Monthly Archives: May 2019
PlayStation’s 2nd State of Play Proves It’s Listening to Fans
PlayStation’s second State of Play showcase came just six weeks after Sony introduced the format with a presentation that received decidedly mixed-to-negative reception. But that quick turnaround between episodes, combined with what Sony showcased this time around, show that Sony knew it needed to make some changes There’s still work to be done, but this second outing undoubtedly improved upon the first and proved Sony is listening to fan feedback, paving the way for a lot of potential in future State of Plays.
Though the first State of Play highlighted a lot of games, fans knocked it for various reasons. Its focus on PlayStation VR titles, no matter how great some of them looked — including the already released Falcon Age and the upcoming Marvel’s Iron Man VR — only spoke to a specific, small pool in among the 90+ million PS4 users. (While the holidays had plenty of PSVR sales, there absolutely should have been one announced at the end of that State of Play to make any potential buyers more likely to pick one up.)
Marvel Comics #1000 Celebrates 80 Years of Marvel’s Heroes
Marvel Comics has revealed ambitious plans for celebrating its 80th anniversary. The publisher will celebrate by releasing Marvel Comics #1000 in August 2019.
As revealed by The New York Times, this oversized anniversary issue is timed to hit on the 80th anniversary of the very first Marvel book ever published - 1939's Marvel Comics #1. Check out artist Alex Ross' cover below:
Marvel Comics #1000 cover by Alex Ross. (Image Credit: Marvel Comics)
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Is Still an Episodic Game
The first Final Fantasy 7 Remake trailer in four years debuted yesterday, and today IGN learned that it will likely still be an episodic game as first announced in 2015.
Fans were pointing to a vague line in a roughly Google-translated Japanese press release for confirmation of this, and IGN reached out to Square Enix to see just how accurate that was. In response, a Square Enix representative simply pointed us back toward the press release from 2015 that initially revealed the remake would be “a multi-part series,” and that they had no further information to share beyond what had already been announced there.
Wachowskis May Not Be Involved With Matrix Sequel After All
UPDATE: A representative for Chad Stahelski has walked back their client's Matrix/Wachowskis comments quoted below.
"His comments were in response to a hypothetical scenario were the Wachowskis would be involved and he did not confirm them being attached to the new film," according to /Film. IGN reached out to Warner Bros. for additional comment and will further update this story if they respond.
The original report follows.
The Wachowski siblings are working on a fourth Matrix movie, according to John Wick 3 director Chad Stahelski.
Talking to Yahoo Movies UK, Stahelski said: “I’m super happy that the Wachowskis are not just doing a Matrix, but they’re expanding what we all loved. And if it’s anywhere near the level of what they’ve already done, it wouldn’t take more than a call to go, ‘Hey, we want you to be a stunt guy’ and I would probably go and get hit by a car.”
Avengers: Endgame Directors Hint They Would Return for Doctor Doom
Avengers: Endgame’s directors, Joe and Anthony Russo, have suggested that the right story would pull them back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Last month the sibling directors said that Avengers: Endgame marks their final collaboration with Marvel Studios. However, in an interview with Business Insider, the pair have said that they would be willing to return under the right conditions.
Lobo Trailer for Krypton Season 2 Revealed
Back in October of 2018, we learned that Guardians of the Galaxy alum Emmett J. Scanlan would bring the interstellar mercenary to life in Season 2 of Krypton. Per Syfy, Lobo is "a ruthless bounty hunter, who murdered his entire species, and possesses a genius level intellect when it comes to matters of warfare, making him a deadly adversary."
For a closer look at the alien in action, check out the new trailer below:
IGN asked Scanlan if he drew inspiration from any of the previous Lobo interactions - comic books, DC animated series, etc. "Comic books, yes for sure," Scanlan explained. "Plus I was surrounded by a team of Lobo fanatics. Cam Welsh (showrunner) and Cam Cuffe (Seg-El) know their Lobo inside out. My barometer was 'Are they happy?' My job was to inject life into this beast, and with the boys, the comics, the scripts, and the world already built, I had a plethora of stuff to pick from... Once I found the characters inner music, his heartbeat, I just danced."
Denis Dyack Learned Nothing Is Impossible From Hideo Kojima
Denis Dyack has made his fair share of interesting, groundbreaking games, but even he never saw the chance to make a Metal Gear game coming. That’s just what happened when the late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata and Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto sat down and informed Dyack, then the president of Silicon Knights, he’d be working with Hideo Kojima himself.
For Dyack, the biggest takeaway from working on what would become Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes was that nothing is impossible in game development. He took the chance elaborate during this month’s episode of IGN Unfiltered with Ryan McCaffrey (see the full episode below).
Michael Rooker Denies He’s Joining The Suicide Squad
UPDATE, May 12: Michael Rooker appears to have shot down the news that he's in talks to play King Shark in The Suicide Squad.
Rooker posted a screen grab of TheWrap's original report to his Instagram account with the caption, "DA...........NOT!!!"
The original story follows.
Michael Rooker, who has worked with James Gunn previously on both Guardians of the Galaxy films as Yondu Udonta, is in talks to join Gunn's The Suicide Squad as King Shark.
As reported by TheWrap, Rooker would portray the supervillian who was created by Karl Kesel in 1994 and is the son of Chondrakha, the God of all Sharks. He was originally introduced as a Superboy villain and "has been a member of the Secret Six, the Secret Society of Super-Villains and the Suicide Squad."
Wolfenstein: Youngblood Has Level Design Similar to Dishonored
Wolfenstein: Youngblood, according to executive producer Jerk Gustafsson, will feature level design similar to the Dishonored series and will contain more activities and side-missions than previous Wolfenstein titles.
Via GamingBolt, Gustafsson spoke to the Official PlayStation Magazine in the July 2019 issue to discuss these changes.
“I think players will see a lot of similarities to level design in the Dishonored games," Gustafsson said. "So in that sense it can be a little bit different as an experience but it can be for the benefit of the game, especially when it comes to finding different ways of approaching a combat scenario or a mission in general.”
Best Budget Smartphones 2019
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A few years ago, high-end smartphones cost less than $800. Now, top-end phones will run you $1,000 or more, many of which still lack easily replaceable batteries and other parts—meaning you’ll probably be buying another one in a couple years. If you just can’t stomach the eye-popping prices of today’s flagships, budget smartphones are the perfect alternative to keep you connected and your wallet happy.