New Black Ops 4 Trailer Details New Specialist And Huge Blackout Changes

Treyarch has released a new Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 trailer for the game’s upcoming content drop, titled Operation Spectre Rising. The new Operation introduces a brand-new Specialist, as well as new features in Black Ops 4’s different multiplayer modes.

The new Specialist is called Spectre. Armed with a sharp katana, Spectre is able to approach groups of enemies and quickly leap between them to deliver devastating slashes. They can also see the outlines of enemies through their smoke grenades, allowing them to get the drop on targets. Spectre will also be added to Blackout as a new skin for your character.

Three new maps drop in Operation Spectre Rising as well. Artifact is a collection of narrow paths that weave between a collection of rocks and cliffs. You can stay hidden down below, but have the chance of running into an enemy hiding behind a corner, or take the high ground at the cost of exposing yourself. Masquerade is a new metropolitan map that intermixes back alleys with large open spaces that are populated by festival decorations you can use as cover. Finally, WMD comes to Black Ops 4 in the new Operation as well, which is a remaster of the map of the same name from the original Black Ops.

The Blackout map receives a huge update in Operation Spectre Rising. Much like how Fortnite‘s map transforms over time, the original map in Call of Duty’s battle royale mode is undergoing a change, nicknamed Wetworks. The dam that marked the top of Blackout will be destroyed, allowing all the water behind it to flood into the rest of the map. This sees all of the shipping containers at shipyard get washed out to sea, and for many of the areas at lower elevations to become flooded. This provides greater utility to boats and helicopters in Blackout, as many pathways on the map can now only be traversed by going through or over water.

Operation Spectre Rising also adds new characters to play as in Blackout battle royale, new game modes (Bounty Hunter, Prop Hunt, and Zombie Gauntlets), and new weapons (Ballistic Knife, Tigershark LMG, Nifo’oti Club), outfits, and weapon charms and camos. The Operation goes live on April 30 on PS4, and follows on Xbox One and PC at a later date.

Fortnite Rune Appears To Activate Volcano Ahead Of Season 9

Fortnite is appearing to continue teasing the arrival of Season 9, with a few new world events that may be connected. First, the fourth in a series of mysterious runes has slotted into place in the vault underneath Loot Lake. Shortly after, the island’s volcano has started to emit plumes of smoke, suggesting an eruption may be imminent.

Users on the Fortnite subreddit have captured both in action. The fourth rune is the latest to slot into place as they’ve been approaching one-by-one over the last several days. The volcanic smoke was confused as a “tornado” but appears to be heralding something destructive.

All of this appears to be laying the groundwork for the next big world event, which will accompany the seasonal changeover. The next season should be coming within a few weeks, so now is the time to start teasing the event. Fortnite tends to accompany its season changes with world events that disrupt the map and add new gameplay elements. A volcanic eruption would certainly fit the bill, but the game has been known to throw a curveball and have events trigger something unexpected.

Meanwhile, a limited-time mode has been added to celebrate the release of Avengers: Endgame, the latest MCU blockbuster. You can equip the Infinity Gauntlet and several pieces of iconic Avengers gear, and complete challenges that will grant you special themed rewards. The mode won’t last forever, though, so if you want to try it out or earn some of those snazzy rewards, you should get right on it.

Fortnite has become known for offering frequent updates, both with special LTMs like the Avengers event and with large-scale seasonal changeovers. Epic Games has reportedly adopted a crunch culture to rapidly iterate on the massive game, which means that all these events comes at a cost.

5 New Game of Thrones Season 8 Theories From Episode 3, “The Long Night”

After Endgame: What’s Next for the Avengers Cast

We are in the endgame, but Avengers: Endgame is not the end. At least, not technically.

All your favorite Marvel Cinematic Universe actors have huge new projects on the horizon, in film and television, whether or not their characters actually survived the events of the latest Avengers epic.

Let’s take a look at all their upcoming roles, and gaze into the future of cinema itself!

NOTE: Every film and television project listed below is subject to change, so stay tuned to IGN for future updates.

Dave Bautista (Drax)

Dave Bautista Drax

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Tom Holland Reveals New Spider-Man and Mysterio Photo From Far From Home

Tom Holland has revealed another Spider-Man Far From Home image on his Instagram, featuring Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio along with his own character.

Warning: Serious Spoilers for Avengers Endgame below. Continue on at your own risk.

After the record breaking weekend of Avengers: Endgame, it’s easy to forget that Marvel Phase 3 actually ends with Spider-Man Far From Home.

IMG_2130 Photo credit: Tom Holland’s Instagram

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The $249 iPad Deal Is Back

If you buy something through this post, IGN may get a share of the sale. For more, read our Terms of Use.

We’ve seen a number of deals on various iPad models lately, but the iPad that’s right for most people — the standard iPad — is on sale right now for just $249. That’s an impressive 24% ($80) discount on one of the most versatile pieces of technology on the market. It even comes in a variety of colors so you can pick your favorite. Here’s where you can score one.

Apple iPad Wi-Fi 32GB (Latest Model) for $249

ipad

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Game Of Thrones Season 8 Episode 3: What Happened To Ghost?

Game of Thrones hit a huge climax in the middle of its final season with The Long Night, the third of the show’s final six episodes. With the army of the dead at its gates, the forces of the living, led by Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow, faced a final showdown to defeat the Night King once and for all. (In his review, Senior Entertainment Editor Mike Rougeau wasn’t too happy about how the show handled the battle.) Finally, Jon Snow’s long-missing direwolf, Ghost, was among the fighters for the living–least for a second.

We’ve been wondering what the deal is with Ghost for quite a while. He last had any real screentime back in Season 6, when Melisandre resurrected Jon from the dead. He basically vanished after that, on account of the effort and cost of animating the direwolves being actually pretty high. But we saw him briefly return in Season 8’s second episode, establishing that the pup was hanging around Winterfell with Jon. And finally, we saw him get into the action at the start of the Battle of Winterfell.

Ghost charges into the fight with Daenerys’s Dothraki screamers and Jorah Mormont, who lead the battle against the army of the dead. Slowly, however, we realize the Dothraki are completely overmatched, and only a few horses and Jorah Mormont seem to survive the attack. Ghost isn’t among the survivors who come fleeing back to Winterfell–so what happened to the direwolf?

It seems there’s no wight version of Ghost out there in the fields around Winterfell, despite the suggestion that the direwolf might have fallen in battle. Though he never shows up again in Episode 3, HBO gave a super-quick hint that there’s more Ghost to come, at least in the next episode of the show.

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You can very briefly glimpse Ghost with the survivors of the Battle of Winterfell in the teaser for Episode 4, which aired at the end of The Long Night. Look extremely closely on the right side of the frame, behind Daenerys and Samwell Tarly, and you’ll catch sight of Ghost hanging out with everybody else just outside the Winterfell gates, as the survivors ostensibly prepare to burn the many, many bodies piled up outside the castle. A flash of white fur and four legs is about all we can spot, though.

Not seeing what Ghost got up to in the Battle of Winterfell was definitely something of a bummer. In the early seasons of the show and in George R. R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” novels on which they’re based, the direwolves and their connection to the Stark children always seemed like a very big deal, and a relationship that was leading somewhere. The show has all but written the remaining direwolves out altogether, though. Summer, Bran’s wolf, died protecting him at the cave of the Three-Eyed Raven, and Rickon’s wolf Shaggy Dog died off-screen before the Battle of the Bastards in Season 6. Ghost pretty much vanished from the show, along with Arya’s wolf Nymeria, who showed up briefly in Season 7 to give Arya an emotional moment before disappearing back into the woods. In fact, there were some fan theories that suggested both Ghost and Nymeria would have a part to play in the battle against the Night King and in saving their respective Starks. That the direwolves and their relationships with the Stark family has seemingly amounted to so little is one of the bigger disappointments with the show’s adaptation of the novels.

It’s not clear what role Ghost might have, if any, going forward. We know Daenerys means to head south to King’s Landing with her remaining forces to take the Iron Throne, and one assumes Jon will be in tow to help. So maybe Ghost is heading down to rip out the throats of some Golden Company dudes. Maybe Ghost will take a page from his sister and go be free, now that the threat of the Night King has been eliminated. It would certainly help keep the effects budget down for show’s last few episodes.

Get A Free PlayStation Classic When You Buy PS4 Pro At Best Buy (US Only)

Sony released the PlayStation Classic mini-console in December for $100 USD. It was very quickly discounted to $60 and now you can get it for $40 or less. Retailer Best Buy has now rolled out a new deal where it’s giving the mini retro console away for free when you buy a new PS4 Pro.

It’s a pretty simple deal–buy a $400 USD PS4 Pro and you get a PlayStation Classic for nothing extra. Go to Best Buy’s website here to see the listing at Best Buy. The deal was spotted by Wario64.

A warning of sorts is in order for the PlayStation Classic. In GameSpot’s PlayStation Classic review, critic Peter Brown wasn’t thrilled with the retro console. “The PS Classic doesn’t feel like a celebration of PlayStation’s formative years the way Nintendo’s systems do,” he wrote.

The PlayStation Classic comes with 20 games pre-installed, including classics like Metal Gear Solid and the original Grand Theft Auto, as well as Resident Cvil Director’s Cut, Rayman, and Twisted Metal. You can see the full list of games below.

PlayStation Classic Full Game List

  • Battle Arena Toshinden
  • Cool Boarders 2
  • Destruction Derby
  • Final Fantasy VII
  • Grand Theft Auto
  • Intelligent Qube
  • Jumping Flash
  • Metal Gear Solid
  • Mr Driller
  • Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee
  • Rayman
  • Resident Evil Director’s Cut
  • Revelations: Persona
  • Ridge Racer Type 4
  • Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo
  • Syphon Filter
  • Tekken 3
  • Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six
  • Twisted Metal
  • Wild Arms

Madden 20 Pre-Order Bonuses And How To Play Early

It’s never too early to get excited about the new football season. If you’re thinking about picking up the recently announced Madden NFL 20, there are a few different editions and pre-order bonuses to consider ahead of the game’s release in early August.

The pre-order bonuses include things like early access to the games, content for the very popular Ultimate Team mode, and special abilities for the brand-new Face of the Franchise: QB1 mode that features college football. Below is a breakdown of the various Madden 20 SKU

Madden NFL 20: Ultimate Superstar Edition

$100 USD

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This premium version of Madden 20 includes a series of nice perks. Starting off, this version unlocks three days early, beginning on July 30. It also comes with a unique QB legend superstar ability, in the form of either Steve Young, Kurt Warner, John Elway, or Randall Cunningham. The Ultimate Superstar Edition also includes MUT content like 16 Gold packs, 1 of 32 Core Elite players from any NFL team, and more.

Madden 20: Superstar Edition

$80 USD

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The Superstar Edition also comes with three-day early access, as well as the same options for unique QB legend superstar ability. There is also MUT content as well, including 1 of 32 Core Elite Players, 12 Gold team fantasy packs, and 1 small training quick sell.

Madden 20: Standard Edition

$60 USD

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The standard edition, meanwhile, unlocks on the regular launch day–August 2–and it also includes the same choice of unique QB legend superstar ability. Some MUT content is also packaged in, including one of the 32 Core Elite players and 5x Gold team packs.

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It hasn’t been mentioned by EA yet, but most EA-published titles are available early for EA/Origin Access subscribers, so that may be another way to play early.

Madden NFL 20 launches on August 2 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. For more on Madden 20, check out GameSpot’s previous coverage here.