Monthly Archives: August 2018
IGN UK Podcast #449: Gamescom Special
It's been a very long week, but three intrepid podcasters made it back to the office to do a little special podcast. Those brave boys are Krupa, Rory, and Simon, and they're here to tell you about their favourite games they've played this week, as well as what takeaway they're ordering a recovery treat, not to mention all the augments they'd riddle their bodies with given half the chance.
Sorry the podcast is a little shorter than normal, but full and proper service will be resumed next week.
Fortnite Week 7 Challenges – Dusty Divot Treasure Map and Stage 1 Chest Locations
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Cyberpunk 2077 Is Now Playable from Start to Finish
Cyberpunk 2077 has hit a development milestone, with CD Projekt Red explaining that the game is now playable from start to finish internally.
In an interview with Engadget, producer Richard Borzymowski explained that the game can be played through from beginning to end, with the story in place. It's still missing assets, includes bugs and requires playtesting, but this is a major step.
"It gives you the answers to all of your doubts," Borzymowski said. "It just feels great."
Despite that step forward, Cyberpunk 2077's release date remains something of a mystery - even down to what year it will arrive in. CDPR says it's targeting current-gen consoles, which, based on recent reports, puts it at some point before the end of 2020. However, Cyberpunk creator Mike Pondsmith has cautioned that "perfection takes time".
An Ode to the Late, Great Anime Auteur Satoshi Kon
Satoshi Kon, who passed away from pancreatic cancer at 46 on 24th August, 2010, was, to me, the boldest and most distinctive creator of Japanese animation. I was only introduced to his work a few years ago but the more I revisit them, the more his unique storytelling and animation stands out in my collection. During his decade long filmmaking career, the late anime director made some of the most viscerally animated films in the horror, romance, comedy and science fiction genres. His films blend dream and reality while providing a harsh social commentary on Japanese society, our imagination and creativity. With that in mind, here is a tribute to his legacy.
Kon began his career as a young manga artist competing in a Shonen weekly magazine competition. Shortly afterwards, he was taken under the wing of Mamoru Oshii as an animation artist for Roujin Z, collaborating with the Ghost in the Shell director on their co-created manga Seraphim 266, 613, 336 Wings. In 1995, he made his directorial debut when Akira director and idol of Kon’s, Katsuhiro Otomo, requested him to direct one of three short films featured in Otomo’s Memories anthology, Magnetic Rose.
Black Panther: Marvel’s Campaigning for Best Pic, Not Popular Film
The Academy's recently announced Best Popular Film Oscar category reportedly won't change Marvel Studios and Disney's plan to campaign for Black Panther to be nominated as Best Picture.
Marvel has already begun the groundwork for a Black Panther Best Picture campaign, including hiring a veteran Oscar strategist and putting a "significant" awards season budget behind it -- something, as The Los Angeles Times points out, Marvel had never done before.
Marvel's strategy for getting Oscar voters to consider Black Panther for Best Picture includes leaning into the movie's "creative accomplishments and the global impact it made," according to the Times. In other words, Marvel's Oscar campaign will play up the personal nature of director Ryan Coogler's accomplishment and what the film has meant to so many around the world, particularly to underrepresented artists and audiences of color. Black Panther was not only a huge box office hit, but it was also a film that mattered deeply to both the industry and to filmgoers. Marvel aims to remind Oscar voters of all that.
Game of Thrones’ The Mountain Is Now KFC’s Colonel Sanders
Game of Thrones' The Mountain has found a new calling, and it's your delicious chicken as KFC's Colonel Sanders.
Game of Thrones star Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, who portrays the intimidating Gregor Clegane on the hit HBO show, is now also the latest actor to play the Colonel.
The fast food restaurant chain has released a video, which you can view here, promoting its new Double Crispy Colonel Sandwich. Björnsson can be seen donning Colonel Sanders' iconic wardrobe.
The video tells a touching story of the Colonel's humble beginnings, as he moved from Kentucky to Iceland to train for the World-Record Sandwich Pull. Björnsson, who is 6 feet 9 inches, then proceeds to pull a crate filled with 700 pounds of KFC's newest chicken sandwhich.
God of War Dev Explains the Crazy Little Details of Kratos’ Boat
Whether in the Lake of Nine or Helheim, God of War players spend much of their time in boats, and now Sony Santa Monica has opened up to give players an idea of the work that went into making that happen.
In a Developer Diary post on the PlayStation Blog Dean Rymer, God of War's Senior Combat Designer, went into detail about the technical challenges of creating the boat, as well as some historical context for its inclusion.
According to Rymer, Sony Santa Monica's Creative Director, Cory Barlog, was looking for an opportunity to introduce a boat since God of War II, but there never was "a narrative conceit to justify" it until the introduction of the Lake of Nine in the series' latest installment.
Just Cause 4’s New Tools Offer Insane Possibilities
I spent countless hours in Just Cause 3 and it’s subsequent DLCs doing little more than wingsuiting around, blowing up bridges and messing with the physics engine. The fun of Just Cause has always been hurling vehicles around, tethering items together, and attaching rocket thrusters to things that have no business having rocket thrusters attached. If the number of times I found myself ugly-laughing as the newly-redesigned Apex engine worked its magic in my recent hands-on demo was any indication, I’m probably going to end up dumping countless more hours into Just Cause 4.