8 things to watch out for this week

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Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom hits cinemas, Fortnite scores trolleys, and The Crew 2's closed beta goes (briefly) live, in our pick of the week's best games, movies and TV

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, trolleys in Fortnite, The Crew 2, and Elder Scrolls Online Summerset

1. You need to take a vacation to sunny Summerset. No, not that Somerset...

If you haven't visited the world of Tamriel for a while new Elder Scroll Online expansion Summerset is the perfect excuse to go back. If the idea of a pet baby gryphon isn't enough to tempt you - you soulless monster - then the weird and wonderful inhabitants of Summerset should. It's the home of the elves so there are cheekbones all over the place, but there's also frustrated artists, a troupe of masked performers who you'll end up auditioning for, and a bunch of dangerous and delightful wildlife to be savaged by. You haven't lived until you've been killed by a salamander my lad. Champions will enjoy the new Psijic skill line - which gives you the chance to develop Dr Strange style time manipulation powers - and a whole new world of crafting to enjoy with jewellry making. Tamriel's version of QVC here I come. Rachel Weber

What: Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset
Where: PC, PS4 and Xbox One
When: Out now on PC, but coming to consoles on June 5

2. Vampyr will show you what sort of vamp you’d be 

There’s usually two kinds of vampires in games: a hideous monster that kills by draining people’s blood, or charismatic immortal that… kills by draining people’s blood. Vampyr is an interesting take on the idea because it lets you decide what you’re going to be. It constantly teases and goads you with the promise that you’ll find the game easier if you eat people and use the XP to level up faster, but then fills its 19th century London streets full of complex characters and unpredictable relationships. Are you sure that unpleasant, nasty piece of work deserves to die? Maybe there’s a reason they’re like that? When you’re not chatting to the locals and making life or death decisions, there are disease to cure as the local doctor and all while you try to track down whatever turned you into the undead. It’s a little rough around some of its edges but Vampyr is a spooky adventure built around an interesting test of morals. Leon Hurley

What: Vampyr out
Where: PC, PS4, and Xbox One
When: June 6

3. Start your engines for The Crew 2’s closed beta, which drives onto PC and consoles this weekend

It’s that awkward time of year in the gaming calendar where the impending storm of E3 gets us all excited and eager to play new things, but while the announcements are plentiful, few really big titles are released during the early Summer season. Enter The Crew 2, which is holding a free, but limited beta this weekend (starting today), letting players explore the entirety of its recreated America to find out what’s changed since 2014’s The Crew. You might be surprised at how far Ubisoft has gone with the series this time, removing any red tape that was getting in the way of the fun and giving players the freedom to effortlessly switch between land, sea, and air vehicles with the press of a button. Need any more motivation to jump in? Anyone who plays the beta will receive a swanky leather jacket for their character to wear when the The Crew 2 finally releases on June 29, next month. That’s your weekend sorted, then: go ahead and sign up right here. Alex Avard

What: The Crew 2 Closed Beta
Where: PC, PS4, and Xbox One
When: May 31 - June 3

4. It’s #SaveTheDinosaurs week as Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom hits cinemas… but only on one side of the Atlantic

Fans of the first Jurassic World movie - or indeed the Jurassic Park franchise as a whole - will be pleased to hear that the wait is almost over for its sequel, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. If they live in the UK, that is. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard return this time to save the dinosaurs (what?!) from the volcanic island, but with the blockbuster hitting UK cinemas on June 6 and the US not getting it until a couple of weeks later on June 22, it’s going to be a fight to stay spoiler-free on one side of the Atlantic. Considering how positive the reactions to the upcoming movie have been, not to mention the fact that iconic Jurassic Park star Jeff Goldblum is returning as favourite Dr. Ian Malcolm, I imagine more than a few fans will be unimpressed with this gap in release dates. There’s not much we can do about it though, so listen up my American-based friends, it’s time to stay off the internet and avoid spoilers at all costs! Not counting our own review which lands June 5 of course… Lauren O’Callaghan

What: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
When: June 6 in the UK and June 22 in the US
Where: Cinemas

5. You can play a brand new Pokemon game on Switch right now, but it’s a weird one

When Nintendo announced the November 16 release date for Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee, it also sneakily revealed and released a free Pokemon game that you can play right now. It’s that kind of thing that can give a girl a heart attack in the morning. But Pokemon Quest, as it is known, is a bit of a strange one. I’ve never met a Pokemon game I didn’t like, but this might be the first one. In Pokemon Quest, you are tasked with exploring the blocky world of Tumblecube Island, where you meet a load of equally blocky Pokemon, which are allegedly called Pokexel. Silly. Once you’re there, you’ll be searching for treasure, cooking ingredients and battling other wild Pokemon… sorry, Pokexel. But it all happens on autoplay. You don’t have to interact with the Pokemon as they go about their battling, only occasionally pressing a special attack button, and then fiddling around at base camp to try and attrack more Pokexels you can watch battle. It’s a glorified idle tapper that’ll probably work really well on mobile when it arrives on Android and iOS later this summer. But I’m struggling to see the appeal on Switch. But don’t take my word for it, give it a download and please let me know if there’s something I’m missing. Sam Loveridge

What: Pokemon Quest
Where: Nintendo Switch eShop
When: Right now

6.  Will Fortnite’s first vehicles totally change the way the game is played? 

New ways of getting around the map in Epic’s unstoppable Battle Royale game, Fortnite, have been the talk of the (Tomato) town for a while now. First there were jetpacks (although if you ask me I think these will soon be heading to the vault pretty soon) and now we have trolleys. Yeah, that's right, supermarket shopping trolleys. These allow you, or you and a buddy who rides in the front, to travel around the map faster than just using your legs. And, yes, in true Fortnite style, there's also the option of being able to pull off some pretty Epic stunts if you throw it down a ramp. But really they just make you a bigger, noisier target. 

Most other Battle Royale games like Fortnite have vehicles, and it's interesting to see how Fortnite is trying some speedier forms of transport out. At this stage I can’t see the trolleys changing anything in terms of gameplay. Those who have been with the game since it first launched in September will no doubt stick to the tried and testing form of transport known as ‘running’ until being in a vehicle grants you additional shield protection (or something similar). Although, I’m definitely sure there will be a Fortnite Battle Pass challenge or two involving the four wheeled metal tins in the very near future this is one addition we can file under ‘fun’ rather than ‘game changing’. But I'm prepared to be proved wrong. James Jarvis 

7. This month’s PlayStation Plus free games are a perfect dose of pre-E3 calm (sort of) 

This week’s PlayStation Plus free games are a heck of a beautiful balance. On the one hand, we have XCOM 2’s slow and steady, cerebral, turn-based tactical alien-shooting, the perfect way to while away a stunning number of hours quietly meditating over combat strategies, character load-outs, and long-term war management. On the other, we have Trials Fusion, exactly the kind of exhilarating, immediate, physics-driven puzzle racer that you need to blow out the cobwebs when all the brow-furrowing ponderance gets too much. Then, being a Trials game, it will eventually become so bastard-hard that going back to XCOM 2 will be like a lovely, tranquil holiday. But what’s great about both of these games as a unit, is that they’re landing just before E3 bring the biggest, brashest, loudest, explodiest games of the year, making this entirely more intricate, thoughtful PS Plus pairing a decidedly pleasant antidote of low-key satisfaction. Download them, dig in, and take the time to really enjoy them, before the honking great hype wagon turns up to scream at your house and shatter your windows. David Houghton 

What: XCOM 2 and Trials Fusion are free on PlayStation Plus
When: Tuesday, June 5
Where: The PlayStation Store 

8. It’s almost time for E3, so it’s time to start adding dates to calendars and getting seriously excited

E3 is basically video game Christmas. And that’s in more ways that one, because after a flurry of jam-packed press conferences, we’ll have a clear vision of the array of games would could be playing this holiday season. We already know quite a few of them, including Black Ops 4, Battlefield 5, Rage 2, a duo of Pokemon Let’s Go games and potentially even Fallout 76 too. But of course, the excitement surrounding the entire event is all the E3 2018 games we don’t know about yet. Come on Elder Scrolls 6. We’ve got all the latest on E3 right here on GamesRadar, so use your free time this week to check out the schedule of events, and all the rumours so far below. Sam Loveridge

What: E3 2018
When: June 9 - 14
Where: Los Angeles, a load of live streams near you, and right here on GamesRadar

  • E3 2018 schedule: How and when to watch all the big E3 press conferences
  • Sony E3 rumors: Death Stranding, Red Dead Redemption and Cyberpunk - from the confirmed to the long shots
  • Xbox E3 rumors: from Crackdown 3 to Fable - the likely, the possible, and what dreams are made of
  • Nintendo E3 rumors: Super Smash Bros, Pokemon, and the hopeful dreams of Animal Crossing
  • Bethesda E3 rumors: From Rage 2, to Fallout 76, to (dare we dream?) Elder Scrolls 6

8 Things to Watch This Week picks the best games, movies and shows of the next seven days every Friday at 9am PDT / 5pm BST.

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12DOVE was first founded in 1999, and since then has been dedicated to delivering video game-related news, reviews, previews, features, and more. Since late 2014, the website has been the online home of Total Film, SFX, Edge, and PLAY magazines, with comics site Newsarama joining the fold in 2020. Our aim as the global GamesRadar Staff team is to take you closer to the games, movies, TV shows, and comics that you love. We want to upgrade your downtime, and help you make the most of your time, money, and skills. We always aim to entertain, inform, and inspire through our mix of content - which includes news, reviews, features, tips, buying guides, and videos.

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