Author: Trafficblast

New Black Desert Online Class Will Launch January 2020; Pre-Registration Opens Next Week

Pearl Abyss has released additional details for Guardian, the brand-new class coming to Black Desert Online, including when you can expect to play as her. For those looking to try out the class, Guardian pre-registration will start December 24 and the character will officially launch on January 22, 2020.

“The Guardian wields a battleaxe and shield and uses heavy melee attacks to suppress her enemies,” Pearl Abyss writes in a press release. “She charges enemies and grabs them by the neck to smash them with her shield as her axe mercilessly hacks away at her foes. She is the bastion of the battlefield and strikes with perfectly calculated blows to fend off all who dare oppose her. The Guardian uses a variety of skills to control the ebb and flow of the battlefield with wide and powerful strikes of her axe and shield.”

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Pearl Abyss details some of Guardian’s abilities in the press release, such as Boulder Crush (a powerful melee attack that strikes three times) and Mountain Slam (an area-of-effect, earthquake-like attack). The Guardian has some notable combinations as well. Mutilation sweeps all the enemies in front of her off their feet, and also causes her to charge energy. This energy can be released with Black Blood Slaughter, giving Guardian a mid-range option to compliment her primarily close combat-focused abilities.

Guardian is the 19th class in Black Desert Online, an MMORPG recognized for its extensive character customization options, which are more in-depth than most games. A recent update added new Succession skills to the hit-and-run specialist Musa and one-on-one duelist Maehwa, following updates that provided additional abilities for the Warrior, Ranger, Tamer, and Valkyrie. Succession skills are unlocked at level 56, providing characters with enhanced variations of their respective starter skills.

Black Desert Online is available for PC, Xbox One, and PS4. A version for iOS and Android devices, called Black Desert Mobile, exists as well.

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The 20 Best Movies Of 2019 According To Metacritic

If there’s one thing that movie and TV fans were not doing in 2019, it’s complaining that there wasn’t enough to watch. The multiplexes might be largely dominated by big budget franchise movies, but the competition between the studios, networks, streaming services, and media companies ensured that there was a constant stream of film and TV content to check out. The problem wasn’t having enough, it was knowing what to focus on.

We all know what the most financially successful films were–most of them were made by Disney, and many of them featured superheroes, spaceships, and animated toys or animals. But while the likes Marvel and Pixar have millions of fans, the most commercial films aren’t always the ones favored most by film critics. It’s always fascinating to look at annual Best Of lists from critics, as that’s where the smaller gems can be found, the great movies that might not have had all the attention they deserve.

Taking a look at GameSpot’s sister site, Metacritic–which collects and averages out critic movie ratings–we found the best reviewed movies of the year and are presenting the top 20 for you. And if you’re looking ahead to 2020, check out our looks at the Biggest Movies, TV shows, and Anime to watch next year…

Get the Best Virtual Reality Experience With These Headsets

Virtual Reality games have come a long way from being simply a collection of activities and tech demos. Nowadays VR titles include full-on games like Vader Immortal and Trover Saves the Universe. Of course, VR headsets have also improved over the years and we’re fully into the second generation of virtual reality at this point.

The latest and greatest VR headsets make immersive, room-scale gaming is better (and more affordable) than ever. Better yet, there are plenty of fantastic options to go completely wireless. At this point you don’t necessarily need a powerful gaming PC or PS4 to enjoy high-res, motion tracking VR anymore either. If you’re ready to dip your toe into the digital world, here are the best VR headsets you should buy.

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Puma Announces ‘Gamer Socks’

Puma, purveyor of all sorts of sporting goods and clothing, is finally cracking into the most physically taxing activity of all: Video gaming.

Puma has announced a new line of gaming socks, or “Active Gaming Footwear,” designed to maximize your comfort and style on those 10-hour raids or your 40th battle royale loss of the day, as first reported by PC Gamer. One pair will you run you £80 in the UK and $160 in Australia, and it doesn’t look like Puma has made any official announcement about the product his U.S. shores. The UK and AU price suggests something in the ballpark of $100 USD or a little higher.

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Emma Watson Posts Harry Potter Reunion Picture

Harry Potter series stars Emma Watson and Tom Felton have posted a picture of a small cast reunion.

Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter himself) and Rupert Grint (Ron Weasely) are absent, but at least Neville Longbottom showed up. From left to right, there’s Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood), Bonnie Wright (Ginnie Weasley) and Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom).

Emma Watson’s black and white picture on Instagram has over 1.9 million likes as of this writing.  Felton’s Instagram pic has over 906,000 likes but it’s in color.

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Redbox Won’t Rent Games Anymore, But It’s Selling Them For Dirt Cheap Right Now

With the rise of digital downloads and monthly subscriptions like Xbox Game Pass, physical game rentals may soon be going the way of Blockbuster. One of the biggest companies still doing physical rentals, Redbox, announced earlier this month that it will no longer offer game rentals at its kiosks, and physical game sales will only be available through the end of the year, according to CNET. Redbox will still offer movie rentals.

In a recent tweet, Redbox customer service explained the decision was made after evaluating “changes in the industry,” which led it to shift its full focus to physical movies, which is the bulk of its business anyway.

Now, Redbox is clearing out its stock of games with a massive games sale with some of the best prices available online, including Marvel’s Spider-Man for $10, Death Stranding for just $25, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare for $30. Most of the prices aren’t immediately visible, as you’ll need to enter your zip code first to see if it’s in stock near you.

Enter your zip code, and you'll be shown the deal price if it's in stock.Enter your zip code, and you’ll be shown the deal price if it’s in stock.

Here are some of the best game deals we were able to verify. While Redbox shows Nintendo Switch games on its site, only PS4 and Xbox One games appear to be available. Keep in mind stock will vary based on your location, and you’ll have to pick up the game at your local Redbox.

Best game deals at Redbox

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The Best Cheap Board Games

When you can play so many great games with a deck of playing cards, or even a pen and paper, it’s tempting to seek out good value in your gaming purchases. Thankfully, games that offer lots of playtime for very little money are enjoying a renaissance right now, so there’s plenty to pick from.

Most of these budget titles are card games. But if you can stretch a bit higher, it’s amazing how much sculpted plastic and great art you can buy in a board game for relatively little price. More and more big publishers are getting on the hobby game train, and that means better and better value for board gamers.

Board Games Around $10

Love Letter

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The Game Awards 2019 Was A Huge Success, Organizer Responds To Claims Of Too Many Ads

The Game Awards 2019 was a big success. The show scored 45.2 million livestreams around the world, which is up 73 percent from the 26.2 million people who tuned in for 2018’s show, organizers have announced.

The numbers were announced in a tweet from The Game Awards, and it was also confirmed that the show will return in 2020. No dates were announced, but presumably it will be back in December 2020.

The Game Awards, which are run by former GameSpot writer Geoff Keighley, began back in 2014 and have grown in viewership every year. Before that, Keighley organized the Spike Video Game Awards on traditional linear TV and then the VGX event in 2013 before the transition to The Game Awards.

Being a show on the internet, people had a lot to say–good and bad–about The Game Awards 2019. People criticized the show for having too many ads, but Keighley says he thinks the number of ads in 2019 was similar to 2018. He also pointed out that his team does not have final say in the ads that get shown, though he hopes this may change in the future.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice took home the overall Game of the Year award at the show this year, while Disco Elysium was also a big winner–it took home all four awards it was nominated for.

In addition to awards, the event featured a lot of big news. The biggest and most unexpected announcement was the Xbox Series X, which is Microsoft’s next-generation console coming in 2020.

The bands Green Day and Chvrches performed at The Game Awards, while Grimes also played.

Now Playing: Next-Gen PS5 And Xbox Series X Games Debut At The Game Awards 2019 – GS News Update