DC Comics has another large-scale event coming this fall, and for the first time, aspects of Alan Moore's iconic story The Watchmen will be combining with the DC Universe in Doomsday Clock. During a panel at San Diego Comic-Con, writer Geoff Johns showed off some interior art for the book and vaguely discussed the story.
Ever since Watchmen's Dr. Manhattan appeared at the end of DC's Rebirth one-shot, back in June 2016, fans have been wanting answers. Rebirth relaunched the DC by combining elements of the New 52 line with Pre-Flashpoint material. A task this large could be daunting, but during a panel for the event at Comic-Con, writer Geoff Johns seemed up for the challenge.
While Doomsday Clock seemed to be the highlight of the panel, Johns was relatively tight-lipped about the event. "You'll know in the first page of the first issue, you'll know exactly what the story's about" Johns said during the panel.
The logo for the event mixes the Doomsday Clock with the Superman emblem. Johns said that the Man of Steel is the story but did not go much deeper into detail. Moving forward, Johns mentioned some more elements about the upcoming event: "I love seeing the smartest man from one world talking to the smartest man from another. And the smartest man from this world, from DC, is Lex Luthor. And that's all I'll say." Those familiar with Watchmen will know the smartest man on that world is Ozymandias. However, there is no confirmation about whether that character will appear in Doomsday Clock as of yet.
Those watching the panel were treated to some early interior artwork by Gary Frank and Brad Anderson, which you can check out below.
Doomsday Clock will come out in November and run for 12-issues. The events within the book take place one year after what's currently happening in DC books, but it's all in continuity. There are planned breaks for the mini-series in both March and August as well.
This new event follows up Batman: Metal, and if back-to-back events seems like a little bit too much, Metal's writer Scott Snyder assured readers not to worry about event fatigue: "You can read one or the other or both and be fine either way," Snyder told GameSpot. "They're both in the real continuity of the present day DC Universe." The stories don't weave into each other nor do they directly lead into each other. In the past, there have been times where DC had one event lead into another, which caused readers to lose interest altogether.
Doomsday Clock comes out on Wednesday, November 22.
Overwatch, and Blizzard in general, had a huge presence at this year's Comic-Con. Hearthstone led an ice cream social with visits from the Lich King and Jessica Nigiri and the Blizzard merch booth was full of new stuff (like that $450 D.Va statue), but it was Doomfist who grabbed the most attention. Blizzard recently pushed the character out to the test realm on PC, and the company sponsored the first-ever Doomfist cosplay with an elaborate, incredibly impressive costume. The devs even devoted an entire panel to discussing how Doomfist was created. But one important question was left hanging after the panel: Why didn't Terry Crews end up voicing the long-teased character?
Crews is still front of mind for many fans, and although he didn't come up during the Q&A portion of the panel, his name was yelled out more than once by a few members of the audience. So, during our follow-up conversation, we asked Blizzard's devs why, after so much hype, Crews didn't end up as Doomfist. Blizzard senior designer Michael Chu explained, "We love Terry. Terry's awesome. He came and visited us. We had a great time. But when we were looking for Doomfist, we were looking for something very specific given his role in the game and everything. When we were early in the audition process, we heard Sahr, who's the actor who plays Doomfist, and he just blew us away immediately. Once we heard his voice, it was like, 'Holy crap. That's Doomfist.'" Chu particularly praised the number of "flavors" Sahr is able to bring to the role, and Sahr's ability to, "...bring all these different aspects of the character to life.
While that doesn't rule out the possibility of Crews taking on another role in the future, it does explain why he might not have been the best fit for what Blizzard has planned with Doomfist.
The after-panel discussion also turned to other topics that were only briefly touched on in the presentation, like the possibility of a Blizzard fighting game. During his presentation, Overwatch lead designer Geoff Goodman called Doomfist, with his unique, melee-focused combat, an "ode to the fighting genre," and the concept art for the character was a direct homage to fighting game art. But could that ever lead to something more?
"I was working on World of Warcraft originally, when WoW was shipped," Goodman said, "and I remember the questions then in a lot of interviews were like, 'Well, you guys are like a RTS company. How are you gonna make an MMO?' Then we're working Overwatch, and then when we shoot Overwatch, it's like, 'Well, you guys are the MMO company. How are you gonna make an FPS?' It's just sort of funny. It just goes to show, we can do these genres. We play the games so much. We love these games so much. Who knows? Maybe someday we'll see a fighting game. That'd be sweet." Of course, this doesn't mean that Blizzard is gearing up to enter yet another new genre, but the design team sounds like it's always up for a new challenge.
But the current challenge is making sure that Doomfist fits into the full game. We asked the developers what the main takeaway from Doomfist's run on the PC public test realm has been, and the response was immediate: "Bugs. Lots of bugs."
Goodman explained, "We fixed pretty much all of them. It was heads down for a while and lots of, 'Oh, my God. We're not gonna make this deadline.' It was pretty much all hands on deck to fix a lot of bugs. He's a complicated character. He's not just like a guy with a gun who runs around and shoots all of the characters. Doomfist has so many inner working parts and very complicated mechanics, so it lent itself, unfortunately, really well to bugs."
But sometimes those bugs can lead to interesting features. According to Goodman, there was a persistent bug in PTR that, after he removed it, he received feedback from players in the forums that they actually thought the mechanic it had inadvertently introduced was fun. He was able to reintroduce the slightly modified "bug" so that, "When you're doing the rocket punch, you can hit space and cancel it out and leave a little bit of extra distance."
Finally, and perhaps the most surprising moment of the Overewatch panel, was the raucous reaction from the audience after two different fans asked when the next healer character would be added to the game. Were the devs surprised? Goodman answered, "I don't know. I was surprised that it came back-to-back with multiple people." He laughed, adding, "I wasn't expecting that." But he went on to say, "Adding another hero would be awesome. There's so much potential, especially healing in a game like Overwatch, because it's a very unique mechanic...Ana is so different than any other healers, and we have a bunch of prototypes in place playing with different mechanics. There are certainly healers in the prototype mix, so it'd be fun to maybe come up with them pretty soon, hopefully."
While some of the devs answers raise even more questions, they made it a point to get across that they actively listen to their players. As Doomfist heads into the full game on July 27, you can be sure Blizzard devs will be on forums and social media answering questions, and just generally seeing what peoples reactions to the new character are. And maybe if people keep yelling out in panels about wanting Terry Crews in the game, that could eventually happen too.
By Anonymous on Jul 23, 2017 08:30 pm Mike and Jake read viewer stories from Playerunknown's Battlegrounds, Ark Survival, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
The high-end AMD Ryzen 7 processors have been on sale quite often, but $290 seems to be one of the lowest prices we've seen for the 1700X. This particular model packs eight cores and 16 threads with 3.4GHz stock clock speeds and 3.8GHz turbo clock speeds. It's one of the best values for those who do more than just game on their PC.
For those looking just for top-end gaming performance in a CPU, Intel's Core i7-7700K still holds up as one of the better choices. This quad-core eight-thread processor boasts a 4.2GHz base clock and 4.5GHz boost clock. It typically goes for around $340, which makes this deal worth considering.
You may be holding your breath for AMD's upcoming Vega GPUs, but it's latest flagship graphics card--the RX 580--still holds up as good mid-range GPU. If you want to get a closer look at how it performs, check out our review of the RX 580. This particular model on sale from ASUS comes with a dual fan cooling system.
You could also get an additional $20 with the promo code 46893601.
Monoprice is a pretty big vendor for PC hardware and electronics, but you may not think to get a monitor straight from the site. However, all the specs are there to make this a great gaming monitor: a crisp 1440p resolution, a high 144Hz refresh rate, and FreeSync for AMD users. It's also real cheap at just $250.
4K displays are becoming more accessible in terms of price, especially with deals like this 28-inch monitor from Acer. It may just have a TN panel and a 60Hz refresh rate, but if your system is ready for 4K and you want to make the jump while saving money, this sale should be of interest. Be sure to use the promo code to get the listed price.
The Sennheiser HD 558 headphones go on sale often, but that doesn't mean it's still not a great deal. You get similar audio quality of the coveted HD 598 headphones and comfortable velour ear pads that make it great for long sessions. Take note of the open-back design; sound will leak out of the headphones, but it's intended to provide better soundstage.
Mechanical keyboards can be really expensive, but refurbished Corsair Strafe keyboards are currently going for $70 straight from the manufacturer. We tend to stray away from refurbished products, but the certification from Corsair itself makes it easier to recommend. The Strafe itself can come with either Cherry MX Red, Brown, or Blue switches, and all non-RGB models light up red.
The DeathAdder from Razer is regarded as one of the better gaming mice available. It features deep grooves that make it fit comfortably in the hand, rubber grips to prevent fingertips from slipping, and two large programmable side buttons.
[Update] Legendary Pokemon Articuno and Lugia are available in Raid Battles everywhere now. Pokemon Go developer Niantic has also made a number of rewards available to players until Monday, July 24, at 5:00 PM PDT as a "thanks to the Trainers around the world who banded together to catch millions of Pokemon during the Challenge Windows." The rewards include the following:
Double Stardust
Double Candy
Double XP
Increased Pokemon encounters
Reduced hatching distance
Reduced buddy distance
[Original story continues below]
Legendary Pokemon Articuno will be added to Pokemon Go, following the success of Team Mystic at Pokemon Go Fest. You can watch the announcement of Articuno's arrival in the video below.
During the event players were tasked with teaming up to defeat a Legendary monster that showed up at Grant Park in Chicago, where Pokemon Go Fest is being held. Team Mystic proved to be victorious and, as a result, the flying ice type from the Kanto region will make its way to game in the future.
During Pokemon Go Fest it was also confirmed that Lugia, another Legendary, will be activated in Raid Battles within the next 48 hours; Articuno's arrival will follow Lugia's. Another Legendary, Ho-oh, is also expected in the future.
Although Team Mystic won here, Zapdos, which is tied to Team Instinct, and Moltres, which is represented by Team Valor, will also make it into the game in the future. Niantic hasn't said when, however.
Those that attended Pokemon Go Fest found themselves unable to actually play the game due to a combination of server and network issues. To make up for this, Pokemon Go developer Niantic has said it will offer full ticket refunds to all that attended the fan event, as well as $100 in PokeCoins, among other gifts.
"Today at Pokemon Go Fest in Chicago, technical issues created problems for a large number of players attending the event," Niantic said in an official statement. "From everyone at Niantic, we apologize to all of the Trainers who came out to Pokemon Go Fest today. Although we were able to solve many of the technical issues, we were not able to offer every attendee a great experience."
It went on to detail how it will compensate attendees:
All registered attendees will soon receive an email with instructions on how to receive a full refund for the cost of their ticket. These instructions will be sent to the email addresses associated with your Pokemon Go account.
All registered attendees will receive $100 in PokeCoins in their Pokemon GO account.
Special Pokemon, Eggs, and check-in PokeStops appearing during Pokemon Go Fest have had their range increased to a two mile radius surrounding Grant Park through Monday morning, July 24. These Pokemon and Eggs will only be visible to Pokemon Go Fest attendees who validated the QR code they received when they entered Pokemon Go Fest. Attendees who were unable to validate their QR code during the event can do so through the special PokeStops through Monday morning.
All registered attendees will have the Legendary Pokemon, Lugia, added to their account
Ahead of Pokemon Go Fest, a new update for the game was rolled out. This includes some bug fixes along with some refinements and new features, including the ability to give berries to a Pokemon you've left at a Gym without actually visiting it.
In Japan, Pokemon Go players can now purchase an official ring accessory. It's a handheld trinket that is designed to be a different way of holding the Pokemon Go Plus device. As of yet, Niantic has not confirmed whether the ring will be available outside of Japan, but previous accessories such as the Pokemon Go Plus was available in multiple territories.
I want to watch an entire documentary on the making of a Rick and Morty episode. Until that happens, there's a tounge-in-cheek teaser trailer for season 3 of the show embedded above to help fill that longing.
Showing off scenes from the second episode of Rick and Morty titled Wasteland, both the episode and the trailer's behind-the-scenes style clearly riff on last year's blockbuster success, Mad Max: Fury Road. But you don't need to read my description of it; just watch the video.
The full trailer for the upcoming Marvel Netflix superhero team-up The Defenders was revealed at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend, and now the first clip has been released. It features the show's villains--Alexandra (Sigourney Weaver) and Madame Gao (Wai Ching Ho)--making some evil plans on a park bench. Check it out above.
The Defenders is set to hit Netflix in its entirety on August 18. The show unites the heroes from all four of the streaming giant's Marvel shows, namely Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist.
They will be joined by a variety of other characters from the individual Netflix shows, including Daredevil's Elektra (Elodie Young), Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) and Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll), Jessica Jones's Jeri Hogarth (Carrie-Anne Moss), and Luke Cage's Misty Knight, played by Simone Missick.
Trekkies and newcomers to the series just got a more in-depth look at the latest entry into the Star Trek series. Star Trek: Discovery is coming on CBS All Access in September, and a substantial trailer was released at a Comic-Con showing more of the crew and the Klingons. You check out the trailer above.
"The story that's fascinating for me now is not from the captain's perspective," he said, via Polygon. "We've seen six series from the captain's point of view and we wanted to do something different." Fuller also said he was committed to diversity in casting, and choosing a female lead character was an important move for him.
"Star Trek started with a wonderful diversity in its cast," he said. "Infinite diversity in infinite combinations, as Spock would say. We are absolutely continuing that tradition. We'll probably have some more aliens than usual in our cast, too." The show also stars Michelle Yeoh, Jason Isaacs, Chris Obi, and Doug Jones.
Star Trek: Discovery's release date had been delayed in the past, but the show will now premiere September 24 on CBS in the US and CraveTV in Canada. Outside of the two countries, Netflix will stream the show. For more news and features from Comic-Con 2017 check out GameSpot's full coverage.
We still haven't seen much of Captain Marvel, but today Marvel gave us a few more details about the movie. At San Diego Comic-Con, the company announced that it'll take place in the 1990s, and Captain Marvel will be facing off against a classic foe: Skrulls.
We now know that Captain Marvel will act as a prequel to the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, taking place during the '90s. We don't have any other information on the setting, but we're guessing that there'll be a lot of throwback references for fans who grew up during the decade.
Perhaps the biggest reveal, though, was that she'll be battling the Skrulls, a species of extraterrestrial shapeshifters. The Skrulls were revealed in a couple pieces of concept art that Marvel showed at its panel today; you can see it above, courtesy of Adam Hlavac. Interestingly, Skrulls have traditionally shown up in Fantastic Four comics, and so their movie rights are co-owned by Fox and Marvel.
In addition, Marvel announced that Samuel L. Jackson will once again be playing Nick Fury. And, since it's set in the 1990s, Fury has both eyes.
Captain Marvel stars Brie Larson (Kong: Skull Island) and is set for release on March 8, 2019.
Black Panther was the final event at Marvel's big San Diego Comic-Con panel tonight, and to cap it off the company released a new poster for the film. Although we don't yet get to see any of the footage Marvel showed at the panel, the poster is still pretty cool.
It shows the superhero standing atop a massive stone panther. In the background, a variety of ships fly toward a city that appears a little worse for wear. Fires burn among the skyscrapers, while a smoke cloud hangs over the whole metropolis. Check it out:
Marvel gave Hall H attendees a great show, revealing a scene and a trailer. According to attendees--and a handheld video shared by Fandango--the reveals were exciting enough to spark a standing ovation.
Although there's no new footage for the public to see, you can watch Black Panther's first trailer here. The movie is directed by Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station, Creed). Chadwick Boseman plays the superhero, and its cast includes Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Martin Freeman, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, and Andy Serkis. It hits theaters on February 16, 2018.
Marvel's jam-packed Hall H presentation at San Diego Comic-Con had plenty of exciting announcements, including new trailers for both Thor: Ragnarok and Black Panther, but there was also some significant casting news for another upcoming Marvel film, Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Michelle Pfeiffer, who memorably played Catwoman in the '90s film Batman Returns, is shifting to another comic cinematic universe, and has been cast at Janet van Dyne in the upcoming Ant-Man sequel. In the comics world, Janet van Dyne was the original Wasp, a founding member of the Avengers and wife to Hank Pym (who was the original Ant-Man).
The Wasp suit as shown in the first Ant-Man film.
In the 2015 Ant-Man film, Hank Pym was played by Michael Douglas, and was shown as the original Ant-Man before Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) was "chosen" to wear the shrinking suit. Janet appeared as the Wasp in the film (although with her mask on) through a flashback that showed her disappearing into the subatomic quantum realm after a failed mission. At the end of the film, Hank's daughter, Hope van Dyne (played by Evangeline Lilly), was given the original Wasp suit, and it's clearly hinted that she would take on the mantle of the superhero in the film's sequel.
Pfeiffer wasn't the only new cast member revealed for Ant-Man and the Wasp. The Matrix's Laurence Fishburne was announced to play the role of Bill Foster, who in the comics was known as Black Goliath/Giant Man. Hannah John-Kamen was also confirmed as character named Ghost, while Fresh Off The Boat's Randall Park will play Agent Jimmy Woo.
San Diego Comic-Con is in full swing and we're expecting to get plenty of news from the show this year. Marvel has a big presence this year, so there's sure to be new information on its upcoming blockbuster movies Avengers: Infinity War and Thor: Ragnarok.
Of course, Marvel also has TV shows in the works, with The Defenders, Punisher, and more, and those will no doubt also be represented. To keep you up-to-date on it all we're going to be updating this article with all the Marvel news as and when it happens.
GameSpot is at SDCC 2017 and will be attending panels, conducting interviews, and snapping pictures of all the cool things we spot on the show floor. Check back regularly and you won't miss a thing.
The poster looks like a psychedelic rock album. It's pretty trippy, if we're being honest, showing the characters superimposed on top of one another. The Hulk looms over them all, a grimace on his face and a helmet on his head. Check it out:
It's a striking image, to be sure, one that we could definitely see hanging on a 1970s dorm-room wall between Pink Floyd and Grateful Dead album covers. There's a lot going on in it, which fits with the new, action-packed trailer that features everything from the Hulk fighting a wolf (presumably Fenris Wolf) to Loki and Thor teaming up.
The Flash solo movie has a name, and it's Flashpoint. Warner Bros. unveiled the title today at San Diego Comic-Con, and it's of big significance to fans of the series.
Flashpoint is a reference tothe 2011 Flash crossover comic series that put Barry Allen, The Flash, in a very different universe than the original storyline. Barry travels back in time to prevent his mother's murder, and in doing so changes the DC universe timeline and many of the key heroes and villains in it. Warner Bros. isn't revealing any more details on the plot of the film, but the name certainly may give a hint.
The Flash film has experienced many production setbacks. Last year, the film lost its director Seth Grahame-Smith due to "creative differences." His replacement, Rick Famuyiwa, quit several months later, also due to "creative differences." Warner Bros. then hired Joby Harold to rewrite the entire script, according to Variety. The studio is reportedly eyeing Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, Back to the Future) and Matthew Vaughn (Snatch, Kingsman) as "top choices" for director.
There's no word as to when Flashpoint will release, but follow GameSpot Universe for any updates on the film as soon as they come out. For the latest news from Comic-Con, follow GameSpot's full coverage.
Marvel's Comic-Con 2017 panel is happening now, and the company just showed off the latest trailer for Thor: Ragnarok.
You can check out the action-packed trailer above; it's a pretty awesome look at the film. We even catch a glimpse of Loki and Thor cooperating to stave off waves of enemies.
The video also shows the Hulk wrestling with a massive wolf. The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) will feature prominently in the film, as Thor (Chris Hemsworth) must battle him in a gladiatorial fight. But in spite of this, Ruffalo has said in the past that he expects the film to be a "buddy movie" between Thor and Hulk.
Mike and Jake read viewer stories from Playerunknown's Battlegrounds, Ark Survival, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
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