The Call of Duty series has been around for almost 20 years. In its time we’ve seen it go everywhere from World War II to the final frontier of space. This year, GameSpot’s Richie Bracamonte took the plunge and played every single COD game. In part 1, we watched him begin from 2003’s Call of Duty to 2008’s Call of Duty World At War. This time around, we’ll continue with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 all the way to 2020’s Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.
Originally based on WWII, the first few COD titles are packed with historical retellings of several battles carried out across all theatres. As the series progressed, the gaming market flooded with dozens of WWII games made by several other developers. The fad that Activision helped to create quickly took a back seat after the introduction of the Modern Warfare series in 2008. After major successes with the revitalized series, Call of Duty remained a household name to this day.
If you love Call of Duty as much as Richie, GameSpot is the place for you! We’re always covering the latest news including gameplay, breakdowns and more. GameSpot’s YouTube page also has classic COD playlists full of fun weapons videos, chats and more.
You’ve never played World War 2 the way it was meant to be played… with lumbering tanks dominating the battlefield, crucial supply chains fuelling the frontlines, being a cog in the machine of colossal combined arms warfare. Hell Let Loose puts you in the chaos of war, complete with deep player-controlled vehicles, a dynamically evolving front line, and crucial unit-focused gameplay that commands the tide of battle.
A new limited-time event for Knockout City is about to begin. Called Heroes, the event kicks off August 24 and introduces a bunch of superpowered abilities into the dodgebrawl game. A new trailer details what’s in store for the event.
Heroes adds a limited-time playlist called Superpowers, in which you’ll randomly unlock one of seven superpowers every time you respawn during a match. The available powers are listed below, following the trailer.
All Knockout City Heroes Superpowers
Tackle Strike – Tackle your opponents to deal damage
Double Jump – Jump again in the air
X-Ray Vision – See and target players through walls
Charge-Up – Gain extra overcharge from catches and passes
Healing Powers – Heal your hearts back over time
Strength – Pick up other players by dodging into them
Ballform Bounce – While in ball form, bounce pads will Ultimate Throw you
Alongside the new playlist, Heroes will add new contracts as well as event-themed items to the in-game shop.
In GameSpot’s Knockout City review, Alessandro Barbosa writes, “Knockout City’s greatest strengths lie in its simplicity, but also in the ways it remixes traditional multiplayer elements to create something distinct. Its easy-going nature and straightforward mechanics reduce the time it takes to feel invested in each match, but it’s really the subtle complexity underneath that keeps the action engaging and compelling over long play sessions. There’s certainly room for improvement with the game’s rotating match modes and some of its special ball types, but Knockout City nails the fundamentals to create multiplayer fun that will likely hook you for a long time to come.”
Ghost of Tsushima‘s Iki Island expansion has finally arrived, giving new and returning players an entirely new region to explore packed full of activities and collectibles to complete. Many of the base game’s activities and collectibles return on Iki Island, such as Hot Springs and Bamboo Strikes, but there are also quite a few new things to do. To help you navigate everything that Ghost of Tsushima’s Iki Island expansion throws at you, we’ve compiled all of our guides below for your reference.
Like most post-launch content, Ghost of Tsushima’s Iki Island expansion requires you to complete a few essential steps before you can access it. We’ve outlined the exact steps in our guide discussing the subject.
Bamboo Strike Location Guide
Iki Island expansion is a fair bit more difficult than the base game. We highly recommend seeking out the Bamboo Strikes to increase Jin’s Resolve in battle if you want to survive. The little bit extra you’ll get from these new ones will help make all the difference in the long run.
Hot Springs Location Guide
The addition of a few new Hot Springs was also likely put in to help you deal with the difficulty increase. Be sure to get to these Hot Springs on Iki Island to increase Jin’s maximum health.
Haiku Location Guide
It always helps to relax a bit after a tense encounter out in the field. Writing a Haiku is a good way to do just that, and the Iki Island expansion adds about three new ones you can do, which all earn you new headbands to wear. Here’s our guide detailing the location of every Haiku spot.
Shinto Shrine Location Guide
A lone Shinto Shrine stands on the outskirts of Iki Island, once again holding a powerful charm that can help you in more ways than one. Here’s our guide detailing how to find Iki Island’s Nakajima Shrine.
Archery Challenge Location Guide
On Iki Island, you can participate in Archery Challenges, which will test your ability to use a bow. These challenges are scattered throughout Iki Island and are well worth completing for the charm you get, which increases the window of Jin’s Concentration. In our guide, we detail where they all are and provide insight toward how to unlock one that isn’t as readily obvious as you think.
Deer Sanctuary Location Guide
One of the more pleasant activities you’ll get to do in Ghost of Tsushima’s Iki Island expansion is create animal sanctuaries for some of the local fauna, which in turn helps Jin recall memories of his mother. One of the animal populations you’ll help is the island’s deer! Here’s a guide detailing where to find all the Deer Sanctuaries.
Monkey Sanctuary Location Guide
Aside from deer, you’ll also help out Iki Island’s monkeys. Unfortunately, many of them have been taken hostage by the Mongols, so it’s your job to liberate them. Here’s a guide detailing where you can find all the Monkey Sanctuaries on Iki Island.
Memory Location Guide
While helping the animal population helps Jin reminisce about his mother, there’s another activity on Iki Island that’s focused entirely on his relationship with his father. These locations scattered across the island represent key memories Jin shared with his father during their time there, giving you more insight into his tragic past. To help you find them all, we’ve outlined their locations in our memories guide.
Wind Shrine Location Guide
Most of Iki Island’s activities are relatively simple to complete, but the Wind Shrines are entirely different. These special areas on Iki Island present you with cryptic hints, challenging you to solve them by wearing special outfit combinations to unlock the secret PlayStation game franchise-themed armor sets they offer. We’ve detailed how to solve all three Wind Shrines in our guides below.
Armor Guide
Speaking of armor sets, if you’re curious about how to get all the other sets found in the Iki Island expansion, then be sure to check out our full armor guide. It includes details on the sets you can get by completing the expansion’s Mythic Tales.
How To Unlock The Crimson Dye Merchant
The Iki Island expansion introduces a new dye merchant where you can buy crimson versions of your existing armor sets. However, it’s a bit of a process to unlock the merchant, as you can’t simply find him out in the world. Here’s our guide detailing all the steps.
Monkey See Hidden Trophy Guide
If you’re one for unlocking cryptic Hidden Trophies, you’ll be please to know that Ghost of Tsushima’s Iki Island has one that requires you to perform actions at a key location that you might not intuit to do during your first sweep of the area. The trophy is called Monkey See, and it’s quite involved. Here’s our guide detailing how to unlock this Hidden Trophy.
How To Find All The Easter Eggs
If the shot of the Infamous Easter egg above got your attention, then you’ll be happy to know that the Iki Island expansion has a ton of other Easter eggs to find. Here’s our guide detailing where they all are.
Ghost of Tsushima‘s Iki Island content brings a whole lot of new collectibles, gear, and armor to uncover. In the armor department, Iki Island lets you deck out Jin Sakai in some great new looks, some of which change up what you can do in combat, and some of which just make you look awesome while slashing through Mongols.
Here’s a full rundown of all the armor you can find on Iki Island and how to claim it, whether its from secret Wind Shrines or the more-involved Mythic Tales. For more help finding all the things Ghost of Tsushima’s new content has to offer, check out our full roundup of Iki Island guides.
Armor Of The Colossus
The Armor of the Colossus recalls both the protagonist and the towering enemies of Shadow of the Colossus, found in the Shrine in Shadow in the south of Iki Island.
You can find the Shadow of the Colossus-themed Armor of the Colossus at the Shrine in Shadow, located near the southern coast of Iki, in the Buddha’s Footprints region. The location is a big Shadow of the Colossus Easter egg, and you’ll have to solve the riddle found within the shrine to unlock the armor.
You can get some pretty great-looking Kratos armor for if you can figure out the riddle in the Shrine of Ash on Iki Island’s east coast.
The Ghost of Sparta Armor, which plays homage to God of War protagonist Kratos, is found in the Shrine of Ash near the east coast of Iki Island. The shrine is a callback to the 2018 God of War, and you’ll find that the riddle in the shrine is all about Kratos and his son Atreus.
Dress like Eileen the Crow by solving the mystery of the Blood-Stained Shrine on the west coast of Iki Island.
Head to the Blood-Stained Shrine near the west coast of Iki Island to find the Yarnham Vestments Armor. Both the suit and the shrine are based on Bloodborne, and specifically call up Eileen the Crow, one of the Hunters you meet during the course of the game.
Head to our Blood-Stained Shrine guide for assistance in solving its riddle and unlocking the Yarnham Vestments Armor.
Sarugami Armor
The Sarugami Armor requires you to have better timing for parries and dodges, but you’ll get some devastating counter-attacks for your trouble.
You can unlock the Sarugami Armor by completing the Black Hand Riki Mythic Tale. To get access to it, continue through Iki Island’s main quest until Tenzo brings you to Fune’s Refuge for the first time. Once you’re there, listen to the storyteller in town to hear the legend of Black Hand Riki, a fearsome pirate. That’ll put you on the path to find the armor, which Black Hand Riki buried with his treasure after the mutiny that led to his death.
The quest will send you to find another survivor of Riki’s crew, who will direct you to find a hidden cave where the water glows. Wait at the camp where you find the survivor until it’s dark, then make your way to the northeast shore of Iki Island and look for glowing water. Eventually, make your way to the northern shore of Thunderhead Cliffs and look for a cave.
Look for the cave in the northeast corner of Iki Island; venture inside to find Black Hand Riki’s lost armor.
Venture through it and you’ll complete the tale, claiming the Sarugami Armor for yourself. The monkey-themed armor encourages you to take more risks, but rewards you for doing so. It disables your standard parry ability, but gives you two counter-attacks for every Perfect Parry you land, while your Perfect Dodge damages any enemy nearby.
Sakai Horse Armor
Power up your horse’s abilities in battle with the Kazusama Sakai Horse Armor.
In Zasho Bay on the east coast of Iki Island, you’ll find a group of refugees camping in a large shipwreck. One tells the story of Kazumasa Sakai–Jin’s father–and his fearsome, legendary horse. As you start to listen to the tale, Jin will reveal his true identity and get himself kicked out of the camp, forcing you to sneak back in to hear the rest of the storyteller’s yarn. That’ll kick off the Mythic Tale called The Kazumasa Sakai, which sends you to find Kazumasa’s horse armor on a nearby shipwreck.
Climb out onto the shipwrecks near the Sheltered Camp to reach the horse armor–it’s in the furthest, largest ship, but it’ll take some work to get there.
This is a fairly easy Mythic Tale to complete. Head south and climb out onto the shipwrecks in the cove nearby. Make your way out to the furthest ship, being careful to avoid the waves crashing on the rocks and wrecks–if they hit you, they’ll sweep you into the ocean, forcing you to find a place to climb back up onto the wrecks again.
When you reach the final ship, you can claim the Kazai Horse Armor for your steed. The armor makes your horse charge move more powerful, while making it a lot tougher for enemies to knock you off your horse.
Claiming the Sakai Horse Armor and the Sarugami Armor will get you the Treasures of the Past Trophy as well.
Nintendo has released a new trailer for Metroid Dread. The trailer released alongside Metroid Dread Report Vol. 5, which details what abilities Samus will have at her disposal in the upcoming game, while also teasing that another report and trailer are on the way.
“[The next report will shed] light on new mysteries revealed in an upcoming game trailer,” Nintendo writes in the video’s description on YouTube. “Please look forward to it on August 27.”
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Now Playing: Metroid Dread – “Another Glimpse Of Dread” Gameplay Trailer
In the latest trailer, we see Samus flying towards her next mission, learning that she’s being sent as the backup solution to dealing with the last of the X parasites, the villains of Metroid Fusion. Surprisingly, we also get a bit of voice acting here–outside of the Metroid Prime trilogy and Metroid: Other M, the Metroid series relies on written text to deliver dialogue.
The second half of the trailer seems to take place sometime much later. Samus has replaced her standard Varia suit for the light blue one that she’ll seemingly wear for most of Metroid Dread.
In July, Nintendo revealed that this new suit is, in fact, the blue suit that Samus wears in Metroid Fusion. “In Metroid Dread, Samus’s suit appears to have changed quite a bit from her previous missions,” Nintendo writes. “This is the result of the organic suit from Metroid Fusion–which was greatly transformed following the attack by the X parasitic lifeform and the injection of the Metroid vaccine–gradually returning to its original, mechanical Power Suit form.”
Metroid Dread is scheduled to launch for Switch on October 8.
While Netflix is still developing a CG-animated series based on Magic: The Gathering, the project is moving forward without the involvement of Joe and Anthony Russo. Transformers: Prime co-creator Jeff Kline has joined the project as executive producer, taking over for the Avengers: Endgame directors, as reported by Deadline.
While the project was originally announced with the Russo brothers attached, reports indicate that the duo exited the project early on in the process over disagreements with Netflix on the creative vision for the series. Henry Gilroy (Star Wars: The Clone Wars) and Jose Molina (Agent Carter), who were originally tapped to serve as head writers and co-showrunners, also left the project alongside the Russos.
Following the Russo brothers’ departure, Netflix tapped Kline to assemble a team to create a new storyline based on the tabletop trading card game. The Russos met with Kline during the creative transition.
“I’m grateful to the Russos for bringing me into the world of Magic: The Gathering — specifically, over dinner at one of their go-to Cleveland restaurants,” Kline said. “Magic is one of those rare intellectual properties with such a wellspring of mythology that ‘picking and choosing’ is half the battle. Every single person working on the series understands how beloved this universe is – and feels both the exhilaration and tremendous pressure that comes with translating Magic across mediums.”
Seattle Seahawks fans have caused minor earthquakes in the past, such is the raucousness of the aptly named 12th Man. The crowd at CenturyLink Field has also earned two Guinness World Records for the loudest roar recorded at a sports stadium, once registering a deafening 137.6 decibels back in 2014. Of course, Seattle isn’t the only city known for its boisterous fans and intimidating atmosphere, and this is reflected throughout the various stadiums in Madden NFL 22. After criticism that last year’s game was light on new content–particularly as it relates to Franchise mode–developer EA Tiburon has introduced a number of sweeping changes this time around, with the crowd being the most prominent right out of the gate.
The new Gameday Atmosphere feature brings crowds to life with new animations and remastered fan recordings that more accurately replicate what you’re likely to see and hear on any given Sunday. It also extends beyond the cosmetic side, too, as the ball will fly further in Denver’s high altitude, while the wind will play havoc with your field goal team in Chicago. On top of this, the intensity of the home fans will have an impact on the way games can play out. This feature is called Gameday Momentum, and it introduces a momentum meter to the top of the screen that will shift back and forth like a tug-of-war depending on the performance of each team. If momentum is on your side–because of a big sack or crucial touchdown, for instance–you’ll gain access to various bonuses (called M-Factors) that give your team an edge in certain situations. This works in tandem with Gameday Atmosphere to ratchet up the significance of home field advantage, especially when playing in front of crowds known for their vociferousness.
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The aforementioned 12th Man of the Seattle Seahawks will cause the opposing team’s pre-snap play art to be distorted on 3rd and 4th down, turning each receiver’s route into a squiggly mess. Elsewhere, Vikings players will gain a small speed boost in the red zone when the “Skol” chant reverberates around the U.S. Bank Stadium. It looks and sounds a tad gamified on the surface, but Gameday Momentum and Atmosphere are crucial additions that capture the unique fandom of each team and accurately reflect the wild swings in momentum that can occur during the course of a heated football game. It gives rivalries that big game feel and intensifies those drives where the home fans are fervently working against you. The impact of home field advantage in the NFL is tangible, and can often be the difference between winning and losing, yet Madden 22 marks the first time the series has truly emulated such an integral part of the sport.
Next Gen Stats also contribute to the gameday experience by snazzing up the broadcast package. Replays will show how many seconds it took a blitzer to collide with the quarterback, or count up how many yards a receiver racked up after the catch on a big play. Aside from adding to the presentation, however, Next Gen Stats have a much more significant impact on gameplay in comparison. Madden 22 utilises the NFL’s Next Gen Stats data to drive its AI behaviour, resulting in more dynamic games against the CPU. Quarterbacks will react differently from each other when under pressure, some are more likely to attempt throws into tight windows, and ball carriers will differ when it comes to attempting to evade tackles or break through them. You’ll also see superstar wide receivers use signature cuts and releases off the line to try and get open when the defence presses, while a suite of new animations make everything feel more fluid and responsive, whether you’re throwing the ball downfield or bursting through a hole at the line of scrimmage. Tackling, in particular, looks more natural and varied, and is more satisfying as a result. And throwing those 50/50 balls isn’t a waste of time anymore thanks to more dynamic reactions between receivers and defensive backs.
In Franchise mode, these improvements to AI help diversify each week of the gruelling NFL season. Each team has its own personality and play calling style so no one game is similar to the last. To counteract each team’s strengths and exploit their weaknesses, Franchise has been overhauled with new weekly strategies. Now, Next Gen Stats will give you a breakdown of how good a team is in a number of specific areas on both sides of the ball, from executing outside runs and medium passes, to blitzing the quarterback and defending short passes. With this information on hand, you can choose a game plan that gives you the best chance to win. Against the Steelers, for instance, you might opt to counter their aggressive blitz, then in the next game, you might focus on containing the quarterback in an attempt to stop the Cardinals’ Kyler Murray from scrambling for yards on the ground.
While you spend the week leading up to a game working on strategy, the half-time break gives you a chance to alter the plan if things aren’t working or you want to adopt a different approach because you’re, say, up big or trailing behind. Managing your player’s fatigue and injuries is another part of the weekly strategy, too. You might want to go all out in practice before facing a rival team to boost your player’s XP, but you need to weigh up the risks with the reward in case one of your key players ends up injured on the eve of the contest.
One of Franchise’s other new features can at least mitigate injuries to some extent. Your head coach, offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, and player personnel all have their own RPG-style skill trees. By meeting gameday and longer-term goals, you’ll unlock Staff Points that can be spent on improving your staff in multiple areas, such as decreasing injury recovery time. Improving your staff results in better development of your players, giving Franchise a rewarding loop as better players means you’re more likely to complete goals to in turn improve your coaches again. Each of these new and revised systems gives Madden 22 greater strategic depth beyond simple roster construction. No two games are the same, and Franchise manages to strike a sweet spot where what you do off the field has a rewarding impact on what you do on it, to the point where it has fundamentally changed how you’re expected to approach each match-up.
If you’re playing as a head coach, Franchise also introduces storylines over the course of each season to reflect the ups and downs a team must endure. These scenarios add faint narrative elements to the game, but mostly it’s another way to improve players by setting them dynamic goals. If a player performs well during pre-season, you might talk to them about having a big game to start the regular season. This will give you a game day goal to continue their breakout, earning more Staff Points if you’re successful. Scouting, on the other hand, is unchanged at the moment, but Tiburon expects to launch a new scouting system for free in September. This will allow you to assign national and regional scouts to find the best college prospects and accrue more information ahead of draft day. This all sounds good, but obviously it’s impossible to know for sure until the free update is released.
Ultimate Team and The Yard also return, but are mostly untouched from last year. The latter–a unique six vs. six backyard football experience–adds new fields, including Hawaii, and a new ranked mode so you can test your skills against other players. Progression in The Yard is also unified across Face of the Franchise: United We Rise, so all player progress, rewards, and gear are shared between the two modes. Face of the Franchise is also similar to last year, only now you’re able to play as either a quarterback, running back, wide receiver, or linebacker. The story here is cliched and stale, with stilted cutscenes and a lack of chemistry amongst its small cast. Watching a young player go through college before entering the draft is an overused plot at this point, even if Madden 22’s version focuses on the relationship between a player and his agent as opposed to something like a teammate rivalry. There just isn’t enough here to warrant playing Face of the Franchise over the regular Franchise mode. The addition of a new class-based system that defines your play style is a nice touch, giving you specific X-Factor abilities to work towards unlocking. But unless you like taking a created character through an NFL season, there’s isn’t enough depth nor incentive to devote time to Face of the Franchise.
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It’s not without its fair share of glitches either. The subtitles during cutscenes often disappear, music will sometimes overpower dialogue, and your created character’s face has a tendency to completely change at random. Madden 22 also has a habit of crashing throughout all modes, giving the impression that it’s not quite ready to launch yet. You can pick back up where you left off after most of these crashes, but occasionally it will freeze at the end of a game and wipe all of your progress. Leaving a game in progress and returning to it later will also reset your game day goals, even if you’ve also completed them, and sometimes a win will count as a loss in Franchise.
These technical issues put a damper on Madden 22, particularly since it finally addresses Franchise with a number of meaningful additions. Hopefully these glitches, and particularly the crashes, can be ironed out soon.
When everything’s working as intended, Madden 22 marks a recent high point for the series. The gameplay doesn’t move the needle much mechanically, but changes to the AI make for a more interesting and varied challenge, while Gameday Atmosphere and Momentum brings every team’s fans to life to palpable effect. With Franchise making the moments between these games more engaging, it’s relatively easy to sink hours into building a team to challenge for the Super Bowl. It’s just unfortunate that this comes with the caveat that technical problems might prove to be the biggest obstacle standing in your way.
Ghost of Tsushima‘s Iki Island expansion sees the return of its familiar open-world game activities, one of which you should be well acquainted with: Haikus. This calming side-activity allows you to choose phrases to form a Haiku that best reflects Jin’s current feelings about a particular matter. Completing a Haiku earns you a special headband themed after what was written about.
The Iki Island expansion adds a total of three new Hakiu to write, which earns you three new headbands you can use to accessorize. Below, we detail the locations of every single Haiku on Iki Island.
Waterfall Haiku
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The Waterfall Haiku spot is located directly south of Lone Spirit Falls. You’ll see it on a perch by a tree just before the waterfall. It’s always lovely how flowing water can bring a sense of inner peace.
Reward: Headband of Solace
Mountainside Haiku
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The Mountainside Haiku spot is located slightly northeast of Tatsu’s Ladder. You’ll see it on a large rock atop a mountain overlooking the ocean–nothing like the ocean to help you accept your place in the world.
Reward: Headband of Acceptance
Wisteria Haiku
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The Wisteria Haiku spot is located south of Senjo Gorge in the southern part of Iki island. You’ll see it on a rock overlooking the gorge and some distant purple trees. It’s a beautiful sight in which to meditate upon one’s regrets.
