Watch Nintendo’s Goofy, Fun Japanese Mario 3D All-Stars Commercials
Nintendo announced the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection during a surprise Nintendo Direct. This new All-Stars collects Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy 1 into a single package for the Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo released a series of cute, nostalgic Japanese trailers for each game in the collection.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/04/super-mario-3d-all-stars-japanese-tv-ad-super-mario-64"]
Each trailer is dedicated to one of the games in the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection. The first trailer is about Super Mario 64 where a father watches as his children play Super Mario 64 on the Switch. Tinged with nostalgia, the father is later seen by himself playing Mario 64 in handheld mode while the rest of the family is presumably asleep.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/04/super-mario-3d-all-stars-japanese-tv-ad-super-mario-sunshine"]
The second trailer is for Super Mario Sunshine and leans on the platformer's notorious difficulty. A man inspired by the sunset goes home and plays Super Mario Sunshine on the Nintendo Switch. But he's shown losing again, and again, and again.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/04/super-mario-3d-all-stars-japanese-tv-ad-super-mario-galaxy"]
The Mario Galaxy trailer is the most conventional of the three but does showcase how Mario Galaxy plays in TV mode, complete with two-person co-op where another player controls the star to collect bits. This trailer somewhat answers some questions players raised about how motion controls will work in Mario Galaxy for the Switch.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/04/super-mario-35th-anniversary-music-medley"]
A final celebration video for Mario's 35th anniversary was released where Japanese singer Gen Hoshino creates a song influenced by 35 years of Mario music.
Super Mario 3D All-Stars was announced as part of a special 35th anniversary Mario Direct. The collection will be released for a limited time on September 18, 2020, and will be available digitally through March 31, 2021. Pre-orders for the All-Stars collection are live now.
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Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.
Watch Nintendo’s Goofy, Fun Japanese Mario 3D All-Stars Commercials
Nintendo announced the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection during a surprise Nintendo Direct. This new All-Stars collects Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy 1 into a single package for the Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo released a series of cute, nostalgic Japanese trailers for each game in the collection.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/04/super-mario-3d-all-stars-japanese-tv-ad-super-mario-64"]
Each trailer is dedicated to one of the games in the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection. The first trailer is about Super Mario 64 where a father watches as his children play Super Mario 64 on the Switch. Tinged with nostalgia, the father is later seen by himself playing Mario 64 in handheld mode while the rest of the family is presumably asleep.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/04/super-mario-3d-all-stars-japanese-tv-ad-super-mario-sunshine"]
The second trailer is for Super Mario Sunshine and leans on the platformer's notorious difficulty. A man inspired by the sunset goes home and plays Super Mario Sunshine on the Nintendo Switch. But he's shown losing again, and again, and again.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/04/super-mario-3d-all-stars-japanese-tv-ad-super-mario-galaxy"]
The Mario Galaxy trailer is the most conventional of the three but does showcase how Mario Galaxy plays in TV mode, complete with two-person co-op where another player controls the star to collect bits. This trailer somewhat answers some questions players raised about how motion controls will work in Mario Galaxy for the Switch.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/04/super-mario-35th-anniversary-music-medley"]
A final celebration video for Mario's 35th anniversary was released where Japanese singer Gen Hoshino creates a song influenced by 35 years of Mario music.
Super Mario 3D All-Stars was announced as part of a special 35th anniversary Mario Direct. The collection will be released for a limited time on September 18, 2020, and will be available digitally through March 31, 2021. Pre-orders for the All-Stars collection are live now.
[poilib element="accentDivider"]
Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.
The Last Campfire Review – One Step At A Time
There is no singular theme to the puzzles in The Last Campfire. In fact, there aren't even distinct spaces where puzzles exist. Instead, the entirety of this quaint puzzle adventure is just one puzzle built on another. Yet despite this, The Last Campfire isn't simply one conundrum after the other. It's a touching tale of helping others while finding your way, and sometimes accepting that not everyone who might look like they're ready to move on needs a nudge in that direction.
You play as Ember, a small hooded figure lost in a world between worlds. After some misfortune, you find yourself completely off your intended path, searching for a way back to the gates that so frustratingly passed you by. Littered across your journey are a handful of campfires, each situated in the center of distinct biomes that house numerous other characters in need of your help. These similarly lost souls, known as Forlorn, have abandoned hope of moving on from this world, requiring you to help them overcome any fears and doubts holding them back.
Each manifests as a bite-sized puzzle with its own distinct theme. Some puzzles involve moving an object through a level toward a weighted switch, navigating chasms, and pulley elevators. Others task you with keeping a small flame lit through a maze littered with wind-generating hazards or rotating a block logically to set nearby lanterns alight without extinguishing the flame. The sheer variety of the puzzles is impressive, as is their intelligent design, which makes each one's premise easy to understand. None of The Last Campfire's puzzles are brain-racking conundrums, but each one does still manage to stir a sense of accomplishment on its solution.
Continue Reading at GameSpotThe Last Campfire Review – One Step At A Time
There is no singular theme to the puzzles in The Last Campfire. In fact, there aren't even distinct spaces where puzzles exist. Instead, the entirety of this quaint puzzle adventure is just one puzzle built on another. Yet despite this, The Last Campfire isn't simply one conundrum after the other. It's a touching tale of helping others while finding your way, and sometimes accepting that not everyone who might look like they're ready to move on needs a nudge in that direction.
You play as Ember, a small hooded figure lost in a world between worlds. After some misfortune, you find yourself completely off your intended path, searching for a way back to the gates that so frustratingly passed you by. Littered across your journey are a handful of campfires, each situated in the center of distinct biomes that house numerous other characters in need of your help. These similarly lost souls, known as Forlorn, have abandoned hope of moving on from this world, requiring you to help them overcome any fears and doubts holding them back.
Each manifests as a bite-sized puzzle with its own distinct theme. Some puzzles involve moving an object through a level toward a weighted switch, navigating chasms, and pulley elevators. Others task you with keeping a small flame lit through a maze littered with wind-generating hazards or rotating a block logically to set nearby lanterns alight without extinguishing the flame. The sheer variety of the puzzles is impressive, as is their intelligent design, which makes each one's premise easy to understand. None of The Last Campfire's puzzles are brain-racking conundrums, but each one does still manage to stir a sense of accomplishment on its solution.
Continue Reading at GameSpotTeam Fortress 2 Community Builds Cheater-Killing Bots
Team Fortress 2’s ongoing battle with cheaters and bots has entered a new stage where there are now bots that will kill other bots. We’ve entered bot war territory.
There is now a new type of bot in the Team Fortress 2 scene called “the extermination bot services,” which are scripted to only kill cheaters. They will supposedly only focus on cheating bots and will not bother regular players. Videos of the extermination bot services can be found online.
While this evolution in solving Team Fortress 2’s bot problem is a quirky twist, there are lingering issues. Namely, Team Fortress 2 is being overrun by bots, whether they’re cheating aimbots or anti-bot bots. If this escalates, as some players suggest, it could risk flooding Team Fortress 2 with even more bots. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=igns-top-25-modern-pc-games&captions=true"] Team Fortress 2’s cheating woes came to a head earlier this summer when bots began spamming hateful slurs into the game chat. Valve released an update that limits access to the text chat, but that doesn’t solve the aimbots and other bots obstructing Team Fortress 2 matches. It’s unclear if Valve will take a stronger stance against the bot problem plaguing Team Fortress 2. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.This is what the cheating situation is currently like in TF2 rn. The community is using cheating bots to target specifically cheaters.
We now have Cheater Terminators. https://t.co/SGQKtVn37I — GoogleyGareth (@Googleygareth) September 3, 2020
Team Fortress 2 Community Builds Cheater-Killing Bots
Team Fortress 2’s ongoing battle with cheaters and bots has entered a new stage where there are now bots that will kill other bots. We’ve entered bot war territory.
There is now a new type of bot in the Team Fortress 2 scene called “the extermination bot services,” which are scripted to only kill cheaters. They will supposedly only focus on cheating bots and will not bother regular players. Videos of the extermination bot services can be found online.
While this evolution in solving Team Fortress 2’s bot problem is a quirky twist, there are lingering issues. Namely, Team Fortress 2 is being overrun by bots, whether they’re cheating aimbots or anti-bot bots. If this escalates, as some players suggest, it could risk flooding Team Fortress 2 with even more bots. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=igns-top-25-modern-pc-games&captions=true"] Team Fortress 2’s cheating woes came to a head earlier this summer when bots began spamming hateful slurs into the game chat. Valve released an update that limits access to the text chat, but that doesn’t solve the aimbots and other bots obstructing Team Fortress 2 matches. It’s unclear if Valve will take a stronger stance against the bot problem plaguing Team Fortress 2. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.This is what the cheating situation is currently like in TF2 rn. The community is using cheating bots to target specifically cheaters.
We now have Cheater Terminators. https://t.co/SGQKtVn37I — GoogleyGareth (@Googleygareth) September 3, 2020
LOTR’s Hugo Weaving Has No Interest in Ever Playing Elrond Again
Hugo Weaving wouldn't be caught dead in those pointy ears again. The actor has gone on record stating that he has no desire to play the Elven ruler Elrond again, a character who will appear in Amazon's upcoming Lord of the Rings series.
Weaving, who played the Lord of Rivendell in both the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies, was asked by Variety if he would be open to reprising the character of Elrond for the Amazon series, which will also feature the familiar characters Galadriel and Sauron.
"No way. Absolutely no," Weaving told Variety. The actor was, however, open to playing the villainous Agent Smith again in The Matrix 4 -- which is back in production after the pandemic temporarily shut down filming -- but scheduling conflicts nixed that from happening for him.
“Matrix might have happened,” he says. “But Lord of the Rings, no, I would never — I’m not interested in that at all. Look, I loved being in New Zealand with all those great people, and it was like going back to a family but actually, to be honest, I think everyone had more than enough of it.”
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Amazon's Lord of the Rings takes place during Middle-earth's Second Age, a period only briefly seen in the Lord of the Rings movies. In our extensive breakdown of the Second Age, we said the setting "spans a long period of time in between the banishment of Morgoth (the original Dark Lord) and the first defeat of his servant Sauron. The Second Age is defined by key events like the rise and fall of the kingdom of Númenor, the creation of the Rings of Power and the formation of the Last Alliance that temporarily saved the world from Sauron's wrath."
The long-lived, half-elven Elrond was the captain and herald of Gil-Galad, the High King of the Ñoldor, during the Second Age. During this time, Elrond fought in the War of the Last Alliance, which saw Men and Elves battling against Sauron. These events were depicted in Jackson's Fellowship of the Ring.
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Hugo Weaving as Elrond.[/caption]
In addition to Morfydd Clark as young Galadriel, Amazon's Lord of the Rings series cast includes Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Budge, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, and Daniel Weyman.
The super-expensive show already has a multi-season commitment from Amazon. Production had begun earlier this year in New Zealand before shutting down due to the coronavirus pandemic. Filming reportedly aims to resume in September.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/19/amazons-lord-of-the-rings-the-second-age-explained"]
Hugo Weaving as Elrond.[/caption]
In addition to Morfydd Clark as young Galadriel, Amazon's Lord of the Rings series cast includes Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Budge, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, and Daniel Weyman.
The super-expensive show already has a multi-season commitment from Amazon. Production had begun earlier this year in New Zealand before shutting down due to the coronavirus pandemic. Filming reportedly aims to resume in September.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/19/amazons-lord-of-the-rings-the-second-age-explained"]LOTR’s Hugo Weaving Has No Interest in Ever Playing Elrond Again
Hugo Weaving wouldn't be caught dead in those pointy ears again. The actor has gone on record stating that he has no desire to play the Elven ruler Elrond again, a character who will appear in Amazon's upcoming Lord of the Rings series.
Weaving, who played the Lord of Rivendell in both the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies, was asked by Variety if he would be open to reprising the character of Elrond for the Amazon series, which will also feature the familiar characters Galadriel and Sauron.
"No way. Absolutely no," Weaving told Variety. The actor was, however, open to playing the villainous Agent Smith again in The Matrix 4 -- which is back in production after the pandemic temporarily shut down filming -- but scheduling conflicts nixed that from happening for him.
“Matrix might have happened,” he says. “But Lord of the Rings, no, I would never — I’m not interested in that at all. Look, I loved being in New Zealand with all those great people, and it was like going back to a family but actually, to be honest, I think everyone had more than enough of it.”
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=amazons-the-lord-of-the-rings-every-confirmed-actor&captions=true"]
Amazon's Lord of the Rings takes place during Middle-earth's Second Age, a period only briefly seen in the Lord of the Rings movies. In our extensive breakdown of the Second Age, we said the setting "spans a long period of time in between the banishment of Morgoth (the original Dark Lord) and the first defeat of his servant Sauron. The Second Age is defined by key events like the rise and fall of the kingdom of Númenor, the creation of the Rings of Power and the formation of the Last Alliance that temporarily saved the world from Sauron's wrath."
The long-lived, half-elven Elrond was the captain and herald of Gil-Galad, the High King of the Ñoldor, during the Second Age. During this time, Elrond fought in the War of the Last Alliance, which saw Men and Elves battling against Sauron. These events were depicted in Jackson's Fellowship of the Ring.
In addition to Morfydd Clark as young Galadriel, Amazon's Lord of the Rings series cast includes Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Budge, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, and Daniel Weyman.
The super-expensive show already has a multi-season commitment from Amazon. Production had begun earlier this year in New Zealand before shutting down due to the coronavirus pandemic. Filming reportedly aims to resume in September.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/19/amazons-lord-of-the-rings-the-second-age-explained"]
No, The Batman Has Not Resumed Filming Without Robert Pattinson
UPDATE 2: Contrary to British media reports, The Batman has not resumed production without its star, Robert Pattinson.
Although The Daily Mail claimed the Warners/DC film had begun shooting again, working around the recently diagnosed Pattinson, Variety reports that "people on the film team who were in contact with Pattinson are quarantining. The production is still doing contact tracing. It is unlikely that shooting will re-commence until the roughly two-week quarantine period ends."
Set construction and prop work continues on The Batman at Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden.
The studio has so far not commented on Pattinson's health, only saying that an unspecified crew member tested positive for the coronavirus and that they have temporarily stopped production on The Batman.
UPDATE: The Batman crew member who was diagnosed with coronavirus is reportedly none other than the star himself, Robert Pattinson.
According to Vanity Fair, Robert Pattinson "tested positive for the coronavirus, causing filming of The Batman to be halted just days after the superhero drama resumed work at studios outside of London. Warner Bros. would not comment on any individual worker's health."
And while the studio wouldn't comment on Pattinson or any other crew member's health, WarnerMedia boss Ann Sarnoff told Deadline:
"We’re still in the middle of investigating what is the situation. We’re pausing temporarily for now until we have more information, but we have all the protocols set up to do contact tracing and hopefully get back up into production very soon."
IGN also reached out to the studio for comment. Our original report follows.
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The Batman has shut down production -- again -- due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Warner Bros. announced the temporary work stoppage in a press statement revealing that a crew member had tested positive:
"A member of The Batman production has tested positive for Covid-19, and is isolating in accordance with established protocols. Filming is temporarily paused."
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The Batman first shut down production in England last March when industry-wide shutdowns began due to the spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus.
Director Matt Reeves disclosed that filming on The Batman was only about 25% complete at the time of the March stoppage.
Since then, The Batman made a huge splash at August's DC FanDome, revealing the movie's intense first trailer that left us wondering about its mysterious villain and the whereabouts of the Joker, while also clarifying when it's set.
Here's how you can help, and stay safe, during the coronavirus pandemic.
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Gotham Knights: Heroes’ Different Combat Styles Explained
WB Games Montréal has explained a little more about the different combat styles of its four heroes, Red Hood, Nightwing, Robin, and Batgirl.
In a previous interview with IGN, creative director Patrick Redding made clear that all four characters would use melee and ranged weaponry, as well as special abilities. In a new interview summarised by the PlayStation Blog, Redding explained how, despite the similar set-up, the four characters would fight differently.
"Red Hood is a brutal brawler with a focus on gunplay. Nightwing’s acrobatics lead to a more exaggerated style of fighting, while the current Robin favours stealth and is a dab hand at using status effects to disrupt enemies. And Batgirl? 'She combines a laser-focused, targeted and efficient melee fighter approach with a lot of resilience and the ability to weaponize her environment using hacking,' says Redding."
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/7-minutes-of-batman-gotham-knights-gameplay"]
While we knew that each character would utilise different weapons, this is our first hint at how the characters' innate strengths will be used in moment-to-moment gameplay. Speaking of those weapons, we've also learned that the neon indicators we saw on each one are actually gameplay-related, rather than simply colour-coded for aesthetic reasons.
“It’s a very important platform for us to deliver game information," explained Redding. "Some of those visual effects tell you what damage type you have equipped on your weapons. So it’s a way for the player to receive signs of feedback… that lets them know what protection they have, what they’re going to use against their enemies, both in terms of ranged and melee attacks.”
Redding has previously told IGN that players can choose to play as a single hero for the entire campaign, or switch between them by heading to the Belfry headquarters location - different playstyles and status effect-related gear makes clearer the benefit of switching characters, given that some may offer different approaches to specific challenges along the way.
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We've learned a lot about Gotham Knights since it was announced at DC Fandome, from why it's killed off Batman, how it's set in a different universe, and why it definitely isn't a game-as-service.
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Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.