Monthly Archives: July 2019
Netflix Orders Zack Snyder Anime Series About Norse Mythology
Netflix has ordered a new, Norse mythology-based anime series from Justice League director Zack Snyder.
Snyder is creating the series alongside Jay Oliva, who will serve as showrunner and director. Oliva worked as a storyboard artist on a number of high-profile comic book movies, including Deadpool, Wonder Woman, and Thor: Ragnarok. He and Snyder previously collaborated on Justice League, Batman v Superman, 300, and Man of Steel.
"Zack Snyder’s innovation in visual storytelling has pushed the industry forward and established him as one of the most distinctive filmmakers of his generation," said Netflix's head of anime programming, John Derderian. "We are beyond excited to partner with him and his exceptional team to bring the iconic characters and stories of Norse mythology to life in his inimitable style."
Netflix’s Sandman Explained: What Is the DC Comics Adaptation?
Between networks like The CW and Syfy and streaming services like DC Universe, you might think there's no room left for new series based on DC's massive comic book library. You'd be wrong. Netflix is now tackling one of the most critically acclaimed DC titles of all time through its adaptation of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman.
Only time will tell if Netflix can do justice to this dark, fantastical saga of dreaming mortals and all-powerful gods. For now, here's everything you need to know about The Sandman and its comic book origins.
Sandman art by JH Williams. (Image Credit: DC Comics)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare – Gunfight 2v2 Mode First Impressions
I really like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s 2v2 Gunfight multiplayer mode, and I wasn’t alone. All of my fellow media members hooted and hollered as we played, with everyone getting up to watch the other matches as theirs came to an end. It seems like wonderful counterprogramming to the epic matches of battle royales like Call of Duty: Blackout and Apex Legends. Yes, the battle royales are great and they have their place, but those are like a sit-down meal at a restaurant, whereas Gunfight hits the spot like a tasty, get-it-in-my-mouth burger at a late-night drive-thru.
Gunfight matches are set in a very small, custom maps – small enough that you can see at least one person from the other team when the round starts, if the three maps I tried (“King,” the warehouse interior; “Pine,” a forested space; and “Stack,” a desert container yard) are anything to go by. And because Modern Warfare brings the series back to its shorter TTK roots, it usually only takes a couple of shots to bring down an opponent. Combined with the 40-second round timer, rounds are extremely quick. To force campers into the action, a flag spawns in the center of the map when the clock hits 0:00, and if you can get in there and defend it for three seconds, your team gets a point. If the standoff remains, whichever team has the most health wins. Health doesn’t regenerate in Gunfight. First team to six points wins.
IGN Readers Pick Their Favorite Season of Stranger Things
Last week, Netflix released Stranger Things: Season 3 for fans to binge watch in its entirety. With a little time to digest the episodes, we ran two polls on the IGN front page to gauge which season of Stranger Things was our readers' favorite, and which character duo was the best of the bunch.
With over 21,000 votes, IGN readers picked a clear favorite: Season 1 still reigns supreme with 53.4% of the vote. Coming in hot in second place with 35.8% of the vote is the recently released Season 3. Rounding out third is Season 2 with 10.9% of the vote.
Check out the poll below.
Valve Has a New Search Tool That Could Fix a Major Annoyance With Steam
Today, Valve is introducing a suite of new features as part of an initiative that gives users an early look at more experimental Steam tools. One of them is called the “Interactive Recommender” which promises to be an improved game recommendation system powered by machine learning. It could also solve Steam’s long-running, recommendation problem.
Interactive Recommender is part of a new program called Steam Labs, which gives users access to work-in-progress features. There are three Steam Labs projects so far, including six-second game trailers called "Micro Trailers," and a half-hour video show called "The Automated Show" that showcases the newest Steam releases.
The biggest Steam Labs project, however, is the Interactive Recommender. Valve says that Steam’s greatest asset is its massive catalog of games. But having so many titles makes it hard for customers to sort through it all and find the games relevant to their interests. That’s why Valve is introducing a new, machine learning-powered method to get the right games in front of potential customers.
Here’s Everything Coming to HBO Max in 2020
Recently, WarnerMedia revealed a May 2020 release window for its streaming service HBO Max. HBO Max will attempt to compete with the likes of Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and the new Disney+ platform. HBO Max is set have a release date sometime in Spring 2020.
The Best PS4 Games of 2019 So Far
With half of 2019 already behind us, it’s time to start taking stock of the best PlayStation 4 games of the year so far. The first six months of 2019 have given PlayStation fans stylish action games, reimagined classics, clever VR experiences, and more. For this list we’re recognizing the games that received a score of 8.5 or higher from IGN.
Without further ado, here are the best PlayStation 4 games of 2019 so far.
Dauntless
Score: 8.5 | Developer: Phoenix Labs
Sonic the Hedgehog Producer Thinks ‘Fans Will Be Pleased’ With Redesign
After Sonic the Hedgehog director, Jeff Fowler's decision to change the controversial design of the iconic character in the upcoming movie following fan backlash, a push back of the film's release was announced for February 14, 2020.
In a recent interview with Variety in preparation for his film Terminator: Dark Fate at SDCC, producer Tim Miller commented on how the redesign looks and the process he took after seeing all the fan criticism.
Until Dawn Developer’s Dark Pictures Anthology Is Planned for 8 Games
The Dark Pictures Anthology, which opens with Man of Medan this August, is currently planned for eight games, with a release schedule of two per year.
Dark Pictures is a multi-game horror anthology created by Until Dawn developer Supermassive Games. Every game in the anthology will be a new story in a new horror genre, with the only major aspect tying them together being The Curator, a mysterious figure cut from the same cloth as Rod Serling in the Twilight Zone, or the Crypt Keeper in Tales from the Crypt.
In an interview with Supermassive CEO Pete Samuels, I asked what the plan for the Curator is: "We have an arc in mind that plays out over eight games. He's really the only consistency across the Anthology. Everything else from a story, character perspective, we want to be a surprise."
Man of Medan Promises to be a Co-op Horror Blast
Before I began my Man of Medan demo I was asked specifically if I wanted to make choices in it with my mind or with my heart. I realize now that the question was only asked so the PR rep knew what t-shirt to give me, which featured a graphic pointing to whatever I had chosen, but the question was pertinent throughout my playthrough.
In Supermassive’s most prolific game, Until Dawn, I made a lot of decisions based on my emotional attachment to the characters. Supermassive’s gameplay hook certainly relies on how endearing/wicked its characters are, and fortunately, Man of Medan appears to deliver on strong, pulpy personalities; there’s the flirty jerk, the nice guy, the nerdy brother, the rule-abiding captain, the adventurous girlfriend. I was drawn to them and appalled by them in equal measure; a good sign when any of them could die at any point in my playthrough.