The time has finally come. The reviews for the next installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are out. Black Panther won't be in theaters until February 16, but critics are sharing their thoughts about the movie and, so far, it's very good news.
The film, which follows King T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) in the aftermath of Captain America: Civil War, has been met with unanimous praise by critics thus far. Reviews are touting everything from its visual design, to its representation of race and gender, to its soundtrack. Thankfully, it seems as though the story and characters explored in the movie are also well-received--save for some minor criticism of T'Challa, himself.
With a score of 88 on GameSpot's sister site Metacritic, the future of Black Panther appears to be bright. Take a look at a sampling of reviews below for a better idea of what critics think.
Movie: Black Panther
Studio: Marvel
Release date: February 16
GameSpot
"[Wakanda] pulses and thrives, colors and structures simultaneously informed by African heritage and an alienness granted by vibranium technology. The original songs by Kendrick Lamar fit perfectly, lending each scene both modernity and an added sense of history. And the characters who live there easily cement themselves in this movie as some of the most fully fleshed out in the whole MCU." -- Michael Rougeau [Full review]
The New York Times
"Race matters in Black Panther and it matters deeply, not in terms of Manichaean good guys and bad but as a means to explore larger human concerns about the past, the present and the uses and abuses of power. That alone makes it more thoughtful about how the world works than a lot of mainstream movies, even if those ideas are interspersed with plenty of comic-book posturing. It wouldn't be a Marvel production without manly skirmishes and digital avatars. Yet in its emphasis on black imagination, creation and liberation, the movie becomes an emblem of a past that was denied and a future that feels very present. And in doing so opens up its world, and yours, beautifully." -- Manohla Dargis [Full review]
Nerdist
"The film does deal head-on with issues of race, subjugation, and oppression in ways both heartbreaking and hilarious. At one point, a young black boy in a rundown apartment in Oakland, California ([director Ryan] Coogler's hometown), dismisses the idea of Wakanda itself: What good is "a kid in Oakland, running around believing in fairy tales"? Coogler answers that question with the film itself: Here is a fairy tale for children who rarely get them, and never like this." -- Marc Bernardin [Full review]
IGN
"For a film that touches on so many very real and very serious topics, you might expect Black Panther to be an entirely solemn affair. Some parts are, but it's also an entertaining adventure film about an action hero with awesome gadgets and a super-suit, a fun film with many laugh-out-loud moments, and a gorgeous movie with a distinctive visual style that can't be mistaken for any other big-budget movie. It's a testament to director/co-writer Ryan Coogler's skill that he juggles all these elements without his film ending up tonally inconsistent." -- Jim Vejvoda [Full review]
Collider
"This movie is a game-changer, and for all the valid critiques you can throw at Marvel, the studio deserves credit for bankrolling Coogler's fearless vision. You have to go back to 1998, back to Blade and Wesley Snipes for the last time Hollywood launched a superhero franchise led by a hero of color. Since then, there's been Catwoman (oof) and supporting roles. Never in our lifetime has there been a superhero blockbuster so intently invested in the black experience, in the importance of identity and heritage, and the tragedy of being denied those things. " -- Haleigh Foutch [Full review]
Variety
"Truth be told, T'Challa is kind of a bore, even if the movie that surrounds him seldom fails to thrill: He's prince of a utopian city with little interest in the fate of the world beyond his borders--until his father, King T'Chaka (John Kani), is assassinated during a bombing at the Vienna International Centre (a flashback to Captain America: Civil War). Though the Black Panther who made his impressive, hyper-acrobatic debut in that film is one and the same as the character seen here, Coogler humanizes him to such a degree that T'Challa doesn't feel like a superhero so much as a deeply conflicted world leader — albeit one who must defend his title via brutal hand-to-hand bloodmatches (in a ritual that suggests a considerably more primordial, and decidedly anti-democratic, form of governance)." -- Peter Deburge [Full review]
Rolling Stone
"If you're thinking you're in for another macho power trip, forget it. The women are more than a match for the men in this game, from the iconic Angela Bassett as Ramonda, T'Challa's widowed mother, to the ready-to-rumble Lupita Nyong'o as Nakia, T'Challa's ex-love and a spy for Wakanda in the outside world. And wait until you see the dynamite Danai Gurira--Michonne on The Walking Dead--fire on all cylinders as Okoye, head of Wakanda's all-female Special Forces known as the Dora Milaje. Her head shaved, her eyes beaming likes lasers and her weapons at the ready, she is the living definition of fierce. And there's no beating the smarts and sass of the wonderous Letitia Wright, who brings scene-stealing to the level of grand larceny as Princess Shuri, T'Challa's kid sister." -- Peter Travers [Full review]
Monster Hunter World has released for PS4 and Xbox One, but PS4 players have some additional content right from the outset. On the official Capcom Unity blog, the publisher confirmed that the first quest to get the PS4-exclusive Horizon Zero Dawn armor would be available right at launch, but it won't be around for very long.
Right now, PS4 players are able to embark on the first part of the Horizon Zero Dawn Event Quest. You'll need to attain a Hunter Rank of 6 or higher in order to accept the quest, which has you hunting eight Barnos. After completing the mission, you'll obtain materials that can be forged into Horizon-themed Watcher armor for your Palico companion. You can get a full walkthrough on what to do in our guide on unlocking Horizon's Monster Hunter World items.
The first part of the Horizon Event Quest will only be available until February 8, giving players a limited time to rank up and obtain the Palico armor. It will be followed by the second Horizon Event Quest on February 28, which will be available until March 5. While Capcom hasn't announced the details of that quest yet, it will reward players with materials to craft Horizon protagonist Aloy's bow and armor.
The Horizon Zero Dawn armor isn't the only exclusive content Capcom has offered PS4 owners. Over the past few weeks, the company has held several Monster Hunter World beta tests that were available only on PS4, the most recent of which took place last weekend and gave players a chance to hunt Monster Hunter World's fearsome cover monster, the Nergigante.
Capcom has regularly released crossover DLC items for past Monster Hunter titles; the series' 3DS installments received weapons and armor based on the Legend of Zelda, while a set of retro Mega Man Palico armor is also coming to Monster Hunter World. The first free DLC for Monster Hunter World is scheduled to arrive in spring and adds the Deviljho. However, players who want to play Monster Hunter World online and download any DLC will need to install a day-one update, which adds online features (as well as the adorable Poogies).
Monster Hunter World is now available for PS4 and Xbox One. A PC version is also in development, though that won't arrive until sometime this fall. The game has been met with very positive reviews. Critic Ginny Woo awarded it an 8 out of 10 in GameSpot's Monster Hunter World review and called it "likely the biggest and best that the franchise has ever been."
This story has been updated with additional details about the Horizon Zero Dawn Event Quest.
While many look to February as a time for love, thanks to Valentine's Day, the true meaning of the second month of the year is to celebrate a long list of new things to stream on Netflix. The service is adding movie franchises, fan-favorite TV shows, and some highly anticipated originals in February.
Among the originals is likely the biggest arrival of the month in Altered Carbon. The sci-fi series is based on the 2002 Richard K. Morgan novel of the same name and stars Joel Kinnaman, Renee Elise Goldsberry, and James Purefoy. The series follows a man who has been awoken after 250 and placed into a new body, as he solves a murder. You can read more about it in our Altered Carbon review.
Other originals being added include the documentary Seeing Allred, the new talk show The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale, and the latest episode of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman, which will feature George Clooney. Additionally, the American Pie, Ocean's Eleven, and Kill Bill franchises are all available to stream as of February 1.
Sadly, a new month also means several titles are departing Netflix, Among them are Tim Burton's Corpse Bride and The Nightmare Before Christmas, Project X, all three seasons of An Idiot Abroad, and several series of Top Gear.
You can take a look at everything Netflix is gaining and losing below. You can also look back on everything the service added in January if you aren't caught up.
Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon launched for 3DS back in November, marking the mainline series' swan song on Nintendo's dual-screen handheld. As it did for the original Sun and Moon versions, The Pokemon Company is continuing to support the pair in the months following their release with free items and Pokemon. The company has a lot of giveaways lined up for 2018, which it has dubbed the Year of Legendary Pokemon, though those certainly won't be the only freebies players can expect to find this year.
We've rounded up all of the free distributions currently running for Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon below, many of which are also open to Sun and Moon players. 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. In the meantime, you can learn more about the latest Pokemon games in our rundown of everything new in Pokemon Ultra Sun And Ultra Moon. We also break down the differences between Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, if you're still unsure of which version to pick up.
Pokemon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon Free Gifts
Dialga/Palkia -- Feb. 2-28
Kicking off the Year of Legendary Pokemon are the Space and Time Pokemon, Palkia and Dialga. The two are being distributed in the US at GameStop from February 2-28, while UK residents can pick them up from participating Game stores. The Legendary you receive will depend on which version you have: players with either Sun or Ultra Sun receive Palkia, while those playing either Moon or Ultra Moon get Dialga. You'll need to redeem your download code by May 23 to claim the Legendaries.
Magearna
Unlike most other gift Pokemon, the Mythical Steel/Fairy-type, Magearna, is not available through the Mystery Gift feature, but via a QR code, which is compatible with Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon. After defeating the Elite Four and completing the main story, you can use the QR Scanner to scan the code below. Once you've done that, visit the Antiques shop in Hau'oli City and pick your Magearna up from the deliveryman waiting there.
Celebi -- Ends Sep. 21
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.
A new teaser trailer for Avengers: Infinity War aired during Super Bowl LII, giving us a few new glimpses at what the biggest Marvel movie yet has in store. The trailer shows the Avengers assembling to fight Thanos, a fan favorite villain from the Marvel comics, and one whose arrival the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies have been teasing for years. Watch it above.
Characters including Iron Man, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Vision, Scarlet Witch, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Hulk, Thor, Loki, Captain American, Black Widow, Black Panther, the Winter Soldier, and more will come together to battle the Mad Titan (as Thanos has sometimes been called). "So this is it," Tony Stark says. "It's all been leading up to this."
The prospect of seeing all the characters from the disparate MCU movies fighting alongside one another is enough to get most Marvel fans excited, even though this will be only part one of a two-part film event (preceding the still-unnamed fourth Avengers movie expected out in 2019).
A new trailer for Westworld Season 2 aired during Super Bowl LII. Along with providing us with a look at the upcoming season, it also revealed the new season's release date: April 22. We also get to see Dolores on the warpath against her makers.
"Look at this world. This beautiful world. We built this world together. A world where dreams come true. A world where you can be free. But this world is a lie," Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) says over a rousing piano version of Kanye West's "Runaway." "This world deserves to die. Because this is your world. We've lived by your rules long enough. We can save this world. We can burn it to the ground, and from the ashes build a new world. Our world."
Anyone who watched Westworld Season 1 knows how exciting that is to hear. The Season 2 trailer is full of gorgeous shots of open plains, horses, cowboys, and Native Americans, but in expected Westworld fashion, those beautiful sights quickly begin to fall apart. The mechanical bulls goring a room full of soldiers is the perfect encapsulation of what this show is all about.
There are plenty of other intriguing glimpses in the trailer, including a group of mysterious black-clad strangers accompanied by Jeffrey Wright's Bernard, shots of Maeve and Clementine, what looks like it may be Louis Herthum's Peter Abernathy being tortured in a chair, the Man in Black looking sad in the rain, and what appears to be the aftermath of the Season 1 finale's violent party. That's not even mentioning all the quick shots at the end.
Westworld Season 2 will premiere on HBO April 22. You can see more of this year's Super Bowl commercials below.
Even if you're not a football fan, you can appreciate a good Super Bowl commercial. Companies pay upwards of $5 million dollars for a 30-second spot, so they try to do something special every year. Luckily, most of these companies have a good sense of humor, so people watching the final football game of the season were treated to some pretty hilarious commercials.
We've collected some of the funniest and most entertaining commercials from the evening and gathered them for your amusement here. One of the most bizarre commercials of the night came Dundee (seen above), which put together what was seemingly an ad for a new Crocodile Dundee movie. The commercial, starring Danny McBride and Chris Hemsworth, slowly reveals it's not a spot for a new movie but simply an ad to visit Australia. The spot even featured a quick cameo from Crocodile Dundee himself, Paul Hogan.
GuacWorld
Paul Hogan wasn't the only cameo in a commercial from the evening. Chris Elliot, who you may remember from It's Something About Mary and Cabin Boy, plays himself in a Biodome-esque situation where the inhabitants of a domed paradise riot when they learn they have no chips for their avocados.
Bud Light Knight
In 2017, Bud Light debuted a new string of commercials taking place in the Medieval era and launching the new catchphrase "dilly dilly." During this year's Super Bowl, the company debuted the Bud Knight. It's as ridiculous as you think it is.
M&M Danny DeVito
For years, the animated M&M characters have been avoiding their doom via being eaten by humans. During the Super Bowl spot, Red M&M finds a lucky penny and wishes he was human. He morphs into Danny Devito, which helps put the horrifying M&M ads from earlier in the evening into perspective, which featured Devito swimming in chocolate.
Doritos vs Mountain Dew
Doritos and Mountain Dew have delivered some bizarre commercials in the past, and surprisingly, this year's entries aren't the weirdest. The dual features Peter Dinklage lip-syncing to Busta Rhymes and Morgan Freeman lip-syncing to Missy Elliot.
NFL Dirty Dancing
For some bizarre reason, the NFL had ads during the Super Bowl. The best of the bunch featured wide receiver Odel Beckham Jr and Eli Manning recreating the iconic dance from the movie Dirty Dancing.
Alexa Loses Her Voice
One of the few standout commercials from the second half of the game was an Amazon commercial. In it, Alexa loses her voice and is replaced by the likes of Gordon Ramsay, Rebel Wilson, and more.
It's a Tide ad
The best commercials from this year's Super Bowl came from Tide (please don't eat the company's pods). It featured David Harbour (Stranger Things) spoofing Super Bowl commercials that we've all seen in the past and saying, "It's a Tide ad." Spots randomly popped up again throughout the evening, and it became increasingly tough to spot a real ad over a Tide ad.
You can see more of this year's Super Bowl commercials below.
Registration for the beta test of a "major" new PS4 update recently began, and now the beta is officially underway. With the update beginning to roll out to select PS4 users, Sony has announced the details of what to expect from what we now know is system update 5.50.
These changes affect a wide variety of areas on the system. The Library has now been divided into two different areas: One lets you see everything purchased on your account, as normal, while the other only displays what's currently installed on the console. There's also a section where you can see which games you only "own" through PlayStation Plus. If your subscription has lapsed, games on the system will be shown with a lock icon on top of the PS Plus logo. This is meant to let you know you can re-subscribe to regain access to the game in question. Additionally, a new option will allow you to hide "certain" items from the Purchased list, such as demos, trials, and betas.
Custom wallpaper had been implemented to some extent previously, but 5.50 allows you to import any image via USB to apply as your background. A new USB storage device option has been added to the Themes area of the Settings menu. It features some (limited) options for modifying the image you have, such as zooming and cropping.
For those wanting to limit how much a PS4 is used, the new Play Time Management feature has been introduced, which is primarily intended for use with kids. This allows you to track time played and set daily time limits, even from a PC or smartphone. Notifications can be sent to warn the player about the upcoming cutoff, although you can decide whether or not the time limit immediately signs the users out or not.
PS4 Pro owners receive a new supersampling feature that will be of interest to those who have the system connected to a non-4K display. Similar to what's offered through certain games with PS4 Pro enhancements, the new setting allows supersampling to be utilized for more games. This process involves a game being rendered at a higher resolution (up to 4K, in the case of certain PS4 games) and then downscaled to your display's resolution, thereby providing greater clarity. While not everything will necessarily benefit, this complements the existing Boost mode as another optional way to leverage the Pro's power.
Other features in this patch include new Quick Menu improvements (shortcut buttons for volume and Pause/Play when listening to music, faster access to individual friends) and customization options for team pages in Tournaments. You can also now manually delete notifications.
If you signed up to beta test the update, keep an eye on your email for details on accessing it. There's not yet any word on how soon it will launch in full to the public. It's also possible that the full release could include more features.
Monster Hunter World is a challenging game. Once you've acquired some better gear, the early monsters don't present much of a threat, but difficult enemies still await players toward the end of the game--specifically, the vaunted Elder Dragons.
Elder Dragons are a recurring aspect of the Monster Hunter series, and they're present once again in World. The game's box features a new addition to the Elder Dragon ranks, Nergigante, but it isn't the only such foe you'll face over the course of the game. In the video above, some of our die-hard Monster Hunter fans take on three Elder Dragons you'll need to face toward the end of World. It should give you a good idea of what to expect from some of the game's most difficult encounters (or provide a glimpse if you don't think you'll make it that far yourself). We've also got a more detailed breakdown of what to expect from Monster Hunter World's endgame.
Since its Xbox One debut in December, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds has been one of the platform's most popular titles, recently surpassing 4 million players on the console alone. Microsoft bundled the battle royale game together with its new Xbox One X console for a limited time last holiday season, and now the publisher is doing the same with Xbox One S.
Beginning February 20, prospective Xbox owners around the world will be able to pick up the Xbox One S PUBG bundle. It retails for $300 and includes a 1 TB console, an Xbox One controller, and a full download of PUBG, which is currently only available in Xbox Game Preview for $30. You can take a look at the packaging below.
In addition to the game and hardware, the Xbox One S PUBG bundle includes a 14-day trial for Xbox Live Gold, as well as a one-month subscription to Xbox Game Pass. The former is required to play PUBG online against other players, while the latter is Microsoft's Netflix-like game streaming service, which gives players unlimited access to a select library of Xbox One and 360 titles for as long as they have an active subscription. Microsoft recently announced that the Game Pass service will soon receive all first-party Xbox One exclusives on the same day they launch, beginning with Sea of Thieves.
Developer PUBG Corp. recently rolled out a new update for PUBG on Xbox One. That patch focused primarily on the amount of damage vehicles can inflict and receive, on top of an assortment of bug fixes and gameplay tweaks. To celebrate surpassing 4 million players, PUBG Corp. is also offering players a gift of 30,000 Battle Points to use on in-game cosmetic items this month.
Black Panther's core concept--that there's a secretive African country full of otherworldly technology, affluent people, and godlike warriors--is incredibly fun and ripe for storytelling. But it also begs the potentially damning question: Where has Wakanda been while black people suffered all over the world throughout human history? The fact that Black Panther doesn't just address that, but tackles it head on as the movie's central conflict, is a large part of what makes it a fantastic film.
Wakanda was long ago settled by five warring tribes who united under one king, empowered by the mountain of "vibranium"--the strongest metal in existence--implanted in the earth by a wayward asteroid. As its civilization became ever more advanced, Wakanda grew more and more secretive, under the leadership of a succession of kings who took on the mantle of the Black Panther.
That's the opening story dump necessary to get audiences on board. But the film's events actually begin in 1992 Oakland, where the Black Panther/King of the day, T'Chaka (the same one who died in 2016's Captain America: Civil War), travels to confront a treasonous Wakandan who grew disillusioned with his homeland's selfish isolationism after witnessing black people's suffering throughout the tumultuous period.
When the story picks up in the present day, it's that same issue that the new Black Panther, T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman), must face. His love interest, Lupita Nyong'o's Nakia, is a philanthropist who believes Wakanda should share its wealth and technology to help the suffering. His underlings, including Daniel Kaluuya's W'Kabi, believe Wakanda should wage war on the outside world. T'Challa would be more comfortable simply preserving Wakanda as it is, but throughout Black Panther he's confronted over and over with the same question: How can Wakanda continue to stand by while black people suffer all over the world?
That's where Michael B. Jordan's Killmonger comes in. As dangerous as he is charismatic, Killmonger seeks to seize control of Wakanda so he can use the nation's hyper-advanced weapons to undo millennia of injustice, remaking the world with black people on top. Through fierce monologues full of biting condemnations, Killmonger wields years of suffering--his people's and his own--to cut right to the core of everything wrong with Wakanda, and the world. Once his motivations are revealed, it's hard not to sympathize, and that combined with an absolutely stunning performance from Jordan makes Killmonger easily the best and most complex Marvel Cinematic Universe villain ever.
It's not a case of the villain becoming the good guy, though. Killmonger is undeniably evil--in fact, Black Panther's most unfortunate misstep is making him too villainous in the first half, which in turn makes it difficult to fully empathize with him later on. And besides, T'Challa's position is just as understandable: If Wakanda were to reveal itself to the outside world, they would almost certainly lose their way of life forever.
That may be selfish, but it works, in large part because Wakanda is so gorgeously realized in this movie. Think of it like an earth-bound Asgard, except unlike Thor's homeland, Wakanda seems like a place that might actually exist in the real world (besides all the hover trains and holograms, of course). T'Challa and Nakia stroll through the markets, while magnetic bullet trains criss-cross vibranium-laced caverns underground. Priests and priestesses tend the sacred garden of the Heart-Shaped Herb, the vibranium-infused flower that gives the Black Panther his powers.
The whole city pulses and thrives, colors and structures simultaneously informed by African heritage and an alienness granted by vibranium technology. The original songs by Kendrick Lamar fit perfectly, lending each scene both modernity and an added sense of history. And the characters who live there easily cement themselves in this movie as some of the most fully fleshed out in the whole MCU.
Danai Gurira's Okoye leads the Dora Milaje, a small army of ferocious female warriors, in some incredible fight scenes. Angela Bassett's Queen Mother Ramonda infuses a dignified monarch with a core of intense emotion. And Letitia Wright's Shuri, T'Challa's younger sister and chief inventor--the Q to his 007--threatens to steal the movie in her own right. Whether she's gawking hilariously at T'Challa's latest fashion faux pas or joining battle with the aid of some awesome new vibranium-powered gadget, Shuri will be many viewers' favorite character by the end.
Kaluuya (from Get Out!), Forest Whitaker, Andy Serkis, Winston Duke, and Martin Freeman round out the excellent cast, each getting their moments in the movie to make a mark. Freeman is the only one who stands out as kind of pointless, although he gets plenty of standout moments--arguably too many, as viewers and other characters alike will occasionally wonder why he's there at all (besides that his Agent Ross is a fan favorite character from the comics). Yes, his incredulity at Wakanda's advanced technology makes him a sometimes welcome surrogate for the audience, but as the most benevolent CIA agent ever portrayed he ultimately muddies the message somewhat.
The main reason the world thinks Wakanda is a third world wasteland is that's what Wakanda wants them to think. But it's also because that's easy for the world to believe. Black Panther is a movie that succeeds in challenging that type of preconceived idea, from the gut-punches of Killmonger's condemnations to the simple reality of seeing an affluent African nation never touched by--to borrow the movie's own terminology--any of history's many "colonizers." The fact that Wakanda isn't real only emphasizes the point.
And on top of all that, Black Panther is a top tier Marvel movie with all the humor, style, action, passion, and fun that the MCU has come to embody. Black Panther is a cultural event that's going to be hard for Marvel to top, no matter how many worlds Thanos conquers later this year in Infinity War.
Every Super Bowl brings a fresh set of trailers and commercials for some of the year's most anticipated movies, and the latest installment was no different. While everyone may have been talking about the seemingly endless stream of Tide commercials featuring Stranger Things star David Harbour, it was hard to miss some of the upcoming films on display.
Whether it was a brand new look at Avengers: Infinity War, the first trailer for Dwayne Johnson fighting a burning building in Skyscraper, or the supernatural horror movie A Quiet Place--which is typically not the kind of movie you'd expect to see advertised during the Super Bowl--the game was loaded with trailers. Even Westworld, while not a film, had one of the night's biggest moments with the first Season 2 trailer. And how could you forget the small tease of Solo: A Star Wars Story--the full trailer was released the next day.
Of course, the biggest surprise of the evening was likely the premiere of the first-ever trailer forThe Cloverfield Paradox, an entry into the JJ Abrams-produced franchise that debuted on Netflix as soon as the game was over. While the reviews likely aren't what anybody involved in the movie was hoping for, the excitement surrounding the debut of the trailer was unlike anything else that happened during the big game.
Did you catch all of the night's trailers? Take a look at all of them below and sound off in the comments with your favorite of the bunch.
The full trailer for Solo: A Star Wars Story has arrived. Following the short teaser released during the Super Bowl last night, this new promo reveals plot details and some new characters alongside amazing action and snappy dialogue. And, yes, we get to see Donald Glover's Lando Calrissian.
The trailer opens with a voiceover in which Han explains that he spent his childhood runing scams and getting into trouble, before declaring that he hopes to be "the greatest pilot in the galaxy." We learn that Woody Harrelson's character, Beckett, is putting together a team, which includes Chewie and Lando, and we see a variety of new alien, robot, and human characters. There's an exchange with Emilia Clarke's Qi'Ra, who claims that she knows who Solo "really is," and an exciting final sequence in which Han outruns some TIE Fighters in the Falcon but then encounters something much scarier. Check out above.
Solo: A Star Wars Story stars Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo and Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca. Woody Harrelson, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and Emilia Clarke also star. It hits theaters on May 25, 2018. We've also got a full Solo trailer breakdown here.
The movie has had a bit of troubled production, with director Ron Howard taking over duties from Chris Miller and Phil Lord in June 2017. There have been rumors that Howard has reshot a lot more of the film than initially expected, and at least one role had to be recast, with Paul Bettany replacing Michael K. Williams. Bettany himself commented in the issue, and said that Howard "reshot a lot more than was originally intended."
Last month, Glover stated that despite the lengthy production, little about the film altered after Howard came on board. "It didn't really [change]," he said. "I think we were never faced with anything like that and [Howard] did a good job of coming in and didn't want us to change what we were doing at all. He wanted us to be comfortable with our vision."
You can see more of this year's Super Bowl commercials below.
PUBG developer PUBG Corp. planned to release a PC update focused on new anti-cheat measures today, February 5, but that update has now been delayed. The studio said it discovered an "unexpected issue" during compatibility testing, and has thus made the decision to push the release to sometime later.
As announced earlier, this update is expected to add a new anti-cheat feature that will "block different helper programs that alter the graphics or aid in gameplay in some way." One popular piece of software that will be blocked with this update is ReShade. You won't face a band if ReShade is detected on your system, but if you won't be able to play PUBG so long as it's installed. You have to uninstall ReShade, along with any other prohibited program, before getting back rights to play PUBG.
PC players, the patch for the anti-cheat update has been delayed, as an unexpected issue has occurred while testing its compatibility. We will soon update you when it will be released. Thank you for your understanding.
In its earlier blog post, PUBG Corp. also said some players may need to reinstall PUBG to get back online. Additionally, some software like Nvidia ShadowPlay and video/audio capture programs might be blocked, temporarily, as PUBG Corp. works out some teething issues with its new anti-cheat measures.
"We will be dealing with these cases as soon as possible. If a harmless program is blocked, please report it in this form. Thank you for your support and understanding," PUBG Corp. said.
According to anti-cheat software provider BattlEye, it banned more than 1 million PUBG players for cheating in January alone, as instances of cheating continue to grow. Incredibly and unfortunately, this adds on to the 1.5 million that BattlEye banned already.
We have banned over 1,044,000 PUBG cheaters in January alone, unfortunately things continue to escalate.
PUBG is one of the biggest games on the planet. It had more than 2.8 million peak concurrent players today on Steam. Cheating in PUBG and basically every game is a problem that may never be fixed (where there is a will, there is a way) but it's good to see games like PUBG taking enforcement seriously.
With its significantly larger player base, PUBG's PC edition is understandably the focus of PUBG Corp.'s efforts on the anti-cheat front. Here's to hoping that PUBG Corp. and Microsoft also take steps to stamp out cheating for the Xbox One edition.
Rockstar Games has confirmed that Red Dead Redemption 2 will launch on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on October 26, 2018. The announcement was made on the official Rockstar Games blog where the company apologised for a delay. The game was originally due out during Spring 2018, following an earlier delay from fall 2017. According to Rockstar, this new delay affords the studio extra time to improve the game.
"We are excited to announce that Red Dead Redemption 2 will be released on October 26 2018," it said. "We apologize to everyone disappointed by this delay. While we had hoped to have the game out sooner, we require a little extra time for polish."
It continued: "We sincerely thank you for your patience and hope that when you get to play the game, you will agree the wait will have been worth it. In the meantime, please check out these screenshots from the game. We look forward to sharing a lot more information with you in the coming weeks." Alongside the release date announcement, a selection of new screenshots have also been released, which you can check out below.
Click image to view in full screen gallery
As previously detailed, Red Dead Redemption 2 follows protagonist Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang "as they rob, fight and steal their way across the vast and rugged heart of America in order to survive."
Red Dead Redemption 2 is coming to both PS4 and Xbox One; however there's no word on a PC version as of yet. The first Red Dead Redemption has not been released on PC, but Rockstar's last major release, Grand Theft Auto V, made its way to PC.
Interestingly, in December 2017, Grand Theft Auto V players discovered references to secret missions in an update that connects to Red Dead Redemption 2. Rockstar later sent GTA Online players an email in-game that provides a clue to help them pursue "rumors of a lost relic from the frontier." Completing this mission awarded players with a Double-Action Revolver for use in Red Dead Redemption 2.
One of the big questions surrounding Red Dead Redemption 2 is how the huge success of GTA Online will factor into it. Although Rockstar hasn't announced an online component to the game, Strauss Zelnick, CEO of the studio's parent company Take-Two, previously said to expect a "recurrent consumer spending" element to be included in most if not all of the company's games going forward. He left the exact form this model will take ambiguous, however.
"We've said that we aim to have recurrent consumer spending options for every title that we put out at this company," Zelnick said. "It may not always be an online model. It may not, probably won't always be, a virtual currency model, but there'll be some ability to engage on an ongoing basis with our titles after release across the board."
In this age of generic trailers and bland movies posters, we should all be thankful for the team behind Deadpool and its upcoming sequel. Both movies featuring the unconventional superhero have had equally unconventional marketing campaigns, and the latest poster for Deadpool 2 is no different.
In related news, the troubled and much-delayed X-Men spin-off Gambit has now been removed entirely from the studio's schedule. The movie lost director Gore Verbinski last month; he is the third director to quit the project over the past couple of years. The Channing Tatum-starring film was due to start production this year ahead of a June 2019 release, but it is now unknown if and when this will happen.
PS4 owners have two new games to download this month: the PS4 launch title Knack and the Ico-esque adventure game Rime. Additionally, one of last month's freebies, the PSVR shooter Starblood Arena, is also still available at no cost for PS Plus subscribers until March 6.
PS3 owners likewise have two games to choose from this month: the 2D platformer Spelunker HD and the turn-based RPG Mugen Souls Z. Those with a Vita, meanwhile, will be able to download the side-scrolling adventure game Exile's End and the tactical RPG Grand Kingdom for no cost. The latter is also playable on PS4 thanks to Cross-Buy, giving PS4 owners three potential freebies to download this month.
As always, Activision will release a new entry in the Call of Duty series this year. And, although details are scant on exactly what to expect, a new report states that it will be the latest entry in the Black Ops sub-series, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.
Following a recent tweet from games writer Marcus Sellars saying as much, Eurogamer reports that multiple sources have confirmed Black Ops 4 is indeed this year's Call of Duty title. The game is being developed by Treyarch, which has been responsible for previous Black Ops titles. It will also reportedly have fewer sci-fi elements following the reception to 2016's futuristic Infinite Warfare.
That we're seeing another Black Ops game is little surprise. The Black Ops series has proven to be the most popular of the various recurring Call of Duty brands and has represented the bulk of developer Treyarch's output over the past eight years.
The timing also makes sense; Black Ops III was released in 2015, so the inevitable fall 2018 release would come after three years. Activision shifted to a three-year development cycle for Call of Duty games, rotating between releases from Treyarch, Sledgehammer, and Infinity Ward.
New Call of Duty games traditionally aren't announced until well into spring, so it could easily be two or more months before we hear anything official from Activision. The company reports its earnings for the final quarter of 2017 later this week; we'll report back with anything it has to share then.
This week's new releases come in all shapes and sizes, but it doesn't get much bigger than Shadow of the Colossus coming to PS4. Then there's all the grand conflict in Civilization 6's first expansion, Rise and Fall. You can also play as a giant octopus and destroy cities in Octogeddon. On the smaller side, Nintendo Switch owners can take the gravity-defying Dandara on the go, or settle down and save their hometown in Aegis Defenders.
Shadow of the Colossus -- February 6
Available on: PS4
This isn't a remake of the PS2 release, or even the PS3 HD remaster. This is a totally rebuilt experience filled with the same towering colossi for you to topple. You can do it in glorious 4K on PS4 Pro, and all versions include rad new visual filters.
Dandara is a Metroidvania, but you probably haven't played one of those with this level of gravity bending. Dandara can jump and stick to any surface, no matter which way is up. You'll have to use all your angles to explore the world of Salt and save your people.
Civilization VI: Rise and Fall -- February 8
Available on: PC
Civ 6's first expansion brings pretty much exactly what you'd expect to the game: new nations to rule, new leaders to do the ruling, and a new Government district to gain more loyalty from the people. It all comes together to give you plenty of new ways to achieve victory.
Saving your town from an evil empire means playing a game that's part 2D platformer, part tower defense. Your band of heroes must track down the legendary Aegis, but expect plenty of tricky jumps and tough bosses along the path.
Octogeddon -- February 8
Available on: PC
The next game from the creator of Plants vs. Zombies puts you in the shoes (tentacles?) of a giant octopus, and your only objective is to destroy a city as thoroughly as possible. You do this by attaching animals like chickens and porcupines to your tentacles. If you say you've played a game like that before, you're lying.
Fortnite players can get their hands on new cosmetic skins this week. The PC, PS4, and Xbox One game has received eight new Alpine Ace Ski Skins, with seven of the eight skins repping a different country to celebrate the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
The Ski Skins are of Epic rarity and can be purchased in the game's cosmetic shop. Each skin costs 1,500 V-Bucks, which costs about $15 to buy; however, players can earn V-Bucks in the game too. The skins don't affect gameplay at all (although some colors will make you stand out more than others). One of the Ski Skins is a basic blue, but the seven others are decked out in the flags of countries with a considerable number of Fortnite players. The countries represented are: United States, Canada, Great Britain, France, Germany, China, and, of course, South Korea. Check them out in the gallery below.
When Suicide Squad was in production in 2015, the cast and crew bonded by getting tattoos, many courtesy of Harley Quinn actress Margot Robbie. The tattoos were all supposed to read "SKWAD," but last year Robbie revealed that she made a spelling mistake on her first attempt. Now co-star Joel Kinnaman has revealed that he regrets getting the tattoo at all--and blames Will Smith for giving it to him.
Kinnaman appeared on Watch What Happens Live and explained that his tattoo artist wife Cleo Wattenström would have done a much better job. "That was a horrible idea," he admitted, via MTV. "You know, don't let a 47-year-old man without his reading glasses tattoo you. That is the life lesson. Especially when you have a very talented wife. It's supposed to be a sh**ty tattoo, so that's what it is."
Here's the image of Smith working his "magic" on Kinnaman, posted on Instagram by the actor in August 2015:
In November last year, there was a rumor that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson might make his DC debut as anti-hero Black Adam in Suicide Squad 2. Sources for The Wrap stated that the movie's plot will revolve around "members of Suicide Squad [who are] tasked with tracking down a weapon of mass destruction." That weapon is apparenty Black Adam. Johnson himself teased a surprise introduction for the character earlier this year, when he told Fandango: "We have a really cool surprise for Black Adam that I can't reveal, in terms of where we will see Black Adam being introduced."
February is here, and that means a new selection of free PlayStation Plus games are on their way soon. Sony has revealed its selection of freebies for PS4, PS3, and PS Vita owners this month. [Update: February's free PS Plus games are now available.]
From February 6, PS4 owners can grab Knack and Rime for free. Knack is the PS4 launch title developed by Sony Japan and the system's hardware architect, Mark Cerny. Rime, meanwhile, is a colorful adventure game released last year. You can read more about the two games in our Knack review and our Rime review.
PS3 owners, meanwhile, will receive platformer Spelunker HD and turn-based RPG Mugen Souls Z free of charge. Lastly, PS Vita's free games for the month are 2D Metroidvania-style game Exile's End and tactical RPG Grand Kingdom. The latter of these is also available for free on PS4 with Cross-Buy. As an added bonus, PS Plus subscribers can also grab the PSVR exclusive Starblood Arena for the low, low price of nothing until March 6.
Fortnite's recent Battle Royale mode, Sniper Shootout, may now be over, but a new limited-time event has begun on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Epic Games has kicked off Shooting Test #1 on all platforms, though this limited-time mode is a little different from previous ones.
Rather than introducing a unique game type, as was the case with the recent Sniper Shootout and 50 vs. 50 events, Shooting Test #1 serves as way for Epic to test a new shooting model for Battle Royale. The general experience is largely the same as the game's current build, but Epic has adjusted some mechanics, most notably giving weapons first-shot accuracy. Additionally, the developer has reduced headshot critical hits and introduced damage fall-off to certain guns.
You can see the full list of gameplay adjustments in the Shooting Test #1 event, courtesy of Epic's official website, below. Epic hasn't announced an end date for the event yet, but the studio says it plans to run "multiple shooting tests" in order to gauge the changes it is making to Fortnite: Battle Royale before implementing them in the live game.
As director David F. Sandberg revealed last week, DC's superhero adventure Shazam is now in production. The movie stars Thor actor Zachary Levi in the title role, Asher Angel as his young alter ego Billy Batson, and Mark Strong as the evil Doctor Sivana. It's set to hit theaters in April next year, and Warner has now released an official synopsis for the movie.
As Sandberg hinted last year, the synopsis confirms that the movie will have a more lighthearted tone than many of DC's movies. As in the comic books, the story will focus on teenage Billy, who becomes an adult superhero by saying a single word.
The synopsis reads: "We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson's case, by shouting out one word--SHAZAM!--this streetwise 14-year-old foster kid can turn into the adult superhero Shazam, courtesy of an ancient wizard.
"Still a kid at heart--inside a ripped, godlike body--Shazam revels in this adult version of himself by doing what any teen would do with superpowers: have fun with them! Can he fly? Does he have X-ray vision? Can he shoot lightning out of his hands? Can he skip his social studies test? Shazam sets out to test the limits of his abilities with the joyful recklessness of a child. But he'll need to master these powers quickly in order to fight the deadly forces of evil controlled by Doctor Thaddeus Sivana."
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was previously announced in the role of Shazam's nemesis Black Adam, but it was subsequently confirmed that he will not feature in Shazam. However, he is still set to appear in a spin-off movie.
Shazam first appeared in 1939, when he was known by the name Captain Marvel. The character was bought by DC in 1971, when he was renamed, due to Marvel's ownership of the name Captain Marvel. A live action Shazam TV show was broadcast in the mid-'70s, while an animated show followed in 1981.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain's base-building multiplayer mode incentivizes players to build nuclear weapons. They are the most expensive development project in the game, and they provide a huge defensive boost to players' bases--but they can also dismantle them and work toward total disarmament. But this week, although there are still a ton of nuclear weapons out there, the game's secret nuclear disarmament cutscene was triggered--and Konami doesn't know why.
In spite of the fact that players have significant reasons to pursue nukes, including deterrence and prestige, Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima included a bit of motivation to urge them to destroy their stockpiles. He stated that if every player on a certain platform (PS4, Xbox One, or PC) were to dismantle their nukes, a special event would unlock in the game.
As you might expect, it's very difficult to get thousands of players to coordinate toward a goal, and as of September 1, 2017, there were still over 9,800 nuclear weapons on the PC server. However, PC MGSV users discovered on February 2 that the cutscene had triggered prematurely.
Konami apparently still does not know what happened. Over the weekend, it took to Twitter to apologize for the mistake. "The nuclear disarmament event was triggered in the Steam version of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain on [February 2]... We are still investigating, but can confirm that the event was triggered while the nuke count hadn't reached zero."
Back before the game released, Hideo Kojima explained that he hoped to communicate his anti-nuclear weapons, pro-disarmament feelings through a means other than normal storytelling. "As it's difficult to make player feel 'anti-war, anti-nuke' like a movie can do, what I've tried was to make something only game can do," he wrote on Twitter. Much like disarmament plans in the real world, however, this one has gone awry--and not for the first time. The cutscene was found by dataminers essentially as soon as the game was released. You can see it in the embed above.
Madden's sim said Patriots QB Tom Brady would win the Super Bowl MVP; he did not. The more deserving Eagles QB Nick Foles took home that award. Below are some other things that the Madden sim got wrong this year:
Madden Prediction: Eagles score first with a touchdown run by Jay Ajayi.
Reality: Eagles score first with a field goal.
Madden Prediction: Brady connects with Danny Amendola for a first-quarter touchdown.
Reality: Brady connected with Amendola eight times for 152 yards, but never for a touchdown.
Madden Prediction: Patriots score two touchdowns in the second quarter on passes to Rob Gronkowski and Brandin Cooks.
Reality: The Patriots scored zero touchdowns in the second quarter, and Cooks left the game with a terrible-looking head injury.
Madden Prediction: Brady threw an interception that led to an Alshon Jeffery touchdown.
Reality: Brady did not throw an interception in the game.
Madden Prediction: Chris Long, a former Patriot, recorded a sack on Brady.
Reality: Brady was sacked once, crucially, in the fourth quarter. Brandon Graham recorded the sack.
Madden Prediction: Eagles safety Malcolm Jennings stripped the ball from Patriots running back Dion Lewis, resulting in a turnover.
Reality: Lewis never fumbled the ball in the game.
Madden Prediction: The game ended with Foles heaving a hail mary to Jeffery, but Patriots DB Stefon Gilmore breaks it up to secure the Patriots win.
Reality: It was Brady who threw a desperate pass as time expired, hoping to give the Patriots the come-from-behind victory. The ball was tipped into the air in the endzone, giving Patriots fans hope for a moment, but it was not meant to be (for the Patriots).
Madden Prediction: Gronkowski leads all receivers with four catches for 107 yards and a touchdown.
Reality: Amendola led all receivers with eight catches for 152 yards and no touchdowns.
Madden Prediction: Ajayi led all rushers with 73 yards and a touchdown.
Reality: Former Patriot Legarrette Blount was the top rusher, picking up 90 yards on 14 carries.
It's a new week which means Microsoft has rolled out a fresh set of deals on Xbox Live. There are sold solid deals to be had across Xbox One and Xbox 360, including quite a few offers on numerous Ubisoft titles.
All offers are good through February 12. Go to Major Nelson's blog to see a full rundown of the deals, including local pricing for where you live.
In other Xbox news, the first of February 2018's free Games With Gold titles for subscribers are now available. These include the shooter Shadow Warrior on Xbox One and the backwards-compatible racing game Split/Second for Xbox 360.
Friday the 13th launched last year, and although it sold well, it had frequent stability, performance, and server issues. In response to these issues and player feedback, developer IllFonic and publisher Gun Media announced in October that they would be upgrading the game to a newer version of Unreal Engine. Today, they provided an update on their progress toward this goal, saying that the engine upgrade is a couple of months out--and it'll set the stage for dedicated servers on PS4 and Xbox One.
In a post on Friday the 13th's forum, community lead Daniel Nixon explained the improvements that the engine upgrade will hopefully bring. Among other things, it'll likely improve physics, increase performance on all platforms, and fix "long-standing issues that will be automatically resolved by moving to the new engine version."
The highlight of the engine upgrade is making it possible to roll out dedicated servers to console players. These servers are designed to provide much better multiplayer stability. There's still no release timeframe for the dedicated servers, however. "Our focus has to be on the [engine] update first," Nixon wrote. "So we'll need to wait until that's wrapping up to start estimating the work remaining to get to dedicated servers, and provide you with that information."
However, in order to successfully achieve the engine upgrade, the developer is halting regular game updates. According to Nixon, the studio is transitioning the full team to this task, which will preclude it from developing other patches. IllFonic is targeting an April release for the upgrade.
Nintendo shocked the world when it showed shirtless Mario for Super Mario Odyssey. He has nipples but no belly button. What's up with that? In a new developer video, producer Yoshiaki Koizumi started off by saying the topic of Mario's nipples and belly button is something that he never expected players to discuss or be interested in.
Koizumi does not directly answer the question, "Why does Mario have nipples but no belly button?" unfortunately, but he still had more to say. Intriguingly, Koizumi said Nintendo thought about going back and potentially giving Mario a belly button.
"Once I heard that people were talking so much about Mario's belly button it made me start to think about whether we should revisit the topic on the design side," Koizumi said.
A belly button is what's left after doctors cut the umbilical cord at birth. You can have an innie or an outie. But Mario doesn't have either because he doesn't have a belly button at all. You know who also didn't have a belly button? Kyle XY.
Also in the video, Koizumi reveals that Toad's head is not a hat--that's just his head. He also talks about how the team added more coins out of "respect" for the testers. You can check out the full, albeit short, video embedded above.
If you're wondering, you can get the shirtless Mario outfit in Odyssey at the clothing store in the Cascade Kingdom for 1,000 coins.
Battlefield 1 developer DICE has published a blog post in which it addressed concerns that some in the player community have raised about cheating in the popular military FPS. Starting off, DICE said it is "working tirelessly" to make Battlefield 1 a "safe, secure environment for the players." The studio is intentionally holding back specific details on the "more intricate" elements of Battlefield 1's anti-cheat measures so as to not give cheaters the information they need to circumvent the anti-cheating measures.
In the past six months, DICE says it has "steadily ramped up" the way it is hunting down cheaters, both internally and with the team that runs the FairFight tools that the game uses. More cheaters "than ever before" have been removed from Battlefield 1 over the past half-year. Specifically, sanctions have been made against more than 8,500 accounts, and DICE said since then, instances of cheating have declined.
"While we have made significant gains, we still can do more," DICE said.
DICE also mentioned that updates are coming to the way that FairFight informs players about disciplinary actions. The studio disabled these messages "a few months ago" because they became a distraction, DICE said. These messages are returning, but they will be condensed into a message that informs players of all bans over the past 24 hours.
Also in the blog post, DICE talked about how some Battlefield 1 players spoke up recently on social media claiming they were being banned by FairFight when they had no reason to be. It's not the tools that are getting it wrong, DICE said, but rather it might be outside cheat software developers doing bad things.
"We are confident that our detection methods produce accurate results," DICE said. "Cheat developers may be attempting to manipulate players' minds about anti-cheat tools, and to leverage detection information from game developers."
"A common misconception regarding FairFight is that higher skilled players are more likely to get sanctioned due to their improved match stats," DICE added. "This is not correct; it is not possible to be banned simply for being skilled."
Finally, DICE anti-cheat producer Sean Merson said the studio is constantly coming up with new ways to get prevent cheating and ban those who are breaking the rules. "We will not stop until the community is happy with the results," Merson added.
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