One of the best games released in 2018 just dropped to its lowest price ever: Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey is now selling for just $20 at Amazon and Best Buy. The game originally sold for $60, so if you haven’t picked up Odyssey yet, the open-world RPG is an incredible purchase at only $20.

Like previous Assassin’s Creed games, Odyssey takes players back to a historical setting–this time around, it’s Ancient Greece. You’ll choose between two characters–Alexios or Kassandra–and play as a mercenary descended from Spartan king Leonidas I. During the epic adventure, you’ll find lost family members, take down an evil cult, and complete various side quests. Your choices will have a heavy impact on many events, including premature character deaths. The main story itself has nine different possible endings.

If you’re a fan of gorgeous open-world games like The Witcher 3 or Horizon Zero Dawn, you’ll enjoy becoming immersed in Odyssey’s diverse and hyper-detailed locations around Greece. Odyssey’s map is double the size of Origins’, so you can easily sink dozens of hours into exploring its world, if you care to.

“Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s ambition is admirable, which is reflected in its rich attention to detail for the era and its approach to handling the multi-faceted narrative with strong protagonists at the lead,” wrote Alessandro Fillari in GameSpot’s Assassin’s Creed Odyssey review, where it scored an 8/10. “While its large-scale campaign–clocking in at over 50 hours–can occasionally be tiresome, and some features don’t quite make the impact they should, Odyssey makes great strides in its massive and dynamic world, and it’s a joy to venture out and leave your mark on its ever-changing setting.”

Buy Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

• Amazon — $20
• Best Buy — $20

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/assassins-creed-odyssey-just-hit-its-lowest-price-/1100-6465946/

Finally, the day we’ve been looking forward to since at least last night is here. April Fools’ Day is back for more hoaxes, jokes, and wind-ups, and we’re collecting all the best gaming-themed ones for you right here. We’ll be updating this article throughout the day as we spot more fakes, so be sure to check back later, too.

However, it’s not all jokes and japes on April Fools’ Day: r/Games has closed down for April Fools’ Day, but it is for a good reason. You can, however, share your favorite gags in the comments below.

Square Kirby

There’s only one place to start and nope I already hate today, April Fools’ Day needs to stop. Kirby is a square now.

Vacuum Kirby

Kirby is also a vacuum cleaner now. No I still hate it.

Final Fantasy’s Omega As A Home Assistant

Square Enix has developed a version of Final Fantasy superboss Omega as smart home assistant. I’ll stick with Alexa, thanks.

The Anthem Subreddit Rebrands

The Anthem subreddit has undergone a makeover today, and it now looks like another familiar game.

Corsair Game Launcher Launcher

Corsair has combined all your game launchers into one Game Launcher Launcher, complete with its own digital currency that allows you to buy digital currency.

Street Fighter Shoot-’em-Up

Street Fighter’s G now has his own mobile game, in the style of a shoot-’em-up. All sense has been lost.

A New Yakuza Game

This is a bit of a cruel tease, isn’t it? It’s a new Yakuza game that takes the series’ signature combat and turns it into a turn-based RPG, with, according to our internal Yakuza expert, what looks like “weird magic stuff.”

Sniper Elite: Love in Your Sights

Sniper Elite: Love in Your Sights is a new game from Rebellion that turns the long-running sniper series into a romantic visual novel. Because of course.

Payday Royale

Yet another battle royale game gets announced; this time it’s one set in the Payday universe.

Rainbow Six Siege’s Rainbow Is Magic

So this is a weird one. Ubisoft has announced a time-limited event named Rainbow is Magic for Rainbow Six Siege. I say it’s weird because, well, it’s real.

For Honor + Rabbids

Another Ubisoft joke that someone took too far, For Honor is hosting a Rabbids crossover event. And yes, it is also real.

Doom: The Joy Of Slaying

Bethesda joins the fun with this glimpse of what a Bob Ross show would look like if Bob Ross was also in Doom.

Google Maps Adds A New Game

Google Maps has enjoyed many April Fools’ jokes over the years, and for 2019 it’s made a transport-themed edition of the classic game Snake.

Harada Enters The Tekken 7 Fight

Something a little different now, and Tekken 7 director Katsuhiro Harada is fed up of merely directing games; now he wants to be in them as well. I wouldn’t mess with him.

Total War: Three Kingdoms – Mobile Mode

Okay, this one’s pretty good. Creative Assembly has unveiled a new mode for Total War: Three Kingdoms that turns the game into an old mobile game you might have played on your Nokia 3310.

VelocOlli

A crossover of two great indie series, VelocOlli will see you control Velocity‘s Kai as she rides an Olli Olli hoverboard. It’s launching in 2020, apparently.

Elgato Green Screen Spray

Elgato now allows streamers to make everything invisible to their viewers with their new Green Screen Spray. You can even make yourself disappear!

New Hitman 2 Elusive Target

Hitman 2 has gained a new Elusive Target with the addition of a duck. I honestly can’t tell if this is real.

Can You See Marvel: Contest Of Champions’ New Character?

Marvel: Contest of Champions is getting a new character soon, and developer Kabam has given us a first look at her. Except, it hasn’t, because she’s invisible. Let’s hope that bug gets fixed by the time Invisible Woman makes it into the game.

Sonic Royale

I unashamedly love this Twitter account, and right on cue Sonic the Hedgehog himself has got in on the April Fools’ Day action with Sonic Royale. It’s an action-PvP-MMO-Survival-ARPG-FPS-Dating sim and I would 100% play this, Sega.

Fire Emblem Heroes

Fire Emblem Heroes is another game gaining a new character, this time with an all-powerful owl named Feh. I would also like this to actually happen.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/april-fools-day-2019-roundup-all-the-best-gaming-j/1100-6465940/

Sony has revised the refund and cancellation policies for pre-orders and purchases through the PlayStation Store. Under the new policies, you can refund pre-orders and purchases, under certain criteria.

According to the store cancellation policy, you can cancel a digital purchase within 14 days of purchasing it and receive a refund, as long as you haven’t begun to download it or stream it already. If you have started to use it, the content must be “faulty” to obtain a refund. Pre-orders can be cancelled and refunded anytime before release, or within 14 days after payment was taken for your pre-order even if the release date has passed, with the same restrictions. Finally, the same policy will apply to season passes and promotional bundles.

The site notes that this only applies to consumables ordered directly through the PlayStation Store, since purchasing through a game itself delivers the content immediately and therefore isn’t eligible for refund. It also suggests turning off automatic downloads if you think you may need a refund on a pre-order, since automatically downloading it when it’s available will make you ineligible as well.

Subscription services like PlayStation Plus, PlayStation Now, and Spotify Premium can be refunded within 14 days, even if the subscription has started, but the refund amount could be pro-rata for the time you’ve already had it.

We recently heard reports that Sony was giving refunds to some players who had purchased Anthem on PS4, following a crashing bug. That would be permissible under the defective part of this clearer policy. Those refunds were given through contacting support, which is the method advised in the cancellation policy page.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/playstation-store-revises-ps4-refund-policy/1100-6465944/

The Outer Worlds is one of 2019’s most anticipated games, and developer Obsidian Entertainment showed off a lot more of it at the gaming convention PAX East over the weekend.

During a panel, developers from Obsidian gave a 20-minute walkthrough demo of the game. It’s a fantastic, deep-dive look at the game, and hearing directly from the developers provides an even better understanding of what you’re seeing and the thinking behind various elements. The video showcases a number of unique and beautiful environments, as well as a series of weapons and numerous characters. Take a look for yourself in the video below from YouTube channel MrRedRivers.

The Outer Worlds is a sci-fi RPG made by Obsidian, the developers of Knights of the Old Republic II, Fallout: New Vegas, and South Park: The Stick of Truth. The game is being published by Grand Theft Auto parent company Take-Two Interactive’s indie label, Private Division, and that’s still true even after Microsoft acquired Obsidian.

The Outer Worlds is in development for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Even though Microsoft owns Obsidian, the title will still be released on competing systems such as PlayStation 4. One noteworthy detail about the PC edition is it’ll be released on the Epic Store and Windows Store first, before coming to Steam a year later.

Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky, who worked on the original Fallout, are heading up the team making The Outer Worlds. The game is showing a lot of promise, and as mentioned, it’s set for release sometime in 2019.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-20-minutes-of-outer-worlds-gameplay-footage-/1100-6465938/

r/Games, one of the biggest gaming communities on the internet, is closing on April Fool’s Day. In a message posted on the popular subreddit today, mods explained that they’re taking things “a little more seriously” this year, and that means closing down /r/Games for the day.

“In recent times, it’s come to our attention that what has been intended to be a forum for the potential spread of knowledge and involvement in video games has instead become a battleground of conflicting ideas,” the mods explained. “Ordinarily, this isn’t an issue; discussion by its very nature is certain to bring argument, but when that argument descends into vitriolic attacks between individuals on a regular basis with no chance at deescalation, that’s when, put simply, something’s got to give.”

The mods went on to say that r/Games is becoming “increasingly responsible” for perpetuating the “combative and derogatory schools of thought” surrounding misogyny, transphobia, homophobia, and racism, among other things. “Now is the time to stymie the flow of regressive ideas and prevent them from ever becoming the norm,” the mods said.

“Though certain memes (such as ‘gamers rise up’) surrounding gaming are largely viewed as a humorous interpretation of a mindset, at the core of the humor is a set of very serious issues that affect all gaming enthusiasts,” they explained. “By showing disdain or outright rejecting minority and marginalized communities, we become more insular. In this, we lose out on the chance to not only show compassion to these people, but also the chance to grow our own community and diversify the demographics of those involved in it.”

While the mods do take action against perpetrators by removing comments and banning bad actors, a underlying fundamental issue persists: “the notion that it’s okay or acceptable to ridicule and demonize traditionally disenfranchised and marginalized members in the gaming community,” the mods said. “This is not just an issue in r/Games or on Reddit alone; this is an issue deeply embedded in the ranging depths of the internet, frequently in communities that center around the discussion of games.”

The mods went on to say that they continually see “condescending, dismissive, vindictive, and pessimistic attitudes” on r/Games, and they posted examples of some of the problematic comments and threads they witness regular. “We must closely examine our own communities, in an effort to encourage acceptance and inclusion, to foster a healthy community in which we value empathy and respect.”

While there are many deep issues, the mods said, there are also reasons to be optimistic.

“Though the industry as a whole has suffered a great deal of trials and tribulations, we also are fortunate enough to be at a point in time in which there seem to be a glut of fantastic games, from major AAA titles down to near-anonymous indie projects that come out of nowhere.

“So let’s revel in what’s available to us, and also appreciate the myriad of backgrounds that we as gamers come from. Our differences in experiences comprise the diversity in the content that we consume, and by allowing ourselves to appreciate those differences, we change our perspectives and interpretations; this applies not only in games, but life as a whole.”

This April Fool’s Day, the r/Games mods are asking people to consider contributing to charitable organisations that support LGBT+, women’s health, POC, and other groups. You can see a full list of the charities and find out how to support them in this Reddit post.

r/Games is expected to re-open on April 2, and on that day, the mods will hold a discussion regarding the decision to close the subreddit.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/rgames-is-closing-for-april-fools-day-and-heres-wh/1100-6465934/