Black Friday 2019 Xbox One Deals: Games, Consoles, And More

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For Black Friday 2019, Microsoft is cutting prices on all kinds of things on its official store, the company announced during its recent X019 livestream. Discounts for the holiday season include Xbox One S and Xbox One X bundles, wireless controllers, and Xbox One games. If you have Xbox One Game Pass Ultimate or Xbox Live Gold, you can get access to its deal three days before everyone else–subscribers can start shopping for deals on the Microsoft Store website or any Windows 10 device on November 21, while everyone else will have to wait until November 24. Deals last until December 2.

Black Friday Xbox One deals

Whether you’re subscribed or not, Xbox One devices are getting discounts of up to $150 off. All Xbox One X console bundles will go for $350, while all Xbox One S bundles will be $100 off, with several of them now costing $200. This also means you can get the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition for $150–that system is bundled with digital codes for Minecraft, Sea of Thieves, and bonus Fortnite content. Additionally, Xbox One controllers will see lowered prices with up to $20 off, while Design Lab controllers get a $10 discount.

Thankfully, if you want to be eligible for the early deals on November 21, you can take advantage of a Black Friday offer that’s available to new Game Pass Ultimate subscribers right now. Microsoft is currently offering new subscribers their first three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for only $1. Ultimate bundles Game Pass for console and PC, in addition to Xbox Live Gold. New subscribers will also get six months of Spotify, as long as they’re not already subscribed to the music-streaming service. On top fo that, new and existing subscribers get a free month of EA Access and three free months of Discord Nitro–like Spotify, you must also be new subscribers to both services.

Of course, a bunch of Xbox One games will be on sale, including first-party games like Gears 5, Forza Horizon 4, and Sea of Thieves: Anniversary Edition. Third-party games, such as FIFA 20, NBA 2K20 Legends Edition, and Borderlands 3 Super Deluxe Edition will also see discounts.

Xbox All Access returns

Microsoft also recently announced that the Xbox All Access program is back for another holiday season. Anyone who doesn’t want to pay the full price for a console upfront can instead opt for a monthly payment plan. The Xbox One S All-Digital Edition goes for $20/month, the Xbox One S for $23/month, and the powerful Xbox One X for $31/month. Each option runs for 24 months and comes with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for the full duration of the plan.

The best part of this round of All Access is that you’ll have the option to upgrade to Project Scarlett, the new Xbox console that is scheduled to arrive next holiday. Xbox One X All Access members will be eligible to upgrade after 12 months, but Xbox One S members will have to wait 18 months. All-Digital Edition members will also have to pay a $20 upgrade fee.

All upgrades must go through the retailer you purchased your original 24-month plan from, and you’ll have to re-up to a new 24-month plan (with new terms and pricing). In the US, Amazon is currently the only retailer offering All Access–in the UK, customers can subscribe starting November 5 at Smyths and GAME.

Game deals

The following Xbox One games will be on sale from November 24 to December 2. Third-party titles are also slated to receive discounts, and we’ll keep you updated as more information is revealed.

Console and accessory deals

Microsoft has a few Xbox One X bundles to choose from this year, all offering some good discounts.

Xbox One X bundles | $350 ($500)

The Xbox One X is the most powerful console on the market that allows for 4K resolutions in some games. It also has quite a few bundles available at the moment that include games like Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order and NBA 2K20. All of them are on sale for $350 starting November 24 (November 21 for Game Pass Ultimate and Gold subscribers).

Of course, you can also grab an Xbox One S bundle, one for as cheap as $150.

Xbox One S bundles | up to $100 off

The Xbox One S may not have the power for 4K gaming, but it still has a huge library of fantastic games. There’s also a big selection of Xbox One S bundles that pack in games like Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order and Gears 5. Xbox One S bundles will be $100 off, dropping regular Xbox One S bundles to $200 and the Xbox One X All-Digital Edition to $150.

Some of the snazzier Xbox One controllers are going for cheap, too.

Xbox One Wireless Controllers | up to $20 off

If you’re looking for an extra controller for a friend or just want a new colour, then the Microsoft Store is discounting its pads by up to $20. This includes Special Editions like the Night Ops Camo, Sport Blue, and Gears 5 Kait Diaz controllers.

The Xbox One Design Lab lets you customize a controller by changing its color and adding rubber grips for an additional fee.

Xbox One Design Lab Controllers | $10 off

For a more personal touch, Microsoft offers its line of Design Lab controllers, which let you customize the color of pretty much every part of the pad. They cost a little more, but Microsoft is taking $10 off the price for Black Friday.

Turtle Beach’s headset includes 50mm Nanoclear speakers and a noise-cancelling microphone for better sound input and output.

Turtle Beach gaming headsets | up to $125 off

Microsoft has a selection of Turtle Beach gaming headsets discounted up to $125. If you’re looking for one that works with your Xbox One, Turtle Beach makes some good quality headsets. These headsets go on sale starting November 28.

With game file sizes getting bigger every year, you might want to pick up an extra hard drive to store them all.

Xbox game hard drives | up to $20 off

If you play a lot of games and want to keep them ready to go on your Xbox One, then an external hard drive is absolutely essential. Microsoft has a couple of drives going on sale starting November 28.

More upcoming deals

November 22

November 24

November 28

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/black-friday-2019-xbox-one-deals-games-consoles-an/1100-6471091/

The Outer Worlds Update Makes Text Less Teeny-Tiny

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The Outer Worlds has been out for nearly a month now, and Obsidian has just issued a patch addressing one of the top pieces of fan feedback. The 1.1.1.0 patch, now available across PC, PS4, and Xbox One, introduces a toggle to increase the font size, so you won’t need your reading glasses for the subtitles.

The toggle, which can be found under the UI tab in the Settings menu, increases the text size for conversation text, cinematics subtitles, bark subtitles, and terminals. The patch also fixes a particularly pervasive crashing bug when the player reaches Tartarus. Other changes include a fix to PS4 sound issues, rebalancing for the Prismatic Hammer, fixes to quests, and other various adjustments. You can find the full patch notes below.

Publisher Take-Two Interactive says the game has exceeded its expectations both critically and commercially, and the game was well-received by critics including in GameSpot’s review, which awarded it a 9/10. Reviewer Edmond Tran said it’s “consistently compelling throughout, and it’s a superb example of how to promote traditional RPG sensibilities in a sharp, modern experience.”

Obsidian, which has now been acquired by Microsoft, recently announced its first new project since the acquisition. It’s called Grounded, and has you shrink down to the size of an ant and try to survive in a perilous suburban back yard.

The Outer Worlds Patch 1.1.1.0

Top Community Requests:

  • The game crashing at a specific point when the player has reached Tartarus has been resolved
  • Toggle to increase the font size (found in the UI tab under Settings). Increases font for conversation text, cinematic subtitles, bark subtitles, and terminal text.

Audio

  • Players will no longer experience muffled sounds when playing on the PlayStation 4

Design:

  • The Prismatic Hammer has been rebalanced and no longer incorrectly uses the level multiplier as an exponent instead of a multiplier and will no longer do 10s of thousands of points of damage at a higher level. Now deals the damage it should have been dealing all along

Quests

  • Existing Botched companion quests will have their status reset to Active allowing the player to add them to a party when leaving the ship in order to un-botch the quests, unless the death occurred prior to unlocking the companion quest
  • Fix for “Radio Free Monarch” where issues would happen when talking to Nayoka while having SAM in your party

General:

  • Foliage on the Xbox One now has parity with the foliage on PlayStation 4
  • The achievement/trophy for “It’s Not the Best Choice” will pop correctly

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-outer-worlds-update-makes-text-less-teeny-tiny/1100-6471594/

We Happy Few: Final DLC Is Out Now, And A Making-Of Documentary Is Coming

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We Happy Few has released its final piece of downloadable content. Its third expansion, We All Fall Down, is now available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, wrapping up the game’s saga. It follows on from Lightbearer and They Come from Below, and all three pieces of DLC are available as part of the game’s $20 season pass. We All Fall Down casts players as Victoria Byng, who “sets out to rid Wellington Wells of Joy, saving the people from starvation and addiction.”

We All Fall Down does away with the survival mechanics introduced in the main game, and is more focused on action. You’ll no longer need to eat, sleep, or craft, as you did in the original game. Victoria will go through withdrawal symptoms as she comes off of Joy, and she’s armed with a whip for melee combat and a dart gun for long-range attacks. This expansion encourages players to take to the rooftops for a stealthy approach, avoiding the bobbies littered throughout Wellington Wells.

Also launching before the end of the year is a documentary about the making of We Happy Few. The film, called The Cost of Joy: The Compulsion Games Story, will debut on December 19. The trailer shows off a fairly candid look at how the game was created, the pressures faced by the small team, and how they were brought into the Microsoft Xbox Game Studios fold. We Happy Few was published by Gearbox Games before the buyout.

We Happy Few is available on Xbox Game Pass, and received mixed reviews upon launch. GameSpot gave it a 4/10, with critic Alessandro Barbosa stating that “there are just too many hurdles to overcome to enjoy We Happy Few, and not enough Joy in the world to cast them aside.”

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/we-happy-few-final-dlc-is-out-now-and-a-making-of-/1100-6471591/

Rainbow Six Siege Is Free To Play This Weekend, And There’s A New Money Heist Event

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It’s a big weekend for Rainbow Six Siege, as not only is the game free to play for everyone, but a new limited-time event has been introduced. The event is a tie-in for Netflix’s Money Heist (known as La Casa De Papel in some regions), a Spanish series about a team of crooks who are trying to carry out a particularly elaborate and ambitious heist. The event will introduce a number of items based on the series.

During this event players can don the red suit and mask from the series as either Vigil and Hibana, testing out these exclusive skins during a round of Hostage in the Bank map. Eight items will be added in total, between uniforms, headgear, weapon skins, and charms. There are two bundles, each of which can be bought for 1680 R6 Credits. This event will run from now until November 25.

The game will also be free to play on PC, PS4, and Xbox One over the weekend running from November 21 through to November 25, allowing fans of the Netflix series (and everyone else) to check out the game in full. During this period, Rainbow Six Siege will be discounted on all systems as well. Those discounts are not in effect yet, and will likely vary between systems and bundles, but Ubisoft is promising discounts of up to 66%.

Rainbow Six Siege continues to add new operators well into its fourth year. It’s also being updated with a new bullet penetration system, and is eventually planned to receive cross-play support. The game continues to be very popular, and is planned for release on next-generation consoles.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/rainbow-six-siege-is-free-to-play-this-weekend-and/1100-6471592/

Mario Kart Tour Now Lets You Switch Between Steering And Drifting Mid-Race

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Mario Kart Tour has been a huge success for Nintendo’s mobile division, and has enjoyed the best launch of any of their games designed for phones, despite being criticized for aggressive monetization systems. The game’s simple touch controls have displeased some fans, as the game has not, up until this point, let you switch between standard steering and drifting in the middle of a race – you can only have one or the other, chosen before the race starts. Traditionally, success in Mario Kart has depended on perfectly timed drifts, but Tour’s all-or-nothing approach has made for a less satisfying experience.

The latest update, though, which is now live, allows you to toggle between drifting and steering with a quick tap. The game’s official Twitter has released a short video showing the new control scheme in action. Running a finger along most of the screen will have you steering the kart normally, while running it across the ‘drift’ button at the bottom will send you into the series’ iconic powerslide.

This new control scheme is much closer to what fans are used to from the other eight games in the series.

Mario Kart Tour has seasonal events, including a recent Halloween event that brought Waluigi to the game. The game will receive a multiplayer beta test in December, although it will only be accessible to players with a Gold Pass subscription. We think that the game could steer the future of the Mario Kart franchise on consoles, too.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/mario-kart-tour-now-lets-you-switch-between-steeri/1100-6471593/

Halo On PC: Combat Evolved Anniversary Enters Beta In Early 2020

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Halo: The Master Chief Collection will continue its PC rollout after the December release of Halo: Reach, with a beta planned for Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary in the new year. PCGamesN spoke with 343 Industries community manager Brian Jarrard, who confirmed that PC players will be able to get their first taste of this updated version of Halo, which debuted on Xbox 360 back in 2011, after the holidays. “Once Reach comes out next month, after the holiday, we will start to reset, and we’ll start to flight Halo CE,” he told the site. “We’re just going to keep going down the road until we fill out the rest of the collection.”

The plan, he says, is to update the game to run at 60fps and at 4K, and to “account for all the requirements that PC gamers expect nowadays,” like uncapped frame rates and an FOV slider. This has ultimately been a longer process than expected, but 343 is determined to get the game’s launch right, especially after the troubled Xbox One launch of The Master Chief Collection.

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary was the first Halo game released by 343 Industries after Bungie stepped away from the franchise. It’s a remaster of the original Xbox launch title, and you can switch to the original visuals at the press of a button. This Halo game has, in fact, been released for PC before–Halo: Combat Evolved came to PC in 2003, and we gave that version a 9/10 in our review. It’ll be the second game in the Collection released on PC; each game will arrive separately.

The Master Chief Collection also contains Halo 2 Anniversary, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, and Halo 4. All of these games will eventually come to PC.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/halo-on-pc-combat-evolved-anniversary-enters-beta-/1100-6471590/

Pokemon Sword & Shield Had A Massive Launch And Spiked Switch Sales In The UK

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Pokemon Sword & Shield have enjoyed enormous sales in the UK since they released on November 15, which has also led to increased sales of the Nintendo Switch. The games are enjoying one of the best-ever Nintendo launches in the country and it’s also the second-best launch result the Pokemon series has ever seen, and that’s just counting physical copies.

Gamesindustry.biz is reporting that Pokemon claimed three separate spots on the physical sales chart for the week ending November 16: Pokemon Sword was No. 1, Pokemon Shield was No. 3, and a double-pack containing both games landed at No. 7. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order had the second-best launch of the week. Combined, Sword & Shield had a tremendous launch, outselling Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee by 53%. It was the best launch ever for a Switch game in the UK, and the third-best ever for Nintendo, despite the charts only tracking physical sales. Wii Fit had Nintendo’s second-best ever launch, and the top spot belongs to Pokemon Sun & Moon for the 3DS (which released to a wider install base.)

Furthermore, the release of these new Pokemon games led to an increase in Switch console sales. Sales went up 30% during release week, following a 75% spike the week prior, with almost 90,000 consoles having been sold in the UK so far in November. The Nintendo Switch is the best-selling system in the UK so far in 2019; this could be the first year since the PlayStation 4 released that Sony does not have the top annual console sales in the country.

Pokemon Sword & Shield scored a 9/10 in our review, with critic Kallie Plagge writing that “in collecting, battling, and exploring, Sword and Shield cut out the bloat and focus on what makes these pillars of the Pokemon games so captivating in the first place.” If you’re one of the many folks playing it, check out the Gigantamax Raid schedule and our stone evolution guide to get ahead.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/pokemon-sword-and-shield-had-a-massive-launch-and-/1100-6471588/

Pokemon Sword & Shield: How Do Fossils Work?

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Most Pokemon games include fossils that you can restore into a living Pokemon, and you usually have to choose between one fossil or another. In Pokemon Sword and Shield, however, fossils work differently. You can still restore them to get a proper Pokemon, and they still count towards your Pokedex–but Sword and Shield’s fossils are mix-and-match, and it can get kind of weird.

There are four fossils in total and four fossil Pokemon to restore. While you can get all four fossils in your game, based on a few GameSpot staff playthroughs, each version has a set of fossils that are far more common. Sword has Fossilized Bird and Fossilized Dino, while Shield has Fossilized Fish and Fossilized Drake. Only one of us (so far) has gotten the other version’s fossil natively in-game, and that was after finishing the story.

The Fossil Restoration specialist is found on Route 6 and is easily accessed via Flying Taxi to the Route 6 fast-travel point. If you talk to her, she’ll ask you for two fossils, which she’ll then put together to create a freaky chimera of a Pokemon. Below are the combinations and which Pokemon you get from them.

Fossil Combinations:

  • Fossilized Bird + Fossilized Drake = Dracozolt
  • Fossilized Bird + Fossilized Dino = Arctozolt
  • Fossilized Fish + Fossilized Drake = Dracovish
  • Fossilized Fish + Fossilized Dino = Arctovish

No Caption ProvidedGallery image 1Gallery image 2Gallery image 3Gallery image 4

You’re able to get Arctozolt easily in Sword, while Shield players can get Dracovish right off the bat. For Dracozolt and Arctovish, you’ll likely need to trade some Pokemon that are holding the necessary fossils in order to complete your collection. You can find additional fossils on the ground in the Dusty Bowl section of the Wild Area, and the Digging Duo near the Wild Area nursery will sometimes dig up fossils–you can spend some Watts with each of them once per day to get a variety of treasures.

For more Pokemon help, check out our guides to evolving a variety of tricky Pokemon, including Milcery and Applin. We also have a feature laying out where you can find certain cool, rare, and powerful Pokemon in the games.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/pokemon-sword-and-shield-how-do-fossils-work/1100-6471589/

Pokemon Sword & Shield: Every Pokemon That Can Gigantamax

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One of the big new features in Pokemon Sword and Shield is Dynamaxing, which increases a Pokemon’s size and powers up its stats for three turns during battles. While any Pokemon can Dynamax, only a few species are capable of Gigantamaxing, which not only supersizes a Pokemon, but changes its appearance as well.

Even among the Pokemon species that can Gigantamax, only special individuals are actually capable of taking on these forms. For instance, only certain Butterfree you catch through Max Raid battles can Gigantamax; those you capture normally will only be able to Dynamax. You can also get a couple of Gigantamax Pokemon for free; if you have save data from Let’s Go Pikachu or Eevee on your Switch, you can get a Gigantamax Pikachu or Eevee at the Wild Area Station, and everyone who picks up Sword or Shield by January 15 can get a free Gigantamax Meowth.

The Pokemon Company revealed a handful of Gigantamax forms ahead of Sword and Shield’s launch, but there are many more in the games beyond that. If you want to see all the Pokemon that have Gigantamax forms in Sword and Shield, we’ve rounded up the full list of Gigantamax-capable monsters below.

Pokemon That Have Gigantamax Forms

  • Pikachu (free gift for playing Let’s Go Pikachu)
  • Eevee (free gift for playing Let’s Go Eevee)
  • Meowth (free early purchase gift)
  • Charizard
  • Butterfree
  • Machamp
  • Gengar
  • Kingler
  • Lapras
  • Garbodor
  • Corviknight
  • Orbeetle
  • Drednaw
  • Coalossal
  • Flapple/Appletun
  • Sandaconda
  • Centiskorch
  • Hatterene
  • Grimmsnarl
  • Alcremie
  • Copperajah
  • Duraludon

How To Get Gigantamax Pokemon

As previously mentioned, just because a species of Pokemon has a Gigantamax form doesn’t mean that every Pokemon of that species is actually capable of Gigantamaxing. Presently, the only way to obtain a Gigantamax Pokemon in Sword and Shield is to encounter it in Max Raid battles. You can fairly easily tell if a Raid features a Gigantamax Pokemon by its silhouette when you interact with a raid den; if the silhouette looks different than the Pokemon’s typical sprite, then you’ll be battling its Gigantamax form.

If you manage to defeat the Gigantamax Pokemon in battle, then you’ll have an opportunity to capture it. Unfortunately, you aren’t guaranteed to catch the Pokemon, and if it pops out of the Poke Ball you threw, it’ll run away and you’ll need to wait for it to appear in another Max Raid. It also appears you can’t pass down the ability to Gigantamax through breeding. On the bright side, however, most Pokemon you encounter through raids have at least a couple of perfect IVs, and you now have a means of changing their natures thanks to new Mint items, so it’s possible to make them viable for competitive battling.

Pokemon Sword & Shield Guides

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/pokemon-sword-and-shield-every-pokemon-that-can-gi/1100-6471583/

Conception PLUS: Maidens of the Twelve Stars Review

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Conception PLUS: Maidens of the Twelve Stars Review

Spike Chunsoft’s latest revival of their old PSP dungeon crawler/dating sim hybrid unfortunately ends up unmemorable despite it’s incredibly outrageous premise.

source /review/9206-conception-plus-maidens-of-the-twelve-stars-review