Join Cardy, Matt, and Dale for a spoiler-filled chat about God of War Ragnarok as they go through each of the game's key plot points, pick out their favourite characters, moments, and more.

Got a game for us to play or some feedback you'd like read out on the show? Why not email us: ign_ukfeedback@ign.com.

IGN UK Podcast: God of War Ragnarok Special

• IGN UK Podcast 672: Atomic Heart is a Real Game
• IGN UK Podcast 671: Black Panther: Mars Bars Forever
• IGN UK Podcast 670: Kissing Sonic and Long Furbys
• IGN UK Podcast 669: God of War Ragnarok Review Discussion
• IGN UK Podcast: The Elden Ring Special (Finally)

Join Cardy, Matt, and Dale for a spoiler-filled chat about God of War Ragnarok as they go through each of the game's key plot points, pick out their favourite characters, moments, and more.

Got a game for us to play or some feedback you'd like read out on the show? Why not email us: ign_ukfeedback@ign.com.

IGN UK Podcast: God of War Ragnarok Special

• IGN UK Podcast 672: Atomic Heart is a Real Game
• IGN UK Podcast 671: Black Panther: Mars Bars Forever
• IGN UK Podcast 670: Kissing Sonic and Long Furbys
• IGN UK Podcast 669: God of War Ragnarok Review Discussion
• IGN UK Podcast: The Elden Ring Special (Finally)

The Lord of the Rings actor Bernard Hill, who played King Théoden in The Two Towers and The Return of the King, isn’t a fan of The Rings of Power.

During an interview with Metro, the Lord of the Rings star revealed he hasn’t been watching the new Amazon show and has some strong opinions about its creation.

“No, not interested,” he said. “It’s a money-making venture and I’m not interested in watching that or being in it. Good luck to them and all that stuff but it’s not like the real thing.”

Of course, it’s unlikely that King Théoden would appear in The Rings of Power, with the show taking place in an era around a thousand years before Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films. But the fact the former King of Rohan isn’t bothered about what happened to his ancestors is perhaps a bit disappointing for some fans.

It’s not just the new series he isn’t interested in, however, as it looks as though Hill wasn’t at all bothered by The Hobbit and its sequels either. Asked whether The Lord of the Rings franchise should have ended with The Return of the King, Hill replied simply: “Completely, yes.”

He continued: “I think they were pushing it when they made The Hobbit. The Hobbit’s a tiny book. They did it well – they did it really, really well. They expanded it, [but] I think you can only stretch a piece of elastic so far. I think they managed it in The Hobbit because there were some really good things in The Hobbit, without a doubt.”

IGN’s review of The Rings of Power gave it 8/10 and said: “The Rings of Power largely succeeds by staying faithful to J. R. R. Tolkien’s themes and tone, if not all the specifics of his canon. Some inconsistent plotting and unnecessary misdirection slows it down, but doesn’t derail the story, and when it reaches its climax in the sixth episode it all comes together brilliantly."

Want to read more about The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power? Find out what Andy Serkis thought of the show as well as the best order to watch The Lord of The Rings films.

Image Credit: New Line Cinema

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

The Lord of the Rings actor Bernard Hill, who played King Théoden in The Two Towers and The Return of the King, isn’t a fan of The Rings of Power.

During an interview with Metro, the Lord of the Rings star revealed he hasn’t been watching the new Amazon show and has some strong opinions about its creation.

“No, not interested,” he said. “It’s a money-making venture and I’m not interested in watching that or being in it. Good luck to them and all that stuff but it’s not like the real thing.”

Of course, it’s unlikely that King Théoden would appear in The Rings of Power, with the show taking place in an era around a thousand years before Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films. But the fact the former King of Rohan isn’t bothered about what happened to his ancestors is perhaps a bit disappointing for some fans.

It’s not just the new series he isn’t interested in, however, as it looks as though Hill wasn’t at all bothered by The Hobbit and its sequels either. Asked whether The Lord of the Rings franchise should have ended with The Return of the King, Hill replied simply: “Completely, yes.”

He continued: “I think they were pushing it when they made The Hobbit. The Hobbit’s a tiny book. They did it well – they did it really, really well. They expanded it, [but] I think you can only stretch a piece of elastic so far. I think they managed it in The Hobbit because there were some really good things in The Hobbit, without a doubt.”

IGN’s review of The Rings of Power gave it 8/10 and said: “The Rings of Power largely succeeds by staying faithful to J. R. R. Tolkien’s themes and tone, if not all the specifics of his canon. Some inconsistent plotting and unnecessary misdirection slows it down, but doesn’t derail the story, and when it reaches its climax in the sixth episode it all comes together brilliantly."

Want to read more about The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power? Find out what Andy Serkis thought of the show as well as the best order to watch The Lord of The Rings films.

Image Credit: New Line Cinema

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Capcom has announced that Street Fighter 6's Closed Beta Test 2 will take place from December 16 to 19.

Announced in a blog post, applications for entry into the second testing period are now open, though Capcom is being a lot more strict as a result of people selling their codes for Beta Test 1 online.

Players must now have their Capcom ID and platform account linked before applying for entry, and once submitted, will have a chance to be selected via a random lottery. Those who participated in the first test will gain automatic entry into the second.

A total of eight characters will be playable - Luke, Jamie, Ryu, Chun-Li, Guile, Kimberly, Juri, and Ken - though character creation will also be available alongside other Battle Hub features. Six stages including Metro City Downtown, Genbu Temple, Carrier Byron Taylor, Tian Hong Yuan, The Macho Ring, and Training Room are also available.

The modes included are Ranked Match, Casual Match, Battle Hub Match, Open Tournament, Extreme Battle, Game Centre, and Training Mode.

Players can participate in cross-platform play (on and between PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC) and experience different control types, commentary, the Capcom Fighters Network, online match Fight Request functions, battle tutorials, battle settings, and photo mode.

IGN said Beta Test 1 was the "best fighting game beta" we've ever played, saying "everything from the presentation, to the stellar netcode, to the gorgeous battle hub, to the ease of finding matches, to the sheer number of options and modes accessible," was top notch.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Capcom has announced that Street Fighter 6's Closed Beta Test 2 will take place from December 16 to 19.

Announced in a blog post, applications for entry into the second testing period are now open, though Capcom is being a lot more strict as a result of people selling their codes for Beta Test 1 online.

Players must now have their Capcom ID and platform account linked before applying for entry, and once submitted, will have a chance to be selected via a random lottery. Those who participated in the first test will gain automatic entry into the second.

A total of eight characters will be playable - Luke, Jamie, Ryu, Chun-Li, Guile, Kimberly, Juri, and Ken - though character creation will also be available alongside other Battle Hub features. Six stages including Metro City Downtown, Genbu Temple, Carrier Byron Taylor, Tian Hong Yuan, The Macho Ring, and Training Room are also available.

The modes included are Ranked Match, Casual Match, Battle Hub Match, Open Tournament, Extreme Battle, Game Centre, and Training Mode.

Players can participate in cross-platform play (on and between PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC) and experience different control types, commentary, the Capcom Fighters Network, online match Fight Request functions, battle tutorials, battle settings, and photo mode.

IGN said Beta Test 1 was the "best fighting game beta" we've ever played, saying "everything from the presentation, to the stellar netcode, to the gorgeous battle hub, to the ease of finding matches, to the sheer number of options and modes accessible," was top notch.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Ubisoft has released some surprise DLC for Assassin's Creed Valhalla that features a character from the next game, Assassin's Creed Mirage.

As reported by Polygon, Ubisoft announced on Twitter (below) that a new quest called Shared History can now be downloaded for free, introducing Roshan from the upcoming Mirage to Valhalla protagonist Eivor.

Roshan is the mentor of Basim, another character from Valhalla and protagonist of the next game. Given his status as a master assassin, it's only natural that Roshan is too, and her quest kicks off with some foreshadowing of what's to come in Mirage.

Surprise! Roshan from Assassin's Creed Mirage makes an appearance in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla with our latest update. Eivor and Roshan team up in "Shared History" - a new free quest available now! #AssassinsCreed pic.twitter.com/s7QOcjaavS

— Assassin's Creed (@assassinscreed) November 29, 2022

This DLC (alongside the previously announced Last Chapter) marks the end of Valhalla's post launch content and arrives more than two years after the game launched in November 2020. Already confirmed to tie up the story of Eivor, it makes sense that Ubisoft also wants to tease the next game in its final piece of DLC for the Viking adventure.

Mirage leaked earlier this year but was officially revealed in September as the next mainline Assassin's Creed game launching sometime in 2023. Set in Baghdad around 20 years before the events of Valhalla, Mirage promises a tonal return to the franchise's roots.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Ubisoft has released some surprise DLC for Assassin's Creed Valhalla that features a character from the next game, Assassin's Creed Mirage.

As reported by Polygon, Ubisoft announced on Twitter (below) that a new quest called Shared History can now be downloaded for free, introducing Roshan from the upcoming Mirage to Valhalla protagonist Eivor.

Roshan is the mentor of Basim, another character from Valhalla and protagonist of the next game. Given his status as a master assassin, it's only natural that Roshan is too, and her quest kicks off with some foreshadowing of what's to come in Mirage.

Surprise! Roshan from Assassin's Creed Mirage makes an appearance in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla with our latest update. Eivor and Roshan team up in "Shared History" - a new free quest available now! #AssassinsCreed pic.twitter.com/s7QOcjaavS

— Assassin's Creed (@assassinscreed) November 29, 2022

This DLC (alongside the previously announced Last Chapter) marks the end of Valhalla's post launch content and arrives more than two years after the game launched in November 2020. Already confirmed to tie up the story of Eivor, it makes sense that Ubisoft also wants to tease the next game in its final piece of DLC for the Viking adventure.

Mirage leaked earlier this year but was officially revealed in September as the next mainline Assassin's Creed game launching sometime in 2023. Set in Baghdad around 20 years before the events of Valhalla, Mirage promises a tonal return to the franchise's roots.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's first post launch patch has arrived alongside a promise from Nintendo to take the games' tech problems seriously.

Patch notes released on Nintendo's website for version 1.1.0 of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet say that the broken music during the Elite Four and Top Champion battles has now been fixed, alongside a vague confirmation that "other select bug fixes have been made". The patch, available now, also kicks of Season 1 of Ranked Battles.

Nintendo also committed to improving the performance of the first open world Pokémon games and apologised for the various issues that are present in the launch versions.

"We are aware that players may encounter issues that affect the games' performance," Nintendo said. "Our goal is always to give players a positive experience with our games, and we apologize for the inconvenience. We take the feedback from players seriously and are working on improvements to the games."

It didn't say when these updates would arrive, however, but this first patch was released just under two weeks after the game launched and exactly three weeks after it released its "day one patch" to those with early copies. If Nintendo sticks to a similar trend, it could be mid to late December before we see another update to Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

Issues found so far include a broken PvE experience in the endgame, a rigged Battle Stadium, duplication glitches, a bizarre method of running at double speed, and more.

The poor performance was also a major factor in our 6/10 review, as IGN said: "The open-world gameplay of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is a brilliant direction for the future of the franchise, but this promising shift is sabotaged by the numerous ways in which Scarlet and Violet feel deeply unfinished."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

James Gunn keeps teasing his future plans for the DC Universe, and his latest hint appears to be a wink and a nod to a comic book miniseries, Kingdom Come.

Gunn posted his latest hint on Twitter, with a short and sweet "Making Plans" caption. The origins of the DC image go all the way back to the 90s with the release of Kingdom Come, and that same artwork was also featured as a cover in the four-part series.

Making plans. pic.twitter.com/cubPgga066

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) November 30, 2022

While Gunn's tweet isn't enough to say there's a strict adaption on the way, it may indicate the next DCU projects will borrow a few ideas from the material. In the original, Superman sits at the center of an older and younger generation of superheroes. As the eras clash, the turmoil between superheroes becomes as big a problem as handling some of the world's villains.

As for the specifics circulating around this image, that's anyone's guess, Gunn hasn't responded to much confirming just what his tweet will mean for future DC projects. However, his most recent replies do include a quick back-and-forth with Guardians of the Galaxy actress Pom Klementieff.

After a fan tweeted their hope Klementieff was part of the plan, Gunn simply responded, "Pom's always a part of our plans!"

Gunn has taken to Twitter to tease a few other ideas around the DCU and where it's headed. Earlier this month, Gunn shared a photo of Mister Terrific with no text; leading fans to speculate Michael Holt will show up at some point. The DC Studios co-CEO also noted new DCU films and video games will share the same canon.

And while DC fans have plenty of high hopes about trending topics like #SaveLegendsofTomorrow and #ReleaseTheAyerCut—Gunn sounds focused on what lies ahead for new entries. Once again, he opened up on Twitter to explain DC's current position, writing: "our initial focus is on the story going forward, hammering out the new DCU, & telling the Biggest Story Ever Told across multiple films, television shows, & animated projects."

Andrea Shearon is a freelance contributor for IGN covering games and entertainment. She's worn several hats over her seven-year career in the games industry, with bylines over at Fanbyte, USA Today's FTW, TheGamer, VG247, and RPG Site. Find her on Twitter (@Maajora) or the Materia Possessions podcast chatting about FFXIV, RPGs, and any series involving giant robots.