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I love Apex Legends‘ new Evo Shield, the first item that Respawn has added to its battle royale that isn’t a weapon or weapon attachment. I hope it’s permanently added to the game.

For now, the Evo Shield is limited to Deja Loot, the new mode added to Apex Legends during the System Override event. The glowing body shield begins out weaker than a common white body shield but grows more powerful as you damage enemies–ultimately maxing out just above a legendary gold body shield.

As the Evo Shield evolves, it doesn’t automatically heal itself. So to take full advantage of the Evo Shield, you need to carry extra shield cells and batteries to keep the armor fully charged. If you don’t want to make the climb yourself, you can loot Evo Shields off of other players as individual Evo Shields will maintain their level even after their users have fallen.

Using an Evo Shield is risky. Its default form is incredibly weak and you generally don’t get to enjoy the benefits of leveling it up until a fight is over, seeing as the shield doesn’t fully charge when it evolves. Plus, with how the in-match inventory system has changed, holding extra shield healing items can be detrimental.

But I love this system of risk vs reward, especially since the Evo Shield specifically rewards careful aggression. You have to pick and choose your battles–the Evo Shield’s first two levels are so weak that you could be at a disadvantage–but you do have to choose to battle because you only get the full benefit of the Evo Shield by dealing damage.

When most people are fighting in Apex Legends, they go for one of two extremes–fully commit to engaging on an enemy team or retreat from the fight. The Evo Shield rewards players who are willing to try other strategies, such as flanking an enemy’s position, taking a few shots at a team too far away to commit to, or utilizing an ultimate ability to split up an enemy squad.

These aren’t glamorous roles, but doing them can now reward you with powerful body shields. Players will likely begin adopting these strategies, all of which add a significant new wrinkle to a battle royale that’s largely been focused around close-range engagements. Previously, a pesky sniper simply resulted in the loss of a few shield cells or a battery. Now that same sniper is growing stronger with each subsequent hit. If you don’t hide or move in on them, they’ll become a much more significant threat.

It now suddenly pays to commit to a fight a little early or just shoot at a fight even if you’re just running past it, if only to get a few shots in and buff your Evo Shield. With the Evo Shield in play, players need to reexamine each area of World’s Edge in a brand-new light. You can’t just consider third-party squads will immediately move in on you–some now might remain on the outskirts and wait for a flanker or sniper to buff themselves before moving in.

In simpler terms, the Evo Shield basically encourages your squad to utilize rotations and move about the map strategically–a habit that’s easier to pick up thanks to the nature of Deja Loot, which sees loot spawn in the same location for every match. At least in the few matches of Deja Loot I’ve played so far, squads moved about more purposively than before, setting themselves up in ideal locations prior to attacking. Those with Evo Shields typically stayed back or rotated out of the firefight quickly, buffing themselves and healing before committing to the fray to finish the fight. And I’m all about encouraging randoms to consider how to fight, not just whether or not to fight.

As mentioned before, the Evo Shield is, for now, exclusive to Deja Loot. However, Respawn wants to add the item to Apex Legends’ regular game modes. “After the event, we’ll gather feedback–see what people think,” Respawn design director Jason McCord said during Apex Legends Devstream #4. “The intention is to turn [Evo Shields] on for the full game afterward.”

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Xbox boss Phil Spencer is a really good follow on Twitter. For someone who holds such a high position in the gaming industry, he tweets frequently and openly about some of the behind-the-scenes goings-on at Xbox and its studios. According to a recent tweet, Spencer visited Gears of War studio The Coalition, and his trip led to new speculation about what’s next for the franchise.

His PR wrangler Kenny Birge did not accompany Spencer on this trip, and the executive took full advantage of being able to say and post whatever he wanted. One of the more intriguing reveals from Spencer’s trip was a behind-the-scenes tease for some “enhancements” coming to Gears 5. He said he met with The Coalitition’s technical director Mike Rayner who showed him these unspecified “enhancements” that make Gears 5 look “better than Gears has ever looked.”

With a new console, the Xbox Series X, due for release later this year, a safe bet is Spencer was briefed on an upgrade that The Coalition may be preparing for it. This is just speculation, however; it’s possible the “enhancements” are related to something else.

Spencer also tweeted about his briefing for Gears Tactics, the new strategy game due for release in April. He said he sees the game as a “great addition” to the Gears franchise alongside the core shooter series. Xbox Game Studios lead Matt Booty was also on the trip, and he snapped a cheeky photo of Spencer taking a photo.

People have been scouring through these photos in hopes of finding some undiscovered materials or a fresh look at the Xbox Series X, but there don’t appear to be any clues to be found. Anyway, here are all the photos from Spencer’s trip to The Coalition.

The future of Gears beyond Gears Tactics is unknown. There is a Gears movie in development, but there have been no announcements of new games. Microsoft veteran Rod Fergusson, who worked on Gears of War since the beginning when he was with Epic Games, recently left the company to join Blizzard and the Diablo team.

This week, Red Dead Online will offer bonus XP in certain activities, discounts on in-game items, along with additional benefits for PlayStation Plus and Twich Prime members.

Treasure is up for grabs with a Treasure Map reward, received for completing five daily challenges. You can collect your Treasure Map from the Camp Lockbox or Post Office within 48 hours of completing your 5 Daily Challenges.

Experience bonuses are available for Moonshiner sales, Story missions and Bootlegger missions, earning you 50% more experience and Role XP. Now is the time to smash out some of those story missions you’ve been putting off and earn high XP for your trouble.

A few in-game items are also on sale this week.

• 25% off Arabian Horses at stables

• 40% off the Hunting Bow and Fishing Rod

• 30% off Vests and Bandoliers at Wheeler, Rawson and Co. Catalogue

Players can also sign up for the Outlaw Pass No. 2 and gain 10 ranks of Club XP immediately. This deal closes on March 10.

Twitch Prime members can connect their Social Club account to score some free in game items–The Collector’s Bag and The Polished Copper Moonshine Still. Members will also be rewarded a Benefits Award for five ranks of Moonshiner Role XP.

In addition, Playstation Plus subscription holders can earn three Ability Cards of their choice just for playing online between now and June 1. Players need to log on and collect these benefits within 48 hours of playing.

Red Dead Online is included as part of Red Dead Redemption 2 for free and currently on sale for PS4 and Xbox One.

In related Red Dead Redemption 2 news, the Hot Coffee mod for the PC version has been taken down. NexusMods has marked the mod page as ‘hidden’ following Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar’s legal representation requesting that the mod be taken down by the creators.

Fight sticks can be really fun, but they aren’t for everyone. It can take time to learn how to use one effectively, and the nice ones can get pretty pricey. It makes sense that there would be a skill/equipment gap where fighting game players want to upgrade from a standard PS4 controller to something more specialized, but are intimidated by or may simply not want to buy an arcade stick.

Razer’s Raion fightpad fills that gap better than the few “fightpads” that have come before it. It takes a lot of the mechanical components that people like from arcade sticks – the six-button layout, quick-hitting buttons, eight-way directional movement – and transposes them to a controller form factor. I don’t think it’s as effective as an arcade stick, which is a problem because it’s just as expensive, but there is something to the idea: It feels more comfortable than using a standard DualShock 4. It’s a niche within a niche, but I think the Raion will hit hard for competitive players who prefer holding a controller.

Design & Features

Aside from having some of the same buttons, the Raion does not look like a PS4 controller. Its shape is wider, boxier, and almost flat. There is much more space on its face: The analog sticks and the round wells that house them are gone. It makes the PS button look positively tiny surrounded by empty space. Holding it, the grips flow into the back of the gamepad, similar to an Xbox One controller. I found it very comfortable to hold, and it provided good grip even as your right thumb makes larger and wider motions to reach all six face buttons.

The larger, flatter surface makes room for a few more and bigger buttons. On the left side, you have a large, clicky D-Pad more or less in the same position as the DS4’s. The D-Pad is a single piece that pushes in eight directions, similar to an 8-way joystick. It’s as good as you can get on a D-Pad, allowing for easy Street Fighter-style quarter- and half-circle motions. It still doesn’t feel quite as natural as performing the motions on a joystick though.

On the right side, you now have six large face buttons – the four classic PlayStation face buttons plus R1 and R2. Like arcade buttons, they have no click or mush, and have a very light press, allowing you to tap them very fast. Despite this, the Raion has four triggers, though they aren’t meant to be used that way. All four top buttons are flat, and have a mouse-like clickiness to them, creating a low-travel approximation of an arcade button.

Since you have two face buttons for R1 and R2, but no analog sticks, you have the ability to switch the trigger inputs from the standard format to L3 and R3 on the left side and L1 and L2 on the right using a switch at the bottom of the controller. Why did they choose to move L1 and L2 instead of just putting L3 and R3 on the right? I have no idea. It isn’t going to get in the way for any competitive games, though, as the analog buttons tend to only come into play for more complex modes.

The center column still has the central PS4 components. The share and options buttons are round and circular. There’s a touchpad, which looks small, but is actually about the same size as the original. Razer moved the PS button up to just below the touchpad because the Raion does not have an internal speaker. Below that, there are a pair of buttons – one mutes your mic, the other is one-button volume control. Press together, they also enable tournament mode, which turns off the menu or system-level buttons.

Gaming

The Raion is a better fit for fighting games than a standard gamepad, especially the DualShock 4. Having all six buttons on flat on the face, lined up intuitively as they would be in an arcade makes a world of difference in understanding 6-button games like Street Fighter V. For 4-button games like Mortal Kombat 11, you’ll get access to other buttons like block. I can’t overstate how much easier it is to use the full range of your controls when you play this way. Moreover, having the quick-hitting arcade buttons makes it easy to tap out strikes as quickly as you need them to.

Likewise, the fact that the D-Pad registers in eight directions, just as an eight-way gated arcade stick would, makes it easier to perform special moves consistently. The clicky feel of the D-pad gives you nice feedback, which I found allowed me to keep better track of each movement my character made.

All that said, the Raion has some limitations relative to a fight stick. There’s a downside to having arcade-style buttons on a controller, it’s very easy to mispress buttons as you reach your thumb across the pad or roll it across a button. That’s a problem you don’t experience on a fight stick, as most players have their hands hovering over the buttons and reach their fingers down to tap each one.

That said, I wouldn’t recommend playing claw with the Raion. The D-pad requires a lot of precision to navigate accurately. I’m not a claw player, so it’s possible you may not find it cumbersome, but it seems like the tradeoff isn’t worth it.

It’s also worth noting that, because it doesn’t have analog sticks, it is not a replacement or upgrade for your standard controller. It is only for playing fighting games (or retro games that don’t require dual analog sticks). The same is true of arcade sticks, of course, but that’s the problem. You have all the same drawback as a fight stick, but a lower potential ceiling.

One other miscellaneous problem: The Raion can’t turn on your PS4. You have to turn on the console by hand or using a DualShock, then sign in by pressing the PS button. It’s a minor nuisance but hammers home the fact that this is a piece of specialty equipment that’s only meant to be used with certain games.

Purchasing Guide

The Razer Raion Fightpad for PS4 is available on Amazon for $99.

Call of Duty: Mobile is losing one of its key modes later this month. In the wake of the game’s latest season starting alongside a major update, the latest Community Update on Reddit has confirmed that Zombies mode will be removed from the game as of March 25.

“We had always mentioned it was limited but with no explicit end-date,” the post reads. “The mode just didn’t reach the level of quality that we desire. The second map, Nacht Der Untoten, is also not releasing in the global version.”

The post notes that the mode might eventually come back, complete with the second map, “but for now we’ll focus on development for Multiplayer, Battle Royale, and Ranked Mode.”

It’s interesting timing, as the director of Zombies mode, Jason Blundell, recently departed from Activision. The latest Call of Duty title, Modern Warfare, is the first Call of Duty game not to feature Zombie mode since Call of Duty: Ghosts.

Players in the comments under the post are not happy, pointing out that in-app purchases have been made by players specifically with this mode in mind. It remains to be seen whether refunds will be offered.

Call of Duty: Mobile has been an enormous success for Activision, bringing in over $90 million as of December 2019. It’s one of the reasons why Activision now makes more money from mobile games than it does anywhere else.

Update 3/3: Actor Maxim Baldry (Years and Years) has reportedly signed on to play a lead role in Amazon’s upcoming Lord of the Rings series, which is currently in production in New Zealand. Per Deadline, Baldry was linked to the series last fall, however, he did not have a deal in place, which was why he wasn’t announced at the Television Critics Association winter press tour by the Head of Amazon Studios, Jennifer Salke with the rest of the cast. Read on to see who else has been officially cast.

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At the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour, Amazon revealed the main cast for its upcoming television series based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.

Here is the list of actors officially announced by the streamer: Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Budge, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, and Daniel Weyman.

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The Head of Amazon Studios, Jennifer Salke, made the announcement, but would not specify which characters the actors will be playing or when the series will premiere. In recent news, we learned that Aramayo was reportedly set to play a young hero named Beldor. Aramayo is replacing Black Mirror’s Will Poulter, who left the project after scheduling difficulties. Production is set to begin in February in New Zealand.

Series showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay had this to say about the casting announcement.

“After undertaking an extensive global search, we are delighted finally to reveal the first group of brilliant performers who will take part in Amazon’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’ series,” they said. “These exceptionally talented women and men are more than just our actors: they are the newest members of an ever-expanding creative family that is now working tirelessly to bring Middle-earth to life anew for fans and audiences worldwide.”

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Amazon’s Lord of the Rings has already been renewed for a second season.

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David Griffin still watches DuckTales in his pajamas with a cereal bowl in hand. He’s also the TV Editor for IGN. Say hi on Twitter.