Monthly Archives: May 2018
Is Bethesda Teasing a Fallout Remaster or a New New Vegas?
Early this morning, Bethesda's Twitter account posted a very obviously Fallout-related tease to an upcoming announcement. The way I see it, there are three possibilities for where this tease could be going:
My initial reaction, and the safe bet, is that the colorization of the traditionally black-and-white “Please Stand By” screen is a reference to taking something old and making it look modern, as was done with the colorization of old movies. That points to a remaster, which would either be an updated version of Fallout 3 for modern consoles (including the Switch) or an HD version of Fallout 1 and 2. Much as I love it, I doubt we’ll see a Fallout: New Vegas remaster before Fallout 3, since Fallout 3 is Bethesda’s baby and the Obsidian-developed New Vegas is more of a redheaded stepchild. But if it is a Fallout 3 remaster and it sells well, a New Vegas remaster would be an inevitably.
Spawn Reboot Casts Jamie Foxx
Jamie Foxx is set to portray Spawn in the upcoming reboot from Todd McFarlane.
Deadline reports Foxx will portray the titular human-turned-Hellspawn in what would be his second comic book movie. Foxx previously played the villainous Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Jamie Foxx in Django Unchained.
Movies Podcast: Full Solo SPOILER Discussion
Welcome back to the IGN Movies Podcast! In this week's episode, Jim Vejvoda, Terri Schwartz, Jacki Jing, and Tom Jorgensen talk FULL SPOILERS about Solo: A Star Wars Story.
We go into what we liked and didn't about the Han Solo origin story, its depictions of Chewbacca and Lando Calrissian, Alden Ehrenreich's performance in the title role, the new characters, surprise appearances and fan service, and more.
It should be noted this spoilercast was recorded before Solo opened -- and promptly disappointed at the box office.
Listen to our latest podcast by clicking the lovely large type below - right click to download.
Did Solo Make the Millennium Falcon Horrifying?
SPOILER WARNING: Important plot points from Solo: A Star Wars Story lie ahead.
Solo: A Star Wars Story tells the story of a young Han Solo, and how almost everything we know about him came together over the course of one rollicking, Western-themed adventure. But there are a few unexpected surprises that pop up over the course of this new movie, and one of them probably doesn’t come across the way the filmmakers intended, because it transforms a beloved piece of Star Wars iconography into something which, if you think about it, is pretty disturbing.
Say what you will about Solo: A Star Wars Story (and people are saying a lot), but let’s give credit to this Star Wars interquel for discussing a subject that most of the other films in the franchise have alluded to but never completely confronted.
Quarantine Circular Review: Who Are We, Really?
Much like its sudden release, Quarantine Circular aims to surprise. The second installment in Mike Bithell's short-story series doesn't have a direct narrative connection to the first game, Subsurface Circular, but it carries over the same sharp writing and intriguing central premise. This time the story jumps between characters instead of delivering its tale through a single lens, and while this structure leads to some tonal inconsistencies, Quarantine Circular is still a thought-provoking experience worth seeing through.
Like Subsurface Circular, Quarantine Circular is a straightforward narrative adventure. You never take control of its characters beyond determining how they respond to others during a conversation. A directed camera does a good job of keeping you engaged, utilizing sharp cuts and slow pans to evoke tension and serenity at the right moments. Its soundtrack, too, does an excellent job of setting the tone of each scene, especially after a sensational opening sequence.
Humanity is facing an extinction event in Quarantine Circular, which makes the simultaneous arrival of extraterrestrial life both inconvenient and suspicious. Taking place aboard a vessel tasked with maintaining a quarantine in a vulnerable city, you shift between multiple perspectives while trying to determine why the aliens have arrived and if they might be linked to the plague that's ravaging life across the globe. Although you never see the effects of the plague in action, Quarantine Circular ramps up the stakes quickly with a trail of clues that hint at what's happening outside the ship's confines. There's a palpable sense of urgency befitting the impending collapse of civilization.
Despite its brief two-hour runtime, Quarantine Circular manages to raise intriguing ideological questions about evolution, human nature, and tribalism. The arrival of extraterrestrial life opens questions about life beyond our planet at a time when there's little chance to preserve it. Issues concerning evolutionary fate and the human race's mistakes act as a centerpiece for the core conflict, which has some surprising twists before somewhat stumbling to a deflating conclusion. But it's a tale that will have you laughing moments before pondering deep existential questions, and it manages that balance with grace throughout.
Without the ability to see characters' expressions due to their bulky biohazard suits, dialogue has to do most of the heavy lifting.The color coding of each character helps keep things from getting too confusing, and it doesn't take long for Quarantine Circular to establish a strong sense of identity for each concealed face. Marc Peréz, for example, is a great early-game character with a contagious sense of optimism, and his inquisitiveness when coming face to face with the alien visitor for the first time mirrors your own. He eventually gives way to a set of characters with varied ethnicities and cultural backgrounds, all of which introduce differing yet surprisingly relatable perspectives for you to consider.
Conversational choices are often linear, giving you a handful of responses that sometimes loop back to the same outcome. They always align with the personality of the character you're guiding; you can't, in other words, role-playing however you see fit. You can't make a brooding security specialist suddenly sympathetic to a cause she doesn't believe in or work around the naivete of a young scientist. Quarantine Circular lets you make choices that affect events in some unexpected ways (so much so that you'll be enticed to replay certain sections to see alternative outcomes) but it never lets you mistake your role in its tale.
You also have the option to dive into alternative points of conversation that flesh out the premise and surrounding events. Sometimes you'll be limited as to how many of these conversational diversions you can take, and some choices lock out others. You'll never feel as though you're missing out on anything specifically crucial with your decisions, but your curiosity is often rewarded with morsels of information that influence more important choices down the line.
Infrequently, these focus points are used to inject some light puzzles into the story, which doesn't always work in the dialogue-heavy structure of the rest of the game. There's a section at the end that is specifically guilty of obstruction, bringing a powerful decision-making moment to a crawl as you rummage through character notes to hunt down a password. It breaks the flow of the game, but thankfully it's not a persistent hindrance.
What is slightly more annoying is the frequent hopping between characters. Quarantine Circular can shift perspectives multiple times in a single act, which gets confusing with the strict response options you have to choose from. The cuts feel jarring, and the writing is sometimes forced to acknowledge it. One scene cuts so rapidly that the responses are sign-posted to ensure you know who you're replying as. It's disappointing, too, when you're forced to change your perspective on a given situation during its potential climax, as it undercuts the emotional resonance the scene had built up all along.
Quarantine Circular's endings also struggle to prop up the stories that led to them. They aren't as surprising as the tales that they're meant to be rounding out, often concluding in transparent ways. They might factor in small decisions you considered inconsequential at the time, but the endings fail to encapsulate all the questions the story asks into a thought-provoking final message. Quarantine Circular ends too abruptly, and without much impact.
But it's still a tale worth giving the little time it asks of you, if only to be entertained by its intriguing characters and inspired by their existential pondering. Quarantine Circular is a mostly well-written sci-fi tale that doesn't succumb to tired tropes or obvious plot contrivances to draw you in. Instead it uses its limited working space to deliver a captivating tale about human nature and our theoretical place within the universe.
Happytime Murders Creators Issue Response to Sesame Street Lawsuit
The Happytime Murders creators STX Entertainment have responded to Sesame Street's lawsuit with a puppet lawyer.
Last week Sesame Workshop, the non-profit behind the beloved children's TV show, filed a lawsuit against the upcoming R-rated puppet comedy for the inappropriate use of the Sesame Street brand in the film's marketing campaign.
Per Huffington Post, STX Entertainment issued a statement on the matter saying puppet lawyer Fred, Esq. will represent the studio in the lawsuit. The studio even provided a photo of Fred.
Free FIFA 18 World Cup Update Available Today
To celebrate the upcoming 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia, Fifa 18 has been updated with a host of new features.
A number of game modes have been added to the game including a replica structure of the tournament starting on June 14.
Players can pick their favourite from the 32 qualified teams and make their own course through the fixtures.
Further, if your national team didn't qualify, the custom FIFA World Cup Tournament mode will let you rewrite history and make them champions.
Each of the 12 official Russian stadiums have been added to the game complete with World Cup match balls and team banners.
Other game modes have also been added including a FIFA World Cup-themed Kick-Off mode and an expansion to the popular Ultimate Team mode.
Roseanne Canceled by ABC
ABC has canceled the reboot of Roseanne.
The network pulled the plug on the hit show after Roseanne Barr made controversial comments on Twitter Tuesday morning about former White House adviser Valerie Jarrett. The tweet has since been deleted.
The following statement was provided to IGN by ABC:
“Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show." - Channing Dungey, president, ABC Entertainment
Barr has since issued an apology on Twitter which reads, "I apologize to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans. I am truly sorry for making a bad joke about her politics and her looks. I should have known better. Forgive me-my joke was in bad taste."
Hands-On With Splatoon 2’s Octo Expansion
Splatoon 2 has seen a fair share of free content updates since its initial release last summer. There's no doubt that Nintendo has been relentlessly hard at work keeping the game feeling fresh with new weapons, stages, and gear, not to mention a healthy amount of balance tweaks to the game itself. Now, as year two quickly approaches, the first paid DLC for the game is finally on its way and comes in the form of Octo Expansion.
In every other mode of Splatoon 2, you play as your very own custom Inkling known only as Agent 4. You’re on the job for Salmon Run, you’re the one splatting away in Turf Wars, and you’re the hero in Hero Mode. But, that’s not the case in the Octo Expansion - players will assume the role of Agent 8, an Octoling who wakes up with amnesia in a strange subway station that's connected to a series of research facilities hidden under the city.
Fortnite Fans Share How Building on Impulse Is Affecting Other Games
Fortnite players have developed an innate desire to build, and this sensation is starting to slip into other games.
A thread on Reddit shows just how ingrained Fortnite's building has become. User HooninAround started the thread when building didn't help a mishap in World of Warcraft, saying, "I accidentally got too close to a cliff when farming mats in WoW and I instinctively looked down and hit my ramp button."
User Lokkman explained, "I jumped on H1Z1 and instead of running to cover my initial instinct was to build. This resulted in death." Another user AdzziiFIFA said, "Overwatch had a free trial this week and I kept thinking to build, so I just played Mei."