Monthly Archives: August 2017
The Best Sci-Fi Movies Streaming on Netflix
There ain’t no fiction like science-fiction, a broad and expansive genre that includes high-concept brainbenders, fanciful action/adventures, inspirational family epics and desperate cautionary tales. But at the heart of all these films is a shared fascination with what technology can do to a human life and for civilization as a whole, and also a serious contemplation of where we’ve been and we are headed. The future stems from the past and present, and the past and present dictate what we expect from our collective future.
Which is all just a fancy way of saying that sci-fi movies are about big ideas, filtered through a wide variety of subgenres. That’s why when you look at all the sci-fi films on a streaming service like Netflix, you can easily be overwhelmed by the variety on display. Fortunately, we’ve put Netflix’s selection of sci-fi movies under an electron microscope, and isolated only the very best examples of the genre that are currently available on the service.
Kentucky Route Zero Coming to Nintendo Switch
During today's Nindies presentation, Nintendo revealed that Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition will be coming to Switch in 2018. The five act, episodic adventure game made its debut on PC in 2013, with the final installment set to hit alongside the Switch version sometime next year.
Developed by Cardboard Computer, the fantastic point-and-click adventure game is set in rural America and dripping with magical realism. It doesn't really focus on puzzles, instead leaning heavily on an evocative mood, incredible music, and beautiful writing. It's one of the closest analogues to Twin Peaks in all of gaming.
In our glowing review of Act 2, we said "Kentucky Route Zero is most affecting when you stop and let the surreal visuals, beautiful music, and masterful prose swirl together and fill your lungs."
Shovel Knight: King of Cards Confirmed for 2018
During the Nindies Summer Showcase today, Yacht Club revealed Shovel Knight: King of Cards, the final campaign for Shovel Knight.
King of Cards will arrive in early 2018 and features four new worlds and 30 new courses, according to today’s presentation.
King of Cards is a prequel that will tell the story of how King Knight ascended to the throne. It will also feature a new mode with card battles.
The King Knight campaign was previously announced and follows already-released bonus campaigns Plague of Shadows (featuring Plague Knight) and Specter of Torment (featuring Specter Knight). The boss campaigns are stretch goals from Shovel Knight’s massively successful original Kickstarter campaign, which launched in 2013.
Prototype Nvidia Shield 2 Found in Pawn Shop
What appears to be a prototype version of the unreleased Nvidia Shield Portable 2 has apparently been discovered in a pawn shop in Canada.
As reported by PCGamer, in a post made on the Nvidia subreddit user "FwrigginRwootBeer" has posted images and specs of an item he picked up in a pawn shop that appears to reportedly be the Portable 2, with specs that appear to match Nvidia's plans for a follow-up to their original, 2013 handheld.
Is this the Nvidia Shield Portable 2?
Overwatch Punishment, Reporting Improvements to Come
Overwatch is due a series of big changes for player reporting and punishments including possible email notifications, less silences, and generally harsher penalties all round.
Blizzard's Jeff Kaplan responded to concerned fan threads on the Overwatch forums today, giving some new details on the Overwatch team's long-term plans when it comes to player behavior.
Kaplan said, initially, the team is, “… re-evaluating every punishment,” including increasing suspension length across the board, removing silences in favor of suspensions and also testing a new email notification system. This system will, “let you know when someone you've reported has been actioned,” hopefully meaning fans won’t feel like their feedback is falling on deaf ears. Season 5 boosters will also be getting bans imminently, Kaplan said, noting that a developer update regarding these changes will air soon. In fact, it's already been recorded.
Justice League: Whedon Will Get Screenplay Credit
Joss Whedon will receive a screenplay credit for his work on Justice League, Warner Bros. has revealed. The film's original mastermind, Zack Snyder, will receive the sole directing credit.
Whedon, who took over for Snyder earlier this year following a family tragedy, will share a screenplay credit with the film's original writer, Chris Terrio. Terrio and Snyder will still share a story credit. These credits were revealed in Warners' fall preview press notes today.
It's notable that, following the seemingly extensive reshoots on Justice League, Whedon won't be getting any kind of co-directing credit with Snyder. It's still unclear just how much Justice League has changed since Snyder departed the project and Whedon stepped in.
Duke Nukem Forever ‘Exceeded’ Pitchford’s Expectations
The infamously long-in-development Duke Nukem Forever didn't garner the greatest critical reception when, after 15 years of development, it finally launched in 2011. Still, the game managed to exceed the expectations of Gearbox Software CEO Randy Pitchford.
On the latest episode of our monthly interview show IGN Unfiltered, Pitchford reflected back on the project, saying there was an "obscene amount of dysfunction that happened at 3D Realms." So when considering the development trouble Duke Nukem Forever went through, he's pleased with how it ultimately turned out.
"I actually love it, and not because I think it's the greatest game ever, but because my expectations..." he explained, noting "the problem with Duke is it was legendary, so to the outside world, expectations were the highest possible thing."
WWE 2K18: The Next 41 Playable Superstars Revealed
We've got ourselves a slobberknocker this week, folks! IGN and WWE have exclusively teamed up to bring you the next batch of playable WWE 2K18 superstars.
In this week's roster reveal video WWE's Renee Young and WWE Raw commentator Corey Graves are joined by Canadian beardo Kevin Owens, who spends around 40% of the video chatting about shoes...
Here's all 41 of those superstars - starting with our shoe-loving Canadian friend....
We're big fans of anything from the Geordie shores of Newcastle in the UK so seeing Neville (or Big Nev as he's known around our office) heading up this week's exclusive screenshots got us vibrating with excitement!
The Authors of Pain are making their WWE 2K debut this year and we've got their full entrance for you to pore over as well as the Demon King himself, Finn Bálor.
Justice League Dark: Live-Action Movie Gets New Writer
DC's long-gestating live-action movie Justice League Dark is undergoing a "script polish" from Gerard Johnstone.
As reported by Deadline, Johnstone was one of the potential directors in the running to take the helm of the darker take on DC's heroes, following Doug Liman's departure from the film to direct Lionsgate's upcoming sci-fi adaptation Chaos Walking.
While DC have chosen not to announce a new director (or any casting) as of yet, they were reportedly impressed enough with Johnstone's presentation and his work on the 2014 film Housebound that they've asked him to take a look at the script.
Need for Speed Payback Preorder Guide
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One glance at the trailer for Need for Speed Payback, and you’ll notice that this racer wears its influences on its sleeve. The game clearly owes its debts to the Fast and Furious franchise as well as to the racing masterpiece Burnout 3: Takedown. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Need for Speed Payback launches November 10, 2017 for PS4, Xbox One and PC.