Yearly Archives: 2020
Ukraine President Endorses Joaquin Phoenix Documentary to End a Hostage Situation
A near 12-hour standoff in Ukraine between an armed man and the police came to an end when the country's president agreed to comply with the gunman's demand that he publicly endorse a Joaquin Phoenix documentary in order to free hostages.
The New York Times reports that President Volodymyr Zelensky took to Facebook to urge Ukrainians to watch Phoenix's 2005 film Earthlings in a bid to secure the release of 13 hostages who were being held captive on a city bus. He deleted the post shortly after the hostages were freed and the armed man was confirmed to be captured.
The documentary film, narrated by Phoenix and directed by Shaun Monson, examines humankind's economic dependence on animals and depicts hidden camera footage of animals suffering, as it chronicles the day-to-day practices at some of largest industries in the world, all of which are said to rely entirely on animals for profit.
After Zelensky posted his short message to plug Earthlings, the hostage-taker, identified as Maksim Krivosh, reportedly released all of the remaining hostages and then surrendered to the police. It was later confirmed that none of the hostages had been physically harmed by Krivosh, who was heavily armed with weapons and explosives throughout the tense ordeal in the city of Lutsk.
Although there had been several demands posted on Twitter throughout the day, the public promotion of the film prompted Krivosh to officially end the standoff.
President Zelensky issued a statement after it was confirmed that the hostages had been freed and Krivosh had been arrested by the authorities, stressing that the most important aim throughout the hostage situation was to ensure that there was no loss of life. "We were not fighting for ratings," he said. "We were fighting for lives."
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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.
Ukraine President Endorses Joaquin Phoenix Documentary to End a Hostage Situation
A near 12-hour standoff in Ukraine between an armed man and the police came to an end when the country's president agreed to comply with the gunman's demand that he publicly endorse a Joaquin Phoenix documentary in order to free hostages.
The New York Times reports that President Volodymyr Zelensky took to Facebook to urge Ukrainians to watch Phoenix's 2005 film Earthlings in a bid to secure the release of 13 hostages who were being held captive on a city bus. He deleted the post shortly after the hostages were freed and the armed man was confirmed to be captured.
The documentary film, narrated by Phoenix and directed by Shaun Monson, examines humankind's economic dependence on animals and depicts hidden camera footage of animals suffering, as it chronicles the day-to-day practices at some of largest industries in the world, all of which are said to rely entirely on animals for profit.
After Zelensky posted his short message to plug Earthlings, the hostage-taker, identified as Maksim Krivosh, reportedly released all of the remaining hostages and then surrendered to the police. It was later confirmed that none of the hostages had been physically harmed by Krivosh, who was heavily armed with weapons and explosives throughout the tense ordeal in the city of Lutsk.
Although there had been several demands posted on Twitter throughout the day, the public promotion of the film prompted Krivosh to officially end the standoff.
President Zelensky issued a statement after it was confirmed that the hostages had been freed and Krivosh had been arrested by the authorities, stressing that the most important aim throughout the hostage situation was to ensure that there was no loss of life. "We were not fighting for ratings," he said. "We were fighting for lives."
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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.
PlayStation Kiosks ‘Not PS5-Related,’ Sony Says
A PlayStation spokesperson has told IGN that the image of what appears to be a PlayStation-themed, retail kiosk, is not PS5 related.
Earlier today an image of what appears to be a PlayStation-themed kiosk began circulating on social media. The photo showed a white and blue colored retail area with a couch, table, and mount for what appears to be a TV screen. The photo was taken in an unnamed UK retail store by @IronCoreGame.
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Posted by @IronCoreGame[/caption]
IGN reached out to Sony to inquire about the photo and a PlayStation spokesperson responded that the kiosk is "not PS5 related." Sony didn't explain what the kiosks might be for.
The image revived speculation that Sony could be preparing to put the PS5 up for pre-order. Although the company said that customers will be given plenty of notice before pre-orders go up.
Another concern online about the photo was whether such a kiosk is a good idea. Several countries are issuing social distancing guidelines, which includes limits on making contact with public surfaces. A demo station would be counter-intuitive to those kinds of guidelines.
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Sony still hasn't announced details about PS5 pre-orders, though source code indicates that Sony might once again institute a one per household rule on orders. The same thing was implemented for PS4 pre-orders to try and prevent shortages.
Check out IGN's PS5 guide for more about the PS5, DualSense controller, specs, and more.
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Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.
Posted by @IronCoreGame[/caption]
IGN reached out to Sony to inquire about the photo and a PlayStation spokesperson responded that the kiosk is "not PS5 related." Sony didn't explain what the kiosks might be for.
The image revived speculation that Sony could be preparing to put the PS5 up for pre-order. Although the company said that customers will be given plenty of notice before pre-orders go up.
Another concern online about the photo was whether such a kiosk is a good idea. Several countries are issuing social distancing guidelines, which includes limits on making contact with public surfaces. A demo station would be counter-intuitive to those kinds of guidelines.
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-playstation-5-games&captions=true"]
Sony still hasn't announced details about PS5 pre-orders, though source code indicates that Sony might once again institute a one per household rule on orders. The same thing was implemented for PS4 pre-orders to try and prevent shortages.
Check out IGN's PS5 guide for more about the PS5, DualSense controller, specs, and more.
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Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.The Flintstones: The Complete Series Coming to Blu-ray in 2020
The Flintstones is finally coming to Blu-ray. IGN can exclusively reveal that Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will release The Flintstones: The Complete Series on Blu-ray and Digital HD in Fall 2020.
The set will include all six seasons and 166 episodes of the original series, along with two additional animated movies - 1966's The Man Called Flintstone and 2015's The Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age Smackdown! Every episode has been remastered in HD.
Warners has yet to reveal pricing or a specific release date for the Blu-ray set, although it is expected out this fall. It's also unclear what bonus features might be included in the set. We'll have to wait and see if those infamous Winston Cigarettes ads have been remastered in HD...
For those somehow unfamiliar with Fred Flintstone and his "modern Stone Age family," the original animated series aired on ABC from 1960 to 1966. Initially a prehistoric parody of live-action sitcoms like The Honeymooners, the series gradually shifted in a more family-friendly direction and eventually spawned a multimedia empire. The Flintstones broke new ground as the first animated series to air in a primetime TV slot. It also proved to be the longest-running animated series in TV history until The Simpsons came along and broke that record five times over.
The Flintstones has enjoyed a successful syndicated run and has spawned various spinoffs and reboots over the years, some of them more odd than others. DC Comics previously turned heads in 2016 with its subversive Flintstones series, one that proved to be surprisingly politically topical despite the prehistoric setting.
Fred Flintstone and family may be returning to the air soon. Last year we learned Warner Bros. is developing a new animated series in conjunction with Elizabeth Banks' Brownstone Productions. The Scooby Doo! reboot movie Scoob! also lays the groundwork for an animated Hanna-Barbera cinematic universe, so it's always possible we'll see the Flintstones rubbing elbows with Mystery Inc. one day.
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Speaking of shared universes, check out IGN's look back at 16 shared universes from before shared universes were a thing.
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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
Warners has yet to reveal pricing or a specific release date for the Blu-ray set, although it is expected out this fall. It's also unclear what bonus features might be included in the set. We'll have to wait and see if those infamous Winston Cigarettes ads have been remastered in HD...
For those somehow unfamiliar with Fred Flintstone and his "modern Stone Age family," the original animated series aired on ABC from 1960 to 1966. Initially a prehistoric parody of live-action sitcoms like The Honeymooners, the series gradually shifted in a more family-friendly direction and eventually spawned a multimedia empire. The Flintstones broke new ground as the first animated series to air in a primetime TV slot. It also proved to be the longest-running animated series in TV history until The Simpsons came along and broke that record five times over.
The Flintstones has enjoyed a successful syndicated run and has spawned various spinoffs and reboots over the years, some of them more odd than others. DC Comics previously turned heads in 2016 with its subversive Flintstones series, one that proved to be surprisingly politically topical despite the prehistoric setting.
Fred Flintstone and family may be returning to the air soon. Last year we learned Warner Bros. is developing a new animated series in conjunction with Elizabeth Banks' Brownstone Productions. The Scooby Doo! reboot movie Scoob! also lays the groundwork for an animated Hanna-Barbera cinematic universe, so it's always possible we'll see the Flintstones rubbing elbows with Mystery Inc. one day.
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Speaking of shared universes, check out IGN's look back at 16 shared universes from before shared universes were a thing.
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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.Rocket Arena Review – Up In The Air
The rocket launcher is one of the most recognizable weapons in multiplayer shooters. From Quake to Team Fortress, its function as a weapon morphed into an alternative means of traversal, with the risk of a self-inflicted death and the reward of superior map positioning enticing players to become proficient at rocket jumping. In Rocket Arena, both the rocket launcher and rocket jumping are core to the action. But without suitably satisfying shooting and the mitigation of all the rewards associated with its core mechanic, Rocket Arena lacks a compelling and lasting appeal.
Rocket Arena features a roster of 10 playable characters, each equipped with their own version of a rocket launcher and some auxiliary abilities. The variations go from basic, such as Jayto's straight-shooting launcher and multi-missile secondary attack, to complicated, like Kayi's ability to speed up friendly rockets and slow down enemy ones. Whether you settle on the lobbed rockets of space pirate Blastbeard or the trickster abilities of mage Mysteen, Rocket Arena's characters all feature enough mechanical variety to make them stand out from each other despite all featuring the same type of main weapon. Their cartoonish designs and bursting costume colors look great, but their uninteresting backstories and few voice-lines limit the extent of their personalities.
These weapon and ability differences feed into the 3v3 team play in each of Rocket Arena's competitive modes. A team cannot feature duplicates of a character, so you're encouraged to work around the selections of your teammates. Although the very brief and basic tutorial doesn't teach you about it, attacks can be combined between characters to form more powerful combos. Ability effects can be transferred onto rockets fired by teammates, for example, but attempting to coordinate both the timing and positioning for such a move is often not worth the payoff.
Continue Reading at GameSpotRocket Arena Review – Up In The Air
The rocket launcher is one of the most recognizable weapons in multiplayer shooters. From Quake to Team Fortress, its function as a weapon morphed into an alternative means of traversal, with the risk of a self-inflicted death and the reward of superior map positioning enticing players to become proficient at rocket jumping. In Rocket Arena, both the rocket launcher and rocket jumping are core to the action. But without suitably satisfying shooting and the mitigation of all the rewards associated with its core mechanic, Rocket Arena lacks a compelling and lasting appeal.
Rocket Arena features a roster of 10 playable characters, each equipped with their own version of a rocket launcher and some auxiliary abilities. The variations go from basic, such as Jayto's straight-shooting launcher and multi-missile secondary attack, to complicated, like Kayi's ability to speed up friendly rockets and slow down enemy ones. Whether you settle on the lobbed rockets of space pirate Blastbeard or the trickster abilities of mage Mysteen, Rocket Arena's characters all feature enough mechanical variety to make them stand out from each other despite all featuring the same type of main weapon. Their cartoonish designs and bursting costume colors look great, but their uninteresting backstories and few voice-lines limit the extent of their personalities.
These weapon and ability differences feed into the 3v3 team play in each of Rocket Arena's competitive modes. A team cannot feature duplicates of a character, so you're encouraged to work around the selections of your teammates. Although the very brief and basic tutorial doesn't teach you about it, attacks can be combined between characters to form more powerful combos. Ability effects can be transferred onto rockets fired by teammates, for example, but attempting to coordinate both the timing and positioning for such a move is often not worth the payoff.
Continue Reading at GameSpotThe Legend of Korra Comes to Netflix USA in August
The Legend of Korra will arrive on Netflix for USA subscribers on August 14. This is the sequel series to Avatar: The Last Airbender set decades after Aang defeated the Fire Lord and follows a new Avatar named Korra.
Netflix's official Twitter accounts announced the news on Tuesday. The Legend of Korra will arrive three months after Avatar: The Last Airbender was made available on Netflix USA and almost two years since Netflix announced a live-action TV series adaptation of Avatar.
The Legend of Korra first aired on Nickelodeon in 2012 and aired 52 episodes. The series takes place 70 years after the events of Avatar and centers around a new Avatar named Korra. The show begins when she's 17 years old and follows her training as she masters "bending" the four elements: earth, water, fire, and air. During her training, she'll encounter power-hungry leaders, "anti-benders" and other threats.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/05/revealed-your-top-5-animated-shows-to-binge-watch-power-ranking"]
Netflix now has the complete Avatar collection, including the live-action movie adaptation, The Last Airbender. M. Night Shyamalan wrote and directed the movie, which was critically-panned upon its release in 2010 -- including a 1.5 out of 10 review from IGN -- and bombed at the box office.
The live-action adaptation from Netflix is unrelated to the 2010 movie. The creators of Avatar and Korra, Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino, will be involved this time and they expressed their excitement for the show upon its announcement in 2018.
"We're thrilled for the opportunity to helm this live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender. We can't wait to realize Aang's world as cinematically as we always imagined it to be, and with a culturally appropriate, non-whitewashed cast," Konietzko and DiMartino said in a statement. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance to build upon everyone's great work on the original animated series and go even deeper into the characters, story, action, and world-building. Netflix is wholly dedicated to manifesting our vision for this retelling, and we're incredibly grateful to be partnering with them.
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There's still plenty coming to Netflix USA until fans get to watch Korra or the live-action Avatar show. Fans of Avatar will enjoy Ip Man 4: The Finale, which was released on the service today, and can look forward to The Umbrella Academy season 2 and a Transformers anime next week.
As for Aang and Korra, they were recently added as character skins in SMITE.
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Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN who watched Avatar for the first time recently on Netflix and it was awesome. Now, go watch the Ip Man movies on Netflix.
Fantasy Strike Becomes a Free-To-Play Fighting Game
Fantasy Strike has dropped its price tag and become completely free-to-play on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC, while also adding two brand new characters (General Onimaru and Quince) in its latest update.
Unlike other free-to-play fighting games on the market, though, Fantasy Strike's entire roster of 12 characters is playable without a paywall.
Instead of monetizing its characters, developer Sirlin Games has implemented a new optional subscription service called Fantasy+. Fantasy+ offers bonus XP gains, grants access to special Master Costumes for each character who reaches level 20, and introduces a new Replay Theater feature that allows players to rewatch their own matches in addition to searching for matches to watch from others. A Fantasy+ subscription can be purchased in 1-month, 6-month, and 12-month increments, priced at $4.99, $24.99, and $39.99 respectively.
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While the free version of Fantasy Strike allows for both online and offline play in casual and ranked modes, along with the ability to spectate, it does not include the arcade, boss rush, or survival modes. Those must be purchased as part of the Core Pack, which costs $19.99, or the Collector's Pack.
The latter goes for $99.99, and includes everything from the Core Pack, along with 13,500 gems worth of in-game currency, a year of Fantasy+, a unique skin for Lum, and the exclusive "Party Time" KO effect. Anyone who already owns Fantasy Strike will be upgraded to the Founder's Pack, which includes everything in the Core Pack, plus 60 costume color sets.
Fantasy Strike originally hit Steam Early Access in 2017 and was later released on Steam, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch last July. It also won our own People's Choice Award for Best Fighting Game of 2019, as voted on by our audience.
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Rocket League Will Become Free-To-Play in Summer 2020
Rocket League, the car-based soccer game that has seen over 75 million players since its launch in 2015, will be going free-to-play in Summer 2020, and anyone who plays the game before it goes free-to-play will be rewarded with Legacy status.
Psyonix, the developer of Rocket League, announced the news today and revealed that the move to free-to-play will not only include major changes to Tournaments and Challenge systems, but will also add cross-platform progression for players' item inventory, Rocket Pass progress, and Competitive Rank, all by linking to an Epic Games Account.
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Additionally, Rocket League will make its debut on the Epic Games Store when it officially goes free-to-play. This version will be identical to the others and will have cross-play with all platforms. Following the move to free-to-play, Rocket League will no longer be available to download on Steam for new players. Existing players on Steam, and every existing platform for that matter, will still get full support for future updates and features.
As for Legacy status, any player who has played Rocket League prior to its move to free-to-play will earn the following;
- All Rocket League-branded DLC released before free-to-play
- "Est. 20XX" title that displays the year when the player first started playing Rocket League
- 200+ Common items upgraded to "Legacy" quality
- Golden Cosmos Boost
- Dieci-Oro Wheels
- Huntress Player Banner
Batman Has a Shiny New Costume, But There’s a Catch
Batman is always changing up his wardrobe, but 2020 may usher in his most radical costume change since that time he wore a rainbow-colored Batsuit back in 1957.
Read on to learn more about Batman's new suit and why it's become the source of the latest mystery in the Dark Knight's life.
Beware of spoilers ahead for Batman #95!
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Batman #95 officially kicks off the Joker War crossover. Joker has succeeded in stealing the Wayne fortune, taking over Wayne Enterprises and making Bruce himself a fugitive from the law. Now all of Batman's wonderful toys are in the hands of Joker's goons. This would be the perfect time for the Dark Knight to don a new, high-tech Batsuit and begin fighting back, right?
Unfortunately, things aren't quite that simple. Batman attempts to retreat to one of the secret Batcaves hidden inside Wayne Tower, only to discover Joker's new partner Punchline has beaten him to the punch (no pun intended). Punchline has forced a Joker Toxin-infected Lucius Fox to turn over all of his secrets. She discovers a shiny, black, blue and silver version of the Batsuit hidden away in this Batcave. The catch is that neither Bruce nor Lucius have any idea where it came from or who designed it.
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Art by Jorge Jimenez. (Image Credit: DC)[/caption]
Does Batman have a secret benefactor? Was this a gift from one of his more technologically inclined sidekicks like Tim Drake or Lucius' son Luke? Unfortunately, Batman doesn't have time to ponder this latest mystery. Punchline infects him with a nasty new Joker Toxin laced with Scarecrow's fear gas and Bane's Venom drug, and a delirious Batman runs straight into a rocket blast from a hijacked Batwing. Things aren't exactly going well for our hero at the moment, to put it mildly.
Regardless, it does appear as though this mysterious, shiny Batsuit will play a part in Joker War. The new costume takes center stage on the variant cover to Batman #100, suggesting Batman may adopt a new look just in time to celebrate the big issue #100 milestone.
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Art by Jorge Jimenez. (Image Credit: DC)[/caption]
At first glance, the new costume seems like a strange departure for a hero who's traditionally relied on stealth and secrecy. However, given that writer James Tynion IV teased major changes to Batman's mission and his relationship with Gotham City as a result of Joker War, the garish color scheme may be the point. Once Batman #100 is released we may have a better idea of who designed the suit and what new abilities it brings to the table.
Let us know what you think of the new Batsuit in the comments below.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/26/joker-war-why-batmans-worst-enemy-is-finally-ready-to-finish-their-game"]
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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
Art by Jorge Jimenez. (Image Credit: DC)[/caption]
Does Batman have a secret benefactor? Was this a gift from one of his more technologically inclined sidekicks like Tim Drake or Lucius' son Luke? Unfortunately, Batman doesn't have time to ponder this latest mystery. Punchline infects him with a nasty new Joker Toxin laced with Scarecrow's fear gas and Bane's Venom drug, and a delirious Batman runs straight into a rocket blast from a hijacked Batwing. Things aren't exactly going well for our hero at the moment, to put it mildly.
Regardless, it does appear as though this mysterious, shiny Batsuit will play a part in Joker War. The new costume takes center stage on the variant cover to Batman #100, suggesting Batman may adopt a new look just in time to celebrate the big issue #100 milestone.
[caption id="attachment_2382328" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Art by Jorge Jimenez. (Image Credit: DC)[/caption]
At first glance, the new costume seems like a strange departure for a hero who's traditionally relied on stealth and secrecy. However, given that writer James Tynion IV teased major changes to Batman's mission and his relationship with Gotham City as a result of Joker War, the garish color scheme may be the point. Once Batman #100 is released we may have a better idea of who designed the suit and what new abilities it brings to the table.
Let us know what you think of the new Batsuit in the comments below.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/26/joker-war-why-batmans-worst-enemy-is-finally-ready-to-finish-their-game"]
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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.