Monthly Archives: July 2019
Overwatch’s New Hero Sigma Announced With Origin Story Video
Overwatch's next hero is here and he's an astrophysicist named Sigma. The character was revealed via an animated short origin story similar to ones we've seen for previous heroes.
Sigma is "an eccentric astrophysicist who hopes to unlock the secrets of the universe, unaware that he is being used as a living weapon," according to the official Overwatch Twitter account.
In his origin story, he rambles about gravity and the possibility of harnessing the power of a black hole. We see him imprisoned and tortured by flashbacks and a somber piano melody (Gnossienne No.1). He describes both "freedom and imprisonment" as an illusion but it's unclear how these internal conflicts will translate into gameplay.
This Life-Size Michael Myers Bust Is Terrifying
This year's Comic-Con truly was a collector's dream. Name an iconic pop culture franchise and it's a safe bet at least one or two companies were showing off figures or statues at the show.
We've put together a combined slideshow gallery with an eclectic assortment products from three companies - Hollywood Collectibles Group, Icon Heroes and Quantum Mechanix. Check it out to see some amazing life-size busts and props, figurines, statues and other goodies covering everything from Halloween to Ghostbusters to Harry Potter to DC superheroes.
The standout item at the HCG booth was easily the life-size bust of iconic slasher movie villain Michael Myers (based on his appearance in the the original film rather than the 2018 follow-up). We were also impressed by the series of 1:4 scale Ghostbusters statues based on the original movie and the various prop replicas covering items like the motion tracker from 1986's Aliens and Deckard's pistol from 1982's Blade Runner.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Gunsmith Feature Detailed
Teasing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s full multiplayer reveal next week, today Activision shared details on its Gunsmith weapon customization system.
An official blog post described the multiplayer gunsmithing system as “robust weapon customization” that will allow you to modify both your primary and secondary loadout weapons. It will allow you to equip things like sights, stocks, and muzzles to your guns that will alter the stats however suits you.
Each weapon will be able to equip five custom parts at once, but will have more than five slots to choose from, requiring you to pick which pieces are important to you. For example, assault rifles will have slots for a muzzle, laser, optic, stock, rear grip, magazine, underbarrel, barrel, and a perk, but you’ll only be able to fill five of them.
The Pokemon Company and Tencent Announce They’re Partnering on a New Game
The Pokemon Company is partnering with Chinese internet giant Tencent to develop a new Pokemon game.
The two companies announced the partnership today and revealed that Tencent’s Timi Studio will lead development on the unannounced game. Timi specializes in mobile games development, including the upcoming Call of Duty: Mobile. So the new Pokemon game could be mobile as well.
The Pokemon brand is currently thriving on mobile. Niantic’s Pokemon Go AR game has been a smash hit, and there a new Pokemon mobile game from DeNA, Pokemon Masters, will be released later this summer.
Sir Patrick Stewart Reveals the Name of the Dog in Star Trek: Picard
Amidst the hype of Comic Con 2019, superheroes, and reboots of many a franchise, one question persisted among fans excited for Star Trek: Picard: What is the name of Picard’s dog, and is he a good boy? Well, internet, we finally have our answer.
The legendary actor Sir Patrick Stewart joined IGN during Comic Con to discuss the show and its new and familiar faces, including Picard’s dog.
“Oh, he’s a very, very good boy, as you saw," Stewart said. "Well, you haven’t really seen it yet, have you? When you see the episode, you’ll see how much he has to do, and how good he really is….His real name is Dinero. His cast name is ‘Number One.’”
Sam Lake Still Wants to Make Alan Wake 2
To this day, Alan Wake remains one of Remedy Entertainment's most enduring franchises, even if it's really just one core game and a notably wackier DLC adventure. Though review scores were generally high (IGN gave it an 8.5, and it's eventual PC port a 9.0), Alan Wake didn't exactly fly off the shelves. Instead, the franchise found a longer, more modest lifespan through nearly a decade of sales events and a dedicated cult following, but no sequel has ever materialized. On this month's episode of IGN Unfiltered, famed Remedy games writer Sam Lake stated that he still wants to make a proper Alan Wake 2.
Plants vs Zombies Leak Suggests Garden Warfare 3
EA has reportedly begun to invite a select group of players to alpha test a new Plants vs Zombies shooter developed by the Garden Warfare team.
As reported by Eurogamer, who have been shown the invites by sources, EA intents to run an alpha playtest of the game in August. The invite says "Made by the team that created PvZ Garden Warfare, the Picnic Closed Alpha will give players a first glimpse into the new game - you don't want to miss out!"
The invites - marked as “confidential” but quickly uploaded to Reddit - explained that recipients are “invited to participate in the new PvZ shooter (codename Picnic) playtest on Xbox One or PS4.”
Top Gun: Maverick Trailer Sparks Controversy over Change to Cruise’s Jacket
The Top Gun: Maverick trailer has stirred up controversy as eagle-eyed fans have spotted two key changes to Tom Cruise's leather jacket, which he also wore in the original film.
Premiering at San Diego Comic Con, the first trailer for the long-awaited sequel showed Maverick donning his iconic bomber jacket, featuring a very different arrangement of patches compared to those that the character wore in Tony Scott's beloved 80s classic.
Journalist Mark MacKinnon was amongst the first to spot the difference, as he shared a screenshot of the original garment side-by-side with the updated version, which sparked speculation across social media.
Netflix’s The Witcher Will Have a Bathtub Scene
The Witcher showrunner Lauren Hissrich has confirmed that Netflix's adaptation of the story of Geralt won't draw from CDProjekt Red's video games, but has hinted that there will be a scene that pays service to fans.
"There is a bathtub this season," Hissrich told iO9, in reference to the fan favourite image of Geralt in a wooden tub from The Witcher 3. "I won't tell you who's in the bathtub, but there's a bathtub."
Disney’s $4bn Marvel Investment Has Earned the Company over $18bn
Disney has earned the more than $18 billion through Marvel since the company purchased the comic book giant for $4 billion over a decade ago.
The House of Mouse made a tactical decision to buy the rights to Marvel back in 2009, and the investment has paid off handsomely, as USA Today reports that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has now raked in more than $18.2 billion at the global box office.
Marvel's Iron Man first blasted onto the big screen in 2008, with Robert Downey Jr starring as the fast-talking tycoon-turned-superhero Tony Stark, who swooped in and won the hearts of audiences around the world instantaneously.