As the industry moves more toward digital ownership, you can snag deals on good old physical releases. The latest retailer to offer some great discounts is Microsoft itself, which is currently holding a sale on physical copies of Xbox One games.

The Xbox game deals feature more than 100 discounts in all, but some are certainly better than others. Some of our top picks include Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice for $42, Rage 2 for $15, and Monster Hunter World for $15. Monster Hunter should get you nicely ready for the upcoming Iceborne expansion, and soon you can check out the beta to see if you’re interested. Other discounts are already out of stock, so you may want to grab the deals you’re most interested fast.

Meanwhile, digital games on Xbox are discounted as well, and this week it’s a wide array of EA games that are the subject of deep discounts until Tuesday, August 27. Those include Titanfall 2: Ultimate Edition ($4.50), Unravel and Unravel Two in a bundle for $10, Mass Effect: Andromeda ($9), and Anthem ($20), among others. Plus, several backwards compatible Xbox 360 games are on sale too.

See Xbox One game deals on Microsoft Store

Best Xbox One game deals (physical)

• Dark Souls Trilogy
• Metro Exodus
• Monster Hunter World
• Mortal Kombat 11
• Rage 2
• Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
• Soulcalibur VI
• Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-physical-game-sale-discounts-100-games/1100-6469385/

While it’s no secret digital games are increasing in popularity due to their convenience and immediacy, the flip side of that equation is that digital titles are often as expensive, if not more expensive, than physical copies of games these days. But if you strongly prefer to buy games digitally, Target’s latest weekly deal will be of interest, as the retailer is offering 20% off digital downloads all week long, including full games (for Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PC), add-ons, in-game currencies, and season passes. After purchasing the download, you’ll receive a download link via email, according to Target. It’s worth mentioning Amazon is price-matching some of these deals as well.

Notably, the deal includes a discount on the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Fighters Pass for Nintendo Switch, which is discounted to $20 from $25 (Amazon has it for the same price). That’ll get you all five Challenger Packs, which includes five bonus fighters, stages, and music. Three new fighters have already been released–Joker, the Hero from Dragon Quest, and Banjo-Kazooie–and two more will join Smash Ultimate’s roster in the coming months.

You can also get a 12-month Nintendo Switch Online Family Membership for only $28–it usually sells for $35. We last saw this deal at Target during Prime Day 2019, and it didn’t stick around for long. If you have multiple friends or family members interested in Switch Online, getting the family membership will definitely get you the biggest bang for your buck, as you can split the price of the membership and get Switch Online access for up to eight Nintendo account holders. With this deal, that drops the price of a 12-month membership to as low as $3.50 per person. Note that if you already have a family membership, you can stack this on top of your existing subscription to extend it another 12 months, but you can’t combine a family membership with an individual membership.

Nintendo’s beginner-friendly remake of Pokemon Yellow, Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu, is only $36 as part of the sale, down from $60 originally (the Eevee version is $40, for some reason). Cozy farm sim Stardew Valley is $11.60, Minecraft is only $14.40, and Super Mario Party is only $40. You can also grab Monster Hunter World for $42.40 on Xbox One, particularly good deal considering its hefty Iceborne expansion releases September 6, with a beta test coming up next week for Xbox owners.

One note: We noticed a few of Target’s “sale” prices are actually more expensive than what you’ll find in the Nintendo Eshop (Breath of the Wild’s expansion pass, Gris, Hyper Light Drifter, etc.), so we recommend double-checking the sale price against the platform’s digital store if you buy something not listed below. Also, remember that the physical editions for some of these games may be cheaper elsewhere. See the full offering of deals at Target, and see some of our picks below.

Best deals on digital downloads at Target

Switch:

• 12-month Nintendo Switch Online Family Membership — $28
• Dragon Ball FighterZ — $48
• Dragon Ball FighterZ: FighterZ Pass — $31.20
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — $48
• Mario Kart 8 Deluxe — $48
• Mario Tennis Aces — $40
• Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate — $48
• Octopath Traveler — $48
• Okami HD — $16
• Overcooked 2 — $32
• Pokemon: Let’s Go, Eevee — $40 | (same price at Amazon)
• Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu — $36
• Rocket League — $15.43
• Splatoon 2 — $48
• Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion — $16
• Stardew Valley — $11.60 | (same price at Amazon)
• Super Mario Odyssey — $48
• Super Mario Party — $40 | (same price at Amazon)
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Fighters Pass — $20 | (same price at Amazon)

Xbox One:

• Assassin’s Creed Odyssey — $48
• Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Season Pass — $32
• Battlefield V — $48
• Cuphead — $16
• The Division 2 — $48
• Forza Horizon 4 — $48
• Forza Horizon 4 Ultimate Edition — $80
• Halo: The Master Chief Collection — $24
• Kingdom Hearts 3 — $48
• Minecraft — $14.40
• Monster Hunter World — $42.40
• Resident Evil 2 — $40
• Sea of Thieves — $40
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider — $48
• SoulCalibur VI — $48
• SoulCalibur VI: Season Pass — $24
• State of Decay 2 — $24
• Subnautica — $24

PC:

• Age of Empires Definitive Edition — $15
• Minecraft Windows 10 Starter Collection — $24
• XCOM 2 — $48

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/these-nintendo-switch-xbox-one-digital-games-are-2/1100-6469374/

This week is absolutely packed with notable releases, but for Switch owners, the biggest is Astral Chain, a brand-new exclusive from Bayonetta developer Platinum Games. Directed by Takahisa Taura, the lead designer on Nier: Automata, Astral Chain is a frenetic action game featuring a unique combat system and plenty of Platinum’s trademark flair.

Astral Chain puts players in the role of a rookie officer tasked with defending the city from Chimeras–monstrous creatures that have begun invading from another dimension. To stop the monsters, you’ll team up with various living weapons known as Legions and unleash stylish tandem attacks.

Astral Chain arrives on Switch on August 30. Ahead of the game’s release, many outlets have begun sharing their Astral Chain reviews. We’ve rounded up some excerpts below to give you an idea of what critics have to say about Platinum’s new title. For a wider look at Astral Chain’s critical reception, be sure to visit GameSpot sister site Metacritic.

• Game: Astral Chain
• Developer: Platinum Games
• Platform: Nintendo Switch
• Release date: August 30
• Price: $60 USD / £50

Pre-order Astral Chain at Amazon

GameSpot — 8/10

“Astral Chain’s shortcomings don’t overshadow what it does best. It’s an incredible execution of a fresh take on Platinum Games’ foundation, standing among the stylish-action greats. And its own anime-inspired swagger makes fights all the more exhilarating. You’ll come to appreciate the calmer moments in between that add variety and offer a second to relax before jumping back into the superb combat. After 40 hours with Astral Chain, I’m still eager to take on the tougher challenges, and I’ll be grinning from ear to ear as I hit all the right moves, one after the other, while watching it all unfold.” — Michael Higham [Full review]

IGN — 9/10

“Astral Chain is another excellent game from Platinum, and one of the best action games of this generation. Period. Fighting off alien invaders with a Legion robot by your side proves to be even more fun than it looks, which is saying a lot. Even outside of combat, the world and its characters brim with life–other than the main protagonist, that is. Excellent pacing artfully balances tense action with enticing exploration to create a deeply satisfying and charmingly quirky ride.” — Steven Petite [Full review]

Eurogamer — Essential

“Astral Chain’s action is some of the very finest I’ve come across, all delivered with a seamless quality that often leaves you breathless. Platinum never loses its lustre, goes the motto that sits proudly in the entry lobby of the studio’s Osaka headquarters, though some might have thought the studio has dulled in recent years. Astral Chain is having absolutely none of that, and it shines brighter than anything in the studio’s past. It’s an absolute dream of a game.” — Martin Robinson [Full review]

US Gamer — 4/5

“Astral Chain is the directorial debut of Nier Automata designer Takahisa Taura, and it proves that he’s a creator worth paying attention to. Part melodramatic anime, part overly complicated Tamagotchi, it’s an eminently playable action role-playing game that delivers the pleasure of good teamwork in a way few single-player games accomplish. Building on action design ideas seeded in Nier, Astral Chain encourages you to bond with your beloved pet cybermonster both on and off the battlefield. Then, it teaches you how to fight as one.” — Julie Muncy [Full review]

EGM — 4/5

“Astral Chain is loud, brash, exciting, and, in the end, a warning about the dangers of unquestioned loyalty. Its hyperkinetic action sequences and colorful characters might make the game seem like it isn’t interested in offering more than intricately designed fights and a straightforward genre story, but stick around for its entirety and its cast of 2070s police officers show themselves to be more than just cartoon cut-outs of sci-fi cops.” — Reid McCarter [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.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/astral-chain-reviews-roundup-nintendo-switch/1100-6469376/

World of Warcraft has changed a lot over the course of 15 years, and as much as players have enjoyed seeing the world shaken to its core by the Cataclysm or picking sides in the Battle for Azeroth, it’s easy to miss the simple joys of its original incarnation. Blizzard is letting you go back in time with World of Warcraft Classic, a re-release of the original game with only minor functionality tweaks. Here’s all you need to know to jump back in to a simpler Azeroth.

Release Date, Server Launch Time

WoW Classic will launch on August 27 worldwide, with a slightly earlier August 26 launch in the Americas and parts of Europe to keep aligned with the local launch times in all regions. Check below for your local launch time:

• 6 PM ET (North America) on August 26
• 3 PM PT (North America) on August 26
• 11 PM BST (Europe) on August 26
• 8 AM AEST (Australia) on August 27

Keep in mind, though, that Blizzard is anticipating high demand and possible long wait times for joining up as soon as the servers go live. You may want to consider creating or moving your characters to a low population server if you’re eager to jump in and don’t want to wait.

What’s The Same, What’s Different

WoW Classic aims to be an authentic recreation of the original vanilla World of Warcraft, as of the 1.12 patch. That brings the game up to its state as of August 22, 2006, just before the Burning Crusade expansion.

The Classic format promises classic raids like Molten Core and Onyxia, the classic talent structure, and the world as it stood as of that time during the game’s lifespan. It sports the original game’s combat mechanics, character models, and skill trees. That also means that the game will lack some convenience features like raid finder. The studio even issued a “Not a Bug” list to clarify that some systems being flagged as bugs by players were actually working as intended.

However, the game hasn’t remained entirely untouched. Blizzard wanted the game to reflect the original WoW, but it did implement some small quality-of-life updates.

“Anything that would affect gameplay we want to make sure that we deliver something that is authentic,” WoW Classic lead engineer Brian Birmingham told GameSpot. “Where we feel like quality-of-life improvements are okay are things like, tabbing to complete a name in in-game mail. That’s not a core part of the gameplay experience of leveling, and questing, and trying to explore the world.”

How Subscriptions Work

If you’re already a subscriber to World of Warcraft, you’re already a subscriber to WoW Classic as well. One subscription entitles you to both games. The same goes the other direction, in fact. If you sign up for a WoW subscription for WoW Classic, you’ll get entry to standard World of Warcraft as well.

How to Download

World of Warcraft Classic is its own client separate from your standard World of Warcraft installation, but it can be tricky to find. It doesn’t have its own tab on the Battle.net launcher. Instead, it can be found within the World of Warcraft tab. You’ll find WoW Classic in the Version drop-down menu just above the Install button.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/wow-classic-release-date-server-launch-time-how-su/1100-6469373/