It's a sad day in Hennepin County. The home of Charles Schulz, the creator of the 1957 comic strip The Peanuts, was destroyed in the flames of the North California wildfires.
The wildfires began raging across Northern California on October 8, leaving entire neighborhoods in ash. Schulz's hillside home in Santa Rosa was among those burned entirely. However, Schulz's widow, Jean Schulz, was able to escape the fires before their home was destroyed on Monday, AP reports.
Schulz and his wife built their home in 1970 and he lived there until his death in 2000. This was the home he passed away in and what he left behind there is lost. Schulz's legacy will live on in the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa, where much of his original artwork and memorabilia is housed.
As per this morning, The Los Angeles Times reports that the death toll of the six wildfires has risen to 40. The wildfires are expected to begin dying down today, and firefighters have contained roughly 50% of the Tubbs and Atlas fires.
Video games are always iterating. As they evolve, developers keep finding new ways to toy with the ideas of "challenge" and "difficulty."
Certain studios come to mind when we talk about difficult video games: From Software, Firaxis Games, and now Studio MDHR, the creative minds behind the recently released Cuphead. Their title is a gorgeous, brutal platformer, with run n' gun aspects that challenge even the most skilled players, demanding precise timing and vigilant patience.
Cuphead does have a "simple" difficulty that allows less skilled players to see more of the game. But it doesn't let them see all of Cuphead. In fact, it erases some boss' attack phases entirely, and bars players from seeing the last 10 percent if they haven't beaten every previous boss on the Regular difficulty level.
So, in the wake of the (fantastic) platformer's release, we decided to look at how other studios tackle the obstacle of "challenge" in their games. We explore everything from Resident Evil 4 to XCOM 2, Fire Emblem to Left 4 Dead, and more.
As promised, Capcom has revealed its final Street Fighter V Season 2 DLC character at the 2017 South East Asia Major tournament this weekend. Zeku, the "ever-changing ninja" has returned.
A familiar face from Street Fighter Alpha 2, Zeku was once Guy's teacher who taught him the ways of Bushinryu, a style of ninjutsu. Guy eventually went onto succeed him as the 39th master of Bushinryu, and Zeku mysteriously disappeared shortly after this. But now, Zeku has returned to create his own group of ninjas and forge a new fighting style.
From his reveal trailer, Zeku appears to be a very close-quarters fighter with relentless kicks, jabs, and stomps. He also has the ability to switch between two forms: his older, blonde self, and one that appears to have a striking resemblance to Strider Hiryu, another classic Capcom character. Both forms of his character will have three costumes as well.
Zeku will be available separately for £5/$6 or with the Season 2 pass alongside previously released characters Akuma, Kolin, Ed, Abigail, and Menat for £23/$30 on October 24. While you wait, make sure to check out the title's latest DLC bundle of costumes for Halloween.
It's only halfway through October, but two Games with Gold titles are on their way out. Today will be your last chance to pick them up for the low, low price of free.
UPDATE: Nintendo has announced the results for the latest Splatfest, and Team Vampire has been declared the winner. It was a clean sweep for Team Vampire, edging out Team Werewolf in all three categories to take home this month's competition.
All Splatfest t-shirts will automatically be returned the next time you log on. Everyone who participated in the event will also receive a number of Super Sea Snails depending on the Splatfest title you achieved.
The original story follows below.
Splatoon 2's next Splatfest competition is scheduled to begin very soon. This month's event kicks off in North America tonight, October 13, at 9 PM PT/12 AM ET and concludes at the same time tomorrow, October 14.
For the first time since Splatoon 2 launched this past summer, North America's Splatfest features a different theme than Europe's. While European players battled over the proper way to hang a toilet roll, players in North America will be settling a more fitting dispute in time for Halloween: which monster is better, vampires or werewolves?
Ahead of the Splatfest, Nintendo is adding a pair of new weapons to Splatoon 2. This week's free DLC guns are the Custom E-liter 4K and the modified Custom E-liter 4k Scope. These two chargers will be available tonight at 7 PM PT/10 PM ET and can be purchased using in-game currency from the Ammo Knights weapon shop.
Both the Custom E-liter 4K and Custom E-liter 4K Scope come outfitted with the Squid Beakon sub-weapon and Bubble Blower special. The difference between the two guns is their range; the Scope variant can fire further, but it isn't able to store a charge shot like the standard model.
The next pair of Pokemon games, Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, are quickly approaching their November 17 release date, and ahead of their launch, Nintendo has been giving away a ton of free items and Pokemon for the previous Sun and Moon versions. Many of the giveaways have already ended, but there are still plenty of rare freebies for Sun and Moon players to get their hands on.
We've rounded up all of the distributions that are currently running for Pokemon Sun and Moon, as well as a few that will be available for Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon when those versions launch. We'll be updating this list as more giveaways are announced, so check back often to see what free items and Pokemon you can get.
Pokemon Sun/Moon Free Gifts
Mega Stones -- Ends Oct. 31
Mega Stones are exceptionally rare and valuable in Pokemon Sun and Moon. When equipped to their corresponding Pokemon, Mega Stones allow it to Mega Evolve during battle, often changing its type and giving it a considerable stat boost. Nintendo is giving away several batches of Mega Stones that aren't normally available in Sun and Moon, all of which are redeemable via a universal download code. Input the following codes in Mystery Gift by October 31 and you'll receive these Mega Stones:
Players in the US can pick up a free download code for Charizard from the electronics department in Target stores. The popular Fire-type Pokemon comes at level 50, is equipped with the Red Card item, and knows the moves Dragon Dance, Flare Blitz, Fly, and Earthquake. As with other download codes, you need to input your code via Mystery Gift to receive Charizard. The distribution runs until October 14, and you have until February 4, 2018 to redeem your code.
Marshadow -- Ends Oct. 23
For a very limited time, players can pick up a free download code for the Mythical Pokemon Marshadow. Those in the US can get the code from GameStop, while players in the UK will have to visit "participating retailers." This is the first legitimate way Sun and Moon players can obtain the rare Fighting/Ghost-type, which comes at level 50 and is equipped with Marshadium Z. It also knows the attacks Spectral Thief, Close Combat, Force Palm, and Shadow Ball.
Pikachu
To celebrate the release of the Pokemon series' 20th anniversary film, Pokemon The Movie: I Choose You, The Pokemon Company is giving away six different versions of Ash's Pikachu for Sun and Moon. To receive a Pikachu, enter the code PIKACHU20 in Mystery Gift. However, you can only receive one of the six Pikachu, and the version you get depends on when you enter the code. The full Pikachu distribution schedule is below.
Players who purchase either Pokemon Gold or Silver from the 3DS Eshop by September 21, 2018 will receive a bonus download code for the Mythical Pokemon Celebi. The code can be redeemed in Pokemon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, or Ultra Moon. We've outlined the steps you need to take to find and redeem the code here.
Magearna
Unlike other Mythical Pokemon, the Steel/Fairy-type Magearna is available not through Mystery Gift, but via a QR code. After defeating the Elite Four and completing the main story, you can use the QR Scanner feature to scan the below code. After doing so, visit the Antiques shop in Hau'oli City and pick your Magearna up from the deliveryman waiting there. The Mythical Pokemon comes at level 50 and knows the moves Fleur Cannon, Flash Cannon, Lucky Chant, and Helping Hand.
Pokemon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon Free Gifts
Rockruff -- Ends Jan. 10, 2018
Purchase either Pokemon Ultra Sun or Ultra Moon by January 10 and you'll receive a special Rockruff as a free bonus. This Rockruff will only evolve into Dusk Form Lycanroc, a new variant of the popular wolf Pokemon that is exclusive to Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.
Season 8 ofGame of Thronesis still a ways away, but after cyber attacks and material theft of Season 7, HBO is bringing down the hammer on the show's spoilers. Actors from the show have revealed that this final season's scripts are under more security than ever before.
AP reports that Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jamie Lannister) has also commented on how this season's scripts are more locked down now than ever before. When speaking to Scandinavian chat show Skavlan, Coster-Waldau said dialogue is being delivered to the actors through ear pieces line by line. "We're not even going to get the script," he said.
In addition, Liam Cunningham (Ser Davos Seaworth) said to IGN, "I got six of [the scripts], I've got them all. I can't open them because of all the security, and I can't walk it out. I haven't opened them."
This hunkering down on scripts isn't surprising. In July, HBO was reportedly targeted in a cyber attack that stole 1.5 terabytes of various TV scripts and episodes. During the the most recent season of Game of Thrones, scripts and episodes four and six were leaked online ahead of their premieres.
What we do know right now is that this final season of Game of Thrones will be its shortest yet at just six episodes, but those episodes will be longer than usual. While the show expected to premiere in summer of 2018, it's starting to look unlikely that we'll see the show before 2019.
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