While Nintendo UK is running a huge Eshop sale on Switch games right now, those of us in the States can still find some solid Switch deals of our own at Amazon, which is selling many first-party titles for $10 off and offering larger discounts on other games as well. It’s rare that first-party Switch games fall below $60, even at Amazon, so this is a rare opportunity if you’ve had your eye on any of these games. And of course, if you’re an Amazon Prime member, you’ll receive free two-day shipping, as nearly all of these deals are Prime-eligible.
If you enjoyed Monster Hunter World’s core gameplay, consider picking up Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate on the Switch, as it’s over $20 off right now. The classic turn-based strategy game, Civilization VI, is also $20 off. Meanwhile, Elder Scrolls fans can grab Skyrim for Switch for just under $50.
Speaking of deals: GameStop’s massive spring sale also includes discounts on Nintendo Switch games, along with PS4 and Xbox One games, consoles, accessories, collectibles, and more. Be sure to check out that sale before it ends April 20, as there are some great discounts.
The rebooted Hellboy franchise certainly has high hopes for a future with three major reveals care of the final minutes of the film and the two post-credits stingers–but they might be a little tricky to pick up on if you’re not familiar with the Hellboy comics.
Don’t worry–that’s what we’re here for.
Major Hellboy spoilers to follow, so please, watch your step.
Enter Abe
Fans of the original Hellboy film by Guillermo Del Toro will notice a major and obvious absence in this new take on the universe–the dynamic duo of “red and blue,” Hellboy and Abe Sapien, is no longer. In this incarnation of the BPRD, Abe was never actually discovered, never became an agent, and never had a friendship with Dr. Broom or Hellboy at all.
At least, not yet. The final moments of the film feature Hellboy, Ben, and Alice clear out a base run by the occult-worshiping Oannus Society, a Hellboy comics deep-cut that actually ties into Abe’s original origin story. Whatever brought them to the base is a mystery, but the team makes relatively short work of all the members as they clear each room. Finally, as the dust settles, they find themselves in a warehouse-like chamber where a strange water-filled tube is propped against the wall. The name plaque at the bottom reads “Ichthyo Sapien.”
As the team leans in closer, a familiar webbed hand reaches up, inside of the tube, and slaps against the glass.
We don’t actually see any more of Abe in the scene, and we don’t get any indication of the team’s reaction to him in that moment, but we do know that he’s here in one form or another. It certainly seems like the franchise is going to be taking a bit more of its Abe cues from the comics, however, so we’re likely going to learn that he was once human back in Victorian times, transformed into a monster during an arcane ritual.
Definitely a pretty far cry from the beloved David Hyde Pierce/Doug Jones collaboration in Del Toro’s version, but hey, at least he’s here at all.
What about Lobster Johnson?
The first post credits scene is another playful nod to Hellboy comics fans featuring the ghost of Lobster Johnson, a character who made a brief cameo in the retold origin story of Hellboy’s birth during WW2.
In Hellboy comics, Lobster Johnson is actually the star of his own comic book series–of which Hellboy himself is a huge, huge fan. The comics-within-the-comics were based on Johnson’s real life WW2 exploits, and his ghost does occasionally crop up to do what he does best: kill Nazis.
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Hellboy – Official Trailer
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There isn’t a ton of information to dissect in this particular scene, but it is pretty cute to know that this Hellboy still loves his favorite superhero/historical figure, and that Lobster’s ghost is definitely still hanging out.
One More Comic Book Cameo
The final stinger is a surprisingly meaty one, considering it’s all the way at the very end of the credits. It features a single shot of the horrifying Baba Yaga, speaking directly into the camera–or, well, to someone sitting across from her table, but who’s perspective the camera is occupying.
She monologues about wanting Hellboy’s eye–apparently this is a plight the person she’s speaking to can sympathize with in one way or another–and she’s going to send this person to get it for her. If they’re successful, she’ll grant them what they’ve always wanted: the ability to die.
The scene cuts before the person is revealed, but Hellboy comics fans will likely be able to make the connection. If a sequel ever happens, we’re likely going to see the live action arrival of Edward Grey, a long standing Hellboy side character who is, you guessed it, immortal and not always the most stoked on that fact.
Strangely, in the comics, Grey isn’t strictly speaking a villain–he’s a renowned paranormal investigator who has been cursed with immortality for hundreds of years, but he’s not necessarily evil or good. He actually works with Hellboy on occasion, seeing them as kindred spirits trying to shirk their destinies–so, really, who knows what will happen when and if a Hellboy 2 hits theaters. Will Grey be a villain? He’s he going to try and double cross Baba to help Hellboy out?
Another weekend, another visit from Xur and his bag of Exotics in Destiny 2. The latest update to the game made another big change to Xur’s inventory, giving you even more chances to get the Exotic weapons and armor you might not have. Unfortunately, though, Xur is only carrying Year One Exotics this week.
To find Xur this weekend, head to the Tower. Drop onto the Hangar side and head to the stairs behind where the Dead Orbit folks hang out. You’ll find Xur up on a catwalk near the edge of the area. Leading Xur’s haul is the Jade Rabbit Exotic scout rifle, which gives you extra precision damage when you chain body shots, and also returns ammo to the gun’s magazine.
In the armor category, Titans can snag the Dunemarchers leg armor, which increases your sprint speed and builds up a static charge when you sprint, which releases chain lightning when you use melee attacks on enemies. Hunters get the Lucky Pants leg armor, which increase the handling speed of hand cannons and load rounds into your stowed hand canons when you nail precision shots with other guns. Finally, for Warlocks, there’s Starfire Protocol, an Exotic chest armor that gives you an additional Fusion grenade charge, with grenades giving you Rift energy and damage from Rift empowered weapons giving you grenade energy.
Here are all the Exotics Xur offers this week and what they’ll cost you:
If you’re bummed with the Year One haul Xur brings this week, you’ve got another option: You can purchase a Fated Engram. Starting this week, Fated Engrams can now dish out Exotics from the Forsaken expansion. If there’s anything you’re missing from the first expansion of Year Two, you can now potentially get it, if you can afford it–Fated Engrams will run you 97 Legendary Shards, and you can only get one per account each week. Xur also offers the Five of Swords challenge card for free, which allows you to add difficulty modifiers that increase your score in Nightfall runs.
Xur also brings another Invitation of the Nine this week, a weekly bounty that gives you a Powerful gear drop, a bit of story about the Nine, and a new Lore entry. If you’ve been keeping up each week, this one will send you to Mercury to complete Garden World Strike. You’ll also need to kill Cabal, Hive, and Vex enemies.
Epic Games has nerfed Fortnite: Battle Royale’s Baller vehicle. In a post on Reddit, the developer stated it has “deployed a hotfix reducing the health of The Baller from 300 to 200,” meaning no title update is necessary for the change to take effect.
“In the 8.20 patch notes, we said we would add the ability to shoot through the glass of Ballers in a future update,” Epic continued. “We’ve played with shooting through glass and it didn’t feel like the right solution.”
The Baller was first introduced last month, and allows players to ride around the map like a hamster in a wheel. Epic clearly felt the vehicle was overpowered, however, hence the reduction in health.
A little more than a year ago, Vivendi finally lost to Ubisoft in a lengthy, messy legal battle for control of Ubisoft. Vivendi ended up selling its remaining stock in Ubisoft, effectively severing its relationship with the company. Ubisoft co-founder and CEO Yves Guillemot isn’t being coy when he calls the whole ordeal a “fight.”
is not easy to do in huge companies,” Guillemot said on this month’s episode of IGN Unfiltered. “So when you’re attacked with a company that has a different philosophy, you know it can affect what you’ve been creating from scratch. So you fight with a lot of energy to make sure it can’t be destroyed.”
In early March, PlayStation’s Great Indoors Sale knocked the price of one-year PS Plus member down to $45 (it usually sells for $60), and while that sale has long since ended, anyone who didn’t stock up on another PS Plus subscription has another chance to get it for that price. Right now, a one-year PS Plus membership is discounted to $50 at Newegg, and if you use the promo code EMCTYUV58, another $5 will be slashed from the price, marking it down to $45.
As a reminder, you can stack PS Plus subscriptions, so even if you’re already a member, here’s a great chance to renew your subscription at a discount. Newegg is limiting this deal to two per customer, but you’ll still walk away paying $90 for two one-year subscriptions instead of $120 (or $45 instead of $60, if you opt for just one). A PS Plus membership not only extends to PS4, PS3, and Vita systems, but will most likely roll over to PlayStation’s next-generation console, too.
The deal ends Sunday, so act fast, especially if your PS Plus subscription is scheduled to expire soon.
PS Plus is PlayStation’s premium monthly subscription that grants access to online multiplayer, free monthly PS4 games, and exclusive discounts. April’s games for PS Plus members include science-fiction RPG The Surge and open-world survival game Conan Exiles, both of which are free to download for the rest of the month. Another new perk of PS Plus: Sony recently rolled out the PSN ID change feature, and while the first time you change your ID is free, subsequent changes carry a $10 fee–except for PS Plus members, who will only have to pay $5 each time.
Niantic has a couple of big events lined up for Pokemon Go next week, from a special Latios Raid to the return of the annual Eggstravaganza. Before that, however, the developer is holding April’s Community Day. The monthly event returns this Saturday, April 13, giving players around the world another chance to earn bonuses and capture some rare Pokemon–including a new Shiny.
Just like previous months, April’s Community Day will only run for three hours, during which you’ll be able to find increased spawns of this month’s featured Pokemon. While the duration period is always the same, the particulars of each Community Day–such as what time it starts and what other bonuses you’ll be able to earn–typically vary month by month, so we’ve rounded up all the important details you need to know about this month’s event below.
What Is The Featured Pokemon?
Each Community Day, Niantic designates one “featured” Pokemon that’ll serve as the star of the event. Throughout the Community Day, the featured Pokemon will spawn more frequently in the wild than it normally does, making it a good opportunity to stock up on them. On top of that, Community Days typically offer players their first opportunity to catch the Shiny version of that month’s featured Pokemon, and the monster can learn a special move if it fully evolves by the end of the event.
The featured Pokemon for April’s Community Day is Bagon, the first form of the fan-favorite Dragon Pokemon Salamence. Throughout the event, Bagon will be much more common than it normally is, and you’ll have your first chance to capture a Shiny Bagon. Moreover, if you manage to evolve Bagon all the way into Salamence up to an hour after the event ends, it’ll automatically know the powerful Dragon-type attack Outrage.
What Time Does It Start?
Up until last month, Niantic traditionally held each Community Day during a specific window of time, which varied depending upon your region; in North America, for instance, the event would always run from 11 AM – 2 PM PT, while Europe’s Community Day would take place from 10 AM – 1 PM UTC.
Beginning in March, however, Niantic changed the schedule for Community Days. Rather than holding the event during specific times in each region, it will now take place everywhere from 3-6 PM local time. This should make it much easier to remember when the Community Day is happening, as you no longer need to convert the event hours to your time zone.
What Other Bonuses Are There?
Along with increased Pokemon spawns, Niantic offers a few other bonuses during each month’s Community Day as an extra incentive to go out and participate in the event. This month, you’ll earn triple the usual amount of XP for capturing Pokemon throughout the Community Day. Additionally, Lure Modules–which typically only last 30 minutes–will remain active for three hours when used during the event.
