Category: games

Ubisoft has finally revealed its plans for Assassin’s Creed Origins‘ post-launch content. The game will receive two major expansions after its October release date, in addition to a number of smaller add-ons, some of which will be free.

The two main DLC packs are called The Hidden Ones and The Curse of the Pharoahs. The former will launch in January 2018 and is set many years after the base game as you clash with the Romans in a new region. The latter, meanwhile, will introduce a “a new, mystical realm” in which you’ll encounter “beasts such as Anubis warriors, scorpios, and more” as you investigate the curse that has resurrected dead Pharaohs. The Curse of the Pharoahs launches in March next year.

The two story expansions are included in Assassin’s Creed Origins’ season pass, which costs $40 in the US (international pricing has yet to be announced). That also bags you two smaller add-ons–each containing new outfits and weapons–as well as 500 in-game credits and an exclusive weapon. Check out everything included in the season pass at the bottom of this article, via Ubisoft.

Origins’ Gold Edition and Steelbook Edition contain the season pass for no extra cost, though many of the game’s other special editions do not include all added content. For more, check out our breakdown of all six Assassin’s Creed special editions. Separate from the season pass, Assassin’s Creed Origins will receive an array of free content, including a Photo Mode, an Educational Mode, and a Horde Mode that sees players “fight endless waves of enemies in the Gladiator Arena.”

In other news about the huge open-world title, Ubisoft recently revealed Assassin’s Creed Origins’ PC specs and system requirements in addition to a new trailer. For more on the series, check out our look back at every Assassin’s Creed game. Origins launches for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 on October 27.

Assassin’s Creed Origins Season Pass DLC

• DLC 1 – The Hidden Ones: This story-driven expansion builds upon the growth of the Brotherhood, taking players years after the events of Assassin’s Creed Origins as they clash with an occupying Roman force in a new region. This expansion will extend the level cap, allowing players to keep on making their character progress. Available in January 2018.
• DLC 2 – The Curse of the Pharaohs: In this story-driven expansion focusing on Egyptian mythology, players will fight against undead pharaohs and explore a new, mystical realm. During their journey, players will encounter famed Egyptian beasts such as Anubis warriors, scorpios and more, as they investigate the cause of the curse that has brought the dead pharaohs back to life. The Curse of the Pharaohs will increase the level cap further and introduce brand new Abilities. Available in March 2018.
• The Roman Centurion and Horus Packs: Two exclusive add-on packs including a new outfit, weapons, shield and mount. Available in November 2017.
• A package of 500 Helix Credits: Available at the launch of the game.
• An exclusive rare weapon: the Calamity Blade. Available at the launch of the game.

Assassin’s Creed Origins Free DLC

• The Trials of the Gods: Epic boss battles against Egyptian gods that take place during special timed events, victorious players will receive prestigious rewards. The first Trial of the Gods event will be available 15 days after the launch of the game.
• The Nomad’s Bazaar: A wandering merchant gives players daily quests to complete in order to earn mysterious exotic rewards. Available at the launch of the game.
• Photo Mode: Players will be able to capture and share the beauty of the Egyptian landscape and indulge their inner wildlife photographer while discovering in-game pictures taken by other players. Available at the launch of the game.
• Horde Mode: Players will fight endless waves of enemies in the Gladiator Arena. They will be able to compare their scores with their friends and challenge them asynchronously. Available in early 2018.
• Discovery Tour: This new educational mode turns the world of Assassin’s Creed Origins into a combat-free living museum and will give everyone the opportunity to learn more about Ancient Egypt through guided tours curated by historians and Egyptologists. Available early 2018.

Essential Skills

There are a lot of skills to choose from in Middle-earth: Shadow of War, and you obviously want to choose wisely. Skills are divided across six categories, with each accommodating different playstyles ranging from stealth to full offensive. And after unlocking each base skill, you can unlock three upgrades for that skill. Click ahead to check out some of the most useful skills in the game along with recommendations of their best upgrades.

But if you’re worried about venturing down a path you may not like in the long term, don’t worry too much–Shadow of War is very generous with doling out Skill Points. While you can’t take a Skill Point back, it’s very easy to earn another one through normal play. You’ll find our recommendations for primary and sub-skills in the order they appear on the skill tree.

Shadow of War is out now for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. It was originally slated to launch in August, only for it to be pushed back to October. A free-to-play strategy RPG version of Middle-earth: Shadow of War for iOS and Android devices launched ahead of the game’s release. For a brief rundown on the original game’s plot, check out our feature detailing the game’s story so far.

For more on how to better play Middle-earth: Shadow of War, check out our roundup of tips, guides, and walkthroughs. And be sure to read our full Shadow of War review right here.

Combat Skill: Fatal Counter (requires level 15)

Want to take out enemies quickly? You need Fatal Counter. This sub-skill of the moderately useful Perfect Counter skill lets you mow through groups of enemies with relative ease. The game is generous with it blue flashing Counter indicator, and with this skill active, any Orc you fend off is automatically a dead Orc.

Combat Skill: Ground Finisher

In combat, an effective way to kill an Orc is to execute them while they’re stunned on the ground with the right shoulder button and the square/X button. However, this execution takes time, leaving you open to enemy strikes, which often forces you to cancel out of it whenever danger looms too close. Fortunately, there is a skill to circumvent this: the Ground Finisher skill decreases the amount of time it takes to perform this powerful takedown. To ensure you’re never interrupted again, pair it with sub-class ability Wraith Shield to counter enemies with Celebrimbor while you’re doing your business.

Combat Skill: Ceaseless Might (requires level 19)

The upgrade for the fifth combat upgrade Brutal Aggression is a highly useful one. With Ceaseless Might you get a second opportunity to use any of your might-depleting skills. That means you can double down on useful abilities like executions and abilities like Elven Light.

Combat Skill: Adamant (requires level 13)

If you find yourself wishing you had just one more chance to stay in the fight after facing defeat a few too many times, then Adamant is for you. This Upgrade for Retaliation (the final skill in the Combat chain) gives you one more Last Chance circle, which you can find in the bottom left of your mini-map, allowing you to cheat death one more time.

Predator Skill: Wraith Chain

If you’re a big fan of sneaky stabbing Orcs, then Wraith Chain is the perfect skill for you, as it allows you to link up four stealth kills at a time with enough Focus. While this can be an effective skill, it’s made even more useful with its Shadow Blade upgrade, which makes it so your first chained skill consumes no Focus. Forget luring a small group of Orcs one by one to bushes for sneaky stabs; Wraith Chain just lets you clear them out entirely.

Ranged Skill: Detonate

Detonate can help you make mischief from afar, as you can unleash a fiery explosion, or call in a group of spiders or ghuls to swarm nearby enemies with its upgrades. Poison Tendril poisons a grog barrel from a distance to damage any orc that drinks from it, and of course, Shadow Strike allows you to reach faraway enemies in a flash and move around the battlefield with ease.

Wraith Skill: Elven Light

Shadow of War doesn’t give you a ton of AoE (Area of Effect) abilities, but the early unlock Elven Light is one of the best in the game. In addition to putting the hurt on a group of enemies, you can also pair it with an elemental effect; fire and poison are the two best choices here, since Hammer of Eregion is a better way to chain frost effects.

Wraith Skill: Consume

More than just doing damage, Consume is an ability that can help keep you alive. If you frequently find your health dipping in battle, Consume requires a full Might charge, but it lets you take out an enemy and get back in the fight with a fuller health bar.

Wraith Skill: Treasure Hunter

This ability might be at the end of the Wraith skill tree, but it’s worth prioritizing early in the game. Without this skill, you have to manually push a button to collect loot from dropped enemies, but once you’ve equipped this skill, just walking over items adds them to your inventory. While it would be better if this were just a normal part of the game and not something you had to waste a skill point on, equipping it almost ensure you won’t leave any valuable items behind on the battlefield.

Mounted Skill: Shadow Mount

Typically you mount beasts by breaking them and holding the circle/B button when you’re near them. But with the Shadow Mount skill, you can instantly mount a beast from afar by aiming at them and holding the circle/B button. This comes in handy particularly during the epic fortress battles, as it allows you to take control of damaged enemy Graugs and Caragors, turning their destructive abilities against your foes.

Mounted Skill: Dragon Rider

Due to how dangerous drakes can be during combat, acquiring Dragon Rider is almost a necessity. The sooner you can have these deadly foes on your side, the better. Their devastating fire breath is effective against the game’s larger foes. Plus, the added perk of being able to ride them makes them a valuable source of transportation.

Story Skill: Hammer of Eregion (requires level 17)

The upgrade skill for the story chain’s Shadow Strider is one of the most helpful skills in Shadow of War. While most abilities are tied to something consumable, Hammer of Eregion allows you to freeze enemies as many times as you want to. While some Captains will knock you back when you try to vault over them, this ability leaves the ones who can be frozen wide open to your devastating combo attacks.

Sylvester Stallone has been teasing fans about the sequel to the hit Rocky spin-off Creed for a few months with casting news and a potential production start date. The star has now revealed who will direct Creed 2–Stallone himself.

The action icon took to Instagram to announce the news. This confirms that Creed director and co-writer Ryan Coogler won’t be involved with the sequel, as Stallone has already stated that he has written the movie’s script. Check the post out below:

While Stallone only acted in Creed, he had written every other Rocky movie until then, and directed four of the films. The movie will see Michael B. Jordan return to the title role, with Stallone expected to play Rocky once more.

In July, Stallone also suggested that fellow action star Dolph Lundgren will reprise his role as Russian heavyweight Ivan Drago, last seen in 1985’s Rocky IV. At that time Stallone posted a series vintage shots of Lundgren from the set of Rocky IV, each one tagged with ‘CREED 2.’ Lundgren himself largely confirmed this news when he posted a training video, with the caption, “Getting ready for something big! #creed 2.”

Stallone won a Golden Globe for his performance as the aging Rocky Balboa in Creed, as well as receiving an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The movie made $173.6 million at the worldwide box office.

In related news, Coogler’s Marvel movie Black Panther hits theaters in February. Chadwick Boseman plays the title character, with Jordan in a supporting role. For a look at that, check out the latest Black Panther trailer.

New York Comic-Con may be over, but that doesn’t mean the fun has to end. During GameSpot’s trip to the Big Apple, there were so many cool booths on the floor, but one that caught our eye was Banpresto‘s, a company based out of Japan that makes amazing statues based on anime series. On display at the booth were detailed Dragon Ball and One Piece statues that any anime fan would proudly display in their home. Here’s pretty much everything the booth showed off this past weekend.

Looking for more toys and collectibles? Check out what else we saw at Comic-Con!

This JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Statue At NYCC Is Amazing

Creepiest Chucky, Beetlejuice, And Pinhead Collectibles At NYCC 2017

All The Coolest Batman, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat Collectibles At NYCC 2017

Star Wars, The Last Jedi, And Marvel Get Insanely Detailed Figures At NYCC

Following a server maintenance period, a new update will be released today for Ghost Recon: Wildlands on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. In addition to some bug fixes and improvements, it introduces Ghost War, the new competitive multiplayer mode that’s available for free to all players.

Update 8 arrives today on all platforms; PC maintenance has ended, with Xbox One and PS4 downtime wrapping up in the next few hours. Steam users will receive a 4.7 GB download, while those on Uplay will receive a larger, 9.5 GB one. Depending on the latest version you have installed on consoles, the patch may be as large as 11 GB. If you’re playing when it’s released, an in-game notification will let you know to restart the game so that it can be downloaded and installed.

We already know what to expect from Ghost War, which Ubisoft conducted a beta test for recently. It’s a 4v4 Team Deathmatch-style experience where you can revive teammates, with support for eight maps and 12 classes at launch. Matches are best-of-three affairs with 10-minute rounds. Ubisoft has promised “regular updates and new content” that will bring additional modes, maps, and classes.

A variety of bug fixes are also included in this update, but the most important may pertain to campaign connectivity. “Ghost Recon Wildlands campaign mode’s networking model is based on peer-to-peer networking,” Ubisoft explained on its website. “In order to improve the connectivity issues some of you are facing since launch, we have also decided to back up our networking model with relay servers as it has been done for our Ghost War PvP mode. These relay servers route packets between players who cannot connect directly to each other, essentially eliminating many of the situations where players cannot connect because of incompatible NAT types. In order to minimize any lag induced by this routing, we spread our relay servers over many geographical locations and picked servers that offer the quickest routes to relay packets between players.”

Full patch notes for the update follow below. If you don’t already own the game, you’ll be able to try Wildlands for free this weekend, including Ghost War.

Ghost Recon: Wildlands Update 8 Patch Notes

Missions/Narration

• In “El Cardinal,” fixed a bug where the player couldn’t redeploy freely after failing the mission

User Interface

• Fixed a bug where a “NEW” tag would appear on the loadout even though there is no new unlocked item
• Fixed a bug where the “missile incoming” warning would be displayed too late
• Fixed some situations where the prestige points earned wouldn’t appear on screen

Co-op

• Fixed a bug where a player wouldn’t be kicked from the lobby if the command was initiated from several players
• Added relay servers for improved connectivity between players

Gameplay

• Fixed a bug where a player shooting from the trunk of a car could lose control over the character
• Polished the new helicopter’s landing animation

Stability

• Fixed a bug where Norton antivirus users would have troubles launching the game

Narco Road

• In “El Invisible,” fixed a bug where the “mission failed” screen would not appear, making the mission unavailable

PC

• Fixed the mouse input precision for the new helicopter control scheme. We implemented mouse acceleration which decays as helicopter picks up speed, and a deceleration when player is driving, as previous implementation was losing angular velocity too fast
• Fixed an issue causing vehicle doors to always shown as being closed when using Nvidia Ansel

The Elder Scrolls Online’s next DLC, Clockwork City, is coming out in just a few weeks.

The Clockwork City DLC game pack releases October 23 for PC and Mac, and a few weeks later for PS4 and Xbox One on November 7. The add-on content is free to all Elder Scrolls Online Plus members, and available for 2,000 crowns for everyone else via the in-game Crown Store.

It’s important to note that you do not need to own Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind in order to play Clockwork City.

The Clockwork City Collector’s Edition will also be available for 4,000 crowns. Along with the base DLC pack, the collector’s edition comes with the Clockwork Skeevaton pet, the Kagouti Fabricant mount, and Five Crown Experience Scrolls.

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Watch 12 minutes of new Hunt: Showdown gameplay in the video up above, as the developers guide you through a match.

Banishing giant spiders and hulking pig men back to their respective circles of hell can be an absolute nightmare, let me tell you.

And it certainly isn’t helped when opposing hunting parties block your exit routes with barbed wire or lob flares in through the windows, making it impossible to see what you’re doing. That’s the thing about Hunt: Showdown. While ostensibly you’re tracking down and slaughtering hideous monsters, in truth, you’re the one that’s being hunted.

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“I’ve seen this raw strength only once before. It didn’t scare me enough then. It does now.”

When Luke Skywalker utters the above line in the new trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, director Rian Johnson trains his camera on two different things — the “present day” where an aged Luke is clearly frightened by this strength he mentions, and the past where he falls to his knees, no doubt in horror, watching his new Jedi Academy burn. This is, of course, a return to the flashback of carnage glimpsed oh so briefly in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but this time around Johnson appears to be offering us a new clue about that event as well: It seems Kylo Ren also tried to murder Luke during that attack.

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It’s time to hatch, feed, and clean-up after your virtual pets yet again — Tamagotchi is back in honor of the toy’s 20th anniversary.

Bandai America has officially announced that a new set of Tamagotchi toys — smaller at about 60 percent the size of the toys you may remember playing with in the ’90s — will be available in limited qualities on November 5 for $14.99. Check out the device below.

Yes, the new Tamagotchi looks very much like the original, including the device’s egg shape, with six different designs pulled from the original Japanese launch. To further evoke nostalgia, the original Tamagtochi’s packaging design has been replicated for the new line, and the toys themselves feature the original characters players could care for from the original game.

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Today’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi has brought with it the first proper glimpse of Andy Serkis’ mysterious villain, Supreme Leader Snoke.

Snoke appeared in 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens as an immense hologram, and we’ve since seen his likeness revealed via a figurine and a set of official Star Wars postage stamps and trading cards, but this marks the first time we’ve officially seen the real, horribly-disfigured Snoke in action, albeit briefly.

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