Monthly Archives: September 2020

Read a Free Excerpt of the New X-Files-Themed Book Outside In Trusts No One

The X-Files-themed Outside In Trusts No One is the seventh volume in the Outside In series of uniquely eclectic critical essay collections on your favorite fictional worlds. When a book contains 156 essays of bewilderingly different styles and approaches, it’s hard to find just one to represent it, but here is just such an excerpt for you to check out! The new book, according to publisher ATB Publishing, celebrates “over 25 years of The X-Files, and nearly 50 years of Kolchak: The Night Stalker.” Kolchak, of course, was the 1970s spiritual antecedent to The X-Files which inspired creator Chris Carter to make his show. More from ATB: “Outside In Trusts No One is a collection of 156 reviews, one for every story of each show. Well, we say ‘reviews,’ but we mean that loosely: Within these pages, you’ll find recipes, union meetings, restaurant ads, time loops, mixtapes, personal ads, a thesis, Venn diagrams, musicals, plays, role-playing games, building-code reports and a color-by-numbers game. Not to mention insightful and thoughtful articles, examining the worlds of shadowy conspiracies, UFOs and monsters of the week from just about every aspect imaginable… and then some!”

Previous volumes of the Outside In series have covered classic and modern Doctor Who, Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly. The eighth book, Outside In Wants To Believe, will conclude the examination of the extended X-Files universe in 2021 with the remaining seasons of X-Files not covered in the current volume as well as the spin-offs Millennium, Lone Gunmen, and Harsh Realm. Future volumes already planned will tackle Twin Peaks, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Babylon 5, and a revisiting of classic Who to celebrate 10 years of the Outside In series.

Outside In Trusts No One will be released on October 13, but pre-orders are open now at www.atbpublishing.com/xfiles. Read on for an excerpt from the book, based on the eighth episode of Season 1, “Ice.”

8. “ICE” FEAR ITSELF BY RACHEL L. RAMLAWI

My mom never let me watch The X-Files growing up. I really, really wanted to, because I loved sci-fi and also really only wanted to watch stuff with female characters who were smart, kicked butt and helped save the day. That hasn’t really changed as an adult; my standards at the age of seven were impeccable. I wasn’t allowed to watch The X-Files, though, because my mom was pretty convinced it was going to give me nightmares, no matter how much I wanted to watch the cool FBI lady be smart, kick butt and help save the day. Of course, to be entirely fair to my mom, the previews for the show often did give me nightmares as a kid. But guess what mom, I’m an adult now, and I can watch whatever I want! [Insert 42 minutes of Ice here. The episode, that is, not the drug.] She was right, The X-Files is too scary for me. I mean yeah, this episode is pretty creepy. It’s got bugs that make people try and kill one another; a strangling sense of isolation; creeping paranoia, as you no longer know who to trust and who not to trust; the philosophical question of identity and who we are if a parasite can cause us to become violent; and the even deeper philosophical question of fear and how that can “infect” us and drive us to violence, leading to questions about the very core of human nature and if violence is simply a part of us. But who wants to delve deep and talk about human nature? Let’s talk about the three scariest things in this episode, ranked from least to most scary. 3. Bugs crawling in your ears. For those of you who maybe don’t remember, this is the episode where they’re all together in a science bunker in the Artic and an alien parasitic worm is driving people insane and making them want to kill each other. Definitely the thing I would have been scared of as a kid is the bug that crawls in through your ear. The X-Files hits a classic fear right on the head. That something is going to crawl into your ear. I’m creeped out thinking about it right now. This definitely would have kept me up as a kid worrying about protecting the two vulnerable holes on the side of my head that are apparently the exact size of a worm. 2. Being locked in a bunker with scary men. Day gives way to night, and, by the end of the episode, we hit scary thing number two. Being locked in an underground bunker with three guys who are really just willing to let everything erupt into chaos and murder after less than 24 hours of being stuck with one another. Poor Scully is stuck in a woman’s worst nightmare. She’s brilliant and rational, and she has to deal with these buffoons who are willing to let things descend into Lord of the Flies–style chaos almost immediately. And I’m talking about the end of the book where they were murdering each other, not the start where they were trying to set up a democracy. During the night, one member of the party is infected with the parasite, and Mulder is suspected just because he happened to be found with a dead body. Then, just like that, Mulder and Dr. Hodge are willing to just murder each other to prove that neither one of them is infected with the alien parasite. It’s a flawed plan, really. Prove you’re not going to be a violent killer by grabbing the closest weapon and get ready to kill the next person who says you are. Scully then has to do the most terrifying thing I can think of: step in between two men who are ready to kill each other, one of whom has a gun. Which he points at Scully while attempting to reassure her that he’s not crazy and violent! It turns out in the end that neither Hodge nor Mulder are actually infected; they just act like this when you strip away all manner of civility. Which is terrifying! When given, like, half an excuse, men will attempt to just murder one another without even thinking things through, and, apparently, it’s on smarter, more capable women to make sure they don’t. It’s horrifying. And, last but not least, the scariest thing is.... 1. Fear of the dog dying. Oh, the tension of having an animal in anything action- or horror-related. It’s the butthole-clenching kind of terror, isn’t it? This episode has a very cute dog in it, black and white and brown; it’s got a nice and shiny coat, looks cuddly, and now I have to worry about it dying. It’s 40 minutes of table-gripping terror, worrying if that dog is going to make it to the end of the episode. What if they shoot it? What if the testing kills it? What if they forget it there when they leave? What if they all murder each other, but then he doesn’t have anything to eat? It’s a unique kind of stress that can only be induced by including a dog. It’s immediate from the first time the dog enters the scene as it attacks Mulder and the pilot — now I’m worried. Are they going to have to shoot the dog? That’s not something anyone wants to see. I’d rather Mulder have his throat ripped out than the dog getting shot. The dog is off screen for most of the episode, and, while I’m hoping someone is feeding it, the episode is attempting to distract me with scientists fighting. Like I care about these people more than the dog. I don’t. Towards the end, they bring the dog back as they test a cure on it, and now I have to worry about it dying all over again! No one knows if introducing a second brain worm will kill the dog. The X-Files wants me to believe it’s more ethical to test this on a dog than a person, but I’m not buying it for a second. As the dog is yelping and twitching, I’ve forgotten to breathe while I’m waiting to see if it’s okay. Honestly, this should have been the end of the episode; who cares if Mulder is going to be fine? Hats off to the writers for knowing how to give me 40 minutes of anxiety. Mom, you were right. The X-Files is way too scary for me to watch. Rachel Ramlawi is getting her Master’s Degree in Popular Culture from Bowling Green State University and is still worried about that dog.

Pre-order you copy of Outside In Trusts No One now at www.atbpublishing.com/xfiles. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-horror-movies-on-netflix&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Editor’s Note: ATB Publishing Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Arnold T. Blumberg is an occasional contributor to IGN.

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Director of the Dune That Never Was Reacts to New Trailer

Frank Herbert's landmark science fiction novel Dune has been adapted for the screen a few times over the past forty years - notably David Lynch's 1984 film and the 2000 miniseries on Syfy (then Sci-Fi Channel). Now Blade Runner 2049's Denis Villeneuve is bringing his version to the screen in 2020, starring Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, and Oscar Isaac. Before Lynch's version, however, there was a famously failed attempt to bring Dune to the theaters. Director Alejandro Jodorowsky was in pre-production for years on the film, during the '70s, in an endeavor (complete with a script for a 14-hour movie) that would later become the topic of a documentary called Jodorowsky's Dune. Jodorowsky recently watched the trailer for Villeneuve's Dune and...well, he had some thoughts. "I wish his Dune would be a great success, because Denis Villeneuve is a nice director, about whom I have been told a lot," Jodorowsky said to France's Le Point [translation from CinemaBlend]. "I saw the trailer. It's very well done. We see that this is industrial cinema, that there is a lot of money, and that it has cost a lot of money. But if it was very expensive, it must pay off in proportion. And this is the problem: there are no surprises. The form is identical to what is done everywhere, the lighting, the acting, everything is predictable." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/09/dune-official-trailer"] "Industrial [Hollywood] cinema is incompatible with auteur cinema," he continued. "For the first, money comes before the work. For the second, it is the reverse. And this, whatever the quality of a director, whether it is my friend Nicolas Winding Refn or Denis Villeneuve. Industrial cinema promotes entertainment, it is a show that is not intended to change humanity or society." You can check out the cast of Dune -- including Timothée Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin -- discussing their characters and the themes of the new film here. Also, here's Dune director Denis Villeneuve explaining the meaning and themes of his sci-fi epic, as well as him talking about how he designed the iconic sandworms that roam Arrakis’ deserts. If you're interested in Jodorowsky's Dune, check out the trailer for the doc below... [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2014/02/14/jodorowskys-dune-trailer-1"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

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Director of the Dune That Never Was Reacts to New Trailer

Frank Herbert's landmark science fiction novel Dune has been adapted for the screen a few times over the past forty years - notably David Lynch's 1984 film and the 2000 miniseries on Syfy (then Sci-Fi Channel). Now Blade Runner 2049's Denis Villeneuve is bringing his version to the screen in 2020, starring Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, and Oscar Isaac. Before Lynch's version, however, there was a famously failed attempt to bring Dune to the theaters. Director Alejandro Jodorowsky was in pre-production for years on the film, during the '70s, in an endeavor (complete with a script for a 14-hour movie) that would later become the topic of a documentary called Jodorowsky's Dune. Jodorowsky recently watched the trailer for Villeneuve's Dune and...well, he had some thoughts. "I wish his Dune would be a great success, because Denis Villeneuve is a nice director, about whom I have been told a lot," Jodorowsky said to France's Le Point [translation from CinemaBlend]. "I saw the trailer. It's very well done. We see that this is industrial cinema, that there is a lot of money, and that it has cost a lot of money. But if it was very expensive, it must pay off in proportion. And this is the problem: there are no surprises. The form is identical to what is done everywhere, the lighting, the acting, everything is predictable." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/09/dune-official-trailer"] "Industrial [Hollywood] cinema is incompatible with auteur cinema," he continued. "For the first, money comes before the work. For the second, it is the reverse. And this, whatever the quality of a director, whether it is my friend Nicolas Winding Refn or Denis Villeneuve. Industrial cinema promotes entertainment, it is a show that is not intended to change humanity or society." You can check out the cast of Dune -- including Timothée Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin -- discussing their characters and the themes of the new film here. Also, here's Dune director Denis Villeneuve explaining the meaning and themes of his sci-fi epic, as well as him talking about how he designed the iconic sandworms that roam Arrakis’ deserts. If you're interested in Jodorowsky's Dune, check out the trailer for the doc below... [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2014/02/14/jodorowskys-dune-trailer-1"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

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The Dark Knight Rises Death Scene That Was Too “Sickening” to Include

Happy Batman Day! For his third and final Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan reportedly changed one character's on-screen death because it would have given the film an NC-17 rating. During the movie's final battle, Matthew Modine's Gotham Deputy Police Commissioner Peter Foley is killed after being gunned down by Talia al Ghul's tumbler. In a recent appearance on CinemaBlend's ReelBlend podcast, Modine revealed what was supposed to happen to Foley and why it had to be changed. "[Nolan] cut my death scene out of Dark Knight Rises," Modine explained. "Because he said it was so violent that it would have gotten an NC-17 rating." "After Bane dies and Batman, Chris [Bale] gets stabbed, [Talia] gets in one of those vehicles," he continued. "She starts to drive away, and I’m shooting at her. And I got run over. All it does is, it just cuts and I’m on the ground, dead. But it was so violent. The guy that was doubling me got hit by the car. They put a plexiglass thing on the front of [the car] and he got hit. They had ropes to pull him into the air, but he went up and they dropped him from about 15 feet, and the sound of his body hitting the cobblestone street in front of the New York Stock Exchange, it was sickening. And I remember I looked at Christopher Nolan when we shot it and his face was white. He was like, ‘OK, let's move on. We got that.’ But it was like, ‘Oh my God, is that guy going to get up? Is he okay?’ But [Nolan] said that if he would have put it in the movie, it would’ve got an NC-17 rating because it was so violent." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=a-visual-history-of-batman&captions=true"] It feels like a big leap for a death, especially the one described, to take a film from PG-13 to NC-17, but even if it had just gotten the movie an R-rating, that wouldn't have worked for Warner Bros. In other comic-book news, Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black, Perry Mason) has reportedly landed the title role in Marvel's She-Hulk, DC's Harley Quinn animated series has been made an HBO Max original and been renewed for a Season 3, and casting for the role of Kamala Khan in Marvel's Ms. Marvel is currently underway. You can also check out our theories about what Young Justice: Phantoms might be about. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/07/17/the-dark-knight-things-you-didnt-know-cinefix"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

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The Dark Knight Rises Death Scene That Was Too “Sickening” to Include

Happy Batman Day! For his third and final Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan reportedly changed one character's on-screen death because it would have given the film an NC-17 rating. During the movie's final battle, Matthew Modine's Gotham Deputy Police Commissioner Peter Foley is killed after being gunned down by Talia al Ghul's tumbler. In a recent appearance on CinemaBlend's ReelBlend podcast, Modine revealed what was supposed to happen to Foley and why it had to be changed. "[Nolan] cut my death scene out of Dark Knight Rises," Modine explained. "Because he said it was so violent that it would have gotten an NC-17 rating." "After Bane dies and Batman, Chris [Bale] gets stabbed, [Talia] gets in one of those vehicles," he continued. "She starts to drive away, and I’m shooting at her. And I got run over. All it does is, it just cuts and I’m on the ground, dead. But it was so violent. The guy that was doubling me got hit by the car. They put a plexiglass thing on the front of [the car] and he got hit. They had ropes to pull him into the air, but he went up and they dropped him from about 15 feet, and the sound of his body hitting the cobblestone street in front of the New York Stock Exchange, it was sickening. And I remember I looked at Christopher Nolan when we shot it and his face was white. He was like, ‘OK, let's move on. We got that.’ But it was like, ‘Oh my God, is that guy going to get up? Is he okay?’ But [Nolan] said that if he would have put it in the movie, it would’ve got an NC-17 rating because it was so violent." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=a-visual-history-of-batman&captions=true"] It feels like a big leap for a death, especially the one described, to take a film from PG-13 to NC-17, but even if it had just gotten the movie an R-rating, that wouldn't have worked for Warner Bros. In other comic-book news, Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black, Perry Mason) has reportedly landed the title role in Marvel's She-Hulk, DC's Harley Quinn animated series has been made an HBO Max original and been renewed for a Season 3, and casting for the role of Kamala Khan in Marvel's Ms. Marvel is currently underway. You can also check out our theories about what Young Justice: Phantoms might be about. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/07/17/the-dark-knight-things-you-didnt-know-cinefix"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

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Xbox Lets You Plan Where to Put Xbox Series X and Series S in Your Home With a Paper Version

If you're still not sure where your Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S are going to fit in your entertainment center, don't worry, Microsoft has you covered. Announced via Twitter, you can now print and assemble your own replica console. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-xbox-series-x-games&captions=true"] Available as a free download from the Xbox website, Microsoft is allowing eager players to print out full-scale or 1/3-scale versions of either Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S to "plan how they are going to fit in your lifestyle." Basically, is it going on top of or inside your entertainment center? The paper cutouts are surprisingly detailed, though. Both contain every labeled port for each upcoming console as well as small details such as the fan on top of the Series X and the color-matched Xbox logos on each box. Microsoft included simple instructions for each, indicating all you need is a pair of scissors and some glue to assemble your new (paper) box!

Excited for your new Xbox Series S or X this November 10? We all are, which is why we created a recyclable replica to build.
Sure, it may not run games, but it's going to look pretty cool: https://t.co/tEzSy1gDEY pic.twitter.com/OHh4slItms — Xbox (@Xbox) September 18, 2020

Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S preorders begin Tuesday, September 22nd at 11:00 AM ET/8:00 AM PT. You can follow our guide on where to secure your Xbox preorder. Also, be sure to check out 8 new details we learned about the smaller, discless Xbox Series S. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matthew Adler is a Features, News, Previews, and Reviews writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @MatthewAdler and watch him stream on Twitch.

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Xbox Lets You Plan Where to Put Xbox Series X and Series S in Your Home With a Paper Version

If you're still not sure where your Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S are going to fit in your entertainment center, don't worry, Microsoft has you covered. Announced via Twitter, you can now print and assemble your own replica console. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-xbox-series-x-games&captions=true"] Available as a free download from the Xbox website, Microsoft is allowing eager players to print out full-scale or 1/3-scale versions of either Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S to "plan how they are going to fit in your lifestyle." Basically, is it going on top of or inside your entertainment center? The paper cutouts are surprisingly detailed, though. Both contain every labeled port for each upcoming console as well as small details such as the fan on top of the Series X and the color-matched Xbox logos on each box. Microsoft included simple instructions for each, indicating all you need is a pair of scissors and some glue to assemble your new (paper) box!

Excited for your new Xbox Series S or X this November 10? We all are, which is why we created a recyclable replica to build.
Sure, it may not run games, but it's going to look pretty cool: https://t.co/tEzSy1gDEY pic.twitter.com/OHh4slItms — Xbox (@Xbox) September 18, 2020

Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S preorders begin Tuesday, September 22nd at 11:00 AM ET/8:00 AM PT. You can follow our guide on where to secure your Xbox preorder. Also, be sure to check out 8 new details we learned about the smaller, discless Xbox Series S. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matthew Adler is a Features, News, Previews, and Reviews writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @MatthewAdler and watch him stream on Twitch.

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The Last Stand Update Is Left 4 Dead 2’s First Major DLC in Eight Years

Left 4 Dead 2 is getting its first update in 8 years later this month with The Last Stand Update, a new content pack developed by members of the dedicated Left 4 Dead community for the community. IGN got a chance to speak with the team behind the update to find out more about how this community effort became an official update to Left 4 Dead sanctioned by Valve. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/03/left-4-dead-2-the-last-stand-update-official-teaser"] The Last Stand update for Left 4 Dead 2 began when the project lead who goes by Rayman1103 in the Left 4 Dead community reached out to Valve’s Kerry Davis back in October 2019 about a potential 10th Anniversary update for Left 4 Dead 2. “[Davis] liked the idea of it and he was going to ask around the office to see if anyone could lend a hand but it turned out everyone was so focused on getting Half-Life: Alyx finished that they couldn’t really do anything on their end,” Rayman tells IGN. But Davis was open to the idea of the community doing something. “I asked him for the source files for the Lighthouse maps from Left 4 Dead 1 and that’s when I started working on getting a team together” for the project. Rayman says that once a team, made up of members from all areas of the Left 4 Dead community from Survival to Workshop developers, got together the project began to take on a life of its own. “What was originally planned was just a port of the Survival Maps from Left 4 Dead 1 over into Left 4 Dead 2, all the missing maps that were never ported over… Just to get whatever was missing and get it into [Left 4 Dead 2]” says Rayman. But The Last Stand update as it will be released next week will include far more. The full update list includes:

The Last Stand campaign
30 brand new achievements
26 new survival maps
4 new scavenge maps
2 new melee weapons
Left 4 Dead 1 infected skins with functional gore
New and unused survivor voice lines
New and improved character animations
Reworked gun models and animations
PvP enhancements and balance updates
Official CSS weapon implementation
Brand new mutations Rocketdude and Tank run

“Originally the Lighthouse campaign was just the one survival map in Left 4 Dead 1, but we felt that if we could turn that into a campaign players might enjoy that more,” said the team's map developer who goes by NF. “So we managed to expand that one Lighthouse map into a full campaign that’s playable from beginning to end.” The map design and campaign design was done completely by The Last Stand update developers, with Valve helping on bug fixes and issues that the developers were unable to implement on their end. For example, there will be a new scoring system at the finale of the new campaign. The campaign design process took four to five iterations before the final design was chosen. “We tried to invoke the original spirit of Left 4 Dead 1 and in that game, it’s more of a darker tone compared to Left 4 Dead 2,” NF says. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/17/left-4-dead-3-is-not-in-the-works"] The development team credits its success to the Left 4 Dead community which is still going strong after over a decade. And while Valve says there are no plans for Left 4 Dead 3, the team says “Hopefully, if Valve allows us to make more, the community can look for even more cool things in the future.” The Last Stand update for Left 4 Dead 2 will be released on September 24. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

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The Last Stand Update Is Left 4 Dead 2’s First Major DLC in Eight Years

Left 4 Dead 2 is getting its first update in 8 years later this month with The Last Stand Update, a new content pack developed by members of the dedicated Left 4 Dead community for the community. IGN got a chance to speak with the team behind the update to find out more about how this community effort became an official update to Left 4 Dead sanctioned by Valve. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/03/left-4-dead-2-the-last-stand-update-official-teaser"] The Last Stand update for Left 4 Dead 2 began when the project lead who goes by Rayman1103 in the Left 4 Dead community reached out to Valve’s Kerry Davis back in October 2019 about a potential 10th Anniversary update for Left 4 Dead 2. “[Davis] liked the idea of it and he was going to ask around the office to see if anyone could lend a hand but it turned out everyone was so focused on getting Half-Life: Alyx finished that they couldn’t really do anything on their end,” Rayman tells IGN. But Davis was open to the idea of the community doing something. “I asked him for the source files for the Lighthouse maps from Left 4 Dead 1 and that’s when I started working on getting a team together” for the project. Rayman says that once a team, made up of members from all areas of the Left 4 Dead community from Survival to Workshop developers, got together the project began to take on a life of its own. “What was originally planned was just a port of the Survival Maps from Left 4 Dead 1 over into Left 4 Dead 2, all the missing maps that were never ported over… Just to get whatever was missing and get it into [Left 4 Dead 2]” says Rayman. But The Last Stand update as it will be released next week will include far more. The full update list includes:

The Last Stand campaign
30 brand new achievements
26 new survival maps
4 new scavenge maps
2 new melee weapons
Left 4 Dead 1 infected skins with functional gore
New and unused survivor voice lines
New and improved character animations
Reworked gun models and animations
PvP enhancements and balance updates
Official CSS weapon implementation
Brand new mutations Rocketdude and Tank run

“Originally the Lighthouse campaign was just the one survival map in Left 4 Dead 1, but we felt that if we could turn that into a campaign players might enjoy that more,” said the team's map developer who goes by NF. “So we managed to expand that one Lighthouse map into a full campaign that’s playable from beginning to end.” The map design and campaign design was done completely by The Last Stand update developers, with Valve helping on bug fixes and issues that the developers were unable to implement on their end. For example, there will be a new scoring system at the finale of the new campaign. The campaign design process took four to five iterations before the final design was chosen. “We tried to invoke the original spirit of Left 4 Dead 1 and in that game, it’s more of a darker tone compared to Left 4 Dead 2,” NF says. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/17/left-4-dead-3-is-not-in-the-works"] The development team credits its success to the Left 4 Dead community which is still going strong after over a decade. And while Valve says there are no plans for Left 4 Dead 3, the team says “Hopefully, if Valve allows us to make more, the community can look for even more cool things in the future.” The Last Stand update for Left 4 Dead 2 will be released on September 24. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

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13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim Review – Wow, Cool Robot!

Despite what the box and blurbs might tell you, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim isn't really a game about piloting giant robots. I mean, sure, you do fight off massive swarms of building-sized creatures hellbent on total destruction in an alternate-universe 1980s Japan at some points. But these seemingly model-kit-ready metal combat suits are just a plot device, a cog in the story. In actuality, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is a character drama: a twisting, turning sci-fi epic jumping through time and dimensions as it follows the lives of its numerous teen protagonists. Missiles, Gatling guns, and armor-crushing metal fistcuffs are merely a side event to the everyday drama of highschoolers who find themselves unwilling pawns in a bigger game with the fate of the world at stake. And you know what? That's great. Once the narrative of 13 Sentinels sinks its hooks into you, you want nothing more than to go along for the ride up until the very climax.

13 Sentinels is a unique, genre-mixing experiment. It takes elements of point-and-click adventure games, visual novels, real-time strategy games, and tower defense games, mixing them together to create an experience that's quite unlike anything else out there. Things get rolling when young Japanese highschooler Juro Kurabe is called upon to fight a horde of alien invaders in 1985, only for the story to flash back to earlier that year, then over to young soldiers in 1945 wartime-era Japan, then to two schoolgirls witnessing a crisis in the year 2025. You immediately meet a huge cast of characters across different eras, learning that there is one constant: the existence of Sentinels, massive human-piloted robot weapons who exist to protect the world from otherworldly monsters.

The game is split into three parts: a Remembrance mode where you uncover the story piece by piece, a Destruction mode where you use giant Sentinel mechs to protect the city from invasion, and an Analysis mode that collects all of the information and story scenes you have discovered through gameplay. Remembrance is presented as an episodic series where you explore and interact with various environments and characters to advance the plot. Destruction, in contrast, is an overhead-view strategy segment where you use the Sentinels to defend a critical underground access point from invading forces.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

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