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Amazon has long been associated with deals, thanks to its seemingly limitless supplies of retailers, shipping warehouses, and clout. As the largest online retailer, Amazon has sway other online retailers just don’t have. This makes it the ideal place to find great video game deals.

Years ago, Amazon was inarguably the best online place to preorder video games thanks to its Prime preorder program. Every game offered on Amazon for preorder had an additional 20% knocked off its suggested retail price. Those were some great times to save big on games. The only program that came close was Best Buy’s Gamers Club Unlocked, which wasn’t even available online for most of its existence. Both programs are long gone, but Amazon remains a fantastic choice for video game savings.

Even when you buy a game at full price, you still qualify for free shipping if the total of your order comes to more than $35. If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you get free shipping any time, and discounts on next-day shipping, too. Better still, if you preorder a game on Amazon, it’s shipped to arrive on your doorstep on release day.

Amazon PlayStation Deals

PlayStation is far and away the leader for the current generation, and it looks like it’s going to continue its dominance into the next. The PS5 is already massively popular, exceeding the hype for the Xbox Series X, in spite of the fact we know so little about either one.

Since we’re about to hit a generational change, you’d think there’d be lots of chances to save on PS4, but it’s actually something of a mixed bag. There are game sales to be found, but PS4 and PS4 Pro consoles not only aren’t on sale, but they’re extremely difficult to find. Just being able to find a PlayStation console in the wild for its MSRP is reason to celebrate.

If you’re looking for more, be sure to check out our round up of all the best PS4 deals.

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Amazon Nintendo Switch Deals

Nintendo Switch is easily the hottest game console on the planet right now, and similar to the current PlayStation consoles, finding one is no small feat. In fact, the Nintendo Switch is almost always sold-out, online and in brick and mortar retailers. The hybrid portable system and its portable-only younger sibling Nintendo Switch Lite are far and away the console leaders of 2020. That will almost certainly change once the PS5 and Xbox Series X finally come out, but for now, Nintendo is on fire.

Nintendo deals have traditionally been tricky to find, but Amazon discounts on first-party games are more and more frequent. Amazon is also price-matching Nintendo’s own eShop sales, meaning you can score the same savings on great games without needing to leave the comfort of the Amazon ecospace.

Make sure to check out all the best Nintendo Switch deals to find sales and best-prices on everything, regardless of retailer.

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Amazon Xbox Deals

Xbox stumbled out of the starting block with the Xbox One and never caught up again. It had all the momentum going into the generation thanks to the success of the Xbox 360, but its high price and less than stellar performance meant PS4 left it in the dust. We’ll see how things shake out with the Xbox Series X, but for now, it looks like PS5 is going to be the leader for the foreseeable future.

The good news is Xbox’s status in the console wars means it’s the absolute best value console by a long shot. Amazon often price matches other retailer’s deals on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, the subscription service combining the functionality of Xbox Live and Xbox Game Pass into one unit. Xbox sales on games are also pretty abundant at Amazon. Xbox consoles, on the other hand, are still difficult to find at Amazon, at least for MSRP.

If you want more, check out our guide to all the best Xbox deals.

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Amazon Storage Deals

If you need some spare room for one of your consoles (or even your PC), Amazon always has great deals. On top of that, Amazon price-matches just about anyone.

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PS5 and Xbox Series X Preorders at Amazon

It’s not likely we’ll see any sort of Amazon specific deals on PS5 and Xbox Series X preorders when they’re live, but we might see some great deals on the PS4 and Xbox One once Black Friday rolls around. There have been some great Black Friday PS4 bundles over past years, and if there’s any stock Sony or Microsoft are looking to clear out, Black Friday is probably where we’ll see the savings. But for the next-gen? I wouldn’t hold my breath.

That being said, it is possible we see some sort of bundled deal at Amazon to further entice you into buying a PS5 or Xbox Series X. It’s also possible there could be Amazon-exclusive bundles or offerings on next-gen games, like Spider-Man: Miles Morales for PS5. At the moment, we still don’t know anything, but this page will be updated to reflect any future savings.

Is Amazon Prime Worth It?

If you tend to buy a lot of smaller things from Amazon, Prime is almost certainly worth the price for the shipping savings alone. While Amazon offers free shipping on orders over $35, if you’re looking to order something like a glass screen protector for your Nintendo Switch, Prime shipping kicks in and saves you from having to load up your cart with other stuff just to hit the shipping threshold. Personally, I buy a lot of smaller things fairly often (when the mood hits), so it’s totally worth the price.

But on top of the shipping benefits, you also get Prime video, Amazon music, Twitch Prime, and more.

 

It’s been a strange year in many ways, but at least basketball is back. For those who mark time by the changing of the sporting seasons, you can now try a demo for NBA 2K21.

The demo lets you play a match between the Bucks and Clippers, or the All-Time Lakers vs Celtics. You can also try the MyPlayer Builder customizations to make your perfect baller. It comes in at roughly 30 GB. It’s only available on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, without a PC or Stadia version.

2K Games recently outlined big gameplay changes for this year’s edition of its basketball game. Those include more casual settings for those who want a less simulation-style experience, changes to the shooting mechanics, bigger point guards, and new signature moves for notable players like Russell Westbrook and LeBron James.

In addition to all the current-gen consoles and PC, 2K21 will also be coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X. 2K Games caused a stir by announcing those versions will be $70, marking a $10 increase over the standardized current price point. Other publishers largely haven’t announced whether they’ll be following suit with a price increase of their own, but there’s reason to believe $70 could be the new normal.

For more details, check out our GameSpot’s NBA 2K21 pre-order guide.

The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.

As part of GameStop’s latest slate of weekly deals, a ton of Star Wars collectibles. From Funko Pops and action figures to backpacks and a peculiar sleeping bag, there are a wide variety of Star Wars products to choose from. Most of the on-sale Star Wars collectibles are 20% off through August 29, but there’s always the chance that some of the more popular items will sell out before the sale ends. You can check out the full Star Wars collectible sale at GameStop and see a handful of our favorites below.

$36 (was $45)

This two-pack in Hasbro’s popular Black Series lineup just released at GameStop earlier this month, and other major retailers will have it in the coming weeks. During the sale, you can save $9 on this figure set that commemorates the training Luke received from Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back. And yes, you can even latch Yoda onto Luke’s back.

$52.49 (was $70)

While the Baby Yoda-themed backpack has been sold out for a while now, you can still grab this cute Yoda backpack. As a mini backpack, it won’t fit your laptop, but it’s good for lugging around smaller electronics like the Nintendo Switch.

$20 (was $25)

There have been numerous Funko Pops showing Darth Vader in full armor, but this Deluxe Pop gives you a look at that pale, rather creepy face of the Sith Lord, as shown in the meditation chamber scenes in The Empire Strikes Back.

$16 (was $20)

The most adorable little speaker around, this Baby Yoda Bitty Boomer would make a great gift for The Mandalorian fan in your life. Even when shaped as a round speaker with super long ears and basically no body, Baby Yoda manages to be ridiculously cute.

$100 (was $150)

Admittedly, we’re including this sleeping bag because it’s incredibly silly. If you really love Tauntauns though, you may be willing to spend $100 ($50 off its list price!) on this luxury(?) sleeping bag. Essentially, as shown in the picture above, you’ll look like a snoozing Tauntaun when tucked inside the cushy fabric. You don’t even need a pillow, as the Tauntaun’s head will suffice. Did we mention that the Tauntaun’s intestinal pattern is printed inside the sleeping bag?

This is a Deal of the Day (August 24), so if interested, you’ll have to grab it quickly.

Disclosure: ViacomCBS is GameSpot’s parent company

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Star Wars

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Finally, I considered xELIES SxILL. BELIES SKILL is okay, but it seems more likely that we break it in the first line as HE LIES. And the best word to follow that is STILL. So we can conclude this is the very punny HE LIES STILL. And that’s how you solve a cryptogram! (12/12)

— Mike Selinker (@mikeselinker) August 23, 2020

Sega has announced when we’ll be able to play the next Yakuza game. Yakuza: Like a Dragon releases on November 13.

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That November 13 release date applies to the Xbox One, PS4, and PC platforms. It’s also promised as a day 1 release for Xbox Series X, but without a release date for the console it’s unclear when the next-gen version of Yakuza: Like a Dragon will be available. A tweet from developer RGG Studio does state ‘Nov’, though, so looks like the Xbox Series X is definitely coming in November.

The next-gen version is also set to release on PS5, but is listed only as “coming soon”. It’s unclear how much longer the wait for that version is, but we do know that a cross-buy system means that if you do buy the PS4 version, it will be upgraded to the PS5 version should you make the leap to next-gen. The same also applies to the Xbox One / Series X version, too.

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During Comic-Con earlier this year we learned about the English dub of the game, meaning Like a Dragon will be the first mainline Yakuza game to feature English language voice acting since the original in 2005. Among the English cast is legendary actor George Takei.

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Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

The critically acclaimed Cuphead is easily one of the best platformers of the past few years, but its distinctive art style makes it a natural fit for other media as well. Dark Horse Comics has already published one Cuphead graphic novel, and a second volume is on the way next year.

IGN can exclusively debut several pages of gorgeous art from Cuphead Vol. 2: Cartoon Chronicles & Calamities. Check them out in the slideshow gallery below:

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Cuphead Vol. 2: Cartoon Chronicles & Calamities is again written by Zack Keller and drawn by Shawn Dickinson. Here’s Dark Horse’s official description for the book:

Our plucky heroes return in this brand-new collection of adventures starring Cuphead, Mugman, and now Ms. Chalice!

The trio can’t seem to catch a break as they find themselves in a plethora of peculiar positions and side stories in the all-cartoon magical wonderworld of the Inkwell Isles! This original graphic novel features fresh new tales, all authentically drawn to match the glorious, award-winning vintage animation style of Cuphead!

Cuphead Vol. 2 is priced at $10.99 and will be released on March 2, 2021. You can pre-order the book on Amazon.

Dark Horse continues to release lavish hardcover art books geared toward various iconic video game franchises. IGN recently debuted the cover to The Art of Halo Infinite and several pages from The World of Cyberpunk 2077.

You can also watch an unboxing of both the regular and deluxe editions of The World of Cyberpunk 2077 in the video below:

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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum will mix Prince of Persia-like stealth action, feature a branching narrative, and expand on the hints given by J.R.R. Tolkien about the Stoor-formerly-known-as-Sméagol to create a brand new Lord of the Rings story that aims to fit alongside the books.

Daedelic still isn’t showing off gameplay footage of its 2021 next-gen stealth project, but the game’s developers spoke exclusively to IGN about Gollum’s mixture of stealth-action and interactive narrative gameplay, how they’re expanding on Tolkien’s original fiction, how they tried to create a version of the character you actually want to spend time with, and more.

We can also reveal a first CG teaser trailer, giving you a better look at this take on Gollum, and the Mordor he finds himself stranded in.

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The Lord of the Rings: Gollum’s Stealth Gameplay

Gollum will be a game broadly spent in two distinct states – either stealthily making your way past the various hulking threats living in Mordor, and making narrative chocies as the warring personalities of Sméagol and Gollum fight for control.

The former should be familiar to many: “The game mixes stealth with vertical climbing parkour,” explains lead game designer Martin Wilkes. “If you want a reference you might think of it as similar to Prince of Persia. It is mostly a non-combat game, but Gollum will be able to stealthily take out enemies. However, this will not be easy and always come with big risks. We want players to carefully weigh these encounters. After all, Gollum’s strengths lie in cunning not combat.”

That focus on cunning over combat means you won’t be directly taking on enemies – instead you’ll be relying on scavenged items, environmental hazards, and even newfound friends for help. Wilkes continues: “Gollum doesn’t use weapons, but he can distract enemies with throwables. In parts of the game, he will also profit from the abilities of special allies and can use the environment to his advantage.”

That mention of “special allies” is interesting – will we meet familiar characters along the way?

“You will!” says lead narrative designer Tilman Schanen. “We cannot wait to talk about this but it’s still a bit early for that. Keeping in mind the scope and timeline of our narrative, we have to closely consider who Gollum would even be able to meet, where, and when. This means that for the most part, they will play smaller – but in some cases very significant – roles in the story.”

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum’s Narrative Gameplay

Between those stealth sections, Gollum will be forced to make decisions and dialogue choices, choosing from responses proposed by both his gentler Sméagol personality, and the Gollum psyche that emerged after he was corrupted by the One Ring. So, do those decisions mean there’s a branching narrative to play through?

“There is,” explains Schanen. “Also, the decisions you make affect the way the game feels. You always either play as Sméagol or as Gollum as the ‘dominant’ persona and that can influence animations, soundscapes, certain gameplay situations, and in-game dialogue.”

Daedelic’s quick to make clear that it won’t be changing the source material – this is a prequel to the Lord of the Rings books, meaning Gollum has to reach a set place by the end of the game, but the journey there can change:

“We naturally stay within certain limits,” Schanen continues. “It won’t be like you’re going to end up destroying Middle-earth because you never made a Sméagol choice. In the end, of course, Gollum’s fate is pretty much determined by the books. But your decisions can and will have effects, for example, for other NPCs in the game. Some decisions will have a bigger impact, others very little. Just as in real life.”

Wilkes adds that it’s “sort of” a morality system as seen in other narrative-focused titles (although we won’t see any physical changes in the character, a la Fable), “but a bit more twisted than in most other games. It’s not as simple as, ‘Choose Sméagol to be good, choose Gollum to be evil’. Our first rule is to stay true to the character (or our interpretation of him at least). Since you play two personalities in one character, choosing sides will give you some control. But it’s more like maneuvering a truck with two flat tires and trying not to drive it off a cliff.”

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum’s Level Design and Structure

Middle-earth is a huge place, and we’ve seen other games adapt it as an open world, but Gollum will take a slightly more curated approach.

“The game is, for the most part, structured in sets of levels and hubs,” Wilkes explains. “When Gollum arrives at a new location the places where he can go from that hub are limited until he either works his way in (for example, the prisons of the Dark Tower), finds secret passages or information, or manages to scheme his way into otherwise restricted areas.

“Some levels are completely open in all three dimensions and can be explored freely, while others are more linear but often with alternative routes where players can, for example, decide if they rather sneak around some guards or take a risky parkour route in vertiginous heights to pass the next segment.”

The idea seems to be to balance player choice with allowing for satisfying puzzle solving and perhaps even platforming, with Wilkes saying that, “Verticality plays a big role in our levels, and the outstanding climbing skills of our main character not only provide us with epic views but also really open up this dimension for the players from a gameplay perspective.”

As for the look of the world itself, Daedelic’s environments are in part inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s own drawings, but without straying too far from expectations of what Middle-earth should look like because of the film series:

“Peter Jackson’s movies are fantastic but our game is based on the original book license,” says Wilkes. “The source material for both is, of course, largely the same. Our world follows the same descriptions and is also in parts inspired by the same artworks as were the movies. Their influence on popular culture has been tremendous, so we have to be mindful of players who might only know Middle-earth from the two film trilogies.”

Art director Mathias Fischer adds, “Our approach is therefore to create a unique and distinctive style but at the same time not deviate entirely from the iconic shapes that are familiar from the movies. Sauron’s Dark Tower will still look like a tower and not like a broad fortress, even if the books would allow such interpretation.”

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum’s Story

So what are we doing all of this stealthing and inner warring for? We knew previously that the game would be set in the relatively unexplored time period before we meet Gollum in the Lord of the Rings books, and now we know how this new story begins, with Schanen explaining:

“We start our story parallel to the first book when Frodo is still in the Shire and knows nothing about anything. Gollum at that time ventures to Mordor still desperately looking for Bilbo Baggins and the Ring. Unfortunately, he gets caught by Sauron’s servants and this is basically where our story begins.

“Gollum’s overall goal in the game?” adds Wilkes. “Well, that’s a bit more complicated. Obviously, Gollum wants to escape his captors and retake the Ring (and hopefully get his hands on some nice fish along the way). After some time, though, the Sméagol-side causes trouble and distractions and opens up new, conflicting goals that we cannot talk about yet.”

The Daedelic team says they’ve worked closely with Middle-earth Enterprises in order to stay respectful to Tolkien’s work (a process that has apparently been “an absolute pleasure”), but they’re having to create their own story as they go simply due to a lack of direct source material:

“We follow Tolkien’s story quite strictly and only take some freedom for purposes of gamification or sometimes simplification,” says Schanen. “Tolkien doesn’t describe Gollum’s story before he appears in the book in great detail. So mainly, we draw from small notes in the appendices and second-hand reports from characters like Gandalf. Since we need to fill in many gaps, it gives us quite a bit of creative freedom to pursue our narrative vision.

“At the same time, we would have never gotten the chance to work on this project if that vision would not be in tune with the source material. Think of it like taking a few verses from the bible and extending them to a novel without changing the overall narrative.”

And what of Gollum himself? As many pointed out after the first screenshots emerged, the character looks like a slightly more wide-eyed take on the version Andy Serkis made famous. As it turns out, that’s more or less the point. Fischer explains the goal with the design of their anti-hero:

“With Gollum himself, our goal is to make him more relatable, as players have to be able to slip into his skin for the course of an entire game. That’s why our Gollum looks less creepy (and has more hair) than the movie version.”

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The Lord of the Rings: Gollum will come to PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC in 2021

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Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Sega and Ryu ga Gotoku Studio have confirmed the western release date for Yakuza: Like A Dragon, at least for current-gen platforms: November 13 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC (via Steam). While the game is also coming to next-gen platforms, all we know for now is that it’ll be on Xbox Series X when the console launches and on PlayStation 5 “at a later date.”

We had previously expected the launch date to be November 13 based on a listing on the Microsoft Store page, and this official announcement confirms that. Although we know that the Xbox Series X is coming in November, it could be extrapolated that it won’t be any sooner than Like A Dragon’s release date. But if it happens to be after that day, Xbox One owners will still be able to play the game on Series X with their purchase via Smart Delivery. There’s no word on whether or not there will be an upgrade path or discount for those who would want to go from PS4 to PS5 versions.

A new trailer (see above) accompanies the release date announcement, and it’s a pretty good showcase of how wild and ridiculous Yakuza: Like A Dragon seems to be. In it, you can catch a glimpse of the job system, which is the assortment of classes each of the characters can take on, such as host, breakdancer, dealer, idol, musician, and chef–yes these are combat classes. Yakuza has made a name for itself by effortlessly mixing earnest drama and comedic absurdity, but this new entry is taking that to new levels.

Yakuza: Like A Dragon is a fresh start for the franchise–it stars an all-new protagonist named Kasuga Ichiban and takes place in Yokohama, though fans may notice some story connections to previous games. This entry also marks a drastic change in gameplay style for Yakuza; instead of traditional 3D action-brawler combat, it adopts a turn-based RPG system with three other party members. This also marks the first time a mainline Yakuza game will feature the option for English voice overs (Yakuza 1 on PS2 only came as an English dub, while the spin-off Judgment had an English option).

For more detail on exactly what’s going on in RGG Studio’s new game, be sure to read my non-spoiler breakdown of the story elements in Yakuza: Like A Dragon. You can also get insight on what it took to bring Yakuza: Like A Dragon to the west in my interview with localization producer Scott Strichart.

Barry Keoghan, star of Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk and Marvel’s Phase 4 film The Eternals, has been cast as Officer Stanley Merkel in Matt Reeves’ The Batman.

Warner Bros. revealed the new addition to the cast in the official video description for The Batman trailer, which recently debuted at the virtual DC FanDome event to offer fans an extended first look at the 2021 reboot. Keoghan is listed as playing an officer in the Gotham City Police Department.

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In the comics, Stan Merkel was featured as James Gordon’s first partner in crime before later being killed off in the pages of Batman: Dark Victory. The character became the Hangman’s sixth victim after he was found dead at the hands of Sofia Falcone on St. Patrick’s Day.

Keoghan has officially signed on for the role opposite Jeffrey Wright, who is portraying GCPD’s James Gordon in the highly-anticipated DC film. The Irish actor previously boarded Marvel’s The Eternals, which means this announcement marks the second comic book movie role for the standout Dunkirk star.

He joins an ensemble cast that includes Robert Pattinson as Batman, Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman, Colin Farrell as Penguin, Paul Dano as Riddler, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, and John Turturro as Carmine Falcone. The cast also includes Peter Sarsgaard and Jayme Lawson.

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During DC FanDome, fans were given a closer look at Robert Pattinson’s darker, dishevelled Dark Knight as the first official footage was released for Reeves’ Batman reboot, which is said to take place during “year two” of Batman’s career (while Reeves’ Gotham PD prequel series for HBO Max will take place in “year one.”) There’s also some new evidence in the trailer that the movie will not be set in the 1990s as previously speculated.

The Batman is currently slated for an October 1, 2021 release date. However, the film is currently only around 25% complete, according to Reeves, as production has faced multiple setbacks and delays due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. While awaiting its release, fans have been left with plenty to analyse, especially after DC FanDome’s recent wave of announcements and reveals. In fact, The Batman trailer’s riddle might have already have been solved.

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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.