The Amazon Black Friday Sale has officially started, and currently the best deal on a PS5-compatible solid state drive is this Nextorage Japan 2TB PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 solid state drive for only $99.99. Not only is the Crucial P5 Plus fast enough to exceed the specs of the PS5’s stock internal SSD, it also has a preinstalled heatsink that’s slim enough to fit and does a fine job of keeping things cool.
Nextorage 2TB PS5 SSD with Heatsink for $99.99
This SSD fulfills all the requisites that make it PS5 compatible. It boasts sequential read and write speeds of 7300MB/s and 6900MB/s, which is much higher than the minimum recommendation of 5,600MB/s. It also includes a robust double-sided aluminum heatsink that’s preinstalled on the SSD. This is much better than some of the cheaper SSDs that only include thin graphite heatspreaders.
There’s an interesting story behind Nextorage Japan. Nextorage describes itself as a company that was “created by a group of ex-Sony engineers and staff with over 20 years of experience in the development of memory and storage products”. Nextorage was actually originally created by Sony in 2019 as an SSD sub-division about a year before the PS5 was released. Presumably this was to be the basis for an official SSD sold by Sony themselves. For whatever reason, Sony decided to ditch that idea and sold this business to another stakeholder in the company, Phison, in 2022. Phison is another large reputable company that specializes in solid state memory controllers. You’ll find their controllers in name-brand SSDs like Seagate, Corsair, and Sabrent. Under Phison, Nextorage Japan eventually accomplished the goal of releasing an SSD catered specifically for the PS5 console in the form of this product right here.
Amazon is offering one of the best subscription deals we’re going to see for Black Friday and the holiday season. First time Audible subscribers can get 4 months of Audible Premium Plus membership for only $5.95 per month. That adds up to $23.80. You also get a free $20 credit that’s good for any audiobook at Audible, which means you actually only end up paying about $4 for your entire 4 month subscription. If you’re not sure whether or not you’re eligible, simply click on the link; if you see the promo then you’re eligible and if you don’t then you’re not. This deal ends on Cyber Monday, November 27, so you better hurry!
4 Months of Audible Premium Plus + $20 Audible Credit for $23.80
Audible is a subscription service that gives you access to hundreds of thousands of the best audiobooks without ever having to purchase them. There are two paid membership plans: the lower tier Audible Plus ($7.95/mo) and the higher tier Audible Premium Plus ($14.95/mo). The biggest difference between the two is the size of the audiobook library. Whereas Audible Plus only lets you listen to a selection of about 10,000 audiobooks, the Audible Premium Plus plan gives you access to a whopping 500,000 audiobooks. These include all-time classics like Harry Potter, Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire), Witcher, The Sandman Series, The Lord of the Rings, Brandon Sanderson’s The Stormlight Archives, Mistborn, and much more.
Although the seriously expanded library is the main draw of the Audible Premium Plus membership, there are some other nice perks as well. Every month Premium Plus members get to pick one audiobook to keep in their library indefinitely, even after the membership expires. Also, Premium Plus members can get 30% off any additional audiobooks they wish to purchase, in addition to exclusive limited-time discounts.
On a regular day, new subscribers are eligible for a 30-day free trial of either Audible membership. But why settle for one month when you can get four months? If you were planning to purchase a couple of audiobooks anyway, then it makes more sense to jump on this deal and enjoy the subscription at least for a little while.
The Amazon Black Friday Sale has officially started, and currently the best deal on a PS5-compatible solid state drive is this Crucial P5 Plus 2TB PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 solid state drive for only $94.99. Not only is the Crucial P5 Plus fast enough to exceed the specs of the PS5’s stock internal SSD, it also has a preinstalled heatsink that’s slim enough to fit and does a fine job of keeping things cool.
Crucial P5 Plus 2TB SSD with Heatsink for $94.99
The Crucial P5 Plus meets all the requirements for your PS5 SSD upgrade. It supports transfer speeds of up to 6,660MB/s which is well above the 5,500MB/s minimum threshold. Yes there are faster SSDs out there, but if your intention is to put this in your PS5, then that extra speed is worthless because you’re bottlenecked by the original PS5 SSD. The integrated heatsink is robust and entirely made of aluminum for effective heat dissipation. It’s also slim enough to fit in the PS5 bay with the cover on. If you’re worried about opening up your PS5 case, don’t worry it’s very easy. Crucial has an official YouTube PS5 SSD install guide.
Believe it or not, Black Friday deals are already in full swing at several of the big retailers. If video game Black Friday deals are what you’re after, you’ve come to the right place. While we’ve already broken them out by platform in other articles, you can find all of the deals gathered together below. That might be handy if you own multiple a PS5 and a Nintendo Switch, for instance.
If you’re in the Mario camp, you’ll probably want to know what Nintendo Switch Black Friday deals are available. Quite a few, as it turns out.
Nintendo Switch Console Deals
Nintendo Switch Game Deals
Amazon
Best Buy
Xbox Deals
Xbox Series X and S Console Deals
These are some of the best deals we’ve ever seen on Xbox Series X and Series S.
Xbox Controller Deals
You won’t find better prices on Xbox controllers any other time of the year. If you want another player or two to join you for local co-op or competition, this is the time to stock up.
Xbox Game Deals
Amazon
Best Buy
Whether you have a Series X or Series S (or are in the market for one), you can find some terrific Xbox Black Friday deals at various retailers.
It seems that each year, Amazon’s Black Friday sale has begun going. Best Buy’s Black Friday sale is basically in full force. Walmart’s Black Friday sale will begin soon.
Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN’s board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Threads.
We asked Ridley Scott to pick one favorite shot from each of his movies, as well as one from any other film. The director of Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator, Napoleon, and many, many others breaks down each shot for us and explains what makes each so special to him.
Alien (1979)
“I like the shots prowling around the corridors. I was the operator, so we designed the set just wide enough to get a dolly down or it was all handheld. We built the lights into the set, so the side lights would be attached to a board on the side of the set where you can actually dim them, lower them, and bring in light.
So, in a funny kind of way, that was a fairly new way of doing it. But we built the lights into the set and because I knew everything was going to be more or less handheld, that was the shot. So moving along there through then seeing the corridor, seeing the empty ship was kind of beautiful. It’s a haunted house. Alien, to me, was kind of really a B-movie, done in an A-plus way.”
Blade Runner (1982)
“The opening shot. That’s the stunner and that is almost entirely Doug Trumbull and his team. I’d drawn the impossible, a dilapidated city and a ruined future. That’s what we’re doing, because of where we’d been heading for a while now. I think we’re trying to do a U-turn, I hope we’re not too late.
And so from that, the set itself was no bigger than this room. All those effects were done 65 mm on tracks. There are 17 passes on one negative. So, you’re tracking one, come back, track it again, and you’re exposing different parts of your negative. It’s a remarkable piece because it’s not digital, there’s no digital work there at all. It’s 17 passes on a negative.”
Gladiator (2000)
“The hand on wheat. The hand was on the last day print of photography in Tuscany, and I’d finished the movie and I’d gone to Tuscany to do heaven. I couldn’t possibly have dry ice with people walking in 48 frames a second, right? Can’t do that.
But what we found was a wheat field. I thought, “Wow, that’s interesting” Not vines, wheat. And in the wheat is this man wading through this high corn to meet his wife and child down the slope, way down the hill. And so, we followed him. As he was standing there, he was smoking in the corn. I said, “Stop smoking. It’s 40 degrees. Are you kidding me?!” As he walked out, he did this with his hand (gestures hand brushing the top of the wheat). I said, “Stop.”
So you’ve always got to keep your eyes open for a shot. We got the steady cam and followed the hand. That became the opening shot of the movie. So, in a funny kind of way, it becomes a symbol, a metaphor for immortality, going to heaven.”
Black Hawk Down (2001)
“The four helicopters coming in over the city and landing in the high street. That’s all one shot. That’s real and it’s the first time I used 11 cameras. That’s with a guy called Slavimir Izak, and he said, “I hate the sunshine and I only work with one camera.” He ended up working in Morocco with 11 cameras. I think he enjoyed it.
I work with great cameramen. You need them. I’m very visual and I can operate as a good operator. That helps me frame things in multi-camera situations. I know what I want, but you still need the cameraman to actually be able to cope with who has what stop and how it’s going to be.”
Was it hard to make a helicopter war action film and not have Apocalypse Now in the back of your mind?
“No, I never thought about that, but that was a great shot. The music was fantastic, but the shot was good too.”
Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
“Funny thing, I liked the scene coming out of his house, looking across the buildings to him going through to break the ice to wash. I’d just thought that looked so real and so medieval. I love that, yeah. The Forge, we built the village and forge, but the castle in the background was real. We went in there for the dining room scene in the long version. We just went in there, lit the fire, and did the scene. I’ve got a good eye. I’m born with a good eye.”
The Martian (2015)
“The 360 track around our man sitting there, contemplating his death. He’s sitting in a spacesuit and we just do a full walk around him showing the impossibility of where he is. He ain’t going to get out.”
As a rule, do you prefer working with physical sets and natural conditions rather than CGI?
“No, I use CGI as a tool. It’s a tool. I mean, of course, sometimes doing the big battle scenes, if I’ve got 400 extras in a row like this, I’m shooting along them. It’s very easy. 400 is a lot of people, like, 200 meters. Add another 20,000 troops digitally. So you need that. Same with the horses.”
Napoleon (2023)
“There are many, actually. The best shot is the very high wide shot looking from the forest across the lake and you have the small figure of Napoleon and his officers all standing, waiting there. That’s pretty impressive. You get the scale of the lake. The lake is an airfield just outside of London. The forest is somewhere else near Gatwick Airport.”
Am I right in thinking that’s the same location as the opening of Gladiator?
“It is indeed. It’s where Marcus Aurelius sat on his horse. We found a forest for Gladiator and the guy said you can do what you want. You can burn it and rip it down. He says, “Because these trees haven’t grown the way we want them, the soil is too sandy, so do what you want.” And so we went in and we did the battle scene. It suddenly became the most valuable location near London. So it is been used again, and again, and again.”
Any other film…. The Searchers (1956)
“The Searchers. John Wayne walking through the door in silhouette out onto the desert. I think the film is still the best Western ever made. The thing that The Searchers got right was the space and time. The time it takes to ride the landscape. The time it takes to go somewhere. Where he says, “We’re going off.” And he says, “I’ll see you in a year,” and you are all on horseback. I mean, it’s such a different universe. It’s almost like science fiction.”
Simon Cardy also thinks the opening shot of Blade Runner is a stunner. Follow him on Twitter at @CardySimon.
For the first time since its 2017 debut, the consistently well-selling Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is no longer one of the top 20 best selling games in the United States for a given month.
Okay, that’s a bit of a word salad – but it’s a notable dethroning. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe first released in April of 2017, when it naturally topped The NPD Group’s (now Circana’s) list of the best-selling games in the US for that month. Ever since that month, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has appeared in the top 20 best selling games in the US, which Circana tracks by dollar sales.
But as GamesIndustry.biz noticed today, for the month of October, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was gone. Its reign in the top 20 lasted a whopping 78 consecutive months, which feels like it must be some kind of record. We reached out to Circana for comment, and analyst Mat Piscatella confirmed GamesIndustry’s discovery. While he couldn’t confirm it was an all-time record for longest consecutive run in the top 20 (he’d have to look all the way back to 1995 to be absolutely sure), Piscatella said “technically it likely is”. But he also noted that if Grand Theft Auto 5 sales were still included in the chart “it may be a different story.” Take-Two stopped reporting digital sales to the NPD group in 2020, causing GTA 5 and multiple annual sports franchises to disappear from its charts.
It’s possible, even likely, that Mario Kart makes a return to the top in a later month. Its departure in October was likely impacted by the sheer number of brand new releases cracking the top 20 that month, including Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (#1), Super Mario Bros. Wonder (#2), Assassin’s Creed: Mirage (#3), UFC 5 (#7), NHL 24 (#8), Sonic Superstars (#9), Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 (#12), Forza Motorsport (#17), and Lords of the Fallen (#20). That’s a lot of debut games to beat for a six-year-old game, nevermind that it’s also competing against other recent releases that are still selling well like Madden, Hogwarts Legacy, and Starfield. Given that Mario Kart 8 wasn’t just in the top 20, but actually in the top 10 as recently as August, it’s not shocking that it took an overwhelming month of new releases to push it down the roster.
What’s worth noting too is that it’s entirely possible Mario Kart 8 technically is still in the top 20. Just. Secretly. Nintendo does not report digital sales to Circana, meaning that Mario Kart 8 has stayed in the top 20 for six years on sheer strength of physical sales alone. That will shock no one who has observed the Switch bundle Nintendo loves to offer up for Black Friday year after year, but it’s still an incredible feat. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe also remains Nintendo’s best-selling Nintendo Switch title at 57 million units sold life to date, and the second-best selling Nintendo game ever just after Wii Sports (82.9 million units).
Whatever the case, it seems likely we’ll see Mario Kart 8 Deluxe bounce back into the top 20 again soon. And with Wave 6 of the DLC out earlier this month and another Black Friday sale imminent, Mario Kart 8 isn’t going anywhere…at least not until Nintendo commits to the mythical Mario Kart 9.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
As part of Microsoft’s new Black Friday sale, Xbox Series X consoles have received a reasonable $50 discount. But, if you’re a Best Buy Plus/Total member, you can currently save even more on the powerful gaming console — and even get a $50 Best Buy Gift Card alongside. At $399.99, this is probably the best Xbox Series X deal available at the moment, albeit with the membership caveat.
Yes, we can hear your excitement already drifting away, but this is a very good deal for anyone who already has a Best Buy Plus/Total Tech membership, and a reasonably good deal for everyone else checking out the Black Friday sale. For those without a Best Buy membership, the console is $449.99 but still includes the $50 Best Buy gift card. You’ll need to have a free account with the retailer, but that’s the only catch for securing the standard deal.
Here us out on this one, however, as if you do decide you opt for the $449.99 deal, in all honestly you might as well sign up for Best Buy Plus at $49.99/year, buy the console at $399.99, and then you’re set with Best Buy membership for the next 12-months and a $50 gift card to boot. This includes a whole range of benefits that you’re basically getting for free in the specific circumstance that you originally decided to buy the offer at $450.
More Xbox Console Deals for Black Friday
If these offers didn’t scratch the itch, then check out everything we’ve found here as well. We’re not done yet either, as there’s more deals on the way. Microsoft has also announced we are getting more $50 off deals for Xbox Series X and Series S bundles before Black Friday proper on November 24. This will feature the Xbox Series S Starter Bundle for just $249.99, which also includes 3-months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for free alongside, which can be considered another $50 in savings as well. If you’re interested, Xbox controllers are down to $39.99 in the Black Friday sale as well.
Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.
As previously reported, Xbox’s Black Friday deals are now in full swing, and there’s plenty to check out. Plus rival console PlayStation’s Black Friday deals starting as well, so there’s never been a better time to be a gamer looking for a deal. Black Friday 2023 sales are very much live right now, with up to $30 off Xbox Controllers, some of the best Xbox Series X bundle deals we’ve ever seen, and the standalone console for just $449 ($50 off) if that’s more your speed. If it’s Xbox deals you’re after, you can already save some serious cash, check out all the deals below.
If you’re in the market for a new Xbox Series, you can save a bundle on new console… bundles… at Walmart. Check out what’s available above and grab whichever one strikes your fancy. In other Xbox Series X deal news, if you’re a Best Buy Plus/ Tech Total member you can currently also get a Series X for $399.99 + a Best Buy $50 Gift Card, and for everyone else its $449 buts that still a great deal.
We’re not done yet either, as Microsoft has also announced we are getting more $50 off deals for Xbox Series X and Series S bundles before Black Friday proper on November 24. This will feature the Xbox Series S Starter Bundle for just $249.99, which also includes 3-months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for free alongside, which is another $45 in savings as well.
Black Friday: Xbox Controller Deals
While we originally thought Xbox controllers would only be getting a small $10 discount at most retailers, the deal is actually a lot better than that and well worth considering if you’ve been after an additional gamepad. The cheapest controller you can get right now is for $39.99 at Best Buy (see here), and its the Stellar Shift Special Edition with an MSRP of $69.99.
This will likely sell out as its such a good deal, so let’s get into what else is available in the deal as well. By the looks of things, most other controllers have dropped to at least $44.99, which is a decent $20 off the standard Xbox controller and a reasonable deal for Black Friday. Plus, this includes some of the newer color variations as well like the Astral Purple design. We’ll leave all the links you need just below.
Black Friday: Xbox Accessory Deals
Games are huge these days, so if you’re running low on storage on your Xbox Series X or S, you’re far from alone. Amazon is offering the WD Black C50 1TB Expansion Card for Xbox Series consoles at just $124.99. This marks a 17% off price reduction from its original $150 MSRP, making it the best deal we’ve encountered for a 1TB storage add-on for Xbox. It’s also currently $25 cheaper than the Seagate 1TB Expansion Card.
Xbox expansion cards are essentially NVME SSDs encased in a specialized Xbox-compatible shell. Unlike the more complex PS5 SSD installation process, which involves opening up the PS5 to access the SSD slot, the Seagate expansion card simply plugs into its dedicated port on the back of the Xbox. With this deal, you can add 1TB of storage that acts just like regular internal storage, for cheaper than normal.
Black Friday: Xbox Game Deals
Xbox Game Deals at Amazon
Amazon’s Black Friday sale is ramping up, but we’re not seeing tons of Xbox games on sale yet. We’ll keep updating the above below as new deals come online.
Xbox Game Deals at Best Buy
Best Buy has kicked off its official Black Friday sale, and as luck would have it, lots of Xbox games are on sale. See all the top deals just here.
Digital Xbox Game Deals
Microsoft’s official Xbox Black Friday sale has also gone live, dropping prices on tons of digital games.
Best Xbox Game Pass Deals for Black Friday
We all heard about the Xbox Game Pass price hike that Microsoft implemented recently. A month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate now costs $16.99, a hefty fee. But, if you weren’t aware, you can actually still circumvent this change by buying Game Pass codes from retailers like Amazon who haven’t yet increased their prices to reflect the change. Paying $44.99 isn’t a huge discount versus the $50.97 Microsoft charges, but it’s not nothing. Also, it’s very possible the price drops lower at some point during Black Friday.
Xbox Black Friday Timeline: Now Live
Starting November 17:
Save up to 50% on digital games
Save up to 65 % on select games from Xbox Game Studios
Save up to 67% on select PC digital games
Starting November 18:
$50 off select Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles
Save $10 on select Xbox Wireless Controllers
Starting November 23:
Get free engraving on the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 created with Xbox Design Lab
Where to Find Xbox Deals on Black Friday
When it comes to hunting for Xbox deals on Black Friday, you have a multitude of options. Retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and similar stores are sure to offer enticing discounts on Xbox games and accessories. If you prefer digital titles, the Xbox Store will have its share of deals too. Look out for upcoming sales from Best Buy, Walmart, and Amazon to score the best deals.
Kingdom Hearts’ 21st anniversary in the U.S. has passed, and Kingdom Hearts 4 still won’t be out until next year at the earliest. You could play every Kingdom Hearts game to hold you over, but here we’re exploring six recommendations for games outside of the franchise that share gameplay and/or thematic elements with Kingdom Hearts.
Kingdom Hearts thrives on action-based combat, with each game employing different gameplay techniques than the last. Likewise, these games outside of the series, whether they’re published by Square Enix or not, have wild combat mechanics for players to experiment with and themes such as the power of friendship, the nature of memories, self-determination, emotional health, self-acceptance, and partaking in a cause greater than oneself — themes that are similar to the Disney-Square Enix franchise, no matter what circumstances the characters are facing. Here are six games that may be of interest to fans of the Kingdom Hearts series.
Final Fantasy VII Remake
The Kingdom Hearts franchise wouldn’t be where it is today were it not for Final Fantasy — specifically, Final Fantasy VII.
Released at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Final Fantasy 7 Remake centers on ex-SOLDIER Cloud Strife working as a mercenary for the eco-terrorist group Avalanche. Per the request of his childhood friend Tifa Lockheart, Cloud must stop Shinra Electric Power Company from usurping the planet of Mako, its life source, for profit. The gameplay involves spell-casting, party-based combat, and an improved Active Time Battle (ATB) that enables the use of special attacks, magic, and items. It’s got everything a Kingdom Hearts fan could want, plus additions to certain characters’ lores.
The World Ends With You
The World of Ends With You is the goth/emo cousin of Kingdom Hearts. The Nintendo DS RPG was created by Square Enix in collaboration with Jupiter, the developer behind Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, and the characters were designed with a cocktail of alternative and Y2K coolness by Kingdom Hearts creator Tetsuya Nomura. The plot involves anti-social Shibuya teen, Neku Sakuraba and his deceased peers being forced to play the Reapers’ Game over the course of a week (or more) to determine whether they should come back to life or transcend to a higher plane of spiritual existence.
Each mission has a time limit, but it’s not linked to the passage of time for the player, and certain sections are closed off until you fulfill the requests of a nearby Reaper. Fighting the Noise creatures that Neku scans is rhythmic, and the efficiency of your gameplay depends on the pins and clothes you wear. It’s a clever design scheme that imparts some life lessons along the way. Neku and company even paid Sora and Riku a visit in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance.
Epic Mickey
Directed by Warren Spector in collaboration with Walt Disney Animation Studios, Epic Mickey blends unexpectedly macabre design with Disney’s expectedly colorful palette, sprinkling pieces of Disney history in between. The game centers around Mickey Mouse as he saves Wasteland, a world created by Yen Sid where forgotten characters and concepts live — such as the obscure Disney character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit — after accidentally destroying it with his paintbrush.
Just as King Mickey wields the Keyblade in Kingdom Hearts, this iteration of Mickey wields a paintbrush that grants him the power to draw or erase objects to help players through levels. Enemies can be dealt with by getting erased from existence or befriending them. The Wii game was an attempt by Disney to rebrand Mickey from a pleasant and cheerful character to one more mischievous and adventurous. It gave Disney the opportunity to use Oswald for the first time since 1927 after the company bought him back from Universal in 2006.
NieR: Automata
Developed by PlatinumGames, the studio behind Bayonetta and Astral Chain, NieR: Automata is still a relative of the Kingdom Hearts series on account of being published by Square Enix. Set thousands of years after the original, NieR: Automata contains branching storylines about a post-apocalyptic proxy war between human-made androids and an army of Machines from an alien world. Automata’s band of heroes includes combat android 2B, scanner android 9S, and rouge prototype A2, who navigate the desolate landscape to find value in life and understand why people kill in the first place.
The plot is just about as convoluted as Kingdom Hearts and the hack-and-slash combat takes a while to master, but the good news is you get assistance from a flying Pod robot whose attacks range from simple gunfire to heavy-hitting hammer attacks. Not bad company for getting through a dark world, right?
Final Fantasy XV
Just like Kingdom Hearts 3, Final Fantasy 15 made it out of a tasking development cycle. It began as a PS3 spinoff titled Final Fantasy Versus 13, only to have the scope and name changed to be the next mainline Final Fantasy for PS4 and Xbox One. The plot revolves around Noctis, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Lucis, as he is accompanied by his friends to Altissia, where he is set to marry Lunafreya, only to go on a quest to rescue the Crystal from Niflheim and save the world of Eos from eternal darkness.
Final Fantasy XV’s battle system was inspired by Kingdom Hearts 2, with Noctis’ moves being limited to basic attacks, parrying, warping, and using items — all while battling in the current environment rather than transitioning to a separate arena. Eos can be explored on foot, by Chocobo, or the Regalia, Noctis’ royal car that lets you play songs from the entire Final Fantasy series, including “Braver” by Afrojack. Hikaru Utada and Afrojack collaboration, when?
Persona 5 Strikers
Persona 5 Strikers is like Kingdom Hearts in that you’re tasked with saving people’s hearts from total corruption. A year after the events of the original Persona 5, Joker and the other Phantom Thieves of Hearts’ summer vacation plans are beset by an investigation into mysterious events involving people and their Shadow selves.
Just like Sora wields multiple Keyblades, Joker wields multiple personas, which he can acquire from random drops or beating mini-bosses in dungeons. Persona 5 Strikers thrives on action-based combat and hack-and-slash gameplay, and like Kingdom Hearts, active party members can be swapped with standby members outside of battle.
Cristina Alexander is a freelance writer for IGN. She has contributed her work to various publications, including Digital Trends, TheGamer, Twinfinite, Mega Visions, and The Escapist. To paraphrase Calvin Harris, she wears her love for Sonic the Hedgehog on her sleeve like a big deal. Follow her on Twitter @SonicPrincess15.
Modern Warfare III’s launch had “historically low crash rates” for a Call of Duty game, Sledgehammer developers say. They also hinted at changes that might be coming to Modern Warfare III in the future, and dropped some information on the upcoming Season 1 during an hour-long interview with content creator Repullze.
Sledgehammer’s Adam Iscove, Senior Development Director, and Greg Reisdorf, Multiplayer Creative Director on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, claimed the controversial sequel was “historically stable at launch,” but that they’re aware of ongoing server issues like packet bursts and will continue to work on and optimize them.
Perhaps more important for the Call of Duty community, however, was Iscove and Reisdorf’s willingness to talk openly about the state of Modern Warfare III, the feedback Sledgehammer is receiving from the community, and changes that will be coming to the game in the future.
One of the most substantial topics they touched on was how movement has changed from Modern Warfare III’s beta. In the beta, stamina started to regenerate while you were sliding. Now, stamina regeneration pauses while you’re sliding and only restarts once the slide has completed. Iscove and Reisdorf said that a stamina bar would be added to the HUD in the near future to help players manage it more accurately. They also said they’re looking to bring back bunny hopping “in some form” in Modern Warfare III, which is something the community has been asking for.
Iscove and Reisdorf also talked about several other features they’d like to bring to the game. The core issue, however, is time. Sledgehammer is trying to mitigate this somewhat with the experimental playlist, which allows the studio to “flip switches” and test and implement ideas quickly if they’re well-received by the community. It also helps the studio get an idea of what appeals to the different parts of Modern Warfare III’s playerbase.
Iscove and Reisdorf also mentioned that several aspects of Modern Warfare III are undergoing changes in the near future based on community feedback. Those include:
Changes to the Firing Range intended to fix a glitch where dummies have 100 health instead of 150
Tweaking or removing some of the aim assist options for better balance
Changes in the way weapons, particularly SMGs, which the community feels are underpowered, are tuned
Allowing players to bind dive and slide to different buttons.
In addition, they also addressed things like Weapon Prestiges and bonus camos, both of which Sledgehammer wanted to bring back but couldn’t due to time constraints, though they didn’t rule out bringing either back in the future.
All told, it was a remarkably detailed and open podcast, and both Iscove and Reisdorf expressed interest in doing something like it again so they can connect to the Modern Warfare III community more directly.
This level of transparency is probably for the best because Modern Warfare III is off to something of a rocky start. We described the campaign as “boring” in our review and didn’t think there were “enough content or novel ideas in play to justify a whole new Call of Duty” in the multiplayer. Zombies mode suffers similar issues. In our review, we said it was “undercut by way too much time spent grinding for gear needed to survive the intense enemies in the center of the map, busywork story objectives, and crashes that can kill any desire to play.”
Sledgehammer clearly has their work cut out for them. If nothing else, though, this podcast proves Sledgehammer is taking accountability, listening, and open to implementing feedback. And based on the amount of Ws posted in Repullze’s chat once everything was over, the community is very, very happy about that.
