Monthly Archives: May 2022
Reebok’s Looney Tunes Sneaker Collection Coming to the US
If you happen to fall within the Venn diagram of sneaker collector and hardcore Looney Tunes fan, you've probably had your eye on Reebok's Looney Tunes collection. There's just one catch - up till now they've been a China-only release. Until now, that is.
The Reebok x Looney Tunes Collection is growing in a big way this year, with Rebook kicking off the second capsule of the collection and making this expanded lineup available in the US for the first time. Get a closer look at this impressive lineup in the slideshow gallery below:
The Looney Tunes line features a number of classic reebok designs (or "footwear silhouettes") paired with colors and shapes inspired by the classic Looney Tunes cast. The full second capsule collection will include:
- Bugs Bunny - Classic Leather Legacy AZ ($95, GW4301)
- Road Runner - Instapump Fury 95 ($200, GZ4948)
- Marvin the Martian - Instapump Fury Zone ($160, GZ4947)
- Wile E. Coyote - Hurrikaze II Low ($120, GW4299)
- Sylvester & Tweety - Nano X1 ($140, GW4303)
- Looney Tunes Props - Club C ($100, GY4779)
In addition to these sneakers, the collection also includes a number of T-shirts and other apparel items.
Preorders for the Reebok x Looney Tunes Collection will go live on Reebok's website on Monday, May 23 for members of the Reebok UNLOCKED program, with general preorders opening up on Thursday, May 26.
Will you be adding any of these sneakers to your collection? Let us know in the comments below. And for more geek-friendly shoes, check out the Xbox-themed Adidas sneakers and Puma's Animal Crossing crossover sneakers.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
StarCraft: Dark Horse’s Zerg Brood Lord Statue is Disgustingly Amazing
Dark Horse Direct continues to release new statues inspired by the ships of Blizzard's StarCraft universe. Their latest StarCraft replica depicts one of the most imposing and disgusting ships in the series - the Zerg Brood Lord.
This statue features a detailed recreation of the devastating aerial siege unit from the StarCraft games, suspended above a Zerg Swarm-themed display base. The piece is sculpted by Gentle Giant Studios.
The Zerg Brood Lord measures roughly 15 inches in width and length and stands 10 inches tall (with the ship itself measuring about 4 inches in thickness).
The Zerg Brood Lord statue is priced at $349.99 and is limited to 500 units worldwide. The statue is currently available to preorder through the Dark Horse Direct website, with an estimated release window of November 2022 to January 2023.
StarCraft isn't the only sci-fi gaming franchise receiving new collectibles from Dark Horse. The company recently unveiled a Mass Effect Reaper Sovereign ship replica, a companion to the long-sold-out Normandy statue.
Earlier this year, Dark Horse teased a new set of Cyberpunk 2077 figures due for release in September 2022.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
Starfield and Redfall Delayed to 2023
Bethesda has announced that Starfield and Redfall have been delayed to "the first half of 2023".
Announced by Bethesda on Twitter (below), no specific reasons were given for the delays, other than to say that the teams "want to ensure that you receive the best, most polished versions of them."
The statement also promises that the first gameplay deep dives for both games will be released "soon" – and you can imagine that would come during the Xbox/Bethesda Summer Showcase on June 12.
An update on Redfall and Starfield. pic.twitter.com/pqDtx26Uu6
— Bethesda (@bethesda) May 12, 2022
A follow-up from Starfield's Bethesda Game Studios simply says, "We can't wait for you to play Starfield, but we need some more time. We’re so thankful for all the support and encouragement and are excited to show you the game soon."
Arkane followed up the tweet with a message from Redfall's director, Harvey Smith. "Here at Arkane Austin, we've decided to delay the launch of Redfall," Smith explained. "The team needs more time to bring the game to life. Thank you so much for your continued support. Redfall is our most ambitious game yet, and we can’t wait to show it off soon."
Starfield previously had a release date of November 11 (an important date for Bethesda, given Skyrim was released on the same date in 2011). The Xbox console exclusive has been showing off a number of details recently, from the game's companions, to its factions, to its music – but we've never seen official gameplay.
Redfall has been ever quieter. Announced as Xbox's show closer during E3 last year, the new game from Arkane Austin was introduced as an open world co-op FPS, due for release this Summer. However, since that reveal we've seen nothing of the game, aside from some leaked images.
The lack of gameplay for both games had been seen by some as simply holding back for a major drop during the Summer, but it seems the reality is that both games simply aren't ready for release just yet. They join a long list of games delayed in 2022.
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.
LEGO Unveils Transformers Optimus Prime Set That Actually Transforms
LEGO has officially unveiled a Transformers Optimus Prime set and yes, it can transform without removing a single piece.
Standing at more than 35cm tall in robot mode and 15cm high as a truck, the set will be released for $169.99 USD / £149.99 on June 1 and includes 1,508 pieces (see it at LEGO Store).
Confirming previous leaks, set 10302 is based on the original, generation one Transformers cartoon from 1984 and features 19 points of articulation that allows the smooth transormation.
Optimus comes equipped with his ion blaster, Energon axe, Energon Cube, and the Autobot Matrix of Leadsership which can actually be stored in the model's chest chamber, plus a special plaque akin to the Ultimate Collector Series of LEGO models.
"Optimus Prime has become a pop culture symbol of courage, selflessness, and great leadership as well as an awesome toy that embodies the problem-solving and creativity skills that both companies value so much," senior designer at the LEGO Group Joseph Patrick Kyde said.
"It’s been a wonderful and challenging task to bring him to life using LEGO bricks, especially making sure that he can shift modes without disassembly and stay true to his signature look and style."
This Transformers collaboration is just the latest major entertainment franchise LEGO has partnered with, joining Back to the Future's DeLorean time machine as one of the more expensive sets to release recently.
It's also entered the gaming world with forays into Sonic the Hedgehog - with the Green Hill Zone set - and the Super Mario world with three separate series. PlayStation exclusive Horizon: Forbidden West even got the LEGO treatment with a Tallneck set that IGN absolutely loved building.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
New Alexa Competitor Will Feature the Voice of a Notable Star Wars And Breaking Bad Villain
Sonos has launched its new voice control software that features the voice of Star Wars, Breaking Bad, and Far Cry 6 villain Giancarlo Esposito.
Best known for his roles as Gideon in The Mandalorian and Gus Fring in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, Esposito was chosen by Sonos as a voice familiar to U.S. customers.
"With careful recording, advanced processing and mastering, the voice is natural, unobtrusive, yet confident and engaging," Sonos said in its announcement.
The voice control software will be available in all voice-capable Sonos speakers on June 1, which start at $179 before climbing into the high hundreds.
While Sonos is only launching the software in the U.S. (and France later this year), it said more voices will join Esposito's in the future, as it expands to more people and places – meaning we may see different actors to match what's popular in different countries.
The system's voice control system is apparently designed with privacy in mind, with Sonos making clear that any commands will be processed solely in the device and not transferred to the cloud or anywhere else to be listened to or analysed.
"One of the most natural ways to connect to your music is with your voice, but when we speak to our customers, we hear that privacy concerns mean many are choosing not to use voice control," said vice president of voice experience Joseph Dureau.
"Created purely for listening on Sonos and designed with privacy at its core, Sonos Voice control delivers the Sonos app experience using only your voice."
Various celebrities and characters have already arrived on Amazon's Alexa, headlined by Samuel L. Jackson but also including Shaquille O'Neal, Deadpool, and R2-D2.
Thumbnail image credit: RB/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/Getty
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
NASA Wants To Use Unreal Engine 5 To Prepare Astronauts For Mars
NASA is using Epic Games' Unreal Engine 5 to create a virtual reality environment that will help prepare astronauts for life on Mars.
The project is still in its early stages, and while Epic Games is better known for its collaborations regarding Fortnite, the developer is teaming up with NASA (alongside the simulation's creator Buendea) to launch a competition letting developers submit Mars-themed assets and scenarios to be used in the engine.
Using NASA and Buendea's Mars XR Operations Support System, budding astronauts will be able to simulate aspects of Mars life, from building a home base, performing maintenance, exploring the planet on foot or by rover, conducting detailed scientific research, and more.
NASA is offering a prize pool of $70,000 across five categories in the competition: 'Set Up Camp', i.e. building the initial base; 'Scientific Research', such as geological surveys; 'Maintenance', which includes automated robots; 'Exploration', so tools for getting around; and 'Blow Our Minds', which is anything that NASA hasn't thought of yet.
All successful submissions will be added to the Mars XR simulation which, though still in its early stages, already has 400 square kilometres of realistic Mars terrain programmed in, with full Martian days that transition from the orange hues in the day to blue at night.
Realistic weather conditions, Martian gravity, and a handful of existing assets, such as space suits and rovers, are also already built.
Unreal Engine 5 was released in April and developers are already doing some pretty impressive stuff. Working by himself, Lorenzo Drago created an incredibly realistic scene of a Japanese train station that's almost indistinguishable from real life.
While these ones wouldn't necessarily be suitable for Mars - though maybe NASA's "blow our minds" category - a Superman-style flight experience and Spiderman demo have also shown off Unreal Engine 5's incredible graphics.
Several game studios have also confirmed they're now developing games using Unreal Engine 5, including the new Tomb Raider game from Crystal Dynamics and the new game in the Witcher saga from CD Projekt Red.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
The Shrouds: David Cronenberg’s Next Movie Is About Connecting With the Dead
Crimes of the Future hasn't even received a wide release yet, but director David Cronenberg is already working on his next film. The veteran filmmaker is so well-known that his name is directly associated with the body horror genre he popularized. If you're a horror fan, "Cronenberg" is whispered in hushed tones for his combination of thoughtful narrative and shocking imagery.
According to Deadline, Cronenberg's next film is called The Shrouds. The film will star Vincent Cassel, who previously worked with the director on Eastern Promises and A Dangerous Method.
Cassel will play a man named Karsh, who has invented a device that allows people to view their loved ones decomposing in real-time. Karsh is a widower himself, using his invention to help connect people with their dead loved ones. When his unique and state-of-the-art cemetery is attacked, several graves are vandalized, including the grave of his wife. The story is about Karsh's responses to the attack and how it forces him to take stock of his past and future.
Producers Saïd Ben Saïd, Martin Katz, and Michel Merkt, who previously worked with Cronenberg on Maps To The Stars, are currently looking for distributors and The Shrouds is expected to start filming in 2023. "We are thrilled to be going on a journey into the newest world from the distinctive imagination of David Cronenberg. His ability to write smart and unconventional screenplays and then translate them into unique experiences on screen makes him a unique voice in film,” said Ben Saïd.
Right now, Cronenberg is at Cannes showing off Crimes of the Future, a film that's actually unrelated to his 1970 short film of the same name. The film involves a performance artist in a future where body modification is the norm. Cronenberg recently said that he expects walkouts during screenings of the film at Cannes. He joked that viewers "might be revulsed to the point that they want to leave." Crimes of the Future is getting an official release in June.
Crimes of the Future is the latest release from the 79-year-old director. Cronenberg rose to prominence with science fiction body horror, including films like Scanners, Videodrome, and The Fly. That said, he's also done more straightforward dramas and thrillers, like Crash, A History of Violence, and A Dangerous Method. His son, Brandon Cronenberg, also has a directorial career with his last film being 2020's Possessor.
Mike Williams is a freelance writer at IGN
The Shrouds: David Cronenberg’s Next Movie Is About Connecting With the Dead
Crimes of the Future hasn't even received a wide release yet, but director David Cronenberg is already working on his next film. The veteran filmmaker is so well-known that his name is directly associated with the body horror genre he popularized. If you're a horror fan, "Cronenberg" is whispered in hushed tones for his combination of thoughtful narrative and shocking imagery.
According to Deadline, Cronenberg's next film is called The Shrouds. The film will star Vincent Cassel, who previously worked with the director on Eastern Promises and A Dangerous Method.
Cassel will play a man named Karsh, who has invented a device that allows people to view their loved ones decomposing in real-time. Karsh is a widower himself, using his invention to help connect people with their dead loved ones. When his unique and state-of-the-art cemetery is attacked, several graves are vandalized, including the grave of his wife. The story is about Karsh's responses to the attack and how it forces him to take stock of his past and future.
Producers Saïd Ben Saïd, Martin Katz, and Michel Merkt, who previously worked with Cronenberg on Maps To The Stars, are currently looking for distributors and The Shrouds is expected to start filming in 2023. "We are thrilled to be going on a journey into the newest world from the distinctive imagination of David Cronenberg. His ability to write smart and unconventional screenplays and then translate them into unique experiences on screen makes him a unique voice in film,” said Ben Saïd.
Right now, Cronenberg is at Cannes showing off Crimes of the Future, a film that's actually unrelated to his 1970 short film of the same name. The film involves a performance artist in a future where body modification is the norm. Cronenberg recently said that he expects walkouts during screenings of the film at Cannes. He joked that viewers "might be revulsed to the point that they want to leave." Crimes of the Future is getting an official release in June.
Crimes of the Future is the latest release from the 79-year-old director. Cronenberg rose to prominence with science fiction body horror, including films like Scanners, Videodrome, and The Fly. That said, he's also done more straightforward dramas and thrillers, like Crash, A History of Violence, and A Dangerous Method. His son, Brandon Cronenberg, also has a directorial career with his last film being 2020's Possessor.
Mike Williams is a freelance writer at IGN
Chrono Cross Remaster Contains Hidden Message From Original Director Confirming a Big Fan Theory
Fans of the Chrono series have clamored for a sequel for years, ever since the 2000 release of Chrono Cross posed even more questions about the Square RPG's universe. And while the March release of the Chrono Cross: Radical Dreamers Edition was just a remaster, not a new entry, it did contain a hidden snippet of new content from the original creator himself: Masato Kato.
Spoilers Ahead for the Ending of Chrono Cross: Radical Dreamers Edition! Read at your own risk if you have not finished both Chrono Cross and the packed-in text-based adventure Radical Dreamers:
The new content is small, subtle, and may not be an obvious find for most players. To access it, you need to first complete both Chrono Cross and the text-based adventure Radical Dreamers, obtaining at least one ending for both.
Once you do, you'll need to go to the main menu of the Radical Dreamers Edition (where you select which of the two games you want to play) and choose to watch the credits. Watch them through to the end, and you stumble upon the following text over a black background, without imagery, music, or animation:
That's a lot of text, sure, but what does it mean? IGN reached out to Square Enix for comment, and while the publisher declined to comment on the meaning or context behind this addition, it did confirm that it was written by the original Chrono Cross creator: Masato Kato.
The clear takeaway from this extra content seems to confirm the identity of one of the protagonists of Radical Dreamers: Magil, the mysterious magician. Though it's largely been accepted by the fan community over the years that Magil is in fact the once-antagonist and late party member of Chrono Trigger, Magus, this section of text seems to fully canonize that theory, by giving us a look at Magil's perspective of the final battle in Radical Dreamers and tying it to memories that would only have been experienced by Magus.
As a refresher, Magus is the secondary villain of a large portion of Chrono Trigger. Once the young prince of the magical kingdom of Zeal, his mother's attempt to gain power through the space parasite Lavos sends him hurtling through time into the middle ages, separating him from his sister Schala. He then makes it his mission to kill Lavos and find Schala, ultimately gathering an army in the middle ages and facing off against the protagonist Crono and his friends. When they spare his life, he joins the party and ultimately fights Lavos with them, but neither Chrono Trigger nor Chrono Cross sees him reunited with Schala despite her rescue from a Lavos offshoot at the end of Chrono Cross.
Another possible read of this text is that it's either a hint toward future Chrono content or, alternatively, a final farewell to the Chrono franchise from Kato himself. Magus' lines seem to suggest the coming of a new battle, but the final line cryptically implies that while individual moments and stories may eventually end, the memories of those moments live on as their legacy.
Whatever the true meaning is, it's incredible that Kato stepped in to create new content, however secretive, over two decades after the Chrono franchise was shelved. We loved the original Chrono Cross and recommend people take this opportunity to play the strange artifact that is Radical Dreamers now that it's more widely available. Hopefully we get a chance to see more of Kato's work in the near future.
Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.
Chrono Cross Remaster Contains Hidden Message From Original Director Confirming a Big Fan Theory
Fans of the Chrono series have clamored for a sequel for years, ever since the 2000 release of Chrono Cross posed even more questions about the Square RPG's universe. And while the March release of the Chrono Cross: Radical Dreamers Edition was just a remaster, not a new entry, it did contain a hidden snippet of new content from the original creator himself: Masato Kato.
Spoilers Ahead for the Ending of Chrono Cross: Radical Dreamers Edition! Read at your own risk if you have not finished both Chrono Cross and the packed-in text-based adventure Radical Dreamers:
The new content is small, subtle, and may not be an obvious find for most players. To access it, you need to first complete both Chrono Cross and the text-based adventure Radical Dreamers, obtaining at least one ending for both.
Once you do, you'll need to go to the main menu of the Radical Dreamers Edition (where you select which of the two games you want to play) and choose to watch the credits. Watch them through to the end, and you stumble upon the following text over a black background, without imagery, music, or animation:
That's a lot of text, sure, but what does it mean? IGN reached out to Square Enix for comment, and while the publisher declined to comment on the meaning or context behind this addition, it did confirm that it was written by the original Chrono Cross creator: Masato Kato.
The clear takeaway from this extra content seems to confirm the identity of one of the protagonists of Radical Dreamers: Magil, the mysterious magician. Though it's largely been accepted by the fan community over the years that Magil is in fact the once-antagonist and late party member of Chrono Trigger, Magus, this section of text seems to fully canonize that theory, by giving us a look at Magil's perspective of the final battle in Radical Dreamers and tying it to memories that would only have been experienced by Magus.
As a refresher, Magus is the secondary villain of a large portion of Chrono Trigger. Once the young prince of the magical kingdom of Zeal, his mother's attempt to gain power through the space parasite Lavos sends him hurtling through time into the middle ages, separating him from his sister Schala. He then makes it his mission to kill Lavos and find Schala, ultimately gathering an army in the middle ages and facing off against the protagonist Crono and his friends. When they spare his life, he joins the party and ultimately fights Lavos with them, but neither Chrono Trigger nor Chrono Cross sees him reunited with Schala despite her rescue from a Lavos offshoot at the end of Chrono Cross.
Another possible read of this text is that it's either a hint toward future Chrono content or, alternatively, a final farewell to the Chrono franchise from Kato himself. Magus' lines seem to suggest the coming of a new battle, but the final line cryptically implies that while individual moments and stories may eventually end, the memories of those moments live on as their legacy.
Whatever the true meaning is, it's incredible that Kato stepped in to create new content, however secretive, over two decades after the Chrono franchise was shelved. We loved the original Chrono Cross and recommend people take this opportunity to play the strange artifact that is Radical Dreamers now that it's more widely available. Hopefully we get a chance to see more of Kato's work in the near future.
Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.