Monthly Archives: July 2016
IGN Presents the History of Bourne
In the mid-1970s notorious Venezuelan terrorist Carlos the Jackal orchestrated a high-profile attack on an OPEC meeting in Vienna, Austria which resulted in the deaths of three people. It was just one of a string of crimes committed by Carlos across the continent, making him one the most-wanted fugitives of the era.
Back in the ’70s American author Robert Ludlum didn’t know a great deal about Carlos the Jackal, but that soon changed. One night Ludlum and his wife tuned in to a radio program featuring journalist Pierre Salinger; Ludlum wasn’t aware what he was on air to speak about and had chosen to listen largely due to the fact Salinger had written an introduction to the French edition of Ludlum’s 1977 novel The Chancellor Manuscript. It turned out Salinger was discussing Carlos the Jackal, which piqued Ludlum’s interest. He immediately began researching the infamous assassin.
Out This Week: We Happy Few, Headlander, Riptide GP: Renegade
With so many new games and movies coming out, it can be hard to keep up. Lucky for you, IGN is here to help with a weekly round-up of the biggest releases each and every week. Check out the latest releases for this week, and be sure to come back next Monday for a new update.
Note: The prices and deals compiled below are accurate at the time we published this story, but all are subject to change.
Marvel Debuts 14 New Comics in October
Marvel released their full lineup of solicitations for October 2016 today. October promises to be a huge month,as the Marvel NOW relaunch gets underway and new books like Champions and Infamous Iron Man make their debut.
New Series:
- Cage! #1
- Champions #1
- Champions: No Time For Losers #1 (one-shot)
- Civil War II: The Oath #1 (one-shot)
- The Clone Conspiracy #1
- Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three - The Sailor #1
- Deadpool: Back in Black #1-2
- Deadpool: Too Soon #1
- Death of X #1-2
Current Black Panther Comics Inspiring Upcoming Film
Ta-Nehisi Coates' Black Panther comics have been an influence for Black Panther film director Ryan Coogler. Coates, MacArthur Genius and National Book Award winner for Between the World and Me, began writing for Blank Panther this year, bringing a new — and more diverse — insight to the Marvel universe.
"What
is doing with Panther is just incredible," Coogler told Vulture. "You can really see his background as a poet in some of the dialogue. And what Brian Stelfreeze is doing with the visuals in that book." It's an absolute inspiration for Coogler and co-screenwriter Joe Robert Cole, the director added.
Top 10 Worst Star Wars Games Ever Made
We’re counting down the top ten worst Star Wars games ever. Terrible controls, frustrating head-on crashes, pointless difficulty, and moronic mechanics make these games a stain on the name of space epics. Let’s jump right in with number ten!
I remember thinking Rebel Assault II was incredibly cool when it first came out, being blown away by the seamless fusion of full-motion video and computer-generated graphics that would undoubtedly never be topped. Of course, I was nine years old at the time. Something I remember much less fondly are the infuriatingly cumbersome vehicle controls, which are probably the only part of the game that holds up worse than the direct-to-video visuals. That said, I can't fault LucasArts for trying new thing, and if nothing else, Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire is one of the coolest-sounding Star Wars games. -Max Scoville
Xbox 360 Was Nearly Called Xbox 3
While Microsoft ended up naming its second console Xbox 360, the company considered other options, including Xbox 3.
"Certainly Xbox 3 was actually on the list because, well, you’ve gotta catch up," former Chief Xbox Officer Robbie Bach said on the latest episode of IGN Unfiltered. "You don’t want to be Xbox 2 compared to PlayStation 3. We actually talked about that," he added.
"You don’t want to feel like you’re a generation behind, so why not skip?" he continued, noting that "Microsoft has a long history of skipping numbers," citing the jump from Windows 8 to Windows 10 as a prime example.
No Man’s Sky Won’t Require PlayStation Plus To Play Online
No Man's Sky might hinge on the online experiences of its players, but its PS4 players won't require the usual online subscription to play.
As confirmed by Game Informer, a Sony statement said “PS Plus won’t be a requirement to play online, however you will need to be connected to the internet for your discoveries to register with the universal atlas”.
This is likely down to the fact that while players are technically sharing the game's universe, and could run into one another, No Man's Sky's 18 quintillion possible locations makes the chances of such an encounter (to wheel out an understatement) statistically improbable.
New Screenshots from Dead Rising Remasters
Screenshots from the remastered editions of Dead Rising, Dead Rising 2, and Dead Rising 2: Off the Record have gone up on their respective Xbox Store pages.
Capcom recently confirmed rumors that Dead Rising would be coming to Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC following a PlayStation trophies leak. Dead Rising 2 and Dead Rising 2: Off the Record will be available on Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
Additionally, the Xbox Store has a Dead Rising bundle — the Dead Rising Triple Pack — combining all three games.
Investors Find Out Nintendo Doesn’t Make Pokemon Go, Shares Drop
Nintendo shares fell 17.7 percent after it confirmed the success of Pokémon Go would not necessarily translate into profits for the publisher.
"Taking the current situation into consideration, the company is not modifying the consolidated financial forecast for now," Nintendo stated in a stock filing (via BBC News).
Since Pokémon Go's release earlier this month, Nintendo's profits have more than doubled in value. However, as the mobile game was developed by Niantic under license from Nintendo, the publisher has acknowledged profits will not materially change.
Star Trek: Discovery Ship May Be Based on McQuarrie’s Art
In addition to his work on Star Wars, legendary concept designer Ralph McQuarrie also created Enterprise concept art for a Star Trek movie back in the 1970s. While the film never got made, it looks like his design may have been used as inspiration for the new ship featured in Bryan Fuller's upcoming television series Star Trek: Discovery.
Check out the slideshow below to see a few images of McQuarrie's original concept art (via io9), as well as the Star Trek TV show's new U.S.S. Discovery, which made its debut this past weekend at San Diego Comic-Con.