Monthly Archives: November 2020

Xbox Could Be an App on Your TV Within a Year, Says Phil Spencer

Head of Xbox Phil Spencer says he thinks Xbox will release a smart TV app used to play games, with no console required, "in the next 12 months". In an interview with The Verge's Decoder podcast, Spencer was asked what was stopping Microsoft from releasing Xbox as an app for smart TVs that meet a minimum hardware specification. The answer, it seems, is nothing: "I think you’re going to see that in the next 12 months," replied Spencer, "I don’t think anything is going to stop us from doing that." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/fixing-ps5-xbox-series-x-launch-issues-next-gen-console-watch"] Spencer doesn't go into any specifics on the mooted app, but we've previous heard the Xbox exec discuss the idea of Xbox 'Streaming Sticks' that could be used to stream games through xCloud after being plugged into the TV. These could even be made part of the Xbox Game Pass subscription cost. It's not clear if Microsoft is considering which approach to take, or if it will take both, allowing those with higher-powered TVs simply to download the app, and those without to use a plug-in solution. Spencer reiterated that he doesn't see streaming as the end of Microsoft's dedicated consoles, however, saying, "I don’t think these will be the last big pieces of hardware that we ship." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-xbox-series-x-games&captions=true"] Instead, he sees the future of Xbox as a hybrid of in-built computing power and streaming: "When we think about xCloud, which is our version of [Google] Stadia or [Amazon] Luna, I think what it needs to evolve to are games that actually run between a hybrid environment of the cloud and the local compute capability, and that they can actually take full advantage of the cloud that’s there and that’s available, but also full advantage of my edge compute capability that I have in my home in the console. It’s really a hybrid between both of those." He later continued, "I don’t think the outcome is by definition going to be, 'everything becomes terminal-server in my home and all my games are just running completely in the cloud.' When we think about the evolution of our game platform, it’s really more of a hybrid game platform between edge and cloud that we’re shooting for." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/05/xbox-series-x-review"] Given the scarcity of Xbox Series X and S right now, many would likely jump at the opportunity to simply stream Xbox games directly onto their TVs. For now, if you are in the market for Xbox Series X and S, Black Friday may see more consoles go on sale – make sure to check out our best Xbox Black Friday deals page for more on that. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Fortnite Crew Is a Monthly Subscription That Comes With a Battle Pass and Exclusive Outfit

Fortnite is starting up a monthly subscription service with the arrival of Chapter 2 - Season 5. Dubbed Fortnite Crew, players can sign up for $11.99 a month to gain unique perks and benefits beyond just purchasing a new Battle Pass every season. Fortnite Crew will launch on December 2, the same day as Season 5. As a monthly subscription, the $11.99 cost will be recurring, but each month players will get a series of bonuses, including exclusives. Subscription members will get:
  • Battle Pass for the full season - Members will have access to the current season’s Battle Pass.
  • 1,000 V-Bucks each month.
  • A monthly Crew Pack - Subscribers will get an exclusive Fortnite Crew Pack each month with an always-new Outfit Bundle.
  EN_14BR_Social_Subscriptions_Social The first Outfit Bundle is the Galaxia Outfit and Style with a Cosmic Llamacorn Pickaxe and Fractured World Back Bling. Epic says a Crew Pack will contain a new Outfit and at least one accessory, and these items are exclusive to Fortnite Crew subscribers. Players can purchase a subscription directly from the Item Shop or Battle Pass purchase screen. If players already purchased a Battle Pass when subscribing, they’ll be refunded 950 V-Bucks. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/24/fortnite-fortnite-crew-announce-trailer"] Fortnite is currently in the midst of its Marvel-themed Nexus War, and it seems that Galactus will be arriving just in time for the Finale. Be sure to tune in to see how Fortnite’s massive crossover ends. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Fortnite Crew Is a Monthly Subscription That Comes With a Battle Pass and Exclusive Outfit

Fortnite is starting up a monthly subscription service with the arrival of Chapter 2 - Season 5. Dubbed Fortnite Crew, players can sign up for $11.99 a month to gain unique perks and benefits beyond just purchasing a new Battle Pass every season. Fortnite Crew will launch on December 2, the same day as Season 5. As a monthly subscription, the $11.99 cost will be recurring, but each month players will get a series of bonuses, including exclusives. Subscription members will get:
  • Battle Pass for the full season - Members will have access to the current season’s Battle Pass.
  • 1,000 V-Bucks each month.
  • A monthly Crew Pack - Subscribers will get an exclusive Fortnite Crew Pack each month with an always-new Outfit Bundle.
  EN_14BR_Social_Subscriptions_Social The first Outfit Bundle is the Galaxia Outfit and Style with a Cosmic Llamacorn Pickaxe and Fractured World Back Bling. Epic says a Crew Pack will contain a new Outfit and at least one accessory, and these items are exclusive to Fortnite Crew subscribers. Players can purchase a subscription directly from the Item Shop or Battle Pass purchase screen. If players already purchased a Battle Pass when subscribing, they’ll be refunded 950 V-Bucks. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/24/fortnite-fortnite-crew-announce-trailer"] Fortnite is currently in the midst of its Marvel-themed Nexus War, and it seems that Galactus will be arriving just in time for the Finale. Be sure to tune in to see how Fortnite’s massive crossover ends. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

John Barrowman Returning for Doctor Who Holiday Special

John Barrowman is reprising his role as Captain Jack Harkness for Doctor Who's upcoming holiday special. On Monday, the BBC made an announcement about Barrowman's return to the Whoniverse, confirming that the actor would be donning the famous coat once more for the upcoming festive special, titled Revolution of the Daleks, which is set to air sometime over the holiday season. Alongside this news, the official Doctor Who Twitter account released a brief 15-second clip to confirm his return. The fan-favourite Captain, who was first introduced as a recurring guest character in Season 1 of the Doctor Who revival and ultimately fronted the show's spin-off series Torchwood, previously made a brief cameo appearance in the fifth episode of Season 12, "Fugitive of the Judoon," in which he delivered a stark warning about "the lone Cyberman" before disappearing from our screens again. In Revolution of the Daleks, Captain Jack will be on hand to help 'the fam' as they discover "a disturbing plan forming involving one of the Doctor's most feared and dangerous enemies, the Daleks." With the Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) locked away in space prison, Captain Jack will try to help save planet Earth, together with Yaz (Mandip Gill), Ryan (Tosin Cole), and Graham (Bradley Walsh). [caption id="attachment_2443025" align="alignnone" width="2048"]Image credit: BBC Image credit: BBC[/caption] "Putting on Jack's coat and setting foot back on the set of Doctor Who was just like going back home," Barrowman said of his return to the Whoniverse. "It's always thrilling to play Captain Jack. He's a character very close to my heart who changed my life, and to know the fans love him as much as I do makes his return even sweeter. I hope everyone enjoys Jack's Heroic adventure with Thirteen." Doctor Who executive producer Chris Chibnall also expressed his excitement over Barrowman's return. "A Doctor Who Festive Special means treats galore, and there's no bigger treat than the return of John Barrowman to Doctor Who, for an epic and emotional feature-length episode," he declared in his statement. "If anyone can blast away the sheer rubbishness of 2020, it's Captain Jack. Daleks beware!" [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-most-essential-doctor-who-episodes&captions=true"] Before you step back into the TARDIS this holiday season, read Jodie Whittaker's essay on what the iconic role means to her, check out our beginner's guide to Doctor Who, and then take a look through our extensive guide to all of the Doctors, past and present. After you've learned everything that you need to know, watch IGN's historic Q&A with Jodie Whittaker, Matt Smith, and David Tennant. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Official Baby Yoda Mandalorian Macarons Cost $50, Somehow

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Mandalorian: Season 2, Episode 4. [poilib element="accentDivider"] You can now buy official Baby Yoda Mandalorian macarons for a hefty price tag. The folks at io9 reprogrammed their tracking fobs to locate the fluorescent-blue space macarons that The Child stole and subsequently consumed in the latest episode of The Mandalorian, titled "Chapter 12 - The Siege." The asset was found to be with Williams Sonoma, a luxury brand that is selling a 12-pack of the official Mandalorian "Nevarro Nummies Macarons" for $50, so you might want to store them in your camtono rather than your lunch box. The official description for the crave-inducing confectionary on the Williams Sonoma site reads: "Inspired by a sweet moment when a young Nevarro student debated sharing his treats with the Child, 21st-century artisans in California have created these ethereal French-style almond macarons capturing the essence of this scene with Nevarro Nummies. For authentic galactic flavor, each exquisite treat is artfully hand-piped with a rich, creamy vanilla filling." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/26/the-mandalorian-season-2-episode-4-review"] After the whole egg-eating debacle, many were pleased to see that the impishly curious and perpetually hungry Child had moved onto the moreish macarons in this episode, even though his methods of acquiring them only served to continue his run of bad behaviour this season. The tunic-wearing tyke hasn't lost too many fans though, as Star Wars veteran Daisy Ridley recently defended his eating habits, saying "Yoda's got to get strong." We would be inclined to agree with that sentiment, as it's possible that Gideon might want to merge Baby Yoda's Force abilities with a new army of supersoldiers. After the events of Chapter 12, it looks like The Dark Trooper is now an official part of Disney's Star Wars timeline, which means that Mando and friends could have a very dangerous new enemy to contend with. For more, read about how the series is adapting the formidable video game villain. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-mandalorian-season-2&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Mortal Kombat 11: Skins Based On The 1995 Movie Teased

Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon has teased a series of skins based on actors from the 1995 Mortal Kombat movie for Mortal Kombat 11. You can see three polaroids in the embedded tweet from Boon below, showing off alternate costumes for Raiden, Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade. If you've seen the 1995 movie, you'll recognize these skins as they're using the likeness of Christopher Lambert's Raiden, Linden Ashby's Johnny Cage, and Bridgette Wilson's Sonya Blade. It's not clear when these new skins will arrive in-game, but it's a nice touch for fans of the cult classic movie, directed by Paul W. S. Anderson of 2002's Resident Evil and the upcoming Monster Hunter movie. A Reddit leak from a few months ago teased that the aforementioned actors may return to lend their voice to the game, suggesting a fully-fledged Mortal Kombat movie pack is on the way. Back in October, Mortal Kombat 11 added Rambo as DLC and revealed that the game was coming to the PS5 and Xbox Series X and S. We reviewed Mortal Kombat 11 upon release, scoring it a 9 and calling it "the best game in the 27-year-old series." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/04/22/mortal-kombat-11-review"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

WandaVision Will Pay Homage to The Office and Modern Family, Says Feige

MCU boss Kevin Feige has confirmed that WandaVision will pay homage to contemporary sitcoms like The Office and Modern Family. In an interview with Empire, Feige talked about the various shows that have influenced Marvel's WandaVision. He opened up about the different styles that have been employed across the six-episode series, revealing that some episodes will feature mockumentary techniques similar to those found in more modern sitcoms, while still honouring several classic sitcoms from the '50s, '60s, and '70s. "I loved TV, and watched far too much The Dick Van Dyke Show and I Love Lucy and Bewitched and everything," Feige explained, touching on some of WandaVision's classic TV influences before moving onto the contemporary styles that are present in the series. "We go up to the Modern Family and The Office style. The talk-to-the-camera, shaky-camera, documentary style." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/12/wandavision-has-an-official-release-date"] WandaVision is reuniting Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff and Paul Bettany's Vision in a trippy dreamscape that will shift the duo through various family sitcom styles of several different eras - from the black and white '50s/early '60s era to the groovier '60s/'70s period and the classic '80s/"TGIF" '90s. In order to replicate these classic sitcoms, Olsen and Bettany even acted out some scenes in front of a live studio audience. Olsen previously said that Feige managed to win her over on the concept of the show by discussing specific Scarlet Witch comic book stories with reference to the Disney+ series, though she didn't share which specific storylines would be brought to the screen. Feige, however, told Empire that WandaVision will delve further into the character's "ill-defined and unexplored" powers. "If you look at the Infinity Saga, I don't think any single person has gone through more pain and trauma than Wanda Maximoff. And no character seems to be as powerful as Wanda Maximoff. And no character has a power-set that is as ill-defined and unexplored as Wanda Maximoff," he said. "So it seemed exploring that would be worthwhile post-Endgame. Who else is aware of that power? Where did it come from? Did the Mind Stone unlock it?" [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=marvels-wandavision-all-the-tv-sitcom-influences&captions=true"] Based on this information and all of the footage shown in previous trailers, we've already concluded that the show will act as the MCU's House of M storyline – so you might want to read our explanation of what that could mean ahead of WandaVision's new Disney+ premiere date, which is now set for January 15, 2021. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Orlog From Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Is Getting A Physical Release

Assassin's Creed Valhalla's ancient Viking dice game Orlog will receive a physical release in 2021. Board game website Dicebreaker has learned that a physical version of the popular dice-based minigame is in production: "Ubisoft will be working with pop culture collectibles producer PureArts to publish a physical version of Orlog in 2021. Ubisoft did not provide any further details or dates at this time," the article reads. This is great news if you're already playing a lot of the fun dice-based board game within Valhalla. If you're yet to play Orlog, you can find opponents in many of Valhalla's bustling towns, where you can sit down, chuck dice and win special God Favours to help you become the ultimate Orlog master. Unlocking God Favours from one part of the world can help you defeat Orlog Masters in another, so don't get dissuaded if you're struggling at first. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/09/assassins-creed-valhalla-review"] In case you're wondering, Orlog isn't a real Viking game, but was designed to feel at home in the real Viking world. “The goal was to have a game that would be ‘credible’ rather than historically accurate as we didn’t find any clear rules throughout our research,” said Ubisoft co-development game director Benoit Richer in an interview with Dicebreaker. We reviewed Assassin's Creed Valhalla upon the game's launch earlier this month, scoring it an 8 and noting its "beautiful open-world." If you're struggling to find some of the game's many collectables you can also check out our Interactive Valhalla Map, which will point you towards any Wealth or Mysteries you might be missing. If you're looking to get your hands on Valhalla as a whole, Black Friday may be the best time. Check out our best Black Friday video game deals, as well as deals for PS5 games, or Xbox Series X/S games. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Fuser Review

I've never really been a musician. When I was in middle school, I took the trumpet. In high school, I took guitar lessons. But I was never dedicated enough to the craft and I dropped both after a couple of years. Making music, even just for fun, was a prospect I left behind a long time ago. So I'm surprised by how inspired I was by Fuser, Harmonix' new musical mash-up making game. While it has a score-based story mode similar to the studio's past games, Fuser actually empowers you to be creative and make music from parts of songs you may already know. The core mechanic, switching tracks in and out to make music, is easy to use and wonderful to play with. The game Harmonix built on top of that core idea, however, doesn't always take advantage of it effectively. As a result, Fuser is better at spurring you to be creative than it is at challenging you. That may sound like a daunting, niche experience, but no game's made it easier to feel good about getting creative.

Fuser rides a vanishing line between music game and music-making toolkit. As a mash-up DJ, you create music by blending (or fusing) parts of songs together to make a new and often dancier version of your own. Each of the 80-plus songs in the base game's library, plus a growing supplemental library of DLC songs, is broken down into four color-coded instrumental tracks, which you can switch in and out on the fly, changing the song as you go. You can play the drums from "Killing in the Name" by Rage Against The Machine, the guitar from "Jolene" by Dolly Parton, the trumpets from "Bring ‘Em Out" by T.I., and the lyrics of Sean Paul's "Temperature," and they'll all cohere into one brand new sample. Your set is an evolving compilation of combinations.

The music you use spans decades and genres far beyond what you might expect from a game about DJing at a music festival. The tracklist spans pop, rock, country, dance, hip-hop, R&B, and Latin/Caribbe music from the 1960s through 2020. As with Rock Band, there's a nostalgia that draws you in, but you quickly cultivate a new and surprisingly deep relationship with specific tracks that you may not have had before. I found myself growing to enjoy songs I knew but didn't really love before, and staying away from some songs I like, but don't fit in with the songs I like using most. Everybody I know Guitar Hero or Rock Band has a song they know and like from playing those games. The same thing happens here.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Fuser Review

I've never really been a musician. When I was in middle school, I took the trumpet. In high school, I took guitar lessons. But I was never dedicated enough to the craft and I dropped both after a couple of years. Making music, even just for fun, was a prospect I left behind a long time ago. So I'm surprised by how inspired I was by Fuser, Harmonix' new musical mash-up making game. While it has a score-based story mode similar to the studio's past games, Fuser actually empowers you to be creative and make music from parts of songs you may already know. The core mechanic, switching tracks in and out to make music, is easy to use and wonderful to play with. The game Harmonix built on top of that core idea, however, doesn't always take advantage of it effectively. As a result, Fuser is better at spurring you to be creative than it is at challenging you. That may sound like a daunting, niche experience, but no game's made it easier to feel good about getting creative.

Fuser rides a vanishing line between music game and music-making toolkit. As a mash-up DJ, you create music by blending (or fusing) parts of songs together to make a new and often dancier version of your own. Each of the 80-plus songs in the base game's library, plus a growing supplemental library of DLC songs, is broken down into four color-coded instrumental tracks, which you can switch in and out on the fly, changing the song as you go. You can play the drums from "Killing in the Name" by Rage Against The Machine, the guitar from "Jolene" by Dolly Parton, the trumpets from "Bring ‘Em Out" by T.I., and the lyrics of Sean Paul's "Temperature," and they'll all cohere into one brand new sample. Your set is an evolving compilation of combinations.

The music you use spans decades and genres far beyond what you might expect from a game about DJing at a music festival. The tracklist spans pop, rock, country, dance, hip-hop, R&B, and Latin/Caribbe music from the 1960s through 2020. As with Rock Band, there's a nostalgia that draws you in, but you quickly cultivate a new and surprisingly deep relationship with specific tracks that you may not have had before. I found myself growing to enjoy songs I knew but didn't really love before, and staying away from some songs I like, but don't fit in with the songs I like using most. Everybody I know Guitar Hero or Rock Band has a song they know and like from playing those games. The same thing happens here.

Continue Reading at GameSpot