Monthly Archives: November 2020

Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop Adds 6 New Cast Members

Netflix's live-action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop has expanded its cast with six new actors. The streamer has announced that Geoff Stults, Tamara Tunie, Mason Alexander Park, Rachel House, Ann Truong, and Hoa Xuande have all joined the series, which was greenlit for a ten-episode first season last year, with Shinichirō Watanabe, the director of the original series and the movie, attached to the project on a consulting basis. Stults (12 Strong) is playing Chalmers, who is said to be the epitome of a Western lawman. He is also Jet Black's former co-detective in the ISSP's Homicide Division. According to Netflix, he wears "a chronic smile that makes you want to punch him square in the face... especially Jet. And that's only partly because Chalmers is dating his ex-wife these days." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/07/john-cho-talks-upcoming-cowboy-bebop-netflix-series"] Tunie (Better Call Saul) is taking on the role of Ana, "the proprietor of the hottest underground bluesy jazz club on Mars" who "acts as a surrogate mom to Spike." Her official character description reveals that "there is nothing warm and cuddly about her," as she is described as a "cool and intense" character that you wouldn't want to trifle with. Despite her tough exterior, Ana has found herself a wing person in Gren, who will be portrayed by Park (Acting for a Cause). They both run the front of the house for Ana's jazz club and are described as being "as capable with their wit as a glock" and "as confident in a dress as a suit," making them the "Bowie-esque embodiment of 22nd century handsome and seductive beauty." Meanwhile, House (Thor Ragnarok) is starring as Mao, the Capo of the Syndicate's "White Tigers" family. Mao might be one to watch out for, as she is said to be "more cunning, adept, crafty and deadly than her counterparts." It is indicated that her "blue-collar background" might have played a part in her contrasting characteristics, which set her aside from the rest of the group. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-live-action-anime-remake-currently-in-development&captions=true"] Truong (Romper Stomper) and Xuande (Top of the Lake) round out the casting announcement, playing Shin and Lin. A deadly duo who will be "dressed to kill (because they do)," working as Vicious' twin Syndicate henchman. Despite being fearful of their volatile boss, they are said to be "fiercely loyal to Vicious in his quest to take down Spike Spiegel." These six new faces join Netflix's Cowboy Bebop series alongside several previously confirmed cast members, including John Cho as bounty hunter Spike Spiegel, Mustafa Shakir as his partner Jet Black, Daniella Pineda as femme fatale Faye Valentine, Alex Hassell as Spike's rival Vicious, and Elena Satine as Spike's old flame Julia. For more on the upcoming series, here's what we think Netflix's Cowboy Bebop needs to get right. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Rockstar Teasing New Grand Theft Auto Online Content

Rockstar has posted a short Grand Theft Auto Online video clip that appears to be teasing new content for the ever-popular online crime sandbox.   The ten-second clip shows a computer system opening the 'El Rubio Dossier', which is filled with a green-tinged set of photographs of landscapes, including farmland and a beach. Briefly the name 'John Doe' is displayed, before the video feed cuts off. The details in the small text claim that Doe's last known location was at Los Santos International Airport, and that they are affiliated with El Rubio, whoever they may be. From this short tease, it's not clear at all what Rockstar are teasing. It is, presumably, new content for Grand Theft Auto Online, but how John Doe and El Rubio will factor in is unknown. There is a map of an island shown in the 'HUD' of the video, though; perhaps this is where Doe has gone after feeling from Los Santos International? [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=gta-online-diamond-casino-and-resort-new-images&captions=true"] New content for GTA Online does arrive every now and again, but the mysterious nature of this trailer seems to suggest this may be bigger than the typical content drops. Perhaps we can expect something similar in scale to last year's Diamond Casino heist? For more on GTA Online, check out how to claim GTA$1,000,000 to spend in-game, details on the recent Los Santos Summer Special update, and our report from the front-lines of the GTA alien war. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Marvel’s Avengers: Kate Bishop DLC Release Date Finally Revealed

Kate Bishop will arrive in Marvel's Avengers on December 8, and the other Hawkeye, Clint Barton, will arrive in early 2021. Next-gen versions of the game will arrive in early 2021. After a delay in October, Kate Bishop will come to the game as part of a new campaign Operation, Taking A.I.M. All of the new content will be added for free. "Kate is searching for her former mentor, Hawkeye," reads the offical blurb, "but along the way she discovers a conspiracy involving Nick Fury, time travel, and a frightening new enemy." Gameplay of Kate shows her using both ranged bow attacks, melee finishers with a sword, and being able to teleport short distances (using Quantum tech stolen from A.I.M). As you'd hope from a Hawkeye, Kate comes with multiple arrow types - Razor, Scatter, Explosive, and Smokescreen. She can also create a distracting Decoy hologram, use a Warp Arrow to teleport, and can use her Ultimate to fire Quantum empowered arrows. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/19/marvels-avengers-war-table-deep-dive-kate-bishop-video"] We also see a Super Adaptoid boss that combines visual elements of Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America, and combines "all of the Avengers powers" Taking A.I.M. is the first new chapter of Season 1 of the Avengers Initiative campaign. After being thought dead, Kate embarks on a rescue mission for her mentor, Clint "Hawkeye" Barton - using a bridge through time to rescue him, and cut antagonist Monica Rappaccini "off from her future self". Operations promise to add heroes, villains, missions, biomes, and more - and they'll be structured in arcs like the Marvel comics they're inspired by. Taking A.I.M. will also offer exclusive rewards. A brief teaser also shows that Clint Barton will be added as a playable character in early 2021, as part of Operation Future Imperfect, which will take place in a future where "all hope is lost" – including a villainous Old Hulk. Gameplay reveals will be coming in the very near future, according to developer Crystal Dynamics. The teaser also confirmed that next-gen versions of the game will arrive in early 2021. More improvements are also promised, including cross-platform play. [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.

Apple to Pay $113 Million to Settle Allegations it Purposely Slowed Down iPhones for Financial Gain

Apple will pay $113 million to settle allegations as to why it purposefully slowed down iPhone 6s, 7s, and SEs in 2016. 33 US states decided to take Apple to court over the practice of purposely slowing down iPhone performance, claiming that Apple throttled iPhone 6, 7, and SE units with the intent to push those iPhone owners into buying new devices.. Now the company is settling for $113 million, according to the BBC. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-iphone-review&captions=true"] The 33 states in the lawsuit claimed that Apple acted deceptively and should have either replaced batteries for users or disclosed the issue. "Many consumers decided that the only way to get improved performance was to purchase a newer-model iPhone from Apple," Arizona attorney general Mark Brnovich said in a court document from the lawsuit. "Apple, of course, fully understood such effect on sales." Apple has admitted that it has slowed down older iPhones, but has said that phones are in fact slowed to preserve battery life when new updates hit. It acknowledged this in 2017 after researchers determined there were slowdowns on older models of phones, the BBC reports. Apple has always denied the decision was made for financial gain. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/13/apple-removes-fortnite-from-ios-app-store"] The $113 million settlement does not require Apple to admit it did anything wrong or that it broke the law. The company did, however, agree to provide "truthful information" about iPhone batteries across its website, update notes and phone settings for the next three years. This settlement is different from the one Apple agreed to in March for a $500 million class action lawsuit. The company still has battles to wage in court despite this settlement, namely the case between it and Epic Games. You can read about how Apple believes Epic requested a special deal in regards to the financial agreement made between the two when Epic put Fortnite on the Apple App Store, and then read how some of Apple's claims it brought to court against Epic were recently thrown out by a judge. After catching up on all of that, check out our thoughts on Apple's latest iPhones in our iPhone 12 review and our iPhone 12 Pro review. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes

Tetris: Taron Egerton to Play Video Game Designer in New Biopic

Taron Egerton is set to lead the cast of Tetris, a new biopic coming from director Jon S. Baird and producer Matthew Vaughn. Deadline reports that all of the pieces have started to fall into place for the upcoming Tetris movie, which is set to chronicle the complicated history of the legal battle that ensued over the intellectual property rights for the popular puzzle game in the late '80s. Egerton will portray Dutch video game designer Henk Rogers, who played a pivotal part in the dispute over the franchise's copyright. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/21/revealed-your-top-5-upcoming-shows-movies-based-on-games-power-ranking"] With the project starting to move forward, more and more details have started to drop online. The latest news brings word of Apple boarding the Tetris biopic, which is being produced and financed by Matthew Vaughn's Marv Films, together with Leonard Blavatnik's AI Film. Unigram's Gregor Cameron is also involved as a producer alongside Gillian Berry. Director Jon S. Baird is said to be finalizing the rest of the cast for the video game-inspired movie, as he is reportedly gearing up to start production in Scotland at the beginning of December. There are several major players in the story that are yet to be cast, including Russian software engineer Alexey Pajitnov and British businessmen Robert and Kevin Maxwell. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=13-movie-stars-who-made-the-jump-to-video-games&captions=true"] Egerton seems to be a good starting point though, as he has now become well-versed in portraying real-life figures on the big screen. Most notably, he played the titular character in 2016's Eddie the Eagle, followed by singer-songwriter Elton John in the 2019 musical Rocketman. IGN praised his part in Rocketman for contributing to "a compelling, exhilarating and heartbreaking journey." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Nintendo Tells Businesses and Organizations Not to Use Animal Crossing for ‘Political Purposes’

Nintendo has published a set of new guidelines informing businesses and organizations how they may use Animal Crossing: New Horizons as part of their operations. Among those rules is a request that businesses “refrain” from using the game for political purposes. The full guidelines are split into two segments; permitted and prohibited activities. In the section covering things Nintendo wishes business to avoid, the company asks “Please refrain from using the Game inappropriately or creating any content within the Game that would be considered vulgar, discriminatory, or offensive. Please also refrain from bringing politics into the Game.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/16/animal-crossing-new-horizons-review"] The guidelines do not elaborate on what Nintendo means by ‘politics’, so it’s unclear if it refers purely to the use of Animal Crossing in reference to government politics, or if this applies to the wider social political landscape. It is possible that this specific clause has been created in response to the Joe Biden campaign in the recent US election, which hosted an island with information on the Biden Harris campaign and instructions on how to vote. Nintendo has made it clear that it intends to take action against any business it deems to have broken these guidelines. “If we see your activity is not following these guidelines or is damaging or having bad influence on the community, we may ask you to stop such activity or usage of our contents, and take appropriate actions, including prohibiting your future business usage of the Game,” the company said. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=animal-crossing-winter-update-2020-screenshots&captions=true"] As for what businesses can do with Animal Crossing, Nintendo stipulates that they may provide custom designs to other players provided they are not sold for financial gain, Dream Addresses may be sent to other players, island invites can be sent, and screenshots/gameplay clips can be uploaded to websites and social media. It should be noted that these guidelines are for businesses, not for the general public. There are no specific rules that target political protesting from an individual player’s game. For more, be sure to take a look at everything coming in the Animal Crossing November update, and all the new and leaving critters and villager birthdays in November. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Hitman Developer Announces New Bond Game, Project 007

Hitman developer IO Interactive has announced Project 007, a new James Bond game. Announced in a teaser trailer today, IO describes the game as a "wholly original Bond story" in which "players will step into the shows of the world's favorite Secret Agent to earn their 00 status in the very first Bond origin story." In active development for consoles and PC, Project 007 (a working title) will be created on IO's own Glacier engine, which was used for the recent Hitman games. It's not clear exactly what kind of game Project 007 will be, but given IO's history with stealth and espionage games, the studio's Hitman model seems like a potentially close fit. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/19/io-interactive-bond-game-project-007-teaser-trailer"] The point about this being the first James Bond origin story is slightly confusing, given that Casino Royale features Bond earning 00 status, and there has been a series of Young Bond books by writer Charlie Higson. We've asked for clarification on that. The game is being made in collaboration with Bond movie studios MGM and Eon Productions. No release date or actors have been announced at time of writing. “It’s true that once in a while, the stars do align in our industry,” said IO CEO Hakan Abrakin a press release, “Creating an original Bond game is a monumental undertaking and I truly believe that IO Interactive, working closely with our creative partners at EON and MGM, can deliver something extremely special for our players and communities. Our passionate team is excited to unleash their creativity into the iconic James Bond universe and craft the most ambitious game in the history of our studio.” IO is recruiting for the project in both its Copenhagen and Malmö studios. There's also the small matter of Hitman 3, which comes to PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Stadia and PC on January 20. Later, it will even come to Nintendo Switch as a cloud game. [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 Coming Back to iOS via GeForce Now

GeForce has announced that its cloud streaming system, GeForce Now, is coming to iOS, and that it has partnered with Epic Games to bring a touch-controlled version of Fortnite to the platform. This will essentially bring Fortnite back to iOS, without the need for an App Store listing. GeForce Now is Nvidia’s platform that allows users to play compatible PC games that they own via the cloud. The system is already available via bespoke apps for PC, Mac, and Android, but the new iOS version for iPhone and iPad is accessed via the Safari browser by visiting the GeForce Now website. The service goes live in beta form today. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/13/apple-removes-fortnite-from-ios-app-store"] Because GeForce Now streams ‘proper’ PC games, you’ll need a controller linked to your iPad or iPhone, such as the Razer Kishi or a compatible bluetooth controller to play (keyboard and mouse-only games are not supported). However, in order to act as a true replacement for the iOS version that was pulled as part of Epic and Apple’s legal battle, Fortnite will be provided with touch controls. Because of the work needed for this feature, Fortnite will not be available when the service launches today, and will be added in the “near future.” If you’ve not heard of GeForce Now before, Nvidia’s system allows you to play PC games in the cloud, powered by Nvidia’s tech, rather than on your gaming PC. This means you can use a phone or underpowered laptop to play games at 1080p, 60 FPS, with ray tracing turned on and at highest settings. You do need to own the games, but GeForce Now imports your existing Steam/Origin/Epic/Ubisoft libraries, rather than you buying them specifically from Nvidia. The service can be used for free with some limitations, or with more features for a $4.99 monthly subscription. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/10/nvidia-geforce-now-review"] By using GeForce Now on iOS, you’re effectively playing games using Nvidia’s new RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 graphics card technology, including ray tracing and DLSS, without needing to buy an expensive GPU. Hopefully your data plan is up to the job, though; it might bring Fortnite back to iPhones, but it is a streaming system rather than installed game, and so will need a good network connection and enough data to eat. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

New Monster Hunter Movie Trailer Praised for Looking More Like the Games

The Monster Hunter movie has received a new Chinese-language trailer, which has been praised for looking a lot more like the games on which it's based. The movie arrives in China on December 4, and an action-packed new trailer for the region (below) offers fans a closer look at the featured monsters, powerful weapons, and fantastical locations of Paul W.S. Anderson's take on the franchise. The footage shows glimpses of Nerscylla, Diablos, Rathalos, and Apceros. Perhaps even more interesting to fans was the tease for a Palico, who looks like a version of the Meowscular Chef from Monster Hunter: World. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/19/monster-hunter-chinese-official-movie-trailer"] In response, fans of the Monster Hunter franchise have taken to social media to commend the look and tone of the new trailer, which appears to be closer in style to Capcom's bestselling video game series of the same name. Some users directly compared the new trailer with the previously-released US trailer that received criticism for focusing on the American military characters in the movie. You can check out that less-loved first trailer below: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/14/monster-hunter-exclusive-official-trailer"] The monsters in the trailer include some classic fan-favourites, some creepy critters, and one purrfect new addition in the form of the Palico chef, who served as a surprise ending to the preview. After watching it right the way through, social media users highlighted the cinematic adaptation of the cat-like comrade as a faithful adaptation of the source material. Milla Jovovich stars alongside Tony Jaa, Diego Boneta, Ron Perlman and T.I. Harris in the Monster Hunter movie, which is slated to hit theaters in the UK on December 4 and in the US on December 30 after having been previously postponed to April 2021. Before the monsters are unleashed, check out IGN's hunt down of 12 interesting details about the live-action feature. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=monster-hunter-movie-images&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Demon’s Souls PS5 Mystery Door: Every Possible Clue So Far

Bluepoint Games is, once again, up to something. Since the release of the PlayStation 5 and Demon's Souls, keen fans have been scouring the upscaled world for new additions and secrets, and they've found something quite startling. There's a mysterious locked door that has been added by Bluepoint in the remake, and the community is beginning to find potential clues for how to open it. On November 14, user OrganizedBonfire posted a video of his find to Reddit, with the title "Does anyone know how to open this door in 1-3?" In the video, we can see them encountering an illusory wall not present in the 2009 original. If you want to find it for yourself, it's in the third section of the first Archstone, the Gates of Boletaria. You have to defeat an Archdemon in any other Archstone before you can reach it. But don't worry if you haven't done that yet, because if you interact with the door at present, you get a prompt saying that "It appears to be locked." The community has been using the game's Photo Mode to circumvent the limits of the door, and they've found that there's a body lying on a bench, with an item attached. Keeping an eye on progress, Bluepoint Games has now alluded to this via the company's official Twitter account. In the tweet embedded below, you can see the armoured body lying in the area beyond the door. The tweet mentions "A symphony of rumours" which has led some of the community to think that the door might be activated by playing music or speaking into the PS5's DualSense controller, but there have been no firm results based on such theories just yet. It seems Bluepoint was alluding to another cryptic tweet issued by the account in October 2019, prior to the reveal of Demon's Souls, when fans were trying to figure out what they were working on. The 2019 tweet reads "black monsters escape twisted hills to wander lands and siphon souls" which definitely sounds like an allusion to Demon's Soul's Black Phantoms and the Soul Drain mechanic. This could play a part in solving the wider mystery, but there are other interesting developments. I decided to check out the game's credits to see if there were any secrets there and spotted a number of hidden goat heads in the game's environments... Bluepoint is no stranger to using goats as secret-teasing material, as they previously left cave paintings of similar-looking creatures in the Shadow of the Colossus remake. and have referenced goats multiple times in the studio's cryptic tweets. Commenters underneath my Reddit post about the goats have been dreaming up potential solutions... could the locations of these goat's heads be pointing towards another clue? Do we need to shoot each goat head's location with arrows? Regardless, the greatest lead so far has to be the Ceramic Coins. Bluepoint has added a few new items to Demon's Souls, including two sets of coins, Gold Coins and Ceramic Coins. Gold Coins could be found by killing Fat Official enemies, but Ceramic Coins have proved to be even more elusive. One of the door's main mystery hunters, Distortion2 has been charting his attempts to unlock the secret, and revealed the location of the new item while playing the game at Pure White World Tendency, in Fractured Mode (which mirrors every environment in the game). Of course, this isn't the only Ceramic Coin in the game. Members of the community have already found multiple Ceramic Coins at both Pure White World Tendency and Pure Black World Tendency, across all of the Archstones. The coins vaguely resemble the symbols on the mysterious door. The reason this is such an interesting lead is that in Bluepoint's Shadow of the Colossus remake, there were 79 hidden coins that players had to find in order to unlock a new area and a special sword. It seems the studio is teasing something similar here. If we swing back to the 2019 Bluepoint tweet for a moment, there's a final passage that could be of use. It ends with "Filter your candy collections, soft from solid, and be eco-friendly. Have a metal Halloween." Excuse the tinfoil hat, but of the two new coins added to Demon's Souls, one set is soft and made of clay, and the other is made of solid gold. Is this the final step in the mystery? With the discovery of this new lead, the hunt to unlock the mysterious door has stepped up another notch. If you want to get involved in the coin-hunting community, there are many ways to help out. If you find anything, do post it to the Demon's Souls subreddit, or use the appropriate channels in the affiliated Discord. At present, the community is asking users to submit their attempts at opening the door to a Google Form, in order to create a spreadsheet and whittle down what works and what doesn't. There is, of course, far more to enjoy about Demon's Souls on PS5 than just this mystery – we awarded the game a 9/10 review, saying that "smart quality of life changes and gorgeous visuals go a long way in modernizing this tough PS3 classic." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/16/demons-souls-review-ps5"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.