Author Terry Pratchett Dies Aged 66

Author Terry Pratchett has died, following a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. The acclaimed novelist – best known for his Discworld series – was 66.

Pratchett wrote more than 70 books, which sold over 85m copies and have been translated into 37 languages. His first novel - The Carpet People - was published in 1971, while the first of his Discworld efforts - The Colour of Magic - was published in 1983. He went onto write more than 40 books in the series, several of which were used as the basis for video games, role-playing games, TV shows and graphic novels.

Terry Pratchett with his Good Omens collaborator  Neill Gaiman. Terry Pratchett with his Good Omens collaborator Neill Gaiman.

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The Kwik-E-Mart Simpsons LEGO Set is Coming in May

The LEGO Group has announced The Simpsons Kwik-E-Mart set is coming this May.

The set includes a replica of the Kwik-E-Mart, complete with interior and side parts which can be opened, a dumpster, and a Springfield police car. In terms of figures, the set includes Apu, Bart, Homer, Marge, Chief Wiggum, and Snake Jailbird, who is exclusive to the set.

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While there isn’t a specific release date yet, or pricing info, we’ll be sure to let you know once we hear anything.

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Elite: Dangerous Gets a Leonard Nimoy Memorial Spacestation

Elite: Dangerous has released its own memorial to Star Trek legend Leonard Nimoy.

As documented by a user on Imgur, the memorial features a planet, named Vulcan, and a specially-designed Leonard Nimoy spacestation.

The memorial comes after the passing of Nimoy, aged 83, on February 27, 2015. According to Nimoy’s wife, Susan Bay Nimoy, the cause of death was end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

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Cities: Skylines Sells 250,000 in First 24 Hours

Colossal Order and Paradox Interactive have announced its city-building sim Cities: Skylines has wracked up sales of 250,000 in its first 24 hours.

The number includes pre-orders and breaks the record for every other title in Paradox's stables over the same period of time. Considering the development team began life with just nine people on board, it's a remarkable achievement.

An antidote to the disappointment caused by 2013's SimCity, our review of Cities: Skylines (which, it should be noted, isn't part of the Cities series of games like Cities XXL made by Focus Home Interactive) gave the title an 8.5 after finding its huge, bustling cities to be incredible fun.

"Cities: Skylines is about the simple joy of building," wrote IGN's Dan Stapleton. "It’s a really impressive and often beautiful simulation, where an amazing number of virtual people go about their business across a huge swath of land. Getting in and creating something is easy, though mastering it will require extensive research on community wikis to understand why growth is stunted even when you address your citizens’ apparent concerns."

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Forza Horizon 2 Getting Free Mazda MX-5 Car Pack DLC

Forza Horizon 2 is set to get another batch of free DLC, this time adding four Mazda MX-5 models spanning 20 years.

The DLC will be available from March 17, and includes the 1990 Mazda MX-5 Miata, the 2005 Mazda Mazdaspeed MX-5, the 2010 Mazda MX-5 Super20 and the 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata.

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Sonya Blade Confirmed For Mortal Kombat X

Sonya Blade has been revealed as the next classic fighter set to return in Mortal Kombat X.

A new trailer, which you can see below, confirms the legendary US Special Forces officer will be a playable kombatant as she fights alongside her daughter Cassie and ex-husband Johnny.

When we got to play through part of the game's Story Mode recently, we also faced off against Shinnok and Jax. Though neither have been confirmed as returning fighters, it does seem odd NetherRealm would bother creating full movesets for the duo and not let us get our hands on them. A heap of other cameos, meanwhile, suggest they won't be the only familiar faces set to re-enter the fray.

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Evolve Adding Two New Free Maps

Evolve is getting two new DLC maps, both free of charge.

A blog post announces the addition of Broken Hill Mine and Broken Hill Foundry, available on Xbox One on March 31 and then on PS4 and PC on April 30. Both maps are available for Hunt, Nest and Rescue modes, through Skirmish, Custom matches and Evacuation campaigns.

The Broken Hill Mine map takes place in a labyrinth of caves beneath the surface of Shear. There's three key areas: a rock quarry, a venom hound nest and then a final zone featuring a huge conveyor belt. In the center of all of these is a drill chamber. Hidden, destructible entryways allow the Monster to shortcut through the map or lead Hunters down the wrong path. As you'd expect, stealth and close-quarters fighting will be a prominent component of matches here.

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New Characters Revealed in Mortal Kombat X’s Story Mode

At GDC, I got to play the first chapter of Mortal Kombat X's story mode. Surprise, surprise: it plays pretty much exactly like the story mode for MK 9 and Injustice (except with a few QTEs thrown in), with chapters focused on a specific character's story. What's much more interesting though is just how many characters made cameo appearances, some of whom we know are in the game as combatants, and others who we have yet to receive confirmation on. Still, the fact that they are showing up this early in the story mode is a promising indication that they'll be playable in some form.

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The Warm Oceans of Ice Moon Enceladus Could be Home to Life

Saturn’s sixth-largest moon Enceladus is believed to the most habitable body ever discovered outside of Earth, according to new research published in the journal Nature.

Data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft allowed scientists to confirm  that the ice moon’s south pole may resemble deep oceans on Earth with a heated ocean exhibiting ongoing hydrothermal activity.

“These findings add to the possibility that Enceladus, which contains a subsurface ocean and displays remarkable geologic activity, could contain environments suitable for living organisms,” said John Grunsfeld,  astronaut and associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, in a statement. “The locations in our solar system where extreme environments occur in which life might exist may bring us closer to answering the question: are we alone in the Universe.”

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