The Fortnite Icon Series gets a little more groovy today with the inclusion of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, the duo known as Silk Sonic.

The Silk Sonic set will drop in the item shop February 10 at 4 PM PT / 7 PM ET, and it will include a skin, pickaxe, and back bling for each half of the dynamic musical duo, Bruno Mars’s kit includes a Sound Scepter pickaxe that doubles as a back bling, while Anderson .Paak wields the Sonic Snare back bling and Boom Bap pickaxe.

Silk Sonic rolls onto the Fortnite island on February 10.

The item shop will include other items outside of the Silk Sonic Set to commemorate the duo’s debut in Fortnite, including the Somebody This Fly lobby track, Freedom Wheels emote, and the returning Leave The Door Open emote.

Finally, the Silk Sonic Cup on February 7 will let teams of two compete for a chance to unlock the Silk Sonic set early without having to use their precious V-Bucks. Playing 10 matches within a designated three-hour window will earn each member of the team points, with the highest scorers accessing the skins early. Times for each region can be found in the Compete tab on the Fortnite dashboard, while scoring for the tournament is as follows:

Match Placement Victory Royale: 25 Points2nd: 22 Points3rd: 20 Points4th: 18 Points5th: 17 Points6th: 16 Points7th: 15 Points8th: 14 Points9th: 13 Points10th: 12 Points11th: 11 Points12th: 10 Points13th: 9 Points14th: 8 Points15th: 7 Points16th: 6 Points17th: 5 Points18th – 19th: 4 Points20th – 21st: 3 Points22nd – 23rd: 2 Points24th – 25th: 1 PointEliminations 1 Point each

While you wait for Silk Sonic to drop in, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has finally made his debut as The Foundation, while a brand new location has just opened up for exploration as part of the Fortnite 19.20 patch.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Pokemon Legends Arceus is off to a very good start, as Nintendo has announced the game sold 1.425 million copies during its first week. That is a huge result, and it’s second only to Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which sold 1.881 million copies during its first week in 2020.

The numbers came from industry analyst David Gibson, as shared on social media. Legends Arceus was released on January 28, so in fact it’s been out for less than a week.

Nintendo Switch JP data – “Pokémon LEGENDS Arceus”, has sold 1,425,000 copies, making it the 2nd best-selling Switch title of all time in its first week, behind “Animal Crossing”, which sold 1,881,000 copies. “Pokémon Brilliant Diamond Shining Pearl” sold 1,396,000 units.

— David Gibson (@gibbogame) February 3, 2022

GameSpot’s Pokemon Legends Arceus review scored the game an 8/10. “It’s the most daring and inventive the series has been in years, breaking apart the staid core and creating something new and exciting from its pieces,” Steve Watts said.

In other news about Switch game sales, Nintendo updated its list of the best-selling Switch games, with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe topping the list with a whopping 43.35 million sold.

As for hardware, the Nintendo Switch has now soldmore than 103 million units, surpassing the Wii.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Gearbox Software has completed work on Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, its upcoming Borderlands spin-off that stars the fan-favorite explosives expert voiced by Ashly Burch. While the game is complete, there’ll still be some fine-tuning to do ahead of its March 25 release, which will likely include the usual updates and optimizations.

don’t look now 👀
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands JUST WENT GOLD baybay!!! 🏆🥇 pic.twitter.com/Esxsv5qI0e

— Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands 🦄 (@PlayWonderlands) February 2, 2022

In a separate tweet, Wonderlands creative director Matt Cox commented on the challenge of developing the game in the current pandemic era of the world.

“Shipping games is hard, and significantly harder during a pandemic. I am overwhelmingly proud of every part of our Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands teams,” Cox said. “We dug deep and poured our hearts into something special. I love our team, and love our fans. March 25th is so close!”

WE ARE GOLD! Shipping games is hard, and significantly harder during a pandemic. I am overwhelmingly proud of every part of our Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands teams. We dug deep and poured our hearts into something special. I love our team, and love our fans. March 25th is so close! https://t.co/42r3dPsLPA

— Matt Cox (@findmattcox) February 2, 2022

Similar to the Borderlands series, Wonderlands will cast you as one of several classes—Brr-Zerker, Clawbringer, Graveborn, Spellshot, Spore Warden, or Stabbomancer–who all wield unique abilities.

Wonderlands also features a multi-class system that allows for any of those two roles to be combined, which should make for some interesting character builds. Guns are of course an option for dealing with all manner of assorted fantasy enemies when action skills and various other passive abilities aren’t enough.

For an idea of just how Gearbox handles the fantasy genre, you can check out Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragonkeep for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. The Borderlands 2 DLC is now a standalone adventure, and if your PS Plus subscription is up to date, you can add it to your PlayStation library as part of February’s offerings through the online service.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

In a world where bigger games with “better” graphics are seemingly in constant demand, demakes are an intriguing counterpoint. Such is the case with a recent Persona 4 Game Boy “demake,” created by SeanSS (@SeanSS_twt), that just released on itch.io.

the hit JRPG classic Persona 4… Is now coming to the Gameboy! Introducing Persona 4 GB: A Persona 4 Gameboy demake that works on actual gameboy hardware
(this game is just a demo, and not the full game on gameboy)#Persona4 #Gameboy #PERSONA #gamedevelopment pic.twitter.com/qExeuGzGTt

— SeanSS (gamer ver.) (@SeanSS_twt) February 2, 2022

SeanSS built the demake on the free GB Studio engine and it is one of their “very first projects using the engine.” To play it, you can open it directly on your browser or you can download the file and use an emulator.

What is a demake? Demakes do the opposite of remasters, essentially, transporting a game into the past and what it might’ve looked like on an older platform. Game Boy has been a popular platform of choice for demake artists (though arguably there are more PlayStation demakes on the internet). Some cool ones to check out are a Demon Soul’s demake by Christopher Pariano and a Sea of Thieves’ demake by Voxy.

Earlier this week, Lilith Walter’s Bloodborne PSX demake went viral online. With CRTV grain and faithful (but creative) adaptation of the game, Bloodborne’s PSX’s demake is a delightful spin on the original bloody combat game.

We’ve reached out to SeanSS for quotes about their Persona 4 demo project, and will update if there’s a response.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

New World’s latest public test realm build is being released into the wild February 3, and includes a number of combat updates, balance changes, and bug fixes for players to put through their paces before the update finds its way to the live version of Amazon’s MMO.

As previously detailed by Amazon Game Studios, February won’t see the release of any new content for New World, with the team instead focusing on bug fixes and improvements.

“Deciding when to align resources to provide new content or to focus on improving what’s already there is a delicate balancing act for a live game, and New World is no different,” the February PTR announcement reads. “For our February game update, we’ve taken a moment of pause on feature development in favor of improving the state of the live game.”

Most notable among those improvements are updates to combat responsiveness. Weapon swapping should feel more fluid, with players now able to swap during dodges, reactions, using consumables, and traversing the environment. Swapping to a weapon and then queuing an attack or ability is also now possible, allowing player to immediately perform an action after swapping. In addition, the recovery period after dodging has also been reduced.

Though the PTR notes don’t dive into specific details, a number of weapon abilities have received “significant reworks.” These include the Great Axe’s powerful Gravity Well ability, and potent Musket skills like Stopping Power, Sticky Bomb, and Shooter’s Stance.

February’s PTR update also adds a dedicated trade chat channel for players to sell their wares, as well as a number of adjustments to the game’s Outpost Rush PvP mode, including changes to how the mode’s scoring works and updates to rewards, which now include faction tokens.

You can read the full PTR notes here. New World recently introduced the Mutator system to its endgame dungeons while also providing ways to raise the maximum gear score of items, giving max-level players more content to engage with.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Gran Turismo is 25 years old. Over a quarter of a century, and more than 80 million copies sold, longtime producer Kazunori Yamauchi has strived to create a virtual driving experience as close to the real thing as possible. A month before the seventh numbered entry in the series drops, Yamauchi has revealed how he and his team are attempting to bring realism to Gran Turismo 7 and how he intends to bring car culture to the masses.

After Gran Turismo Sport had a somewhat bumpy beginning, GT7 will launch with a number of ways to enjoy single-player racing. Starting from a new world map (cross your fingers for a return of GT’s signature smooth jazz menu music to go with it), players can leap to Licence Tests, Missions, World Circuits (34 to choose from, and over 90 layouts–including the legendary Trial Mountain), a tuning shop, custom modes, multiplayer, a used car lot, Brand Central (to buy and read about most cars), a Legendary Cars store for the iconic stuff, Sport, Scapes, Showcase (for sharing and downloading content), your garage, and, most interestingly the Café.

…players can, just like the old days, leap to the game’s core features from there.

License tests – to hone your driving skillsMissions – Events and situations beyond the usual racing, for example drag racing.World Circuits – 34 to choose from with over 90 layouts, some real-life, some GT originals (including the legendary Trial Mountain)Tuning ShopCustom – for your own race setupsMultiplayerSport – Gran Turismo’s competitive online modeShowcase – for sharing and downloading UGCScapes – a place to position cars in specific spots and create beautiful pictures (or terrible ones, talent depending)Your GarageThe Café – Perhaps the most interesting new addition to the game

Plenty of features are carried over from previous games, and the basic premise remains the same: buy a car, do your license tests, race, buy better cars, race more, win more, keep driving until GT8 is a thing. But Yamauchi seems to be thinking more about the wider world than simply of racing. He said in a pre-recorded video: “Today you won’t find as many people talking about car culture anymore. Less people are talking about the beauty of cars, or focused on the fun of driving.”

It’s here that the Café comes in to play. Players are invited to sample 30 ‘menus,’ each featuring a different type of car (Porsche 911s in one, BMC Minis in another, etc), and features their own driving missions. Once you complete a menu, you end up with a few new cars for your collection and will have learned something about the car and its history. The Café will also play host to various guest speakers of sorts–designers will ‘drop by’ to talk about the cars they worked on. Hearing, hypothetically, someone like Ian Callum, the designer of the original Aston Martin Vanquish, wax lyrical about his greatest hits would be something special, wouldn’t it?

During a roundtable interview, Yamauchi revealed that while it’s something of a roadmap to GT7’s systems, the Café’s there to help players form a deeper connection with the culture he holds dear: “The cafe’s a place where you may meet some of the designers or the engineers that were actually involved, or actually created these cars that you’ve collected. So, what that is, it’s a part of the car, or the culture revolving around the cars. And of course, we had the museum first appearing in Gran Turismo Sport. But this takes one step further, where you get to know the people that are involved in creating these cars.” Much like real cars and coffee meets, or events like Monterey Car Week and the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Yamauchi wants to get as many people as close to the thing he loves as possible, to keep car culture alive for the next 25 years of Gran Turismo.

Sharing car culture goes a little further than the Café. There will be ‘meeting places’ and lobbies to congregate with friends, two-player local split-screen for settling sibling rivalries, and the Showcase to share liveries. By the sounds of things, Yamauchi is making it very hard to avoid getting wrapped up in his world.

While the focus of the game remains racing, Yamauchi seems keen to add modes that take the pressure off the player to post ever-decreasing lap times, and just enjoy their cars. In the new Music Rally mode, players are tasked with having a pleasant drive around a track of their choice while listening to one of GT7’s myriad tunes. You start with a number of ‘beats’ on screen that decrease as you drive. Top your beats up by hitting various gates on circuit, and, hopefully, you’ll finish the song. Fail to collect enough beats and it’s game over. You’re still against the clock, but one that gives you room to play and explore.

“The biggest objective of the music rally is that we really wanted people to enjoy the music,” Yamauchi explained. And the other important point is that, we wanted to make it [for] people who are playing this for the first time, who’ve never played a car game before, new kids playing a car game for the first time, we wanted it to be something that they can enjoy.”

It wouldn’t be a Gran Turismo game without tuning options to delight the deeply nerdy and terrify everyone else. In GT7, the list of things to tweak, fettle, and adjust appears to be just as massive and unnerving as ever. Thankfully, the game measures a car’s Performance Points in real time using almost certainly incomprehensible maths. Once you’ve adjusted a setting, hit the big red MEASURE button on the stats screen and you’ll see whether your tweaking has made the right kind of difference. Yamauchi said, “This is like having a minigame inside the settings screen and is one of my favorite screens out of the various features in GT7.” You won’t be able to share your settings via the Showcase though, as, Yamauchi said the different parts on cars might not sit well with another player’s tinkering. The settings screen has been designed to be screengrabbed and shared, though.

Different parts on cars? Tuning is back, of course. With about 60 tuning parts per car, everything from a new air filter to suspension setups are available to turn a tiny hatchback into a surface-to-air missile–or, y’know, make your McLaren even more potent. Performance upgrades are all well and good, but if you’re going to go fast you need to look the part. You can make sure your car’s clean, sure, but you can also paint it in your preferred hue, or go wild in the livery editor. You’re able to do more in the latter now, adding stickers in places you previously couldn’t. What may appeal to the aesthetically minded are the 650 aerodynamic parts and 130 wheel types. You can give your old Beemer box arches now. If you’re in to that kind of thing, that’s unbelievably cool.

On PS5, GT7 will include a few technical tricks that’ll make the most of the system compared to the PS4 version. Loading times will be much quicker, for one. There are two resolution modes to pick from: Frame Rate Mode that’ll run as high as possible from a 60fps baseline in race and replays, and Ray Tracing Mode, which is best deployed when you want to focus on visuals instead of performance, such as while playing with the endlessly adjustable photo mode and the Scapes function, showing GT7’s detailed models off in full 4K HDR ray-traced splendor.

The DualSense’s adaptive triggers will offer greater feedback as well. Vibrations under 100 hertz will be run through your hands. In real-world terms, you’ll feel the brake trigger lock up with your front wheels, and the controller is said to make you feel under and oversteer. Quite how GT7 does that remains to be seen–can a DualSense do a better job than a ‘wheel? We’ll see.

Sony’s 3D audio tech, meanwhile, will work to put your ears in the game as well–boasting tech that’ll make you feel as though the road is below, while competitors buzz by in real time.

All of that sounds very impressive, but what’s most exciting for the GT hardcore may well be the used car lot. Just like the good ol’ days, you start off buying a jalopy and working your way up the ranks. The lot will change day by day, and occasionally exciting cars will crop up–sadly, a 90’s Impreza WRX and the like are likely to be more spendy than a Mazda Demio. Yamauchi did mention that the Performance Points system might match unlikely cars though: “You can have a car that’s really fast to begin with. But then you can take this really modest car and tune it to be just as fast as that car so that they can appear together in a race. Having an actual PP system that is well balanced will allow us to do that.”

GT7’s multiplayer aspects will be ‘equivalent to GT Sport,’ with various difficulty modes available for players of all abilities, too, so you needn’t be overwhelmed by an overly aggressive AI.

When it comes to multiplayer, Yamauchi said “Gran Turismo 7 is equivalent to GT Sport in terms of what it offers.” For players tackling single-player, whether you’re new to the game or a seasoned pro, there’s an appropriate leaping off point: “When you first begin the game, the game asks you whether you want to start at the beginner, intermediate or on expert level. But those who have already played this series in the past would probably find it not challenging enough if you start on intermediate.”

There’s lots to be excited about in GT7, from returning features to new twists on old ideas, but the overarching theme seems to be that Yamauchi wants you to care about cars as much as he does: “I really think it’s important to really convey this culture and history to the next generation of people. I almost feel a responsibility to do that.” We’ll find out in March whether, with GT7, he and the Polyphony Digital team have managed it.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

PlayStation has announced a showcase dedicated exclusively to GhostWire: Tokyo is scheduled to air Thursday, February 3 at 2 PM PT / 5 PM ET. The stream, which is being hosted by publisher Bethesda, is said to be filled with “new gameplay and behind-the-scenes details” ahead of the game’s upcoming release. In addition, it looks like the showcase will also reveal the game’s expected release date: March 25, 2022.

Developed by The Evil Within series’ Tango Gameworks, GhostWire: Tokyo game is a supernatural action-adventure game that blends the studio’s survival-horror roots will all the firepower and flair of an open-world first-person shooter. The game follows a young man as he traverses a cursed Tokyo, taking down demons, yokai, and other supernatural horrors all while trying to understand what’s become of his home. If that description alone has you wanting more, here’s how you can watch the upcoming showcase:

How To Watch The GhostWire: Tokyo February Showcase

You can watch the showcase on PlayStation’s YouTube channel, which is embedded above.

Showcase Start Time

The GhostWire: Tokyo showcase is scheduled to begin at 2 PM PT, with more time zones listed below. Considering the stream will focus entirely on GhostWire, it’s seems unlikely it will run longer than half an hour, though an official run time has not been revealed.

2 PM PT5 PM ET10 PM BST7 AM AET (September 24)

What To Expect

Ghostwire: Tokyo update! See new gameplay and behind-the-scenes details in a special presentation from Bethesda this Thursday at 2pm Pacific: https://t.co/qTfvK9oYdJ pic.twitter.com/GPcTmNQ5A5

— PlayStation (@PlayStation) February 2, 2022

Based on PlayStation’s tweet, it seems like we’re definitely going to get more gameplay footage and a bit of an inside glimpse at the making of Ghostwrite: Tokyo. However, it also wouldn’t surprise us if the showcase delves a bit deeper into the game’s narrative as well. After all, with the exception of the game’s latest trailer, most of the footage we’ve seen so far has been focused on gameplay and GhostWire’s impressive-looking environments and yokai. We also can expect to hear a bit more about what comes with the game when you preorder it, as well as its official release date.

When is Ghostwrire: Tokyo’s release date?

While an official release date yet has to be confirmed, based on the description below the video it seems like the game is slated to release on March 25, 2022–a little less than year after GhostWire was originally scheduled to release. Tango Gameworks announced the game would be delayed last summer in order to “protect the health” of its employees.

Can I preorder GhostWire: Tokyo?

While you can’t preorder GhostWire quite yet, it looks like you will be able to just as soon as the showcase wraps up. According to the stream’s description, preorders are set to go live at the same time as the showcase and will come with exclusive bonus content for players. Additionally, players can also snag the game’s Deluxe Edition, which comes with three days of early access as well as the following bonus content: Shinobi Outfit, Kunai Weapon, and Streetwear Fashion Pack. The description also notes that in order for Deluxe Edition buyers to check out GhostWire’s early access, an internet connection is required.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Sometimes success in Call of Duty’s multiplayer can depend on the weapons and perks equipped to your custom Create-a-Class. Call of Duty: Vanguard‘s perks provide classic options like Ghost or Ninja, but developer Sledgehammer Games recently made a few major changes to less popular perks that might provide you with more benefits now. Here we recommend some of the best perks in Call of Duty: Vanguard after the January updates.

Perk 1

First perk tier

The first perk slot is a bit tricky this year, as Vanguard places some of Call of Duty’s most popular options all in one perk tier. In past years, Ghost and Ninja wouldn’t be competing with each other in the same perk tier, plus there are some other strong perk contenders to consider in this category. Here we break down your best options for the perk one slot based on your playstyle and preferences.

Ninja

If you’re a player that really likes to move around the map, the Ninja perk is going to be a solid pick. It offers silent movement and reduced damage when falling. These are great benefits if you’re the teammate who likes to aggressively flank opponents. And it’s great for making stealthy plays in modes like Search and Destroy.

Ghost

The Ghost perk is a popular choice because it makes you undetectable by Spy Planes, enemy intel, and Field Mics. However, you won’t be kept off the enemy radar if you’re sitting still. The Ghost perk only works while you’re moving.

Dauntless

The Dauntless perk didn’t seem particularly important when Vanguard launched, as it only made you immune to movement-reducing effects, but Sledgehammer Games modified the perk with Season 1’s mid-season update to include some fire protection. The Dauntless perk now also gives immunity to fire and burning effects, which include incendiary rounds, flamenaut killstreak, and any lingering fire on the ground. This can be a crucial perk if you prefer Vanguard’s small map playlists for Shipment and Das Haus, where use of fire-based equipment has become a popular and overpowered tactic.

Cold Blooded

The Cold Blooded perk protects you from being targeted by AI-controlled killstreaks and makes it so player-controlled killstreaks won’t highlight you. It also reduces the range at which awareness markers appear for enemies, and you do not trigger the High Alert perk for your enemies. In Vanguard’s January 27 update, Sledgehammer Games further buffed this perk by including protection from dogs. The Cold Blooded perk is a great option if you play a lot of objective modes or prefer the larger player count of the Blitz combat pacing, as these can be prone to producing matches with a plethora of killstreaks.

Perk 2

Second perk tier

The second perk slot isn’t quite as competitive as the first tier, and this choice will mostly depend on what kind of intel benefits you prefer to receive.

Forward Intel

Forward Intel is hands down the most powerful perk in the second perk slot. Despite the Radar perk allowing you to see any unsuppressed gunfire on the minimap, Forward Intel provides even better map information. Red squares will appear on the minimap to mark where the opposition is spawning. This intel allows you to better judge their movements and warns you if enemies are spawning behind you. The minimap also shows a larger area with this perk. This will increase your map awareness and serves as a useful perk for all playstyles and preferences.

Radar

Radar is a perk that gives you a more traditional minimap, as the benefit here is that it reveals enemies on your minimap when they fire an unsilenced weapon. This was a staple minimap feature in Call of Duty’s past games, but you need to equip the Radar perk to get that map intel in Vanguard. Forward Intel provides more information and is the stronger of the two perks, but this is another solid option if you just want a classic minimap.

Perk 3

Third perk tier

Just like the second tier, the third perk slot choices aren’t as competitive as the first tier. However, there are two really great perks that you can benefit from.

Overkill

Overkill is a perk that lets you carry two primary weapons. This is a great third perk choice if you are an aggressive player, riot shield user, or even those looking to do some sniping. This lets you pair a sniper with a faster weapon like a submachine gun to better tackle those close-quarters encounters.

Lightweight

Lightweight is a strong choice if you like to rush around the map, as this perk grants increased movement speed. This is great to use for modes like Hardpoint or Kill Confirmed, where you often need to get to the objectives with haste.

Now that you have some perk recommendations, you’ll want to make sure you’re equipping the best weapons and attachments. Here are our recommended weapons loadouts to dominate in your next match of multiplayer. We also have tips for scoring wins in Vanguard’s Champion Hill tournament mode.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Sony’s $3.6 billion acquisition of Destiny developer Bungie is the big news this week, and now PlayStation boss Hermen Hulst has shed some more light on the deal and what it means.

Appearing on the official PlayStation podcast, Hulst said Bungie has succeeded and prospered in the live-service category, which is no easy task. Sony wants to do much more in the space, just recently announcing plans to launch 10 live-service games by 2026, so snapping up Bungie aligned with its goals. Hulst also had praise for Bungie’s first big series, Halo, which he said is one of the best shooter franchises ever. But Destiny goes even further in Hulst’s eyes.

“And then there’s Destiny, a series still going strong after eight years, I think. Many people have tried to build a successful live service, and failed. Because it’s really hard,” Hulst said. “So Destiny’s success is very special. I’m also impressed by the production values from them, in terms of technology, graphics, performance capture, sound and music…all of that is really top-class at Bungie.”

Outside of being a studio with a live-service pedigree, Hulst said Bungie has a trademark for excellence in gameplay and mechanics.

“Everyone in gaming knows that Bungie’s gameplay is one of the benchmarks. It always feels fluid, it’s always very responsive, easy to pick up, and hard to put down,” he said. “They’ve either started or perfected so many innovations in their games. I follow their design choices very closely…”

Hulst was working at Killzone studio Guerrilla Games when Bungie was still developing Halo games, so he said he knows this well. Halo and Killzone were competitors in the first-party space, but Killzone never popped in the way that Halo did. Now it’s come full circle, as Bungie will be developing games as part of the Sony umbrella.

Also during the interview, Hulst clarified that he is unable to touch on specifics as it relates to the collaborative opportunities between PlayStation and Bungie because the deal isn’t signed yet. But Hulst said he has worked with Bungie’s Jason Jones and Pete Parsons for some time already, and he’s excited to do more. “Let me tell you that everyone’s very excited for Bungie and PlayStation Studios to share ideas, share some of our battle scars as well. And really, just learn from each other,” he said.

Bungie will be an independent studio within the Sony Interactive Entertainment banner, and the studio will continue to release Destiny 2 and future projects–like its new IP–on multiple platforms.

Sony’s deal to buy Bungie was announced not long after Microsoft confirmed its intent to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. For more on the Sony/Bungie deal, check out GameSpot’s roundup of PlayStation’s first-party games and studios and our deep dive into how Sony is looking at Destiny’s future beyond games.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

If you’ve never played League of Legends before but wanted to give it a shot, the mobile version League of Legends: Wild Rift is a perfect way to jump in. The core experience has been ported beautifully to mobile devices, with a healthy roster of champions spanning six different classes. This guide focuses on Wild Rift’s mage class, a great class for those who like to jump into a skirmish headfirst.

League Of Legends: Wild Rift mage guide

Mages are the magic wielders of League of Legends, the champions that prefer to fight from a distance with spells and other tricks. There are three different archetypes in the Mage class: those who prefer the longest range possible (Artillery), those that can hold their own in a standard skirmish (Battle), and powerful glass cannons that can kill and be killed easily (Burst). Mages are best used against Fighters and Marksmen, but will have trouble taking down a Tank.

Here are some of the best mages in League of Legends: Wild Rift and their ability sets.

Veigar, the Tiny Master of Evil

Veigar

Role: Mage

Veigar is what’s called a “scaling” champion, as his power mounts depending on how many stacks of “Phenomenal Evil” he can earn. These stacks greatly affect his damage output, cooldown on certain attacks, and more, so keeping an eye on how many stacks are earned is an important part of Veigar’s strategy.

Passive: Phenomenal Evil Power

Veigar gains a stack of Phenomenal Evil (increase in ability power) with every successful attack on an enemy champion.

Ability 1: Baleful Strike

A bolt of energy deals damage to two enemy champions. If this attack scores a kill, Veigar gains a stack of Phenomenal Evil.

Ability 2: Dark Matter

A mass of dark matter drops from the sky to a designated location, dealing magic damage when it lands. Dark Matter’s cooldown is reduced depending on how many Phenomenal Evil stacks have accrued.

Ability 3: Event Horizon

An astral cage appears, stunning any enemies that pass through it.

Ultimate: Primordial Burst

A magic blast damages an enemy champion with magic damage. This attack’s damaged increases based on the target’s missing health.Twisted Fate, the Card Master

Twisted Fate

Role: Mage/Marksman

Twisted Fate is a gambling man, and considering his use of dice and cards in his ability list we’d say he’s dang good at it. His ability to deal damage to multiple foes at a time is invaluable, though the element of chance in Pick a Card and even Stacked Deck makes him less than predictable.

Passive: Loaded Dice

Whenever Twisted Fate scores a kill, he rolls a dice and receives bonus gold.

Ability 1: Wild Cards

Twisted Fate throws three cards, each one dealing damage to every enemy unit they pass through.

Ability 2: Pick A Card

Twisted Fate chooses a card from his deck, which determines the bonus for his next attack: Red Cards deal area-of-effect damage and slow affected enemiesBlue Cards deal damage and restore manaGold Cards deal damage and stun affected enemies

Ability 3: Stacked Deck

When activated, Twisted Fate deals extra damage on every fourth attack. His attack speed is also increased, and every attack on an enemy champion triggers the Loaded Dice passive ability.

Ultimate: Destiny

Reveals all enemy champion locations and allows Twisted Fate to teleport to any single spot on the map.Morgana, the Fallen (left)

Morgana

Role: Mage/Support

Are you getting a vampiress vibe from Morgana? You should, because that’s exactly what she’s going for. Her Soul Siphon ability makes her a very dangerous attacker both in lane and in the jungle, as every successful attack on all but the smaller minions and monsters heals her. Furthermore, moves like Dark Binding and Soul Shackles slow the enemies down, making them sitting ducks for some easy damage.

Passive: Soul Siphon

Every successful attack from Morgana to champions, large minions, and medium/large jungle monsters heals Morgana for a percentage of the damage dealt.

Ability 1: Dark Binding

Morgana shoots dark energy at an enemy, rooting them in place for a short period of time.

Ability 2: Tormented Shadow

Morgana casts a shadow on the ground that deals magic damage over time to all enemies within. Damage dealt increases based on how low the enemy’s health is when damaged.

Ability 3: Black Shield

Morgana gives an ally a shield that protects from magic damage and stun attacks for a brief period.

Ultimate: Soul Shackles

Morgana chains herself to nearby champions, increasing her movement speed when she approaches them. The chains deal damage and slow the enemies they connect with, and if those enemies can’t break the chains in a few seconds, they will be stunned.Ahri, the Nine-Tailed Fox

Ahri

Role: Mage/Assassin

Ali might have said “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,” but Ahri is LoL’s embodiment of that famous quote. Her Ultimate allows her to rush in and out of skirmishes at will, dealing damage along the way. Couple that with Charm, which can pull an enemy out of a skirmish and single them out for massive damage, and you have a strategy for victory that’s hard to beat.

Passive: Essence Theft

Every successful attack from Ahri earns her a stack of “Essence Theft”. At maximum stacks, her next attack will also heal her.

Ability 1: Orb of Deception

Ahri throws her orb at an enemy then pulls it back, dealing magic damage first and true damage second.

Ability 2: Fox-Fire

Ahri shoots three foxes made of fire at enemies, dealing magic damage. Ahri’s movement speed increases for a short time.

Ability 3: Charm

Ahri blows a kiss at an enemy, dealing damage and causing the enemy to walk toward her without attacking for a brief time. While the enemy walks toward Ahri, they take increased damage from her.

Ultimate: Spirit Rush

Ahri dashes forward while firing magic bolts, damaging all enemies nearby. This attack can be cast three times before cooldown begins.Orianna, the Lady of Clockwork

Orianna

Role: Mage/Support

Orianna is a unique champion, utilizing a small ball for the majority of her abilities. She can send the ball out, have it remain on the field, and unleash attacks from the ball while attacking the same enemy herself. Utilizing this two-way attack is key to Orianna’s success, particularly when Command: Dissonance and Command: Shockwave are eventually unlocked.

Passive: Clockwork Windup

All of Orianna’s attacks deal additional magic damage that increases with every consecutive attack on a single target.

Ability 1: Command: Attack

Orianna fires her ball toward a designated location, dealing magic damage to any targets it hits along the way. The ball will remain where she commanded it to go when the attack is complete.

Ability 2: Command: Dissonance

Orianna triggers an energy pulse from the ball, dealing area-of-effect magic damage to enemies and slowing them down while increasing movement speed for allies.

Ability 3: Command: Protect

Orianna attaches her ball to an ally, dealing magic damage to any enemy it hits between Orianna and the ally. The ball generates a shield on the ally while also giving them additional armor and magic resistance.

Ultimate: Command: Shockwave

Orianna summons a massive shockwave from her ball, dealing magic damage and launching enemies at the ball after a short time.Read MoreGameSpot – Game News