Monthly Archives: March 2018
We Went to Westworld in Real Life, and It Was Bonkers
For SXSW this weekend, HBO built an entire town modeled after Westworld. While it wasn’t an exact recreation of Westworld’s hub town, Sweetwater, it did include reproduced versions of locations from the series, like the Mariposa Saloon and the luxury hotel The Coronado. Production on the park started in November, it took a 40-person crew a full five weeks to build, there were 60 actors with a 444-page final script, and it was one of the coolest things I’ve ever been to.
Before we get into the specifics, here’s a gallery of locations and actors to give you an idea of what we'll be talking about. Click right to see them all:
At around 1pm yesterday, we headed to the EastSide Tavern in Downtown Austin. HBO didn’t want anyone to know where their recreation of Sweetwater actually was, even though they had been advertising the event on local television, all over SXSW, and it was probably the single most talked about event this weekend. Signs around downtown Austin read “travel to Westworld”, so the line of fans outside the EastSide Tavern had to be hours long. We managed to get through, and for reasons I didn’t understand at the time, the attendants took photos of each of us. We checked in and headed to the top of the tavern to get our hats, which were either white or black depending on some kind of personality test.
Tomb Raider 1-3 Remasters Seemingly No Longer Happening
Update: It appears Realtech VR is no longer remastering the first three Tomb Raider games for PC.
According to Game Informer, Realtech VR announced the cancelation in a post on Twitter, which as since been deleted. The studio later posted the following statement: "After this episode, we are refocusing on new projects involving Augmented Reality on iOS and VR on PC. We are not more committed on third party license anymore."
Xbox Spring Update to Add FreeSync Support, More
A host of new features are coming to Xbox One users this spring, including support for AMD Radeon FreeSync displays.
As revealed during the first episode of Microsoft's new monthly streaming show Inside Xbox (and outlined on Xbox Wire), support for variable refresh rate on FreeSync displays is coming to Xbox One S and Xbox One X. If you have a display that supports this feature, it will synchronize the display's refresh rate with your Xbox One. This will provide a smoother viewing experience that removes screen tearing and stuttering.
Black Panther Has Done What No Other Marvel Movie Could at the Box Office
Black Panther remained in first place at the domestic box office for its fourth weekend in a row, which is a first for a movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The film earned an estimated $41.1 million this weekend, which is now the third-largest fourth weekend of all time at the domestic box office. Black Panther also opened in China this weekend, earning $66.5 million. This makes it the fourth-highest grossing opening for a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie in the country.
Find out How to Get Xbox One X with Halo 5 and Two Controllers for £373
Westworld Season 2 has a ‘Controversial Plan’ to Tackle Fan Theories
The cast and creators behind Westworld brought fans back to the park at South By Southwest on Saturday -- and even gave us a glimpse at the much-hyped Shogun World -- thanks to an electrifying sizzle reel.
The footage opens with Dolores and her band of hosts confronting a group of captive guests, and while we won't spoil the details of what happens next, it provides an electrifying showcase for Evan Rachel Wood. The footage then segues into a sizzle reel of quickly cut images similar to what HBO debuted during the Super Bowl, full of murder and mayhem, with dead bodies strewn throughout the park, and an armed taskforce arriving with guns drawn, clearly ready to engage the renegade hosts. We also see Jimmi Simpson back as William, taking a step towards his destiny in a sharp black suit. But the ending is the real kicker, revealing a first look at the inhabitants of Shogun World and Maeve in the middle of the melee, rocking a kimono.
Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition Gets Release Date
Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition will be released for PC via Steam on March 27.
Developer Beamdog shared the news during a recent livestream. A summary of what was covered can be found on the studio's official blog.
In addition to announcing a release date for PC, the studio addressed the possibility of bringing Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition to Nintendo Switch. While Beamdog has "no formal plans" right now, the studio said it's "something that is appealing to us."
Read IGN's Neverwinter Nights review for our thoughts on why the 2002 original is "a finely crafted, in-depth RPG with a lot of story and plenty of side quests to keep you busy for a long, long time."
Black Panther Passes $1 Billion at Global Box Office
Black Panther has crossed yet another major box office milestone.
Marvel Studios' latest passed $1 billion at the worldwide box office today, Deadline reports. The Chadwick Boseman-led superhero movie, which is now the fifth MCU title and 26th Disney film to reach the milestone, has made $531 million domestically and $500 million internationally thus far.
Black Panther is off to a strong start in China, where it debuted earlier this week. The film made $49 million in its first two days of release in the country.
Domestically, Black Panther is the ninth-highest grossing movie of all time, trailing closely behind Rogue One's $532 million haul.
Overwatch League Announces Sanctions Against Three Players, One Coach
The Overwatch League slapped a number of sanctions on different players and a coach yesterday.
Dallas Fuel's Felix "xQc" Lengyel will be suspended for four matches and ordered to pay a $4,000 fine for using an emote "in a racially disparaging manner on the league's stream and on social media, and
disparaging language against Overwatch League casters and fellow players on social media and on his personal stream."
This is not xQc's first ban—during the first stage of the Overwatch League, xQc got a similar four-game suspension and a $2,000 fine for using a homophobic slur against a member of the Houston Outlaws. The Dallas Fuel then upped his punishment by suspending xQc for the remainder of the season.
Sea of Thieves Global Digital Treasure Hunt Announced
In anticipation for the launch of Sea of Thieves, Microsoft is holding a global digital treasure hunt called The Quest, where participants have a chance to win one of four real UK Hallmarked 18-carat golden bananas.
As revealed during the debut episode of Microsoft's new monthly streaming show Inside Xbox, London goldsmith Smith & Harris has crafted four golden bananas, each valued at £20,000 and modeled after the health item in Sea of Thieves.
The Quest will begin on Monday, March 19 at 1:00am PT/4:00am ET/8:00am UK/7:00pm AET with the release of a riddle. There are a total of 15 riddles to solve, with a new clue released every 3-4 hours over three days. Then on Wednesday, March 21, participants will have seven hours to submit their answers to the riddles.