The soft reboot that was Assassin's Creed Origins introduced a new approach to the series' brand of stealth-action gameplay, along with an expansive and vibrant open world with many dynamic systems at work. In this year's follow-up, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, developer Ubisoft Quebec builds upon its predecessor's pillars, and in the process shows greater confidence in the series' new direction.Set in Ancient Greece, Odyssey predates the previous game by several centuries. During the Peloponnesian War in 431 BCE, you take on the role of either Alexios or Kassandra, siblings and former Spartans-turned-mercenaries. In keeping with series tradition, Odyssey features parallel storylines, with the main narrative taking place in the distant past and the overarching plot set in the present day. After pivotal moments dealing with political intrigue and wartime conflict in Greece, you'll jump back to the modern day to continue the story of Layla Hassan, introduced in Origins, who's working to uncover the secrets of the first civilization. Throughout your travels in Ancient Greece you'll uncover lost tombs, engage in naval warfare on the high seas, and assassinate the key members of a shadowy conspiracy seeking control of the known world.In your trek through the Greek mainland and the islands of the Mediterranean sea, you come across diverse locales that showcase lush environments that pay tribute to the old gods, while rubbing shoulders with the many historical figures of the era looking to make their impression in Greek society. The amount of detail packed into each location is impressive, tied together by an active and dynamic ecosystem where local wildlife and civilians keep their territory. But as you dive further, you'll see the many hardships and realities of life in Ancient Greece firsthand, including the horrors of slavery and the ever-present war between the military-driven Spartans and the bureaucratic Athenian army.Featuring a map that's more than double the size of the previous game, Odyssey is built to be explored and has incidental content to reward your wanderlust. You get the sense that your actions will have a lasting impact wherever you go, and Odyssey offers up a wealth of content that fuels your growth at a steady pace. Though the issue of level-gating comes up occasionally, preventing you from actively exploring any region as you wish, you can take a break from the main story and dive into the breadth of side content at your leisure. Several side quests offer a surprising amount of depth and heart and feature some of Odyssey's more standout moments.Throughout the main story and in side-quests, you'll make several key decisions that affect the game's narrative and your character's journey. While many of the choices you make are largely inconsequential and result only in slightly different endings for quests, the fateful decisions that do matter can lead to drastic turns of events, with some storylines and characters meeting their end prematurely. In moments you'd least expect, you'll see the payoff for decisions made early on in the story, for better or worse. With nine different possible outcomes at the main story's conclusion, there's a surprisingly large amount of cause and effect that can make the narrative feel all your own.The different protagonists also offer up some of Odyssey's most endearing and entertaining moments. Despite the grim nature of the game, jokes and fun gags often break the tension, even during serious events. Though both Kassandra and Alexios share the same dialogue and story beats, their differing personalities, gender, and points of view offer unique flavor, making them stand apart--with some scenes and questlines feeling more appropriate with a particular character.The Photo Mode in Assassin's Creed Odyssey allows you to capture some of the game's most breathtaking views.Romancing side characters is also possible in Odyssey. While some of these scenes can be amusing, they're mostly just bizarre shows of affection that have no real purpose. These scenes almost always result in a shallow aside during the conversation, with the characters slinking off-screen before returning to the conversation without skipping a beat. Most often, these awkward romance opportunities appear immediately after (or during) otherwise harrowing events. Aside from seeing some additional scenes with certain characters, there's really no benefit to engaging in romance at all. The inclusion of these scenes feels cheap and can sully otherwise interesting conversations.As you unravel more of the world and advance in the main story, new gameplay mechanics and side opportunities will reveal themselves, adding even greater incentive to explore. When the conspiracy that threatens Greece makes itself known, you'll be able to keep track of the major players through a large interconnected web in the game's menu, showing their connections to other targets and how to find the intel to track them down. But in one of Odyssey's more involved quests, you'll encounter several mythological beasts hidden within the world, offering up some of the game's most inventive and memorable encounters, where brute force isn't always the answer.The world in Ancient Greece feels much more reactive compared to previous Assassin's Creed games, and you get the sense that your actions will have a lasting impact wherever you go. When you start causing too much trouble, you'll attract the attention of rival mercenaries looking to collect a bounty. Similar to Shadow of War's Nemesis system, though not as sophisticated, Odyssey presents a seemingly endless set of antagonists with their own backstories, strengths, and potential loot. If you find yourself with a bounty on your head, mercenaries are often quick to appear--leading to some annoying encounters where they arrive at the worst possible time, even during some story missions. If the heat from the encroaching mercenaries feels too much, you can lay low long enough for the bounty to clear, assassinate another wanted criminal, or pay off your own bounty in the game menu.With nine different possible outcomes at the main story's conclusion, there's a surprisingly large amount of cause and effect that can make the narrative feel all your own.One of Odyssey's more clever features is the new Exploration Mode. With this optional mode enabled, you're challenged to use your observation and deduction skills to find your next target, without the support of icons or waypoints. By engaging with quest-givers and friendly NPCs, you'll learn details about your surroundings and slowly piece together your next steps. Exploration Mode heightens the pride that comes from solving puzzles, and this makes each step of your investigations feel all the more rewarding.When it comes to combat, Odyssey keeps up with the recent trend to incorporate stat-based mechanics into its core gameplay. Compared to previous games, there's now a greater focus on allowing you to customize your character to approach the challenges ahead. You can also build your character to specialize in stealth, long-range, or melee combat, and you're able to respec at any time. If you want to build your character as a powerful Spartan warrior wielding a legendary spear and use your Spartan Kick to boot enemies off cliffs, you can, but you are also free to stick with the traditional Assassin archetype.This opens a lot of opportunities to experiment with special moves and gear, the latter of which can also be customized with special perks that offer unique bonuses. Odyssey no longer features the shields introduced in Origins, and as a result, combat flows at a brisker pace. By placing the emphasis more on dodging and parrying incoming blows from enemies, fighting feels more involved and dynamic. While there are times where Odyssey can run right into the awkwardness of its RPG mechanics clashing with the action gameplay--such as being unable to assassinate enemies outright due to being under-leveled--it makes up for it by giving players the options to avoid such clumsy engagements.Your ship, The Adrestia, can be upgraded to deal greater damage and move faster while out on the open waters.Naval combat and sailing make a return in Odyssey, opening up exploration on the high seas. As you build up resources and find new members to join your crew, you can customize and upgrade your ship, The Adrestia, to take on more daring challenges. Much like in Black Flag and Rogue, seafaring offers up some of the more exciting and visually pleasing moments of the game, finding lost sunken ruins in the oceans depths or facing off against increasingly aggressive rival ships. Over the course of your travels, you'll be able to recruit new lieutenants to add buffs to your ship, giving you more of a fighting chance against the sea's greater threats.The scope of Odyssey is enormous, and for the most part, it's presented well. But some of the new innovations that seek to fit within the scale of the world, however, feel somewhat lost in the grand scheme of the game. With the ongoing war between the Spartan and Athenian army, you can choose to take part in the conflict and dismantle a faction's influence in a region. In these Conquest battles, you'll pick a side and cripple an army's hold by assassinating their leaders and taking their resources--culminating in a large-scale battle against their forces.While this is a solid way of gaining resources and improving your standing with a faction, the mechanics and implementation into Odyssey's general systems make it feel half-baked at best and pointless at worst. In some of the more bizarre cases, the game and its narrative don't seem to take Conquest seriously, especially when the main story has you helping a particular faction, despite the side content in the area actively hurting them. This in turn can create a jarring and noticeable feeling of dissonance throughout your adventures. The game often struggles to make sense of the actual war gameplay within the context of its core narrative, which is disappointing.When looking at Odyssey in the bigger picture, it can often feel like too much game for its own good. There are numerous moments where the loop of exploring, completing missions, and traveling can slow the pace significantly. This is exacerbated by the expansive map, which can sometimes feel excessively big and a chore to travel through. There are also some notable bugs and hitches that crop up throughout, including those that prevent progress in missions to outright crash the game. Several times throughout my journey, progression was somewhat exhausting, which made some of the more impactful and exciting moments in the story feel like a drag.Despite this, Assassin's Creed Odyssey's ambition is admirable, which is reflected in its rich attention to detail for the era and its approach to handling the multi-faceted narrative with strong protagonists at the lead. While its large-scale campaign--clocking in at over 50 hours--can occasionally be tiresome, and some features don't quite make the impact they should, Odyssey makes great strides in its massive and dynamic world, and it's a joy to venture out and leave your mark on its ever-changing setting.Info from Gamespot.com

Capcom's live-action Mega Man movie, which we first heard about back in 2015, is now finally official. The Japanese publisher confirmed everything that was rumoured before. Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, who directed Paranormal Activity 3 and Paranormal Activity 4, are writing and directing the Mega Man film, which is tentatively titled "Mega Man." Planet of the Apes studios 20th Century Fox is distributing the movie; Chernin Entertainment is producing. Heroes actor Masi Oka is producing as well."Based on the influential and globally beloved Mega Man franchise, Capcom aims to appeal to a diverse audience, including not only game players but action movie fans as well, with an adaptation that maintains the world of the Mega Man games, while incorporating the grand production and entertainment value that Hollywood movies are known for," Capcom said in a news release.This will be the first Mega Man movie, but the franchise already came to TV in the form of the animated show Mega Man: Fully Charged. There is no word on when the movie will be released or who will star in it. Keep checking back with GameSpot for more.Capcom is no stranger to video game movies, as its Resident Evil franchise was spun into six films starring Milla Jovovich that collectively made more than $1 billion at the box office.The latest Mega Man game is Mega Man 11, which launched this week on PS4, xbox One, Switch, and PC. For more, check out GameSpot's Mega Man 11 review.Info from Gamespot.com

The fall 2018 anime season has officially begun. As of this week, a bunch of new series and movies have begun airing on Netflix, Amazon, Crunchyroll, Funimation, and HiDive. With all the new anime, we've outlined what we think you need to add to your watch list.Bloom Into You is a must watch. This love story between two high school girls also addresses the pressures of living with low self-worth and the struggles of understanding asexual love. Despite the heaviness of the story's drama, there are both brief snippets of hilarity and quiet moments of internal resilience that draw you into the changing dynamic between the second-year student council president who can't escape her dead sister's shadow and the young first-year who dreams of falling in love but doesn't feel the emotions that love stories say a young girl should. Bloom Into You is debuting exclusively on HiDive (in both Japanese and English dub) and premiers on October 5. This fall, HiDive is also airing episodes of the English dub of Princess Principal, one of the best anime from 2017.You should also add Crunchyroll's Goblin Slayer to your queue--especially if you're a fan of Dark Souls. Goblin Slayer is a dark fantasy about an inexperienced priestess, called Priestess, who's saved by a male adventurer named Goblin Slayer after her entire party is gruesomely butchered in front of her. Goblin Slayer is a bloody story that repeatedly offers up scenes where its characters are left with eyes full of despair, but the show is not without its charm. The series begins airing on October 6.Other anime to look out for are That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime and SSSS Gridman. The former launched on October 1, with the original Japanese version on Crunchyroll and the English dub on Funimation. The latter comes out on Funimation on October 6. Slime is an isekai--a story where a normal person is transported to another world--that's about pretty much exactly what the name implies, and Studio Trigger's Gridman is an anime remake of Gridman the Hyper Agent, a series about three kids creating a video game superhero. Golden Kamuy and Netflix's Castlevania also return with second seasons this fall, the former on October 8 and the latter on October 26.The full list of anime series and movies that have been confirmed to premier this fall on Amazon, Crunchyroll, Funimation, HiDive, and Netflix are listed below. We'll update the list if additional titles are announced.Fall 2018 Anime Release Date Schedule (U.S.)AmazonOctober 5 Boarding School JulietSo Many Colors In The Future What A Wonderful WorldOctober 11 Le Cirque de KarakuriCrunchyrollOctober 1 That Time I Go Reincarnated as a SlimeOctober 3 RErideD: Derrida, who leaps through timeOctober 4 Zombieland SagaOctober 5 Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 5: Golden WindOctober 6 Goblin SlayerRadiantSword Art Online: AlicizationOctober 7 Ulysses: Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemist KnightOctober 8 Golden Kamuy (Season 2)October 12 Senran Kagura Shinovi MasterFunimationOctober 1 Space Battleship Tiramisu Zwei (Season 2)That Time I Go Reincarnated as a SlimeOctober 6 Ace Attorney (Season 2)SSSS GridmanOctober 8 Golden Kamuy (Season 2)October 9 Tokyo Ghoul:re (Season 2)HiDiveOctober 1 The Girl in TwilightOctober 5 Bloom Into YouOctober 7 Release The SpyceNetflixOctober 3 Violet Evergarden: SpecialOctober 15 The Seven Deadly Sins: Revival of The CommandmentsOctober 26 Castlevania (Season 2)October 30 Fate/EXTRA Last Encore: Illustrias Geocentrism TheoryInfo from Gamespot.com

If you've been paying attention to pop culture news lately, chances are you've probably seen some casting announcements for one of the new shows headed to the DC Universe streaming service. It's called Doom Patrol, and if you're totally unfamiliar with that particular wing of DC's canon, that probably sounds like a late 1960s Cold War era thriller to you. But--surprise!--it's actually just a bunch of weird superheroes. Let's break it down.The Doom Patrol first appeared in issue #80 of My Greatest Adventure, an anthology style comic that traditionally collected up a bunch of short adventure stories. The Doom Patrol was part of a strategy to make the leap to the superhero genre; the goal was to make a serialized story that would fit in both the adventure and the superheroic wheelhouse and make the whole transition go a lot smoother. The Doom Patrol was billed as "the world's strangest superheroes" and the creators took that theme to heart. The core idea was a team of heroes who were tortured and made outcasts by their abilities, forced to live their lives as cool, pulpy explorers more in the vein of something like Jonny Quest than Superman.Now, if you're thinking, "Wait a second, aren't 'outcast and tortured superheroes' X-Men's whole brand?" You're correct! Importantly, the Doom Patrol actually predated the first appearance of the X-Men by several months, and co-creator Arnold Drake is still not totally convinced that the X-Men weren't a subtle Doom Patrol rip-off to begin with. Comparing the two these days is a lot more apples-and-oranges than it would have been back in the '60s. And, of course, judging by just name recognition and media franchise pull, it's pretty obvious which one found more success, but hey, the more you know.Like most superhero teams, the Doom Patrol's line-up has fluctuated over the years, but for the most part it's maintained a level of B and C list (or lower) obscurity. They started out with an original group of characters who had been created specifically to launch the Doom Patrol's first appearance: Elasti-Girl, whose powers are exactly what you'd expect; Robotman, a human reincarnated as a robot after a terrible car crash; Negative Man, a man who lost his permanent corporeal form in a radioactive accident; and The Chief, a wheelchair using genius who brought the team together. A year or so later, Beast Boy--yes, like the Teen Titans Beast Boy--was introduced and joined the team, rounding out the roster.Their stories usually involved a healthy amount of in-fighting, soul searching and general ennui, as each person on the team wrestled with personal demons as much as actual villains--all of which were just as weird and esoteric as the heroes themselves. Bad guys like the sentient gorilla Monsieur Mallah and his disembodied brain partner-slash-lover named, aptly, The Brain, and the 100% real, actually published in a real comic book Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man, plagued the team at every turn. The Doom Patrol never really got off the ground popularity wise, and thanks to no shortage of DC continuity reboots like Crisis on Infinite Earths, their position in the larger DC multiverse has always been pretty variable. Famously, they were the first team in DC that ended their book with the entire roster (save Beast Boy) being "killed" in the final issue, Doom Patrol #121, which paved the way for a complicated series of retcons and reboots. They spent their most widely appreciated years as a Vertigo book, but then wound up back in the mainline DCU in the early 2000s, and have since jumped over to the Young Animal imprint for the Rebirth era. Technically, thanks to the fancy footwork of creators like Grant Morrison and Gerard Way, the bulk of the Doom Patrol's history is within continuity these days, but they're only ever tangential to bigger teams like the Justice League at the very best--and a total non sequitur at worst.What does that mean for the upcoming streaming TV show? It's obviously pretty hard to say. By nature, the Doom Patrol deals with things that veer toward the psychedelic and the trippy, meaning we can expect to see a show that deals in a much more light (or at least surreal) tone than, say, the CW shows or even the Titans TV show. However, we do know that the Doom Patrol will in fact be spinning out of Titans in an episode specifically named after them, so we can assume that the two are definitely going to be sharing an onscreen universe. And, as was just announced at New York Comic Con, Matt Bomer (American Horror Story, Magic Mike) will star as Negative Man.Also, with Beast Boy as part of the Titans main roster, it's extremely likely that those early years of Doom Patrol stories, in which he played a major role, are going to be heavily mined for live action adaptation. We also know that some more recent Doom Patrol characters are going to be making the jump to the small screen, specifically Crazy Jane, who was a late addition to the team. Interestingly, Cyborg is also set to appear in the show, which will be a first, as he's usually associated with the Titans or the Justice League. So when it comes to Doom Patrol, it might just be best to expect the unexpected.Info from Gamespot.com

Anyone who's played a Mario Party game in the past 20 years has a good idea of what to expect from Switch's Super Mario Party, but Nintendo's latest offers a few new modes that each add their own creative spin on the tried-and-true formula. In many ways, Super Mario Party feels smaller than previous games in the series, but added layers of strategy and clever, fun minigames help keep it lively and fresh.The fierce competitive nature of the series' earliest titles is back, as Super Mario Party ditches Mario Party 9 and 10's cooperative car mechanic and once again pits players against each other in a race for Stars. The overall goal in Super Mario Party is to earn five Gems, which you get after completing each of the game's five major offline modes: Mario Party, Partner Party, Challenge Road, River Survival, and Sound Stage.Mario Party mode features the series' classic formula of bite-sized games interspersed between rounds of board game hijinks. Your character is still placed on a board with three others where you'll all race after Toadette and her collection of Stars. The biggest change is the introduction of character dice blocks; while previous Mario Party games utilized virtual 10-sided dice, now every character has two dice blocks, one six-sided and the other unique to them, and you have to decide which one to use each turn. The six-sided die rolls a one through six, while each character die comes with its own set of strengths and weaknesses.For example, Mario's has a number three on three of its sides, while the remaining three sides are one, five, and six. In comparison, the devilish gambler Wario has a special die where two of the sides cause him to lose two coins, but the other four sides are sixes. For the first time in a Mario Party game, your choice of character is more than just aesthetic, and figuring out the best time to use a specific dice block adds a level of strategy to what's typically been an act of randomness.Each of the game's four boards requires slight tweaks to your strategy for reaching the Star, but they're all small, and most don't take advantage of their unique makeups. Whomp's Domino Ruins, for example, features Whomps who will block your path down certain shortcuts. The board only has two Whomps, though, so you don't encounter them very often, and even when you do, the board is small enough that taking the long way around won't put you at much of a disadvantage. Super Mario Party's four boards don't feel distinct, so your strategy for each one won't be all that different. And since there are only four boards in total to pick from, Mario Party mode grows stale fairly quickly.There are a total of 80 minigames in Super Mario Party, putting it just behind Mario Party 6, 7, and 9 in terms of quantity. Of the 80 minigames, nearly half rely on the motion control or rumble features in the Switch's Joy-Cons. Don't fret; both the motion and rumble features work surprisingly well, and it makes for some of the most cleverly designed games in the Mario Party series. For example, in Fiddler on the Hoof, you and three others race horses, and making a pulling back motion with the Joy-Con to simulate whipping the reins increases your score if you move with the beat of the song that's playing. In Nut Cases, you and a partner need to outwit the other team by claiming the five boxes that have the most walnuts inside them. You get an idea as to a box's contents by picking it up and measuring the severity of your Joy-Con's vibration. As Super Mario Party only supports motion control with a single Joy-Con, you won't be able to play the game in handheld mode or with a Pro Controller.Partner Party mode is Super Mario Party's reimagining of Mario Party 6's Team Battle mode. The rules are similar to Mario Party mode, but there are more paths around the board, and you need to actually land on Toadette's spot to get a Star instead of just collecting it while passing by. The minor obstacles from Mario Party mode become trickier to get past in Partner Party because you need to remain mindful of both you and your partner. Paying to move Whomp out of the way might get you to the Star more quickly, but doing so could trap other players, including your teammate. There's the possibility of winning the next minigame and earning enough coin to buy an item to free them, but that's no guarantee. This type of consideration and amount of forethought simply doesn't exist in Mario Party mode.Two of the other major modes, River Survival and Sound Stage, are new to the Mario Party franchise. The former has you working together with three others to survive a trip down a dangerous river while playing Co-op minigames, while the latter is an energetic dance competition where you solely play Rhythm minigames. Both River Survival and Sound Stage offer fun, albeit brief, alternatives to the staple Mario Party formula. The Co-op and Rhythm minigames are also some of the best in the Mario Party series, especially the Rhythm ones like Fiddler on the Hoof, that have you actually standing up and moving around to match the groove of the game's characters. Both Co-op and Rhythm minigames lack the heated competition of other head-to-head minigames, but they do pump up a room.Super Mario Party's final major mode, Challenge Road, is the closest the game has to a single-player campaign, but it only opens up once you've unlocked all 80 minigames. The mode has you play through every single minigame with specific handicaps placed on you to make each one harder. For example, a racing minigame might challenge you to get first place without running into any of the track's hazards. This mode comes very close to giving Super Mario Party just the amount of challenge the game would need to increase its longevity, but unfortunately it buckles. If you fail at a challenge three times, the game asks you if you'd like to just skip it. You can always come back and beat the challenge later if you want, but the mode never punishes you for skipping any of the minigames. As long as you get to the end of the road, regardless if you skipped a dozen challenges to get there, you'll still earn one of the five Gems you need.Super Mario Party also has several smaller modes and features that aren't tied to earning the Super Star title. In Mariothon, you compete in five minigames where outlasting your opponents in time-based games earns you extra points on the tournament ladder. There's an online version of Mariothon too, but the servers aren't live until the game's launch. Square Off is also a minigame-based tournament, but after each win, you're allowed to claim a territory space. Owning the pieces of territory on either side of another player's territory nets you their space too, and the game continues until every space is filled. The winner is whoever owns the most spaces at the end of the match. Both modes give you a goal to strive for while playing minigames, which creates extra levels of friendly competition amongst a group of friends.The new Partner Party, River Survival, and Sound Stage modes add enjoyable alternatives to Mario Party mode--which at least returns to its competitive roots.There's also Toad's Rec Room, where you can play unique games that change based on how you position your Switch, and a Stickers room, where you can cover a wall in a mural of stickers you've collected. Both seem tacked on to Super Mario Party; the former to justify putting the game on a console that can be played on a horizontal plane, in kickstand mode, or in a dock, and the latter to give you a reason to go out and buy some Amiibos to scan and get special stickers that aren't earnable within the game. Although the option of changing perspectives in Toad's Rec Room--such as looking at a baseball field from a bird's eye, laid-back, or pitcher's view--is an interesting gimmick, none of the games are really made better by adjusting how you look at them. The Stickers room is not worth getting invested in at all.Everything about Super Mario Party feels smaller in comparison to previous titles in the series. Both Mario Party and Partner Party mode play on small boards, and certain modes, like Challenge Road, have clear tier points to make it easy to play through in small chunks. So it's all the more puzzling that you can't actually play Super Mario Party on the go in handheld mode. Given you need a seperate Joy-Con to perform the motion-based actions in the game, it makes sense, but it's still odd to see a game on Switch that actively prevents you from making use of the console's portability.Most of Super Mario Party's varied assortment of 80 minigames are fun, especially if you've got a full group of four players, as the NPCs aren't smart or skilled enough to pose much of a challenge until you unlock Master difficulty. The new Partner Party, River Survival, and Sound Stage modes add enjoyable alternatives to Mario Party mode--which at least returns to its competitive roots. And even if the unique character dice blocks don't shake up Super Mario Party's four boards enough to give Mario Party mode some longevity, they implement small moments of strategy into a series that has for too long solely relied on randomness to determine a winner.Editor's note: As we have not been able to test Super Mario Party's online features on live servers prior to its release, this is a review in progress. We will update and finalize this review when we're able to test its online functionality at launch. Info from Gamespot.com

With new Kick Off modes and some welcome on-pitch enhancements, as well as the ever-engaging Ultimate Team and now the Champions League license, FIFA 19 is the most complete football video game package available. Sadly, Career Mode and Pro Clubs remain stale and are in dire need of a refresh. Regardless, FIFA is closer to representing Sky Sports' vision of football than ever--for better and for worse.FIFA has struggled on the pitch in its past few iterations, with matches deteriorating to frustrating slogs. For years we've been unable to play FIFA like football is played in real life--instead we've been zig-zagging the ball up the pitch and abusing pacey wingers to breach the opponent's defence to swing in an unstoppable cross for an equally unstoppable header. FIFA 19's matches are more natural and more varied in the way they unfold, in large part because EA finally has all the pieces needed to make it so. Although it introduced a slower pace in FIFA 18, the newest iteration finally makes this work by tightening up players' responsiveness. Through passes work again, and they (along with player pace) seem to be in a good place in terms of balance--neither under- nor overpowered, as has been the case for too long. FIFA 19's ball still doesn't feel as satisfying as PES 2019's, but it does at least feel something like the real-life sphere it's imitating.FIFA 19 includes new tactical options for wannabe managers to fiddle with, such as how many players you want to commit at corner kicks and whether you want your full-backs to over- or under-lap. These are undoubtedly welcome, and tactical changes in your defensive technique--press after possession loss, constant pressure, and drop off are among five options on that front--make a tangible impact in-game, allowing you to further tailor your play style.However, the much-vaunted new feature of game plans is a bit of a mess. You can set up different tactics for various in-game situations before a match and then quickly switch between them on the pitch, but any change to one game plan, including your default starting plan, is not automatically reflected in your other four plans. So say you decide to switch your wingers over for one particular match or tweak your formation to counter an opponent's star player; that change will be lost if you change to attacking or defensive during a match. This isn't a dealbreaker of course, but it inevitably ends with you spending more time in the team management menu, which is exactly the kind of admin work this feature should have eradicated. And despite the added depth of options, the vast majority of AI teams still behave in a broadly similar (and often unrealistic) way--Wigan Athletic managing to pass their way out of my press with sublime one-touch football was a difficult one to take.FIFA's brand of football is more physical this year, with strength becoming a far more important stat and crunching collisions feeling much more realistic. You can see and feel players battling for the ball, and goalkeepers are not quite as invincible from crosses as in previous years. Long ball tactics are slightly more viable than last year as a result--including, mercifully, from free kicks--and it feels satisfying for your target man to knock one down for your striker to smash in from 12 yards. Despite this, and the new tactical options, there's still no way to determine which players go up for corners and free kicks, meaning your 6' 6" center-back will still frequently be found on the halfway line at set pieces rather than getting his elbows out in the box where he should be. Timed finishing attempts to add more depth to FIFA's pitchwork for expert players, and while it can be a little temperamental and fiddly, it does add a nice risk-reward layer to what was an afterthought run on muscle memory.Meanwhile, EA's implementation of the newly-acquired Champions League and Europa League licenses is excellent, with the official branding, specific commentators, and authentic atmospheres adding to the feel of this being club football's biggest event. The competition has its own mode in FIFA 19, as well as implementation in The Journey, Ultimate Team, and Career Mode, and to its credit EA utilizes the license in a much more comprehensive way than Konami ever did.Unfortunately, that's pretty much it in terms of new Career Mode features, and this is where FIFA 19 suffers. Career Mode is the most in-depth single-player mode remaining in FIFA, and yet it has seen almost no meaningful improvements for years. This year the mode has not been touched at all, save for the implementation of Champions League, and the cracks are showing. That means you get the same "Boss, I was hoping you might be experimenting with the team?" messages; the same bugs and problems (such as the inability to loan out newly purchased players); the same typos and grammar errors in news reports; and the same lack of depth when it comes to club strategies like hiring and firing of staff or stadium expansions. Similarly, Pro Clubs is exactly the same this year as it was in FIFA 18, and it's hard not to sympathize with those who speculate around EA's shifting priorities, given how much ongoing attention the microtransaction-driven Ultimate Team receives in comparison. Frankly, two modes as big and popular as these receiving no new features or even any quality-of-life improvements is unacceptable, and EA needs to up its game in this regard next year.Kick Off is where most of EA's offline attention was focused this year, with the introduction of detailed stats and some interesting new sub-modes contained within House Rules. These allow you to turn off fouls and offsides, turn on the battle royale-like Survival Mode--in which a goal results in one of your players being sent off--or disallow any goal not scored from a header or volley. These modes are shallow, and being available in local play only is a baffling decision, but they offer a nice change of pace for when you're playing with a friend. It's surprising how much rewiring of your football-addled brain they require; after 23 years on this planet appealing for offsides, it's quite hard not to scream "REF!!!" at the TV when my brother scores his fourth of the game, even when the traditional rules have been thrown out.FUT's major addition this year is a new sub-mode named Division Rivals, a replacement for the now-cut online seasons mode. It's another, shorter way to qualify for the FUT Champions weekend event, and it adds to the ever-growing and -evolving behemoth Ultimate Team has become. Otherwise, Ultimate Team remains largely the same year-over-year, but the mode's strength lies more in its constant live support over the course of a season, which is shaping up to be exemplary once again. Champions cards, limited-time packs, daily and weekly objectives, special events and tournaments--Ultimate Team has something to draw you in every week, and it is truly the lifeblood of FIFA 19.The Journey's third year sees the conclusion of Alex Hunter's story, but sister Kim and best mate Danny Williams join him in a GTA V-like three-pronged story. You can switch between the trio to play their individual storylines at any point, though there is a recommended path to follow that keeps their narratives vaguely in line with each other. Each character also has their own special features, such as Alex's choice of mentor squad at Real Madrid (spoilers!) or Danny's choice of advert he wants to take part in. The Journey's scripting and acting isn't exactly outstanding, but it remains a unique way to play, and I hope EA continues it after this Champions League special episode concludes.Ultimate Team has something to draw you in every week, and it is truly the lifeblood of FIFA 19.As impressive as FIFA 19's recreation of broadcast football is, there are a surprising number of details that remain inaccurate. You still don't get a fourth substitute in extra time, for example, and the double jeopardy rule--where a red card cannot now be shown inside the penalty area if a player is deemed to have attempted to play the ball--is still not applied in FIFA, despite these law changes having been introduced over two years ago now. Transfer deadline day still comes on August 31 in Career Mode, despite English clubs having the earlier close date of August 9 this season, and many teams that are not deemed one of the "big" clubs do not get third kits or away 'keeper kits. When the rest of FIFA's presentation package is so impressive, it makes these smaller, incorrect details stand out, especially when they appear to require small tweaks to fix.It's promising that EA is listening to its community. FIFA 19 is much more responsive on the pitch than last year, and the company continues to evolve FUT to keep it fresh. However, the lack of progress in Career Mode and Pro Clubs is sorely inadequate. Thankfully, The Journey's continued entertainment, FUT's long-lasting nature, and some inventive new Kick Off modes mean I'll likely still be playing FIFA 19 by the time next year's game rolls around.Info from Gamespot.com

Editor's note: We have updated this review to reflect our experience with the Nintendo Switch version of Cities: Skylines. See the end of the review for our thoughts.Now this is more like it. Even though my real-world occupation as the mayor of a Canadian town means that I try to escape such things as budget meetings and zoning hearings when I play games, Cities: Skylines still managed to hook me due to its authenticity. Unlike the latest SimCity, which was far too fantastical to let me build cities that resembled those in the real world (size limitations and not being able to establish proper zoning districts drove me crazy), this Colossal Order production nails just enough of what is fun about running a municipality in the real world. Proper zoning, room to grow, and the addition of policies and districts that let you plan out sensible city development make for a (mostly) bona fide experience in the virtual mayor's chair.Is it too geeky to be excited about the use of zoning rules and policies in a city-building game?Making comparisons between games is not always helpful, but in this case, it's difficult to ignore the tight relationship between Cities: Skylines and its SimCity inspiration. Colossal Order delves deep into what Maxis and EA once made so popular with a traditional city-building approach. Few surprises or even significant innovations can be found here: There is just a standard single-player mode of play in which you choose from a handful of maps representing territory types ranging from flat plains to tropical beaches. You may also play the game with standard conditions, dial up the difficulty, and/or turn on sandbox and unlimited-money mods. No tutorial is included, either, which makes for a learning curve at the beginning. At least tips are provided on a continual basis during regular play.Multiplayer is totally absent, as are frilly options like disasters and giant monster attacks. There are no multiple-city games, either. You have one city to deal with, along with a mostly invisible outside world that allows you to buy and sell goods on a common market. The game has been developed with modding in mind, however, and it ships with a full editor. Therefore, you can expect a lot of user-made add-ons to hit the net shortly. Nonetheless, at the present time, this "just the facts" focus makes for an initially bland experience. The plainness is exacerbated by stark menu screens and dated visuals that are attractive enough to get by, while at the same time cutting corners by cloning buildings and signs, as well as lacking amenities like a day-night cycle and weather patterns.If you have been jonesing to be a virtual mayor, though, Cities: Skylines gets nearly everything else just right. First off is zoning. You have full control over zoning neighborhoods as low or high (medium is absent, although I didn't miss it) residential, commercial, and industrial. These basic mechanics provide thorough control over laying out cities, which gives you a real sense of being in charge. Second up is map size, which allows for a lot of stretching out. The initial size is restrictive at 2km by 2km, but you can access more plots of land to eventually expand to a metropolis spanning a whopping 36 square km. That allows for expansive burgs, and an incredible sense of freedom. You always have room to correct mistakes and grow out of early problems, making you feel more like the super-mayor that you should feel like, and not the goofball constantly demolishing whole neighborhoods to fix problems you couldn't have foreseen three hours ago.Two other great features involve establishing districts and policies. This allows for the creation of boroughs with separate identities (policies can be set to take in entire cities, as well) by drawing them out with the Paint District tool. If you want your very own Brooklyn hipsters or a hardhat neighborhood for factory Joes, you can paint out city blocks and then tweak localized settings. This allows you to offer free public transit, boost education, give away smoke detectors, get into high-tech homes, ban high rises, and even alter tax rates for different zones. You can also set up specific industrial areas to focus efforts there. So if you want a green city, allow only farming use in industrial zones. If you want to go in the other direction with the sort of hardcore factories that killed grandpa, you can set up oil or ore districts and watch the smokestacks pump out poison.Smart use of districts and policies allows for the creation of cities that closely resemble their real-life counterparts.Policies are on the fanciful side, and establishing wildly different rules on social activities and even tax rates between neighborhoods in the same city will not go over well on election day. But I still love the ability to fine-tune cities without delving too deeply into micromanagement. The district and policy features combine to let me sketch out what I want in each part of my city--yes, this will be my gentrified borough for snotty white-collar professionals, complete with a smoking ban, no pets, no high rises, recycling, allowance for the use of certain controlled recreational substances, high-tech homes, and, of course, stupid high taxes--and then sit back and watch neighborhoods evolve.The challenge is not pronounced, especially if you have city-building experience. You needn't worry about random sparks somehow taking down whole blocks, or other acts of God obliterating all of your hard work. This gives Cities: Skylines a relaxed character, instead of coming across like a rigorous game loaded with set objectives and problems to be solved. It's an old approach, but a great one, as it allows you to concentrate on the abstractions of building, instead of mindlessly racing around meeting random goals related to citizen happiness or residency numbers.I wish I had shares in Go Nuts Doughnuts.The only aspect of the game that becomes annoying to handle is transit. Given the same developer's Cities in Motion series, you might expect roads, buses, and the like to take on a vital role. Ultimately, however, transportation systems are overly Byzantine and convoluted, particularly when it comes to bus routes. It's difficult to tell if transportation woes are your own wrongdoing, or if there are problems with vehicle pathfinding in the game itself. You can muddle through, although you never exert the same level of control with transit as with everything else.Moving Cities: Skylines to the Nintendo Switch is mostly what you would expect. This is a pretty thorough port of the PC release, including the original game as well as the After Dark and Snowfall expansions that added evening activities and ho-ho-ho weather. But while the game experience itself is virtually the same as it is on PC, you have to make a few sacrifices on the Switch. While the interface itself functions (perhaps surprisingly) well ported from mouse-and-keyboard to the more limited d-pads and buttons of the Switch, the controls are less than precise. I often overshot or undershot my mark. Laying out roads, for example, requires patience here, especially when compared to the ease of putting down long stretches of asphalt on the PC. I eventually became accustomed to the controls, although I still prefer mouse and keyboard.While the game experience itself is virtually the same as it is on PC, you have to make a few sacrifices on the Switch.Portability presents some big pluses in that it makes Cities: Skylines more of a pick-up-and-play game where you can bite tasks off in chunks. I played the game more casually and more frequently on the Switch, knocking off sessions throughout the day just because I had the system close at hand. Still, taking the game on the road or even around your house comes with some drawbacks. The intricate nature of city layouts and the small size of the screen makes it tough to track everything easily. This problem grows as cities get bigger. I spent almost as much time zooming in and out as I did zoning neighborhoods. In some ways this made me pay even more attention than usual to what was happening on the mean streets of my cities, but it also led to some frustration.Camera manipulation reveals performance problems as well. Even though the graphics have clearly been dialed back a touch on the Switch, the game chugs when it has to handle larger cities. This can be a problem when you need to take a close look at things. These stutters seem more pronounced when you have the Switch docked and you’re playing on a TV, so they don’t present as many annoyances when using the console’s own screen, when--as noted above--you have to zoom in more often. Still, this slowdown is not a show-stopper, although optimizing the game through a patch would be welcome.Even with a few PC issues and a less-than-perfect Switch port, Cities: Skylines remains the best city-builder on the market right now. The game's presentation is stodgy, but it is all but guaranteed to provide you many hours of carefully crafting cities, laying out zoning, and establishing districts for specifics residential and industrial uses…all free from real-world mayoral headaches like 6 a.m. phone calls griping about snowplowing. Right now, there is no better way to take a peek at life as a mayor without filing your papers to run for office in the real world.Info from Gamespot.com

With the exception of the recent Harry Potter mobile game (and Niantic's upcoming AR game), it's been several years since Warner Bros. Interactive has released a new video game adaptation of JK Rowling's popular series. However, it appears the publisher has an unannounced Harry Potter game in the works, and we may have gotten our first glimpse at it.Reddit user VapeThisBro shared a video of the alleged new Harry Potter game online, which shows off character creation, spell casting, and open-world environments set in and around familiar Harry Potter locations. The video has since been removed from YouTube by Warner Bros., but mirrored versions of it are still available to watch, and while the quality of the video is poor, it still certainly looks intriguing.Along with the video, VapeThisBro shared a synopsis of the alleged game, which suggests players will assume the role of a fifth year student. Shortly after arriving at Hogwarts, strange events begin to unfold in the Forbidden Woods, and players embark with a professor named "Elezar Fig" to investigate. The game also allegedly allows players to freely explore the world and decide whether to pursue a path of good or evil.Eurogamer reports that the footage is indeed taken from an in-the-works Harry Potter game, and that the title is being developed by Avalanche Software, the studio best known for its work on Disney's 2013 toys-to-life title, Disney Infinity. Following Infinity's cancellation in 2016, Avalanche was briefly shuttered alongside all of Disney Interactive's other subsidiaries until Warner Bros. Interactive acquired the studio in early 2017.Warner Bros. has yet to officially comment on the alleged leak, but the fact the studio is removing footage of it from YouTube suggests it's legitimate.The most recent Harry Potter game, Hogwarts Mystery, is available now on iOS and Android. The title is a free-to-play RPG set before the novels, although it has been criticized for its exploitative implementation of microtransactions. Niantic's aforementioned Harry Potter game, Wizards Unite, is still slated to launch in 2018 and will offer similar AR gameplay as Pokemon Go.Info from Gamespot.com

In addition to the PlayStation Store's standard weekly PS4 game sale, Electronic Arts is having a publisher sale on the digital store this week. That means you'll find lots of PS4 games to pick up for cheap between now and October 9. And as usual, if you're a PlayStation Plus member, you'll get a bonus discount on some of the items. Let's look at a few of the highlights.If you like games from the '90s--or good games in general--you can get a pre-order discount on Castlevania Requiem: Symphony of the Night & Rondo of Blood. This spooky bundle launches October 26, but you'll save 15% if you lock down your copy right now (PS Plus members save 20%). Sports fans can also get a massive discount on NBA Live 19: The One Edition, which is 50% or 60% off, depending on your PS Plus status.If you're looking to spend as little as possible, you'll find a number of games on sale for under $10 each this week. Racing fans can pick up Need for Speed and Need for Speed Rivals for $7 apiece. The gorgeous platformer Fe and the open-world parkour game Mirror's Edge Catalyst are both on sale for the same price. Other cheap games include Peggle 2 Magical Masters Edition for $4.50 and Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 for $6.The Sims 4 is down to $30, with many of its expansions seeing similar price cuts. RPG enthusiasts can grab Mass Effect: Andromeda for $10.50 and Dragon Age: Inquisition - GotY Edition for $13 this week. If you've missed out on the recent shooters from a galaxy far away, you can pick up Star Wars Battlefield Ultimate Edition for $9 and Star Wars Battlefront II for $14.You'll find more discounts below, and you can see the full list of sale items here.Absolver -- $15Battlefield 1 -- $10Battlefield 1 Revolution -- $18Burnout Paradise Remastered -- $12Castlevania Requiem: Symphony of the Night & Rondo of Blood -- $17Dragon Age: Inquisition - GotY Edition -- $13Fe -- $7Knights of Pen and Paper +1 Deluxier Edition -- $12Mass Effect: Andromeda -- $10.50Mirror's Edge Catalyst -- $7NBA Live 19: The One Edition -- $30Need for Speed -- $7Need for Speed Payback -- $16Need for Speed Rivals -- $7Peggle 2 Magical Masters Edition -- $4.50Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 -- $6The Sims 4 -- $30Star Wars Battlefield Ultimate Edition -- $9Star Wars Battlefront II -- $14Titanfall 2: Ultimate Edition -- $12Unravel -- $12Unravel Two -- $12Info from Gamespot.com

Halloween Terror is returning to Overwatch for the third year in a row. Blizzard is still keeping the exact details about this year's Halloween-themed event under wraps, but the developer has provided a hint in the form of a cryptic riddle.This year's Halloween Terror starts on October 9 and continues through to October 31. Once the event ends, you'll have to wait until 2019 to unlock Overwatch's Halloween-themed content. The only clue we have as to what this year's Halloween Terror will include and where Junkenstein's Revenge's story will go next is a poem and short cinematic included in one of Overwatch's tweets.There’s a rumor among explorersAbout a monolithic lairHome to terrifying horrorsHeroes, how will you prepare? pic.twitter.com/XK7W7e0SKA — Overwatch (@OverwatchEU) October 1, 2018Every year, Halloween Terror offers new Legendary skins for players to unlock--each priced at 3000 credits--that feature Overwatch's heroes dressed up in costumes, such as Dragon Symmetra. Skins from previous Halloween Terror events are also offered at a discounted price. Several of the maps receive Halloween-themed updates as well, becoming decorated with spider webs and jack-o-lanterns.Halloween Terror also lets players participate in Junkenstein's Revenge, a PvE mode where four adventurers assemble to stop the combined forces of Dr. Junkenstein and the Witch of the Wilds--alternate reality versions of Junkrat and Mercy--from taking over the fictional kingdom of Adlersbrunn. In 2016, you and three others played as The Alchemist (Ana), the Gunslinger (McCree), the Archer (Hanzo), and the Soldier (Solder 76). In 2017, the story continued and added The Countess (Widowmaker), the Swordsman (Genji), the Monk (Zenyatta), and the Viking (Torbjorn).Overwatch is available for Xbox One, PS4, and PC.Info from Gamespot.com

Overwatch is getting immortalized in Lego soon, and now we've gotten our first look at one of its heroes. The de facto mascot Tracer is the first to be shown off as a minifig, in a brief teaser starring lead designer Jeff Kaplan. It shows him building the figure before it starts teleporting around the room, Tracer-style.In a prior teaser, we saw silhouettes of six figures. Those appeared to be Widowmaker, Reinhardt, Genji, Soldier 76, Mercy, and McCree. Those are all standout classics, but of course so is Tracer. Lego licensing usually results in full building sets that include minifigs, so we can probably expect some battlefield maps or the payload rendered in block form.Build the perfect team, brick by brick.Coming soon: @LEGO_Group Overwatch sets! pic.twitter.com/Z04bCgyGDu — Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) October 2, 2018Meanwhile, Overwatch the game is preparing to roll out its annual Halloween Terror event. It begins on October 9 and lasts right up through Halloween on October 31. It will continue the story of Junkenstein's Revenge, a meta-story that has been running through the event every year. It will also give access to special Halloween-themed skins, as well as discounts on previous Halloween skinsPlus Blizzard is always making balance tweaks--most recently with announced changes to Torbjorn that will make him more of an all-arounder and less situational.Info from Gamespot.com

Destiny 2's weekly reset has arrived, marking some notable changes. For those who have reached Forsaken's endgame area, the Dreaming City, the rotation of weekly missions has reset to where it was at the start of a three-week cycle. But another aspect of the Dreaming City, the Ascendant Challenge, has rotated again to a new iteration of the event. Here's where to find it and what to do.Like in past weeks, the Ascendant Challenge involves using a specific item (a Tincture of Queensfoil) to receive the Ascendance buff. This allows you to see a Taken portal that sends you to the Ascendant Plane to do a mission of sorts. But the portal's location and your objective has been different each week, and that's true for Week 5. Before starting, though, be sure to grab the corresponding bounty from Petra, as that's the key to earning a piece of Powerful gear.This week's portal is found inside a Lost Sector (Bay of Drowned Wishes) located right near Dreaming City's landing zone in Divalian Mists. You'll move to the midway point of the Lost Sector, killing things until a little before you reach a door that's locked. (You can skip the enemies, but killing them will likely be easier.) If you've used your Tincture of Queensfoil, you'll see the portal and can jump through to reach the Ascendant Plane location, Agonarch Abyss.Unfortunately, there's a good deal of platforming involved here. You'll make your way down to a temple where a large tree is. Blight balls spawn in that slow your movement, and you'll have to deal with a pair of wizards who spawn in additional Thrall enemies. Take out the wizards and you're all done.The chest that you can then open is, as always, nothing special. But finishing the Ascendant Challenge completes the bounty from Petra, which nets you a piece of Powerful gear.When you speak to Petra, you'll notice she acknowledges that things have returned to the way they were three weeks ago. She's again offering the first of the three story missions where you rescue her associates. Meanwhile, Bungie has announced there are changes coming for Exotics, Masterwork Cores, and Iron Banner. Info from Gamespot.com

Spider-Man: Far From Home is the upcoming sequel to last year's Marvel blockbuster Spider-Man: Homecoming, and it's set to hit theaters in July next year. It has been rumored for several months that the film's villain is Mysterio, with Jake Gyllenhall playing the role. While Marvel has yet to officially announce this, new on-set images released suggest that Mysterio is indeed the movie's bad guy.The pictures were taken on the Far From Home set in Liberec in the Czech Republic, and while they are not exactly close-ups, you can clearly see Gyllenhall in Mysterio's distinctive red-and-purple costume. Check it out below, with more over at comicbookmovie.Spider-Man: Far from Home: Mysterio in Liberec, Czech Republic pic.twitter.com/wpWaWe0oRE — Martin Knap (@CZMARTY7) September 30, 2018Spider-Man: Far From Home hits theaters on July 5, 2019. Tom Holland is back as Peter Parker, and the cast also includes Michael Keaton, Zendaya, Marisa Tomei, Cobie Smulders, and Samuel L. Jackson. Homecoming's Jon Watts is returning as director.While specific plot details are still under-wraps, we do know that the movie will start immediately after the events of Avengers 4, which arrives in May. Last year, Marvel boss Kevin Feige spoke about how the film will kickstart the next phase of the MCU. "So much happens in [the third and fourth Avengers movies], as you can imagine, and so much is affected by it, that we felt what better person to hold your hand and lead you into the next incarnation of the MCU, in a grounded, realistic manner, than Peter Parker?" Feige said. "So, coming out two months after Avengers 4, [that's what] much of what the next Spider-Man film will be about."In related news, production also continues on Avengers 4. Last week, actor Benedict Wong released an intriguing behind-the-scene image that hints at one of the movie's possible villains.Info from Gamespot.com

After the amazing gaming year that was 2017, many wondered how well 2018 would turn out. Fortunately for everyone, it has been great. The first half of the year has yielded a wealth of fantastic games, and there's more on the horizon. Upcoming games for the rest of this 2018 include slew of hotly anticipated new games, like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Red Dead Redemption 2, Spider-Man, and a whole lot more. To help you keep track of all the games coming out and what has already released, we've compiled a list of all the noteworthy release dates for the biggest ones confirmed to come out in 2018 so far.Game release dates change all the time and new ones arrive every month. Be sure to bookmark this page, as we'll be updating this article with more release dates or any potential changes to any of the dates below. And if you're eager to figure out the release dates from games next year, you can also reference our feature on the game release dates of 2019.JanuaryGamePlatformRelease DateThe Escapists 2SwitchJanuary 11Forged Battalion PCJanuary 16Kerbal Space Program: Enhanced EditionPS4, Xbox OneJanuary 16Street Fighter V: Arcade EditionPS4, PCJanuary 16Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth - Hacker's MemoryPS4, VitaJanuary 19Kirby Battle Royale3DSJanuary 19IconoclastsPS4, VitaJanuary 23Lost SphearPS4, Switch, PCJanuary 23OK KO: Let's Play HeroesPS4, Xbox One, PCJanuary 23The InpatientPSVRJanuary 23My Time at PortiaPCJanuary 23Velocity 2X: Critical Mass EditionPS4, VitaJanuary 23CelestePS4, Switch, PCJanuary 25Dust and SaltPCJanuary 25Dragon Ball FighterZPS4, Xbox One, PCJanuary 26Monster Hunter WorldPS4, Xbox OneJanuary 26Railway EmpirePCJanuary 26Dissidia: Final Fantasy NTPS4January 30Railway EmpirePS4, Xbox OneJanuary 30FebruaryGamePlatformRelease DateBatallion 1944 (Early Access)PCFebruary 1Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac AgePCFebruary 1Night in the WoodsSwitchFebruary 1SteamWorld DigSwitchFebruary 1EA Sports UFC 3PS4, Xbox OneFebruary 2Shadow of the ColossusPS4February 6Civilization VI: Rise and Fall (Expansion)PCFebruary 8Dragon Quest BuildersSwitchFebruary 9The Seven Deadly Sins: Knights of BritanniaPS4February 9Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late[st]PS4, PS3, VitaFebruary 9Crossing Souls PS4, PCFebruary 13Dynasty Warriors 9PS4, Xbox One, PCFebruary 13The Fall 2: UnboundPS4, Xbox One, PCFebruary 13Kingdom Come: DeliverancePS4, Xbox One, PCFebruary 13OwlboySwitchFebruary 13The Longest Five MinutesSwitch, Vita, PCFebruary 13Monster Energy Supercross: The Official VideogamePS4, Xbox One, Switch, PCFebruary 13Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology3DSFebruary 13Secret of ManaPS4, PS Vita, PCFebruary 15Bayonetta + Bayonetta 2SwitchFebruary 16FePS4, Xbox One, Switch, PCFebruary 16Age of Empires: Definitive EditionPCFebruary 20Metal Gear SurvivePS4, Xbox One, PCFebruary 20Xenon Valkyrie+Xbox OneFebruary 20Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 PlusSwitchFebruary 22Stellaris: ApocalypsePCFebruary 22Past CurePS4, Xbox One, PCFebruary 23Sword Art Online: Fatal BulletPS4, Xbox One, PCFebruary 23Yume Nikki: Dream DiaryPCFebruary 23GravelXbox OneFebruary 26De Blob 2PS4, Xbox OneFebruary 27Immortal RedneckXbox OneFebruary 27Payday 2SwitchFebruary 27Riftstar RaidersXbox OneFebruary 27MarchBravo TeamPSVRMarch 6Final Fantasy XV: Royal EditionPS4, Xbox One, PCMarch 6FranticsPS4March 6Scribblenauts ShowdownPS4, Xbox One, SwitchMarch 6Fear Effect SednaPS4, Xbox One, PC, SwitchMarch 6Devil May Cry HD CollectionPS4, Xbox One, PCMarch 13GolemPSVRMarch 13Pure Farming 2018PS4, Xbox One, PCMarch 13Burnout Paradise RemasteredPS4, Xbox One, PCMarch 13Kirby Star AlliesSwitchMarch 16Assassin's Creed Rogue: RemasteredPS4, Xbox OneMarch 20Attack on Titan 2PS4, Xbox One, PC, SwitchMarch 20Sea of ThievesXbox One, PCMarch 20Titan QuestPS4, Xbox OneMarch 20A Way OutPS4, Xbox One, PCMarch 23Detective Pikachu3DSMarch 23Ni no Kuni II: Revenant KingdomPS4, PCMarch 23Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious PaintingsPS4, PC, SwitchMarch 27Far Cry 5PS4, Xbox One, PCMarch 27MLB The Show 18PS4March 27Outlast 2SwitchMarch 27AgonyPS4, Xbox One, PCMarch 30AprilGamePlatformRelease DateExtinctionPS4, Xbox One, PCApril 10OwlboyPS4, Xbox OneApril 10Hellblade: Senua's SacrificeXbox OneApril 11Wild Guns ReloadedSwitchApril 17Yakuza 6: The Song of LifePS4April 17Metal Max XenoPS4, VitaApril 19God of WarPS4April 20Nintendo Labo Variety KitSwitchApril 20Nintendo Labo Robot KitSwitchApril 20FrostpunkPCApril 24South Park: The Fractured But WholeSwitchApril 24MayGamePlatformRelease DateSuper Mega Baseball 2PS4, Xbox One, PCMay 1Killing Floor: IncursionPSVRMay 1Total War Saga: Thrones of BritanniaPCMay 3City of BrassPS4, Xbox One, PCMay 4Donkey Kong Country: Tropical FreezeSwitchMay 4AO International Tennis (originally AU, NZ only)PS4, Xbox One, PCMay 8Conan ExilesPS4, Xbox One, PCMay 8Destiny 2: WarmindPS4, Xbox One, PCMay 8Pillars of Eternity II: DeadfirePCMay 8Raging JusticeSwitch, PS4, Xbox One, PCMay 8Tacoma (first released on Xbox One, PC)PS4May 8Immortal RedneckSwitchMay 10One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3SwitchMay 11Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – MartyrPS4, Xbox One, PCMay 11Battle Chasers: NightwarSwitchMay 15Dragon's Crown ProPS4May 15Horizon Chase TurboPS4, PCMay 15Little Witch Academia: Chamber of TimePS4, PCMay 15OmensightPS4, PCMay 15Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux3DSMay 15Far: Lone SailsPCMay 17Hyrule Warriors: Definitive EditionSwitchMay 18Little Nightmares: Complete EditionSwitchMay 18State of Decay 2 (Ultimate Edition)Xbox One, PCMay 18Ancestors LegacyXbox One, PCMay 22Mega Man Legacy CollectionSwitchMay 22Mega Man Legacy Collection 2SwitchMay 22Runner3Switch, PCMay 22Space Hulk: Deathwing - Enhanced EditionPS4, PCMay 22State of Decay 2 (Standard Edition)Xbox One, PCMay 22Tennis World TourPS4, Xbox One, Switch, PCMay 22Dillon's Dead-Heat Breakers3DSMay 24Dark Souls RemasteredPS4, Xbox One, PCMay 25Detroit: Become HumanPS4May 25AgonyPS4, Xbox One, PCMay 29EverspacePS4May 29Legend of Kay AnniversarySwitchMay 29Sega Mega Drive ClassicsPS4, Xbox OneMay 29Street Fighter 30th Anniversary CollectionPS4, Xbox One, Switch, PCMay 29JuneGamePlatformRelease DateBlazBlue: Cross Tag BattlePS4, PC, SwitchJune 5The Elder Scrolls Online: SummersetPS4, Xbox One, PCJune 5OnrushPS4, Xbox OneJune 5Shaq Fu: A Legend RebornPS4, Xbox One, Switch, PCJune 5VampyrPS4, Xbox One, PCJune 5MotoGP 18PS4, Xbox One, PCJune 7Sushi Striker: The Way of SushidoSwitch, 3DSJune 8Unravel TwoPS4, Xbox One, PCJune 9Fallout ShelterPS4, Xbox One, PC, SwitchJune 10Jurassic World Evolution (Digital)PS4, Xbox One, PCJune 12Fortnite: Battle RoyaleSwitchJune 12Hollow KnightSwitchJune 12Moss (Physical)PS4June 12Super Bomberman RPS4, Xbox One, PCJune 12LEGO The IncrediblesXbox One, PS4, Switch, PCJune 15The Lost ChildPS4, PS VitaJune 19Mario Tennis AcesSwitchJune 22New Gundam BreakerPS4, PCJune 22The Awesome Adventures of Captain SpiritPS4, Xbox One, PCJune 26Crash Bandicoot N.Sane TrilogyXbox One, PC, SwitchJune 26De Blob RemasteredSwitchJune 26Far Cry 3 Classic EditionPS4, Xbox OneJune 26Lumines RemasteredPS4, Xbox One, PC, SwitchJune 26Nier: Automata Become As Gods EditionXbox OneJune 26The Crew 2PS4, Xbox One, PCJune 29MXGP ProPS4, Xbox One, PCJune 29Wolfenstein II: The New ColossusSwitchJune 29JulyGamePlatformRelease DateJurassic World Evolution (Physical)Xbox One, PS4, PCJuly 3Red Faction: Guerrilla RemasteredPS4, Xbox One, PCJuly 3Mushroom Wars 2SwitchJuly 5Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – MartyrPS4, Xbox OneJuly 5Shining Resonance RefrainPS4, Xbox One, PC, SwitchJuly 10Captain Toad: Treasure TrackerSwitch, 3DSJuly 13EarthfallPS4, Xbox One, PCJuly 13Octopath TravelerSwitchJuly 13Adventure Time: Pirates of the EnchiridionPS4, Xbox One, PCJuly 17Sonic Mania PlusPS4, Xbox One, Switch, PCJuly 17Mega Man X Collection 1+2PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PCJuly 24No Man’s SkyXbox OneJuly 24The Banner Saga 3PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC, MacJuly 24Hello NeighborPS4, Switch, iOS, AndroidJuly 27ChasmPS4, Xbox One, PCJuly 31Code of Princess EXSwitchJuly 31Titan QuestSwitchJuly 31AugustGamePlatformRelease DateYakuza 0PCAugust 1WarioWare Gold3DSAugust 3Dead CellsPS4, Xbox One, PC SwitchAugust 7Flipping DeathPS4, Xbox One, PC SwitchAugust 7Overcooked 2PS4, Xbox One, PC SwitchAugust 7Monster Hunter WorldPCAugust 9Okami HDSwitchAugust 9Madden NFL 19PS4, Sbox One, PCAugust 10We Happy FewPS4, Xbox One, PCAugust 10Death's GambitPS4, PCAugust 10The Walking Dead: The Final Season Episode 1PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PCAugust 14World of Warcraft: Battle for AzerothPCAugust 14Guacamelee! 2PS4August 21Shenmue I & IIPS4, Xbox One, PCAugust 21Gone HomeSwitchAugust 23F1 2018PS4, Xbox One, PCAugust 24Little Dragons CafePS4, SwitchAugust 24Night Trap: 25th Anniversary EditionSwitchAugust 24Blade StrangersPS4, Switch, PCAugust 28Donut CountyPS4, PC, iOSAugust 28Into the BreachSwitchAugust 28Monster Hunter Generations UltimateSwitchAugust 28Pro Evolution Soccer 2019PS4, Xbox One, PCAugust 28Yakuza Kiwami 2PS4August 28The MessengerSwitch, PCAugust 30Two Point HospitalPCAugust 30Divinity: Original Sin 2PS4, Xbox OneAugust 31Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi StrikerPS4, Xbox One, PCAugust 31Wasteland 2 SwitchAugust TBA 2018SeptemberGamePlatformRelease DateDestiny 2 Forsaken DLCPS4, Xbox One, PCSeptember 4Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive AgePS4September 4Player Unknown's BattlegroundsXbox OneSeptember 4Immortal: UnchainedPS4, Xbox One, PCSeptember 7NBA Live 19PS4, Xbox OneSeptember 7SNK Heroines: Tag Team FrenzyPS4, SwitchSeptember 7Spider-ManPS4September 7Yo-kai Watch Blasters: Red Cat Corp and White Dog Squad3DSSeptember 7NBA 2K19PS4, Xbox One, PC, SwitchSeptember 11BastionSwitchSeptember 13Cities: Skylines SwitchSeptember 13Wasteland 2: Directors CutSwitchSeptember 13Shadow of the Tomb RaiderPS4, Xbox One, PCSeptember 14Light Fingers SwitchSeptember 14BlindPSVRSeptember 18Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna The Golden Country DLCSwitchSeptember 21Valkyria Chronicles 4PS4, Xbox One, PC, SwitchSeptember 25The Walking Dead: The Final Season Episode 2PS4, Xbox One, PC, SwitchSeptember 25Life Is Strange 2 -- Episode 1PS4, Xbox One, PCSeptember 27Towerfall SwitchSeptember 27Dragon Ball FighterZSwitchSeptember 28FIFA 19PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Switch, PCSeptember 28OctoberGamePlatformRelease DateForza Horizon 4Xbox One, PCOctober 2Fist of the North Star: Lost ParadisePS4October 2Mega Man 11PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PCOctober 2Assassin's Creed OdysseyPS4, Xbox One, PCOctober 5Super Mario PartySwitchOctober 5Disgaea 1 CompletePS4, SwitchOctober 9WWE 2K19PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PCOctober 9Call of Duty: Black Ops 4PS4, Xbox One, PCOctober 12The World Ends with You: Final RemixSwitchOctober 12Lego DC Super VillainsPS4, Xbox One, PC, SwitchOctober 16Starlink: Battle for AtlasPS4, Xbox One, SwitchOctober 16Warriors Orochi 4PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PCOctober 16Syberia 3SwitchOctober 18Dark Souls RemasteredSwitchOctober 19Soulcalibur VIPS4, Xbox One, PCOctober 19 Just Dance 2019PS4, Xbox One, SwitchOctober 23My Hero One's JusticePS4, SwitchOctober 26Red Dead Redemption 2PS4, Xbox OneOctober 26NovemberGamePlatformRelease DateMonster Boy and the Cursed KingdomPS4, Xbox One, PC, SwitchNovember 6Overkill's The Walking DeadPS4, Xbox One, PCNovember 6The Walking Dead: The Final Season Episode 3PS4, Xbox One, PC, SwitchNovember 6World of Final Fantasy MaximaXbox One, SwitchNovember 6Ride 3PS4, Xbox One, PCNovember 8Hitman 2PS4, Xbox One, PCNovember 13SNK 40th Anniversary CollectionSwitchNovember 13Spyro Reignited TrilogyPS4, Xbox OneNovember 13Fallout 76PS4, Xbox One, PCNovember 14Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu/Let's Go EeveeSwitchNovember 16Battlefield VPS4, Xbox One, PCNovember 20WarframeSwitchNovember 20WreckfestPS4, Xbox OneNovember 20Darksiders 3PS4, Xbox One, PCNovember 27ArtifactPCNovember 28DecemberGamePlatformRelease DateJust Cause 4PS4, Xbox One, PCDecember 4Persona 3: Dancing in MoonlightPS4, PSVitaDecember 4Persona 4: Dancing All NightPS4December 4Persona 5: Dancing in StarlightPS4, PSVitaDecember 4Super Smash Bros. UltimateSwitchDecember 7Dragon Marked for DeathSwitchDecember 13The Walking Dead: The Final Season Episode 4PS4, Xbox One, PC, SwitchDecember 18Big Games Confirmed for 2018Below you can find a list of the biggest games that don't have explicit release dates but are confirmed to release sometime this year. There are also games listed that we expect to launch in 2018. We'll be moving each of these games into the release date sections above as soon as official dates are announced.GamePlatformPersona Q23DSChocobo's Mystery Dungeon: Every Buddy!PS4, SwitchInfo from Gamespot.com

October might be the month most closely associated with horror movies, but it was a comedy that sits at the top of the box office chart as the month began. Night School stars Tiffany Haddish as a teacher dealing with an unruly class of night school students--including co-writer Kevin Hart--and it made an estimated $28 million in its opening weekend.The No.2 slot went to another new entry--Warner's animated Yeti comedy Smallfoot, which features Channing Tatum, Zendaya, James Corden, and Danny DeVito in its voicecast. The movie's budget was far higher than that of Night School ($80 million compared to $29 million), so a $23 million opening weekend isn't as impressive, but as Box Office Mojo points out, this is in line with the studio's 2016 animated release Storks, which went on to make $193 million worldwide.Last week's No.1, Eli Roth's spooky family movie The House with a Clock in its Walls, fell to No.3 and made an estimated $12.5 million. The only other new entry this week is the horror movie Hell Fest, which debuted at No.6 with a $5.07 million weekend take. Although it was outgrossed by The Nun in its fourth week, Hell Fest's production budget was only $5 million, so this was a solid result.Elsewhere, the thriller A Simple Favor continued its strong run, making another $6 million and moving to No.4. In the bottom half of the Top 10, the hugely successful Crazy Rich Asians drops to No.7, while The Predator, White Boy Rick, and Peppermint make up the rest of the chart.You can see the full Top 10 list for the September 28-30 US box office below, as compiled by Box Office Mojo.US/Canada Box Office For September 28-30Night School – $28.0 millionSmallfoot – $23.0 millionThe House With A Clock In Its Walls – $12.51 millionA Simple Favor – $6.60 millionThe Nun – $5.43 millionHell Fest – $5.07 millionCrazy Rich Asians – $4.15 millionThe Predator – $3.70 millionWhite Boy Rick Studio – $2.38 millionPeppermint – $1.77 million Info from Gamespot.com