You Don’t Have To Go To Disneyland For Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Toys Now

Given that going to a theme park might not be at the top of your to-do list during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the parks are coming to you–in a way. Disney has announced a line of products from and inspired by Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the Star Wars-themed land at both California’s Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida.

The new line of products includes toys, clothes, and even books that are attempting to bring some of the Galaxy’s Edge experience home, even if they can’t compete with the unrivaled joy of Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, the land’s signature ride. Among the items you can pre-order now are a radio-controlled BB-unit droid that looks a lot like the ones you can build at Droid Depot in Galaxy’s Edge, as well as a Lego version of a transport ship you ride in Rise of the Resistance.

There’s even a couple of new Black Series action figures available, including one modeled after DJ-R3X, the droid that provides music inside Oga’s Cantina. For those that aren’t caught up in the Star Wars lore in Disney’s parks, the droid, also known as Rex, first appeared as a pilot in the Star Tours attraction between 1987 and 2010. In the parks, the character is voiced by Paul “Pee-wee Herman” Reubens.

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Other items coming to the Galaxy’s Edge selection include a recreation of the Millennium Falcon as it appears outside of the Smuggler’s Run ride, as well as “traveler’s guide” to Batuu, the planet Galaxy’s Edge is set on. “This guidebook includes a history of the outpost, recommendations on where to eat and what to do during your planetary trip, as well as insider tips on how to best navigate the local terrain and politics,” a description reads.

All of the items will be available in Target stores and online beginning August 30. As of now, Disney World–including Hollywood Studios–remains open to reduced capacity crowds. Disneyland, on the other hand, has no date set for welcoming guests again. The park was originally set to reopen on July 17, but that was delayed at the end of June.

Now Playing: What It’s Like To Ride Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance At Galaxy’s Edge

The Dark Souls Series Gets Some Slick Discounts On PC

With Elden Ring news expected in the coming months, it’s never been a better time to jump into From Software’s beloved Dark Souls series. Thankfully, you can get all of the games and DLC expansions at great prices, thanks to a new Humble sale that discounts the entire franchise. If you’re looking to get all three games and everything they offer, all you have to pay is $51.22.

Dark Souls Remastered is currently down to $20. The remaster gave the original game a new coat of paint. It can now run at 4K and 60 FPS, with some changes to how the online multiplayer works–there are now dedicated servers, and up to six players can be in a single world at a time, as opposed to the original’s four. Many laud the original as one of the best games ever made. GameSpot’s Dark Souls review scored it a 9.5/10, criticizing the original version’s frame rate performance, something that’s now fixed with the remaster.

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin is the black sheep of the Dark Souls family, featuring unique mechanics and systems that the other two don’t. Regardless, it’s still a great game that scored a 9/10 in our Dark Souls II review. Scholar of the First Sin comes with all of the game’s DLC and only costs $10.

Dark Souls III was a much faster game than its predecessors, taking some inspiration from Bloodborne, another game in From Software’s library. It saw a return to the original’s lore and many of its mechanics while making adjustments to how some of them work, such as curse and bleeding afflictions. It scored an 8/10 in GameSpot’s Dark Souls III review for its thrilling combat and creative, challenging bosses. You can snag Dark Souls III for $15, the Ashes of Ariandel DLC for $7.49, and The Ringed City DLC for $7.49. Alternatively, you can get both DLCs in the season pass for $12.49 or the Dark Souls III: Deluxe Edition for $21.24, which gets you the base game and both expansions.

Now Playing: Dark Souls: Remastered Gameplay – Is Blighttown Fixed?

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Xbox’s Summer Game Fest Demo Event Now Live With Over 70 Playable Games

In partnership with the Summer Game Fest, Xbox’s summer demo event is now live on Xbox One. From now until July 27, you can check out over 70 available demos of unreleased Xbox One games from the comfort of your home.

These downloadable Xbox One demos aren’t the “normal” demos players have come to understand. Instead of being a polished, vertical slice of an upcoming or soon-to-be-released game, the demos are more akin to “showroom floor” demos, those that appear at trade show conventions and events. In other words, these demos are not necessarily indicative of the game’s final, full release.

Still, the laundry list of demos available spans a variety of genres, from action-roguelike to casual skateboarding sims and everything in between. There are even highly anticipated games featured in the demo list, including Genesis Noir, Haven by Furi developer The Game Bakers, Cris Tales, and many more.

More demos will be added to the extensive list throughout the week, Xbox confirmed. The company said the Xbox Dashboard will highlight new titles as they arrive. You can check out the full list of Xbox One demos available right now below.

Full Xbox One Summer Game Fest Demo List

  • 9 Monkeys of Shaolin (Sobaka Studio)
  • A Duel Hand Disaster: Trackher (Ask An Enemy Studios)
  • Alchemist Adventure (Bad Minions)
  • Aniquilation (R-Next)
  • Antipole DX (Saturnine Games)
  • Armed and Gelatinous (Three Flip Studios)
  • Ars Fabulae (Punk Notion)
  • Back to Belt (Mauricio Felippe)
  • Bite the Bullet (Mega Cat Studios)
  • Book of Adventum (Dark Amber Softworks)
  • Cake Bash (High Tea Frog)
  • Chickens Madness (Vikong)
  • Clea (InvertMouse)
  • Cris Tales (Dreams Uncorporated, SYCK)
  • Curved Space (Only By Midnight Ltd.)
  • Dandy Ace (Mad Mimic)
  • Darkestville Castle (Epic Llama)
  • Deleveled (ToasterFuel)
  • Destroy All Humans! (Black Forest Games)
  • Doodle God: Crime City Demo (JoyBits, Inc)
  • Dungeon and Gravestone (Wonderland Kazakiri inc.)
  • Dungeon Scavenger Inferno (Vidama Software)
  • Ephemeral Tale (Dawdling Dog, ltd.)
  • Flowing Lights (gFaUmNe)
  • Fractal Space (Haze Games)
  • Freshly Frosted (The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild)
  • Galacide (Puny Human)
  • Gauntlet Force: Rise of the Machines Demo (Forge Studios)
  • Genesis Noir (Feral Cat Den)
  • Haven (The Game Bakers)
  • Helheim Hassle (Perfectly Paranormal)
  • Hellpoint (Cradle Games)
  • In the Valley of Death (stdio.gypsy)
  • Kaze and the Wild Masks (PixelHive)
  • Klang 2 (Tinimations)
  • Knight Squad 2 (Chainsawesome Games)
  • Kova: AlphaLink (Black Hive Media)
  • KungFu Kickball (WhaleFood Games)
  • Long Ago: A Puzzle Tale (GrimTalin)
  • Lost Wing (BoxFrog Games)
  • Mars Power Industries Deluxe (7A Games)
  • Mayhem Brawler (Hero Concept)
  • Momentus (Swerve Studios)
  • Nine Witches: Family Disruption (Indiesruption)
  • OkunoKA Madness (Caracal Games)
  • PHOGS! (Bit Loom)
  • Pixel Skater (Chickopie Games)
  • Ponpu (Purple Tree Studio)
  • Projection: First Light (Shadowplay Studios)
  • Raji: An Ancient Epic (Nodding Heads Games)
  • Re:Turn – One Way Trip (Red Ego Games)
  • Road to Guangdong (Just Add Oil)
  • Rover Wars: Battle for mars Demo (Sakari Games)
  • Sail Forth (David Evans Games)
  • ScourgeBringer (Flying Oak Games)
  • Seasons of the Samurai (TopView Studio)
  • SkateBIRD (Glass Bottom Games)
  • Skycadia (Studio Nisse LLC)
  • Solaroids: Prologue (DynF/X Digital)
  • Space Otter Charlie (Wayward Distractions)
  • Swim Out (Lozange Lab)
  • Swimsanity! (Decoy Games, LLC)
  • Tesla Force (10tons Ltd.)
  • The Ambassador: Fractured Timelines (tinyDino)
  • The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav (Daedalic Entertainment)
  • The Dark Eye: Memoria (Daedalic Entertainment)
  • The Last Cube (Improx Games)
  • The Vale: Shadow of the Crown (Falling Squirrel Inc.)
  • Tribble Troubles Demo (Scary Robot)
  • Unspottable (GrosChevaux Ltd)
  • WarriOrb (Not Yet)
  • Welcome to Elk (Triple Topping)
  • YesterMorrow (BitMap Galaxy)

US Navy Twitch Channel Joins The Army In Banning Viewers For Asking About War Crimes

The US Navy has started banning Twitch viewers for asking about war crimes in chat, according to Kotaku. This comes shortly after the US Army Twitch channel also started banning any users that ask about war crimes.

Like the US Army esports channel, the US Navy Twitch channel is a recruitment tool aimed at gamers. The official channel description reads, “Other people will tell you not to stay up all night staring at a screen. We’ll pay you to do it.”

Phrases like “war crimes” and alternate spellings are banned from chat, but viewers who find an alternative way to ask about war crimes or other issues prevalent in the military, like PTSD, will get banned from the channel. The name “Eddie Gallagher” was briefly on the banned word list, as viewers would refer to the Navy SEAL who was turned in by his own platoon for allegedly murdering a prisoner of war and posing with the body.

These bans have sparked further controversy because in the eyes of some, like the ACLU, the bans are unconstitutional. Since the military is an extension of the federal government, banning people for talking about war crimes could be considered a violation of the first amendment.

In addition to the bans, the US Army has also been asked by Twitch to stop promoting seemingly fake giveaways that lead users to a page where they could give recruiters their personal information. A US Army representative said that the giveaways were legitimate but Twitch said that they lacked transparency. The US Army has also banned a number of users posting about war crimes in their Discord channel.

Twitch itself has been the subject of recent criticism for releasing a Black Lives Matter video featuring primarily white streamers and for saying that the G in LGBTQIA+ stood for “gamer.”

Now Playing: Top New Game Releases This Week On Switch, PS4, Xbox One, And PC — July 22-28

Rocket League Goes Free-To-Play This Summer

Developer Psyonix has announced that its soccer car game, Rocket League, will be free-to-play this summer on all platforms. The exact date when the game will transition to its new free-to-play model was not confirmed, but as part of this shift the game is also leaving Steam–although existing owners will be able to continue playing it there without issue.

Rocket League going free-to-play coincides with a number of changes, including adjustments to the Challenge and Tournament systems. Cross-platform progression for item inventory, Rocket Pass progress, and Competitive Rank will also be introduced with this update. You just have to link your information to a free Epic Games Account; Rocket League will also launch on the Epic Games Store and features cross-platform play with all platforms when it goes free-to-play this summer. It’s worth noting that Psyonix was acquired by Epic Games in May 2019, hence why it will launch on the EGS this summer.

Unfortunately, this means that after the free-to-play update goes live this summer, new players will no longer be able to download Rocket League from Steam. Still, anyone who already owns it on any platform will get access to all future updates and features at no additional cost. And those who play Rocket League online prior to the free-to-play update will be awarded Legacy status, which comes with a bunch of goodies including all DLC, extra cosmetics, and more. You can check the full list of what comes with Legacy status below:

  • All Rocket League-branded DLC released before free to play
  • “Est. 20XX” title that displays the year when the player first started playing Rocket League
  • 200+ Common items upgraded to “Legacy” quality
  • Golden Cosmos Boost
  • Dieci-Oro Wheels
  • Huntress Player Banner
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There’s another freebie Psyonix is giving away to dedicated Rocket League fans. If you happened to play the game before this announcement, you’ll receive the Faded Cosmos Boost for free. This and all the items mentioned above will be gifted to your player account when Rocket League goes free-to-play.

More information about this update, including changes to Challenge and Tournament systems, will be divulged in the coming weeks.

Psyonix recently celebrated Rocket League’s five-year anniversary with a bunch of returning game modes. The studio also announced that the soccer car game has been played by 75 million people, along with other impressive stats for a game that first launched on July 7, 2015.

Now Playing: Rocket League With Naomi Kyle!

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New Friday the 13th Box Set Is Up for Preorder at Amazon

Heads up, horror fans: Amazon has just listed the upcoming 16-disc Friday the 13th Blu-ray box set from Scream Factory. The set releases on October 13, just in time to enjoy the entire thing before the spookiest of holidays arrives. And it’s on sale for $132.99, down from the list price of $159.99.

The reason this box set is a big deal is because, thanks to a collaboration between Paramount Studios and New Line Cinema, it contains all 12 films in the series. It also comes with an avalanche of new and previously released extras. Below you’ll find the (absurdly long) list of everything on each disc.

Preorder Friday the 13th Collection

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Amazon tends to play fast and loose with preorder prices, so it may rise or fall before the box set arrives. If you lock in a preorder, you’ll get the lowest price it drops to, regardless of whether it goes back up before launch.

Friday the 13th Collection Contents

box-set-contentsDISCS ONE & TWO: FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980)

  • NEW 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative (Theatrical Cut And Unrated Cut)
  • Audio Commentary With Director Sean S. Cunningham, Screenwriter Victor Miller, And More (Unrated Cut)
  • Fresh Cuts: New Tales From Friday The 13th
  • The Man Behind The Legacy: Sean S. Cunningham
  • A Friday The 13th Reunion
  • Lost Tales From Camp Blood – Part 1
  • Vintage Fangoria Magazine Article (BD Rom – NEW To The Set)
  • TV Spots (NEW To The Set)
  • S. Radio Spots (NEW To The Set)
  • K. Radio Spot (NEW To The Set)
  • S. Theatrical Trailer
  • International Theatrical Trailer (NEW To The Set)

DISC THREE: FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2 (1981)

  • NEW 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative
  • Amy Steel Podcast Interview
  • Inside Crystal Lake Memories: The Book
  • Friday’s Legacy: Horror Conventions
  • Lost Tales From Camp Blood – Part 2
  • Vintage Fangoria Magazine Article (BD Rom – NEW To The Set)
  • Radio Spots (NEW To The Set)
  • TV Spots (NEW To The Set)
  • Theatrical Trailer

DISC FOUR: FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 3 (1982)

  • NEW 4K Scan From The Original Film Elements
  • In 2D And A NEW 3D Version
  • Audio Commentary With Actors Larry Zerner, Paul Kratka, Richard Brooker, And Dana Kimmell
  • Fresh Cuts: 3D Terror
  • Legacy Of The Mask
  • Slasher Films: Going For The Jugular
  • Lost Tales From Camp Blood – Part 3
  • Vintage Fangoria Magazine Article (BD Rom – NEW To The Set)
  • TV Spots (NEW To The Set)
  • Radio Spots (NEW To The Set)
  • Theatrical Trailer

DISC FIVE: FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE FINAL CHAPTER (1984)

  • NEW 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative
  • Audio Commentary With Director Joe Zito, Screenwriter Barney Cohen, And Editor Joel Goodman
  • Audio Commentary With Fans/Filmmakers Adam Green And Joe Lynch
  • Lost Tales From Camp Blood – Part 4
  • Slashed Scenes With Audio Commentary By Director Joseph Zito
  • Jason’s Unlucky Day: 25 Years After Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter
  • The Lost Ending
  • The Crystal Lake Massacres Revisited Part I
  • Jimmy’s Dead Dance Moves
  • Vintage Fangoria Magazine Article (BD Rom – NEW To The Set)
  • TV Spot (NEW To The Set)
  • Radio Spots (NEW To The Set)
  • Theatrical Trailer

DISC SIX: FRIDAY THE 13TH PART V: A NEW BEGINNING (1985)

  • NEW Audio Commentary With Melanie Kinnaman, Deborah Voorhees, And Tiffany Helm
  • Audio Commentary With Director/Co-screenwriter Danny Steinmann, Actors John Shepherd And Shavar Ross
  • Audio Commentary With Fans/Filmmakers Adam Green And Joe Lynch (NEW To The Set)
  • Lost Tales From Camp Blood – Part 5
  • The Crystal Lake Massacres Revisited Part II
  • New Beginnings: The Making Of Friday The 13th Part V
  • Vintage Fangoria Magazine Article (BD Rom – NEW To The Set)
  • TV Spots (NEW To The Set)
  • Theatrical Trailer

DISC SEVEN: FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VI: JASON LIVES (1986)

  • NEW Audio Commentary With Thom Mathews, Vinny Gustaferro, Kerry Noonan, Cynthia Kania, And CJ Graham
  • Audio Commentary With Writer/Director Tom McLoughlin
  • Audio Commentary With Writer/Director Tom McLoughlin, Actor Vincent Guastaferro, And Editor Bruce Green
  • Audio Commentary With Fans/Filmmakers Adam Green And Joe Lynch (NEW To The Set)
  • Lost Tales From Camp Blood – Part 6
  • The Crystal Lake Massacres Revisited Part III
  • Jason Lives: The Making Of Friday The 13th: Part VI
  • Meeting Mr. Voorhees
  • Slashed Scenes
  • Vintage Fangoria Magazine Article (BD Rom – NEW To The Set)
  • TV Spots (New to the Set)
  • Theatrical Trailer

DISC EIGHT: FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VII: THE NEW BLOOD (1987)

  • Audio Commentary With Director John Carl Buechler And Actor Kane Hodder
  • Audio Commentary With Director John Carl Buechler And actors Lar Park Lincoln And Kane Hodder
  • Jason’s Destroyer: The Making Of Friday The 13th Part VII
  • Mind Over Matter: The Truth About Telekinesis
  • Makeover By Maddy: Need A Little Touch-Up Work, My A**
  • Slashed Scenes With Introduction
  • Vintage Fangoria Magazine Article (BD Rom – NEW To The Set)
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • TV Spot (NEW To The Set)

DISC NINE: FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VIII: JASON TAKES MANHATTAN (1989)

  • Audio Commentary With Director Rob Hedden
  • Audio Commentary With Actors Scott Reeves, Jensen Daggett, And Kane Hodder
  • New York Has A New Problem: The Making Of Friday The 13th Part VIII – Jason Takes Manhattan
  • Slashed Scenes
  • Gag Reel
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • TV Spots (NEW To The Set)

DISCS TEN & ELEVEN: JASON GOES TO HELL: THE FINAL FRIDAY (1993)

  • NEW 2K Scan Of The Original Film Elements (Theatrical Version)
  • NEW 2K Scan Of The Original Film Elements With HD inserts (Unrated Version)
  • NEW Interviews With Sean Cunningham, Noel Cunningham, Adam Marcus, And Kane Hodder
  • NEW Audio Commentary With Adam Marcus And Author Peter Bracke
  • Audio Commentary With Director Adam Marcus And Screenwriter Dean Lorey
  • Additional TV Footage With NEW Optional Audio Commentary With Director Adam Marcus And Author Peter Bracke
  • Electronic Press Kit (NEW To The Set)
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • TV Spots (NEW To The Set)

DISC TWELVE: JASON X (2002)

  • NEW Interviews With Sean Cunningham, Noel Cunningham, Kane Hodder, Kristi Angus, And Todd Farmer
  • Audio Commentary With Director Jim Isaac, Writer Todd Farmer, And Producer Noel Cunningham
  • The Many Lives Of Jason Voorhees – A Documentary On The History Of Jason
  • By Any Means Necessary: The Making Of Jason X – Making-Of/Production Documentary
  • Electronic Press Kit (NEW To The Set)
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • TV Spot (NEW To The Set)

DISC THIRTEEN: FREDDY VS. JASON (2003)

  • Audio Commentary With Director Ronny Yu, Actors Robert Englund And Ken Kirzinger
  • 21 Deleted/Alternate Scenes, Including The Original Opening And Ending With Optional Commentary By Director Ronny Yu And Executive Producer Douglas Curtis
  • Behind-The-Scenes Coverage Of The Film’s Development – Including Screenwriting, Set Design, Makeup, Stunts, And Principal Photography
  • Visual Effects Exploration
  • My Summer Vacation: A Visit To Camp Hackenslash
  • Pre-Fight Press Conference At Bally’s Casino In Las Vegas
  • Original Theatrical Trailer
  • TV Spots
  • Music Video: Ill Nino “How Can I Live”

DISC FOURTEEN: FRIDAY THE 13TH (2009)

  • Hacking Back/Slashing Forward – Remembering The Groundbreaking Original Movie
  • Terror Trivia Track With Picture-In-Picture Comments From The Cast And Crew
  • The Rebirth Of Jason Voorhees – A Look At The Making Of
  • Additional Slashed Scenes
  • The Best 7 Kills

DISC FIFTEEN: BONUS DISC (#1)

  • NEW Interview With Composer Harry Manfredini
  • NEW Location Featurette On Parts 1 & 2
  • The Friday The 13th Chronicles – An 8-Part Featurette
  • Secrets Galore Behind The Gore – A 3-Part Featurette
  • Crystal Lake Victims Tell All!
  • Tales From The Cutting Room Floor
  • Friday The 13th Artifacts And Collectibles
  • Jason Forever – Q&A With Ari Lehman, Warrington Gillette, C.J. Graham, And Kane Hodder
  • And More To Be Announced…

DISC SIXTEEN: BONUS DISC (#2)

  • Scream Queens: Horror Heroines Exposed (2014) – Including Interviews With Adrienne King And Melanie Kinnaman (78 minutes)
  • Slice And Dice: The Slasher Film Forever (2013) – Including Interviews With Corey Feldman And John Carl Buechler (75 minutes)
  • Trailer Reel – All 12 Trailers In A Row
  • Friday The 13th (2009) TV Spots
  • Friday The 13th (2009) Electronic Press Kit
  • And More To Be Announced…

Soooo, yeah, it’s a lot. If you want it, feel free to lock in your preorder now.

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Chris Reed is IGN’s shopping and commerce editor. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.

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Rocket Arena Review – Up In The Air

The rocket launcher is one of the most recognizable weapons in multiplayer shooters. From Quake to Team Fortress, its function as a weapon morphed into an alternative means of traversal, with the risk of a self-inflicted death and the reward of superior map positioning enticing players to become proficient at rocket jumping. In Rocket Arena, both the rocket launcher and rocket jumping are core to the action. But without suitably satisfying shooting and the mitigation of all the rewards associated with its core mechanic, Rocket Arena lacks a compelling and lasting appeal.

Rocket Arena features a roster of 10 playable characters, each equipped with their own version of a rocket launcher and some auxiliary abilities. The variations go from basic, such as Jayto’s straight-shooting launcher and multi-missile secondary attack, to complicated, like Kayi’s ability to speed up friendly rockets and slow down enemy ones. Whether you settle on the lobbed rockets of space pirate Blastbeard or the trickster abilities of mage Mysteen, Rocket Arena’s characters all feature enough mechanical variety to make them stand out from each other despite all featuring the same type of main weapon. Their cartoonish designs and bursting costume colors look great, but their uninteresting backstories and few voice-lines limit the extent of their personalities.

These weapon and ability differences feed into the 3v3 team play in each of Rocket Arena’s competitive modes. A team cannot feature duplicates of a character, so you’re encouraged to work around the selections of your teammates. Although the very brief and basic tutorial doesn’t teach you about it, attacks can be combined between characters to form more powerful combos. Ability effects can be transferred onto rockets fired by teammates, for example, but attempting to coordinate both the timing and positioning for such a move is often not worth the payoff.

Instead, Rocket Arena feels best when you’re playing it as a regular, run-of-the-mill team-based shooter. The freedom of movement afforded by each character’s triple jump lets you stay in the air and nimbly maneuver around more than having your feet on the ground, letting you dodge incoming projectiles and fire off attacks from any direction. The frenetic nature of the action combines well with the absence of traditional health bars; Rocket Arena adopts a system like that of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, where each player has a bar that builds up when hit. The fuller the meter, the harder each hit will feel, with a well-placed shot on a player with a full bar knocking them out of the arena for a short time.

Your rockets, along with those of your teammates, won’t damage you, letting you experiment with the timing for rocket jumps without ending up as a mess on the floor. Chaining together shots against an adjacent wall also helps you hop vertically up it, which can mean the difference between respawning or not if you find yourself off the map. But while Rocket Arena makes the skill shot almost trivially easy to pull off, it also doesn’t give you many reasons to use it. Where other shooters reward the risk of a rocket jump with the advantage of map position, Rocket Arena’s map layouts and liberal vertical character movement render it almost meaningless in moment-to-moment play. Rocket jumps are still satisfying to pull off, but without any advantage to them there’s no reason to perform them.

Matches are therefore mostly straightforward and one-note, not encouraging the use of complex strategies to win. The different game modes break up the monotonous action to an extent, with Rocket Arena collecting all of them under its single Arena playlist. Here you play through a handful of common multiplayer match types, including deathmatch, point control, and a rocket-ball spin on capture the flag. None stand out as particularly exciting and don’t capitalize on the rocket-based shooting in any fun or novel ways. Outside of Arena, Rocket Arena offers a straight deathmatch playlist, Ranked Arena play, and a forgettable cooperative wave survival mode.

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Rocket Arena mixes traditional character progression and some of the trappings from free-to-play shooters, including cosmetic items up for purchase via microtransactions and a season pass with additional in-game unlocks. New characters are promised for each new season of competitive play, all of which will be free to all players too. It also features standard character progression, with additional cosmetics such as alternative skins, banners, and more locked behind each character’s individual level. Items that influence gameplay cannot be purchased, and only a handful of skins require either real-world money or a large portion of the in-game currency you earn while playing. Passive character perks are unlocked irrespective of individual character levels, and can be shared between characters too. They don’t make a large enough impact on gameplay to make new players feel at a disadvantage, but they are good rewards for sticking to the character you like to play as most.

Rocket Arena’s approach to being a more approachable shooter, from its colorful, whimsical characters to its forgiving rocket launcher mechanics, makes it easy to appreciate at first glance. Its frenetic mix of explosive-based shooting and easy-to-understand character abilities let you start having fun fast, but its lack of depth and uninteresting modes don’t maintain the momentum. Rocket Arena undermines its main rocket-jumping hook by making the strategy meaningless amongst its other mechanics, and its shooting grows stale in the process. There’s limited fun to be had with its frenetic and fast shooting action, but it’s lacking strong lasting appeal.

CoD Warzone & Modern Warfare Weekly Update: New Playlists Now Live

This week in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone check out the 3v3 snipers and Duos Stimulus playlists, plus get a discount on battle pass tiers. Infinity Ward has outlined this week’s playlist update and new store items.

Modern Warfare Playlists

In Modern Warfare, a number of new playlsits are now live, including Reinfected Ground War, Gunfight 3v3 (snipers only), Shoot the Ship, Ground War, and Cranked. Reinfected Ground War takes the popular party game mode and places it on large-scale maps, while Shoot the Ship is a playlist consisting of just Shoot House and Shipment for those who like constant firefights.

In Cranked, players have a limited amount of time to get successive kills or they will explode. Gunfight 3v3 snipers only puts players’ long-range–or quick scoping–skills to the test.

New Microtransaction Bundles

A new look for Charly is available as part of the Earth Expeditionary Force bundle, which includes the Outrider skin and the Legendary Colonial Standard LMG plus a watch, weapon charm, calling card, and emblem.

The Racing Series: Mach 8′ bundle is available in store, which includes red tracer blueprints for the Autoclave SMG and the Winner’s Circle Handgun, plus two vehicle skins and a horn for Warzone. Players can also buy individual tiers for the battle pass for 100 Call of Duty points, which normally cost 150 points.

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Warzone Playlists

In Warzone, Plunder Quads has replaced Plunder Trios and Warzone Rumble, with Duos Stimulus coming this weekend. In Duos Stimulus players with enough cash will automatically get redeployed into the match upon death, skipping over the Gulag.

The usual suspects, Battle Royale Solos, Duos, Trios, and Quads, are also currently available.

In other Warzone news, Infinity Ward has recently been teasing Season 5, including the possibility of a train. Call of Duty Mobile recently added ranked multiplayer, a new game mode, and more.

Now Playing: COD: Warzone – 11 Things That Need To Change

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This Week’s Call Of Duty: Mobile Update Adds Multiplayer Ranked Mode

Another week means more Call of Duty Mobile content is on the way. This week, the mobile shooter–available on Android and iOS–will see a new game mode, new missions with tons of rewards, and more.

The game’s eighth season, The Forge, is now live. The content update adds the new Solstice Awakened event where you can get gear by trading resources. Resources are gathered by scoring kills in CoD: Mobile’s rotating playlist that could feature maps like High Rise and Saloon. The more resources in your possession, and the greater the variety of those resources, the better chances you have at acquiring high-level gear.

Some gear you can earn after trading-in resources includes an Epic Forge-themed version of the Man-O-War assault rifle, the base version of the KRM-262 shotgun, the Captain – Arctic Blizzard soldier skin, and more.

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Additionally, this week will add a brand-new game mode to Call of Duty: Mobile–Ranked Multiplayer. Just as the name suggests, Ranked Mode puts your skills to the test online where you compete against other players to earn rewards while leveling up your rank. You can view your rank and rewards in the Ranked Mode lobby.

The Forge recently kicked off and brings tons of additions to the CoD: Mobile, including a new Battle Pass, the Highrise map from Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the 1v5 Juggernaut game mode, and more.

Activision Blizzard also outlined updates coming to both Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone this week. This includes new game modes, discounts on Battle Pass progression, and more.

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These New Nintendo Switch Travel Backpacks On Amazon Are Cute As Heck

The Nintendo Switch is a portable console that’s perfect for taking on a long trip or commute, but it’s easily vulnerable to scratches or dents if you don’t store it properly. There are lots of carrying cases out there that are made for the Switch, but a new collection of backpacks from accessories brand Controller Gear offers the cutest selection of travel bags we’ve ever seen.

The new Nintendo Switch backpacks come in three adorable Animal Crossing: New Horizons-themed designs: a Tom Nook quilted pattern, a colorful fruity theme, and the iconic teal leaf design seen on most of the game’s merch. There’s a sleek option for Mario fans as well, which comes in a black, gray, and red plaid design with the Mario logo on the bottom right corner. These are mini backpacks meant to hold your Switch and a few other small accessories, not large full-sized backpacks that you’d use for carrying books or a laptop, so just keep that in mind.

6479991 – Animal Crossing and Mario Backpacks at Amazon

These backpacks are made of water-resistant polyester to help protect your console and Switch accessories. Inside, there’s plenty of space to store your Switch or Switch Lite along with smaller accessories like your charger, headphones, or Pro Controller. The photos of the backpacks on Amazon show the Switch fitting inside a snug pocket while you travel, but personally, I’d still keep my Switch in a sturdy carrying case inside the backpack. The backpacks have a metal zip closure to help keep the items inside secure, and the straps are adjustable to fit both adults and children.

The Switch travel backpacks are $50 each, which is definitely on the expensive side but not too surprising considering these are officially licensed Nintendo merch. The backpacks release August 21, so if you pre-order now, you’ll receive yours in about a month. And if you’re looking for travel cases or backpacks that are on the cheaper side, check out our updated roundup of the best Switch carrying cases, which includes more affordable options available on Amazon.

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