Author: Trafficblast

Two Legendary Pokemon are returning to Pokemon Go for a very limited time. Niantic is bringing Ho-Oh and Lugia, the cover monsters from Pokemon Gold and Silver versions, back to the mobile game as part of a special Raid weekend event, which kicks off this Friday, December 14, at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET.

All through the weekend, players will be able to encounter the two Johto Legendaries once again as Raid Battles at Gyms. Moreover, Niantic says that Shiny variants of the two Pokemon will also have a chance of appearing. The Legendaries will be available until Monday, December 17, at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET.

Ho-Oh and Lugia aren’t the only Legendaries appearing again in Pokemon Go. As part of December’s Field Research, players have another chance to capture Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Raikou, Entei, or Suicune. Each time they achieve a Research Breakthrough this month, they’ll be rewarded with another encounter with one of the six aforementioned Legendaries.

Meanwhile, Pokemon Go’s latest Gen 4 Legendary, Cresselia, is set to leave the game soon. The Legendary Psychic Pokemon will only appear in Raid Battles until December 18, making this your last opportunity to capture one if you haven’t already.

Niantic recently rolled out a new update for Pokemon Go, introducing the newly announced PvP Trainer Battle system to the game. Now, all Pokemon Go users who have reached at least level 10 can challenge other players directly to three-on-three Pokemon battles. You can learn more about the new feature in our Pokemon Go PvP guide.

There’s never a bad time to be a PC gamer, but right now is a particularly good time for anyone who likes saving money. Not only can you pick up a free copy of Full Throttle Remastered from GOG, but Humble is giving away copies of Lego The Hobbit just for signing up for its newsletter. If you’re already signed up, perhaps from a similar previous promotion, you can just click a button and receive your free copy of Tolkien’s fantasy novel adapted in a way he never could have anticipated. Get your copy here.

The deal is live “while supplies last” between now and December 15 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET. After clicking the link, your copy of Lego The Hobbit is delivered in the form of a Steam key you’ll need to redeem by December 20. Just do that, and the game is yours to keep and play forever.

Lego The Hobbit launched in 2014, several months before the final installment of Peter Jackson’s trilogy hit theaters. As such, it only covers the events of the first two films, but that’s plenty of content for a Lego action game.

The game is “immediately charming,” Carolyn Petit wrote in GameSpot’s Lego The Hobbit review. “The title screen shows Bilbo puttering around in his cozy hobbit hole of Bag End, and the wizard Gandalf poking his head in the window… And from these quaint beginnings, Lego The Hobbit whisks you off on a journey across Middle-earth, getting all the visual details right to transport you to the world of Peter Jackson’s films.”

It’s not all good news, though. The game received a score of 5/10, mostly because, “Lego The Hobbit proves that having plenty of variety in terms of objectives and gameplay mechanics doesn’t make much difference if none of those objectives and mechanics are much fun.”

But hey, it’s free. If you want to give it a shot despite what the critics think, grab it before it goes back to full price.

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Call of Duty developer Infinity Ward was reportedly evacuated this morning following a bomb threat. Kotaku reports that police presented themselves at the studio and alerted staff to the threat, and employees evacuated without incident.

Meanwhile, a large-scale extortion scam has threatened bombs across multiple financial institutions, according to Krebs On Security. The scam seeks a large ransom of bitcoin, and warns victims not to alert the police. The spam email claims to have a “mercenary” staking out the building in control of the bomb, who will only withdraw after having received payment. It’s unclear if the threat at Infinity Ward was related to this spate of bomb threats.

Activision did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

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Season 7 of Fortnite is now in full swing on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile devices. Following the release of the 7.01 update, developer Epic Games has rolled out the second set of weekly challenges of the season, which range from playing sheet music on pianos to having a dance-off at an abandoned mansion.

As usual, completing these missions will net you Battle Stars, which in turn will level your Battle Pass up and unlock the new Season 7 skins and rewards. Finishing all of the challenges from a given week has an added benefit as well, as it’ll complete one of the new Snowfall challenges–this season’s equivalent to the Hunting Party challenges from Season 6.

Just as before, clearing a Snowfall challenge will reward you with a special loading screen that contains a clue pointing you to a free item hidden somewhere around the map. Last season, the item in question alternated each week between a free Battle Star (good for leveling your Battle Pass up by one tier) or a free Banner (which can be used as a profile icon), and it looks like Epic is continuing that trend in Season 7.

If you complete two full weekly sets of Season 7 challenges, you’ll unlock the loading screen below. It showcases Lynx–one of the new progressive skins you’ll unlock by purchasing the Season 7 Battle Pass–sitting at a work station. This time, the clue to the free Banner is fairly easy to spot; it can be seen displayed on the screen in the upper right-hand corner of the image.

The work station depicted in the loading screen is located inside a building in Frosty Flights, one of the new areas added to Fortnite’s map this season. Head there at the start of the match, find the right building (we’ve denoted it on the map below), and the Banner will appear. Collect it as you would any other item, and you’ll be able to use it as your profile icon after finishing the match.

As with previous Snowfall and Hunting Party challenges, you won’t be able to get this free Banner if you haven’t first completed the required steps. The item won’t appear on the map unless you’ve finished two weeks’ sets of challenges and unlocked the aforementioned loading screen, so you can’t simply go to the right area and expect to find it unless you’ve put in the necessary work.

Epic is releasing a new set of challenges in Fortnite every week in Season 7. If you need help completing them, you can find tips in our complete Season 7 challenges roundup. You can also see our guides on where to find every free Battle Star and Banner so far this season below.

Fortnite Season 7 Snowfall Challenge Guides

The year may be winding down, but the video game discounts show no signs of following suit. A flurry of winter and holiday sales is now live, including a big one on PC games at GOG. Between now and January 3, you can save money on a wide assortment of titles, including some you can get for free. Let’s dive in and look at the details.

One game, Full Throttle Remastered, is free for everyone, with no strings attached, through December 15. If you spend even one cent during the sale, you’ll also get a free copy of the turn-based strategy game Fantasy General. Spend $15, and they’ll throw in Everspace for free–a $30 value.

As for what you can spend that money on, you have plenty of choices. One good starting point would be the GameSpot Collection, where you’ll find a list of discounted games that was hand-picked by our editors and producers.

Another place to start would be on some of the best PC games of the year, including the roguelike Metroidvania-style Dead Cells, which is a one of GameSpot top games of the year in addition to being on sale for $20. Into the Breach, also a top game of the year, is a unique strategy game from the makers of FTL (which is also on sale), that’s discounted to $10. Then there’s The Messenger, which bears more than a little resemblance to the Ninja Gaiden NES games, is down to $14.

Anyone who hasn’t picked up the Witcher games yet can scoop up the entire series, DLC and all, for under $30. Speaking of that series, the RPG/card game Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales, is also on sale for $24. Also priced to sell are the CRPGs Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire ($33) and Divinity: Original Sin II ($30), as are Darkest Dungeon ($7.50) and Anno 1404: Gold Edition ($9).

Read on for more of our picks, or head to the site to find all 43 pages’ worth of deals.

Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina won’t return for its second season until 2019, but the streaming service has a holiday surprise for fans of the witchy series. “A Midwinter’s Tale,” a special holiday-themed episode of the series arrives on December 13. Unfortunately, for those hoping for a nice and relaxing Christmas with the Spellman family, you’re out of luck.

“Although people think that the holiday season is like, a fun time and all that, but for witches it is kind of a perilous time, because it’s a time when they kind of need extra protection,” Miranda Otto (Zelda) explained during a visit to the show’s set. “They have to keep the yule log burning so to protect themselves from spirits that could come into the house.”

Of course, as Lucy Davis (Hilda) added, there’s still some holiday joy to be found mixed in with the Sabrina creepiness fans have some to love. “It’s really nice, because it’s very–it’s nice and warm, it’s typical Sabrina stuff and some horror stuff, but you also learn a lot about Sabrina’s mom,” she said.

While the episode promises some information about Sabrina’s mother, along with the addition of The Haunting of Hill House alum McKenna Grace playing a young Sabrina, star Kiernan Shipka warned that the special might not have a lot of the answers you’re looking for after the conclusion of Season 1.

“It’s in so many ways, a standalone episode,” Shipka explained. “It doesn’t get too crazy on plot or this or that. It really just kind of focuses in on the characters, and it takes its time. It’s super perfect for the holidays.”

There will be one lingering story that gets some serious attention in the special, though. You might remember that at the conclusion of Season 1, it was revealed that Zelda (Otto) kidnapped a baby. That’s a plot that simply can’t be ignored.

“For Zelda, the story is very much about the baby, and having a baby in the house, and her attachment to the baby,” Otti teased. “And Zelda is particularly worried because of the baby in the house, and indeed someone does come to try to steal the baby.”

As for who’s coming to take the baby, that’s anyone’s guess. When it comes to Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, though, nothing is off the table–especially where evil is concerned.

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina winter special debuts on Netflix on Friday, December 14. Meanwhile, Season 2 of the series premieres on April 5.