With Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker wrapping up the nine-movie Skywalker Saga, IGN is celebrating the occasion by looking back at one of our favorite parts of the franchise: the iconic lightsaber duels. Each episode of Star Wars: Breaking Down the Duels will focus on one of the many lightsaber fights as we catch up with the cast and crew members that created them. They share behind-the-scenes stories, offer insightful commentary, and even toss in some trivia you might not have known.
In this episode, Stunt Coordinator/Fight Choreographer Nick Gillard and VFX Supervisor John Knoll give some fascinating insight on the mulit-part battle at the end of Attack of the Clones where Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker fail to stop Count Dooku, only for Jedi Master Yoda to make his now-iconic surprise appearance to battle Dooku with an impressive display of Force powers and lightsaber skills.
2020 is almost here, so we’ve asked GameSpot’s staff to share which games they’re looking forward to most in the new year. New consoles are going to dominate the headlines, but at the end of the day it’s all about the games, and there are a ton of exciting ones to look forward to. When you’re done reading this entry, follow along with all of our other end-of-the-year coverage collected in our Best of 2019 hub and our Most Anticipated of 2020 hub.
A lot has changed for me since 2017, a year where I was still navigating a new job in a new city and establishing a foothold in a career I never thought I’d have. It was an intimidating time as I was just getting off of square one, rebuilding my own real life social links, too. And alongside me was Persona 5. I found so much comfort in the daily routine of the game, spending time with characters I grew to love, fighting for a cause that I could believe in with a badass soundtrack all the way through. As soon as the credits rolled, I had that rare feeling of knowing that I played one of my favorite games of all time.
Now imagine if a denser, definitive version of your favorite game–with a reimagined storyline, new characters, and even more flash and flare–was on the horizon? That’s Persona 5 Royal. I’ve been following P5R since it was announced for Japan and leading up to its release earlier this year, and with every bit of information revealed was more hype. Admittedly, I had to lay off at a certain point and retain some element of surprise for when it comes westward in March.
It’s easy to spot this pattern with developer Atlus considering Persona 3 FES and Persona 4 Golden were both definitive versions that followed their base game. P5R is bringing even more to the table, though. The new Phantom Thief, Kasumi Yoshizawa, isn’t just another party member to shake up the dynamic–she’s central to the core plot. Her involvement changes the narrative threads, and affects what transpires in the main protagonist’s life. Kasumi also presents an opportunity to expound on the complexities of the original story, and it seems that the key character Goro Akechi gets further development.
P5R features a whole new Palace centered around Kasumi, an extra place to chill with Kichijoji, which offers a number of new hangout spots, and additional social events and cutscenes with the squad. There’s an extra semester that seems to give the game more room to breathe towards the end–the original wound down rather quickly and on a somewhat stressful note. So, seeing a glimpse of the New Year’s celebration in P5R and the more celebratory tone within, it’s heartwarming to know that there was more to the journey all along.
Kasumi Yoshizawa awakens her persona Cendrillon and fights alongside the Phantom Thieves.
From a gameplay perspective, there’ll be more to explore within existing Palaces and refined combat mechanics to make things less arduous–like Joker’s hookshot to get to new areas or initiate ambushes for battles and additional persona evolutions to name a few. More importantly, P5R contains 20 new songs in the soundtrack, and if you’ve played the original release, you know how important music is–it’s the glue that held the flamboyant style, unapologetic message, and utter confidence all together, but it also set the tone for the story’s calmer, emotional moments.
It might be hard to square all this exciting additional content with the fact that it already took me 120+ hours to play through the original release. If you ask me, more is better–I just want a reason to go back to a place I think of as a kind of home, while discovering new things and learning more about characters I see as friends.
Here’s the thing about “escapism” in video games, though. I don’t necessarily want a game that solely makes me forget about the things that plague my world. Rather, I want to go somewhere that reflects my own world but with the power to exact change for the better, dismantling the abusive authority figures and structures that keep us down. Since finishing Persona 5, it’s something I think about every day. I can’t be a Phantom Thief, but I can be more diligent in enacting change around me. It’s a game that helped me establish a sense of place and empowered me to branch out back in 2017, and I look forward to renewing that feeling in 2020.
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Destiny 2: The Dawning 2019 Is Here – GS News Update
New The Outer Worlds DLC Is Coming In 2020 – GS News Update
The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.
Nothing is more thrilling than an exceptional action-adventure game. There were plenty this year across all the major platforms, including critically-acclaimed experiences like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and more. With such amazing new games in the genre, you might find yourself struggling to narrow down which ones you want to try out, but we’ve got you covered.
Below you can find a comprehensive list of every action-adventure game that scored an 8 or above on GameSpot’s review scale in 2019 across all major platforms. If that sounds limiting, then you might be surprised by the number of excellent games in the genre that released this year. Seriously, check it out.
The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.
If you’re into fast-paced shooters, 2019 provided quite a few. The highly popular genre still lived on through 2019 with an impressive array of games, like Apex Legends, Control, Borderlands 3, and more. But if you’re here, you’re probably curious about every fantastic shooter to release in 2019. Well, you’ve come to the right place.
Below you can find an extensive list of every shooter that scored an 8 or above on GameSpot’s review scale in 2019 across every platform. If you think that sounds limiting, you might be shocked at the number of quality shooters that came out.
But if you’re curious about all the other games we’ve highlighted in our annual Best Of awards, be sure to jump over to our Best Games of 2019 hub. And while you’re there, keep your eyes peeled for our most anticipated games coming in 2020.
Operencia tells a wonderful story derived from Central European folklore, mythology, and history, and it does so with unwavering confidence in its makeup. Companion characters are funny, and the banter between them makes for a fun experience that’s not without its heartfelt moments. In terms of combat, the strategizing is so engaging that you’ll likely end up charging rat warriors headfirst instead of hopelessly attempting to avoid bumping into them. Best of all, though, this world is so stunning that you’ll just look at the trees, the water, the rocks–everything. It’s a shame that some of the puzzle solutions are needlessly frustrating and present significant obstacles in getting through the story, but aside from that Operencia provides a truly special experience.
Operencia transports you somewhere far, far away, and once you get there, you’ll probably want to stay a while. — Cian Maher [Full Review]
Available digitally on Xbox One PC via the Epic Games Store.
Microsoft has announced its next set of Xbox Games With Gold for the month of January. Starting on January 1, 2020, the games will start rotating in. This will mark the first set of Games with Gold for the new year, which are included with your Xbox Live Gold or Game Pass Ultimate subscription.
Styx is a stealth-action game from 2017 that received a 6/10 from GameSpot for its fluid controls but uneven AI and mission structure. Batman was one of Telltale’s higher-profile licensed games, and was well-received as a new take on the iconic character. Tekken and Lego Star Wars are classics from the last generation, and Lego Star Wars is being re-envisoned with a new “Skywalker Saga” game in 2020.
The Games with Gold are included with your Gold subscription, which enables Xbox Live online play. But you’re also a Live member if you have Game Pass Ultimate, which also entitles you to Game Pass games. That subscription is getting some heavy-hitters this week including Pillars of Eternity and The Witcher 3.
Xbox Games With Gold January 2020
Styx: Shards of Darkness (January 1-31)
Batman: The Telltale Series (January 16-February 15)
Tekken 6 (January 1-15)
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (January 16-31)
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Destiny 2: The Dawning 2019 Is Here – GS News Update
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While Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker isn’t receiving the best reviews, at least it didn’t wind up on this list of IGN’s worst-reviewed movies of 2019!
It’s an unfortunate list, because nobody sets out to make a bad movie (as far as we know), but sometimes a project just doesn’t come together. Often you can see these films coming from a mile away, but then you get a Glass or a Hellboy remake and it’s like, man, what went wrong?
So let’s have a look at the films released over the last year that were scored the worst of the worst by IGN’s critics. But first, a few notes:
Coming from Crema and Humble Bundle, the creature-collecting adventure game Temtem pulls a lot of influences from Nintendo’s immensely popular Pokemon series. Still, it injects an online twist to give it its own flair As a massively-multiplayer online game, you’ll start in a setting known as the Airborne Archipelago, a collection of six floating islands with different terrain and wildlife, and embark on an adventure with other explorers to catch magical creatures known as temtem. In this exclusive new trailer, we get to see the three starter temtem that you can choose from, who can eventually grow into formidable members of your roster.
After creating your custom protagonist, who you can deck out with new costumes and accessories, you get to pick your starting temtem to accompany you on your journey. In the new trailer, we get a solid rundown of each of the three starters, which detail their strengths and weaknesses.
Here’s a brief explainer on each one:
Crystle: A lizard temtem that can conjure up crystal spikes to attack its enemies. Many of its abilities are defensive in-nature allowing it to absorb blows and dish them out in kind.
Smazee: A monkey-like temtem that specializes in using melee-strikes and offensive abilities. Smazee is the fastest starter choice, and it can quickly dish-out strikes against its foes.
Houchic: A fairy-like temtem that uses psychic attacks and mind-based abilities to confuse and weakens its foes. Houchic can use its psychic attacks to pierce through enemy defenses.
After picking a starting temtem, your protagonist–a temtem tamer in training–will be able to explore the six islands of the archipelago. Throughout your journey, you’ll come to blows with Clan Belsoto, who are seeking to control the six islands for themselves. While exploring, you’ll be able to battle other tamers, level up your party, and capture new temtem to expand your roster.
All this sounds very familiar when thinking of the Pokemon series, but what makes Temtem stand on its own is that it all takes place within an online world where other players will be making a go of it on their journey. In addition to battling NPC characters, you’ll also be able to test your skills against other players online. But if you want to stick with the story, then you can still play through the game solo, or even with a friend and go through the entire campaign cooperatively.
As of this time, Temtem is planned for a PC release on Steam on January 21, but according to developer Crema, they’re looking into releasing the game on Playstation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch at a later period. During the early access period, the developers will continue adding new content after launch.
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Destiny 2: The Dawning 2019 Is Here – GS News Update
New The Outer Worlds DLC Is Coming In 2020 – GS News Update
