Monthly Archives: January 2016
Destiny’s Next Update Is an Ode to Valentine’s Day
Bungie has announced that Destiny's next update will focus on "celebrating the rare variety of companionship that can only be found in the heat of battle." The event is called Crimson Days, and starts February 9—just in time for Valentine's Day. Expect the event to be similar in size to Festival of the Lost, Destiny's Halloween event.
Crimson Days brings not only bug fixes and improvements, but a new 2v2 Crucible mode as well—Crimson Doubles. We'll receive more information about the new mode with the next weekly update. For now, Bungie tells us just that it's "born of new gameplay and mechanics that only battle-tested star-crossed lovers will appreciate."
WB and DC Show Off Batman v Superman Merchandise
Warner Bros. Consumer Products and DC Comics have teamed up to bring Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice from the big screen to the real world by way of a huge licensing and merchandise initiative.
DC Entertainment president Diane Nelson said her company is "thrilled to be partnering with licensees around the world to support the film."
Mattel is the master licensee for toys related to the upcoming movie, which means toy stores will see an invasion of characters from the movie, including figures in the Mattel Multiverse line, "which captures the superior accuracy and details of the film’s characters."
Other toys to look forward to are LEGO sets, Funko Pop! figures, high quality statues, and a voice change helmet so you can go around asking everyone you know if they bleed. There's also an 18-inch figure from NECA, and other toys coming from "Hot Toys, Kotobukiya, SquareEnix, Medicom Toy, Prime 1 Studio and Union Creative."
The Continuing Appeal of The X-Files
The X-Files was a hugely successful series, crossing over from cult sci-fi series to bonafide hit, running nine seasons in the process (and resulting in two feature films). That being the case, it’s a big deal that FOX has re-assembled creator Chris Carter and stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson for a new, six-episode limited series.
I spoke to Carter about what it was like returning to The X-Files after so long and the continuing appeal for both him and the other original X-Files writers he re-assembled - using the first and sixth episode to tell mythology-heavy episodes, while episodes 2-5 are standalone installments, delving into the horrific, creepy and even highly comical (see Darin Morgan’s third episode!) realms the series is known for.
Mario 3D World Headlines Week 2 of Nintendo’s Winter Sale
The second week of Nintendo's Winter Warm-Up Sale has begun, offering discounts on an array of platforming titles for Wii U and 3DS.
This week's theme is "Jumpin' Fun," and as such, Nintendo has discounted some of Wii U's most popular platformers, including Super Mario 3D World and Rayman Legends, which are currently available for $42 and $28, respectively.
Also on sale for Wii U is the original Donkey Kong Country, which is just under $6, and Game & Wario, which has been marked down to $21. Meanwhile, 3DS owners can pick up SteamWorld Dig for $5 and Sonic Generations for $21.
You can check out all of this week's deals over on the Nintendo eShop.
The Martian’s Benedict Wong Joins Doctor Strange
Prometheus and The Martian actor Benedict Wong has joined the cast of Doctor Strange.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Wong will play Doctor Stephen Strange's sidekick and manservant who, coincidentally, is also named Wong.
For those unfamiliar the Marvel character, Wong is the descendant of a Chinese monk named Kan who studied the occult. In addition to being a healer, he's also skilled in martial arts and protects Strange's body when the Sorcerer Supreme is off in another dimension.
Rock Band 4 January Update Delayed
Rock Band 4's January update has been delayed by a week, and is now the game's February patch. No official date has been announced, but Harmonix promises that it'll be released during the first week of the month.
As discussed in December this update will fix score exploits, allow leaderboard postings for Play a Show mode, and improve audio quality. The February update will also launch Rock Band 4's new Psychonauts themed-gear, available for free in the Rock Shop.
Last week we showed off new #Psychonauts helmets for your RB characters, available in the Rock Shop soon! pic.twitter.com/Iae2RC9euh
Deadpool Has a Message for the People of Australia
Ryan Reynolds' Merc with a Mouth has a few choice words for the people of Australia.
To honour Australia Day on January 26, Deadpool waxes lyrical on our proud nation's criminal past, Hugh Jackman, and predilection for "blackout drinking" in a new video. Check it out below.
The video is in line with 20th Century Fox's 'cheeky' marketing for its upcoming R-rated superhero flick.
Deadpool opens in theaters on February 12, 2016.
Lucy O'Brien is Entertainment Editor at IGN’s AU office but is a proud New Zealander. Follow her ramblings on Twitter.
Google Breaks Down the Millions of ‘Bad Ads’ it Removed in 2015
Google put up quite a fight to defend its users from harmful ads. The company says it dealt with thousands of fake websites and millions of "bad ads" throughout 2015.
In a Google blog post detailing the whole ordeal, the company reveals that it disabled over 780 million ads for violating the policies it put in place to determine what kinds of ads businesses can run through them. That number has only gone up over the years, but so has the amount of harmful ads it has managed to eliminate.
About 1,000 Google employees monitored and removed these ads last year. They blocked over 7,000 phishing websites; suspended over 10,000 websites attempting to sell counterfeit products, and another 10,000 sites offering "unwanted software" that did nothing but affect system performance and alter user's homepages.
NASA Achieves Gender Equality Milestone
NASA's newest class of astronauts has just graduated with a 50-50 split of men and women - four of each.
The group were selected from more than 6,300 applicants, and while the four women are far from the first female astronauts, this is NASA's most balanced astronaut class ever.
The women, who completed their training in mid-2015, are Christina Koch, Nicole Aunapu Mann, Anne C. McClain and Jessica U. Meir.
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Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella Set for The Mummy
Tom Cruise and Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service) have officially joined Universal Pictures' upcoming The Mummy reboot. The studio also announced the monster movie's release date will move from March 24, 2017 to June 9, 2017.
Cruise and Boutella were both previously rumored for the film, but their involvement wasn't confirmed until today. Cruise will star, with Boutella on board as a female version of the Mummy.
While plot details are being kept under wraps, Variety reports the reboot is expected to take place during present day -- a first for the franchise since the original films.