Author: Trafficblast

It’s been a big week for Monster Hunter: World. Not long after Capcom announced the game had reached 12 million copies shipped and revealed the next major expansion, the publisher has announced a free trial version of the game is now available on PlayStation 4.

The trial, which isn’t available on Xbox One or PC, lets you play up to the Tobi-Kadachi assignment quest at Hunter Rank 4. Players can create a Hunter and Palico companion and play everything up until that point; online play and access to the Spring Blossom Fest event is also included in the free trial version.

Progress from the free trial carries forward to the full version, which is on sale right now for $20 USD. The trial is available only for a limited time; it ends on May 20.

Capcom also announced that Monster Hunter World is adding a new, more challenging event called the Arch-Tempered Nergigante Event Quest on May 11. “This quest has been a long time coming, and for good reason. The development team worked really hard to make this a special challenge; one that will remind you of when you first fought Nergigante during one of our Beta tests, or perhaps even the first time fighting him in the game,” Capcom said.

The quest will be available on PS4 and Xbox One on May 11, with the PC edition coming later.

Monster Hunter: World’s new expansion, Iceborne, launches on September 6 for PS4 and Xbox One. The PC version is coming later. The expansion adds a cold new island to explore and more monsters to face off against. Check out the new gameplay trailer embedded above.

Be sure to check out our more detailed breakdown of Iceborne following Capcom’s livestream, along with some of the highlights from Sony’s recent State Of Play.

Season 9 of Fortnite has officially begun, and some big changes await players this season. Not only are there new areas of the map to explore, there’s a new Battle Pass to purchase, which means a load of new skins and other cosmetic rewards to unlock.

Of course, with a new Battle Pass comes a new assortment of challenges to complete, and Week 1’s missions are now live on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile. Completing these will level your Battle Pass up and, in turn, unlock the aforementioned Season 9 rewards. That’s not all you can get by completing challenges, however.

Just as in previous seasons, there’s a secondary set of missions to complete called Utopia challenges. These are Season 9’s equivalent of last season’s Discovery challenges, and they can only be completing by finishing all seven challenges from a given week. If you manage to do that, you’ll unlock a special loading screen that features a subtle clue pointing you to a free Battle Star (which levels your Battle Pass up by one tier) or Banner (which can be used as a profile icon) hidden somewhere around the island.

Complete all of the challenges from one week in Season 9 and you’ll unlock the loading screen pictured below. This time, the clue is fairly easy to spot. Look at the minigun and you’ll see a set of coordinates written onto the side of the weapon: I5, I6, J5, and J6. This is where you’ll need to go to find the free Battle Star.

The area where the coordinates converge is just south of Lonely Lodge; you can see its exact location marked on the map below. Make your way to the area and the Battle Star will appear. Collect it as you would any other item in the game, then finish the match and you’ll level your Battle Pass up by one full tier. If you need more help locating the Battle Star, we walk you through where it can be found in the video at the top of this guide.

If you’re familiar with how Season 8’s Discovery challenges worked, you’ll know there are a few caveats to keep in mind before you can find Season 9’s Utopia challenge rewards. Most importantly, this particular Battle Star won’t appear in the game unless you’ve complete one full week’s set of challenges and unlocked the loading screen pictured above, which means you can’t simply go to the right area and pick it up unless you’ve completed all the necessary steps.

If you need help finishing any of this season’s challenges, you can find tips in our complete Fortnite Season 9 challenges guide. We’ll continue to update the guide as the season rolls on, so be sure to check back each week for the latest tips and walkthroughs. You can also see everything that’s new this season in Fortnite’s 9.0 update patch notes.

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Another Xbox 360 game is joining Xbox One’s growing backwards compatible library. The latest addition is the Hitman HD Pack. The game will be playable on Microsoft’s current-gen console as of today, May 9, Major Nelson announced on Twitter.

The Hitman HD Pack consists of two games–Hitman: Contracts and Hitman 2: Silent Assassin. Both titles initially released on PlayStation 2 and the original Xbox, the former in 2004 and the latter in 2002. These versions have been remastered with HD visuals and other touch-ups. You can read more about each in our original Hitman: Contracts review and Hitman 2: Silent Assassin review.

If you still own a physical copy of Hitman HD Pack, you can pop the disc into your Xbox One to initiate a download and begin playing on the console. If you’re interested in picking it up, the game is also available for purchase from the system’s digital store for $25.

The Hitman HD Pack isn’t the only new game to receive backwards compatible support with Xbox One recently. Earlier this week, Microsoft added Costume Quest and From Dust to the BC library, while the week prior brought Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge and Trials Evolution.

You can see the full list of Xbox One backwards compatibility games here. If you’re looking for recommendations on what to play, we’ve put together a list of Xbox One’s best backwards compatible games.

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During the May State of Play stream, PlayStation announced Predator: Hunting Grounds. The game is scheduled to release in 2020. The announcement was accompanied by a trailer, which is embedded above.

An online asymmetric shooter game, Predator: Hunting Grounds sees a group of players take on the titular hunter, who’s also controlled by a player. The game is being developed by Illfonic, the same studio behind Friday the 13th: The Game, and Fox is assisting. A new trailer for the game showcases some soldiers sneaking their way through a dense jungle, as the Predator–hidden with its cloaking technology–watches them from the tree tops.

“As the Fireteam attempt to carry out paramilitary missions–annihilating bad guys and recovering important items–the Predator will be closing in, using its advanced vision mode to track and ambush its prey,” Illfonic CEO Charles Brungardt wrote in a PlayStation blog post. Brungardt added that Predator: Hunting Grounds is “still pretty early in development” so it will probably be some time before we get a gameplay reveal.

Predator: Hunting Grounds wasn’t the only game announced during the State of Play stream. PlayStation also revealed Riverbond, a four-player couch co-op hack and slash game, is coming to PS4 this summer. Another new game, Away: The Survival Series, got a trailer as well. Away is a third-person adventure game that has you control a Sugar Glider that must find its way to safety after a series of natural disasters.

The stream also provided a release date for the previously announced MediEvil remaster–which is coming October 25. Details were released for Iceborne, the upcoming DLC expansion for Monster Hunter World, as well, including that it launches September 6. PlayStation ended the stream with the reveal of a new limited edition PS4 console and a trailer for the upcoming Final Fantasy VII remake. PlayStation announced more Final Fantasy VII details would be revealed this June. Normally that would definitely mean Sony’s PlayStation E3 press conference, but Sony is skipping out this year. Square Enix is hosting a presentation this year though, so we can expect the new details will be revealed then.

Despite being announced in 2015, Final Fantasy VII hasn’t had much of a spotlight, with very few details and trailers being provided over the past four years. The new trailer seems to showcase the bombing mission sequence that takes place right at the game’s start, and also reveals the remake’s revamped battle system and some of the voices for its characters.

5. The Very Best

Turns out Tim Goodman was, at one point, as big a Pokemon fan as we are. The posters in the room his dad made up for him in his apartment include references to several Pokemon, including Rayquaza, Dragonite, Hypno, Articuno, Steelix, Charizard, and Blastoise.

During Sony’s recent State of Play, Capcom released a new trailer for the upcoming Iceborne expansion for Monster Hunter World. In addition to seeing some new monsters and locations from the expansion, which will bring the hunters to a new region on the expansive island that has its own secrets to uncover. Capcom also revealed the release date for Iceborne, which is set to launch on September 6 for PS4 and Xbox One. Unfortunately, the PC release will launch sometime after in the winter.

Capcom followed up with their own livestream as well, revealing more details about what to expect with Iceborne. Though Monster Hunter World has seen a steady flow of new content since its debut, this marks the first time the game will have a proper expansion. If you already own Monster Hunter World, you can upgrade to the expansion once it’s released. However, if you haven’t had the chance to dive into the game just yet, then you can buy the new edition of MHW in September, which includes the full game, its many updates, and the new expansion with Iceborne.

The new area you’ll travel to is called the Hoarfrost Reach, a new region on the massive island from the core game. Snow plays a big part into the core gameplay, which also ties into the existing temperature mechanics from the main game. If you find yourself walking in heavy snow, then your character’s movement will become significantly slower. To combat the cold effects, you can find herbs to boost your stamina and attributes. You can even find a hot springs, which will greatly improve your character’s status.

Iceborne will also include a whole suite of new monsters. During the livestream, the developers showed off Banbaro, an early brute wyvern that tends to use the environment to its advantage. Another new monster is the Beotodus, Iceborne’s first large-scale monster you’ll encounter. This particular beast will bury itself beneath the snow and strike from below. These two monsters, in particular, are incredibly hostile towards one another, which will result in some brutal fights between the two. Some monsters from previous games will also make a return in Iceborne, including Freedom Unite’s Nargacuga.

There’s also some new upgrades to existing Hunter gadget. The Slinger has been upgraded with the use of a new Clutch Claw, allowing you to freely grapple and mantle enemies. Another upgraded gadget is the Power Shot, which can improve the flinch rate on monsters. Some of these modified gadgets can be used in mid-combo, and even during evades.

Along with new monsters and quests, there will be all new gear and upgrades for your character to collect. This expansion is looking to be a sizeable update to an already massive game. Iceborne also introduces a new rank called Master Rank, which is similar to the G-Rank from previous games. The big bad of Iceborne is the new elder dragon Velkana, who’s you got to see in the trailer.

In our review of Monster Hunter World, Ginny Woo gave the game a 9/10:

“Ever since the title was first announced, it was clear that Capcom was gunning for something grander than Monster Hunter Generations. It has succeeded, and this is likely the biggest and best that the franchise has ever been. It’s not just the comparative depth of the narrative; it also boasts almost seamless integration between combat systems that were previously incomprehensible for amateurs. The Monster Hunter formula has definitely honed its claws, and all the above factors play their part in making Monster Hunter World a meaningful evolution for the series at large.”

For more on Monster Hunter World, be sure to check out

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