Yearly Archives: 2018
PS Plus vs. Xbox Games With Gold – February 2018
Sony is bringing one of PS4’s launch titles to PS Plus in February and an Assassin’s Creed spinoff will be free for Xbox players this month. But how much is each lineup of free games saving players — and how good are the free titles?
IGN has put February’s PS Plus and Games With Gold lineups head to head to let you know how much you’ll be saving, and how critically well received these games were at the time of their release.
Prices are factored via the listing price on each free game's respective stores at the time of publish, factored via our continually updated PS Plus/Games With Gold comparison wiki. And while there's no exact science to critical reception, here it's been determined by Metacritic scores, with IGN's review score provided as a supplemental opinion when available.
Doctor Dolittle Reboot Casts Spider-Man, Harry Potter Stars
Universal's new Doctor Dolittle film has cast Spider-Man and Harry Potter stars.
The Hollywood Reporter reports Tom Holland (Spider-Man: Homecoming), Ralph Fiennes (Harry Potter), and Emma Thompson (Beauty and the Beast) will be voice-starring in The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle. Not much else about their roles is currently known.
Antonio Banderas also joins the cast in a live-action role as Rassouli, with Michael Sheen in talks to play Mudfly. The cast is led by Iron Man's Robert Downey Jr., who stars as the physician who can speak to animals.
Every Actor Who’s Appeared in Game of Thrones and Star Wars
Today brought the surprising news that Game of Thrones showrunners D.B Weiss and David Benioff have been tapped to write a new series of Star Wars movies. Suddenly, two of the biggest franchises in pop culture are colliding.
But still, this isn't the first time Star Wars and Game of Thrones have collided. A number of actors have pulled double duty in the Star Wars universe and Westeros, especially thanks to Disney's recent sequels. From Emilia Clarke to Max von Sydow, these are the actors who straddle the line between franchises.
"In the summer of 1977 we traveled to a galaxy far, far away, and we’ve been dreaming of it ever since," Benioff and Weiss said in a joint statement regarding the announcement of their joining the Star Wars galaxy. “We are honored by the opportunity, a little terrified by the responsibility, and so excited to get started as soon as the final season of Game of Thrones is complete.”
Yakuza 6 Is the Open-World Game I Never Knew I Wanted
Amidst all of 2017’s monumental, landmark video game releases, I’ll always remember it as the year I fell head over heels for the Yakuza series. In spite of all the new releases that pushed this console generation’s hardware to its limits, when it came down to picking my personal Game of the Year, I was torn between two PlayStation 3 games that got current-gen releases: Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami. Both are incredible games in their own right, but as remastered last-gen ports of a series that’s never quite blown up in the West, a lot of people slept on them.
This year, we’re getting Yakuza 6: Song of Life. It’s the first proper Yakuza game of this console generation, built from the ground up on a brand-new engine. After some hands-on time, I couldn’t be more excited. If you’re a fan of Yakuza already, you’re probably rolling your eyes going, “Well, duh,” but if you’re casually interested, read on, and allow me to explain why this is a game that should be on your radar.
The Surprising AAA Influences of Aegis Defenders
Coming to PC, PS4, and Switch this week, Aegis Defenders is a unique blend of platforming and tower defense that developer GUTS, and its influences will sound even more disparate.
Speaking to IGN as part of a larger look at the indie game scene on the Nintendo Switch, Game Director Bryan Kho teased Aegis Defender’s influences. And they are as disparate as Persona, Pikmin, and Overcooked, the latter of which played into GUTS desire to have players swap between playable characters more frequently.
“…We had an issue where some players wouldn’t want to switch between characters during combat and would have a harder time as a result,” Kho said. “ One way we addressed that issue was with our Fusion System, where characters need to combine items from other characters to create better ones and therefore need to switch. That system was actually inspired by the game Overcooked, where players work together on making food, because we were also trying to think of ways to promote more collaboration between players during cooperative play.”
Pokemon Adventures Art Book Celebrates Manga Anniversary
The Pokemon Adventures manga series is getting an art book to celebrate its 20th anniversary.
According to The Pokemon Company, Pokemon Adventures 20th Anniversary Illustration Book: The Art of Pokemon Adventures from VIZ is available now, and features 168 pages of art from series illustrator Satoshi Yamamoto.
The book comes with four pull-out posters and a new manga side story. The book features art showcasing Trainers and Pokemon who have appeared in the manga, including character portraits, group shots, and action scenes, as well as storyboards and black-and-white sketches.
Black Panther Gets a Striking IMAX Poster
A striking IMAX poster for Black Panther has been released.
Chadwick Boseman, who plays T'Challa/Black Panther in the upcoming MCU film, shared the poster on Twitter earlier today. It offers a more artistic view of the movie's main characters, including Boseman as Black Panther, Lupita Nyong'o as Nakia, and Letitia Wright as Shuri. A rising sun is also depicted passing over Wakanda.
Check out the poster in the gallery below, which is followed by a collection of all of Black Panther's other posters.
Black Panther opens in theaters on February 16. For more on the movie, which is now the fastest pre-selling superhero film ever, read our Black Panther review and find out why we think it "delivers the goods as an adventure film, a political statement, and a cultural celebration."
Once Upon a Time Ending After Season 7
Once Upon a Time will end after Season 7.
Variety reports the long-running ABC show won't return for an eighth season, with the network deciding to pull the plug on the series. Once Upon a Time lost most of its core cast after Season 6, with Season 7 acting as a creative reboot. However, after shifting to a Friday time slot, the show has suffered a ratings decline.
ABC entertainment president Channing Dungey said in a statement provided to Variety:
Quentin Tarantino Responds to Uma Thurman Kill Bill Crash Allegations
Quentin Tarantino has responded to Uma Thurman's recent Kill Bill crash allegations.
Tarantino sat down with Deadline to discuss his part in Thurman's recently detailed allegations. In a New York Times piece, Thurman discussed a crash during the filming of Kill Bill which left her neck and knees permanently injured. She also discussed how footage of the event was kept from her, and how she alleges the incident was covered up by Harvey Weinstein and other film executives. Thurman originally objected to doing the stunt, because she was led to believe the vehicle might be unsafe.
Dragon Tattoo Sequel Casts Logan Star
Sony's Dragon Tattoo sequel The Girl in the Spider’s Web has reportedly cast Logan star Stephen Merchant.
Variety reports Merchant, who played the mutant Caliban in Logan, has joined the sequel in a mystery role. Norwegian actress Synnøve Macody Lund has also been cast, with details about role being kept under wraps as well.
The Girl in the Spider’s Web is set to open in theaters on November 9. The sequel is being directed by Fede Alvarez (Don't Breathe), from a script Alvarez co-wrote with Steven Knight and Jay Basu, based on David Lagercrantz’s book of the same name. It's the fourth novel in the Dragon Tattoo series. Amy Pascal, Elizabeth Cantillon, Scott Rudin, and Yellow Bird are producing.