Dota 2 Doesn’t Need Its ‘Blue Shell’ Mechanic
Recently, professional Dota 2 shattered the record for its longest game. The match lasted more than 200 minutes. That's over an hour longer than the previous high water mark. The enormous contest length led to a number of other broken records, including the most kills and deaths on a single team.
Professional Dota 2 matches typically lasts between 30 and 45 minutes, but there was a reason for the 3+ hour battle, one that may no longer be as threatening thanks to a recent patch. Dota 2 has its very own equivalent of Mario Kart’s devious Blue Shell -- and it's changing dramatically with every update.
The divisive power-up that has maligned Nintendo's Mario Kart series since the N64 makes first place a precarious position. Doled out to trailing racers as a random weapon drop, the Blue Shell knocks the head racer out of their lead without mercy, and without fail. So it is with Dota 2 – the leading team is always threatened by an ominous, looming force that can shatter assured victory.
SHIELD Producer Teases the Season Finale Battle with the Inhumans
Marvel's Agents of SHIELD is headed into its Season 2 finale, and Coulson's team is on the brink of war with the Inhumans. Jiaying (Dichen Lachman) wants to keep her people safe, and she's proved she's capable and willing to do whatever it takes to ensure their survival – even if it means sacrificing lives in a fight with SHIELD.
We spoke with SHIELD executive producer Jeffrey Bell (who wrote the first part of the two-hour Season 2 finale) about what's ahead, including Skye's conflict, what Jiaying and Cal are up to, what Raina's plans are, and the biggest challenge Coulson and his team will face as they enter the fight.
IGN: Skye is at the heart of the conflict between SHIELD and the Inhumans. Where's her head at going into the finale?
Wrestling Wrap Up: Daniel Bryan Vacates the IC Title
Okay, here's the situation. My kids' parents went away on a weekend vacation.
Yeah, I was gone from the boob tube for about four days so I didn't watch Smackdown or Impact or Lucha Beep Boop or NXT Whatnot or anything. So I almost didn't do a Wrap Up today. In fact, I was considering not doing one this week when I was writing last week's but opted to leave out an official announcement so as to keep the option open. In case RAW has enough stuff to write/piss/moan about. And it did. So here we are together. At the end of all things.
The Flash: “Crazy Things” are Coming in Season 1’s Final Episodes
The Flash is nearing the end of its first season, and with just two episodes left, Carlos Valdes (“Cisco”) tell us to prepare for some big events.
“It’s about to hit the fan. You know what I mean? Crazy things are about to happen,” Valdes told IGN. “Major revelations are going to happen. Unexpected partnerships. I was just talking about the last episode… I don’t think there’s a single weak link in that episode. There are some incredibly heartbreaking scenes."
Just how heartbreaking? Said Vales, "We were doing table read and we were all crying. I never cry at that kind of stuff but we were weeping. There was this one scene I think fans are going to be really flabbergasted about.”
Marvel Reveals the New Thor’s Identity
Warning: this article contains spoilers for Thor #8, due out tomorrow!
Marvel has finally revealed the identity of the mysterious new woman calling herself Thor. While the actual reveal was meant to come with the release of Thor #8 tomorrow, due to an early leak of the story, Marvel went ahead and made their official reveal on The New York Times' Arts Beat blog.
Last warning: don't continue reading if you don't want to be spoiled!
The Muppets: New TV Show Trailer
ABC have debuted the trailers for several of their new shows for the 2015-2016 season, including The Muppets and fellow new comedies Dr. Ken, The Real O'Neals and Uncle Buck. You'll also find the trailers for new dramas The Catch, Quantico, Wicked City, Oil, The Family and Of Kings and Prophets.
Ubisoft Updating Rainbow Six Siege ‘For a Long Time’
Ubisoft expects Rainbow Six Siege to outsell Far Cry 4's 7 million sales over the course of its lifetime because of post-launch support. Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft, said, “This game will continue to live for a long time as we update with content for a long time.”
CFO Alain Martinez said of Rainbow Six's average sales,"Traditionally we’re at about 3 million." But, "because of its replayability and multiplayer,
might have the potential to do better than Far Cry over its lifetime."
Far Cry 4 crossed the 7 million mark since its launch in late 2014.
Siege's collector's edition includes a handful of DLC items, which at this time only includes weapon skins. Expect additional maps and even Operators, with more information to come in the future. Until then, stay tuned for all things Rainbow Six Siege right here on IGN.
Nintendo Revealing E3 Plans Tomorrow
Nintendo is revealing its E3 plans tomorrow, May 13, at 9am PT.
That's noon ET, 5pm BST, and May 14 at 2am AEST.
The publisher shared the news in the tweet below, which includes a man who looks a lot like a certain ready-bodied President of Nintendo America – Reggie Fils-Aimé.
Who’s training for E3? Find out our plans for E3 tomorrow at 9 a.m. PT! pic.twitter.com/hsOsCgUtwY
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) May 12, 2015
There's no word on whether we should expect something as small as a tweet, or as substantial as a Direct-style video. We reached out to Nintendo for more details about what to expect.
Destiny, Gears of War Discounted on Xbox One, Xbox 360
A number of discounts are available to all Xbox Live Gold members on Xbox One and Xbox 360 this week.
Major Nelson reports Bungie's online shooter Destiny is currently available for 50 percent off its normal MSRP on both platforms, with the Destiny Digital Guardian Collection also discounted on Xbox One at 30 percent off.
Several Saints Row games are also discounted 33-67 percent off on Xbox 360, including Saints Row: The Third, Saints Row IV, and the recently-released Saints Row: Gat out of Hell. Gat Out of Hell and Saints Row IV: Re-elected are available for 25-33 percent off their normal price on Xbox One.
You Can Now Pre-Load The Witcher 3 on PC
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is now available for pre-load on PC through Steam and GOG.com, it has been revealed.
In a post on the franchise's official Twitter account, the studio confirmed that while those on PlayStation 4 must sit tight a bit longer, PC gamers who've pre-purchased its highly anticipated action role-playing game can have it downloaded and ready to go right now.
Now available for PRELOAD on @GOGcom @steam_games & @Xbox! Soon on @PlayStation & @OriginInsider. pic.twitter.com/AhqUae2nKC