Monthly Archives: August 2020
Animaniacs Hulu Revival Premiere Date Announced
Hulu has revealed the release date for its revival of beloved 1990s cartoon Animaniacs. The antics begin on November 20.
It’s been 22 years since the final, 99th episode of Animaniacs, but 2020 sees the return of the popular show. “Hulu, Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation are proud to unveil a brand-new version of the iconic family-friendly cartoon series for the whole family, as the Warner siblings, Yakko and Wakko, and the Warner sister Dot, have a great time wreaking havoc and mayhem in the lives of everyone they meet,” said Hulu in a statement.
Yakko, Wakko, and Dot are not the only characters returning for the revival, though. The show wouldn’t be complete without Pinky and the Brain, two lab mice on a quest to take over the world. They’ll be scheming in all 13 of the new episodes.
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As with the original run, Steven Spielberg returns as executive producer of the series. And the 13 Animaniacs episodes being released in November are just the start; Hulu has confirmed that the show will return for a second 13-episode season in 2021. The revival itself reportedly came about because of a surge of popularity for Animaniacs on Netflix.
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Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.
It’s been 22 years since the final, 99th episode of Animaniacs, but 2020 sees the return of the popular show. “Hulu, Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation are proud to unveil a brand-new version of the iconic family-friendly cartoon series for the whole family, as the Warner siblings, Yakko and Wakko, and the Warner sister Dot, have a great time wreaking havoc and mayhem in the lives of everyone they meet,” said Hulu in a statement.
Yakko, Wakko, and Dot are not the only characters returning for the revival, though. The show wouldn’t be complete without Pinky and the Brain, two lab mice on a quest to take over the world. They’ll be scheming in all 13 of the new episodes.
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-best-adult-cartoon-tv-series&captions=true"]
As with the original run, Steven Spielberg returns as executive producer of the series. And the 13 Animaniacs episodes being released in November are just the start; Hulu has confirmed that the show will return for a second 13-episode season in 2021. The revival itself reportedly came about because of a surge of popularity for Animaniacs on Netflix.
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Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. Marvel’s Avengers PS4 Pre-Order Beta Is Available Now
Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics have announced that Marvel's Avengers' PS4 pre-order Beta is available now, hours before it was scheduled to become playable.
Marvel's Avengers posted the pleasant surprise on Twitter, saying it's because "We <3 you."
The beta was scheduled to be released around 9pm today, August 7, in your local time zone, but it appears all was ready to go a bit early, allowing PS4 players to try out Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Ms. Marvel, Hulk, and Thor.
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Marvel's Avengers' Beta includes four hero missions from the game's campaign, three HARM Room challenges, four War Zones, and 5 Drop Zones.
The Hero Missions will take players through the previously shown A-Day event and a bit of its aftermath, all while switching between the heroes that will be featured in the main game.
HARM Room are more-or-less wave-based arena challenges that contain 10 waves. War Zones are big open-ended missions with multiple objectives, and Drop Zones are quicker single-objective missions.
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These Drop Zones and War Zones are where you will be able to team up with up to three friends in online multiplayer, however, there can only be one of each hero on a team.
We've had a chance to try out Marvel's Avengers Beta, and we said it "has a long way to go. The story and characters are interesting, and I actually can’t wait to see it through. The campaign missions in this beta seemed varied enough, and hopefully, that keeps up. And while live-service games often come with the adage of “it’s not how they launch, it's what they become,” I’m worried that there’s currently very little that would keep my interest to play past the campaign."
For more on Marvel's Avengers, check out our comprehensive Beta guide, the best tips and tricks to master the each section, how to get into the Beta, which will open up to more players in the next couple weeks, and how Spider-Man became an exclusive character on PS4.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/05/avengers-spider-man-exclusivity-is-good-for-playstation-bad-for-players-opinion"]
Doom Eternal Campaign Expansion Announced
Bethesda and id Software has announced a single-player campaign expansion for Doom Eternal as part of QuakeCon at Home.
A full reveal will come as part of Geoff Keighley's Opening Night Live at Gamescom 2020 on August 27, but the id Software team did reveal that the expansion will be called The Ancient Gods. The story will be split into parts, and we'll see some of Part One at ONL. The story of The Ancients Gods will revolve around an imbalance of power in heaven, and how the Doom Slayer fits into that problem. Presumably by ripping and tearing demons... In addition to the single-player expansion, id Software is also working on updates for the multiplayer side of things, with a ranked competitive mode and other additions. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/24/doom-eternal-final-review"] For more from Doom Eternal, check out the news that it'll get a free next-gen upgrade for the new consoles, and read our full review of the game. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.Introducing the upcoming campaign expansion DOOM Eternal - The Ancient Gods, Part One Full trailer reveal at @gamescom Opening Night Live on August 27. pic.twitter.com/sdFQzGmJ6F
— DOOM (@DOOM) August 7, 2020
DC FanDome Guest List: Robert Pattinson, Margot Robbie, James Gunn and More Confirmed
DC FanDome, the online 24 hour event for everything DC comics, is happening on August 22. Today, DC has revealed many of the guests who will be taking part, and the list is humongous. It’s pretty much everyone you could imagine from all areas of DC.
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The above video features dozens of names, and also includes the caveat of “and many more”, so it’s not even the full list. But among the names are big hitters including Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson, meaning it looks like we’ll be getting news on The Batman. Zack Snyder is also in attendance, so news on his Justice League cut could also be part of the proceedings.
As for other DC talent, expect big stars like Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, and Kristen Wig from Wonder Woman 1984 to be there, along with director Patty Jenkins. Dwayne Johnson is also coming along for the ride, so Black Adam news may be on the cards. James Gunn and Viola Davis are also confirmed, so hopefully that means an update on The Suicide Squad will happen, too. Andy and Barbara Muschietti are also there, presumably to chat with Ezra Miller about the Flash movie. And, of course, it wouldn’t be complete without Harley Quinn herself, Margot Robbie.
From the world of DC television, the likes of Kaley Cuoco, Lake Bell, and Alan Tudyk are in attendance from the Harley Quinn show, as well as cast from Greg Berlanti’s Arrowverse shows, including fan favourites Caity Lotz and Grant Gustin.
WB Games are also going to be showing off Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad video game, and both Troy Baker and Nolan North are also turning up. Perhaps they have roles in Rocksteady’s latest?
And, of course, you can also expect big names from the medium that started it all: the comics themselves. Expect comic superstars Jim Lee, Brian Michael Bendis, Grant Morrison, G. Willow Wilson, Mark Waid, Matthew Wilson, Scott Snyder, and more.
Beyond the talent themselves is the list of hosts, presenters, and special guests, which - as before - comes with a “and many more!” caveat. But announced so far are Aisha Tyler, Aline Diniz, Andrea Delogu, Chella Man, Clara Amfo, D-Nice, Damian Molla, Dominik Porschen, Erico Borgo, Estelle, Gaby Cam, Gael Monfils, Geoff Keighley, Gino Quillamor, H.E.R., Jayden Rodrigues, Karama, Lilico, Nyambi Nyambi, Sam Wright, Terry Ltam, Tyrone Edwards, Venus Williams, and Will Arnett.
DC FanDome is a 24 hour fan event happening online on August 22. In the absence of a big DC presence as part of ComicCon@Home this year, it seems like this will be the place for any big DC news in 2020.
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Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.
Beyond the talent themselves is the list of hosts, presenters, and special guests, which - as before - comes with a “and many more!” caveat. But announced so far are Aisha Tyler, Aline Diniz, Andrea Delogu, Chella Man, Clara Amfo, D-Nice, Damian Molla, Dominik Porschen, Erico Borgo, Estelle, Gaby Cam, Gael Monfils, Geoff Keighley, Gino Quillamor, H.E.R., Jayden Rodrigues, Karama, Lilico, Nyambi Nyambi, Sam Wright, Terry Ltam, Tyrone Edwards, Venus Williams, and Will Arnett.
DC FanDome is a 24 hour fan event happening online on August 22. In the absence of a big DC presence as part of ComicCon@Home this year, it seems like this will be the place for any big DC news in 2020.
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Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. Tenet Probably Has Less CGI Than Most Rom-Coms, Says Christopher Nolan
Director Christopher Nolan has suggested that Tenet probably has fewer visual effects than a typical romantic comedy.
Collider reports that Nolan, who is renowned for his preference of using practical effects over CGI, revealed in an interview with ICG Magazine that his commitment to shooting Tenet largely in-camera resulted in a substantially low VFX shot count.
"The visual side of the film is huge in scale, but our VFX shot count is probably lower than most romantic comedies," Nolan told the publication.
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In fact, Tenet editor Jennifer Lame estimates that Nolan's big-budget action movie probably has "fewer than 300" VFX shots in its final cut. This figure is low even by Nolan's standards, as Collider notes that it would place Tenet behind Batman Begins (620 VFX shots), Inception (500 VFX shots) and The Dark Knight Rises (450 VFX shots).
"Visual effects supervisor Andrew Jackson was responsible for coming up with our safety net," Nolan explained further. "We wanted it all in-camera, but if it couldn't be done, what choices are there in post-production? I like to say Andrew kind of bid himself out of a job because he helped us achieve such an enormous amount practically."
Alongside editor Jennifer Lame and visual effects supervisor Andrew Jackson, Nolan's behind-the-scenes creative team on Tenet comprises of production designer Nathan Crowley, costume designer Jeffrey Kurland, and director of photography Hoyte van Hoytema, who made his Nolan debut with Interstellar in 2014 and went on to earn an Oscar nomination for his cinematography work on Dunkirk.
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After using extensive practical effects to create the dogfighting sequences on Dunkirk, Nolan opted to push visual effects aside and blow up a real 747 jumbo jet on Tenet, claiming that it was actually "more efficient to buy a real plane of the real size, and perform this sequence for real in-camera, rather than build miniatures or go the CG route."
Tenet will be released in 70 international territories including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Russia, and the United Kingdom on August 26, and then Canada on August 27 before making ways to select North American theaters on September 3, while it will release in China on September 4, following several delays due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.
Umurangi Generation Review – Cyberpunk Snap
In Te Reo (Māori), "umurangi" means red sky--a perpetual sight in this first-person photography game, and a sign of the climate anomaly plaguing the city of Tauranga Aotearoa. You'll see this when raising your camera towards the flock of seagulls gathering at sunset, or a distant view of Mount Mauao amidst the billowing clouds of crimson and orange. Inspired by his personal experiences around the Australian bushfire crisis, Maori developer Naphtali Faulkner envisions a cyberpunk future that's so much more than a neon-soaked dystopia. As a result, Umurangi Generation becomes a shining example of what cyberpunk media should be; it boldly confronts the themes that underpin the genre, from its condemnation of capitalism to rebuking the corporate structures that govern its cities.
Umurangi Generation makes its statements not through dialogue but by letting you explore its themes through the exploratory lens of photography--and its through this framing that the game's message is made all the more resounding. Akin to a bystander, you don't get to interact with the city's inhabitants in Umurangi Generation; you just quietly observe and snap pictures of things you see in your environment.
Continue Reading at GameSpot
Umurangi Generation Review – Cyberpunk Snap
In Te Reo (Māori), "umurangi" means red sky--a perpetual sight in this first-person photography game, and a sign of the climate anomaly plaguing the city of Tauranga Aotearoa. You'll see this when raising your camera towards the flock of seagulls gathering at sunset, or a distant view of Mount Mauao amidst the billowing clouds of crimson and orange. Inspired by his personal experiences around the Australian bushfire crisis, Maori developer Naphtali Faulkner envisions a cyberpunk future that's so much more than a neon-soaked dystopia. As a result, Umurangi Generation becomes a shining example of what cyberpunk media should be; it boldly confronts the themes that underpin the genre, from its condemnation of capitalism to rebuking the corporate structures that govern its cities.
Umurangi Generation makes its statements not through dialogue but by letting you explore its themes through the exploratory lens of photography--and its through this framing that the game's message is made all the more resounding. Akin to a bystander, you don't get to interact with the city's inhabitants in Umurangi Generation; you just quietly observe and snap pictures of things you see in your environment.
Continue Reading at GameSpot
Rocksteady Announces Suicide Squad Game
Batman: Arkham series developer Rocksteady has announced that it is working on a Suicide Squad video game, and will announce further details on August 22 as part of DC FanDome, DC comics' digital fan event.
A Suicide Squad game was first considered a possibility following the end of Batman: Arkham Origins - developed by WB Games Montreal - which featured a post-credits scene in which Deathstroke is asked by Amanda Waller to join the Suicide Squad. In the years since Rocksteady shipped Batman: Arkham Knight, there have been rumours suggesting the studio has been working on a Suicide Squad game, but no official word from the development team or publisher WB Games. Those rumours arose once again last month, with the suggestion that the game's full name may be "Suicide Squad Kill The Justice League", although the poster art featured in the above Tweet just says Suicide Squad. The logo, however, is arranged as a crosshair over Superman's head, so it certainly looks like the Squad have it out for the JL. Now that's a super smash melee I'd like to play out in a video game. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/22/rocksteady-reportedly-working-on-a-suicide-squad-game"] No more details have been revealed as part of the tweet, but we'll likely find out much more at DC FanDome on August 22. WB Games are already known to be showing off things as part of the event, but it's unclear if Suicide Squad is the only game being revealed, or if it's part of a number of announcements from the publisher. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.Target locked - #DCFanDome - August 22. #suicidesquadgame pic.twitter.com/HrXZNKwo0f
— Rocksteady Studios (@RocksteadyGames) August 7, 2020
Preserved ‘Hell Ant’ Has Been Devouring It’s Prey for 99 Million Years
A prehistoric "hell ant" in the midst of grasping its prey with its unusual mouthparts has been found preserved in 99-million-year-old amber.
According to ScienceAlert, the frozen specimen captures the predator "actively feeding" on another insect, which is said to be an extinct relative of the cockroach. It is shown using its scythe-like jaw to pin its prey against the protruding horn-like paddle on the top of its head, acting as sort of a clamp.
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Image credit: Barden et al., Current Biology, 2020[/caption]
While the mandibles of modern ants and almost all other living hexapods move on a horizontal axis, this new evidence indicates that hell ants used their lower mandibles to move upwards in a vertical motion as part of their predatory strategy.
"Fossilized behavior is exceedingly rare, predation especially so," said Phillip Barden, an assistant professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, who served as the lead author on this new research, which was published in the Current Biology journal. "As palaeontologists, we speculate about the function of ancient adaptations using available evidence, but to see an extinct predator caught in the act of capturing its prey is invaluable."
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This newly identified species of prehistoric ant, known as Ceratomyrmex ellenbergeri, is just one of over 12,500 different species of the insect that scientists have discovered to date, though they believe that there's "probably another 10,000 or so" still out there, waiting to be identified in order to join the ranks of this diverse collection of complex creatures.
For more real-world discoveries and developments, check out the complete skull of the smallest known dinosaur found preserved in amber, discover the process behind resurrecting 100-million-year-old underwater lifeforms in laboratory conditions, and find out about the bionic moon jellyfish that was created by scientists earlier this year.
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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.
Image credit: Barden et al., Current Biology, 2020[/caption]
While the mandibles of modern ants and almost all other living hexapods move on a horizontal axis, this new evidence indicates that hell ants used their lower mandibles to move upwards in a vertical motion as part of their predatory strategy.
"Fossilized behavior is exceedingly rare, predation especially so," said Phillip Barden, an assistant professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, who served as the lead author on this new research, which was published in the Current Biology journal. "As palaeontologists, we speculate about the function of ancient adaptations using available evidence, but to see an extinct predator caught in the act of capturing its prey is invaluable."
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/30/scientists-revive-100-million-year-old-lifeforms-ign-now"]
This newly identified species of prehistoric ant, known as Ceratomyrmex ellenbergeri, is just one of over 12,500 different species of the insect that scientists have discovered to date, though they believe that there's "probably another 10,000 or so" still out there, waiting to be identified in order to join the ranks of this diverse collection of complex creatures.
For more real-world discoveries and developments, check out the complete skull of the smallest known dinosaur found preserved in amber, discover the process behind resurrecting 100-million-year-old underwater lifeforms in laboratory conditions, and find out about the bionic moon jellyfish that was created by scientists earlier this year.
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-best-sci-fi-movies&captions=true"]
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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.Call of Duty 2020 Reveal Teased For August 10 By Press Kit
Activision has sent a mysterious crate to members of the press, with instructions suggesting that this year's Call of Duty game may be revealed on Monday, August 10.
Call of Duty news outlet Charlie Intel posted a picture of the wooden crate to Twitter yesterday. According to the instructions included in the press kit, those receiving the crate have been told not to open the crate "until August 10 at 12PM ET."
The specific date and time suggest that this could be when this year's Call of Duty game could be revealed. Charlie Intel mentions in a follow-up tweet that they have been told to send a text to a number on Monday in order to receive a code that will unlock the crate. This tactic of sending out a cryptic press kit to outlets is becoming something of a strategy for Activision - most recently the publisher sent members of the press a puzzle from "Your Favorite Bandicoot" to tease Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-call-of-duty-review&captions=true"] Recently we learned that Call of Duty 2020 will be tightly integrated with Warzone, and that the game is in a playable state, and has been developed by Treyarch and Raven Software. A series of leaks have suggested that this year's Call of Duty will be titled Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. In early July, a Microsoft Store listing for an Activision Shooter called The Red Door was datamined, with sleuths finding strings related to campaign missions, multiplayer maps and even a potential zombies mode. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.So..........
This just arrived from Activision. “Do not open this crate until August 10 at 12PM ET.” pic.twitter.com/scFTmAMZlt — Call of Duty News (@charlieINTEL) August 6, 2020