Monthly Archives: August 2018

One of the Best Cthulhu Board Games Is Getting an Awesome Overhaul

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” - H.P. Lovecraft

Wednesday’s Gen Con preview night was full of exciting announcements from tabletop behemoth Fantasy Flight Games, and while many people were anticipating news for games like Star Wars: X-Wing or the Game of Thrones board game, I was shaking with horrible anticipation for a different franchise under the Fantasy Flight umbrella.

Arkham Horror 2nd Edition is the game that hooked me into the pulpy world of Lovecraft and was my gateway into designer board games. So when Fantasy Flight revealed that the 3rd Edition would be so drastically different from the 2nd, I was conflicted. But after trying out the latest version at Gen Con, I am happy to say that it seems to have only enhanced the best aspects of what made this series so fantastic in the first place.

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EA Censors Colin Kaepernick’s Name in Madden 19

EA has scrubbed a mention of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in a song featured in Madden NFL 19.

'Big Bank' by YG ft. 2 Chainz, Big Sean and Nicki Minaj is one of the 31 songs on the latest Madden's EA Trax soundtrack. The original verse by Big Sean goes like this: “You boys all cap, I’m more Colin Kaepernick.” The below video is how it sounds with Kaepernick's name entirely removed in Madden 19.

Kaepernick is a controversial figure in football and politics for protesting police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem in 2016, which was the last year of his contract with the 49ers. His protest sent ripples throughout the NFL, and other players began taking the knee, attracting ire from conservative figures and President Trump. Following his departure from the team, Kaepernick remained unsigned, leading him to file a grievance against the NFL.

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Infinity War Directors Reveal the Tony Stark Scene They Cut

Given how massive the story of Avengers: Infinity War is, it’s not surprising that some story threads fall through the cracks, one of which was Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr.) infamous “burner phone.” In the commentary track on the new Avengers: Infinity War Digital HD release, director Joe Russo revealed that there actually was another scene they ultimately discarded that revealed why Tony just happened to be carrying that phone while he was out jogging.

“To be fair, we did have another scene between Pepper and Tony that illustrated where the phone came from. But, it was a reshoot scene and we had opted to revert back to the park scene.

The “burner phone” scene was the topic of much discussion following the theatrical release, with Anthony Russo even poking fun at the scene as well, adding, “It is convenient that he keeps it charged.” McFeely offered some more insight, adding that, when Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner suggests that Steve Rogers might be able to help in this dire situation, Tony already knows a lot more about Steve, and other characters, than he’s letting on.

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Nintendo Switch Sells Big, Salt & Sanctuary, Sleep Tight Dev Interview, & Much More! – NVC Ep 418

Weeelcooome to episode 418 of our weekly Nintendo show and podcast, Nintendo Voice Chat. This week, the NVC tackles the latest Switch releases, Nintendo's big NPD numbers, NES becomes the best selling console in June, a special interview the developers of Sleep Tight, and much more!

As always, you can watch NVC here on IGN and on our YouTube channel (subscribe and hit that bell! It gives fairies wings!) or listen to it on your commute in audio format. If you enjoy the show, share it with other Nintendo fans, leave us a comment, and give us a thumbs up or leave us a review! If you prefer audio over video, please subscribe to NVC on iTunes or your podcast service of choice. You can also download and listen to the latest episode of NVC Right Here.

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Horizon Zero Dawn Board Game Announced

Announced during Gen Con 2018, an official Horizon Zero Dawn board game is in the works. It is being developed by Steamforged Games, the same studio that made the Dark Souls board game.

Steamforged said that they’ve actually been developing the game since before Horizon Zero Dawn even released on PS4, and that they’ve been working directly with Sony and Guerilla Games for at least two years.

In fact, Steamforged even told us that Guerilla is referring to the board game as the next Horizon Zero Dawn game, and that while it’s not overly heavy on story, it is canon within that world. It will be set after the events of the video game and DLC, and feature main characters such as Aloy as event cards that can be encountered.

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The Batman Won’t Be Year One Adaptation Says Matt Reeves

The Batman will not be an adaptation of the Year One storyline, director Matt Reeves revealed.

While speaking to press after a TCA panel, per SlashFilm, Reeves said The Batman will tell a "very personal" and "defining" story about the titular superhero instead of being an origin movie.

"We are definitely not doing Year One," Reeves said. "It’s just exciting to be focused very specifically on a tale that is defining for him and very personal to him.”

Reeves added the film will try to tell an emotional story while still staying true to what makes Batman so unique and beloved. The movie will also be noir-inspired, with Batman having to investigate a particular case.

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The Top Rated Board Game of All Time Is Becoming a Video Game

Gloomhaven, one of the best board games around right now and the top rated board game of all time on BoardGameGeek, is getting a video game adaptation.

Announced at Gen Con 2018, developer Asmodee Digital said that it won’t be trying to make a direct digital translation of the board game, but an actual adaptation. They are working directly with Gloomhaven creator Isaac Childres as part of that.

The Gloomhaven video game will be a dungeon-crawling roguelike that aims to capture the experience and appeal of the board game. It will initially be a single-player only game, essentially replicating Gloomhaven's random dungeon mode, but you'll be able to unlock other things permanently as you play more

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Will Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger Ever Cross Over with Runaways?

With Cloak and Dagger wrapping up its first season on August 2, IGN spoke to executive producer Joe Pokaski about the show's connections to the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe and its crossover potential, given that the show has already been renewed for Season 2.

According to a Freeform release, In the Season 1 finale, "Colony Collapse," everything comes to a head for Tyrone (Aubrey Joseph) and Tandy (Olivia Holt) as the city of New Orleans is thrown into chaos. The two realize that it is time they face their destiny and test their powers as “The Divine Pairing” to save the city.

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Batman Anti-Hero Red Hood Gets a New Costume

Jason Todd is getting a new Red Hood costume and mask in the upcoming Red Hood and the Outlaws #26.

Warning: Spoilers for Red Hood and the Outlaws #24 follow...

Per CBR, Red Hood will have to drastically change his approach to crime fighting after the events in issue #24, in which the anti-hero may have given away Batman's secret identity while killing the Penguin.

Red Hood's new look, via CBR.

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