The latest chapter of Doomsday Clock sheds light on the fates of two iconic Watchmen characters.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Doomsday Clock #11!
While Doomsday Clock features a number of familiar characters from the original Watchmen (including Doctor Manhattan, Ozymandias, The Comedian and new character Reggie Long taking up the mantle of Rorschach), two characters have been conspicuous in their absence. Whatever happened to Nite Owl and Silk Spectre? Issue #11 finally answers that question.
Gears 5 is the latest entry in Microsoft’s long-running series of cover shooters. Developer The Coalition has shaken things up a bit this time, though, introducing an RPG-like progression system to its story campaign, along with some wide-open areas that change the series’ traditionally linear approach. A free Battle Pass-like system, expansive progression, and hero shooter-inspired characters also bring the multiplayer portion of Gears 5 in line with modern shooters.
The fundamentals of Gears of War are still here, however, as you hunker down behind cover, shoot at gooey reptilian monsters with a variety of guns, and carefully time your active reloads to get the most out of all that firepower. Critics appear to agree that this is one of the high points for the 13-year-old series. In GameSpot’s review in progress, Phil Hornshaw says the new ideas it brings to the series are all good reasons for fans to return.
Many other outlets have published their Gears 5 reviews as well, so we’ve gathered a smattering of them below to give a view from around the industry. For an even broader look, check out GameSpot’s sister site Metacritic.
Game: Gears 5
Platforms: Xbox One, Windows PC
Developer: The Coalition
Release date: September 10
Price: $60 / £49.99 / $99.95 AUD
If you plan on purchasing Gears 5, Microsoft is currently offering a one-month Xbox Game Pass subscription for only $1 USD as part of an introductory rate for new subscribers only. Xbox Game Pass for Xbox One costs $10 USD / £8/ $10.95 AUD per month. Gears 5 is included in the service at no extra cost. Alternatively, you can sign up for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $2 USD / £2 / $2 AUD for the first two months, and then $15 USD/ £11 / $15.95 AUD per month thereafter. Ultimate comes with Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Live Gold.
If you want to purchase Gears 5 for yourself, you can currently pre-order it on Amazon for $49.94 (a saving of $10.05). GameSpot also has you covered with all of the details on pre-order bonuses and what’s included in the Ultimate and Collector’s editions of the game.
“Gears 5 is very much a return of those best elements of Gears of War, but with a focus on making the game feel somewhat more adaptive to your particular ways of playing. Whether you want campaign or co-op, Competitive or Quickplay, there’s an option for you in Gears 5, and plenty of stuff to reward you for time spent and skill gained. Gears 5 might suffer from some of the same storytelling missteps as its predecessors, and it might not venture far out of the past, but the new ideas it brings to the series are all good reasons for fans to return.” — Phil Hornshaw [Full review]
GamesRadar — 4/5
“Gears 5 doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it changes enough to keep its signature style of cover-based shooting from feeling monotonous. Going into this review, I was convinced Gears of War needed to change drastically or risk obsolescence. But the Coalition has found a different way forward, using new mechanics to polish the old, making the whole game shine.” — Mike Epstein [Full review]
USGamer — 3/5
“Gears 5 survives on its solid cover shooting gameplay and a campaign that isn’t afraid to pose difficult questions about problematic topics. But the largely stagnant Horde mode and general mess of an Escape mode really pull the sequel back from being a bold step forward.” — Hirun Cryer [Full review]
Game Informer — 8.5/10
“Gears 5 is exactly what it needs to be. This old war vet still packs a punch. The open-world exploration has issues, but that isn’t enough to steal away the thunder The Coalition expertly deploys on the battlefield. The campaign is a fun ride that concludes with a shocker moment and a hell of a setup for a sequel. I’m already looking forward to that follow-up.” — Andrew Reiner [Full review]
God Is A Geek — 10/10
“This game is to Gears of War and Xbox what 2018’s God of War was for Sony. It’s a bombastic yet heartfelt entry into a beloved series; it’s gorgeous, sounds great, plays brilliantly – it’s at once a showcase for the high-end hardware available, and for where Xbox could be heading with its next console and the games we’ll see on it. One thing that’s for sure, though, is that it’s for the fans. If you didn’t think you needed another Gears of War, you were wrong. Gears 5 stands tall as one of the best games of the year. A barnstorming success, and the essential first-party title the Xbox One desperately needed. Well played, The Coalition.” — Adam Cook [Full review]
Twinfinite — 4.5/5
“Gears 5 might well be up there as one of my favorite entries in the series alongside Gears 2. Having been a somewhat lapsed Gears multiplayer player, I’m excited to really sink my teeth into more of the Versus modes, play Horde with some friends, and truly get to grips with Escape’s map editor, as well as see what those far more talented than I am at level design come up with. With Gears 5, The Coalition took some risks, and it makes for one of the best entries in the series yet.” — Chris Jecks [Full review]
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.
Nintendo is airing a new Nintendo Direct in just a few hours. The broadcast takes place later today, September 4, and promises to share a wealth of new details on games coming to Switch in 2019, including Luigi’s Mansion 3 and Pokemon Sword and Shield. If you’re eager to catch the presentation, we’ve rounded up everything you need to know below, from what time it starts to what you can expect.
What Time Does The Nintendo Direct Start?
3 PM PT
6 PM ET
11 PM BST
8 AM AEST (September 5)
How To Watch
As usual, Nintendo is broadcasting today’s Direct on its website, Twitch, and YouTube channels. We’ll also have an embed of the stream below, so you can bookmark this page and return when the broadcast begins to watch it right here.
What To Expect
Today’s Direct will run for roughly 40 minutes by Nintendo’s estimates–nearly as long as the company’s E3 presentation–so it appears it will be packed with news and reveals. Nintendo has already confirmed the broadcast will focus on Switch games coming this year, including Luigi’s Mansion 3 and Pokemon Sword and Shield, so we can expect to get another look at those games ahead of their release, but we’ll also presumably see more of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening before it launches later this month.
Beyond that, we may learn more about Super Smash Bros. Ultimate‘s next DLC character, Banjo-Kazooie. The bear and bird duo were announced back at E3 and are slated to release sometime this fall, so we’ll presumably learn more about them–and possibly even the next Smash Ultimate DLC fighter–during the Direct. It has also been some time since we’ve heard about Town, the new Switch RPG from Pokemon developer Game Freak. The game was announced during last September’s Nintendo Direct and had a 2019 release window; if it is indeed still coming this year, then we’ll get another look at it during today’s Direct.
The lengthy runtime also suggests there will be quite a few surprise announcements during the presentation, and it appears a few of them have leaked a little early. There is mounting evidence that Overwatch is coming to Switch, and two Assassin’s Creed games, Black Flag and Rogue, were recently spotted for Switch, so it seems likely those titles will be announced during the Direct.
4K TVs are more affordable than ever in 2019, and prices continue to drop across a number of top brands like LG, Sony, Panasonic, and Philips.
The thing is, TV deals also change constantly, so it can be a hassle trying to keep up with the very best deals. To help you stay on top of things, we have tracked down the best 4K TV deals from the UK this week.
Hisense continues to offer great prices on all its sets, with the Hisense 75-inch 4K UHD TV now available for only £1099, down from £1699. The 43-inch version is all yours for less than £300. The LG 55-Inch UHD 4K HDR Smart LED TV is also on sale for only £499, with the 65-Inch UHD 4K TV down to just £799.
The next big Xbox One exclusive, Gears 5, is nearly here, and to celebrate, Microsoft is rolling out the big guns. It’s releasing a stylish Gears-themed limited-edition Xbox One X console and a matching controller. Meanwhile, both Amazon and Microsoft are offering deals on the game itself. And in case you were wondering, it’s a very good game; you can read our Gears 5 campaign review now. Here’s everything you need to get ready for Gears 5.
Minor equipment spoiler warning! This review doesn’t mention any monsters that haven’t already been announced and doesn’t contain story spoilers, but the video does show off some new weapons and armor from the early-to-mid points of Iceborne’s campaign. Keep that in mind if you’d prefer to go in blind!
The line between an expansion and a full-blown sequel is one Monster Hunter World: Iceborne comes close to blurring into oblivion. While this is not an entirely new game in feel or structure when compared to Monster Hunter: World, it adds a new story nearly as large as the base game’s with almost as many new monsters to kill, carve, and wear like a celebratory tuxedo. Couple that with innumerable quality-of-life improvements (plus a few exciting surprises along the way) and Iceborne manages to hit the high bar set by Monster Hunter: World no matter what you call it.
Developer Illfonic is no stranger to pitting a few humans against a force of nature and pure terror as the developers of Friday the 13th. And after playing a couple of rounds of Predator: Hunting Grounds, the studio’s new, upcoming PS4 exclusive, I’m pretty convinced they’ve found a fun, tense, and balanced formula capitalizing on another beloved movie franchise for some multiplayer mayhem.
Predator: Hunting Grounds pits four human soldiers against the titular alien first made famous after going toe to alien-toe with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1987 film Predator. Stuck in the jungle, the soldiers need to complete a series of objectives, fight or slip by a hostile human faction of soldiers, and eventually get to the chopper, all while being hunted down by the Predator. Only one of those soldiers needs to make it to the helicopter in the end, and there are opportunities to revive downed teammates along the way. But the squad needs to do its best to defend against the Predator and human foes while also knocking out relatively simple quests (activating a few radio relays, holding down a certain location while a timer runs down, etc.).
Monster Hunter World: Iceborne is more of the same, glorious slog for everyone who’s ever been taken down by a fire-breathing facsimile of a Tyrannosaurus Rex and thought, “I can’t wait to do that 50 times over.” The franchise has always rewarded those willing to put in the hard yards, and Iceborne is no exception. It adds more of what set the base game aside from its predecessors without feeling overcrowded, even if its narrative could have used a little more work.
Monster Hunter World was an exercise in refinement upon its release in early 2018. Not only did it manage to simplify a franchise-wide burgeoning quest system, but it also had a very successful stab at creating an open-world ecosystem absolutely teeming with things to do and colossal monsters who want to hunt you. Best of all, these changes never overwhelmed–the new mission and upgrade systems that were introduced were relatively straightforward to grasp, all whilst leaving room for experienced hunters to master them.
Screenshot provided by Capcom
Since the game’s launch, the game has seen a steady drip-feed of DLC content in the form of in-game events. Many of these follow the formula of transplanting something fearsome into an already familiar environment–the Witcher 3 crossover saw a Leshenn loom large in the Ancient Forest, and the Final Fantasy XIV collaboration had you running for cover when Behemoth reared its head. The design philosophy behind Monster Hunter World: Iceborne takes a similar approach in implementing that sort of content, though on a larger scale; it uses touchstones in the form of storied foes and familiar locations to build upon the robust ecosystem of the base game to deliver an experience that will test your mettle without breaking you.
Iceborne is all about building on existing foundations. This is most evident in the narrative that has been spun out in the wake of the base game’s single-player campaign. Monster Hunter World was notable for introducing a clear-cut, story-based incentive to throw yourself against the biggest and baddest beasts out there. Iceborne takes a slightly crooked step forward by spinning a story that revolves not around you, but around your Handler.
Shortly after the successes of dealing with the base game’s Elder Dragon predicament, a mass migration event shakes the recovering ecosystem of Astera and prompts you to investigate. What comes next is a tale of family legacies, mysterious scales, and your Handler embarking on her own personal quest. To shift the focus of a story from the protagonist to what is essentially a side character is a bold one–for all the aid and assistance that the Handler gives in Monster Hunter World, she’s still fundamentally a living, breathing quest board. Monster Hunter World players will no doubt have become attached to her over the course of their travels, but is that attachment is deep enough to shoulder a full expansion’s narrative conceit? Not quite.
Screenshot provided by Capcom
As soon as you’re introduced to the latest curveball about Iceborne’s new signature location, Hoarfrost Reach, and how that intersects rather conveniently with your Handler’s past, you’re immediately whisked back to lands and territories from the base game to cull a couple of monsters that have gotten too big for their boots. It’s not exactly narrative whiplash, but it’s certainly not as compelling as it would have been had we been the ones to follow the Handler from the first step of her journey to the new lands of Iceborne.
That said, revisiting those familiar locations early on to take down new and improved versions of killer dinosaurs that you’ve faced before is one of the most compelling parts of Monster Hunter World: Iceborne. As with the DLC strategy, the building blocks of the expansion are steeped in elements that existing players are already acquainted with. You’ll cut your teeth on monsters like the Nightshade Paolumu–a variant on the oversized flying squirrel encountered early on in the base game, though this time with the lethal ability to put unsuspecting hunters to sleep. The expansion arguably doesn’t open up until you’ve also vanquished the Viper Tobi-Kadachi–a souped-up version of its cousin from the Ancient Forest, albeit with poisonous projectiles and a bite that’s much more dangerous than its hiss.
The changes that Iceborne makes in the form of these variant breeds has a twofold effect: First, they provide you with a motivation to form new strategies to slice and dice their way to the next story beat. Secondly, they’re just distinct enough in terms of attack patterns and additional elemental considerations that you never really feel like you’re just fighting a reskin of something that you made mincemeat out of 80 hours ago. It’s as if there’s been a concerted effort to balance the difficulty of what many fans might rightfully view as the second coming of the coveted “G-Rank” in this latest iteration of Monster Hunter.
Screenshot provided by Capcom
Despite some focus on iterating established systems, there are innovations introduced in Iceborne that truly set it apart from its predecessor. Brand-new monsters and the implementation of legacy series favourites like Nargacuga look and feel impressive thanks to all the new ways monsters can interact with other beasts and the various locations. But more importantly, there is a library’s worth of new weapon moves for you to take advantage of.
Charge Axe users can now cancel into a particularly fun multi-directional attack when caught unawares, and Gunlance users no longer have to worry about running out of ammo in an emergency before getting to use their new signature move that is, quite literally, explosive. Hunting Horn users have also had their ability to do damage buffed, with the addition of a new move that lets you stick your horn in the ground and spin it like some kind of demented Beyblade to catch whatever’s charging towards you off guard. That’s just a few new examples, but overall these additions seem to be informed by the dual precepts of style and lethality.
However, the biggest quality-of-life addition has been something called the Clutch Claw–every hunter can use this alongside their primary weapon to grapple onto their foe and, depending on what other sharp object is equipped, do anything from steering a rampaging wyvern into a rock face to weakening a specific part of its body that needs to be lopped off.
Screenshot provided by Capcom
Using the Clutch Claw is by no means compulsory, so it fits in that nice niche where it can make your hunts a little bit easier or a little bit more exhilarating in equal turns. But you’re not forced to use it to feel like you’re getting your money’s worth if, say, you’re a veteran player trying to do your own version of Nuzlocke rules but with items. However, having the option and ability to scale up the side of a monster after landing a savvy shot with the Clutch Claw feels ridiculously satisfying, and so does driving a beast to its doom in the many treacherous terrain pitfalls that dot the newest, snow-covered region of Hoarfrost Reach.
That new, frosty landscape is beautiful and treacherous in equal measure. With new foes, more verticality than the Coral Highlands, and frozen terrain that can crack and send you plunging to your death, it really is a sight to behold. More than ever, it feels like the environment can be turned against you; some monsters will uproot trees and throw them at you, while the wrong move on cracked ice can mean certain death.
By that measure, however, there are also more opportunities to get the jump on your enemies, especially with the Clutch Claw giving you the ability to walk them into vine traps, blinding light, and more. Having a grasp of every bit of the map is integral to truly mastering what Iceborne has to throw at you, and it’s incredibly satisfying when everything suddenly clicks and you go from the hunted to the hunter leading their prey to a painful trap that attempts to even the scales.
Screenshot provided by Capcom
Being dropped into this intricately-designed location as a relatively new player may be overwhelming, but no matter your experience level, joining up with other hunters and picking your way through this icy dens of beasts together is incredibly rewarding in its own way. Iceborne benefits from the matchmaking improvements introduced since the release of the base game, which have made it relatively seamless on console to find fellow hunters–no more messing about with PlayStation parties and friends lists–and dropping into a party to help friends tackle these fearsome monsters is easy.
Monster Hunter World: Iceborne is at its best when you’re fighting tooth and nail against something that you know could crush you within its teeth in a second, even though this might feel like it came at the expense of a more interesting narrative. Nothing is quite as good as the biting chill cutting through the furs of your armor, the shrill cry of your Palico as it comes to your aid, and the wind roaring in your ears as you latch onto a beast’s flank and climb up its side while it bucks and roars.
This expansion is rife with moments like that; all of the tweaking and the improvements feel like they were done with the excellent building blocks of Monster Hunter World in mind, which means that getting to the meat of the matter is quicker and more satisfying than ever. There’s no more fussing about with new systems or worrying about ruffling the feathers of hardcore fans with a direction change in the series; those teething problems have already come and gone. Iceborne is a confident step into the future of the franchise, and it’s hard not to think about what might come next.
[Editor’s note: This review will be finalized once we’ve had a chance to experience the performance of servers once the game launches to the wider public.]
