Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen, the action RPG that is being ported to Nintendo Switch this April, will not require a paid Nintendo Switch Online membership to use its online features.
New information on the port can be found on its Amazon page (via Nintendo Life) including that its “Pawn” system will be present, that all of its previously released extra content will be included, and that its user interface has been adapted to improve screen visibility for the system.
A set of PS4-exclusive items for the Red Dead Online beta in Red Dead Redemption 2 are no longer exclusive. As part of a larger update, Rockstar unlocked the items for Xbox One players to enjoy.
In a note tucked away at the end of an update about larger changes, Rockstar mentioned that Xbox One players now have access to the Red Chestnut Arabian Horse, Alligator Skin Ranch Cutter Saddle, and the High Roller Double-Action Revolver. Those were announced with a 30 day exclusivity window on PS4, which has now expired. This is regular content available to everyone, rather than special edition content.
This came alongside an update that added the new battle royale mode Gun Rush. In it, you’ll have to grab weapons and ammo fast while the play area shrinks, until there’s only one player remaining. It’s available for up to 32 players, and can be played as free-for-all or in a team.
Rockstar also announced that RDO will remain in beta for a few more months, as the developer adds more features and makes changes to “stabilize and refine” the experience. Some of those include daily missions and new story challenges, but most of the quality-of-life changes are coming to help police player interactions. The Law and Bounty system will be changed to “reduce the enticements for griefing” and the map will show players at shorter distances so you can’t be tracked from afar. Plus it will somehow mark more aggressive players so you know who not to mess with.
Our initial impressions of Red Dead Online were less than glowing, ultimately concluding that it just didn’t have enough to do. Rockstar did signal that this beta would be similar to Grand Theft Auto Online, though, and has continued iterating on that game for years. The roadmap ahead shows a lot on the horizon, so we can probably expect similar continued development.
Earlier this week, it was reported that this year’s 91st Academy Awards will not have a host, following the exit of Kevin Hart in December. Producers will reportedly enlist the help of various A-list stars to introduce the segments across the night, and a new report states that these might include big-name stars of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Academy are looking to use as many MCU actors as possible for an Avengers reunion on the night. At the 2013 awards, the likes of Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, and Samuel L Jackson appeared on stage together. THR states that Academy wants to include even more Marvel stars this time, which will tie in with the upcoming release of Avengers: Endgame.
In addition, the Oscars is broadcast by ABC, which, like Marvel Studios, is owned by Disney. The Academy has not commented on this story, but THR sources states that “specific details are still being hammered out about how the actors who play the popular characters will be incorporated.” The ceremony takes place on February 24.
Having no single host is not totally uncharted territory for the Academy Awards. 30 years ago in 1989, the show had no host, instead opting to open with an 11-minute monologue in which actor Rob Lowe sings “Proud Mary” with Snow White. The last time the Oscars featured multiple hosts was in 2011, when James Franco and Anne Hathaway shared hosting duties.
Hart backed out of the hosting gig after people discovered years-old tweets where the comedian and actor made homophobic comments. According to Hart, the Academy gave him an ultimatum: apologize or step down as host. Hart initially said he wouldn’t apologize, but he later did, saying he was sorry to the LGBTQ community for “my insensitive words from my past.”
The most recent Academy Awards ceremony was watched by the lowest viewership in history, with only 26.5 million people tuning in. In an effort to get more people to watch, the Academy announced a “Popular Film” category, but it was scrapped in the wake of a backlash from critics and audiences.
Netflix has released the official trailer for Season 2 of Marvel’s The Punisher.
In Season 2, Jon Bernthal returns as Frank Castle, who up until now has been living a quiet life out on the road. He ends up becoming involved in an attempted murder of a young girl, played by Giorgia Whigham.
New and old enemies come into his life and he is pressured to make the decision on whether or not to fully accept himself as the Punisher.
The Walking Dead’s return is just around the corner, and with it comes some of the most messed up villains in the franchise’s history: The Whisperers.
IGN has an exclusive teaser trailer and poster to whet your appetite for the return of Season 9. In the teaser, the Whisperers are front and center, and we get a very clear view of their leaders: Alpha, played by Samantha Morton, and Beta, played by Sons of Anarchy’s Ryan Hurst. Check out the 30-second teaser below!
After a slow build-up to the new villains during the first half of Season 9, the Whisperers were finally revealed as a terrifying threat in The Walking Dead’s midseason finale. This new batch of baddies disguises themselves as walkers by wearing the skins of the undead, which allows them to pass among the zombies without risk of attack from the undead and makes them seem as though they are just another roaming pack.
Rockstar Games has detailed a new update for Red Dead Online, the multiplayer component of Red Dead Redemption 2, and it includes what is, for all intents and purposes, a battle royale mode. As detailed on Rockstar’s website, Gun Rush is described as a gameplay mode that will “put your survival instincts to the test.” Players are tasked with gathering weapons and ammunition while the play area shrinks.
Obviously, as the play area shrinks, participants will be pushed closer together and forced to take each other out, with one player ultimately emerging as the victorious sole survivor. Gun Rush is available for up to 32 players, and can be played in free-for-all and team variations.
The Rockstar website goes on to reveal that Red Dead Online will stay in beta form “for a few more months” as its developer has “many more new gameplay features to add across the board as well as further changes to improve, stabilize and refine the overall experience.” You can read about some of the new additions on their way to Red Dead Online here.
Red Dead Redemption 2 was awarded GameSpot’s Game of the Year for 2018. Writing about the game, senior reviews editor Kallie Plagge said, “It’s hard to shake the kind of connection you develop with Red Dead Redemption 2’s world and characters. It’s a game that can try your patience, for sure, but it simply wouldn’t be the same if it didn’t. It’s an unforgettable experience that challenges your expectations as often as it meets or exceeds them, and there’s no question that it’s our Game of the Year.”
Rockstar Games, meanwhile, seems to already be looking to the future. New job listings for unannounced titles, which the company has described as “next-generation” projects, have appeared.
Red Dead Redemption 2 was released in October to much acclaim, with its multiplayer component, Red Dead Online, launching in late November. The online mode hasn’t been received quite as warmly, though Rockstar did distinguish in advance that it was only a beta. That will remain the case for the foreseeable future, although the company has outlined some of the updates and new content that are on the way.
In a blog post announcing the launch of a new battle royale-style mode called Gun Rush, Rockstar stated, “Red Dead Online will stay in beta for a few more months yet as we have many more new gameplay features to add across the board as well as further changes to improve, stabilize and refine the overall experience.”
You can read our impressions of Red Dead Online from just after its launch, but a common source of complaints is that there just isn’t enough to do. Aside from Gun Rush, more content is on the way, including new races, Showdown modes, clothing, and emotes.
Rockstar has previously urged fans to share their feedback on the beta, and its roadmap includes changes that it says are being made in response to what fans have been saying. Daily challenges are being introduced “covering every aspect of the game, from sharpshooting to evading the law.” But most of these adjustments are coming to mitigate unpleasant interactions with other players.
Law and Bounty systems are being altered to “reduce the enticements for griefing.” If you commit a crime, you’ll get a bounty; take too long to pay it off and bounty hunters from each state “will track the player forcing them to either pay up or escape.” Additionally, the Parley system can be activated more quickly, and feuds can be triggered more easily so that you can have a proper framework for fighting other players, rather than the random chaos that can ensue. And finally, the map will show players only at shorter distances, so people can’t track you down from afar. Rockstar also plans to have the map more clearly identify aggressive players.
Beyond all this, new A Land of Opportunities story missions are coming featuring both existing characters (Horley and Jessica LeClerk are mentioned by name) and new ones. Dynamic events will also be added to the world, though no specifics were shared.
It’s clear Rockstar’s plans for Red Dead Online are extensive. That should come as no surprise, given the sustained success of Grand Theft Auto V‘s GTA Online, which has been a tremendously consistent moneymaker for Rockstar and parent company Take Two since its launch in 2013.
Some awful X-Men: Dark Phoenix posters circling the internet have, thankfully, turned out to be fakes.
After seeing the mock posters picking up steam online, IGN reached out to Fox to establish whether they were fan posters or actual official art. Thankfully, Fox has since confirmed that they are in fact fan-made.
They feature the expected line-up of heroes, anti-heroes and villains towards the bottom, with Sophie Turner as both Jean Grey and a hilarious-looking Phoenix looming above them. It’s not an uncommon look for promoting a superhero movie but there’s something not quite right about these images, and fans on Twitter agreed.
I thought GAME OF THRONES couldn’t do worse to Sansa Stark and then along comes #DarkPhoenix … pic.twitter.com/7hKM2Kb96K
— PLH2019 (@HuginsPL) January 9, 2019
Rockstar is adding a new mode, Gun Rush to Red Dead Online today, and it sounds an awful lot like the Battle Royales we’re used to.
Gun Rush, according to a press release, puts “your survival instincts to the test, gathering weapons and ammunition while the play area shrinks in this new mode for up to 32 players.” The mode’s available in both team and free-for-all variants.
The existing Make It Count mode takes Battle Royale’s shrinking map, but only allows players to use a bow or throwing knives – the weapon scavenging in Gun Rush sounds far more like Fortnite or PUBG in approach.
As part of Fortnite Season 7, Week 6’s challenges, you’re going to have to go on a bit of a hunt. While not exactly a treasure hunt, completing the challenge will earn you some Battle Stars, which level up your Battle Pass and unlock cosmetics, and those are technically treasures. The specific thing you’ll be hunting for are Chilly Gnomes. Here’s where to find them.
You may remember a previous challenge where players were asked to seek out hungry gnomes, and this challenge plays out very similarly. The gnomes are pretty much what you imagine, little garden gnomes. To help you hone in on their locations, listen for the sound of shivering, which serves as an audio tell to let you know you’re getting close.
Of course, if you want to speed the whole process up and get it done lickity-split, you can follow our guide below. We’ve scoured the island and put together a little list that’ll direct you to the exact locations of the Chilly Gnomes. You can also watch the video above to see us complete the challenge, and follow our lead.
The rest of Week 6’s challenges are fairly simple and generally focused on doing damage to enemies, visiting specific locations, or searching ammo boxes. Read our full Fortnite Season 7, Week 6 challenge list for more on those.
Still need more Battle Stars? If you have challenges from previous weeks left to do, we’ve got a comprehensive Fortnite Season 7 challenge guide that’ll help you make light work of the hardest, most time consuming challenges of the season so far. That’ll net you a few extra Battle Stars.