IGN UK Podcast #424: And the Oscar Goes to… Joel Edgerton!
Who wants a podcast where the hosts predict the big winners of the 2018 Oscars, interview the amazingly funny and talented Joel Edgerton AND talk for far too long about taking over managerial duties at Bayer Leverkusen? Well, ladies 'n' gents - we might just have your sweaty little butts covered!
Mr. Edgerton stops by the podcast to talk about his new sexy spy thriller Red Sparrow and is very patient whilst reading out some strange Star Wars fan-ficton Gav came up with. Red Sparrow is in cinemas right now and we have it on good authority that you get to see Edgerton's nips more than once in it, so...
IGN UK Podcast #424: And the Oscar Goes to... Joel Edgerton!
Judge Bans Teen From Playing Violent Video Games
A 16-year-old boy was arrested following an apparent joke made in poor taste about carrying out a school shooting, and has been banned from playing violent video games.
GamesIndustry.biz reports that the teenager posted a video of himself playing a violent video game on SnapChat with the caption, "Y’all need to shut up about school shootings or I’ll do one."
The young man was supposedly "annoyed" by social media conversations that took place in the wake of threats to his own school, Roselle's Lake Park High School, that resulted in the school closing its two campuses as a safety precaution. The social media threat was later deemed not to be credible.
Super Mario Odyssey: Datamine Seemingly Reveals Broodal Costumes
Super Mario Odyssey's February update has been datamined to reveal costumes and hats for Mario to slip into, based on the game's Broodal bosses.
The Luigi's Balloon World update dropped last week and Siliconera reports that dataminer SciresM has pillaged it to discover new data referencing Broodal hats and costumes. On the flip side, previously spotted references to a Link costume have now seemingly disappeared.
How Far Cry 5 Revamps the Structure of Sandbox Storytelling
I’ve previously played enough of Far Cry 5 to already be on board with its stunning Montana setting, disturbing doomsday cult premise, freeform firefights and astonishingly addictive fly-fishing, but I came away from my latest hands-on with the game with a new appreciation of the efforts the narrative team at Ubisoft Montreal has made in terms of delivering a cohesive story that’s consistently compelling for the player, which is no mean feat within its massive sandbox littered with head-turning distractions.
It all starts with an opening that honestly can’t be recommended for anyone with high blood pressure. As a junior police officer you begin the game flanked by the Hope County sheriff and a US Marshal in the back of a helicopter bound for the Church of Eden’s Gate, seeking to apprehend cult leader and main antagonist, Father Joseph Seed. Seed goes willingly, allowing you to slap the cuffs on him while calmly assuring his wild-eyed followers that God will not let you take him, but just as your chopper is taking off the mob turns violent, swarming the outside of the vessel like zombies as it struggles to get off the ground. A particularly devout disciple launches himself into the rotor blades and explodes into a red smear all over the windshield, sending the whirlybird crashing to earth and leaving you alone in a lawless landscape with all the roads leading out blocked, the phone lines cut, and no one coming to save you. It’s an incredibly tense introduction, and less than half an hour into the game I already felt hooked harder than the slowest sturgeon in the stream. (Did I mention how much I like the fishing?)
Ubisoft Buys a New Studio
Ubisoft has announced its acquisition of Brawlhalla developer, Blue Mammoth Games.
Blue Mammoth is an Atlanta, Georgia studio made up of 21 employees - Ubisoft did not disclose how much it had paid for the studio.
Brawlhalla is currently the most-played fighting game on Steam based on concurrent users and is apparently one of the top free-to-play titles on the PlayStation store, according to Ubisoft.
“The team at Blue Mammoth Games is expert at developing and running scalable, competitive, multiplayer online games, and they’ll be a great addition to Ubisoft’s network of studios,” said Laurent Detoc, President of Ubisoft NCSA.
Terry Pratchett’s The Watch Series Will Bring Discworld to TV
Terry Pratchett's series following the antics of Discworld's Ankh-Morpork City Watch is reportedly coming to TV.
Deadline reports that BBC Studios will be making a six-part series currently titled The Watch, based on Pratchett's City Watch series of books. Narrativia, which is now run by Pratchett's daughter Rhianna Pratchett and his former business partner Rob Wilkins, will produce.
How DC Is Beating Marvel at the Relaunch Game
With Marvel Comics announcing a “Fresh Start” to their comic book line this May, it will be the seventh time the publisher has done a relaunch in six years. DC Comics, on the other hand, has done three in about the same time. What’s with all the relaunches?!
The main reason that these relaunches happen, and will continue to happen for the foreseeable future whether you like it or not, is because they can always be depended on for a sales bump. Look at the sales charts over the past several years and you will see a spike whenever there was a relaunch. When comics relaunch and start over from Issue #1, it not only creates a fresh jumping on point for new and returning readers to buy but it entices collectors to purchase extra copies in hopes that the first issue of a new series will one day be worth something (even though that rarely happens these days). Plus, comic book retailers get discounts and incentives to purchase more of a new comic to sell in their stores, which lets the publisher report big sales numbers, even though they’re artificially inflated because they’re not representative of actual demand for the books.
Xbox One Spring Update Rolling Out, Adds Mixer Remote Play
Xbox One has begun rolling out its Spring update which, among other things, allows stream viewers to control a streamer's games remotely.
As detailed on Xbox Wire, the update is available today for Xbox Insider Alpha Ring members.
The highlight is Mixer's new "Share Controller" function. When streaming through Mixer, users can now pass off control to a viewer, who can either play using a plugged in controller, or with onscreen controls. You can see it working below:
Mixer will also receive a set of quality of life upgrades on Xbox One, primarily with streams no longer auto-ending when you switch between games.
Blizzard Could Be Teasing Diablo 3 on Switch
Update: ...but it probably isn't. Polygon got a statement from Blizzard that shoots down the speculation.
"We can assure you we’re not that clever,” said a Blizzard spokesperson. “
meant to be a fun community engagement piece. We have nothing to announce.”
Boo!
Original story: Blizzard has taken to Twitter possibly to tease Diablo 3 on Nintendo Switch. Or it's just really keen on having us check out its fancy nightlight.
The official Blizzard Twitter account posted a short six second clip of a Diablo nightlight being repeatedly switched (get it?) on and off:
J.J. Abrams Wrote Drafts For Star Wars 8 and 9, Says Daisy Ridley
According to Daisy Ridley, director J.J. Abrams had written early versions of Star Wars Episodes 8 and 9, but director Rian Johnson used none of the original draft for his Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Rey actress, Ridley spoke to Geek Le Mag (translated by Tumblr user daisyridleys), who asked if J.J. Abrams had already planned the mystery of her character's backstory before Episode 7. However, Ridley's response was far more wide-reaching:
“Here’s what I think I know. J. J. wrote Episode VII, as well as drafts for VIII & IX. Then Rian Johnson arrived and wrote TLJ entirely. I believe there was some sort of general consensus on the main lines of the trilogy, but apart from that, every director writes and realizes his film in his own way.