GTA Online’s Diamond Casino Heist Is Now Live; Here’s What To Expect

The Diamond Casino Heist is now available in Grand Theft Auto V‘s online mode. Described as “the most sophisticated and daring robbery the city of Los Santos has ever seen,” the latest heist tasks you with breaking into The Diamond Casino & Resorts’s safe and stealing everything inside.

To plan a score this big you’ll need to acquire the new Arcade property and get the operation off the ground by stocking it with playable retro arcade cabinets.

There are 12 new playable games, including:

  • Badlands Revenge II: The peaceful frontier has been invaded by marauders, road agents, thieves, and revenue men. Use your weapons wisely to rid the prairie of the desperados and outlaws that threaten your very way of life.
  • The Wizard’s Ruin: An evil wizard has kidnapped Grog and stolen him away to a terrifying fortress. Now Thog must fight through enchanted forests, ghastly swamps, labyrinths of decay and battle terrifying enemies to rescue his brother with only his mighty sword and magical engorging potions found along the way.
  • Race and Chase – Street Legal: It’s a race across the heartland and through America’s densest metropolises in a flashy sports car. Crank up the tunes and blast past obstacles as you do your best to avoid pedestrians and hairy beasts on the highway.
  • Race and Chase – Crotch Rockets: Soup up your superbike and rage havoc on the highway in this race against time through city and suburb while you steer clear of obstructions and avoid eating asphalt.
  • Race and Chase – Get Truckin’: Rev up your truck and race at breakneck speeds across America as you and your canine companion avoid obstacles like slow drivers and the occasional wandering sasquatch to beat the clock and take home glory.
  • Space Monkey 3: Bananas Gone Bad: The villainous Dr. Dank has hijacked all cargo spaceships from Ecuadorian 5 Quadrant and used his transmogrification ray to turn the bananas evil. What do you do when the only thing you ever loved turns against you? Now Space Monkey must fight the evil bananas and defeat Dr. Dank. The future of evolution hangs in the balance.
  • Shiny Wasabi Kitty Claw: Princess Robot Bubblegum’s new bestie Shiny Wasabi Kitty brings her anime whimsy to the classic arcade claw machine where luck could grab you a fantastic prize.
  • Nazar Speaks Fortune Teller: The timeless clairvoyant Madame Nazar masters the spiritual medium to read your future and fortune. Do great riches await? Is love just around the corner? Will the hands of fate send you to an early grave in a freak, easily avoidable accident? Find out now.
  • The Love Professor: BFF or basically platonic, the Love Professor will diagnose you and a partner to determine if the diagnosis is divorce, getting flirty, friends with benefits or the kind of love you only hear about in hairband power ballads.
  • Defender of the Faith (Degenatron classic): The classic arcade game that spawned many imitators of its novel and complex gameplay. Secure your immortality and place in the afterlife by saving the green dot with your fantastic flying red square.
  • Monkey’s Paradise (Degenatron classic): This simian simulator took arcades by storm in the 80s. Swing from green dot to green dot with your red square monkey and show the world who is at the top of the food chain.
  • Penetrator (Degenatron classic): In the deep dark reaches of space, an evil menace threatens earth. Smash the green dots inside the mysterious red square and save humanity.

Once you’re done purveying each of the 80s-themed arcade cabinets, the basement planning area is where the real work begins. There are three planning boards, a place to store sourced getaway vehicles and heist prep equipment, plus a few staging areas where you can practise cracking vaults and hacking doors with your crew. Much like other GTA Online heists, you’ll need to gather intel and take on preparatory missions before forging ahead to the big show. You’ll have the option to go the extra mile during these missions, too, by documenting various entry points, destroying supply shipments, and gathering intel on security systems from an old associate and former Casino employee. Doing this will reward you with extra choices during the heist, as more routes, approaches, and options like getaway decoys open up.

Hiring the right support team members is also key to a successful heist. Lester’s network of contacts includes drivers, gunmen, and hackers, each with their own skillsets and prices attached.

There are three distinct approaches to choose from when planning the Diamond Casino Heist, with multiple ways to execute each one. You can opt for Silent & Sneaky to enter undetected and try to make off with the spoils before anyone even knows you were there. The Big Con route, meanwhile, lets you masquerade as maintenance staff, pest control, or other contractors. While the Aggressive approach throws all of that out the window to go full-on guns blazing. Whichever approach you pick, you’ll have a series of choices for how you want to complete every step of the heist. If your attempts at stealth or subterfuge fail, that doesn’t mean the heist is over. You’ll still be able to continue the mission by adapting to any changing scenarios.

The Diamond Casino Heist also introduces five new heist vehicles, ranging from luxury sports cars, an SUV, and a maxed-out hatchback. In addition to this, Warstock Cache & Carry is getting a fleet of six vehicles you can buy, including a Fire Truck, Bugstars van, and Gruppe Sechs Stockade.

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When you’re cruising around Los Santos in your new ride, you’ll also find some new tunes on the radio. Tune in to iFruit Radio and host Danny Brown, along with UK rapper and producer Skepta, will cherry-pick the hottest music from around the world, featuring previously unreleased songs from Baauer x Channel Tres ft Danny Brown, Denzel Curry & YBN Cordae, Pop Smoke and slowthai, in addition to favorites from DaBaby, Megan Thee Stallion, Burna Boy, J Hus, Skepta, Travis Scott, and more.

On top of all this, there are also signal jammers spread out across Los Santos. Find and destroy each to earn a reward and get an expert hacker on your side who might come in handy during the new heist. There are also new clues related to the mystery of the Los Santos Slasher, and new Twitch Prime benefits. Rockstar Games Social Club members who have linked their accounts with Twitch Prime by Sunday, December 8 will be able to buy the Pixel Pete’s Arcade Property in Paleto Bay for free. Any Twitch Prime members in good standing who buy this specific property at full price will be given a 100% rebate within 72 hours after purchasing it. Visit the official Twitch Prime page to claim the benefits.

The update accompanying the release of the Diamond Casino Heist has implemented a significant number of tweaks and improvements to GTA Online’s Freemode, such as reducing the amount of phone calls and text messages received on your iFruit phone, limits on how often and quickly players can call out the Oppressor MKII or trigger Easy Way Out, and much more.

Now Playing: Big Casino Update Is Live In GTA 5 Online – GS News Update

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Resident Evil 3 Trailer Breakdown: Secrets, Callbacks and More

As a remake of a 20-year-old game, you might wonder what cool secrets are hidden in the Resident Evil 3 remake trailer. What is new and what has changed in the upcoming PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC versions? Quite a lot, actually. So in addition to unearthing the usual secrets in the Rewind Theater (you can find that video above), we’ll also point out cool callbacks to the previous games and try to explain just what the heck went down in Raccoon City — from the perspective of S.T.A.R.S. member Jill Valentine, reprising her role as the protagonist from the first game.

Here’s the trailer in its entirety. We break it down, frame-by-frame above. However, you can also read through the time stamps below to see what we found, and check out screenshots with all the stuff we found, too, in the slideshow below.

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The Witcher’s Anya Chalotra Tells Us Everything We Need to Know About Yennefer

We’re rolling out sneak peeks for Netflix’s The Witcher all month long as part of our IGN First exclusive set visit. Keep it locked right here for never-before-seen interviews and behind the scenes footage of the White Wolf, Ciri, and Yennefer. And be sure to check out The Witcher when it premieres on Netflix on Friday, December 20, 2019.

On a chilly afternoon back in April 2019, we were driven to a remote location about 45 minutes outside of downtown Budapest on our second day visiting the set of Netflix’s The Witcher. The site was located on a stretch of lush green land surrounded by rolling hills and old ruins, which served as the backdrop for an action-packed sequence involving the powerful sorceress, Yennefer of Vengerberg.

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The Witcher Final Trailer Teases The Invasion of Nilfgaard

Netflix has revealed the final trailer for The Witcher TV show on its UK Twitter account, and it provides us with a nice overview of what we can expect from the overarching story.

While filled with clanging swords and marching troops, the voice clips used through the trailer emphasises the threat that the Nilfgaardian Empire poses to the world, with Yennefer suggesting that their army has the might to destroy everything. It’s also hinted that Nilfgaard are looking for Princess Ciri, who seems key to the whole conflict. Henry Cavill’s Geralt vows to find and protect her, indicating he’ll have more of a role than just a simple monster slayer in this story.

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Deals: Xbox One X with Jedi, Modern Warfare, and 2nd Controller for $349

Today’s spotlight deal is an incredible Xbox One X bundle from Walmart. Make no mistake, the Black Friday Xbox One X deal was very good, but it pales in comparison to this deal that Walmart just cooked up. Check it out, and more.

Xbox One X Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Bundle + Call of Duty: Modern Warfare + 2nd Controller $349

xboxonexcodpoweraWalmart brings back the Black Friday price for the Xbox One X Jedi: Fallen Order Bundle and tosses in one of the most popular games of 2019 along with a second PowerA wired controller for no extra cost. You won’t get a better deal on an Xbox One X this year. You can also upgrade from the included PowerA controller to the official Xbox controller for $25.

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This Week’s Free PC Game Is A Light-Hearted Sandbox Prison Escape Sim

Thursday has arrived, and that means it’s time for another Epic Games Store freebie. Fresh off of handing out the hand-drawn adventure game Jotun: Valhalla Edition, Epic is giving away The Escapists, a sandbox prison game centered around–you guessed it–escaping from prison. The Escapists is normally $18, but if you have a free Epic account, you can snag it for free until December 19 at 10:59 AM ET.

The Escapists originally launched in 2015 to widespread acclaim. The pixelated sandbox game has 10 different prisons. In each run, your goal is the same: Escape. But escaping isn’t a straightforward process. Avoiding the attention of guards is a must, so you have to blend into the day-to-day life of prison by following the rules, including working one of 10 prison jobs. As a sandbox game, you’ll craft materials that can help you escape, including shovels and various weapons that must be hidden from guards.

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Though The Escapists is set in a rather unpleasant place, it’s pretty light-hearted. Both guards and inmates have humorous personalities and the general tone makes even failed escape attempts a good time.

If you enjoy what you play, an equally well-received sequel, The Escapists 2, launched in 2017. Make sure to claim The Escapists by December 19. Epic hasn’t revealed next week’s free game just yet.

Now Playing: The Escapists – Steam Launch Trailer

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Resident Evil Resistance Introduces A New Character With An Odd Relation To Jill Valentine

Capcom announced a remake of Resident Evil 3 earlier this week, during PlayStation’s final State of Play of 2019. As a surprise, the announce trailer also revealed that Resident Evil Resistance will be included as part of Resident Evil 3 when it launches early next year. The asymmetrical four vs. one multiplayer game was originally shown at this year’s Tokyo Game Show, back when it was codenamed Project Resistance. It pits four survivors against a single Mastermind as they attempt to escape a fiendish experiment.

Now, Capcom has introduced one of the previously unannounced characters you’ll be able to play as when attempting to survive the maniacal Mastermind’s maze of horrors. His name? Martin Sandwich.

The young Sandwich is a skilled engineer and mechanic who’s able to create traps to slow down or stun enemies. Impressive, considering he looks like a small child. Martin Sandwich is actually 19 years old despite his baby face, and joins a cast of characters that includes Samuel Jordan, a 21-year-old boxer; January Van Sant, a 21-year-old hacker; 22-year-old park ranger Becca Woolett; 23-year-old grad student Valerin Harmon; and Tyrone Henry, a 25-year-old firefighter. You’ll notice that none of these names are particularly unusual, aside from January Van Sant which is a little out there.

Martin Sandwich stands out for obvious loaf-related reasons, but he’s probably also an intentional reference to the Jill Sandwich scene from the original 1996 release of Resident Evil.

He might be able to build traps, but can he escape them as proficiently as his namesake? And will Barry Burton be around if he does? We’ll have to find out when Resident Evil 3 launches on April 3, 2020 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. We’ve even got you covered with a comprehensive pre-order guide.

Now Playing: Resident Evil 3 Remake Release Date & More From Sony’s State Of Play – GS News Update

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Fortnite Update Adds Split-Screen On PS4 And Xbox One

Ahead of tonight’s The Game Awards, where a “special announcement” will be revealed, a brand-new Fortnite patch is now live for mobile devices, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The update brings a host of fixes and tweaks, as well as a new way to play on consoles.

Fortnite’s latest update, v11.30, introduces split-screen cooperative to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Though it’s an “early release” of the feature, which will continue to receive updates in the future, you can use split-screen in both Duos and Squads with your friend on the same system.

Elsewhere in the patch, the ammo indicator has been changed, offering a better visual representation in the form of numbers instead of the solid bar the game used previously. Other fixes and tweaks include addressing issues with missing and/or incomplete textures, preventing the Social menu on the Friends List from auto-scrolling, increasing the daily Item Shop gifting limit, and more.

A new leak suggests developer Epic Games is looking into altering its traditional Battle Pass structure by offering some sort of all-encompassing Annual Pass. We’ll learn more during tonight’s Game Awards show, as well as whether this leak is the “special announcement” Epic Games has planned.

Fortnite v11.30 Full Patch Notes

General Additions/Changes

  • Introducing Split Screen.
    • Play Duos and Squads with a friend on the same PlayStation 4 or Xbox One.
    • This is an early release of Split Screen; we will continue to improve the feature. Please report bugs via the in-game Feedback tool.
  • Preview what’s in the Item Shop using your mobile device.
    • With Party Hub, you can now preview what’s new in the Item Shop before loading into the game.
    • To do this, open Party Hub, swipe right, and tap “Preview Items.”
  • Increased the daily Item Shop gifting limit from 3 to 5.
  • Changed Ammo Indicator.
    • Now a visual representation of remaining ammo number rather than a solid bar.
  • You can now choose when to transition from the “Eliminated By” screen to the end-of-match XP screen.
    • To transition to the end-of-match XP screen, press “Continue” on the “Eliminated By” screen.
  • Made preparations for the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker live event at Risky Reels on December 14 at 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET.

Bug Fixes

  • Resolved an issue involving the Safe Zone setting on Xbox One returning to 1.00 upon each login.
  • Resolved an issue involving some trees and metal fences in Arena not granting the correct material increase.
  • The Magma Wrap now appears correctly on the Bandage Bazooka and Pistol.
  • Resolved an issue involving the Bandolette Outfit appearing to have two hairstyles merged together.
  • Resolved an issue involving some items from the Twin Turntables set appearing grainy and pixelated.
  • The Social menu Friends List on mobile devices no longer auto-scrolls to the top when players try to scroll down.
  • Resolved an issue involving players’ Quick Bar being inadvertently defaulted off on mobile devices.

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Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare Is $38 On Amazon (PS4, Xbox One)

If you’re still stocking up on holiday gifts or looking to buy a little present for yourself, you can pick up Call of Duty: Modern Warfare for cheap on Amazon today. The retailer is offering the latest in Activision’s massive shooter franchise for $38. The deal is for physical copies of on PS4 and Xbox One.

The price actually matches the best deals we saw for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, so if you held off then your patience has been rewarded.

Modern Warfare recently launched its first season of live content, which includes four maps, a new Reinforce game mode, aand five more Spec Ops missions. All of those free additions are available to all players, and you can also work your way through the free tiers of the Battle Pass to get the two new guns, a RAM-7 assault rifle and Holger-26. Buying into the Battle Pass for roughly $10 gets you a new Operator, 20 Tier skips, and a lot more cosmetics you can earn.

Modern Warfare earned a 7/10 in GameSpot’s review. “Realism mode is an excellent addition to the slate, and although not all the new multiplayer modes are great, Gunfight and the Night Vision playlist are refreshing standouts,” Kallie Plagge wrote. “And while the campaign ends up playing it safe in the end, it’s still a memorable one, and it lays a strong foundation for where the Modern Warfare series could go from here.”

Now Playing: Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare Season One Cinematic

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Justice League: Snyder Posts Photo of Cavill’s Black-Suit Superman

Original Justice League director, Zack Snyder, has posted a brand new photo of Henry Cavill wearing a black Superman suit, which appears to confirm that Superman ditched his traditional costume in the infamous Snyder Cut.

In a post on social media network Vero on Thursday, Snyder continued to build momentum in the “Release the Snyder Cut” movement, founded by fans who want to see the fabled alternate cut of the 2017 Justice League movie.

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