Monthly Archives: September 2020

Jack Reacher: Amazon Series Casts Titans’ Alan Ritchson in Title Role

Alan Ritchson will play Jack Reacher in the upcoming Amazon TV series based off the book series. Amazon announced the news in a press release on Friday. Ritchson celebrated on his verified Instagram page with a screenshot of an article confirming the news. "I guess my joke about not fitting in bathtubs a couple weeks ago really killed at @amazonprimevideo," the caption says. "This should be fun. #JackReacher @amazon @skydance." [caption id="attachment_2403391" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Alan Ritchson plays Hank Hall in the DC Comics TV series Titans. Alan Ritchson plays Hank Hall in the DC Comics TV series Titans.[/caption] Season 1 of the Jack Reacher series will cover the events of the novel, The Killing Floor, which was released in 1997 and spawned a series that has sold over 100 million books. The 25th Jack Reacher novel is set to hit bookshelves in October. The series as a whole follows a highly-skilled ex-Army major named Jack Reacher who solves miscellaneous cases across the United States using the techniques he mastered during his time in service. Nick Santora, who used to write and produce Prison Break, will serve as a writer and showrunner for the Jack Reacher series. The author of the book series is executive producing the Amazon show along with filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie, who recently directed Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher in a theatrically-released movie from 2012. Ritchson has played Hank Hall on Titans, Raphael in the recent live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies, and Thad on Blue Mountain State. He is set to appear in season 3 of Titans and will join a bunch of famous Batman characters. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=fall-tv-preview-2020-new-and-returning-shows-to-watch&captions=true"] The Rock recently revealed that he wanted to play Jack Reacher in the 2012 movie, but lost the role to Cruise. IGN's review of the Jack Reacher movie says, "Cruise is the rare action star who brings both brawn and brains to a role, and he does what he can, but is limited by a mediocre script and clichéd direction." A sequel was released starring Cruise in 2016. IGN's review of the Jack Reacher sequel called the movie, "a fun, absurd action romp with a few memorable moments that can’t help but be boosted by Cruise’s natural onscreen charisma." As for Amazon Prime, there is now a watch party feature through Twitch and here is a list of everything coming to the service in September to test that feature with. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN who wants to get on that Amazon Prime ASAP and watch The Boys season 2.

Jack Reacher: Amazon Series Casts Titans’ Alan Ritchson in Title Role

Alan Ritchson will play Jack Reacher in the upcoming Amazon TV series based off the book series. Amazon announced the news in a press release on Friday. Ritchson celebrated on his verified Instagram page with a screenshot of an article confirming the news. "I guess my joke about not fitting in bathtubs a couple weeks ago really killed at @amazonprimevideo," the caption says. "This should be fun. #JackReacher @amazon @skydance." [caption id="attachment_2403391" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Alan Ritchson plays Hank Hall in the DC Comics TV series Titans. Alan Ritchson plays Hank Hall in the DC Comics TV series Titans.[/caption] Season 1 of the Jack Reacher series will cover the events of the novel, The Killing Floor, which was released in 1997 and spawned a series that has sold over 100 million books. The 25th Jack Reacher novel is set to hit bookshelves in October. The series as a whole follows a highly-skilled ex-Army major named Jack Reacher who solves miscellaneous cases across the United States using the techniques he mastered during his time in service. Nick Santora, who used to write and produce Prison Break, will serve as a writer and showrunner for the Jack Reacher series. The author of the book series is executive producing the Amazon show along with filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie, who recently directed Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher in a theatrically-released movie from 2012. Ritchson has played Hank Hall on Titans, Raphael in the recent live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies, and Thad on Blue Mountain State. He is set to appear in season 3 of Titans and will join a bunch of famous Batman characters. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=fall-tv-preview-2020-new-and-returning-shows-to-watch&captions=true"] The Rock recently revealed that he wanted to play Jack Reacher in the 2012 movie, but lost the role to Cruise. IGN's review of the Jack Reacher movie says, "Cruise is the rare action star who brings both brawn and brains to a role, and he does what he can, but is limited by a mediocre script and clichéd direction." A sequel was released starring Cruise in 2016. IGN's review of the Jack Reacher sequel called the movie, "a fun, absurd action romp with a few memorable moments that can’t help but be boosted by Cruise’s natural onscreen charisma." As for Amazon Prime, there is now a watch party feature through Twitch and here is a list of everything coming to the service in September to test that feature with. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN who wants to get on that Amazon Prime ASAP and watch The Boys season 2.

Watch Nintendo’s Goofy, Fun Japanese Mario 3D All-Stars Commercials

Nintendo announced the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection during a surprise Nintendo Direct. This new All-Stars collects Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy 1 into a single package for the Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo released a series of cute, nostalgic Japanese trailers for each game in the collection. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/04/super-mario-3d-all-stars-japanese-tv-ad-super-mario-64"] Each trailer is dedicated to one of the games in the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection. The first trailer is about Super Mario 64 where a father watches as his children play Super Mario 64 on the Switch. Tinged with nostalgia, the father is later seen by himself playing Mario 64 in handheld mode while the rest of the family is presumably asleep. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/04/super-mario-3d-all-stars-japanese-tv-ad-super-mario-sunshine"] The second trailer is for Super Mario Sunshine and leans on the platformer's notorious difficulty. A man inspired by the sunset goes home and plays Super Mario Sunshine on the Nintendo Switch. But he's shown losing again, and again, and again. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/04/super-mario-3d-all-stars-japanese-tv-ad-super-mario-galaxy"] The Mario Galaxy trailer is the most conventional of the three but does showcase how Mario Galaxy plays in TV mode, complete with two-person co-op where another player controls the star to collect bits. This trailer somewhat answers some questions players raised about how motion controls will work in Mario Galaxy for the Switch. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/04/super-mario-35th-anniversary-music-medley"] A final celebration video for Mario's 35th anniversary was released where Japanese singer Gen Hoshino creates a song influenced by 35 years of Mario music. Super Mario 3D All-Stars was announced as part of a special 35th anniversary Mario Direct. The collection will be released for a limited time on September 18, 2020, and will be available digitally through March 31, 2021. Pre-orders for the All-Stars collection are live now. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Watch Nintendo’s Goofy, Fun Japanese Mario 3D All-Stars Commercials

Nintendo announced the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection during a surprise Nintendo Direct. This new All-Stars collects Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy 1 into a single package for the Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo released a series of cute, nostalgic Japanese trailers for each game in the collection. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/04/super-mario-3d-all-stars-japanese-tv-ad-super-mario-64"] Each trailer is dedicated to one of the games in the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection. The first trailer is about Super Mario 64 where a father watches as his children play Super Mario 64 on the Switch. Tinged with nostalgia, the father is later seen by himself playing Mario 64 in handheld mode while the rest of the family is presumably asleep. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/04/super-mario-3d-all-stars-japanese-tv-ad-super-mario-sunshine"] The second trailer is for Super Mario Sunshine and leans on the platformer's notorious difficulty. A man inspired by the sunset goes home and plays Super Mario Sunshine on the Nintendo Switch. But he's shown losing again, and again, and again. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/04/super-mario-3d-all-stars-japanese-tv-ad-super-mario-galaxy"] The Mario Galaxy trailer is the most conventional of the three but does showcase how Mario Galaxy plays in TV mode, complete with two-person co-op where another player controls the star to collect bits. This trailer somewhat answers some questions players raised about how motion controls will work in Mario Galaxy for the Switch. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/04/super-mario-35th-anniversary-music-medley"] A final celebration video for Mario's 35th anniversary was released where Japanese singer Gen Hoshino creates a song influenced by 35 years of Mario music. Super Mario 3D All-Stars was announced as part of a special 35th anniversary Mario Direct. The collection will be released for a limited time on September 18, 2020, and will be available digitally through March 31, 2021. Pre-orders for the All-Stars collection are live now. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

The Last Campfire Review – One Step At A Time

There is no singular theme to the puzzles in The Last Campfire. In fact, there aren't even distinct spaces where puzzles exist. Instead, the entirety of this quaint puzzle adventure is just one puzzle built on another. Yet despite this, The Last Campfire isn't simply one conundrum after the other. It's a touching tale of helping others while finding your way, and sometimes accepting that not everyone who might look like they're ready to move on needs a nudge in that direction.

You play as Ember, a small hooded figure lost in a world between worlds. After some misfortune, you find yourself completely off your intended path, searching for a way back to the gates that so frustratingly passed you by. Littered across your journey are a handful of campfires, each situated in the center of distinct biomes that house numerous other characters in need of your help. These similarly lost souls, known as Forlorn, have abandoned hope of moving on from this world, requiring you to help them overcome any fears and doubts holding them back.

Each manifests as a bite-sized puzzle with its own distinct theme. Some puzzles involve moving an object through a level toward a weighted switch, navigating chasms, and pulley elevators. Others task you with keeping a small flame lit through a maze littered with wind-generating hazards or rotating a block logically to set nearby lanterns alight without extinguishing the flame. The sheer variety of the puzzles is impressive, as is their intelligent design, which makes each one's premise easy to understand. None of The Last Campfire's puzzles are brain-racking conundrums, but each one does still manage to stir a sense of accomplishment on its solution.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

The Last Campfire Review – One Step At A Time

There is no singular theme to the puzzles in The Last Campfire. In fact, there aren't even distinct spaces where puzzles exist. Instead, the entirety of this quaint puzzle adventure is just one puzzle built on another. Yet despite this, The Last Campfire isn't simply one conundrum after the other. It's a touching tale of helping others while finding your way, and sometimes accepting that not everyone who might look like they're ready to move on needs a nudge in that direction.

You play as Ember, a small hooded figure lost in a world between worlds. After some misfortune, you find yourself completely off your intended path, searching for a way back to the gates that so frustratingly passed you by. Littered across your journey are a handful of campfires, each situated in the center of distinct biomes that house numerous other characters in need of your help. These similarly lost souls, known as Forlorn, have abandoned hope of moving on from this world, requiring you to help them overcome any fears and doubts holding them back.

Each manifests as a bite-sized puzzle with its own distinct theme. Some puzzles involve moving an object through a level toward a weighted switch, navigating chasms, and pulley elevators. Others task you with keeping a small flame lit through a maze littered with wind-generating hazards or rotating a block logically to set nearby lanterns alight without extinguishing the flame. The sheer variety of the puzzles is impressive, as is their intelligent design, which makes each one's premise easy to understand. None of The Last Campfire's puzzles are brain-racking conundrums, but each one does still manage to stir a sense of accomplishment on its solution.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Team Fortress 2 Community Builds Cheater-Killing Bots

Team Fortress 2’s ongoing battle with cheaters and bots has entered a new stage where there are now bots that will kill other bots. We’ve entered bot war territory. There is now a new type of bot in the Team Fortress 2 scene called “the extermination bot services,” which are scripted to only kill cheaters. They will supposedly only focus on cheating bots and will not bother regular players. Videos of the extermination bot services can be found online. While this evolution in solving Team Fortress 2’s bot problem is a quirky twist, there are lingering issues. Namely, Team Fortress 2 is being overrun by bots, whether they’re cheating aimbots or anti-bot bots. If this escalates, as some players suggest, it could risk flooding Team Fortress 2 with even more bots. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=igns-top-25-modern-pc-games&captions=true"] Team Fortress 2’s cheating woes came to a head earlier this summer when bots began spamming hateful slurs into the game chat. Valve released an update that limits access to the text chat, but that doesn’t solve the aimbots and other bots obstructing Team Fortress 2 matches. It’s unclear if Valve will take a stronger stance against the bot problem plaguing Team Fortress 2. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Team Fortress 2 Community Builds Cheater-Killing Bots

Team Fortress 2’s ongoing battle with cheaters and bots has entered a new stage where there are now bots that will kill other bots. We’ve entered bot war territory. There is now a new type of bot in the Team Fortress 2 scene called “the extermination bot services,” which are scripted to only kill cheaters. They will supposedly only focus on cheating bots and will not bother regular players. Videos of the extermination bot services can be found online. While this evolution in solving Team Fortress 2’s bot problem is a quirky twist, there are lingering issues. Namely, Team Fortress 2 is being overrun by bots, whether they’re cheating aimbots or anti-bot bots. If this escalates, as some players suggest, it could risk flooding Team Fortress 2 with even more bots. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=igns-top-25-modern-pc-games&captions=true"] Team Fortress 2’s cheating woes came to a head earlier this summer when bots began spamming hateful slurs into the game chat. Valve released an update that limits access to the text chat, but that doesn’t solve the aimbots and other bots obstructing Team Fortress 2 matches. It’s unclear if Valve will take a stronger stance against the bot problem plaguing Team Fortress 2. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

LOTR’s Hugo Weaving Has No Interest in Ever Playing Elrond Again

Hugo Weaving wouldn't be caught dead in those pointy ears again. The actor has gone on record stating that he has no desire to play the Elven ruler Elrond again, a character who will appear in Amazon's upcoming Lord of the Rings series. Weaving, who played the Lord of Rivendell in both the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies, was asked by Variety if he would be open to reprising the character of Elrond for the Amazon series, which will also feature the familiar characters Galadriel and Sauron. "No way. Absolutely no," Weaving told Variety. The actor was, however, open to playing the villainous Agent Smith again in The Matrix 4 -- which is back in production after the pandemic temporarily shut down filming -- but scheduling conflicts nixed that from happening for him. “Matrix might have happened,” he says. “But Lord of the Rings, no, I would never — I’m not interested in that at all. Look, I loved being in New Zealand with all those great people, and it was like going back to a family but actually, to be honest, I think everyone had more than enough of it.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=amazons-the-lord-of-the-rings-every-confirmed-actor&captions=true"] Amazon's Lord of the Rings takes place during Middle-earth's Second Age, a period only briefly seen in the Lord of the Rings movies. In our extensive breakdown of the Second Age, we said the setting "spans a long period of time in between the banishment of Morgoth (the original Dark Lord) and the first defeat of his servant Sauron. The Second Age is defined by key events like the rise and fall of the kingdom of Númenor, the creation of the Rings of Power and the formation of the Last Alliance that temporarily saved the world from Sauron's wrath." The long-lived, half-elven Elrond was the captain and herald of Gil-Galad, the High King of the Ñoldor, during the Second Age. During this time, Elrond fought in the War of the Last Alliance, which saw Men and Elves battling against Sauron. These events were depicted in Jackson's Fellowship of the Ring. [caption id="attachment_2403342" align="alignnone" width="720"]Hugo Weaving as Elrond. Hugo Weaving as Elrond.[/caption] In addition to Morfydd Clark as young GaladrielAmazon's Lord of the Rings series cast includes Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Budge, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, and Daniel Weyman. The super-expensive show already has a multi-season commitment from Amazon. Production had begun earlier this year in New Zealand before shutting down due to the coronavirus pandemic. Filming reportedly aims to resume in September. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/19/amazons-lord-of-the-rings-the-second-age-explained"]

LOTR’s Hugo Weaving Has No Interest in Ever Playing Elrond Again

Hugo Weaving wouldn't be caught dead in those pointy ears again. The actor has gone on record stating that he has no desire to play the Elven ruler Elrond again, a character who will appear in Amazon's upcoming Lord of the Rings series. Weaving, who played the Lord of Rivendell in both the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies, was asked by Variety if he would be open to reprising the character of Elrond for the Amazon series, which will also feature the familiar characters Galadriel and Sauron. "No way. Absolutely no," Weaving told Variety. The actor was, however, open to playing the villainous Agent Smith again in The Matrix 4 -- which is back in production after the pandemic temporarily shut down filming -- but scheduling conflicts nixed that from happening for him. “Matrix might have happened,” he says. “But Lord of the Rings, no, I would never — I’m not interested in that at all. Look, I loved being in New Zealand with all those great people, and it was like going back to a family but actually, to be honest, I think everyone had more than enough of it.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=amazons-the-lord-of-the-rings-every-confirmed-actor&captions=true"] Amazon's Lord of the Rings takes place during Middle-earth's Second Age, a period only briefly seen in the Lord of the Rings movies. In our extensive breakdown of the Second Age, we said the setting "spans a long period of time in between the banishment of Morgoth (the original Dark Lord) and the first defeat of his servant Sauron. The Second Age is defined by key events like the rise and fall of the kingdom of Númenor, the creation of the Rings of Power and the formation of the Last Alliance that temporarily saved the world from Sauron's wrath." The long-lived, half-elven Elrond was the captain and herald of Gil-Galad, the High King of the Ñoldor, during the Second Age. During this time, Elrond fought in the War of the Last Alliance, which saw Men and Elves battling against Sauron. These events were depicted in Jackson's Fellowship of the Ring. In addition to Morfydd Clark as young GaladrielAmazon's Lord of the Rings series cast includes Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Budge, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, and Daniel Weyman. The super-expensive show already has a multi-season commitment from Amazon. Production had begun earlier this year in New Zealand before shutting down due to the coronavirus pandemic. Filming reportedly aims to resume in September. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/19/amazons-lord-of-the-rings-the-second-age-explained"]