Author: Trafficblast

Fortnite‘s Week 8 challenges are now available, and among them is one that will require a little extra effort. It’s in the free section, so it’s available to all Fortnite players, and it directs everyone to visit three different clocks in exchange for five Battle Stars. If you know the Fortnite island like the back of your hand you may immediately know exactly where to go, but if you need a helping hand, take a look below.

The clocks you need are located in Junk Junction, Happy Hamlet, and Neo Tilted. All you’ve got to do is find and approach them; once you’re close enough, an update to the challenge will be triggered to indicate that you’ve made progress.

The clock in Junk Junction has seen better days but can be found on the bottom left of the area at the foot of the broken tower–somehow it still works. Head to Neo Tilted and, once again, at the southwest of the location you’ll see the large tower with the time digitally projected around the top. Finally, at Happy Hamlet, there’s a nice, rustic clock tower in its center. You can also watch the video above to see us complete the challenge.

Fortnite Clock Locations (Season 9, Week 8)

• Junk Junction: At the foot of the destroyed clock tower
• Neo Tilted: Top of the tower with the time projection
• Happy Hamlet: Clock tower in the middle of the location

With that challenge done, the rest should be breezy work. However, there’s also the ongoing 14 Days of Summer event, which includes unique challenges and, of course, more rewards. The latest challenge asks players to bounce a giant beach ball in different matches, which is easier said than done.

If you still have outstanding challenges from previous weeks, head over to our complete Fornite Season 9 challenge guide, which keeps track of every week and compiles all our handy guides in one place. If there’s a challenge giving you trouble this season, we’ll have a guide for it there.

As promised, The Pokemon Company shared more details about its brand-new Pokemon smartphone game, Pokemon Masters, during its livestream on June 27. The game is being developed in collaboration with DeNA, the studio behind Mario Kart Tour and other Nintendo mobile titles, and now we’ve learned a bit more about its story and how its gameplay will work.

Pokemon Masters is set on a new island region called Pasio, where famous trainers from all around the Poke-world are gathering to take part in the Pokemon Masters League tournament. This time around, however, each trainer travels with only one partner Pokemon (known collectively as a Sync Pair). As you make your way around the Pasio region, you’ll be able to team up with other Sync Pairs, then control the entire team in three-on-three battles against AI opponents and collect Gym badges.

In contrast to the mainline Pokemon games, battles in Masters unfold in real time. Your move gauge features two attacks and will gradually fill up over time; once full, you’ll tap on an attack to unleash it. You can also unleash powerful and flashy Sync Moves for more damage. Pokemon aren’t the only ones able to use moves during battle, either. Trainers can also use support moves to heal Pokemon or raise their stats.

Nearly every major character, Gym Leader, and rival from throughout the series appears to be in the game. The Pokemon Company says there will be 65 Sync Pairs at launch–including Cynthia and Garchomp, Iris and Haxorus, and Brendan and Treecko, among many others–with more to come post-release.

Pokemon Masters is launching for iOS and Android devices Summer 2019. The game will be free to download and have optional microtransactions, although The Pokemon Company hasn’t yet elaborated on what those will be. You can rewatch the Pokemon Masters livestream here.

Of course, Pokemon Masters isn’t the only new Pokemon game coming this year. Pokemon Sword and Shield are also launching for Nintendo Switch on November 15. The upcoming Gen 8 titles take players to the brand-new Galar region, where they’ll battle and raise a variety of new and returning Pokemon. Also new in Sword and Shield is Dynamax, a new battle mechanic that can supersize Pokemon for a limited time during battles. The games will be compatible with the upcoming Pokemon Home service, allowing you to bring over your old Pokemon from previous titles; however, you won’t be able to transfer every old Pokemon.

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Pokemon Sword and Shield might be launching for Nintendo Switch in November, but there’ll be another new Pokemon game coming before then. Pokemon Masters, which was announced just ahead of E3, is a new title coming to iOS and Android, and we now know it will launch in “Summer 2019.” You can watch a new trailer above.

The Pokemon Company shared more details about the upcoming game in a recent livestream, which you can re-watch below; it’s just over eight minutes long. The game appears to be a battle-focused, story-driven title in which your Pokemon are pitted against famous trainers from previous games in the series. It will be “free-to-start with purchasable items,” though which items will be purchasable was not elaborated on.

The game takes place in a new region, an island named Pasio. You’ll embark on an adventure in a similar vein to those seen in mainline games, traveling the region to collect gym badges. However, rather than controlling one trainer, you’ll take charge of three, each with their own Pokemon partner. You’ll control these “sync pairs,” as they’re called, in three-on-three battles against AI opponents throughout the story.

Contrary to the turn-based mainline games, Masters’ three-on-three battle system works in real-time using a move gauge that fills up over the course of the battle and is depleted when you fight. In another Pokemon first, trainers also have moves in Masters: “Trainers provide support in battle by using moves that heal Pokemon or raise their stats,” said the game’s producer, Yu Sasaki.

Masters is being developed DeNA, which previously made Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, Super Mario Run, Fire Emblem Heroes, and Miitomo. The Pokemon Company will publish the title, which will come to the App Store and Google Play this summer.

Another week has elapsed in the world of Fortnite and, sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti, we’ve been blessed with new challenges. We know you’ll be seeking to cure what’s deep inside (the need for Battle Stars that will level up your Battle Pass and unlock new cosmetics), so we’ve put together a quick breakdown of what you’ll need to do to get them.

Fortnite challenges can be tricky, occasionally asking you to find some old forgotten words or ancient melodies, but this time, it’s fairly easy stuff–nothing that a hundred men or more would be required to do. However, it’s gonna take some time to do the things you never had (ooh, ooh), but if you take a look below you’ll be able to prioritize and get through it quicker.

In the free section (challenges that anyone playing can do), you’ll need to apply shields, visit a few clocks, and eliminate enemies in Snobby Shores or Mega Mall. That last one might be tricky, so instead of growing restless and longing for some solitary company, try grabbing a few friends and team up to take on opponents.

If you’ve got a Battle Pass, you’ll be able to do some exclusive challenges. If you haven’t got one and want to get all the cosmetics this season, it’s worth getting one as you’ll get more challenges and thus more opportunities to get Battle Stars. A Battle Pass can be purchased using V-Bucks from the in-game store–hurry boy, she’s waiting there for you.

Battle Pass-exclusive challenges will ask you to do damage with assault rifles, visit a few specific locations as part of a multi-stage challenge, use a Volcano Vent, Air Vent, and a Zipline in a single match, and then get eliminations outside of named locations.

Week 8 Challenges

Free

• Apply Shields (400) — 5 Battle Stars
• Visit different clocks (3) — 5 Battle Stars
• Eliminate opponents in Snobby Shores or Mega Mall (7) — 10 Battle Stars

Premium

• Deal damage to opponents with Assault Rifles (500) — 5 Battle Stars
• Stage 1: Land at Paradise Palms — 1 Battle Star
  • Stage 2: Land at Neo Tilted — 1 Battle Star
  • Stage 3: Land at Mega Mall — 1 Battle Star
  • Stage 4: Land at Pleasant Park — 1 Battle Star
  • Stage 5: Land at Junk Junction — 1 Battle Star
• Use a Volcano Vent, Air Vent, and a Zipline in a single match — 10 Battle Stars
• Get eliminations outside of named locations (5) — 10 Battle Stars

If you stop an old man along the way, he’ll no doubt tell you that Fortnite also has a set of additional challenges available as part of the 14 Days of Summer event. These challenges usually involve a themed objective, and we’ve been creating guides for those. The latest asks you to bounce a giant beach ball in different matches, and there are some shortcuts you can take, so make sure to read the guide before attempting it.

The next big Marvel movie is Spider-Man: Far From Home. While Avengers: Endgame is in the midst of a re-release with a bit of additional content tacked on the end, a brand-new MCU movie is set to debut in theaters soon. Its release is officially set for Tuesday, July 2, due to the July 4 holiday in the US. But is it any good? Read on for our full review.

As the last official entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 3, Spider-Man: Far From Home had a lot riding on its shoulders. Not only did it have to somehow fill in all the gaps left by Avengers: Endgame‘s many “finale” moments, it also had to push things in the MCU forward toward the great big unknown. It’s a big ask–especially for the sophomore effort in a character’s franchise. But, thankfully, Far From Home rises to the challenge–at least, for the most part.

Picking up immediately where Endgame left off with the devastation of Thanos’s snap finally undone, Far From Home does its best to thread the needle between major world-building moments and the John Hughes flavored high school microcosm that worked so well back in Spider-Man: Homecoming. The setup is pretty simple: Endgame happened, people are trying to get back to their lives, and Peter Parker’s high school class is going on a European vacation. But, unfortunately, superhero business doesn’t really respect the field trip timeline, leaving Peter with both his masked and unmasked lives playing tug-of-war for his time.

It’s all mostly endearing. Tom Holland, Jacob Batalon, and Zendaya reprise their roles as Peter, Ned, and MJ with the same energy and chemistry they had in Homecoming, while Tony Revolori’s Flash Thompson and Angourie Rice’s Betty Brant return as supporting comic relief. Basically every moment between the high school kids trying to cope with the perpetual insanity they keep finding themselves in works, but the balance between that plot and the high stakes superhero action doesn’t always hit the mark. Said superhero action comes thanks to Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), and Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), who all really want Peter to drop what he’s doing and save the world, no matter the cost, with the help of newcomer Quentin Beck AKA Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), a man who claims to be from another dimension trying to fight giant monster “Elementals” who plan on destroying the Earth.

Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio is a definite standout in the ensemble. He’s equal parts charming and hilarious, immediately memorable and wholly unique, complete with maybe the most fun backstory reveal the MCU’s ever accomplished. He and Holland are delightful together onscreen, with chemistry for days–so much so that it almost outshines Holland’s already stellar dynamic with the rest of his high school classmates, which is nearly detrimental to the rest of the movie. Once things really start going with Mysterio and Spider-Man, every time they’re not interacting with one another feels a little like wheel spinning.

That’s a small part of one of Far From Home’s most glaring problems. It wants, desperately, for viewers to understand that Peter is an absolute necessity in the superhero community after Endgame. The ghost of Tony Stark is everywhere in this film, and the question of whether or not Peter is going to be the person to step up and fill his shoes isn’t subtext at all–it’s literally asked over and over again. This would be fine, if not for the weird logical hangnails it starts to tug on–like why are grown adults like Nick Fury so comfortable putting that sort of weight on the shoulders of a high schooler when heroes like Hulk, Hawkeye, Black Panther, Ant-Man, Wasp, etc. are all still around and active? Far From Home relies completely on viewers buying the idea that Endgame has essentially decimated the MCU’s entire roster–but we know, just by virtue of watching Endgame, that it absolutely didn’t. If anything, it feels like there should be more options than ever before when it comes to people who can save the world. After all, there’s a literal city full of Asgardians on Earth now, and Wakanda has gone completely public, to say nothing of the dozens upon dozens of actual, experienced costumed heroes still around.

Stranger still is the complete lack of acknowledgment for Tony’s remaining family. Pepper Potts, who we know is a capable hero in her own right with a literal Iron Man armor all her own, never even gets name-checked. Tony’s legacy is discussed at length without so much as pausing to remember that he does have a biological heir now. Sure, Morgan Stark is far too young to pick up in her father’s place at the moment, but she may as well not exist at all for all the consideration she’s given. Similarly, the world seems to be overflowing with tributes and memorials to Iron Man and Iron Man only, as if no other major characters were lost during the fight with Thanos–or, more realistically, as if no one knows or cares.

This strange sort of cherry picking and handwaving in the worldbuilding isn’t necessarily new to the MCU as of this movie, but it feels way too obvious in Far From Home. It’s not because the movie itself is making mistakes, but because Endgame’s looming shadow isn’t so easily shrugged off and put away in a neat little box to be dealt with when it’s most convenient. It’s hard not to feel distracted by the selectiveness of the answers presented–and by the flimsy logic surrounding them–especially if you had any investment at all in the core Avengers team beyond Tony himself.

None of which is to say Far From Home is an unsuccessful movie. It’s full of heart and good intentions, clever, quick-witted, and confident enough to pull off some really insane reveals. The parts that work, work very, very well. But the parts that don’t tend to feel like stubbed toes or irritating splinters–not life-threatening by any means, but distracting at best and annoying at worst; like someone pulled the curtain back on the MCU’s systemic shortcomings a little too far. Still, if you can ignore that–and it’ll be easier for some than it is for others, depending on your relationship to the MCU at large–you’re in for a pretty good ride.

The new Avengers game from Crystal Dynamics and its other co-developers is being made in very close collaboration with Marvel, it seems. Crystal Dynamics studio head Scott Amos spoke to GI.biz about the origins of the project and working with Marvel on it.

He explained that Marvel opened a dialogue with Crystal about what kind of Avengers game they wanted to make. The idea from the start, it seems, was for the Avengers game to be an “original take” on The Avengers, so it doesn’t feature the likenesses of the MCU actors.

“Marvel showed up and said, ‘What do you want to do?,'” Amos explained. “That’s how it started. They really looked at us and said, ‘Crystal, you guys are experts at making games, we’re experts at The Avengers. What do you want to do? What’s the original take you want to do on visuals, on story?'”

Amos explained that in the development process, Marvel is the “truth north” as it relates to the direction of the new Avengers game. Marvel’s Bill Rosemann, who is the company’s vice president of creative development, helps direct the team about things like what Tony Stark might say or what kinds of battle moves Hulk might perform.

Amos went on to discuss just how much Marvel is involved with the development of the new Avengers game, and it’s a lot.

“They’re not just collaborators, they’re partners,” Amos said. “They’re embedded with us as a team. We talk to them daily. We send them everything we’re working on, we have builds they play and get feedback. We bring them to the studio and go through it together.”

“[Bill Rosemann] is 25 years at Marvel. He knows everybody. We’re like, ‘So we have a character, and this storyline we saw in issue x,’ and he’s like, ‘I can get you the writer, let’s go see what that person thinks’… We have this amazing collaboration with them that lets us do a little of the iconic fan service and a lot of doing an original take that makes it feel fresh and familiar.”

In other news, Crystal has confirmed that the Avengers game can be played offline. If you do want to venture online, you can team up with other players. Additionally, post-release heroes and locations are free, and there are no loot boxes, but the game still does feature microtransactions.

For more on the new Avengers game, check out GameSpot’s breakdown of every confirmed character so far. The Avengers game launches in May 2020.

World of Warcraft developer Blizzard cancels roughly 50 percent of the games it develops, and one of those projects was the MMO Titan.

Blizzard founder Mike Morhaime, who has since left the company, spoke about the project during the Gamelab convention in Barcelona this week. He said it was planned to be a “next-generation MMO,” but it proved to be too ambitious,.

“We failed to control scope,” Morhaime said, as reported by Eurogamer. “It was very ambitious. It was a brand new universe, and it was going to be the next generation MMO that did all sorts of different things, it had different modes. We were sort of building two games in parallel, and it really struggled to come together.”

Blizzard’s Overwatch was born out of the ashes of Titan, and Morhaime spoke more about how greenlighting that game was “one of the best decisions that we made.”

“We took something that wasn’t going to ship for a very long time, might never have shipped, and turned it into an awesome game,” he explained.

Overwatch game director Jeff Kaplan, who worked on Titan, remarked, “We failed horrifically in every way … In every way that a project can fail. It was devastating.”

Titan was officially canceled in 2014, and at the time, Morhaime stated, “We set out to make the most ambitious thing that you could possibly imagine. And it didn’t come together.”

As for why Titan was canceled, Morhaime said Blizzard “didn’t find the fun … didn’t find the passion.”

The latest project that Blizzard canceled was a StarCraft first-person shooter, according to a report. Blizzard reportedly scuttled the project, which was said to be in development for two yeas, so it could focus on Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2.