Author: Trafficblast

The next RPG in the Persona franchise, titled Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth, just received a new Japanese trailer (see below) that revealed plenty of new details. Casts from the past three mainline games are brought together in what appears to be a charming, yet mysterious adventure with cinema as the central motif. Cinematics and gameplay were shown off, as well as adorable chibi versions of Persona 5‘s Phantom Thieves to fit the Persona Q aesthetic.

Like the first Q spin-off game–with Rei and Zen–new characters are thrown into the mix. The currently unnamed character is shown standing in front of a theater screen and later falling from a building; there’s also shadow-like figure standing in a film room. During the brief gameplay clips in the trailer, you can see a party made up of the three main protagonists, Makoto Niijima, and Yukari Takeba. Afterward, you can see the Persona 3 protagonist casting a spell with a Persona 5-style graphical cut-in for effective attacks. A dialogue sequence also shows Ann Takamaki talking with Teddie and Yu Narukami, Caroline and Justine tripping over themselves, and Ann with Goro Akechi investigating the theater.

It seems there’s a misunderstanding as the Persona 4 and 5 main characters; they’re seen fighting each other hand-to-hand. Lastly, a wonderful surprise comes at the end of the trailer which shows the optional female protagonist from Persona 3 Portable.

The long-running franchise is known for its stellar character development and dynamic turn-based combat. As spin-offs of Shin Megami Tensei, Persona 3, 4, and 5 in particular merged elements of social simulation genre and traditional RPGs to create unique and powerful experiences. Persona Q adopts the dungeon-crawling exploration and modified turn-based combat style seen in the Etrian Odyssey franchise while staying true to the spirit of the core Persona games.

Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth launches in Japan on November 29, 2018 for Nintendo 3DS. Details on a localized version for the West has not yet been revealed. More information on the game will be given on August 6.

We consider Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth one of the best 3DS games available; it unites the Investigation Team and SEES for a challenging and charming RPG. We also awarded second place to Persona 5 in our best games of 2017 list. This year marks the 10-year anniversary of Persona 4, be sure to read our retrospective feature in celebration of the game’s impact and legacy.

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Not only can you play as a good boy in this new title from Spooky Squid Games, you can help save some real good boys too. With each purchase of Russian Subway Dogs on PC and Mac until August 8, $1 will go to Save Our Scruffs, a charity dedicated to finding rescue dogs safe homes around the world.

From the team that brought They Bleed Pixels to life comes a new pixelated arcade game. In Russian Subway Dogs, you’ll play as one of man’s best friends just trying to live another day in the Moscow Metro, swiping food from Russian commuters.

In the game’s campaign, you’ll follow Proletaricat and her chaotic kittens in 100 levels inspired by real-world train stations. But in order to get those sweet treats, your good boy will have to dodge vodka, rival pups, and an elusive subway bear. If stories aren’t your jam, there’s also an endless mode complete with leaderboards.

You can wag your money at Russian Subway Dogs right now via Steam on PC and Mac for $15. During its launch week, you can snag a small bonus treat in the form of 10 percent off.

Patrick Stewart has announced that he will once again portray Captain Jean-Luc Picard in a new Star Trek series. As reported by CNET, the announcement was made during a Star Trek convention being held at Las Vegas. Stewart later posted a lengthy statement on Twitter, saying that it is “an unexpected but delightful surprise” to be returning to the role.

“I will always be very proud to have been a part of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but when we wrapped that final movie in the spring of 2002, I truly felt my time with Star Trek had run its natural course,” he said. “It is, therefore, an unexpected but delightful surprise to find myself excited and invigorated to be returning to Jean-Luc Picard and to explore new dimensions within him. Seeking out new life for him, when I thought that life was over.

“During these past years, it has been humbling to hear stories about how The Next Generation brought people comfort, saw them through difficult periods in their lives or how the example of Jean-Luc inspired so many to follow in his footsteps, pursuing science, exploration, and leadership,” he continued.

“I feel I’m ready to return to him for the same reason–to research and experience what comforting and reforming light he might shine on these often very dark times. I look forward to working with our brilliant creative team as we endeavor to bring a fresh, unexpected, and pertinent story to life once more.”

According to the Star Trek: Discovery Twitter account, the new show “tells the story of the next chapter in Picard’s life.” In June Alex Kurtzman, who has worked on recent Star Trek movies and TV show Star Trek: Discovery, signed a five-year deal with CBS Television Studios to release several new Star Trek shows. The series focused on Picard is the first to be confirmed since that announcement, and the show will air on CBS All Access.

Disclosure: CBS is GameSpot’s parent company.

FIFA 19’s release date is fast approaching, and publisher EA has finally unveiled more of the game’s new features. Possibly the most intriguing change is an overhaul of Kick Off, which was hitherto a standard exhibition mode. In addition, FUT 19, or Ultimate Team, has replaced Online Seasons with a new sub-mode named Division Rivals.

FIFA 19’s Kick Off brings more options than any pervious version of the mode. You can still play what’s now called a Classic Match if you don’t like change, or you can utilize any number of new options. You can specifically choose to make your match Champions League-themed, which will rebrand it with the official logos and replace commentators Martin Tyler and Alan Smith with Derek Rae and Lee Dixon; alternatively, you can do the same but for the Europa League.

You can also decide to play a two-legged match, where you play with the same two teams with each side playing at home once and away once (with the away goals rule active in the event of a draw). Similarly, you can set up a Best Of series, where you play a three- or five-match series against a friend or the AI.

The most interesting aspect of the overhauled Kick Off, however, is the ability to set House Rules. This is something many FIFA players have been doing themselves for years while playing against friends, but now EA will allow you to input special laws into your match. For example, you can prevent short-range goals from counting towards the scoreline, or force your mates to score from headers and volleys only.

Ultimate Team won’t be overhauled in quite the same way, but it still comes boasting a couple of new features. Online Seasons is no more; Offline Seasons will still be available but the online equivalent is to be replaced by Division Rivals. These are weekly competitions against those of a similar skill level to you, all with dynamically updated objectives. EA says it wants to reduce the amount of grinding required in FIFA’s online modes, so this year you can obtain Champion Points to gain access to the weekend’s Champions competitions. FUT is also adding a Champions Channel, where you can view previous Champions matches and analyze how players performed in those games. Confirmed Icons for FIFA 19 include Rivaldo, Johan Cruyff, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Eusebio, Clarence Seedorf, Claude Makelele, and Raul.

Outside of FUT and Kick Off, we know FIFA 19 will conclude Alex Hunter’s story in The Journey, while we can expect improvements to Career Mode and Pro Clubs. For more information on those and more on FIFA 19, keep an eye on GameSpot.

FIFA 19 launches worldwide on September 28 for PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, PS3, and Xbox 360. That’s around a month after its closest rival, PES 2019, which also has a demo out very soon. For more on EA’s sporting behemoth, check out our big feature on the 19 best new FIFA 19 features you might have missed.

Call of Duty is a force to be reckoned with in the video game industry. It has, for the past 14 years, been the dominant first-person shooter in a market with some serious contenders. The series has had to evolve to maintain its edge, and despite being developed by multiple different studios, the entirety of the Call of Duty series has almost consistently garnered widespread acclaim from critics and players alike. People will always debate the merits of an annualized series, especially one that seems to thrive on iteration, but Call of Duty shows no signs of slowing down.

It all began back in 2003, with the original Call of Duty appearing alongside the likes of Medal of Honor and Battlefield, two series that had already established a glowing reputation among military FPS fans. All three were set during World War II, and Call of Duty would continue down that path for both Call of Duty 2 and Call of Duty 3.

After four years and three games set in a decades-old conflict, the decision to ground the next Call of Duty game in a more contemporary setting resulted in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The departure was welcomed with open arms by an audience hungry for something new, and the positive reception ensured a steady stream of modern- or future-set sequels, including multiple Call of Duty: Black-Ops and two more Modern Warfare (Modern Warfare 2 and Modern Warfare 3) games in the years to come.

Like so many things, Call of Duty moves in cycles, and it was just last year that Activision took the series back to World War II, for, you guessed it, Call of Duty: WWII. It was a return to form that felt, to many, like the right move at the right time–a good way to shake up the flow of the previous 10 years. We are now looking ahead to the impending release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 this fall, and it’s anyone’s guess as to when the series will return to a more traditional style of military mayhem.

Call of Duty’s reach is so vast that it has no doubt resonated with people for a wide variety of reasons. We’ve collected GameSpot’s Call of Duty reviews from over the years and compiled them to illustrate the series rise to prominence, and to provide a historical snapshot of each individual games’ place in the process. But if there’s a particular game that made you fall in (or out) of love with the Call of Duty, shout it out in the comments below!

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