Once you boot up The Outer Worlds for the first time, you’re quickly confronted with an important choice of which difficulty you should start on. While the hardcore may consider jumping to Supernova–the game’s hardest difficulty (more on that below)–others may linger on whether Normal or Hard is the course they should take.

In our experience, Normal can be pretty easy for the average player, and combat becomes rather trivial later on. There’s plenty of ammo and upgrade resources, and enemies tend to not put up an equal challenge. However, the jump from Normal to Hard is pretty steep; with scarce resources and way tougher enemies, you might find yourself in trouble early on. And with the repeated deaths, loading times from dying so much tend to add up, especially on consoles where the loads are quite long.

Thankfully, you can change the difficulty anytime you want. Our best advice is to start on Normal to help yourself get used to the game and how it works, and then switch over to Hard once you feel it’s getting too easy. But there’s no shame in switching back if you’re finding the first five to ten hours more than you bargained.

Once you choose Supernova, there’s no switching back to unless you start a new save file, so if you’re doing it, know that you must commit. Given how challenging the game becomes in Supernova, we wholeheartedly recommend jumping into it on a second playthrough. But it’s up to you!

For more on The Other Worlds, check out our guide detailing how to get the best experience from the game, as well as our guide highlighting what we feel are the best perks. Be sure to check back often as we put up more guides and features in the coming days.

The Outer Worlds is certainly meeting expectations so far. In GameSpot’s review, editor Edmond Tran gave the game a 9/10 and said “I finished The Outer Worlds wanting more, eager to jump back into the world to see extra things. It’s not a short game, but it’s one packed with such a steady stream of wonderful characters to meet, interesting places to explore, and meaningful, multi-layered quests to solve, that it didn’t feel like there was any room to get tired of it. I wanted to rewind the clock and do everything in a completely different way. The Outer Worlds is consistently compelling throughout, and it’s a superb example of how to promote traditional RPG sensibilities in a sharp, modern experience.” You can find out what others think in our review roundup.

Got any input on what you can do to ensure you have the best experience in The Outer Worlds? Let us know in the comments below!

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/should-you-play-the-outer-worlds-on-normal-hard-or/1100-6470821/

To hype the upcoming release of Death Stranding, Hideo Kojima invited comedian and late night TV host Conan O’Brien to his office for a behind-the-scenes look at the game.

It went about as well as you would think, as Conan spent his time cracking jokes and ribbing with Kojima through a translator. Upon viewing a Death Stranding trailer and meeting BB for the first time, Conan said to Kojima, “What’s wrong with you?”

Also during the silly segment, Kojima reveals that Death Stranding actor Norman Reedus, who plays main character Sam “Porter” Bridges, asked the team to make his muscles bigger.

In another segment, Kojima invites Conan to have himself scanned into Death Stranding. Conan entered the camera rig and made all manner of silly faces, and we sure hope they make it into the game. There is even a sequence at the end when Conan’s character model in the game speaks with Sam. It’s pretty great; take a look at the video below.

We can only hope that Conan follows this up with a Clueless Gamer segment for Death Stranding, because that would seemingly be comedy gold.

The Death Stranding review embargo lifts on November 1, so keep checking back with GameSpot for more on the title in the days and weeks ahead.

Death Stranding officially launches on November 8 for PS4.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/conan-obrien-watches-death-stranding-trailer-with-/1100-6470838/

Subscription services in gaming are growing in popularity and prominence. One of the most recent introductions was Apple’s Arcade offering, while Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus came before that. These services, and others like them, are worrying in some regards to boutique games publisher Devolver Digital (Hotline Miami, Genital Jousting).

Co-founder Graeme Struthers told GameSpot that the increasing popularity of subscription services is a worry because it could lead to a situation where games get buried. The thinking is that subscription packages are so stuffed with games that subscribers might have difficulty finding something to play (anyone who has used Netflix is aware of this phenomenon).

“The world of subscription is a worry. And we’re active in these areas, so we can’t stand on the sidelines and just complain about these things. Game Pass, PlayStation Plus, and Apple Arcade, they are things we are participating in,” he explained. “You do wonder if it’s going to lead to a situation where there is so much content that you kind of fall off the edge. That’s the one that keeps us up at night. That and Donald Trump, and Boris Johnson.”

Microsoft’s data regarding Xbox Game Pass paints a more positive picture of the impact that the service can have on its users. Just recently, ID@Xbox boss Agostino Simonetta told GI.biz that subscribers are playing 40 percent more games, which includes titles outside of the Game Pass library. Additionally, 91 percent of polled subscribers said they played a title they otherwise would not have tried were it not in the catalogue. Additionally, Microsoft’s data says members are playing 30 percent more games than before subscribing.

Also in our interview, Struthers explained to GameSpot that he’s excited about the future of gaming as it relates to the next-generation consoles coming out in 2020 and also the depth and breadth of games being made. “The diversity in every sense of that word of games creators and what kinds of games are being released is great,” Struthers said.

One of Devolver’s next games is the whimsical battle royale game where you don’t kill anyone, Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, which launches in 2020 for PC and PS4.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/why-ps-plus-xbox-game-pass-and-apple-arcade-worry-/1100-6470836/

Quentin Tarantino’s latest movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, is returning to theatres. Producer Sony Pictures have announced that Tarantino’s ninth movie will be back in theatres this Friday, October 25, with new scenes spanning more than 10 minutes of bonus footage.

The “never-before-seen footage bookending the motion picture” will include four scenes in all, according to Collider. The theatrical cut of the movie is 2 hours 41 minutes, and now this new cut is 10 minutes longer.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’s new, longer cut will play in 1,000 theatres, though there is no word on if the re-release is limited to the US or if it will also be in other parts of the world.

Given the wording of Sony’s statement, at least some of the new footage will apparently include extra scenes at the end of the movie, so it’ll be interesting to see whether the impact of the theatrical ending will change.

In other news, Tarantino recently said that he refuses to re-cut Once Upon a Time in Hollywood to please Chinese regulators. The country is reportedly taking issue with the film’s depiction of Bruce Lee and its level of violence.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, and numerous other very famous people.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-returning-to-theatre/1100-6470834/

After years of post-launch content–ranging from the well-received Universe expansion to the occasionally decent DLC character hire–GameSpot is trying something new. In Year 23, we’re kicking off Season 2 with a battle pass.

GameSpot’s first battle pass isn’t all that extensive, especially in comparison to the multitude of rewards being offered in Fortnite Chapter 2, Season 1 and Apex Legends Season 3: Meltdown, but there are at least a few good rewards in there. The battle pass will be available for a limited time and launches in conjunction with the website’s annual 72-hour Extra Life livestream. The event, and the battle pass, will be accessible on October 25 at 12 PM PT / 3 PM ET / 8 PM BST, which is October 26 at 6 AM AEST.

First released in May 1996, GameSpot has followed the traditional three-month system for its seasons (so Year 1, Season 1 was that first May through July, for instance). As you can surmise, this creates an immediate problem with this season’s battle pass. Year 23, Season 2 will end with October, leaving the Extra Life stream the only time to make any significant headway in the battle pass before it ends. If you want to unlock its rewards, you’ll have to tune in during the Extra Life livestream and participate.

Even if the GameSpot battle pass doesn’t have as many rewards as you may be used to, there are several fun-sounding unlocks to look forward to. For example, there are a few visual cosmetics you can earn for GameSpot staff, such as no beard versions of global head of news Tamoor Hussain and managing editor Peter Brown.

Unlike most other battle passes, which offer you vanity items in return for your hard-earned money, the GameSpot battle pass will be dedicated to improving and enriching the lives of others. All money spent on the battle pass will be donated to the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, which has a dedicated and passionate team of doctors, nurses, and other staff devoted to helping kids. By partaking in the battle pass, you will be helping them and the children they care for.

As it’s connected to the Extra Life 2019 event, completing the battle pass is fairly straightforward. Each reward is tied to a specific monetary milestone in the battle pass, so as players donate to the event, they’ll all be working together to unlock the in-website rewards. Certain rewards in the battle pass will be permanent unlocks that can be continuously enjoyed as the website evolves in future updates, but several rewards are specifically tied to Year 23, Season 2.

GameSpot has also added loot box microdonations as another donation incentive.

TLDR: GameSpot is doing Extra Life again this year and we’re using the concept of a battle pass as the framework for our stretch goals. Donate to help the kids!

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamespot-battle-pass-how-to-unlock-our-extra-life-/1100-6470827/