Kid’s Entertainer Keith Harris Has Died
Keith Harris – who found fame in Britain with puppet Orville – has died from cancer at the age of 67.
Harris worked in variety for more than 50 years, while The Keith Harris Show – which featured ventriloquist dummies Orville the Duck and Cuddles the Monkey – ran on BBC1 prime-time from 1982 to 1990.
He also had a huge hit with The Orville Song, which reached Number 4 in the UK charts, selling more than 400,000 copies.
In more recent years Harris was a regular on the pantomime circuit, and appeared in the likes of When Louis Theroux Met…, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, The Farm and The Weakest Link.
Chris Tilly is the Entertainment Editor for IGN in the UK and actually owned a copy of that record. He can be found talking nonsense on The Superhero Show and Twitter.
Way More Magma Found Beneath Yellowstone
Seismologists at the University of Utah have discovered a new reservoir of partly molten rock beneath the Yellowstone supervolcano.
It is 4.4 times larger than the previously known magma chamber, and could fill the Grand Canyon 11.2 times.
Despite the new information outlined in this video, the researchers say that the volcano is no closer to erupting than before, with the annual chance being 1 in 700,000. The last time it erupted was 640,000 years ago.
The discovery of the new magma chamber solves the mystery of why Yellowstone's soil emits more carbon dioxide than could be explained by the existing chamber.
Final Fantasy 15: Episode Duscae Demo Getting an Update
Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae is set to get a patch designed to enhance the combat system and fix a number of issues.
Siliconera reports version 2.0 will be available sometime between mid and late May, and will enhance the Active Cross Battle system, fix problems with the camera and targeting and also add new moves, such as joint attacks, a possible dodge roll and changing the range of Noctis' weapon.
As regards other possible features the game may get, director Hajime Tabata suggests you may be able to do quests in which you're paired with one or two other characters, provoking different conversations. When the party regroups at the night's camp, different characters may bring back different items.
Could There Be a New Rival Schools Game?
Capcom director Hideaki Itsuno has been coming up with ideas for a new entry in the Rival Schools fighting game franchise.
While there are no announced plans of a new game right now, Itsuno was replying to fan questions at NicoNico Chokaigi 2015 about the future.
"I'd like to make a new fighting game," was his answer to one question. Another fan asked directly about a new Rival Schools game, to which he replied "I've already thought of a new story."
Itsuno co-directed Rival Schools: United by Fate which came out in the late 1990s. If you don't know what it is, you could check out IGN's review from all the way back then.
Just Cause 3 Gameplay Trailer Reveals Insane Aerial Stunts
Square Enix has released the first gameplay trailer for Just Cause 3, revealing plane-jacking, skydiving and wingsuits.
The trailer, which you can see above, is the first proper look we've had at what's coming in the next entry in Avalanche Studio's series when it releases later this year.
Avalanche recently told IGN that Just Cause 3 doesn't need multiplayer, but that didn’t stop the Just Cause community from making a multiplayer mod for Just Cause 2.
How Wolfenstein: The Old Blood Continues to Shun Modern Shooter Trends
Wolfenstein 3D may be the granddaddy of the first-person shooter as we recognise it today but the relevance of Wolfenstein’s once-venerable name has faded over the decades. Today huge numbers of gamers flock to the likes of Call of Duty and Battlefield; these are the modern era’s shooters du jour. To many, Wolfenstein is a curiosity from another age.
Nonetheless, 2014’s Wolfenstein: The New Order arrived as an extremely timely antidote to today’s increasingly homogenised shooter set. Rather than a multiplayer-focussed experience with a brief, token single-player mode tacked on, The New Order looked to the likes of rich and lengthy solo shooters like Starbreeze’s The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay and The Darkness for inspiration. It’s little wonder considering MachineGames, the team behind The New Order, was founded by several key former members of Starbreeze.
Silent Hill is the Real Victim in the Konami/Kojima Split
Less than a year after it was announced, Guillermo del Toro and Hideo Kojima’s Silent Hill project is dead. R.I.P., Silent Hills - we hardly knew ye.
The cancellation is a nasty little period at the end of a very public - yet frustratingly obscured - spat between Silent Hill publisher Konami and Kojima, its golden boy gone rogue. Konami’s subsequent voluntary delisting from the NYSE has fueled speculation that it’s on its way to the great publisher graveyard; particularly angry folk are arguing that it belongs there.
Life-Size Lego Car Actually Drives
Someone has constructed a life-size Lego car, and it works.
According to YouTube videos shared on Mental Floss, "a teenage genius from Romania" named Raul Oaida constructed the car in collaboration with Australian marketer Steve Sammartino.
The car is comprised of more than 500,000 Lego pieces and is based on a hot rod design.
The dials and wheels/tyres aren't made of Lego, but almost everything else, including the engine, which appears to be powered by compressed air.
The Lego hot rod reportedly has a top speed of 30km/h, powered by four orbital engines with a total piston count of 256.
GameStop Raising Money for Make-A-Wish Next Month
You could help grant a kid's wish by purchasing video games at your local GameStop next month.
GameStop has announced that beginning on May 1 and running through the end of the month, it will be accepting donations for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Customers will be able to donate $1 USD, $5, $10 or more in-store at GameStop, as well as the retailer's technology branded stores Spring Mobile and Simply Mac. Kongregate customers will also be able to donate with their online transactions.
As a reward for donating, the retailer is offering customers a coupon good for 10% off their next purchase of a used game and PowerUp Rewards members will earn triple rewards points.
"GameStop has a deep history with Make-A-Wish, and we are thrilled to have another opportunity to support such a meaningful organization," GameStop Chief Financial Officer Rob Lloyd said in a statement. Lloyd also serves as a member of the Make-A-Wish North Texas board.
Avengers 3 Movies Will Shoot Back to Back
Chris Evans believes that both parts of Avengers: Infinity War will shoot back to back over a nine-month period.
Evans spilled the beans in an interview with Esquire, which also confirms his Captain America character will survive Captain America: Civil War to make it to the third Avengers movie.
He also confirmed that shooting on Civil War commences "in a couple
weeks" and will conclude principal photography in "August or September".