Category: games

This week on IGN’s video game talk show: You’ve read IGN’s reviews, now get second opinions on this week’s big games.

Steve and Dustin team up to start looking for a lost pet, while Dr. Owens tries to figure out what’s happening to Will.

This year’s halloween update is here with discounts and a new Batmobile-like Vigilante vehicle.

Board games can be a competitive hobby that pits friend against friend in a ruthless contest for victory points and bragging rights. But sometimes it’s good to set aside your differences, sit on the same side of the table and work towards a common goal. Luckily, there are plenty of quality cooperative games with which to set aside competition and forge bonds of friendship in the fires of teamwork.

Here are 10 of the best cooperative board games ever made.

Players: 2-4

Playtime: 60 minutes

Pandemic put cooperative games on the map, and for good reason. Much of the genre’s hallmark mechanics originated here, from action point allocation to player roles with unique abilities. It also spawned a bevy of expansions and spinoffs, but Pandemic Legacy is the best and more revolutionary take on the virus-eradicating co-op game.

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Breakaway, Amazon Game Studios’ 4v4 brawler, is officially on hold as the development team takes time to “iterate and evolve” its “core gameplay.”

“Over the course of the Alpha we received a lot of feedback from you that we’re taking to heart,” reads an update on the game’s official site. “In order to get it right, we’re letting our team take the time to iterate and evolve Breakaway’s core gameplay to deliver what you’ve asked for.  We aren’t sure how long this will take, but we think it’s the right thing to do for the game, and you, the community.”

Following its reveal in September 2016, a public alpha for the mythological brawler, which places a heavy emphasis on streaming, ran from June through September. As the developer notes, it won’t host further alpha matches at this time.

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Spoilers for Stranger Things 2, up through Episode 7, “The Lost Sister,” below

An episode that focuses entirely on Eleven–and on her quest to reunite with another of Brenner’s psychic kids, no less–should have been a highlight of Stranger Things Season 2. Instead it goes down as the opposite, in large part because it breaks the unspoken rule that makes every other episode of Stranger Things better: It all feels like it could really be happening.

Yes, Stranger Things is a fantasy horror show with pretty much actual magic. But the characters and settings all feel like real people and places, and a government conspiracy to develop human weapons and then cover up the botched results has grounds in our world too. The CIA has done some messed up stuff!

But a gang of off-brand X-Men living in a weirdly well-furnished warehouse, systematically murdering people for no real reason–and looking like a Hot Topic parody while doing it–stretches disbelief to the point of breaking. Kali’s crew feel like cartoon characters from a much worse show–all but Kali herself, who, ironically, is the one with psychic superpowers. But well-drawn as Linnea Berthelson’s character is, she’s mired in a pointless, cheesy distraction of an episode, and her awaited return after a great introduction in Season 2’s premiere episode is a disappointment.

That’s not to say it was all bad. Millie Bobby Brown continues to sustain her fantastically idiosyncratic performance, managing an impressive balance between a vulnerable, naive child and a powerful outcast out for blood. Her scream when pushing her powers to the limit is still unbeatable. Whether that makeover worked is debatable, but on the other hand there was nowhere to go from overalls and curls besides up.

Dr. Brenner’s return to the show was welcome, if a bit anticlimactic, considering he was simply a Kali-induced hallucination. Whether he’s actually alive is, it appears, still up in the air.

Kali herself is a great addition to the show’s living universe. Her power–to make other people hallucinate whatever she chooses–has potential for creativity, moreso than Eleven’s vaguely defined abilities to slam doors and pop people’s brains with her mind.

Kali also proved a workable foil for Eleven, showing one possible path for our favorite psychic heroine, should she choose to embrace her anger and channel it into her powers. And despite being a merciless killer, Kali is sympathetic in her own right. She’s had as hard a life as Eleven, and they both want revenge. Kali is manipulating Eleven, for sure, but there may be a genuine bond there too. If nothing else, it would be a surprise if child number 008 doesn’t return in Stranger Things Season 3.

But their parting ways at the episode’s end is still disappointing. This reunion may have been helpful for Eleven’s journey to figure out where her home lies, but it felt like a detour in the context of the show as a whole. It was so, so far away from what’s great about Stranger Things: the dynamic among the kids, the fun ’80s references, the Spielbergian horror, and the complex characters, like Hopper and Joyce. If we were watching this week-to-week instead of as one long binge, it would be frustrating that Episode 6 left us on a cliffhanger for a detour that, despite all the build-up, was ultimately unnecessary.

Where Season 1 felt relatively contained–a standalone story, despite some teases in the finale–Stranger Things 2 is starting to feel more and more like set-up for the show’s future. That won’t turn out to be a problem if the final two episodes bring it home effectively. But in a season that numbers only 9 episodes, Stranger Things didn’t benefit from a distraction of this magnitude.

Best reference or easter egg:

The guy Eleven and Kali almost murdered was watching Punky Brewster, an ’80s sitcom about a young girl who was abandoned by her parents and is raised by a foster father.

Check out the giveaway below, and then head back to our Stranger Things 2 hub for more episode reviews, theories, references, easter eggs, and more!

The good news is, Jigsaw is not the worst horror movie of the year. The bad news is, it’s still bad enough that that’s the good news.

The long-running slasher series about a serial killer who puts his victims in elaborate death traps, and gives them opportunities to escape if they overcome their worst instincts, has long been one of the most consistent and reliable horror franchises on the market. If you were watching these movies to see Rube Goldberg murder machines, you were bound to leave satisfied. If you were watching to see how the absurdly intricate storyline unfolded, you were likewise probably happy, every single time.

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With just a few weeks before Justice League hits theaters, tickets for the DC Comics superhero team-up movie have gone on sale. Thus far, the results are painting what could be a pretty impressive picture of the film’s box office success.

As reported by Deadline, Justice League is currently looking at earning $110-$120 million in its opening weekend. That number would rank it above Wonder Woman, which opened to $103.2 million but below both Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad. While Batman v Superman scored $166 million during its first weekend, Suicide Squad racked up $133.6 million.

Based on polls from Fandango, it’s Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) and Aquaman (Jason Momoa) that are driving the most interest for the movie among fans, with 89% of Fandango users saying they’re excited to revisit Diana Prince after the character’s standalone movie earlier in 2017.

It’s entirely possible that the projections for Justice League could rise in a week, following the release of Thor: Ragnarok. While the movies come from two different studios–Marvel for Thor, Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment for Justice League–with two major superhero releases this close together, the earlier release could easily dominate the anticipation.

That said, projections are just that: projections. The actual number could also drop as the movie’s debut grows closer. After all, the reviews for Justice League aren’t out yet.

Production of the film has been well-documented. Though it is directed by Zack Snyder, it was announced in May that Avengers director Joss Whedon was brought in to helm reshoots and post production on the project. Whedon is also working on a Batgirl standalone movie.

Justice League arrives in theaters on November 17.

Two game-changing mechanics are on the way to PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds soon. Developer Bluehole has announced it will run test servers for the PC 1.0 release next week, which includes a number of new features, most notably climbing and vaulting.

Bluehole hasn’t yet specified what day testing will begin, but the developer has said the test servers will be up “for several days to allow everyone to try out the test build and give feedback.” Climbing and vaulting in particular are big changes; PlayerUnknown himself, Brendan Greene, said that vaulting “will change the game severely” during a panel at PAX Aus this week.

Bluehole shared more details on how vaulting will work in a post on the official PUBG website. “Although we initially planned to allow crossing over structures which are up to 1 meter high, we have eventually decided to extend the functionality of the feature by increasing the limit to about 2.3 meters,” the developer wrote.

“Almost any static object that meets the dimension criteria can be scaled. Additionally, passing through openings in structures (such as windows) is possible as long as they are wide and tall enough. You may scale almost any static object which is short enough. Objects which are chest level high can be scaled with a weapon in hand. Taller structures that require pulling up to vault need to be performed with both hands free of any items (they will be holstered automatically when animation is played). Running towards the obstacle will generate momentum that will ensure faster motion. Performing the action from stationary position is also possible but the animation played will be slower, leaving players vulnerable for a longer period of time.”

In addition to climbing and vaulting, PC 1.0 introduces changes to ballistics and vehicle driving. Bluehole also says it will implement new measures to clamp down on players who cheat. “Regarding the use of cheats, we will be doing everything we can and use all resources available to detect and impose penalties on users who use cheats,” the developer wrote. “Recently, we have implemented new measures to better identify and track their usage. We have designed reliable systems to do this more efficiently than before.”

PUBG releases in full on PC and on Xbox One via the Game Preview program later this year. During the same PAX Aus panel, Brendan Greene said he wants cross-play between the Xbox One and PC versions; he also confirmed that a single-player campaign won’t be added to the immensely popular battle royale game any time soon.

Electronic Arts has announced the largest tournament ever for FIFA with the EA Sports FIFA 18 Global Series on The Road to the FIFA eWorld Cup 2018.

The competition kicks off November 3 and will culminate in the FIFA eWorld Cup 2018. The worldwide competition has several stages, with each competitor qualifying based on FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) Champions Weekend League online performance as well as at live qualifiers during the year.

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