Monthly Archives: November 2016
WoW Lead Designer Allen Adham Returns to Blizzard
After departing Blizzard back in 2004, co-founder Allen Adham has returned to the company.
Blizzard shared the news of Adham's return today during its opening ceremony at BlizzCon 2016. In addition to being the lead designer on World of Warcraft, Adham worked on several of Blizzard's earlier titles, including the first two Warcraft games, as well as the original StarCraft.
Adham has been back at the studio for just under three months, and is currently at work on new projects, which he's remaining tight-lipped about. "I've been coached not to say too much, especially given the role that I'm in," Adham said in an interview with Polygon. "So, I’ll just leave it at: We are working on a bunch of cool new stuff.
Original Diablo Is Playable in Diablo 3 Next Week
In celebration of Diablo's 20th anniversary, the original Diablo is coming to Diablo III, Blizzard's Chief Development Officer Frank Pearce announced at BlizzCon 2016.
The original Diablo is playable in the Darkening of Tristrom Diablo anniversary patch. The area features the four main bosses from the first game, the original music, and graphics filters to make Diablo III look like the original. The dungeon is 16 levels deep, and player character movement is limited to eight directions like it was in the original.
The patch will be on the Public Test Realm next week.
For more from BlizzCon 2016, be sure to check out IGN's BlizzCon event hub.
New Hearthstone Expansion Announced
During its BlizzCon 2016 keynote this morning, Blizzard announced a new Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft expansion.
Called Mean Streets of Gadgetzan, the expansion is themed around the bustling port town of Gadgetzan. In keeping with the theme, it features three city factions: The Grimy Goons for Hunters, Paladins, and Warriors, the Kabal for Mages, Priests, and Warlocks, and the Jade Lotus for Druids, Rogues, and Shamans.
Most notable in this new expansion is the introduction of tri-class cards, the first time that Hearthstone will allow specific cards to work with multiple classes. This is the fourth Hearthstone expansion, and it brings with it 132 new cards.
Mean Streets of Gadgetzan is coming early December. You can read more about it on Hearthstone's official website.
Beauty and the Beast: 9 New Images Released
In anticipation for its release this coming March, Disney has released a new poster and batch of new images for its upcoming live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast.
Get a detailed look at Emma Watson as Belle, Dan Stevens as the Beast, Josh Gad as Le Fou, and many more in the gallery below.
In addition to the aforementioned cast members, the film also features the voice work of Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts, Ewan McGregor as Lumiere, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Plumette.
Beauty and the Beast is directed by Bill Condon, and opens in theaters on March 17, 2017. For more on Disney's slate of live-action remakes, check out IGN's look at how they compare to the original animated versions.
Heroes of the Storm’s Newest Heroes Revealed
Varian Wrynn and Ragnaros will be the newest playable characters added to Heroes of the Storm, Blizzard announced at the Blizzcon 2016 opening ceremony today.
Kaeo Milker, production director of Heroes of the Storm, was on stage to announce the inclusion of the World of Warcraft characters. Varian comes to the test realm next week and then officially during the week of November 15, while Ragnaros will be introduced to the game in December.
Varian is the game's first multi-class hero, able to fight as a shield-wielding tank or a deadly assassin based on the player's choices.
Blackheart's Revenge was also announced as the newest brawl coming to Heroes of the Storm and will debut in the game starting the week of November 15. In the new brawl, only one team will have a Core while attempting to sink Blackheart's ship. The defenders, meanwhile, will help Blackheart by preventing the attacking team from gathering enough cannonballs.
StarCraft 2’s Final Set of Nova Missions Coming This Month
The final set of Nova missions for StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void will release on November 22, Blizzard announced today during its opening ceremony for BlizzCon 2016.
In addition, Blizzard announced that Alexi Stukov is the next co-op commander who will soon join the fray. Check out the preview video below for an early look at the commander in action.
During the opening ceremony, Blizzard also confirmed that Sombra is indeed headed to Overwatch, along with a new map called Oasis.
For more on StarCraft II and all things BlizzCon 2016, head over to IGN's BlizzCon hub.
Overwatch’s Sombra Finally Confirmed
After a long series of teases, countdowns, and leaks, Blizzard finally made Overwatch’s new hero, Sombra, official on stage at BlizzCon today.
On its official site, Blizzard describes Sombra as a "powerful infiltrator." Her abilities include a Machine Pistol, the ability to hack enemies so they temporarily can't use their abilities, Thermoptic Camo that makes her invisible for a short period of time, and a Translocator beacon that can allow her to instantly return to the beacon's location at any time while it's active. Sombra can also employ an EMP that will destroy enemy barriers and shields and hack all enemies in range.
This Week’s Bad News, Good News for DC Movies
Download Keepin' it Reel, Episode 344!
Welcome back to Keepin' It Reel, the IGN show where Jim Vejvoda, Terri Schwartz and Ahmad Childress bring you the latest genre movie news.
A Closer Look at Ash vs Evil Dead’s Kick-Ash Women
One thing Starz's Ash vs Evil Dead isn't lacking is warrior women willing to put it all on the line in the name of dropping Deadites and saving the world.
In this exclusive "Women Who Kick Ash" clip -- featuring some Season 2 moments that have aired so far, along with a few glimpses ahead -- stars Lucy Lawless ("Ruby"), Dana DeLorenzo ("Kelly"), and Michelle Hurd ("Linda B.") discuss what it's like to portray their strong female characters. Plus, stars Bruce Campbell and Ray Santiago chime is as well. Check it out!
Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association (TCA). Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.
Ghost Recon: Wildlands to Get Multiple Betas
Ghost Recon: Wildlands will get multiple betas before its release on March 7, 2017, Ubisoft has announced.
The open world third-person shooter will get both open and closed betas coming "next quarter," according to Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, via VG24/7. No other specific timeframes were given other than "next quarter," but Ubisoft is currently in a October-December quarter, so next quarter would mean sometime between January and March 2017.
The goal of the betas will be to help players get to "know what the game is and what it can become," Guillemot said during the company's earnings call.