Our First Look At DC Multiverse Action Figures From McFarlane Toys

Way back in February, it was announced that McFarlane Toys had partnered with Warner Bros. Consumer Products to produce new action figures and collectibles based on the DC Multiverse, taking over the collector-targeted line previously handled by DC Collectibles. Sure enough, we just got a big huge pile of official images from McFarlane, as well as some details.

But first, check out these toys:

The action figures are all in 7″ scale, meaning they’re at home with the the rest of your McFarlane toys (as well as NECA and Storm Collectibles, which is great if you want to have Batman fight the Predator or Goro from Mortal Kombat) and they feature up to 22 points of articulation. And that’s not regular articulation, buddy, that’s ULTRA-articulation.

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I Miss the Brothers in Arms Series

I remember a time before Borderlands became a runaway hit. Before Duke Nukem Forever arrived a decade too late. Before the whole Aliens: Colonial Marines fiasco and long before headlines for all the wrong reasons. I remember when Gearbox felt like the most earnest development studio and studio-head Randy Pitchford seemed endearingly passionate.

Indeed, it was Pitchford’s passion that drew my attention to the Brothers in Arms series in 2004, when I stumbled on pre-release footage of the series’ first game, Road to Hill 30, while looking for info about Ghost Recon 2 on Ubisoft’s website.

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A Trio Of Great PC Games Are Free Right Now

The Epic Games Store is ringing in 2020 by giving away three free PC games until January 9 at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET. The freebies represent the end of Epic’s 12 Days of Free Games promotion that actually ended up lasting a full two weeks. To claim the free games, you just need to have a free Epic account.

Two of the free games come from the Darksiders series. If you haven’t played the post-apocalyptic action series that pits angels against demons, now’s your chance to start from the beginning of the saga. Darksiders Warmastered Edition and Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition are remastered versions of the first two games in the series. Both games offer quality hack and slash gameplay and awesome atmospheres. Darksiders received an 8/10 in GameSpot’s original 2010 review, and Darksiders II earned an 8.5/10 in GameSpot’s original 2012 review.

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If you like what you play, you can move onto 2018’s Darksiders 3 and the recently-released Darksiders Genesis, which introduces more role-playing mechanics and a new top-down perspective.

Quite a departure from Darksiders, Steep is a 2016 extreme sports sim from Ubisoft. Though focused on snowboarding and skiing, Steep also has paragliding, sledding, base jumping, and wingsuit flying. Steep earned a 7/10 in GameSpot’s review. Critic Leif Johnson praised the open world mountain and the game’s overall variety while lamenting the lack of objective rewards beyond cosmetics.

Now Playing: First 18 Minutes Of Darksiders Genesis Gameplay

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PS4’s Free PS Plus Games For January 2020 Announced

2020 is here, and with the new year, Sony has announced the first month of free PS4 games for PlayStation Plus subscribers. They become available on January 6, so be sure to snag Titanfall 2 and Monster Energy Supercross before then.

Starting January 6, PS Plus users can claim Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection and Goat Simulator. They’re free until February 3, and you’ll have access to both of them for as long as you’re subscribed to PlayStation Plus. Once they become available, you can claim them through the links below.

GameSpot’s Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection review scored the game an 8/10, thanks in part to its more stable frame rate and the “masterful pacing of Uncharted 2 and 3.”

“Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune was a fine game in 2007, but its wrinkles are deeper now, its age more apparent,” critic Mike Mahardy wrote. “With Uncharted 2 and 3, though, Naughty Dog transcended Drake’s own small beginnings. The Nathan Drake Collection is a firsthand account of Naughty Dog’s growth as a storyteller, and this collection is the best way to relive that history, and witness its transformation up close.”

Goat Simulator, on the other hand, is a hilarious romp through multiple open worlds that each offer ample opportunity for goat shenanigans. There’s no denying it’s a weird game, but if you’re the kind of person who likes to mess around, inadvertently cause explosions, and stick your goat tongue to things to see what happens, then Goat Simulator is absolutely worth trying when it goes free with PlayStation Plus.

PS Plus free games for January 2020

Available January 6 – February 3

Now Playing: Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection – Video Review

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Some Of 2019’s Best PC Games Can Be Bought At Their Best Prices Yet

The holidays may be over, but that doesn’t mean the sales have to be. The Epic Games Store agrees and has kicked off an encore sale, featuring a selection of the PC games that were on sale during its holiday specials, including Red Dead Redemption 2, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and Control–the latter is one of GameSpot’s best games of 2019.

The best part about the encore sale is that if you still have a $10 holiday coupon, you can use it on any game that is $14.99 or more. Every Epic Games Store user should still have one, as the holiday sale would grant you another every time you used it on an eligible game. However, unlike the holiday sale, you won’t earn any additional coupons–it’s one and done in the encore sale. That means you can still get Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order for $39.79 or Red Dead Redemption 2 for $38. This brings a lot of these games to their best price yet.

The encore sale lasts from now until January 7 at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET. If you have Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or Xbox Game Pass for PC subscription, then you don’t need to pay anything extra to be able to play a select few of these games. Game Pass’s PC library currently includes The Outer Worlds, Metro Exodus, and Metro: Last Light Redux. And right now, you can subscribe to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $1 for your first three months.

During the holiday sale, the Epic Games Store offered a new free game every day. And with the new year, Epic isn’t stopping there. It’s currently giving away three great games for free: Darksiders: War-Mastered Edition, Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition, and Steep.

Now Playing: Red Dead Redemption 2 Max PC Settings Gameplay

The Best Comics of the Decade (2010 – 2019)

As another decade dawns for the comic book industry, it only makes sense to look back on the best comics of the past ten years. The 2010’s were certainly a time of major upheaval, from DC’s New 52 reboot to Archie Comics drastically reinventing itself to the rise of digital comics. But through it all, it was never not a great time to be reading comics.

After plenty of thought a debate, we’ve put together a list of the 100 best comics of the 2010’s. This list includes ongoing series, miniseries and graphic novels. The only qualifier is that these projects had to begin in 2010 or later (which is why books like Locke & Key or Geoff Johns’ Green Lantern didn’t make the cut). All of these picks are equally deserving of being considered the best of the decade, hence why the list is ordered alphabetically rather than ranked.

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10 Video Game Tropes to Leave in the Last Decade

A new decade is almost upon us, meaning it’s a time for reflection and gratitude. But it is also a time for bitching about all the trends and tropes we hated from the last ten years in gaming. Guess which one I’m about to do?

That’s right, it’s time to talk about the top 10 gaming tropes (we should leave in the last decade).

Flip through the slideshow above or scroll down the page for my full list.

1. Audio Logs, Emails, Memos, Notes, and Diaries for “Worldbuilding”

Anything that takes you out of the game to dispense lore that doesn’t advance the plot or expand on the world in a meaningful way should be abolished. My least favorite are the ones that stop playing or get real quiet whenever another character starts talking…in a game where characters never stop talking. What about the ones that clip off when you reach a story checkpoint just inches away? Are you supposed to just stand there and listen? I don’t have time for that, I have aliens/bandits/demons/enemy soldiers/whatever that need shooting.

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