Monthly Archives: July 2017
New Overwatch Character Doomfist Now Available to Play
Doomfist, the long-awaited, cybernetically-enhanced Overwatch villain officially announced earlier this month, is now available as a playable hero in Overwatch on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
He has been available in the Public Test Region since July 6.
A "highly-mobile" offense hero according to Blizzard, Doomfist boasts a handful of ranged and melee abilities. His primary fire is the Hand Cannon, a shotgun-like short-range burst with regenerating ammo.
His Seismic Slam ability allows him to crash into the ground and knock down nearby opponents, while Rising Uppercut lets him send enemies flying into the air. Rocket Punch requires a brief charge before knocking enemies back, with additional damage dealt if they fly into a wall.
WWE 2K18 Collector’s Edition Features John Cena
WWE 2K18 is getting a Collector's Edition that celebrates John Cena's 15 years as a WWE superstar, 2K announced today.
Called the Cena (Nuff) Edition, this Collector's Edition costs $149.99, is limited to only 30,000 copies, and comes with quite a few items.
Along with a copy of WWE 2K18 Deluxe Edition and season pass, you'll also be getting a special John Cena Mattel figure, limited-edition in-game cards for the WWE SuperCard mobile title, a hand-signed photo from John Cena, and a limited edition plaque that includes a piece of the ring mat from his Royal Rumble match earlier this year.
Additionally, you'll also be getting a few in-game items, like access to WWE Legends wrestlers Rob Van Dam and Batista, and alternate versions of both Kurt Angle and John Cena, which are inspired by some of their classic pay-per-view events, including 2006's ECW One Night Stand.
Overwatch League Reveals Minimum Player Salaries
Blizzard has announced the first details about pro player salaries and benefits for the upcoming Overwatch League, revealing that each player will earn a minimum of $50,000 per year.
Teams will be required to sign players to a one-year contract, which can be extended to two-years if they choose. In addition to the minimum salary, teams must also provide their players with health insurance, a retirement savings plan, and housing and practice facilities during the season.
On top of that, at least 50 percent of bonuses earned from winning events must go directly to the players. The bonus pool for all events in season one is $3.5 million, with at least $1 million of that going to the championship team alone.
Xbox Game Pass Adds Dead Rising 3, Limbo in August
Seven new games will be added to Xbox's Netflix-like subscription service, Xbox Game Pass, on August 1, Microsoft announced today.
According to Xbox Wire, the new additions include Dead Rising 3, Limbo, Dirt Rally, So Many Me, Ultratron, Pharaonic, and Metal Slug XX, the month's lone backwards compatible Xbox 360 game.
Xbox Game Pass provides subscribers access to a library of over 100 games for $10 USD / £8 per month. As Microsoft previously stated, games will be cycled in and out of the service each month, though games won't begin cycling out until November. Among last month's additions were Resident Evil 6, Dead Island: Definitive Edition, and The Flame in the Flood.
Gigantic Livestream and Giveaway – IGN Plays Live
Join James Duggan and developers from Motiga as they check out two hours of the newly released free-to-play strategic hero shooter, Gigantic, IGN Plays Live.
The action starts today, July 27 from 1PM - 3PM PT (4PM - 6PM ET / 9PM - 11PM BST / 6AM - 8AM AEST). Come hang out live by tuning into IGN.com/live, or watch us on YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, and get your questions answered by tweeting at IGN on twitter using the hashtag #IGNPlaysLive.
Perfect World Entertainment will also be giving away 10 Gigantic Ultimate Pack codes during the stream, so be sure to tune in for your chance to win. Included in the Ultimate Pack is
Rocky and Bullwinkle Show’s June Foray Dies at 99
June Foray, the prolific voice actress known for her roles as Natasha Fatale and Rocky the Flying Squirrel in The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, has died. She was 99.
According to Foray's close friends, the legendary voice actress died on Wednesday, July 26 in Los Angeles, California, The Washington Post reports.
June Foray
It: Why the New Pennywise is Scarier Than Ever
One place you should never, ever go in Derry, Maine is into the sewers. And yet when I had the opportunity to do just that, I was pretty much ecstatic to do so.
In Stephen King's 1986 novel, It, the popular 1990 miniseries based on the novel, and now in the new film adaptation, there is something very old and very evil in the town of Derry, and it has mercilessly targeted the local children. Most often taking the form of a clown called Pennywise, It's lair is within the sewers, which allows It access to pretty much any and everywhere. In junior high, when I first read It, I became absolutely captivated with King's excellent, incredibly immersive and freaky novel (I've probably read it a half a dozen times at this point), and to see Pennywise's domain brought to life for the new feature film version of the story -- and to actually set foot inside it --- was a pretty amazing feeling.
Game of Thrones: Hot Pie Actor Opens GoT-Themed Bakery
Game of Thrones actor Ben Hawkey, who plays Arya Stark's former traveling companion and baker extraordinaire Hot Pie, has opened a real-life bakery called You Know Nothing Jon Dough.
According to Digital Spy, the Game of Thrones-themed bakery will sell Direwolf bread, which Hot Pie famously baked for Arya back in Season 3, and for Brienne to deliver to Arya in Season 4. Thankfully, Hawkey's bread bears much more of a resemblance to Hot Pie's second attempt at the House Stark-inspired treat.
Hot Pie actor Ben Hawkey and his Direwolf bread (Image credit: Deliveroo, via Digital Spy)
Two New Seasons Coming to For Honor Later This Year
Ubisoft has outlined its For Honor development schedule, providing fans with an overview of the new content headed to its melee action game in the coming months.
Two new seasons are coming later this year, with the first arriving in August and the other to follow sometime in November. In addition to gameplay updates, the seasons will feature new heroes, maps, and additional gear variations. Those with a season pass will get early access to the new heroes.
Dedicated servers are also on the way, as Ubisoft Montreal is currently working on an infrastructure that will be introduced "further down the road." A new training mode, as well as ranked 4v4 matches, a duel tournament feature, a new 4v4 player-versus-player mode, and further balance updates are also on the horizon.
Descenders, a Procedurally Generated ‘Skate on Bikes’
Action Henk developer RageSquid - along with new publisher No More Robots - has announced Descenders, an extreme downhill freeriding game with procedurally generated worlds.
Aiming to arrive on Steam, Xbox One, PS4 and Switch, the game's been described as "Skate on bikes" by its publisher, with a deep physics system underpinning its focus on point-scoring tricks. Procedurally generated worlds mean that individual runs can't be learned, putting a premium on player skill.
It looks absurdly, terrifyingly quick in its debut trailer:
The game will ask players to choose from one of three teams, earning exclusive gear depending on which one is chosen, and winning prizes if their team comes at the top of the leaderboard at the end of each month.