Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Fan Still Has Skate Deck From 20 Years Ago
The remaster for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 is out today and to celebrate, Reddit user u/timotion posted a picture of him holding up his 20-year-old skate deck next to the same one in the game. The deck is so worn that it's almost unrecognizable, save for the parts shielded by the trucks and wheels. Despite that, you can still see parts of the 'H' and 'Y' in the word "Shorty's" originally printed on the board and seen in its virtual counterpart.
Love for this particular deck and the skater who made it, Chad Muska, is still very much alive in the comment section of u/timotion's post as Reddit users reminisce about their decks back in the day and the skate culture of the late 90s and early 2000s.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 has been highly anticipated since it was announced last May and has been received very well so far for both fans and critics alike, seemingly making up for the less than favorable Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5.
Some of the marketing for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 has been a little out there. Hawk teamed up with Chipotle in August to make the Tony Hawk Burrito to help promote the game. The burrito wasn't anything out of the ordinary or special, it was just Hawk's go-to order for when he goes to Chipotle. The catch, however, was that the first 2,000 fans who bought the burrito also got a demo code for Pro Skater 1 + 2. While the pair seemed unlikely, the promotion successfully got people excited for the game, as Game Informer's Daniel Tack puts it, "because burritos are awesome."
If you haven't already, make sure to pick up a copy of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 out now on Xbox One, Playstation 4, and PC. If you haven't picked up the game yet you can grab a physical copy on Amazon to help support DualShockers. For more things Tony Hawk, make sure you stay right here on DualShockers.
The post Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Fan Still Has Skate Deck From 20 Years Ago by Peter Hunt Szpytek appeared first on DualShockers.
Kamala Khan is the Best Part of Marvel's Avengers
Over a year ago when it finally had its big reveal, Marvel's Avengers didn't exactly make the best first impression. The long-in-development superhero title was revealed not too long after Avengers: Endgame came into theaters and capped off a series of films that were over a decade in the making. This of course put Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics in the unfortunate situation of having to go up against the cultural mindset of these iconic characters formed by the MCU, and was a situation that the title has had to work hard to break out of, alongside its "games as a service" presentation. However, after playing through the full campaign of the game, it's safe to say that Marvel's Avengers manages to escape the MCU's shadow over the franchise by delivering its own unique take on a world that many of us have come to know through the films.
While I had some reservations after how the game was initially revealed last year, I was still excited to see how Crystal Dynamics could take on Earth's Mightiest Heroes and tell a new story with these characters outside of how we've seen them on-screen for the last decade. I'm happy to say that the story campaign in Marvel's Avengers is a lot of fun, and the campaign almost entirely owes that to its breakout star, Kamala Khan.
Though the initial trailers and marketing for the game have very much painted Marvel's Avengers as a tried-and-true "Avengers game," the real star and focal point of the story is Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel. Though the campaign inevitably gives some of the spotlight to its marquee heroes like Iron Man, Black Widow, Hulk, and more, what makes the story work so well is the fact that Kamala Khan is not only a hero in her own right, but feels like the heart and soul of how Crystal Dynamics wanted to depict this world and these characters.
The beginning of the campaign in Marvel's Avengers starts with the "A-Day" scenario that we've seen several times before in gameplay demos and in the recent beta, where the Avengers gather for a celebration of their new headquarters in San Francisco. Kamala is introduced as the winner of a fan contest and attends the festivities with her father, and little time is wasted to establish her as a capital F, capital G "Fan Girl" of the Avengers.
The opening section of the game as Kamala has you exploring the A-Day celebration on a quest to gather different comic books to enter the VIP section of the celebration by completing several games and activities. Right away, Kamala's infectious admiration and love of the Avengers makes this opening section not only a fun setpiece–along with a ton of easter eggs for Marvel fans–but one of the most interesting ways that Marvel's Avengers sets up and introduces the heroes further into the campaign.
Kamala barely contains herself when she encounters Captain America, Black Widow, and Thor, giddy with excitement at the fact that they all read her winning entry for a fan fiction competition. She looks on in awe at all of the different Avengers memorabilia and items on display at the A-Day celebration, reciting facts and quips about them that she's surely drawn to memory. Right away, Kamala introduces us to these characters in a way that is not only charming and refreshing, but speaks to the way that Crystal Dynamics' take on these characters is different than how we've seen them before. Instead, Marvel's Avengers captures the excitement and love that so many of us have for these characters, and it's all shown through the eyes of Kamala Khan in a genuine, human way.
Though Kamala very much is meant to be the sort of "eyes of the audience" throughout the campaign of Marvel's Avengers, the story doesn't lose focus on her once the rest of the Avengers are introduced into the narrative. Picking up five years after the events of A-Day with a now older Kamala, who is coming into her own with her ability to "embiggen," she embarks from Jersey City to find and reassemble the Avengers throughout different parts of the US. Given the traumatic events that took place on A-Day, the Avengers are left broken and disbanded, with Kamala being the driving force to bring them back together to take on AIM, a nefarious organization that is capturing and experimenting on Inhumans across the world.
Kamala eventually reconnects with the Avengers throughout the campaign, putting an interesting perspective on how she witnesses the heroes in their various fallen states compared to how she idolized them at the game's beginning. But most of all, Marvel's Avengers takes time to not only reflect on the inner struggles of each of the Avengers, but for Kamala herself. As someone that felt like she was an outsider that could never fit in due to her abilities, Kamala right away draws empathy for her struggles with acceptance and embracing what makes her different. Her conversations with the first Avenger she recruits, Dr. Bruce Banner, brings that idea even further as he encourages and supports her, along with providing some of the game's most memorable (and humorous) scenes.
As someone that only had a cursory knowledge of Kamala Khan's history in the Marvel universe, more than anything I'm grateful that Marvel's Avengers introduced her to me and, likely, a ton of other people. From her writing and performance, to how her transformation into Ms. Marvel comes together by the campaign's end, Kamala Khan is truly the highlight of playing through Marvel's Avengers and brings its story together in a compelling way that I didn't expect.
We knew that Kamala would play a significant part in the game's story before, though its prior trailers and gameplay demos have largely kept her role hidden compared to her more well-known counterparts. In a way, it's a bit of a shame that she didn't have a bigger part of the spotlight heading into launch, but after playing through the campaign, it's safe to say that Kamala Khan is the true hero of Marvel's Avengers.
The post Kamala Khan is the Best Part of Marvel's Avengers by Ryan Meitzler appeared first on DualShockers.
Uncharted's Nathan Drake and The Last of Us' Joel Fused Together Makes for One Handsome Dude
There's no denying that Uncharted and The Last of Us are two of PlayStation's most popular first-party franchises. Not only are the games in each series loved for their narratives and gameplay stylings, but each also features some of the more beloved characters in PlayStation history, most notably, with Nathan Drake and Joel Miller being the standout protagonists of each property. That being said, have you ever wondered what these two iconic characters would look like when mashed together? Well, wonder no longer.
Over on Reddit, u/Anthrophantasma shared an image of what Drake and Joel look like when combined, and the mix makes for one dashing fella. Thanks to the FaceApp, the user was able to smash together Drake's look from Uncharted 4: A Thief's End with Joel's model from The Last of Us Part II. The resulting character is one that featured Drake's strong jawline, but had the gruffness of Joel from the recently-released sequel.
You can check out the full mash-up in the original post here:
In all honesty, this combo really makes me just saddened that we never saw Nathan Drake grow a beard in any of the Uncharted games. This model really makes me think he'd look ten times better with one. Then again, when they make the gritty reboot of Uncharted in 10 years on the PlayStation 6, maybe they can bring Drake back with a full beard — that's basically what PlayStation did with Kratos, after all.
Anyway, you can now do whatever you want with this newfound information. Print an image out of Joel Drake and hang it on your wall, create a 3D character model of it, or just stare deeply into his eyes and wonder about what he's thinking about.
The post Uncharted's Nathan Drake and The Last of Us' Joel Fused Together Makes for One Handsome Dude by Logan Moore appeared first on DualShockers.
Gamedec From Anshar Studios Comes to Nintendo Switch in 2021
Gamedec is an upcoming isometric RPG from the team at Anshar Studios. You play as a virtual reality detective solving mysteries inside various online communities. Like any great detective, getting to the bottom of the case is more about using your mind than your fists. The game was originally only announced for PC, but today the team revealed it's also coming to Nintendo Switch in 2021. Give the trailer a watch below.
In action, Gamedec might remind you of something like Disco Elysium. Obviously, it's much larger in terms of environments, which means it doesn't have the same level of detail in its various worlds. However, the game is, like Disco Elysium, much more focused on dialogue as a skill.
As you work your way through each world, you'll level up your conversational ability based on how you respond to people. This opens up new options for you and even alters where the case takes you. I've played a bit of the game in a beta state earlier this year and it has a ton of potential.
It's neat to see Gamedec get a Switch announcement, though surprising. The game feels like a classic isometric PC game. Seeing it translated to the Switch almost seems a bit icky for this old man. That said, I'm always down for more people to have the opportunity to play cool games.
Gamedec is set to release on PC later this year. The Nintendo Switch version will then drop in 2021. No word yet on other consoles. If the Switch launch is successful, it wouldn't be surprising for Anshar to also bring the game to PS5 and Xbox Series X.
The post Gamedec From Anshar Studios Comes to Nintendo Switch in 2021 by Ricky Frech appeared first on DualShockers.
Bandai Namco launched the 1.07 update for Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris on September 4. The patch notes are detailed in English on the game's Steam page. The main brunt is correcting bugs that happened during specific quests, sub episodes, and story chapters. The loading times and the time it takes to save the game were shortened as well. As for online coop, you won't have to set your Raid Dungeon party every single time now, as the last setup will save itself.
The development team is currently working on patch 1.08, scheduled to release in late September as stated by Producer Yousuke Futami on Twitter:
本日、Ver1.07のアップデートが配信されました。詳しい内容はHPに記載してますので下記からお願いします。
次回予定は9月下旬にVer1.08ですので、しばしお待ち下さい。
内容に関するお問い合わせは公式にてお願いします。#アリリコ https://t.co/pnA4zbKdEK— 二見鷹介＠SAOゲームの人。世界が決して、君を忘れない。 (@yousuke_futami) September 4, 2020
Moreover, in his latest weekly column on Dengeki Online, Producer Yousuke Futami further explained patch 1.08. Long story short, it'll contain most of the fixes that were first planned for update 1.06 but were delayed. Keep in mind everything is still subject to change , and the fixes might not be ready yet by the end of September. It'll most notably includes the final adjustments and fixes to the camera, changes to certain skills to re-balance the battle system, adding the semi-auto mode, and making the game a more enjoyable experience overall. We detailed everything in a previous article.
Next up, Bandai Namco announced a stage event stream for SAO at Tokyo Game Show 2020 Online (Sschedule). It'll feature the seiyuu of Silica and Kirito: Rina Hidaka and Yoshitsugu Matsuoka. The stream will happen on the SAO games YouTube channel, September 27 at 1700 JST (Click here for a time conversion table).
【#TGS2020】 東京ゲームショウ2020オンラインで行われるSAOスペシャル配信のゲストがキリト役 #松岡禎丞 さんとシリカ役 #日高里菜 さんに決定しました！
YouTubeのSAOゲーム公式チャンネルで、9月27日（日）17時配信予定です！https://t.co/9uj5GH2zmP pic.twitter.com/yQVSpigZG2— ソードアート・オンライン ゲーム公式情報 (@sao_gameinfo) September 4, 2020
The stream should focus on SAOAL, and the three SAO mobile games: SAO Integral Factor, SAO Memory Defrag, and SAO Rising Steel. We'll have a summary on DualShockers as soon as possible.
Sword Art Online Alicization Lycoris launched July 10 on PS4, PC, Xbox One. You can check out our review if you haven't heard of the game yet, along with all our past coverage. The latest anime season is currently airing every Saturdays.
SAO War of Underworld Episode 21 Preview:
【第21話 WEB予告公開】
第21話「時の彼方」のWEB予告を初公開！！▼あらすじ・予告https://t.co/Dkrf9qPyHI
明日9/5(土)24:00〜、
TOKYO MX、BS11、群馬テレビ、とちぎテレビ、MBS、テレビ愛知、他にて放送！
ABEMAでも地上波同時配信！▼詳細https://t.co/F1nsa3QA2V#sao_anime pic.twitter.com/P57ZBODfpR
— アニメ ソードアート・オンライン 公式 (@sao_anime) September 4, 2020
The post Kirito and Silica Will Show Up For a Sword Art Online Event At TGS 2020 As Alicization Lycoris Is Still Getting Fixed by Iyane Agossah appeared first on DualShockers.
Raji: An Ancient Epic Review — An Epic Worth Telling
Of all the video games released each year, not many of them delve into Indian mythology and society. During the most recent Indie World Showcase from Nintendo, one of the standout titles from the presentation was Raji: An Ancient Epic, developed by Nodding Heads and published by Super.com. It was first announced in 2017 with a Square Enix Collective campaign, but we haven't heard much about the game since. Despite being a short experience and several technical issues, Raji: An Ancient Epic is a great debut from Nodding Heads and an epic worth experiencing.
The game follows Raji, a young Indian girl chosen by the gods to end a demonic invasion. Her other mission is to save her younger brother Golu from the evil demon Mahabalasura. Though brief, the story is the strongest aspect of the game. During her three and a half hour journey, Raji explores ancient ruins, temples, and deserts in her quest to save Golu and fight off demons. As you go from one area to the next, Durga, the goddess of death, and Lord Vishnu narrates the journey Raji is going on while also helping her along the way. One aspect which makes this game feel refreshing is its Indian setting. It's not every day we see games depict Indian society and culture, but the India-based developer does a great job of showing and teaching players about Indian mythology.
All of this is presented through a zoomed out camera, which adds a cinematic feel to the game. While it's cool to experience the story this way and take everything in, it would've been nice to move the camera around during certain parts. There would be times where I'd have to jump to another platform but I'd die because I couldn't see where I was specifically landing. Regardless, having the zoomed out camera makes the game feel grander in scale and helps immerse you in the scenery.
In addition to its great story, Raji mixes in environmental storytelling in a way that further educates players on Indian culture. Throughout the different locations, you'll come across several rotating puzzles that explore Raji's past with her family. Once you rotate the circular pieces correctly, the image turns into moments like Raji and Golu sitting together, or Raji holding her father's hand. During these sequences, Vishnu and Durga give the backstory on the image from the puzzle. Alongside these, you'll come across visually striking murals that give the player even more backstory in Indian mythology. Vishnu and Durga also narrate whenever you come across the murals, which adds context to what you're seeing. As a whole, the narrative is strong, well-developed, and offers a refreshing Indian setting to explore.
The gameplay also compliments the story well. Throughout the game, you earn several weapons to help you in combat such as a spear, bow and arrow, or sword and shield. You can switch between each weapon easily during combat so you can mix up your fighting style. Additionally, each weapon has a skill tree that lets you add elemental abilities such as fire, ice, and lightning. You obtain these abilities thanks to orbs scattered throughout the environments, and you can swap out which effects you're using. Having several weapon types and elemental effects add variety to each battle and mixes things up.
Variety also plays into the enemies you'll be fighting. Whenever you enter a combat encounter, you're blocked off from leaving the area until you defeat everyone. Some enemies are slower but inflict a lot of damage, while others keep their distance. One particular enemy type is super fast and occasionally drops explosives that go off when you get near them. With so many enemy types, combat requires a mix between looking for openings to attack and switching between weapons. Sure, you can go all in and blindly attack enemies, but that may lead to dying quickly. As you get your enemies' health low, you can hit the A button on the Switch to deal a finishing move which also gives you some health back.
To help make things easier, certain areas will have a meter that fills up as you defeat enemies. Once that meter fills up, you can unleash an especially powerful attack that deals damage to everyone around you. This plays into the elemental abilities you can equip, and the big attack also depends on the weapons being used. Where combat can get tricky are the few boss battles you'll encounter, since it can be easy to die in two or three hits. Completing the boss battles require a bit more patience and watching how they attack. Defeating them can be tough, but it feels rewarding at the same time as you continue through Raji's story.
You can't really talk about Raji: An Ancient Epic without mentioning its gorgeous graphics. Environments like the desert or ancient temples are amazing and have great details in them. Having that zoomed out camera helps capture each location and all their glory. The cutscenes throughout the game are also stunning to look at as Vishnu and Durga narrate what is happening around the player. The music is also amazing and immerses you in the world. However, one consistent issue with the game are its technical problems. Throughout the story, the framerate will drop and music can cut out. In particular, the framerate often can take a hit whenever you're in a combat encounter with a lot of enemies.
Raji: An Ancient Epic is a unique starting point from Nodding Heads; it features a great story about sibling love and saving everyone from demons. Environmental storytelling complements the strong narrative with murals and rotating puzzles that flesh the world out and gives us more backstory on Raji's past. The gameplay offers a ton of variety thanks to several weapon choices and elemental effects you can add. Despite some technical issues and a story that ends too soon, Raji: An Ancient Epic is an tale worth playing and a game worth your time, especially for its interesting setting rooted in Indian culture.
The post Raji: An Ancient Epic Review — An Epic Worth Telling by David Gill appeared first on DualShockers.
Scavengers Gets an Official Gameplay Trailer, Developed by Former Halo Creators
The very first gameplay trailer of Scavengers, a new third-person multiplayer shooter by Midwinter Games shows off its brutal world and various gameplay mechanics.
Scavengers is a free-to-play class-based shooter where three teams enter a deadly competition. In a frozen wasteland where you have to deal with many dangerous infected creatures, your mission is to fight against the other groups of humans to gain more data points and satisfy those who have set up this playground.
Midwinter Games aim to deliver a PvEvP sand-box third-person shooter with Scavengers, where you have to collect points and stay alive while dealing with zombies and taking down the opponent team members. The game tries to be more than a simple drop-in/drop-out shooter by offering you deeply customizable character classes and various objectives to do during each match of the game.
The more you play, the more you earn skills and blueprints to upgrade your arsenal, and unlock new worthy weapons. Beyond different load-outs, each character class offers some unique abilities and skills, allowing you to choose the one that suits your playstyle well enough.
The developers behind Scavengers are planning to launch various seasonal objectives and content after its launch. The map of the game will also evolve over the seasons, adding new challenges and demanding new strategies to leave the battleground victorious.
Midwinter Games is a Canadian indie studio founded by talented developers who already have some vital roles in bringing the Halo series to the fans, back in the last generation of consoles.
Scavengers is set to be released for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on an unannounced date. That said, if the game looks promising for you, there's a beta playtest ahead that you can sign up now. The target platforms of the Beta phase are yet to be revealed.
The post Scavengers Gets an Official Gameplay Trailer, Developed by Former Halo Creators by Mehrdad Khayyat appeared first on DualShockers.
Fall Guys Player Receives Instant Karma for Knocking Others off the Platform
No one likes an asshole, whether it's in video games or real life and if you've been gaming for a time, you will have most certainly come across a few of them. There's probably nothing worse than trying to achieve a goal in a game but some moron decides to ruin it for you – maybe making you rage, throw your controller or say mean things to your cat. Although many developers are doing their best to implement anti-cheating systems within the games they create, unfortunately, there's not a lot that can be done if someone wants to get in your way like this pain in the ass from Mediatonic's Fall Guys. Thankfully, karma has a way of turning things around and getting its own back. (rubs hands and laughs evilly)
Just as a side note before I begin: I've only played Fall Guys a few times so if there's a name for these outfits, I apologize if I don't know the correct names of them but I'll just say it how I see it and leave the correctness to you guys. As we can see from the beginning of the gameplay video posted by Reddit user Lekakeny, the tomato Fall Guy tries and fails to push another contender off the platform leaving him to ponder what to do next about this injustice. In the next scene, the tomato guy is back and this time they have a plan to guard the finish line as if they couldn't cross it, no one will. (queue dramatic music)
As they begin to push every last person away from the final destination by grabbing them and flinging them off, along comes a cheeky and determined Pineapple Fall Guy sick and tired of this tomato's nonsense. Finally grabbing them and knocking them over the edge, Pineapple guy defects the evil tomato idiot and saves the day. This is what happens when you don't play nice and ruin the game for others. Also don't mess with Pineapple's – they may be tasty, fruity, and possibly good (not) on pizza, but they're deadly when on the edge and pushed too far. This is 2020 after all.
As we all know, Fall Guys devs are always listening to their players and after hearing the pleas of many who want something different added to the game, they've decided on what they can do to make an impact on Fall Guys: a giant spinning hammer and Big Yeetus is its name. We have also seen over the last few weeks that the Fall Guys Twitter account had been organising a Special Effect charity event that included companies, content creators and more taking their turn to place bids in the hopes of getting their very own Fall Guys skin. Raising a total of $1,000,000 for the incredible charity who work with developers to create specialised game control devices as well as make their games more accessible, Ninja, MrBeast, and G2 Esports recieved the winning bid at $250k.
If you were keeping an eye on Gamecom last week, you will have seen that Fall Guys announced what they had planned for season two of their popular free-to-play game. Season 2 is set to be themed around the medieval era showcasing games that will require players to move platforms around to climb castle walls, cross drawbridges, and dodge swinging axes just to name a few. New costumes will seemingly include a dragon, witch, knight, and more. The team at Mediatonic explained in the announcement video that they are still working on the finishing touches and that season 2 will release sometime in October.
Not that this will come as a surprise to many who are already head over heels in love with the title but Fall Guys has become the most downloadable PlayStation Plus game ever. The news came from the Fall Guys offical Twitter account announcing that Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout has become the most downloaded PS Plus game of all time, overtaking the likes of Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered and Batman: Arkham Knight. Due to the game being free to play on PlayStation and also being able to play with your friends more often now with lockdown happening, Fall Guys has done really well for itself straight out of the gate. Within its first week or two, Fall Guys single handedly reached well over 2,000,000 sales on Steamand in the process became Devolver Digital's biggest launch in history in the process.
At the end of last month, Fall Guys Lead Designer Joe Walsh discussed a number of plans he had lined up for the game. While talking to Gary Whitta who created the hit show Animal Talking, a talk show which all takes place in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Joe chatted about how the team wants to incorporate an anti-cheat system, adding new accessibility options including a colorblind mode and cross-platform capability and also custom servers so people can host tournaments.
If you would like to hear how Fall Guys was pitched and subsequently reached the success it see's itself in now, check out this extensive thread for Jeff Tanton, Creative Director at Mediatonic.
The post Fall Guys Player Receives Instant Karma for Knocking Others off the Platform by Rachael Fiddis appeared first on DualShockers.
Marvel's Avengers — 5 Tips to Make You a Better Superhero
With Marvel's Avengers officially launching today on PS4, Xbox One, Google Stadia, and PC, everyone will get the opportunity to jump into the shoes of their favorite Avenger from the game's launch roster. While more Heroes will be added to the game down the line such as Hawkeye and Kate Bishop, to start you'll have the game's core team of six Avengers: Captain America, Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, and Ms. Marvel.
If you're picking up the game today and plan to fight alongside the rest of Earth's Mightiest Heroes but don't know where to start, don't worry: we have you covered. After spending some time with the game throughout this week, here are a few tips to get started with Marvel's Avengers, because we love you 3000.
Play through the campaign
When you first boot up Marvel's Avengers, one of the key things that the game suggests is that you should spend some time with the story campaign before delving into the Avengers Initiative, which houses all of its multiplayer and co-op modes. While you have the option to jump into the multiplayer early on, going through the campaign for Marvel's Avengers is a solid way to get acquainted with what to expect from how it plays, what multiplayer is like, and of course, to experience its action-packed story.
The campaign is pretty great in its own right, especially coming from Tomb Raider's Crystal Dynamics. Unlike other similar "live-service games" such as Destiny 2 or The Division, the campaign for Marvel's Avengers is an entirely story-driven experience that is built with that in mind and isn't a framework for the multiplayer on top of a story. Taking you through the events of Kamala Khan as she attempts to reassemble the Avengers to fight off a dangerous organization known as AIM, the campaign tells a well-crafted story featuring each of the Avengers and is worth seeing through to the end.
For the most part, the campaign serves as a good introduction to each of the different characters you'll play as–Captain America, Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, and Ms. Marvel–and setting up the basic story for the Avengers Initiative. The campaign also doesn't take a ton of time to complete, but still offers a solid experience. If you stick to the main story missions, the campaign will take about 10-12 hours to complete, but there are additional missions and objectives you can complete to extend it further.
Learn the ins and outs of each Avenger
Whether you decide to finish the campaign or not, the earliest recommendation when getting started with Marvel's Avengers is to really spend some time getting to know each and every character before deciding to stick with a "main" or specific playstyle. Though the basic controls for each of the Avengers are mostly the same, they each have their own unique powers, abilities, and quirks, and with the addition of customization, how one Avenger plays with one player could change depending on how they are kitted out.
On a base level, Captain America and Black Widow are the characters you'll want to go to for fast-paced close combat encounters with some ranged options, such as Cap's shield and Black Widow's dual pistols. Iron Man is primarily your go-to for ranged combat, as he can fly around the map and blast foes with his repulsor beams to provide support from above. Thor similarly has the ability to fly and can throw Mjolnir, but he also is a bit more serviceable up close by bashing foes with his hammer and hitting them with lightning attacks. Ms. Marvel is agile and great at crowd control with her ability to embiggen her limbs, while Hulk is your clear standout for being a tank, at the expense of some of the other characters' mobility.
Each character has their own set of skills that you'll be able to unlock over time as you play as them and level up, so there is a lot to work with in Marvel's Avengers. Naturally, you'll probably want to gravitate towards playing as a specific character or two, but given that you can't have two of the same character in a team for the multiplayer modes, it will be helpful to have some basic familiarity with how each Avenger plays from one another.
Equip the best gear and use Power Boosts
Much like Destiny, Marvel's Avengers goes big on gear and leveling up your characters as you play. Maybe a bit…too much. Regardless, there is a lot of customization at play that can let you tailor each and every Avenger to your own specific playstyle, and for the most part, that is all dependent on which gear you equip on your Avenger of choice.
Avengers uses a color code system to note the rarity of each piece of equipment that you earn: white (Common), green (Uncommon), blue (Rare), purple (Epic), orange (Legendary), and red (Exotic). As you pick up new items, you'll want to head to the "Gear" section of the menu to explore what your options are for your current Avenger and how to improve their stats by equipping better gear, which the game will periodically remind you to do if you have new and improved gear in your inventory.
Generally, the focus is equipping new gear with higher stats to improve your character's Power and their specific stats (Melee, Ranged, Defense, and Heroic), depending on what type of build for that character you want to make. Higher rarity gear (from Uncommon and above) also gives the player access to new Perks that can enhance the abilities and powers of each character, giving you more flexibility in how you kit them out. Additionally, you can also use Power Boosts to improve a specific piece of gear by using resources you collect from missions. While Uncommon and Rare items can only be boosted a few times, once you get access to Epic gear (and above), you'll be able to boost them a substantial number of times to make them even more powerful.
Consider Mission Modifiers and completing Assignments
Every mission you complete in Marvel's Avengers will offer a requisite number of rewards after completing it, mainly in the form of resources and gear that you can use to upgrade your characters and improve their Power level. However, you can potentially enhance what you earn through a mission by going after specific tasks and challenges whether you're going through the campaign or completing War Table objectives with friends.
Before taking on a mission on the War Table, one of the first things you should check are the Mission Modifiers that may impact how challenging a mission may be. Mission Modifiers highlight specific obstacles or challenges you may face while playing, such as hazards in the environments, buffs for certain enemy types, or specific types of damage that may be boosted for enemies against your team. With this knowledge, that should give you the opportunity to either switch up the gear that your team has to counter the Modifiers, or consider taking on a different mission where you may have a higher chance of success.
Additionally, you should also spend some time chatting with the different Faction vendors (SHIELD and Inhuman) that you can find on the Chimera, which each offer their own challenges to complete called Assignments. There are both Daily and Weekly Assignments that rotate gradually between the vendors, but if you plan on playing Avengers consistently, make sure to check what Assignments are available to see what you can complete to work your way towards Faction gear and rewards.
Explore each area for hidden chests and secrets
Once you start delving into missions from the War Table, you'll find that Avengers puts you into several open environments with a lot of room to explore. While each mission you take will have a specific mission or objective to complete, you'll also have the opportunity to uncover hidden areas and challenges that can help you unlock special gear or items.
Whether before or after you complete an objective while on a strike team, give yourself time to explore different areas to see if you can find hidden areas that can potentially net you some useful new gear or items. Specifically, make sure to listen to Jarvis — he'll often point you in the right direction towards an item chest or other loot that you can find while exploring the environment. The Tactical Awareness ability for all of the Avengers will also give you a hand to identify objects in the environment that you can interact with, such as breakable walls and door switches, or to identify other objective markers in the area.
Marvel's Avengers is available now on PS4, Xbox One, Google Stadia, and PC, with the game also coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X at a later date. For more on the game, stay tuned for our upcoming review, which should be hitting early next week.
The post Marvel's Avengers — 5 Tips to Make You a Better Superhero by Ryan Meitzler appeared first on DualShockers.
Leaked Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War Multiplayer Footage Shows a New Game Mode and Map
Ahead of its official reveal next week on September 9, footage of Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War's multiplayer has leaked online.
Posted to Reddit a short time ago, the footage shows most of a multiplayer match in a new game mode where one team has to defend VIPs while the other tries to extract them. It all takes place on a map seemingly based on Miami. It's not likely that this video will be up long, Activision is pretty good at cleaning up leaks, so check out this new footage while you can.
Besides a new game mode, there are a host of other gameplay changes, most notably a change in time to kill. Between last year's Modern Warfare and Cold War, players have received a massive health boost, so get ready for more bullet-spongey enemies. Other major changes include a downed state for players in multiplayer matches similar to Warzone, and health bars, which appear above players' heads.
Otherwise, multiplayer in Cold War looks a lot like Modern Warfare. The game has the same emphasis on quick, fluid movement as last year's entry in the franchise, and gunplay doesn't seem to have changed radically. Of course, this is all gleaned from a fairly low-quality video on Reddit – we'll get more official info on Cold War's multiplayer during next week's reveal.
Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War is set to release on November 13 on PC, PS4 and Xbox One. The game will also release again alongside next-gen consoles when they eventually go on sale.
The post Leaked Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War Multiplayer Footage Shows a New Game Mode and Map by Otto Kratky appeared first on DualShockers.