It appears some Xbox x Star Wars news is coming soon. The Xbox Game Pass Twitter account posted a teaser today about The Mandalorian and The Child AKA Baby Yoda.
“All we’re gonna say is that we’re not posting The Mandalorian and The Child for no reason,” the tweet says. The account is known for its humorous style and tone ahead of future announcements, and this latest tweet is seemingly keeping with that tradition.
Multiple Xbox employees responded tothe tweet with their own cryptic GIFs, but there is no clear indication as to what any of this is referring to.
November 10 is also the day that Microsoft will release the Xbox Series X and S consoles, so it is shaping up to be a very big day for Xbox. For more, check out GameSpot’s Xbox Series X and S reviews linked below.
The PS5 releases this week, and it’s available in either a standard package for $499 or a disc-free version for $399. The consoles are identical in power, and we’ve run the system through its paces in order to see what it can do. Along with that, we’ve also been playing and reviewing the system’s games, including exclusives, to determine which are worth picking up on launch day.
We’ve gathered excerpts from these reviews below, including the games as well as the PS5 hardware itself. This should help you decide whether you want to order the system–you can’t buy it off a store shelf until 2021–and you can check out our PS5 order guide for additional help tracking one down. You’ll also find information on the DualSense controller and its charging station.
PS5 review
“At launch the PS5 is an excellent console that paves the way for a promising future where gaming experiences can evolve in interesting ways and the process of experiencing them is streamlined. Its custom SSD, unique DualSense controller, and powerful specs draw a distinct line between last generation and the next.” — Mat Paget
“Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a compelling open-world action game that helps highlight why Miles is so special: his culture. It’s Miles’ unique differences and earnest attempts at figuring out how to protect his community that make him into such a wonderful hero, not the mask he wears and superpowers he wields.” — Jordan Ramée
“Astro’s Playroom absolutely goes out of its way to offer clever proof of the PS5’s potential–the DualSense’s new tricks, the improved visuals, the quick load times–the disembodied text at the start of the game sells Astro short. Playroom is an incredibly charming jaunt through a PlayStation-inspired digital theme park, ensuring that your first hop, skip, and jump of the PS5 era is wholly, unequivocally joyful.” — Mike Epstein
“There are better headsets out there, and perhaps many that are more comfortable, but at $100, Sony has hit a price that is hard to beat for the vivacious and rich audio experience that the Pulse delivers.” — Mat Paget
This review is for the game as a whole. It is not specific to PS5.
“Dirt 5 distances itself from the series’ recent past by being an unabashed arcade racer that’s made up of short, action-packed skirmishes where you’re constantly trading paint with a pack of other drivers. There’s an infectious energy to the whole thing that’s reflected in a handling model that sees you hurl its cars around the track with relative ease.” — Richard Wakeling
Ubisoft has shared details about the upcoming Rainbow Siege Siege season, Operation Neon Dawn. The studio announced that Year 5, Season 4 goes live on the PC Test Server on Monday, November 9. With the new season, players get access to another operator, a reworked Skyscraper map, new accessibility options, and the Sixth Guardian Program.
The headlining feature of Operation Neon Dawn is the addition of Aruni, Siege’s first Thai operator. Aruni comes equipped with the Surya Gate, a deployable laser gate that deals damage to Attackers and turns off for Defenders to pass. The Surya Gate can be attached to walls, hatches, doors, and windows. Aruni is also strapped with the MK 14 EBR and P10 RONI as primary weapons and a PRB 92 as a secondary weapon. This corroborates a recent tease.
Further, the Skyscraper map has been “reimagined” and “reworked” to include three major objectives. One such goal is funnel Attackers into the building by reducing the number of available balconies and relocating them. Two other features have been tweaked on Skyscraper: a new rotation between the sides of the building on the second floor has been added and bomb sites have been balanced to make for more competitive matches.
Elsewhere, Operation Neon Dawn features new accessibility options, such as Voice to Text and Text to Voice for in-game chat. Other settings include chat assistance for Narration and Hunts and customization options for audio/visual cues and font scaling.
Then there’s the Six Guardian Program, which contains a limited-time bundle dedicated to a certain charity. Ubisoft said more about this partnership will be revealed soon.
Operation Neon Dawn launches first on the PC Test Server and will release in full on PC and consoles at a later date. This update comes just before the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S / Series X launch. Rainbow Six Siege will be available as a free next-gen upgrade for all owners.
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If you’re wary of spoilers for your new PS5 games this week, you may want to be careful where you go on the web. Trophy lists for some of the biggest launch titles, including Demon’s Souls and Bugsnax–yes, we’re talkin’ bout it–have appeared online, showing the bosses and other challenges you’ll face in these games.
Not all of these games have a strong story focus, so you’re probably not going to have too much ruined for you if you can’t resist taking a look. However, some of the fun in getting trophies and achievements comes from not knowing exactly when you’re going to get a new one.
In the case of Demon’s Souls, you’ll get many of the trophies just by beating the game’s difficult bosses. Some of the other games may hide trophies behind collectibles or key story moments, and certain trophies are typically labeled “hidden” until you’ve unlocked them. On PS4, at least, you can also reveal hidden trophies in case you aren’t sure what you’re supposed to do.
The PS5 releases on November 12 along with all aforementioned games. You can read our PS5 review and check out our PS5 order guide for information on purchasing the console as well as several different accessories.
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For the second time, Netflix has been forced to stop production on The Witcher’s second season due to positive COVID-19 tests, without a firm date for when it will resume.
The news was first broken by Deadline, which reported that the affected staff were not part of the show’s main cast and they have already been quarantined. Filming was taking place west of London, and the UK has seen a dramatic leap in coronavirus cases over the last several weeks. Only when filming is believed to be safe again will production restart.
Showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich addressed the situation on Twitter, thanking fans for their support and saying that the staff seemed to be doing well. She added that the team would be back to production “soon,” so it likely won’t be as long a delay as we saw earlier this year when the show first stopped production.
Hey, the world is turned upside down — so thanks for the love and support for our little corner of it. We Witchers are okay. The health and safety of our crew and their families come first, and we will do whatever we need to do to protect them. We’ll be back soon. Xx
The Witcher series is based on the book series, though the video games helped to turn the franchise into a global success. They feature many of the same characters, locations, and story elements.
Game developer CD Projekt Red will offer free upgrades for existing The Witcher 3 owners on Xbox Series X, Series S, and PS5. Its next game, Cyberpunk 2077, is set to release on December 10, as well. If we know anything about The Witcher star Henry Cavill, he’ll probably take his break from production to play the game. He was already a fan of The Witcher series prior to getting the lead role.
The Call of Duty Black Ops franchise has an arsenal full of varied weaponry, many of which are based on guns from our real world.
In the above video, Jonathan Ferguson, a weapons expert and Keeper of Firearms & Artillery breaks down some of the more bizarre weapons from Black Ops’ roster, including the Ballistic Knife, the H&K G11 and the AN94 Avtomat Nikonova. Across the video, Jonathan breaks down the weapons and their in-game functionality, and compares them to their real-world counterparts.
If you’re interested in seeing more of Jonathan, you can check out more from Jonathan Ferguson and the Royal Armouries right here – https://www.youtube.com/user/RoyalArmouries/
The Xbox Series X and Series S aren’t due to officially release for a few more days, but some lucky players have had their consoles delivered early. As it turns out, that’s totally fine with Microsoft, and the company gave these lucky few the green light to start playing the console early.
The team is aware some fans are starting to receive consoles ahead of launch. For those of who receive them early, you are welcome to fire it up & start gaming!
FYI: We are still making final touches for launch so please expect multiple platform and game updates pre-launch.
We saw an Xbox Series X that appeared to be delivered too early to a player in Portugal last week, but it’s unclear if this person is who the Xbox team is acknowledging. However, while Microsoft did welcome players to start playing if they got their system already, it said that more pre-launch patches–both for the system itself and for games–are still on the way. The experience early players get could be slightly inferior to the one players get on launch day.
If you are waiting until November 10 to play your new Xbox Series X or S, you can still take some steps to make the transition smoother. On Xbox One, you can move your games to an external drive, and this can be plugged into the Xbox Series X/S for immediate access to Xbox One games. You can also get the Xbox mobile app on your phone, as you’ll be using it for setting up your new console.
The Xbox Series X is nearly here, and with the new console’s release–as well as the Xbox Series S‘ release–comes an onslaught of new game reviews and coverage. We’ve played and reviewed several of the consoles’ games already, including newly released titles as well as games that were updated and optimized for the console.
To make things easy for you, we’ve provided excerpts from all the major reviews below, including the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles as well as several launch games. If you’ve been waiting to decide whether or not to get the console, this should help you make the decision–if you can find an Xbox Series X/S system to order. The system will not be available to buy in stores for its November 10 launch. However, you will be able to order it online that day, and you can learn more in our Xbox Series X/S order guide.
Xbox Series X review
The Series X is an extremely refined Xbox and a great piece of tech that sets a strong foundation for Microsoft to better serve its console users. If you factor in the brand’s development studio acquisitions and upcoming lineup of games, the future does look bright for the Xbox platform. — Michael Higham
The Series S could serve as a great, cost-effective system that is complementary to, say, a PlayStation system or Nintendo Switch. If you just want to access what the platform offers now or what’s to come in Xbox’s future, and don’t mind the gap in graphical details and storage space, this is the Xbox for you. — Michael Higham
“For RGG Studio’s first crack at an RPG, it’s a damn fine result. It delivers what I love most about Yakuza and introduces new ideas that largely pay off. Ichiban isn’t doing it alone, either. He has friends and mentors, ones who’ve helped him fight and overcome personal tragedies. It was an absolute thrill to watch him grow, and that’s what’s most important for a game so focused on its characters. Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a passing of the torch, and a fantastic entry in a beloved franchise that proves that it’s in good hands with Kasuga Ichiban.” — Michael Higham
“It’s the best of both worlds, and the best Forza Horizon 4 has ever looked. (And it was already quite a looker.) In 4K, every detail looks sharp, from the stone walls you’ll bust through every time you take a bad angle on a turn to the dials on your car’s dash when you take a tour of the interior in your garage.” — Mike Epstein
“Strategy games like Gears Tactics do not automatically translate well to consoles, where good gamepad controls are a must, but Gears Tactics lands the jump to consoles gracefully. Though using an analog stick to move a cursor will always be slower than using a mouse, the pensive turn-based gameplay does not lose anything in translation.” — Mike Epstein
This review is for the game as a whole. It is not specific to Xbox Series X.
“Dirt 5 distances itself from the series’ recent past by being an unabashed arcade racer that’s made up of short, action-packed skirmishes where you’re constantly trading paint with a pack of other drivers. There’s an infectious energy to the whole thing that’s reflected in a handling model that sees you hurl its cars around the track with relative ease.” — Richard Wakeling