Month: March 2019

Sony has confirmed that it will cease selling game digital download codes through brick-and-mortar retailers. The new policy will go into effect on April 1, but you’ll still be able to purchase digital games without putting your credit card info into Sony’s PlayStation Network storefront.

“We can confirm that as of April 1, 2019, Sony Interactive Entertainment will no longer offer full games through SIE’s Global Digital at Retail program,” a PlayStation spokesperson told The Verge. “This decision was made in order to continue to align key businesses globally. To support full games and premium editions, SIE will introduce increased denominations at select retailers. DLC, add-ons, virtual currency, and season passes will still be available.”

You can still purchase digital currency through retailers, as well as add-ons to other games, but not download codes for the games themselves. The company has not detailed what new denominations of currency will be available, or where. Still, this will make it more difficult to gift digital game purchases to friends, since that option does not currently exist on PlayStation Network.

The word of the change in policy first circulated from the Wario64 account, which noted a policy memo given to retailers. The change also impacts some existing pre-orders for upcoming games like Mortal Kombat 11 or Days Gone, as the memo says there will be a one-week period after release to buy a download code in the store. It seems as if retailers themselves will be responsible for helping transition to the physical copies for games that will no longer have a digital option.

The move would appear especially risky for GameStop, as both new and pre-owned sales have been hurt by the rise of digital downloads across all platforms. The company has recently attempted a pivot towards pop culture collectibles. It recently began looking for a buyer, but stopped the effort without finding a buyer. Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter suggested at the time that rumors of disc-less consoles and streaming services could have a severe impact on GameStop’s business.

Sony recently announced a spate of new games during its debut State of Play stream, and if you’re looking something to buy right now, be sure to check out the best current deals on the PlayStation Store.

Six months ago, developers Guard Crush Games (Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap) and Lizardcube (Streets of Fury) announced the latest instalment in Sega’s classic arcade beat-em-up series, Streets of Rage 4. Information about the title has been scarce since the reveal trailer, however.Though no release date has been confirmed as of yet, the developers have released a new trailer showing off some intense, visually stunning gameplay.

The trailer, which you can watch below, features some very 80s style drums and synth patterns, accompanied by hand-drawn visuals as Axel Stone and Blaze Fielding walk up and down city streets beating up whoever’s in their way. The game looks smooth and distinct, with richly saturated colors and smooth animations. Throughout the trailer, both Axel and Blaze juggle opponents in the air and to each other like tennis players, showcasing just how cooperative SOR4 will be. It’s short, lasting only 40-seconds long, but it’s a tantalizing look at the game.

Our own Alessandro Fillari came away impressed during his hands-on time with the game back at PAX West 2018. In his write-up, he said that “the game reflects its predecessors’ history and legacy.” He went on to state that the gameplay feels familiar, with the developers citing Streets of Rage II and Streets of Rage 3 as being starting points.

Fillari also explained the new modified super move system, which, like SOR2, will “deplete some of your health.” However, to keep the game in line with its contemporaries, SOR4 will allow you to recover the depleted health with regular attacks, something he likens to Bloodborne‘s health regen system.

Along with gameplay and mechanics, Fillari also touched on the new visual art style, calling it “a much more dynamic look compared to its predecessor’s vivid, yet still static cityscape.” Instead of the 2D sprite work found in the original titles, SOR4 features hand-drawn visuals similar to Lizardcube’s 2017 title, Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap–a remake of the 1989 game Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap. In addition to gameplay changes and a revamp in art aesthetics, SOR4 will have “its own unique score and effects to help make it stand out from the original game.” Unfortunately, the developers are hush-hush about the rest of the game, including whether the series’ original composer, Yuzo Koshiro, will return to score SOR4.

Street of Rage 4 is currently in development. A definitive release date is unknown and there’s no word on what platforms it’ll appear on.

Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb has announced Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 is an Xbox One backwards compatibility title. You can now play the 2007 Xbox 360 game on Xbox One, whether you own the physical or digital version of the game.

You don’t have to buy the game if you subscribe to Xbox Live Gold either. Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 has been announced as one of the four titles offered through Games With Gold in April 2019. So with Xbox Live Gold, you’ll be able to download Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 for free April 16 – 30.

Like its predecessor, Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 puts an emphasis on stealth and tactical decision making in firefights. The game’s story takes place over a 72-hour period, focusing on a series of conflicts that occur along the US and Mexico border. Like the rest of the Ghost Recon franchise, you play as a part of an elite special forces US group that responds to international threats around the globe, operating in complete secrecy with a mixture of traditional weapons and advanced, futuristic tech.

In our Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 review, we gave the game a 8.7/10, writing, “There’s such a wealth of content in the multiplayer suite that it alone makes GRAW2 an easy purchase for multiplayer fans. If the original game is any indication, there’s going to be a large following for GRAW2 for a long time, which makes this a safe investment. The flip side to this is that if you don’t have Xbox Live, then GRAW2 is an iffier proposition. The single-player game is fun, but its brevity is certainly an issue. Still, if you’re a fan of modern combat, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 makes a compelling case for a game that you have to play.”

The story of the Ghosts continues in the franchise’s most recent game, Ghost Recon: Wildlands, which is available for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. If you’re looking for more classic games to play, check out the full list of Xbox One backwards compatibility titles. We’ve also highlighted some of our favorites.

Like From Software’s Dark Souls series and Bloodborne, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is already a pretty difficult game. Unlike From’s previous titles, though, there are particular ways to make the experience even tougher. It’s not quite as easy as going into a menu and switching the game from Normal difficulty to Hard, but if you know where to find it, there is a Hard mode–and even tougher challenges beyond that, once you’ve finished the game.

The Hard mode of Sekiro is actually an inventory item you can find in a very specific place along your journey. You’ll find it on the road to Senpou Temple, near the Sculptor’s Idol for the Shugendo region on Mount Kongo.

As you climb the mountain and reach the wooden bridge at the top, you should see a shrine with an iron bell off to the left. From here, head toward the rocky outcropping beside the bridge, and look along the left side for a spot where you can drop down, near a tree stump grapple point. Drop as far down as you can go and look along the cliff’s edge for a wooden walkway you can jump over to. Follow the walkway around until you reach its end and look across and down at the cliff wall ahead. You should see a portion of the wall you can catch and ledge-hang from, but you’ll need to leap across the gap to reach it. Catch the ledge and climb up to reach the bell shrine above.

There’s another, possibly easier path to reach the location, and you can do it even earlier than Shugendo. In the Ashina Outskirts, fight your way to the Underbridge Valley Sculptor’s Idol. From here, climb back up to the broken bridge and go left along the outer wall of the fortress. You should see another wooden walkway with a note warning about the deadly Headless up ahead. Follow the path until you hit a dead end and look at the cliff wall for a place you can jump and catch a ledge. Keep following the ledge until you can jump down to a cave below. Inside you’ll find the Headless; run past it and look for a hole in the wall behind it. That’ll leave you to a Shinobi escape path door you can open by hugging the wall, which will take you directly to the bell shrine on Mount Kongo.

To activate Hard mode, just ring the bell. You’ll be afflicted with something called Sinister Burden, and in your inventory, you’ll have a Bell Demon item. This marks that you’re being possessed by the Bell Demon, who will make combat harder against all enemies, but especially bosses. The trade-off is that you get better rewards for winning fights, which can help you grind out upgrades against weaker foes in the early parts of the game.

You can also switch off the Bell Demon Hard mode at any time. Just open your inventory and find the Bell Demon item, and then activate it like you would any other consumable. That makes the possession disappear, which is useful when you’re about to encounter a boss that’s tough enough as it is. There’s a Sculptor’s Idol for the Bell Demon’s Temple as well, so you can quickly travel back and reacquire the demon if you need to get rid of it for a while.

A second Hard mode offering becomes available if you complete the game and start a New Game + run. This inherently increases difficulty, with enemies hitting harder along the way. But you can make things even tougher on yourself, however, if you decline to take the charm Kuro offers you early on. Without the charm, you’ll take even more damage, and you won’t be able to rely as much on blocking without parrying–enemies will now be able to deal you some damage even if you block.

We’ve got plenty more guides for Sekiro, including a rundown of where to find every Shinobi Prosthetic tool. You might also want to read our Sekiro review while you’re at it.

While the upcoming X-men movie Dark Phoenix has had its release date moved back a couple of times, we do at least know that it will be hitting theaters this summer. The same can’t be said for The New Mutants, the horror-themed X-Men spin-off that was shot two years ago and has been subjected to various delays ever since. Now star Maisie Williams has expressed her frustration with the situation.

In an interview with Rolling Stone to promote the upcoming final season of Game of Thrones, Williams was asked about the status of The New Mutants. “Who knows when the f*** that’s gonna come out,” she said. “Hopefully this interview will make everyone hurry up a little bit.”

Williams explained that reshoots planned to “make it scarier” hadn’t taken place yet, even though the movie currently has an August 2 release date. In addition, she stated that she recently saw co-star Charlie Heaton and asked him, “What the f*** is going on with this movie?” Unfortunately, Heaton didn’t know either.

This isn’t the first time one of the stars of The New Mutants has expressed their feelings about the delays to the film. Last year, Anna Taylor-Joy described the situation as “frustrating.” The movie is directed by Josh Boone, who previously stated that it will be a “rubber-reality supernatural horror movie.”

The New Mutants was originally set for release in April 2018. It was subsequently moved to February 2019, before shifting again to August. Although that date has not changed, it seems highly unlikely the movie will be released then–there have been no trailers since the first one back in October 2017, and the cast clearly have no idea when we are likely to see it.

While there were reports of potential reshoots before Disney’s recent purchase of Fox’s entertainment assets, the fact the movie is now under the Disney banner complicates matters. It is thought that Fox’s Marvel properties–namely X-Men and the Fantastic Four–will be brought into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. According to The Hollywood Reporter, The New Mutants could be released straight to the upcoming streaming service Disney+, but the studio has not commented on this.

If you haven’t peeked at the Xbox Store this week, you absolutely should. Not only are some of the best games from last week’s sale still available, but more great deals were also added today. Before we get into those, be sure to check out the Critically Acclaimed Sale, which has discounts on some of the best games available on Xbox One, including Red Dead Redemption 2, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Celeste, Dead Cells, and more. Only one day is left for these incredible deals, so grab whatever you want ASAP.

In case you haven’t heard, this week marks the 25th anniversary of The Elder Scrolls–the first game in the series, The Elder Scrolls: Arena, released back in 1994. To celebrate, Bethesda is offering huge deals on many Elder Scrolls titles this week, including The Elder Scrolls Online ($10), The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Special Edition ($24), and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion ($7.50). The Elder Scrolls Online deal is available through April 8; the other deals will only be around through April 1. As a heads-up, you can also download The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind for free on PC all this week, with that offer ending Sunday, March 31.

An iconic DC superhero is getting some love in the Xbox store this week: Batman’s Arkham series and Lego games are marked down up to 60% right now. Grab Batman: Arkham Knight for $10, Batman: Return to Arkham for $10, and the Batman: Arkham Knight season pass for (you guessed it) $10. If you’re a fan of the Lego games, you can also get Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham for $10 and its Deluxe edition for $17.50. Plus, the Lego DC Super-Villains season pass is only $9. The Lego games make for some entertaining couch co-op if you enjoy playing locally with a friend or partner.

Another notable deal: Battlefield V is 50% off for a limited time to celebrate the release of its free battle royale mode, Firestorm. You can grab the base game for just $30 for the next two days. Its Deluxe edition is also marked down to $40. Other great deals this week include Titanfall 2 ($5) and Injustice 2 ($28), both of which will be available through April 1.

Shop this week’s Xbox game deals »

And see more of our picks from the sale below!

Xbox One

Xbox 360

Critically Acclaimed Sale (ending within 24 hours) »