Monthly Archives: March 2018
BAFTA Games Awards 2018 Nominees Revealed
The British Academy Games Awards nominations have been announced, and Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is the surprise leader of the pack, with 9 nominations, including Best Game.
Horizon: Zero Dawn follows it up with 8 nominations, What Remains of Edith Finch has 7 and both The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Gorogoa have 5.
This year's notable for introducing the Game Beyond Entertainment award, seeking to reward games "that deliver a transformational experience beyond pure entertainment". Bury Me, My Love, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, Last Day of June, Life Is Strange: Before the Storm, Night in the Woods and Sea Hero Quest VR have been nominated for addressing a range of social issues.
Drake and Ninja Stream Fortnite, Smashing Twitch’s Streaming Records
Canadian rapper Drake has joined forces with popular Fortnite streamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, linking up for a game and smashing the record for moss concurrent viewers on Twitch in the process.
At the time of writing Blevins’ viewer count is hovering at just over 600,000. The previous record of over 380,000 viewers was set back in early January, 2018.
Blevins’ stream reportedly exploded after Drake tweeted about his Fortnite session to his 36.9 million followers.
playing fort nite with @ninja https://t.co/OSFbgcfzaZ
We Do Need To Talk About Violence In Games, Just Not How Trump Wants Us To
Star Wars: The Last Jedi Deleted Scenes Breakdown
Star Wars: The Last Jedi became available on Digital HD on March 13th, with its bonus content including 14 deleted scenes (also available with audio commentary).
We went through and watched all 14 to pull out what we consider the four best scenes that were cut -- as well as the one that really was a chore to get through. Here's a recap of what they are, as well as director Rian Johnson's stated reasons for axing them.
In the chronology of the Ahch-To plotline, this scene takes place after Luke has learned the answer to his question “Where’s Han?” The theatrical version ends with Luke telling Rey, who is there to recruit him back into the cause, “You don’t need Luke Skywalker.” In this deleted scene, Luke then enters his hut, where some of his belongings are laid out on a table, and allows himself a quiet but emotional moment. Given that Luke just learned of Han’s death moments before, this serves as a chance to show Luke grieving the loss of his brother-in-law and friend.
Super Smash Bros for Switch is Nintendo’s Key into Esports
Nintendo is a company that works in mysterious ways, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the world of esports. Having created some of the most beloved franchises in all of gaming, it's no surprise that booming competitive scenes have cropped up around many of their games such as Super Smash Bros. and Pokemon. Nintendo has always been hesitant to acknowledge these competitive scenes, sometimes even actively discouraging them and yet the competitors carry on. Last week, Nintendo offered these players a beacon of hope: a new Super Smash Bros. game, coming in 2018. The reaction so far has been overwhelmingly positive, and if Nintendo plays their cards right Smash 5 might be their chance to stake their claim in the esports scene.
How Did Marvel Comics Bring Back Hulk?
Bruce Banner and his ultra-strong alter ego are back, and the latest issue of The Avengers explained how Hulk returned from death.
Warning: this article contains spoilers for The Avengers #684!
For those not up on Hulk's recent history, Bruce Banner had seemingly cured himself of his Hulk problem in the aftermath of 2015's Secret Wars, with the Hulk mantle passing to teen genius Amadeus Cho. Banner himself resurfaced during the course of 2016's Civil War II, where Hawkeye shot him dead with a gamma-irradiated arrow. Hawkeye thought he was preventing a devastating Hulk-out, but others felt he had simply murdered an innocent man.
Xbox Live Currently Experiencing Issues for Some Players
Xbox Live and much of its functionality may be down for some users on both Xbox One and Xbox 360, and Microsoft is investigating the problems.
Microsoft's Xbox Status support page currently acknowledges a handful of issues affecting Xbox Live services, TV, apps, and certain games.
Players may be running into issues with matchmaking, cloud storage, finding friends, Game DVR, leaderboards, avatar editing, and pictures on the social and gaming side, while others may be running into store issues of buying items, redeeming codes, or downloading any purchases.
Pentagon Officially Declassifies 3 Navy Videos Purportedly Showing UFOs
Our original report from 2018 follows. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Newly released footage from 2015 reportedly shows a Navy encounter with an unidentifiable flying vehicle. The To The Stars Academy of Arts and Sciences released a video on Friday which is said to include official Department of Defense footage taken from a A/A-18 Hornet while viewing an unidentified object, according to CNN. The video, titled "Go Fast," can be seen below. [youtube clip_id="wxVRg7LLaQA"] The video was reportedly taken from a Pentagon program studying Unidentified Flying Objects. It was originally classified when it launched in 2007 as the Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program. The program shut down in 2012, but some elements of the program are reportedly still active. To The Stars Academy claims several government organizations reviewed the footage and it is available for anyone who submits a Freedom of Information Act request. The To The Stars Academy of Arts and Sciences, co-founded by former Blink182 frontman Tom DeLonge, is an organization comprised partly of members of the US intelligence community which aims to gather and release evidence which proves the existence of "exotic technologies." Luis Elizondo, former head of the Pentagon UFO program who now works at To The Stars Academy, says the video represents what is likely part of a much larger cache of material the Pentagon obtained as part of the program. "There is far more compelling evidence that I was privy to," he said, "I think you're looking at the tip of the iceberg." A CNN safety analyst noted the lack of a heat signature of the unidentified aircraft in the video, while Elizondo explained this video does not immediately indicate the presence of "a little green space alien" but that the vehicle and its unknown origins "should be alarming." For more on unidentified flying objects, be sure to read more about the Pentagon program which was declassified last year. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Brian Barnett is a freelance writer for IGN who is dubious about the existence of aliens. You can attempt to persuade him on Twitter at @Ribnax.Pentagon declassifies three previously leaked top secret U.S. Navy videos of "unexplained aerial phenomena"—and that some believe could show UFOs. https://t.co/SgE0JDGtej pic.twitter.com/yhv8ZBDR0p
— ABC News (@ABC) April 27, 2020
Krypton Explained
There's a new Superman TV series hitting the air this month, but it doesn't actually star the Man of Steel. Instead, Krypton will dial the clock back a couple of generations to focus on Superman's grandfather and the events that preceded Krypton's destruction.
This is hardly the first time the planet Krypton has been featured on television, but the new series promises to give fans their closest look yet at the world that birthed a Superman. To help prepare for the show, here's everything you need to know about Krypton's comic book origins.
In its prime, Krypton was home to one of the most advanced civilizations in the DC Universe. Kryptonians look pretty much identical to humans, but they enjoyed technology and resources centuries ahead of anything humanity has to offer. Unfortunately, that technological superiority, combined with a growing sense of xenophobia, caused Krypton to shut itself off from the rest of the universe. And when respected scientist Jor-El found evidence that the planet was about to be completely destroyed, few of his fellow Kryptonians were willing to listen to his pleas. The planet died, taking the entire Kryptonian civilization with it. Only Superman and a handful of other survivors remain to carry the torch for this once-great civilization.
Anthem: 8 Things We’ve Learned in 2018
With Anthem recently confirmed for Q1 2019 to make way for a new Battlefield this fall, reportedly titled Battlefield V, BioWare’s highly anticipated shared-world action-RPG is now roughly a year away from being released.
The majority of staff from the developer's Edmonton and Austin studios is reportedly focused on Anthem, yet both BioWare and EA have remained relatively quiet about its development since last year's reveal at E3.