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This article contains spoilers for Avengers: Endgame. To see how Spider-Man: Far From Home ties into the events of Endgame, check out our other set visit report.
When longtime Spider-Man foe Mysterio was revealed to be playing a role in Sony and Marvel’s Far From Home, fans immediately assumed that Jake Gyllenhaal’s character would be the primary antagonist in the Homecoming sequel.
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Two new PSVR bundles are coming later this month, one with Trover Saves the Universe and Five Nights at Freddy’s VR: Help Wanted, and another with Blood & Truth and Everybody’s Golf.
(Note: retailer links are now live for the Blood & Truth and Trover PSVR bundles at Best Buy.)
A little show called Game of Thrones is currently in the midst of its eighth and final season, and it is very popular. The ratings for Sunday’s Episode 4 have arrived–and they are massive.
17.2 million people watched “The Last of the Starks” across all platforms–including standard television and digital networks such as HBO Go and HBO Now, according to TV Line. Some portion of those people noticed the coffee cup, which has since been digitally erased (but not forgotten).
Episode 4’s 17.2 million viewers is down slightly from Episode 3’s 17.8 million viewers, which is the most-watched episode of the final season so far. Episode 2 has been the least-watched, with 15.9 million viewers. You can see a breakdown of viewers by episode below.
Episode 6, which is the finale of the entire Game of Thrones series, is likely to draw the biggest crowd, but whether or not it cracks 20 million remains to be seen.
So far, the four aired episodes have been together tallied more than 68 million views, and that doesn’t count all members of groups or families watching together and views from other means.
Check out our full Game of Thrones, Episode 4, “The Last of the Starks” review to see what we thought of it. You can also watch the preview trailer for Episode 5 and check out some fresh theories about where things will go from here. There are just two episodes left, but each one clocks in at 80 minutes, so there’s still plenty left.
via TV Line
The cancellation of Bayonetta developer PlatinumGames’ action-RPG Scalebound was one of the biggest news stories of 2017. Microsoft, the game’s publisher, took a lot of the heat about the cancellation. But Platinum boss Atsushi Inaba says Platinum is to blame as well.
“Both sides failed,” he told Video Game Chronicle. Inaba added that Scalebound the game “didn’t do all of the things that we needed to do as a developer.”
Inaba went on to say that it “wasn’t easy” to watch fans yell at Microsoft over Scalebound’s cancellation. “The reality is, when any game in development can’t get released it’s because both sides failed,” he said. “I think there are areas where we could’ve done better and I’m sure there are areas that Microsoft as a publishing partner wish that they could’ve done better. Because nobody wants a game to be cancelled.”
The studio head said Platinum learned “a lot of painful lessons” from Scalebound’s cancellation, and these lessons have helped the studio grow. Neither Microsoft nor Platinum have said why Scalebound was canceled, but Inaba acknowledged that the game might have been announced too early in development.
Bayonetta director Hideki Kamiya was leading development on Scalebound, which had reportedly been in development for years before it was shut down. In the wake of Scalebound’s cancellation, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said the cancellation is ultimately “better for Xbox gamers.”
There was a rumor that Scalebound might be revived as a Nintendo Switch game, but that’s not in the cards, according to Video Game Chronicle. J.P. Kellams, who was a producer on Scalebound, said he knows “exactly why” Scalebound was canceled but details haven’t emerged as of yet.
Platinum is currently working on multiple projects, one of which is a game idea that “has never been done before.” For whatever it’s worth, Platinum says 2019 is an “incredibly important” year for the studio.
Microsoft is expected to announce a next-generation Xbox at E3 next month, but ahead of that, the company today launched the brand-new all-digital Xbox One S. Called the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition, the system costs $250 / £200 / AU $350, and it’s available anywhere you buy consoles.
The new model is the same form factor and size, but it has no disc drive. It sports a 1 TB hard drive and it comes with three games: Forza Horizon 3, Minecraft, and Sea of Thieves.
The release of the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition is noteworthy because it’s the first major home console to offer a disc-free version. Microsoft announced the system in April, at which time it said “consumer appetite for digital content and experiences are stronger today than ever before.”
Indeed. Just today, Electronic Arts reported that a whopping 49 percent of all of its full-game sales on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One over the past 12 months were digital. The share of digital sales at other publishers is expected to be rising as well.
The new all-digital Xbox One S is not replacing the standard Xbox One S or the Xbox One X, both of which have disc drives. The new digital version is only an option for people who want it.
The lack of a disc drive means the console doesn’t support DVDs or Blu-ray discs, but Microsoft says people can still experience 4K content through Netflix, Amazon, and other destinations. The form factor is the same, and the all-digital Xbox One has the same functionality as the standard Xbox One S. It just cannot play game discs or disc-based media.
Looking ahead, Microsoft is expected to announce one or multiple next-generation Xbox consoles at E3 2019 in June.
Battlefield V‘s battle royale mode, Firestorm, launched in March. It was hugely successful in bringing players back to the World War II shooter, EA management said on an earnings call today.
EA CFO Blake Jorgensen said more than 1 million people returned to Battlefield V following the release of Firestorm. Like Fortnite, PUBG, and Apex Legends, Battlefield V’s Firestorm mode is a last-player-standing mode set on the biggest map in Battlefield history. The franchise’s trademark destruction and vehicles are also represented in the Firestorm mode.
EA CEO Andrew Wilson said Firestorm became the “biggest Battlefield live service event ever” in its first week. The launched of Firestorm helped the game’s active player figures rise by nearly 60 percent compared to the week before it launched.
Firestorm was developed by Criterion with help from DICE.
Looking ahead, Battlefield V will welcome at least two more “live service updates,” starting in the summer and continuing in the fall. Each of the updates will add “more of what fans are looking for with new maps and missions.” Some of the new content will be shown off at EA Play in June.
Battlefield V launched in October 2018. It sold more than 7 million copies in two months, but that was below EA’s expectations. Wilson suggested on the earnings call today that Battlefield V might have performed better if the battle royale mode was available upon release.
For more from EA’s earnings call today, check out the stories linked below:
Apex Legends is already hugely popular on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, and now it’s coming to a new platform and a new market. As part of publisher Electronic Arts’ earnings report today, CEO Andrew Wilson confirmed that a mobile version of the battle royale game is in the works, while EA is also in “advanced negotiations” to launch Apex Legends in China.
“We are hugely excited about the future of Apex Legends … Engagement is strong, and we have big plans for the Legends and the world they compete in,” Wilson said. “We’re in advanced negotiations to bring Apex Legends to China and to mobile, and we will update you on time frames when those negotiations are concluded.”
Apex Legends coming to mobile is no big surprise, as the mobile game market is massive and represents another way for EA to make money from the game. The other battle royale juggernauts, PUBG and Fortnite, also have mobile editions.
In Korea, another major market for games, Wilson pointed out that EA is self-publishing Apex Legends there. “The game offers an opportunity for us to build a direct connection with our players there, and we hope to be able to leverage this for other games,” Wilson said.
In his prepared remarks, Wilson noted that Apex Legends is the “fastest-growing” title in EA’s history. By EA’s latest count, the game reached 50 million players. He also noted that almost 30 percent of Apex Legends players are “new to EA,” which is good news for the publisher.
“We’re incredibly excited and humbled by the passion that fans around the world have for Apex Legends,” Wilson said. “We’re now very focused on delivering for this massive global community with a long-term live service, including new seasons with more robust Battle Pass content, new legends, and exciting evolutions to the in-game environment.”
It’s only just the beginning for Apex Legends, Wilson said. The first details about the game’s Season 2 will be announced at the EA Play event in June, Wilson teased.
Also during EA’s earnings call today, the company announced that BioWare’s new IP, Anthem, failed to meet its expectations. However, the company remains committed to expanding and improving the title.
The new big bad in Mortal Kombat is named Kronika, and she’s causing a ruckus by messing with time and rewriting history. Characters are getting erased or colliding with their past selves, while alliances are reverting and new ones are being made–it’s the kind of chaos that’s ripe for conflict. Nothing that happened with Mortal Kombat before really matters anymore; the series is giving itself a clean slate, and not just with the lore in the story. NetherRealm’s multifaceted fighting system has been streamlined, and comprehensive tutorials and practice functions are focussed on making sure no matter where you’re coming from, you’re well-equipped to dive deep into Mortal Kombat 11.
It’s hard not to get excited about the story mode in a NetherRealm game given the studio’s history of crafting involved narratives, and Mortal Kombat 11 unsurprisingly delivers an entertaining and polished blockbuster-style cinematic experience with its tale of Kronika’s time-bending antics. Combat is woven in with a number of cutscenes, though you’ll probably spend more time watching well-choreographed action rather than participating. But the story is a great primer for some of the series’ more popular characters nonetheless, and the joys of Kronika’s time manipulation means that even if you’re a passing fan and aren’t up-to-date with all of the wacky stuff that’s happened in the universe lately, you can still get a kick out of seeing classic versions of familiar faces, who are just as baffled as you about what’s happened to their future selves since.
Watching the character interactions between young and old selves are a highlight, and with the exception of a somewhat flat Sonya Blade, the solid performances are endearingly sincere with some unexpected moments of introspection. By the time it ended I was eager for more–more of Johnny Cage being embarrassed by his younger self, more of the bromance between Liu Kang and Kung Lao, the sappy dynamic between parents and children. But the story mode hits that perfect balance of being just enough and not overstaying its welcome. The plot conceits are regularly ridiculous, especially when family members and lovers get into fatal tiffs, but it’s a delightfully bombastic and outlandish visual spectacle if nothing else.
Mortal Kombat 11’s eclectic roster includes a solid selection of the series’ iconic fighters, along with some of the great additions from Mortal Kombat X, like gunslinger Erron Black and the grotesque insectoid D’Vorah. Three brand new characters do their best to help the lineup branch out–Geras is an imposing heavy with the ability to rewind and manipulate time, Cetrion is an elder god with flashy elemental projectiles, the Kollector has a wonderfully unsettling and bamboozling six-armed demonic design–and they all add an inspired diversity to the familiar roster of magical ninjas and military hard-asses. Character variations also help to keep things diverse. A returning concept from Mortal Kombat X, each character can select between different sets of special moves that alter their playstyle. You can now customize these loadouts in MK11, but only two predetermined movesets are acceptable for serious competitive play. Even so, it means there are a few things to consider when picking which fighter to use.
Some key changes streamline the mechanics of MK11, resulting in a fighting system that feels more active and aggressive than its predecessors. The special meter system has been simplified, allowing for amplified maneuvers to be used at almost any time–gone is the idea of needing to hold back and save up two or three bars of a meter to perform a particular kind of technique. Separate meters for offensive and defensive techniques, along with rapid recharge rates, mean they can be used more liberally, too. “Fatal Blows” replace MKX’s X-Ray techniques, serving as a last-ditch comeback mechanic that can be activated once per match when your health is nearly depleted, adding a heightened tension when things get down to the wire. Significant block damage discourages you from being overly defensive, while learning the perfect-timing demands of the “flawless block” system is encouraged to mitigate some damage and open up turnabout opportunities. Running and stamina meters have been removed and dash distances feel shorter, honing MK11’s focus on always being within striking distance of your opponent. All of these tweaks mean there is rarely a low moment in a Mortal Kombat 11 fight.
If you’re new to the series, learning all those intricacies of the fighting system, special moves, and combo strings for characters can be intimidating. Fortunately, Mortal Kombat 11 does a lot to help onboard you to almost all of its concepts. Following the good work seen in Injustice 2, Mortal Kombat 11 features a comprehensive series of fantastic practical tutorials, with everything from teaching you basic attacks to more advanced lessons on managing the ebb and flow of a match, strategies on how to change or maintain the dynamic of a fight (like dealing with corners or projectile spam), and how to approach building your own combos. What’s more, there are also a series of tutorials that succinctly break down expert-level concepts, such as one that shows you what frame data is and how it works in clear, visual terms. Not only that, there are lessons on how to interpret that information and use it in a practical scenario–it’ll teach you what makes a move “safe” or “unsafe,” how to create pressure in a fight, and even how to perform frame traps. It’s an impressive resource that doesn’t just give you a better understanding of Mortal Kombat 11’s systems, but a deeper understanding of fighting game mechanics in general–knowledge that you can take to any other title.
Character-specific tutorials exist, too, and are more than just a simple rundown of all available techniques. These helpful lessons focus on the most useful and practical abilities and combos for a particular character and give you suggestions on when to use them, the pros and cons of doing so, and what you could follow up with. Furthermore, the in-game move lists are incredibly comprehensive, providing all sorts of helpful data for each move’s properties, so you can easily discern something like which of your character’s moves has the quickest startup. It’s valuable information and knowledge that NetherRealm has been building upon in its last few games and is presented at its best in MK11. Of course, if you’re the kind of player that couldn’t care less about the advanced stuff and just wants to jump in and see blood spilled, Mortal Kombat 11 can certainly be just as entertaining. Predetermined combo strings, flashy special moves, and humorously over-the-top barbarity means that the game is a joy to watch and participate in, whether the players are just messing around or taking it seriously.
In addition to the game’s story mode, MK11 sees the return of Klassic Towers, a more straightforward single-player mode where you fight a series of opponents before eventually facing big boss Kronika. But the real meat of the single-player offering is the Towers Of Time, MK11’s version of the limited-time ladders seen in other NetherRealm games, which feature unique modifiers that can affect the playing field, combatants, and mechanics.
When our review-in-progress was first published, the balance of difficulty seen in the Towers Of Time was in such a state that the odds were always stacked against you–negative environmental modifiers only affected you and not your opponent, AI difficulty was relentlessly high, opponents were more robust, and as a result the challenges often felt horribly cruel and unbalanced. The mode’s focus on using “Konsumables,” a variety of limited-use items that you can equip and activate during the fight, did little to even the playing field, and their method of attainment was too dependent on luck to even make them a reliable strategy in the first place. In fact, the drip-feed of rewards you received from completing towers were overall too meager (and random) at the game’s release to justify the amount of effort they demanded.
One week later, NetherRealm released a major patch (1.03) that acknowledged and adjusted a large number of variables related to the Towers of Time, reducing (and in some cases, eliminating) a number of unbalanced modifiers, normalizing the resilience and difficulty of AI opponents, and increasing the amount of rewards for completing activities across the board. That’s fortunate, because the modifiers in the Towers of Time add genuinely interesting dynamics to MK11’s already enjoyable fighting flow. One tower might pit you against a series of fighters who can poison you if they get a string of hits in, another might place a totem in the middle of the stages that electrocute whoever is standing closest. Other towers might team you up with two or three other online players to take down a particularly hardy “boss” fighter, letting you tag each other in, or perhaps assist the active fighter with Konsumables.
These kinds of challenges are a welcome exercise that push you to consider different ways to approach a MK11 fight, forcing you to, say, become extra defensive or keep a closer eye on your positioning. The variety of Konsumables–which have abilities that range from letting you call in another character to perform an assist attack, rain missiles down from the sky, or simply replenish your health–can give you extra tools to help keep a handle on the situation. But, in my experience after the 1.03 patch, using Konsumables isn’t strictly necessary, so long as you’re playing diligently.
As they stand at the time of writing, the Towers of Time succeed in providing an endless, compelling palette of single-player content to tackle once you’ve completed the story mode. The difficulty curve and number of challenges you need to tackle are reasonable enough that achieving the prizes at the end of a tower, and the end of a whole island of towers, always feels within reach. What was previously a frustrating experience at launch is a compulsive one a week later. Even the demanding boss fight-style challenges only ask you to endure one round before showering you with the payouts on offer. They’re enticing pools of goods, too–the aforementioned Konsumables, character cosmetics, and large denominations of the various currencies needed to open chests in the Krypt, MK11’s third-person quasi-puzzle-adventure mode designed for unlocking even more collectibles.
The Krypt in Mortal Kombat 11 is a completely reimagined recreation of Shang Tsung’s island, the location of the very first Mortal Kombat game from 1992. Exploring the location, which involves finding items to open up paths to new areas, is an exciting experience in itself–there’s a basic joy in simply taking in the visual splendor of certain locations, especially if you retain any memories of Mortal Kombat’s stages (although it should be noted that the Nintendo Switch version is noticeably less visually splendorous). A mess of treasure chests litter the island, requiring one of three different currencies to open them, but the catch is that aside from chests that require “Hearts,” the rewards you get seem to be completely randomized. Regardless of their asking price, chests have the capacity to furnish you with something exciting, like new costumes or brutality finishers for a specific character, or something as basic as a piece of concept art. It can be a bummer to come away from a Krypt session with nothing of value for your favourite fighter, but it’s at least heartening to know that the game doesn’t have any avenues to let you spend real-world money to open more chests, and that your pool of currencies will continue to grow at a steady, reasonable rate by simply playing the game.
Now, it’s pertinent to mention that Mortal Kombat 11 relies on a persistent online connection to keep track of progression in every single mode. Naturally, being offline means that you can’t access the game’s rotating Towers of Time, but it also means you won’t get rewarded for playing the story mode or tutorials until you reconnect. In most cases, given the ever-connected nature of PCs, PS4s, and Xbox Ones, this aspect should rarely present any major issues, but it certainly can. There was one instance where game servers went down on all platforms, and I lost my progress on a Tower of Time. Losing progress can also be an issue if, for example, you duck out to your console’s dashboard to share a video clip of a close victory, which will suspend your game and disconnect you from its servers. The always-online nature of the game can pose a much larger concern on Nintendo Switch, however, especially if you’re looking to play the game in handheld mode away from a wireless connection. Even if you’re content to simply hang out in practice mode or play a standard tower on the train, you’ll be hounded by network error messages every step of the way.
There are a range of online multiplayer modes, of course, including ranked and casual matchmaking, a king-of-the-hill mode, and forthcoming ranked seasons, as well as private options like lobbies and the ability to use practice mode with a friend. MK11 also features tools that help you have some control over your experience–in casual matches, you have the ability to see your opponent’s win/loss ratio, your estimated chance of success, and information about each player’s internet connection–and the game thankfully allows you to decline a match if you think you’re going to have a bad time. I encountered no major issues with online play during the game’s first week, and found matchups to be fairly even in most cases, meaning fights were often heart-poundingly close. The robust online options make it a worthwhile avenue to pick a fight without the modifiers of the Towers Of Time.
MK11 isn’t just a sequel for series fans and NetherRealm devotees, it’s a gateway into the realm of fighting games for anyone who has a passing interest in watching ruthless warriors beat each other silly. Streamlined mechanics keep the act of fighting furiously exciting no matter what your skill level, and comprehensive tutorials encourage you to dig into the nitty-gritty. There’s a diverse roster of interesting characters and playstyles, and the story mode is an entertaining romp. The randomization of Krypt rewards and the odd issue with the game’s always-online nature can occasionally chip away at your patience, but Mortal Kombat 11 absolutely hits where it matters.