Category: Games

Despite first releasing in 2013, Grand Theft Auto V continues to sell like it’s a brand-new game. It managed to top the U.S. PlayStation Store’s January charts, beating out the likes of the new Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot as well as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Madden NFL 20.

Those games were joined on the PS4 charts by The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition, which has seen a surge in popularity since The Witcher debuted on Netflix. It has also experienced renewed success on PC, where its player count has even risen past where it was at launch. Star Wars Battlefront II, Minecraft, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and EA Sports UFC 3 all managed to crack the top 10, as well.

On the PlayStation VR side, the biggest games continue to perform well. Beat Saber and Superhot VR led the pack, with Job Simulator and Arizona Sunshine also included. Though none of these games are new, they’re certainly among the most-polished titles available on the platform.

The full sales chart information is listed below.

PS4 Games

1. Grand Theft Auto V

2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

3. Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot

4. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

5. Star Wars Battlefront II

6. Madden NFL 20

7. Minecraft

8. EA Sports UFC 3

9. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen order

10. Payday 2: Crimewave Edition

11. NBA 2K20

12. God of War

13. Need for Speed Heat

14. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege

15. Red Dead Redemption 2

16. Rocket League

17. Resident Evil 2

18. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Special Edition

19. Need for Speed Payback

20. Marvel’s Spider-Man

PSVR Games

1. Beat Saber

2. Superhot VR

3. Job Simulator

4. Arizona Sunshine

5. Surgeon Simulator: Experience Reality

6. Creed: Rise to Glory

7. Doom VFR

8. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR

9. Vacation Simulator

10. Drunkn Bar Fight

Free-to-Play Games

1. Fortnite

2. Darwin Project

3. Cuisine Royale

4. Apex Legends

5. Brawlhalla

6. Dauntless

7. Warframe

8. Paladins

9. DC Universe Online

10. H1Z1: Battle Royale

DLC and Expansions

1. Fortnite – The Wavebreaker Pack

2. Kingdom Hearts III Re:Mind

3. Fortnite – Polar Legends Pack

4. GTA Online: Criminal Enterprise Starter Pack

5. Star Wars Battlefront II: Celebration Edition Upgrade

6. Fortnite – Frozen Legends Pack

7. Fortnite: Save the World – Standard Founder’s Pack

8. Kingdom Hearts III Re:Mind + Concert Video

9. Fortnite – Darkfire Bundle

10. Destiny 2: Shadowkeep

Bungie is starting to tease some of the big gameplay changes in store for the next season of Destiny 2, which is set to kick off in just a few weeks. Swords are the first item on the list, and Bungie is completely reworking what role they will play in combat.

Previously, swords occupied the same space as shotguns, slotting into the close-quarters, high-damage role making them almost interchangeable. Bungie wants to shake this up, primarily by giving players more flexibility when it comes to how swords consume ammunition, and how that ties into the new sword energy meter.

Sword energy will replace your melee meter when you have a sword quipped, slowly recharging over time in the same way. Although you will still consume ammunition when attacking, this energy will be used when initiating a heavy attack. The more energy you have, the stronger the attack, adding more nuance to previous strategies that just relied on getting up closing and mashing attack as fast as possible.

Energy will also be consumed when guarding. Although you’ll still need at least one ammo to start a guard, each stance and damage resistance type will now only drain your energy in different ways without consuming any ammunition. The changes were influenced by how Stronghold, a Titan exotic from Season of the Drifter, influenced the otherwise unused guarding mechanic. Bungie have now applied its influence across the board, but promise that Stronghold will be adapted accordingly so that it still feels unique.

Light attacks won’t consume energy at all, but have been reworked to allow for the standard three hit combos to loop indefinitely now too. Bungie hopes that this will leave players less open at the end of combos, while also adding to other changes to give all sword a “hack and slash” feel.

A detailed breakdown of all the changes to swords can be read in Bungie’s weekly Destiny 2 update, which includes details about Crimson Days, a patch note preview for Season 10, and more.

As part of Take-Two’s latest earnings report, the publisher revealed that two of its studios have been working on unannounced games that we’ll be hearing more about “in the coming months.”

The first is from developer Hanger 13, the team behind 2016’s Mafia III. Take-Two president Karl Slatoff wouldn’t say what exactly the project is, only that we’ll be finding out at some point later this year.

The other project we’ll soon discover more about is from 2K Silicon Valley. The studio was only established a year ago and doesn’t have an official name yet, but the team, led by Sledgehammer co-founder Michael Condrey, has already been cooking up something.

Take-Two also reiterated during the earnings report that the newly founded Cloud Chamber Studio is very early in the development of a new BioShock game, noting that it’s still years away. The rest of the news out of the call revolves around Take-Two’s finances, with Grand Theft Auto V reaching a new sales milestone, Rockstar Games being in a position that’s “never been stronger,” despite the looming departure of co-founder and writer Dan Houser, and The Outer Worlds selling two million copies.

Overwatch has now hit 50 million players since launch, bolstered by the recent release of the Nintendo Switch version, according to Activision Blizzard. The company revealed the new player count in its quarterly fiscal disclosure.

This comes just after the latest update, 1.45, added Hero Pools at the start of Season 21. That disables certain characters from competitive play, with rotations coming weekly. This was largely seen as Blizzard’s solution instead of a pick and ban feature, which had been rumored just before the announcement. The Hero Pools feature may not return for Season 22, depending on how Blizzard assesses its performance. This is part of a new strategy to iterate with balance changes more frequently.

Overwatch was also impacted by the recent coronavirus outbreak, prompting the studio to cancel several esports events slated for China.

Meanwhile, Blizzard is working on Overwatch 2, which will introduce new story content as well as characters, maps, and modes that will come to the original game too. The development of Overwatch 2 did impact the original one for a time, though, leading to less frequent updates.

The Activision Blizzard financial statement also revealed that Call of Duty Mobile is doing very well for Activision, prompting even more mobile ports for the future. And sure enough, another Call of Duty is coming this year.

The reception to Warcraft 3: Reforged has not been great. Activision acknowledged as much in earnings call yesterday, extending the refund window for the remaster while also committing to upcoming patches to fix current issues.

The first update for Reforged, which is out now, is meant to be the first step in that process, and it does some cleaning up around the outskirts. It addresses bugs in the campaign involving mission event triggers and fail states. Blizzard notes that some of these fixes will invalidate prior saves, but will not reset any campaign progress.

Aiming at online fixes, the patch should address issues with invalid map names in multiplayer, as well as crashes associated with Multiboards on custom games. There’s no word yet on when some missing functionality from Classic Warcraft 3 will be restored in Reforged, however. Blizzard indicated that they intend to add much of that functionality in a major update for Reforged in the future.

You can read through the full patch notes below:

• Campaign
  • Players should no longer be met with a “defeat” screen after loading into a mission.
  • Audio levels for some dialogue have been adjusted.
  • The animations, triggers, and cameras for some cutscenes have been tweaked.
  • Disconnecting or logging out will no longer change the save file folder.
  • Fixed a number of issues that would block progression or not give credit for completing missions.
    • Developer’s note: Updating a map for these types of fixes invalidates prior saves. This is similar to how replays from prior game client versions no longer work. Campaign progress will not be lost.

• Custom Games
  • Multiboards should no longer crash custom games.
  • Joining lobbies for the same map no longer creates duplicate versions of the map.
    • Developer’s note: This also resolves disconnects from improper map names.

• Gameplay
  • The rendering of Classic mode has been updated.
  • Resolved an issue with hitching when constructing buildings or training units for the first time.
  • Fixed Ziggurat upgrade animation in Reforged mode.
  • Adjusted animations and portraits for multiple units and buildings.
  • Units completing training while off-screen again have voices.
  • Starting locations are again obscured by the fog of war.

• Interface
  • Whispers now include the name of the sender.
  • Locale settings for audio and subtitles can now be adjusted independently in Battle .net prior to launching the game.
  • Non-Latin glyphs no longer overlap.
  • A tooltip now displays when hovering over truncated text.
  • Chat keeps up with the latest messages.
  • Heroes on the match results screen are now contained by boundaries.
  • All menus are now distinct between Classic and Reforged graphic settings.
    • Developer’s note: We’ve implemented a temporary solution to better inform whether you are playing in Reforged or Classic mode, by applying a sepia tone to the background images for Classic.

Blizzard has changed its standard refund policy for Warcraft III: Reforged, allowing those disappointed by the game the opportunity to receive a refund upon request. This follows a week in which fans have remarked that the remaster of the iconic RTS was lacking in several areas.

The Support section on Battle.net has a refund page for the game that outlines its specific refund policy. “Blizzard stands by the quality of our products and our services,” the page reads. “Normally we set limits for refund availability on a game, based on time since purchase and whether it has been used. However we want to give players the option of a refund if they feel that Warcraft III: Reforged does not provide the experience they wanted. So, we’ve decided to allow refunds upon request for the time being. You may request a refund here on our Support Site.”

Blizzard’s RTS remaster launched last week to a mostly negative reception. Many fans have noted that certain cutscenes failed to live up to the expectations set by what was shown previously at BlizzCon 2018, and many are disappointed with the absence of reworked story elements and an overhauled UI. The remaster has also courted controversy surrounding the fact that anything you create in Warcraft III’s Custom Games is immediately owned by Blizzard, rather than by their creators, which hasn’t gone down well in the game’s modding scene.

Blizzard has responded to the negative reception in the week since its release, and patches are on the way. For now, though, if you want a refund you’ll get one.

For more on Warcraft III: Reforged, check out GameSpot’s hands-on impressions piece, “Warcraft 3 Remains Fun But Reforged Is A Disappointment On Many Fronts.”

The following contains spoilers for Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn).

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Marvel may have popularized the post-credits scene trend over the past decade, but that hasn’t stopped DC’s movies from getting in on the action in recent years. While Suicide Squad, Justice League, Aquaman, and Shazam have all featured after-credits stingers, other DC movies like Wonder Woman and the standalone Joker did not. But what about Birds of Prey?

Does Birds of Prey Have a Post-Credits Scene?

No, Birds of Prey does not technically have a mid-credits or post-credits scene, although there is an amusing tease from Harley Quinn herself if you stick around after the credits have rolled.

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As the credits end, Harley’s voiceover returns, pulling a Ferris Bueller and making fun of anyone who stuck around for so long. Still, she offers a reward to those patient enough to wait, offering to reveal a juicy secret about Batman. She begins, “Did you know that Batman f-” before the audio cuts out, leaving us hanging. So cruel! (Any guesses what she was going to say?)

Is Batman in Birds of Prey?

As for the Dark Knight himself, Batman doesn’t cameo in Birds of Prey – which makes sense, considering how muddled DC’s Batman continuity is right now. Matt Reeves’ upcoming film The Batman is rumored to be set in the ’90s (although that has yet to be officially confirmed) and will star Robert Pattinson as a younger Bruce Wayne, seemingly closer to the beginning of his career as Batman. Meanwhile, Birds of Prey is technically set in the same continuity as Suicide Squad, Batman v Superman, and Justice League, with Suicide Squad featuring a cameo from Affleck to explain how Harley got captured and enlisted into Task Force X in the first place.

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While Batman’s absence is never explained in the movie (you’d think he’d take notice of Harley blowing up Ace Chemicals and Black Mask going on a murder spree around Gotham), Harley does namedrop him at one point before the post-credits scene: She tells Cassandra Cain that she named her pet hyena Bruce, “after that hunky Wayne guy.” It’s a fittingly tongue-in-cheek nod to the character without getting tangled up in the details.

Is the Joker in Birds of Prey?

No, Jared Leto’s Joker doesn’t appear in Birds of Prey, although the villain’s involvement is a little more complicated. Birds of Prey reuses some footage of Leto and Margot Robbie from Suicide Squad for flashback purposes, and otherwise utilizes a body double, shot from behind or in silhouette as Harley recalls their breakup and other moments from their past, but we never see his face. Whenever we do see Joker head-on, it’s in animated form or drawings, none of which resemble the tattooed, metal-mouthed version of Leto. We’re guessing, considering the movie is all about Harley’s “emancipation” from her ex, director Cathy Yan and writer Christina Hodson probably didn’t want to commit too much screen time to the Joker, which would’ve made it hard to justify calling Leto back in for a glorified background role.

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But, as we point out in our Birds of Prey review, the Joker’s “presence isn’t missed,” since Birds of Prey gives us plenty of deranged lunacy with Ewan McGregor’s sadistic Black Mask and Chris Messina’s Victor Zsasz as the movie’s villains.

What did you think of Birds of Prey, and did you want a better end credits scene? Weigh in below.