Why Have The Avatar Sequels Taken So Long?
It took 15 years for James Cameron - the visionary filmmaker behind The Terminator, Aliens and The Abyss - to transform his original pitch for Avatar into a feature film. It may have been worth the wait. The technologically innovative science-fiction thrill ride became the highest grossing film in history, jumpstarted a new wave of 3D blockbuster filmmaking, and raised the bar for motion-capture visual effects technology.
So you would think that, with all that money filling 20th Century Fox’s coffers, they would have moved as quickly as possible to get Avatar 2 into theaters. In fact, that was actually the plan, but it’s been almost 10 years now since Avatar became the biggest “original” film since the first Star Wars, and for the most part, the only new content we’ve had in all that time is news stories about what may or may not be in the sequels. Eventually.
4 Superstars Who Should Win the Women’s Royal Rumble (and 4 Who Shouldn’t)
The wrestling world is all abuzz, atwitter even, about the upcoming Women's Royal Rumble match at the Royal Rumble PPV on Sunday, January 28th. With 30 entrant spots in play, there are a ton of empty spaces that need to be filled with fun surprises - be they NXT call-ups or returning legends.
There's already an avalanche of articles out there speculating about which names we might see pop up for the Rumble, but I thought we should look at who we'd actually like to see win the damn thing. Acting under the assumption (and this is, naturally, subject to change) that Charlotte and Alexa Bliss will be the brand champs being challenged by whoever takes the contest, we've cooked up a few names we'd love to see be the first-ever Women's Royal Rumble winner.
Metal Gear Survive Beta Starts Today
The beta for Metal Gear Survive begins today.
Konami announced the dates for the beta back in December, and reconfirmed today it will be available from now until January 21 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
The beta includes two maps with three missions for co-op mode. Players participating in the beta will earn bonus in-game items, which will be unlocked for the full game. The items include a FOX HOUND name plate, a Metal Gear Rex head accessory, and a bandanna accessory.
Metal Gear Survive picks up where Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes left off, following a group of soldiers who were pulled through a wormhole and end up in a hostile world fighting for their own survival. Players will develop a camp, build weapons and structures, and forage for food as deadly creatures lurk around every corner.
The Coolest gadgets of CES 2018
Even though CES is known for TVs, robots, and cars, it's also known to offer a dazzling assortment of smaller pieces of tech that can only be described as "gadgets." This year's show offered a pretty interesting assortment of breakthrough technologies, so we roamed the show floor and dug through all the press releases to find eight of the coolest gadgets announced during CES 2018. Some of which ship in just a few weeks, while others might never see the light of day if the past is prologue.
Nanoleaf
Life Is Strange: Before the Storm Gets Physical Release in March
Life is Strange: Before the Storm is getting physical editions on March 6.
The game will receive two different physical editions, the Standard Edition and the Vinyl Edition. Both editions are available for pre-order on the Square Enix Store.
The Standard Edition is available for PS4 and Xbox One, costs $30 USD, and includes every episode of Before the Storm, as well as the special bonus episode "Farewell." It also includes a digital download for Episode 1 of the first season of Life is Strange. It also comes with three outfits for Chloe and a Mixtape Mode, which allows players to use the game's licensed soundtrack to create their own playlists to use while watching a cinematic scene from the game.
Pokemon 3DS Players to Get Free Legendary Each Month
The Pokemon Company is celebrating 2018 in a legendary way with promotions across its popular creature-collecting franchise, including a free Legendary Pokemon each month for Pokemon Sun/Moon and Pokemon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon players.
Starting in February and running until November, 3DS players will get a different Legendary Pokemon, which will be distributed through one of the brand's partners.
Here's an overview of which Legendaries will be available for free each month:
- February: Dialga or Palkia
- March: Regigigas or Heatran
- April: Raikou or Entei
- May: Xerneas or Yveltal
- June: Zygarde (with three distinct Formes)
Electric Dreams: ‘Autofac’ Explores the Dark Side of Robotics
Philip K. Dick’s 1955 short story “Autofac” envisioned a post-apocalyptic world where the surviving humans are supplied their goods by a robotic system that cares nothing for the planet overall and simply creates and distributes, in a manner that leaves humans with no ability to provide for themselves.
“Autofac” is now one of the episodes of Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams, Amazon's new anthology series based on the stories of the prolific writer, whose work has previously been adapted into projects like Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report, and The Man in the High Castle. Written by Travis Beacham (Pacific Rim), the episode stars Janelle Monae as Alice, an android representative of the Autofac, and Juno Temple as Emily, a member of the human rebellion against the Autofac, joined by the likes of Conrad (David Lyons) and Reverend Perine (Jay Paulson).
Nintendo eShop Releases for Switch and 3DS: January 15 – 21
We're officially half way through the month of January with no slowdown of game releases in sight. So IGN has gathered a list of the latest eShop releases of the week for Nintendo Switch and 3DS in North America.
InnerSpace
InnerSpace is an exploration flying game set in the Inverse, a world of inside-out planets where gravity pulls outward instead of in. In the final days of the Inverse, you must help the Archaeologist recover the last remaining memories before they are lost forever. Soar through ancient skies and abandoned oceans to discover the lost history of this fading realm.
Darkest Dungeon
Recruit, train, and lead a team of flawed heroes through twisted forests, forgotten warrens, ruined crypts, and beyond. You'll battle not only unimaginable foes, but stress, famine, disease, and the ever-encroaching dark. Uncover strange mysteries, and pit the heroes against an array of fearsome monsters with an innovative strategic turn-based combat system.
Ash vs Evil Dead: Exclusive Season 3 Trailer is Bloody Good
Ash is back, baby -- or, more accurately, Ash is back, with a baby.
Okay, technically that baby is all grown up by the time we meet her, but one of the big themes of Ash vs Evil Dead Season 3 will be our hero's reaction to fatherhood, when long-lost daughter Brandy crashes into his life and immediately becomes a target for Ruby and the Deadites who always seem to show up just when things are going well.
IGN has an exclusive first look at the Ash vs Evil Dead Season 3 trailer, which is full of all the bloody mayhem (plus a pitch-perfect A-ha needle-drop) we've come to expect from Starz's bonkers horror-comedy. Below, we're also debuting the key art for the new season, which demonstrates the scale of this latest threat. (It's big, man.)
Hunt: Showdown Opens Closed Alpha Sign-Ups
Hunt: Showdown - the new bounty hunting game from Crysis developer Crytek - has opened registrations for a closed Alpha testing phase, which will begin on January 31.
A "select group" of gamers will be chosen from the sign-up list and are promised the opportunity to play the game regularly as part of the test group, helping the development team to test "gameplay, balancing and backend functionality", while also providing their own feedback on the game's progress. During the Alpha phase, players are promised that "new weapons, equipment, traits and ranks" will be continuously released and tested, so there should be plenty to keep Alpha testers occupied.
Hunt: Showdown describes itself as a "competitive multiplayer bounty hunting game" that utilises both PvP and PvE elements - during each match, up to 10 players, working either singly or in pairs, are tasked with taking down gruesome monsters and collecting a bounty - at which point they become the target and the attention of every other player turns towards attempting to claim the bounty for their own.