!.06-GameSpot - All Content

!.06-GameSpot - All Content


Metroid Prime 4: What We Want At E3 2021

Posted: 08 Jun 2021 04:00 PM PDT

It's been four years since it was first announced, and we still know very little about Metroid Prime 4, except that Nintendo completely restarted the game's development back in January 2019. This significant hurdle explains why fans have had to wait so long for any news about the title, but it doesn't help ease how excruciating that wait has been. With E3 2021 just around the corner now, however, there's a chance we could finally see more of Metroid Prime 4 during the show--and if we do, here's what we hope we'll learn about it.

What We Know So Far

Nintendo first announced Metroid Prime 4 during its E3 2017 Nintendo Direct. At the time, all the company revealed was that the game was in development and that a brand-new team was helming the project rather than Retro Studios. While Nintendo never outright revealed which studio was working on the game, reports indicated that it was a Bandai Namco team.

Following the reveal, Nintendo remained silent about Metroid Prime 4 until January 2019, when it announced that the project hadn't been living up to its standards and that it was completely restarting its development, this time with Retro Studios at the helm. Nintendo's Shinya Takahashi delivered this message about the decision:

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Disney Plus Free Trial Available Now For Xbox Game Plus Ultimate Members

Posted: 08 Jun 2021 01:53 PM PDT

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members can claim a free 30-day trial for Disney Plus available now. Announced on the Xbox Wire, the Disney Plus trial is available to be claimed and used from now until September 30. The trial is only for new Disney Plus subscribers, but members who claimed the previous Disney Plus trial from Game Pass Ultimate can claim this one as well.

The perk goes live a day before the premiere of the new Disney Plus show Loki, which starts on June 9. The first (and possibly only) season of the show will have six episodes, which will release on Wednesdays, with the finale releasing on July 14, so if you plan on using the trial to watch the show, you will need to wait until a few days after the first episode.

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Knives Out 2 Adds Madelyn Cline To Growing Cast

Posted: 08 Jun 2021 01:47 PM PDT

Madelyn Cline, star of Netflix's teen drama Outer Banks, has become the latest addition into the ever-growing ensemble cast for Knives Out 2, according to Deadline. That the sequel is drafting someone from a Netflix series is unsurprising, given that Netflix acquired Knives Out 2 and 3 for a reported $465 million.

Cline joins Kate Hudson (Kung Fu Panda 3), Kathryn Hahn (WandaVision), Dave Bautista (Army of the Dead), Janelle Monáe (Homecoming), Edward Norton (Fight Club), and Leslie Odom Jr. (Hamilton) in a cast bursting with big names. Daniel Craig's detective character, Benoit Blanc, will be returning as well.

Although no plot details are known--including whether knives will even indeed be unsheathed--it is assumed that the massive list of names will, as in the 2019 movie starting the franchise, comprise a huge number of potential suspects and trails to follow as Benoit Blanc interrogates people involved in a murder. It would not at all be out of the question to expect further casting announcements in the coming weeks.

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Reverse City Builder Terra Nil Tasks You With Re-Wilding The Environment

Posted: 08 Jun 2021 01:41 PM PDT

In nearly every city builder, your task is to create sprawling empires of soaring structures and miles of roads. As a result, the natural environment you're building upon sometimes doesn't have much impact beyond providing resources for your megalopolis. Publisher Devolver recently unveiled a new game that turns that core concept on its head: In Terra Nil, you have to break civilization down and bring nature back.

Developed by Broforce studio Free Lives, Terra Nil is a cool-looking, pixel-art game that focuses on wiping out the wasteland left behind by unmitigated societal growth. As a "reverse city builder," the game still provides a number of structures and tools for achieving environmental regeneration, like ways to improve water flow and re-wild the landscapes.

It's a gorgeous game, too, and it's good to see a title that focuses on environmental stability and recovery, rather than solely on growth and productivity. At the moment there's no set release date, but Devolver states that it's coming soon to Steam. In addition, a demo will be released in the near future.

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Fortnite Superman Skin: Release Date And How To Unlock

Posted: 08 Jun 2021 01:21 PM PDT

Superman is coming to Fortnite as the midseason unlockable Battle Pass skin, continuing a tradition in Chapter 2 in which Epic Games has brought players new licensed crossover skins every season. Players love to debate these collaborations and few are more world-famous than Superman himself. If you're wondering when and how to unlock the Superman skin in Fortnite, here are the details you need.

Fortnite Superman Skin Release Date

Head into Fortnite and you'll see a renewed Battle Pass system that uses Battle Stars, allowing players to unlock items at their preferred pace and in their preferred order. However, no matter how quickly you accrue Battle Stars, you won't be able to get Superman for several weeks. As the midseason unlockable skin, Superman won't be available until 65 days from the launch of Season 7, or August 12.

That's a Thursday, so he'll be first available on the same day the Week 10 challenges go live. Joining Superman in the Battle Pass will be nine other items to complete his cosmetic set. These items are already viewable in-game, but like the Man of Steel, they can't be unlocked until at least August 12.

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Bill Skarsgard Is In Talks For John Wick 4

Posted: 08 Jun 2021 01:12 PM PDT

Pennywise the clown actor Bill Skarsgård could be entering the universe of John Wick. According to a report from Collider, the actor is currently in talks to join John Wick 4.

There are no details as to who Skarsgård will play if he in fact joins the upcoming movie, which is set to hit theaters sometime in 2022. Series creator Derek Kolstad will not be writing John Wick 4 or 5, however. Shay Hatten (John Wick 3, Army of the Dead) and Michael Finch (Predators) will take over as writers. The upcoming movie will be directed by Chad Stahelski, whose previous credits include the John Wick movies.

John Wick 4 has been adding a lot of new actors to the upcoming film. Pop star Rina Sawayama will make her debut in the film, and action star Donnie Yen has signed on as well. Their roles have not been revealed, so fans have no clue if they're playing a friend or foe to Wick. However, we can probably expect to see Yen showing off some of his fighting skills in the latest installment.

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HBO Max's Hacks Renewed For Season 2

Posted: 08 Jun 2021 01:08 PM PDT

HBO has announced that its new HBO Max dramedy Hacks has been renewed for Season 2. The show follows a young comedian (Hannah Einbinder) getting a chance at a career comeback by grudgingly writing jokes for a seasoned comic who works nightly in Las Vegas (Jean Smart).

"We have been blown away by the positive reception to Hacks," said co-creators and showrunners Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello, and Jen Statsky. "We owe this renewal to every single person who tuned into the show and then told a friend to watch… We're so glad that [this] story resonated with audiences, and we can't wait to get to work on Season 2."

Season 1 of Hacks, which started on May 13, will air its final two episodes on June 10. Since its debut, the show has released two episodes at a time, making it an easy and enjoyable binge. Packed with a formidable supporting cast that also includes Kaitlin Olson (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), Poppy Liu (Better Call Saul), Christopher McDonald (Happy Gilmore), and Carl Clemons-Hopkins (the Chicago production of Hamilton), at the show's core is a nuanced and intergenerational story about what it means to work as a woman in entertainment and comedy. Fun fact: Hacks didn't actually have a title until a few weeks before coming to HBO Max.

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Razer Is Helping Make A Robot To Tackle Garbage In The Ocean

Posted: 08 Jun 2021 01:01 PM PDT

Today is World Oceans Day, a holiday meant to raise awareness for ocean conservation causes and the threats that the marine ecosystems currently face. In recognition of the day, Razer announced that it is working on a solar-powered robot designed to help clean up the huge amount of plastic waste that has found its way into the seas.

Razer has teamed up with Clearbot, a Hong Kong-based startup that's working on building a "swarm of AI powered, self-driving, ocean trash-collecting robots" with the goal of helping the ocean waters recover and to mitigate the threat posed to marine life by garbage. In particular, Razer has focused its efforts on helping Clearbot scale up its bots in order to make them cheaper and easier to produce, an essential component of achieving the potential of the technology.

"Under the ClearBot partnership, Razer's leading engineers and designers have volunteered personal time and technical expertise to help turn their prototype into a scalable, mass-marketable product," Razer's press release states. "Leveraging on Razer's extensive knowledge and manufacturing know-how, ClearBot was able to evolve the robot design into one that is smarter and more efficient."

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GCX 2021 Charity Event Raffles Off Destiny 2 Gun Replica

Posted: 08 Jun 2021 12:42 PM PDT

The Gaming Community Expo charity event for 2021 includes the chance to win a physical version of a weapon from Destiny 2. The raffle, which runs alongside GCX, a community-run gaming event, is raising money for St. Jude Children's hospital. One of the items that is being raffled off as part of the charity event is a replica of the Midnight Coup from Destiny 2.

The model was made by Eric Newgard, a content designer for Bungie and an artist who creates physical models of weapons and items from video games. A donation of $77 to the fundraiser during the charity marathon will enter you into a raffle for the replica. The charity marathon runs from June 13 through June 20 on GCX's Twitch channel. GCX also will have a virtual version of its event on the GCX Space Station on June 17 to June 20.

The Midnight Coup isn't the only replica up for grabs during the GCX charity event. Newgard also created models of Thor's hammer Mjölnir and Scorpion's kunai from Mortal Kombat. A donation of $25 during the marathon enters you into the Mjölnir raffle and a donation of any amount will enter you for Scorpion's kunai.

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Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Devs Praise Not Having To Crunch

Posted: 08 Jun 2021 12:35 PM PDT

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart reviews went live today, and it's a critical success. But whereas some big-budget hits end up requiring employees to work long stretches of excessive overtime--called "crunch"--developers from Insomniac are saying that they were able to generally maintain a healthy workload of normal, 40-hour weeks.

While it's impossible to know for sure what conditions were like across the company, two Insomniac employees have posted publicly about their experience working on Rift Apart, and they were both very positive. Grant Parker, who states that he's a game designer at Insomniac, shared on Twitter that he never once had to work more than 40 hours per week. In addition, he said that managers made an active effort to encourage him to avoid burnout.

Responding to Parker, animator Lindsay Thompson reiterated that she never had to undergo crunch when working on the game. Thompson, too, said that managers played a big role in ensuring that employees never had to consistently work late.

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I Played Every Call of Duty in 2021 (Part 1)

Posted: 08 Jun 2021 12:00 PM PDT

After nearly 20 years, Call of Duty has evolved from a humble WWII game into an unstoppable force of the first-person shooter genre. Let's look back at the series with Richie as he recalls his experiences playing the entire series in 2021.

Ted Lasso's Future Is Not Decided Yet, But Season 4 Not Ruled Out

Posted: 08 Jun 2021 11:57 AM PDT

Three seasons of Apple's beloved comedy-drama Ted Lasso are planned, but could the show go beyond that? Series star Jason Sudeikis weighed in on this in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, saying he can't see the future or predict what comes next. For now, he said he's happy that Apple is paying for three seasons.

"I don't know. The story that I know is the one that I wanted to tell, and so that's the one we're telling with the help of numerous people in front of and behind the camera, so it's by no means me typing every key stroke and saying every word. It's nowhere near like that. But the story that's being told--that three-season arc--is one that I see, know, and understood," he said. "I'm glad that they are willing to pay for those three seasons. As far as what happens after that, who knows? I don't know."

Actor Brendan Hunt, who plays Coach Beard and was part of the team that got Ted Lasso off the ground to begin with, said the show was "always" planned to be three seasons.

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How To Watch The First Ever Tribeca Games Spotlight

Posted: 08 Jun 2021 11:38 AM PDT

Games are taking center stage alongside movies at the Tribeca Festival this year, with the annual film-focused event having an entire category dedicated to video games for the first time. This year will also see the debut of the Tribeca Games Spotlight, a livestream set to include exclusive gameplay from upcoming games that have been nominated as Tribeca Official Selections, such as PlayStation 5 exclusive Kena: Bridge of Spirits.

The Tribeca Games Spotlight will include interviews with the creators of the games featured as well as include special appearances from game and film industry icons like Hideo Kojima, Reggie Fils-Aimé, and more.

Tribeca Games Spotlight Stream Start Time

The Tribeca Games Spotlight showcase stream starts on Friday June 11 a the following times:

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Rainbow Six Siege Test Server Patch Fixes Nasty Bugs

Posted: 08 Jun 2021 11:24 AM PDT

Rainbow Six Siege just made major changes to its balancing with Year 6 Season 2 North Star, but the new update on its test server fixes some bugs that the new season introduced, and we've got the patch notes below. In particular, it smashes two bugs that cause pretty significant gameplay effects for Doc and Warden.

Apparently, if Warden walks over the same hatch that a defender is reinforcing, this causes the reinforcing animation to be canceled. Obviously, this isn't ideal behavior, so this hotfix rectifies that issue. Also, if an operator is being healed by Doc's Stim Pistol while affected by Lesion's GU, it removes the effect of the GU, and that's also been fixed.

The patch also fixes other minor issues, including an infinite loading glitch after a cinematic, various localization issues throughout the patch, and a lack of destruction VFX for certain objects on the Favela map. Y6S2 North Star gave dead players the option to affect the game after their untimely demise, as well as replacing operator armor with static HP values in order to improve combat readability.

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First Image Of Batwing For Batwoman Has Arrived, And It Looks Amazing

Posted: 08 Jun 2021 11:21 AM PDT

Camrus Johnson is leveling up for the rest of Season 2 of The CW's Batwoman. Playing the role of Lucas Fox, he'll become a crime fighter on his own under the guise of Batwing. The CW has revealed the first images of the suit, and it's fantastic.

The Batwing suit was created by costume designer Maya Mani, who had assistance from Diana Patterson and illustrator Andy Poon. Ocean Drive Leather created the suit, and James Fairley at Amazing Ape sculpted the helmet. Check it out below.

Photo Credit: Justina Mintz/The CW
Photo Credit: Justina Mintz/The CW

"I wanted the Batwing suit to represent the bond between father and son, to show the love and respect that Lucius Fox had for his son, Luke," said Mani. "It was conceived within the realm of a child's imagination; the suit is a bit fantastical and based on the whimsy of a young boy's dream--complete with rocket boosters and hidden bits that pop out! The Batwing suit represents the combined talents of a solid team who all came together and met the many challenges of encompassing lights, moving parts and the need for mobility head on, bringing this character to life."

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