Category: Games

A special event has been announced for Pokemon Go. Niantic’s hit Pokemon mobile game is teaming up with the popular manga series One Piece for a collaboration event next week, which will give players around the world a chance to capture a special Pikachu.

Beginning July 22, Pikachu wearing One Piece hero Luffy’s iconic straw hat will begin spawning worldwide for a limited time. A straw hat avatar item will also be available from the in-game Style Shop, while players in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan will be able to visit statues of Luffy and other One Piece characters, which will serve as new PokeStops.

One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda was born in Kumamoto Prefecture, which was devastated by an earthquake back in 2016, just a few months prior to Pokemon Go’s launch. The special Pokemon Go/One Piece event is an effort to help draw people to the area. Pokemon Go and One Piece are both also celebrating anniversaries in July, making this month a special occasion for both properties.

In the meantime, a new Legendary Pokemon is appearing in Pokemon Go. Armored Mewtwo can be found in five-star Raids from now until July 31. This version of the Legendary Psychic Pokemon is sporting the armor it wears from the new Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution movie. It also boasts different stats and can learn different moves than standard Mewtwo.

Pokemon Go’s next Community Day is also just around the corner. The monthly event returns this Sunday, July 21. The featured Pokemon this month will be Mudkip, the Water-type starter from Ruby and Sapphire. On top of increased Mudkip spawns, players can also earn triple the usual amount of XP for capturing Pokemon during the event.

Microsoft has announced even more additions to Xbox Game Pass for PC and console coming throughout the rest of July. On top of the usual suite of additions, this month will also bring access to the Gears 5 technical test.

The Gears 5 test is otherwise reserved for those who preorder Gears 5, but since the game is included with Game Pass, so is the test. It will kick off on Friday, July 19, but you can download the client starting Wednesday, July 17. This test will cover the PvP portion of multiplayer, with a separate Horde Mode test coming in August.

As usual, the other game offerings for the month are split into games appearing on PC, console, or both. The next few weeks will bring Night Call on release day for PC, Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain and Resident Evil 4 for Xbox One, and The Banner Saga 3, For The King, and Killer Instinct for both platforms. Check below for a breakdown of dates and platforms.

These join the previous July additions, which included Undertale, Middle-earth: Shadow of War, My Time at Portia, Timespinner, Unavowed, Lego City Undercover, Dead Rising 4, and Blazing Chrome.

Xbox Game Pass offers an all-you-can-eat subscription to a curated library of games for $10 per month on PC or Xbox One. An “Ultimate” version that includes both subscriptions along with Xbox Live Gold is also available for $15. If you’re already a Gold or Game Pass member you may be able to upgrade your membership for cheap.

Xbox Game Pass – Late July

• July 17:
  • Gears 5 Technical Test Pre-Load (PC, Xbox One)
  • Night Call (PC)
• July 18:
  • Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain (Xbox One)
  • The Banner Saga 3 (PC, Xbox One)
• July 19:
  • Gears 5 Technical Test (PC, Xbox One)
• July 25:
  • For The King (PC, Xbox One)
  • Killer Instinct: Definitive Edition (PC, Xbox One)
  • Resident Evil 4 (Xbox One)

As Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to come more into focus, it looks as though Chris Hemsworth isn’t leaving the franchise anytime soon. It’s being reported that a follow-up to Thor: Ragnarok is happening, with Taika Waititi returning to direct the film.

The news comes from The Hollywood Reporter, which claims a deal has been signed by Waititi to write and direct the film. The report includes bad news about another of Waititi’s upcoming projects. His live-action adaptation of the Akira manga has been delayed by what’s being called “development concerns.”

Waititi’s first involvement with Akira was first revealed in 2017, though the film has seemingly come no closer to being made since then. In April 2018, Waititi said he didn’t intend to remake the film version of Akira, but instead stick to adapting the manga. “A lot of the people freaking out haven’t even read the books, and there are six gigantic books to go through. It’s so rich,” he said in an interview at the time. “But Akira is one of my favorite films. My mum took me to see it when I was 13 and it changed my life.”

As for another Thor movie, it will be interesting to see which characters are showcased. After Avengers: Endgame, Thor has headed off into space with the Guardians of the Galaxy, while his fellow Asgardians–along with Korg and Miek–remain on Earth in New Asgard.

While Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will almost certainly set Thor on whatever course he’s going to be on for another standalone movie, here’s hoping they find a way to work Korg, Miek, and Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) into the equation once again. A release date for Thor 4 has not been revealed at this point.

Sony has released a new system software update for PS4, but it doesn’t add all that much. The brief official patch notes state the update “improves system performance.”

The 6.72 update is available now, and it weighs in at around 463 MB. The “system performance” line is a fairly standard one for minor updates like this.

The next major PS4 update, meanwhile, is still in beta. That patch will contain big improvements to the console’s Party chat system, including increased chatroom size, better audio quality, and improved network connectivity. There are also a couple of neat accessibility options being tested: the PS4 Second Screen mobile app will allow you to enter text to be spoken aloud to other party members. Additionally, the app can transcribe incoming chat audio from your friends.

In other PlayStation news, July’s PS Plus games are available now. After a mix-up where a game was announced and then swapped out, this month’s free titles are Detroit: Become Human and Horizon Chase Turbo.

Juventus will be exclusive to PES 2020 this year, meaning FIFA 20 will have to make do without. PES publisher Konami has announced a “long-term” deal with the club that makes PES “the only console football game to include the Italian champions.”

Konami says the partnership covers exclusive use of Juve’s “team name, crest, and official kits”–as well as its Allianz Stadium–within “console football video games.” That leaves the door open for other games, such as Football Manager, to include the club, but details on that are unclear. What is clear is that FIFA will not include Juventus this year; EA has stated its plans to instead feature an unlicensed version of the club.

“Following a close relationship with Juventus Football Club, EA Sports can confirm that June 30 marked the end of its partnership with the club,” EA said.

In a separate statement, the publisher continued: “Piemonte Calcio will be a new playable team in FIFA 20 with a custom badge and kit throughout Kick-Off, Career Mode, and Volta. Piemonte Calcio will use real-world, authentic players in FIFA 20 and FIFA 20 Ultimate Team. Piemonte Calcio players’ Chemistry within FIFA 20 Ultimate Team is unaffected by these changes.”

The term “Piemonte” is a reference to the region of Italy Juventus is located, Piedmont. “Calcio,” meanwhile, is the Italian word for “kick” that is commonly associated with football in the country. FIFA’s version of the Italian league, Serie A, is titled Calcio A due to the lack of official league license.

EA went on to reassure fans that while Juve’s name, badge, and kits are unlicensed in FIFA 20, the club’s players would still be depictions of their real selves, as player likenesses come under the umbrella football union, FIFPro, and not their individual clubs or leagues. Since FIFPro has partnerships with both Konami and EA, both are permitted to replicate player names and faces in their games. EA also said FIFA 20 will continue to feature Piemonte Calcio players as in-form players in Ultimate Team in accordance with Juventus’s real-world standing. The company concluded by confirming existing versions of FIFA are unaffected by the change.

PES 2020 also has official partnerships with Manchester United, Arsenal, and Bayern Munich, though those are not exclusive, so EA can continue to feature them officially in FIFA.

PES 2020 launches for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on September 10. A demo version, which includes online and offline match types as well as the game’s edit mode, will launch on July 30.

FIFA 20, meanwhile, launches September 27 and comes with a new five-a-side Volta mode, among other changes.

Prime Day is here, and thanks to the competition between Amazon and several other retailers, there are deals to be found just about everywhere. With the combination of a discount and a coupon code, you can snag an Xbox One X console for almost $200 off.

See Xbox One X at Google Express

The deal comes from Antonline through Google Express. The discount at checkout is $166 off, but with the addition of a coupon code (JULY20SAVE) you can make that $186 off. That’s almost a savings of $200 from a system that ordinarily costs $500, putting it at about $314. That’s roughly in the price range of standard, non-4K consoles.

We haven’t seen many deals on Xbox One X for this year’s Prime Day, and the system doubles as a 4K UHD player.

If you’re in the market for a console but don’t need the extra muscle of the Xbox One X, there are lots of deals to go around. Those include an Xbox One S All-Digital Edition with an extra controller for $200, or an Xbox One S All-Digital paired with a Nintendo Switch for $400. Plus there are plenty more discounts on games and hardware that you can see rounded up with our best deals. Check out some of our other picks for deals below.

More Amazon Prime Day 2019 coverage:

Best Prime Day Deals