Black Ops 4 Update Patch Notes Detail New Tweaks

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (read our review) has issued a new patch aimed at stability and crash fixes, but it still has some new gameplay tweaks to try out that will make a substantial difference. The biggest change is to Blackout, which is testing different player counts in a few of its modes.

100-Player Duos and 88-Player Quads are now in the playlist under Blackout, in an effort to prod at different formulations of the player count. Some other multiplayer maps have gotten updates as well. The TDM playlist now supports parties of 6 up from 5, and the Featured multiplayer playlist has changed to Heist. Activision says these will regularly rotate and more details on how the Featured playlists will work are coming soon.

Custom games have been fixed to conclude after one team wins six rounds, and the studio has fixed a crash caused by earning multiple Medals in a single match. Plus in Zombies mode, a fix has been issued to a UI error caused by a loss of Internet connection in split-screen play. The PC version has gotten a few bug fixes of its own as well.

In the immediate future, the studio says it’s keeping an eye and working on the Easter Egg quests in Zombies mode, reports of multiplayer audio volume bugs, and teammate names disappearing. On PC it’s investigating a crash associated with the Hellion Salvo launcher, and on Xbox it’s looking into some user reports that their Shadowman and Classified content isn’t showing up.

If you’re just cracking into Black Ops 4, check out our tips for beginners. Or if you’re still on the fence, you can make sure your PC is up to snuff and read all about how it compares to battle royale competitors Fortnite and PUBG.

Blizzard Casts Doubt on Diablo 4 BlizzCon Announcement

BlizzCon 2018 is almost here, but a new post from Blizzard strongly suggests we won’t see any new Diablo projects announced.

“We’ve seen a lot of rumors flying around about our plans for Diablo at the show,” reads a post on the Blizzard forums. “These are very exciting times—we currently have multiple teams working on different Diablo projects and we can’t wait to tell you all about them . . . when the time is right.”

The post goes on to say that “good things come to those who wait, but evil things often take longer”. While Blizzard may not be ready to share all its projects, the company promised that it does intend to share “some Diablo-related news” at the show.

Continue reading…

Taco Bell Giving Away Limited Edition Platinum Xbox One X Bundle

Microsoft has partnered with Taco Bell to give fast food lovers the chance to win an Xbox One X Platinum Limited Edition Bundle.

In addition to an exclusive color scheme, the bundled console features a unique power on sound: the recognizable “ring” regularly heard at the end of Taco Bell commercials. The bundle also includes three months of Xbox Game Pass, three months of Xbox Live Gold, and a white Xbox Elite Wireless Controller.

Continue reading…

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Patch Changes Blackout Mode’s Player Counts

A patch released for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 has increased the player count for Blackout’s Duos mode to 100, while also dropping the player count for Quads mode to 88.

In an update post on Reddit, Treyarch explained that it was still testing out maximum player counts across its modes, and encouraged players to give feedback regarding the extra enemies they’d soon see roaming the battlefield in Duos. The previous Quads maximum player count was 100 — the only mode in the game to support that number of players.

Continue reading…

Hunter Killer Review

Considering all the ludicrous moments in Hunter Killer, I was longing for the film to lean into Roland Emmerich-esque self-awareness. But through po-faced monologues, intense eye-acting and gung-ho theatrics, Hunter Killer remains resolutely serious, and misses the opportunity to have a little fun in among the action.

Based on the 2012 novel Firing Point by Don Keith and George Wallace, Hunter Killer centres on a mission commandeered by US submarine Commander Joe Glass (Gerard Butler) to rescue the Russian president, held hostage by his own Defence Minister Dmitri Durov (Mikhail Gorevoy) on Russian soil.

Aiding the central mission are a group of Navy Seals on the ground led by Bill Beaman (Toby Stephens), and National Security Agency senior analyst Jayne Norquist (Linda Cardellini), Rear Admiral John Fisk (Common), and Admiral Charles Donnegan (Gary Oldman) at the Department of Defence back in the USA. Hunter Killer spends most of its time flitting between the three American groups, giving only a cursory glance toward the Russians, who are mostly shorthanded as evil thanks to Gorevoy’s scarred, reddened face.

Continue reading…

2006’s Prey Was Portal Before Portal

The 1998 E3 trailer for 3D Realms’ Prey was quick to tout its use of ‘portal technology,’ but it ultimately never panned out for the developers, who ended up releasing a considerably different version of the game in 2006. 3D Realms co-founder Scott Miller sat down on this month’s IGN Unfiltered to share behind-the-scenes details on the development of Prey, as well as the cancellation of Prey 2.

Continue reading…

Red Dead Redemption 2: Physical Edition Could Come on 2 Discs

What seems to be Japanese packaging for Red Dead Redemption 2 has appeared online and, if genuine, it shows that the PS4 physical edition is spread across 2 discs.

On the game’s back cover, a symbol indicating the double-disc format is shown:

Double-disc games are more familiar from older generations of console, when games could far outstrip the storage capacity of optical discs.

Continue reading…

13 Underrated Horror Movies From The ’90s That Everyone Needs To See

https://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1557/15576725/3384113-01mouth2.jpg

The 1990s may have released plenty of horror movies that were popular with mass audiences, but it is not remembered as one of the genre’s strongest decades. While many movies in the ’70s and ’80s pushed horror in new directions, the most successful horror films of the ’90s were either remakes (The Haunting), adaptations (Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Interview with a Vampire), and self-referential deconstructions of the genre (Scream). Only Blair Witch Project, at the end of the decade, gave mainstream audiences a taste of something a bit more unusual.

But away from the big hits, there were some fascinating movies during the decade that did take risks, delivered scares, and entertained in a way studio films did not. There were underrated efforts from some of the biggest horror directors of the past decades, some emerging voices who would form an important part in the development of the genre over the coming years, and impressive shockers from other parts of the world.

We went through the decade to find some of the best movies that you may have missed out on while you were skateboarding on a vert ramp or repeating lines from Clueless to your friends. So here’s 13 underrated ’90s horror movies well worth rediscovery.

Here’s When You Can Start Pre-Loading Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2 is fast approaching, and you can be prepared to venture into the Old West by having it loaded and ready to go for launch. Rockstar has announced that pre-loading will begin on Friday, October 19 at 12 AM ET, or 9 PM PT on Thursday.

In the tweet announcing the pre-load timing, the studio also gave word that the launch trailer will debut on Thursday at 10 AM ET / 7 AM PT. That should be our last long look at the game before its launch next Friday, October 26. Rockstar is giving plenty of time for the pre-load, which makes sense given that it weighs in at a whopping 90 GB.

Pre-loading also means you pre-ordered, which will net you a cash bonus for the story mode, and some bonus GTA$ for Grand Theft Auto Online. Those who pre-ordered by July 31 will also get a treasure map for a head-start on making their fortune on the frontier. The physical editions come with a wide variety of bonuses, including physical items in the Special and Ultimate editions. A separate Collector’s Box, which doesn’t include the game, comes with a bunch of tchotchkes like a pin set, bandana, playing cards, and tithing box with lock and key. You can read more details in our pre-order guide.

It appears Rockstar has crafted a massive open world to explore, with no shortage of activities and detail. You can fish and hunt, your clothes will degrade, and dialogue will shift based on your personal hygiene. Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser estimates it has 500,000 lines of dialogue.

All that ambition appears to have come at a cost, though, as Houser also stated that the studio has had 100-hour work weeks to deliver on the promise. He later clarified that he was referring only to a few senior members of the team having intensive writing sessions, and that the studio doesn’t expect such long hours from its team as a whole.

Ant-Man & The Wasp: What We Learned From The Blu-Ray Audio Commentary

https://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1562/15626911/3449181-decks1.jpg

After the soul-shattering ending of Avengers: Infinity War, Marvel movie fans needed a palate cleanser, something fun. That’s exactly what Ant-Man and The Wasp was. The down-to-Earth and grounded story carried heavy themes of father/daughter relationships while providing laughs the whole way through. Well, it was as grounded of a story you can tell about people who grow, shrink, phase through walls, and enter the teeny, tiny Quantum Realm.

While the film has already been released digitally, it’s coming to DVD and Blu-Ray on Tuesday, October 16. With the release comes quite a few special features–many of which are available digitally as well. One of the more interesting additions to the home release is the commentary from director Peyton Reed. Throughout the movie, Reed detailed every aspect of the story, directing his first sequel, the themes, and how certain scenes came together, including the final tag which connects Ant-Man and The Wasp to Infinity War.

We picked out the most interesting and insightful moments from the audio commentary that shed light of the movie-making process. If you’re interested in picking up Ant-Man and The Wasp, check out our pre-order guide detailing all different editions as well as what’s on the special features.