PS4 vs. Xbox vs. Nintendo in 2019
Welcome back to Game Scoop!, IGN's weekly video game podcast. This week Daemon is joined by the hosts of Podcast Beyond, Podcast Unlocked, and Nintendo Voice Chat to discuss the highs and lows of PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo in 2019. Watch the video above or hit the link below to your favorite podcast service.
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Star Trek Returns to Animation: Exclusive First Look
Star Trek has not ventured into the world of animation since the original Animated Series, which ran from 1973-1974 and featured the voices of William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and most of the original show's cast as they revived their characters for new adventures aboard the USS Enterprise. In the years since, there has been talk here or there about new animated ventures for the franchise, but that talk never really went anywhere. Until now...
Debuting this week as part of CBS All Access' latest round of Short Treks are two animated shorts, “The Girl Who Made the Stars” and "Ephraim and Dot." The latter was directed by Academy Award-winning composer Michael Giacchino, who has scored all three modern Trek movies. Both segments debut on the streamer on Thursday, December 12, and we've got some exclusive images from the shorts. Check them out in the gallery below:
Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order is Getting a Photo Mode Tomorrow
If you looked out at one of Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order’s many gorgeous vistas and thought ‘dang, what a Kodak moment,’ then have we got good news for you. Jedi: Fallen Order is getting a photo mode as part of a new patch arriving later this week, and it looks pretty comprehensive.
According to a Reddit post from EA’s Star Wars community lead, the new photo mode will come with a variety of settings you can adjust to make the perfect snapshot of Jedi Cal Kestis and his adventures.
John Boyega Admits Star Wars: The Last Jedi Was ‘a Bit Iffy’
The Last Jedi was a divisive Star Wars film among fans, and it turns out that one of the movie's lead actors wasn't too thrilled with it, either.
In an interview with Hypebeast leading up to The Rise of Skywalker, John Boyega reflected on his time as Finn, the First Order Stormtrooper who turned and joined forces with the Resistance in Episode VII.
“The Force Awakens I think was the beginning of something quite solid, The Last Jedi if I'm being honest I'd say that was feeling a bit iffy for me,” Boyega said. “I didn't necessarily agree with a lot of the choices in that and that's something that I spoke to Mark
Kevin Feige on How Black Widow Will Change How You See Infinity War and Endgame
According to Marvel's Chief Creative Officer Kevin Feige, Black Widow will explore parts of Natasha Romanoff's past that will make viewers see certain events from Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame in a "new light."
At Brazil Comic Con (CCXP19), IGN Brazil asked Feige when he and his team decided to put Black Widow between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War instead of it possibly being a prequel for the first Avengers or something similar.
"It was about four years ago as we were working on Infinity War and Endgame at the same time, we knew that we wanted to bring her story to a conclusion in the most heroic way possible in Endgame, but also that we wanted to explore a part of her life that we hadn't seen before," Feige said. "It occurred to us that we had seen her adventures in the Avengers movies, but a lot of stuff happened in between those movies that we never saw, we didn't hear about, we didn't learn about. And
Dauntless: How to Unlock Escalation and the New Behemoth, Malkarion
Dauntless just launched for the Nintendo Switch, and with it comes brand new content for all platforms tied to Escalation, a new type of sequential hunt featuring arena-like fights against two Behemoths at once and powerful modified Behemoths. Malkarion is at the top of the Escalation food-chain, but actually figuring how to get to the fight with this new Shock Behemoth isn’t so straightforward or easy.
We spoke with Dauntless design director Hunter Howe on exactly how to unlock Escalation and Malkarion, complete with helpful tips. Also, don’t miss this new gameplay video of Malkarion just below!
Overwatch Winter Wonderland Event Returns With New Legendary Skins
Bundle up because Overwatch’s annual Winter Wonderland event is back this year. This year, Blizzard is introducing a new game mode along with the usual, limited-time cosmetic offerings. Check below for the full breakdown of new skins and game modes in this year’s Overwatch Winter Wonderland event.
Like in previous years, Overwatch is getting a new game mode for the Winter Wonderland event. This year’s mini-game is called “Snowball Deathmatch.” It’s an 8-player free-for-all deathmatch mode where every player is Mei and shoots a modified snowball gun.
While this is similar to Mei’s Snowball Offensive, this year Mei gets a new ability for the game mode called “Catch.” This allows players to catch an enemy snowball and add it to their ammo count. The first player to 15 eliminations wins.
The Best Video Game Music/Soundtrack of 2019
It's been an incredible year for soundtracks in video games, so this is a tight race. These are our nominees for the best music soundtrack in games of 2019.
Sayonara Wild Hearts
With minimal narration, the Sayonara: Wild Hearts soundtrack is tasked with carrying the emotional spectrum of the story and it Daniel Olsen, Jonathan Eng, and Linnea Olsson do this brilliantly.
The Best Video Game Art Direction of 2019
Art design is such a strong element within video games and this year we have a diverse group of nominees who have shown exceptional efforts in the field of animation and visual design. From modern stylings to colorful palettes, and even simplistic aesthetics – who will take home the crown?
Control
While Control features some stand out performances from its eclectic main cast, its biggest star by far is its superbly designed, amorphous ‘Oldest House’ setting. The deeper you progress through Control’s story, the more the ‘Oldest House’ transforms and re-calibrates around you.
The Best Ongoing Game of 2019
Despite a heaping helping of new releases in 2019, many online games released in previous years are still going strong with constant updates and thriving communities.
Best Ongoing Game of 2019: Final Fantasy XIV
Final Fantasy 14 Game Director Yoshi-P and his team at Square Enix not only dropped one of their best expansions yet with Shadowbringers this year, but they were able to introduce a slew of big quality of life updates that improve the experiences for new and old players. Jobs were changed significantly to make combat easier and features like the Trust System are geared towards players who like a single-player experience. Aside from the typical patches you see with every MMO, Final Fantasy 14 was able to add in a new unique job, a Final Fantasy 15 crossover event, and new postgame content in collaboration with Nier Automata this year.