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Monthly Archives: December 2020

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Justice League Investigation Over, “Remedial Action” Taken Over Fisher Claims

"WarnerMedia’s investigation into the Justice League movie has concluded and remedial action has been taken,” WarnerMedia announced in a statement Friday night following a months-long investigation into allegations made by Cyborg Ray Fisher of a toxic, hostile working environment under reshoots director Joss Whedon. In August, WarnerMedia officially launched a third-party investigation into Justice League actor Ray Fisher's claims that reshoots director Joss Whedon ran a toxic, hostile set and that former DC Films co-chairs Geoff Johns and Jon Berg enabled the alleged bad behavior. Fisher also claimed Johns reprimanded him for complaining up the chain about it at the time. The actor also alleged that DC Films boss Walter Hamada pressed Fisher to "relent on Geoff Johns." While it remains unclear what "remedial action" was taken, Fisher observed on Twitter, "Some we’ve seen, and some that is still to come." It may be completely unrelated to the WarnerMedia investigation, but Joss Whedon recently left his HBO show The Nevers. Whedon cited the ongoing pandemic as a reason for his stepping aside. (HBO is part of WarnerMedia.) Fisher also tweeted a letter WarnerMedia sent him congratulating him for coming forward with his allegations: "WarnerMedia appreciates you having the courage to come forward and assist the company with creating an inclusive and equitable work environment for it’s employees and partners.” Fisher thanked his supporters and added, "There are still conversations that need to be had and resolutions that need to be found." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/justice-league-the-snyder-cut-trailer"] WarnerMedia's statement Friday is an about-face for the company considering that in September they issued a lengthy statement slamming the Cyborg star and denying Fisher's claims about Walter Hamada. The studio also alleged at the time that Fisher has refused to meet with their third party investigator to discuss the case. Fisher denied that. Previously, Justice League producer and former Warner Bros. co-president of production Jon Berg fired back at Fisher's claims that Berg and his former fellow DC Films exec Geoff Johns "enabled" any alleged bad behavior from Whedon on set. Berg also revealed one thing he claimed Fisher was upset about during the reshoots. Berg told Variety at the time that it was "categorically untrue that we enabled any unprofessional behavior.'" Berg also said Fisher was upset that the filmmakers wanted him to utter one of Cyborg's signature catchphrases from his small screen appearances. “I remember [Fisher] being upset that we wanted him to say ‘Booyaa,’ which is a well known saying of Cyborg in the animated series,” Berg said. Ray Fisher recently shot additional footage for The Snyder Cut of Justice League, which will debut on HBO Max in 2021. Fisher said he had reshot almost all of his scenes when Joss Whedon took over the project, saying only a single scene of his from Snyder's original version made it into the theatrical release. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=justice-league-snyder-cut-all-the-known-differences-from-the-theatrical-version&captions=true"]
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Patty Jenkins’ Star Wars: Rogue Squadron Movie Will Have an Original Story

Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins is directing a Star Wars: Rogue Squadron movie, and while Rogue Squadron is known to many as a video game franchise (not to mention a series of tie-in novels), her film will feature an original story rather than a direct adaptation of pre-existing narrative. Even so, Jenkins assures the movie will honor everything in the Rogue Squadron franchise that came before it. “[In the Star Wars: Rogue Squadron movie] we're doing something original with great influence from the games and the books,” Jenkins told IGN in an interview. “There's a lot of things being acknowledged and understood about the greatness of all of those things, but yes, it's an original story and I'm so psyched to do it." The Rogue Squadron video game series first launched in 1998, featuring Luke Skywalker’s team of ace Rebel pilots taking on the Empire. The games featured iconic starfighter battles seen in the Original Trilogy like the Death Star trench run and the Battle of Hoth, as well as original ones created for the games. The first game’s plot took place during and after the Original Trilogy. It followed Luke and his trusted friend and fellow pilot Wedge Antilles as they attempted to destabilize the Galactic Empire by carrying out hit-and-run missions and escorting Imperial defectors to safety within the Rebel Alliance. The game featured main antagonist Moff Kohl Seerdon and culminated in a battle on Mon Calamari to stop the planet-destroying World Devastators. While the games have become classics in the eyes of Star Wars gamers, fans should expect Jenkins to build a fresh story from the ground up. The film is slated for a Christmas 2023 release. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/10/star-wars-rogue-squadron-patty-jenkins-announcement-video"] Two Rogue Squadron game sequels followed in the form of Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader and Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike, as well as the spin-off Star Wars Episode I: Battle for Naboo. The games were praised for their faithful attention to detail with the various Star Wars spaceships such as the X-Wing, A-Wing, and Y-Wing, as well as their fun, arcade-style flight action gameplay. Deborah Chow and Bryce Dallas Howard are notable for being the first female directors to play in the live-action Star Wars universe by taking on episodes of The Mandalorian, and now Jenkins continues to break new ground for the franchise by being the first woman director to helm a live-action Star Wars movie. Jenkins' upcoming film Wonder Woman 1984 is a sequel to her 2017 hit that grossed $821 million worldwide. The sequel reunites Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman with the mysteriously returned Steve Trevor, played by Chris Pine, and pits her against Pedro Pascal’s Maxwell Lord and Kristen Wiig’s Barbara Minerva aka the Cheetah. The film releases on December 23, 2020 both in theaters and on the HBO Max streaming service. Star Wars: Rogue Squadron was one of the many Star Wars announcements revealed during Disney Investor Day 2020, including an Ahsoka Tano Spinoff, Rangers of the New Republic, a Star Wars: Lando Calrissian series, a High Republic series called Acolyte, an anime called Star Wars: Visions, Star Wars: Andor, and Hayden Christensen's return as Darth Vader in Disney+'s Obi-Wan Kenobi series. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-upcoming-star-wars-movie&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joshua is a Senior Editor and Producer of Features at IGN. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Star Wars are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.
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Cyberpunk 2077’s Developer’s Bonus Structure Changed After Launch Issues

Following launch issues surrounding Cyberpunk 2077, CD Projekt Red has allegedly changed its developer's bonus structure to ensure they will still get their bonuses. As reported by Bloomberg, executives at CD Projekt SA have taken "responsibility for the buggy release of the highly-anticipated title Cyberpunk 2077 this week" and have made changed to make sure that the team "will receive their full bonuses no matter how the game is reviewed." “We initially had a bonus system that was focused on the game’s ratings and the release date, but after consideration, we believe that measure is simply not fair under the circumstances,” wrote Adam Badowski, studio head and creative director for Cyberpunk 2077, in the email to staff that was obtained by Bloomberg. “We underestimated the lengths and complexity involved to make this a reality, and still you did everything you could to deliver an ambitious, special game.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/10/cyberpunk-2077-review-with-new-gameplay"] As of this writing, Cyberpunk 2077 has a 90 on review-aggregate site Metacritic, which reveals that high standards the team had set for itself. Despite these high review scores, Cyberpunk 2077's launch has been impacted by many factors, including a possible seizure-inducing sequence in the game, poor performance on base PS4 and Xbox One units, and copyrighted songs that may cause DMCA strikes for streamers. Furthermore, these issues and others have caused CD Projekt Red's stock to drop 29% around the launch of Cyberpunk 2077. Current and former employees talked to Bloomberg about how the bonus structure previously worked for Cyberpunk 2077 devs, and it's a bit complicated. Every month, team leads would give out tokens - styled after the company's logo, no less - to "members of the their team they felt deserved honors." These tokens could then be transferred into bonuses if Cyberpunk 2077 were to meet certain criteria. Under the revised system, those "payouts will be guaranteed even though Cyberpunk 2077 was delayed and the review score has been mixed." Bloomberg also notes that these bonuses come "on top of regular annual profit-sharing payouts," but that "there has been concern it pushed them to work longer hours." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/11/cyberpunk-2077-xbox-one-series-xs-and-ps4-tested-early-framerate-analysis-results"] This tracks with an earlier report that revealed CD Projekt Red had enacted mandatory six-day work weeks to finish work on Cyberpunk 2077. This came after promises that no crunch would be implemented. All these issues aside, Cyberpunk 2077 appears to be a bonafide commercial success. CD Projekt revealed that its pre-order sales had already covered the entire development and marketing cost of the game, and that Cyberpunk 2077 had sold 8 million copies before launch. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=cyberpunk-2077-pc-gameplay-screenshots&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
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JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot Forms Game Studio With Left 4 Dead Creator

Bad Robot Productions, JJ Abrams’ movie, and TV production company, has launched a video game division under the guidance of former Valve executive Michael Booth. In 2018, Abrams announced that Bad Robots will be expanding into video games with Bad Robot Games, but the newest venture under Booth will bring video game development in-house. Meaning Bad Robot themselves will begin developing and designing games on their own. Booth will serve as general manager and will lead the creative team through the company’s first game, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Booth was formerly a developer for Turtle Rock Studios, the developers of Left 4 Dead and Back 4 Blood. He was project lead on games such as Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, Nox, as well as working on Team Fortress 2 and Command & Conquer: Generals. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/17/left-4-dead-3-is-not-in-the-works"] In a statement to Hollywood Reporter, Booth says, "My career has been driven by a desire to innovate new ways of bringing people together for epic adventures online, leaving them exciting stories they can tell their friends afterward." Booth added, "The games I create center around people working together to survive and thrive in fantastic worlds, which seems an excellent fit for JJ Abrams' approach to moviemaking. As a huge fan of JJ's work, I'm incredibly excited by the unique opportunity to create something new at Bad Robot Games Studios in collaboration with the world-class talent at Bad Robot." There has been no word on what Bad Robots’ first project will be. [poilib element="accentDivider"]Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.
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Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 Review

Fans of competitive, block-dropping puzzle games had it pretty rough for most of the last decade. Creativity in the Tetris space was being stifled by a strict set of game-rules guidelines imposed by The Tetris Company, while Puyo Puyo was mostly trapped in Japan, playable only by those international fans fervent enough to tread import waters. Thankfully, things have changed somewhat on both fronts, bringing us the unusual mashup title Puyo Puyo Tetris in 2017 to critical and fan success. Three years later, we now have a follow-up in the form of Puyo Puyo Tetris 2. While it keeps much of what made the original game a success, it offers a few new game modes and online enhancements--but as a sequel, it lacks the same punch as the original.

Like in the original game, Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 is built around an engine combining these two competitive puzzle titans into a singular game entity. Players pick either Puyo Puyo or Tetris gameplay and go up against an opponent, with rules adjusted according to which style they're using--or they can play a mode that switches between Puyo Puyo and Tetris gameplay at set intervals. If you're feeling especially brave, you can attempt Fusion mode, which puts Puyo blobs and Tetromino blocks on the same board in a complex rules mashup that will put your puzzling skills to the true test.

But that's just the beginning. There's a lot on offer in Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 for both solo and multiplayer play. The Adventure mode offers an all-new story, complete with a pleasant new overworld interface and featuring a cast of colorful weirdos--mostly from the expanded Puyo Puyo universe--who solve all of their problems and disagreements by tossing colored blobs and blocks at each other. The game modes change in every chapter, so Adventure Mode serves as a way to practice and learn the various styles of gameplay available while also unlocking characters, in-game shop credits, and various embellishments for your profile. While the rainbow-colored characters and their jokey personalities are certainly cute, the nonsensical nature of the narrative will either charm you to bits or leave you mashing the skip button to get to the dropping faster. This mode takes a few hours to finish, and future DLC expansions have been teased.

Continue Reading at GameSpot
Posted in Uncategorized

Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 Review

Fans of competitive, block-dropping puzzle games had it pretty rough for most of the last decade. Creativity in the Tetris space was being stifled by a strict set of game-rules guidelines imposed by The Tetris Company, while Puyo Puyo was mostly trapped in Japan, playable only by those international fans fervent enough to tread import waters. Thankfully, things have changed somewhat on both fronts, bringing us the unusual mashup title Puyo Puyo Tetris in 2017 to critical and fan success. Three years later, we now have a follow-up in the form of Puyo Puyo Tetris 2. While it keeps much of what made the original game a success, it offers a few new game modes and online enhancements--but as a sequel, it lacks the same punch as the original.

Like in the original game, Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 is built around an engine combining these two competitive puzzle titans into a singular game entity. Players pick either Puyo Puyo or Tetris gameplay and go up against an opponent, with rules adjusted according to which style they're using--or they can play a mode that switches between Puyo Puyo and Tetris gameplay at set intervals. If you're feeling especially brave, you can attempt Fusion mode, which puts Puyo blobs and Tetromino blocks on the same board in a complex rules mashup that will put your puzzling skills to the true test.

But that's just the beginning. There's a lot on offer in Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 for both solo and multiplayer play. The Adventure mode offers an all-new story, complete with a pleasant new overworld interface and featuring a cast of colorful weirdos--mostly from the expanded Puyo Puyo universe--who solve all of their problems and disagreements by tossing colored blobs and blocks at each other. The game modes change in every chapter, so Adventure Mode serves as a way to practice and learn the various styles of gameplay available while also unlocking characters, in-game shop credits, and various embellishments for your profile. While the rainbow-colored characters and their jokey personalities are certainly cute, the nonsensical nature of the narrative will either charm you to bits or leave you mashing the skip button to get to the dropping faster. This mode takes a few hours to finish, and future DLC expansions have been teased.

Continue Reading at GameSpot
Posted in Uncategorized

Chris Evans Is Very Excited to Play Buzz Lightyear

Disney fans, Pixar fans, and Toy Story fans are excited about Lightyear, but there might be nobody more excited about the movie than its star, Chris Evans. It was announced yesterday that Evans will play Buzz Lightyear in Disney Pixar's Lightyear movie, which hits theaters June 17, 2022. It was just one of the many announcements from Disney's recent investor call and Evans can't contain his excitement for the role. "Working with Pixar is a dream come true," Evans said in an Instagram post yesterday. "I've been a massive fan of their films since the very beginning. My team could barely contain their excitement when they told me that Pixar had a pitch for me. All they said was 'Buzz Lightyear.'" As you can see in the post above, Evans told his team that he didn't quite understand the pitch because Tim Allen, who has been the voice of Buzz Lightyear for over 20 years, and his performance as the character, were untouchable. He said he needed to know how this character was different from the Buzz Lightyear toy in Toy Story 1, 2, 3, and 4, and why the story of Lightyear is a story worth telling. "I can say 2 things with absolute confidence," he said. "1. I didn't stop smiling through the ENTIRE pitch. Ear to ear. 2. Everyone can rest easy. And get very excited." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-pixar-movies-rotten-tomatoes-score&captions=true"] Evans is living proof of his second point as his excitement about the official announcement couldn't be contained, as evidenced by his Instagram post and elsewhere. Shortly after the announcement was made, the actor said on Twitter, "I don't even have the words." He then explained that the story of Lightyear isn't about the Buzz Lightyear toy featured in the Toy Story movies — it's the origin story of the human Buzz Lightyear that the toy in those movies is based on. It turns out that Evans is just a generally excited person when it comes to anything related to space. Entertainment Weekly writer, Devan Coggan, has a Twitter thread spanning over two years of tweets featuring Evans' many excited reactions to news about space, as you can see in Coggan's tweet below. The thread features over a dozen tweets dissecting how much Evans loves space and every bit of it is worth your time. Almost as if it were written in the stars, Coggan's thread that spans over two years ends with her saying "our boy is going to space" and a picture of Buzz from Lightyear. To infinity and beyond, Chris Evans. If you missed the announcement of Lightyear yesterday, be sure to check it out in our Disney Investor Day 2020 announcement story, which features every movie and TV announcement made during the investor call. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.
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Thor: Love and Thunder to Bring Back Lady Sif

Thor: Love and Thunder isn’t just bringing back Natalie Portman. Lady Sif, once again played by Jaimie Alexander, is set to return, according to a report by Deadline.

Sif/Alexander was absent from Thor: Ragnarok, though her co-stars returned to portray the Warriors Three, who fought against Cate Blanchett’s sinister Hela.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/11/every-marvel-announcement-from-disneys-investors-call"]

Deadline also reports that Lady Sif may appear in other Marvel properties, including Disney Plus’ Loki series.

Sif was featured throughout the first two Thor films as a dedicated ally and secondary possible love interest to the Asgardian god. She also appeared in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., where she aided the cast in pursuing escaped sorceress Lorelei.

Disney spent several hours pouring over details about its plans for 2021 and beyond on Thursday during an investors presentation. This included a multitude of announcements about Marvel, Star Wars, and Disney Plus properties.

Perhaps the most interesting announcement for Thor fans was that actor Christian Bale (Dark Knight) will play Gorr the God Butcher, a fan-favorite nemesis of Thor’s who, as the name implies, sets off a campaign of deicide.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/11/ms-marvel-disney-plus-teaser-trailer"]

You can read much, much more about Kevin Feige’s updates on the MCU here. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/warrior one for IGN.
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The Callisto Project Wants to be The Scariest Next-Gen Horror Game Ever

Glen Schofield wants space to be scary, again. 12 years after creating Dead Space, Schofield is back in the world of sci-fi horror with his new studio Striking Distance, which just announced its survival-horror game The Callisto Protocol. IGN spoke with Schofield a day after The Callisto Protocol was revealed to find out more about the project. And one thing is clear, Schofield’s first and foremost goal with the game is to scare you. “I’m looking forward to really trying to make the scariest game on next-gen platforms [and PC],” says Schofield. “From what I hear — it’s hard to be the creative and talk nicely about it — but from what I hear… [Dead Space] was one of the scarier games of [its generation] and I want to do the same on next-gen, or what’s considered now the current-gen.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/11/the-callisto-protocol-announcement-trailer"] Striking Distance has a peculiar origin. Founded in 2019 by Schofield after he co-directed several Call of Duty games, including Black Ops, Modern Warfare 3, and Advanced Warfare. Striking Distance was built under the PUBG Corp, best known for the battle royale hit PlayerUnknown’s Battleground. Striking Distance then set out to expand the PUBG universe by creating a new narrative experience within it. And The Callisto Protocol is just that. According to Schofield, there is a big combined effort to flesh out the narrative universe of PUBG, and The Callisto Protocol is set within that universe, but 300 years after whenever PUBG is set. “The funny thing is, I came in with this story when I went and met with the PUBG people for the first time and started talking about [The Callisto Protocol] and building a studio. I presented this game to them, and so what we did was we made it fit within the PUBG storyline.” But don’t let the PUBG connection mislead you. Schofield says The Callisto Protocol is not a battle royale game, but a full-on, third-person survival horror game. “You want to see your character and you want to see you going into danger,” Schofield explains when asked about the appeal of the third-person horror genre. “You want to see yourself and what happens to you during the course of this... as you get blood on your suit.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/11/is-the-callisto-protocol-the-dead-space-successor-weve-been-waiting-for-rewind-theater"] Schofield is particularly passionate about next-gen, or rather current-gen, technology and how The Callisto Protocol will take full advantage of the latest tech and development innovations. He highlights innovations in lighting and sound, and how the developers can take advantage of all kinds of new lighting techniques and 3D audio to create a new level of immersion. "When the player is walking, your clothes make a sound when your arm is going across the cloth on your chest and things like that. And so we're getting all those sounds. The sound of the wind just so slightly blowing through your hair. It's crazy." The Striking Distance team is also working on integrating haptics, presumably for controllers like the DualSense. But Schofield lights up when he talks about the visuals. “You got to see the graphics, the graphics are just freaking amazing now,” Schofield tells IGN. “We’re getting so detailed, it slows us down on production, you know what I mean?... We can get so detailed now and fit those graphics on the screen and it’s taking a lot of time to build it.” Schofield still couldn’t share too much about the project, but immersion is the main pillar of its development. “We’re trying to make you really feel like you’re in this world. Even though it’s you escaping from this prison and you’ve got to survive these unthinkable horrors.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-callisto-protocol-game-awards-trailer-screenshots&captions=true"] “The more you are immersed, the more you want to know about that story, the more you want to know about those little hints that we put around. You’re like, ‘What the heck is that about? What is this mystery?’” If immersion comes through the advancements in visuals and audio, the other draw for players in The Callisto Project will be the story, one that’s being handled by a dedicated writing team working to create a deep story. “All I can say is... that my goal and the goal of the team is to make the scariest game on next-gen platforms. So if that’s what you want to play, that’s what we’re bringing.” Check out IGN's full recap of all the announcements and reveals from this year's Game Awards. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.
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