Timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the armistice treaty signed on November 11, 1918 that ended World War I, 11-11: Memories Retold follows the stories of two men swept up in terrible events (mostly) beyond their control over the course of two years on the Western Front. A collaboration between Aardman, the animation studio best known for the Wallace & Gromit TV series and films, and DigixArt, a fledgling French game development team, it's a visually striking adventure game that foregrounds its occasionally moving, occasionally ludicrous narrative atop a layer of light puzzling and collectible gathering.The intertwining story sees you play as both Harry (voiced by Elijah Wood), a young photographer from Canada who finds himself in France shooting film--not foe--for propaganda purposes at the invitation of a British major, and Kurt (Sebastian Koch), an older German electrical engineer who enlists when he receives word that his son's unit has gone missing. Their tales are connected, of course, and at key moments in each chapter your control will switch from Harry to Kurt and back again, often multiple times. Later, there are even scenes in which you are free to switch between them, and a third character, whenever you wish.Each man's journey plays out across a France (and bits of Germany and Canada) that is rendered like an oil-on-canvas painting, the thick individual brush strokes and contrasting colours an obvious nod to the Impressionist style that was still en vogue in the early 20th century. It feels like each scene is being painted in real-time as you walk around, as the brush strokes flicker in a manner suggesting an artist constantly reapplying paint on canvas. From the crackling ember reds of a battlefield to the dappled whites and yellows of an idyllic farmstead, the unique art direction succeeds in setting the emotional tone of each scene. The overall effect is quite startling and very often beautiful.What you're actually doing inside each scene is rather more conventional. Harry and Kurt walk--and occasionally crouch or run--around a series of mostly small locations, talking to people and picking up dozens of collectibles. Helpfully, you always have a specific objective to accomplish; in Harry's case it's typically whatever task Major Barrett has ordered him to perform while Kurt's pursuit of his son's whereabouts is often derailed by the whims of his own superiors. Regardless, most objectives are easily completed by simply walking to the desired destination, interacting with a certain object or talking to the right person. Sometimes there's even a box to push out of the way or a couple of levers and dials to fiddle with, but absolutely none of it is in any way taxing.This is for the best, perhaps. At least, it means the story takes center stage and you're not in any danger of getting stuck on a puzzle and finding yourself unable to see that story to its conclusion. More than that, though, it also works because the story 11-11 tells is genuinely good. Sure, it's a romanticised version of World War I that doesn't really confront the senseless brutality of trench warfare or the sheer scale of human loss and suffering that resulted--there's but one scene where you don a gas mask, for example, and when Harry is finally called upon to go "over the top" he's more focused on getting a few good pictures than whether he'll survive the mad dash into no man's land. But the story works because Harry and Kurt are convincing characters whose flaws and motivations remain all too real no matter what the war throws at them. The plot may contrive to see the lives of the two men intersect in unlikely fashion, but they themselves are utterly believable and empathetic until the very end.Further, the story works because you are given choices to make at critical junctures. Each choice feels weighty and full of consequence. I didn't replay scenes to see how things could have played out differently--and perhaps the rippling effects are minimal--but I didn't want to. What matters is that the import of the decisions I made was felt in the moment I made them, and ultimately I was more than satisfied with how my version of the story ended.Where the story undermines itself, however, is in its pacing. Or, to be more accurate, in how certain pieces of the story are locked behind collectibles, the search for which sees you get bogged down in scouring every area for hidden documents and items rather than keeping the plot ticking over. Not to mention that it's quite silly when Kurt's ordered to quickly fix a radio during an attack while you're thinking, “Hang on, let me just check if there's anything I've missed down the other end of this trench….” You can ignore the collectibles, but you'll also be missing out on story content.When it comes together, whether in moments of high drama and urgent choices or in the quiet interludes that follow, 11-11 draws you deep into the lives of these men. When it misses the mark, whether through an implausible coincidence, a throwaway puzzle or tedious collectible, it can push you away and cause the surrounding narrative beats to fall flat. It's uneven, yes, but there's undoubtedly more good than bad, and there are poignant scenes, tense moments and breathtaking images that will resonate long after the end credits have rolled.Info from Gamespot.com

Ebay has announced another sales promotion revolving around Black Friday, but this one boasts that it's better than Black Friday. The promotion centers on a full week of beating competitor prices for the retail holiday across several items. The promotion runs November 12-18, and the prices go into effect at 5 AM PT each day. [Update: It's now Tuesday, meaning another of the new deals from Ebay is now live, including the Xbox One controller deal that beats what we've seen during Black Friday.]The deal for today, Monday, for example is a Samsung 32" Smart LED HD TV for $175, beating the advertised Target deal of $179. Tomorrow, Tuesday, November 13, it's offering an Xbox One wireless controller for $35, undercutting Walmart's price of $39. The deals will also include NBA 2K19 for $27 (vs $30 at Target) and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 for $44 (vs $45 at Target). Apple AirPods are going for $149.Naturally, these game and tech deals come alongside several other discounts on other items, from coffee makers to boots to watches. Ebay is also offering free shipping on these deals, and a "Best Price Guarantee" that will give 110% the price difference on competitors. You can check out the full line-up at the Ebay deal site.Black Friday is traditionally the Friday immediately following the Thanksgiving holiday, but as retailers compete for customers the discounts have begun expanding to the weeks before and after as well. It's a good time to grab cheap games and hardware, so check out our Black Friday deals roundups for all the best prices.Info from Gamespot.com

Many would-be mascots have come down the pike over the years, trying to capture just the slightest hint of Mario-level stardom. Spyro the Dragon never quite got there, but he did manage to star in some of the most charming and accessible platformers of the PlayStation era, and the Reignited Trilogy is a grand testament to the little guy's staying power.The trilogy includes the first three--and best--titles in the series: Spyro the Dragon, Ripto's Rage (also known as Gateway to Glimmer in Europe and Australia), and Year of the Dragon. His adventures are simple but delightfully cartoonish fare. The first game has him traveling through the five dragon realms freeing his bigger, badder brethren from Gnasty Gnorc. The second has Spyro attempting to take a vacation after his previous adventure, but winding up getting dragged into a realm being invaded by effete warlock Ripto. The third has him facing off against the evil Sorceress, who has stolen over 100 dragon eggs with the help of her rabbit apprentice, Bianca. Ignore the graphical overhaul, and these are very much the games that released the first time around on PS1. The fact that they stand up so well mechanically against more recent games is the most pleasant surprise of the package. Movement and attacks are one-button affairs, and the simplicity works in the collection's favor. If there's a learning curve to be found, it's in the fact that it's all too easy to use Spyro's charge attack too recklessly, sending him flying off cliffs or missing the enemy he's aiming for by inches.Thankfully, Spyro’s moveset need not do much heavy lifting, especially in the first game. Every area has a number of crystallized dragons to find, and once enough of them have been freed, you take a balloon off to the next dragon realm, and repeat until you reach Gnorc's trashy fortress. There's some minor puzzle solving, and an enormous amount of treasure to be found, and that’s about it. If anything, the first game's biggest weakness is that there's so much other stuff to collect, between the hundreds of gems, hidden treasure chests, and dragon eggs stolen by hidden--and super annoying--Egg Thieves, but only freeing the dragons really matters in terms of progress.The sequels are much better in that regard. Each stage has its own little tale of animated hijinks that plays out, from a tribe of Himalayan telepaths being terrorized by a Yeti, to my personal favorite, helping superspy moppets Hansel and Gretel stealth their way into a heavily guarded fortress of nomadic lizards so they can use their psychic powers and take over. There's a slew of unique challenges within each stage for you to do, usually involving super-powered versions of Spyro's current abilities or sequences where you have to take to the skies and firebomb specific objects for gems. The third game brings new playable characters into the fray, all with their own specific movesets and bonus stages, giving you a very good reason to run around collecting shiny stuff to unlock it all. The linear repetition of the first game never rears its head again for the rest of the collection.As mentioned, it speaks well of the originals that the Reignited Trilogy doesn't change a thing mechanically and all three games are still a joy to play. The audio has gotten a bit of remixing and reworking but remains fairly true to the original soundtrack, which can be switched to on the fly. But the Reignited Trilogy goes above and beyond here, giving all three games an impressive visual overhaul, essentially making all three games close to a Dreamworks animation. More than just new lush-looking foliage, skin and scale textures, and warm, blissful lighting, hundreds of tiny new details are here, giving each character and enemy more personality. There are a bunch of visual gags and quirks every character will run through if you leave them alone for a moment. The generic gruff dragons from the original are all unique creatures with their own personalities when imparting knowledge to Spyro, same for the dragon babies in Year of the Dragon, who each react like delightful, rambunctious toddlers when they hatch. The Spyro trilogy already felt timeless to play. Now, it’s much more dazzling to look at.The Reignited Trilogy is the best kind of collection that not only brings a beloved series up to current visual standards but also proves just how well-built the original titles were. Granted, the originals were done by a little studio called Insomniac, and it's not exactly surprising something that team did is a fine example of the genre. But the Reignited Trilogy's developer, Toys for Bob, deserves major kudos for bringing Insomniac's vision to life in the way we could've only dreamed in 1998.Info from Gamespot.com

The Mandalorian may have found its star. Pedro Pascal is reportedly set to head up the original Star Wars TV series, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The Mandalorian is preparing to launch on Disney's upcoming subscription-based streaming service, Disney+, next year.Pascal is best known for his run on Game of Thrones as Oberyn Martell. He also starred in Kingsman: The Golden Circle and Netflix's Narcos.Disney confirmed The Mandalorian with its first official image and some very high-profile names set to direct individual episodes. Those include Taika Waititi (Thor Ragnarok), Bryce Dallas Howard (Solemates), Rick Famuyiwa (Dope), and Deborah Chow (Jessica Jones). It will join another planned series that will bring back Diego Luna to reprise his role as Cassian Andor from Rogue One.The Mandalorian takes place after Star Wars: Return of the Jedi but before the new episodic films. It's said to follow a lone gunfighter outrunning the law of the New Republic, after the legendary Mandalorians Jango and Boba Fett's time has passed.A film spin-off featuring the fan favorite character Boba Fett was said to be in the planning stages at Lucasfilm, but Solo: A Star Wars Story was a commercial disappointment and appears to have led the studio to reevaluate its plans. Disney head Bob Iger suggested that the sequels may have come "too much, too fast" and a shortly after reports circulated that the Boba Fett movie was officially put on hold. The Mandalorian still lets the studio tap one of its more iconic character designs, though.Info from Gamespot.com

The nominees have been announced for 2018's The Game Awards. This year Sony Santa Monica's God of War and Rockstar Games' Red Dead Redemption 2 are the two front-runners, locked neck-and-neck at eight nominations each including Game of the Year. Other GOTY contenders include Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Celeste, Spider-Man, and Monster Hunter: World.Fortnite snagged four nominations of its own including Best Ongoing Game, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Destiny 2: Forsaken, and Detroit: Become Human each got three nominations. Fans can vote for their favorites through the official site. The awards will air live on Thursday, December 6 at 9 PM ET / 6 PM PT.As always the award show will feature exclusive world premieres and musical performances. You can purchase tickets here, starting at $70. The show is once again being organized and hosted by gaming industry veteran Geoff Keighley. Keighley will also produce a limited podcast series in partnership with Spotify to take a closer look at the best game music of the year.A total of 68 media partners, including GameSpot, are voting to decide the winners of the main categories. You can check out the full list of nominees below.Game of the YearAssassin’s Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft)Celeste (Matt Makes Games)God of War (Sony Santa Monica / SIE)Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / SIE)Monster Hunter: World (Capcom)Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)Best Ongoing GameDestiny 2 (Bungie / Activision)Fortnite (Epic Games)No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)Overwatch (Blizzard)Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege (Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft)Best Game DirectionA Way Out (Hazelight Studios / EA)Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream / SIE)God of War (Sony Santa Monica / SIE)Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / SIE)Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)Best NarrativeDetroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream / SIE)God of War (Sony Santa Monica / SIE)Life is Strange 2: Episode 1 (Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix)Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / SIE)Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)Best Art DirectionAssassin’s Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft)God of War (Sony Santa Monica / SIE)Octopath Traveler (Square Enix / Acquire / Nintendo)Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)Return of Obra Din (3909 LLC)Best Score/MusicCeleste (Lena Raine)God of War (Bear McCreary)Marvel’s Spider-Man (John Paesano)Ni No Kuni II (Joe Hisaishi)Octopath Traveler (Yasunori Nishiki)Red Dead Redemption 2 (Woody Jackson)Best Audio DesignCall of Duty: Black Ops 4 (Treyarch Studios / Activision)Forza Horizon 4 (Playground Games / Turn 10 Studios / Microsoft Studios)God of War (Sony Santa Monica / SIE)Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / SIE)Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)Best PerformanceBryan Dechart as Connor, Detroit: Become HumanChristopher Judge as Kratos, God of WarMelissanthi Mahut as Kassandra, Assassin’s Creed OdysseyRoger Clark as Arthur Morgan, Red Dead Redemption 2Yuri Lowenthal as Peter Parker, Marvel’s Spider-ManGames for Impact11-11 Memories Retold (Digixart / Aardman Animations / BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment)Celeste (Matt Makes Games)Florence (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive)Life is Strange 2: Episode 1 (Dontnod Entertainment / Square Enix)The Missing: JJ Macfield and the Island of Memories (White Owls / Arc System Works)Best Independent GameCeleste (Matt Makes Games)Dead Cells (Motion Twin)Into the Breach (Subset Games)Return of the Obra Dinn (3909 LLC)The Messenger (Sabotage Studio)Best Mobile GameDonut County (Ben Esposito / Annapurna Interactive)Florence (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive)Fortnite (Epic Games)PUBG MOBILE (Lightspeed & Quantum / Tencent Games)Reigns: Game of Thrones (Nerial / Developer Digital)Best VR/AR GameASTRO BOT Rescue Mission (SIE Japan Studio / SIE)Beat Saber (Beat Games)Firewall Zero Hour (First Contact Entertainment / SIE)Moss (Polyarc Games)Tetris Effect (Resonair / Enhance, Inc)Best Action GameCall of Duty: Black Ops 4 (Treyarch / Activision)Dead Cells (Motion Twin)Destiny 2: Forsaken (Bungie / Activision)Far Cry 5 (Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft)Mega Man 11 (Capcom)Best Action/Adventure GameAssassin’s Creed Odyssey (Ubisoft Quebec / Ubisoft)God of War (Sony Santa Monica / SIE)Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / SIE)Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Eidos Montreal / Crystal Dynamics / Square Enix)Best Role-Playing GameDragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age (Square Enix / Square Enix)Monster Hunter: World (Capcom)Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom (Level 5 / BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment)Octopath Traveler (Square Enix / Acquire / Nintendo)Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire (Obsidian Entertainment / Versus Evil)Best Fighting GameBlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle (Arc System Works)Dragon Ball FighterZ (Arc System Works / BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment)Soul Calibur VI (Bandai Namco Studios / BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment)Street Fighter V Arcade (Dimps / Capcom)Best Family GameMario Tennis Aces (Camelot Software Planning / Nintendo)Nintendo Labo (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)Overcooked 2 (Ghost Town Games / Team 17)Starlink: Battle for Atlas (Ubisoft Toronto / Ubisoft)Super Mario Party (NDCube / Nintendo)Best Strategy GameBATTLETECH (Harebrained Schemes / Paradox InteractiveFrostpunk (11 bit studios)Into the Breach (Subset Games)The Banner Saga 3 (Stoic Studio / Versus Evil)Valkyria Chronicles 4 (Sega CS3 / Sega)Best Sports/Racing GameFIFA 19 (EA Vancouver / EA Sports)Forza Horizon 4 (Playground Games / Turn 10 Studios / Microsoft Studios)Mario Tennis Aces (Camelot Software Planning / Nintendo)NBA 2K19 (Visual Concepts / 2K Sports)Pro Evolution Soccer 2019 (PES Productions / Konami)Best Multiplayer GameCall of Duty: Black Ops 4 (Treyarch / Activision)Destiny 2: Forsaken (Bungie / Activision)Fortnite (Epic Games)Monster Hunter: World (Capcom)Sea of Thieves (Rare / Microsoft Studios)Best Student GameCombat 2018 (Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences – Norway)Dash Quasar (UC Santa Cruz)JERA (Digipen Bilbao, Spain)LIFF (ISTART Digital – France)RE: Charge (MIT)Best Debut Indie GameDonut County (Ben Esposito / Annapurna Interactive)Florence (Mountains / Annapurna Interactive)Moss (Polyarc Games)The Messenger (Sabotage Studio)Yoku’s Island Express (Villa Gorilla) Best Esports GameCSGODOTA2FortniteLeague of LegendsOverwatch Best Esports PlayerDominique "SonicFox" McLean (Echo Fox)Hajime "Tokido" TaniguchiJian "Uzi" Zi-Hao (Royal Never Give Up)Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev (Natus Vincere)Sung-hyeon "JJoNak" Bang (New York Excelsior)Best Esports TeamAstralis (CSGO)Cloud9 (LOL)Fnatic (LOL)London Spitfire (OWL)OG (DOTA2) Best Esports CoachBok "Reapered" Han-gyu (Cloud9)Cristian "ppasarel" Bănăseanu (OG)Danny "zonic" Sørensen (Astralis)Dylan Falco (Fnatic)Jakob "YamatoCannon" Mebdi (Team Vitality)Janko “YNk” Paunovic (MiBR)Best Esports EventELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018EVO 2018League of Legends World ChampionshipOverwatch League Grand FinalsThe International 2018Best Esports HostAlex "Goldenboy" MendezAlex “Machine” RichardsonAndersBlumeEefje “Sjokz” DepoorterePaul “RedEye” ChalonerBest Esports MomentC9 Comeback Win In Triple OT vs FAZE (ELEAGUE)KT vs IG Base Race (LOL Worlds)G2 Beating RNG (LOL Worlds)OG’s Massive Upset of LGD (DOTA 2 Finals)SonicFox Side Switch Against Go1 in DBZ (EVO) Content Creator of the YearDr. LupoMythNinjaPokimaneWillyrexInfo from Gamespot.com

Those who have finished the first chapter of Spider-Man's The City That Never Sleeps story, called The Heist, know it ended with a cliffhanger. Sony and Insomniac have now teased the second part of that continuing story with Turf Wars, coming on November 20. It packs the next chapter of the story and three more DLC Spidey suits.After being spoken about in hushed tones in The Heist, the mob boss Hammerhead takes center stage in Turf Wars. Here he's continuing his war on the other crime families, and he's brought some heavy-duty equipment left by Sable's mercenaries after her appearance in the main campaign. Turf Wars will include new story missions, bases to complete, crimes, challenges and trophies.The DLC will also introduce another set of Spidey suits. This time they include the Spider-Armor MK-I suit, the Marvel Mangaverse Spider-Clan suit, and the comic version of the Iron Spider Armor. The comics Iron Spider looks a bit different than the one presented in Avengers: Infinity War, which already appeared in the game.Turf Wars is available for $10 individually, or as part of the season pass for $25. That will get you access to all three packs--The Heist, Turf Wars, and Silver Lining, which is due in December.Info from Gamespot.com

Editor's note: As of November 13 at 6 am PT, the Pokemon Go-compatible features in the Let's Go games are not yet available. We will update this review in progress when those features, which include transferring Pokemon from Go to Let's Go, are live and we've had a chance to test them.Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee are gorgeous--albeit lean--reimaginings of one of the series' most beloved adventures. While some features fans have come to expect are missing--like abilities, breeding, and held items--Let's Go has an admirable amount of depth for a game aimed at a younger audience that has never played a Pokemon RPG. Both games may not have the same lasting appeal as previous entries, but revisiting Kanto and catching some of the series' most iconic creatures makes the journey worthwhile.Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee take you back to Kanto, the home of Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow. Not much has changed structurally, but the previously 8-bit region has been realized in vibrant detail. Revisiting some of the series' most memorable locations like Viridian Forest and Saffron City on a big screen is an absolute joy. Areas that were once composed of lines and simple shapes are now colorful forests and detailed cities. Pokemon both big and small roam the wilds, giving personality to the region--you can watch a tiny Horsea speed through the waves or a massive Onix slink through a dark cave. The catchy original soundtrack has also been remastered, and it sounds better than ever.Those familiar with the originals or their remakes, FireRed and LeafGreen, should have no trouble navigating the world. After you're introduced to your partner Pokemon (Pikachu or Eevee depending on the version you choose) you set out on an adventure to collect Gym badges, defeat the Elite Four, and put an end to Team Rocket. While there are a few surprises, the layout of the region and your progression through it is nearly identical to the originals. Fortunately, Let’s Go sheds some of Red, Blue, and Yellow's more archaic designs. For example, HMs--"hidden moves" that allowed you to get past certain obstacles--are replaced with "Secret Techniques" that fulfill the same purpose without taking up one of a Pokemon's move slots. As a result, you can focus on team composition and complementary move sets instead of figuring out how to divvy up HMs between your party Pokemon.Let's Go also does a much better job at guiding you through the world and story. After you made your way through Rock Tunnel in the originals, you had little direction through Lavender, Celadon, Fuschia, and Saffron and could do certain Gym battles and events out of order. It was easy to miss key items and wind up fighting Pokemon much stronger than your own, which led to frustrating backtracking with little idea of what to do next. While you still can complete certain beats out of order, Let's Go ensures you don't miss anything crucial. For example, after you beat Erika in Celadon City, a character gives you a key item that will let you enter Saffron City. Previously, you had to buy a drink from an inconspicuous vending machine on the roof of the department store and give it to a city guard, and if you failed to do so, you wouldn't be able to fight the sixth Gym Leader.One of Let's Go's most fundamental changes is how you catch Pokemon. Instead of the random encounters and wild Pokemon battles of previous mainline games, Let's Go adopts Pokemon Go's catching mechanics. Pokemon roam the wilds in real time, and you have to walk into one to initiate catching it. Then, rather than battling it to whittle down its health, you just have to throw a Poke Ball at it, and the timing and accuracy of your throw increases your chances of a successful catch.The new catching mechanics are a welcome change to the formula that breaks up the pace of traditional trainer and Gym battles. Although catching wild Pokemon doesn’t require as much strategy as it did before, the act of catching is far more engaging. You don't need to worry about accidentally defeating and therefore failing to catch a rare or one-time Pokemon, and if there's a Pokemon you don't want to catch, you simply avoid it. The absence of random encounters also makes traversing caves a lot less tedious. Yes, that means you can even avoid Zubats.Let's Go encourages you to catch Pokemon more so than any other mainline Pokemon game, and it's better for it. Sure, catching every single species has always been the overarching goal, but I've never felt more inclined to complete my Pokedex. Catching Pokemon is the most efficient way to level up; with each successful catch your entire team is awarded a generous dose of experience. This alleviates the need to spend significant amounts of time grinding and makes it easier to experiment with different party compositions.Let's Go also introduces Catch Combos, which occur when you catch the same species of Pokemon multiple times in a row. As you build your combo, your chances of running into rare and powerful Pokemon increase. You can even find Pokemon you typically wouldn't find in the wild. Catching repeat Pokemon is both useful and satisfying--it's great knowing that luck is not the only factor involved when trying to catch a rare Pokemon, and it's very hard to stop when you're deep into a combo, knowing something good could spawn.However, the new catching mechanics don't come without issues. The Joy-Con motion controls are inaccurate at best and unpredictable at worst. Over the course of my journey, I never found a reliable way to throw a Poke Ball to the right or left. In most cases, I would just wait for the wild Pokemon to return to the center of the screen before throwing a Poke Ball, and even then, the ball wouldn't always go where I wanted it to.The Poke Ball Plus controller, an optional Poke Ball-shaped accessory, is a bit more precise, but because there are only two physical buttons on the controller, navigating menus and interacting with the world can be a pain. As novel as it is to see Kanto on a big screen, handheld mode is the best way to catch wild Pokemon. You can either use the Switch's gyroscope sensor or the left control stick to line up a throw. It's far more precise than the other methods, but you do have to consider the Pokemon’s size and distance.Despite changes that make the Pokemon experience more accessible than ever, Let's Go is surprisingly deep. It does an excellent job at easing new players into some of the more complex mechanics without being bogged down by tutorials. Each Pokemon still has six base stats and one of 25 natures, and the game seamlessly presents all that information to you. For example, whenever you switch Pokemon during a battle, you are shown its stats. You can get through the entire game without paying attention to a Pokemon's stats, but it's helpful to see that information presented clearly and often. Early on, you even get the ability to "judge" a Pokemon, which lets you see its base stats (also called IVs). While this may not be super useful for beginners, it's presented in a way that's easy to understand and it gives veterans the opportunity to check for Pokemon with good stats early on.Unfortunately, those invested in the competitive side won't have as much to sink their teeth into. The absence of abilities, held items, and breeding limits the potential for highly competitive play. You can farm for Pokemon with higher stats through the aforementioned catch combos, but even if you do manage to catch a Pokemon with the stats you want, you won't have much to do with it.If you do decide to build a competitive team, the online features are limited. You can trade and battle, and that's about it. There are no ranked battles, the Global Trade System is nonexistent, and there is no Wonder Trading. The barebones trading features may be disappointing at first, but given the smaller roster of Pokemon, I never felt that I needed the GTS or Wonder Trade to complete the Pokedex. However, the inability to matchmake and battle with other trainers online is a bit of a letdown.Despite changes that make the Pokemon experience more accessible than ever, Let's Go is surprisingly deep.Without the competitive mechanics fans are accustomed to and the limited Pokedex, it can be difficult to come back to Let's Go after the credits roll. While there certainly are reasons to revisit Kanto once you have finished the game, like completing the Pokedex and grinding for Pokemon with perfect stats, the pull isn't quite as strong. There aren't many surprises and what's there isn't all that enticing. The last thing I need to try is the Pokemon Go connectivity, which isn't available as of this writing.Despite these concessions, Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee are delightful reimaginings of the series' origins and a deep RPG in their own right. It makes a lot of smart improvements on the original Red, Blue and Yellow while holding on to what made them so special in the first place. Fans of the series might be let down by the lack of features they've come to expect, but Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee take the Pokemon formula in some exciting new directions.Info from Gamespot.com

Hitman 2 is now available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with the Gold edition's early access period having ended. The first Elusive Target, part of the game's free post-launch support, comes later this month and features actor Sean Bean as an MI5 agent gone rogue named Mark Faba. Read on for our full review, originally published on November 8.Hitman is a game about killing people. Well, killing specific people and trying not to kill other people unless you really have to. But it's also a game about exploring large, real-world-inspired spaces, learning about how they operate, finding multiple solutions to problems, and using that knowledge to improvise and manipulate the environment to hit the people you're hunting. The episodic nature of the Hitman refresh in 2016 saw IO Interactive release one level every month--a contentious move at the time, but one that helped accentuate the potential in each mission. Hitman 2 ditches the episodic model and adds a few new minor mechanics, but the loop of continuously replaying a single location, slowly uncovering the wealth of possibilities, and being able to effectively draw upon that knowledge in new challenges is where Hitman is strongest.Hitman 2 takes you to six new locales, and each poses unique situations to overcome as you attempt to assassinate your targets. Mumbai is a standout with its densely populated streets and labyrinths of tenement buildings--a great environment that makes the most of a new Assassin's Creed-style crowd blending mechanic, allowing you to disappear into big groups of people. A mission in Miami, Florida takes place at an active raceway, a loud and vibrant stage that feels like a theme park with its swaths of attendees, distinct zones, and a concealed backstage underbelly.These levels are overwhelming in the best way possible, and it's exciting to begin peeling away the layers of these large, intricate areas--exploring the spaces, discovering routes, finding tools and disguises, and figuring out the best places to utilize them. If you're familiar with Hitman, you know that each stage and its AI inhabitants run on routines like clockwork, making Hitman a game that rewards social stealth and patience. Eavesdropping, tailing, and passive observation are good first steps to success. Even the Whittleton Creek stage, a small, sparsely populated suburban block in Vermont, feels like a mindmap of interconnected causality when you begin to dig deeper. Having the curiosity to uncover how things operate within levels, stumbling upon minor plotlines and amusing flavor dialog along the way, is interesting in its own right.Hitman does make an upfront effort to help focus your scope and give you some momentum toward your objectives, though thankfully your initiative is still necessary to solve some predicaments. Stumbling across a Mission Story (previously known as Opportunities) might lead you to a machine you can sabotage, for example, but you need to find the tool to do so and work out the best method of either distracting or dispatching the people around it.Mission Stories are a great first step, but Hitman becomes its best when you start to internalize the stages and uncover the more obscure ways things can unfold in subsequent playthroughs, be it through pursuing alternative Mission Stories, Challenges that ask you to perform specific tasks, or your own improvisation. There are few fail states other than your own death, and there are so many approaches and tools at your disposal that the path to victory can be as creative and elegant or as bumbling and messy as it needs to be. Completing a stage typically takes a long time, and there will be plenty of moments when a guard catches you doing something you shouldn't be doing and calls for backup. Unhinged gunfights still feel as futile as ever, but when things get out of control there's almost always the opportunity to escape to a less hostile part of the level, swap your disguises, and come up with an alternative "make do" approach. In fact, Hitman is sometimes more exciting when your initial plans fail.The only problem with being presented with such a staggering array of interactions is that the limitations of the sandbox will eventually reveal themselves if you push the wrong way. For example, while you can stash bodies in dumpsters and closets, I was disappointed to discover I couldn't stash them in one of many vacant portable toilets. While Agent 47 can leap tall fences and shimmy across daringly high ledges, he seemingly can't muster the courage to drop down from certain first-floor balconies. Guard AI behavior is stern but generous--if you're found trespassing in a restricted area they'll give you a chance to find the exit before reacting, but sometimes it's too generous. I was amused to see a target's personal bodyguard decide to go home for the day after his employer "accidentally" fell off a building, even though I was the only other person in the room.Hitman 2 continues to embrace a trial-and-error playstyle in its campaign. The levels are long, but autosaves are generous and manual saving is encouraged, which gives you the freedom to experiment with different ways of approaching a problem. And the closer you get to bending the systems in just the right way--trying to narrowly squeeze past a guard's sightline from different directions, or using coins and cheeseburgers to divert someone's attention--the more thrilling it feels, no matter how goofy it actually looks. Hitman 2's interstitial cinematics are as grim and dramatic as a British espionage drama, and it's hard not to let yourself buy into the clinical overarching conspiracy. But in the field, the series' tongue-in-cheek absurdity happily remains with ridiculous costumes, unlikely weapons, and Agent 47's self-aware deadpan acting, which perfectly accompanies any bumbling improvisation. Both exist distinctly, don't really compliment or detract one another, but are still enjoyable in their own right.Hitman 2 also boasts a few significant modes outside of its campaign, including Sniper Assassin, which adapts the design seen in the Hitman: Sniper smartphone game and tasks you with taking out a series of targets from a single vantage point using only a scoped rifle. It's a straightforward but enjoyable, low-stakes mode that allows for a surprising amount of creative freedom, and it can be played in two-player online co-op. But Hitman 2's most enticing bonus, at least if you own the previous Hitman, is the ability to download the original stages into Hitman 2, which gives you feature-complete versions of them with the addition of new mechanics like functional mirrors (which enemies can spot you in) and the briefcase (which lets you conceal and transport tools discreetly), among other things. These legacy stages are wonderful to revisit under a new light.It should also be mentioned that one of the most compelling elements of the 2016 Hitman was the continuous, free live content updates that occurred after the game's launch. Escalation Missions, where you're given specific conditional challenges of increasing difficulty, and Elusive Targets, limited-time events where you have only one chance to take out unique assassination targets, added tense trials that tested both your knowledge of levels and improvisational skills. IO Interactive has announced that these familiar features will be making a return, along with free content updates to Sniper Assassin and Ghost Mode. We obviously can't judge the quality of this content at launch, but it's surely something to look forward to.The addition of other minor mechanical changes--like concussive weapons, a picture-in-picture enemy activity alert, and visible security camera sightlines--help to improve Hitman 2 overall as a dense and accessible stealth assassination game. But the new locations are the real stars, impressive and inventive sandboxes ripe for picking apart with exciting experiments. Hitman is about experiencing the anticipation of seeing whether a plan will work when you try it for the first time. It's about feeling the tension of briskly walking away from a bad situation, hoping you can lose the suspicious guards. It's the satisfaction of knowing the machinations of a level so well that when a target moves into a particular place at a particular time, you have the perfect way to intervene. Hitman 2 is a familiar experience, but in the Hitman world, familiarity is an incredible strength. Info from Gamespot.com

Despite appearances and obvious inspirations, Overkill's The Walking Dead often doesn't feel like a shooter at all. It takes the rules established by Robert Kirkman's comic series and its subsequent TV adaptation to heart in the wrong ways, imposing unbalanced rules on its missions that heavily restrict how you're able to play. Combined with a dizzying assortment of survival mechanics buried in unintuitive menus, meaningless customization options, and non-existent incentives to improve your gear, The Walking Dead feels unrefined and unfocused.This iteration of The Walking Dead features a new cast of characters and little to no ties to the rest of the series' mythos. It's set in the heart of Washington D.C. as you establish a camp and attempt to survive as one of four playable characters. These characters are borderline lifeless, with no real stories of their own aside from previously released promotional material. Nothing about their personalities materializes through the game's story, and neither do stories between survivors within your own camp. The Walking Dead forces you to engage with your camp and its inhabitants between missions but gives you absolutely nothing to do or say to them, which makes it a struggle to care about their fates at all.The overarching story is equally thin on details, with only slideshow animations and voiceovers providing context for each of your missions. The voice acting is monotone and dreary, the writing vague and uninteresting, merely existing only to give veiled purpose to the missions they precede without weaving a captivating story through them. Overkill plans to add more story content in the form of seasons, but its heartless premiere doesn't instill much confidence for where this story might go in the future.In action, The Walking Dead presents itself as a first-person shooter, with the familiar trappings of cooperative play that games like Left 4 Dead and Payday successfully capture. But even though you might be equipped with two firearms and a melee weapon, The Walking Dead only encourages the use of the latter. Each main mission bears a meter that fills up whenever you make noise. Firing a weapon, triggering one of the many near-impossible-to-see traps, and even unavoidable enemy actions all contribute to this, and eventually summons waves of undead enemies towards you without reprieve.The strength and scale of these waves is determined by one of three tiers that the meter bears, with each tier pushing you further towards insurmountable odds of failure. In fact, simply hitting the first tier makes most missions too difficult to continue, as the constantly spawning enemies can clutter the narrow linear walkways of most mission areas to the point of comedy. It's not uncommon to see doorways entirely blocked by hundreds of enemies, forcing you and your team to mindlessly chip away at the crowd only to have the same issue arise at the next chokepoint. It's wildly unbalanced and overly punishing, making most missions tediously long and frustrating.Missions are diluted into more stealthy affairs as a result, which can be mildly entertaining when you're working closely with teammates. As part of a well-organized team you can keep noise to a minimum and circumvent enemies entirely, but it usually only takes one player not sticking to the script to ruin a run. Making matters worse, there's no support for voice chat in-game nor any other ways to communicate aside from text chat.If The Walking Dead didn't make it feel mandatory to play with other people, this might not be as big of a problem as it seems. Missions are unnecessarily difficult to begin with but borderline impossible to play alone. The number of enemies doesn't scale and mission objectives don't change based on party size, making even early easy missions a chore to slog through without friends in tow. This is exacerbated by unreliable matchmaking; it's tough to find matches with other players currently, which can bring your progress through the game's story to a complete halt until you manage to find others to play with.Even when you've overcome the technical hurdles of matchmaking and unnecessary difficulty spikes, The Walking Dead is just not engaging to play. Its missions all follow identical designs, populated by scores of undead enemies and sparse camps of armed human foes. You'll have to fight or avoid a group based on your strategy, then hunt for objects around the area to solve simple puzzles to progress. These puzzles never change beyond hunting down specific items and bringing them back to a location and are used as a poor method of pacing that just adds tedium to every mission. There are also no objective markers or other indications that would make these items easier to find, adding to the unnecessary frustration as you attempt to hunt down a single electrical fuse while enemies continually spawn around you.In between standard story missions are simplistic wave-based survival modes where you'll have to fend off humans or the undead back at your home camp. This is the only mission type where you're free to work with the weapons you've unlocked, as noise isn't a factor. Gunplay emphasizes headshots, especially against zombie foes, and it can be exhilarating to pull off a string of them to down a small horde in no time. Outside of that, gunplay is mostly unremarkable, as are the weapons you'll find along the way. You're able to customize them with modifications, increasing range, damage, stability, and an abstract power value. These stats feel superfluous, and The Walking Dead never feeds them into its gameplay in a tangible way. It makes your starting weapons feel as effective as ones you've collected 10 hours in, which just makes the hunt for better loot meaningless.The same can be said for the four playable characters. Each one has a unique gameplay mechanic, be it the ability to deploy medical kits for healing or flashbangs to blind enemies. Beyond physical items, each character also has their own unique skill tree that feeds into their type of playstyle. Aidan, who I spent most of my time playing, has skills that increase the amount of damage you can output when low on health, for example. But like the modifications to weapons, these skills never surface in a tangible way. No matter how many improvements to my personal stats I had unlocked, or which melee baseball bat I had equipped, zombies always required the same two light attacks or single heavy attack to kill.From its restrictive mission structures, unbalanced difficulty and frustrating means of progression, The Walking Dead struggles to justify the time it requires from you.The Walking Dead could easily be described as a management simulation as much as it can a first-person action game. Despite your camp feeling desolate and lifeless, you'll need to provide resources for upkeep costs, which impact your ability to progress. Your map is restricted by certain upgrades you've made to your camp, which can halt your progression and force tedious grinding to just continue with story missions. There's a frankly ridiculous number of upgrade trees to manage, pertaining to weapons training, medical facilities, radio outposts, and more. It's overwhelming trying to micromanage every aspect of your camp and frustrating that progression demands you engage with it regularly just to continue with missions. Coupled with unintuitive menus and a lack of teaching tools to guide you through all these subsystems, The Walking Dead doesn't make its secondary focus on survival management easy to parse or entertaining to engage with.From its restrictive mission structures, unbalanced difficulty and frustrating means of progression, The Walking Dead struggles to justify the time it requires from you. It's a collection gameplay blueprints stacked upon one another without thoughtful consideration on how they might cohesively work together, wrapped up in a dull presentation and mundane combat that very rarely excites. The Walking Dead is a mess of scattered ideas and a lack of direction, and there's no reason to make sense of it all.Info from Gamespot.com

With Black Friday approaching--it falls on November 23 this year, putting it less than two weeks away--more and more retailers are releasing their Black Friday ads early. That's a good thing for shoppers, because it allows us to compare prices, plan our purchases, and decide which doorbusters to go for. Walmart's Black Friday ad is now available, so let's look at all the upcoming deals on video game consoles, games, and accessories.As with many other retailers, Walmart isn't waiting until Friday to begin offering its discounts. The deals begin at 6 PM local time on Thursday, November 22 (Thanksgiving in the US). Online shoppers will get access to the discounts even earlier; Black Friday deals at Walmart.com will start on Wednesday, November 21 at 10 PM ET (7 PM PT).On the hardware side of things, Walmart will have a deal on nearly every console on the market. You'll be able to get a PS4 Slim 1TB with Spider-Man for $199. The Xbox One S Minecraft Creators Bundle will be marked down to $199, and you'll be able to save $100 on an Xbox One X, bringing the price down to $399. Nintendo Switch will still cost $299, but you'll get a free copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with the purchase. Finally, Nintendo 2DS with Super Mario Maker will be $79.When it comes to games, it might be quicker to list the ones that won't be on sale. There will be tons of great deals, making Black Friday a good time to grab anything you've had an eye on recently. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will be marked down to $40, which is $5 cheaper than it will be at Target and Best Buy. Assassin's Creed Odyssey is dipping to $35, as is Destiny 2: Forsaken Legendary Collection. And while they're not getting discounts, Walmart is offering exclusive steelbook versions of Fallout 76 and Red Dead Redemption 2 for $60 each.And for once, Nintendo Switch owners won't be left out in the cold. While Nintendo's big games rarely go on sale, Walmart will be offering Black Friday discounts on a good number of them. For $35 each, you'll be able to get Arms, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Kirby Star Allies, Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate, and Xenoblade Chronicles 2, among others.You can find the full list of discounted items for each platform below. And if you want to see all the other items Walmart will have on sale, check out the full Walmart Black Friday ad.PS4PS4 Console DealsPlayStation 4 Slim 1TB with Spider-Man -- $199PS4 Game DealsAssassin's Creed Odyssey -- $35Assassin's Creed Origins -- $25Batman: Arkham Knight -- $12Battlefield 1 -- $12Borderlands: The Handsome Collection -- $12Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare -- $12Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Zombies Chronicles Edition -- $25Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 -- $40Call of Duty: Ghosts -- $12Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered -- $17Call of Duty: WWII -- $25Conan Exiles -- $17The Crew 2 -- $25Destiny 2 -- $17Destiny 2: Forsaken Legendary Collection -- $35Detroit: Become Human -- $25Diablo III Eternal Collection -- $17Doom -- $12Dragon Ball FighterZ -- $17The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition -- $17Fallout 4 -- $12Fallout 4 GotY Edition -- $25Fallout 76 Walmart-Exclusive Steelbook Edition -- $60Far Cry 5 -- $25Farming Simulator 17 Platinum Edition -- $25FIFA 19 -- $30Final Fantasy XV Royal Edition -- $25For Honor: Marching Fire Edition -- $35God of War -- $25Grand Theft Auto V: Premium Online Edition: -- $25Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition -- $12Just Cause 3 -- $12Lego The Avengers -- $12Lego The Incredibles -- $25Lego Jurassic World -- $12Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 -- $17Madden NFL 19 -- $30MLB The Show 18 -- $17Mortal Kombat XL -- $12Monster Energy Supercross -- $17Monster Hunter World -- $17Monster Jam: Crush It -- $12Nascar Heat 3 -- $25NBA 2K19 -- $30NBA Live 19 -- $25Need for Speed -- $12Need for Speed Payback -- $12NHL 19 -- $35Noruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker -- $25Plants Vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 -- $12Red Dead Redemption 2 Walmart-Exclusive Steelbook Edition -- $60Resident Evil VII -- $12Resident Evil VII Gold Edition -- $17Rocket League Ultimate Edition -- $17The Sims 4 Bundle -- $25Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition -- $12SoulCalibur VI -- $35Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege -- $17UFC 2 -- $12UFC 3 -- $17We Happy Few -- $35WWE 2K19 -- $30PS4 Accessory DealsPlayStation VR Astro Bot Bundle -- $199DualShock 4 PS4 Controller -- $39Xbox OneXbox One Console DealsXbox One S 1TB Minecraft Creators Bundle -- $199Xbox One X 1TB Console -- $399Xbox One Game DealsAssassin's Creed Odyssey -- $35Assassin's Creed Origins -- $25Batman: Arkham Knight -- $12Battlefield 1 -- $12Borderlands: The Handsome Collection -- $12Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare -- $12Call of Duty: Black Ops -- $12Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 -- $12Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Zombies Chronicles Edition -- $25Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 -- $40Call of Duty: Ghosts -- $12Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered -- $17Call of Duty: World at War -- $12Call of Duty: WWII -- $25Conan Exiles -- $17The Crew 2 -- $25Destiny 2 -- $17Destiny 2: Forsaken Legendary Collection -- $35Diablo III Eternal Collection -- $17Doom -- $12Dragon Ball FighterZ -- $17The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition -- $17Fallout 3 GotY Edition -- $12Fallout 4 -- $12Fallout 4 GotY Edition -- $25Fallout 76 Walmart-Exclusive Steelbook Edition -- $60Far Cry 5 -- $25Fallout: New Vegas Ultimate Edition -- $12Farming Simulator 17: Platinum Edition -- $25FIFA 19 -- $30Final Fantasy XV Royal Edition -- $25For Honor: Marching Fire Edition -- $35Forza Horizon 4 -- $35Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas -- $12Grand Theft Auto IV -- $12Grand Theft Auto V: Premium Online Edition -- $25Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition -- $12Just Cause 3 -- $12Lego The Avengers -- $12Lego The Incredibles -- $25Lego Jurassic World -- $12Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 -- $17Madden NFL 19 -- $30Midnight Club: Los Angeles Complete Edition -- $12Mortal Kombat XL -- $12Monster Energy Supercross -- $17Monster Hunter World -- $17Monster Jam: Crush It -- $12Nascar Heat 3 -- $25NBA 2K19 -- $30NBA Live 19 -- $25Need for Speed -- $12Need for Speed Payback -- $12NHL 19 -- $35Noruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker -- $25Plants Vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 -- $12PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds -- $17Red Dead Redemption GotY Edition -- $12Red Dead Redemption 2 Walmart-Exclusive Steelbook Edition -- $60Resident Evil VII -- $12Resident Evil VII Gold Edition -- $17Rocket League Ultimate Edition -- $17Sea of Thieves -- $35The Sims 4 Bundle -- $25Skate 3 -- $12SoulCalibur VI -- $35Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege -- $17UFC 2 -- $12UFC 3 -- $17We Happy Few -- $35WWE 2K19 -- $30Xbox One Accessory DealsXbox One Controller -- $39Xbox Live 3-Month Subscription Card -- $12.50Nintendo Switch and 3DSNintendo Switch Console DealsNintendo Switch with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe -- $299Nintendo 2DS Super Mario Maker Edition -- $79Nintendo Switch Game DealsArms -- $35Big Buck Hunter Arcade -- $25Carnival Games -- $25Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy -- $25Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze -- $35Dragon Ball FighterZ -- $25The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim -- $35FIFA 19 -- $35Just Dance 2019 -- $25Kirby Star Allies -- $35Lego DC Super Villains -- $35Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 -- $25Lego Worlds -- $17Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle -- $25Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate -- $35Namco Museum Arcade Pac -- $17NBA 2K19 -- $35Nickelodeon Kart Racers -- $25Pokken Tournament DX -- $35Rocket League -- $25Scribblenauts Mega Pack -- $25South Park: The Fractured but Whole -- $17Xenoblade Chronicles 2 -- $35Nintendo 3DS Game DealsAnimal Crossing: New Leaf -- $17Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D -- $17Super Mario 3D Land -- $17The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds -- $17The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D -- $17Info from Gamespot.com

Update: Following up on Disney's announcement, Loki actor Tom Hiddleston has offered a brief tease with a post on Twitter, where he isn't typically active. It consists of a simple image with a few brief sentences: "Loki. More stories to tell. More mischief to make. More to come." You can see this for yourself below and read on for what few details Disney and Marvel had to share. The original story follows.While major change is afoot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as it moves toward Phase 4, those eager for more from certain existing characters are in luck. Disney and Marvel have confirmed plans to create a Disney+ show centered around Loki, with actor Tom Hiddleston set to return to the role.Unfortunately, there were few details shared beyond that basic premise. This confirmation came as part of a broader announcement about Disney+, which is now officially the name of the company's upcoming streaming service.pic.twitter.com/4jl3dAVLqv — Tom Hiddleston (@twhiddleston) November 9, 2018Disney boss Bob Iger shared the news along with the latest earnings report. Disney+ will debut in the United States sometime in late 2019. It's unclear when the Loki show will debut, how many episodes it will consist of, or what the general plot will be. But, hey, it's more Loki with Tom Hiddleston, which seems like good-enough news for now. Alongside this news, Disney confirmed another new Star Wars show.Word on a Loki show was first reported back in September by Variety, when it revealed there were plans for new series focused on MCU characters who had not starred in their own movies. (Scarlet Witch was another name mentioned.) Each show was reported to consist of 6-8 episodes and be made using a sizable budget. More recently, Variety reported that a new show was also on the way that would feature the Winter Soldier and Falcon.It remains to be seen what these shows ultimately look like, but it's clear Disney plans on leveraging its biggest brands to help Disney+ compete with Netflix. In addition to the Loki show, we'll also be seeing a live-action Star Wars series called The Mandalorian coming from Jon Favreau.Info from Gamespot.com

Riding on horseback is the primary of getting around in Red Dead Redemption 2's massive world. Before long, you'll find yourself rearing up a multitude of horses in search of the one that'll get you around the quickest. With not much in the way of fast travel, having a horse that's not only fast but can withstand the burdens of exploration is essential.While the question of which horse is the absolute best comes down to preference, there are a few breeds that can be classified as some of the top candidates. Below we discuss these breeds and highlight their locations. If you're looking for a more in-depth guide on horse care and how to boost your trusty steed's performance while making bank along the way, we've got one in the hopper coming soon, so be sure to check back often to get all the information on how to be a proper horse trainer.Be mindful that there are some light location spoilers below given how most of these horses can only be acquired later in the game. You should be good for the White-Maned Arabian breed, but be careful when looking at the details below if you want to steer clear of potential story bits.For more guides, you should check out our features highlighting all the tips you should know before playing and things the game doesn't tell you. Though, we also have guides on more specific subjects, like gun customization and money making. Be sure to read our Red Dead 2 review if you haven't already. And if you want to have some extra fun, be sure to read our feature detailing the game's cheat codes.What Are The Best Breeds?As stated, there is no singular "best horse" in the game. There are only strong breeds that fair much better than the standard breeds you encounter early on. Speaking on the different types: the Arabian, Turkoman, and Missouri Fox Trotter breeds stand out as the most well-rounded and top-tier. Keep in mind that the stats below reflect the horse when you find it and not at its top condition.ArabianArabian breed horses have some of the best stats overall. There are three coat types in total, each with their own unique statistics: White, Black, and Rose Grey Bay.White-Maned ArabianThe White-Maned Arabian can only be found in the wild, which makes it possible to find relatively early on. This snow-white beauty wanders around the edges of Lake Isabella. It's quite difficult to tame, so you're going to need to be persistent in following it around and calming it down enough before you can approach it.Compared to other Arabian horses, it has the lowest base Health and Stamina stats--though, it's still much higher than any of the more standard horse breeds. A worthy compromise for a fantastic horse you can catch and tame so early in the game. Just watch out for the wolves who hang out nearby.SpeedAccelerationHandlingType66EliteSuperiorBlack ArabianThe Black-Maned Arabian horse can be purchased at the Saint Denis Stable during Chapter 4. It has most the well-rounded stats of the Arabian Horses with decent Health and Stamina.SpeedAccelerationHandlingType66EliteSuperiorRose Grey Bay-Maned ArabianThe Rose Grey Bay-Maned Arabian can only be bought at the Blackwater Stable during the Epilogue section of the game. It has the highest Health and Stamina of the three Arabian horses.SpeedAccelerationHandlingType66EliteSuperiorTurkomanTurkoman breed horses make up their lacking acceleration with solid speed, average handling, and a high Health pool. As a cross between War and Racing breeds, they're well worth owning for riders who want a trusty steed who can withstand damage without sacrificing speed. All three Turkoman breeds have the same exact stats, which are reflected below along with a brief breakdown of where you can purchase them and when.SpeedAccelerationHandlingType65StandardRace / WarGold Turkoman: Sold at the Saint Denis Stable during Chapter 4.Dark Bay Turkoman: Sold at the Blackwater Stable during the Epilogue.Silver Turkoman: Sold at the Tumbleweed Stable during the Epilogue.Missouri Fox TrotterThe Missouri Fox Trotter balances the best base speed of all the horse breeds with solid Health and high Stamina. As a mix between the Race and Work breeds, the Missouri Fox Trotter comes highly recommended for those who want all of the perks and benefits of a fast riding horse with resilient Stamina. Like the Turkoman breed, all of the Missouri Fox Trotter coats have the same exact stats, which are reflected below along with a brief breakdown of where you can purchase them and when.SpeedAccelerationHandlingType75StandardRace / WorkAmber Champagne: Sold at Scarlett Meadows Stable during Chapter 4.Silver Dapple Pinto: Sold at Blackwater Stable during the Epilogue.Info from Gamespot.com

Disney's new streaming service will come online in late 2019, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced on a Disney earnings call, CNET reported. Iger also confirmed the service, dubbed Disney+, will come with new live-action shows in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars franchises.Disney+ will be the streaming home for Disney's various existing films and TV shows, which means much of that stuff will stop being available on services such as Netflix starting in 2019. But Disney+ also see an influx of its own original content to tempt subscribers away from the services they already use. The most notable additions are a pair of live-action series Disney is planning for two of its biggest franchises, Star Wars and the MCU.On the MCU side, Disney is bringing back fan-favorite character Loki, played by Tom Hiddleston, for his own show. The Star Wars series, meanwhile, will spin off from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, to tell more stories of Cassian Andor, the Rebel spy played by Diego Luna. Both series will see the film actors return to reprise their roles. The Cassian show joins another Star Wars spin-off project, The Mandalorian, created by Iron Man director Jon Favreau.Sweetening the deal for subscribers to Disney+ are animated series. The new season of the returning Star Wars: The Clone Wars will appear on the service, as well as a Pixar series based on Monsters, Inc. The service will also get a reboot of High School Musical and exclusive movies.Disney hasn't revealed what the streaming service will cost yet, or the exact date of its launch--or of the release of those new series. But for fans of Star Wars especially, it looks like keeping up with the franchise is going to require a new subscription starting toward the end of 2019.Info from Gamespot.com

Rockstar Game's newest release, Red Dead Redemption 2 on PS4 and Xbox One, is a game where you'll want to spend a great deal of time uncovering all of its secrets and details. You can spend 50-plus hours just completing the main story, slowing accumulating wealth and honor. But if you're someone looking for a shortcut--who wants to find a quick path to success while living the life of an outlaw in the last days of the wild west--we've got you covered. Much like the original game and GTA V, Red Dead 2 features an assortment of cheat codes that unlock additional resources, with some injecting odd gimmicks and quirks into your game.To find the Cheats menu, press the pause button and select the Settings option. In this menu, press Triangle or Y (on PS4 and Xbox One, respectively) to pull up the Cheats menu. From here, you'll find a long list of locked cheats. Initially, you won't know what any of these do or how to unlock them. Many of these codes can be activated by putting in the correct phrase, but others will require some extra time and effort.In addition to finding passwords while exploring the world, some of which are written into the ground, throughout the game you'll find newspapers for sale in towns, and some of these offer clues as to how to unlock these extra fun options. More newspapers will become available after completing main missions, which you'll see detailed in news articles. While many of these cheats introduce some mostly benign bits of fun--such as keeping your character, Arthur Morgan, perpetually drunk--activating these codes at any time will have some consequences for your save game. Once you activate these codes, all Trophies and Achievements will be deactivated on this particular file. As a result, before trying any of these codes, be sure to make a separate file for your main save.With over 30 codes to unlock, some of which have some specific requirements, we've collected a list of cheats that we've uncovered thus far. We also have a separate feature discussing some of the most entertaining and best cheats in Red Dead Redemption 2. Be sure to check back with GameSpot as we update this page with new codes, and how to find them.Cheat CodeNameDescriptionHow To UnlockA fool on commandDrunkAlways stay drunk (can be turned off in cheat menu)No requirementsAbundance is the dullest desireInfinite AmmoUnlimited ammunition for all weapons.Unlocked by purchasing the New Hanover Gazette No. 27 in Valentine or the Blackwater Ledger No. 62. Can be done after journeying to Horseshoe Overlook in Chapter 2.Better than my dogIncrease Horse Whistle RangeActivating will allow your Horse to find you regardless of distance.No requirementsGreed is American VirtueHeavy WeaponsGrants you instant access to the Bold-action Rifle, Mauser Pistol, Pump Action Shotgun, and Semi-Automatic Pistol.Unlocked by purchasing Saint Denis Times No. 46 or the Blackwater Ledger No. 65 after completing the mission Advertising, the New American Art in Chapter 3.I shall be betterSet Dead Eye To Level 3Activating this cheat will upgrade your Deadeye skill. Level 3 is the initial level, but more will be added as it is unlocked.No requirementsI seek and I findSet Dead Eye To Level 5Activating this cheat will upgrade your Deadeye skill. Note this is tied to the "I shall be better" cheat.No requirementsKeep your dreams simpleCreate WagonActivating this cheat will spawn a wagon, and along with another horse.No requirementsRun! Run! Run!Create Race HorseActivating this cheat will instantly spawn a Race Horse for use.No requirementsThe lucky be strong evermoreIncrease StaminaActivating this cheat will grant infinite stamina for you and your horseUnlocked by purchasing the Blackwater Ledger No. 68 after the mission Dear Uncle Tacitus in Chapter 5.Virtue unearned is not virtueIncrease HonorActivating this cheat will increase your Honor to the maximum amount (good honor)Unlocked by purchasing the Blackwater Ledger No. 67 after the mission Banking, The Old American Art in Chapter 4.Would you be happier as a clown?Create Circus WagonActivating this cheat will create a Circus Wagon for use.Unlocked by purchasing the Blackwater Ledger No. 73 during Epilogue Part 2.You flourish before you dieSet Health, Stamina, and Dead Eye Bars to FullRestores all health, stamina, and Dead Eye energy to full.No requirementsYou are a beast built for warCreate War HorseActivating this cheat will create a War Horse for use.Unlocked by purchasing the Blackwater Ledger No. 72 during Epilogue Part 1.You long for sight and see nothingFog Of WarActivating this cheat will reveal the full map before discovery.Unlocked by purchasing the Blackwater Ledger No. 66 or New Hanover Gazette No.31 after the mission Blood Feuds, Ancient and Modern in Chapter 3.You seek more than the world offersFortify Heath, Stamina, and Dead Eye BarsActivating this cheat will refill and fortify Health, Stamina, and Dead Eye bars.Unlocked by purchasing the New Hanover Gazette No.36 after completing The King's Son mission in Chapter 6.You want more than you haveCreate Superior HorseActivating this cheat will create a Superior Horse for use.No requirements (Hint location: Deer Cottage northwest of Annesburg. Found written into the shelves of the drawers)Red Dead 2 is now available on PS4 and Xbox One. If you want to hear more of our thoughts on Rockstar's expansive open-world western, check out our full Red Dead 2 review. We've got much more in store for the game in the coming weeks, which includes our new recurring series QuickDraw. For now, take a look at our round-up of fascinating and interesting facts the game doesn't outright tell players, and along with other useful tips you should know.Editor's note: Our Red Dead 2 cheats are based on a mix of in-game discovery, and through online research at sites including IGN and Reddit.Info from Gamespot.com

Season 6 of Fortnite rolls on with a new set of challenges to complete on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile. Week 7's challenges are now live, giving you another chance to earn Battle Stars and unlock some more Season 6 rewards. That's not all; clearing every mission from a given week will also complete a Hunting Party challenge, which will reward you with a special loading screen that points to a free item hidden around the island.There are 10 Hunting Party challenges this season, and the loading screen you unlock depends on how many sets of weekly challenges you've completed. If you've kept up with all of them thus far, including Week 7's batch, then you'll receive the loading screen pictured below, which features a group of characters charging at the mysterious purple cube that has been the focal point of this season.What's notable about these loading screens is that each one contains a very subtle clue to the location of a free Battle Star or Banner hiding somewhere around the island. Sure enough, if you look closely at the right-hand edge of the screen, you'll see the silhouette of a Battle Star floating above a boat.The boat is located in Leaky Lake, just to the south of the island with the Stonehenge-like monument. Head to that area at the start of the match, and the Battle Star will appear when you approach the boat. Collect it to level your Battle Pass up by one tier, bringing you a step closer to unlocking all of this season's rewards.If you need help finding the Battle Star, we've marked down its location on the map below. You can also watch us collect it in the video above if you'd like to see exactly where it's hiding. However, be aware that the Battle Star won't appear unless you've completed the aforementioned Hunting Party challenge and unlocked the above loading screen; you won't simply be able to go to the right area and collect it if you haven't done all of the required steps.As usual, Week 7's challenges are divided up into two categories: those available for everyone, and those reserved for players who've purchased the Battle Pass. Most of the challenges are fairly straightforward; one asks you to search seven ammo boxes in a single match, while another tasks you with eliminating three opponents in Pleasant Park. The trickiest of the bunch is to skydive through floating rings.If you need help completing any previous challenges from this season, be sure to check out our comprehensive Fortnite Season 6 challenge roundup. You can also find links to all of our Fortnite Season 6 Hunting Party challenge guides below.Fortnite Hunting Party Challenge GuidesFortnite Secret Battle Star Location: Week 1 Hunting Party ChallengeFortnite Secret Banner Location: Week 2 Hunting Party ChallengeFortnite Secret Battle Star Location: Week 3 Hunting Party ChallengeFortnite Secret Banner Location: Week 4 Hunting Party ChallengeFortnite Secret Battle Star Location: Week 5 Hunting Party ChallengeFortnite Secret Banner Location: Week 6 Hunting Party ChallengeInfo from Gamespot.com