Monthly Archives: March 2020

Justice League Dark: Apokolips War Reportedly Last Film in Current DCAMU

Justice League Dark: Apokolips War will reportedly serve as the conclusion of the Justice League animated shared universe, originally launched by Jay Oliva's Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox in 2013. According to ComicBook.com, Justice League Dark: Apokolips War will end the current run in the DC Animated Movie Universe, as the 15th and final film in the continuity, which includes sequels to The Flashpoint Paradox, Son of Batman, and Justice League Dark. However, Warner Bros. Animation will continue to produce animated DC Comics movies, though it's not clear whether they will be independent stories or the start of a new continuity. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/02/justice-league-dark-apokolips-war-exclusive-trailer"] Directed by Matt Peters and Christina Sotta, Justice League Dark: Apokolips War boasts the largest superhero cast in the history of DC Universe Movies with dozens of characters spotlighted in a grand ensemble of talent reprising their renowned roles from the six-year story continuum. Among those reprising their animated characters are Matt Ryan, Jerry O'Connell, and Taissa Farmiga, who anchor the cast as Constantine, Superman and Raven, respectively. This assemble will lead the heroes into humanity's final attack against the film's key villain, Darkseid, who will once again be voiced by Tony Todd. Alongside that trio are the long-running core of Justice League voices, comprising of Jason O'Mara as Batman, Rosario Dawson as Wonder Woman, Shemar Moore as Cyborg, and Christopher Gorham as The Flash, as well as many other returning Justice League Dark and DC voice cast members. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=justice-league-dark-apokolips-war&captions=true"] The movie has been rated R for "bloody violence, language, and some sexual references" and will serve as the direct sequel to 2017's Justice League Dark. In our review of Justice League Dark, we praised the film for its execution of "the magical team-up concept," saying it "delivers a satisfying supernatural adventure" that "does justice to the main cast of characters by telling their tragic origin stories and showing off their quirky personalities." Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, DC, and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Justice League Dark: Apokolips War debuts on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital in spring 2020. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Out Now In Australia

Update: Final Fantasy 7 Remake is available in Australia today, nine days earlier than scheduled. The early release has been confirmed by several local retailers, including EB Games and JB Hi-Fi. The social posts from both retailers include the same boilerplate text: "If you get the game early, please think of others and don’t spoil it for them. Please don’t post videos or screenshots of the game until it is officially on sale on April 10." Original story follows below. Copies of Final Fantasy 7 Remake will ship early to Australia and Europe, Square Enix has announced. The news was revealed in a tweet from the official Final Fantasy 7 Remake account, which contained a formal message from Yoshinori Kitase and Tetsuya Nomura, two of the Remake project's lead developers. "Our highest priority is that all of you, including those who live in countries currently facing the biggest disruption, can play the game at launch, so we made the decision to ship the game earlier than usual to Europe and Australia," the statement reads. This means that those of you in Europe and Australia waiting for your copy of Final Fantasy 7 Remake may receive the game earlier than the street date of April 10th, 2020. The decision wasn't taken lightly, and - as you may have surmised - it was made in response to "disruption to distribution channels caused by the spread of the COVID-19 virus." The coronavirus pandemic has strained the global supply chain and estimates for delivery are becoming more haywire, which is why Square Enix has decided to send the game out now so it can meet the demand at launch. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/02/final-fantasy-7-remake-preview"] As for fans in the Americas and other Western regions, Square Enix is optimistic that the game will arrive by launch day, though due to the "challenging situation" the company cannot provide data for every country and retailer. To round off the statement, Kitase and Nomura asked fans not to spoil the game if they receive their copy early. "There are potential spoilers that have been out there for over two decades as the original Final Fantasy VII was released in 1997... but Final Fantasy VII Remake is a new game that still has many surprises for everyone," the statement reads. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=final-fantasy-7-remake-29-new-wall-market-screenshots&captions=true"] The developers asked for the support of the community that surrounds the game to ensure that nobody falls foul of stray spoilers. Final Fantasy 7 Remake's street date was already broken this week, with fans posting pictures of their early copies of the games to Reddit. This is your fair warning - if you want to avoid Remake spoilers, go dark now! For more news on Final Fantasy 7 Remake, read our report on how the remake will show a different side to Cloud Strife. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

HQ Trivia Is Back

After unexpectedly shutting down less than two months ago, HQ Trivia is back once again. The once-popular game show's co-founder Rus Yusupov took to Twitter tonight to announce the return of the mobile game show, saying he and former host Matt Richards would be "back tonight" on the HQ app. After the airing of tonight's episode, a source has confirmed to The Verge that HQ Trivia is officially back for good after the company was acquired by an anonymous investor. Further, the source confirmed that more episodes will be airing in the near future, officially marking the return of the beloved mobile game show. IGN has reached out to HQ Trivia for further clarification and will update this story if necessary. A few short days after seemingly closing its doors for good, Yusupov shared on Twitter that he had "found a new home for HQ, with a company that wants to keep it running," giving the community hope that the show would one day return. Then, a few days ago the official HQ Trivia Twitter account tweeted a cryptic message and changed its bio to "BRB," causing many to think the trivia show might actually be making a grand return — and they were right. Things ended unexpectedly for the mobile game show in late February when employees unexpectedly received an email informing them that a deal fell through and HQ Trivia would be closing its door effective immediately. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=best-mobile-games-nominees&captions=true"] HQ Trivia was launched in 2017 and was met with immediate success from trivia lovers everywhere. However, in December 2018 HQ’s former CEO and co-founder, Colin Kroll died unexpectedly of a drug overdose. Only a few months later, the original and beloved host Scott Rogowsky parted ways with the company after accepting a sports position with streaming service DAZN, and ten short months later HQ Trivia closed its doors. It's currently unclear when the next live show will air, so be sure to keep your eye on the official HQ Trivia Twitter account. Additionally, if you had any money left in your account when the company closed up shop, Richards has confirmed that you can hop on the app and cash out now. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Andrew Smith is a freelance contributor with IGN and is an avid HQ Trivia fan. Follow him on Twitter @_andrewtsmith.

Scott Derrickson Shares Cool Doctor Strange Quarantine Poster

Director Scott Derrickson (Doctor Strange, Sinister) posted some fun fan art to his Twitter account, showing Marvel's Sorcerer Supreme taking a staunch pro-quarantine stance. The poster, which was drawn up by a designer named NOVA, is a spoof on J. M. Flagg's 1917 "Uncle Sam" poster that was created to recruit American soldiers for both World War I and World War II. Check it out... NOVA's full piece is here... e Derrickson was originally in the director's chair for Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness but left over creative differences between himself and Marvel in January. Original Spider-Man Trilogy's Sam Raimi is reportedly stepping in as Multiverse of Madness' director, with Derrickson even praising the choice of Raimi as his successor. For more movie news, check out our review of The Big Lebowski sequel, The Jesus Rolls, as well as the cast of No Time to Die honoring healthcare workers and Animal Crossing fans recreating scenes from Midsommar in New Horizons. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=animal-crossing-movie-scenes&captions=true"] [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.

No Time To Die Cast Honors Healthcare Workers

Daniel Craig's final Bond film, No Time to Die, may have been postponed until November, along with dozens of other movie and TV show projects that have been delayed, but that didn't stop him, his wife (Black Widow's Rachel Weisz), and several key members of the No Time to Die cast from honoring those on the front lines of this pandemic -- the world's healthcare workers -- while in self-isolation. The official James Bond social media accounts sent out this video showing Craig, Weisz, Rory Kinnear, Ben Whishaw, and Naomie Harris as they "#ClapForOurCarers" in a quick montage. See for yourself... Despite no movie being released in April, as originally planned, Daniel Craig still hosted Saturday Night Live back at the beginning of March, where he parodied No Time to Die and his Southern accent in Rian Johnson's Knives Out. Billie's Eilish's "No Time to Die" topped the U.K. charts with the biggest opening week ever for a James Bond song. For other movie news, Anya Taylor-Joy is reportedly up for a role in the Mad Max Furiosa spinoff movie, Ryan Reynolds is in talks to star in an adaptation of classic arcade game Dragon's Lair, and the cast of Contagion has an important PSA for you. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/23/the-5-best-drama-movies-on-netflix-right-now"] [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.

Remaster of Original Nier Game Announced

Square Enix has announced a remaster of the original 2010 Nier game, dubbing it “Nier Replicant ver. 1.22474487139.” Watch the trailer below.

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Appropriately enough, 2020 marks the 10-year anniversary of the original Nier game, which released in 2010 as a spin-off of the Drakengard franchise. Square Enix released a new trailer showing off some imagery from Nier Replicant, along with some text alluding to its story’s core themes.

Making sense of the original Nier titles is a bit difficult. The original Nier released in 2010, and featured a man searching through the ruins of a world dominated by mysterious creatures known as “Shades” for a cure for his ailing daughter/sister. Nier Gestalt, which featured a father-daughter duo, was what western audiences and Japanese Xbox 360 owners got, but a different version of the game was released on the PS3 in Japan, called “Nier Replicant,” and featured a younger brother and sister duo rather than father and daughter.

From the text we see in the trailer mentioning a “young, kind-hearted boy” and his sister, it looks like Square Enix is going with the original Nier Replicant’s brother and sister dynamic.

The trailer also shows that this remaster will be developed by Toylogic, and not Platinum Games, who made 2017's Nier Automata.

Nier itself is a spin-off of the Drakengard franchise.

Nier Replicant ver. 1.22474487139 is coming to PS4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam. Square Enix has not mentioned a release date as of yet.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/29/nier-reincarnation-teaser-trailer"]

Meanwhile, Nier Reincarnation is an iOS and Android game. Square Enix released a similarly vague trailer, showing off some more artwork featuring huge, seemingly empty cities (with giant fish floating in the air?), and some text describing an ominous place known as “the Cage.” Watch the trailer above.

If you translate Square Enix’s official page, it appears that Nier Reincarnation will be a free-to-play game with microtransactions, although what form those will take (or how extensive they’ll be) is still unclear.

[poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN, and he does not look forward to writing out that title 40 more times.

Hasbro Releases Mini G.I. Joe Animated Series Marathon Online

"He'll fight for freedom, wherever there's trouble, G.I. Joe is there..." In these times of self-isolation and social-distancing, it's good to know that toy brokers Hasbro have your back. With many people at home, checking out all the movies hitting VOD early, or maybe even the best horror films on Netflix, Hasbro, whose toy properties My Little Pony, Transformers, and Jem and the Holograms were famously turned into '80s animated series, have released fifteen full episodes of perhaps their most iconic '80s cartoon - G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. Posted to YouTube, these fifteen episodes take us through the show's first two five-part miniseries -- "The M.A.S.S. Device" and "The Revenge of Cobra" -- as well as the first five-part story of Season 1, "The Pyramid of Darkness." The 15 episodes are:

[caption id="attachment_232767" align="aligncenter" width="720"]81j1FW7AdOL._SL1500_ Click the pic to watch G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero episodes on YouTube.[/caption] So enjoy watching Flint, Duke, Scarlett, Snake Eyes, Roadblock, and other G.I. Joe giants as they clash with Cobra Commander, Destro, Baroness, Zartan, and more! Looking for more content to stream/binge? Here's everything coming to Amazon and Netflix in April. Syfy has also posted the premiere episode of its new snarky space adventure Vagrant Queen online. Now you know. And knowing's half the battle! [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/26/new-to-netflix-for-april-2020"] [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.

Resident Evil 3 Mod Gives Nemesis a Beach Thong

The Resident Evil 3 remake may not be officially out until April 3, but that hasn’t stopped enterprising modders from giving us what we’ve wanted all along: Nemesis in an Umbrella-branded beach thong.

First spotted by Eurogamer, a Patreon-backed modder by the name of Marcos RC is responsible for this new abomination. As if Resident Evil 3’s iconic undead, invincible boss wasn’t already bad enough, we now get to see him stomping around the streets of Raccoon City all half-naked. You can watch Marcos RC’s video on his YouTube channel, or check out screenshots below.

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The mod is officially called the “Beachboy Nemesis” mod, with a 3D body base created by “MisterHecks.” You can download the mod from Marcos RC’s Patreon page here. Could you imagine how horrifying this would be with the first-person Resident Evil 3 mod?

Sexy Nemesis mods are all we get for now, since Capcom recently delayed the Resident Evil Resistance beta on PS4 and Steam, with the Xbox One version rolling along as originally planned. Capcom has also warned that physical editions of Resident Evil 3 may be delayed in Europe thanks to COVID-19 impacting shipping infrastructure.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/11/resident-evil-3-comparison-remake-vs-original"]

MisterHecks, who created the Nemesis model that Marcos RC utilized, similarly made a thong mod for Mr. X in the Resident Evil 2 remake.

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Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN, and looks forward to gamers rising up for this mod.

Watch the Premiere Episode of Syfy’s Vagrant Queen for Free

In this quaran-tainment era, with a ton of TV being postponed and hit movies hitting VOD sooner, Syfy has posted the premiere of its new snarky space opera, Vagrant Queen, on YouTube for all to see. Vagrant Queen, based on the Eisner Award-nominated comic series by Magdalene Visaggio, follows a self-exiled child queen, Elida (Adriyan Rae), who's now grown up living the life of a scavenger and outlaw. When an old frenemy turns up with news about her long-lost mother, Elida is forced to return to her broken kingdom with in hopes of staging a rescue. The first episode, "A Royal Ass-Kicking," is now posted for free viewing, with the series' first season having just started on Syfy on Friday nights. [caption id="attachment_232763" align="aligncenter" width="720"]vagrant-queen-adriyan-rae-elida Click the pic to watch Vagrant Queen's first episode, "A Royal Ass-Kicking," on YouTube.[/caption] In other sci-fi news, check out our review of Star Trek Picard: Season 1, Doctor Who giving self-isolation tips, and news of a Terminator star being cast in The Mandalorian: Season 2. CBS All Access is also free until April 23, allowing you to watch the first season of Picard and both seasons of Star Trek: Discovery. Vagrant Queen airs on Syfy on Fridays at 10pm EST/9pm CST. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/27/picard-season-1-review-is-the-star-trek-spinoff-worth-it-spoilers"] [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.

Call of Duty Datamine Reveals Possible Modern Warfare 2 Remaster Release Plans

In what seems to be becoming a regular thing, a well-known dataminer, Senescallo, leaked a bunch of upcoming Call of Duty content on Reddit, revealing plans for the rumored Modern Warfare 2 Remaster, along with details on new maps and weapons that are headed to Modern Warfare (you know, the latest one) Season 3. Perhaps the biggest bit of information revealed by the Call of Duty leak seems to indicate that the highly anticipated Modern Warfare 2 Remaster could be sold from within Modern Warfare (2019) and as a standalone game. Further, spotted by Eurogamer, the Reddit leak indicates that Activision only plans to remaster the Modern Warfare 2 campaign, not the multiplayer. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-call-of-duty-review&captions=true"] Based on the leak, players will be able to purchase the remaster as a standalone game and will receive the Underwater Demo Team Classic Ghost Bundle with their purchase. Alternatively, players could purchase the Ghost Pack: Oil Rig Bundle from within Modern Warfare to receive the MW2 campaign remaster, a legendary skin for Ghost, weapon blueprints for the M4A1 and 1911, and a few other commodities. Purchasing the Modern Warfare 2 Remaster from within Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is expected to cost 10,000 COD points, which comes out to about $80. It's currently unclear how much the standalone version would cost. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/call-of-duty-warzone-isnt-just-a-battle-royal"] Remaster's aside, the leak also revealed some information about Modern Warfare Season 3, which is expected to release in the coming weeks. It seems that two maps from previous titles will be making a return to the franchise in the third season — Backlot (Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare) and Village (Modern Warfare 3). [caption id="attachment_232761" align="alignnone" width="720"]village Source: Reddit user Senescallo[/caption] [caption id="attachment_232761" align="alignnone" width="720"]backlot Source: Reddit user Senescallo[/caption]   Additionally, an SKS Sniper and a Renetti Pistol are likely two be added along with two new Operators, Alex and Ronin. Lastly, Season 3 could be receiving creator codes, which would allow players to support their favorite Call of Duty creator with any in-game purchases. Activision and Infinity Ward have yet to confirm any of this, so of course take it all with a grain of salt. Developers recently launched Warzone, the highly anticipated battle royale mode, which hit 6 million players in the first 24 hours. While it's gotten off to a great start, we think Warzone is imbalanced in one specific way. For more on Warzone, be sure to check out our review. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Andrew Smith is a freelance contributor with IGN. Follow him on Twitter @_andrewtsmith.