Fortnite Getting a Flash Skin, and You Can Earn It Early
A skin based on DC's Flash superhero is coming to Fortnite this week, but it's possible to earn it three days early.
The Flash is the latest DC superhero to join the lineup of DC skins in Fortnite and it will be available for all to purchase starting February 13 at 7 p.m. ET/4 pm PT. A Flash-themed set will be available too, featuring not only the skin, but the Speed Force Slashers pickaxe, the Speed Force back bling, and the Quick Bite emote as well. If you don't want to wait until February 13, you can earn the skin and back bling on February 10.
"On February 10, we're celebrating The Flash in Fortnite with a The Flash Cup, a Duos tournament," a blog post from Epic Games reads. "Dash into the Battle Bus with your Duos partner and play up to 10 matches in a 3-hour window. The top-performing Duos in each region will unlock The Flash Outfit and the Speed Force Back Bling before they're in the Item Shop."
Epic Games says specific timing for each region's Flash cup can be found in Fortnite's "Compete" tab in-game. In order to compete, your account level must be at least level 30 and you must have two-factor authentication enabled.
A Victory Royale during the cup will earn a duo 42 points while second place earns 36 points, third place 32 points, and so on. The top duos in Europe, North America East, North America West, Brazil, Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East will receive The Flash skin and matching back bling three days before they're available for purchase in the game's store. You can read more about the cup's rules here.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/02/fortnite-season-5-the-mandalorian-skin-gameplay"]
For more Fortnite, check out this Snake Eyes skin recently added to the game, and then check out Vi, the latest character skin available to Fortnite Crew members. Watch this trailer for the Mando's Bounty Limited Time Mode in Fortnite after that.
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Wesley LeBlanc is freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.
"On February 10, we're celebrating The Flash in Fortnite with a The Flash Cup, a Duos tournament," a blog post from Epic Games reads. "Dash into the Battle Bus with your Duos partner and play up to 10 matches in a 3-hour window. The top-performing Duos in each region will unlock The Flash Outfit and the Speed Force Back Bling before they're in the Item Shop."
Epic Games says specific timing for each region's Flash cup can be found in Fortnite's "Compete" tab in-game. In order to compete, your account level must be at least level 30 and you must have two-factor authentication enabled.
A Victory Royale during the cup will earn a duo 42 points while second place earns 36 points, third place 32 points, and so on. The top duos in Europe, North America East, North America West, Brazil, Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East will receive The Flash skin and matching back bling three days before they're available for purchase in the game's store. You can read more about the cup's rules here.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/02/fortnite-season-5-the-mandalorian-skin-gameplay"]
For more Fortnite, check out this Snake Eyes skin recently added to the game, and then check out Vi, the latest character skin available to Fortnite Crew members. Watch this trailer for the Mando's Bounty Limited Time Mode in Fortnite after that.
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Wesley LeBlanc is freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes. Joker: Every First Look Photo of the Modern Live-Action Clown Prince
Here's every official first look photo of the live-action Joker, from Batman '89 to Jared Leto in The Snyder Cut.
Horizon Zero Dawn: YouTuber Reveals PC Version Can be Played at 72p Resolution
Horizon Zero Dawn's PC port is capable of being played at a brain-hurting 72p resolution, according to a recent YouTube benchmark video.
Lisbon-based YouTuber Kryzzp (spotted by The Verge) who also goes by zWORMz Gaming, has shown that it's possible to play Guerrilla Games' action-adventure title with a display of 128 pixels by 72 pixels. The test was conducted to show that even budget graphics cards, such as the Nvidia GT 710 card used during Kryzzp's experiment, can run AAA games if their resolution is dropped to its lowest level.
You can see a clip of the 72p version of the game in the tweet below (and watch the original video here):
Using the GT 710's 2GB DDR3 version, Kryzzp began the benchmark test by loading up Horizon Zero Dawn's ultra graphic settings at a resolution of 1080p. As the video progresses, Kryzzp lowers the graphics quality to 'favor performance', which is the game's lowest 1080p resolution mode. The display settings continue to drop through 720p, 360p, and 144p and, while Horizon Zero Dawn's graphical quality clearly diminishes, Kryzzp is still able to run around and traverse the game's huge map. The final test, which sees Kryzzp drop the resolution down to its lowest point of 72p, shows how Horizon Zero Dawn might have looked if it had been released during the PlayStation 1 era. Incredibly, Kryzzp manages to escape the attention of one of Zero Dawn's robotic dinosaurs, but it's unclear how much ammo he used to chase off his pursuer. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/01/31/horizon-zero-dawn-4k-commentary"] If nothing else, Kryzzp's experiment poses the question about what other games could theoretically be played with a 72p resolution. Given how it's almost impossible to read anything on screen, though, we wouldn't advise making this your go-to setting. In our Horizon Zero Dawn PC port analysis, we said it was "a very beautiful game, and it arrives on PC in a version which allows for higher framerates, arbitrary resolution rendering, 21:9 aspect ratio support and a field of view adjustment option." In other news, Guerrilla recently announced that it was slowing down on Horizon Zero Dawn PC updates in order to focus on its sequel, Horizon Forbidden West. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Tom Power is a UK-based freelance writer who has sore eyes after watching that video. Follow him on Twitter.Did you know the PC Version of Horizon: Zero Dawn lets you toggle the resolution to 72p? (256x144) pic.twitter.com/3nYccHPQDZ
— St1ka (@St1ka) February 6, 2021
The Callisto Protocol Teams Up With Walking Dead Creator’s Skybound Entertainment
Striking Distance Studios is teaming up with The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman and his company Skybound Entertainment to expand the reach of the upcoming survival-horror game The Callisto Protocol.
The Callisto Protocol is an upcoming, single-player survival horror game from Striking Distance Studios and PUBG developer Krafton Inc. Striking Distance says The Walking Dead creator’s company will utilize Skybound’s “expertise in building horror-themed transmedia” brands.
In a statement, Kirkman cites The Walking Dead’s expansion from original comics to TV shows, novels, video games, and more and says that he “can’t wait to explore similar possibilities for The Callisto Protocol with Skybound’s multiplatform expertise.”
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/11/the-callisto-protocol-announcement-trailer"]
So while it’s unclear what this strategic partnership will look like, it sounds like Kirkman and Skybound believe in The Callisto Protocol as a horror brand and are interested in exploring more platforms for the series, possibly beyond games.
The Callisto Protocol is being developed by Dead Space creator Glen Schofield and is set within the PUBG universe, but 300 years into the future. Despite this connection, Schofield says The Callisto Protocol will be purely focused on being “the scariest game on next-gen platforms.”
Originally revealed at The Game Awards, The Callisto Protocol also premiered a gory Red-Band Trailer. Set in the year 2320 on the Jupiter moon of Callisto, players “must survive unspeakable horrors as they escape Black Iron [Prison] and uncover the dark secrets of the mysterious United Jupiter Company.”
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Schofield told IGN in an interview that the idea for The Callisto Protocol pre-dated its induction into the PUBG universe, and is a pure, third-person, survival horror game, not a battle royale.
The Callisto Protocol will be released on PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC sometime in 2022.
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Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.
Jared Leto’s Justice League Snyder Cut Joker Fully Revealed
The first images of Jared Leto as the Joker in Zack Snyder's Justice League have been revealed, and he's looking much more like a classic interpretation of the character than the version seen in Suicide Squad.
We'd already heard that Joker would have a "road-weary" look in Zack Snyder's new cut of Justice League, and this version of the character is certainly that. We'd previously been granted a very blurry shot of Jared Let's new look on Twitter, and back then we guessed that the white clothing may be a hospital gown or some kind of straight jacket/institution clothing. We can now see that it's a surgical gown, and that there's a mask hanging from his neck. Snyder told Vanity Fair that this is "probably" a remnant of his escape into the wild.
Snyder also revealed how Joker factors into the movie's story, so if you'd like to remain in the dark for your viewing of the Snyder cut of Justice League, perhaps it's best to turn away now. But if you're up for spoilers, catch them in the next paragraph.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/22/justice-league-the-snyder-cut-trailer"]
Joker will appear in a new sequence set on a ruined Earth after Darkseid has invaded the planet. This is a vision experienced by Bruce Wayne as a warning of what will happen if the Justice League fails to stop Darkseid's plans. Naturally, Batman's iconic nemesis is alive and well in this terrible nightmare future.
“The cool thing about the scene is that it's Joker talking directly to Batman about Batman,” Snyder told Vanity Fair. “It's Joker analyzing Batman about who he is and what he is. That’s the thing I also felt like fans deserved from the DC Universe. That is to say, the Jared Leto Joker and the Ben Affleck Batman, they never really got together. It seemed uncool to me that we would make it all the way through this incarnation of Batman and Joker without seeing them come together.”
Batman and the Joker have never faced off in the current DCEU movies, but in Batman v Superman we saw that the two definitely have history. Snyder suggests that this appearance will address the death of Robin, whose armour we saw in the Batcave, covered in the Joker's taunting graffiti.
For more, check out the first Snyder-issued image of Batman in his Knightmare costume, and the news that Justice League will be rated R. And don't forget that Zack Snyder himself will be joining us for IGN Fan Fest this month to talk more about his new cut of the movie.
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Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.
The black and white images, first revealed by Vanity Fair but then posted to Twitter by the movie's official account, show a Joker with heavy white makeup, smudged eyes and lips, and greasy, long hair. The big difference, though, is that there's not a single tattoo in sight. Yup, the much debated 'Damaged' forehead design is gone. The white coveralls and disguise if his arm and hand tattoos remain, though.The Crown Prince of Crime, @JaredLeto. #SnyderCut pic.twitter.com/ALYZ0bXFz0
— Zack Snyder's Justice League (@snydercut) February 9, 2021
We'd already heard that Joker would have a "road-weary" look in Zack Snyder's new cut of Justice League, and this version of the character is certainly that. We'd previously been granted a very blurry shot of Jared Let's new look on Twitter, and back then we guessed that the white clothing may be a hospital gown or some kind of straight jacket/institution clothing. We can now see that it's a surgical gown, and that there's a mask hanging from his neck. Snyder told Vanity Fair that this is "probably" a remnant of his escape into the wild.
Snyder also revealed how Joker factors into the movie's story, so if you'd like to remain in the dark for your viewing of the Snyder cut of Justice League, perhaps it's best to turn away now. But if you're up for spoilers, catch them in the next paragraph.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/22/justice-league-the-snyder-cut-trailer"]
Joker will appear in a new sequence set on a ruined Earth after Darkseid has invaded the planet. This is a vision experienced by Bruce Wayne as a warning of what will happen if the Justice League fails to stop Darkseid's plans. Naturally, Batman's iconic nemesis is alive and well in this terrible nightmare future.
“The cool thing about the scene is that it's Joker talking directly to Batman about Batman,” Snyder told Vanity Fair. “It's Joker analyzing Batman about who he is and what he is. That’s the thing I also felt like fans deserved from the DC Universe. That is to say, the Jared Leto Joker and the Ben Affleck Batman, they never really got together. It seemed uncool to me that we would make it all the way through this incarnation of Batman and Joker without seeing them come together.”
Batman and the Joker have never faced off in the current DCEU movies, but in Batman v Superman we saw that the two definitely have history. Snyder suggests that this appearance will address the death of Robin, whose armour we saw in the Batcave, covered in the Joker's taunting graffiti.
For more, check out the first Snyder-issued image of Batman in his Knightmare costume, and the news that Justice League will be rated R. And don't forget that Zack Snyder himself will be joining us for IGN Fan Fest this month to talk more about his new cut of the movie.
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Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. Crash Bandicoot 4 Coming to PS5, Xbox Series, Switch in March
Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time is making its way to PS5, Xbox Series X and Series S, Nintendo Switch, and more this year, following its 2020 debut on PS4 and Xbox One.
Activision and developer Toys for Bob have announced that Crash 4 will be released for PS5, both Xbox Series platforms, and Nintendo Switch on March 12, with a PC release via Battle.net sometime later this year. The PS5 and Xbox Series X versions will run natively at 4K 60 FPS, while the Xbox Series S version will run at 60 FPS with upscale to 4K. These next-gen versions will also include faster loading times and 3D audio, and players who have already purchased It's About Time on PS4 or Xbox One can upgrade to the respective next-gen version at no extra cost, except for in Japan, and transfer over save data.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/01/crash-bandicoot-4-its-about-time-review"]
The PS5 version of It's About Time will also make use of the DualSense's adaptive triggers when using weapons like Neo Cortex's blaster and Tawna's Hookshot, while Activity Cards on the system will offer breakdowns of progress in each dimension.
For those not upgrading, the PS5/Xbox Series versions will cost $59.99, and the Switch version is available for preorder today in certain territories for $39.99, the same price it will cost on PC.
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Activision also promises more "fun happenings in celebration of the franchise's 25th anniversary" to come later this year for Crash fans to look forward to, but future plans remain a secret for now.
For more on the Crash sequel, be sure to check out our Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time review, read up on Crash Bandicoot 4's throwback map design, and whether you've started playing or plan to, be sure to check out IGN's Crash 4 wiki guide. And for what may come next, be sure to read up on what may be a tease for Spyro 4.
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Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and PlayStation lead. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.
Spider-Man 3: Tom Holland Denies that Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield Appear
Tom Holland has denied that Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield will be returning for Spider-Man 3.
During an interview with Esquire, Holland, who has played Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2016's Captain America: Civil War, strongly dismissed rumors that both Maguire and Garfield would be reprising their respective Spidey roles for the untitled Spider-Man: Far From Home sequel, which officially entered production towards the end of last year.
"No, no, they will not be appearing in this film," he firmly told the publication when asked about the possibility of the two actors returning. "Unless they have hidden the most massive piece of information from me, which I think is too big of a secret for them to keep from me. But as of yet, no. It'll be a continuation of the Spider-Man movies that we've been making."
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/09/tobey-maguire-andrew-garfield-more-reportedly-returning-for-spider-man-3-ign-now"]
As per our earlier video report above, speculation has been rife over the possibility of past Spider-flick stars making a comeback for Spider-Man 3, with Maguire and Garfield being two of the names caught up in the tangled web of rumors. A previous report stated that "Garfield will be back" and that Maguire would be joining him if Sony and Marvel managed to close the deal.
Despite Holland's flat-out denial of their involvement, Disney has a history of misdirecting fans and leading them to believe that certain things will or won't happen in movies, often saving the "big reveal" for the moment that audiences are sat in front of the big screen. On several occasions, red herrings have appeared in Disney's marketing, so there is a chance that Holland has been sworn to secrecy.
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Maguire played Peter Parker and Spider-Man in 2002's Spider-Man, 2004's Spider-Man 2, and 2007's Spider-Man 3. Garfield played Peter Parker and Spider-Man in 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man and in 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Spider-Man 3's casting line-up, confirmed or otherwise, has been teasing a live-action Spider-Verse/multiverse crossover of epic proportions, which could be intertwined with later events in the MCU, particularly Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. For more on the Doctor Strange sequel and its multiverse concept, read our theories about which characters and worlds may appear.
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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.
Persona 5 Strikers Review – The Hands That Thieve
It's always nice to see your friends again, even if your time together doesn't always live up to the highest highs you've experienced in the past. Persona 5 Strikers is a lot like that--it comes with some special moments that foster a deeper appreciation for what Persona 5 is and what it represents. From the wild action-RPG combat to the summer road-trip premise, characters we know and love get to show off how much they've grown and prove they can still kick ass in style. Strikers does trip over a few clumsy tropes along the way, and sometimes tries a little too hard to recapture Persona 5's magic, but when it's all said and done, I'm glad this reunion happened to begin with.
It's the summer after the events of the original game, and the Phantom Thieves have a little free time. With Joker being back in town, why not enjoy the break? Before they can even make plans, they're caught in another round of beating down the metaphysical evils of the Metaverse and changing hearts. This time, the phenomenon is happening all across Japan. Although you follow similar patterns established in Persona 5--fighting through surreal dungeons and living life in the real world--the context is quite different both narratively and gameplay-wise.
What's Worth Fighting For
Your first few targets have been manipulating people's desires in order to feed their ambitions for fame and fortune, but there's a bigger mystery as to how and why there's strange behavior en masse. You begin to unveil that tragic pasts have led them down a dark path of exploiting the Metaverse. The broader message isn't to excuse behavior or to say that trauma will surely corrupt its victims--rather, that our circumstances and the people around us (or lack thereof) have significant influence over how we internalize and process pain, and eventually who we become.
Continue Reading at GameSpotPersona 5 Strikers Review – The Hands That Thieve
It's always nice to see your friends again, even if your time together doesn't always live up to the highest highs you've experienced in the past. Persona 5 Strikers is a lot like that--it comes with some special moments that foster a deeper appreciation for what Persona 5 is and what it represents. From the wild action-RPG combat to the summer road-trip premise, characters we know and love get to show off how much they've grown and prove they can still kick ass in style. Strikers does trip over a few clumsy tropes along the way, and sometimes tries a little too hard to recapture Persona 5's magic, but when it's all said and done, I'm glad this reunion happened to begin with.
It's the summer after the events of the original game, and the Phantom Thieves have a little free time. With Joker being back in town, why not enjoy the break? Before they can even make plans, they're caught in another round of beating down the metaphysical evils of the Metaverse and changing hearts. This time, the phenomenon is happening all across Japan. Although you follow similar patterns established in Persona 5--fighting through surreal dungeons and living life in the real world--the context is quite different both narratively and gameplay-wise.
What's Worth Fighting For
Your first few targets have been manipulating people's desires in order to feed their ambitions for fame and fortune, but there's a bigger mystery as to how and why there's strange behavior en masse. You begin to unveil that tragic pasts have led them down a dark path of exploiting the Metaverse. The broader message isn't to excuse behavior or to say that trauma will surely corrupt its victims--rather, that our circumstances and the people around us (or lack thereof) have significant influence over how we internalize and process pain, and eventually who we become.
Continue Reading at GameSpotBloodstained: Ritual of the Night Has Been Hiding a Secret, Extra-Difficult 1986 Mode
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night got an update adding a Classic Mode last month, but IGN can reveal that the update added a second, hidden mode too – 1986 Mode is an extra-difficult version of Classic Mode, and it's unlocked in, well, classic fashion.
By heading to the Classic Mode title screen and entering the Konami Code (Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, [Horizontal Left Face Button]), [Horizontal Right Face Button]), you'll see "1986 Mode" appear at the bottom of the screen.
You can check out full details below but, in short, it acts as an altered version of Classic Mode, changing the colour of player-character Miriam's outfit, and making the game a lot harder. You can check out a video about unlocking the mode below:
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/09/how-to-unlock-bloodstaineds-hidden-1986-mode"]
1986 Mode has lain undiscovered since the Classic Mode update, and aims to add an even more old-school platforming feel to the already old-school mode.
The mode's name is a reference to the year the original Castlevania game was released, and many of the changes it adds reflect the 1986 version of Castlevania. Those changes include:
- No Backflip
- No Backstep
- No Slide
- Mid-air control is reduced
- Cannot jump off stairs
- Cannot jump on to stairs
- Extended whip is not available
- Cannot stand/crouch mid-whip animation