Monthly Archives: March 2016
LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens Is the Episode 7 Game We Deserve
LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens beautifully captures both the authenticity and excitement of the film. In addition to its cute and clever representations of people and places from The Force Awakens, the new LEGO Star Wars tests even the most obsessed fan’s knowledge and attention to detail.
Unsurprisingly, LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens functions similarly to previous LEGO games, with puzzles aimed at kids and humor aimed at everyone. New systems allow for more experimentation, such as building numerous different objects using the same pile of LEGO pieces found in the environment.
Finn, Rey, BB-8, and the rest of the cast of over 200 characters have distinctions that make them unique, both in terms of how they fight and what they can do. The agile Rey navigates better with the help of her staff, but she needs a droid to power certain generators to open new pathways.
This XCOM 2 Beam Pistol Replica Is Awesome
High-quality merchandise maker Project TriForce has announced its XCOM 2 Beam Pistol replica.
Based on the Beam Pistol from the XCOM universe, the real-life replica isn't based on alien technology, but it does get every other detail nailed down. Technically, it even shoots a beam, although a far less destructive one powered by LED lights.
Measuring just over a foot in length and weighing in at 7 pounds, the XCOM 2 Beam Pistol replica isn't a simple plaything. Rather, it's a meticulously detailed recreation of the weapon from the recently released XCOM 2.
Each full-scale replica is "hand-finished and hand-painted to precision quality," and the pistols are "intricately crafted and cast in polystone." Polystone, for those unfamiliar, is a hard composite of polyurethane and powdered stone with a decidedly stone-like feel and weight.
1979 Revolution Turns History Into a Telltale-Style Adventure
After working on games like Max Payne, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Homefront, ex-Remedy and Rockstar cinematic director Navid Khonsari has turned to real-world history for his studio iNK Stories' debut game, 1979 Revolution.
Set during the Iranian Revolution, 1979 Revolution follows an aspiring photojournalist named Reza as he becomes tangled up in the political struggles of both friends and enemies. The action and drama are presented as a branching, Telltale-style adventure, rooted in real historical events. It's set to launch on April 5th for PC.
See the official trailer for 1979 Revolution: Black Friday below.
I played a few brief scenes of 1979 Revolution during GDC last week and was struck by its emotional intensity. An interrogation scene set in Evin Prison holds nothing back in capturing the brutality of the revolution's dark side, while a flashback depicting Reza among a gathering of peaceful protesters conveys the mixture of hope and uncertainty present among Iranian citizens of the time.
How The Beatles Influenced the Halo Theme Song
Halo’s theme is built upon gothic monk chants and orchestral swells, but its inspiration has roots in an unlikely source.
During an interview on IGN Unfiltered airing later this week, Halo composer Marty O’Donnell shared the origins of the Halo theme and how The Beatles were partially responsible for its inception.
Around the time of MacWorld 1999, O’Donnell remembers the development team at Bungie creating a demo to be shared onstage. Despite the rapid progress they made, the demo still lacked the music it would need to help make a good impression.
Sensing the urgency, O’Donnell offered to create a theme for the demo, making a deal allowing him to retain the rights to the composition and license its use for an estimated $3,500.
Batman Gets a New Costume
The finale to Batman's "Superheavy" arc is here, so we hopped on the phone with writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo to hear about the design of the new Batsuit, the mystery of Bloom's identity, and we even get a tease of where they're going from here.
Warning: this article contains full spoilers for Batman #50!
IGN Comics: The end of Superheavy is here. How does it feel?
Xbox One March System Update Rolls Out Today
Microsoft is releasing its March system update for Xbox One and the Xbox app today.
The update—which was previewed earlier this month—will allow Xbox One users to purchase Xbox 360 backward compatible games directly through the Xbox One. Once the update hits, players will be able to find and purchase 360 games exactly the same way as with Xbox One titles.
Head over to IGN's Xbox One backward capability wiki for a full list of available games.
Other updates will allow players to include party chat in a Twitch broadcast, output party chat to both headset and speakers simultaneously, and enable 16-person party chat. Microsoft has also improved thumbstick precision on its Xbox Elite wireless controller.
Dark Souls 3 Is the Hardest Dark Souls Yet
Dark Souls 3 might be the hardest Souls game ever made. Even after literally hundreds of hours spent playing Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, Dark Souls 2, and Bloodborne, the latest installment of From Software’s infamously challenging series is about as tough as these games get. And I love it.
Maybe I’m just saying that because it’s a new experience. I’ve gone through Lordran more times than I can count, navigating its winding world by way of mental maps, burned into my brain over many playthroughs. It’s familiar enough that I can find three Fire Keeper Souls within the first few minutes and ring the second bell before the first. Fighting Havel with no armor and no shield is the only way to make that encounter exciting again. These are common things for someone who's just played a lot of Dark Souls. The first game is still fun, but you get used to it.
Marvel’s Captain Britain TV Series Rumored
Movie poster artist and producer Ciara McAvoy has teased the existence of a possible Captain Britain TV show.
McAvoy has worked in the art department on films such as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and X-Men: First Class. She took to Twitter recently to possibly reveal Captain Britain coming to TV.
For my 1000th Tweet: Who will be playing Brian Braddock in the upcoming tv series #CaptainBritain?#Marvel Stay tune! pic.twitter.com/e0gbXKjdav
Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell Movies Could Be Getting Sequels
They're not out yet, but New Regency is already looking at the possibility of sequels for the upcoming Assassin's Creed and Splinter Cell movies.
This report comes through film distributor and producer Catchplay, via Variety. Catchplay is the Taiwanese co-financier on both films, and its CEO Daphne Yang told Variety: "they are both adaptations of successful Ubisoft games and would make ideal sequels."
Assassin's Creed and Splinter Cell were part of a three movie deal between Catchplay and New Regency which also included The Revenant.
The Assassin's Creed movie is set for release on December 21, directed by Justin Kurzel and starring Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, and Jeremy Irons. The movie will take place in a shared universe with the games, and filming wrapped on January 15.
A Battleborn Open Beta Is Coming Next Month
Gearbox MOBA-shooter, Battleborn is to receive open betas on every one of its release platforms during April.
Starting on April 8 on PS4 and April 13 on PC and Xbox One, the beta period ends for all on April 18. All formats can pre-load the beta from April 6. Approximate download sizes are 8.5GB on PS4, 12GB on PC and 11GB on Xbox One.
The beta's unusually generous, including two of the game's TV episode-themed Story mode missions alongside two of the game's three competitive multiplayer modes, Incursion and Meltdown.
All 25 heroes will be available to play, and the game's full progression systems, loot and gear will be available. However, progress made during the beta will not carry over to the full game.