Monthly Archives: May 2021

Apex Legends Launches Season 9 and Its 3v3 Arena Mode, Servers Promptly Crash

Update: While some players have been able to get into matches, Apex Legends' servers have continued to struggle throughout the afternoon. Respawn has been posting regular updates on its social media platforms. "All platforms are continuing to recover, but issues persist. In particular, our Marketplace service is struggling, which is restricting players to base Legends and limited skins. We'll keep these updates coming!" Respawn wrote. Origin likewise experienced a spike in outages according to Downdetector, but it's unclear if the issues are related. On testing the platform for ourselves, we were able to access the platform without any trouble. The original story continues below. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Apex Legends has launched both Season 9 and a new permanent 3v3 mode called Arena, and its popularity has caused server issues that are keeping players from experiencing the new content. Apex Legends developer Respawn has already said that it is working on a fix, and its most recent update at 11:35pm PT on May 4 has confirmed that it is "seeing some progress but we aren't out of the weeds yet. Will keep you updated!" [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/29/apex-legends-legacy-all-valkyrie-abilities-arenas-gameplay-bocek-details"] In addition to Arena, Season 9 also brings with it a new legend named Valkyrie, who is also known as Kairi Imahara. She is the daughter of Viper, a Titan Pilot from Titanfall 2 who was also a member of Blisk's Apex Predators mercenary group. There will also be a new Bocek Bow medium-range weapon, changes to Apex Legends' map Olympus, and various changes to existing Legends. Titanfall fans will also be happy to know that this current season will feature "a ton of Titanfall coming back into the game, one way or another." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/22/apex-legends-the-story-so-far"] For more on Apex Legends, check out where it ranks on our list of the Top 10 Battle Royales, why Titanfall fans are so excited about this new Legend, and our updated review from March 2021. [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.

Apex Legends Launches Season 9 and Its 3v3 Arena Mode, Servers Promptly Crash

Apex Legends has launched both Season 9 and a new permanent 3v3 mode called Arena, and its popularity has caused server issues that are keeping players from experiencing the new content. Apex Legends developer Respawn has already said that it is working on a fix, and its most recent update at 11:35pm PT on May 4 has confirmed that it is "seeing some progress but we aren't out of the weeds yet. Will keep you updated!" [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/29/apex-legends-legacy-all-valkyrie-abilities-arenas-gameplay-bocek-details"] In addition to Arena, Season 9 also brings with it a new legend named Valkyrie, who is also known as Kairi Imahara. She is the daughter of Viper, a Titan Pilot from Titanfall 2 who was also a member of Blisk's Apex Predators mercenary group. There will also be a new Bocek Bow medium-range weapon, changes to Apex Legends' map Olympus, and various changes to existing Legends. Titanfall fans will also be happy to know that this current season will feature "a ton of Titanfall coming back into the game, one way or another." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/22/apex-legends-the-story-so-far"] For more on Apex Legends, check out where it ranks on our list of the Top 10 Battle Royales, why Titanfall fans are so excited about this new Legend, and our updated review from March 2021. [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.

Andrew Garfield Calls Spider-Man: No Way Home Casting Rumors “Hilarious”

As Spider-Man: No Way Home inches closer to its December 17 release, rumors have continued to circulate that the upcoming sequel will unite Tom Holland's Peter Parker alongside Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's versions of the character. Now, months after it was reported that the two actors would return to the property, Garfield has offered his thoughts on the casting rumors on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. "It's so crazy... Dude, it's f—ing hilarious," Garfield said. "I do have this Twitter account and I see how often Spider-Man is trending and it's people freaking out about a thing... I wish I could be able to speak to everyone and just say, 'I recommend that you chill." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/25/spider-man-no-way-home-what-the-title-reveals-about-the-mcu-sequel"] Garfield compared the public's reaction to social deduction games like Mafia and Werewolf, in which players must identify those among them with hidden roles. "You're convincing everyone you're not in the mafia. I feel like I'm in a f—ing game," Garfield said. "I promise you I am not the werewolf. And everyone is like, 'You're the werewolf! You're the f—ing werewolf!'" Podcast host Josh Horowitz then asked Garfield for a simple "yes or no" on his involvement in the movie. The actor offered a somewhat tentative response. "I did not get a call. Listen, I would've gotten a call by now," Garfield said. "I don't want to rule anything out. Maybe they want to call me. Maybe they're going to call me and say, 'Hey, people want this.'" Though Garfield did not offer a straight answer, another actor has been notably candid about his attachment to Spider-Man: No Way Home. Last month, Spider-Man 2's Alfred Molina described his experience reprising the role of Dr. Otto Octavius, or Doctor Octopus, for the film. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-cast-of-spider-man-now-way-home&captions=true"] Additionally, Jamie Foxx's Electro will also be making a return in No Way Home. The character did battle with Garfield's Peter Parker in 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Foxx's and Molina's returns, as well as the reported involvement of Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange, tease a potential multiverse crossover across Spider-Man iterations. Despite the return of their adversaries, both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield have not been confirmed for the cast of No Way Home. Tom Holland strongly dismissed rumors of both actors' involvement in the project in February. [poilib element="accentDivider"] J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer.

Andrew Garfield Calls Spider-Man: No Way Home Casting Rumors “Hilarious”

As Spider-Man: No Way Home inches closer to its December 17 release, rumors have continued to circulate that the upcoming sequel will unite Tom Holland's Peter Parker alongside Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's versions of the character. Now, months after it was reported that the two actors would return to the property, Garfield has offered his thoughts on the casting rumors on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. "It's so crazy... Dude, it's f—ing hilarious," Garfield said. "I do have this Twitter account and I see how often Spider-Man is trending and it's people freaking out about a thing... I wish I could be able to speak to everyone and just say, 'I recommend that you chill." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/25/spider-man-no-way-home-what-the-title-reveals-about-the-mcu-sequel"] Garfield compared the public's reaction to social deduction games like Mafia and Werewolf, in which players must identify those among them with hidden roles. "You're convincing everyone you're not in the mafia. I feel like I'm in a f—ing game," Garfield said. "I promise you I am not the werewolf. And everyone is like, 'You're the werewolf! You're the f—ing werewolf!'" Podcast host Josh Horowitz then asked Garfield for a simple "yes or no" on his involvement in the movie. The actor offered a somewhat tentative response. "I did not get a call. Listen, I would've gotten a call by now," Garfield said. "I don't want to rule anything out. Maybe they want to call me. Maybe they're going to call me and say, 'Hey, people want this.'" Though Garfield did not offer a straight answer, another actor has been notably candid about his attachment to Spider-Man: No Way Home. Last month, Spider-Man 2's Alfred Molina described his experience reprising the role of Dr. Otto Octavius, or Doctor Octopus, for the film. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-cast-of-spider-man-now-way-home&captions=true"] Additionally, Jamie Foxx's Electro will also be making a return in No Way Home. The character did battle with Garfield's Peter Parker in 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Foxx's and Molina's returns, as well as the reported involvement of Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange, tease a potential multiverse crossover across Spider-Man iterations. Despite the return of their adversaries, both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield have not been confirmed for the cast of No Way Home. Tom Holland strongly dismissed rumors of both actors' involvement in the project in February. [poilib element="accentDivider"] J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer.

The Top 10 Best-Selling Star Wars Games in the US Have Been Revealed

The NPD Group has revealed the top 10 best-selling Star Wars games in the US from January 1995 through March 2021, and 2015's Star Wars Battlefront has earned the #1 spot. In celebration of Star Wars Day, The NPD Group's Mat Piscatella shared this top 10 list, which is based on dollar sales and includes physical and full game digital sales from the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation, Steam, and Xbox platforms. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/11/19/your-top-star-wars-games-power-ranking"] While the exact amount earned wasn't revealed for the games, it was confirmed that Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and 2017's Star Wars Battlefront 2 took the #2 and #3 spot, respectively. The full list of the top 10 best-selling Star Wars games is as follows;
  1. Star Wars: Battlefront (2015)
  2. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
  3. Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (2017)
  4. LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
  5. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
  6. Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (2005)
  7. LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
  8. LEGO Star Wars
  9. Star Wars: Battlefront (2004)
  10. Star Wars: Shadow of the Empire
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-star-wars-game-review&captions=true"] Despite its everlasting popularity, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is notably missing from this list, as are LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens and LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars, despite how well the other LEGO Star Wars games have done. Piscatella notes that this list included 106 titles, including "a handful of bundles and oddities." Considering the top three best-selling Star Wars games have been released in the last six years, the future is bright for games that take place in that galaxy far, far away. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/11/14/9-unforgettable-star-wars-moments-in-games"] We already know we will soon be getting LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, and Lucasfilm Games has revealed that Ubisoft has an open world Star Wars game currently in development. [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.

The Top 10 Best-Selling Star Wars Games in the US Have Been Revealed

The NPD Group has revealed the top 10 best-selling Star Wars games in the US from January 1995 through March 2021, and 2015's Star Wars Battlefront has earned the #1 spot. In celebration of Star Wars Day, The NPD Group's Mat Piscatella shared this top 10 list, which is based on dollar sales and includes physical and full game digital sales from the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation, Steam, and Xbox platforms. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/11/19/your-top-star-wars-games-power-ranking"] While the exact amount earned wasn't revealed for the games, it was confirmed that Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and 2017's Star Wars Battlefront 2 took the #2 and #3 spot, respectively. The full list of the top 10 best-selling Star Wars games is as follows;
  1. Star Wars: Battlefront (2015)
  2. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
  3. Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (2017)
  4. LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
  5. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
  6. Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (2005)
  7. LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
  8. LEGO Star Wars
  9. Star Wars: Battlefront (2004)
  10. Star Wars: Shadow of the Empire
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-star-wars-game-review&captions=true"] Despite its everlasting popularity, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is notably missing from this list, as are LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens and LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars, despite how well the other LEGO Star Wars games have done. Piscatella notes that this list included 106 titles, including "a handful of bundles and oddities." Considering the top three best-selling Star Wars games have been released in the last six years, the future is bright for games that take place in that galaxy far, far away. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/11/14/9-unforgettable-star-wars-moments-in-games"] We already know we will soon be getting LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, and Lucasfilm Games has revealed that Ubisoft has an open world Star Wars game currently in development. [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.

Witcher 3 Director Leaves CD Projekt Following Workplace Bullying Claims

Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, the director of The Witcher 3, has resigned from CD Projekt following workplace bullying allegations, which he denies. As reported by Bloomberg, CD Projekt had been conducting a "months-long investigation in to accusations of mobbing, a Polish term for office bullying," against Tomaszkiewicz. The commission that was formed to investigate these allegations found him not guilty, but Tomaszkiewicz decided to still leave the company as there was clear discomfort between him and other members of the studio. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2015/05/12/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt-review"] “Nonetheless, a lot of people are feeling fear, stress or discomfort when working with me,” he wrote. He apologized to staff “for all the bad blood I have caused.” “I am going to continue working on myself,” he continued. “Changing behavior is a long and arduous process, but I’m not giving up, and I hope to change.” According to his LinkedIn profile, he joined CD Projekt as a junior tester in February 2004 to work on The Witcher, and has worked on all three Witcher games and was the Design Director, VP of Game Development, Secondary Game Director, and Head of Production on Cyberpunk 2077. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/02/the-future-of-cyberpunk-2077-the-witcher-on-ps5-xbox-series-x-next-gen-console-watch"] Bloomberg notes that Tomaszkiewicz was set to play a big role in CD Projekt's next Witcher game. When Bloomberg reached out to him for a comment, he said he was "sad, a bit disappointed and resigned." This is another entry in the the fallout following Cyberpunk 2077's troublesome launch, including the poor performance issues on last-gen consoles and a targeted cyberattack. These troubles led to Cyberpunk 2077 being removed from the PlayStation Store on December 17, 2020. It has yet to return. Despite all that, and the roughly 30,000 refunds issued for Cyberpunk 2077, CD Projekt's CEOs and other board members are still set to receive big, multi-million dollar bonuses. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/15/cyberpunk-2077-for-xbox-one-and-playstation-4-review"] [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.

Witcher 3 Director Leaves CD Projekt Following Workplace Bullying Claims

Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, the director of The Witcher 3, has resigned from CD Projekt following workplace bullying allegations, which he denies. As reported by Bloomberg, CD Projekt had been conducting a "months-long investigation in to accusations of mobbing, a Polish term for office bullying," against Tomaszkiewicz. The commission that was formed to investigate these allegations found him not guilty, but Tomaszkiewicz decided to still leave the company as there was clear discomfort between him and other members of the studio. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2015/05/12/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt-review"] “Nonetheless, a lot of people are feeling fear, stress or discomfort when working with me,” he wrote. He apologized to staff “for all the bad blood I have caused.” “I am going to continue working on myself,” he continued. “Changing behavior is a long and arduous process, but I’m not giving up, and I hope to change.” According to his LinkedIn profile, he joined CD Projekt as a junior tester in February 2004 to work on The Witcher, and has worked on all three Witcher games and was the Design Director, VP of Game Development, Secondary Game Director, and Head of Production on Cyberpunk 2077. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/02/the-future-of-cyberpunk-2077-the-witcher-on-ps5-xbox-series-x-next-gen-console-watch"] Bloomberg notes that Tomaszkiewicz was set to play a big role in CD Projekt's next Witcher game. When Bloomberg reached out to him for a comment, he said he was "sad, a bit disappointed and resigned." This is another entry in the the fallout following Cyberpunk 2077's troublesome launch, including the poor performance issues on last-gen consoles and a targeted cyberattack. These troubles led to Cyberpunk 2077 being removed from the PlayStation Store on December 17, 2020. It has yet to return. Despite all that, and the roughly 30,000 refunds issued for Cyberpunk 2077, CD Projekt's CEOs and other board members are still set to receive big, multi-million dollar bonuses. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/15/cyberpunk-2077-for-xbox-one-and-playstation-4-review"] [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.

Total War: Rome Remastered Review — Et Tu, Total War?

The enemy outnumbers us two-to-one and reinforcements are still days away. The raucous Gaul army is at our gates, baying for blood; each enemy soldier is coated in white and blue war paint and a select few operate battering rams that'll plough through our modest wooden defenses in a matter of minutes. The scent of death is in the air and we've got no choice but to stand our ground and fight. "One of you is worth any number of them," bellows our general, shattering the tense silence with an impassioned war cry. "We face adversity, a band of brothers, dedicated to the warrior's code of strength and victory," he continues, rallying the troops. "But we will never know defeat while we stand together! This day we add another triumph to the history of our people! We will be honored as men!"

Whether you go on to achieve victory or succumb to overwhelming odds, moments like this are part of what made Rome: Total War such a beloved strategy game when it launched in 2004--and why its popularity still persists today. It put Total War on the map and laid the groundwork for what has since become a blockbuster series in the strategy genre. With Total War: Rome Remastered, developer Feral Interactive has updated Creative Assembly's seminal title by overhauling the visuals and adding a number of quality of life improvements that make it slightly more appealing for modern sensibilities. Under the hood, however, this is still very much the same game as it was back in 2004, for better or worse.

The Imperial Campaign, for instance, still ingeniously divides the Roman empire into three powerful families: the Julii, Bruti, and Scipii. While there isn't a discernible difference between the three factions in terms of units and building types, each one is fighting wars on different fronts in a bid to conquer the region and expand Rome's power and influence. The Julii are entrenched in a battle with the aforementioned Gauls and Germania in the north, the Bruti clash with the Greek city-states in the southeast, while the Scipii are tasked with defeating Carthage in the southwest. Eventually, all of these disputes turn inward as the three factions descend into a bloody civil war with each other for sole control of Rome. This gradual collision course propels the campaign along and gives the late game a momentous shot in the arm that maintains the intensity until your final turn.

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Total War: Rome Remastered Review — Et Tu, Total War?

The enemy outnumbers us two-to-one and reinforcements are still days away. The raucous Gaul army is at our gates, baying for blood; each enemy soldier is coated in white and blue war paint and a select few operate battering rams that'll plough through our modest wooden defenses in a matter of minutes. The scent of death is in the air and we've got no choice but to stand our ground and fight. "One of you is worth any number of them," bellows our general, shattering the tense silence with an impassioned war cry. "We face adversity, a band of brothers, dedicated to the warrior's code of strength and victory," he continues, rallying the troops. "But we will never know defeat while we stand together! This day we add another triumph to the history of our people! We will be honored as men!"

Whether you go on to achieve victory or succumb to overwhelming odds, moments like this are part of what made Rome: Total War such a beloved strategy game when it launched in 2004--and why its popularity still persists today. It put Total War on the map and laid the groundwork for what has since become a blockbuster series in the strategy genre. With Total War: Rome Remastered, developer Feral Interactive has updated Creative Assembly's seminal title by overhauling the visuals and adding a number of quality of life improvements that make it slightly more appealing for modern sensibilities. Under the hood, however, this is still very much the same game as it was back in 2004, for better or worse.

Total War: Rome Remastered hasn't messed with this engaging setup, although you can now play as the other 15 factions without having to unlock them first--unless you'd prefer to do it the old-fashioned way by defeating each faction during the campaign as one of the Romans. When it comes to upgrades, the most obvious ones are visual, with improved lighting and more detailed terrain making both the battlefields and world map pop with added vibrancy. Environments are still overly sparse, which does make battles fairly lackluster to watch unless elephants are hurling soldiers 30 feet in the air, and the updated units aren't nearly as impressive either, falling some way short of the graphical fidelity we're used to seeing in modern Total War games. As a trade-off, however, Total War: Rome Remastered does feature an experimental "Extreme" setting for unit sizes, allowing you to partake in chaotic battles with an overwhelming number of forces, provided your hardware can handle it. Though loading times are still lengthy no matter which unit size you choose--even if you're running the game off an SSD--which can make the campaign fairly laborious at times.

Continue Reading at GameSpot