Monthly Archives: September 2016
Gears of War 4 Prologue Gameplay Released
The Coalition has released a new video for Gears of War 4, showcasing the first 20 minutes of its upcoming Microsoft-exclusive third-person shooter.
The introductory mission, dubbed Prologue, gives players the opportunity to experience several key moments from three decades of Gears history, including the Locust's siege of Anvil Gate and the COG's battle at Aspho Fields to acquire the Hammer of Dawn technology. Watch all 20 minutes of gameplay footage below.
Gears of War 4 releases for Xbox One and Windows 10 on October 11.
For our thoughts on The Coalition's highly anticipated third-person shooter, check out IGN's Gears of War 4 multiplayer preview. While you're at it, be sure to check out this comprehensive overview of all our IGN First coverage.
Arrow: Stephen Amell Reveals Photo of Supergirl
After teasing the return of a major villain set to appear in Arrow's upcoming 100th episode, series star Stephen Amell has once again taken to social media to offer a sneak peek at a long-awaited DC superhero meet-up.
See Melissa Benoist's Supergirl standing alongside Green Arrow in the photo below, courtesy of Amell on Twitter.
via Stephen Amell on Twitter
Meet Luke Cage’s Enemies
After Wilson Fisk in Daredevil and Kilgrave in Jessica Jones, the bar has been set high for the villains in the Marvel/Netflix series, but Marvel’s Luke Cage – debuting Friday on Netflix -- comes out of the gate with a notable antagonist via Cornell Stokes, AKA Cottonmouth, played by Mahershala Ali (The 4400, House of Cards, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 and 2). A Harlem crime boss, Cottonmouth has an uneasy dynamic with his cousin, Mariah Dillard (Alfre Woodard – in her second Marvel role this year after her unrelated character in Captain America: Civil War). A local politician on the rise, Mariah is aware of Cottonmouth’s criminal actions and tolerates them to a point, but the two are often also at odds with one another – while Luke Cage’s actions also have consequences for both of them.
Fast and Furious Director to Steer Hot Wheels Movie
Justin Lin, director of four Fast and Furious films and Star Trek Beyond, has signed on to helm the long-gestating Hot Wheels movie.
The Wrap reports Lin will also produce the film based on Mattel's mega-popular line of toy cars. The director's production company, Perfect Storm Entertainment, will also have the option to co-finance the film alongside Legendary Entertainment, according the the report.
Lin on the set of Star Trek Beyond
Star Wars Rebels: See Maul’s Next Move
Star Wars Rebels: Season 3 continues Saturday night with the return of none other than Maul. The former "Darth" (he's discarded the title at this point) is once more set on making Ezra his apprentice, having already heavily influenced him in Season 2's finale - leading to Ezra getting ahold of the Sith holocron Maul was searching for.
Check out the new images below, showing Maul seemingly in complete control - having taken the Ghost crew hostage and with Ezra looking more than ready to study with him.
In addition, a new clip from the episode has been released, showing Maul and Hera having a discussion about Ezra.
For more on what to expect from Maul's return, check out what Sam Witwer -- who voices the character -- told us at Star Wars Celebration in the playlist below, followed by executive producer Dave Filoni's thoughts on Maul's path.
Rogue One’s Final Trailer is Attached to Doctor Strange
Star Wars: Rogue One’s final trailer is running with Doctor Strange.
According to Star Wars News Net, the trailer’s release window was revealed during the Kino Expo International, a Russian film festival that was held in St. Petersburg from September 20 to 23. Elena Brodskaya, marketing director of the Russian subdivision of Walt Disney, disclosed this piece of information about Rogue One during a presentation.
Brodskaya talked about some of Disney’s future movies, such as the upcoming live adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, during which she said the company will keep Rogue One under wraps. That is, until it releases the Star Wars movie's final trailer when Doctor Strange hits theaters in Russia on October 28, and November 4 in the US.
Ubisoft Won’t Necessarily Release Assassin’s Creed or Far Cry Games in 2017
When it was confirmed that there will be no Assassin's Creed game in 2016, most assumed that the series would be taking a single year off. This may not end up being the case — and Far Cry may also be going away for longer than expected.
Speaking to IGN, Ubisoft VP of Editorial, Tommy François explained that both Assassin's Creed and Far Cry were undergoing close scrutiny during development, with a very particular goal in mind:
"I'll tell you what," François said, "We believe Alpha for these games needs to be one year before release. We're trying to achieve that. That's super f****** blunt, I don't even know if I'm allowed to say this. This is the goal we're going for: Alpha one year before, more quality, more polish.
Significant Shaman Nerfs Coming To Hearthstone
Blizzard will be nerfing two key Shaman cards in the upcoming 6.1.3 update for Hearthstone.
In an official blog post outlining all the upcoming changes, Blizzard stated that they're "happy that Shaman has many deckbuilding options to choose from, but we are taking this opportunity to adjust two of the most widely played and frustrating Shaman cards."
The cards in question are Rockbiter Weapon and Tuskarr Totemic. The former is having its mana cost increased by one, and the latter is having its card text tweaked. The new Tuskarr will now only be able to randomly summon standard totems as opposed to special ones. In practical terms, this means that there will no longer be a chance of this low-cost minion minion summoning a board-dominating, and potentially game-ending totem to the field.
SHIELD May Have Just Introduced Another Captain America
Spoilers follow for last night’s Agents of SHIELD.
On last night’s Agents of SHIELD episode, "Meet the New Boss," actor Jason O'Mara’s character was introduced. As the replacement for Clark Gregg’s Phil Coulson as the new director of the titular organization, Marvel had kept O’Mara’s character a mystery leading up to the new season of SHIELD -- though they had also hinted that he has roots that extend back in Marvel history to the 1940s. And now we know the new director’s name: He’s Jeffrey Mace, and he certainly does have a pretty significant backstory in the comics.
But first, let’s note that while the character is only verbally called “Jeffrey” in last night’s episode, subtitles reveal that his name is “Mace.” Obviously Marvel is planning on teasing out his true identity in the coming weeks, but it’s clear that this is Jeffrey Mace… also known in the comics as the Patriot. And also once known as… Captain America!
Batman: Deathstroke Star Teases Comics Research
Joe Manganiello will star as Deathstroke in Warner Bros.' upcoming Batman solo film, and to prepare for the role, the True Blood and Magic Mike star is doing a bit of DC Comics research.
In a pair of posts on Twitter, Manganiello shared a couple of images of DC-branded goods, including Deathstroke POP! figures and a sizable assortment of comics to read through, spanning everything from "Deathstroke: The Terminator" to "Teen Titans."