Forza Horizon 3, the series entry that took the race to Australia, will soon be delisted. The digital version of the game will no longer be available for purchase from September 27, meaning that if you want it, you’ll need to act fast.
The Xbox One/PC game is hugely discounted right now, and if you don’t buy it now, your only hope will be a physical copy–and it’ll likely be second-hand. The game will also be playable on Xbox Series X, but only if you buy it before September 27. If you own the game, you’ll still be able to download it after this date, but it won’t be available for purchase anymore.
This applies to the DLC too, so if you want to experience the wild Hot Wheels expansion you’ll need to hurry.
Forza Horizon 3 released in September 2016, and earned strong reviews, including GameSpot’s own. It has since been followed by Forza Horizon 4, which transported the action to the UK. Unlike 4, Forza Horizon 3 has never been on Game Pass.
The first two Forza Horizon games have also been delisted, as have the Forza Motorsport games up to Forza Motorsport 6.
Earlier today reports emerged that claimed some Call of Duty Accounts were compromised, but this is not the case, a spokesperson for Activision tells GameSpot.
“Activision Call of Duty accounts have not been compromised. Reports suggesting otherwise are not accurate,” the spokesperson said.
Activision also stressed that it takes privacy seriously and it investigates security issues. The company also advised players to use these various methods to make sure their accounts stay secure. As always, it’s never a good idea to use the same password for different services, and it’s smart to change your password often anyway.
The Call of Duty franchise is currently riding high thanks to the free-to-play battle royale game Warzone that has reached millions of players. The mainline series is also enjoying success with Modern Warfare, and potentially more in November with Black Ops Cold War. Cold War is a direct sequel to the original Black Ops, taking place in 1981. In addition to multiplayer and campaign, the game brings back the fan-favorite Zombies mode.
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Microsoft, like most major companies, uses a lot of water in its production processes. However, as the world becomes more aware of the unmistakable impact of climate change, and in light of the inequality of clean, drinkable water not being easily available around the world, the company is making some changes.
In a blog post, Microsoft president Brad Smith has announced that the Xbox company will work towards becoming “water positive” by 2030–that is to say, they will replenish more water than they use. “The world’s fresh water is not equally distributed or accessible and is found disproportionately in places where people do not live,” the post explains. “And as human civilization has expanded, we have reached the point globally where humanity depletes the available freshwater supply at a rate of 4.3 trillion cubic meters every year–the majority of which goes to agricultural and industrial uses.”
The company will address water consumption issues by reducing the water use intensity of its energy production and replenishing the “water-stressed regions” that it operates within. The post points out that 2 billion people globally do not have easy access to clean drinking water, and this must change–especially since those figures are likely to get worse over time without intervention.
“Getting ahead of the world’s water crisis will require a reduction in the amount of water humans use to operate economies and societies, as well as a concerted effort to ensure there is sufficient water in the places it is needed most,” Smith says. “This will require a transformation in the way we manage our water systems and a concerted effort for all organizations to account for and balance their water use. As a global technology company Microsoft is prepared to act on both accounts, taking responsibility for our own water use and partnering on technology platforms to help others do the same.”
The post then gets into the specifics of how Microsoft will address this, including the use of an on-site rainwater collection system at its new Silicon Valley campus and water-efficient plumbing systems that are being installed across their campus in Herzliya, Israel.
The games industry, unfortunately, has a huge environmental footprint to contend with. Dr. Ben Abraham is currently conducting research into the extent of the games industry’s complicity in climate change, and what developers are doing to lessen their impact.
This review of HBO’s The Third Day Episode 2, titled “Saturday – The Son,” contains full spoilers. To remind yourself where we left off, read our review of The Third Day episode 1.
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Things continue to get weird for our man Sam (Jude Law) in the second hour of HBO’s The Third Day, titled “Saturday – The Son.” After the first episode established the iconoclastic community of Osea, Sam is still cut off from the mainland due to uncooperative cell towers and a causeway that’s swallowed up by the tides for the majority of the day. As the mystery of this strange town deepens in episode 2, we also gain a deeper insight into the horrific trauma that Sam is carrying with him, and how it’s that same trauma that is pulling him deeper and deeper into Osea when every rational instinct should have him barreling in the opposite direction as fast as he can.
“Agony is bespoke. Yours is yours. Theirs is theirs. Mostly grief’s just lonely.” So says Sam to Jess (Katherine Waterston), his fellow outsider on an island of True Believers, as he attempts to explain what it’s like to lose one’s child. As it becomes increasingly clear, the untended sore of trying to navigate that grief is what underscores so many of his decisions since coming to the island — including his concern for the suicidal Epona (Jessie Ross), whose rescue at the start of the previous chapter is what began him on this journey — and also explains his (baffling!) decision to stick around.
Of course, with all the strange, semi-mystical goings-on in Osea we’ve already seen in the preceding hour, it’s not a great shock to realize that child doesn’t merely exist as a data point in Sam’s past, but rather points the way towards something in his future. It also seems a safe bet that his continual refrain of how familiar the island appears to him — has he been there before? — will tie in with this loss at some point in the future. On top of that, there are the strange mask-clad people trying to kill Sam. Or are they? And there’s Epona’s grief-stricken father, who blames Sam for her death. Or does he?
Frustrated yet? Good. Because the questions keep getting piled atop each other like a moody, morose Jenga tower, and anything resembling a definitive answer feels as out of reach as the ghostly little boy Sam keeps seeing in the distance. Partly because the place is just so freakin’ weird, and partly because Sam & Jess (whose increasingly close relationship remains one of the bigger question marks waiting to be resolved) made the ill-advised decision to partake in some mind-altering vegetation as the town’s festivities get underway, so things begin to feel increasingly disjointed and surreal as the hour goes on.
As Sam’s descent into the madness of this place (or perhaps his own mind?) continues, what director Marc Munden continues to do quite effectively is stylistically blur the line between his nightmare visions and what we think is “real,” putting those of us in the audience on the same uneven footing as we try to navigate the maddening nightmare world we find ourselves stranded in. Once again, all props in the world to Law for imbuing the character with an internal life that keeps us on his side even as he makes some increasingly baffling decisions (Keep driving! No, don’t turn around! No, don’t go into the woods! No, don’t go towards the weird monster guys!)
It’s a true mixed bag, with as much to frustrate as fascinate. But at this point, the positive still outweighs the negative enough to make it worth coming back next week. In fact, the end of this episode practically dares you not to.
Dragon Ball Z Kakarot‘s next DLC, A New Power Awakens – Part 2, will bring back one of Goku and Vegeta’s worst enemies. Frieza, who players dispatched in the main campaign, is back. Just as the first Kakarot DLC adapted Dragon Ball Super’s God of Destruction arc, this next DLC focuses on the Golden Frieza arc.
This DLC will give Goku and Vegeta the Super Saiyan Blue form (also know by the clunkier name “Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan”) and let them fight Frieza and his forces using new techniques.
In Super’s equivalent arc, Frieza returns from the dead with a new form, and he’s stronger than ever. Frieza’s return was also explored in the movie Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection of F, which the longer Super arc was then adapted from.
It was previously revealed that Vegeta and Goku’s new attacks will make use of their increased power, and have amazing names like “Ultimate Banish” and “Ultimate Big Kamehameha”.
It remains to be seen if Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot will adapt later arcs from Super–the Future Trunks and Tournament of Power arcs would be pretty exciting to see, but perhaps they’ll save them for a sequel, since the first game has sold so well.
A New Power Awakens – Part 2 is due to release this fall.
The pop of an Xbox achievement unlocking can be a sweet sound, one that indicates that you’ve done something worth celebrating, and that your Gamerscore has changed to reflect it. But for Todd Howard, director and executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios, there’s one Xbox achievement that’s particularly special–because he’s the only person in the world who will ever have it.
Following the news that Microsoft has acquired Bethesda for $7.5 billion, Howard spoke about his history with Xbox in a post to Bethesda’s website. In the post, he shares an anecdote about a bespoke achievement created just for him, which exists only on his account.
“When I received the Lifetime Achievement Award at GDC, I joked in my acceptance ‘I wonder how many achievement points this one is worth?’ At the end of the ceremony, some good friends from Microsoft congratulated me and said they’d find out,” Howard recalls.
“A few months later I was given a code to a game they had created, named after me and locked to my account,” he continues. “When ran, it unlocks a single achievement – ‘Lifetime – 1000pts.’ It still sits in my list when I check, and I smile every time.”
Now, Howard has another massive Xbox milestone to celebrate–they paid more for Bethesda than they’ve paid for any other studio acquisition.
Prolific voice actor Nolan North is nudging Marvel to make another Deadpool video game. The actor, who voiced Deadpool in Activision’s 2013 game, told Comic Book Movie that he wants the game to happen, and for Ryan Reynolds to have a cameo in it.
“I’m trying to get Marvel to do another Deadpool video game, and we could have Ryan come on and do a cameo in the video game,” North said.
Also in the interview, North said one of the producers, Craig Kyle, has remarked that Reynolds was a fan of North’s performance as the merc with a mouth in the video game.
“Craig Kyle, who was one of the producers, said that Ryan Reynolds was a long-time fan and actually praised what I did,” North said. “He really liked it, and I know he played the video game one time with Jacksepticeye and he had some high praise for me, and I started DM’ing with Ryan on Twitter, telling him, ‘You’ve made me cooler to my kids than I’ve ever been,’ and he’s a fan!”
Regarding the cameo, North joked on Twitter that he actually had someone else in mind. “I was actually hoping for the other Canadian, Ryan Gosling, and his dreamy blue eyes,” North said.
2013’s Deadpool was developed by Activision’s High Moon Studios, which would go on to support Bungie on the development of Destiny. After Bungie and Activision broke up, High Moon shifted back to contributing to the Call of Duty series.
The 2013 Deadpool game launched on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC, before coming to PS4 and Xbox One in 2015.
GameSpot’s Deadpool review scored the game a 5.5/10. “Deadpool tries to hide its many faults behind the protagonist’s buoyant personality, but it doesn’t take long for the bigger problems to surface,” reviewer Tom McShea said.
FIFA 21 isn’t far away, but if you want to try it before you buy, you won’t be able to download a demo like usual. EA Sports has announced that they won’t be releasing a demo for this year’s FIFA, so as to better focus their time and effort on developing the game.
On Twitter, the official FIFA account explained that while there won’t be a demo, EA Play subscribers will be able to trial the game before purchasing. As usual, the EA Play trial gives players access to the game for 10 hours from October 9. The game will also be available to purchase on this date.
While it’s not explicitly mentioned in the tweet, the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the arrival of next-generation consoles, has presented challenges for annual sports games–and Madden 21 seems to have suffered.
We aren’t releasing a demo for FIFA 21. Instead we’ve made the decision to focus our development team’s time on delivering the best full game experience for current & next-gen consoles. We look forward to EA PLAY members jumping in 10 days from now and launching the game Oct 9.
This will apply to the PS4, Xbox One, and PC versions of the game. The Switch release of FIFA 21 is a Legacy Edition, meaning that the gameplay is unchanged from the first FIFA release on Switch.
A PS5 and Xbox Series X release date for FIFA 21 has not been announced yet, but if you grab the game for a previous-gen system, you’ll be able to upgrade to the next-gen version for free once it’s available.
FIFA 21’s cover star is Kylian Mbappé, and this version’s cover looks very different. Check out GameSpot’s hands-on preview for more insight into how it plays, and if you’re keen to get your hands on this year’s FIFA, we also have a preorder guide.
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With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all hopes of Blizzcon taking place in person this year were thwarted months ago. But if you’ve been looking forward to updates on its games, the developer will now be hosting Blizzcon Online (or, as Blizzard calls it, BlizzConline) on 19-20 February 2021.
Blizzcon Online will take place over two days, with a host of events being conducted remotely. This includes Blizzcon staples such as contests for art, cosplay, digital storytelling and more. Blizzard are even finding a way of holding the traditional March of the Murlocs, encouraging fans to send in a few seconds of footage to be added to the lengthy video segment.
Of course, Blizzcon is also about the developer’s showcase, where it usually provides updates on all its projects. Although no details have been announced yet, it’s likely we’ll finally get more details on Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV, both of which were announced at last year’s Blizzcon. Blizzard also have the chance to talk more about Diablo Immortal, the spin-off coming to phones, and the future of World of Warcraft, with the latest expansion, Shadowlands, out later this year.
Blizzard says in the announcement that more details about the event will be shared soon. In the past Blizzard has offered digital passes for purchase to fans who couldn’t attend their expo in person, but no details about how this exclusively online event will be conducted have been hinted at yet.
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