Pokemon Sword & Shield Holiday Max Raid Event Now Live

A new Wild Area event is now underway in Pokemon Sword and Shield. With the holidays just around the corner, you’ll be able to encounter the gift-giving Pokemon Delibird much more often in Max Raids for a limited time–and snag some extra rewards for defeating it.

The holiday Max Raid event runs until December 26. Despite being a fitting star for the event, Delibird isn’t the most exciting Pokemon to encounter, but there’s a good incentive to participate in as many Raids as you can anyway: you’ll net even more candies than usual for defeating Dynamax Delibird, along with a handful of great Ice-type TRs. Much like the TMs of old, TRs are single-use items that can teach Pokemon new attacks, making them very valuable.

Delibird isn’t the only Pokemon appearing more often in Max Raids right now. Until January 9, you’re more likely to encounter Gigantamax versions of Butterfree and Snorlax. On top of that, Sword players can find Gigantamax Drednaw and Sandaconda, while Shield players are more likely to run into Gigantamax Corviknight and Centiskorch. You can see the current Gigantamax Raid schedule here.

In addition to the holiday Max Raid event, The Pokemon Company is giving away some new freebies for Sword and Shield players. Until January 15, you can receive a handful of rare Poke Balls via Mystery Gift. You also have until that date to claim a free Gigantamax Meowth. You can see all the other free gifts available now for Pokemon Sword and Shield in our roundup.

Pokemon Sword and Shield earned a place on GameSpot’s best Switch games of 2019 list. We gave the titles a 9/10 in our Pokemon Sword and Shield review and called them “the best new generation of Pokemon games in years.” If you need help on your Pokemon journey, you can see some of our Sword and Shield guides below.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/pokemon-sword-and-shield-holiday-max-raid-event-no/1100-6472395/

Elden Ring – Tamoor Hussain’s Most Anticipated Game Of 2020

2020 is almost here, so we’ve asked GameSpot’s staff to share which games they’re looking forward to most in the new year. New consoles are going to dominate the headlines, but at the end of the day it’s all about the games, and there are a ton of exciting ones to look forward to. When you’re done reading this entry, follow along with all of our other end-of-the-year coverage collected in our Best of 2019 hub and our Most Anticipated of 2020 hub.

Very little is known about From Software’s Elden Ring, including its release date, so the idea that it could arrive in 2020 is more of a personal hope than anything suggested by its developer or publisher. But how could we not get excited about the prospect of another imminent From Software game? The studio has gone from strength to strength since its breakout success, 2011’s Dark Souls. And just this year it released Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, which we crowned GameSpot’s best game of 2019.

The little we do know about Elden Ring, however, indicates that it could be the most ambitious title the studio has ever created. Of course, the easy discussion point to stoke the flames of anticipation is the involvement of George R. R. Martin, writer of A Song of Ice and Fire–better known as Game of Thrones. But what’s more exciting is that Martin is collaborating with Dark Souls and Bloodborne director Hidetaka Miyazaki, an exceptionally talented writer in his own right. Dark Souls’ Lordran and Bloodborne’s Yharnam remain two of the most beloved virtual worlds in gaming, meticulously crafted and vividly depicted, so the prospect of an entirely new world from Miyazaki is tantalizing.

Yharnam, in particular, is a world that I adore. To this day, four years since its launch, I play Bloodborne religiously and what keeps me coming back is the world. While I may have unraveled its many secrets, connected the dots between seemingly disparate nuggets of lore to understand the narrative as a cohesive whole, the atmosphere and ambience remain as fresh and as striking as the first time.

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For Elden Ring, Martin has reportedly crafted the broader strokes of the world’s lore, based on discussions about themes and design ideas with Miyazaki. From there, Miyazaki is developing the core narrative and characters. This, it seems, plays to the strengths of both writers, which means whatever they come up with could be truly spectacular. For Elden Ring, From Software is returning to dark fantasy, but in a first for the studio it is going open-world.

Until now, players have always spent their time in one location: a vast, sprawling city besieged by a cataclysm, overwhelmed by supernatural forces, or decayed by repeated cycles of life and death. Elden Ring presents the promise of visiting multiple locations. At the risk of pushing expectations too high, imagine a world in which one area is Boletaria and another Lordran, while a third is Yharnam. Of course, I wouldn’t expect any of these to contain the same amount of content as each of the games those locations represent, but that kind of thematic variety–and the stories and characters that come with it–has huge potential, and From Software hasn’t let us down thus far.

When it comes to gameplay, the studio showed with Sekiro that it can do fast-paced, highly precise mechanics alongside the cautious style of the Souls series and the more offense-based approach of Bloodborne. My hope is that it takes these styles–while adding a few more–and ties them more closely with different kinds of weapons. What I’m saying is, in my mind Elden Ring is a game that combines the best of From Software in a game much bigger in scale and scope.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/elden-ring-tamoor-hussains-most-anticipated-game-o/1100-6472273/

We’re Giving Away A PS4 Pro And More*

It’s time to celebrate the best games of 2019, so we decided to partner with Giant Bomb and CNET to give away three amazing prize bundles that come with a console and some cash so you can buy your favorite game of this year. Here are the prizes:

  • One grand prize: PS4 Pro 1TB Jet Black $400 + $60 Playstation Store Gift Card
  • One first prize: XBOX One S All Digital Edition $250 + $60 Xbox Gift Card
  • One second prize: Nintendo Switch Lite $200 + $70 Nintendo eShop Gift Card

To sign up for the giveaway you have to make sure you read our official rules, accept the terms and conditions, and fill out the form below. You can get extra entries to increase your chances of winning by completing the actions available in the form, like subscribing to our YouTube channels.

If you are having trouble viewing the form on your mobile device, please click here.

We will be reaching out to the potential winners via email, so don’t forget to check your inbox around January 2. Be sure to check your junk mail, too.) Good luck, everyone!

This giveaway is neither sponsored nor endorsed by Nintendo, Sony or Microsoft.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/were-giving-away-a-ps4-pro-and-more/1100-6472380/

Amazon Prime Members Can Get Five Free Devolver Digital Games

Each month, Amazon Prime members get a handful of free games thanks to Twitch Prime. This month’s freebies have been available since December 2, but the holidays are bringing a bonus batch of really good games. From December 26 through December 31, Prime members can add five Devolver Digital games to their PC game library, entirely free of charge. Of the five freebies, four of them were released in 2019.

Twitch Prime December 2019 bonus freebies

  • Ape Out
  • Gato Roboto
  • Heave Ho
  • Witcheye
  • Enter the Gungeon

First up is Ape Out, a wonderful top-down action game that cleverly uses a jazz soundtrack to make its good ape on bad human violence even more entertaining. Ape Out was my absolute favorite game of 2019.

If you’re a fan of Metroidvanias, Gato Roboto is right up your alley. This short and sweet side-scroller stars a small kitty cat who explores a monochromatic alien world.

Heave Ho, the newest of the batch, is a hilarious co-op game for up to four players that asks you to hold hands and grapple across perilous gaps. You’ll also get Witcheye, a retro platformer with gorgeous visuals that happens to be one of my favorite mobile games of 2019.

The fifth Devolver Digital freebie is Enter the Gungeon, a stellar 2016 rogue-like that you should definitely play if you haven’t already.

You get more than just free games with Twitch Prime. The bonus freebies also include new loot for Red Dead Online, Borderlands 3, Grand Theft Auto Online, and Apex Legends.

To pick up all 10 of December’s free games, all you have to do is link your Twitch account to your Amazon Prime account. Amazon Prime memberships cost $119 per year, but you sign up for a free 30-day trial.

The Epic Games Store is also giving away a bunch of games this holiday. From now until January 1, you can get a free PC game every day.

Twitch Prime’s free games for December 2019

  • Hover
  • Hue
  • ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove!
  • Sherlock Holmes: The Devil’s Daughter
  • When Ski Lifts Go Wrong
  • Ape Out — Dec. 26
  • Gato Roboto — Dec. 26
  • Heave Ho — Dec. 26
  • Witcheye — Dec. 26
  • Enter the Gungeon — Dec. 26

Free-in-game loot schedule

  • Now Available: Crypto Skin for Apex Legends
  • Now Available: Borderlands 3 In-Game Loot
  • Now Available: Grand Theft Auto Online In-Game Loot
  • Now Available: Red Dead Online In-Game Loot
  • Now Available: Sea of Thieves In-Game Loot
  • Now Available: PUBG Mobile In-Game Loot
  • Now Available: Free Games with Prime (listed above)
  • Now Available: King of Fighters: ALLSTAR In-Game Loot
  • Now Available: Magic: The Gathering In-Game Loot
  • Now Available: Mobile Legends In-Game Loot
  • Now Available: Dauntless In-Game Loot
  • Now Available: Fortress M In-Game Loot
  • Now Available: RuneScape In-Game Loot
  • Now Available: Contra In-Game Loot
  • Now Available: King of Fighters: ALLSTAR In-Game Loot
  • Now Available: Mobile Legends In-Game Loot
  • Now Available: Rocket League In-Game Loot
  • December 23: Fortress M In-Game Loot
  • December 30: King of Fighters: ALLSTAR In-Game Loot
  • TBD: League of Legends In-Game Loot
  • TBD: Teamfight Tactics In-Game Loot

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/amazon-prime-members-can-get-five-free-devolver-di/1100-6472397/

Where Is Xur Today? Destiny 2 Exotic Location, Weapon, Armor (December 20-24)

It’s the second week of the Season of Dawn in Destiny 2, and there are a whole lot of things to do in the game. Another story mission has you working to save Saint-14 from his fate in the past, and new obelisks make additional weapons available in the Sundial activity. It’s also the first week of Destiny 2’s holiday event, The Dawning, which means there are a bunch of new treats to bake and deliver to characters throughout the solar system.

This weekend marks the second visit by Xur during the new season as well. Here’s where to find him and what he’s selling.

Xur Location

Xur is located on Titan on The Rig, and has Two-Tailed Fox as his Exotic weapon this weekend. For Titans, he offers Dunemarchers leg armor; for Warlocks, it’s Contraverse Hold gauntlets; and for Hunters, it’s the Assassin’s Cowl helmet.

To find Xur’s location, spawn in at the transmat zone on The Rig, jump on your sparrow, and head north. Head under the catwalks until you come out the other side with the water on your left. Look for a low building on the left side; inside you’ll find Xur.

Find Xur in a weird building on The Rig, hanging out in the dark, all alone.

What Is Xur Selling?

You can snag yourself the Two-Tailed Fox from Xur this weekend. This Exotic rocket launcher is a fun one for both PvE and PvP. It launches not one, but two rockets at a time–one that deals Void damage, and one doing Solar. Both have different effects on targets, as well.

If Xur’s wares aren’t compelling, you can always roll the dice on the expensive Fated Engram he brings with him. This gives you a single Exotic from the limited pool of ones you haven’t already earned, for the price of 97 Legendary shards. If there’s something you’re missing from your collection and you want it sooner rather than later, it can be a good deal–starting with the Season of Dawn, all Exotic Engrams are Fated Engrams. That means you can get the Season of Dawn Exotics immediately, from Xur’s Fated Engrams, without having to wait for random drops. Be sure to purchase it on the character who’s missing the Exotic, and note that you can only get one per week, so choose wisely which of your characters makes the buy. You can now potentially get Wavesplitter from the Fated Engram as well, which was previously a PS4 exclusive.

Xur Item Lineup (December 20-24)

  • Two-Tailed Fox (Exotic rocket launcher)
  • Dunemarchers (Exotic Titan leg armor)
  • Contraverse Hold (Exotic Warlock gauntlets)
  • Assassin’s Cowl (Exotic Hunter helmet)

Two-Tailed Fox

You get two rockets for the price of one with Two-Tailed Fox.

One of the more fun Exotics, especially in PvP, is Two-Tailed Fox, thanks to it really feeling like overkill when you use it on someone. The rocket launcher fires a pair of spiraling, tracking rockets, which can do a lot of damage and blow up real good. If the thing you’re shooting doesn’t die immediately, though, you get added benefits: the Void rocket suppressed the enemy, while the Solar rocket inflicts burning that does damage over time.

Dunemarchers (Titan)

Titan’s Dunemarchers speed up your sprint and amp up your melee attack.

Dunemarchers are an old Exotic from back in Year One, but they’re still pretty darn useful. They increase your sprint speed, and as you run, you build up a static electric charge. Melee an enemy when the charge is full and you’ll send Arc lightning chaining between multiple nearby enemies.

Stats:

  • Mobility: 13
  • Resilience: 7
  • Recovery: 6
  • Discipline: 6
  • Intellect: 6
  • Strength: 12
  • Total: 50

Contraverse Hold (Warlock)

Contraverse Hold is great for Warlocks who like to charge up their Void grenades, especially in Crucible.

Warlocks who like to throw Void grenades will get a kick out of Contraverse Hold. The gauntlets give you bonuses for your Chaos Accelerant, Feed the void, or Handheld Supernova grenades, making you more resistant to damage as you’re charging. You’ll also get a random amount of Grenade energy back every time you hit an enemy with a charged grenade.

Stats:

  • Mobility: 6
  • Resilience: 6
  • Recovery: 12
  • Discipline: 12
  • Intellect: 6
  • Strength: 6
  • Total: 48

Assassin’s Cowl (Hunter)

If you like using Finishers but not getting shot while you watch them, you’ll want to grab Assassin’s Cowl for your Hunter.

The newest of the Exotics Xur has this week is the Assassin’s Cowl helmet for Hunters, which comes from the Shadowkeep set. It incentivizes using Finishers, giving you invisibility and restoring some of your health and shields when you use one. You also get those bonuses when you kill a Guardian with a melee attack in the Crucible.

Stats:

  • Mobility: 16
  • Resilience: 6
  • Recovery: 2
  • Discipline: 6
  • Intellect: 2
  • Strength: 16
  • Total: 48

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/where-is-xur-today-destiny-2-exotic-location-weapo/1100-6472394/

Project xCloud Will Not Replace Microsoft’s Next-Gen Console, Xbox Series X

Microsoft doesn’t believe that cloud gaming is going to replace console or PC gaming, at least in the short term. So when designing both Project xCloud and Project Scarlett–which is now officially named Xbox Series X–the company built the two to work together, not as separate systems, for playing games. Just as Nintendo’s Switch is a console that can be used to play on the go, Project xCloud allows Xbox owners users to play their games while away from their home setup.

“We’re not trying to tell people that xCloud is going to replace their console or xCloud is going to replace gaming on a PC or replace gaming on a Switch or something like that,” Xbox head Phil Spencer told GameSpot in an exclusive interview. “But we do think that ability for me to take my gaming experience with me–so that when I log in, all my friends are there, all my games are there, my saved games are there… my Achievements, [and] my library is with me–is pretty critical.”

To that end, Project xCloud’s platform is the same as the one for Xbox Series X–which Spencer says should make it easier for third-party developers to design their game and have it easily work for both the cloud service and the console so they “don’t have to port to a new platform.” If you build your game for Xbox Series X, it should work on mobile devices, computers, and other systems that support Project xCloud. “We literally show up to third-party publishers and we hand them a phone [with] their games running in xCloud,” Spencer said. “They didn’t have to do any work to make that happen.”

Spencer points out that this is able to work because Xbox Series X and Project xCloud were designed around the same time as one another. This is different from the Xbox One, which was designed with the idea of implementing cloud support down the road. “[With] Scarlett, we started–at the beginning–saying, ‘There’s a world where [we] might actually put as many of these [consoles] in the cloud as we do in people’s homes,'” Spencer said.

Xbox Series X is scheduled to release in 2020 during the holiday season, which is around the same time Sony will also be releasing its next-gen console, the PlayStation 5.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/project-xcloud-will-not-replace-microsofts-next-ge/1100-6472346/

PS4 Holiday Sale Is Live Now: Great Deals On Sekiro, Control, Death Stranding, And More

Microsoft, Nintendo, and Steam have launched their winter sales, and now Sony is getting in on the holiday fun. Sony is offering up to huge discounts on more than 1,500 games during its holiday sale, which will be broken up into two waves. The first round of deals, which is live now, runs until January 5 before the second set of deals takes its place until January 16.

The sale features a number of 2019’s biggest games, including Death Stranding and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, both of which are discounted to $40. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, which was recently named GameSpot’s best game of 2019, is available for $39. You can also snag Control for $39, Remedy Entertainment’s wonderful action game that also appeared on our best games of 2019 list.

Sports fans can pick up Madden NFL 20 for $36, FIFA 20 for $30, NBA 2K20 for $30, NHL 20 for $30, and MLB The Show 19 for $18.

The massive sale also brings excellent deals on PSVR games. Borderlands 2 VR is down from $50 to $25. Blood & Truth is also 50% off, dropping from $40 to $20. Meanwhile, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR has been slashed from $60 to $18.

We’ve rounded up some of the best deals in Sony’s holiday sale below. If you want to check out the full list of discounted games, head on over to the PlayStation Store.

Best PS4 game deals

  • A Way Out — $15 ($30)
  • Arizona Sunshine (PSVR) — $14 ($40)
  • Assassin’s Creed Odyssey — $15 ($60)
  • Battlefield V — $16 ($40)
  • Blasphemous — $16.74 ($25)
  • Blood & Truth — $20 ($40)
  • Borderlands 2 VR — $25 ($50)
  • Borderlands 3 — $39 ($60)
  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare — $39.59 ($60)
  • Castlevania Anniversary Collection — $10 ($20)
  • Catherine: Full Body — $30 ($60)
  • Children of Morta — $14.73 ($22)
  • Cities: Skylines — $10 ($40)
  • Code Vein — $36 ($60)
  • Control — $39 ($60)
  • Dark Souls III — $21.24 ($60)
  • Days Gone — $20 ($40)
  • Death Stranding — $40.19 ($60)
  • Devil May Cry 5 — $19.79 ($60)
  • The Division 2 — $12 ($60)
  • Doom — $6 ($20)
  • Dragon Quest XI — $30 ($60)
  • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR — $18 ($60)
  • Enter the Gungeon — $7.49 ($15)
  • Far Cry New Dawn — $16 ($40)
  • FIFA 20 — $30 ($60)
  • Final Fantasy X/X-2 Remaster — $12.49 ($25)
  • Ghost Recon Breakpoint — $19.79 ($60)
  • God of War — $15 ($20)
  • Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice — $15 ($30)
  • Hitman – Game of the Year Edition — $12 ($60)
  • Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition — $15 ($20)
  • Kingdom Hearts Collection — $33 ($100)
  • Kingdom Hearts 3 — $19.79 ($60)
  • Life is Strange 2: Complete Season — $20 ($40)
  • Little Nightmares Complete Edition — $7.49 ($30)
  • Madden NFL 20 — $36 ($60)
  • MLB The Show 19 — $18 ($30)
  • Mortal Kombat 11 — $24 ($60)
  • Moss (PSVR) — $19.79 ($30)
  • NBA 2K20 — $30 ($60)
  • Need for Speed Heat — $40.19 ($60)
  • NHL 20 — $30 ($60)
  • Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom — $20.39 ($60)
  • The Outer Worlds — $45 ($60)
  • Persona Dancing: Endless Night Bundle — $30 ($60)
  • Rage 2 — $19.79 ($60)
  • Rainbow Six Siege Deluxe Edition — $10 ($40)
  • Red Dead Redemption 2 — $30 ($60)
  • Resident Evil 2 Remake — $19.79 ($60)
  • Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice — $39 ($60)
  • Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order — $49.79 ($60)
  • Superhot — $10 ($25)
  • The Surge 2 — $30 ($60)
  • Watchdogs 2 — $12.49 ($50)

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-holiday-sale-is-live-now-great-deals-on-sekiro/1100-6472392/

Mortal Kombat 11 Holiday Event Brings Special Towers, Player Skins

NetherRealm is ringing in the holidays with seasonal events in Mortal Kombat 11, including special player skins and konsumables and even a winter-themed tower. The pair of events are Winter Wonderland, from December 22-27, and Ring in the New Year, from December 28-January 2. You can find the events across PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and Stadia.

First, the Winter Wonderlanad Tower event will feature three special towers with themed modifiers. Those include Killer Kanes, Sledding Tarkatans, Parachuting Ginger Deadmen, Exploding Snowmen, Christmas Trees, Menorahs, Dreidels, and Shooting Stars. The Ring in the New Tower will have similar modifiers: a disco ball, champagne bottles, party poppers, fireworks, and a digital countdown clock.

Those towers are free for all players, and you can play them to earn character skins, module pieces, and konsumables. This also comes alongside the seasonal ranked Kombat League, currently in its sixth season. That season will close on January 7, and the next will begin on January 14.

Meanwhile, NetherRealm is testing cross-play for MK11, including the ability to challenge those on the opposing platform to fulfill your console war bloodlust. The studio also showed off its next DLC character, The Joker of DC Comics fame, at The Game Awards. The Clown Prince is coming January 28 for Kombat Pack owners, and will join the Terminator, Sindel, Nightwolf, and Shang Tsung. One more Kombat Pack character remains after Joker, and that will be Spawn on March 17.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/mortal-kombat-11-holiday-event-brings-special-towe/1100-6472390/

New PS4 Update 7.02 Out Now, Here’s What It Does (Not Much!)

The latest PlayStation 4 firmware update is out now, but don’t expect any significant changes. The new 7.02 update is all about improving stability and system performance. “

The PS4 patch notes are one line long: “This system software update improves system performance.”

Everyone must download this update to play games online, but thankfully it’s only 447.9 MB. The timing of the update is curious, as it comes just eight days after the release of 7.01. With lots of new PlayStation consoles coming online for the holidays, it might be that Sony is pushing hard to make sure new players have a smooth experience.

Sony ended 2019 with some news–the company’s recent State of Play brought with it the announcement of Resident Evil 3’s remake. Additionally, a new trailer for Ghosts of Tsushima was released during The Game Awards.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-ps4-update-702-out-now-heres-what-it-does-not-/1100-6472389/

Yakuza: Like a Dragon new screenshots detail features in Survive Bar and Dragon Kart

Yakuza: Like a Dragon new screenshots detail features in Survive Bar and Dragon Kart

The former will be Kasuga’s base of operations where he can also mingle with friends.

source /news/9303-yakuza-like-a-dragon-new-screenshots-detail-features-in-survive-bar-and-dragon-kart