale on the PlayStation 5. 

• Get Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales for $20.00 at Target.
• Get Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales for $24.99 at Gamestop.
• Get Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales for $19.99 at Best Buy.

Remember when I said that there is a remastered version for Spider-Man but there’s a bit of a caveat? This next deal is what I was referring to. In addition to the standard edition of Spider-Man: Miles Morales for the PS5, there is also an Ultimate edition called Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Ultimate Edition that is available to buy. 

It’s with this version that you will also get the remastered version of Spider-Man to play. 

• Get Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Ultimate Edition for $39.00 at GameStop.
• Get Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Ultimate Edition for $39.99 at Target.
• Get Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Ultimate Edition for $35.00 at Walmart. 
• Get Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales Ultimate Edition for $39.99 at Best Buy.

With the sequel game for Marvel’s Spider-Man coming out sometime in 2023, now is the perfect time to get the original game and swing to your heart's content around the city of New York. It’s truly one of the best games out there and you won’t regret it – whether you are Peter Parker or Miles Morales. 

I'll never forget how disappointed I was after seeing the Super Mario Bros. movie back when I was a child. Upon the first few seconds, I could tell that this was a movie that was ashamed of its source material. Flash forward several years, though, and video game adaptations, like Sonic the Hedgehog (which I now consider the best video game movie ever) are all the rage. Not only that, but PlayStation games like The Last of Us and God of War are getting big budget adaptations on HBO and (possibly) Amazon Prime, respectively. What the hell happened?  

Well, video games being the number one form of entertainment (bigger than Hollywood!) is what happened. The truth is, even though we've already gotten video game movies like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, it seems like the ultimate pedigree of whether a game has made it or not is a television show, as even Microsoft is jumping into the fray with their new Paramount+ Halo series.   

Even more impressive seems to be Sony, as they are aggressively pursuing both movies and television with their recent (and successful) Tom Holland Uncharted adaptation, as well as HBO's The Last of Us TV show, and the God of War TV show, which got me to thinking: What other PlayStation games would I love to see get the television treatment. Well, come along, fellow Sony ponies, because you're about to find out.      

PaRappa The Rapper  

Now, before you @ me on Twitter, yes, I'm well aware that there was a PaRappa the Rapper anime that ran back in 2001-2002. I've also heard rumors that there might be another PaRappa the Rapper show sometime in the future. Until I see official confirmation from Sony, though, I'm going to dream of a true modernization of the rapping pup in the red hat. 

I see it as a children's show, sort of similar to Pete the Cat or Llama Llama, or maybe even like Yo Gabba Gabba. Because while the games and the original anime might have been super tongue in cheek, I think there's a real opportunity to market fun (and maybe even educational) songs to children through rap music, sort of like the educational website, Flocabulary. Now tell me you wouldn't want to see PaRappa the Rapper, Sunny Funny, and Um Jammer Lammy dolls in WalMart now.   

inFAMOUS 

Now, I know superhero shows are a dime a dozen these days, and there are no shortage of shows where the "heroes" are actually the villains, like the Amazon series, The Boys, and Invincible. I get all that. But, I think inFAMOUS would be unique as an interactive Netflix series where the karma aspect of the games come into play and YOU get to decide whether the characters, be they Cole MacGrath, Delsin Rowe, Abigail "Fetch" Walker, or a brand new character, ultimately become good or evil.  

I think this would be really cool, since the karma aspect was always my favorite part of the inFAMOUS games. Bonus points if your actions followed you through multiple seasons, and you could have an evil path, or a heroic path with your Conduit. It could make superhero fiction feel fresh again. Lord knows the genre needs it. Now, I heard rumors that there might be a film adaptation somewhere down the road, but I definitely think an interactive Netflix series would be the better way to go.    

Astro Bot 

There was a time when Crash Bandicoot was Sony's answer to Nintendo's Mario and Sega's Sonic, but once Crash went multiplatform, Sony was kind of adrift for a while in finding a replacement for their cutesy mascot. They tried Sackboy for a little while, and he's fine, but I think Astro Bot, which could be found in the PS VR adventure ASTRO BOT Rescue Mission, and most recently in what is pretty much a PS5 tech demo, ASTRO’S Playroom would be a great mascot, and also deserving of his own TV show.  

The question is, what to put him on? Given that he grew to fame in a VR title, I think it would be cool if he was given a TV show on Meta, which was formerly Facebook. They have a VR component to their company, and I think it would be cool if you could actually watch Astro Bot’s adventures on Facebook using VR. Yes, I know Facebook already has its own VR with Oculus Quest, and Sony has their own VR with PlayStation VR, but maybe something could be worked out. I mean, Sony did purchase Evo, so the folks in charge could make a major deal. Please make it happen, Sony!  

Gravity Rush 

Poor Gravity Rush. The series never really got the love it deserved. Starring a gravity bending amnesiac named Kat, the world of Hekseville contains many strange wonders for Kat to explore and learn more about who she is and what happened to her. It’s a fun title that really feels unique with its gravity mechanics, kind of like Portal felt unique with its portal gun. It’s a great series. 

It’s vibrant and fun enough that I think Netflix would be a great home for it. Netflix has been acquiring a lot of video game licenses like Castlevania, and most recently Tekken, and I think Kat’s gravity bending adventures would make a good home on the streaming platform. It might drum up some interest for us to maybe get a Gravity Rush 3. A boy can dream, can’t he?  

Ico / Shadow of the Colossus / The Last Guardian 

Lastly, the TV series I want the most is not so much from a single game, but actually from a single, loosely shared universe, and that is from Team Ico, with the three titles being Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, and The Last Guardian. There have been reports of all three games having some kind of future adaptation, and I don't doubt it. The worlds of all three are vast in their emptiness, and beautiful in their desolation, so the stories would practically tell themselves in movie form. 

All three stories are sort of spiritual successors to each other, but I would love if there were three seasons of a TV show — I have no idea on what platform — that would narratively connect all three stories, possibly starting with Shadow of the Colossus, with the ambiguous ending of that game's conclusion leading into Ico, and finally Ico leading into The Last Guardian. Out of all of the titles on this list, THIS is the one that I want to see the most. Man, I love Shadow of the Colossus. It's in my Top 5 favorite games of all time, no question.  

For more news about where movies / TV and video games intersect, (like the 10 best video game movies ever), make sure to swing by here often!  

Video games are always hot items for adaptation, and those new takes tend to face the most scrutiny compared to other adapted works. Animated shows like Netflix's Cuphead and Castlevania became popular hits, but when it comes to live-action works, there's always a good deal of worry that the original product won't reflect the video game it's based on. PlayStation's beloved God of War franchise might be the next to head to the small screen for such fanatical scrutinizing, with Amazon's Prime Video streaming service its likely future home. Based on how popular these games are, there better be no mistakes in bringing them to life.

Negotiations are reportedly happening for a God of War live-action show for Amazon's Prime Video, and it allegedly already has some notable names already attached to it. Deadline reported The Expanse's creators Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby and The Wheel of Time' showrunner Rafe Judkins are tied to the project, as is Sony Pictures Television and PlayStation Productions from a studio standpoint. The project is obviously based on the popular video game franchise, which chronicles the adventures of a Spartan demigod turned god named Kratos. Representatives for Sony and Amazon studios offered no comment for the reports. 

No names are rumored or mentioned for the starring role of Kratos at this time, and there aren't details on how a project like this would adapt the numerous games or where it will begin Kratos' story. Such familiar names as Dave Bautista have come up over the years in regards to actors who could play Kratos, but who knows who will eventually lead the Amazon project if it happens. The casting of Kratos feels like the easiest way to mess this show up, so hopefully, they make the right decision with an actor. 

Another big question with taking on a live-action God of War project is if any adaptation like this can possibly recreate some of the epic scenes from the games. There are moments in the God of War franchise where Kratos squared off against the Greek pantheon of gods and massive beasts the size of Godzilla. In short, this might be a very expensive series to work on in terms of budget, unless the studio tries to adapt the tale without as much attention given to those particular moments. That wouldn’t be the best idea, so hopefully whoever ends up with this series is ready to take on a Mandalorian or Lord of the Rings level budget if they want to do the series justice in the eyes of fans. 

If these talks that are reportedly underway for a potential God of War live-action show go forward, it seems likely it'll head to Amazon's Prime Video, which can definitely afford such blockbuster adaptations. The show should serve as a good rival to Paramount+'s upcoming Halo series, as well as HBO's series based on The Last of Us. Hopefully, this is the start of an impressive era of video game adaptations. 

Another video game adaptation is on its way to the big screen, and it comes in the form of one of the most beloved franchises of the modern console era. Naughty Dog’s Uncharted is being turned into a motion picture, and it’ll see Tom Holland step into the shoes of fan-favorite adventurer Nathan Drake. Fans recently got their first look at the film through its first official trailer, which provided a small taste of what they can expect. While there are still plenty of unknowns, it’s already clear that the movie is deviating from the source material in a few key ways. 

It’s not uncommon for video game movies to change things up narrative-wise, though it can lead to mixed reception from their respective fanbases. The same can also be true when it comes to cosmetic changes (looking at you, Sonic the Hedgehog). Franchise devotees seem to have a firm idea of Nathan Drake and his world, so it’s hard to say how they’ll respond to the changes when they see the movie. We won’t try to predict their responses here, but will list off the major ways in which the Uncharted movie will differ from the video games:

Nathan Drake Meets Victor Sullivan In New York Instead Of Columbia

2011’s Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception was the installment of the series that finally revealed how Nate and mentor Victor “Sully” Sullivan entered each other’s lives. The two met in Cartagena, Colombia, where the budding explorer and thief sought to steal the ring that once belonged to Sir Francis Drake from the Museo Marítimo. Coincidentally, Sully was aiming to do the same thing, and the two crossed paths while trying to pull off their respective jobs. But in the feature film, it appears the two will meet under more casual circumstances. 

The trailer shows that Nate and Sully (played by Mark Wahlberg) meet in New York, where the former is working as a bartender. It’s a major departure from what fans have come to know, and it’s an intriguing creative choice to say the least. On the surface, it may not seem quite as exciting as a daring encounter in Columbia. Of course, there could very well be things we don’t know yet. Maybe Sully is in the city to pull off a job (that’s not the film’s main mission) and young Drake somehow gets embroiled in it.

Nathan Drake Is Slightly Older When He Officially Enters The Treasure-Hunting Life

Another significant change in regard to the first encounter between Nate and Sully is that the former has been aged up a bit. In Uncharted 3, it was established that Nate was only 15 years old when he first crossed paths with Sully. While his exact age in the film has yet to be confirmed, Tom Holland’s version of the character appears to be a few years older. I mean, I honestly can’t see a high-end, New York bar hiring a 15-year-old to serve the alcohol. 

Honestly, this is a pretty small change, and one that might make sense to the tale being told. WIth Nate a bit older, the story is free to jump into more mature territory, though I doubt things will get too racy. And from a practical standpoint, making the character 15 may have limited who the studio could cast in the role. It’s true that Tom Holland looks young and actually did play a 15 year old in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming but, a few years later, casting him in that age bracket may not be quite as believable for some.

Chloe Frazer Is Established As A Friend Of Victor Sullivan

Another familiar face that fans will encounter in the movie is fan-favorite Chloe Frazer, portrayed by Sophia Ali. The intelligent, brave and flirtatious explorer who first appeared in the critically acclaimed Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Given how popular she is, it makes sense that the producers would want to bring her into the story. There are, however, two changes to make note of in her appearance here. One is that she’s been aged down, which makes sense in this context because she’s always been around Nate’s age. However, this time, the young man will meet her through his mentor. 

The trailer reveals that in the movie, Chloe Frazer is actually a friend of Sully’s and that he’s the one that ultimately introduces her to young Nathan Drake. In the timeline of the games, Drake (and Sully) met Frazer when they all attempted to swipe an object from an auction. This led to Nate and his future girlfriend meeting at gunpoint, before eventually teaming up. Having the young woman meet Sully first is an unexpected creative decision, and it’ll be interesting to see how this pre-established relationship plays out in the movie.

Katherine Marlowe Is Nowhere To Be Found… Yet

When Nate and Sully originally met in Cartagena, the latter was accompanied by Katherine Marlowe, the ruthless leader of an ancient organization. Back in the day, the English socialite tasked Sully (her lover) with retrieving the ring of Sir Francis Drake. The two eventually had a falling-out, presumably because Sully helped Nate snag the ring. Years later, she would come into conflict with them once more, again due to the ring. 

Given the major way Marlowe figures into Drake’s past, it is surprising that she doesn’t appear in the film. That doesn’t, however, mean that she couldn’t appear somewhere down the line. A potential sequel could retroactively establish that she’s an associate of Sully’s and position her for a villainous role in the future.

Sam Drake’s Whereabouts Are Unknown In The Movie

Uncharted does take a cue from the video game’s mythology in that Nate’s older brother, Sam, is not with him when he first meets Sully. It was later revealed that the older Drake was doing time in a prison somewhere. But it would seem that in the big-screen universe, Sam is actually missing. Ultimately, his disappearance is the larger mystery that his brother and his allies are trying to solve. 

Honestly, the upcoming flick could very well reveal that Sam is in prison somewhere. But given how much is being put into the intrigue regarding his absence, that could be a lackluster answer to the mystery. The producers could’ve gone in any number of directions, including a grim route that sees Sam killed off. The chances of that happening are probably low, though, as one would think the producers would like the idea of the Drake brothers appearing together in a future film. 

There’s no telling how things are going to go down in this reimagining of Nathan Drake’s origin story. Hopefully, Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg and their colleagues simultaneously honor the source material and add some fresh new elements to it. We’ll see when Uncharted opens in theaters on February 11, 2022.

There’s no denying it. Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse is one of the greatest Spider-Man movies ever. It won an Academy Award for Animation (beating Pixar!), it introduced Miles Morales to a public that may not have read the original Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli comics. And it also established Spider-Man for a whole new generation. For example, Miles Morales is my son’s Spider-Man. Not Peter Parker. Miles Morales. Which meant that when Playstation’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales came out, I just had to get it! For the both of us, of course. Not just for myself. Ahem.

But anyway, after beating the game, I noticed quite a few similarities between the popular movie and the game, but also many differences. Let it be known, the Miles you’re getting in the video game is almost nothing like the one you’re getting in the movie. This is not a bad thing at all since I love that there are different versions of Miles, just as there are different versions of Peter Parker. Here’s hoping that we can someday get a sprawling Miles Morales movie or game with the different variations like we might be getting with Peter Parker in the next mainline Spider-Man movie. Web-shooters crossed! But in the meantime, here are 5 major differences between the Miles Morales in the movie and in the game. Oh, and MAJOR spoilers up ahead for both the movie and the Playstation title, so wall crawl at your own discretion. Thwip!

Miles Morales’ Age

Miles Morales is a 14-year-old middle school Student in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. This is likely because the movie is PG and aimed at a young adult audience. In the film, Miles is just starting out at Brooklyn Visions Academy after winning a lottery. He has a roommate, who I’m assuming is Genke Lee, even though his name isn’t uttered in the movie. And he’s having a hard time just growing up and going through puberty, which he apparently already went through because he’s (deepens voice) a man.

The Miles in the video game is a bit older, at 17. He’s a senior in high school and has spent a lot of time idolizing the original Spider-Man and is actually filling in for him. Unlike the Miles in the movie, this one has lost his father, so that influences a lot of his decisions. He just wants to live up to his father’s high standards and do right by his memory.

Miles’ Relationship With His Uncle Aaron

In the movie, Miles has a very close relationship with his Uncle Aaron, who is voiced by the always magnificent Marhershala Ali. So, it’s super surprising (If you didn’t already know) that his uncle is the stealthy villain, The Prowler. A lot of Miles’ internal conflict in the movie is both about how he’s supposed to deal with his uncle not knowing that he’s Spider-Man, and also after the death of his uncle at the hands of The Kingpin. No matter the dimension, Spider-Man always has to lose somebody close, and in this dimension, Miles has to lose his Uncle Aaron. It breaks him, but it also pushes him to be greater.

In the video game, Uncle Aaron actually knows Miles is Spider-Man early on, even giving him a train ticket so he can fast travel all over the city. This Uncle Aaron is also an outcast in the family once Miles’ dad learned that he was The Prowler, but he also doesn’t want Miles to get hurt, so he tries to lock him up to prevent him from getting in the middle of a company called Roxxon. In the end, Miles breaks free and The Prowler makes good. So, no death for Uncle Aaron in this version. Thank Odin.

Miles’ Experience As Spider-Man

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse is amazing since it acts as both an origin story for Miles Morales and also the Spider-Verse in general. In that way, we get a Miles just starting out and one who doubts himself for a great deal of the movie. This is fine since we also arguably get the greatest Peter Parker of all time with Jake Johnson’s portrayal of Peter B. Parker. So, it really doesn't feel like a slog getting to see Miles try and fail before he ultimately succeeds.

In the game, Miles Morales has actually been working with Peter Parker for about a year now and learning the ropes, er, the webs from him. He’s gotten the hang of pretty much all of Spider-Man’s abilities and is just learning his new powers, like the venom strike and invisibility along the way. But he’s definitely not as green as the Miles from the movie, which is a blessing. That doesn’t sound too fun as a game, now does it?

Miles’ Responsibility As The Web-Slinger

This is one area where the movie and the game are actually pretty similar. In the movie, the old Spider-Man, voiced by Chris Pine gets murdered by Kingpin, leaving a gaping hole in this dimension for a Spider-Man. Miles Morales soon learns that he must become this dimension’s Spider-Man, and he does so out of necessity. It’s all just a leap of faith.

In the game, Miles also has to take over as Spider-Man out of necessity, but this time, it’s because Peter Parker is going on vacation with Mary Jane. So Miles is now in charge, and he grows as a character throughout the game. And he has to learn fast, too, because his villain might just destroy the whole city. And about her…

Miles Morales’ Villain

In the movie, Miles Morales’ main antagonist is The Kingpin. Yes, he gets chased around by The Prowler quite a bit early on, but The Kingpin is the one who sets all the problems in motion. But here’s the thing. While The Kingpin is definitely a Spider-Man villain through and through, most people often associate him more with Daredevil. So, while I love The Kingpin in this movie, I kind of think that another villain might have been better. Like maybe the female version of Dr. Octopus. But you know what, I’m going to stop right there since this movie is pretty much perfect and I shouldn’t really complain.

But the video game’s villain is a lot more interesting. In the game, Miles must face off against The Tinkerer, who is a low-grade, D-level Spider-Man villain at best, but is made relevant by the fact that this version has a close relationship with Miles. Because in the game, The Tinkerer is actually Miles’ best friend Phin Mason (the original Tinkerer’s name was Phineas Mason), so the connection between them is much closer, making for a very intriguing match-up.

And those are just 5 major differences between the movie and the game. But what are your thoughts? Have you played Spider-Man on the Playstation 4 or 5 (I sure hope so, since I spoiled almost the entire game)? If so, which Miles do you prefer? Sound off in the poll or in the comments section down below.

This poll is no longer available.

I feel like it's been a really long time since I really heard much about Fortnite, the Battle Royale game that only a few short months ago was one of the hottest names in entertainment. Much of that is largely because the game is simply so ubiquitous now. To be sure, Epic Games is still raking in the cash from the popular shooter, and they may be about to bring in even more, because the game just announced that Deadpool is joining the fight.

The trailer for Fortnite's new Season 2 dropped today, and it included the revelation that Deadpool is part of the game's new season, though exactly what that means isn't entirely clear yet.

While Fortnite might have been a game that hadn't made as much noise in recent months, the inclusion of Deadpool in the game has certainly changed that. The internet is sort of freaking out, nobody more so that Deadpool co-creator himself Rob Liefeld.

Fortnite's structure is insidiously brilliant. The game itself, which pits up to 100 people on a large, but ever shrinking map, to kill each other until only one remains, is free-to-play. Anybody can download the game and join the fight right now. And all players are on an equal footing. While many multiplayer games reward consistent players with new abilities that will give them a permanent advantage over those less skilled or newer, Fortnite doesn't do that.

Instead, the game uses a Battle Pass system, which is something players purchase, and then, as they play, they unlock various cosmetic rewards, new skins, outfits and emotes (brief animations) that let players differentiate themselves. This is where Fortnite makes its money, to the tune of almost $2 billion last year. That was down from $2.5 billion in 2018.

While the game certainly isn't hurting for funds, there clearly has been a drop in players, and bringing Deadpool into the game seems designed to try to entice players to spend more time with the game, including those that may have put it down on a more permanent basis. It appears that plan might work out.

While Deadpool joining Fortnite has certainly succeeded in increasing interest in the game, those players will have to wait and see exactly what is needed to unlock the character. Normally something like the Deadpool skin would just be available to purchase with in-game currency, earned from playing the game, but instead Deadpool looks to be unlocked by executing secret challenges, and those challenges will be available over the course of the new season, so to get Deadpool, you'll need to keep coming back to Fortnite over the next few weeks.

Deadpool isn't the first time that a Marvel character has been part of Fortnite, Thanos made an appearance during a previous season of the game, and Star Wars also joined the game around the time The Rise of Skywalker hit theaters, so clearly Disney and Epic Games have an ongoing relationship.

Is the idea of playing as Deadpool in Fortnite enough to get you to return to the game, or maybe give it a try for the first time? Let us know in the comments.

The following contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Shazam!

Shazam! sets itself apart from your normal superhero blockbuster by having a hero who is, basically, a 15-year-old kid. As such, Shazam/Billy Batson’s passions are largely similar to the sorts of things that average teenagers love, like eating junk food and occasionally skipping school.

One other thing that’s a big part of Shazam! is video games. We see our main characters playing against each other at one point, but that’s far from the only time that video game references are made in Shazam! Here are five surprising references to video games found in the new DC superhero movie.

Mortal Kombat

As mentioned, there is one very clear video game reference in Shazam! As we see the adult superhero and his friend/brother Freddy playing the classic fighter Mortal Kombat, apparently using money they swiped from ATMs, based on all the new stuff we see surrounding them. Specifically, the two are playing the recent Mortal Kombat X and Shazam is playing as Raiden, the god of thunder. It's a fitting choice considering both Raiden and Shazam can shoot lightning from their hands.

However, that’s not the only reference to Mortal Kombat in Shazam! Another reference comes later, when the superhero version of foster brother Eugene, uses a classic Mortal Kombat line. The game series is best known for its collection of brutal and violent finishing movies, where characters can eviscerate their opponents in various ways. It’s called the Fatality, and Eugene uses the classic phrase after Shazam has taken Silvana’s eye and defeated him for good.

Street Fighter

Mortal Kombat is one of the best known tournament fighter games ever made, but one title that might be even more well known is the Street Fighter series. The title predates Mortal Kombat by a few years and has had several more games to its name.

Again, the reference here comes from Eugene at the end of the film. His adult superhero version has the lightning power of Zeus that he gained from Shazam. At one point, upon firing his lightning at one of the Seven Deadly Sins, he shouts “Hadouken,” a reference to the call of Street Fighter members Ryu and Ken, who use the word when sending a fireball toward an opponent.

Watch Dogs

While Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat are two game series that many people are familiar with, even if they’ve never touched a video game console, the rest of the references begin to get a bit more obscure. While those familiar with AAA console games will know the name Watch Dogs, others may not. The game is an open world action game in the vein of Grand Theft Auto but with the twist that the player has the ability to “hack” computer systems in order to manipulate the environment.

Eugene makes reference to the game as one of the reasons he has picked up some skills as a hacker. I’m not entirely clear how, since all hacking in Watch Dogs is done by pressing a single button. There really isn’t much opportunity to learn actual hacking.

Uplink

Alongside Watch Dogs, however, is a reference to another hacking-themed video game, and one that might be slightly more useful to learning hacking. Uplink is another game that Eugene apparently plays, or did play, quite a bit. It’s actually sort of impressive since the game was originally released back in 2001, making the title older than Eugene is. It’s possible Eugene played the mobile version that was released in 2012. Still, it’s nice to know the kid likes to play older video games too.

Uplink doesn’t have you control an avatar of any kind, but instead is a game that looks like you’re using an actual PC interface. The “hacking” works more like the way that you see hacking portrayed in movies, as opposed to actual hacking, but since Shazam! is a movie after all, it seems likely that Uplink is a realistic version of hacking for that world.

PlayStation Move

The most utterly bizarre video game reference is the unlikeliest one in the movie to notice. Rather than being referenced in dialogue or shown clearly on screen, one scene shows one of the supporting characters armed with a Sony Sharpshooter, a gun peripheral that was designed to be used with the PlayStation 3’s Move motion control.

Back when the Nintendo Wii was the biggest thing to hit video games since, well, the original Nintendo Entertainment System, Sony tried to come up with its own version of the tech. The Sharpshooter was essentially a plastic shell for the system that turned the standard Move controller into a light gun. The thing is, the Move was never a major hit, and the Sharpshooter was an additional peripheral, making it even less popular. Where somebody found one of these, and why they thought using it was a good idea, is anybody’s guess.

Fortnite?

This last one I’m not sure is specifically meant to be a video game reference, but it’s too close to one not to mention. During the Shazam “super power testing” montage, we see the superhero doing a little dance while he’s waiting for Freddy to get ready to film him.

The dance he’s doing is called the Floss, and, while it wasn’t created for a video game, its popularity as a dance move has become immensely more popular thanks to being an available emote option in Fortnite, the most popular game in the world right now. The dance and the game have become so popular together that they're currently the subject of one of several lawsuits against the game.

From the obvious to the obscure, there are some really fun video game references in Shazam! With all indications being that we're going to get a sequel to Shazam! sooner rather than later, video games will probably continue to be a touchstone of this franchise, and we can look forward to more references in the future. Shazam has made appearances in real life video games before. One has to wonder if Shazam could actually become a video game character within the DC film universe, allowing Billy Batson and Freddy to actually play as their superhero counterparts in some future movie.

Beyond the scheduled DLC packs that Insomniac Games and Sony had planned to release for Marvel's Spider-Man, it appears fans of the game will be treated to some specially themed DLC based on other popular Marvel franchises, including two outfits from the Fantastic Four.

The news comes courtesy of an update over on the official PlayStation Blog, where it was announced that two new outfits have been added as part of a free update to the open-world, web-slinging action game. This includes a Bombastic Bag-Man outfit and Future Foundation suit for the friendly neighborhood Spider-man.

The Bombastic Bag-Man outfit is obviously a nod to the Fantastic Four costume from the classic comic book. Given that the Fantastic Four property has managed to make its way back into the good graces of Marvel after Fox had the media rights to it for a while, Insomniac decided to take advantage of it by including the Bombastic Bag Man outfit to the game in celebration of the recent comic book based on the four-hero quartet being written by contributor Dan Slott.

The outfit itself is based on Spider-Man's long-time history with the Fantastic Four, dating back to when it originally tried to join the team all the way back in The Amazing Spider-Man #258 where Spider-Man donned a Fantastic Four costume after he acquired the group's help to get the alien symbiote outfit off of him, which left him in his tighty whities and no mask. He was given the outfit so he wouldn't have to web-sling back him practically naked, but since they didn't have a spare mask, they gave him a bag to put on his head.

The other outfit on display – the Future Foundation costume – is from the time when the Fantastic Four were calling themselves the Future Foundation and donned black and white outfits. Spider-Man also managed to get himself in the mix with a black and white outfit as well.

Both outfits are free with patch update 1.14, and all you have to do is make sure the game is installed and your system is connected to the internet. Make sure you have a PlayStation Network ID that's properly signed into PSN, and presto! You'll be able to get your hands on the two new suits at no extra charge.

The suits join an already illustrious collection of cool suits featured in Marvel's Spider-Man, spanning the long-running comic book, television, and movie series, even Sam Raimi's highly beloved trilogy starring Tobey Maquire.

Previous to this update the game received a number of other slight patches, fixes, modifications, and upgrades, along with a healthy selection of DLC starring some of Spider-Man's most renown antagonists, such as Silver Sable and Black Cat.

Insomniac has basically taken a rather reserved approach to the DLC, giving gamers an outline of what was to come and how much DLC would be available for Marvel's Spider-Man. But beyond the paid content, the developers also wanted to treat gamers with some free content as well, including content based on the Fantastic Four. Some gamers believe this could be hints at something bigger coming down the pipeline featuring the four heroes, but that's all just speculation for now.

Now that the Anthem VIP demo weekend has wrapped and we’ve all had a moment to decompress, it’s time to dig into what BioWare nailed, what needs some attention and what the game might look like down the road.

As a reminder, we’re talking about a demo for an online, multiplayer game, so all of the pros and cons discussed here should be taken with an appropriately-sized grain of salt. BioWare actually set the expectations a couple of days before the demo launched, letting everyone know that the build included in the demo was six weeks behind in bug fixes and boasting completely different balance in both combat and commerce from the launch version of the game. In other words, it’s entirely possible the things I didn’t like during my time with the demo may be changed when the game launches on Feb. 22. Heck, they might even alter something I liked by then so, again, nothing here should be considered set in stone.

As a final reminder, there’s still another demo for Anthem just over the horizon. While the VIP demo was limited to folks who pre-ordered the game or are members of EA or Origin Access, the next demo is going to be totally open to the public. You can actually download the demo client right now, just so you’re ready to roll first thing on Friday, Feb. 1, when the final demo goes live.

I actually plan on diving into this second demo just to see if any adjustments have been made following the VIP run. There were definitely some technical issues in need of attention (more on that later), so whether or not BioWare is able to tackle those concerns between demos could provide a glimpse into how things will run once the final version of Anthem goes live.

The Good

It’s always hard to get a full read on a game based on just a demo but, if there’s one thing I walked away from Anthem feeling pretty positive about, it’s the moment to moment gameplay out on the open map.

Anthem just feels right. From the flying to the shooting, the game is a joy to play. You know how everyone was praising Spider-Man last year for making you really feel like the web-slinging Marvel superhero? Well, the same can be said for Anthem, only you need to replace Spidey with Iron-Man. Heck, half of the people I ran into while exploring the missions and free roam areas had their Javelins decorated like either Iron-Man or War Machine, and that includes a Hulkbuster design for the Colossus Javelin.

I’m not going to get too deep into the controls, but BioWare clearly spent a lot of time making sure the game controlled well. Similar to how teams like Bungie and Infinity Ward have basically perfected the feel of first-person shooting, BioWare has absolutely nailed down explosive action from a third-person perspective. With a little practice, you’ll be moving from flight, to ground combat, back to flight like a mechanized murder ballerina, triggering some flashy and fun abilities along the way.

Those abilities are another strong suit for Anthem, with experimentation proving that some really fun synergies can be pulled off on the fly. And that works between classes, too, which probably explains why BioWare is stressing that Anthem will be more rewarding when played as a team.

And while this one is definitely a personal preference, I appreciate the fact that Anthem features plenty of creepy-crawlies. Human and robotic enemies are fine and all, but there’s something about finding yourself in a nest of massive bugs that look like they crawled out of Starship Troopers that really gets my gears turning. Game designers seem to get more creative with those types of enemies, too, so it’s nice to see the landscape crawling with hostile alien life.

Customization was another check in the “Good” column in Anthem, as the demo let players pretty much run wild with their own creativity. From a purely visual standpoint, players can swap out various components of their Javelin to create a more unique look. From there, you’ve got collectible vinyls to create different looks on your exoskeleton, all of which have half a dozen segments to customize with your colors of choice. You can even customize the material that portion of the Javelin is made of and, to top it all off, give it a more rugged appearance with some wear and tear.

On a more practical level, it looks like Anthem is going to offer quite a bit of loot to collect and, like all of the best loot-driven games, said gear is going to have a real impact on how you play the game. There were a bunch of guns available in the demo, and you could find more rare (and therefor more powerful) versions of that gear out in the wild. The same goes for your Javelin’s grenades, abilities, Ultimate and the like. While there are four classes to choose from, it looks like there will be plenty of room to make your version of, say, the Ranger play totally different from the Ranger crafted by a pal.

The Bad

As BioWare has already admitted, Anthem had something of a rocky VIP weekend on the technical side. On day one, plenty of folks simply had trouble getting logged into the game. From there, the most persistent issue was one that saw the game stuck on a perpetual loading screen. That issue actually plagued me through the entire weekend, which certainly put a damper on my initial experience. But again, this is an earlier build of a totally online game we’re talking about, so I’m not going to just start raving about “my concerns” just yet. The team is already working on the known issues, so hopefully they won’t even be a concern once the open demo rolls around.

But outside of the technical issues, I still left the VIP demo feeling a bit lukewarm.

For starters, the game forces you to explore the central hub from the first-person perspective at a pace that is so slow I was convinced I was doing something wrong. The vast majority of NPCs were not available for dialogue in the demo, so I couldn’t really get a good feel for the world in Anthem or the people who inhabit it. The few story beats on offer were intriguing but, again, it’s hard to care about a “super important mission” if I don’t fully understand why it’s important or why I should care.

My biggest gripe, though, was that even though this was a new setting with fresh enemies and all that jazz, I couldn’t help but feel like I’ve been here before. This might not be an issue for folks who don’t play the types of games I play, but I had a hard time feeling compelled to keep exploring beyond the basics of the demo due to the fact I’ve already kind of burned out on these types of games.

It feels kind of hacky just making a bunch of comparisons, but I would argue that it’s not exactly my fault if Anthem feels like an amalgam of so many other games that have come before it. Outside of the flying, exploring the map in Anthem feels almost identical to exploring the various regions of Monster Hunter World or Destiny 2. You run around collecting resources and shooting predictable bands of baddies, you occasionally take part in a live event to grab some fresh loot and you maybe drop into a cavern you hadn’t noticed before in order to do some exploring. The problem is that nothing here feels different from the games as service titles I’ve been plowing through for the past several years outside of the fact that dropping into another area occasionally comes with a lengthy load screen.

Also, Anthem does this weird thing where, if you decide to drop into a live event, it automatically teams you up with nearby players. Maybe there’s an option I missed but, otherwise, it was infuriating to get bored with an event and try to leave only to have the game tell me I was abandoning my team and cut to a load screen to drop me back into the fray.

And yes, I got a bit bored while playing Anthem, even though we’re only talking about a three-day demo. The frequent load freezes likely had a role in this, though, so I’m trying not to hold it against the game too strongly just yet. But while Anthem nails the moment to moment gameplay, it turns out I’ve simply become weary of that very specific gameplay. I’ve been doing this for years in games like Warframe and Diablo, and I’m not sure I’m looking forward to doing it all over again.

The Road Ahead

After spending a few days with Anthem, it’s clear that BioWare has put in the effort to make this a big, bombastic game that piles rewards onto the player and encourages everyone to team up with a bunch of friends and go exploring. Whether or not you’re ready for another game like that is obviously going to be up to you. I’ve seen plenty of people raving about how much fun they had in the VIP demo and I can absolutely understand why that is. For me, though, it felt like I was playing yet another looter shooter that, at least in the demo, didn’t have much “new” to offer.

I can’t help but feel from this limited experience that BioWare got caught up chasing the Destiny formula. The problem is that it took them like five years to build their own genre entry and, in that time, the market has become flooded with these types of games. Heck, The Division 2 is another game that falls squarely in this corner of the games market and it launches just a month after Anthem.

But that’s not to say I’m totally off the Anthem hype train. Outside of the technical glitches, the VIP demo hinted at a shooter that’s as big as it is deep, so hopefully that’s exactly what BioWare is able to deliver. The team has also teased more dynamic DLC, with stories that actually impact the game world rather than simply taking place within it. And outside of the campaign, it sounds like players have all sorts of live activities, seasonal events and the like to look forward to.

After playing the VIP demo, I have little doubt that Anthem is going to be a solid game. I’m just not sure it’s the type of game I feel like playing anymore.

According to Kingdom Hearts III head Tetsuya Nomura, the pre-launch leaks of Square Enix’s highly anticipated game may lead to changes in how Square Enix releases games in the future. According to Nomura...

The above comes from an interview between Nomura and Japanese gaming magazine, Famitsu (via Kotaku), in regards to some copies of Kingdom Hearts III that leaked before the game’s actual launch. Nomura explained that only four copies were unaccounted for, but he considers that four copies too many. You can’t blame the guy for being so disappointed. That would hold true for a game that only spent a couple years in development, and Kingdom Hearts III was in the works for more than a decade.

When the copies of KH3 got out several weeks ago, Nomura hopped on the internet to encourage folks to avoid spoilers and, more importantly, not help spread them. He also noted that the game’s biggest surprises, including a secret movie, were post-launch downloads that could not even be seen after playing the leaked copies of the game.

So what’s the solution? According to Nomura, it might be to just avoid worldwide launches altogether. Doing a worldwide launch means there are oodles more moving parts in the process and more ways for copies of the game to turn up missing. Nomura’s thinking seems to be that, if a game launches in one region at a time, there’s less of a chance that folks will get their hands on the game before they should.

Of course, this seems like the exact opposite of what Nomura wants in one big regard. If he’s worried about folks getting spoiled on a game because of leaks, it stands to reason even more will get spoiled if a game launches in stages. Using Kingdom Hearts III as an example, if it launched in Japan first, spoilers from legitimate copies of the game would flood the internet long before the game launched in other territories.

But, again, I can’t really fault the guy for his concerns and frustration. His team poured an insane amount of time into making KH3, all while working with one of the most tight-lipped and influential media machines on the planet: Disney. Pile on fan expectations after all these years of waiting and it’s a wonder the guy isn’t on a one-man crusade against leakers in general.

As for how to get the game’s secret movie, Nomura offered a pretty big hint in the original interview. There are items in the game called “Lucky Marks,” which are everyday items that just so happen to look like Mickey Mouse. You’ll want to find as many of those as possible while adventuring through the worlds of Frozen, Tangled, Pirates of the Caribbean and beyond, and be sure to take a picture of them while you’re at it.

As we get ready for the release of Kingdom Hearts III**, we continue our look at the previous games in the series.**

Kingdom Hearts II came out for the PlayStation 2 in 2005. For fans of the Final Fantasy and Disney crossover, the wait felt a lot longer than a minor three years. Considering how long we’ve been waiting for the third console installment, three years seems like nothing.

Kingdom Hears II picks up right where Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, and also 358/2 Days, leave off. What makes things interesting is that you play through the game’s introduction as Roxas. This is all fairly confusing as, since Kingdom Hearts II came out before 358/2 Days who Roxas is or why he's important has not yet been explained. Even once that's made clear, why Sora is where he is requires having played Chain of Memories to understand.

Eventually, it’s explained that Roxas not only isn’t the hero of the new game, he barely exists. Roxas is inside a digital recreation of a place called Twilight Town so that the part of him that is needed to restore Sora’s memories can be harvested. Once completed, Sora awakens outside of the town, with no memory how he got there.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy then discover that they were not as successful as they thought in stopping the Heartless. On the hunt for Mickey Mouse and Riku the trio travels to another set of Disney worlds, some we’ve seen before (Agrabah, Hercules’ Coliseum) others that we have not, (Tron, Pirates of the Caribbean, Mulan).

The new worlds are the high point of Kingdom Hearts II. Entering the world of Tron was a particular favorite of mine, and the fact that Bruce Boxleitner would reprise his role, five years before returning to for Tron: Legacy, is especially cool.

While it’s not too surprising that Square Enix couldn’t afford to pay Johnny Depp to return to play Captain Jack Sparrow (or any of the rest of the Pirates of the Caribbean cast for that matter), it does keep that particular level from feeling quite as special. The soundalikes don’t do a terrible job, but they are clearly soundalikes. Other new characters to the series, like Mulan, are voiced by their original voice actors

Most of the same Final Fantasy characters return for Kingdom Hearts II, though we also get to meet Final Fantasy VII’s Tifa and Final Fantasy X’s Auron for the first time. Auron becomes the first Final Fantasy character to join your party, though his appearance is far too brief.

Things get more confusing on the plot when we learn that the villain that our heroes thought they vanquished in the first game, Ansem, actually wasn’t at all who they thought. First, the person they fought wasn’t a person, but actually a Heartless of the person. Second, the person wasn’t actually Ansem at all, but somebody who only claimed to be Ansem.

In actuality, the villain of the entire Kingdom Hearts series is a man named Xehanort. In the first Kingdom Hearts, you defeated his Heartless. In Kingdom Hearts II your main villain is Xenmas, the Nobody of Xehanort who is also the leader of Organization XIII.

As with most game sequels, Kingdom Hearts II succeeds by sticking with the parts of the game that worked and polishing those parts that did not. Combat is even faster and more fluid. More enemies can appear on screen at once, making some of the battles just absolutely massive. Sora fights entire armies largely by himself.

The newest addition to the game is the Drive system, which allows Sora limited access to new abilities. These abilities can be leveled up, giving Sora new permanent abilities as well. Reactions are also a common addition to major battles, which are essentially quick time events but of a sort that often requires much faster reflexes.

There are a few tweaks to the gameplay that are a little less successful. While you still have a limited pool of magic, as one would expect, it no longer refills by picking up dropped orbs as it did in the first game. Orbs to fill your Drive meter have largely replaced magic. Instead, you simply use your magic down to zero and then the meter will begin a slow refill process. Once it is full again, you can use it.

Cure spells take all your magic, which means there’s a natural refresh rate between when you can heal yourself unless you have a lot of potions. This adds a new layer of strategy to your combat. Your NPC party members are also capable of healing you of course, but you can rarely count on that.

I’m not a huge fan of this change, though certainly, tastes will differ. There are ways to use magic in strategic ways, any amount of magic will give you the full effects of a cure spell, so using most of your magic bar for attack, followed by a quick cure at the end is almost like using twice the magic.

My replay of Kingdom Hears II that I undertook recently might actually be the first time I’ve played it since I originally beat it on the PlayStation 2. While I could have recited the story of the first game from memory, many of the details of this one felt new.

In the end, this is probably good, as I’m getting ready for Kingdom Hearts III, to get the events of the previous games clear in my mind. The lore isn’t actually quite as confusing as I had first felt, though exactly why we had to have multiple characters using the same name is still not clear. It seems to be adding complexity only for complexities sake.

At the end of the day, Kingdom Hearts is ultimately a JRPG, so we should probably expect those sort of things.

By the end of Kingdom Hearts II, both the Heartless and the Nobody of Xehanort have been defeated and Sora, Riku and Kairi have returned home. Things appear to be at peace, but then Sora gets a letter from Mickey Mouse and, while we aren’t told what it says, it clearly means the story isn’t over yet.

As we approach the release of Kingdom Hearts III we're taking a look back at the franchise.

Following the success of the original Kingdom Hearts, a sequel was sure to be on the way, but console games take time. What were all the fans to do while they waited for Kingdom Hearts II? Somewhat surprisingly, the answer became, pick up a handheld system, because more games were originally designed for handhelds then have ever seen the light of day for consoles. Two of those were the direct sequel to the original title. Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and the oddly named Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days.

While these two games came out five years apart, on either side of Kingdom Hearts II, I'm covering them both together as the storylines of the two are very much related.

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories originally came out for the Game Boy Advance in 2004 and it turned the real-time action RPG into a strange combination of hack and slash and card battle game.

Chain of Memories opens right where the first Kingdom Hearts leaves off. Sora, Donald, and Goofy are looking for the "Door to the Light" to rescue Mickey Mouse and Sora's friend Riku, from the world of Darkness. They chase Pluto, who appears to have a message from Mickey, but they lose him and instead come upon a castle standing alone in the middle of nowhere. They enter the castle, called Castle Oblivion, where they discover they have lost all their abilities, a neat trick to allow the game to "start over." A man in black informs them that Castle Oblivion will cause one to lose their memories, but in doing so can reveal new ones. Sora is given a set of cards made from his memories that he can use to open doors. These doors open on the same Disney worlds that were visited in the original Kingdom Hearts.

Each world includes all the same characters as the original game, since all of this is supposed to come from Sora's memories. The major difference is that all of the combat is based on cards. Everything from magic spells to each individual swing of the keyblade is governed by cards. In addition to being within range to hit the enemy, you have to be sure the number on your attack card is higher than the one you're being attacked with.

This certainly adds an extra strategy element to the game, though I can't say overall that I was a fan. By trying to be both a card battle game and a hack-and-slash combat game, it ends somewhere in between and doesn't really do either one particularly well.

From a story standpoint, Chain of Memories is actually a pretty important game, which is funny, since by the end of it, all the events of the game are wiped from Sora's memories. This is the introduction of Organization XIII, and other important characters like Namine and DiZ, who would appear in Kingdom Hearts II with little to no explanation as to who they are. Once the main game is completed, you then get to play as Riku, thus the game gives you more insight to his story as well.

In the end, the biggest sin of Chain of Memories is that it's just really repetitive. If you love the game, that's fine, but if you're not into it, it gets dull quickly. You enter a room, defeat the heartless in a fairly simple battle, then earn cards you can use to open more doors. Rinse, reapeat. Only the boss battles require much of anything in the way of strategy.

The game would be re-released as Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories for the PlayStation 2. Having played that version (or technically the PS4 remaster) for the first time recently, I think I preferred it on the GBA. The card battle aspect becomes even more of a hindrance to what feels like it should be a simple hack-and-slash RPG.

In 2009, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days would be released for Nintendo's next handheld, the Nintendo DS. What links this game with Chain of Memories is that they largely take place during the same period of time. While Sora is busy climbing Castle Oblivion Organization XIII was busy doing other things as well as messing with him.

As Kingdom Hearts II would explain, when Sora gave up his heart to rescue Kairi in the original Kingdom Hearts a Nobody was created. Nobodies are shells of people with strong hearts, that usually contain the memories of the original person, but are missing a heart of their own. Roxas was the Nobody of Sora, though he existed without Sora's memories. The black-hooded people of Organization XIII would make Roxas one of their members, as they are all Nobodies who seek Kingdom Hearts in order to one day give themselves the hearts they lack. Because Roxas was the Nobody of Sora, he could wield the keyblade, and thus Organization XIII could harvest hearts for themselves.

358/2 Days would be a much more traditional Kingdom Hearts style game, though with the noted lower resolution graphics of the DS, though it should be said that for the DS, the graphics were pretty good. It would also only go to some of the same Disney worlds as the original game in the series, and because Roxas works for Organization XIII, you have fewer interactions with Disney characters, and none with anybody from the world of Final Fantasy.

However, the most telling thing about 358/2 Days may be the fact that the game never saw an update for modern consoles. If you pick up either the PS3 or PS4 version of Kingdom Hearts 1.5 ReMix all you'll get is the game's cutscenes in HD, which work fairly well to tell the story the game needs to tell from a story perspective, which only shows how inconsequential the gameplay is to the larger Kingdom Hearts experience.

Still, because Kingdom Hearts II doesn't really explain many of these details, these games are necessary if you want to really understand the franchise. Sora and Riku take down members of Organization XIII you'll never really meet in Chain of Memories. Understanding the group's motives makes much more sense in 358/2 Days .

In preperation for the relase of Kingdome Hearts III**, we're taking a look back at the game series in several articales, beginning with the original game.**

It's been nearly two decades since the release of the original Kingdom Hearts. At the time the mere idea of the game, an action role-playing game that brought together the most popular characters from Final Fantasy as well as Disney, with a dose of original content for good measure, seemed absolutely insane. To be honest, it doesn't sound all that less crazy today. The only difference is that today, we know it works.

With the third console installment incredibly close to finally being real. Today is as good a time as any to start looking back at the entire franchise, starting with the very first game.

The original Kingdom Hearts introduces us to Sora, the player character through most, but certainly not all, of the Kingdom Hearts games. He's a young boy living on the Destiny Islands with his friends Riku and Kairi. The three are planning to leave the island shortly to go exploring but before they can, their island is attacked by black shadow creatures called Heartless. To fight them, Sora finds himself magically bestowed with a weapon called a keyblade. It's exactly what it sounds like, a massive sword shaped like a giant key. The islands are destroyed and Sora finds himself drifting in space. He washes up in a town he's never been in where he runs across two characters the entire world is familiar with, Donald Duck and Goofy. They've been sent by their king, Mickey Mouse, to find "the key" and when they see Sora's weapon they join him as he searches for his friends.

From there the three travel between numerous Disney worlds. They fight alongside Aladdin in Agrabah and Peter Pan in Neverland. You can summon Dumbo to shoot bad guys with water.

As ridiculous as it all seems. It works remarkably well. I still remember all those years ago talking with my brother who had already started playing the game. I wasn't convinced that a game like this would work, but he assured me that it did, so I gave it a try. Yeah, it worked, and for the most part, it still does.

Replaying the original Kingdom Hearts 17 years later was quite the experience. While it may not be a stunning looking game by today's standards, the Disney style is timeless, so the game looks great.

The story is also solid. While the lore of Kingdom Hearts would go consistently more and more bugfuck insane with each subsequent release, the plot of the first game is largely self-contained and actually makes sense without playing seven other titles or reading every collectable piece of paper. Darkness and light are two forces constantly in conflict with each other. Ansem, a scholar who has been studying the Darkness is looking to release it. He must be stopped. It's more or less that simple. Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty is actually the game's main antagonist through most of the story and she's teamed up with a who's who of Disney villains, Ursula, Captain Hook, Hades, etc. to kidnaps all the Disney Princesses.

There's also the Final Fantasy element of the game. While a smaller portion of the story, characters from Final Fantasy VII and VIII make appearances and they mix with the Disney stuff remarkably well. You, unfortunately, don't get to team up with Cloud but you can fight Sephiroth, in one of the most brutal battles I can ever remember playing. I beat him back on the PlayStation 2. I don't think I'll have ever have the patience to do it again in the PS4 rerelease.

If there's one aspect of Kingdom Hearts that doesn't hold up two decades later, it's the controls, though to be honest, I'm not sure they ever did. The game requires pretty constant use of both sticks as well as the D-pad, so unless you've got three hands, there are going to be some issues. If you want to cast a spell or use an item you don't have set to a short cut, you need to access it in real time using the D-pad, which means you have to take your thumb off the stick that moves you, opening yourself up to attack, which is particularly fun when the thing you're looking for is a healing potion.

The camera is also less than perfect. This was a far from unusual state of affairs when Kingdom Hearts was new, so one shouldn't be too shocked, but that doesn't make it less annoying.

Having said that, the combat of Kingdom Hearts is still immensely satisfying. The battles against the waves of creative heartless, each one stylized for whatever world you happen to be in, are still a lot of fun, the boss battles against your favorite Disney villains and fighting alongside your favorite Disney heroes is excellent.

In the end, Kingdom Hearts is about playing an RPG through Disney worlds and as far as that goes. The story in each world is frequently a slightly modified version of the plot of the film the world comes from. There's an unfortunate emphasis on later Disney films, Hercules and Tarzan are two of the worlds that you visit early on and one gets the impression if this game was being made today, both of those worlds would get overlooked for something that's had a bit more staying power.

Remarkably, Hercules would actually reappear in Kingdome Hearts II and since we know those characters will also be in the new game as well, Hercules has had a much more significant legacy in this game series than the film itself has ever had.

The success of the original Kingdom Hearts would spawn not just console sequels, but even more games originally designed for various handheld systems. With each, the story of the game would begin to get more than a little wild and confused, but at the same time for fans of the series, Kingdom Hearts would build its own lore that, while it requires aspects of Disney and Final Fantasy, has become something all its own.

We'll be taking a look at all the other console and handheld games in the series, and we'll possibly mention Kingdom Hearts X a bit, as we dive deeper into the world of Kingdom Hearts.

When it comes to marketing and advertising, there are standards in place to ensure that people aren't being misled or sold certain items based on false premises. The antitrust commissions do their due diligence to keep big corps in line when it comes to advertising, and apparently Sony wasn't entirely free of duplicity in the eyes of one commission when it came to the sale of PS4 consoles.

GamingBolt is reporting that the Italian antitrust commission fined Sony €2 million in unfair business practices for how the PS4 was being sold in Europe. Specifically, this was in relation to how the PS4 retail boxes were being marketed, with the boxes failing to mention that the cost of playing online multiplayer was not mentioned on the box, even though it advertised the ability to play online.

According to the commission, Sony has been selling the PS4 without this clear indication since the console's release back in November 2013. GamingBolt does note that the PS4 retail boxes actually do have in fine print that the PlayStation Plus subscription is required to play games online. So the main issue for the commission was that the fine print isn't legible enough to make customers aware that they need to pay a separate subscription fee for PlayStation Plus in order to make use of the advertised online functionality.

Now it's not entirely true that Sony doesn't inform users about PlayStation Plus. There is usually a big yellow tab on the back of the PS4 retail box -- even for the units sold in Europe -- indicating that you can use PlayStation Plus to play games online. The general description, however, does fail to mention that PlayStation Plus is subscription based. Instead, it says that it brings "multiplayer action" and "Dynamic 4K" resolution to the system, along with offering two PS4 games each month, along with PlayStation Store discounts.

It also mentions that you can get a free trial from the PlayStation Store. Below the description there's another description -- in the really fine print -- that mentions that "subscription fee[s] payable." It also mentions that the games are only available through the course of the membership, and that the PlayStation Plus trial is available only once to users.

Technically, however, the fine print doesn't exactly say how much is payable, or what the total costs would be to engage in online multiplayer. This is likely due to the fact that the pricing models sometimes fluctuate for these online services, much like Xbox Live for the Xbox gaming consoles. Nintendo also recently started charging for its premium Nintendo Network service, which was previously free for the Wii, Wii U, and during the first year of availability for the Nintendo Switch.

What's interesting, though, is that technically Nintendo and Microsoft could be hit for the same issues with failing to disclose the total costs for playing online. Albeit, Microsoft's Xbox One X boxes don't quite have the multiplayer features plastered on them the way the PS4 does. It does have a small description on the back about Xbox Live being required to play online, but doesn't mention anything about the costs. But then again, it may also depend on the retail box, the version, the bundle, and a host of other factors.

In the case of Sony, the company has 30 days to pay the fine and change the boxes, or it can appeal the fine.

Ubisoft found itself at the center of a controversy over the inclusion of a rather linear and pointed storyline in its most recent DLC outing for Assassin's Creed. The issue came from a plot decision that was made by the company for the DLC that removed player agency, and now the director had to attempt to quell outrage by making a statement about the content.

In a thread over on the Ubisoft forums marked with [SPOILERS] because it reveals an outcome to the story relating to the protagonists Kassandra and Alexios, the community manager posted a message on behalf of Assassin's Creed: Odyssey creative director Jonathan Dumont stated...

So for context, what Dumont is referring to is that within the latest DLC outing, Kassandra or Alexios have a child with either the son or daughter of Darius, the first of the Assassins. Neither of the characters has a choice in having a child. Which is a problem for many players that took paths in the game that didn't lend themselves to such an outcome.

The characters of Kassandra and Alexios have access to many optional romances featured throughout the base game. In each case, same-sex romances are possible and so the player frustration comes largely from those who viewed their characters as gay, their own romantic choices were disregarded in Ubisoft's decision to force the characters into a relationship that some players may not have wanted them to be a part of.

Some gamers were okay with the idea that the main protagonists had to carry on the lineage of the Assassins in order for it to eventually make sense for the previous games to link up to the story involving Desmond being a descendant of the Assassins, but not everyone liked the concept of Kassandra getting pregnant, which created more controversy for Ubisoft.

However, Dumont says that the team has been reading the feedback and understand why people have become so passionate over the subject matter, stating...

So it doesn't sound like this particular story will be retconned, and your Kassandra or Alexios will be stuck with the kid. However, it doesn't mean that Ubisoft can't make it where maybe in a future DLC you can go back to an old flame that you romanced during Assassin's Creed: Odyssey's main campaign?

Obviously, there are going to have to be some concessions made when a game has an actual linear story but the developers decide to give players choices in how the story unfolds for the characters. In this particular case, it seems as if things kind of backfired for Ubisoft, but we'll see what happens in the upcoming third installment of DLC, in order to find out if the problems people had can be salvaged in any way.

The streaming market is a tough place to cut your teeth as a business. The options are plentiful and there's a definite fight over the quality of streams made available. But the one thing you probably didn't expect is that some of these businesses aren't just fighting with each other, but also grinding the market against video games... yes, video games.

This isn't hyperbole or someone trying to extrapolate some hidden meaning or message from an executive during an investor call for the quarterly earnings report. Nope, this comes directly from Netflix. Inside the company's shareholder report there's a section labeled as "Competition". It states that Netflix sees one particular game as a bigger threat its business than any other streaming competitor...

This comes after Netflix opened the section stating that it earns around 10% of all the television screen time across viewership in the United States. That's not an insignificant amount of market share for a streaming network that has no national coverage across terrestrial networks. The section also states that it reaches "less than that" from mobile screen time while competing against other mobile apps, services, and functionality on mobile handsets.

Netflix also honestly admits that it has less market percentage in other countries due to the "lower penetration" of its services within those regions, likely due to lack of infrastructure to help support the bandwidth and availability of the network.

But in the case of the U.S., network infrastructure isn't an issue so much as Fortnite is. It's a pretty obvious gut-wrenching blow to HBO from Netflix to say that a video game is providing more competition for the service than one of the most recognized premium cable channels available.

Keep in mind that HBO is no slouch in terms of providing noteworthy and mainstream content, such as Game of Thrones.

However, if Fortnite is giving Netflix a tougher time than Game of Thrones, it speaks volumes to how much penetration Epic Games has not just in terms of the gaming market, but in overall screen-time usage by the average American using any digital device with streaming or online capabilities. And keep in mind that if you have a system that can play Fortnite it can just as well run Netflix.

Epic Games is probably more than pleased with the fact that a completely mega-company like Netflix, which is well outside of the gaming market, credited some of its loss of viewership to the highly popular third-person shooter.

In fact, Netflix seemed more worried about Fortnite than some of its nearest competitors like Hulu, who it claimed was almost "non-existent in Canada". Ouch.

Netflix didn't resort to any euphemisms for its assessments of the competition, noting that YouTube's few minutes worth of downtime a few months back earned Netflix a huge spike in sign-ups. So it's not like Netflix spends the section gloating gaudily over its success while making it like no one else is a threat. The company was just honest in assessing that Fortnite, right now, is a much bigger threat for taking viewers away from its service than some other streaming services out there.

The countdown is officially on and Kingdom Hearts 3 is gearing up for release on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 and leading up to the big day Square Enix dropped the official theme song for the JRPG. The best part about it is that you don't need any special pre-order bonuses or special editions to listen to the song ahead of the game's release. Give it a listen right now.

The theme song was posted up over on Proximity's YouTube channel, featuring Utada Hikaru teaming up with Skrillex for the "Face My Fears" song. The song clocks in at three minutes and 40 seconds. The pop-song starts off with a simple piano melody before escalating into a dubstep piece, featuring a lot of fast beats and a groovy tune that you can both sing along with and dance to as well.

If you aren't into the electronic breakbeat sound then you may not be the biggest fan of the song, but the people dropping into the comment section to listen to the song seem to enjoy it a great deal. There's a lot of praise for the way the song handles the lyrical transitions and most people are just happy that Skrillex is back with a brand new song. He was one of the first artists to really push dubstep into mainstream and at one point it was practically everywhere, including appearing in Sonic Generations trailers, and the music genre even managed to nab a spot as an actual weapon in the Saints Row games.

Others were just happy that they were able to finally listen to the full version of the theme song for the game as opposed to the shortened version of the song that has been used in a few of the trailers leading up to the release of Kingdom Hearts 3.

The game has been a real labor of love for the developers who are moving into the final stretch of the game's release.

Director Tetsuya Nomura has been leading the charge on the production of the game for the last half decade where he's also been juggling the production of Final Fantasy VII's remake as well. He put the latter game on the back burner while focusing on finishing up Kingdom Hearts 3, which is the biggest game that the studio has worked on, next to Final Fantasy XV.

Square Enix has gone all out in adding in as many different worlds from Disney's catalog of properties, including Tangled and Frozen joining other brand new worlds within the Kingdom Hearts franchise such as Big Hero 6 and Hercules. I'm a little shocked that Finding Nemo didn't make an appearance.

You can look to get your hands on the JRPG on January 29th for the Xbox One or the PS4. While you wait for the release date to arrive you can listen to the theme song a few dozen times to sate your anticipation for one of 2019's biggest releases.

God of War is a massive game but, according to Director Cory Barlog, it was originally planned to be even bigger, boasting several additional boss fights. But crafting a truly epic boss battle requires a tremendous amount of resources, which Santa Monica Studio decided would be better spent on making the game they had, with its more limited number of boss battles, the best it could be. According to Barlog...

This is just one of the reveals Barlog makes during the NoClip documentary about the making of God of War (via Gameinformer). According to Barlog, the team cut "a lot of bosses" during development, which he admits was not an easy choice.

The thing about the God of War series is that it has always been an over-the-top action romp with as many Greek gods crammed into each entry as Olympus could churn out. Now that Kratos has moved into the land of Norse mythology, though, his motivations have shifted. He's no longer looking to kill every god under the sun with his bare hands. He just wants to live in peace and help his son fulfill the final wish of his dying mother.

So for once, Kratos isn't looking for trouble. He's actively trying to avoid the gods, in fact. But that doesn't mean all of the gods are trying to avoid him. The result of that is less focus on massive boss battles and more focus on things like exploration, puzzle solving and the like. Depending on what you count as a flat-out boss battle, there are only a handful of major encounters sprinkled throughout the game. There are plenty of miniboss fights, though, with Kratos and his boy taking on hulking trolls, an optional collection of Valkyrie and the like.

Given Barlog's explanation of how much effort has to go into crafting a boss fight, it makes sense that the team would decide to throttle back on those massive encounters. They were already taking on a rather huge project simply by taking the series in a number of new directions, so piling on a bunch of additional encounters with Norse deities seems like an unneeded burden. While some folks were bummed that the new God of War only had Kratos interact with a handful of members of the Norse pantheon, it certainly served the story's themes well.

Also, given the basically guaranteed sequel, you could probably view last year's outing as Kratos' handshake with a world he's only just now truly becoming a part of. Now that he's been forcefully thrust into the fray, maybe the next God of War will boast more of those boss battles that had to be cut from the original game.

The Resident Evil 2 remake finally shambles onto the scene next week and, when it arrives, players will once again be able to play as the most badass member of S.T.A.R.S.: A block of tofu.

The above tweet comes from the official Resident Evil account, where the developer has revealed that the upcoming remake will include the two additional scenarios included in the original Resident Evil 2. When you finish the game, you'll be able to unlock both "The 4th Survivor" and "The Tofu Survivor," which let you play as Hunk and Tofu, respectively.

Hunk, also known as the Grim Reaper, is an Umbrella operative who took on hordes of monsters with a limited supply of gear. The story is that Hunk was sent in to procure a sample of the G-Virus and then escape the city via helicopter. It was a fun and challenging mode that required rationing items (no near gear could be picked up) and racing the clock. The Tofu Survivor was a trek through the same mode, but your only item was a combat knife. Oh and, also, you were a giant chunk of tofu. That's probably worth mentioning, too.

In case that seems too silly even for Resident Evil standards, there's actually a good reason for "Tofu" existing. When games are in early development, placeholders are frequently used to represent assets that will later be designed, animated and the like. The original tofu model just happened to look like, well, a block of tofu. In reality, though, it was a white, blocky mass that was simply used to track things like hit detection within the game. According to Capcom lore from 1998, the team thought it was kind of humorous to watch the white chunk run around what was supposed to be a scary game, and so they decided to use the model in an unlockable new game mode.

In the original version, Tofu had floating gloves for hands, one of which held his knife. In the new version, the knife (as well as a flashlight) just kind of float in midair. But while his gloves are gone, he now wears the S.T.A.R.S. cap seen in the original mode's menu screen.

If you take a look at Tofu in the promotional image tweeted by Capcom, you can see a few other weapons on the ground nearby. I can make out a chaingun, chopsticks, another knife, a machine gun and, in the background, a rocket launcher. I don't know if this is to represent that Tofu is such a badass that he doesn't need all of those other weapons, or perhaps it's a teaser that the character will have the ability to equip more gear this time around.

Thankfully, we don't have very long to wait in order to get all of our answers. Resident Evil 2 launches for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC next Friday, Jan. 25. And for you vets in the audience, you can look forward to a slightly altered series of events taking place in the game, just to keep you on your toes. Also, in case you're not yet sold, there's already a demo available on all platforms.

Epic Games is constantly in the news for the success that is Fortnite, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse. This time, however, the company is making headlines for how much money the Battle Royale-themed free-to-play shooter managed to rack up throughout 2018.

According to Deadline, Epic Games managed to generate $2.4 billion in revenue throughout 2018. This comes from a market report published by Nielsen Media's SuperData, which saw Fortnite top out the chart of free-to-play games throughout the year, followed by Dungeon Fighter Online from Nexon, a long-running multiplayer hack-and-slash beat-'em-up that was a very distant second. Nexon's title may be popular, but it was nearly $1 billion behind Fortnite, topping out at $1.5 billion in revenue. Obviously, that's no laughing matter, and nothing to scoff at in terms of the money generated.

Riot Games and Tencent literally tied with Nexon, as League of Legends also generated $1.4 billion, while Niantic Labs' Pokemon Go came in fourth place at $1.3 billion. Neowiz Games' first-person shooter Crossfire also tied with Pokemon Go at $1.3 billion, along with Tencent's Honour of Kings, a multiplayer online battle arena game.

Aniplex's Fate/Grand Order was seventh on the list with $1.2 billion, followed by Activision and King's Candy Crush Saga at $1.1 billion, and Mixi's Monster Strike hitting $1 billion even. Tencent rounded out the list with Super Cell's Clash Royale at $900 million.

This basically showcases just how much the Battle Royale genre is worth when done right, and apparently, Epic Games has done right with Fortnite, easily surpassing some of the other MOBA and free-to-play games that previously dominated the industry.

The article notes that the battle passes that Epic sells for Fortnite has regularly seen U.S. players purchasing said packs. In fact, there's a 34% attachment rate to the battle passes from U.S. players.

It was also noted that free-to-play games, in general, accounted for 80% of all of the digital game revenue across every major gaming platform, including home consoles, PCs, and mobile devices.

Out of the $87 billion that the gaming industry generated in 2018, $17.9 billion of that was generated from PC gaming, and obviously Fortnite played a significant role in that.

Despite all the money generated from the cash shop and battle passes, Epic Games isn't entirely in the clear with the free-to-play, third-person, build-and-shoot Battle Royale game. The company is currently being sued by a number of individuals for the dances featured in the game.

There's really no telling which side of the legal coin Epic will come out on, but the lawsuits keep stacking up, which could end up hurting the company, in the long run, depending on how things turn out.

However, for the time being, Epic seems to be in a pretty good place and moving in the right direction as far as business growth is concerned. The company is also attempting to compete with Valve by opening up the Epic Games Store, which had a lot of help as a launching pad thanks to Fortnite being tied into the launcher for the store, which is similar to how Steam got its start with Half-Life 2. The major difference is that Fortnite has become a heck of a lot bigger in a much shorter amount of time than Half-Life 2.

Announced only a month ago and due out in April, NetherRealm Studios' Mortal Kombat 11 is looking more violent (and gory) than ever in today's "Official Gameplay Reveal Trailer."

You might recall that NetherRealm head Ed Boon walked onto the stage at The Game Awards in December to present the trophy for the best sports/racing game. Before he could read the names of the nominees, though, a reveal trailer for his team's upcoming Mortal Kombat 11 "accidentally" played instead. It was a fun moment, highlighting a battle between Scorpion, Raiden and...another Scorpion?

Anyway, in the weeks that followed, NetherRealm announced that a major reveal event for the latest Mortal Kombat would be hosted on Jan. 17, where folks would learn all sorts of new details about the game, beginning roster, modes, story and more. As you might have noticed, that's today!

While the event is ongoing as of this writing, we've already had an opportunity to take in some of the over-the-top MK violence being presented at the event, including the gameplay reveal trailer above. It's a rather gratuitous affair not intended for the faint of heart, but that's kind of par for the course in the Mortal Kombat universe.

The trailer opens with a bunch of walk-on animations, presumably some of what players will see at the beginning of fights. Scorpion and Raiden are once again in the mix, along with Baraka and Skarlet. What follows is a hell of a lot of stabbing, punching and bone-breaking, as well as scenes of things like Baraka biting a chunk of meat off of someone's arm, Scorpion cutting a fool in half (lengthwise) with his spear's chain and Skarlet impaling Scorpion with spears made out of his own blood. There are also a few teaser scenes from the game's campaign peppered throughout that make it sound like either time travel or dimension hopping will be in the mix.

This, of course, might explain why the Game Awards trailer boasted two different Scorpions. Heck, it's a gimmick that allowed Injustice 2 to make sense and would work just as well in the Mortal Kombat universe if that is indeed the route the team is taking.

Another thing they appear to be borrowing from the most recent Injustice game is character customization, which seems like a bang-up idea. The DC fighting game included an insane number of outfits and accessories for the cast and, after all these years, it should be no problem to deck out the Mortal Kombat crew in similarly diverse gear. It looks like more weapons might also be in the mix, but we'll just have to wait until a deeper dive into the game's structure is made available to find out more.

Speaking of which, if you're interested in even more Mortal Kontent, you might want to drop by the game's official YouTube page. NetherRealm is posting everything from today's show, which will likely add up to a ton of videos to plow through once everything is said and done.

As for the game itself, look for it on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC and, somehow, the Switch on April 23.

Back in 2016 when Watch Dogs 2 came out, there was a tease for a special Ubisoft product within the game. Literally, there was an actual teaser stuffed within the game for another game. It was quite meta. However, according to a former creative director at Ubisoft, it appears the sci-fi game that was teased may never actually come out.

Alex Hutchinson broke the news by dropping a confidential E3 trailer for what would have been Pioneer, the sci-fi title that Ubisoft teased during a mission in Watch Dogs 2. The trailer was posted up on Hutchinson's Twitter account with the simple sentence "RIP Pioneer" and a crying face emoji.

The trailer embedded into the tweet is just barely a minute long, and it's from the original leak that was featured during a mission in Watch Dogs 2, where Marcus attempts to infiltrate the game publisher's servers and lifts an unreleased trailer from the company to see what they're working on.

The mission had a meta-element to it insofar that the trailer featured in Watch Dogs 2 was apparently a hint at a real game that Ubisoft was working on called Pioneer. The game appeared to be a space sci-fi game featuring different vehicles traveling throughout the solar system, and obviously encountering some hardships along the way that can result in the destruction of the ship.

The thing is, we never really knew much of anything about the actual gameplay. Visually the game had the bright colors and palette that we've seen in games like No Man's Sky, or Kerbal Space Program, or Star Control.

As far as mechanics are concerned, even though we got to see some cockpit views within the trailer, it didn't look like it was going to be much of a space combat sim like Elite: Dangerous.

According to Destructoid, the reason for the lack of information wasn't just part of some top-notch marketing ploy, it was because Ubisoft was already on the verge of canceling the game even during its initial reveal within Watch Dogs 2.

Now just because Hutchinson tweeted out that the game is canceled doesn't necessarily mean it's dead and gone for good. There's always the possibility that Hutchinson could be teasing fans, but that would only really work if he were still working at Ubisoft. He hasn't had anything to do with the company since heading up Far Cry 4 from back in 2014, which was half a decade ago. At the moment Hutchinson is working with the creative team at Typhoon Studios on the upcoming game Journey to the Savage Planet, which debuted during the 2018 Game Awards.

Of course, given that Ubisoft hasn't made any announcements about Pioneer in the last three years and since it was already reported that Ubisoft was already on the verge of pulling the plug back then, it doesn't seem too far a stretch that the game is no longer in development. It would be cool if we had some sort of gameplay trailer to really see what the game was like before it got canned.

In Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, your character can be straight, gay, bi or asexual. That is, of course, until you reach a totally unavoidable "twist" at the end of the latest DLC, Shadow Heritage. We're going to get into some major spoiler territory here, so consider yourself warned.

The second chapter in the three-part, story-driven DLC collectively known as Legacy of the First Blade ends with your character having a baby. That might not seem all that shocking if you have been playing a straight character and actually wanted to settle down and have a rugrat to train, but pretty much everyone else playing the game will likely find that turn of events to be off-putting, if not completely insulting.

The concept of player choice is foundational in Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, as players can first decide if they want to portray the male Alexios or the female Kassandra. While the major plot points for the campaign are pretty set in stone, players have agency over many in-game conversations and, of course, who they choose to woo. As noted above, you can choose to have romantic relations with characters based on whatever parameters you like, or you can choose to ignore that portion of the game entirely.

Unfortunately, Ubisoft forgot how important those choices were to the identity of the characters and the people playing them, and they managed to throw it all out the window in rather spectacular fashion.

Without getting too caught up in Assassin's Creed's lore, folks who played the game's first DLC were introduced to a possible love interest based on their own gender. If you were a male character, they were female. If you were female, they were male. That was somewhat harmless, until the end of the second DLC chapter rolls around and, no matter what options you pick, that character has a romantic relationship with your character and they go on to have a baby. Obviously, folks were upset.

The chapter ends with scenes of your character raising the child, being intimate with your forced lover and the like. It was supposed to be sweet and portray a rare period of calm and peace in the life of Alexios/Kassandra. Instead, it forced people into a very specific romantic encounter, regardless of their roleplaying up to that point. If you were playing a gay character, you presumably "took one for the team" in order to preserve your bloodline. If you were playing an asexual character, it looks like you were willing to ignore your identity in order to add one to the population.

For their part, Ubisoft has issued a statement over on Reddit admitting that they totally dropped the ball on this one. They seem to stand by their idea of the importance of continuing the assassin bloodline, but concede that their handling of the issue was poorly executed. And, again, plenty of fans are more than willing to agree.

While the deed is done, so to speak, Ubisoft has stated that players will no longer be tied to the whole "happy family" thing once the next DLC drops. It sounds like the option will be there for folks who wanted to settle down with the forced mate but, for everyone else, you should be able to ignore it completely. That raises some issues of its own but, hey, at least they're going to try to make adjustments, I guess.

Based on a series of reports from folks close to the matter, it looks like Electronic Arts' open-world Star Wars game has been completely canceled.

This report comes to us from Kotaku who, as of the most recent update, has spoken to several unidentified sources confirming that the troubled Destiny-esque Star Wars game has officially been canned. This is only the latest development in the strange history of what's known as project "Orca" but, if nothing else, at least the good news is that it does not appear the cancellation of the game has resulted in the loss of any jobs.

To be clear, EA has not made an official announcement concerning the game's cancellation but, based on the fact that several sources are confirming it, it seems like a safe bet that a statement from the publisher is inbound.

Assuming this all holds up, that would mean that EA Vancouver was only working on the game for about a year. The game was originally slated to be a more linear experience and was going by the moniker "Ragtag." With Amy Hennig at the helm, that game was being developed by Visceral, a studio EA purchased following the success of the Dead Space series. Given Hennig's background and what little we knew about the project, it's no surprise that it was being described as something like Uncharted set in the Star Wars universe.

Unfortunately, EA decided that was no longer the game they were in the market for and decided to shutter Visceral and pass the project off to EA Vancouver. At the time, EA made comments that displayed a desire to see the project shift to a games as service model, similar to what we're seeing in titles like the upcoming Anthem and The Division 2. EA wanted a game players would keep coming back to (and presumably keep spending money on), and that's not something you can get out of a linear, campaign-driven game.

EA Vancouver received the game's assets and was put to work on retooling the project. Comments had it pegged as an open-world game where, playing as a scoundrel from the wrong side of the tracks of the Star Wars universe, players would explore various planets and pull of jobs for various entities within the popular galaxy far, far away. Unfortunately, things weren't moving as quickly as EA had hoped.

According to the initial report, EA wanted the open-world game to come out relatively soon and, after a year with EA Vancouver, it became clear that wasn't going to happen. So, in response, it appears they have simply pulled the plug. Battlefront II is still rolling out updates during its second year on the market and, late this year, Respawn's Jedi: Fallen Order is expected to launch, so it's not like EA is hurting for Star Wars games just yet. It sounds like efforts from the open-world game have now been shifted to a new game with a smaller scale, which they apparently hope to get out by late next year.

In the midst of one of his regular streams, popular Fortnite player Exotic Chaotic received a donation that seemed too good to be true. It was for $75,000, and it was apparently 100 percent legitimate. Watch an unedited clip of him discovering the gift below.

In the above video, Exotic Chaotic is in the middle of a Fortnite stream, dropping onto the map when he notices an animation pop up that lets him know he received a donation. It reads: "WTF!!!!! Dat Donation!," followed by the name KingMascot and a value of $75,000.

Exotic looks around at his various monitors, clearly confused, and then his hands leap to his mouth as the reality of the moment starts to settle in. "Is that r-," he shouts, presumably planning to finish with "-eal donation?"

From there, Exotic goes into a mad dash to check the chat feed and verify the payment is listed on his PayPal account. He shouts mostly detached statements of disbelief, which only leaves the people he is currently playing with in a state of confusion. It's actually kind of funny, as they clearly think Exotic is witnessing something new and exciting on the Fortnite map. Epic Games has become known for having live, random events occur in their popular battle royale game, so it makes sense that's what Exotic's teammates would assume.

As Exotic confirms his donation, he starts running around the room, celebrating. This goes on for a while, with the streamer occasionally asking the obvious question, "But why?"

As it turns out, the folks over at Kotaku have gotten to the bottom of the matter, and it's actually a pretty uplifting story of one friend helping another out. The $75,000 donation, which appears to be the highest single contribution in Twitch history, came from user and fellow Fortnite streamer KingMascot, a friend of Exotic's who apparently made a fortune by investing early in Bitcoin and then went on to trade stocks.

Apparently, KingMascot had been planning to make the mega-donation for a while, but it was something he actually had to work out with PayPal to get organized, presumably due to its sheer size. Once everything was given the green light, KingMascot decided to make his donation in early January, just after the holidays and perfectly timed to give Exotic and his family an amazing start to 2019.

Exotic, as it turns out, has a kid and a girlfriend who works full-time to, in his words, "support my career as a Fortnite streamer." He said he makes an alright living on his Twitch streaming, with earnings from tournaments to help supplement that figure. But life throws you curveballs sometimes. Exotic won $30,000 in Fortnite's recent Fall Skirmish, for instance, but he's a young guy with no credit and was apparently driving around in a clunker. As a result, a chunk of those earnings has gone toward getting him a new vehicle.

KingMascot, who has the means to "pay it forward," decided that he wanted to take the opportunity to help a fellow streamer out of a tight situation and give him some time to focus on growing his stream without worrying so much about making ends meet.

For his part, Exotic said he is very thankful and plans on making this contribution count by securing his son's future and repaying a girlfriend who believes in him.

It turns out that the Resident Evil 2 "1-Shot" demo isn't as limited as we initially thought. Folks have already figured out how to bypass the trial's 30-minute time limit while others are simply beating it really, really quickly. It turns out you only need about three minutes to beat the entire thing. Check it out.

The Resident Evil 2 demo launched last week, but with a couple of stipulations you don't usually see attached to these kinds of game trials. It's called the "1-Shot" demo because that's the max number of times a player will be able to experience it under normal circumstances. When you start playing the demo, a 30-minute clock starts running in the background. When the clock hits zero, your time with the demo is supposed to be over.

On launch day, most folks were clocking in at around 20-25 minutes to complete the demo. Once they jumped back in for another run, they found they only had five to 10 minutes left before the game simply ended with a message thanking them for playing. So, for someone simply trying to play the demo without rushing, you probably only got "one shot" to complete it.

But as it turns out, the demo's timer is attached to your profile, not the hardware. In other words, if you've got a few different profiles on your PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, you could play the demo once per profile. You could theoretically keep doing this for as many profiles you feel like creating. On Steam, folks have also figured out how to finagle their client settings to reset the timer for the demo, but that seems like a much less appealing method of getting an extra run through the Raccoon City Police Department.

But what if I told you there was a way to play the demo 10 times on a single profile? Well, folks like YouTube user JPreemo have managed to do exactly that. All you have to do is absolutely master the chunk of story available in the demo and finish your run in less than three minutes.

That's a pretty impressive feat, considering how well you would need to have the map and interlocking mechanisms memorized in order to clear the RE2 demo in just 2:52. You'd also need to be pretty focused not to let the sound of approaching zombies distract you by accident. And in case you're wondering about JPreemo's decision to play the game in Japanese, folks in the comments of one of his other videos explain that speedrunners frequently play games in Japanese because the dialogue boxes move more quickly.

Of course, this is not the way the demo is "supposed" to be played. While some folks complain that having a time limit on a demo is odd, I think Capcom's goal here was to add an extra bit of tension to the proceedings. If you're taking things at a normal pace, the game goes out of its way to spook players. If you combine that with fear of running out of time, then I imagine the frights will be boosted quite nicely.

If you want to give the RE2 demo a shot, it'll be available on PS4, Xbox One and Steam through Jan. 31. The game itself launches on Jan. 25.

Some big name games are known for getting console exclusives when they arrive on the most popular console on the market. That's exactly what happened when Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive dropped some exclusive content into the PS4 version of Red Dead Redemption 2, but now Xbox One gamers can get in on the exclusive content.

Game Informer is reporting that the console-exclusives that originally came with the PlayStation 4 version of the game are now available for the Xbox One. The content availability was announced quietly within a recent update for the game that indicated that the Red Chestnut Arabian Horse, Alligator Skin Ranch Cutter Saddle, and the High Roller Double-Action Revolver that were exclusive to the PS4 are now available in the online mode for the Xbox One version of Red Dead Redemption 2.

This doesn't mean that PlayStation 4 gamers are now sharing parity with their Xbox counterparts. There are likely to be new updates or content that may find their way onto the PS4 ahead of the Xbox One. That's how the exclusivity deal was setup between Sony and Activision, where each of the new major zombie updates for Call of Duty: World War II dropped first for the PlayStation 4, and then arrived a month later for the Xbox One and PC versions of the game.

In this case, PS4 owners managed to get an entire extra month of access to the content ahead of the Xbox gaming base, but now that the latest update has dropped, the Xbox fanbase can take advantage of those items, too.

That wasn't the only inclusion in the update. There was also the inclusion of the highly anticipated and much talked about Battle Royale mode that went live called Gun Rush. This is a sandbox map where players are in an ever-shrinking area where they must kill 31 other players in a free-for-all, last man standing mode. There's also a team variation of the mode as well, allowing some friends to get together and drop bodies in some old-school Wild West shootouts.

The update for the online mode also includes new daily challenges, new law and bounty upgrades, parley changes, and a few other updates to the way player locations appear on the map.

There are also some plans to include all new missions in the Story in A Land of Opportunities, additional dynamic events that will implemented, similar to the kind you encounter in Skyrim. And all new competitive modes for the online PvP, much like how Rockstar added a ton of content to Grand Theft Auto Online.

Additional weapons and clothing items will also be added to the game. It appears Rockstar is already going all-in on the Red Dead Redemption 2 online mode and turning it into the next big cash powerhouse.

While Xbox One gamers were sort of left behind during the initial exclusive content that came out for the game when it released for the two home consoles last fall, at least the exclusivity honeymoon period between Rockstar and Sony seems to be over with -- for now.

The release of Kingdom Hearts III is narrowing down and coming up a lot quicker than you may have been anticipating. It's now just weeks away from launching on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. But even after it launches there's still going to be more to glean from the game's story with a post-launch title update.

The news was made available over on the official Kingdom Hearts Twitter account, where it was announced that following the launch of the game there will be a free update on January 29th rolling out with the release that brings the game up to version 1.01. This includes various data fixes and bugs that the team didn't catch during the lead up to going gold. There will also be a Memory Archive added, which features videos that you'll unlock throughout the playthrough of the game. You'll be able to access the Memory Archives from the main menu at any point once the update has finished. This ties into the post-launch Epilogue and a separate secret video.

The tweet is part of a longer chain of tweets from the account, which details how the content will be unlocked and added between January 29th as part of the title update for version 1.01 and January 31st.

So the way it works is that once the Memory Archive is active, on the following day, January 30th, the Epilogue video will be made available for those who complete the full game and view the original ending to the game. So this means that the ending-ending won't be spoiled and you'll only be able to experience it after beating the full game. This is a nice way to prevent spoilers, especially after the leaks that occurred for Kingdom Hearts III coming out of the tail end of 2018.

But it doesn't end there. The title update is also a hook for yet another special video set to be made available on January 31st. This secret video requires that gamers must have completed the entirety of the game, seen the main ending, and also played at a presumably high enough difficulty setting in order to unlock the secret video. This is apparently after the special Epilogue video since the requirement for unlocking the secret video is higher than unlocking the Epilogue video.

Both of these videos will then be available in the Memory Archive video gallery, which Square Enix notes will allow players to experience the entire Kingdom Hearts story from the entire series up that point. And so the Epilogue and secret video will compliment the other videos you unlock to apparently put closure on things? I suppose we'll find out when January 30th and January 31st arrive.

It's an interesting way of dealing with spoilers for a highly anticipated game. Usually diehard fans attempt to go on a social media lockdown to avoid having anything spoiled, which is what some gamers did with hotly anticipated games like Alan Wake when it first came out, or Naughty Dog's The Last of Us back when it first released. In this case, Square is getting proactive and actually preventing the actual true ending from being made available until a day after release, and only through an official title update, so even if someone does pirate it or play it on a cracked machine, they still won't be able to access the ending without a legitimate account.

You can look for Kingdom Hearts III to launch for the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 starting January 25th in Japan and January 29th for the rest of the world.

The Resident Evil 2 demo has gone live on all platforms, giving players a shot at exploring Raccoon City before the game launches in a couple of weeks. And by "a shot," we mean "one."

As a matter of fact, the trial version of Resident Evil 2 is actually called the "1-Shot Demo" because that's about all you'll have time for if you want to see everything it has to offer. When you first start playing the demo, an internal timer clocking just 30 minutes will begin to count down. Once you hit that limit, you're done with the demo.

You actually get more than one shot if you manage to complete the demo in less than 30 minutes but, based on the buzz around social media, it looks like most players are wrapping things up in around 25. Those who have decided to jump back in after completing the demo the first time have learned that the game literally ends once the limit is reached, so maybe just take your time with the first run and get as much enjoyment out of the experience as you can manage. This is a horror game, after all, so it's meant to be taken at a more leisurely pace. Also, what good would sprinting through the demo be just to get partway through another run and have it end?

The only other piece of content included in the demo, according to Polygon, is a new cinematic trailer for the game that should give players a better idea of what they can expect once Resident Evil 2 launches on Jan. 25 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. The trailer isn't included under that "1-Shot" umbrella, though, so feel free to watch it as many times as you like. It's also worth pointing out that the demo will only be available for a limited time, from Jan. 11-31.

When the full game launches, players will get to take on the role of Leon Kennedy, who arrives in Raccoon City for his first day on the police force only to discover the city has been overrun by undead monsters. The perspective jumps around a bit as the narrative unfolds, giving players a chance to take control of Ada Wong, Claire Redfield and other members of the Resident Evil cast.

Even long-time fans of the Resident Evil series will likely want to check out this Resident Evil 2 remake because it's a true "remake" in every sense of the word. It has been built from the ground up for modern platforms and, while the main story remains the same, the team at Capcom has changed things up a bit in order to keep even seasoned vets guessing from time to time. The game looks great, though, and is spooky as hell thanks to the renewed focus on tension and limited resources.

But thanks to the new demo, you don't have to take my word for it. Go try it out for yourself and let us know what you think in the comments below.

The Wild West of Red Dead Online is about to get a bit more competitive as Rockstar Games announces the arrival of Gun Rush, a new mode that pits 32 players against each other in a round of battle royale.

While Red Dead Online already had a mode that was kinda-sorta a battle royale showdown, Gun Rush implements several of the popular mode's standard features and makes the whole thing official. As noted above, Gun Rush will host 32 players either rolling solo or in a team, and the objective of the mode is to be the last hombre standing. Just like in Fortnite or PUBG, players will hit the map lacking any sort of equipment and have to scour the landscape for weapons and ammo. The map will also shrink over time, pushing remaining players closer and closer together.

It seems like every game on the planet is getting a battle royale mode these days, so it makes sense that Rockstar would want to jump on that particular bandwagon nice and early with Red Dead Online.

The update containing Gun Rush is live now, so feel free to drop into a round, see what you think and report back here in the comments below. Or, decidedly more helpful, feel free to share your thoughts with Rockstar directly. Red Dead Online is still in its infancy and the developer is on the lookout for plenty of feedback. One of the major complaints leveled against the mode so far is that there isn't a heck of a lot to keep players busy, but Rockstar argues that's because they plan to spend the next several months rolling out additional content, modes and ways to keep players occupied. That was a bit of a gamble, but also probably smart considering how many moving pieces they're talking about cramming into an online world.

Speaking of changes spurred on by player feedback, today's announcement from Rockstar includes a road map of what to expect in the not-too-distant future, including new races and Showdown modes, as well as clothing and emotes. Here's a rundown of some of the other changes the team hopes to introduce to Red Dead Online soon, according to their email.

Daily Challenges: Tackle new challenges each day covering every aspect of the game, from sharpshooting to evading the law.

Law and Bounty Upgrades: Some changes are coming to the way the Law and Bounty systems work in Red Dead Online to reduce the enticements for griefing. Soon, players will get a bounty for committing crimes and will be incentivized to pay them off within an allotted time. Wait too long and bounty hunters from each of the states will track the player forcing them to either pay up or escape.

Parley Changes: We're making the Parley system easier to trigger so that you can avoid aggressive players more quickly. In addition, it will be easier to trigger Feuds, Posse Feuds and Leader Feuds to take on attacking players in structured competition.

Proximity-Based Player Blips: Player location blips will soon appear only over short distances, reducing the range at which you are visible to others, decreasing the likelihood of being targeted by another player across large areas. Down the line, we're also looking to introduce the ability to identify players who grief and kill indiscriminately with a progressively darkening blip that becomes more visible and at a longer range, so everyone in a session can identify potentially dangerous opponents at a glance and from a safe distance.

And according to Rockstar, that's just the tip of the ice berg for planned additions to Red Dead Redemption II's online mode. New story missions are in the works, which would be super swell considering the fact that the mode is currently limited to about eight. A "range of dynamic events" is also being planned, meaning players will more regularly stumble upon events they can take part in while riding the trails. Additional weapons are also planned to be introduced, which should help keep encounters more varied.

While Marvel's Spider-Man's trio of DLC chapters may have wrapped up last month, it looks like Insomniac Games is still working on the title and even promising something "fantastic" is heading our way.

The above tweet comes from Marvel Games, who has been putting a heavy focus on the Fantastic Four this week. Heck, they've even changed their logo so that the "A" in "Games" is currently a "4." But what really caught our attention was the recent mention of Marvel's Spider-Man, Insomniac Games' rad-as-hell PlayStation 4 exclusive.

This all seems like a not-too-subtle tease that some Fantastic Four-inspired content is heading to the game but what that might be, exactly, is still a mystery. Some folks are keeping their expectations at a reasonable level, anticipating a new suit will be thrown into the mix. Others, though, are dreaming big.

We'll start on the smaller end of the spectrum with the potential for a new costume for Spider-Man to wear. If you've played Marvel's Spider-Man, then you know that many entries from the hero's impressive wardrobe are present and accounted for. The game tosses costumes at the player on a regular basis, including outfits from the comics, animated series and even movies. Some of the more recent costumes include one pulled from Into the Spider-Verse, as well as a holiday gift that boasted the suit from the Sam Raimi films.

If we're talking straight Fantastic Four gear for Spidey, there are basically three options for Insomniac to pick from. First up is the makeshift costume Peter Parker wore when he discovered the symbiote that would become Venom was dangerous to keep wearing. He relied on his pals at Baxter Tower for some assistance, and ended up leaving in a standard Fantastic Four costume with a paper bag pulled over his head. If I remember correctly, The Human Torch added a "Kick Me" sign to the back of the costume for good measure. There's also a costume for The Fantastic Spider-Man that boasts the usual blue on black design of the group with some extra Spidey flair and a black hood. Finally, there's the more recent Future Foundation costume, which is a super-cool white suit with black trim.

Any of those suits would be great, but some folks are speculating that Insomniac is going quite a bit bigger, perhaps offering multiple costumes paired with some new story content focusing on the Fantastic Four. Perhaps Spidey is going to need to visit Baxter Tower to help out his super-pals?

But again, that's just speculation. We know "something" related to the Fantastic Four is heading to Spider-Man, we just don't know what it is yet. We'd be game for some new DLC because, if nothing else, it would give us yet another reason to dive back into that world.

The list of nominees for the 2019 Writers Guild Awards for screenplay and video game writing have been announced, with the latter category including the likes of God of War and Marvel's Spider-Man.

The Writers Guild of America West announced its annual award nominees this week, including categories for Original Screenplay, Adapted Screenplay, Documentary Screenplay and Videogame Writing. That final category is of particular interest to us and includes five entries.

Spider-Man

God of War

Batman: The Enemy _Within: Episode 5_

Assassin's Creed Odyssey

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

First up is God of War, with Matt Sophos, Richard Zangrande Gaubert and Cory Barlog accompanied by a handful of other folks tied to the Santa Monica Studio game. Marvel's Spider-Man has Jon Paquette listed as story lead, accompanied by additional writers and contributors such as Benjamin Afrmann, Kelsey Beachum, Christos Gage, and Dan Slott.

Also earning a nod was Pillars of Eternity II's Deadfire expansion, as well as the fifth episode of Batman: The Enemy Within. There's also a nomination for Assassin's Creed Odyssey, with nearly 30 people listed for the potential honor. Assuming WGAW hands out trophies for these honors, can you imagine the plaque that would be needed to add all of those names if Assassin's Creed wins?

It'll be interesting to see which game and which type of writing catches the attention of the folks responsible for handing out these honors. Spider-Man and God of War have both received plenty of praise for their narrative, with Batman's fifth chapter proving an interesting exploration of character for fans of the Caped Crusader. Based on the nomination, it looks like Assassin's Creed could be the easy winner if volume is a factor.

If nothing else, it's cool to see games writing receive this type of recognition, earning nominations alongside the likes of Blackkklansman, A Star is Born, Roma and A Quiet Place. The medium requires a unique set of writing skills and, when done well, it can really raise the bar for games in general.

Concerning the category, the WGA's require that a nominee be a game published in the previous year or, in this case, between Dec. 1, 2017 and Dec. 31 2018. The game must also feature on-screen writing credits from nominees who are a part of the organization. Voting is done by Videogame Writers Caucus members within the organization or Writers Guild members who are actively involved in games writing.

Scanning through this past year's game launches, the only notable omission jumping to mind is Red Dead Redemption II, which has received high praise from fans and critics alike for its writing. Similar to Assassin's Creed, there were probably also a million writing folks on staff. It's not clear if Rockstar's latest did not meet the WGA's criteria or if the game simply was not nominated.

Either way, the list provided is definitely a strong one, and we'll be interested to learn which game ultimately takes home the prize.

Keeping in line with the developmental roadmap that was rolled out way back in the late summer of 2018, DICE has confirmed that one of the key villains of Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Count Dooku, will be making his appearance in Star Wars: Battlefront II this month.

Now in the original roadmap from back in August, we knew that Count Dooku was on the way but we didn't know when he would be arriving in the action-oriented sci-fi shooter from DICE. However, Polygon managed to narrow down the release date of the content, pinning the release of Count Dooku down to January 23rd for the Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

Dooku's arrival in the game will be followed immediately by a Battle Point Event set to take place that weekend between January 25th and January 27th. The event makes gamers able to acquire the heroes and villains in the game for half the amount of required Battle Points that it usually costs to get the characters.

The Battle Point event will only apply to certain modes and during certain eras. So if you play the maps where those heroes are discounted, you'll be able to take advantage of the Battle Points event.

Polygon also notes that the original voice of Count Dooku for the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television show, Corey Burton, will also be returning to voice the character for his appearance in Star Wars: Battlefront II.

The addition of Dooku comes shortly after DICE and Electronic Arts included Obi-Wan Kenobi to the game, decked out in his various battle garb. The character arrived at the end of November, while Obi-Wan's rumored movie was seemingly put on the shelf.

Now we don't get to see any of Count Dooku's moves in action, or whether or not he'll be retaining his wide-sweeping fencing art-style that he utilized throughout The Clone Wars television series (which has actually been revived by Disney), but we do know that he's coming soon. So expect more screenshots, trailers, and a solid rundown of the character over on the Star Wars: Battlefront II website.

Battlefront II initially got off to a rocky start due to the loot box controversy, which not only altered the way the game's monetary system was set-up, but it also ended up grabbing the attention of local and international gambling commissions and gambling regulators, creating a fierce debate over the legality of loot boxes.

Since then, DICE and Electronic Arts have been working overtime to pump out more content for Battlefront II, even moving some people over from Battlefield V to flesh out and stabilize the developmental roadmap for the Star Wars game.

Following the release of Count Dooku, General Grievious, and Obi-Wan, the roadmap notes that the Clone Trooper Coruscant Guard costumes will be available, along with Anakin Skywalker in February, followed by a brand new game mode. Gamers can also look forward to stepping into the role as the 501st unit, better known as "Vader's Fist". So the end of January and all throughout February will be jam-packed with new content.

Have you been planning on starting up a bustling business in the world of Japanese console modding and editing saved game editors for various consoles and PC games? Well, you might want to put that endeavor on hold because it's being reported that in light of a new amendment to the Unfair Competition Prevention Act, console modding and editing saved games isn't just frowned upon, it's actually against the law.

Siliconera is reporting that the Association of Copyright for Computer Software has picked up on the finalization of the amendment for the Competition Prevention Act, which they interpret as affecting the ability to modify saved games, as well as modify home consoles like the PS4 and Switch with third-party devices.

There are three major factors that are supposedly affected by the amendment, with the ACCS in Japan stating that the distribution of save game editors and programs being illegal, along with the distribution, selling or the auction of serial codes, product keys, or license activation mechanisms without the actual permission of the software maker.

Additionally, services that allow users to purchase hacking or editing tools or mechanisms to modify or hack game consoles are also supposedly illegal, according to the ACCS.

This amendment joins other legislative measures to prevent people from circumventing copyright mechanisms, such as digital rights management. In Japan, it's illegal to remove or develop software that bypasses DRM.

According to the ACCS interpretation of the law, this amendment would affect the sale of save game modifiers or cheat code devices that modify the hex data of the game, such as GameShark, Action Replay or Game Genie.

Not everyone is convinced that the law applies in the way that the ACCS is interpreting the law. There's a Reddit post stating that the law is a lot more broad than how the ACCS has narrowed down its definition, and therefore save game editors aren't as unlawful as some are making them out to be.

However, there have been some companies that have already stopped selling their saved game editors, such as Cyber Gadget, which claimed that editing saved games and playing games online was now illegal.

Another site called WestSide also halted the sell of their latest CDs featuring modified saved games.

So what does this mean for Japanese gamers? Well, keep in mind that enforcing this law would be a bit cumbersome. Unless the Japanese law enforcers plan on kicking down the doors of gamers and confiscating their saved game editors like the Tetragrammaton Clerics from Equilibrium arresting people for sense offenses.

The amendment of the law definitely makes sense for certain product manufacturers in Japan. For instance, following the Nintendo Switch being hacked in early 2018, the company has had to deal with Switch ISO distribution, homebrew software, and plenty of hacks in games like Splatoon 2 and ARMS. The amendment to the law would make it illegal for people to hack the Switch and use various tools that disrupt the multiplayer modes.

Of course, with a lot of vague and overly broad laws, a lot of times their effects are based on how they're enforced. While some stores might be getting rid of their tools that allow players to manipulate saved games, there are still plenty of the devices available on Amazon Japan and eBay. Then again, maybe it will take a while for it to spread throughout the market.

Trading Overwatch for Stranger Things, it looks like former Activision Blizzard Chief Financial Officer Spencer Neumann will be taking on that same job at his new home, Netflix.

According to a report from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Activision Blizzard gave Neumann the axe as of Dec. 31, 2018. The announcement claims that this is due to something "unrelated to the company's financial reporting or disclosure controls of procedures" or, according to a subsequent press release from the company, "violating his legal obligations."

In related news, Neflix announced it had hired Neumann to serve as its own CFO, which seems to indicate the firing from Activision Blizzard might be due to the hiring at Netflix, thereby breaking his employment contract with the former.

The USEC announcement goes on to state that Neumann was given time to make an argument that cause for termination did not exist or was not "otherwise justified" and, in the interim, Dennis Durkin would trade his chief corporate officer cap for the CFO gig with the company. It appears Durkin will be shifting into that new permanent role.

Speaking of Durkin, the announcement points out that he started his tenure with Activision Blizzard back in 2012 and, at the time, he served as CFO. He only became CCO in mid-2017, so it shouldn't take him too long to readjust to the familiar position.

In a statement from Blizzard, CEO Bobby Kotick said that the company is happy to have Durkin back in the CFO chair, citing his "exemplary character" and "impeccable judgment."

It's certainly been an interesting year for Activision Blizzard. Investors have been lukewarm concerning 2018-19, stocks dropped about 44 percent and reports keep rolling out about restructuring and finding ways to produce more games in less time. Heroes of the Storm looks to be the first casualty of this shift, as it was recently made clear that the game was going to see some development cutbacks.

As for Neumann, it's not like he's going to be jumping to super calm waters over at Netflix. A casual observer would think that the company is doing dandy, considering the fact that subscriptions are up and they keep churning out hit movies and shows. But creating all of that original content and licensing shows like Friends for buckets of bucks has proven to be a tricky balancing act. Netflix's most recent reports are showing it to be a profitable business, but keeping that positive momentum going forward will be a big part of Neumann's job. No pressure, right?

There's clearly a bit of drama brewing under the surface of all of this but, in the end, hopefully everything works out well for both Activision Blizzard and Netflix. Otherwise, our weekends could get a lot less interesting.

It looks like 2019 is going to be packed with major game launches, but 10 titles have us especially excited for the months ahead.

Scrolling through the expected release schedule for 2019, there are quite a few highly-anticipated games slated to launch over the next 12 months. While we've been following the development of some of those games for years now, others only appeared on our radar as recently as last month. Either way, it looks like there are going to be a heck of a lot of games to play throughout the next year.

Following are our top 10 most anticipated games of 2019, though it's limited to games with pretty concrete launch windows. Hideo Kojima has hinted that Death Stranding will launch this year, for instance, but that's nowhere near firm enough to be included in our list. The same goes for games like The Last of Us Part II, Ghost of Tsushima and Metroid Prime 4. But even if those games don't drop in the next 12 months, there's plenty to keep us busy throughout 2019. Here are our top picks.

Resident Evil 2

For the past decade, the Resident Evil series had been on a steady decline. Many consider Resident Evil 4 to be the series' peak, with the next two mainline games and several spinoffs never reaching the heights of Leon Kennedy's adventure in Spain. Then, in 2017, Capcom caught the world totally off guard with Resident Evil VII, a game that did away with much of the over-the-top action in favor of some good old-fashioned horror. Now the developer has taken that same philosophy (and spiffy new game engine) and plugged it into another series favorite, Resident Evil 2. Boasting new controls and other quality-of-life tweaks, Capcom looks to have recaptured lightning in a bottle by modernizing a horror classic. We got to play about an hour of this remake at E3 2018 and left convinced that this new version of Resident Evil 2 is going to scare the crap out of a new generation of gamers come Jan. 25.

Animal Crossing

Announced during the September 2018 Nintendo Direct, a new Animal Crossing game is coming to the Nintendo Switch. And while that might not be everybody's cup of tea, there's a rather sizeable community of players who eat, sleep and breath these games and you better believe they're going to be lining up on launch day to build their dream community alongside money-grubbing woodland creatures. The Animal Crossing series is positively packed with charm and an insane number of activities to steal away countless hours of your day, making it a perfect addition to the Switch library. This one almost didn't make the list since we haven't actually seen the game in action yet, but Nintendo doesn't typically mess around when it comes to major launches. If they say Tom Nook will be squeezing us for loan payments this year, then that's a pretty safe bet and one worth getting excited for.

Anthem

Set to launch on Feb. 22, Anthem is the latest offering from BioWare that looks to combine the studio's skills in world, character and story creation with the ever-popular "games as service" model. If they manage to nail that formula, then Anthem could be the gaming world's next long-running obsession. The easiest comparison is Destiny, as Anthem boasts a similar sci-fi theme, a focus on cooperative play and big, open maps for players to explore while completing quests and taking part in random activities. It's understandable that Mass Effect Andromeda has folks feeling a bit wary when it comes to banking on BioWare at the moment, but everything we've seen so far from Anthem has us ready to give the game a fighting chance to absolutely wow us.

The Division 2

Another game designed to keep players coming back week after week, The Division 2 takes its story to Washington, D.C., where the fight to restore order in a country ravaged by terrorism and war continues. Many folks who took the time to dig into The Division found a rewarding game with a lot of clever ideas at play and some decent late-game hooks that kept them invested in its modern world-gone-to-hell setting. The Division 2, then, looks like a quintessential sequel, building on all of those open-world systems that worked well the first time around while refining the rough edges. The first game was a super-solid skeleton, so we expect to find plenty more meat on those bones when The Division 2 launches on March 15.

DOOM Eternal

If you played the 2016 DOOM reboot, then you probably don't need us to tell you why you should be bubbling with anticipation for DOOM Eternal, a follow-up from id Software due out later this year. The first game took all of the demon-slaying action we love from the original series and introduced new timing mechanics that made its fast-as-hell shooting action feel more methodical and infinitely more rewarding. In DOOM Eternal, hell finally comes to Earth and we are 100 percent ready to pick up a shotgun and fight off the invasion. Oh, and apparently you can jump into another player's game and go on a rampage as a demon, which sounds like a heck of a great twist for id to throw into the mix.

Kingdom Hearts III

Hard to believe but, come Jan. 29, Kingdom Hearts III will finally arrive. This game has been in development for what feels like forever but, based on the insane number of trailers we've seen up to this point, it looks like the wait will have been worth it. Sora, Donald, and Goofy will once again journey to worlds themed after all sorts of Disney movies where they'll battle the Heartless, Organization XIII and...You know what? The story is so insane that it barely matters at this point. So long as we get to run around Andy's bedroom from Toy Story and call on Stitch to rough up hordes of baddies, we'll be happy.

Mortal Kombat 11

One of the games revealed during The Game Awards about a month ago, the latest entry in the Mortal Kombat series is actually set to take the fighting community by storm come April 23. The only thing better than looking forward to a game is only having to look forward to it for a few months before it actually gets released. Our hype for Mortal Kombat is primarily fueled by NetherRealm's latest hit, Injustice 2. This studio knows how to make an amazing fighting game, they've figured out how to tell an entertaining story within said fighting game, and Injustice 2 introduced a metric ton of new ideas and modes that gave even solo players plenty of reasons to keep coming back for more. Since NetherRealm is likely to carry over those best ideas to this latest Mortal Kombat, fighting fans should be very excited for what's to come.

The Outer Worlds

Another game only just revealed during The Game Awards in December, The Outer Worlds is what Obsidian had quietly cooking for a couple of years now, but they decided to hold off on revealing the game until they were close to launch. Without throwing too much flak at Bethesda, The Outer Worlds looks like what players were hoping the next Fallout game would be; which makes a lot of sense seeing as how these folks made Fallout: New Vegas. It's been a while since we've played a solid first-person RPG with a sense of humor, so we're definitely interested in seeing what The Outer Worlds has to offer.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

We've seen Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice in action a few times at this point and the game just keeps looking better and better. Rather than make another Dark Souls game or even a highly-requested follow-up to Bloodborne, the team at FromSoftware has instead decided to evolve its methodical combat formula once again, this time putting a heavier emphasis on lightning-fast action and less walking around with a shield raised high out of fear. Set in medieval Japan, Sekiro boasts that trademark FromSoftware look, complete with a menacing atmosphere and wild enemy designs that are sure to make for some exciting encounters. At this point, FromSoftware simply being attached to a game is enough to pique our interest, so it's even more exciting that Sekiro also looks like an absolute riot.

Crackdown 3

Launching in February, Crackdown 3 has been in development for about as long as the Xbox One has been on the market. The game was revealed with features that were clearly designed to show off the power of Microsoft's console though, over time, we've come to realize that things like a persistent environment simply aren't likely to make the final cut. And you know what? We're cool with that. The Crackdown series has always been about big, bold action and allowing players to go on a power trip on an extreme scale, and we're hopeful Sumo Digital and Co. have managed to deliver exactly that.

PUBG Corporation suffered somewhat of a slump throughout 2018 starting back in the first quarter of the year. The game began losing a lot of steam on Steam (pun intended) as Epic Games' Fortnite became a worldwide phenomenon. The slump has been rectified, though, and the game is now seeing a lot of new life on Steam after climbing its concurrent player base back up to the top.

Eurogamer is reporting that PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds has managed to climb its concurrent players back up to 1.1 million after being stuck in the 900,000 range throughout most of 2018. As noted in the article, November, 2018 saw the lowest concurrent player count at just 895,650.

So why the spike in the concurrent count of players? Vikendi.

PUBG Corporation recently released the snow-filled map on PC and mobile devices, giving gamers a whole new range of sandbox goodies to mess around with, shoot through, blow up, and drive around. This includes the new maze garden, an abandoned launch site, a park, and a ski resort. The new biome also comes with brand new weather conditions, where players will have to contend with visibility-affecting variables such as snowstorms and fog.

Apparently, the extra map, along with the new Christmas-themed weapons and outfits, was enough to reignite the passion gamers had for the game, and get them to dive back into the zaniness of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds.

It's a nice counter to Epic Games' unleashing the latest season of Fortnite, which included the ability to craft your own play spaces and have them featured in the Risky Reels lot where the drive-in theater used to be located.

While the current 1.1 million number for PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is less than half of their maximum peak (which was 3.2 million) it's a sign of changing times for PUBG Corporation as they reel in the bad vibes and attempt to retrieve the goodwill of the community. All throughout 2018 the game saw a bleed-off of its player base due to a number of factors, including constant optimization issues, a widespread issue of dealing with hackers, and the fact that a lot of players had issues with lag due to the servers mixing in people from the Americas, China, and Russia, creating a pretty hostile environment filled with rubberbanding.

Some of the complaints seemed to have lessened as the mobile version of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds popped up, but one look at the Steam page and you'll note that some gamers are still having problems with getting into games and having a solid experience.

So while PUBG Corporation may still have issues on its hands, it's showing that with new content and attempting to continually address the optimization problems, the development studio is working towards fixing some of the major issues.

I'm also pretty sure that having Kong Island's Jordan Vogt-Roberts directing that awesome live-action trailer helped a lot with putting the game back onto the radar of some people who may have written it off a while back. Apart from the Steam player count going on the rise, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is also available on the PS4 and Xbox One as well.

After a standout year for indie darling Celeste, the game's director has taken to Twitter to announce that some special levels will soon be added to the tough but rewarding platformer.

The above tweet comes from Celeste creator Matt Thorson, namesake of the extremely tiny Matt Makes Games development studio. And by tiny, I mean he's basically the whole damn studio. He works with a handful of super talented folks but otherwise, it's just him and a computer, churning out hits like Towerfall and Celeste.

Earlier this December, Thorson announced that Celeste had sold more than 500,000 copies throughout the year. He noted that the team never expected to sell that many copies, while I'd argue that at least 500,000 more people need to go out and add the game to their collection. I only just finally started playing it this week and, let me tell you, it's a platforming dream. More on that later.

For now, what's important is that Thorson has confirmed that some "farewell" levels have been in development for Celeste, which he expects to have ready sometime early in 2019. He notes that these are going to offer some extremely difficult challenges for dedicated players to tackle, which should serve as a nice sendoff for the game.

Also worth noting is the fact that Thorson is now teasing his next game. There's no telling what it might be but, just like the new Celeste levels, we can expect an official announcement sometime in the New Year.

As noted above, I finally found the time to begin Celeste this holiday season and, unsurprisingly, the game is living up to the immense hype. I was already a huge fan of Towerfall, which I've poured an untold number of hours into with friends. Celeste uses a similar art style, so it'll be interesting to see if Thorson's new game goes that same route or introduces something totally different. Celeste also builds on the mechanics of Towerfall, combining the multiplayer brawler's jump and dash with fresh abilities, like grabbing onto and climbing up walls. Oh, and the soundtrack? Killer.

Celeste was a Game of the Year contender at The Game Awards 2018, going toe-to-toe with games like God of War and Red Dead II. It's awesome to see this kind of game get the recognition it deserves, going so far as to win in the categories of Independent Game and Games for Impact while earning a nomination for Score/Soundtrack.

In other words, now might be a good time to grab Celeste if you haven't played it yet. You should have plenty of time to make it through the game's campaign before these new levels drop and, as added encouragement, the game wisely implements all kinds of customization options to make the platforming as simple or as complicated as you like.

You get a loot box! And you get a loot box! Everyone gets a loot box! Actually, if you're playing Overwatch, everyone gets five loot boxes. Happy holidays from Blizzard, indeed.

For those of you still grinding away at Overwatch, dreaming of the day you'll be called up to join the pros (or maybe you just like playing the game from time to time because it's fun), Blizzard has decided to fill your holiday stocking with plenty of loot. You don't have a heck of a lot of time to claim your gratis goodies but, thankfully, the process to earn your sweet rewards is hella simple.

The next time you log into Overwatch between now and Jan. 2, Gameinformer is reporting that you'll earn yourself five loot boxes just for showing up. Once you see the message announcing the gifts have arrived, all you have to do is head into your inventory, open them up and see what Sombra Claus has delivered.

As you might have guessed, the five free loot boxes everyone who plays the game receives are themed after the ongoing Winter Wonderland event. Even if you aren't too keen on the wintry wares, it's hard to argue with five bundles of skins, sprays and the like.

Along with the sprays and skins, you can also expect to uncover things like emotes and victory lines. The skins include everything from Krampus Junkrat and Suger Plum Fairy Mercy to Figure Skater Symmetra and Scrooge McCree.

And once you've decked your halls with a bunch of sweet new gear, it's time to jump into a more festive take on Blizzard's insanely popular hero shooter. Two special game modes are available throughout the Winter Wonderland event, including Yeti Hunter and Mei's Snowball Offensive. In Yeti Hunter, one player takes on the role of a souped-up Winston while five other players hit the map as Mei, who also has a new trap ability. The Winston player is supposed to hunt down steaks to charge up a special ability, making this a fun and frantic asymmetrical tussle.

In Mei's Snowball Offensive, players can fire massive, one-hit snowballs to take out their opponents. If you miss your shot, though, you'll be extremely vulnerable the only way to refill your ammo is to find the nearest pile of fresh powder.

Also helping make Overwatch more festive for the next few days are redesigned maps. A holiday theme has been added to Blizzard World, Black Forest, King's Row and Hanamura, so be sure to get in some matches to check out all of the snow and twinkling lights.

Now that the gift-giving is out of the way, it's time for everyone to sit around and patiently wait for season two of Overwatch League to kick into high gear.

Cliff Bleszinski had previously said he was done the video game industry, but now we know where he'll be trying his hand next. The man behind Gears of Water recently revealed he's producing on Broadway.

Even Cliff Bleszinski noted how crazy it was after making a tweet about over on his official Twitter account. He proudly declared that he was co-producing a Broadway show called HadesTown. After pointing to the Broadway show on Spotify, he later clarifies how he got into the whole stage show business far and away from gaming, stating that it was his niece who was a Broadway nerd that first introduced him to it. Following that thread, Bleszinski decided to get into the production aspects of it. He also points out that while he states that he's co-producing the show, he's actually more of an investor, since he joined the production team as an investor not as a producer, but he's still technically co-producing the show.

He's definitely right that a lot of people in the gaming news are definitely going "WTF?".

It was just earlier in the year that Boss Key Productions was still working on video games, specifically a hipster Battle Royale game called Radical Heights, where instead of having fatigues and military vehicles at your disposal, you rode around on bikes, and donned skater clothes while taking down opponents in a colorful and vibrant battle arena.

Despite the popularity of Radical Heights with some, the game just didn't do well enough to justify keeping the doors open at Boss Key Productions, the outfit that Cliff Bleszinski opened up to work on games independently and away from the strict structures of AAA publishers.

The company's first project was LawBreakers, a multiplatform first-person shooter that was themed around anti-gravity combat. It didn't fare quite so well on the market, especially as it faced stiff competition from other combat arena shooters such as Unreal Tournament and Quake Champions, as well as Blizzard's own Overwatch.

The closure of Boss Key Productions came just a short year after the launch of LawBreakers, which launched in the middle of August for the PlayStation 4 and PC.

After Boss Key Productions closed up shop, Cliff Bleszinski sent out tweets stating that he would be leaving gaming for good. He declared himself done with the world of development, and it appears he's sticking to his word. The creator of Jazz Jackrabbit and Gears of War is now testing his mettle in the world of Broadway, and we'll see how this all pays off as his investment into HadesTown begins to ramp up. Previews for the show begin on March 22nd, 2019 next year. After that, we'll find out if Bleszinski has what it takes to break a leg on Broadway.

A lot of companies don't like when people use words, phrases, expressions, or forms of communications that they deem inappropriate, uncouth, or hateful. Trying to deter people from using such language has always been difficult, but one company seems to have found a way to deter gamers in particular from communicating in ways they find displeasing.

Over on the Overwatch Contenders website, which tracks the eSports league and competitive community for Overwatch, there's a short post about Blizzard's ambitious new plan to curb the way people communicate through the chat streams in Twitch. The post is only a few paragraphs long and it gets right to the point right at the start. It notes that for those watching the Overwatch Path to Pro ecosystem, there will be a new trial program instituted by the Contenders to help with chat moderation. This will be accomplished by forcing users to link their Battle.net accounts with their Twitch.tv accounts if they want to participate in the Twitch chat streams.

The program is currently being put through a trial right now, starting with the quarterfinal matches during the Season 3 2018 season, which begins on today, and it will be tested up through January 12th, 2019. This will be utilized first through the Path to Pro viewership communities, and if all goes well then there are plans to expand the program outward to attach it to more of Blizzard's products.

You can actually hop into testing the new link system right now by heading on over to the Twitch.tv settings page, and then clicking on the "Connections" tab. Once you log into the system, you'll then have the option to link your Twitch.tv profile with your Battle.net account.

This will then ensure that everything you do on Twitch, can then be monitored by Blizzard through your Battle.net profile.

This new system has received a lot of mixed reactions from the community. Some people have praised Blizzard for this new step, claiming that it will help clean up the "toxic" Twitch community once and for all, while others claim that this is corporate overstep, especially if the expected logical step in punishment is that some sort of action will be applied to your Battle.net account for infractions made during Twitch chat.

This in itself has caused a lot of debate within the community. Some people feel that if you're using language that tries to skirt the filters on Twitch or spamming emotes, or being unruly within the community, then having Blizzard block you from playing Overwatch in multiplayer for a short period of time, or preventing you from accessing games like StarCraft or World of Warcraft is an adequate punishment. Others don't like the idea that a company could potentially restrict you from accessing products you paid for based on what you said or your behavior on an entirely different platform.

Obviously, for people who don't quite like the measure, the best thing to do is avoid linking the Battle.net account with the Twitch account. For those who feel they don't have anything to worry about, you can link both accounts together and enjoy the benefit of being able to easily connect your online social media profiles and video game profiles together.

From indie darlings to AAA masterpieces, 2018 played host to plenty of standout games. But which one deserves the title of "Game of the Year?" Well, that all depends on how you look at it.

For some, picking a GOTY is as simple as looking back over the past 12 months and deciding which game stole the most hours from their life. For others, it's a complex process involving research, bar graphs and lists comparing the pros and cons of each title. Other, potentially saner people, simply play the games they want to play and don't worry about deciding which one was arguably "the best." But where's the fun in that?

Picking a Game of the Year is admittedly a strange process, frequently requiring bizarre mental gymnastics in order to find a way to compare games that have practically nothing in common. Games like Celeste and Red Dead Redemption 2, for instance, exist on opposite ends of just about every spectrum, but both are considered by many to be solid contenders for the 2018 title.

As for me, picking this year's top game was a piece of cake. I just sat back, took a deep breath and went with my gut. Or my heart. Or my head. Or...

My Gut: Red Dead Redemption 2

Looking back over 2018, the best game of the year was undoubtedly Red Dead Redemption 2. In the coming years, if you were to look up the definition for "AAA masterpiece," you'd likely find a picture of Rockstar Games' latest epic. All you have to do is look at the game being played for five minutes to know that it's something special.

Red Dead 2 was made by a staff of thousands and that (decidedly problematic) labor shows in every square inch of the game. The soundtrack is top-notch, the performances are stellar and Rockstar's Wild West romp is the best-looking game of this generation.

And while it's easy to paint the game as a classic with broad strokes, that level of quality can be seen right down to the finest of details. Whether you're in the midst of an epic shootout atop a speeding train, riding your horse across a prairie while the sun sets at your back or slowly making your way through a snowy forest to track deer, Red Dead Redemption 2 feels like a living, breathing world overflowing with awe-inspiring detail.

A technical marvel of intricate, interlocking systems, Red Dead Redemption 2 is an absolute behemoth deserving of high praise.

My Heart: God of War

Okay, sure, Red Dead 2 features a mind-bogglingly detailed world that's easy on the eyes, but have you heard anyone talk about how "great" that game is without also running through a laundry list of caveats that make you question if they actually like the game at all?

Red Dead 2's parts are far greater than its sum, which is not something you can say about the true Game of the Year, God of War. Santa Monica Studios' massive reboot also boasts some killer graphics, great performances, a beautiful soundtrack, and an engaging story, but it goes the extra mile to earn its praise by actually being fun to play.

Rather than let players run loose in a massive world that takes 37 minutes to ride across to deliver a deer carcass to their camp (only to discover the meat has gone bad), God of War instead boasts a more guided trek through a semi-open world that rewards exploration and is positively packed with things to see, puzzles to solve and Norse monsters to beat the stuffing out of. More importantly, the game is a well-paced joy to play that takes you on a memorable, emotional, exhilarating adventure you won't soon forget. And when it's over, it's over. No DLC, online pass or "games as service" nonsense. God of War is a top-to-bottom stellar game and that's all there is to it.

My Head: Fortnite

That's all well and good, but what are the real criteria for determining the Game of the Year? Is it the game that had the biggest staff? Is it the game that cost the most money to develop? Does the GOTY need the best graphics, an orchestral soundtrack and a story that "really makes you think?"

Shouldn't the Game of the Year be the one that fundamentally changed the landscape of the industry? Or what about the game that goes beyond the boundaries of that industry in order to become a pop culture phenomenon and a household name? Ask a random stranger on the street to talk about Red Dead 2 or God of War and there's a good chance they'll just offer a blank stare in return. Ask that same person about Fortnite and they'll likely break out a (currently litigious) dance, talk about how they saw Ninja on a recent episode of Ellen or complain about how their kids won't shut up about it.

Of course, none of that would matter if Fortnite itself wasn't an elegant, fun and lovingly crafted game that has 100 percent earned its spot at the front of the pack. Epic Games took a good formula, bolted on a boatload of simple, yet brilliant, ideas and turned a lighthearted battle royale into a global phenomenon that's a hell of a lot of fun to play. More importantly, the team is making constant adjustments to the game and piling on more and more unique twists that make Fortnite worth coming back to week after week.

If the Game of the Year is the one that has had the biggest impact (both in and out of the industry) and will likely still be talked about and played years from now, then Fortnite is the clear winner for 2018.

Angel On My Shoulder: Monster Hunter World

Then again, maybe the game of the year is the one that takes you completely by surprise, sinks its hooks in deep and keeps you glued to the television into the wee hours of the morning. Shouldn't growth count for something?

Few series have evolved quite like Monster Hunter, which stormed onto the scene early in the year and caught pretty much everyone completely off guard. The series has always had a cult following, but World catapulted Monster Hunter into the limelight by making a notoriously niche series far more welcoming to average players.

Capcom wisely ditched some of Monster Hunter's more frustrating components and bolted on more intuitive gameplay, open maps and features that negate some of the unnecessary grind. The result is a game that more players than ever can enjoy, and that's exactly why the game was so successful in finding a massive audience this time around. Frequent updates and seasonal events have kept players returning to World, making it an unquestionable darling of 2018. It's an impressive leap forward for the series worthy of all the recognition it can get.

Devil On My Shoulder: Earth Defense Force 5

Oh, I'm sorry, I thought we were talking about the best "game" of 2018. What's with all this talk of artistic merit, engaging narratives and stunning performances?

You know what video games are good for? Turning off your brain, escaping the real world and blowing shit up for an hour or two.

Red Dead 2 features realistic buildings, but I can't chuck sticks of dynamite through a window and watch the place explode. How's that for "unparalleled realism?" And you're telling me that Kratos, the freaking god of war, spends his latest adventure battling mythological creatures worrying about whether or not he's being a good father?

You know what game doesn't mess around with any of that junk? Earth Defense Force 5. That game knows exactly what it is and it doesn't try to be anything different. You want a thousand different kinds of guns to shoot? It's got them! You want to go toe-to-toe with giant ants, frog people, flying saucers and kaiju? EDF 5 has 100-plus levels of it! Is that skyscraper blocking your view? Three grenades and it's rubble, pal!

"But the story in Red Dead 2 is actually an allegory for how the world is---" Shut up with that nonsense! You know what the story in EDF5 is? Giant monsters are attacking and you need to kill them. The end.

Earth Defense Force 5 is goofy as hell and packed with the kind of over-the-top action that made video games a hit in the first place. If anything deserves to be called the Game of the Year, it's the game where you can drive a tank and fire round after round into spiders the size of an SUV.

In typical fashion for Hideo Kojima, a cryptic message that recently ran in a Japanese gaming magazine makes it sound like his next big project, Death Stranding, might finally launch in 2019.

In the most recent issue of Famitsu (via Twinfinite) game director Hideo Kojima shares a short but sweet New Year's message with readers.

That's all it took to make folks go ga-ga with excitement, as it feels like we've been waiting on Kojima's big PlayStation 4 exclusive for about 37 years now. Since 2019 is actually the year of the pig and the whale isn't even part of anybody's zodiac, it's clear that this is a reference to Death Stranding. The game's title actually refers to when whales beach themselves and die, a scene depicted in the very first trailer for the game.

So when Kojima asks if this is the year of the whale, the obviously conclusion is that he's teasing a Death Stranding launch sometime in the next 12 months. Then again, this is Kojima we're talking about. The answer to his question could very well be him chuckling and shaking his head no. The dude thrives on teasers, hidden messages and playing with his audience, so it would make perfect (and totally unfortunate) sense if he's just amusing himself here.

Still, all signs point to Death Stranding launching in the not-too-distant future, so maybe this is more a message of hope than playful (and totally uncool) teasing. Each trailer for the game has looked more and more complete, moving from cinematic mind-screws to plenty of scenes of in-game footage. We still haven't seen much action, but Norman Reedus sure can walk across a lovely, rainy environment.

It's also worth noting that the clock is running out on current generation hardware. We've still likely got a couple years to enjoy the PlayStation 4 but, if Death Stranding doesn't come out in 2019, its window to launch before the arrival of Sony's next console likely won't be all that wide. Grouped with the likes of Ghost of Tsushima and The Last of Us: Part II, Kojima's next game is set to be one of the final hoorah's for Sony's current home console.

More than anything, I'm just curious what the next non-Metal Gear game looks like from Kojima. No longer tethered to Konami or his long-running series, it'll be interesting to see what themes the director chooses to focus on in Death Stranding. The same goes for mechanics. Kojima has stated that Death Stranding will be a pretty unique game, so I'm looking forward to seeing how many risks he was willing to take on this first solo outing.

Hopefully, this latest tease means that we don't have much longer to wait in order to finally have answers to the mountain of questions Death Stranding already has us asking.