Eastshade Review - Brushing Up

February 14, 2019, 8:00 pm

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There's a blacksmith, toiling away in the markets of the capital of Nava, who thinks making swords is boring. Why create something, she argues, when death is its only use? She'd rather make a kettle any day of the week. So I bought her kettle, and now I can brew all kinds of delicious, and at times mysterious, tea whenever I hole up and camp in the wilderness. And I still haven't found a sword.

Eastshade is a non-violent, first-person adventure game set in a rolling open world full of quests. Imagine an Elder Scrolls game was an old boot, and you picked it up, turned it upside down and shook it until all the combat and magic and loot, every orc and dragon and bandit fell out. Then you took a shoehorn and eased a walking simulator inside the wrinkled leather before setting off on a delightful stroll across the countryside. Eastshade is just about the loveliest, prettiest, and just bloody nicest game I've played in years.

You play an artist, recently shipwrecked in Eastshade near the small coastal village of Lyndor. After a kind chap finds you on the beach and lets you rest in his cozy cave until you recover, you resume your journey to visit and then paint your just-passed mother's favorite places in Eastshade. It's a simple setup, paying tribute to a lost loved one, and it's indicative of the kind of sincere, touching gestures you'll carry out over the course of the game.

The flow of Eastshade will be familiar to anyone who has played an open-world RPG in recent years. You speak to NPCs, at first enquiring about the local history and points of interest before delving into something more personal and finally unlocking a unique quest. A child and aspiring painter asks you to help her acquire some art supplies. A smitten merchant wants some advice on how she should pursue her romantic interest. A park ranger needs your assistance in catching and caring for an injured waterfox. Not everyone has a story to tell--there are plenty of mute, generic NPCs filling the streets--but the ones you do meet almost always open up to you in the sweetest of ways.

Most quests involve tracking down the next person in the quest chain or venturing afar to find a particular item. Some, however, require your talents as an artist. Indeed, it seems that once an Eastshadian discovers you can paint, they're quick to realize how much they'd really like some oil on canvas hanging over the fireplace. One keen art-lover asked me to paint him a picture of a chicken, so I made my way over the markets where I'd earlier spied some chickens nestling among the hay, set down my easel and painted the perfect poultry portrait.

The act of painting itself isn't simulated in any way. You simply use the mouse to drag a frame across the screen. Anything within that frame is then captured, rendered in a painterly style, and reproduced on the canvas. In essence, you're taking screenshots. As such there's much pleasure to be had in framing your subject, as anyone who has unearthed the joys of a game's photo mode can attest. I was asked by a particularly pompous villager to paint his portrait, and fully capture all his self-described nobility and heroism. He was sitting in a tavern at the time, next to a huge fireplace whose chimney stretched to the double-story ceiling, so I framed him as this tiny figure dwarfed by the imposing stone furnace. He was grateful, of course--I'm sure the game logic merely checks if the required subject is in the frame--but I found it extremely satisfying.

At a certain point you will also gain the ability to register with another local artist and begin taking commissions to earn glowstones, the local currency. It functions much like a job board: you check in, accept the gig, then return later with the finished painting and collect your cash. Each commission gives you a description of the type of painting desired and it's up to you to figure out where you need to go and what you need to include in the frame. Some are easy to identify, like a specific request for a windmill, but you may have no idea where to find it. Others are more vague, like a “starry cavern” or a “natural arch.” Either way, it's enjoyable to have your memory of the landscape tested as you struggle to recall elements of the terrain.

Sometimes you won't have a spare canvas to paint on, meaning you'll have to obtain the materials necessary to craft a new canvas. Fortunately, there are wooden boards and piles of cloth lying around the various towns and villages, and NPCs don't seem to mind at all if you walk into their homes and grab some. It's a good idea to thoroughly explore every area and collect any such craftable materials as there doesn't seem to be any limit on how much you can carry. I found I typically had enough canvases to complete quest-critical paintings, but if I'd wanted to paint for fun, as it were, I would have had to tediously wait for previously collected materials to respawn or spend my hard-earned glowstones to buy them.

Money's tight, you see, and there are other things worth purchasing. This isn't an RPG, so you won't be selling loot to finance your endeavors--though there is a sort of joke merchant who will buy anything off you for the princely sum of one glowstone. However, there are items you will need in order to access new areas of the world. A coat, for example, lets you continue to explore the countryside during the cold nights, while a tent lets you camp outdoors overnight or simply rest for a while if you need to meet someone at a certain time of day.

You'll find yourself walking a fine line between securing what you need to complete your current tasks and saving up to afford what you need to unlock new quest possibilities. I remember standing in the markets and agonizing over whether to spend what little money I had on a fishing rod (because one quest wanted me to catch a particular type of fish) or a kettle (because my pockets were already bursting with all different kinds of plants and herbs). It was a genuinely stressful moment in a game otherwise conducted entirely in serene contemplation.

Eastshade is a slow game. There's an awful lot of walking, or running once you realize there's the option, and you'll spend almost all your time trekking back and forth between villages or strolling across town from one shop to the next, ferrying this item to that person and hoping to speak to so-and-so about this-and-that. It would quickly grow tiresome were it not for the dinky penny-farthing bicycle you can buy and the presence of craftable fast travel items, and more importantly, the immense natural beauty found in every corner, along every path, and over every crest of the world.

Indeed, Eastshade is a slow game that moves at just the right pace. From the warm, golden sunlight filtering through the dense canopy of the Great Tree to the pools of water on the terrace farms that skirt the city glittering in the morning light, you'll constantly find yourself stopping to catch your breath. Even after treading the same cobbled road a dozen or more times, hours later I would still find myself admiring the scenery, expansive vistas and minute details alike.

The pace perfectly complements your actions, too. This is a game about taking your time and paying attention to the environment through which you're moving. You have a quest log and a map of the land, but there are no quest markers or waypoints telling you where to go. You have to read the lay of the land and remember details of where you've been. As you travel, the geographical contours of the world gradually become imprinted in your mind until you could paint them almost from memory alone. Almost.

By giving you a paintbrush (and a kettle) instead of a sword, Eastshade is a rare first-person open world game that's not about killing but rather about doing good deeds, helping people see the error of their ways, and bringing communities together all through the power of art. It's a breath of fresh Eastshadian air and a genuine, unironic feel-good game. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to put the kettle on.

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Captain Marvel Eyeing Massive Opening That Could Be On Par With Wonder Woman

February 14, 2019, 8:33 pm

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Marvel's next big superhero film, Captain Marvel, hits theatres in March, and it's expected to make a lot of money. Variety reports that early tracking estimates peg the movie at bringing in around $100 million for its opening in the US and Canada. If word of mouth stays strong and grows more positive still, the opening-weekend figure could balloon to $120 million or more, the report said.

If Captain Marvel makes around $100 million for its opening, that would put it in line with another major comic book movie featuring a female hero for the first time: Wonder Woman. That film made $103 million in the domestic market for its opening weekend. It went on to bank around $412 million during its domestic run and $821 million worldwide.

Captain Marvel stars Brie Larson as Carol Danvers AKA Captain Marvel. The film also stars Jude Law, Samuel L. Jakcosn, Gemma Chan, Annette Bening, and Ben Mendelsohn.

Larson will play Captain Marvel again in April's Avengers: Endgame. She could play a big role in the film, as the end-credits sequence of Avengers: Infinity War saw Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury reached out to Captain Marvel to save the world.

In other news, here's a video of Larson pushing a 5,000-pound truck to train for Captain Marvel. You can watch the latest TV trailer for Captain Marvel in the video embed above.

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Funko Pop Reveals At Toy Fair 2019: Rick And Morty, The Office, Jeopardy, And More

February 15, 2019, 10:55 am

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Everyone watches TV shows, whether it's on your actual television, through YouTube, or through your dusty VHS collection you refuse to let go of. Now, you can take characters you love and put them on your desk at work, until your boss tells you to take them down--I'm not moving my Funko Pop Chris Jericho, Mike. How is this possible? With a new line of Funko Pop figures that have just been revealed.

At New York Toy Fair, currently popping off at the Javits Center through Sunday, Funko has revealed even more collectibles, but this time, they are based off of classic and contemporary television series. From classic '80s series like Cheers--a place where everybody knows your name--to hit animated series like Rick and Morty--a show that terrifies me to my very core--Funko has plenty of new figures for you to check out, and we have them all below.

All of these Pop figures are listed as "coming soon," and price points have not yet been revealed.

Check out our other Toy Fair stories so far:

Stay tuned to GameSpot over the weekend for more Toy Fair reveals.

Pop Animation: Rick And Morty

Purge Suit Morty, Purge Suit Rick, Berserker Squanchy, Dr. Xenon Bloom, and Resistance Goldenfold

Pop Animation: Rick And Morty

Exoskeleton Snowball

Pop Animation: Rick And Morty

Get Schwifty Rick

Hot Topic exclusive

Pop Animation: Rick And Morty

Get Schwifty Morty

Barnes & Noble exclusive

Pop Animation: Rick And Morty

Lurch

Funko web exclusive

Pop TV: The Addams Family

Fester with lightbulb

Walgreens exclusive

Pop TV: The Addams Family

Leonard, Sheldon, Penny, Howard, Rajesh, Amy, Bernadette, Stuart

Pop TV: Wheel Of Fortune

Pat Sajak, Vanna White, and chase Vanna

Pop TV: Jeopardy

Alex Trebek

Pop TV: Jeopardy

Chase Alex with mustache

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Episode 3 Of GameSpot, IGN, Jeuxvideo And Mein-MMO Playing Anthem Together In 4-Player Co-op

February 15, 2019, 11:00 am

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(Presented by Anthem) In this third installment of 4 player co-op we explore the different Javelins in Anthem and play through a stronghold mission.

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Yo-kai Watch 3 Review - Tokyo To Texas

February 15, 2019, 11:02 am

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If you had to explain Yo-kai Watch in a nutshell to someone who's never heard of or played it, you might boil it down to "Pokemon but with Japanese ghosts" or "Baby's first Shin Megami Tensei." Anything grim or distressing about a kid who can talk to ghosts goes by the wayside when the ghosts are comical entities like a missing left sock or a possessed police car. In this third expansive and quirky outing for the Yo-kai Watch series, our hero Nate has to take on a quest far more daunting than anything he’s faced so far: moving to America.

Specifically, Nate's family ends up moving to BBQ, an over-the-top caricature of Texas, for his dad's job, and finds that the U.S. has supernatural problems all its own that he and his best yokai buddies, a cat named Jibanyan and an uber-effete ghost butler named Whisper, have to handle. Meanwhile, back in Nate's hometown of Springdale (which is located in Japan), a bubbly ball of nerdy energy named Hailey-Anne is enticed into buying a Yo-kai Watch of her own, which ties her to Usapyon, a ghost astronaut rabbit. Stuck with each other, they form a detective agency.

That's really over-the-top as far as a game aimed squarely at a younger audience goes, and that's largely a result of how it's been localized. Yo-kai Watch 3 was originally two games in Japan, with Nate and Hailey-Anne's stories comprising a game each. The version released in the West has combined the two, allowing players to switch to the other campaign at will, before the two stories converge in the later hours. It's a daring choice that allows you a ton of control over how you experience the sprawling narrative, but it also highlights just how much the narrative didn't need to sprawl to begin with. The first major plot points of both stories--Nate meeting a boy in BBQ who can see yokai as well, and Hailey-Anne starting the detective agency--are a good five or six hours in. Having both stories in the same package is a positive, but having to manually thread together two stories that could already stand to be a little more concise is less so.

On the plus side, that does give you ample reason to slow down and really take in your surroundings, which is really one of the greater joys in this game. Despite the aesthetic, the interpretations of Japan and Texas are surprisingly intricate places full of people worth speaking to and places to wander off to. As the game went on, one of my favorite things to do in it was to ride the trains in Springdale, missing stops just to look around. In addition, Nate's story has the compelling element of him trying to get accustomed to American culture, and on occasion, work you do in one of the towns--unlocking an app, or asking someone for a favor--affects the story in the other. But by and large, much of the first half of the game has both Nate and Hailey-Anne doing random fetch quests or being distracted with the game's numerous side missions, which are fun but wholly tangential from the main game. That creates a major problem with pacing early on.

Yo-kai Watch has always been an accessible series, and this third entry is no different. The cycle of gameplay usually boils down to Nate finding a possessed human doing something unusual, using the watch to reveal the yokai controlling them, and getting into a simple showdown with it. After these battles, there's a strong chance it joins your menagerie of friendly yokai who can be used to fight other yokai--of which there are a whopping 600-plus. There are very few of what seasoned RPG veterans might consider a dungeon, and when there are, as long as you've found at least six yokai you like, you can blow through nearly all of them in mere minutes, with no real pressing need to collect more except for the sheer joy of collecting them.

Combat does ostensibly have some measure of depth compared to the series' predecessors, with the addition of a 3x3 grid system that allows you to move yokai around to dodge attacks and pick up special items. There's also plenty of information about each yokai which you can put to good use, such as elemental weaknesses and their preferred food. That's all alongside familiar mechanics like quirky mini-games used to heal yokai that have been afflicted with status effects or to charge up ultimate (or more accurately, Soultimate) attacks. But with the exception of the occasional boss fight and the rather welcome difficulty spike of the final third of the game, it's rare that you actually have to utilize any of these mechanics. So much of the game's combat is a passive experience, but neglecting to have a full grasp of it when the game finally expects you to be proactive in battle will eventually get you in serious trouble.

These are the things that make Yo-kai Watch excellent as an introductory RPG for beginners. For everyone else, however, the game has to endear itself in between major plot points on sheer charm which, thankfully, it's more than capable of delivering. On the Hailey-Anne side, what comes off as grating over-enthusiasm at the start settles down over time to become unflappable optimism and curiosity. The girl fears absolutely nothing, even when giant demons start showing up that send her running through the streets. Her alliance with Usapyon evolves from one of convenience to a genuinely sweet elementary school partnership over time, especially as the details of Usapyon's origins become clearer.

Having both stories in the same package is a positive, but having to manually thread together two stories that could already stand to be a little more concise is less so.

As mentioned, Nate's side has an even more intriguing angle. For some reason, the localization obscures the fact that Nate's hometown of Springdale is in Japan, but the touchstones of a kid dealing with severe culture shock are still here. Even when American culture is as hilariously exaggerated as it is, there's something subtly poignant about an ostensibly Japanese kid exploring an all-American city for the first time. And as his circle of friends expands to include Buck, a wild-haired kid with a deep southern drawl, so too does his experience with American yokai and all the loud and proud aspects of such.

It's still a game aimed at a young crowd, though, and the game's poignancy is undercut a bit by wild reactions, non-sequitur humor, and impromptu j-pop musicals. Most of the scarier aspects of the game dealing with the existence and management of the afterlife have been softened to the absolute extreme. The game was only ever going to get so serious, and the winking nods to more adult fare like The Godfather, Fist of the North Star, The X-Files, and Twin Peaks are indeed just that: playful winks. It's less the competitive Growlithe-eat-Growlithe world of Pokemon than a cheerful, wacky playground where Pokemon-like creatures happen to live.

There's not much to Yo-kai Watch 3, but there’s still a lot of charm to be found. The towns of Springdale and BBQ are both bright, pleasant places to be; the people in it are even more so. Visiting the world of Yo-kai Watch for the third time is a fun time, even though you’ll end up staying a lot longer than perhaps necessary.

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How To Claim Anthem Pre-Order/Special Edition Bonuses

February 15, 2019, 11:06 am

≫ Next: Far Cry: New Dawn Guide -- Tips On Everything That's Different From Far Cry 5

≪ Previous: Yo-kai Watch 3 Review - Tokyo To Texas

Anthem is live for those with early access through one of EA's paid services, which means you may have some of your pre-order or special edition loot there for the taking already. This only goes for those who have full access to the game through Origin Access Premier, though, so other services will have to wait.

An EA help page details the steps for claiming various rewards. For the time being, only Legion of Dawn rewards are available, and only to Origin Access Premier members. In a tweet, EA explained that this is because the 10-hour trial available through Origin's basic tier or EA Access on Xbox One can be played without owning the game.

The process for unlocking your Legion of Dawn loot seems simply enough. It's just a matter of gaining access to Prospero's store and then claiming your loot from the helpfully named "Rewards" tab. To reach that point you just need to complete the tutorials, followed by Prospero's mission. You'll have to go to the Forge to equip them, or to the Squad screen to equip your banner.

Pre-order bonuses won't be available until the official launch day, February 22, on all platforms. Those can be equipped in the Forge (for equipment) or the Squad menu (for banners). The digital soundtrack CD on Origin should download automatically, but if not, you can find it under Extra Content in your Game Library.

The rolling access to Anthem is a bit more complex than you might expect. Right now, Origin Access Premier members on PC can play the entire game. The basic tier of Origin Access PC and EA Access on Xbox One instead offers a ten-hour trial that can carry over progress to the main game. If you're on PS4, there is no Access program. The game will release widely for everyone on February 22.

While you're waiting for launch, check out the original Anthem short film from District 9 director Neill Blomkamp. You can also read up on BioWare's roadmap for endgame content and check out our pre-order guide.

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Far Cry: New Dawn Guide -- Tips On Everything That's Different From Far Cry 5

February 15, 2019, 11:17 am

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Far Cry: New Dawn is a direct sequel to Far Cry 5, but fans of the first game will notice a lot of things have changed in New Dawn. Far Cry 5 ended with (spoiler alert) a nuclear war on Earth that devastated the planet, and New Dawn picks up 17 years later in a post-apocalyptic version of Hope County. Along with alterations to the story and characters because of those events, Far Cry: New Dawn also has several new systems that are going to be unfamiliar to Far Cry 5 players.

For one thing, Far Cry: New Dawn puts a big emphasis on building up Prosperity, your home base in Hope County. You'll need to upgrade your base to fight the Highwaymen, a faction of Mad Max-like bandits who are trying to conquer the area and take anything that's not nailed down. You'll also spend a lot of time gathering materials from all over Hope County to craft new weapons, so you can take down the tougher bad guys you'll face along the way.

With all the post-apocalyptic changes making their way into the Far Cry 5 foundation, jumping into New Dawn can be disorienting. We've run down all the new systems and changes to help you acclimate to the super bloom, fight the Highwaymen, and rebuild Hope County from the ground up.

We've got plenty more coverage coming--read our full Far Cry: New Dawn review, and check out our guide to the best guns in the game.

It's All About The Ethanol

There are lots of things you need to gather in Far Cry: New Dawn to keep yourself going, including crafting materials of all sorts, but probably the most important thing is Ethanol. It's the currency you'll use to upgrade Prosperity, your base of operations. That makes it necessary for advancing the story, which is tied to your base enhancements. Upgrading different areas of your base is also how you unlock better guns, cars, and medkits, among other things. So Ethanol is a big deal, and you're going to want to get it any time you can.

The trouble is, Ethanol sources are actually somewhat scarce. The main way you can get it is by attacking and liberating outposts. As in most Far Cry games, once you've cleared these locations of enemies, Prosperity will send your people there. You'll claim whatever Ethanol is in the base for later. You can also "salvage" outposts to gain more Ethanol and the opportunity to retake them--more on that in a bit.

The second place to get Ethanol is in Highwaymen tanker trucks that you'll encounter out in Hope County. Destroying them is good for the cause, but hijacking them and returning them to Prosperity or a captured outpost is even better.

Finally, you can get Ethanol from supply drops. You'll see these in your area every now and again as a plane flies over, dropping a crate by parachute for the Highwaymen to pick up. Get there first, and you can loot the drop and steal the Ethanol and crafting materials inside. Be warned, though, that supply drops always attract enemies for you to dispatch. Should you fail to loot the drop, look for Highwaymen scavengers to reclaim it. These guys wander around the world looting bodies and drops and carrying the goods back to Highwaymen bases. They're marked by red wolf icons. Approach them carefully, though--they can be tough to bring down, and if they spot you, they'll drop smoke grenades to guard their getaways.

Upgrade Outposts For Better Rewards

A big emphasis in Far Cry: New Dawn is on teamwork and cooperative play. Areas in the game are meant to be replayable, with increasingly tougher challenges yielding bigger rewards. The new outpost system is one of these replayable parts: after you capture an outpost, you can turn it into a tougher fight that'll earn you better stuff and, somewhat crucially, more Ethanol.

After you capture an outpost, look for a bench with a wrench icon inside it. This is where you can access the menu to "Salvage" the base, which means you basically steal everything from it and leave it for the Highwaymen to retake. You'll get a boost on supplies and Ethanol, but you'll lose the safety of having the base for fast travel, restocking ammo and supplies, and delivering Ethanol trucks. Salvaged outposts also get repopulated by tougher enemies, but if you manage to recapture them, the rewards in materials and Ethanol are increased. You can salvage outposts multiple times to up the difficulty and get more rewards, but you might eventually want to bring a friend along to help.

Certain outposts have specific kinds of gear associated with them, which you'll find out about after you've taken them. To unlock that special stuff, you'll need to salvage the outposts and retake them at higher difficulties.

Pick Up Everything Because Crafting Is Everything

You can call up just about anything you want, in terms of weapons and vehicles, from Prosperity or the benches at outposts; you just have to craft it all first. Crafting weapons requires a variety of stuff, including duct tape, components, titanium, and other things you can find in the world--make sure you pick up everything you find at all times so you have plenty of junk on-hand. It also pays to attack outposts and complete missions, as well as to investigate Treasure Hunts you'll find out in the world. These are small, puzzle-based encounters where you'll find your way into some kind of bunker or shelter previously occupied by someone waiting out the apocalypse, and they always have rarer materials.

Once you've crafted an item, you can re-access it any time for free, but you'll need lots of different, rarer components to craft higher-tier stuff. You'll also need to upgrade your Weapons area at Prosperity to get to Level 2, 3, and 4 guns, which are significantly stronger than Level 1 guns. The same is true of vehicles, which you'll also need to craft. All that means is you should constantly be looting everything you can when out in the world--look for boxes and bins marked in yellow. You should also get the Lockpicking perk early so you can pop open safes. They usually hold titanium, an essential crafting material for a lot of weapons.

You don't really need to do any hunting in Far Cry: New Dawn, but if you feel like it, it can be worthwhile. Any animal pelts and meat you gather can be traded for crafting materials with any trader out in the world (they have a special green icon) or back at a Weapons bench at Prosperity or an outpost. The tougher the animal, the better the material. Hunting isn't the easiest or most efficient way of getting stuff, but if you're fighting a bear anyway, looting it for a pelt you can turn into titanium is definitely worth it.

Build A More Prosperous Prosperity

Get familiar with your home base, because it's a very useful location. Prosperity has a ton of areas within it that all can be upgraded, and also offers a handy place to pick things up whenever you're between activities. The Weapons area lets you craft new guns, the Garage has all your crafted cars, and the Infirmary lets you upgrade your health and medkits. You can also gather materials you'll need if you upgrade different areas, like ammo or Yucca plants growing in the base, which you'll need to revive your Guns For Hire if they should fall in battle. Stopping back by Prosperity every now and then can be a lot easier than trying to gather everything you need out in the field, so prioritize the upgrades that will make your life easiest earlier on--like the Expeditions area (which allows for fast travel) and the Training Grounds, which help boost your Guns For Hire teammates' effectiveness.

The story will also have you finding and rescuing five Specialist characters who make your base better for getting them. You only need two to advance the story early, but it's not a bad idea to try to get them all pretty quickly if you can, to open up new base capabilities. Grace is good to recruit right away in order to increase the capabilities of your Guns For Hire buds. Bean is also a good choice thanks to his proximity to Prosperity, and his intel network will help you find outposts, story missions, and other Guns For Hire to recruit.

Watch For Anyone With Intel

As you'll be told early in the game, the best way to find places to go and things to do is to talk to the residents of Hope County. It's a similar system to what was found in Far Cry 5, but a little more widespread. Look for scouts with blue icons over their heads and initiate conversations--these folks will tell you about missions and locations, opening up the opportunity to find outposts, Treasure Hunts, and even the Guns For Hire characters you can recruit to fight alongside you. These folks also fill in your map for you, which can be very helpful as you progress through the game.

Speaking of maps, once you recruit the Specialist named Bean, you can buy new maps in the Cartography area of the base when you upgrade it. These mark the locations of crafting materials you can find out in the world, which can save you a lot of time if you're hurting for something in particular

Earn Perk Points From Treasure Hunts And Rescues

Like in Far Cry 5, you can upgrade yourself by earning Perk Points and using them to purchase Perks. These include things like extra weapon holsters, the ability to throw and use grapple hooks, binoculars that let you mark enemies, and a lot more. There are three primary ways to get Perk Points: completing challenges, finding magazines, and rescuing hostages. Far Cry 5 players will recognize the first two methods from that game. Things like using a specific weapon to rack up kills allows you to complete various challenges, which is an easy way to nab Perks, while Perk Magazines can be found reliably in Treasure Hunt missions.

The third way to get Perks is by rescuing hostages from the Highwaymen. You'll find these folks in the backs of trucks that have cages over their beds, roaming around Hope County. Saving the hostages generally means intercepting the trucks and killing their drivers and soldier escorts, but they're not too terribly difficult. Once you let a hostage out, you'll get a Perk Point--just be careful not to accidentally kill the civilians during the battle to save them.

Follow Animals To Their Dens

You don't really need to hunt animals, but sometimes you can find the loot they've scrounged up in their foraging. To do that, you'll need to locate their dens. Look for signs out in the world that mark the areas where certain animals live, then try to track one down. As tooltips will note, animals with dens nearby can lead you back to them, but you'll need to be careful about it so as not to get in a fight with any defensive beast. Find your way back to an animal den and you'll be able to sneak inside it, likely to find several critters who are not so happy to see you. But make your way to the deepest depths and you'll find lots of loot to snag in these special locations.

Take An Expedition

Upgrading the Expeditions area of Prosperity opens up special missions you can take on that are located across the United States, not just in Hope County. These smash-and-grab missions are similar to invading outposts, except bigger and often more difficult. Expedition locations have special loot bags you need to grab and bring to an extraction point, where you'll be picked up by helicopter. Trouble is, those loot bags have GPS trackers--they're easy to find, but once you grab them and start moving, the Highwaymen will know where you are and come at you in force.

You can run Expeditions several times at various difficulties, and even bring your Guns For Hire or co-op teammates with you. They yield lots of rewards and all take place in interesting environments you won't see elsewhere in the game, so they're definitely worth checking out.

Rank Up Your Guns For Hire

Use your AI teammates and let them get in on the action. Your Guns For Hire will rank up based on how many kills they earn once you start upgrading the Training Grounds. The quicker you get them into the fight, the faster you can upgrade them, which will make them markedly more effective. Your teammates also all have special perks and abilities that get unlocked as they level up, and unlike in Far Cry 5, they're fixed for each character. They're all different, so spend some time in the Roster menu to find out which characters you like best and what abilities they have, then spend some time mixing it up with the Highwaymen to upgrade them. You'll be glad you did when things get hairy.

Use Autodrive To Open Fire

Once you set a location on your map for a place you want to drive to, a line will appear on your screen to show you how to get there. You can also set your vehicle to autodrive, following the route for you without your input. This is great for getting into vehicular combat with the Highwaymen. The buttons that call up your weapon wheel let you pull out and fire your guns while driving, so you can fire away without having to watch where you're going. That's especially useful when trying to take down Highwaymen trucks filled with hostages or Ethanol.

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Toy Fair 2019: Become A Star Wars Jedi Master With Hasbro's Lightsaber Academy

February 15, 2019, 11:58 am

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The annual toy convention, Toy Fair, is well underway at the Javits Center in New York City. Many of the reveals from the show have been action figures, but there are other interesting products tied into your favorite franchises. Hasbro has announced Star Wars Lightsaber Academy, which allows you to train to become a master of the light sword.

Available this fall, the Lightsaber Academy toys allow the user to interact with an app to learn official Star Wars moves and train with Jedi or Sith masters. Additionally, you can battle with your friends to prove who is the real Jedi master.

Pictured above is the top tier of the Lightsaber Academy toys, priced at $50. This lightsaber interacts with the app via Bluetooth and tracks your movement--and is the only one in the line that does so. In turn, you will be evaluated and scored based on your performance. The lightsaber features lights, sounds, app connectivity, and character voices from the movies.

On the lower-pricing tier are the Level 1 assortment lightsabers--pictured above. Priced at $8 each, the toys come with a code that accesses content in the Lightsaber Academy app. However, they do not have the motion tracking the $50 set has.

Finally, there are the Level 2 Lightsabers, and you can choose between Luke Skywalker's or Darth Vader's weapon. Priced at $20, these lightsabers light up and make sounds, and there is a button you can press to hear the characters speak. Additionally, it comes with codes to unlock content in the app. While you can still learn all the moves from the movie, it does not have the same interactivity as the $50 one.

All of the Lightsaber Academy toys will be available this fall.

Check out our other Toy Fair stories so far:

Stay tuned to GameSpot over the weekend for more Toy Fair reveals.

↧

FREE Metro Exodus Console and Spartan Edition Giveaway

February 15, 2019, 1:07 pm

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We're giving away one (1) Metro Exodus Xbox One Bundle, and two (2) Metro Exodus Spartan Collector's Edition games to (3) lucky fans. Entering into our Instagram giveaway below is easy -- just like and follow for a chance to win!

View this post on Instagram
🔥GIVEAWAY! We're giving away one (1) free Metro Exodus Xbox One Bundle, and two (2) Metro Exodus: Spartan Collector’s Edition game codes to three (3) lucky fans. ------ To enter: 1. Follow @GameSpot + @deepsilver 2. Like this post 3. Tag your friends in separate comments below to gain additional entries 👇 (Max 5 friends) ------ Giveaway ends February 25 at 12 PM PT. Three (3) winners chosen. No purchase necessary. USA only, void where prohibited. Good luck! Rules: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/free-metro-exodus-console-and-spartan-edition-give/1100-6465026/
A post shared by GameSpot (@gamespot) on Feb 15, 2019 at 12:00pm PST

Metro Exodus Console and Spartan Edition Giveaway

Official Sweepstakes Rules

NO PURCHASE OR WIRELESS DEVICE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. OPEN TO LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES, WHO ARE AT LEAST 18 YEARS OLD OR AGE OF MAJORITY, WHICHEVER IS OLDER IN YOUR STATE OF RESIDENCE, AT DATE OF ENTRY INTO SWEEPSTAKES. VOID IN ALL U.S. TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS AND WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. IF YOU ARE ACCESSING THIS SWEEPSTAKES VIA YOUR WIRELESS DEVICE, DATA RATES MAY APPLY.

Administrator & Sponsor: GameSpot, a Division of CBS Interactive, Inc. ("CBSI"), 235 Second Street, San Francisco, California 94105.

Prize Provider: Deep Silver Inc., 900 Larkspur Landing Circle, Suite 103, Larkspur, CA 94939

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THIS SWEEPSTAKES IS NOT SPONSORED, ENDORSED OR ADMINISTERED BY INSTAGRAM.

1. Acceptance of Rules. By entering the Metro Exodus Console and Spartan Edition Giveaway (the "Sweepstakes") operated on the CBSI social web site accessible at the domain "instagram.com/GameSpot" (the "CBSI Service"), you hereby accept and agree to these official rules (the "Official Rules") of this Sweepstakes and the decisions of the Administrator in connection with this Sweepstakes, whose decisions are final.

No purchase, entry fee or use of wireless device is necessary to enter or win. If you are a wireless service subscriber and have a smartphone, tablet or other wireless device that allows you access to the Internet, you may also enter the Sweepstakes via any of those devices during the Promotion Period (as defined below). If you chose to access this Sweepstakes via any of those wireless devices, you may be charged data rates according to the Terms and Conditions of the Service Agreement with your wireless carrier.

2. Eligibility. This Sweepstakes is offered and open to persons who are: (a) Registered Users (as defined below); (b) legal residents of the United States; and (c) at least 18 years old or age of majority, whichever is older in their state of residence, at the date of entry in this Sweepstakes. For purposes of these Official Rules, "Registered User(s)" means a person who has successfully completed the registration form, obtained a user identification, an associated password on the social website Instagram and follow GameSpot (@gamespot). There is no fee associated with becoming an Instagram Registered User. Employees, directors, and the immediate family members of the Sweepstakes Entities and their parents, affiliated and subsidiary companies, advertising and promotion agencies and legal and financial advisors are not eligible to participate in this Sweepstakes. For purpose of the foregoing, "immediate family" means parents, spouses, children, siblings or any members of the same households of such employees and directors. This Sweepstakes is void in all U.S. territories and possessions and where prohibited by law.

3. Entering the Sweepstakes: To enter the Sweepstakes, if not already, become a Registered User (as specified above), and enter, during the Promotion Period (as defined below), by following the instructions below:

1. Follow @deepsilver

2. Like the post related to the Sweepstakes on the CBSI Service

Participants can gain additional entries by Tagging their friends in separate comments on the CBSI Service. Participants may receive a maximum of five (5) additional entries to the Sweepstakes via this action; one (1) per each unique friend tagged.

Limit of six (6) entries per person during the Promotion Period.

4. Promotion Period. The Sweepstakes begins on February 15, 2019 at 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time ("PT") and ends at 12:00 p.m. PT on February 25, 2019 (the "Promotion Period").

5. Prizes. The Sweepstakes will award one (1) grand prize (the "Grand Prize") and two (2) runner-up prizes (the "Runner-up Prizes"). The Grand Prize consists of one (1) Metro Exodus Xbox One Bundle. The Grand Prize has an approximate retail value ("ARV") of Five Hundred Dollars (US$500.00). The Runner-up Prize consists of one (1) Metro Exodus: Spartan Collector's Edition game. The ARV of each Runner-up Prize is One Hundred Fifty Dollars (US$150.00). The Grand Prize, the Runner-up Prize, collectively, the "Prizes"). The ARV of Prizes to be awarded is Eight Hundred Dollars (US$800.00).

6. Prize Restrictions. No assignment, transfer, conversion to cash or cash redemption or substitution of a Prize is permitted, except Administrator reserves the right to substitute a Prize with a prize of comparable or greater value, should a Prize or part of a Prize become unavailable. Prize is solely for personal use and may not be used in conjunction with any other promotion. All Prize details are at the sole discretion of the Sweepstakes Entities.

7. Odds/Drawings/Winner Notification. Odds of winning a Prize depends on the number of eligible entries received during the Promotion Period. On or about February 25, 2019, after the conclusion of the Promotion Period, the Prize drawings will be conducted at random by Administrator, whose decisions are final and binding in all respects. The potential Prize winners (the "Winners") will be notified by Administrator, via a message to their Instagram Service account. Potential Winners will be asked to provide their personal information, such as their name, physical address, date of birth and phone number in order to confirm eligibility and compliance with these Official Rules. For purposes of clarity, each Prize has its own standalone drawing. In the event a Winner does not respond within the allotted time frame, a new drawing will be conducted in attempt to fulfill that Prize and the Runner-up Prize Winner will not be eligible for the Grand Prize. Administrator will select up to two (2) alternate Winners per Prize. If no contact has been made with the alternates after a reasonable effort has been made during three (3) business days from the first notification attempt to the last alternate, such Prize shall not be awarded.

8. Prize Taxes. All federal, state, local and other tax liabilities arising from this Sweepstakes, including, without limitation, winning a Prize, will be the sole responsibility of each Winner.

9. Affidavit of Eligibility/Liability Release and Publicity Release. Winners may be required to complete, execute and return an Affidavit of Eligibility/Liability Release, and where lawful, a Publicity Release (collectively, the "Release Forms"), as well as a W-9 tax form within five (5) days of notification of winning. Failure to return Release Forms timely, or if a Prize notification or a Prize is returned as non-deliverable, or if a Winner is found not to be eligible or not in compliance with these Official Rules, may result in disqualification with an alternate Winner selected in accordance with these Official Rules.

10. Publicity Release Terms. Except where prohibited by law, a Winner's acceptance of a Prize constitutes permission for the Sweepstakes Entities to use Winner's name, photograph, likeness, statements, biographical information, voice, and address (city and state) worldwide and in all forms of media, in perpetuity, without further compensation.

11. Improper Conduct. Administrator, in its sole discretion, may disqualify any entrant from participation in or use of any or all portions of this Sweepstakes, and refuse to award a Prize, if a Winner engage(s) in any conduct Administrator deems to be improper, unfair or otherwise adverse to the operation of the Sweepstakes or detrimental to other entrants of the Sweepstakes. Such improper conduct includes, without limitation, falsifying personal information required during entrant registration or Prize claim, violating any term or condition stated herein, accumulating entries through methods such as automated computer scripts or any other programming techniques, allowing others to use entrant's personal information for the purpose of accumulating entries, or intentionally trying to defraud, reverse engineer, disassemble or otherwise tamper with the computer programs in connection with this Sweepstakes. Winners agree that Administrator may void a Prize or any part of a Prize that a Winner may have won and/or require the return of a Prize or any part of a Prize that a Winner may have won as a result of such improper conduct. Winners further acknowledge that any forfeiture of a Prize and/or return of a Prize shall in no way prevent Administrator from pursuing other avenues of recourse, such as criminal or civil proceedings in connection with such conduct. WARNING: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THIS SWEEPSTAKES MAY BE A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS, AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, EACH OF THE SWEEPSTAKES ENTITIES RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES OR OTHER REMEDIES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON(S) RESPONSIBLE FOR SUCH ATTEMPT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

12. Integrity of Sweepstakes. If, for any reason, the Sweepstakes is not capable of running as planned by reason of infection by computer virus, worms, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes which Administrator, in its sole opinion believes could corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this Sweepstakes, Administrator reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend this Sweepstakes and select the Winners from entries received prior to the action taken or in such other manner as Administrator may deem fair and appropriate.

13. Lost or Corrupted Entries. The Sweepstakes Entities and their parents, affiliated and subsidiary companies and advertising and promotion agencies, assume no liability and are not responsible for, and you hereby forever waive any rights to any claim in connection with, lost, late, incomplete, corrupted, stolen, misdirected, illegible or postage-due entries or mail, if applicable; or for any computer, telephone, cable, network, satellite, electronic or Internet hardware or software malfunctions, unauthorized human intervention, or the incorrect or inaccurate capture of entry or other information, or the failure to capture any such information. The Sweepstakes Entities and their parents, affiliated and subsidiary companies and advertising and promotion agencies, are not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by registration information submitted by end users or tampering, hacking or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in this Sweepstakes, and assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to the Sweepstakes.

14. Damaged Property. The Sweepstakes Entities and their parents, affiliated and subsidiary companies and advertising and promotion agencies, assume no liability and are not responsible for, and you hereby forever waive any rights to any claim in connection with, injury or damage to any entrants or to any other person's computer or property related to or resulting from participating in this Sweepstakes or downloading materials from this Sweepstakes.

15. Sweepstakes Errors. The Sweepstakes Entities and their parents, affiliated and subsidiary companies and advertising and promotion agencies, assume no liability and are not responsible for, and you hereby forever waive any rights to any claim in connection with errors and/or ambiguity: (a) in the Sweepstakes; (b) in any related advertising or promotions of this Sweepstakes; and/or (c) in these Official Rules. In the event of any ambiguity(s) or error(s) in these Official Rules, Administrator reserves the right to modify these Official Rules for clarification purposes or to correct any such ambiguity(s) or error(s) without materially affecting the terms and conditions of the Sweepstakes.

16. Prizes and Winners. The Sweepstakes Entities and their parents, affiliated and subsidiary companies and advertising and promotion agencies, assume no liability and are not responsible for, and you/entrant hereby forever waive any rights to any claim in connection with, the selection and announcement of the Winners, the distribution of the Prizes, the acceptance/possession and/or use/misuse of any part of a Prize and/or any injury or damage to any entrant's or third person's property related to or resulting from any part of a Prize or any part of this Sweepstakes.

17. Release and Indemnity. Each entrant in this Sweepstakes, including, without limitation, the Winners, hereby releases and agrees to hold harmless the Sweepstakes Entities and their parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies and their respective directors, officers, employees, representatives and agents from any and all liability for any injuries, loss or damage of any kind to person, including death, and property, arising in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from acceptance, possession, use or misuse of a Prize, participation in this Sweepstakes and participation in any activity related to this Sweepstakes.

18. Limitation of Liability. IN NO EVENT WILL THE SWEEPSTAKES ENTITIES, THEIR PARENTS, AFFILIATES, SUBSIDIARIES AND RELATED COMPANIES, THEIR ADVERTISING OR PROMOTION AGENCIES OR THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, REPRESENTATIVES AND AGENTS, BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR LOSSES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE SWEEPSTAKES OR THE DOWNLOADING FROM AND/OR PRINTING MATERIAL DOWNLOADED FROM THE SWEEPSTAKES. SOME JURISDICTIONS MAY NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. CHECK YOUR LOCAL LAWS FOR ANY RESTRICTIONS OR LIMITATIONS REGARDING THESE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS.

19. Disclaimer of Warranties. THE SWEEPSTAKES AND PRIZES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.

20. Identity Disputes. In the event of a dispute as to the identity of the winner based on an email address, the winning entry will be declared made by the Authorized Account Holder of the email address and/or wireless phone number submitted at time of registration into Instagram and/or entry into the Sweepstakes. For purposes of these Official Rules, "Authorized Account Holder" is defined as the natural person who is assigned to an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization (e.g., business, educational, institution, etc.) that is responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted email address.

21. Binding Arbitration. The parties waive all rights to trial in any action or proceeding instituted in connection with these Official Rules and/or this Sweepstakes. Any controversy or claim, arising out of, or relating to, these Official Rules and/or this Sweepstakes shall be settled by binding arbitration in accordance with the commercial arbitration rules of the American Arbitration Association. Any such controversy or claim shall be arbitrated on an individual basis and shall not be consolidated in any arbitration with any claim or controversy of any other party. The arbitration shall be conducted in the State of New York, in the City of New York and judgment on the arbitration award may be entered into any court having jurisdiction thereof.

22. Governing Law and Jurisdiction. This promotion is governed by U.S. law and is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. Void where prohibited by law. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of entrant and Administrator in connection with this Sweepstakes, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, U.S.A., without giving effect to the conflict of laws rules thereof, and any matters or proceedings which are not subject to arbitration, as set forth in Section 21 of these Official Rules and/or for entering any judgment on an arbitration award, shall take place in the State of New York, in the City of New York.

23. Winner's List/Official Rules. For the name of the Winners, send a self-addressed stamped envelope for receipt by March 15, 2019 to "Winner List, Metro Exodus Console and Spartan Edition Giveaway" 1401 W. Cypress Creek Road, Suite 200, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309. For Official Rules, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the above address marked "Official Rules: Metro Exodus Console and Spartan Edition Giveaway" for receipt by March 15, 2019. Residents of VT may omit postage on the self-addressed envelope. The name of the Winners may be posted, and the Official Rules will be posted on GameSpot.com.

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Captain Marvel Eyeing Massive Opening That Could Be On Par With Wonder Woman - GameSpot Universe News Update

February 15, 2019, 1:19 pm

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Captain Marvel is set to have a huge opening.

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Resident Evil 2 Remake Ghost Survivor DLC - Kendo Gameplay

February 15, 2019, 1:25 pm

≫ Next: Star Wars: Episode IX Has Finished Filming

≪ Previous: Captain Marvel Eyeing Massive Opening That Could Be On Par With Wonder Woman - GameSpot Universe News Update

The first episode of Resident Evil 2’s Ghost Survirors sees Robert Kendo fight to stay alive during the Raccoon City outbreak. Captured on PS4 Pro. Resident Evil 2 Remake - Ghost Survivor is available now.

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Star Wars: Episode IX Has Finished Filming

February 15, 2019, 1:30 pm

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Star Wars: Episode IX has wrapped filming, marking the end of what Disney has dubbed the "Skywalker saga." In an emotional pair of tweets, director JJ Abrams and actor John Boyega shared a photo and thanked the cast and crew.

The photo in both tweets shows actors Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, and Oscar Isaac having a good hug in costume on what appears to be a desert backdrop. The three play the principle characters of the new trilogy: Rey, Finn, and Poe Dameron, respectively.

"It feels impossible, but today wrapped photography on Episode IX," said Abrams. "There is no adequate way to thank this truly magical crew and cast. I'm forever indebted to you all."

Boyega expressed similar sentiments.

That’s a wrap on Star Wars episode 9 and the end to a chapter of my life that I couldn’t be more thankful for. What a process! It really has been a joy to be in these movies surrounded by amazing people. JJ thank you for making my dreams come true. pic.twitter.com/8b83vQKKDc
— John Boyega (@JohnBoyega) February 15, 2019

Abrams directed the first film of the new trilogy, The Force Awakens, and helped set the course for Disney's ownership of the franchise. Rian Johnson directed the second film, The Last Jedi. Episode IX (title yet to be revealed) was set to be helmed by Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow, but that fell apart due to creative differences and Abrams returned to close out the trilogy.

With the end of the Skywalker saga coming later this year, it's unclear exactly what direction Disney will move with the franchise afterward. The company has pumped the brakes on its spin-off anthology films, after Solo disappointed at the box office and Disney CEO Bob Iger has suggested fans got fatigued by too much Star Wars. The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson is still preparing to direct his own trilogy of films, but we're not sure where in the universe those take place.

Meanwhile, the company is preparing to launch its own streaming service, Disney+, which will have its own slate of original shows: The Mandalorian, a Rogue One prequel starring Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), and a new season of The Clone Wars.

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Leon With Retro Graphics In Resident Evil 2 Remake Is Something Else

February 15, 2019, 1:44 pm

≫ Next: Remembering 1999: The Movies And TV Series That Turn 20 This Year

≪ Previous: Star Wars: Episode IX Has Finished Filming

Resident Evil 2 Remake's DLC - Ghost Survivor is available now. We play extensively in the classic mode which features the original graphics and music from Resident Evil 2. Take a trip through time and feel nostalgic again in this gameplay clip. Captured on PS4 Pro.

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Remembering 1999: The Movies And TV Series That Turn 20 This Year

February 15, 2019, 1:54 pm

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Do You Remember?

In 1999, some of us were worrying about the alleged impending doom of the Y2K bug that was going to destroy all our computers. The rest of us were living our normal lives and enjoying some of the finer offerings from Hollywood to pass the time. Blockbuster movies were taking the crowds by storm, but the ones that got people talking the most challenged our preconceived notions of the world around us. On the television front, this was a turning point, as networks started losing viewers to the high quality content being put out by cable channels like HBO.

The fine folks of GameSpot are taking a look back at the movies and television series we hold dearly in our hearts, for better or worse, that debuted in 1999. From moments like Neo deciding whether to take the red or blue pill in The Matrix to America waging war on Canada in the South Park movie, 1999 had some iconic moments in the cinema. And television came into its own with HBO's The Sopranos debuting, along with a show that was ahead of its time, Freaks and Geeks.

Here are our picks for the most memorable movies and television series from 1999, in order of when they were released. And if you're looking for more nostalgia trips, check out GameSpot's pieces remember games from the past.

The Sopranos | January 10, 1999

The Sopranos was one of a handful of '90s shows--alongside the likes of Twin Peaks and The Larry Sanders Show--that truly laid the groundwork for TV over the next two decades. It helped turn HBO into a premiere destination for great original programming and showed how the medium was far from cinema's poor cousin. Created by David Chase, this sprawling saga of a New Jersey crime family was an expertly balanced mix of drama, dark comedy, and gangster thrills, anchored by a career-defining performance by the late, great James Gandolfini.

On paper, Tony Soprano is deeply unlikable man--unpredictable, selfish, violent, unfaithful--but over the course of six seasons, Gandolfini helped develop him into complex, multi-layered character, able to evoke our sympathies without ever giving some unrealistic Hollywood redemption story. The rest of the cast are just as memorable--from Tony's long suffering wife Carmela (Edie Falco) and his psychotherapist Dr. Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco) to fellow mobsters like uncle "Junior" Soprano (Dominic Chianese) and Paulie "Walnuts" Gualtieri (Tony Sirico). The ambiguous final episode might have divided audiences but The Sopranos remains one of the greatest TV shows of all time. | Dan Auty

Batman Beyond | January 10, 1999

Batman Beyond is a concept I thought I would hate. It takes place in the future, where an angsty teen becomes the new Batman, and there is so much raving going on. However, I ended up falling in love with it and have it sitting right below Batman: The Animated Series on the "Best Animated Series" list in my head. Because the Batman: TAS team (Paul Dini, Bruce Timm, and Alan Burnett) were the minds behind Batman Beyond, they created a show that stands on its own exceptionally well, yet feels as a companion piece to the original.

What I found so great about the series was that it didn't just try to rehash characters are stories from the world of Batman and toss it into a futuristic setting. Batman Beyond was always pushing forward. Sure, the Joker eventually popped back in--and that straight-to-video movie is near perfection--but the series created something new instead of living in the past.

Sure, I may have been a little too old at the time to be watching a cartoon for kids, but aside from being a Batman story, the person inside the suit--Terry McGinnis--was a high school student dealing with family, love, work, trying to be an adult, and fighting crime. That was just like me--aside from the crime fighting. Much like Freaks and Geeks, it resonated with me, which is why I fell in love with it. Also, Batman was in it. | Mat Elfring

Varsity Blues | January 15, 1999

"I don't want your life!" This was something my friends and I yelled at each other constantly after watching James Van Der Beek ditch his awful Dawson's Creek character temporarily to play a Texas high school football star with a terrible accent. Whether it's a cast that includes Paul Walker, Ali Larter, and Amy Smart, or the iconic whipped cream bikini scene, this movie is so late-'90s it hurts, and I'll never stop loving it. | Chris E. Hayner

Office Space | February 19, 1999

Office Space is a fantastic comedy that effortlessly captured the spirit of a whole generation of dead-eyed slackers (and future slackers like myself), but there's a lot more to it than that. Like The Matrix, Office Space played on my fear at the time that I'd grow up to have a soul-crushing cubicle job like my parents, driving to work every day in my metal coffin so I could get reprimanded by six separate bosses about forgetting a cover sheet on a TPS report. And Office Space offered a better route: doing literally anything else with my life.

Written and directed by Beavis and Butthead and King of the Hill creator Mike Judge, Office Space follows Ron Livingston's Peter Gibbons, a perfectly blank facsimile onto which I could project my own pathetic future self. He goes through life like a zombie until a hypnotic therapist keels over halfway through his treatment, leaving him in a semi-permanent state of disinterested contentment. Office Space ultimately suggests that's no way to go through life, although I'm not sure I fully grasped the lesson at the time.

Either way, Office Space still holds up today--just look at the countless memes and references to it present on any internet platform to this day, from Twitter to Reddit and beyond. And, oh, by the way, I'm going to need you to go ahead and come in on Saturday. | Mike Rougeau

Futurama | March 28, 1999

When it comes to debating The Simpsons versus Futurama, I stand firmly on the side of Futurama. I adore The Simpsons (come on, I grew up in the '90s), but for me, Futurama is the full package. It’s bitingly funny, exceedingly smart (go on, name another show that has its own mathematical theorem), but also able to give you emotional gut punches that resonate. Even today, almost 20 years after I saw it for the first time, I find it difficult to rewatch "Jurassic Bark."

Futurama was a show made by nerds, for nerds (how else would you get the perfect Star Trek set up episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before"), and while it poked fun at technology and pop culture, its jokes managed to have a kind of timeless quality to them, making it endlessly rewatchable. It was also oddly prescient of meme culture, with many of its lines becoming memes in their own right (shut up baby, I know it).

Futurama didn’t deserve to be cancelled and revived over and over by Fox: it should have been allowed to finish on its own terms, instead of yanking itself out of all its resolved plot points, only to be sent out to die again. It was a fantastic show 20 years ago, and it’s still excellent now. Anyone who says otherwise can bite my shiny metal ass. | Lucy James

The Matrix | March 31, 1999

The Matrix is still easily one of my favorite movies--if not my all-time favorite. And that's despite its two sequels, which I, like many fans, consider to be pretty much garbage. I rewatch The Matrix several times a year; the last time I tried to watch the full trilogy, I could barely get through the second, and turned the third off part-way through.

But that's beside the point, which is that The Matrix is one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time. It has everything: Its special effects were used sparingly and in smart enough ways that they still hold up 20 years after its release, the world it establishes held seemingly endless mysteries, the action was creatively unique and thrilling to watch, the sci-fi concepts were heady and complex but presented in an easily digestible way that anyone could understand--you get the idea.

Maybe most important of all, The Matrix was just plain cool--and it remains so to this day. I love the way most of the movie's technology was already archaic for 1999--it gives the movie a timeless feel. I fell hopelessly in love with the main characters' industrial inspired, leather-clad style (although thankfully, I never took to wearing shiny trench coats in real life). Neo's double life as a cubicle slave by day was so relatable--anyone around in the '90s who didn't already have a soul-sucking office job dreaded the day they'd find themselves in a similar situation, and fantasized about the phone call from Morpheus that would allow them to escape. Maybe the next step after that wouldn't be prettier, but at least it would be real. | Mike Rougeau

10 Things I Hate About You | March 31, 1999

1999 was a banner year for teen movies, with hits like American Pie, Varsity Blues, and She’s All That -- yet the one with the most heart was a 90s retelling of the Shakespeare comedy The Taming of The Shrew. 10 Things I Hate About You tells the story of high school romantic Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who wants to date popular classmate Bianca (Larisa Oleynik), whose father establishes a rule that she may date only when her antisocial, shrewish older sister Kat (Julia Stiles) does. Bianca tells Cameron to find someone to date Kat, so he pays bad boy Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger) to woo her.

10 Things is a smart romantic comedy that is incredibly charming, especially thanks to strong performances from Stiles and Ledger, who share an electric chemistry on screen. Plus, it’s the movie that gave us Ledger’s unforgettable and completely adorable performance of Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You accompanied by a marching band, which instantly stole thousands of teenage hearts around the world. | Chastity Vicencio

eXistenZ | April 23, 1999

David Cronenberg’s most neatly crafted and still-prescient picture hit theaters three weeks after the Wachowski’s introduced the world to the world of the Matrix. Cronenberg’s picture could be summarized as the thinking-person’s version of the Matrix. It deals with similar turn-of-the-century cybernetic themes which may seem quaint today but, I believe, are unfortunately still relevant. But whereas the Matrix found coolness in virtual representation, eXistenZ finds cause for concern.

If you have not seen eXistenZ, it is a Canadian sci-fi action film that takes place entirely in a church. Actually, it begins with the demonstration of a new virtual reality video game designed by the world’s most famous game designer, Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Leigh), then spirals quickly out of control following an attempt on her life by violent, pro-reality extremists. She and a Pilgrimage PR nerd, Ted Pikul (Jude Law), embark on a reality-bending, paranoid flight through rural Canada and Gellar’s game, eXistenZ.

The film is beautifully executed by Cronenberg’s long time collaborators Howard Shore (Lord of the Rings) composing the score, and Peter Suschitzky (Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back) on cinematography. | Ryan Schubert

WWF Smackdown | April 27, 1999

1999 was right in the golden era of the Monday Night Wars, where WWE--then WWF--and WCW were in the middle of a battle for wrestling promotion dominance. Smackdown was WWE's return to network television, airing on UPN, in direct competition with WCW's Thunder. And Smackdown was "more of the same" for WWE fans, which was perfectly fine for the time. It's simple supply and demand because wrestling was at its most popular during the late '90s/early '00s.

Maybe it's because I played Smackdown: Here Comes The Pain a lot, but the original theme music--which is objectively annoying--for the series brings back so many memories of sitting at my friend's house, excited we had more wrestling to watch, since WCW's Thunder was mediocre at best. What I loved about the pilot episode was that there was no setup, and for all intents and purposes, it's not a pilot. It continued storylines from Monday Night Raw, and the first episode gave us programming that was very familiar. Additionally, I remember the first episode debuting The Corporate Ministry, a wonderfully convoluted wrestling stable, which eventually led to one of my favorite, unintentionally hilarious, moments in WWE history.

Obviously, WWE's Smackdown has come a long way in the past 20 years, from a B-show with a giant fist on its entrance ramp--which is objectively awesome--to a brand with its own identity, stars, and titles. Sure, the content and times have changed, but it's amazing to see this show is still on the air, 20 years later, and moving back to network television this October. | Mat Elfring

SpongeBob SquarePants | May 1, 1999

I was always a Nickelodeon kid, but for a while, I kind of just watched whatever was on and went with it. Spongebob was the first Nickelodeon show I remember actively seeking out--my dad and I saw a commercial for it and decided we had to be there when it premiered. It quickly became the only Nickelodeon show my dad could actively quote from memory (and one that we relentlessly quoted at school and, honestly, still do to this day).

Like a lot of other cartoons, Spongebob appealed to both kids and adults by balancing silliness with more clever humor and plotlines. But it really stood out--SpongeBob's relentless optimism, Squidward's nasally disillusionment, Patrick's stupidity, Sandy's intensity, Plankton's incompetent evilness, and Mr. Krabs' greediness combined for something memorable and consistently funny that was also wholesome.

It's been 20 years since Stephen Hillenburg's nautical nonsense began, but I remember those early episodes like I've just watched them (and I have recently watched some of them--they still hold up.) Don't pretend you don't know all the words to the Krusty Krab Pizza song or Ripped Pants or even Striped Sweater. | Kallie Plagge

The Mummy | May 7, 1999

After giving it a lot of thought, I think The Mummy might be my favorite movie of all time. It has everything: historical intrigue, the supernatural, a life-or-death rivalry, romance, and Rachel Weisz. It's among Brendan Fraser's best roles, too, and I think I watched it every weekend for at least six months in a row.

Rick (Fraser) is a gruff WWI veteran who cleans up real nice, and Evie (Weisz) is a scholar of ancient Egypt and a bit of a know-it-all (but that's because, well, she really does know more than everyone else). After Evie saves Rick's life, he reluctantly agrees to take her to Hamunaptra, the lost City of the Dead, which he'd more or less stumbled upon during the war. Then Evie accidentally resurrects Imhotep, a condemned and gooey mummy who is driven by love, mostly. That's the short version, but the setup is fantastic, backed by a great score and bolstered by Rick and Evie's flirtation mixed with some ancient Egyptian mysteries.

The only thing that doesn't hold up about this movie is Rachel Weisz's eyebrows (and I say that with love). I honestly could still watch it at least once a month and not get tired of it. | Kallie Plagge

Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace | May 19, 1999

We all know what Star Wars: Episode 1 is, so you don't need an explainer of any kind to kick this off. So I want to talk to you about trauma. This is a story more about experience, hype, and learning to curb your expectations rather that a movie that changed the world for the better. Ok, over-dramatic reactions aside, I could not have been more excited for a new Star Wars movie. It had been 16 years since a new Star Wars movie had been released. The hype was real, and we all may have expected way too much.

I remember standing in line for hours at my local theater--and skipping school to do so--to be the 20th person in line. I bought Darth Maul's lightsaber, and my friend and I had battles while waiting for the latest Star Wars film. Yes, that's ridiculous, but we weren't the only ones doing so. Everyone in that line was excited to see the next chapter of the Star Wars saga. We were all nerds, and we were all friends for the day. Then, the mayor of our town, her friends, and kids all cut to the front of the line and got into the theater early, taking the best seats in the house.

After watching the movie, we were all living in a sea of excuses, trying to make what we just witnessed "good" in our heads. Sadly, it was one of the biggest letdowns we--and other Star Wars fans--ever had to deal with. I could sit here and discuss what's wrong with the film, but that's been done to death. More than likely, the film was aimed at a new generation of fans, pushing the older ones aside, and that's why so many of us felt so alienated. Looking back, yeah, the movie is a bit of a stinker, but without it, we wouldn't have things like Darth Maul, and The Clone Wars and Rebels animated series from Dave Filoni. And both of those TV shows are some of the best things to come out of the franchise. | Mat Elfring

South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut | June 30, 1999

South Park had been on the air for two years when the big screen version was released, but as good as those early seasons were, the conceptual leap taken by the movie was a huge achievement. A brilliantly written R-rated musical satire about censorship, freedom of speech, and media responsibility, it sees Stan, Cartman, and friends drawn into the war between Canada and the US, sparked by the foul-mouthed Terrance and Phillip movie Asses of Fire.

It was ironic that a film about movie censorship led to creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone engaging in a lengthy battle with the MPAA (who are mocked merciless in the film) to get it an R-rating, as opposed for the far more restrictive NC-17 it was first given. The pair ultimately won the fight, and the Bigger, Longer & Uncut went on to become the highest grossing R-rated animated movie of all time, until Sausage Party 17 years later.

And that's not to mention the songs, each of them a hilarious parody of Broadway showtunes; Robin Williams performing the Oscar-nominated "Blame Canada" at the 2000 ceremony remains an Academy Award highpoint. South Park has had many brilliant and hilarious episodes over the years, but few can match the movie for intelligence, dazzling invention, and absolutely outrageous laughs. | Dan Auty

Good Eats | July 7, 1999

Good Eats was a show that started a hobby for me. I've always been a science enthusiast, and because of this, Food Network series awakened a love of cooking in me, which is something I still really enjoy doing in my spare time. At this time, Food Network didn't appeal to me by any means, as it was just cooking shows with mildly-charismatic hosts with their well-thought out signature catchphrases, like "Bam."

However, Good Eats was something completely different, hosted by the nerdy Alton Brown, a man who didn't have a catchphrase but appealed to me in the same way Mr. Wizard or Bill Nye did when I was younger. It explained the science of cooking with a comedic slant that really appealed to me. While there were actual recipes on each episode, I never made any, but I did try experimenting with food in the kitchen because of of the series. I apologize to my parents, and in later years, to my roommates because I made some hot garbage.

Good Eats made cooking fun, during a time when every show about it was incredibly serious and many time, horribly pretentious. On top of that, you're learning about real-life science, stuff you can use in the real world. Also, follow Alton Brown on Twitter. He's delightful. | Mat Elfring

Eyes Wide Shut | July 16, 1999

Stanley Kubrick delivered his final cut of Eyes Wide Shut about one week before passing away. It had been thirteen years since Full Metal Jacket. It was his 12th film and perhaps the most anticipated of his career. Eyes Wide Shut was shrouded in secrecy; a scandalous sex film in which Hollywood’s most famous couple, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, were cast in the leading roles. It was over budget and over schedule. Kubrick had always been infatuated with the 1920s novel it was based on and had gone out of his way to purchase every copy off of bookstore he could find to keep it out of the hands of others. There was rampant speculation that he had lost his mind.

I was about as much a Kubrick-phile as one could have been in 1999. I was devastated by his passing but heartened that Tom Cruise and Warner Bros sought to honor Kubrick’s film without compromising his vision. The opulent orgy sequence has notoriously bad CGI cloaked figures obscuring graphic sex, but this was something the filmmaker had agreed upon prior to the film’s completion. Kubrick knew better than anybody how to get movies made his way and where he could compromise.

Eyes Wide Shut is Kubrick’s most carefully composed and expertly crafted film. Every scene is meticulously planned, blocked and lit by Kubrick himself. He kept the crew to a minimum and the process intimate (except for building three blocks of New York City on a backlot in London from scratch). The resulting film is his most eerie, dreamlike journey in a brooding look at jealousy and paranoia. Like any Kubrick film, it is inherently a comedy beneath the surface, and like any Kubrick film it can be appreciated from many different angles on repeat viewings. | Ryan Schubert

The Blair Witch Project | July 30, 1999

The Blair Witch Project might have been released at the tail-end of the 1990s, but its influence stretches across the entirety of the following decade and beyond. It showed that shooting a movie on a domestic camcorder was no hindrance to huge international success, and ensured that low budget horror filmmakers stopped even trying to make their movies look good. Suddenly, “found footage” was the horror subgenre of choice.

Of course, few of the imitators had the terrifying power of this movie. It looked and sounded real, as three students head into a supposedly haunted wood to explore the legend of the Blair Witch, and find themselves trapped, as weird and scary things happen all around them. The believable, increasingly desperate performances--partially real, as the actors didn’t always know what tricks directors Eduardo Sánchez and Daniel Myrick would throw at them--and the growing sense of impending doom for these three kids absolutely petrified audiences in 1999.

The Blair Witch Project is a film that only truly works to the first viewing, and neither of its two sequels came close to matching it for raw scares. But in terms of a film that showed how much you can achieve with very little, Blair Witch has few rivals. | Dan Auty

The Sixth Sense | August 6, 1999

Having the ending of The Sixth Sense spoiled for you was one of those life-changing events that would set you on a different course forever, not to mention the bone-deep grudge you'd hold against the perpetrator who committed the spoiling. That's because the experience of watching the movie and seeing that twist unfold before your eyes was second to none in cinema at that time. It felt truly new. (And before you say you guessed the twist in the first 10 minutes, congrats, you're a genius? I don't know what you want me to tell you.)

Even without the infamous twist, Sixth Sense was a terrifying thriller about a little kid who was plagued by gruesome, terrifying ghosts that only he could see. The movie launched Haley Joel Osment's career into the stratosphere, and further cemented Bruce Willis as one of the biggest stars of the decade. And don't forget that it was director M. Night Shyamalan's first major feature film, which felt more significant before he used up all that goodwill with a series of duds throughout the aughts.

My dad and I watched this movie over and over, looking for all the little clues that we missed the first time around. M. Night Shyamalan would go on to become known as the cheesy twist guy who couldn't recapture his early genius, but before that, The Sixth Sense was so good that even in retrospect the hype was totally justified. | Mike Rougeau

The Iron Giant | August 6, 1999

I'm a sucker for fictional characters with limited communication skills. Before he was Groot, Vin Diesel was the Iron Giant, a mysterious space robot who crash-lands in the small town of Rockwell, Maine in the '50s. A local kid named Hogarth Hughes discovers and befriends the Giant, who seems friendly and peaceful.

Of course, the military and most of Rockwell's adult population don't like the Giant. There's a war on--the Cold War--and randomly appearing robots are generally not a great sign. With the help of a beatnik artist named Dean, Hogarth hides and protects the Giant, teaching him the difference between right and wrong, what death is, and how to use his powers for good. There are amusing hijinks and genuinely serious moments in equal measure, all building up to a phenomenal ending.

As far as animated family movies go, The Iron Giant can often take a backseat to Disney films from around the same time. It underperformed at the box office, even, really only gaining traction after its home release. But Brad Bird's directorial debut is now (rightfully) regarded as a classic of 2D animation. It's beautifully animated, intelligent, funny, and--above all--heartfelt and earnest, and it never fails to make me cry at least a little. | Kallie Plagge

Freaks and Geeks | September 25, 1999

Sorry Ronda Rousey, but Joan Jett's "Bad Reputation" will forever be attached to this NBC series, which was cancelled way too soon. Freaks and Geeks took place in the early '80s, following brother and sister Sam and Lindsay Weir, as they traverse a new year in high school.

It's a funny, coming of age story, where Lindsay is having a bit of an identity crisis, hanging out with the burnouts, while her brother Sam dealt with being a nerd, which comes with things like being bullied. The series launched the careers of Linda Cardellini, James Franco, Martin Starr, Jason Segel, and Seth Rogen, and the series heavily featured the writing of both Paul Feig and Judd Apatow. Everything we know and love about contemporary comedy started here, but it wasn't a series that relied on punchline after punchline. It was ahead of its time.

Freaks and Geeks resonated with me immensely, as I was entering my senior year of high school when the show came out. I felt the same way as these characters and had the same struggles as well, just 19 years in the future. Regardless of when the series took place, these teenagers still have to deal with the same problems: fitting in, trying not to disappoint your parents, learning how to function as a young adult, and love. If Freaks and Geeks had been released six years later, it would have ran for 10 seasons. | Mat Elfring

Fight Club | October 15, 1999

A misunderstood commercial failure at the time, the legacy and reputation of Fight Club has increased massively over the past 20 years. While star Brad Pitt and director David Fincher's previous film--the serial killer thriller Seven--was a huge success, audiences and critics simply didn't know what to make of Fight Club. Was it a dark comedy? An edgy paranoid thriller? A drama about alienation and mental illness? A savage satire about masculinity and consumerism? The answer is, of course, all of the above.

An amazing cast--a never-better Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter, Jared Leto--stunning direction from Fincher, and incendiary source material (Chuck Palahniuk's novel) ensure that there's never been a movie quite like Fight Club, before or since. For once, the movie's big twist actually makes you want to go back and watch again. For those that can stomach its excesses, it remains an endlessly rewatchable, disreputable treat. | Dan Auty

The Straight Story | October 21, 1999

If there is one popular director in film history who could otherwise be accused of never telling a straightforward story, his name is David Lynch. Following his bleak, narcissistic reality-bender, Lost Highway (1997), and prior to its full blown glorious follow-up, Mulholland Drive (2001), Lynch took a pastoral detour into one of the most frighteningly linear and starkly heart-warming corners of his enigmatic psyche.

An aging Alvin Straight, who lives with his daughter Rose (Sissy Spacek), decides that before he passes away he should make amends with his estranged brother who is ailing. Because Alvin is no longer allowed to drive a car, he decides that he will drive a John Deere tractor from Iowa to Wisconsin.

Based on a true story, The Straight Story is part family drama and part road movie. It shows that David Lynch’s penchant for existential horror is just as at home in a warm sweater as it is wrapped in plastic. Lynch fans and newcomers alike ought to see this film to know the breadth of Lynch’s capability.

Alvin was played by Richard Farnsworth who passed away the following year and received the film’s only Oscar nomination. Lynch composing veteran Angelo Badalamenti (Twin Peaks, The City of Lost Children) shows that his famous severity can be tamed in one of the most gentle and beautiful film scores you will ever hear. | Ryan Schubert

Dogma | November 12, 1999

Kevin Smith's movies hold a special place in my heart. When my wife and I started dating, we first bonded over our love of the movie Mallrats. And Dogma was the first Kevin Smith movie we got to see together in the theater. Sure, it was rated-R, but this was the late '90s, and as long as you weren't a child, you could be under the age 17 and buy a ticket no problem.

Smith's movies were very much a product of the mid to late-90s. It captured the minds of the a generation, primarily late Generation Xers and early Millennials. How did it do so? With rude, crude, and totally lewd jokes wrapped around a story about trying to find God, whom had gone missing somewhere on Earth, while two banished angels try to get back into Heaven.

Back then, it was hilarious, and it featured a ton of Jay and Silent Bob, which was a huge bonus for me. Does it hold up now? I don't dare go back and watch it because the memories of watching it in the theater will more than likely far outway the actual quality of the film. | Mat Elfring

Toy Story 2 | November 24, 1999

In some ways, Toy Story 2 seems to be the forgotten movie in the franchise. The first was a game changer and the third was such an emotional rollercoaster that it wrecked even the best of us. The second, though, touches on an aspect of toys that has become far more common in recent years; the collector's market. It also takes the action-oriented elements from the first movie and blows them up, crating a massive adventure that sends th toys to a toy store on a rescue mission to bring Woody home after he's taken by a super creepy grown man in a chicken suit. Toy Story 2 deserves more respect, so watch it again. | Chris E. Hayner

Being John Malkovich | December 3, 1999

Spike Jonze’s Being John Malkovich is as funny as it is bizarre. A puppeteer named Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) discovers a portal that allows him to enter the mind of real life actor John Malkovich, allowing him to see and hear what Malkovich is doing for fifteen minutes, before being ejected into a ditch in New Jersey. He and his co-worker Maxine (Catherine Keener) decide to profit on this experience, by charging a $200 admission for people to become John Malkovich.

It’s a ridiculous, mesmerizing story that twists in unexpected ways, supported by solid, over the top performances from its gifted cast, including an offtype Cameron Diaz and a very meta John Malkovich with an existential crisis. Best of all is the surreal love story between Maxine and Lotte (Diaz), who fall in love when Lotte is inside the mind of Malkovich while dating Maxine. The movie’s tagline poses the question, “Ever wanted to be someone else?” and gives us a surreal look at what people might do if they could be a celebrity for a short period of time. To this day, Being John Malkovich is still one of the most original, intelligent and outrageous comedies I’ve ever seen, and I look forward to rewatching it every 10 years. | Chastity Vicencio

Magnolia | December 8, 1999

Today it is easy to regard Magnolia as merely Paul Thomas Anderson’s fifth or sixth best film in a catalogue of nearly unparalleled quality among American filmmakers. But, in 1999, cinephiles were collectively impressed by the star-studded three hour opus from the relative newcomer who had gotten everyone’s attention with a Scorsesian romp, Boogie Nights, only two years earlier.

At the time, Magnolia drew comparisons to Robert Altman’s Short Cuts for its multi-character, multi-story tale of how the lives of seemingly disparate personalities are fatefully intertwined. Beyond this, it is difficult to describe Magnolia by its story as much as by its feeling: the impressions of melancholy, loneliness, and desperation that its characters share.

The Altman comparisons were apt, too, because it was abundantly clear with Magnolia that Anderson could make it seem as though drawing a spectacular performance out of any actor of any caliber was effortless. Julianne Moore, Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy, John C. Reilly and Jason Robards (in his final film) are all unforgettable.

Anderson’s films have since become more intimate, more complex, more carefully constructed, and in nearly every respect superior. Nevertheless, it is impossible to leave Magnolia out of any conversation about Anderson’s work in part for its foibles, but necessarily for the master craft it foreshadowed. | Ryan Schubert

Galaxy Quest | December 25, 1999

Galaxy Quest is one of the most surprising movies I've ever seen. At a glance, it would appear to be an attempt to make a Star Trek movie laced with a bit of humor. Nailing that could have made for an enjoyable if forgettable film, but Galaxy Quest is much more than that.

Galaxy Quest functions as both a sci-fi action-adventure film and a parody of that genre--and it does both of those things extremely well. The main characters--former actors from a Star Trek-like TV series--are roped into an interstellar space war involving aliens who think the actors are really the heroic characters they play. After a period of time where they believe the aliens are simply over-eager cosplayers, we get to enjoy the fun of these characters try to bulls*** their way through serving as the crew of an actual, real-life Enterprise-style spaceship while trying to hide their shock at what's happening. Meanwhile, Alan Rickman acts like a grumpy man who could not be less pleased with the show's success and its ensuing promotional opportunities, which results in one of the all-time great line readings.

This all facilitates some nice arcs, as we see characters who are loathsome or cowardly overcome their flaws as they turn into the people they portrayed. What might be most impressive about Galaxy Quest is how well it works, and how funny it remains, 20 years later. The jokes aren't reliant on recreating famous scenes from Star Trek; you don't even need to have watched that series (or anything else) in order to get it. I'm hesitant to invoke the name Shaun of the Dead, which is a triumph in numerous ways, but Galaxy Quest does an admirable job in nailing that same blend of action and comedy. | Chris Pereira

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Apex Legends Wraith Guide: Tips On How To Be The Best Interdimensional Skirmisher

February 15, 2019, 2:18 pm

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Apex Legends is a battle royale game centered around the concept of surviving as a team. You can wordlessly ask for weapons and equipment or point out enemy locations with the game's ping system. Downed teammates can be revived, and you can respawn dead allies if you grab their banner in time. Everything in the game revolves around your squad working together, and that starts with knowing how to use your chosen Legend's unique abilities to benefit the team.

Wraith is one of the six Legends unlocked in Apex from the start (with two more you can earn or purchase), and this interdimensional skirmisher is one of the most versatile characters in the game. Although she's designed to excel as a hit-and-run tactician, Wraith can fit into Mirage's role as a trickster or handle Bloodhound's recon duties in a pinch. In this short guide, we're going to take a look at Wraith, and explain how this Legend can open up new avenues towards victory for you and your squad.

If you're still on the fence about picking up Apex Legends, check out our review. If you're already playing Respawn's battle royale game and you're looking for a few extra tips, we have a guide on becoming a champion, as well as a gallery of the best weapons in the game.

Other Character Guides

Wraith's General Overview

Wraith is one of the three offense-focused fighters in Apex Legends, so she's specifically designed to be one of her team's major damage dealers. Her abilities make her an ideal candidate for your squad's point person, so don't expect to hang back when it's time to move out. That doesn't mean you should go off on your own though. Wraith may be able to take care of herself, but she's a force to be reckoned with when she's using her portals to help her entire team get the drop on an enemy.

Confusing the enemy should be your main concern as Wraith, but if need be you can use her skills to aid downed allies, scout ahead, get your team out of a losing firefight, set ambushes, or trick an enemy into killing themselves. Regardless of how you use Wraith, it's important to keep moving during a fight. Wraith is most useless when she's standing still and trying to snipe an enemy from afar, where her abilities can really only be used defensively. Because you'll usually be in the thick of things as Wraith, you'll want to nab at least one weapon with a decent fire rate that packs a punch at close range. The EVA-8 and Mastiff shotguns are your best bets, but the Peacekeeper, Wingman, and Flatline are all excellent choices as well. Also, try to avoid executing enemies. Wraith has some really cool execution animations, but you want to keep moving to kill the enemy team as quickly as possible.

Wraith's Skills

Passive Skill: Voices From The Void - A voice warns you when danger approaches. As far as you can tell, it’s on your side.

With this passive, voices warn of any incoming threat that might harm Wraith, so stick close to your teammates to defend them as well. The voices are whispered, so for the best results, play Apex Legends with headphones, subtitles on, or both. On very rare occasions, this passive makes enemy footsteps louder as well, so headphones might be the way to go, since you don't get an audible warning for those. Don't forget to hit the button prompt when the voices speak up, so you can alert your teammates as well. Knowing an enemy has spotted you, that a grenade is fast approaching, or that one of Caustic's Nox Gas Traps is waiting for you around the corner or behind a closed door can make a difference between victory and defeat

Tactical Skill: Into The Void - Reposition quickly through the safety of void space, avoiding all damage.

When Wraith journeys into the void, she becomes untouchable and nearly invisible. She also moves a lot faster too, so you can use this skill to escape an approaching ring wall. Wraith can't interact with anything while in the void, though, meaning she can't pick up weapons or items, see enemies or allies, attack, or open or close doors.

Ultimate Skill: Dimensional Rift - Link two locations with portals for 60 seconds, allowing your entire team to use them.

Wraith has one of the most useful Ultimate skills in Apex Legends. She can drop portals next to downed allies so they can crawl through and teleport to safety, or use the massive speed boost she gets from placing her first portal to escape an approaching zone wall. If you don't have a Bloodhound on-hand, you can use Wraith to drop one portal, run ahead to scout some buildings, and escape through a quickly placed second portal if any enemies are hiding inside.

Tips To Play As Wraith

Once you've gotten a knack for Voices From The Void, Wraith can become nearly untouchable at long range. Not only are you warned when someone tags you, the voices speak up when you're in a sniper's scope. The second you hear that you've got a sniper on you, warn your teammates and use your tactical skill, Into The Void. You'll disappear and become untouchable, much to your enemy's chagrin.

Speaking of Into The Void, because of its drawbacks, it's best used defensively to escape a firefight or ambush. However, you can also use the ability to reach downed allies or safely flank an enemy's position. If your team has another pinned down, you can use Into The Void to get the drop on someone, but that's much easier to do if you're chatting with friends and they guide you to where an opponent is hiding. To truly master Into The Void, learn all the tiny details of Apex Legends' map, so you know what you're doing and where you're going when you blink out of existence.

As a final note, pay close attention to the shadows that populate the void. They aren't enemies or allies. They're actually Wraith. Because she's caught between dimensions, Wraith can see every outcome she's ever made, making, or will make, in both this universe and others. Those shadows mark where she'll come out of the void if she heads in that direction, so they're basically marking her possible futures.

Above, we listed how Wraith can support her team with Dimensional Rift, but as an offense-focused character, this skill is best used for killing enemies. If Wraith uses Dimensional Rift, she can follow up with Into the Void to speed across the battlefield unscathed before placing her second portal. With this strategy, you can teleport your entire team into a flanking position behind another squad. To safeguard your first portal, you can have Gibraltar throw his Dome Of Protection over it, or have Bangalore's Smoke Launcher hide its location.

If you really want to mess with an enemy, have your squad wait behind cover with grenades, before rushing forward and placing a portal next to an another team. The second it's set, teleport back to safety while your allies step through to the enemy squad, drop their grenades at their feet, and then transport back. If you have a Caustic on your squad, his Ultimate can do insane damage with this technique, especially within enclosed spaces. If you're in the midst of a firefight, drop one portal and run to the nearest map edge to drop your second. With any luck, in the confusion of battle, your enemies will think you escaped through the portal and "follow you" through it to kill you, only to appear in open air and fall to their deaths instead. You can trick people into teleporting outside the ring wall too. If the edge of the map and ring are far away, having a waiting Caustic Nox Gas Trap or a Gibraltar with a Spitfire or Devotion and his Gun Shield up can work too. We've done a lot experiments with what Wraith's portals can and can't do if you need any more combat strategies.

How To Counter Wraith's Weaknesses

Despite the wide range of attacks Wraith can pull off with her skills, she can be easily countered by a Bloodhound. The technological tracker can tell where Wraith has gone, and see her through walls. If you're playing Wraith and see a Bloodhound, taking them out should be your first priority.

Wraith is also at her best when she is the one causing the confusion, not the other way around. Disorienting Wraith with Bangalore's Smoke Launcher, Caustic's Nox Gas Grenade, or Mirage's Psyche Out or Vanishing Act are the best ways of knocking her off her game once she's within killing range. If you're playing Wraith and your enemy responds with any of these attacks, don't panic. Use Into The Void and get out. Remember, your abilities are best used to surprise the enemy. If you're the one being surprised, you need to retreat and try again.

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Apex Legends Caustic Guide: How To Gas Your Enemies Into Oblivion

February 15, 2019, 2:22 pm

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Apex Legends is similar to other battle royale games, but it where it differs is its emphasis on teamwork. The game has eight different character to choose from, each with their own unique abilities. Deciding which character to play as and knowing how their abilities can best contribute to your team's survival is essential.

For a character like Caustic, defensive tactics is the name of the game. His deadly gas traps can easily overwhelm and hinder mobility of enemy squads, offering your fellow teammates fertile opportunity for an easy ambush. At a glance, Caustic's abilities often seem more contextual than universally functional, but with a little practice, you can use that to your advantage.

Keep reading for all the information you need on Caustic's abilities, including his strengths and weaknesses, as well as tips on how to use him effectively and help your team to victory. We've also got plenty more guides, including things that Apex Legends doesn't tell you, a list of myths we've tested about how the game works, and a full rundown of the game's best guns. You might also want to check out our Apex Legends review.

General Overview

As stated above, Caustic's strategies are a bit contextual. His Gas Traps are lethal, but it takes a firm understanding of their capabilities to use them effectively. And with such a large map where numerous battle scenarios are possible, finding the right time to leverage Caustic's strengths proves more difficult than you'd expect. That said, getting a feel for that takes time, so remain patient and don't hesitate to adjust his abilities to the needs of your team.

In battle, Caustic is best in close quarters situations. His gas abilities let you control a fight by blanketing areas to force enemies out of or away from them, and can give your team a serious advantage as your opponents are damaged, slowed, and blinded. He's also good for countering tracker or scout characters such as Bloodhound or Wraith--gas traps placed carefully can slow people following you, block pathways, and force players to move through pathways that help your teammates.

Use Caustic to try to control the battlefield and give your team strategic advantages, and sew chaos among enemy teams whenever possible by gassing them out. Just be aware that your gas can negatively affect your teammates. It won't kill them, but it can blind and slow them.

Abilities

Tactical: Nox Gas Trap

Caustic can drop Nox Gas Trap canisters that release deadly gas when shot or triggered by enemies. Gas effectively blinds enemies, while damaging them over time, making it great for close-range encounters.

Passive: Nox Vision

Nox Vision allows you to see enemies through Gas. It's pretty convenient, as enemies afflicted by your toxic gas are highlighted in green for both you and your squadmates.

Ultimate: Nox Gas Grenade

Caustic’s Ultimate Ability Nox Gas Grenade blankets a large area in Nox Gas. This ability can be used defensively or offensively, putting enemy squads into a state of panic in confined space or sending them running in the other direction.

Tips To Play

While you're likely to be inclined to surprise enemies with Caustic's traps, it's a great idea to set some down as you're fighting to tip the balance in your favor. It's also possible to block doors and hallways with your traps, which can physically impede people from getting past them. You can throw up to six Nox Gas Traps at a time. You have three on cooldown, but once that ends, you can drop three more, or drop one as you get them back off a cooldown. Another great way to use the Nox Gas Traps is laying them down behind your team as you move up. This will alert you if anyone's triggered them or are trying to sneak up on you. In addition, you can drop traps near downed enemies in hopes of luring their teammates near them. Any traps you don't use, you can also pick back up, so keep that in mind.

The enemy outlining provided by Caustic's Nox Vision is a nice perk that should encourage you to use your traps more liberally. The gas won't hurt your teammates but be aware that their visibility in gas is still similar to smoke grenades, so try not to go overboard--lest you want to frustrate your squad.

Caustic’s Nox Gas Grenades are useful in leading enemies into an ambush. It's also particularly useful in pushing enemies away, so you can give your squad time to revive downed teammates. You can even throw them in the opposite scenario, preventing enemy squads from bringing back their friends.

Another handy strategy is comboing Caustic's gas trap and gas grenade in a confined space. If you're able to block an enemy into a room with a trap, throw a grenade inside. Assuming they aren't smart enough to grenade the door, this deadly combination should make for a guaranteed kill.

All this talk about deadly gas is great, but don't think the enemy is completely powerless. Beware of incoming Grenades or Arc Stars while your gas is active on the field.

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The Dune Reboot Casts Another Big Name; Here's The Full Cast So Far - GameSpot Universe News Update

February 15, 2019, 3:39 pm

≫ Next: Metro Exodus Guide: Things You Need To Know Before Starting

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Jason Momoa is in talks to join the film.

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Metro Exodus Guide: Things You Need To Know Before Starting

February 15, 2019, 5:28 pm

≫ Next: Metro Exodus Video Review

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Before The Exodus

Metro Exodus can be a daunting game to jump into, especially if you're not attuned to the series' minimalist style of experience and low health/high damage combat. It's a single-player, story-driven FPS with a lot of systems at play, and tacking on a few open sandbox levels might overwhelm newcomers. Even if you've been with main protagonist Artyom in Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light, there are still a bunch of things you may want to be aware of before you start the journey across the Russian landmass.

What you need to know ranges from gameplay tips necessary for survival to important pieces of the story that you could miss. Metro Exodus will make mention of the many things you can do in its world, but they can also be easily glossed over. This'll be free of spoilers, and instead try to make you privy to the ways in which you can get the most from the story or influence the outcomes of events.

Note that those who jump straight into Ranger Hardcore mode and want the toughest challenge will have UI elements turned off. This means you may not even be aware of basic mechanics, so be sure to do some research before doing so. But here, we compiled a few neat things that'll help you get more out of Metro Exodus. This won't cover every little detail of the game, so if you come across any cool secrets or interesting tidbits, let us know in the comments below!

If you want to read more about the game, do yourself a favor and check out my Metro Exodus review. I awarded the game a score of 8/10 and stated, "As Metro broadens its horizons, it loses some of the series' focus. But Exodus makes up for it with thrilling encounters and a crew you'll want to follow to the ends of the earth."

Dismantle Enemy Weapons For Attachments, Materials, And Extra Ammo

In addition to picking up the items and materials dropped by fallen enemies, you can dismantle the weapons they drop. Doing so will reward you with weapon modifications and attachments that are vital to building out your arsenal. It's important to deck out your favorite weapons with better barrels, sights, and stocks since they can be pretty janky without them. You may be surprised with how a puny revolver can transform into a deadly long-range gun with the right mods. Dismantling enemy weapons will also give you some extra ammo and crafting materials. It may be a pain to constantly search the area after a firefight, but it's worth the effort.

You Can Only Swap Guns At Base Workbenches

The crafting system may be a little tough to get your head around in terms of what you can and can't do, but changing your loadout in particular is relegated to workbenches in or around the Aurora. These are the only spots where you can swap your weapon loadout outside of picking up an enemy's weapon, in case you were wondering why you couldn't at the other workbenches scattered around the game's levels.

Primary Ammo Can Only Be Crafted At Workbenches

Workbenches are also the only spots where you can craft ammo for your primary weapons (shotgun shells, rifle rounds, revolver bullets, and sniper ammo). Of course, ammo is found around the environments, but you always want to be prepared before you take on a big mission as you might not be able to pick up as much as you expend.

Improvise And Adapt With The Backpack

Keep in mind your backpack allows you to craft steel balls for the Tikhar or arrows for the Helsing crossbow. This allows you to have a decent firearm if you happen to run out of primary ammo. Medkits and filters can also be crafted with just your backpack so you're never left with low health as long as you have enough crafting materials. The backpack lets you swap weapon attachments as well; this is key for adapting to situations on the fly. For example, if you're caught in a long-range firefight but only have guns with reflex sights, whip out your backpack and swap in a scope if you have one.

Cleaning Weapons Is Very Important

Weapons will get dirty over time, so keep an eye on how clean they are. It'll be visually represented with dirt and grime building up on the weapon itself, and a meter will show its condition when you take it to a workbench. It doesn't take that many chemicals to keep them in top condition, either, so clean them when you can. A dirty weapon will jam or overheat frequently, which you do not want happening during an intense firefight.

Third Weapon Slot Is For The Tikhar Or Crossbow, Use Them When You Can

While you get to carry two primary weapons in Metro Exodus, the third slot is reserved for the pneumatic pump gun called the Tikhar. It's not the most powerful weapon, but it can deal some damage with a well-aimed shot and comes in handy for stealth situations since it's silent. The same goes for the Helsing crossbow you find in a later chapter; it does more damage but has a low fire rate. Again, if you want to conserve primary ammo, use these when you can since you're able to craft their ammo anywhere using your backpack.

Try To Avoid Conflict Against Mutants In Open Areas

In the open sandbox chapters, you're free to roam around. However, mutants run rampant throughout and can easily gang up on you since they sometimes run in packs. You should avoid conflict with them as they're not only dangerous, but force you to expend valuable ammo and medkits (if you get hit). They don't drop ammo or resources in return, unlike human enemies. It's also tough to run away since you have a limited sprint. Be careful.

Take A Nap, Stealth Is Easier At Night

With the introduction of a day/night cycle in Metro Exodus, your visibility can change drastically in the open sandbox areas. For those who are keen on a more stealthy approach, make sure you're going into heavily guarded areas at night since you have the cover of darkness. And don't forget to keep an eye on your watch's visibility indicator that tells you if you're exposed or not. Beds at outposts allow you to rest in order to change the time of day without any consequences. Use this to your advantage.

The Gasmask (And Geiger Counter) Saves Lives

Artyom's gasmask is literally a life saver, and you should know when it's necessary to have on. If you hear him gasping for air in any section of the environment, don't hesitate to put it on. In addition, filters only last for a certain duration before needing to be swapped out--listen for a beeping sound as this is your cue to switch filters. One more tip for not getting killed by the world itself: listen to your Geiger counter. You can survive for a while in mild radiation, but once Artyom starts to get dizzy and his vision starts to blur, get to safety quick.

Side Quests (Question Marks On Your Map) Can Lead To Rewards

Speaking of points of interest, you can think of these as side quests. Not only will you get interesting bits of story that may help influence future events, but you can pick up helpful equipment. For example, in the Volga chapter, your boy Duke will mention a bandit outpost that may be worth checking out. If you save the hostages there, they'll give you a key to open up a door in a later mission which leads to a pair of useful night-vision goggles. While a teddy bear may not be classified as useful equipment, if you track one down in a side quest for the child Nastya, you get a morality point and feel good about yourself!

Consider What Others Say, Could Also Lead To Rewards

Dialogue plays an important role in Metro Exodus. Most of it is for narrative purposes but sometimes it can hint at different types of rewards that may impact your playthrough. For example, in a mission during the Caspian Desert chapter, your companion Damir mentions to not hurt innocent bystanders, but you're free to go lethal on the bad guys. If you follow suit, it leads to a morality point which can affect future events. In another case, a tribe member in the Taiga chapter asks you to not hurt them, but only if you approach him (who you might think is hostile at first glance). Doing so also leads to a morality point.

Other times, characters will mention points of interest in the open sandbox chapters, which often get marked as question marks on your map. You'll definitely want to explore these locations.

Holstering Your Weapon Can Lead To Interesting Things

It's a smaller thing to note, but Metro Exodus allows you to holster your weapon. While we're not aware of every situation it can affect, we know it can lead to interesting outcomes. A few examples include a pair of fisherman in the Volga who react negatively to you if you approach them with your gun pointed at them. In a later mission in the Caspian Desert, aiming down your sights will lead to a firefight breaking out, and you may want to avoid that. And in the Taiga chapter, the dialogue with a tribe member (mentioned earlier) hints that you may not want to hurt them.

Take Out Enough Enemies And The Rest Will Surrender

One neat feature of Metro Exodus is how enemies will react if you wreak enough havoc on their encampment. In certain situations, there comes a point when taking down enemies in the surrounding area can lead to the remaining hostiles surrendering. They'll lay their weapons down with their hands up and constantly beg you not to hurt them. If you start to feel bad but still want their loot, just knock them out.

You Don't Always Have To Fight

Some sections force you to clear out a gang of mutants or unhinged hostile humans before moving on, and that's when you need to go in guns blazing. But remember that you don't always have to fight in Metro Exodus; not necessarily for non-lethal or stealthy approaches, but for your own sake as well. There's no shame in running past a sticky situation, which you should keep in mind when you think there's no way out of a dire situation.

Hang Out With Your Crew Throughout The Game

Aboard the Aurora train between missions, your crew of metro expats relax and reflect on the journey throughout the game. Here, you can hang out with them and listen to them talk about their experiences, deeper thoughts, or watch them interact with each other. These are some of the best parts of Metro Exodus that can easily be overlooked, and it's one of the things that'll get you more invested in the story itself since these characters are fun, genuine personalities.

In a few cases, you can sit beside Anna while she talks to you about how she's feeling, her perception of the previous missions, and what she hopes for in the future. As a result, these breaks in the action can go on for a long time but we recommend sticking around for it all.

Read Your Diary And Use The Radio To Listen In On Broadcasts And Sweet Tunes

As the game progresses, Artyom fills out his diary with descriptions of the places he's been, the enemies he's fought, and the equipment he's gathered. It's also where he writes about his comrades and summarizes his perceptions of who they are and their motivations. These insights help build the characters you're journeying with.

Beside the journal is a radio you can tune to different frequencies. With a handful of channels, you can eavesdrop on chatter between stations out on the surface which often tie into the game's events. A few stations also play some really catchy tunes that you can leave on as you step away from the desk.

If You Want A Good Ending, Be A Good Person

It's been known that Metro Exodus has several endings, but if you aiming for a "good" ending, you'll want to look out for opportunities to earn morality points, just like the previous Metro games. Again, things like getting through scenarios without hurting people who aren't necessarily bad and doing nice things people ask of you will net you morality points. We just want to make sure you're aware this exists.

You Can Make The Train Go Choo Choo

Alright, this won't really help you on your journey, but it sure is a morale boost in a dark, vicious post-apocalyptic world. If you go to the front of the Aurora train during the chill chapters, you can pull the handle that makes the train go choo choo. It's fun, especially after Miller is done with one of his tirades.

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Metro Exodus Video Review

February 15, 2019, 5:33 pm

≫ Next: Far Cry: New Dawn -- Far Cry 5 Stories, References, And Easter Eggs

≪ Previous: Metro Exodus Guide: Things You Need To Know Before Starting

As Metro broadens its horizons, it loses some of the series' focus. But Exodus makes up for it with thrilling encounters and a crew you'll want to follow to the ends of the earth.

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Far Cry: New Dawn -- Far Cry 5 Stories, References, And Easter Eggs

February 15, 2019, 5:34 pm

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The post-apocalyptic world of Far Cry: New Dawn is different in a lot of ways from every other Far Cry game that's come before it. But New Dawn is also a direct sequel to Far Cry 5, taking place 17 years after the events of that game in the same place: Hope County. While a nuclear winter and the arrival of the vicious marauders known as the Highwaymen have changed changed things quite a bit in Hope County, New Dawn is still full of callbacks, references, and direct continuations of the story of Far Cry 5.

The references and story scattered throughout Far Cry: New Dawn run the gamut--some are big story points that you can't miss, while others are optional missions, and still others are bits of environmental, out-of-the-way storytelling you might miss altogether. In a whole lot of cases, New Dawn answers your burning questions about what happened to your favorite characters.

We've run down the many Far Cry 5 Easter eggs, references, and stories we've come across as we've explored this new vision of Hope County. Note that this list is full of spoilers, though, so read on at your own risk. You can also check out our Far Cry: New Dawn review, and our guide to the new systems added since Far Cry 5.

Kim Rye And Baby Carmina

In Far Cry 5, the player character, the Deputy, meets Kim Rye and her husband Nick as they're preparing to have their baby. The couple gets embroiled in the Resistance against the Eden's Gate cult and their leader, Joseph Seed, and you interact with them for several story missions--including one that involves the delivery of their baby, Carmina.

Seventeen years later in Far Cry: New Dawn, Kim has become the leader of Prosperity after the Collapse, the nuclear apocalypse that devastated the world. With Nick in the clutches of the Highwaymen, Kim sends Carmina to meet with Thomas Rush, the man roaming America rebuilding settlements, to enlist his help in Hope County. Carmina also joins New Dawn's player character, the Captain, as a Gun For Hire ally.

Grace Armstrong

Your sharpshooter Gun For Hire in Far Cry 5 was Grace, a tough-as-nails fighter who brought sniper rifles to bear in battles. After the Collapse, Grace lost her sight and thus her capability as a soldier, but she retained her ability with firearms--specifically in building them. You'll recruit her early in Far Cry: New Dawn as one of your Specialists for upgrading Prosperity. There, she'll pass on her wisdom to your new Guns For Hire, as well as provide you with a Saw Launcher she's upgraded with her deadly know-how.

The Fate Of Cheeseburger The Bear

One of the best allies in Far Cry 5 is Cheeseburger, a huge bear who mauls enemies at your command as a Fang For Hire. After 17 years and a nuclear war, Cheeseburger is, unfortunately, no more. The man who found and trained Cheeseburger from a cub, Wade Fowler, eventually tried to train another bear at his F.A.N.G. center. You can return to the F.A.N.G. center in New Dawn for the Treasure Hunt mission "For Whom The Bear Tolls" to find out what happened to Wade in the aftermath of the Collapse, as well as see some fun references to Cheeseburger.

Teaming Up With Pastor Jerome

Pastor Jerome was a key member in the Resistance against Eden's Gate in Far Cry 5. A former soldier known 17 years ago as The Father, he was an ally of the Deputy and a quest-giver in that game. Jerome was a former friend of Joseph Seed before he started the cult and locked down the county--when that happened, Jerome started to fight back, dedicating himself to protecting Joseph's victims. After the Collapse, Jerome kept up his efforts of saving people from danger, this time from the Highwaymen. You can recruit him to fight alongside you as a Gun For Hire in Far Cry: New Dawn.

Hanging Out With Hurk

Hurk is a mainstay of the Far Cry series, showing up in every game to bring a lot of explosions, bumbling, and hilarious lines to the proceedings. The version of Hurk you run into in Far Cry: New Dawn is the same one that you couldteam up with in Far Cry 5, only he's created something of a life for himself since the Collapse. Hurk has become a father, but he's on a John Wick-style search for vengeance against the Highwaymen in New Dawn, and you can recruit him as a Gun For Hire to give him a hand in his quest.

Sharky's Machine

You'll find pyro Sharky Boshaw in Far Cry 5 and recruit him into the fight against Eden's Gate as a Gun For Hire in that game, where he's a pretty effective teammate who sets basically everything on fire. Sharky's back in New Dawn, having survived the Collapse along with his cousin Hurk. He spends his time hanging out near some sulphur ponds raising Hurk's baby son, Blade, while his cousin goes on his vengeance rampage. You can't fight alongside Sharky in New Dawn, but he is one of the five Specialists you'll need to recruit to advance Prosperity and the game's story.

Nick Rye

Along with Kim, Nick is a character you meet in Hope County who eventually joins the Resistance, and who you'll talk to for several story missions in Far Cry 5. In New Dawn, he's been captured by the Highwaymen and forced to help them build new airplanes. Nick is one of the Specialists you'll need to recruit to build up Prosperity, which means rescuing him from the Highwaymen's clutches to reunite the Rye family.

Master Fisher Skylar Kohrs

Skylar Korhs is one of the minor characters you can interact with in Hope County in Far Cry 5 at Dylan's Master Bait Shop. In the Treasure Hunt mission "Riddle Me Fish," you can find the bunker she and Dylan used to survive the Collapse. Both are gone by the time you arrive, but there's the suggestion that Dylan has died since Far Cry 5 and Skylar has gone off in search of some monster fish to fry.

Larry Parker's Lab

One of the more ridiculous guns you can get in Far Cry 5 is the Magnopulsar, a gun that emits microwaves and causes its targets to explode. To find it, you have to find and talk to Larry Parker, a scientist in Hope County, and complete side quests with him. Larry made it through the Collapse into Far Cry: New Dawn--you won't meet him, but you will find his bunker in the "Going Haywire" Treasure Hunt. When you discover it, you'll also find a group of Highwaymen trying to get inside, only to get zapped by a ridiculous electrical field. Finding your way inside tells you about what happened to Larry.

Joseph Seed

The final moments of Far Cry 5 leave you with a choice: Kill Joseph Seed, the leader of the Eden's Gate cult, or spare his life. Letting Joseph live is the canon ending, given that, if you do that, you see right afterward that Joseph was right about the end of the world--Far Cry 5 ends with the nuclear bombs falling and the beginning of the Collapse. Joseph drags the Deputy, the character you play in the game, into a nearby bomb shelter, to survive the nuclear war.

We find out in Far Cry: New Dawn that Joseph did make it through the Collapse, and that when he eventually emerged from his bunker years later, he met up with the surviving members of the Eden's Gate cult to form New Eden. Those folks generally leave the people of Prosperity alone, choosing instead to fight the Highwaymen. As the Captain in New Dawn, your path eventually intersects with New Eden and the things that Joseph Seed has created.

So What Happened To Your Far Cry 5 Character?

Once you find New Eden, you also discover the fate of the Joseph Seed, where you can read journal entries that tell the story of how the Deputy, stuck in the bunker and terrified of the end of the world, became a follower of New Eden. Before long, you run into the Deputy, now wearing a mask and never speaking, and known as The Judge. You can even recruit the Judge to fight with you as a super-stealthy Gun For Hire.

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