NHL 19 Is Now Free For EA Access Subscribers On Xbox One

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The EA Access catalog of free games continues to grow. The newest addition, NHL 19, arrived this week, and the timing is notable given that the NHL Playoffs just began.

NHL 19 is a fantastic simulation ice hockey experience, and it stands out from previous entries with its addition of pond hockey. GameSpot’s NHL 19 review scored it an 8/10.

EA Access is only available on Xbox One right now, but it’s reportedly coming to PlayStation 4 as well. A PC edition called Origin Access is also available, but NHL 19 is not available on PC.

EA Access costs $5/month or $30/year, and for that, subscribers get access to a growing catalog of EA Games including other 2018 sports titles like NBA Live 19 and Madden 19. Outside of those, titles like Battlefield 1, Skate 3, Titanfall 2, and many others are in the Vault of freebies. Subscribers also save 10 percent on all EA digital content, while members also usually get to play upcoming EA games multiple days before their public release. There are also perks like bonuses in new EA games like Apex Legends.

During an earnings call in February, management discussed bringing EA Access to another “major” platform, so that could be a reference to PlayStation 4. Keep checking back with GameSpot for the latest.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/nhl-19-is-now-free-for-ea-access-subscribers-on-xb/1100-6466173/

Watch The Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order Reveal Here

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Apex Legends developer Respawn Entertainment is developing a new Star Wars game, Jedi Fallen Order, and it’s finally set for its big reveal this week at Star Was Celebration.

The reveal is taking place this Saturday, April 13, during an event that begins at 1:30 PM local time in Chicago where Star Wars Celebration is taking place. That works out to 2:30 PM ET and 11:30 AM PT. Internationally, the stream starts at 7:30 PM GMT and 4:30 AM AEST in Australia on Sunday. Respawn boss Vince Zampella and game director Stig Asmussen will appear on a panel where they’ll talk more about Jedi Fallen Order. Presumably we’re getting a trailer, too.

Here is the official description for the Jedi Fallen Order panel:

“Join the head of Respawn Entertainment, Vince Zampella, and Game Director, Stig Asmussen, along with many special guests, to be the first to learn about this holiday’s highly anticipated action adventure game, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Hear how Respawn and Lucasfilm collaborated on this original Star Wars story, following a young Padawan’s journey in the Dark Times following Order 66. And of course, we’ll have a few surprises in store.”

While Jedi Fallen Order is scheduled for release later this year, very little is known about it so far. That’s set to change during Star Wars Celebration, and we’ll have all the news here on GameSpot as it’s announced.

What we do know is that Knights of the Old Republic II writer Chris Avellone worked on the script, while Asmussen, the game director, previously worked on the God of War franchise at Sony before moving to Respawn. In terms of the story and timeline, Jedi Fallen Order tells an original story that takes place “shortly after” the events of Episode II: Revenge of the Sith.

A teaser image for Jedi Fallen Order shows a glowing hilt of a broken lightsaber. We don’t know what it means, but those answers should come in due time.

For more on Jedi Fallen Order, check out GameSpot’s story: “Everything We Want From Respawn’s Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order.”

Star Wars Celebration also promises news and reveals for Star Wars: Episode IX and lots more. Go to GameSpot sister site CNET to see a full rundown of what to expect from the show.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-the-star-wars-jedi-fallen-order-reveal-here/1100-6466171/

Xbox One, Rage 2 News Coming During Inside Xbox Stream Next Week

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The next Inside Xbox live stream is scheduled for April 16 at 2:00 PM PT / 5:00 PM ET / 10:00 PM BST. The show will cover pre-E3 news, as well as announcements for Game Pass and several upcoming Xbox One games.

The April Inside Xbox live stream is scheduled to be an hour long, and “will explore some exciting Xbox Game Pass news,” Xbox Wire editor-in-chief Will Tuttle wrote in a blog post. The show will also provide further details for the upcoming anniversary update for Sea of Thieves and footage of the beta for Warhammer: Chaosbane. An exclusive look at Rage 2 will also occur during the live stream, followed by “several surprises” for other games.

Rage 2 seems to be the focus of the live stream, as watching the show on Mixer while logged into your Microsoft account will unlock a Rage 2-themed avatar item. So far, most of the gameplay trailer for Rage 2 have focused on the game’s fast-paced combat–which incorporates destructive powers to make you feel like an unstoppable superhero. However, there haven’t been too many examples of the game’s driving components–which is surprising given developer Avalanche Studios’ work on Mad Max.

April 2019 sees another six titles join Xbox Game Pass, following three that were added earlier in the month. If you’re paying the $10 USD a month subscription fee to be a part of Game Pass, this month you gain access to Prey, Monster Hunter World, Resident Evil 5, The Walking Dead: A New Frontier, Life is Strange 2: Episode 2, and The Golf Club 2. We’ve given several of those games fairly high review scores, and listed Monster Hunter World as one of our game of the year finalists for 2018.

Prey and The Golf Club 2 arrive on Game Pass on April 11, Monster Hunter World and The Walking Dead: A New Frontier on April 18, Life is Strange 2: Episode 2 on April 24, and Resident Evil 5 on April 25. Earlier this month, Michonne, Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite, and Minecraft joined Xbox Game Pass.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-rage-2-news-coming-during-inside-xbox-str/1100-6466165/

Overwatch Teases First New Storm Rising Skin

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Overwatch‘s next big event, Storm Rising, is coming on April 16. In the meantime, Blizzard is teasing some of the new cosmetics you can earn, and we got our first look at a brand-new skin. This one features the newest character, Baptiste, but it’s far from a heroic makeover.

The Legendary skin is called “Talon Baptiste” and features the soldier of fortune in his obviously evil red and black ensemble. Fans of Overwatch lore may recall that Baptiste was a Talon operative before having a crisis of conscience and abandoning the organization.

As it happens, the Storm Rising event revolves around another Talon operative, an Omnic named Maximilien. The Overwatch team of Tracer, Genji, Winston, and Mercy are dispatched to bring him in as a storm threatens to obscure his movements while he slips away again.

This is the latest in the Overwatch Archives series of events, which have featured PvE co-op missions that establish story material. Past events have had younger incarnations of the Overwatch heroes, along with different looks like Talon Widowmaker. The past Archives missions, Uprising and Retribution, will be playable as well.

Storm Rising will run from April 16-May 6. Blizzard is likely to keep dropping more early looks at cosmetics leading up to the event.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/overwatch-teases-first-new-storm-rising-skin/1100-6466164/

You Can Reserve Your Pokemon Go Name In Harry Potter: Wizards Unite Right Now

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Niantic and Warner Bros.’ joint Harry Potter game, Wizards Unite, launches on iOS and Android later this year. While the title still doesn’t have a firm release date, the companies recently opened pre-registration for it on Android, and now those who’ve played one of Niantic’s previous games can reserve their same usernames for it.

From now until 11:59 PM PT on April 30, Ingress Prime and Pokemon Go players can reserve their in-game names to use in Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. To do so, you’ll first need to go to Niantic’s website, then select the option to use either your Ingress Agent name or Pokemon Go Trainer nickname. Follow the prompts and your Harry Potter: Wizards Unite username will be set.

Niantic notes that there may be some instances where you can’t use your same username, specifically if it overlaps with one in a different Niantic title. If that happens to be the case, the developer says that reservations will be handled on a first come, first served basis.

Wizards Unite casts players as a member of Statute of Secrecy Task Force, and it’s your mission to explore the real world, locate Foundables (important people and items in the wizarding world), and dispel the Confoundable magic that’s trapping them. While the basic premise of the game is similar to Pokemon Go, it also bears many similarities to a traditional RPG, with a stronger emphasis on story and RPG elements like skill trees and potion brewing.

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite was originally scheduled to launch in 2018 before being delayed into this year. You can read more about the title in our hands-on impressions, and Android users can pre-register for it on Google Play.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/you-can-reserve-your-pokemon-go-name-in-harry-pott/1100-6466160/

Apex Legends Adds Quit Penalty By Accident

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Seeing an opponent leave an Apex Legends match early is one of the more irritating facets of the game, but fortunately developer Respawn has a fix in the works to penalize anyone who does go MIA. Unfortunately, the company accidentally set the feature live before it was ready, before quickly disabling it once again.

In an update on the Apex Legends subreddit, community manager Jay Frechette said the studio has been working on the feature, but “it wasn’t our intention or plan to have it go live with the [April 4] update.” He says the penalty turned on early due to a piece of missing script, and the studio has since fixed it to disable the penalty. He states he doesn’t have an ETA for “if or when” it will be released.

The 1.1 update included some quality-of-life changes, like allowing you to invite a member of your last squad into your party, and the addition of squad invites to the Friends menu. You can also mute from the Leegends select screen, so altogether it seemed aimed at making the game easier to connect with good teammates and ignore bad ones.

Still, the quit early penalty has been one of the most requested features among the community, since revolving around three-person squads means that a single premature exit can be a crippling blow to your team composition. The admission that the team doesn’t know if the feature will be implemented at all suggests that it is still weighing the idea, possibly against other ways to deal with team composition issues.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/apex-legends-adds-quit-penalty-by-accident/1100-6466098/

PS4’s PSN Name Change Feature Can Cause Issues With These Games

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PlayStation fans can rejoice, as the much-requested PSN ID change feature is finally coming to PS4 this week. Changing your PSN ID will be free for the first time; each subsequent change will cost $10 / £8, while PS Plus subscribers get a reduction to $5 / £4. The news is good, but there’s a catch: not every PS4 game might not play nicely with your new ID, and in some cases the problems could be significant.

As stated on the PlayStation Blog, “As a result of the preview program, we’ve found an instance where a game did not fully support the feature.” Sid Shuman, PlayStation’s director of social media, clarified that any game published on or after April 1, 2018 should support the feature. However, not every game has been tested with the feature implemented.

Sony has provided a tentative list of games that could present issues for those who change their PSN IDs. Sony says a “large majority of most actively played PS4 games support the feature,” and while you can rollback the change, you’ll want to be aware of the potential for issues.

There are two ways to change your PSN ID: on the PS4 itself or via a web browser. Once you’ve done so, be mindful when jumping into the games below, which are separated into those that have been found to have issues and those with “critical issues.”

Games With Issues Identified

Changing your PSN ID may cause the previous ID to remain visible or disappear entirely, user accounts to unlink, and settings to return to default in these games. Sony suggests that signing out and signing back in should resolve these non-critical issues.

  • Absolver: Downfall
  • Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag
  • Big City Stories
  • Bloodborne
  • Call of Duty: Ghosts
  • Crossout
  • Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin
  • Dark Souls III
  • Dragon Quest Builders
  • FIFA 17 Standard Edition
  • Gauntlet: Slayer Edition
  • God Eater 2 Rage Burst
  • Grand Theft Auto V
  • Gundam Versus
  • Guns Up!
  • Injustice 2 – Standard Edition
  • Killzone Shadow Fall
  • Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite
  • MLB The Show 17
  • Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4
  • Naruto Shippuden: Storm Trilogy
  • Naruto Storm: Road to Boruto Expansion
  • NBA 2K19
  • PlayStation VR Worlds
  • Rock Band 4
  • Rocksmith 2014 Edition – Remastered
  • The Last of Us Remastered
  • Titanfall 2
  • Trackmania Turbo
  • Trove
  • Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
  • UNO
  • Warframe
  • WipEout Omega Collection

Games With Critical Issues

Changing your PSN ID may cause you to lose progress and/or in-game currency in these games. Additionally, some parts of the game may function properly. Sony doesn’t recommend changing your ID if you want to keep entitlements and Trophies as it’s “possible to incur permanent game errors or data loss.”

  • Disc Jam
  • Everybody’s Golf
  • Just Dance 2017
  • LittleBigPlanet 3
  • MLB 14 The Show
  • MLB The Show 16
  • MLB® The Show 15
  • ONRUSH
  • The Golf Club 2
  • Worms Battlegrounds

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4s-psn-name-change-feature-can-cause-issues-with/1100-6466161/

New Destiny 2 Limited-Time Event, The Revelry, Coming Soon

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Bungie has announced the next event for Destiny 2 is called The Revelry. The spring-themed event will begin on April 16 and continue until May 6, adding content and a new Exotic weapon to the game. A new trailer detailing the event has also been released. It can be viewed below.

The Revelry grants access to a new area called Verdant Forest, which–like Festival of the Lost’s Haunted Forest–adds objective-based fights that you need to clear in order to face off against an onslaught of bosses. Although Verdant Forest can be tackled alone, Bungie advises to fight “with a team.”

During the event, you’ll also be given a Reveler’s Tonic. The tonic can be filled with Reveler’s Essence by killing the Verdant Forest’s bosses or clearing certain side quests. Once filled, the tonic can be used to reduce the cooldown on grenades, melee attacks, or class abilities. The potency of the tonic can be increased as well, by equipping pieces of The Revelry’s new Inaugural Revelry or Vernal Growth armor sets. The effects of these armor pieces and the your tonic will apply in all game modes except for Private Matches during the entirety of The Revelry event.

You will also be able to exchange the Reveler’s Essence you collect for limited-time rewards, “including world drops, Enhancement Cores, and ornaments for the Inaugural Revelry helmet.” The latter will grow in size by equipping more pieces of the Inaugural Revelry or Vernal Growth armor sets. Essence can also be exchanged for a new Exotic kinetic fusion rifle called Arbalest. Bungie describes the firearm as “the first weapon of its kind,” and “does extra damage against enemy shields.”

No Caption Provided

During The Revelry, drop rates for Bright Engrams will be doubled, and players at max level will earn one every time they level up. Limited-time Revelry Engrams will be available as well, the images of which are posted above.

Destiny 2 is available on Xbox One, PS4, and PC. The game’s latest patch sees the return of the quest that allows you to unlock the Exotic arc machine gun Thunderlord, in case you missed out during the Festival of the Lost.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-destiny-2-limited-time-event-the-revelry-comin/1100-6466159/

PS4: How To Change Your PSN ID

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It’s been a long time coming, but Sony is finally rolling out the much-requested PSN ID change feature this week. From April 10 (April 11 in Europe), PS4 users will have the option to change their PSN IDs as many times as they’d like either through the console itself or a web browser. Here’s how the process works.

The first time you change your PSN ID will be free, but each subsequent change will carry a $10 / £8 fee. If you have a PlayStation Plus subscription, you’ll pay half that, so each change will cost you $5 / £4. As previously mentioned, there are no limits to the number of times you can change your PSN ID, and you can always revert back to any previous ID at no charge by contacting PlayStation support.

To change your PSN ID through your PS4, first go to the Settings tab and select Account Management. From there, choose Account Information, then Profile, and finally Online ID. Input the PSN ID you’d like to use and follow the on-screen prompts to finish the process. To change your ID through a web browser, first log in to your PSN account, then select PSN Profile. Click the Edit button next to your PSN ID and you’ll be able to change it. Follow the remaining prompts to complete the change.

As previously noted, you’ll only be able to change your PSN ID either through a PS4 console or a browser; you can’t do so on PS3 or Vita. Moreover, child accounts cannot change their ID. If you do change yours, you’ll have the option to display your old ID next to your new one on your profile for up to 30 days to help your friends notice the change. You can read more about the process on the PlayStation Blog.

Another caveat to keep in mind is that not all PS4 games will support ID changes. While any title published on or after April 1, 2018 should display your new ID in-game, Sony says it discovered one instance “where a [recent] game did not fully support the feature.” A small handful of games also have “critical issues” that may potentially result in the loss of game progress and other data if you do change your ID. You can see the full list of games that support PSN ID changes here.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-how-to-change-your-psn-id/1100-6466157/

Sekiro For $48, Kingdom Hearts 3 For $32, And More Game Deals For PS4, Xbox One, PC

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For a limited time, you can get some pretty sweet discounts on select video games and accessories at Newegg, which is offering a 20% off promo code now through tomorrow, April 11 or until supplies run out. The promo code to use is EMCTYUT27.

This promotion includes some of this year’s biggest releases, like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, which is discounted to $48 with the promo code; The Division 2, also available for $48; Kingdom Hearts 3, which is marked down to $38; and Devil May Cry 5‘s Deluxe edition, which is down to $56 for Xbox One. Notably, you can grab two of 2018’s best games for remarkably cheap: God of War for $32 and Red Dead Redemption 2 for $30, both on PS4.

There’s also a small selection of consoles and accessories on sale, including the PlayStation Classic for just $32 (as a reminder, it launched at $100 in December), a few PSVR bundles, gaming headsets, and wireless controllers.

Shop Newegg’s 20% off sale on select games »

Check out some of our picks below–the price listed reflects the discount using promo code EMCTYUT27.

Games:

  • Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown — $48 (PS4, Xbox One)
  • Anthem — $48 (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
  • Devil May Cry 5 – Deluxe Edition — $56 (Xbox One)
  • God of War — $32 (PS4)
  • Kingdom Hearts 3 — $32 (PS4, Xbox One)
  • Kingdom Hearts: The Story So Far — $32 (PS4)
  • Marvel’s Spider-Man — $32 (PS4)
  • Metro Exodus – Day One Edition — $32 (PS4, Xbox One)
  • Red Dead Redemption 2 — $30 (PS4) $48 (Xbox One)
  • Resident Evil 2 — $48 (PS4)
  • Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice — $48 (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
  • Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 — $48 (PS4, Xbox One)

Consoles and accessories:

While game deals are on your mind, be sure to check out the massive sales going on at GameStop and Target right now too. At Target, it’s buy one, get one 50% off on select video games through Saturday, which is a great option if you’re planning to buy multiple games anyway. GameStop’s sale runs until April 20 and features huge markdowns on critically acclaimed games for PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, as well as deals on consoles, accessories, toys, and collectibles.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/sekiro-for-48-kingdom-hearts-3-for-32-and-more-gam/1100-6466154/