Month: February 2018

Life in medieval Europe could be harsh, and the world of Kingdom Come: Deliverance, out now on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, takes that to heart. The first-person RPG transports players to 15th century Bohemia, amid a brutal civil war, and invests heavily in making gameplay a realistically tough experience. You could be forgiven for wanting to get a few pointers before jumping right in.

Combat and survival mechanics have a steep learning curve in Kingdom Come. While the game does allude to them, players are mostly left to figure out how things work on their own. From weapon choices to handling food to working around the game’s often frustrating save system, we’ve compiled some of the top tips to help you on your journey in the video above.

In GameSpot’s review of Kingdom Come, writer Brett Todd lauded the game for its “impressive and unflinching look at the medieval era that transports you inside the compelling story of a real person caught in the middle of a civil war.” He called it a “rare, memorable game,” with incredible attention to historical detail, lifelike quests, strong storytelling, and voice-acting and visuals that immerse you in the setting.

To see more of the game in action, check out our Kingdom Come: Deliverance discussion video where we talk about our experience playing the game and how it changed over time. To see more gameplay, watch us play through the opening portion of Kingdom Come to see the game’s combat system in action. You can also watch footage of us fleeing from a band of attackers on horseback and learning how to use a sword and bow for the first time.

February 27 is Pokemon Day, and like last year, Niantic is celebrating the occasion by giving players a chance to capture a rare Pokemon in Pokemon Go. For the next few days, players will be able to encounter a special Pikachu, which will come with an exclusive move it cannot typically learn in the mobile game.

From now until 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET on February 28, players will have a chance to capture a Pikachu wearing a party hat, similar to the one available during last year’s Pokemon Day celebration. This time around, however, the party hat Pikachu will know the move Present. In addition to that, players will earn triple the usual amount of Stardust they receive for each special Pikachu they capture.

Pokemon Day coincides with the anniversary of the original Pokemon Red and Green versions, which first released in Japan on February 27, 1996. In addition to the special Pikachu in Pokemon Go, The Pokemon Company is commemorating the occasion by releasing a new Pikachu Talk app for Amazon Alexa and Google Home, which allows users to ask Pikachu questions and hear it respond in its signature voice.

Additionally, The Pokemon Company is releasing Snapchat filters based on the three starter Pokemon from the Kanto region. Special merchandise is also being added to the Pokemon Center online store, including Legendary Pokemon pin sets and a new Charizard gallery figure that will kick off a special line of larger Pokemon figures.

While not specifically a part of the Pokemon Day celebration, Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon players can also still pick up a free download code for Dialga and Palkia, the first two Legendaries being distributed as part of the Year of Legendary Pokemon promotion. Meanwhile, Pokemon Go players have another chance to capture the Legendary Pokemon Groudon and Kyogre, while Rayquaza will appear in Raid Battles until March 16.

2017 was a great year for movies, but 2018 is shaping up to be even better. Black Panther has already become a critical and commercial phenomenon, and there are another two Marvel movies to look forward to. The second Star Wars spin-off arrives in the shape of Solo: A Star Wars Story, which will focus on the early adventures of the iconic space smuggler, and Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt in the sixth Mission: Impossible movie, Fallout.

Beyond these big tentpole franchises, other crowd-pleasing favourites are set to return. There’s more dinosaur action in the Jurassic World sequel, two more films in the X-Men universe, and several movies from cinema’s busiest star, Dwayne Johnson. Lara Croft returns to the screen, the first of Sony’s Spider-Man spin-offs arrives in the shape of Venom, and we’ll find out if there’s life in the Predator franchise. So with another ten months of the year to go, here’s what to watch for in 2018…

Pokemon Day falls on February 27 each year, coinciding with the anniversary of the original Pokemon Red and Green release in Japan. This year, the Pokemon Company is rolling out several tech-related goodies to celebrate, including an Amazon Alexa- and Google Home-compatible app that lets you talk to Pikachu “live” and Snapchat filters based on the first-generation starter Pokemon.

Pikachu Talk, which is already available in Japan, is now available for Amazon Alexa in “most countries” and Google Home in the US. With Pikachu Talk, you can ask Pikachu questions, and it will respond with a variation of its name. (It seems like this doesn’t include any lines in a human language, a la Detective Pikachu or Pikachu from the the recent Pokemon the Movie: I Choose You.)

Speaking of I Choose You, the film–which is inspired by the early Pokemon episodes but has its own twists–will be available to stream on the PokemonTV app. The movie originally aired in theaters during a special release in November 2017.

The celebration continues with new Snapchat filters based on the Kanto region starters. Bulbasaur will roll out first, followed by Charmander and then Squirtle. You can also pick up some special merch from the Pokemon Center, including pins and a new Charizard gallery figure that will kick off a special line of larger Pokemon figures. You can see the filters, figure, and pins above.

Finally, there will be a special Pikachu available in Pokemon Go as part of the festivities. You can find more details on all the Pokemon Day activities on the Pokemon website.

From Software’s acclaimed precursor to the Dark Souls series, Demon’s Souls, is set to lose some of its online components very soon. While the PS3 action-RPG will continue to remain playable offline, its online services will cease on February 28, which will render many of the game’s unique features inaccessible.

Starting February 28, players will no longer be able to take part in online co-op or invasions when playing Demon’s Souls. Additionally, leaderboards, wandering silhouettes, other players’ bloodstains, and hints and messages written by others will all also disappear from the game, while a specific boss battle that involved fighting another player will function differently going forward.

News of Demon’s Souls’ server shutdown was first announced back in November on the official Dark Souls Twitter account. “It’s with mixed emotions we say goodbye to the service,” Atlus, which published the game in North America, wrote on its website. “Thank you to everyone who played Demon’s Souls, and especially to those who still revisit its world from time to time. For those who haven’t played in a while, we invite you to once again visit Boletaria while the servers are still live and celebrate its contributions with us.”

Demon’s Souls first launched exclusively for PS3 nearly nine years ago, back in 2009. The game was met with widespread acclaim from fans and critics. GameSpot awarded it a 9/10 in our Demon’s Souls review and called it “an uncompromising RPG of the highest order–and a brilliant, atmospheric, and visionary one.”

While Demon’s Souls never received a proper follow-up, the game would go on to spawn several spiritual successors, including the three Dark Souls titles and the PS4-exclusive Bloodborne. Bandai Namco is releasing a remastered version of the first Dark Souls for PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch on May 25. Ahead of its release, Titan Comics is publishing the first issue in its new Dark Souls tie-in comic series.

The first trailer for HBO’s upcoming movie adaptation of Fahrenheit 451 has arrived, and it’s loaded with all kinds of dystopian goodness. No robot cowboys, though. That’s Westworld‘s domain.

The film, based on the 1953 novel by Ray Bradbury, envisions a future where books are outlawed and burned. Black Panther‘s Michael B. Jordan stars in HBO’s take on the source material. He plays Guy Montag, one of the men responsible for burning books. The trailer shows Guy to be happy with his place in the world, though he ultimately begins questioning the why the world’s books are being destroyed.

Jordan is joined by Michael Shannon, who plays the devious Captain Beatty–the head of the book burning crew. “We are not born equal, so we must be made equal by the fire,” Beatty reasons.

The cast is rounded out by Sofia Boutella, Lilly Singh, Laura Harrier, and Marton Donovan. Ramin Bahrani (99 Homes) has written and directed the films. Though a specific premiere date has not been announced, HBO’s Fahrenheit 451 will arrive in May.