Even before Sons of Anarchy ended in 2014, creator Kurt Sutter talked about potential future shows set in that motorcycle-fueled universe. Now, one of those shows is actually becoming a reality.
Spoilers for the end of Sons of Anarchy follow.
Mayans MC, which is set after the death of Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam) in the Sons of Anarchy timeline, has been ordered to series with a debut later in 2018. The new series will follow Ezekiel "EZ" Reyes (JD Pardo) as a prospect in the Mayans, a rival club to the Sons. The original show's cast is not expected to play a major rol--if any role at all.
According to a press release from FX, EZ has just been released from prison and now "must carve out his new outlaw identity in a town where he once was the golden boy who had the American Dream within his grasp." The series will be set on the border between California and Mexico.
Joining Pardo in the cast will be Edward James Olmos, Sarah Bolger, Clayton Cardenas, Richard Cabral, Michael Irby, Raoul Trujillo, Antonio Jaramillo, and Carla Baratta. Sutter will return to the universe as an executive producer on the series. He will be joined by Elgin James (Lowriders) and Norberto Barba (Preacher), who also directs the pilot--which was reshot in July.
"Kurt Sutter is a master storyteller and Mayans MC has the raw energy and intensity that are hallmarks of his signature style," FX President of Original Programming Nick Grad says in a statement. "Thanks to Kurt, co-creator Elgin James, and this amazing cast, Mayans MC builds on the legacy of Sons of Anarchy, taking it in a thrilling new direction that we can't wait for the world to see."
Though a specific release date has yet to be announced for Mayans MC, chances are the new series will debut in the fall.
For the first time in 2018, Destiny 2's mysterious merchant, Xur, has arrived in-game. As always, he has a selection of Exotic gear for sale in return for Legendary Shards, along with two of the other items he recently began selling. Below, we've laid out exactly where to find Xur and what he's offering up this week--and you won't need to own Curse of Osiris to pick up any of it.
For this appearance, Xur can be found on Io. To reach him, you'll want to spawn in at the Giant's Scar Landing Zone and jump on your sparrow. Head straight and just to the right, through the opening of the structure in front of you, and then follow the path to the left a short ways. Xur is just up the hill on the left, inside an otherwise nondescript cave.
In terms of what he's selling, as usual he has the Three of Coins, which boosts your likelihood of receiving an Exotic drop for four hours. (Keep in mind, a Three of Coins fix is on the way, as it doesn't currently affect everything that it should.) You can also pick up the pricey Fated Engram, which is guaranteed to net you an Exotic that you don't already own. Alternatively, he has an excellent Exotic fusion rifle, Merciless, which is absolutely worth picking up if you don't already own one. Each class also has one piece of Exotic armor available, all of which, like Merciless, are from the base game, and not Curse of Osiris. Here's the full Xur store lineup:
Young Ahamkara's Spine (Exotic Hunter Gauntlets) -- 23 Legendary Shards
Mask of the Quiet One (Exotic Titan Helmet) -- 23 Legendary Shards
Wings of Sacred Dawn (Exotic Warlock Chest Armor) -- 23 Legendary Shards
Fated Engram -- 97 Legendary Shards
Three of Coins -- 31 Legendary Shards
This selection of gear will be available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One from now until the weekly reset takes place on January 9. Also available until then is the ongoing Dawning event, which provides some new things to do and new gear to collect. Destiny 2 recently saw the release of a small update which re-opened Iron Banner and Faction Rally events to all players, including non-DLC owners. News is expected soon about the next occurrences of both events.
Update: Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness is now free on PS4 as well as PS Vita in the US. However, you may have to 'purchase' the game on PS4 and PS Vita separately, since it is not normally part of Sony's Cross-Buy scheme. The below text has been altered to reflect the change. Original story follows.
It's the start of a new month--and a new year--which means more free games are now available for PlayStation Plus subscribers. January's allotment of free PS Plus games are out now on the PlayStation Store, meaning that titles like Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and Batman: The Telltale Series have temporarily dropped to the low, low price of free for paying subscribers.
Mankind Divided is the headlining PS4 freebie this month. The dystopian cyberpunk role-playing game casts you as Adam Jensen and tasks you with catching a terrorist group, which you can do by being a stealthy detective or a tech-enhanced killing machine, or some mixture of both.
As for Telltale's Batman game, this is the first season of the story and puts players in tricky situations as both Bruce Wayne and his crime-fighting alter-ego. The decisions you make will have some consequence on the relationships around you, and the overall story.
Other PS4 freebies in January include the wacky and fun party game That's You! (if you're outside of North America) and StarBlood Arena (which requires PlayStation VR). Additionally, PS Vita's free games, Uncanny Valley and Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness, are both free on PS4, too. You may have to 'purchase' Psycho-Pass on PS4 and PS Vita separately, however, since it is not normally part of Sony's Cross-Buy scheme. Note that in Europe and Australia, Psycho-Pass is only free on PS Vita, not PS4. Finally, PS3 owners get Sacred 3 and The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 for free.
You can see January 2018's full PS Plus lineup--covering PS4, PS3, and Vita--below, or you can claim them on the PlayStation Store.
Along with revealing new details about Monster Hunter World during a Japanese livestream today, Capcom announced a slate of new accessories and merchandise themed around the upcoming game. These include a special Monster Hunter PlayStation 4 controller and console bundles--though sadly, they've only been confirmed for Japan thus far.
Coinciding with the launch of Monster Hunter World later this month, Capcom is releasing a special Rathalos Edition DualShock 4 controller for PS4. The limited-edition controller costs 6,480 yen (roughly $57) and comes in red with a Rathalos wing pattern on its grips. You can take a look at images of the Rathalos Edition DualShock 4 below.
In addition to the limited-edition controller, Capcom has announced a pair of Monster Hunter World PS4 bundles, which will likewise launch alongside the game later this month. The Monster Hunter World Starter Packs include either a black or white 500 GB PS4, as well as a copy of the game. Each Starter Pack bundle retails for 35,980 yen (about $318).
Capcom revealed many new details about Monster Hunter World during today's livestream. The publisher shared a new trailer (above) for the game showcasing the returning Elder Dragons and other new monsters that players will encounter. Additionally, Capcom announced a third PS4 beta for Monster Hunter World will take place later this month, on January 18. It will feature the same two environments and three monsters as the previous two PS4 betas, along with one new monster to hunt: the Nergigante.
Capcom has indicated on a number of occasions that it will support Monster Hunter World with free post-release downloadable content. That includes the addition of new monsters to hunt, the first of which we now have some details about.
With World's release coming up in a few weeks, Capcom reiterated today that it has plans for "regular content updates, as well as major title updates for free." What it describes as the "first major title update" will launch at some point this spring. It introduces the Deviljho to the game, a monster we've seen in a number of previous entries that will feature some differences in World.
"The Deviljho must feed constantly and will devour anything in its way, even feeding on the largest of monsters with its massive jowls," Capcom explained. "This wild beast really is one for only the bravest of hunters to take on."
Those eager to get their hands on Monster Hunter World will be able to sample it once again as part of a final beta test for the upcoming game. Unlike the second beta that ran in December, this one will introduce some new content, but it'll unfortunately once again be limited to PlayStation 4.
Capcom announced the third and final beta test today, which will run just days before the game's full release. The PS4 beta begins at 6 PM PT / 9 PM ET on January 18, or 2 AM GMT on January 19. It concludes on January 21 (or 22) at the same time.
Monster Hunter World's first beta was conducted in early December, exclusively for PlayStation Plus subscribers on PS4. A second beta followed later in the month for all PS4 owners consisting of the same two areas and three monsters to hunt: the Great Jagras, Anjanath, and Barroth. All of that will be present in this final beta, but you'll also get to square off against World's flagship monster, the Nergigante.
Nergigante is an Elder Dragon and the monster featured on World's box art. The full game also sees the return of several other Elder Dragons, as well as the introduction of some new ones, which are showcased in World's new trailer.
With Monster Hunter World's console launch quickly approaching, Capcom continues to announce new details about the anticipated action game. During a Japanese livestream today, the publisher shared a new trailer that showcased some of the monsters that players will encounter in the game, including the fearsome Elder Dragons.
The trailer, which you can watch above, provides a glimpse at two particularly intimidating Elder Dragons that will return in Monster Hunter World: Kushala Daora and Teostra, both of which originally appeared in Monster Hunter 2. Kushala Daora is a steel dragon whose body is covered in metal plates; it can create windstorms to ward hunters off. Teostra, meanwhile, is known as the flame king dragon; it lives in volcanic areas and can spew blazing fire.
In addition to the Elder Dragons, the new trailer provides a look at a new monster called the Dodogama. This wyvern-like creature spits explosive rocks at hunters thanks to its unique saliva. The trailer also showcases many of the monsters Capcom has already revealed, including the Barroth and Anjanath (both of which were featured in Monster Hunter World's recent beta), as well as the game's flagship monster, the Nergigante.
Microsoft's big end-of-year sale on the Xbox Store has wrapped up on January 4, but that doesn't mean your last chance to get cheap Xbox games has passed. The latest set of weekly deals has arrived for Xbox Live Gold members, bringing a select number of discounts on Xbox One games and DLC, alongside those on a few Xbox 360 games.
Among the most noteworthy offers on Xbox One is Diablo III: Eternal Collection for $30 / £27.50. This bundles together the base game, the excellent Reaper of Souls expansion, and the Rise of the Necromancer DLC (which adds the very fun Necromancer class). Alternatively, if you already own the game and Reaper of Souls, you can pick up Rise of the Necromancer on its own for $10 / £8.31.
Separately from these deals, the first of January's free Games With Gold titles are now available. Those include The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III; if you're taken with it or want to start with an earlier title in the series, Gold members can pick up the first game in the series for $5 / £3.96. Additionally, if you don't have Gold, there are still a few deals to be had, including Furi for $10 / £8.
All of these offers are available from now through January 8. You can see the full list here.
We're in the last week of Sony's big holiday sale, and the PS Store is also releasing its first set of new weekly PSN deals for PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and PlayStation 3. Most of the sales start today and go until the middle of the month (you should check each specific offer to be sure of its end date).
PS3 players can also pick up the Digital Pro Edition of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare for $36, with the Gold Edition being available for just $20. There are other Call of Duty deals, including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 for $35 and the Gold Edition of Call of Duty: Ghosts for $20. Meanwhile for PS Vita, you can get Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified for $13.59. You can find the full list of deals available now on the PlayStation Store.
The first week of January doesn't just usher in a new year. It also means a slew of new movies and TV shows are arriving on Netflix. If you're looking for a post-holiday binge to help ease the pain of returning to the normal world, the streaming service has you covered.
Perhaps the best new additions are the arrival of the Batman films. Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, and Batman Begins are all available for streaming as of January 1. The Lethal Weapon and Bring It On franchises have also joined Netflix's vast library of movies.
Among the other film titles being added this week are Breakfast at Tiffany's, Caddyshack, King Kong, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, 30 Days of Night, and National Treasure. On the TV front, new seasons of Eastsiders, Lovesick, and Episodes have come to Netflix.
Nintendo Switch got off to a hot start at launch last year, and that success carried through the end of 2017. According to Nintendo, the system has now broken another record in the United States: Through its first 10 months on the market, Switch is now the fastest-selling home console.
In those 10 months, which cover the period from launch in March 2017 through the beginning of this month, Nintendo has sold 4.8 million Switch units in the US. That figure tops the mark set by any previous home console in its first 10 months on the market, including the record set by the Wii, which sold 4 million units in the US in a comparable span of time. Through September, Switch sales stood at 2 million units.
Nintendo also shared news about how some of the platform's major games have performed. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Switch's big launch game, has seen at attach rate of "over" 55% in the US, meaning sales are at least 2.64 million units. Super Mario Odyssey, despite having launched at the end of October, is already over 60% (2.88 million). Take note that Breath of the Wild is also available on Wii U, which may be a factor in its lower attach rate. Also performing well were Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (over 50%, or 2.4 million copies) and Splatoon 2 (over 20%, or 960,000 copies).
The first of January 2018's free Games With Gold titles for Xbox One and Xbox 360 are now available for subscribers. On Xbox One, the action RPG The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III is completely free all month long. You play as the famous monster hunter on a journey to take down one of your toughest foes yet.
On Xbox 360, Square Enix's Tomb Raider Underworld is now available for the low, low price of $0.00. Note that this game plays on Xbox One through backwards compatibility, so Xbox One owners can pick it up as well. One of December 2017's free Xbox One Games With Gold titles, Back to the Future: The Game, remains free until January 15.
Then on January 16, a new set of free Xbox One and Xbox 360 games will be available, including Zombi (Xbox One) and Army of Two (Xbox 360). You can see the full Games With Gold lineup for January 2018 down below. You need to have an Xbox Live Gold membership to get these games., but claiming them will allow you to continue playing for as long as you are a subscriber.
January 2018 Games With Gold
Xbox One
Back to the Future: The Game - 30th Anniversary Edition (December 16 - January 15)
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III (January 1-31)
A new batch of games is now available in the Nintendo Switch Eshop. This week is a fairly light one in terms of releases; only four games launched in the digital store on Thursday, January 4, with one more arriving today.
As per usual, one of this week's releases is another ACA Neo Geo game, the arcade brawler King of the Monsters. Players take control of towering creatures and duke it out across 12 destructible cities in Japan, with the object being to pin your opponent and earn the title of the strongest monster. The game features six different monsters to choose from and supports two-player multiplayer. Like all other ACA Neo Geo games, King of the Monsters costs $8/£6.29.
ACA Neo Geo King of the Monsters
Also available on Switch this week is Stikbold: A Dodgeball Adventure Deluxe. Originally released on PS4, Xbox One, and PC in 2016, Stikbold is a humorous, '70s-themed dodgeball game that features 18 different characters to choose from and supports up to six players simultaneously. The game also includes a campaign mode that can be played either solo or cooperatively with one friend, as well as new content exclusive to the Switch version. Stikbold runs for $16 in the US Eshop; the game is currently on sale in the UK Eshop for £14.39 until January 12.
Rounding out Thursday's releases are the picross game Pic-a-Pix Deluxe and the isometric racing game Grand Prix Rock 'N Racing, both of which can be downloaded from the Eshop for $8 (or £7 and £7.19) respectively. They're being followed today by Azkend 2: The World Beneath, a match-three puzzle game that features a 60-level Story mode and hidden object mini-games. You can see the full list of this week's Switch releases below.
In addition to the new releases, this week marks the beginning of a new sale in the Eshop. From now until January 14, Switch owners can find discounts on a handful of titles by developer Inti Creates, including Blaster Master Zero ($7), Mighty Gunvolt Burst ($7), and the Azure Striker Gunvolt: Striker Pack ($32). You can find all the titles currently on sale in the US Eshop on Nintendo's website. Nintendo is holding a separate New Year sale in the UK that includes discounts on first-party titles like Arms, 1-2-Switch, and Flip Wars.
Wonder Woman was one of 2017's most successful movies, achieving strong reviews and huge box office results. It ended the year with a global gross of $821.8 million, and the sequel is set for a 2019 release. There was, however, one person who wasn't happy with the film--Avatar and Terminator director James Cameron. In August, Cameron criticised the movie, calling it a "step backwards" for strong female movie characters. Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot has now spoken about Cameron's comments, and explained why she didn't address them at the time.
"I didn't want to give him the stage," she told Entertainment Weekly. "First of all, I'm a big fan of his work. His movies are great. He was very innovative in many things that he did, and I've got nothing but great things to say about the creative and professional side of his work. When it happened, the timing of when it happened, he was promoting another movie of his. It was like he was looking for publicity and I just didn't want to give him the stage."
As Gadot states, Cameron's comments coincided with the announcement that he is producing the next Terminator movie, which will see the return of Linda Hamilton in the role as Sarah Connor. "All of the self-congratulatory back-patting Hollywood's been doing over Wonder Woman has been so misguided," he said. "She's an objectified icon, and it's just male Hollywood doing the same old thing. I'm not saying I didn't like the movie but, to me, it's a step backwards.
"Sarah Connor was not a beauty icon. She was strong, she was troubled, she was a terrible mother, and she earned the respect of the audience through pure grit. And to me, [the benefit of characters like Sarah] is so obvious. I mean, half the audience is female!"
Although Gadot was reluctant to comment at the time, Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins did offer a strong rebuttal to Cameron's criticism. "James Cameron's inability to understand what Wonder Woman is, or stands for, to women all over the world is unsurprising as, though he is a great filmmaker, he is not a woman," she said. "There is no right or wrong kind of powerful woman."
In related news, Jenkins recently hinted at what fans can expect from Wonder Woman 2 when it arrives in November 2019. She described it as a "funny and a great love story again [with] a couple of new unbelievable characters who I'm so excited about, who are very different than were in the last movie."
A very irritating Rainbow Six Siege exploit is finally getting fixed soon. The glitch allows players to become much harder to kill by equipping a ballistic shield onto Jager's head if they perform a series of button presses, and it has plagued the shooter for months.
Thankfully, Ubisoft has now said its internal tests of a fix for the bug have been successful, and it is "in the process of preparing a build to be deployed next week." The company said it did not yet have an exact date for the patch, but that it was targeting "earlier in the week."
However, this update will seemingly only come to PC players for the time being. Regarding a PS4 and Xbox One fix, the company stated, "There are aspects outside of our control that prevent us from being able to deploy a patch at this point in the year. As a result, we have included the fix in our next scheduled patch (mid-season reinforcements)." The latest season of Rainbow Six Siege DLC, Operation White Noise, launched in December, meaning the mid-season reinforcements update could be expected within the next couple of months.
After that, a third year of DLC for the multiplayer game will begin to roll out. Lots more content will arrive throughout the year, including new characters, maps, co-op events, and more. You can already buy the Year 3 season pass--it's available now for $30 / £25 / AU $45. Purchasers can expect a bunch of VIP benefits such as extra credits, customization options, and shop discounts. If you grab the pass before March 5, you'll also get a special Damascus Steel weapon skin, and if you owned the Year 2 pass, you'll receive an extra 600 credits. For more on the Tom Clancy game, meanwhile, check out our in-depth look at Rainbow Six Siege's astonishing comeback.
Overwatch's Mercy has been the subject of many changes over the past few months, and now developer Blizzard is changing her yet again. In the latest Public Test Realm update, the company has tweaked her Ultimate, Valkyrie, so it no longer makes her Resurrect ability instant, and it no longer gives a bonus Resurrect charge. In addition, Valkyrie's duration has been reduced from 20 seconds to 15 seconds, and the speed boost that the Ult grants to Guardian Angel has been cut in half.
Mercy has been subject to a number of changes recently, but Blizzard thought the hero's Valkyrie and Resurrect combination was still too strong. "Mercy's recent Resurrect changes have helped in allowing enemies to have more counter-play in dealing with her, but she was able to use Resurrect through Valkyrie enough to largely mitigate the impact of the previous changes," the company said in a forum post. "Additionally, we're toning back the amount of mobility Valkyrie provides through Guardian Angel and reducing its duration to overall reduce the power of this ability." The developer concluded by saying it will "likely be iterating on these changes in the coming weeks."
Elsewhere in the new update, Junkrat's Concussion Mine will now deal less damage to enemies far away from the explosion's center. Blizzard argues it had become "a bit too easy to throw out huge bursts damage in a large area," and that this tweak will still allow players to use his mines effectively, but also force them to be more accurate.
These changes are live now on the PTR, which you can check out if you own Overwatch on PC. However, be aware that these latest changes have not yet come to the live game (and may never arrive there), as Blizzard wants to continue experimenting before implementing anything.
Outside of the PTR, Overwatch has a new map and event coming "very soon," while a new hero is already in testing. The game's esports event also starts next week, and you can read more about that in our primer for everything you need to know about the Overwatch League.
With the success of Fox's X-Men movie franchise, it was only a matter of time before the Marvel mutants moved to the small screen. 2017 saw the premiere of two acclaimed shows, Legion and The Gifted. It has now been announced at the Television Press Association winter press tour that the latter will return for a second season.
The show's first season has enjoyed solid viewing figures, with an average of 8.3 million viewers across all platforms. However, Disney's recent $52 billion deal to acquire Fox's entertainment assets had cast some doubt over the future of Marvel-related shows such as The Gifted, as Fox's Marvel movie properties like X-Men and The Fantastic Four are expected to be integrated into Disney's Marvel Cinematic Universe. In addition, Disney plans to launch its own streaming service in 2019 and it is likely that its Marvel properties will have a heavy presence there.
Despite this, The Gifted is remaining on Fox's broadcast network for at least one more season. It is also worth noting that unlike the X-Men movies, Marvel was involved with development of the TV show, as it retains some of the TV rights to the characters.
The Gifted stars Stephen Moyer, Amy Acker, Natalie Alyn Lind and Percy Hynes White, and focuses on a suburban couple who are forced to go on the run from government agents when they discover that their children are mutants. The showrunner is Matt Nix, who previously produced Burn Notice.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly in September, Nix spoke about juggling the different creative forces involved with the show. "It's weirdly much better than you think and much worse than you think," he said. "My feeling truly about everyone involved in the process is that they all really care about this, and nobody's stupid. They have all been down this road and know how to deal with it. The thing for me is that everybody gives really smart input, so it's my job to square, like, four different kinds of notes.
"Fox, for example, is very respectful of the source material. It's incredibly important to them, and they are conscious of wanting to make a show for everybody. You don't want to just service one fandom. At the same time, Marvel very rightly is protecting their property, so they're saying, 'This is the way this works, this is how these powers work, this is who this character is historically in the comic books.'"
Paladins, a free-to-play hero shooter that has previously been compared to Overwatch, is launching a PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds-like battle royale mode. The new mode is simply called Battlegrounds, and it's coming to Paladins at some point in 2018.
Battlegrounds will spawn 100 players into a "massive map" that developer Hi-Rez says is over 300 times the size of a typical Paladins Siege map. Success in Battlegrounds will involve exploring the territory and looting its outposts for gear. Where Battlegrounds differs from PUBG, however, is that players are put into squads and must work together to be the last team standing. Check out a trailer for the new mode below.
EA's Star Wars Battlefront II may have launched towards the end of last year, but that hasn't stopped the original Star Wars: Battlefront II from being improved. The classic game has just received a new update on PC, over 12 years after its launch.
The patch is relatively minor: Disney says it includes things like minor bug fixes and improved lobby functionality. Steam usernames should also now be displayed correctly in-game, while ping calculations will be more accurate going forward. Check out the full patch notes, via Disney, at the bottom of this article.
Star Wars: Battlefront II received a major update back in October, when online multiplayer support was restored after it being switched off years ago. It also added cross-play support between GOG and Steam users.
EA's newer Battlefront II, meanwhile, recently received some free DLC centered around The latest Star Wars film, The Last Jedi. It added two new maps and new hero characters, among other things. As for the film itself, we thought the film had issues, but successfully developed the sequels' characters and subverted series tropes well. For more, check out our Star Wars: Last Jedi review.
Star Wars: Battlefront II (2005) Patch Notes
Minor bug fixes and optimized performance, the most important fixes are:
If you hadn't noticed, it is no longer 2017. And you know what that means: cheap video games! To celebrate the new year, Nintendo UK is discounting a number of Eshop titles on both Switch and 3DS.
Some big Switch games are included in the Happy New Year sale, including Nintendo's fighting game, Arms, which is 20% off at £40. 1-2-Switch, meanwhile, is down to £28--a 30% reduction on the standard Eshop price. More Switch games on offer include NBA 2K18 (£35.74), Flip Wars (£6.29), LA Noire (£33.74), WWE 2K18 (£33), and SteamWorld Dig 2 (£11). Plenty more titles are discounted in the sale; take a look at the full list here.
The villainous Wilson Fisk is one of the best bad guys ever to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Vincent D'Onofrio's performance as the crimeboss was the highlight of the first season of Daredevil. In October, it was confirmed that D'Onofrio will reprise the role for Season 3 of Netflix's superhero show, and new on-set images have provided a few hints about what to expect when it returns later this year.
Daredevil Season 3 is currently in production in New York, and images have appeared on Twitter that show a crowd of anti-Fisk protestors gathered outside a hotel. Last time we saw the character--briefly in Season 2--he was still in prison, so presumably he is now a free man. Check the images out below:
Daredevil Season 3 will see Charlie Cox return in the title role, with Deborah Ann Woll back as Karen Page. It has also been rumored that Rosario Dawson is to reprise her recurring role as Claire Temple in both Daredevil and Iron Fist Season 2, which is currently shooting too.
In a recent interview with Collider, D'Onofrio spoke about playing Fisk."I love the idea that I get to play him," he said. "I wanted to do the right thing, and I want to keep doing it. I remember the first season and how all of the Daredevil and Fisk fans were talking about it. It's a big deal to them, and that really inspired me. It really brought my enthusiasm up, a lot."
The actor went on to talk about what fans could expect from him in Season 3. "I've shot some pretty cool scenes, so far," he said. "It's different, but it's very Fisk. It's still very emotional. The character is evolving. His whole deal is based on emotion, so we're taking him down that role further."
Although Ridley Scott returned to take control of the Alien franchise with Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, for a while fans were also looking forward to a new Alien movie from director Neil Blomkamp. Blomkamp's film was going to be a direct sequel to the 1986 classic Aliens, but sadly it didn't progress past the development stage.
Now the District 9 director has tweeted about moving on from the project, as well as releasing some unseen production artwork. "I have moved on. What I meant was that I wish there was a way for fans to see some of what we had designed," he said. "It was an amazing chance to work in the world Ridley and James Cameron created. And collaborate with Sigourney [Weaver]."
Blomkamp also stated that a large amount of art was created for the "never to be made Aliens sequel," including "environments to characters to set design." The director had also previously released several pieces of concept art from it.
Just going through the volume of art created for this never to be made aliens sequel. From environments to characters to set design, we did a lot. Mostly over 2015. pic.twitter.com/nkfwHu3OF7
In related news, Scott recently said that he hopes the Alien series will continue despite the box office failure of Covenant. "There's no reason why Alien should now not be on the same level for fans as Star Trek and Star Wars," he said. "I think the next [question] as to where we go is, do we sustain the Alien [franchise] with the evolution of the beast or do we reinvent something else? I think you need to have an evolution on this famous beast, because he's the best monster ever, really."
Sony's new God of War for PS4 brings the franchise to the world of Norse mythology, moving on from the Greek era of previous instalments in the series. The next games in the series could take place in the Egyptian and Mayan eras, and others, director Cory Barlog says.
"The Greek games were the Greek era of God of War," Barlog said in the latest issue of Game Informer. "Moving on, the next mythological belief system he interacts with became the Norse era of God of War. But we may end up going on to the Egyptian era and the Mayan era and so on and so forth."
Given that 2018's God of War isn't out yet, you should not expect to hear any official details on the next game--if there is one--for some time. Sony Santa Monica boss Shannon Studstill added that there was much discussion internally at Sony about if the God of War series needed more time to rest following the underwhelming God of War: Ascension.
"A lot of people throughout the organization wanted [God of War] to sleep and rest," Studstill said. Barlog said it was an uphill battle to make a new God of War. "Even the first pitches I gave, there was that, 'You've really got to convince me that we should do another one,'" he said.
Barlog went on to say that God of War as a franchise needs to be bigger than it currently is, rising to the level of Uncharted or Assassin's Creed when it comes to popularity. "To me, that was important, because I really think we needed to have a much bigger audience," Barlog says. "I want this to reach a lot of people; I want this to be on the level of the Uncharteds and the Assassin's Creeds. We want to grow this franchise big time."
Also in the interview, Studstill talked about how the God of War series started to fall off the map, so the team looked at a new game as a way to reinvigorate the franchise.
"What became apparent to me was that we were watching this franchise wane a bit," Studstill said. "It was getting old. The storyline with Kratos being the hardcore badass--I think people were starting to say, 'What's next?' I felt like, in order to reinvent, we really needed to turn a lot of things around."
God of War is currently scheduled for release sometime in 2018. The game's latest trailer was released during Paris Games Week, and it shows off some father-son combat; you can watch it in the embed above.
UPDATE 2: Currently "Purchase and Content Usage" is still marked as limited, however a note on the page reads, "We believe we have identified the issue causing some members to have problems purchasing content. Thanks for your patience as the team works to resolve the issue." Other services are all listed as "normal."
Apps that still seem to be experiencing issues include the "EA Access Hub" and "Movies & TV."
UPDATE 1: According to an update from Xbox Support on Twitter, some functionality has returned to Xbox Live. "Our teams are marking the licensing issues as now resolved, thank you all for your patience! You should be all set to access your digital games once more!" read an update from Microrsoft at 4:38pm PT.
However, according to the Xbox status page, there is sit "Purchase and Content Usage;" "TV, Music and Video;" and "Social and Gaming" are all still marked as limited. Xbox Live Core Services have been upgraded to "Normal."
Hey everyone! Our teams are marking the licensing issues as now resolved, thank you all for your patience! You should be all set to access your digital games once more!
If you're having issues with Xbox Live, you're not alone. Microsoft has confirmed the service is currently suffering from problems affecting a variety of areas, which may prevent you from doing a number of things. This impacts Xbox One, Xbox 360, and any other device that's connecting to Xbox Live.
As detailed on the Xbox Live status page, Xbox Live Core Services; Purchase and Content Usage; and TV, Music, and Video areas are all listed as "limited." As a result, many things you can think about doing that involve Live may prove difficult at the time of this writing. That includes downloading or buying content you own or creating an account.
The most recent update from Microsoft states, "We believe we have identified the issue causing some members to have problems finding previously-purchased content or purchasing new content. Thanks for your patience as the team works to resolve the issue." It's unclear if that is related to the other problems that Live users are currently suffering from.
Fortnite experienced issues (including on Xbox One) earlier today that have since been resolved, but Rainbow Six Siege is currently listed on the Live status page as suffering from some kind of problem. Ubisoft's support account on Twitter further confirms that "multiple titles" from the publisher have been hit with connection issues.
There's no timeframe for when things will return to normal. We'll update this story with more information as it's shared.
Final Fantasy XV has received its share of unusual DLC items in the months following its launch, but perhaps the most bizarre was the infamous Cup Noodle hat, which could be acquired in Japan by purchasing a Nissin Cup Noodles pack and redeeming a code. (It was later released in other regions as a free download.) Square Enix is partnering with Nissin again for a similar promotion, this time for its upcoming PS4 fighting game, Dissidia Final Fantasy NT.
Players who purchase a specially marked package of Cup Noodles will receive a download code for Final Fantasy XV protagonist Noctis's Royal Raiment outfit. The promotion is available now, but it's currently limited to residents in the US. You can see an image of the specially marked Cup Noodles packages below.
To receive your download code, you'll need to take a photo of your receipt clearly showing the Cup Noodles line item and text the keyword "CUPNOODLES" to 87963. After that, you'll need to text the photo of your receipt to the short code that's printed on the inside of the Cup Noodles pack. You'll then receive a text message with the download code for Noctis's Royal Raiment outfit, which can be redeemed on PSN. You can read more about the promotion here.
Those who'd like to try Dissidia Final Fantasy NT before it releases will soon have the opportunity to take part in its next open beta, which kicks off next week, on January 12. Square Enix hasn't announced a start time for the beta just yet or detailed what content will be featured in it, but it will run until January 21.
There's a changing of the guard happening at Warner Bros. and DC Films. It was revealed in December that Jon Berg and Geoff Johns were being replaced as the heads of the DC Entertainment films division, and now the new head has been announced.
Producer Walter Hamada, whose credits include It, The Conjuring, and Annabelle, is stepping in to guide the future of DC properties on the big screen. The move, which was first reported by Variety, comes after Justice League failed to meet its critical or box office hype in late 2017, leaving many wondering what the future of the DC movie universe would look like.
With so many films announced, Warner Bros. is counting on Hamada and Johns, who will remain the DC Entertainment president, to right the ship. "I'm confident Walter and Geoff, working with our filmmaking partners, will deliver films that will resonate with both broad global audiences as well as DC fanboys and fangirls," Warner Bros. President and Chief Content Officer Toby Emmerich says in a statement.
Given that production on DC's next movie, Aquaman, has already wrapped up due to its December 2018 release, it's possible any major tonal shifts that come as part of the leadership change won't be noticeable until Shazam hits theaters in 2019. However, Hamada has experience working with directors James Wan (Aquaman) and David F. Sandberg (Shazam), serving as an executive producer on their previous work in the horror genre.
In addition to those two films, DC has Wonder Woman 2, Cyborg, and Green Lantern Corps as part of its upcoming slate. There are also a number of unconfirmed projects that have been talked about, including several Harley Quinn and Joker-centric stories.
This is a developing story with implications that are being explored.
It appears that a vast majority of CPUs from Intel have a fundamental security flaw on a hardware level. CPUs from AMD and ARM (both chip manufacturers) are also said to be affected, and all three companies have acknowledged the issue with varying implications (see below). The flaws were revealed by Google's Project Zero researchers who found a particular feature that consequently leaves computers susceptible to what's called Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities.
At the core of the problem, memory is leaking through Intel chip's kernel which leads to potential personal data exposure and increased vulnerability to malicious software attacks. This is being fixed through extensive patching to the kernel software built into computer operating systems like Windows and Linux for PC and MacOS. These patches, while necessary, are said to hamper CPU performance, which also affects in-game framerates.
A kernel is a non-physical entity between the CPU and operating system that controls the communication between operations/applications and the hardware itself. As PC World puts it, "It has complete control over your operating system. Your PC needs to switch between user mode and kernel mode thousands of times a day, making sure instructions and data flow seamlessly and instantaneously."
CPUs are essentially leaving systems open to memory leaks, which make sensitive information a sitting duck to malware. As a result, the fix to this problem requires a ton of work, and chip manufacturers can't really do anything about it since the leaks need to be sealed software side. Microsoft and Apple provided security updates for their respective operating systems that solve the issues for a majority of CPUs, but slow down processor performance due to additional instructions that are necessary in mitigating the issue. Users are strongly advised to install the latest security updates for their OS.
Source: Reddit post on /r/pcgaming from user Laexe
Intel, AMD, and ARM released official statements in response to the security issues that affect CPUs, you can read them below:
Intel Statement
"Intel and other technology companies have been made aware of new security research describing software analysis methods that, when used for malicious purposes, have the potential to improperly gather sensitive data from computing devices that are operating as designed. Intel believes these exploits do not have the potential to corrupt, modify or delete data.
"Recent reports that these exploits are caused by a "bug" or a "flaw" and are unique to Intel products are incorrect. Based on the analysis to date, many types of computing devices -- with many different vendors' processors and operating systems -- are susceptible to these exploits.
"Intel is committed to product and customer security and is working closely with many other technology companies, including AMD, ARM Holdings and several operating system vendors, to develop an industry-wide approach to resolve this issue promptly and constructively. Intel has begun providing software and firmware updates to mitigate these exploits. Contrary to some reports, any performance impacts are workload-dependent, and, for the average computer user, should not be significant and will be mitigated over time.
"Intel is committed to the industry best practice of responsible disclosure of potential security issues, which is why Intel and other vendors had planned to disclose this issue next week when more software and firmware updates will be available. However, Intel is making this statement today because of the current inaccurate media reports.
"Check with your operating system vendor or system manufacturer and apply any available updates as soon as they are available. Following good security practices that protect against malware in general will also help protect against possible exploitation until updates can be applied.
"Intel believes its products are the most secure in the world and that, with the support of its partners, the current solutions to this issue provide the best possible security for its customers."
AMD Statement
"There has been recent press coverage regarding a potential security issue related to modern microprocessors and speculative execution. Information security is a priority at AMD, and our security architects follow the technology ecosystem closely for new threats.
"It is important to understand how the speculative execution vulnerability described in the research relates to AMD products, but please keep in mind the following:
The research described was performed in a controlled, dedicated lab environment by a highly knowledgeable team with detailed, non-public information about the processors targeted.
The described threat has not been seen in the public domain.
"When AMD learned that researchers had discovered a new CPU attack targeting the speculative execution functionality used by multiple chip companies' products, we immediately engaged across the ecosystem to address the teams' findings.
"The research team identified three variants within the speculative execution research. The below grid details the specific variants detailed in the research and the AMD response details.
Variant / AMD Response Matrix
Google Project Zero (GPZ) Research Title
Details
Variant One
Bounds Check Bypass
Resolved by software / OS updates to be made available by system vendors and manufacturers. Negligible performance impact expected.
Variant Two
Branch Target Injection
Differences in AMD architecture mean there is a near zero risk of exploitation of this variant. Vulnerability to Variant 2 has not been demonstrated on AMD processors to date.
Variant Three
Rogue Data Cache Load
Zero AMD vulnerability due to AMD architecture differences.
"As the security landscape continues to evolve, a collaborative effort of information sharing in the industry represents the strongest defense.
"Total protection from all possible attacks remains an elusive goal and this latest example shows how effective industry collaboration can be.
"As always, AMD strongly encourages its customers to consistently undertake safe computing practices, examples of which include: not clicking on unrecognized hyperlinks, following strong password protocols, using secure networks, and accepting regular software updates."
ARM Statement
"Based on the recent research findings from Google on the potential new cache timing side-channels exploiting processor speculation, here is the latest information on possible Arm processors impacted and their potential mitigations. We will post any new research findings here as needed.
"Cache timing side-channels are a well-understood concept in the area of security research and therefore not a new finding. However, this side-channel mechanism could enable someone to potentially extract some information that otherwise would not be accessible to software from processors that are performing as designed. This is the issue addressed here and in the Cache Speculation Side-channels whitepaper.
"It is important to note that this method is dependent on malware running locally which means it's imperative for users to practice good security hygiene by keeping their software up-to-date and avoid suspicious links or downloads.
"The majority of Arm processors are not impacted by any variation of this side-channel speculation mechanism. A definitive list of the small subset of Arm-designed processors that are susceptible can be found below."
Star Citizen raised a lot of money in 2017. According to data collected by Polygon, the super-ambitious PC space sim raised $34.91 million last year, which is down from $36.11 million the year prior. In total, Star Citizen has raised an astonishing $175.9 million, according to the game's own publicly available funding data. Note that these figures do not include money given back via returns, but even with those accounted for, the number is surely still huge.
To put the $34.91 million in perspective, it's more than double the money ($17.25 million) that the more than 700 Kickstarter video game projects brought in, combined, in 2017. It's been two years running that Star Citizen's own yearly funding tally has more than doubled the combined efforts of every video game project on Kickstarter.
The newest trailer for The CW's upcoming Black Lightning shows there may be more superpowers happening than just those belonging to retired superhero Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams). The teaser focuses instead on Pierce's family and hints that his daughters may be uncovering superhuman abilities all their own.
In the clip, Pierce proclaims, "This is about me trying to keep my daughters alive." It seems as if the two have been kidnapped, with Pierce assuming his Black Lightning superhero identity once more to save them. But if their fighting skills and budding powers are any indication, they seem pretty capable of saving themselves.
Still, regardless of how powerful they are becoming, that doesn't stop Pierce from wanting to bring his children home. What's shown next is a collection of clips that show how different Black Lightning is compared The CW's other superheroes--from his costume accented with lights to the electric force that surrounds him as he springs into action.
Black Lightning also stars China Anne McClain and Nafessa Williams as Pierce's daughters, along with James Remar, who plays the hero's mentor, Peter. The series premieres on The CW on Tuesday, January 16, following the midseason premiere of The Flash.
When it comes to Bright, the future seems bright. The Netflix original movie that premiered on December 22 has already been given a sequel with director David Ayer and the cast returning.
If you've paid attention to the critical consensus of Bright, that may come as a bit of a surprise. With a Metacritic score of 29, the film set in a present-day world where humans interact with fantasy creatures has been almost universally panned. "From the director of Suicide Squad and the writer of Victor Frankenstein comes a fresh slice of hell that somehow represents new lows for them both," IndieWire's David Ehrlich says in his review.
Still, even the bad reviews can't slow the film down. According to Netflix, which is notorious for not releasing actual viewing numbers, Bright is the number one movie on the service in every country. It's also "one of the biggest" originals on the streamer. That's as close as Netflix will get in terms of disclosing how many people actually watched the movie, though.
According to Netflix, stars Will Smith and Joel Edgerton are expected to return for the sequel, which has no release date. There will be one major change on the creative side, though. Max Landis, who wrote the first film, will not be back. In his place, Ayer will handle writing duties, in addition to directing. Previously, he's written the scripts for Suicide Squad, End of Watch, and Training Day, among other films. Eric Newman and Bryan Unkeless will be returning as producers.
While there's no telling when Bright 2 will arrive on Netflix, the streaming service has already tested its release with a short video of "orc auditions" that you can watch above.
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