Monthly Archives: July 2019
Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair’s Levels Can Completely Change – and It’s Awesome
Though a sequel to the Banjo-Kazooie spiritual successor Yooka-Laylee from Playtonic Games, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair harkens back to Rare’s even older work, Donkey Kong Country, with a 2D-focused platforming adventure. And from my play time with a handful of levels — and the new capability to “flood” levels and create an alternate stage to play through — the sequel could very well prove to be an even better fit for the colorful, anthropomorphized world of Yooka and Laylee.
Watch the gameplay video above to see several of Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair’s stages — namely, Gasping Glades, Factory Fright, and Urban Uprise — in both their standard, and “flooded” or “updrafted” forms.
Death Stranding Could Have Starred Keanu Reeves Instead of Mads Mikkelsen
Keanu Reeves' name was floated for a lead role in Death Stranding, but director Hideo Kojima had his heart set on Mads Mikkelsen instead.
Kojima took to the stage at San Diego Comic Con where he revealed, “I originally was recommended Keanu Reeves but I wanted Mads". The recommendation came from none other than Nicolas Winding Refn, who is himself part of the Death Stranding cast, playing Heartman.
The bromance between Mikkelsen and Kojima is well-documented, mostly through Kojima's personal Twitter account. Death Stranding's head honcho frequently immortalises the Danish gymnast-turned-actor in lengthy Twitter threads filled with candid monochrome snaps of Mikkelsen puffing on a cigarette, or staring moodily into the middle distance.
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Asus Upgrades the ROG Phone 2 With a Faster CPU and 120Hz Screen
Asus has announced its second-generation gaming phone, the ROG Phone 2, and based on its specs it looks like a monster of a smartphone.
Firstly, the Asus ROG Phone 2 is the first handset to officially feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Plus. This new processor runs at the same 2.96GHz speed as its predecessor and it also features the same Adreno 640 GPU as its predecessor, but the clock speed on the on-board graphics has been increased by 15% from 585MHz to 675MHz.
The Asus ROG phone 2 features a new and larger 6.59-inch screen with a display resolution of 2,340 x 1,080 pixels and the added ability to render 10-bit HDR color. The new display helps fill out some of the older phone's thick bezels and gives it a slightly taller 19:9 aspect ratio, but the handset's overall dimensions have increased slightly to 170.99 x 77.6 x 9.48mm—as opposed to the 158.8 x 76.2 x 8.3mm Asus ROG Phone. Instead of being limited to a 90Hz refresh rate, the new AMOLED screen hits 120Hz, which puts it on par with the Razer Phone 2.
D&D Announces 5th Anniversary Adventure Collection
Wizards of the Coast has announced that they'll be publishing Tyranny of Dragons, a repackaging of early D&D 5e adventures, this coming fall.
The set celebrates the fifth anniversary of Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition by repackaging Hoard of the Dragon Queen and Rise of Tiamat. These were the first full adventures released for the full rule set (which came out after the D&D 5e Starter Set and its adventure, The Lost Mine of Phandelver). The new release features cover art from artist Hydro74, who has created the art for limited editions of several 5e books.
Here Are the New Faces of Marvel Studios’ Phase 4 Movies
At their Comic Con 2019 panel, Marvel Studios announced Phase Four of their Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, including the cast members who will be bringing these new heroes to life.
Here are the new faces of the MCU’s Phase Four.
First up on the docket was the cast of Marvel’s Eternals, including Angelina Jolie (as Thena), Game of Thrones’ Richard Madden (Ikaris), Salma Hayek (Ajak), Kumail Nanjiani (Kingo), Brian Tyree Henry (Phastos), Lia McHugh (Sprite), Laruen Ridloff (Makkari), and Don Lee (Gilgamesh).
Marvel’s Blade Will Not Be Part of Phase 4
In an interview with Collider, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige stated unequivocally that the studio’s new Blade movie (starring Mahershala Ali) will not be a part of its phase four lineup.
The new Blade movie was announced Saturday night at Marvel’s Hall H panel at Comic Con 2019. Mahershala Ali, who has already starred in the MCU as the villainous club owner Cottonmouth in Netflix’s Luke Cage, was announced as the new leading actor. Ali follows in former Blade actor Wesley Snipes’ footsteps, who played the role from 1998 to 2004.
Del Toro on Making the Monsters of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
There's plenty to get excited about at San Diego Comic-Con. Huge panels, massive reveals, and those caped crusaders that we all love so much. But whilst most of the convention-goers were queuing up to get into Marvel's Hall H panel, a small audience squeezed into the Horton Grand Theatre for a once in a lifetime experience, and IGN was lucky enough to be there.
The intimate panel was a creature feature like no other as monster maverick Guillermo del Toro and director Andrè Øvredal were joined by their core special effects team Mike Elizalde (Hellboy), Mike Hill (The Shape of Water), and Norman Cabrera (Hellboy) to reveal the secrets and creatures behind Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
Why Marvel Is Making Blade with Mahershala Ali According to Kevin Feige
In the biggest surprise of San Diego Comic-Con 2019, Marvel Studios revealed not only are they making a Blade project, but it will be starring Mahershala Ali.
When IGN had the chance to speak to Marvel's Kevin Feige after the panel, we asked why now was the right time for Blade, and why Ali was the right star to play him. The answer was simple: "They're the same answer: Blade now because of Mahershala, and Mahershala because he loves Blade."
Watch the full IGN interview with Feige:
Jane Foster as Thor Explained
There were almost too many earth-shattering announcements from Marvel’s panel at San Diego Comic-Con, but one in particular rocked all nine realms. Love and Thunder, the fourth movie worthy of the title of Thor, is not only bringing back Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, and director Taika Waititi, but also Natalie Portman. And this time, she’ll be wielding the title and hammer of the Mighty Thor.
When Waititi introduced Portman and she took the stage, he mentioned the comic book storyline he’d been reading while Thor: Ragnarok was in production: the Jason Aaron run of Thor. Comic fans familiar with Jane Foster knew immediately what that meant for Portman’s character, but do you? Here’s the rundown on who Jane Foster is in the comics, why she takes up the hammer, what happened to Thor, and what else we might see in Thor: Love and Thunder.