Category: games

Pokemon Go‘s January Community Day may have only recently ended, but Niantic is already getting prepared for next month’s event. February’s Community Day is set for February 22, and this time, the developer is giving players a chance to determine what the featured Pokemon will be.

In an effort to make Community Days even more community-driven, Niantic is allowing players to vote on next month’s featured Pokemon. There are four candidates, each of which will be able to learn a different event move if they are selected as the Community Day Pokemon. You can see the candidates and their prospective Community Day moves below:

Featured Pokemon	Community Day Move
Vulpix / Alolan Vulpix	Weather Ball
Machop	Payback
Rhyhorn	Rock Wrecker
Dratini	Superpower

Voting will be held on February 1, from 12 AM to 11:59 PM local time. Rather than simply casting your ballot online, however, you’ll be voting by completing special Field Research tasks that will be distributed at PokeStops throughout the voting period. There are four different tasks–each in favor of one of the aforementioned candidates–and the winner will be determined by the global number of tasks completed.

After the voting period ends, Niantic will announce the winning Pokemon on Monday, February 3, and the Community Day will follow on Saturday, February 22. Like January’s event, it will take place at different times depending on which hemisphere you live in. In the Northern Hemisphere, the Community Day will run from 11 AM to 2 PM local time; in the Southern Hemisphere, it will run from 3 PM to 6 PM local time.

In addition to increased Pokemon spawns, February’s Community Day will offer another bonus: triple the usual amount of Stardust for each Pokemon you catch. You can read more details on the event and the voting process on the official Pokemon Go website.

In the meantime, Pokemon Go’s annual Lunar New Year event is underway. Until February 3, certain red-colored Pokemon will appear more often in the wild, and you’ll be able to complete rat-themed Limited Research tasks on February 2. The Legendary Pokemon Heatran is also still available until February 4, and there are a few live events lined up for Pokemon Go (as well as Niantic’s other mobile games) this year. You can catch up on more news below.

DICE has begun teasing its next big Battlefield 5 update, titled Into the Jungle. The full reveal for Chapter 6 will be coming tomorrow, January 28, with an overview trailer. No release details have been announced.

The teaser from Twitter shows a lush jungle scene–presumably in-engine–with “Chapter 6: Into the Jungle” watermarked. It provides a link to a YouTube video that will go live on January 28 at 9 AM ET / 6 AM PT. That video currently displays a thumbnail of a woman with camo face paint. DICE promises the trailer will feature “gameplay and a full feature breakdown.”

This will be the first big update of the new year, following the release of the Year 2 Edition that compiled much of the first year content. That version included 17 primary weapons, four vehicles, two Epic soldier outfits, 10 weapon skins, and four vehicle skins. It released alongside the latest DLC, the Pacific Theater update. DICE also added the fan-favorite Wake Island map in December.

“Conquest and the map roster don’t mesh well together, however, Grand Operations–and the other modes within it–steal the show and foster some of the greatest moments the franchise has offered,” Michael Higham wrote in GameSpot’s Battlefield 5 review. “You might be surprised by the impact of the slight changes made for this entry, especially when you’re deep into pushing or defending objectives in Frontlines alongside teammates fulfilling their roles. That’s when Battlefield V is at its best.”

DICE has already announced plans to bring Battlefield 5 to the next generation of consoles, so it appears the studio is planning to continue supporting it with regular updates well into the future.

Officially revealed more than three years ago, The Last of Us Part II will finally arrive on PS4 May 29. If you’ve been anxiously awaiting the sequel to the PS3 classic, you may want to check out The Art of The Last of Us Part II, an art book created by Dark Horse Books and developer Naughty Dog filled with imagery from the game and developer commentary. Super fans will want to take a peek at the Deluxe Edition, which just went up for pre-order at Amazon.

The Art of The Last of Us Part II Deluxe Edition | $90

The Art of The Last of Us Part II Deluxe Edition includes an alternate cover and a slipcase featuring Ellie playing the guitar. It also comes with the gorgeous lithograph shown above. It’s certainly a pricey book at $90, especially when you consider that the standard edition is available for $36. We also don’t know much about the contents between the covers just yet or whether it will be lengthier than the 200-page standard edition.

Both editions of the official art book release June 16. Amazon’s pre-order price guarantee ensures that you will get the book for the lowest price that’s offered between now and release day. Art books often receive discounts prior to release, so we’ll update this article if the Deluxe Edition goes on sale.

For more on the PS4 exclusive, check out GameSpot’s The Last of Us Part II roundup detailing everything you need to know about the sequel. If you still need to secure your pre-order of the game, we have a The Last of Us Part II pre-order guide outlining bonuses and the various physical and digital editions.

Metro Exodus is getting a second expansion, and it’s coming sooner than you might think. Developer 4A Games announced that the new DLC, Sam’s Story, will come to PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Stadia on February 11.

According to the official site, Sam’s Story is a sandbox-survival expansion, following Sam as he journeys from Vladivostok to his home in the United States. Sam hopes to find his family, and that hope was rekindled when the Spartans discovered that Moscow wasn’t the only city left alive. But the trip will be treacherous–hence the survival aspect. A teaser shows a gun that has fallen into the water with the ominous tagline, “The Journey Ends.”

This is the second in the two-part expansion pass, the first of which was The Two Colonels expansion released last summer. Both stories feature completely new characters. The expansion pass costs $25.

“At first glance, Metro Exodus gives you that wide-open, free, and dangerous world unbound by tunnels, though the scope of its tale focuses on what drives you personally and the lengths you’re willing to go to protect what matters most,” Michael Higham wrote in GameSpot’s Metro Exodus review. “The open sandboxes may not be strongest addition, but the game still embraces the sense of vulnerability and post-apocalyptic terror alongside impactful weapons used in refined combat and stealth scenarios. You may miss the mystery and intrigue of the previous games, but Exodus puts together a charismatic crew of friends and family that you’ll want to follow to the ends of the earth.”

In anticipation of the Western launch of Persona 5 Royal, the revamped version of the original RPG, developer Atlus put out a new teaser reintroducing the main cast, aka The Phantom Thieves. In the trailer (see below), you can catch glimpses of some extra features in the game including the addition of partner attacks and the new core character Kasumi Yoshizawa.

Kasumi plays a significant role in P5R as she’s involved in the central mystery, affecting many aspects of the original story. She has her own dedicated scenes and persona named Cendrillon, which relates to her background. What’s more, there’s an extra palace tied to her backstory. You can see a bit of it in the trailer, and it seems to be themed around an opera house, alluding to her talents as a rhythmic gymnast and ballet dancer.

You’ll also notice all-new partner attacks where a duo will lay down heavy damage on enemies when initiated. These get wild, too: Morgana turns into a bus to let Haru launch grenades before crashing into enemies, and Ryuji and Yusuke lay waste to enemies for interrupting their meal at a ramen bar. They look absolutely absurd, but they lean into the lavish style Persona 5 was known for. Another small addition you can catch is that Futaba gets her own all-out attack animation and battle-finishing artwork.

For more on the game, be sure to check out our detailed breakdown of P5R’s first announcement trailer, roundup of P5R’s newest features, and dive into who Kasumi is as the new character. It’s available for pre-order and there are a few different editions that come with some extra goodies which you can see in our P5R pre-order guide. The game is already out in Japan, but all our coverage is spoiler-free (for Royal specifically); P5R is set to launch in the West on March 31 this year.

While the Skywalker Saga may have reached its conclusion on the big screen after the theatrical debut of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, there’s still more story to be told at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. With the opening of the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance attraction at Disney’s two United States-based theme parks, that galaxy far, far away is seeing a new tale unfold that is not only populated with familiar faces–both beloved and hated–but places guests squarely in the middle of their own Star Wars story.

The idea of the visitors to Disney parks getting to be heroes of their own Star Wars story was one of the major selling points with the opening of the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge land at Disneyland and Disney World. Now, though, it’s finally coming true.

As we explained in our breakdown of Rise of the Resistance, this attraction is as close as most people will ever come to actually living a Star Wars movie, at least until the Galactic Starcruiser hotel opens in 2021. How it does that, though, is through an immersive story unlike just about anything you’ve seen in a theme park ride before.

“This is a multi-act journey. It’s not just an attraction as much as an adventure,” managing story editor Margaret Kerrison explained during a panel presentation at Disneyland’s Rise of the Resistance media preview. “You don’t know what’s going to come next. And that’s really exciting because you are in the moment and of the world. That’s what we want you to feel as you go through this adventure. And one of the things, when we all came together in the beginning, was that it’s the wish-fulfillment, right?”

And wish-fulfillment is exactly what Rise is attempting to offer longtime Star Wars fans. Not only will you get to explore a Star Destroyer, run from Stormtroopers that are firing on you, and get caught in the middle of a massive space battle between the First Order and the resistance, but you’ll be doing it alongside characters you know from the movies.

“It’s all the feels of going through the hallways of a Star Destroyer. What does it feel like to be able to see Kylo Ren face-to-face? What are all these feelings that we want to capture, all the things that we grew up watching or our kids are now growing up watching?” Kerrison elaborated. “We want to capture that and have you experience that over and over again.”

Make no mistake about it, though. As important as the story and characters are to Rise of the Resistance, so is the scale of the attraction. “Epic storytelling and massive sets are really at the core of what Rise of the Resistance is,” executive creative director John Larena. “We want to immerse you in truly an epic Star Wars story.”

That leads to an attraction that’s made up of multiple ride systems–including motion simulators, a trackless vehicle system, and even a drop tower. What’s more, the sets featured throughout the ride so a lot of the heavy-lifting when it comes to total immersion. Whether it’s the Resistance hideout that looks like it’s been temporarily set up in ancient cavern or the long and sterile halls of a Star Destroyer or the massive hangar filled with live-sized AT-AT walkers that seems ready to destroy you at any given moment, it’s hard to describe just how massive Rise of the Resistance is.

And ultimately, it’s the attraction Star Wars fans are looking for. While building your own lightsaber or drinking space cocktails in a cantina are fun experiences, finally they can live their own Star Wars story.

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is open now at California’s Disneyland and Florida’s Walt Disney World.

As an employee of Kindred Aerospace you’ve landed on an unknown planet. With secrets to explore and things to catalog, it’s your job to determine if the planet is habitable for humans. Journey to the Savage Planet will release for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on January 28.

In this video we’ll take down one of the first bosses you’ll encounter, Cragclaw. Journey to the Savage Planet will release for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on January 28.

The Phantom Thieves are back and this time, there’s one more of them! Get a taste of the bigger and better team in this trailer, featuring newcomer Kasumi Yoshizawa!

The action sequel Bad Boys For Life remained the biggest movie in the US for the second weekend running, proving that a 17-year-gap since the latest entry in the series hasn’t lessened its appeal. The film, which reunites Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, made an estimated $34 million in three days, bringing its domestic total to $120.6 million. Worldwide, the film has grossed $215.6 million so far, making it very likely that Bad Boys 4 will happen.

The next two places on the chart also remained unchanged from last week. Sam Mendes’ acclaimed World War 1 drama 1917 held onto second place, making an estimated $15.8 million to bring it to $103.8 million in the US. The film has done extremely well internationally as well; so far it’s made $200.4 million worldwide, and with the potential of Oscar success in a couple of weeks, this total could well rise higher.

The big-budget family feature Dolittle remained at No. 3, with an estimated weekend gross of $12.5 million. The film, which features Robert Downey Jr. in his first post-Marvel role, has been the year’s first big commercial disappointment. It had a reported production budget of $175 million, but has to date made only $91 million. It has been estimated that the movie could lose as much as $100 million for Universal.

The week’s highest new entry was Guy Ritchie’s crime comedy The Gentlemen, which debuted at No. 4 with an $11 million weekend take. The movie opened on 2,165 screens, but Box Office Mojo states that distributors STXFilms are planning a “significant expansion” in theaters next weekend.

The week’s other new entry was the horror movie The Turning, which entered the chart at No.6, one place below Jumanji: The Next Level. The Turning is a remake of the classic horror story The Turn of the Screw, and its disappointing $7.3 million opening take was met by poor reviews. In her review for GameSpot, Meg Downey described the movie as “a waste of time.”

The rest of the box office Top 10 featured movies that have been on release for several weeks, including Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker at No.7 and Little Women at No.8. You can see the complete weekend box office numbers below.

January 24-26 US Box Office via Box Office Mojo

1. Bad Boys for Life $34,000,000
2. 1917 $15,800,000
3. Dolittle $12,500,000
4. The Gentlemen $11,030,000
5. Jumanji: The Next Level $7,900,000
6. The Turning $7,300,000
7. Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker $5,173,000
8. Little Women $4,700,000
9. Just Mercy $4,055,000
10. Knives Out $3,650,000