Monthly Archives: June 2019
Monster Hunter World Getting New Dynamic Difficulty, Even Without Iceborne
During Capcom's E3 Monster Hunter World: Iceborne developer showcase, we learned about quite a few new features, including the Steamworks minigame, a view mode camera, and most importantly, dynamic difficulty settings. This brand new feature for the Monster Hunter series will be added to the base Monster Hunter World without requiring the Iceborne expansion.
This new dynamic difficulty setting includes two brand new features. For the first time ever, a third difficulty setting is introduced for two-player hunting parties. Not only that, but now if players leave or are disconnected during a hunt, Monster Hunter World will automatically scale the difficulty down to the appropriate level. No more dealing with a multiplayer-scaled monster if you get disconnected, and no worries if you can't fill out a large party. Though three-player parties are still stuck in the broader multiplayer difficulty category, and palicos still won't re-spawn, this is still great news.
Valve’s Newest Game Beat Artifact’s Peak Player Count in Under 2 Hours
Dota Underlords, Valve’s newest game, entered open beta on PC and mobile at noon PT today, and in less than two hours it passed the peak concurrent player count on Steam of Valve’s last game, Artifact.
As of 2pm PT, Dota Underlords had reached a concurrent player count of 62,946, while Artifact’s all time high stopped at 60,740. The big caveat here, of course, is that Dota Underlords is entirely free-to-play, while Artifact costs $20. It had also been in a closed beta open only to select players and those who owned Dota 2's Battle Pass since last week, but the flood gates are now officially open.
Rumor: Microsoft Focusing on One Next-Gen Console, Not Two
Though reports over the course of the last year indicated Microsoft was working on two next generation consoles, a new interview and rumors suggest the company has decided to make its next console, codenamed Project Scarlett, a single device.
In an interview with Business Insider, Xbox head Phil Spencer responded to a question about him referring to the next generation of Xbox as multiple consoles during E3 2018, saying “Last year we said consoles, and we’ve shipped a console and we’ve now detailed another console. I think that’s plural.”
The console Microsoft released within the last year is the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition, which is really just a slightly less-expensive Xbox One S without a disc drive. “Technically that is plural,” Spencer said jokingly after this was brought up. “Right now... we’re focused on Project Scarlett and what we put on stage.”
Does Toy Story 4 Have a Post Credits Scene?
If you're wondering whether Toy Story 4 has a post-credits scene at the end, then you're in the right place.
But if you somehow wound up here by mistake, be warned: Spoilers follow regarding whether or not the new Toy Story movie has a post-credits scene...
Right, still here? O.K., the answer is that yes, Toy Story 4 does have post-credits material.
Without giving away too much here, suffice to say there are several mid-credits scenes that play and are lots of fun. And then, after the credits have run completely, there is one last little bit that's also quite cute.
Halloween 2 With Jamie Lee Curtis Reportedly In the Works
Halloween 2, a sequel to 2018’s Halloween, is reportedly set to film in the fall for an October 2020 release date with franchise star Jamie Lee Curtis likely to return.
According to Collider, Curtis along with Judy Greer and Andi Matichak aren't signed on yet but are "expected" to return as the Strode family in Halloween 2. David Gordon Green is said to have already written the script after co-writing the last film and will probably come back as director.
Skipping E3 Didn’t Hurt PlayStation, It Hurt E3
E3 2019 was full of crazy surprises and great announcements, but arguably one of the biggest stories from the show came not last week, but last year. In November of 2018, Sony announced that it would not be attending E3 2019, meaning we’d get no update on the upcoming PS5 or several major first-party PS4 games. So now, with E3 2019 over, the big question is: did that decision hurt Sony?
Well... if that choice hurt anyone, it did the most damage to E3 itself, and not PlayStation.
Watch the video above for our specific conversation about Sony deciding to skip E3, and if you enjoyed that, watch the full episode of our weekly PlayStation show Beyond! below.
2020 Is Going to Be a Great Year in Gaming
Marvel’s Avengers Devs Want Every Hero to Play ‘Very Differently’
Vince Napoli, the lead combat designer on Marvel’s Avengers and main hero designer for 2018’s God of War, says he wants every hero in Marvel’s Avengers to play differently from one another.
In an interview with GamesRadar, Napoli said Avengers plays "very, very differently when you play with each of the characters... The personal mechanics are totally different. The way they play defense is very different... Widow doesn’t block. She’s not going to block attacks, she’s going to evade them. She’s going to use her grappling hook."
Batman Learns the Truth About His Father
Another new comic book day has come and gone. If you want to know what the biggest and most noteworthy comics of the week were, you've come to the right place.
Scroll down to hear about some of our favorite plot twists and new debuts, and to read our new reviews and editorials. And as always, be sure to let us know your favorite books in the comments below.
Warning: this article contains spoilers for Batman #73, Superman: Year One #1 and Uncanny X-Men #19!
Why Is Flashpoint's Thomas Wayne Working With Bane?
Art by Mikel Janin. (Image Credit: DC Comics)
Nintendo Switch Mini Accessory Seller Can’t Say If the System Is Real
This week Chinese online retailer Honson started listing cases, screen protectors, and other accessories for a system called the “Nintendo Switch Mini,” presumably the long-rumored smaller Switch variant that has yet to be officially announced.
It turns out that while these products may eventually be real and purchasable, the Switch Mini product shots shown on the Honson site are almost certainly not. In fact, these listings seem to be based on Honson’s own speculation, according to an email Honson sent to IGN.