Month: February 2019

New York Toy Fair has kicked off at the Javits Center, and companies have already begun revealing their products for the upcoming year. Pop culture giant Funko unleashed a new wave of Pop! and 5 Star figures on the world on Friday morning.

This time around, Funko has put the focus on anime and animation with this latest round of reveals. From American staples such as the Simpsons to Scooby Doo to anime favorites like My Hero Academia and Yu Yu Hakusho, there is something for everyone here, unless you hate animation. There are even early designs for Netflix’s Castlevania series to check out as well.

As of this writing, all the collectibles shown below are listed as “Coming Soon.” Release dates and price points have not yet been listed. Until then, check out Funko’s first batch of Toy Fair reveals.

Check out our other Toy Fair stories so far:

Stay tuned to GameSpot over the weekend for more Toy Fair reveals.

Anthem isn’t officially in wide release until next week, but members of EA’s various membership programs can play it starting today. If you’re a member of EA Access on Xbox One, or Origin Access on PC, you can access the game in one way or another starting today.

Some players have reported server issues, and EA Help has responded that it is aware of the problem and working on resolving it. That means that even if you are a member of an Access program, you may not be able to jump in right away. The company has also outlined the slightly convoluted steps to finding the trial itself on the EA Access hub.

1. Open the hub and refresh it (LT, RT, and Y).
2. Go to Anthem.
3. View the game.
4. Click the 3 dots and select Play Trial.

Both Access programs offer a 10% discount for purchases, but the two offer a different level of early access. The EA Access program offers only a 10-hour trial with progress that will carry over into the main game if you choose to purchase it. Origin Access also offers a 10-hour trial, but if you’re a Premier member you can just begin playing the full game early. PlayStation 4 has no Access program–at least not yet.

As part of the lead-up to Anthem’s release, EA partnered with District 9 director Neill Blomkamp to create an original short film that takes place in the universe. If you’re curious how Anthem will last you in the long-term, check out BioWare’s roadmap for endgame content. And if you just need help navigating the world of pre-orders, bonuses, and special editions, read our pre-order guide. Anthem will be available for everyone on February 22.

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Last month, the upcoming standalone Batman movie was finally given a release date and official title of The Batman. The one thing that wasn’t announced by Warner or director Matt Reeves was who will be playing Batman. It has long been rumored that Ben Affleck is quitting the role, and now the star has confirmed the news.

As reported by comicbook.com, Affleck appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live, where he was asked if it was true he is stepping down at Batman. “Yeah, I am,” he said. “I have decided… I tried to direct a version of it, worked with a really good screenwriter, but couldn’t come up with a version. Couldn’t crack it. So I thought it was time to let someone else take a shot at it and they got some really good people.”

The Batman was first announced back in 2016, with Affleck attached to star, co-write, and direct. He initially stepped down as director when Reeves came on board, and soon after it was reported that Affleck’s script had been abandoned. While Affleck never stated that he was leaving the role, last year it was reported that Reeves’ movie will feature a much younger Bruce Wayne. In addition, last month Affleck retweeted Deadline’s story that he would no longer play the role.

The Batman hits theaters on June 25, 2021. Last month, Reeves hinted at what fans could expect from the film. “It’s very much a point of view-driven, noir Batman tale,” he said. “It’s told very squarely on his shoulders, and I hope it’s going to be a story that will be thrilling but also emotional. It’s more Batman in his detective mode than we’ve seen in the films. The comics have a history of that. He’s supposed to be the world’s greatest detective, and that’s not necessarily been a part of what the movies have been.”

In related news, DC also recently announced the release date of the next Suicide Squad movie. It’s simply titled The Suicide Squad, and is not a sequel to the 2017 movie, but a new version written by James Gunn. Gunn was hired by DC to work on the script in October, following his departure from Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gunn is also in negotiations to direct, and that it will “take the franchise in a new direction with a mostly all-new cast of characters and actors.”

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The Division 2 is just under a month away, leaving plenty of time to get in your pre-orders. If you plan on exploring the burned-out husk of Washington DC on PC, you can get a free game for putting your order in early.

Ubisoft announced that pre-orders on PC will get to choose one of three games: Ghost Recon Wildlands, Far Cry Primal, or Watch Dogs 2. All pre-orders made before March 14 will be eligible, and the offer works retroactively if you’ve already pre-ordered. You can head over to the offer page to redeem your code. If you’re undecided, you have until March 31 to make a selection.

The games themselves will become playable on March 15, alongside The Division 2 launch date. Presumably this is so unscrupulous types can’t snag a free game and then cancel their pre-order.

Ubisoft also recently announced that an open beta is coming for The Division 2, running from March 1-4 on all platforms. That would leave you plenty of time to sample and decide if you want to take part in the pre-order offer. Taking part in the beta will get you a DC Patriot weapon skin, and if you complete the Invaded mission you get a Capitol Hill arm patch.

This game takes place in the wreckage of a post-apocalyptic Washington DC, following a bio-engineered epidemic that began in New York City. For more details, check out everything we know and some of our favorite new features. Ubisoft has also detailed its plans for the endgame, and it will be releasing free DLC well after launch.

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Season 7 of Fortnite is quickly approaching its conclusion and will end on February 28. As is customary for Epic’s wildly popular battle royale title, the transition into Season 8 will seemingly be through some sort of calamitous event. For the last few weeks players have been reporting the occurrence of earthquakes, but now it seems things are escalating, with cracks in the landmass emerging.

Seeing these cracks in the earth form is very much a case of being in the right place at the right time, but some players have captured the phenomenon and posted videos of it online. There’s also a dedicated website that features a countdown to the next appearance, so you can at least get yourself into the right spot to see one first-hand.

These cracks in the island will likely continue to appear with increasing frequency and severity. What that means for Season 8 remains to be seen, but it could be that Epic is looking to drastically change the island by breaking pieces of it off. Although a start date for Fortnite Season 8 hasn’t officially been confirmed, a set of Overtime Challenges introduced as part of update 7.40 will expire on February 27, leading many to speculate that Season 8 could kick off on February 28.

Interestingly, the Overtime Challenges also provide players with an opportunity to get a free Fortnite Season 8 Battle Pass. All they need to do to claim a Battle Pass for free is complete 13 of the challenges included in the event between now and February 27. The first batch of Overtime Challenges are available now, and you can learn more about the event as well as see the challenges here.

If you still have outstanding challenges from this season, take a look at our complete Fortnite Season 7 challenges roundup, which compiles all the tips and guides we’ve written for Season 7’s trickier challenges. Use that and you’ll have them all done in no time.

Weapons, Attachments, And Loot

Like most shooters, both Fortnite and Apex Legends have a smattering of different kinds of guns to use in various scenarios, ranging from pistols and shotguns to assault rifles and sniper rifles. Apex Legends’ guns come from the Titanfall universe, and therefore tend to mix in sci-fi types like energy weapons, while Fortnite’s are usually a little more traditional–but also throw in a few weird ones now and again, like the Boogie Bomb, which causes enemies afflicted by it to start dancing uncontrollably.

One of Apex Legends’ better improvements on the battle royale formula is how it deals with inventory management. Guns all take a specific kind of ammo, but that ammo is color-coded so that when you find some in the world, you immediately know if it goes with the guns you’re carrying. When you find weapon attachments, they’re added to your guns automatically if they fit. If you trade a gun with something new you find on the ground, any appropriate attachments will be added to it, as well. Anything you find in the world that’s worse than what you’re currently carrying is marked as such.

Fortnite, meanwhile, doesn’t include attachments, but instead color-codes its weapons to denote how good they are. Rarer, higher-tier guns have better attachments like scopes and suppressors, reload faster, or do more damage. For Apex Legends, guns are all the same until you add attachments that make them better, and some attachments are higher tier–and therefore more effective–than others.