Author: Jennifer Stephens

At long last, the Skywalker Saga has reached its conclusion–for now, at least. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is in theaters and fans are getting the opportunity to see how director JJ Abrams wrapped up a long-running story that was first started by George Lucas 42 years ago. In GameSpot’s review of The Rise of Skywalker, Michael Rougeau wrote of the movie, “It should never be so clear to audiences that something in the filmmaking process has gone so terribly wrong–that the people who made the first film in a trilogy apparently didn’t bother to sketch out a plan for the second and third, and that the movies’ directors had visions for the series’ future that were so fundamentally at odds.”

But how does it end? With so much at stake–and so many characters to wrap up–The Rise of Skywalker had a lot of ground to cover. Warning: The following contains major spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. If you haven’t seen the movie and don’t want any twists, turns, or surprises spoiled for you, do the smart thing and look away now. This is not the story you’re looking for.

If you want to know how each major character in the film ended their individual stories in The Rise of Skywalker, we have you covered. As for the ending of the film itself, there’s quite a bit to unpack. The broad strokes are that the First Order and the Sith were ultimately defeated by Rey, who was revealed to be the granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine.

In a final showdown in the Sith temple on the planet Exegol, Rey used both Luke’s lightsaber (his first, which originally belonged to Anakin), as well as Leia’s–because it was revealed she also trained to be a Jedi–to deflect Palpatine’s Force lightning, shooting it right back at him. In destroying him, though, she sacrificed her own life energy and died.

That didn’t last for long, naturally. After shedding his Kylo Ren moniker and the dark side of the Force, Ben Solo came to her aid and used their connection through the Force–which this movie decided is called a “Force dyad”–to give his life energy to her. She woke up long enough to kiss him, before he keeled over and died.

Thus ended the battle of the Jedi and the Sith until the next time a movie about Jedi fighting Sith is released. The Rise of Skywalker didn’t end there, though. Following the death of Palpatine and the destruction of the Sith temple, Poe Dameron commanded the resistance and its allies in eliminating the armada of star destroyers the Emperor had created, bringing an end to the First Order once and for all.

After the Battle of Exegol, the resistance celebrated in their forest camp, as everyone realized they’d somehow actually won the war. This is the last time we see most of the franchise’s major characters. It’s Rey alone who figures into the final scene of the film.

Some time after the battle and celebration, she found herself at the moisture farm Luke Skywalker grew up at on Tatooine. There, in the sand, she buried the lightsabers of Luke and Leia–her mentors–putting their spirits to rest. She also revealed a lightsaber of her own, powered by a yellow Kyber crystal. It’s clear that Rey is not giving up on the way of the Jedi.

At that point, a woman passed by, asking who she was. Rey offered a simple response as the final two words of the Skywalker Saga. “Rey Skywalker,” she told the stranger.

With that moment, Skywalker has officially risen. While Rey’s bloodline may have a strong connection to the dark side of the Force, she chooses to align herself with those who taught her about the Force in the first place–the Skywalker twins.

Now that you’ve been able to watch Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, don’t forget to check out our massive compilation of Easter eggs from the film, as well as a look at the latest episode of The Mandalorian–the live-action Star Wars TV show on Disney+.

Amazon’s Lord of the Rings TV series is currently seeking members of the New Zealand public to play orcs. Specifically, according to LadBible’s reporting on what casting agents are seeking, they’re after people who have “wonderful noses” or “character faces,” and people who are either over six feet tall or under five feet.

Two casting agencies are reaching out in the hope of finding orcs for the series, and are reportedly looking for people of any background and ethnicity with a lot of freckles and hair. As the Lord of the Rings movie series was also filmed in New Zealand, it’s theoretically feasible that some of the extras who played orcs in the movies could return.

According to LadBible, they’re also seeking “long lithe dancers,” “stocky mean-looking bikers,” and “redheads of all ages, shapes and sizes,” to portray orcs in the series. The idea, they say, is to find people whose inherently interesting faces will require less make-up.

According to stuff.co.nz, the casting calls for Lord of the Rings–for orcs or otherwise–are now “urgent,” as Amazon looks to get moving on their enormous fantasy series.

Amazon’s Lord of the Rings has already been renewed for a second season before the first has been filmed. Morfydd Clark has been cast as a young Galadriel for the show, while Will Poulter has left the show over a scheduling conflict. The show will be set during the Second Age of J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy world.

Right now, you can nab the entire Dead Space trilogy for less than $15 USD if you have an Xbox Live Gold membership. And since all three games are Xbox One backwards compatible, you don’t have to pull out your Xbox 360 to play them. Additionally, all three will be playable day one on Xbox Series X as well.

Xbox One Dead Space Discounts

• Dead Space — $3.74 ($5.24)
• Dead Space 2 — $5 ($7)
• Dead Space 3 — $5 ($7)

I’ll defend the Dead Space trilogy (including the third entry, warts and all) to my dying breath. Developed by Visceral Games, the Dead Space trilogy pushed the envelope when it came to horror games–providing an over-the-shoulder, more action-focused variation to the survival horror genre that encouraged you to quickly take careful aim and shoot enemies in specific places. All three games are incredibly immersive, utilizing a minimalistic hud and environmental storytelling to bring the player into the life of Isaac Clarke, a simple engineer who’s repeatedly tasked with combating a horrifying, zombie-like threat called the necropmorphs.

Over the years, Dead Space has shared a connection with Resident Evil, first taking inspiration from Capcom’s horror series and then providing some of the blueprints for the format found in 2019’s Resident Evil 2. Though the first game is now over 10 years old, Dead Space is still worth going back to–and if you’re going to play the first game, you might as well see the entire trilogy all the way through.

The Dead Space trilogy isn’t the only collection of games on sale. Thanks to the Xbox Holiday Sale, there are discounts on a wide variety of titles, including GameSpot’s 2019 game of the year (Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice) and 2018 game of the year (Red Dead Redemption 2). Other notable games from 2019 are on sale too, such as A Plague Tale: Innocence, Gears 5, and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. And unlike the Dead Space trilogy, you don’t need to be an Xbox Live Gold subscriber to take advantage of them.

Below, you can find some of our favorite deals, but be sure to check out the Xbox Games Store if you want the entire list of discounted titles.

Best Xbox One Holiday Sale Game Deals

• A Plague Tale: Innocence — $30 ($50)
• Assassin’s Creed Odyssey — $19.79 ($60)
• Borderlands 3 — $39 ($60)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare — $45 ($60)
• Dead Cells — $18.74 ($25)
• The Division 2 — $18 ($60)
• Dragon Ball FighterZ — $19.79 ($60)
• Far Cry New Dawn — $20 ($40)
• FIFA 20 — $36 ($60)
• Forza Horizon 4 — $36 ($60)
• Gears 5 — $30 ($60)
• Generation Zero — $21 ($30)
• Ghost Recon Breakpoint — $24 ($60)
• Hitman 2 — $19.79 ($60)
• Jump Force — $30 ($60)
• Madden NFL 20 — $36 ($60)
• Mortal Kombat 11 — $30 ($60)
• NBA 2K20 — $30 ($60)
• Need For Speed Heat — $39 ($60)
• No Man’s Sky — $25 ($50)
• Overwatch: Legendary Edition — $24 ($60)
• Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds — $13 ($20)
• Rage 2 — $24 ($60)
• Rainbow Six Siege Deluxe Edition — $13.19 ($40)
• Red Dead Redemption 2 — $36 ($60)
• Resident Evil 2 — $19.79 ($60)
• Sea of Thieves: Anniversary Edition — $25 ($50)
• Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice — $45 ($60)
• Star Wars Battlefront 2 — $15 ($25)
• Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order — $54 ($60)
• Trials Rising — $12.50 ($25)
• Void Bastards — $24 ($30)
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — $12 ($40)
• World War Z — $20 ($40)

Stardew Valley has received a major update on consoles this week, with the 1.4 patch finally arriving for the Switch, PS4, and Xbox One versions of the game. The PC version received update 1.4 on November 26, and has since received additional bug fix patches specific to that release. The patch’s arrival was announced by developer ConcernedApe on Twitter.

Update 1.4, which was talked up a lot in the lead-up to its release, introduces a bevy of changes to the beloved farming game. There’s a huge list of things that have changed, but there are some clear highlights. A new movie theater is unlocked near the end of the game, and there are new 14-heart events for every spouse, plus other events with the rest of the game’s cast. There are also lots of new items and clothes to wear, plus a new co-op map, Four Corners. You can also add fish ponds to your farm now.

New mine content has been added too, including “a quarry mineshaft dungeon with new Haunted Skull and Sludge monsters.” Perhaps the funniest change is that ex-spouses will no longer show up at your wedding, or treat you normally during festivals.

Literally hundreds of other changes have come to the console versions of the game now. These changes are expected to come to the mobile version of the game too; sadly, the PlayStation Vita version will not be receiving additional content.

We joined forces with Blizzard Entertainment so that 10 of our readers could win a bundle that commemorates the history of Azeroth. The 15th Anniversary Collector’s Edition of World of Warcraft includes:

• Ragnaros Statue
• Onyxia Pin
• Map of Azeroth Mouse Pad
• Fine Art Prints
• 30 Days Game Time
• Alabaster Mounts

You can enter this giveaway by filling out the form below, but make sure you read the official rules and accept the terms and conditions of the sweepstakes. Remember that you can increase your odds of winning by competing the additional actions outlined in the form, like following us on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

If you don’t see the form on your mobile device please click here.

Don’t forget to check your email on December 31 because we will be reaching out to the potential winners (don’t forget the junkmail!)

Head to the comment section and let us know about your first visit to Azeroth. Good luck!

The second week for Season of Dawn introduces another part to the “An Impossible Task” quest, with several incredibly difficult spots to search for in order to plant Vex Transponders. We gather all of the locations in this video guide here including the final step to find Saint-14’s ghost. Destiny 2 is available now on Xbox One, Playstation 4, PC, and Google Stadia.

The Last Remnant Remastered has come to mobile devices, unexpectedly bringing the 2008 JRPG to phones and tablets. The remastered version of the game, which was released for PS4 at the end of 2018 and then on Switch earlier this year, is now playable on Android devices running 7.0 or higher or Apple devices on iOS 13.0 or higher.

The game, which features a unique command-based battle system that makes you consider troop morality and a story that spans a millennium, is available for $20 right now. That might seem like a lot for a mobile game, but it’s worth noting that the game contains no microtransactions whatsoever, and is a full, huge RPG.

The game weighs in at 8.5GB on iOS, and just 6.1GB on Android. It’s not clear why there’s a size discrepancy between the two.

In our original 2008 review of the game, The Last Remnant scored a 6.5/10. Reviewer Kevin VanOrd wrote that the game had many visual flaws, but that it was “a fun adventure that will draw you into its finely crafted universe in spite of it all.”

No Man’s Sky has seen some major changes during 2019, with the 2.0 ‘Beyond’ update introducing a bevy of changes and additions to the game on PS4, PC, and Xbox One back in August. Then in November, update 2.2 streamlined the play experience further, and now update 2.24 has added a new toy for players to tinker with. Developer Hello Games has added the ByteBeat Device to No Man’s Sky. It’s a synthesizer and sequencer that lets you program tunes for your base, and it’s a surprisingly powerful tool for music creation.

The ByteBeat can be set up at a player’s base, and from there you can use it to create audio and music that will play from it. The second you drop one it’ll start playing sounds that are generated by random waveforms, and from there, you can create your own sounds in the Sequencer.

It’s a rich tool that lets you modify waveforms, mess around with the individual elements of each track, and sync your sounds up to lights that will flash and pulse in time with the music you create. It’ll let you add an extra layer of personality to your base. Paul Weir, the game’s sound designer, is excited at the possibility of players creating some “glitchy electronica” in the game.

A tweet from Hello Games boss Sean Murray lists everything you can do with the new ByteBeat system.

In GameSpot’s re-review of No Man’s Sky this year, Justin Clark gave the game a 9/10, writing that “its Beyond expansion are the new gold standard for how to gracefully cope with a game’s flaws post-release.”

Level 5’s well-liked RPG series, Ni No Kuni, received an anime film spin-off in Japan earlier this year. It’ll soon be available in the west, but it’s skipping cinemas. The film is part of Netflix’s January 2020 plan, and will be available on January 16.

The Ni No Kuni movie is not directly connected to either game but features a similar premise;it follows two high-schoolers who are transported from our world to a fantasy one with some strange parallels. You can watch the Japanese trailer below–it’s not clear if Netflix will provide a dub. The film is directed by Yoshiyuki Momose, who also designed the characters.

The first Ni No Kuni famously featured animated cutscenes by Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki’s celebrated anime studio that has produced classics like My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, and Grave of the Fireflies. Momose previously worked for the studio as a key animator. Studio Ghibli is not involved in the Ni No Kuni movie, though; it was produced by OLM, Inc. The studio is best known for animating the Pokemon anime series and movies.

Ni No Kuni is not the only new anime coming to the service during the month; Scissor Seven will be added on January 10 and Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac: season 1 part 2 is coming on January 23.

The original Ni No Kuni game was released for the PS3 (and the Nintendo DS in Japan,) and was recently re-released for Switch, PS4, and PC.