Fortnite’s Joy Ride update was one of the battle royale’s best batches of new content in recent memory. It added semi-realistic sports cars, trucks, and sedans that are more fun to mess around with compared to Fortnite’s previous set of vehicles. So it’s a shame that you can’t actually drive them all.
A good number of cars spread across the map are locked with a yellow boot. It’s almost as if there is some sort of secret parking enforcement agency working extra hard to prevent players from having fun. Nothing ruins a plan to escape the storm faster than finding a car parked in the middle of nowhere with a boot on its tire. Some players have gotten so annoyed that they’ve asked Epic to add bolt cutters, an item that could break the boots, to the battle royale.
What’s even worse is that Epic Games removed helicopters from the game at the beginning of Season 5. Mudflaps, the big semi-trucks, had also been removed due to a bug that made players invisible. Mudflaps have now been re-added to the game, but it seems like there are fewer ways to get around the map with every update. At least the Operation Snowdown Winter added the X-4 Stormwing planes back to the game.
Epic could remove some cars from the map if there are too many, but not knowing what to expect when walking up to a vehicle is a bummer. There could be fewer vehicles–as long as they’re all drivable.
It’s hard to say why there are so many boots across the Fortnite map, but it’s quite frustrating. How are you supposed to escape a bounty contract when you can’t get behind the wheel? Players are so desperate for a functional set of wheels that they’ve resorted to driving Master Chief’s warthog emote across the map.
Co-developer Raven Software will deploy a new update for Call of Duty: Warzone on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S soon that re-enables the recently removed XP tokens players were saving up. The patch notes are outlined below.
All XP tokens earned prior to the start of Season 1 are now usable in both Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone. However, any tokens acquired during Season 1 and beyond will only work in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Warzone. From this point forward, XP tokens–which are used to help players level up faster–can’t be used in Modern Warfare’s multiplayer.
Players were saving their XP tokens to level up the Black Ops Cold War weapons that just hit Warzone. This includes the Groza Assault Rifle and Mac-10 submachine gun.
The latest Warzone update also makes a few other changes to the battle royale game, such as fixing the “Randomize All” option for emblems so it works as intended, ironing out problems with redeeming store bundles, and implementing various weapon adjustments. It comes not long after Treyarch dropped a separate update that temporarily removed attack helicopters.
Call of Duty: Warzone Patch Notes
Enabled use of previously earned Modern Warfare/Warzone XP tokens.
Selecting the “Randomize All” option for emblems should work as intended.
Seasonal Progression Challenges will now show correct preview images.
Hid a base Weapon Challenge that should not have been available yet.
Fixed some issues when redeeming Store bundles.
Various weapon adjustments.
Legacy tokens earned in Modern Warfare before Season 1 will be usable in Modern Warfare multiplayer and Warzone.
All tokens earned in Season 1 and onwards are usable in Black Ops Cold War and Warzone (but not Modern Warfare multiplayer).
The total number of legacy and new tokens visible in Modern Warfare/Warzone (legacy consumed first).
Legacy tokens are not visible in Black Ops Cold War.
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Watch Dogs: Legion has been receiving regular updates with bug fixes and quality-of-life features, but with that work done Ubisoft says it’s looking ahead to the next big thing: multiplayer. The online mode is expected to release with a title update in early 2021.
In a State of the Game update, Ubisoft says that future updates will continue to issue fixes and improvements, but most title updates from here on will include new content. The company says it wanted to focus on fixing some remaining player issues before shifting resources, and now it feels is the time to make that shift. This is the first we’ve heard of the multiplayer mode since it was delayed in service of prioritizing bug fixes.
When it launches, the online mode will allow up to four players to roam the open-world London and take on missions together. The multiplayer options will also include the first Tactical Op and a new PvP mode, Spiderbot Arena. The blog also promises it’s looking into more game modes and surprises, and it will be detailing those along with the Season Pass story content next year.
Legion scored an 8/10 in GameSpot’s review, and reviewer Alessandro Fillari said it has a “powerful anti-fascist and hopeful message about unity and perseverance in the face of adversity.”
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This week on GameSpot After Dark, the crew discusses their personal top 5 games of 2020. (Last year we did our personal top 10 lists, and that took about a thousand hours, so we narrowed it down for you this year.) Jake, Lucy, Tamoor, and Kallie wax poetic about such games as Persona 5 Royal, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Hades, and more that I won’t spoil for you in this intro paragraph.
This is all preceded by a rather somber discussion about the complexities of Cyberpunk 2077‘s launch, including the game’s notably poor performance on base PS4 and Xbox One hardware. The After Dark crew gets a little bit sad thinking about people who are sad about all this.
Also, do you know what a “teaboo” is? No? Well, we have good news–you’ll only have to wait about five seconds before we start explaining that one. Jolly good show!
Below you’ll find all the necessary links to find the show on iTunes, Spotify, SoundCloud, and Google Play. We’ve also included an RSS link so you can put that into your podcast app of choice.
The one and only Master Chief came to Fortnite after a surprise reveal at The Game Awards earlier this month. Lobbies were filled with Spartans almost immediately, but the real star of the show wasn’t him–it was his Warthog.
“I might not have had the v-bucks to get Master Chief,” said Redditor TheRealCourtNut in a thread about the new emote. “But hell yes did I buy this skin and amused the hell out of myself with it last night.”
Just like Kratos before him, Master Chief came to the item shop with a back bling, glider, harvesting tool, and an emote. The emote, which can be purchased separately and used on other characters, shows the character riding around on a mini-Warthog. Master Chief may be the hot skin right now, but every pre-game lobby is packed with tiny Warthogs scooting around in circles.
The Warthog is one of a few emotes that lets you move around the map. Players have used it to recreate Mario Kart, sneak up on bots, and even drive all the way across the map to complete one of weekly challenges. One of the Week 2 challenges tasked players with transporting a vehicle from Steamy Stacks to Pleasant Park. Two players were disappointed to find the emote didn’t count as a vehicle–after they had made the drive.
December has traditionally been the month of sharing, giving, and spending time with your family, but it’s probably safe to say pretty much everyone in the country is eager to turn the page to 2021 already and skip past all that. Hulu and Netflix have already given us a peek at what’s in store for January, and while there’s a good deal of variety over on those other streaming services, if horror is what you’re craving, Shudder is the place to be. Check out the list below of movies and exclusives headed to Shudder for the month of January.
It’s still a ways away, but one of the most immediately eye-catching entries hitting the service is The Walking Dead: World Beyond–a limited series spin-off to, of course, The Walking Dead. The most recent series in TWD universe “delves into a new mythology and story that follows the first generation raised in the surviving civilization of a post-apocalyptic world… pursued by those who wish to protect them and those who wish to harm them, a tale of growing up and transformation unfurls across dangerous terrain, challenging everything they know.” World Beyond, unfortunately, doesn’t come to Shudder until January 21 but it’s well worth waiting for.
Fortunately, Shudder has some original series to help tide you over that are also worth a look. Leading the pack there is Hunted, which kicks off on January 14. A “modern and radical take” on the Little Red Riding Hood fable, Hunted promises to be “an exhilarating, transcendent, and frequently brutal survival tale that elevates itself with the power of myth and magic, while still holding an exacting mirror to present-day society.”
Finally, another Shudder original that deserves consideration is The Queen of Black Magic on January 28. A film from Indonesian master horrors, director Kimo Stamboel (Headshot) and writer Joko Anwar (Satan’s Slaves), The Queen of Black Magic is a supernatural vengeance tale about a family making a pilgrimage to pay their respects after the death of a family friend. Only, once they arrive, they find that “someone is using dark magic to avenge evil deeds, long buried but not forgotten.”
Throughout the rest of the month, there are other great movies headed to Shudder as well. Check out the full list below.
You don’t need to spend $60 or $70 to get a great game, and quite often it’s not even required to spend any money at all. It wouldn’t be much of an exaggeration to suggest that free-to-play games dominate the industry, with staples like Fortnite: Battle Royale and Call of Duty: Warzone among the most-played games today. And when you’re looking for a new single-player game, it’s easy to find riveting and stellar indies for low prices.
GameSpot’s Free/Cheap category spotlights 11 games that truly emphasize the fact that some of the best releases don’t have conventional price tags. As you’ll see, this is an eclectic mix of games, from wildly popular free-to-play multiplayer games to affecting narrative-focused independent games.
For the purpose of this list, we’ve defined cheap as $15 and under. Of course, free-to-play games feature microtransactions, so you could wind up spending quite a bit more, but you don’t have to with the games we’ve highlighted. While most of the games on this list released in 2020, you’ll notice that a few are existing live service games, each of which continued to make big strides forward throughout the year.
This is just one of many end-of-the-year reflection roundups we’re compiling at GameSpot. For more categories, make sure to take a look at our Best of 2020 hub. We also have dedicated roundups for the best Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch games of the year as well as our picks for the 10 best games of 2020.
Among Us
Among Us is one of the feel-good gaming stories of 2020. Originally released in 2018 for mobile devices, Among Us was relatively obscure until it got picked up and played by popular streamers earlier this year. Now it’s one of the most popular multiplayer games on the planet on PC, iOS, and Android (and it just launched on Nintendo Switch, too). The party game drops up to 10 players on a map, with the goal of preparing the ship for launch. However, there are imposters amongst the crew, and their job is to sabotage and kill everyone aboard. Trying to determine the identity of the imposter(s) often leads to some hilarious hijinks whether you’re playing locally with friends or online with random players. Among Us is free-to-play on mobile and costs $5 on PC and Switch.
Riot Games made the jump into the FPS genre this year with Valorant, a 5v5 tactical shooter that feels like a mash-up of Counter Strike and Overwatch. Valorant’s strength lies in its gameplay, which is fast-paced and full of strategy. While it doesn’t have a lot of content at the moment, the main mode (which resembles Demolition) is engaging and each Agent’s abilities add to the tactical experience.
Genshin Impact
Genshin Impact has understandably been compared to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Its open-world, art design, traversal mechanics, and UI all bear some resemblance to the hit Nintendo Switch game, but it’s not a direct clone. A fun, party-based combat system spices things up and elemental interactions let you experiment in fun ways. Even though Genshin Impact gates some content behind paywalls, there’s a surprising amount of quality free content, and it’s a solid experience whether you’re playing on PS4/PS5, PC, or mobile.
Perhaps the most novel game of 2020, Blaseball is a browser-based baseball simulation game that has thrived thanks to its sheer randomness and wonderful community. Blaseball has minimal actual mechanics. Once you start playing, you choose a team and can bet coins on games. Blaseball moves quickly, with seasons lasting only a week. The charm of Blaseball comes from developer The Game Band’s willingness to change things up rather quickly. For instance, a couple months back a season ended with a JRPG boss match against a giant peanut. With wild scenarios like that, it’ll be interesting to see where Blaseball goes next in 2021.
Phasmophobia
Phasmophobia released in early access for PC and VR (Valve Index, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Windows Mixed Reality) in September and has garnered a rather large following since. Though it definitely has its fair share of bugs, Phasmophobia is genuinely one of the more frightening games in recent memory. Four players are tasked with investigating paranormal activity in various haunted buildings. Each investigation is unique and requires you to gather evidence to uncover enough information to identify the ghost. Being a detective specialized in hunting ghosts is a frightening and rewarding pursuit. Piecing together clues requires solid teamwork, and over time, ghosts become sneakier and more nefarious. Each hunt is a thrilling mystery that’s filled with plenty of shocking scares.
Legends of Runeterra
Much like Blizzard built off of the foundation of Warcraft for Hearthstone, Riot Games leveeraged League of Legends characters and lore for the collectible card game Legends of Runeterra. It’s highly polished and easy enough for newcomers of the genre to dive into while also adding a slew of new features that make it stand out from the pack. It adds more avenues toward customizing your deck and opens up new strategies for combating your opponent’s moves. Legends of Runeterra is still in its infancy compared to other mainstays of the genre, but it’s off to a great start.
Murder by Numbers is an intoxicating mashup of Picross and visual novels that excels thanks to its stellar writing and lovely puzzles. It puts you in the shoes of the star of a 1990s procedural crime show. Honor Mizrahi, alongside her robot pal Scout, become real-life detectives, piecing together clues to solve murders and untangle a conspiracy. The cast of diverse characters shine, the soundtrack is catchy, and the art style is gorgeous. It’s available for $15 on Nintendo Switch and PC.
Bithell Games’ latest title is a spin on your grandma’s all-time favorite game. Solitaire has a myriad of variations, but none have possessed this much style as well as an engaging story with FMV cutscenes. With the world’s premier spy agency destroyed, you have to pick up the pieces by mastering a tactically-laced take on Solitaire. The Solitaire Conspiracy builds off of the foundation from the great Solitaire spinoff Streets and Alleys. In addition to the campaign, The Solitaire Conspiracy has an endless mode and daily challenges. It’s available on PC and Mac for $12.
If Found
Deeply moving and thought-provoking, If Found is a coming-of-age story about a young woman named Kasio. If Found’s gameplay revolves around uncovering memories from her diary circa December 1993. In these pages, Kasio’s story about who she really is, her struggles, and the friendships that she leans on for support come to life to tell an impactful story. The writing is exquisite and is beautifully supported by stunning art and subtle sounds that make it easy to become invested and emotionally affected by Kasio’s story.
Call of Duty: Warzone, the latest mega-hit battle royale game, received frequent and notable updates throughout 2020. From in-game events such as the Halloween Zombie Royale to the steady drip of map changes, Activision has begun to follow a Fortnite-like update pattern. Considering Warzone is continuing on alongside Black Ops Cold War with a new slate of seasons and map, it figures to be just as big in 2021, too.
Fortnite may be more than three years old, but it has never stopped evolving. In 2020, Fortnite solidified itself as a cultural platform as well as a popular free-to-play battle royale. Travis Scott, Diplo, and other artists have hosted wildly successful concerts in Fortnite, and an event on systemic racism called “We the People” aired in-game this past summer. Fortnite also continues to get a wide array of cameos from other game franchises and pop culture staples, including Kratos from God of War and Master Chief from Halo.
Apex Legends has changed a lot since early 2019. Not only has the roster of playable characters nearly doubled, but it has two more maps: World’s Edge and Olympus. Plus, Ranked and Duos modes provide additional ways to play, and Quest delivers weekly chunks of story content. If you’re willing to spend some money, Apex Legends: Champion Edition is the best deal for newcomers. For a fraction of the total cost (and time) to unlock them, the Champion Edition nets you all 15 playable characters, plus enough in-game currency to buy into the premium battle pass track. Apex Legends is available to play for free on PS4/PS5, Xbox One/Xbox Series X|S, and PC, with a Nintendo Switch version arriving next year. —Jordan Ramée, Associate Editor
Cyberpunk 2077 has gone through a few tumultuous weeks since launch, with current-gen console players decrying the amount of bugs, clipping, frame rate issues, and full-on crashes. Dissatisfied with the gameplay experience, some players asked for refunds. CD Projekt Red–as well as retail and online stores–is responding and making its refund policies known.
CD Projekt Red’s latest statement addresses retail purchases. The company explicitly comments that their intention is for “every owner of a physical copy, or a digital copy bought at retail, who has valid proof of purchase, to receive a refund.” Notably, CD Projekt Red states it will refund players out of its own pocket if necessary. Players have until December 21, 2020 to request refund help from CD Projekt Red.
Retail stores are clarifying and modifying policies around game software returns for Cyberpunk 2077, as well. Best Buy will officially refund Cyberpunk 2077 console edition purchases from now until December 21, 2020, in line with CD Projekt Red’s own deadline. Previously, per its return policy, Best Buy did not refund opened game software. It will return to that policy after December 21.
Returnable Game SKU’s At Best Buy:
6255151 – Cyberpunk 2077 PS4
6255136 – Cyberpunk 2077 Xbox One
6352276 – Cyberpunk 2077 Collector’s Edition PS4
6352440 – Cyberpunk 2077 Collector’s Edition Xbox One
6414180 – Cyberpunk 2077 Xbox One Digital
In a near unprecedented move, Sony removed Cyberpunk 2077 from its store and will offer refunds to players. Microsoft has not delisted Cyberpunk 2077, but will also offer refunds to any players who want one. Check out our Cyberpunk 2077 refund guide for more information.
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Fortnite’s holiday event has frozen some of the battle royale map while giving players new challenges to complete. Operation Snowdown has a number of special rewards you can earn within the next two weeks–here’s a guide on how to handle one of the most challenging ones.
The challenge tasks players with visiting Snowmando Outposts across the Fortnite map. There are five in all. This guide will show you the quickest way to get to them.
Where Are All The Snowmando Outposts?
The Snowmando Outposts are scattered throughout the map. One can be currently found in the new section of the map that’s been snowed in, while the other four are in old locations. All you’ll need to do is land at them for a brief second to complete each section of the quest. Here’s a map with specific locations.
The holiday event also reintroduced the X-4 Stormwing planes to Fortnite, so you can easily land at some of these locations and then fly to the others. The best way to do it is to land at the location below Steamy Stacks, grab a plane, and then fly to the others. Be prepared for a fight because everyone is landing at these locations.
What Do The Snowmando Outposts Look Like?
Fortnite Snowmando Outpost
The Snowmando Outposts are buildings with a red gift wrapping exterior. They’re filled with holiday items like gifts, reindeer, and nutcrackers. You’ll also find loot and chests inside them but those get snatched up quickly. You’ll need to open chests at Snowmando Outposts to complete another quest; you can do that while you’re visiting them for the first time.
What Do You Get For Visiting All Snowmando Outposts?
You’ll unlock the special “Frost in Action” loading screen once you’ve visited all outposts. There are 15 Snowmando quests to complete over the next two weeks. Only a few are unlocked now, but more will unlock over time.
Compared to other subclasses in Destiny 2, Beyond Light’s new Stasis subclass is a different set of powers altogether. Focused on manipulating the battlefield and creating a more defined role for each Guardian class, Stasis can be further customized through the use of Fragments and Aspects. This results in the Solar, Arc, and Void subclasses feeling more antiquated in comparison, but Bungie is examining if it can bring the new customization options to these older classes.
“We only want to have one central system for Supers,” Destiny 2 game director Luke Smith explained to Polygon. The refinement of the Stasis subclass and other possible Darkness powers takes priority for now though, but “on a long enough timeline,” the evolution of the original classes is something that Smith is passionate about looking at in the future.
“I can totally imagine [it] in ‘Luke Fantasyland.’ You know, all the Supers using the same system, that sounds awesome. But also the Supers that we have in the game would be an edited list. It would be something that’s edited toward more identity than what we have today. The classes [Hunter, Warlock, and Titan] are kind of homogenous.”
The endgame would be to create more distinct identities for each Guardian class through the use of Supers, striking a balance that would make each class a valuable part of a team and more vital. The catch here is that to do just that, Bungie would have to look at sacrificing some Supers so that each Guardian archetype could play on equal footing. An example of this would involve keeping a Warlock’s Nova Bomb super but cutting the Nova warp ability from the game since it appears to mostly be used in PvP activities.
According to Smith, that would eventually result in “class jealousy” and prompt players to experiment with other Guardian classes. Smith isn’t certain if such a drastic change will happen, and even if it gets approved it may be years away.
