Just the term "LASO" sends chills down even the most hardened Halo player's spine. The term refers to completing a Halo campaign on its hardest difficulty — Legendary — with all of the gameplay-modifying Skulls turned on (LASO standing for Legendary All Skulls On). If that doesn't sound hard enough as it is, how about completing the entire LASO run with zero deaths?

That's what content creator Charlie ‘Cr1tikal’ White is challenging the Halo community to complete. In a YouTube video first spotted by PCGamesN, he offered the first player to finish a Halo 2 Anniversary LASO run with zero deaths a $20,000 prize. Besides the seemingly impossible task of a one-life LASO run, Halo 2 is also widely recognized as the most difficult Legendary campaign in the franchise. $20,000 doesn't seem like enough.

Cr1tikal first announced the challenge a couple weeks ago, with a $5,000 prize attached. As the days went by with no takers, he quadrupled the prize to try and entice some fearless gamers to take the challenge. The streamer said he's tried the challenge himself, and was unable to get past the first two rooms of the first mission before giving up.

According to Cr1tikal, a run like this has only been completed once, but it had the Envy skull turned on, allowing Master Chief to turn invisible. So, to up the challenge even further, Cr1tikal is requiring players to turn that one specific skull off.

Other skull effects dramatically change gameplay, from increasing enemy aggression, to making enemies permanently cloaked, to eliminating your shield's ability to recharge normally. It's very possible no one will ever complete Cr1tikal's challenge.

If you want to jump into a Halo experience that won't have you breaking your controller, you can check out the details on Halo Infinite's co-op beta. Or, check out how the famous Halo 2 E3 demo will soon be playable.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Ghostbusters fans are adding Winston Zeddemore to the 1990 Sega Genesis game, after the fourth Ghostbuster was emitted from the original.

As reported by Ghostbusters News (and spotted by Kotaku), Zeddemore was left out as a playable character despite featuring in the first two films and The Real Ghostbusters animated series by the time theb game arrived.

The project is being created by modders Danilo Dias, BillyTime!Games and Master Lunkeui, who shared a first look at the mod on Twitter (below), showcasing Zeddemore in a variety of suits and poses.

Winston in SEGA Mega Drive / Genesis Ghostbusters???

THE MOST WANTED ROM HACK EVER!!!

-Winston is stronger and jumps higher
-New custom palettes:
-Ghostbusters 1 Khaki uniform
-Ghostbusters 2 Dark Blue uniform (my fav one)

Follow the author @BillytimeG
for more! https://t.co/fkfsxpNRRe pic.twitter.com/Enb6ZGdmq0

— Master Linkuei (P.H.G.F.) (@masterlinkueibr) July 16, 2022

Two custom colour palettes will also be available, depicting the original Ghostbusters' khaki uniform and the sequel's dark blue version. The modder also revealed that Zeddemore would be stronger than the other playable characters - Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler - as he can jump higher and do more damage.

Though the mod is still in development, BillyTime!Games also revealed working gameplay on their YouTube channel, showing Zeddemore battling various ghosts on his way around a haunted building.

Myriad Ghostbusters games have been released since this one, of course, with technology moving on quite a lot since the Genesis days. The franchise is even stepping into the virtual reality world with the aptly named Ghostbusters VR, which is coming to both the Meta Quest 2 and PlayStation VR2.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Rodney Barnes' Killadelphia is easily one of the more inventive horror comics to come along in many years, given how the series combines vampire horror with a very grounded look at crime, corruption and murder in a major American metropolis. Fans of that series will definitely want to keep an eye out for Barnes' next horror epic, a period piece dubbed The Butcher of Black Bottom.

This new slasher horror series pairs Barnes with Argentinian artist Germán Erramouspe. The Butcher of Black Bottom will debut digitally on Barnes' Substack channel, Dark Apocrypha Presents, and will later be released in print form through his Zombie Love Studios imprint.

Check out the slideshow gallery below for an exclusive first look at The Butcher of Black Bottom:

There are no vampires to be found this time (that we know of), but plenty of blood will be spilled all the same. The Butcher of Black Bottom is set in 1920's Detroit, a time when the city is seeing a large influx of African American migrants from the South and racial tensions are reaching a boiling point. Adding fuel to that fire is the titular serial killer. Has Detroit attracted its own Jack the Ripper?

“The Butcher of Black Bottom speaks to the struggle to find racial harmony in a post-Civil War America. Where the migration of blacks from the south meets an industrializing north wrestling with its own issues," said Barnes in a press release. "As one might imagine finding peace was no easy chore.”

This series is one of several new horror projects Barnes is debuting in 2022, alongside previously announced books like Blacula (an adaptation of the 1970's Blaxploitation film) and Crownsville, a ghost story set in a black insane asylum.

Barnes will be discussing these and other projects during a pair of horror comics-focused panels at San Diego Comic-Con later this week. The first, "How the Best Horror Comics Summon Readers' Worst Nightmares," will be held on Friday, July 22 at 2:30pm in Room 5AB. The second, "Monsters Are for Everyone," will be held on Saturday, July 24 at 5:30pm in Room 24ABC.

Be sure to check out IGN's full Comic-Con guide to find out how to follow the con and what to expect. And then read up on Substack has suddenly become one of the most important comic book publishers.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

No More Heroes 3 will come to PC, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Xbox One, and PS4 on October 11 - ending what will be over a year of Nintendo Switch exclusivity.

The over-the-top action game arrived for Switch in August last year. In our 6/10 review, we praised its more bizarre elements, but called out its frequent poor performance - these new versions thankfully promise "improved HD visuals and framerates, along with faster loading times," which will hopefully alleviate those issues.

The PS5, PS4, and Xbox versions of the game will also be released as a $59.99 USD physical edition, including "a copy of No More Heroes 3, a 5.3”x7.3” softcover art book with more than 70 pages of gorgeous artwork, a CD featuring 22 full songs from the soundtrack, and a 7”x4” Santa Destroy commemorative biker license plate, with two different, all-new illustrations for both the game case and custom outer box done by series artist Yusuke Kozaki."

The newest installment expands on the story of “otaku hero” Travis Touchdown, who defends Earth against Prince Fu (and climbs his way to the top of the Galactic Superhero Rankings) by way of hack-and-slash combat, open world exploration and minigames (including mowing the lawn).

The series began in 2007, but creator Suda51 has declared No More Heroes 3 the end of Travis Touchdown's story.

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.

The first images from Yakuza 8 have appeared online, revealing that various characters will be returning from previous entry Yakuza: Like a Dragon.

As reported by Famitsu, a behind the scenes video from YouTuber and MMA fighter Mikuru Asakura gave a tour of developer Ryu Ga Gotoku's studio, alongside a brief look at Like a Dragon heroes Ichiban Kasuga, Koichi Adachi, and Yu Nanba in the new game (below).

Yakuza 8 will reportedly be set in a new town, and we also learned that Asakura himself would be appearing as a character in the game. Kasuga has also had somewhat of a makeover, seemingly now appearing with his hair tied back instead of in his iconic wild hairdo.

This is the first proper piece of information we've had about Yakuza 8, as it was only confirmed to be in development at Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio in November 2021.

Studio director Masayoshi Yokoyama did confirm a little at the time, saying the new game would be a continuation of Like a Dragon's story set a few years later, so it makes sense that protagonist Kasuga, Adachi, and Nanba have appeared in this new footage.

We also know that Yakuza 8 will remain a turn-based RPG, after Like a Dragon made a switch to the genre after 7 action-based Yakuza games. In our 7/10 review, IGN said: "Yakuza: Like a Dragon takes some bold steps in a new direction for the series but neglects to maintain its balance."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

IGN and EE Full Fibre Broadband have collaborated to create the Last Player Standing gaming tournament with a £10,000 prize pool.

The tournament takes place in London on August 11 and will see 50 players, with 100 connected devices, compete across four rounds, each featuring a different game and genre, all powered by one EE Full Fibre Broadband connection. Any UK resident above the age of 18 can enter for a chance to participate, with the winner taking home £8,000, second place taking home £1,500, and third place taking home £500.

While the specific games are yet to be announced, the four genres are party, racing, first-person shooter, and fighting. Every player starts in the first round with a party game, with only the best going through to round two and so on.

Players can sign up here, and will be randomly selected, though it's worth noting that, if selected, each player will be responsible for making their own way to the tournament grounds in London, with the specific venue to be announced later.

Every player will be required to use a tournament-supplied laptop and Xbox controller in order to keep things fair, and the Last Player Standing tournament will be filmed, with the footage shared on IGN and EE Full Fibre Broadband's social media channels and websites. Anyone taking part must therefore confirm they're happy to appear in these videos.

Star Wars Hunters, the squad-based PvP shooter from Zynga coming to Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android, has been delayed to 2023.

Announced on the game's Twitter (below), Zynga didn't give a specific reason for the delay, simply saying Hunters was pushed back to "meet the high expectations we are setting for fans globally and ourselves as developers".

The development team is "working tirelessly to achieve our vision for Star Wars: Hunters," the post added. "We understand game delays are frustrating, however, our top priority is ensuring players will have the best possible experience in the arena."

Update on Star Wars: Hunters pic.twitter.com/F0ebimryVY

— Zynga Star Wars (@ZyngaStarWars) July 18, 2022

The game is already available to some players through a soft launch in select countries. The development team promised that this version would continue to be updated regularly until Hunters is fully released.

First announced in February 2021, the game was originally targeting a release date later that year before being delayed to 2022. Zynga released a cinematic and gameplay trailer later in the year showing off the playable characters but hasn't made many major announcements since.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

A new report has claimed that the fan campaign that helped bring about Zack Snyder’s re-cut of Justice League was partially fueled by fake social media accounts.

According to Rolling Stone, WarnerMedia commissioned two reports that looked at the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut social media campaign, and reportedly found that “at least 13 percent” of the accounts involved were fake. Twitter’s own estimates for fake accounts - as made very public amid its ongoing conversations with Elon Musk - sits at around five percent, making this a disproportionate number.

The reports were apparently commissioned following an Instagram post from user @daniras_ilust, which depicted the decapitated heads of Geoff Johns (producer on Justice League), Walter Hamada (DC Films president), and Toby Emmerich (former Warner Bros. Pictures Group chairman). These three men were considered something akin to enemies of Zack Snyder by the movie's fans, and the image was rapidly shared online. Concerned about employee safety, WarnerMedia reportedly commissioned a third-party cybersecurity film to analyse the online behaviour around Justice League.

Rolling Stone reports that it has accessed the main report, from April 2021, which includes the following conclusion: “After researching online conversations about the Snyder Cut of the Justice League‘s release, specifically the hashtags ‘ReleaseTheSnyderCut’ and ‘RestoreTheSnyderVerse’ on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, [the analysts] detected an increase in negative activity created by both real and fake authors. Additionally, three main leaders were identified within the authors scanned on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram — one leader on each platform. These leaders received the highest amount of engagement and have many followers, which gives them the ability to influence public opinion.”

Rolling Stone also conducted its own research, speaking to three cybersecurity and social media intelligence companies. Among them was Q5id, whose chief information officer and chief technology officer, Becky Wanta, said analysis shows that “there’s no question that bots were involved.”

Wanta noted that accounts involved with the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut campaign “arrive at almost the same time in huge numbers”, and that the origins of many messages can often be traced to one or two sources. Should this be the case, then fake accounts may have helped amplify the message of fans pushing for a director’s cut of Justice League.

Not everyone Rolling Stone spoke to believes that fake accounts would have been the key factor in the success of the Snyder Cut campaign. “The bulk of this activity was made up of real and passionate users taking direction from influential figures in the pro-Snyder community,” said Avneesh Chandra, a data analyst at Graphika. “We regularly see these types of adversarial social media campaigns that are driven by real people coordinating online.”

While Zack Snyder’s Justice League was released back in 2021, the social campaign around it still continues to this day, having pivoted to campaigning for a restoration of the ‘SnyderVerse’ and installing Justice League producer Deborah Snyder, as head of DC’s film department.

The #ReleaseTheSnyderCut campaign inspired a whole book on the issue, and IGN's own feature explores the true story behind the Snyder Cut.

Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Features Editor.

Netflix has revealed a release date, new trailer, and some key art for Tekken: Bloodline, its upcoming animated series based on the beloved fighting video game franchise.

The latest trailer for Tekken: Bloodline confirms that the animated series is poised to enter battle on Netflix on August 18. The two-minute teaser shows longtime Tekken fighter Jin Kazama in his early years as he seeks to avenge his mother's death, embarking on a heroic mission that ultimately leads him to The King of Iron Fist Tournament.

and here's the key art! who's hyped?? pic.twitter.com/gOTwyfwXAg

— Netflix Anime (@NetflixAnime) July 19, 2022

Alongside the trailer, Netflix released key art for the animated series that positions Kazama front and center, above the ring. He will be joined by several familiar faces from the Tekken franchise, including Heihachi Mishima, Kazuya Mishima, Leroy Smith, King, Jun Kazama, Paul Phoenix, and Ogre, among a fleet of other famous fighters.

Series creator Katsuhiro Harada shared a bit more about what fans can expect from the upcoming series, explaining that fans and newcomers alike will be able to learn more about "Jun Kazama's story, who is Jin Kazama's Mother, and what it was like for the two of them living in Yakushima," with scenes based on a story that was previously only written in text.

This isn't the first time that Tekken has explored other entertainment mediums, however. An anime Tekken film was released in 1998, a live-action film followed in 2009, and the CGI Tekken: Blood Vengeance film arrived in 2011. Tekken: Bloodline is just the latest addition to the ever-expanding fighting franchise, and joins a growing roster of video game adaptations.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

This story contains spoilers for Thor: Love and Thunder!

Thor: Love and Thunder star Brett Goldstein sent his parents to see the film… but didn’t tell them that he was in it as a post-credits surprise.

During an interview with Variety, the 42-year-old actor and comedian explained how he tried to trick his parents to go and see the Thor sequel. But it sounds as though it ultimately backfired.

“My mom and dad, I sent them a text and said ‘I’ve just seen Thor.’ I knew it’s not the kind of film they’d see. I said, ‘You should go see it. It’s funny.’”

“My mom is texting me all the way through the film giving me a running commentary,” he added. “I’m like, ‘Just watch the film!’ It gets to the end bit, where it shows Russell Crowe… My mom texts me ‘Russell Crowe’s in it again, he’s very funny.’ I go, ‘F***ing look up at the screen!’”

Goldstein appeared at the very end of the film in a post-credits scene.

Zeus (Russell Crowe) had been defeated by Thor (Chris Hemsworth) earlier in the film and turns to his son to get his revenge. That’s right – Goldstein stars as Hercules and, teasing an upcoming clash between himself and the God of Thunder, Goldstein responds “Yes, father.”

“I didn’t tell anyone because Marvel put a chip in my neck that said ‘If you talk about this you’re dead,’” joked Goldstein. But there was one friend he confided in – Ted Lasso co-star Hannah Waddingham.

“He said to me, ‘I’ve been offered this thing… Do you guys think I should do it?'” Waddingham explained. “I went, ‘Are you mental? Are you actually having a little bit of a moment? You’re seriously thinking that you might not play Hercules?’… Then he didn’t tell me he bloody did it! So everyone was like ‘Brett Goldstein! Brett Goldstein!’ And I was like, ‘You cheeky bastard.'”

Obviously, his cameo could mean a return for Hercules… but Goldstein is keeping quiet. “I truly, honestly — this isn’t me lying or being coy — I know nothing,” he said. “All I know is what I did that day and that’s it. That could be it. It was a fun three seconds.”

IGN’s own review called Thor: Love and Thunder “the MCU’s first romantic comedy, and it plays with those tropes in delightful ways. But while Thor and Jane’s relationship is handled well, Love and Thunder is less deft -- and a lot safer than you’d expect -- in pushing the greater MCU story forward. Christian Bale’s Gorr feels underutilized, and Tessa Thompson’s King Valkyrie takes a frustrating back seat, especially as the movie goes on. Taika Waititi’s signature humor and visual style persist from Ragnarok and are essential to buoying the movie through its cookie-cutter plot. With Hemsworth as enthusiastic an Asgardian as ever, Thor’s future with both love and thunder are bright.”

Thor: Love and Thunder stars Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, and Russel Crowe. Taika Waititi directed the film based on a script he co-wrote with Jennifer Kaytin Robinson.

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