Month: January 2018

Two new releases top the UK physical sales chart this week, as Monster Hunter World debuts at No.1 and Dragon Ball FighterZ launches at No.2. The pair usurp Call of Duty: WWII and FIFA 18—which previously occupied the top two spots–for the week ending January 27.

Sales monitor Chart-Track notes that World gained “far higher week one sales” in the UK than any other Monster Hunter game. Dragon Ball FighterZ‘s second-placed finish is also a series record in terms of chart position; the previous record holder for any Dragon Ball game was Dragon Ball Xenoverse, which debuted at No.3 in 2015. Two other new games launched this week, with Sony’s PSVR exclusive The Inpatient debuting at No.10 and Nintendo’s boxed re-release of Pokemon Crystal coming in at No.12.

We enjoyed the two games topping the chart this week. In our Dragon Ball FighterZ review-in-progress, critic Peter Brown wrote: “FighterZ is complex and distinct enough to be enjoyed by fighting game competitors, but there’s no question that it’s been designed to tap into the hearts of Dragon Ball’s most dedicated fans, and no doubt those same qualities will win people over who’ve never given the series a chance. Where past games attempted to get there through huge character rosters and deliberately predictable trips down memory lane, FighterZ has bottled the essence of what makes the series’ characters, animation, and sense of humor so beloved and reconfigured it into something new: a Dragon Ball fighting game that can go toe-to-toe with the best of the genre.” He awarded the game a 9/10.

Meanwhile our Monster Hunter World review scored the game as an 8/10. “Ever since the title was first announced last year, it was clear that Capcom was gunning for something grander than Monster Hunter Generations,” wrote our critic, Ginny Woo. “It has succeeded, and this is likely the biggest and best that the franchise has ever been. It’s not just the comparative depth of the narrative; it also boasts almost seamless integration between combat systems that were previously incomprehensible for amateurs. The Monster Hunter formula has definitely honed its claws, and all the above factors play their part in making Monster Hunter World a meaningful evolution for the series at large.”

You can read the full top 10 sales chart below, courtesy of UKIE and GfK Chart-Track. Note this table does not include digital sales data, and so should not be considered representative of all UK game sales.

1. Monster Hunter World
2. Dragon Ball FighterZ
3. Call of Duty: WWII
4. FIFA 18
5. Grand Theft Auto V
6. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
7. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
8. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
9. Rocket League: Collectors Edition
10. The Inpatient

Following last week’s first look at Captain Marvel star Brie Larson on the set of the upcoming Marvel movie, we now have some behind-the-scenes footage. As those initial images revealed, Larson is not wearing the character’s distinctive traditional red, blue, and gold costume, but is instead clad in a green ensemble.

This new video shows Larson sharing the scene with Warcraft star Robert Kazinsky. His character appears to be pestering her, until she takes charge of the situation. Check it out below:

Captain Marvel hits screens in March 2019. The movie is directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, who collaborated on Ryan Gosling’s breakthrough Half Nelson and have directed episodes of hit TV shows The Affair and Billions. The cast also includes Ben Mendelsohn (Star Wars: Rogue One), Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes), and DeWanda Wise (She’s Gotta Have It). Samuel L Jackson will also make a return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the role of SHIELD boss Nick Fury.

A few details about the movie were revealed at San Diego Comic-Con last summer. It will be set in the 1990s, making it something of a prequel to the current MCU. We also know Captain Marvel will be facing off against a classic Marvel villain: Skrulls. In addition, Jackson hinted last year that he will look a little different in this movie. “You’ll see Nick Fury with another guy’s face, somebody that’s got two eyes, so that’s a whole big deal,” he told the AV Club. “You’ll see. It’s prior to the eye injury, [so] no eye patch.”

Ahead of her standalone movie, Larson will make her debut as Captain Marvel in this year’s Avengers: Infinity War, which hits theaters in May. Check the latest Avengers: Infinity War trailer out here.

In addition to Final Fantasy XV‘s newly announced Royal Edition, Square Enix is bringing the acclaimed Final Fantasy game to several new platforms this year. The Windows Edition launches on PC in March, but before then, Final Fantasy XV is coming to mobile devices in a much different form.

Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition, as the mobile adaptation is called, launches for iOS and Android next week, on February 9. Unlike the original game, Pocket Edition sports a much cartoonier art style, with chibi-like characters and monsters. The gameplay has also been tweaked to better suit mobile devices; the adventure plays out from an isometric viewpoint, and players guide their party around the world and battle enemies using the touch screen.

Pocket Edition features the same cast of characters and storyline as the original Final Fantasy XV, but the adventure is divided up into 10 episodic chapters, all of which will be available on launch day. Players will be able to download and play the first of these chapters for free, but each subsequent one will need to be purchased with real money. Players can pre-register for the game now from both the App Store and Google Play.

2018 marks the 30th anniversary of Final Fantasy, and Square Enix has said this will be a big year for the series. Final Fantasy XV releases for PC on March 6 and comes with all of the DLC included in the game’s season pass, as well as an additional dungeon, vehicle, and boss fights. On the same day, Final Fantasy XV: Royal Edition launches for PS4 and Xbox One and likewise bundles the DLC and new content together in one package.

While Square Enix wrapped up Final Fantasy XV’s season pass with the release of the latest DLC expansion, Episode Ignis, back in December, more content is still on the way to the game. Director Hajime Tabata expressed his desire to release “at least three” more DLC episodes for Final Fantasy XV in 2018. In the meantime, players only have a few more days to take part in Final Fantasy XV’s Assassin’s Creed crossover event.

Join us as Ben and Jean-Luc form up hunter squads to hunt down some of the most fearest monsters with you in Monster Hunter: World Mondays.

Monster Hunter World released at the end of last week, but it’s already off to a fast start. It’s set a new record for the series in its first three days, according to Capcom, though we don’t yet have a firm idea of how many copies it’s actually sold.

World has shipped 5 million units through its first free three days, Capcom has announced. That figure includes digital sales and all physical copies that have been shipped to retailers (but not necessarily sold through to consumers). Publishers often talk in terms of copies shipped, but it leaves us without any idea of how many copies are actually in players’ hands.

Regardless, it’s seemingly positive news for Capcom, though we don’t know what its exact expectations were. Unlike recent entries in the series, World is available on PS4 and Xbox One (with a PC release to come), rather than being confined to 3DS. The combined install base of the two consoles is greater than that of 3DS, meaning Capcom has a bigger potential audience to sell the game to. It’s also allowed for a much bigger, better-looking game than previous entries; the last new mainline Monster Hunter released on a console was 2010’s Monster Hunter Tri for Wii.

Previous Monster Hunter games have been notoriously difficult to get into without help from seasoned veterans. Although you’ll benefit from some tips on how to play, World makes some significant strides in easing in newcomers. It’s also just a very good RPG, as you can read about in our Monster Hunter World review.

Capcom has plans to support the game following its launch, and that’s already begun. The PS4 version’s exclusive Horizon: Zero Dawn gear is already available, and we know about Mega Man and now Street Fighter V-themed updates and DLC that are on the way. New monsters and other content are also coming, starting with the Deviljho.

The Sea of Thieves closed beta is in full swing, with those plucky pirates who have finagled their way in having a whale of a time on the high seas.

But they’ve been doing a bit more than that – Reddit users (via VG247) have been mining the soggy depths of the beta to find out what secrets lie in store for the full release.

Warning: Shipmates who want to avoid potential spoilers should make a hard turn to starboard now.

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Dragon Ball FighterZ was released last week, but it’s already been datamined, revealing what appears to be the full list of DLC characters to come.

ResetEra member TDLink shared the list, which featured eight additional fighters as well as two modes, called Z Union and Z League.

These entries appear to be for in-game avatars, rather than fully playable characters, but TDLink points out that these are the only 8 avatars not currently in the game, making them a good guide for who will be released later.

Here’s the list of additional avatars that have been datamined:

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