After just over two hours of my first hands-on time with The Last of Us Part 2, I finished my last encounter, and let out one of the longest-held breaths of my gaming life. Following many tense battles with clickers and humans alike, I’m absolutely confident in Naughty Dog’s impressive, brutal combat, set in a richly-detailed world. And I’m equally intrigued by the teases of The Last of Us Part 2’s story I glimpsed throughout my demo, including a knockout performance by returning lead Ashley Johnson as Ellie.

This preview for The Last of Us Part 2 will clearly mark story-focused elements, for those who wish to know nothing about the narrative content shown in our demo. Also, be sure to watch the video preview above, which features new gameplay from The Last of Us Part 2.

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Some of the best deals on Xbox One happened during Amazon Prime Day, but you didn't miss out entirely. There are still plenty of chances to save. Microsoft is running an Xbox sale right now, offering Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $1 for 1 month, or $14.99 for 3 months. Those Xbox deals are running out soon, though.

Here are the best current deals on Xbox One hardware. As always, the best prices are in Xbox One bundled deals.

Best Xbox One X Bundle Deals

Xbox One X Fallout 76 Bundle for $336.69

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The second you hop into Shadowkeep you notice that things under the hood are different. The less visually apparent Artifact, Armor 2.0 and mod changes will have a huge impact on how you choose to craft your play style and its necessity becomes immediately apparent when you first arrive on the moon.

Called here by Eris Morn, a glowy green-eyed friend of the Vanguard, you’ll find that the location is less than hospitable, even if you ended the last expansion as the strongest of guardians. The first enemies you encounter upon landing are well above your level as indicated by the sword icons above their head. I took that as a message from Bungie that they wanted us to hear loud and clear. This Season is going to challenge you. This is a new Destiny. Several times during our exploration we found enemies we couldn’t even damage in locations like the Temple of Crota, or even just off the beaten path from main story quests. Experience points, gear, and leveling will play a bigger part than ever before and I love this new layer of complexity and challenge that's being added.

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The second you hop into Shadowkeep you notice that things under the hood are different. The less visually apparent Artifact, Armor 2.0 and mod changes will have a huge impact on how you choose to craft your play style and its necessity becomes immediately apparent when you first arrive on the moon.

Called here by Eris Morn, a glowy green-eyed friend of the Vanguard, you’ll find that the location is less than hospitable, even if you ended the last expansion as the strongest of guardians. The first enemies you encounter upon landing are well above your level as indicated by the sword icons above their head. I took that as a message from Bungie that they wanted us to hear loud and clear. This Season is going to challenge you. This is a new Destiny. Several times during our exploration we found enemies we couldn’t even damage in locations like the Temple of Crota, or even just off the beaten path from main story quests. Experience points, gear, and leveling will play a bigger part than ever before and I love this new layer of complexity and challenge that's being added.

Continue reading…

Code Vein establishes its own identity from the outset. It may latch onto a Dark Souls formula that has come to define a generation of action-RPGs, but Bandai Namco's latest manages to set itself apart from the rest by presenting a post-apocalyptic world filled with what are essentially anime vampires. Interesting concepts and mechanics filter out from this central blood-soaked idea, resulting in a game that feels familiar yet wildly different from its inspiration. Yet it's the parts that are most recognisable, such as its combat, where Code Vein stumbles.

After an apocalyptic cataclysm ravages the world, those who died are brought back to life as immortal beings called Revenants. The only price they have to pay for reincarnation is an insatiable thirst for blood. There's no neck biting, disintegrating in sunlight, or anything else you would usually associate with traditional vampires here. If a Revenant goes for too long without satisfying its thirst for blood, however, they lose their humanity and transform into grotesque creatures known as the Lost. Fortunately, Revenants don't have to feed on the last remaining humans to survive. Blood Beads grow on plants throughout the world and function as suitable substitutes for human blood, nourishing a Revenant's bloodlust in much the same way. The problem is, Blood Beads are becoming increasingly scarce, so you have to find the source and hopefully attain a steady supply. That's the basic plot, anyway, but it doesn't take long to deviate into other areas and introduce world-ending stakes.

In stereotypical protagonist fashion, you begin the game by waking up with amnesia before finding out you're the chosen one. You see, each Revenant in Code Vein has a class known as a Blood Code. Your created character is special due to the fact they're not confined to a single Blood Code like everyone else is. This malleability allows you to swap between various classes whenever you feel like it, with your arsenal of available Blood Codes expanding the further you progress through the game.

Blood Codes are tailored to a specific style of play that often fits into a typical RPG class template--think warrior or mage. Gifts are Code Vein's version of abilities, granting you access to a wide range of passive and active skills that are tied but not limited to each Blood Code. You're able to mix and match Gifts to a certain degree, with the most exciting ones letting you unleash flashy special attacks in melee combat. That's not all they're capable of, however, as others allow you to fire projectiles of piercing Ichor, boost your attack power, temporarily add a stun effect to your weapon, and many more. The character creator is already comprehensive enough, but Code Vein provides a plethora of options when it comes to finding a playstyle that suits you.

Killing enemies earns Haze that can be spent on levelling up your character, purchasing weapon and armor upgrades, or attaining various items like poison cures and throwing daggers. When you die, you lose all of the Haze you had accrued up to that point unless you can return to the location of your demise and pick it back up. Haze is relatively easy to accumulate, though, so walking around with pockets full of the stuff never feels as stressful as it maybe should. Levelling up your character is also simplistic to a fault because it doesn’t let you min-max your stats. Everything it tied to Blood Codes so it’s unclear why information such as your character's strength and dexterity is even surfaced.

Either way, incorporating Gifts amid regular attacks makes for some satisfying combos, and there's a gratifying heft behind each slash and crunch of Code Vein's melee combat. Defeating enemies is based on rationing light and heavy attacks, and you have access to a decent array of weaponry, too, cycling through the usual assortment of broadswords, halberds, giant hammers, and spears. Most of them are ludicrously large in typical anime fashion as well. There's not a lot of variety between each moveset within a weapon's specific class, but bouncing around between weapon types offers some tangible deviation.

Each Gift consumes from a pool of Ichor that's replenished by simply defeating enemies or refilled in larger doses by performing drain attacks, parries, and backstabs. This incentivizes you to use Gifts regularly, approaching each enemy with an offensive mindset to unleash a bevy of special attacks and then quickly regain any lost Ichor. You need to pick the right moment to use a drain attack because of its lengthy windup, but backstabs are relatively easy to pull off, while parries require precise timing.

Wailing on enemies is satisfying, and Gifts spruce up each fight with their inherent flexibility, yet combat is a disappointingly by-the-numbers affair because of the AI's shortcomings. There's an adequate variety of enemy types, but this variety generally only applies to their visual design as opposed to their behavior and movesets. They're surprisingly static, spending most of their time simply idling instead of reacting to your attacks. Each weapon you wield is usually able to stagger enemies on the first or second hit, allowing you to dispatch each foe with almost no resistance, and this remains true throughout the entirety of the game. There are a few enemies that break away from this mould, requiring you to actually dodge and make use of your Gifts, but they're an anomaly amid a sea of one-sided slugfests. Bosses aren't quite as easy to take down, but they're not far from it. There's no need to learn patterns or delicate back-and-forths that require you to engage with every aspect of Code Vein's combat. It's simple enough to beat each boss on your first or second attempt by simply manoeuvring behind them. This only deviates as you approach the end credits and bosses receive a sudden difficulty spike as they rely on powerful area of effect attacks and homing projectiles.

Code Vein doesn't have to adhere to Dark Souls' challenging difficulty, but it also misses the mark by never forcing you to learn or deepen your understanding of the game to progress. Combat devolves into a mindless task where the only thing you need to watch out for is enemy placement and quantity. Difficulty is contrived by throwing numerous enemies at you at once which feeds into a focus on cooperative play. You can traverse through Code Vein's world with another player or by using one of its many AI companions. The latter can more than hold their own in a fight, proving especially useful when you're overwhelmed by multiple enemies--though their presence against singular opponents doesn't do much to quell the simplistic routine of defeating them.

Exploring each environment is engaging, at least. The level design has a tendency to wrap in and around itself, offering secret paths and capturing the elation that's derived from opening a shortcut or discovering a new checkpoint to rest at and spend the Haze you just acquired. One sprawling area even borrows Anor Londo's distinct Il Duomo-inspired aesthetic, reimagining the pearly white castle as a labyrinthine maze. It's just a shame the visual design is regularly pedestrian. You spend the vast majority of your time traversing through bland post-apocalyptic streets and damp caves where rubble is Code Vein's most distinguishing feature. The addition of fire and sand shakes up the typical dilapidated cityscape, but it's not nearly enough to shake the feeling that you've seen it all before. There's even a late area that adopts the Anor Londo aesthetic for a second time, with the only difference being that it's now inside and slightly darker. Evoking memories of Dark Souls' most memorable location doesn't do it any favours.

Code Vein adopts the Souls-like formula in its structure, presenting a familiar cycle of progression and basic combat similarities, and there are some interesting ideas here, too, built around the use of various Blood Codes and their distinct Gifts. You can see the fragments of a fantastic game hidden within these systems and its meaty combat feedback, but the mundanity of its enemies and the effect they have on nullifying the combat's enjoyment prevent Code Vein from ever realizing its potential.

Code Vein establishes its own identity from the outset. It may latch onto a Dark Souls formula that has come to define a generation of action-RPGs, but Bandai Namco's latest manages to set itself apart from the rest by presenting a post-apocalyptic world filled with what are essentially anime vampires. Interesting concepts and mechanics filter out from this central blood-soaked idea, resulting in a game that feels familiar yet wildly different from its inspiration. Yet it's the parts that are most recognisable, such as its combat, where Code Vein stumbles.

After an apocalyptic cataclysm ravages the world, those who died are brought back to life as immortal beings called Revenants. The only price they have to pay for reincarnation is an insatiable thirst for blood. There's no neck biting, disintegrating in sunlight, or anything else you would usually associate with traditional vampires here. If a Revenant goes for too long without satisfying its thirst for blood, however, they lose their humanity and transform into grotesque creatures known as the Lost. Fortunately, Revenants don't have to feed on the last remaining humans to survive. Blood Beads grow on plants throughout the world and function as suitable substitutes for human blood, nourishing a Revenant's bloodlust in much the same way. The problem is, Blood Beads are becoming increasingly sparse, so you have to find the source and hopefully attain a steady supply. That's the basic plot, anyway, but it doesn't take long to deviate into other areas and introduce world-ending stakes.

In stereotypical protagonist fashion, you begin the game by waking up with amnesia before finding out you're the chosen one. You see, each Revenant in Code Vein has a class known as a Blood Code. Your created character is special due to the fact they're not confined to a single Blood Code like everyone else is. This malleability allows you to swap between various classes whenever you feel like it, with your arsenal of available Blood Codes expanding the further you progress through the game.

Blood Codes are tailored to a specific style of play that often fits into a typical RPG class template--think warrior or mage. Gifts are Code Vein's version of abilities, granting you access to a wide range of passive and active skills that are tied but not limited to each Blood Code. You're able to mix and match Gifts to a certain degree, with the most exciting ones letting you unleash flashy special attacks in melee combat. That's not all they're capable of, however, as others allow you to fire projectiles of piercing Ichor, boost your attack power, temporarily add a stun effect to your weapon, and many more. The character creator is already comprehensive enough, but Code Vein provides a plethora of options when it comes to finding a playstyle that suits you.

Killing enemies earns Haze that can be spent on levelling up your character, purchasing weapon and armor upgrades, or attaining various items like poison cures and throwing daggers. When you die, you lose all of the Haze you had accrued up to that point unless you can return to the location of your demise and pick it back up. Haze is relatively easy to accumulate, though, so walking around with pockets full of the stuff never feels as stressful as it maybe should. Levelling up your character is also simplistic to a fault because it doesn’t let you min-max your stats. Everything it tied to Blood Codes so it’s unclear why information such as your character's strength and dexterity is even surfaced.

Either way, incorporating Gifts amid regular attacks makes for some satisfying combos, and there's a gratifying heft behind each slash and crunch of Code Vein's melee combat. Defeating enemies is based on rationing light and heavy attacks, and you have access to a decent array of weaponry, too, cycling through the usual assortment of broadswords, halberds, giant hammers, and spears. Most of them are ludicrously large in typical anime fashion as well. There's not a lot of variety between each moveset within a weapon's specific class, but bouncing around between weapon types offers some tangible deviation.

Each Gift consumes from a pool of Ichor that's replenished by simply defeating enemies or refilled in larger doses by performing drain attacks, parries, and backstabs. This incentivizes you to use Gifts regularly, approaching each enemy with an offensive mindset to unleash a bevy of special attacks and then quickly regain any lost Ichor. You need to pick the right moment to use a drain attack because of its lengthy windup, but backstabs are relatively easy to pull off, while parries require precise timing.

Wailing on enemies is satisfying, and Gifts spruce up each fight with their inherent flexibility, yet combat is a disappointingly by-the-numbers affair because of the AI's shortcomings. There's an adequate variety of enemy types, but this variety generally only applies to their visual design as opposed to their behavior and movesets. They're surprisingly static, spending most of their time simply idling instead of reacting to your attacks. Each weapon you wield is usually able to stagger enemies on the first or second hit, allowing you to dispatch each foe with almost no resistance, and this remains true throughout the entirety of the game. There are a few enemies that break away from this mould, requiring you to actually dodge and make use of your Gifts, but they're an anomaly amid a sea of one-sided slugfests. Bosses aren't quite as easy to take down, but they're not far from it. There's no need to learn patterns or delicate back-and-forths that require you to engage with every aspect of Code Vein's combat. It's simple enough to beat each boss on your first or second attempt by simply manoeuvring behind them. This only deviates as you approach the end credits and bosses receive a sudden difficulty spike as they rely on powerful area of effect attacks and homing projectiles.

Code Vein doesn't have to adhere to Dark Souls' challenging difficulty, but it also misses the mark by never forcing you to learn or deepen your understanding of the game to progress. Combat devolves into a mindless task where the only thing you need to watch out for is enemy placement and quantity. Difficulty is contrived by throwing numerous enemies at you at once which feeds into a focus on cooperative play. You can traverse through Code Vein's world with another player or by using one of its many AI companions. The latter can more than hold their own in a fight, proving especially useful when you're overwhelmed by multiple enemies--though their presence against singular opponents doesn't do much to quell the simplistic routine of defeating them.

Exploring each environment is engaging, at least. The level design has a tendency to wrap in and around itself, offering secret paths and capturing the elation that's derived from opening a shortcut or discovering a new checkpoint to rest at and spend the Haze you just acquired. One sprawling area even borrows Anor Londo's distinct Il Duomo-inspired aesthetic, reimagining the pearly white castle as a labyrinthine maze. It's just a shame the visual design is regularly pedestrian. You spend the vast majority of your time traversing through bland post-apocalyptic streets and damp caves where rubble is Code Vein's most distinguishing feature. The addition of fire and sand shakes up the typical dilapidated cityscape, but it's not nearly enough to shake the feeling that you've seen it all before. There's even a late area that adopts the Anor Londo aesthetic for a second time, with the only difference being that it's now inside and slightly darker. Evoking memories of Dark Souls' most memorable location doesn't do it any favours.

Code Vein adopts the Souls-like formula in its structure, presenting a familiar cycle of progression and basic combat similarities, and there are some interesting ideas here, too, built around the use of various Blood Codes and their distinct Gifts. You can see the fragments of a fantastic game hidden within these systems and its meaty combat feedback, but the mundanity of its enemies and the effect they have on nullifying the combat's enjoyment prevent Code Vein from ever realizing its potential.

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for the latest deals and follow our very own IGN UK Deals Amazon storefront for IGN's curated lists of best games, tech and accessories.

Preorder New Amazon Devices Now

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Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for the latest deals and follow our very own IGN UK Deals Amazon storefront for IGN's curated lists of best games, tech and accessories.

Preorder New Amazon Devices Now

Continue reading…

Boston Dynamics - the advanced engineering company whose uncannily lifelike robots have probably been appearing in your social feeds for the last few years - has put its first commercial product on sale: A dog-like machine named Spot.

Spot is small and light enough for one person to lift. The official product listing claims that during its 90 minute average battery life it can walk at 3 miles an hour, open doors, navigate uneven ground, and create 3D maps of the area around it, which your golden retriever probably can't do. Sadly.

There's no listed price, and sales of Spot are limited. If you want one, you have to fill out a form and wait for Boston Dynamics to contact you directly.

Continue reading…

Boston Dynamics - the advanced engineering company whose uncannily lifelike robots have probably been appearing in your social feeds for the last few years - has put its first commercial product on sale: A dog-like machine named Spot.

Spot is small and light enough for one person to lift. The official product listing claims that during its 90 minute average battery life it can walk at 3 miles an hour, open doors, navigate uneven ground, and create 3D maps of the area around it, which your golden retriever probably can't do. Sadly.

There's no listed price, and sales of Spot are limited. If you want one, you have to fill out a form and wait for Boston Dynamics to contact you directly.

Continue reading…