Author: Trafficblast

NHL 19 Is Now Free For EA Access Subscribers On Xbox One

The EA Access catalog of free games continues to grow. The newest addition, NHL 19, arrived this week, and the timing is notable given that the NHL Playoffs just began.

NHL 19 is a fantastic simulation ice hockey experience, and it stands out from previous entries with its addition of pond hockey. GameSpot’s NHL 19 review scored it an 8/10.

EA Access is only available on Xbox One right now, but it’s reportedly coming to PlayStation 4 as well. A PC edition called Origin Access is also available, but NHL 19 is not available on PC.

EA Access costs $5/month or $30/year, and for that, subscribers get access to a growing catalog of EA Games including other 2018 sports titles like NBA Live 19 and Madden 19. Outside of those, titles like Battlefield 1, Skate 3, Titanfall 2, and many others are in the Vault of freebies. Subscribers also save 10 percent on all EA digital content, while members also usually get to play upcoming EA games multiple days before their public release. There are also perks like bonuses in new EA games like Apex Legends.

During an earnings call in February, management discussed bringing EA Access to another “major” platform, so that could be a reference to PlayStation 4. Keep checking back with GameSpot for the latest.

Watch The Star Wars: Episode 9 Reveal Panel Here From Star Wars Celebration

The massive Star Wars fan event, Star Wars Celebration, begins tomorrow with a high-profile panel focused on Star Wars: Episode IX. The panel is set for 11 AM CDT on Friday, April 12, and it promises new details about the highly anticipated third movie in the new trilogy.

Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and director JJ Abrams will be on stage, while the panel’s official description also teases there will be “plenty of surprises and special guests.” According to Lucasfilm, this is an event “you will definitely not want to miss.”

Thankfully, it’s being streamed. You can watch it through an embed from Star Wars that we’ll add here when the show gets closer. As mentioned, it begins at 11 AM CDT from Chicago, which works out to 12 PM ET, 9 AM PT, 5 PM GMT, and 4 AM AEDT in Australia on Saturday.

Episode IX doesn’t have a title yet, so that could be among the reveals for the panel. There also hasn’t been a trailer, and Star Wars Celebration seems as likely a place as any to release one.

The third and final entry in the new trilogy that began with 2015’s The Force Awakens, Episode IX wraps up the entire Skywalker Saga that began all the way back in 1977.

Star Wars Celebration also promises news and reveals for the new Star Wars game Jedi Fallen Order from the developers of Apex Legends and Titanfall. Go to GameSpot sister site CNET to see a full rundown of what to expect from the show.

Mad Photos Reveal New Sims-Inspired Fashion Line

A range of The Sims-inspired clothing will soon be released by Italian fashion company Moschino.

The collection, which launches April 13, features pixelated designs, and a variety of accessories including the Sims’ iconic plumbob as an earring. It has been created in partnership with EA, as announced by an Electronic Arts press release.

“I love the idea of being able to imagine, design and bring to life a world of individual personas with The Sims universe,” said Jeremy Scott, Creative Director of Moschino. “That concept emulates what I get to do for each collection at Moschino as I create a fantasy universe of spectacular storylines and characters.”

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Outward Review

My experience with Outward essentially unfolded in two distinct acts. In the first, I spent the majority of my time in this open-world fantasy RPG getting killed by nearly every enemy I encountered, running between the only two cities I knew the way to (after getting locked out of a third) to find gear and salvage crafting materials and baubles so I could sell them. I was also contending with bugs and design failures that first caused my co-op partners to abandon me and, at their apex, left me broke, nude, and alone in a snowbank, dying of exposure. Determined to not let Outward beat me, I used the debug menu to break the obnoxious autosave feature to retrieve my stolen gear and money (a last resort when reviewing a game) and set out on the second act, eventually upgrading enough to grind through the aggravating combat and complete the story. It still wasn’t much fun, but after I’d gotten my hands on the kind of material wealth that turned the tide for me, I got a clearer idea of what Outward is supposed to be.

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Amazing Spider-Man: ‘Hunted’ Makes Slow Progress

There are many reasons why so many crossover events falter, but one of the most common problems involves poor structure. Too often, the core miniseries delivers the straightforward backbone of the story, leaving it to the tie-in books to add depth and flavor. As “Hunted” has shown us, even smaller-scale events can fall victim to this problem. What should have been one tightly plotted story of Kraven the Hunter launching his most ambitious plot is instead a plodding, overly drawn-out experience.

On one hand, you have to give the Amazing Spider-Man crew credit for making the .HU tie-ins a vital part of the reading experience. These character-driven side-stories have done a lot to enhance the narrative and flesh out supporting players like Black Cat and The Gibbon. On the other, you have to question why that material wasn’t simply integrated into the core storyline. “Hunted” has shown a strange reluctance to progress very far beyond its initial starting point in Amazing Spider-Man #17. Why not at least offset that lack of momentum by making the sad plight of the Gibbon a part of the main Amazing Spider-Man book?

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Enter for a Chance to Win MLB the Show 19

Welcome to Daily Win, our way of giving back to the IGN community. To thank our awesome audience, we’re giving away a new game each day to one lucky winner. Be sure to check IGN.com every day to enter in each new giveaway.

Today we’re giving away MLB the Show 19 for PS4. To enter into this sweepstake, fill out the form below. You must be at least 13 years old and a legal U.S. resident to enter. Today’s sweepstake will end at 11:59 p.m. PDT. Entries entered after this time will not be considered.

Daily Doodle: The frog and opossum adventurers continue on. In the distance is a small log.

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Hawkeye Series With Kate Bishop Coming To Disney+ – Report

Disney has already announced several series in development for its Disney+ premium streaming service, including one starring the popular character Loki. Now another major MCU character is reportedly getting the TV treatment: Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye.

Variety reports that the limited series will detail Clint Barton passing the torch to Kate Bishop. In the comics, Kate Bishop is a member of the Young Avengers and the latest to take the heroic identity as Hawkeye. She and Barton have often been portrayed as friends and rivals.

This could have something to do with Barton’s own identity-switching in the upcoming Avengers: Endgame. As we’ve seen in the trailers, Barton has abandoned his trusty bow for a katana, likely meaning he’ll be going by Ronin–the superheroic name he took on in Marvel comics when he underwent a similar change. It’s unknown if this series would take place before or after the events of Endgame, but either way the upcoming MCU film could tee up the series.

Other Marvel projects reportedly in development include series’ following Falcon and Winter Soldier, Vision, and Scarlet Witch. Each is said to be six to eight episodes, with relatively large budgets for television shows.

Avengers: Endgame is primed to be a massive blockbuster for Marvel. Opening weekend estimates already have it nearly matching the top record-holder of all time, Infinity War, and new presale numbers show it may even beat that figure.

Hellboy Review

Hellboy may not be the most famous comic book hero in the world, but he’s certainly well loved — a status that has earned him his very own cinematic reboot by director Neil Marshall, a little over a decade after Guillermo del Toro’s cult classic duology. Unfortunately, the return of Big Red to the silver screen is anything but a welcome one or a worthy successor to the original films.

A complete and total reboot of the franchise, Hellboy tries to make an entirely new cast work with Stranger Things’ David Harbour taking over the title role from originator Ron Perlman and Ian McShane bringing a new version of Professor Broom to life in John Hurt’s stead. That’s really the first mistake. Harbour and McShane lack any sort of real chemistry with one another, which repeatedly fumbles the father-and-son dynamic that is supposed to carry both Broom and Hellboy through their respective arcs. McShane spends the bulk of his screen time providing info dump exposition while Harbour rolls his eyes as best he can under pounds and pounds of makeup — which, maybe, could have worked if we were given any indication that their relationship had ever been anything but rocky.

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