Monthly Archives: February 2020
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Battle Royale Map Seemingly Discovered
Many signs that seem to point towards a battle royale mode coming to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare have emerged since season 2 was announced yesterday, including a look at what appears to be the whole map.
The first indicator of battle royale can be seen in a new option has been added to the main menu if you download the Season 2 update for Modern Warfare, which currently reads "CLASSIFIED". This is seems very likely to be a new game mode.
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Further evidence that it could be a battle royale mode starts with the opening cinematic that plays when you first boot up Season 2. At the 1:20 mark in the cinematic, soldiers are seen jumping out of a plane onto what appears to be a much larger map than usual, which is surrounded by clouds of green gas.
Given that battle royale modes usually involve jumping out of a plane, have huge maps, and usually have a deadly zone moves towards the centre of the map and shrinks the play space, all of this points towards a battle royale mode.
Further evidence comes from the fact that the map seen in that cinematic seems to have been found inside the game. YouTuber Prestige Is Key claims that you can find it by starting a private match on the Atlas Superstore map and switching to the COD caster spectator mode.
If you go to Atlas Superstore in a private match and become the COD caster you can explore the entire map. It is all low quality because you don't see it in regular gameplay. I flew all the way up in the sky to get the overview :) pic.twitter.com/QpiVaBd7Un
— Ryan B. (@PrestigeIsKey) February 12, 2020
A large map that matches the one in the cinematic can then apparently be viewed in its entirety, though it is in low resolution. A Redditor also posted a video of them flying high above that same map.
There's no official word on whether Modern Warfare is getting a battle royale mode and, if it is, when it might arrive. But given that this seems to be a battle royale map that's become accessible since Season 2 arrived, it could be that it will arrive soon.
Season 2 of Modern Warfare was leaked before it arrived too. Its new maps, skins, and guns were discovered before Activision was able to make the official announcement.
[poilib element="accentDivider"]Chris Priestman is a freelancer who writes news for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.
League of Legends Studio’s New FPS Combines CS:GO and Overwatch
First details on the competitive first-person shooter for PC being made by League of Legends developer Riot Games have emerged after a recent playtest.
Former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro HenryG tweeted his impressions of the game, currently codenamed Project A, after he spent a day playing it at Riot's European offices.
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He reports that the game is most similar to CS:GO, being that it's a 5v5 round-based tactical shooter. HenryG got to play a 12-round search and destroy mode, with A and B bombsites, and which had attackers and defenders swapping places at half time.
Where Project A differs from CS:GO is by having characters with unique skills tied to them. HenryG says the abilities are diluted in their power compared to those in Overwatch and Apex Legends. This means your shooting skill and tactics on the map are more important than using an ability to turn the tide of battle.
In my opinion, these aforementioned classes and their own unique 'abilities' should be seen as tactical utility instead of potentially overpowered spell/ultimate combinations that other class-based games suffer from.
— HenryG (@HenryGcsgo) February 11, 2020
He reckons you shouldn't rely on them but adds that "there's nothing more satisfying dropping a successful combo of movement mechanics abilities that isolates your opponent to buy space before pulling the trigger on the killing blow."
Project A also has an economy system like CS:GO does according to HenryG. That means each player will start with a set amount of currency and can earn more by scoring kills and completing objectives. That currency is spent on weapons and abilities at the beginning of each round.
Similar to CS:GO, with the economy system, you could partially invest into rounds with less-fire power to take a gamble on a round and enter with basic abilities/utility.
— HenryG (@HenryGcsgo) February 11, 2020
HenryG adds that the range of weaponry will be familiar to CS:GO players too, and generally speaking, a bullet to the head from a rifle will kill an enemy. This means the shooting appears to be about as fast as CS:GO and so you'll have to be very careful of where you're positioned, peeking around corners to survive most of the time.
Other impressions from HenryG on Project A is that the map design stood out for him. He says it feels very similar to CS:GO, with lanes and choke points, and there's a focus on gameplay over "flowery aesthetics." He also had this to say:
I will leave you with this bombshell: #ProjectA is the best game I have played since CS:GO.
— HenryG (@HenryGcsgo) February 11, 2020
All that was known about Project A previously was that it's not connected to League of Legends, it takes place on a near-future Earth, and has character-based play. With these first impressions we know quite a bit more. There will be more official details on Project A to come throughout 2020 and perhaps even a name.
Riot is also working on a Legends of Runeterra, a card game, and a fighting game. It also announced Riot Forge recently, in which it's teaming up with third-party developers to create more games set in the League of Legends universe.
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[poilib element="accentDivider"]Chris Priestman is a freelancer who writes news for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.
Scientists Detect Extragalactic Radio Signals Arriving in an Unexplained Pattern
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Pokémon Home is Now Available on Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android
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Sonic Movie: Jim Carrey on the Evolution of Dr. Robotnik’s Look
Activision Blizzard Pulls Games From Nvidia’s GeForce Now
Wonder Woman 1984 Actors Share New Details on Their Villains
Maxwell Lord
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Pedro Pascal as Maxwell Lord. (Image credit: Warner Bros.)[/caption]
The movie finds Wonder Woman living a lonely life of solitude. The downside to her divine longevity is that she out-lives everyone she knows, so she’s not only mourning the loss of Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) but the life she used to have decades ago when she first traveled to “man’s world.” As if in direct opposition to her spartan lifestyle, Maxwell Lord is the epitome of greed. EW describes the character as a mogul/guru, part Gordon Grekko and part Tony Robbins.
“Max is a dream-seller,” Pascal explained. “It’s this character who encompasses a component of the [‘80s] which is, you know, ‘Get whatever want, however you can. You’re entitled to it!’ And at any cost, ultimately, which represents a huge part of our culture and this kind of unabashed — it’s greed. It’s f—ing greed, of course. But it’s also about ‘How do you be your best self? How do you win?’ So he’s definitely the face of that version of success.”
Lord is a fitting enemy for Wonder Woman because he is perhaps the one man who can offer something the selfless hero wants. Though no plot details were shared, the going fan theory is that the seemingly impossible return of Steve Trevor has something to do with Lord.
In the comics, Maxwell Lord went from being a normal person to a metahuman with psychic mind control powers, but it’s not clear what his deal will be in the film. A quick shot in the trailer shows him doing some sort of ritual, so he could possibly have abilities that are magical in nature. Perhaps he forms a pact with a dark god of some sort? Whatever he can do in the film, he will have the fortitude to throw down with the godly Wonder Woman, as EW says the action scene inside the White House is a battle against Lord.
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Cheetah
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No images of Wiig's Cheetah have been released, so here's the villain as depicted in Injustice 2. (Image credit: Warner Bros.)[/caption]
While Wonder Woman may not fall for Lord’s temptations, her friend and co-worker at the Natural History Museum in Washington, D.C. most certainly does. Barbara Minerva is a sheepish gemologist who befriends the bold and confident Diana Prince, and through mystical means she transforms into the Cheetah, a fast and deadly feline creature. Becoming Cheetah brings out the worst in Barbara, and Wiig describes Barbara and Cheetah as two separate roles.
“I’ve never really played someone who walks into the room and owns it — especially when she starts out so insecure and self-deprecating,” Wiig said. “We didn’t want to see Barbara in Cheetah, and I didn’t want to see Kristen in Cheetah, either.”
Director Patty Jenkins explained the unique dynamic between Wonder Woman and Cheetah. It’s less about two diametrically opposed heroes and villains and more a hero trying to save a friend from herself.
“In the lore, Cheetah is often someone who’s friends with Diana but jealous of her,” she said. “And I feel like Kristen’s playing a character who’s both ends of the spectrum — she’s your warm, funny friend who’s kind and interesting and then can transform into something completely different.”
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What do you think of how these actors are approaching these Wonder Woman villains for the upcoming movie? Let us know in the comments.
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Joshua is Senior Features Editor at IGN. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Game of Thrones are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.The Hunt: Universal Sets New Release Date for Controversial Movie
The Hunt follows a group of rich liberals who hunt conservatives for sport. The movie's release was originally canceled about a month before the film's release after a summer of mass shootings and criticisms of the film's premise from conservatives.
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Producer Jason Blum told Variety that it was not just the movie studio who wanted the movie delayed.
"There was this wild kind of tornado of events, and it just seemed like the right thing to do," Blum said. "It was never our idea to have the movie be gone forever. We wanted to take it off the schedule so there could be time to process things and reintroduce the film to the world. That ended up taking three-to-four months."
Damon Lindelof and Nick Cuse, who previously worked on the HBO series Watchmen and The Leftovers, wrote the script for The Hunt. Lindelof feels better about the film after they've received more reactions from people who've actually seen it.
"...as more and more people start to see it, we’ve gained confidence in the fact that this is not a dangerous movie," Linelof said. "This is not a provocative movie. This is not a divisive movie. I think the big shift between now and then is that more people have seen it and they’ve responded positively."
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The Hunt stars Betty Gilpin, Ike Barinholtz, Emma Roberts, and Hilary Swank and is directed by Craig Zobel. It will release on the same day as the Vin Diesel action movie Bloodshot, the Britt Robertson drama I Still Believe, and the Dave Bautista comedy, My Spy.
Blumhouse will next release Fantasy Island on Friday and The Invisible Man on February 28. They have another Purge movie on the way but are doubtful about Happy Death Day 3.
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Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN.