Author: Trafficblast

Marvel’s Avengers has had a rocky road since its initial reveal, in large part because fans of the comics and movies were not happy with how the characters looked when they were first shown off. Players took issue with the character models and the costume designs, and the team at developer Crystal Dynamics took note.

In a new interview with Gamesradar+, creative director Shaun Escayg has spoken about the challenge of showing off these character designs after the Marvel Cinematic Universe has established the current Marvel aesthetic so fully for most fans. “I mean, we knew we had that challenge, right?,” Escayg says. “We’re going up against a 10-year history of movies. And you know, people forget really quickly, but when the first movie came out, they had the same problem. People were upset with the way these heroes looked. So we knew going in that we would always have that struggle.” But he says that the focus was more on their “original storyline,” and making sure that they “stay true to that DNA of the characters in the comics.”

Studio head Scot Amos has previously talked to us about how the costumes have changed since the game’s initial reveal. The designs were noticeably different a few months after we first saw them, with designs that are a bit closer to what we’ve seen in the films. However, the main character of the game, Ms Marvel, has not made her way to the cinematic universe yet. That’s set to change when her Disney+ show launches next year.

There are some other interesting facts brought up across the interview. Escayg says that the appearance of next-gen consoles in 2020 was not of particular concern to how this game was made, and makes it clear that the game will not cross over with Insomniac’s Spider-Man, although there’s the possibility of bigger collaborations in the future. “Any collaboration with great studios excites everyone at Crystal [Dynamics]. How do we make this bigger? How do we make this much more engaging for the fans and continue to do so?”

Marvel’s Avengers will release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on May 15, 2020.

This is a spoiler-free advance review for 1917, which opens in limited release December 25 and in wide release January 10, 2020.

Set over less than 24 hours on the Western Front, the harrowing 1917 is both simple in its story and breathtaking in its execution, intimate yet epic. Director Sam Mendes has delivered a completely engrossing survival thriller about two young British soldiers, Schofield (George MacKay) and Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman), on a perilous mission behind enemy lines.

Neither soldier is written to be particularly exceptional upon their introduction; they’re just two of the countless Everyman troops fighting in the First World War. It’s their very ordinariness and almost anonymous nature that lends this duo immediate sympathy and relatability. Blake and Schofield could be anyone, but they’ve been tasked with doing something extraordinary and heroic in the face of relentless danger: To deliver a time-sensitive message to another division to prevent them from falling into a German trap. If they fail to deliver it then 1600 soldiers, including Blake’s older brother, will die.

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The Outer Worlds is Obsidian’s last game as an independent developer, and by all accounts, it’s quite a finale. Released October 25 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC, the game pays homage to the studio’s past with a huge open-ended adventure full of humor and colorful characters as your space-hopping vigilante explores planets owned by corporations.

If you have an Xbox One or PC, the best Black Friday deal on the game is arguably through Game Pass, where it’s free to play. You can get a three-month Game Pass Ultimate membership–which includes Xbox Live Gold along with Game Pass for both console and PC–for just $1 as part of Microsoft’s Black Friday sale, and The Outer Worlds is part of the subscription’s collection. That should be more than enough time to play through the entire game. If you’re looking to add it to your library permanently, though, some stores have sale prices for cheaper.

The Outer Worlds (PS4, Xbox One, PC) Black Friday deals

The Outer Worlds’ Best Black Friday 2019 Deals

Surprisingly, the best deals on The Outer Worlds are actually for digital console versions and PC (usually physical copies will get markdowns first). For PS4, your best bet is to grab it in PSN’s Black Friday sale for $45 and download directly from the PlayStation Store. You can find it much cheaper on Xbox One–Amazon has a digital code available for just $35, which beats out the Xbox Store price.

Finally, for PC, you have several good options. The Outer Worlds is $44.39 as part of Fanatical’s Black Friday sale, but by using our exclusive promo code GAMESPOT11 at checkout, you can get it for just $39.51, which is technically the lowest price available. However, the best deal may actually be at Green Man Gaming. If you purchase certain games during the Black Friday sale, like Red Dead Redemption 2 and The Outer Worlds, you’ll receive a code for the Intel Starter Pack, which lets you choose five free games from a selection of titles. You can find more info on that bonus at GMG.

The Outer Worlds PS4 deals

Best deal: $45 (digital)

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The Outer Worlds Xbox One deals

Best deal: $35 (digital)

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The Outer Worlds PC deals

Best deal: $40.49 (comes with five free games)

Now that we know what all the major retailers have planned for Black Friday 2019, we can start confidently recommending you the absolute best deals on the year’s most popular games. That includes NBA 2K20, 2K’s annual sports juggernaut, which is seeing more than its fair share of steep discounts across PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. As we head into the proper Black Friday holiday this week, the best deal you’ll be able to get is currently over at Walmart.

NBA 2K20 (PS4, XBO, Switch) – $27 at Walmart

NBA 2K20 | $27 ($60)

Walmart has the PS4, Xbox One, and Switch versions for $27. Walmart’s Black Friday sale kicks off on November 27 at 7 PM PT / 10 PM ET online and in stores at 6 PM local time on November 28. Walmart’s early video game sale kicks off on November 23 at 9 PM PT / November 24 at 12 AM ET, but you’ll have to wait until November 27 for the deal on NBA 2K20.

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Console bundles

Xbox One X bundle with NBA 2K20 – $350 at the Microsoft Store

Xbox One X – NBA 2K20 Hyperspace bundle | $350 ($500)

This Xbox One X bundle comes with a digital copy of NBA 2K20 and a special-edition Hyperspace Xbox One X and controller, which feature a unique paint splash design. The bundle also includes one-month trials for Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Live Gold. While the standalone game won’t have its major sales until later this week, you can get this bundle for $350 right now.

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Xbox One S bundle with NBA 2K20 – $200 at the Microsoft Store

Xbox One S – NBA 2K20 bundle | $200 ($300)

The Xbox One S bundle comes with everything the Xbox One X bundle does, except the special edition console. This bundle comes with a regular, white Xbox One S, but you still get the digital copy of NBA 2K20, a controller, and the one-month trials for Game Pass and Xbox Live Gold. Microsoft is selling this bundle for $200.

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NBA 2K20 VC deals

NBA 2K20 VC Holiday bundle – $20 at Walmart

NBA 2K20 75,000 VC Holiday Bundle | $20

This special NBA 2K20 VC holiday bundle comes with 75,000 VC as well as in-game cosmetic items. Those include a Red Santa hat, Christmas backpack, Christmas-themed mural for your MyCourt, and an exclusive ugly sweater. Walmart has the bundle for $20 until December 31.

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NBA 2K30 VC Bundles | 10% Off

If you want a little more choice over how much VC you buy, GameStop is offering a 10% discount on all VC cards right now.

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More NBA 2K20 Black Friday game deals

PS4

Xbox One

Switch

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In GameSpot’s NBA 2K20 impressions, critic Kevin Wong wrote about how the new game’s story mode attempts to have a social conscience, leaving behind the awkward attempts at humour and “hip” dialogue of previous entries. While it doesn’t quite stick the landing, Wong wrote that the basketball gameplay is still as great as it always is.

“Is it even possible to have a truly woke narrative in a game so relentlessly money and fame-driven? Perhaps not.” Wong wrote. “But NBA 2K20 asks you to accept this melding at face value. That’s impossible, but thankfully, there’s a legacy of NBA 2K quality that makes the reconciliation less important. The story and how it’s told don’t hold up to scrutiny. But the gameplay, honed from years of incremental development and effort, always does. NBA 2K20 is, even in its contradictions, an excellent facsimile of the NBA itself.”

Warning: this article contains spoilers for the first three episodes of The Mandalorian!

The Mandalorian is a many-faceted Star Wars series. While on one hand, it’s a Lone Wolf and Cub-inspired space-western about a gritty bounty hunter and his Baby Yoda companion, it’s also a series that builds on the complicated history of Mandalore and its warriors. Needless to say, it helps to have some familiarity with the larger Star Wars saga outside the scope of the movies.

But if you’d rather not have to study up to appreciate The Mandalorian, fear not. We’ve already established when The Mandalorian takes place relative to the main Star Wars movies. Now we break down how the series’ rapidly growing mythology touches on many pieces of the Star Wars timeline, ranging from the titular character’s tragic origin story to the fall of the planet Mandalore to the post-Return of the Jedi status quo in the present.

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After her critically acclaimed and Oscar-nominated directorial debut Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig could have taken on any project in the world, and at first glance her choice was a surprisingly safe one. Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women is one of the most widely read books in North America and has long been seen as a literary classic. That fact and the often stuffy and dated feel of period pieces mean that Gerwig’s new project may seem a world away from the teen angst of Lady Bird. But as fans of the book will know, the narrative of young women struggling to find their places in a world that doesn’t seem to fit them are shared over both the 2018 film and Alcott’s novel from over a century before. It should be unsurprising then that Gerwig is a great fit to direct a thoroughly interesting and timely take on the sweetly radical story of the March sisters.

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Red Dead Redemption 2 has finally come to PC and just in time, too–it’s Black Friday season, and thanks to a bunch of sales, you’ll be able to pay less than the standard retail price of $60 for it. In fact, Black Friday is much more than a day of sales; for some retailers, it’s an event that lasts a week or more, and it’s already started.

It’s not just the PC version of RDR2 that’s on sale, either. The game’s renewed popularity now that it’s in the hands of PC players means the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game are seeing renewed interest, with sale prices to match. In some cases those prices extend beyond just the standard version of the game to encompass its Special Edition and Ultimate Edition, both of which feature extra missions and other digital goodies. In addition to Black Friday prices, there are some regular discounts floating around at current retailers, with better prices coming later this week.

Red Dead Redemption 2 PC deals

Best deal: $44.15 (comes with five free games)

Red Dead Redemption 2 recently released on PC, and you can get the standard edition for just $44.15 from digital games store Green Man Gaming. The Special edition is also discounted to $54, and the Ultimate edition is available for $67.49. It’s important to note that this deal is for a digital code that can be redeemed on Rockstar Games’ own PC launcher.

As part of Green Man Gaming’s Black Friday sale, you’ll also get a code for the Intel Starter Pack with your purchase, which lets you select five free games from a handful of options. You can find more info on that bonus and how to redeem at GMG. This deal is available until December 3.

While GMG currently has the best deal on Red Dead 2 for PC, you’ll also find the game on sale at these stores, in case the above deal sells out:

Fanatical

GameStop

Epic Games Store

Humble Bundle

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Red Dead Redemption 2 PS4 and Xbox One deals

Best deal: $25

While the PC version has quite a few features that aren’t available on consoles–like increased frame rates and resolutions–the PS4 and Xbox One versions are still fantastic games. The game even won GameSpot’s 2018 Game of the Year based on those versions. Best Buy will have the PS4 version and, while not directly confirmed by its ad, most likely the Xbox One version as well for just $25 during Black Friday, starting on November 27. This is the lowest price we’ve seen so far.

If Red Dead Redemption 2 sells out at that price at Best Buy, you’ll find it for $30 elsewhere during Black Friday, which is still a great price for this critically acclaimed game.

• Walmart — $30 (PS4, Xbox One) | starts Nov. 27
• Amazon — $30 (Xbox One digital code) | available now
• GameStop — $30 (PS4, Xbox One) | starts Nov. 28
• Microsoft Store — $30 with Xbox Live Gold (Xbox One) | available now
• PlayStation Store — $30 (PS4) | available now

That’s pretty much what you can expect in terms of discounts on Red Dead Redemption 2 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One during Black Friday 2019. For more great game discounts, check out our guides to the best Black Friday deals on Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Borderlands 3, and more.