FIFA 21 Is Down To $27 In Early Black Friday Deal

FIFA 21 is the latest in EA’s long-running soccer (or “football”) franchise, and you can take to the pitch at more than half-off this year thanks to Black Friday 2020. This year’s edition includes a reworked collision system, more intelligent AI players, and the return of the street soccer Volta mode.

Best Deal: $27 at GameStop | available now

The best deal for FIFA 21 this Black Friday is at GameStop, which has both the PS4 and Xbox One versions for $27. Or, if you’re willing to pay just a buck more, you can get it for $28 at Best Buy right now. Walmart will have it for $28 starting Wednesday.

The Black Friday FIFA 21 deals are available for both Xbox One and PS4. The PS5 with a disc drive and Xbox Series X can play the discs as well, and free next-gen upgrades will be available starting on December 4.

“This is a substantial package that’s propped up by exciting gameplay that puts the onus squarely on attacking football,” Richard Wakeling wrote in GameSpot’s FIFA 21 review. “There are moments of frustration on defense when the balance doesn’t feel quite right, but then you’ll go down the other end and score a Puskás Award contender that makes you forget why you were mad in the first place.”

We’ll be covering Black Friday 2020 news and deals from now through Thanksgiving weekend, so stick around. Be sure to give a look to our roundup of the best Black Friday gaming deals available this year, including the best deals for Nintendo Switch, PS4/PS5, and Xbox One/Series X.

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Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Patch Notes (November 23)

A new update is out now for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, and while it doesn’t contain any weapon buffs or nerfs, the patch makes a few changes related to spawning, perks, and the Zombies mode.

For multiplayer, spawns have been adjusted for the Hardpoint mode to reduce the amount of time it takes to reach the Hardpoints. Additionally, the spawns on Crossroads Strike and Armada Strike have been adjusted for better performance.

The new Black Ops Cold War update also fixes an issue that could stop the Flak Jacket perk from being useful against explosive damage in Hardcore modes.

Moving to Zombies, the new update fixes an issue with field upgrades, while it makes some changes to the zombies themselves. In one case, a rare issue was causing a zombie to become permanently invincible, but that is now fixed. Finally, the Zombies mode has received some tweaks to make the experience more stable.

You can see the full patch notes below, as posted by Treyarch on their website. This newest update arrives less than a day before the fan-favorite Nuketown map comes to Black Ops Cold War through a new version called Nuketown ’84. The map arrives at 10 AM PT on November 24, but you can start enjoying double XP right now.

Black Ops Cold War November 23 Patch Notes

MULTIPLAYER

Spawns

  • Adjusted Hardpoint spawn logic to reduce average travel time to active Hardpoints.
  • Adjusted enemy weighting for spawns in Crossroads Strike and Armada Strike.

Fireteam: Dirty Bomb

  • Addressed a UI error that could sometimes occur when loading into a match of Fireteam: Dirty Bomb on Ruka.

Perks

  • Addressed an issue that would prevent Flak Jacket from properly protecting the player from explosive damage in Hardcore modes.

ZOMBIES

Field Upgrades

  • Addressed an issue where the player could earn Field Upgrade charge while their Ring of Fire was currently activated.

Enemies

  • Addressed an issue that sometimes caused zombies to use their ranged attack unexpectedly.
  • Addressed a rare issue that could rarely cause the Megaton to be permanently invincible after splitting.

Stability

  • Added various stability fixes.

Now Playing: Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Video Review

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If Gremlins 3 Happens, It’ll Be Done Right, Original Writer Insists

With so many popular ’80s entertainment franchises enjoying either revivals or an uninterrupted and long, healthy life in the decades since, one noticeably absent omission has been Gremlins. If for whatever reason you haven’t seen the original 1984 film and its 1990 sequel, here’s a quick recap: They were amazing comedy-horror films about the strange little titular creatures that could be owned as pets, with the caveat that you follow a bunch of rules so they don’t turn into vicious monsters. If you haven’t seen the first one, you can watch it on Prime Video; this Key & Peele sketch should be watched before you embark on the sequel.

Looks like all that’s finally about to change. Fast-forward to 2020, and there’s an animated prequel series in the works and also still talk of a third sequel. Some pretty major news has just come out via Collider, who asked original Gremlins writer Chris Columbus (Home Alone, Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone) what is going on with the third one–and there is reason to rejoice, as it still sounds likely.

“I would love to do it. I wrote a script, so there is an existing script,” said Columbus. “I would still do it the same way–I would do it as tangible puppets, not CGI.”

Columbus added that aside from the pandemic, the only delay is working out “some rights issues.” But if we are hearing about a specific creative vision governing production choices on a potential sequel–it’s a good sign things may hopefully be closer than they have felt over the last 30 years to see more Gremlins. It’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but already something to be thankful for this week.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: 9 Secrets You Missed

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is the latest in Ubisoft’s open world action franchise, and just like Odyssey and Origins before it, it’s a huge game that’s filled to the brim with quests, epic boss fights, and hidden secrets to find. However, a lot of its coolest side quests don’t appear in your quest log to track, instead putting it on the player to find the locations of these in a more organic way.

For those that just want to skip to the good stuff, the above video will show you nine of the coolest secrets in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, including how to kick off multi-part quests to get incredible legendary weapons and armor, how to deck out your settlement, as well as how to find some tough boss fights that yield exceptional rewards.

For more on Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, we’ve got you covered with beginner’s tips and graphics comparisons between current and next gen versions of the game, as well as comparing the PS5 version to the Xbox Series X one.

Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Launching Nuketown ’84 Map Alongside Double XP Event

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War just launched, and it will soon be reintroducing the fan-favorite Black ops map Nuketown called Nuketown ’84. If that isn’t enough incentive to play a ton of Cold War this weekend, Activision is sweetening the pot by offering double XP as well.

Nuketown ’84 launches on November 24, and it will be free for all users. The Double XP event is already live ahead of the Nuketown ’84 launch, offering both 2XP and 2X Weapon XP. Double XP will last through November 30, so you have plenty of time to rack up experience while trying the new version of a classic.

You can also claim a Nuketown-themed weapons pack for free simply by logging in before December 3. That pack includes a “Last Stop” shotgun blueprint, weapon charms, an emblem, and a calling card.

“It’s reasonable to expect updates to Cold War at a steady clip. Weapons will be tweaked, issues will be patched, and gameplay will be balanced,” Kallie Plagge wrote in GameSpot’s Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War review. “Zombies has a strong foundation and may very well be improved further by potential updates, but the gap between multiplayer and the Warzone ecosystem is too wide to be bridged by small tweaks. Zombies is a good co-op time overall, but multiplayer falls flat, leaving the strong campaign to do most of the heavy lifting.”

Now Playing: Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War – Nuketown ’84 Map Trailer

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Black Friday Nintendo Switch Sale Live Now On The eShop

Black Friday is almost here, but there are already plenty of deals to be had ahead of the big shopping event, including a bunch of discounts on Nintendo Switch games. Nintendo has now kicked off the Switch eShop’s annual Black Friday sale, and it features some nice discounts on a variety of first- and third-party titles for the system.

Some first-party games in particular have gotten a nice discount as part of the sale. A handful of Nintendo-published games are currently available for $40 ($20 off their usual price), including The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Daemon X Machina, and Super Mario Party. While some of these games have received even steeper discounts at other retailers, it’s rare to see their digital versions drop this low.

Those aren’t the only good first-party deals. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is available for $40 as well, and its standalone prequel expansion Torna: The Golden Country is $26.79 (down from $40). Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore, an expanded port of the Wii U RPG that just released earlier this year, is also on sale for $40, while Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order is down to $48.

Beyond that, a number of third-party games have gotten some nice discounts as part of the sale, including the critically acclaimed Hades ($20), Diablo III: Eternal Collection ($30), The Outer Worlds ($30), and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim ($30). You can see some other noteworthy deals below; plus, check out our roundup of the best Black Friday eShop deals for our top recommendations. The eShop Black Friday Cyber sale will run through 11:59 PM PT on December 2, so you’ll have until then to take advantage of these discounts.

We’ll be rounding up more Black Friday 2020 news and deals through Thanksgiving weekend, so be sure to check back often for the latest and best Black Friday savings. We’ve also put together roundups of the best Black Friday 2020 gaming deals, including the best deals for Nintendo Switch, PS4/PS5, and Xbox One/Series X.

Doctor Who Holiday Special Will See The Return Of Everyone’s Favorite Captain

The COVID-19 pandemic might have delayed the next season of long-running sci-fi adventure Doctor Who, but it doesn’t mean fans will miss out on the show’s annual Holiday episode. This year’s seasonal special arrives next month, and it’s been confirmed that fan favorite character Captain Jack Harkness will appear in the episode.

The news comes via a first teaser for the episode, which is titled Revolution of the Daleks. The promo opens with the familiar sound of the TARDIS, before cutting to Harkness, played by John Barrowman, who states “I’ve missed that sound.” Check the teaser out below:

The Doctor is currently played by Jodie Whittaker, who took over from Peter Capaldi in 2017, and has so far starred in two seasons. After debuting in the main show, Barrowman played Harkness in the spin-off series Torchwood, which ran from 2006 to 2011 and returned to play the adventurer in the Doctor Who Season 12 episode “Fugitive of the Judoon,” which screened in January. The Holiday episode will air on BBC America, but doesn’t have a confirmed premiere date yet.

In a statement, Barrowman said, “Putting on Jack’s coat and setting foot back on the set of Doctor Who was just like going back home. It’s always thrilling to play Captain Jack. He’s a character very close to my heart who changed my life, and to know the fans love him as much as I do makes his return even sweeter. I hope everyone enjoys Jack’s heroic adventure with Thirteen.”

Production on Doctor Who Season 13 started earlier this month. However, due to the safety precautions in place, showrunner Chris Chibnall stated the next season will only have 8 episodes instead of the usual 11.

Best Nintendo Switch eShop Game Deals For Black Friday 2020

Mortal Kombat 11

Mortal Kombat 11

$15 (was $50)

Tons of new DLC has been released for Mortal Kombat 11, but the base game was already packed with things to do. $15 gets you that full experience, complete with its story mode, online multiplayer, Towers of Time (with an ever-rotating array of challenges), and customization systems. If you like what you see, the Aftermath expansion is discounted to $20 (from $40) and adds an additional story mode and new characters, including RoboCop.

New Video Shows First-Ever Footage of Cancelled SNES Green Lantern Game

There are many, many video games that were cancelled before they were finished, and some are better-known than others. Still, even now, there are never-released games emerging into the wild for the first time. A new video from gaming historian Liam Robertson represents the first public footage of an unreleased Green Lantern game from Ocean Software, which was supposed to come out for the Super Nintendo in 1994.

As the lengthy video states, this Green Lantern game went through quite a few changes during development due to both personnel turnover at Ocean and various happenings in the world of DC Comics. For example, Hal Jordan was originally the protagonist of the game, but Jordan became the villain Parallax in a comic book storyline, which forced the developers to change it unexpectedly.

Originally designed as a platformer with puzzle elements, the game’s troubled development resulted in gameplay that mixed various genres, including R-Type style horizontal shooting, and it was eventually shelved due to those issues. The project was later picked up as an after-hours endeavor by a lone programmer and transformed into a side-scrolling shoot ’em up similar to Contra or Gunstar Heroes, and that’s the version you see in the video. That version was abandoned due to the approaching release of the original PlayStation, which resulted in the advent of 3D games. We did eventually get a Green Lantern game in 2011, called Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters. The less said about it, the better.

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Demon’s Souls Remake Lore Explained

Demon’s Souls is full of deep lore and interesting stories: it’s the tale of a mighty kingdom brought to its knees. Only you, the Slayer of Demons, can save Boletaria from the many beasts that now roam the land. This latest episode of Lorescape goes into detail about the history of the kingdom and what led to this new demon-infested state.

If you’re unsure about diving in to the notoriously difficult game yourself, you can check out GameSpot’s full Demon’s Souls review. And if you need some help surviving, we have a list of handy beginner’s tips too.