The first trailer for the upcoming Marvel show Cloak and Dagger has been released. The show premieres on June 6 on Freeform, the channel previously known as ABC Family. It focuses on a pair of runaway teenagers who are given super powers after they are fed a dangerous drug.
This first teaser doesn't have any dialogue, but uses an interesting split screen effect to highlight the two heroes' contrasting powers--Cloak controls the power of darkness, while Dagger throws deadly blades of pure light. It shows them living on the streets, committing small crimes to survive, and slowly coming to terms with their abilities. Check it out below:
Cloak and Dagger stars former Disney star Olivia Holt (Ultimate Spider-Man) as Tandy Bowen (aka Dagger), and Aubrey Joseph (Run All Night) as Tyrone Johnson (aka Cloak). The first season will feature 10 episodes.
Although the show is technically part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, like many of Marvel's TV shows, it is not expected to have much crossover with the studio's movies or other series. In July last year, Marvel TV boss Jeph Loeb told The Hollywood Reporter that while Hulu's similarly-themed teen superhero show Runaways was part of the same connected universe, we shouldn't expect to see any interaction between the characters, even though they sometimes appeared together in Marvel's comic books.
Cloak and Dagger were created by Bill Mantlo and Ed Hannigan, and first appeared in a 1982 issue of The Spectacular Spider-Man. A successful four-issue limited series was followed by an ongoing bi-monthly comic book in 1985, and the characters have appeared in a variety of titles over the decades.
If you need a little pick me up, look no further than the Black Panther. In addition to saving his home country of Wakanda--and the world--the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero is also giving thanks to the fans that have made Black Panther such a successful movie.
During an appearance on The Tonight Show, Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman surprised fans who explained why they were so thankful to see him portrayed as a superhero on-screen--including one who admitted to bootlegging the film. "For me, as the mother of a young son, my son's childhood has been defined by Barack Obama and now Black Panther," one fan says without realizing Boseman is actually listening. "So thank you."
It's clear that the actor is as touched by what the fans have to say as they were by the movie itself. While he surprised many of them with a joke, it's the final fan--a woman who praises the movie's strong female characters--that elicits the most emotional response as Boseman offers a simple "Wakanda forever" in his T'Challa accent before shaking the woman's hand and giving her a hug.
As it turns out, Wakanda forever is an appropriate sentiment for the film. Heading into its third weekend, Black Panther has amassed over $700 million at the worldwide box office and is already the third biggest domestic film in the MCU--behind Marvel's The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron. It will took top Ultron, sliding into the number two slot.
Snyder posted an image of himself with a scruffy beard on the social media platform Vero, where he frequently posts pictures and interacts with fans. Snyder accompanied the image with a suggestion that he needs to shave, to which one fan inevitably replied "you could just remove it via CGI." Synder's reply? "We all know that doesn't work."
Snyder had in fact quit the production of Justice League by the time the mustache issue came up. He left the movie in May 2017 following the tragic death of his daughter, with Avengers director Joss Whedon taking over reshoots and post-production.
By the time additional footage of Cavill was required, the actor was already in production on the upcoming Mission Impossible: Fallout, for which he is sporting an impressive 'tache. With Mission Impossible producers Paramount unwilling to let the actor shave for the Justice League reshoots, Warner was left with no option but to attempt to remove it in post-production.
Although Justice League was a box office failure, there are still plenty of other DC movies in the works. Aquaman hits theaters in November, and Shazam is now in production. Beyond that, Wonder Woman 2 will be released in November 2019, and Suicide Squad 2 is expected to start shooting later this year.
After a period of downtime, Fortnite's servers are back online, bringing a new update to the game on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Update 3.1.0 brings a new point of interest to Battle Royale, as well as a new gun, the hunting rifle. Save the World, meanwhile, expands with a new weapon of its own: the Dragonfire auto-shotgun.
The new point of interest is called Lucky Landing, located on the southern edge of the island, and you can take a look at it below. Elsewhere the drop rates of various guns have been adjusted: you're 20% less likely to find a common burst assault rifle, for example, but 150% more likely to find a rare one than before. Some loot drops have been tweaked too; fewer chests will appear in Snobby Shores, Tilted Towers, and Industrial Plot from now on.
Notification UI has updated animations and now promptly exits the screen when dismissed by an action.
Added a confirmation dialog for exiting the game using the window close button on PC.
Bug Fixes
Ping times displayed in the Net Debug Stats panel have been improved to be more accurate by removing frame times from the calculation.
Removed some heavy hitching that could occur during texture streaming.
Fixed issue that caused location text in Party Finder to clip into buttons, now marquees properly.
Fixed issue where the input icon for selecting a lobby player podium slot would disappear after switching tabs.
Fixed some memory leaks that resulted in crashes
Battle Royale
Weapons And Items
Hunting Rifle added!
Single shot rifle that has no scope and is effective at medium to long range.
Uncommon and Rare rarity.
Found in Treasure Chests and Floor Loot.
Adjusted inconsistent drop rates for various weapon rarities.
Burst Assault Rifle drop chance:
Common decreased by 20%.
Uncommon increased by 60%.
Rare increased by 150%.
Revolver drop chance:
Common decreased by 10%.
Uncommon increased by 33%.
Rare increased by 75%.
Tactical Shotgun drop chance:
Uncommon decreased by 10%.
Rare increased by 33%.
Epic increased by 75%.
These weapons had unnecessarily low drop rates as they progressed in rarity. This does not change the overall likelihood of finding these weapon types but it does increase your chances of finding a higher rarity version. -- Developer Comment
Bug Fixes
Fixed discrepancies between crosshair location and muzzle firing location when shooting at close range targets.
Fixed shotgun collision inconsistencies when aiming through openings or around corners.
World
The new 'Lucky Landing' point of interest has been added to the southern edge of the island.
UI
You now receive Party Suggestions while in the lobby.
Rich presence now provides the player's party size.
Added new intro/outro animations to the party invite notification.
Invite notification now closes upon being clicked.
Presence text that is too long will no longer overlap the Invite/Join buttons.
Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue where you couldn't emote in lobby if a player left.
Fixed an issue where changing language to Chinese or Korean would not render text properly.
Fixed an issue that caused the '60 FPS' mode to reset back to 30 after relaunching the game on PS4.
Fixed an issue where the Party Finder dialog could double spawn.
Fixed an issue where full parties would show as solo players and appear joinable.
Fixed an issue where sometimes the Invite/Join action wouldn't show correctly.
Fixed an issue where the party bar sometimes wouldn't show party members while in a filled squad.
Art / Animation
Re-enabled sprinting dust effects on low settings.
Hip fire positioning is now maintained if a player fired recently and switched weapons.
Bug Fixes
Fixed player jittering when sliding against a surface.
Fixed an issue causing other characters to not animate while spectating them after being eliminated.
Fixed an issue where weapons were unholstered early when using Emotes.
Fixed character body parts not animating at low framerates.
Fixed shield visual FX not properly displaying on the Alpine Ace and Crackshot outfits.
Updated the flag on the arm of the USA Alpine Ace to face the correct direction.
Audio
Reduced the volume of the Hand Cannon audio to match that of the Revolver.
Reduced the volume of the Windmills found in Anarchy Acres and Fatal Fields.
Bug Fixes
Set the volume of hitting weak points back to what it was prior to V.3.0.0.
Fixed an issue where building placement sound would play repeatedly while skydiving if you had the Pickaxe equipped in the lobby.
Fixed an issue that caused the lobby music to restart every time it was attenuated to 0 volume because of music from emotes.
Fixed an issue that could cause the Storm Audio to play from an invalid location in the map.
The build mode 'click' sound no longer plays while the player is downed.
Performance
Improved overall frame rate by using less CPU for characters that are far away.
Optimized weapon load times and reduced their memory usage.
Save The World
Gameplay
Spring it On! continues, adding new questline 'Brave Beginnings'.
Many of us have already given up on our new year's resolutions, but Val has not. Join the brave survivor on her mission to join in the battle against the storm as a defender.
We have added new group missions to all theaters. Currently the mission is 'Fight the Storm' with encounters designed for 4 players.
These missions allow 4 extra Defenders to be used.
Rewards for group missions should be roughly double, except for Spring It On! Gold (the latter remains unchanged).
Impulse Grenade has been added.
Blast enemies into the air and off cliffs!
Use these to bounce yourself or your friends up to hard-to-reach places!
These are temporary power-ups that will be removed from the backpack at the end of the mission.
DragonFire shotgun is now available in the Weekly Store!
Shoots a cone of fiery death, damaging all husks in the area.
Heavy auto-shotgun, with a slower rate of fire and smaller magazine size.
Damage of Dragon's Roar assault rifle increased by 20%.
Voting has been added to the BluGlo Difficulty Pylon.
After inserting enough BluGlo for a difficulty bump, the voting window will appear.
Teams of 2 or 3 players will require 2 'Yes' votes to increase difficulty. Teams of 4 will require at least 3 'Yes' votes.
If vote passes, the team can vote to increase the difficulty again immediately.
If the vote fails, a 45 second anti-spam timeout is put into effect before another vote can be taken. The deposited BluGlo will be returned to the player who initiated the vote.
Voting is not required in missions with only one player.
Training Manuals, Trap Designs, and Weapon Designs used to evolve a schematic or person are now refunded when they are recycled/retired.
This refund is in addition to the 1/4/9 currently returned when you recycle or retire a Rare/Epic/Legendary item.
Changed 'Crit Damage versus Afflicted targets' weapon modifier from 30%/45%/60% to 45%/67.5%/90%.
Bug Fixes
Dragon Rocket Launcher no longer roll magazine size perks.
Rocket/Grenade Launchers will no longer roll headshot perks. They are also now able to roll rare durability perks.
Wooden Wall Spike Traps have had their Reload Speed perks removed and replaced with valid perks.
Wall and Floor Launcher Traps have had their Damage, Critical Chance and Critical Damage perks removed and replaced with valid perks.
Fixed an issue that allowed players to damage Lars' van during the timed encounters.
Fixed small boxes of fireworks that drop red envelopes from being destroyed by Husky Propane Tank.
Disable Play Now button for 'Want to Build a Hoverboard?' Quest since the Quest is fairly dependent on players traveling to the right zone type (i.e., City zones).
We have temporarily disabled the Difficulty Pylon in Deliver the Bomb missions to address issues with blocking track placement.
Players that play in maps much lower than their current level will have their party stats clamped. We will continue rebalancing stat clamping to make sure parties of mixed levels find the content appropriately challenging.
Heroes
[Rework] I.F.F. Coding perk
Plasma Pulse kills cause the Constructor's shield to regenerate at 15% of its normal rate for 2 seconds. Consecutive Plasma Pulse kills refresh the duration.
[Rework] Soldier's Berserker Subclass
In a Pinch has been removed as the level 12 perk and replaced with Up Close and Personal.
Kneecapper has replaced Up Close and Personal as the Berserker's level 30 perk.
The Soldier Perk 'Up Close and Personal' has been reworked:
Warcry applies 3 stacks of Debilitating Shots to nearby enemies.
Removed kill reset timer in Fragment Generation perk and changed tooltips to represent the change.
Fragment Generation perk kill counter no longer resets after 15 seconds.
Phase Shift now continues some of its momentum when used in the air. Goin' Commando!!!'s base damage has been increased from 13 to 25 damage.
Goin' Commando!!! is no longer flagged as a Ranged Weapon and does not benefit from Debilitating Shots.
Crescent Kick can now be used in the air.
Renamed Raider Nomad to Raider Raptor.
Bug Fixes
Dragon Daze tactical perk now properly shows visual FX when triggered.
Fixed an issue that allowed survivors to be carried with Constructors Bull Rush ability.
Fixed pitch angle for TEDDY's arm guns when aiming at enemies.
Fixed an issue where the pickaxe would become unresponsive if players requeued actions mid swing.
Fixed an issue that caused the Soldier's Shockwave damage to be delayed.
The Outlander's Shock Tower now correctly displays its lightning visual FX when attacking.
UI
Can cycle through survivor squads without backing out.
Can clear out all members in a survivor squad from a single action.
Added keybinds to pop-up context menus.
Bug Fixes
Dragon Daze tactical perk no longer specifies Ninja.
Fixed an issue that caused Recycling node 2 and 3 in the skill tree to not display Collection Book upgrades under bonuses.
Fixed issue where pinning the Cruise Control Quest didn't show the Ride the Hoverboard objective on the HUD when not completed.
Schematic recycling and evolution is now temporarily blocked while the item is in the crafting queue.
Audio
Bug Fixes
Fixed audio volumes of mission rewards music.
Removed music event from Supply Drop.
Fixed the issue with music abruptly switching and sounding too loud.
Added a second mix to alternate between the intro being more victorious and the other, which is more subdued.
Fixed dialog attenuating sound FX and also not being played through the Voice slider.
Fixed the loud music transition to mission rewards.
Fixed the bonus success music event so that the high frequencies are less pronounced.
Fixed the combat/score music periodically starting/stopping.
Fixed the loot tab restarting the music every time you switched to it.
By Anonymous on Mar 01, 2018 10:46 pm Sam and Michael try their hand at the newest beta mode in H1Z1 AutoRoyale that combines battle royale and vehicular mayhem.
Alex Garland's Annihilation is a good movie, but anyone expecting a direct adaptation of Jeff VanderMeer's book of the same name is likely to be surprised by how many liberties it takes in translating page to screen. Though both versions of the story end up communicating many of the same themes, the way they arrive at establishing them varies wildly.
Both are exceptional visions of the human drive for knowledge and the intertwined beauty and horror of our natural world. Looking at how the two versions approach this subject matter shows its complexity--and makes an argument for fans of VanderMeer and Garland's work alike to see the other's take on the same plot. With that in mind, here are 17 of the biggest differences between Annihilation the book and Annihilation the movie.
Annihilation spoilers follow!
17. The Expedition Members Get Names In The Movie
VanderMeer's Annihilation doesn't give names to its expedition members. Instead, they're known only by their occupation. The film's Lena is simply the biologist. She's accompanied, too, by women referred to only as the psychologist, anthropologist, and surveyor.
16. They Have Different Jobs Than In The Book
The movie changes the characters' jobs as well. The surveyor, Cass, is also a geologist and the anthropologist is replaced with physicist Josie and paramedic Anya. Dr. Ventress, despite having a new name, is still a psychologist in both versions of the story.
15. The Husband Is Dead In The Book
Natalie Portman's Lena (known only as "the biologist" in the book) comes to the strange world of the Shimmer (the book's Area X) after her husband has already embarked on a disastrous expedition before her. Named Kane and played by Oscar Isaac in the movie, he dies before she sets out in the book, instead of lingering in a coma.
14. Lena Is A Lot More Social Than Her Book Counterpart
Lena doesn't just gain a name in Garland's Annihilation, but a few new character traits besides. In the book, the biologist is deeply antisocial (she's written like a less friendly version of the film's reserved physicist Josie). Having her be more open and willing to talk to the other expedition members makes a lot of sense for the movie, though, as it provides opportunities for exposition that otherwise wouldn't exist.
13. In The Book, The Biologist Goes To The Southern Reach Willingly
The late night abduction that brings Lena to the Southern Reach only happens in the film. In the book, the biologist willingly enlists after her husband's death. She's fascinated by the complexity of different ecosystems, her career that of a field researcher rather than a professor, and has been from an early age. Her decision to explore a strange new environment helps give her character personal motivation beyond a sick husband.
12. Area X Isn't Referred To As "The Shimmer"
The movie's expedition site is called "The Shimmer" rather than simply "Area X" (though this name does appear on a title card). A lot has changed in the Shimmer/Area X's implied size and rate of expansion, too. Though its border is still pushing further out in VanderMeer's version, the Southern Reach scientists aren't worried about it threatening to engulf the surrounding environment any time soon. Instead, it's more quietly disconcerting--an inexplicable phenomenon that sits almost impassively as years and years go by without anyone figuring out what it really is.
11. The First Book Doesn't Explain How Area X Came To Be
Though the movie opens with an unseen object crashing into a lighthouse like a bizarre meteor, Annihilation, the first novel in VanderMeer's trilogy, doesn't provide readers with an explanation for Area X's origins. It's only later, as the story continues, that the source of Area X is give more context (and even then it's far from clear).
10. The Lighthouse Was Combined With The Book's Mysterious "Tower"
The movie's climax, in which Lena follows Dr. Ventress into an ominous lighthouse, borrows from other elements of the book. In VanderMeer's version, the lighthouse and the tunnel burrowing through the ground beneath it are two separate locations. The latter area, cryptically called "the tower" by the biologist despite being a tunnel underground, is near the expedition's base camp, while the lighthouse is further away and serves very different plot functions.
9. The Book Has An Elaborate Hypnosis Subplot
The psychologist clearly knows more than the rest of the expedition in both book and movie. In the film, though, the only sign we have of her exerting direct control over the rest of the group comes from the hours that they can't remember immediately following their entrance into the Shimmer. In the books, we learn that she has actually used hypnotic suggestion to lead the others and calm their nerves in ways that dramatically influence the plot.
8. The Movie Shows The Creature Attacks
The book describes large reptiles and strange sea creatures, but aside from one scene near its end, the reader is never shown the expedition fighting off their attacks. The movie adds a little bit of extra excitement through memorable run-ins with an enormous mutated alligator and probably the most terrifying bear in cinema history.
7. The Inside Of The Tower Is Even More Interesting In The Book
Lena's descent into the lighthouse's tunnel is unnerving, but the book goes even further with its version of the analogous "tower." Inside, the walls also seem to be alive, and they feature living words created by small organisms that spell out a never-ending, vaguely Biblical-sounding run-on scripture that lends the whole situation an air of mysterious, religious fervor.
6. There's No Affair Subplot In The Book
In the movie, Lena is haunted by an affair she had with a university colleague. It colors her relationship with her husband Kane and ties into the movie's themes of unintentional self-destruction and self-sabotage. The book's biologist has a fraught relationship with her husband, too, but it's because of their differences in personality, not an affair.
5. In The Book, Area X Isn't "Defeated"
Following the nightmarish "copycat" sequence that ends the movie, Lena sets a fire that ends up destroying the Shimmer even as its effects live on through her and her husband's changed biology. The first of VanderMeer's books ends with the biologist fundamentally altered by Area X, but without the ecosystem damaged.
4. The Entire Book Is Presented As The Biologist's Journal
One of the most unique aspects of the book is its format, a journal written by the biologist detailing the events of the story. This record ties into the rest of the trilogy going forward, but, understandably, the movie depicts the expedition more directly. The framing interviews with Lena in quarantine function similarly to a past tense journal, but the effect is very different.
3. The Bear Is A Different But Equally Creepy Creature
Anyone who sees Annihilation will have the sight and sound of the movie's horrifying bear burned into their memory. The book doesn't describe the exact same creature, but it does have something that serves a similar purpose: a constantly moaning hybrid of various animals that mindlessly chases the biologist toward the end of the story. Readers don't learn what, exactly, it is until the final part of the trilogy, though its true nature is somewhat similar to the film's bear.
2. Everyone Dies Differently In The Book Than In The Movie
None of the expedition member's deaths are particularly pleasant in either version of Annihilation, but they are different. Rather than get mauled by the bear, turned into a plant, or destroyed by an internal light as in the movie, the book's group is killed, one by one, from an encounter with the creature that lives in the tower, jumping from the lighthouse after becoming "infected" by Area X, and in a paranoid gunfight between two members.
1. There's No Visible Copycat Process In The Book
Lena's encounter with the copycat organism at the end of the movie roughly mirrors a similar, far less describable scene that serves as the climax of the book. No less terrifying, the biologist confronts a creature dubbed "the Crawler" that lives within the tower and is also copied by Area X. The end result is almost the same, but VanderMeer relates the copying process by having the biologist describe the sheer terror in psychological terms while Garland translates this to screen through a physical creature that lets the audience share in Lena's horror.
Switch's popularity has also been bolstered by great ports of some of the most popular Wii U games. We've already got Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Pokken Tournament DX, and Bayonetta 2, but anyone familiar with the Wii U library knows that's merely scratching the surface of what's possible.
A port of Super Smash Bros. feels like a guarantee--the sort of game that stirs up a lot of excitement and attention among Nintendo's player base. Looking beyond the obvious choice, however, Nintendo could give also give RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles X and Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE a second chance at success, as they would benefit greatly from being made portable, let alone available on a console that people are eager fill with games.
There are plenty of games that could fit the bill, but if we were forced to pick five Wii U games to transition to Switch, we know exactly what we'd pick. Take a look at the video above for our choices and why we believe they'd be right at home on Switch. And if you have any suggestions for games we might have missed, give them a shout out in the comments below.
Have you ever accidentally deleted a file, or trash binned a document only to later discover that you still need it? Maybe you let someone hop on your PC and they accidentally managed to wipe away an entire folder of precious files. Or perhaps you forgot to backup your data before reformatting. There are all kinds of crummy scenarios that can lead to deleted data that you might wish you could have back. Well, good news--sending a file to the Recycle Bin is far from permanent, even after you've emptied it.
When you delete a file in Windows, it doesn't actually get erased--it's not like sending a piece of paper through a file shredder and then setting the scraps ablaze. Instead, Windows keeps an index of where parts of a file reside on your hard drive. When you delete a document or a photo (or any data), Windows marks the sectors of your storage device that it resided on as being available for new chunks of data. Think of it as swapping out the "No Vacancy" sign for one that says "Vacant," without clearing out the space. This also applies to reformatting your drive--the data isn't necessarily gone for good.
What this means is that your deleted data is often recoverable, even when all hope seems lost. Unfortunately, the same isn't true for solid state drives that use TRIM, which involves a different method of recording and deleting data. For the purposes of this guide, we're going to focus on how to recover deleted data from a hard disk drive or portable flash drive.
Are you ready to get your data back? Then let's get started!
Start with the Recycle Bin
This one is obvious, but for the sake of thoroughness, let's start things off easy. If you've deleted a file and want to get it back, open up the Recycle Bin on your desktop and find the file. It's helpful to sort the contents by the "Date Deleted" if this is a file that was recently trashed, or by "Name" if it's buried in the Recycle Bin and you know the name of the file.
How many deleted files reside in the Recycle Bin is depends on how much space Windows has allotted it. You can change this by right-clicking on the Recycle Bin and selecting "Properties." Each drive and partition has its own Recycle Bin. Click on the one you want to change and then enter an amount in the "Custom size" field. Note that this is measured in megabytes, with 1,024 megabytes equivalent to 1 gigabyte.
Assuming the file you want to recover is not in the Recycle Bin, you're going to need to dig deeper. To do that, you need a file recovery program. We're going to recommend some, but first, a few tips.
Plan Things Out
There are many data recovery programs available, some of which are free and others that cost money. While results will vary from one program to another, they all take a similar approach, which is to scan sectors of your hard drive that Windows marks as available.
Before you install one of these programs, hook up a secondary drive to your PC, if that's an option. Every time Windows writes over a section of your hard drive that might contain previously deleted data, your chances of recovering it lessen. So, it's important to install a data recovery program on a separate drive to prevent that from happening.
The same applies to recovering files. If you're able to, recover deleted data to a separate drive rather than the one the data originally resided on, otherwise you risk overwriting other files before you have a chance to recover them as well.
Time is of the essence, too. Even though you might not be moving files around and installing more programs, Windows and your other applications might be downloading and installing updates on their own. All of this activity puts your deleted data at further risk of disappearing forever, so don't procrastinate.
Recuva
Recuva is a data recovery program from the makers of CCleaner, a popular utility for managing Windows. There are two versions, a free one and one that costs $20. The latter adds support for virtual drives and automatic updates, and comes with tech support. For most uses, however, the free version is sufficient.
One thing we like about Recuva is that it's extremely fast. The total time it takes to run depends on a variety of factors, including the size of your storage device and the number of files you deleted. In our case, it whipped through a lightly used 3TB hard drive and found nearly 99,000 files in under 30 seconds.
Recuva does a good job of breaking things down by telling you the state of the deleted file you're trying to recover. If it says "Excellent," there's a good chance Recuva will be able to restore it. Your chances are lower if its says "Poor" or "Very poor," and "Unrecoverable" is self-explanatory.
Give this one a whirl first, and use the Deep Scan option if your initial scan doesn't find what you're looking for.
This is another undelete program that's offered in free and paid trim. The free version limits the amount of data you can recover to 2GB, so it's best for when you just want to recover a smaller file (or set of files) that you accidentally deleted, rather than an entire drive's worth of contents. Otherwise, you have to shell out $70 for the Pro version to recover as much data as you want.
EaseUS does a quick scan of your drive, then hops right into a deep scan. It's kind of a weird approach, as the deep scan should be optional, especially since it takes a long time to run. We gave up waiting after it spent a half hour scanning our hard drive with no end in sight. It isn't mandatory that you let it finish a deep scan--just hit the "Back" button and you have the option of stopping the scan and viewing the results.
To make things easier, there are several pull-down menus at the top to sort through whatever files it finds by type, such as graphics, audio, documents, and so forth. You can choose specific file extensions within each one. This makes it a cinch to sort through potentially thousands of files for a JPEG, for example.
QueTek does not offer a free version of its File Scavenger program, though you can run a demo to see how many files it's able to dig up before commiting to a purchase.
One thing that is neat about File Scavenger is that you don't have to install it. You can download the program to a USB flash drive and run it from there, which makes it a great option for portable rescues. If you a keep a toolkit of programs to work on other people's PCs, this is a great one to have.
File Scavenger's isn't quite as user friendly as some of the other options, as the interface is fairly sparse. For example, instead of using pull-down menus or buttons to let you search for a specific file type, you have to type it into the "Look for" field. So for example to instruct File Scavenger to only look for any and all JPEG files, you would type "*.jpg" (without the quotation marks). Or you can leave the default "*" option to search for all file types.
As its name implies, FreeUndelete is a no-cost data recovery program, at least for personal use. Businesses are required to purchase a license starting at $69, but the program itself is the same, as opposed to tacking on more bells and whistles for paid customers.
Like File Scavenger, it is not the most intuitive program. However, it does a good job of rooting out deleted files. Just select the drive where you lost your file and hit the "Scan" button. If you want, you can filter search results by type, you just have to manually input them into the search field.
This is another program that can be run without installing. That means you can stick it on a USB flash drive and not have to worry about overwriting your main drive, which could potentially destroy your chances of recovering a file. To do that, click the "Advanced" option instead of proceeding with a full install. You will then see a "Run without installing…" button. Click on that and off you go.
Wise Data Recovery is one of the easiest data recovery programs to use. There is not much to running it, and it doesn't inundate the user with options. Once installed, just select a disk and hit the "Scan" button.
The scanning engine is extremely fast. Part of that is because it doesn't offer a deep scanning option like some other programs do. That also means it isn't likely to find as many files as some of the other programs, which was our experience. However, it's a good option for taking a mulligan on emptying the Recycle Bin.
We also like that Wise Data Recovery has a preview pane that allows you to view some image files. It was hit or miss in our experience whether it would actually produce a preview, even for images with a high probability for recovery. But when it works, it's a nice amenity.
In terms of the user interface, IObit Undelete is the most polished program of the bunch and one of the better options for less experienced users. This comes at the expense of advanced options, but if you're looking for a straightforward solution, this is the one to use.
IObit Undelete's main window breaks things down by file type, but not in a confusing manner. It presents users with six options: All Types, Pictures, Music, Documents, Videos, and Other types. By default, all six categories are checked. There's also tab to select where you want to IObit Undelete to scan.
While incredibly easy to use, IObit Undelete doesn't let you configure scans for files with a specific file extension. That's a bummer if you all you want to recover are JPEG or PNG photos, rather than all of the various file extensions that apply to pictures. IObit Undelete also lacks a true deep scanning option.
Some data recovery programs are purpose built to scan for specific types of files. MiniTool Photo Recovery is one of them, and if you're looking to recovery photos and videos, this one does an excellent job of resurrecting them.
Once you start the scan, the main window will be populated with thumbnails of the images and other media files that it was able to find, in real time. This is a huge convenience, as file names are not always preserved when digging them up from the digital grave. Using thumbnail images takes the guesswork out of what you're recovering, and makes quick work of sifting through your photos and selecting only the ones you want to recover.
The scanning process is slow, presumably because it's doing a deep dive into your storage device. There is no quick scanning option, so you just have to be patient. If you're working with a large capacity hard drive, you may want to find something else to do while it works its mojo, like catch a movie or take a nap.
TestDisk
We saved this one for last because you'll probably only turn to it when the proverbial poo really hits the fan. Or more specifically, when you've lost a partition and Windows just shrugs as if to say, 'I don't remember there being a D:\ drive, are you sure there ever was one?' Well of course you're sure, but unfortunately yelling obscenities at Windows doesn't help. TestDisk can, however.
TestDisk is not meant for recovering individual files, at least not directly. It was designed to recover lost partitions and to make non-booting disks bootable again. And it's good at what it does, though it's not much to look at.
Rather than serve up a fancy GUI, TestDisk resides in a command prompt. The creators attempted to take some of the scariness away for less experienced users by breaking things down into menus, which you can navigate with your keyboard's arrow keys (not your mouse). Still, it's a bit intimidating.
If it's come to this, your best bet is to follow the developer's step-by-step instructions. They're pretty thorough, and with any luck your drive will back up and running the way it was before things went terribly wrong.
We are less than a month away from Rare's latest release of their swashbuckling pirate game, Sea of Thieves. And throughout the past few weeks we've had the opportunity to dive into some of the title's latest improvements during a studio visit and various betas. From pirate legends to skeleton raids to the kraken and beyond, updates on the game's features have been numerous. Even with all the hype surrounding Microsoft's first exclusive title of 2018, here are 10 reasons to be excited for Sea of Thieves.
Sea of Thieves releases on March 20 for PC and Xbox One. For those with Xbox Game Pass, the game will be available on day-one as part of the subscription program. That gets you access to both the Xbox One and PC versions, as Sea of Thieves will support cross-play between the two platforms. Special Sea of Thieves-themed Xbox One accessories will also launch alongside the game. We recently played the game, and you can find out what we think in our Sea of Thieves preview.
What are you most excited to explore when Sea of Thieves finally releases? Let us know in the comments below.
Sailing The Beautiful High Seas
Based on our experience with the game's alphas and betas, it's clear that Rare's pirate adventure game is absolutely gorgeous. The video game water you sail on is second to none and the picturesque islands feel like unique worlds by their own right. As the sun sets and rises on the sea of thieves, Rare's use of Unreal Engine 4 shines brightly.
Aside from the game's graphical quality, its cartoon art style complements the comedic and silly aspects of the game (like firing fellow crewmates out of cannons or playing pirate dress-up with goofy accessories). Sea of Thieves' art style is both beautifully designed and humorously quirky all at the same time.
Thrilling Pirate Voyages
Voyages are Sea of Thieves' version of quests, and there are many different types of adventures pirates can embark on. But before venturing out onto the open ocean, you'll need to visit an outpost to purchase a voyage from one of the game's three factions, also known as Trade Companies.
The first trade company is the Gold Hoarders. Those who had the chance to play during the closed beta will have become familiar with these gilded NPCs. The Gold Hoarders challenge you to hunt for treasure via x-marks-the-spot maps and solving riddles. And it is also possible to sell them other rare artifacts discovered around the world.
The second company is the Order of Souls. These mysterious NPCs will pay pirates to go on bounty hunts for the most deadly pirate captains; return with their skulls in hand and you'll be handsomely rewarded by the trade company. It's rumored that a future open beta will allow players to try these combat-oriented voyages.
The third and final trade company that we know of is the Merchant Alliance. They wish to control trade in the world and will thus pay you to scout for supplies (like pigs, chickens, or gunpowder) across the sea. Only caveat is, you must fulfill your contract on time, so best make good use of your in-game pocket watch.
These are the three trade companies that Rare has shared details on, but it's important to note that they plan to add more factions in due time.
Team Up Or Go Alone
It's no secret that Sea of Thieves is a unique type of multiplayer game that operates best when players adventure in groups and communicate properly with one another. The larger galleons sailed by a crew of four are not only better equipped with many cannons and multiple sails but are also more sturdy when it comes to attacks.
Yet you might prefer to explore the world alone, and Rare has made this possible with the addition of single-sailed sloops. These small vessels are more nimble than galleons but are far more fragile. Everything necessary to operate the ship (including the sails, wheel, anchor, and map) are within arm's reach, even for solo pirates. Rare has stated that it is far more difficult to play alone, as other crews can easily overwhelm a lone player. But if you sail carefully, you can still venture out on your own solo adventures when your friends are offline.
Guns At The Ready
Although the tranquil waves can be mesmerizing, it's important to survey the seas as danger lurks around every corner. Other crews are constantly trying to sink your ship and steal your treasure, so you'll need to be prepared for battle at a moment's notice. Ship-to-ship combat on the high seas can be chaotic. As the cannon balls whiz by, you'll need to manage the game's warfare mechanics between firing back, repairing holes, and steering your vessel. And although that can be overwhelming at first, boarding, killing, and sinking an opposing ship is quite satisfying.
While scouring the various islands on foot, you'll often run into other crews off on their own adventures or skeleton hordes protecting their long-lost treasures. The sword-fights and gunplay that follow can be a little clunky from time-to-time, but you'll be rewarded in gold if you can successfully ambush another crew and return the stolen loot back to an outpost. It's a pirate life for all and you'll need to fight for your precious cargo.
Dress The Part
When you first fire up Sea of Thieves you'll be greeted by what Rare's calling "The Infinite Pirate Generator." You'll be able to circle through eight pre-created pirates coming in different shapes, sizes, genders, and appearances. If none fit your preference, you can regenerate the eight characters over and over again until you find one you'd like to roleplay.
Once you've selected your pirate the real fun begins. At outpost shops you can spend your hard-earned gold on a ton of cosmetic items to dress up your buccaneer. From full costumes to peg-legs, how you choose to outfit your character will allow you to further stand out.
Rare has confirmed that microtransactions will be in the final game but stated there will not be a loot box system nor will purchases affect gameplay or give unfair advantages. During the first patch update Rare plans to sell virtual pets, so you will know exactly what you are buying.
Game-Changing Treasures
During the closed beta and scale tests, players discovered two uniquely designed treasure chests with some interesting effects. The Chest of a Thousand Grogs will make the carrier drunk immediately, and the Chest of Sorrow will periodically cry and fill your ship with water if you don't bail quickly. These cursed chests will change the way you play the game. For example, some players have reported that playing their concertina and hurdy-gurdy instruments have soothed the Chest of Sorrow's tears. And others have shared that they've used the Chest of a Thousand Grogs to easily ambush drunken foes. Although these chests might seem like an unnecessary challenge, they are worth your trouble as they can be sold to the Gold Hoarders for far more gold than most regular chests.
In recent developer updates and concept art, Rare has shown some additional chests that appear out of the ordinary, but we don't know what effects these chests will have on the player or the world around them. We can only speculate and hope that more cursed chests are on the horizon for the game's full release.
Skeleton Forts
Since the first Sea of Thieves marketing materials launched, players have speculated about the skull cloud with glowing green eyes. We now know it is one of the title's emergent gameplay systems. A giant skull cloud will randomly appear above a particular skeleton fort which informs all pirate crews sailing around the map that a raid is going down. As crews converge on the island, they can choose to work together or battle each other through the waves of enemy skeletons. Once you've fought your way through the horde, the captain will appear and challenge players to a battle.
When the captain is defeated, the cloud will dissipate and the skeleton will drop a key to the fort's vault. Once the vault is open, other crews are free to sabotage, but Rare has stated that there will be more loot than a single crew can carry. How raids will transpire is up to you: Can crews work together? Will there be an all out war for the vault's contents? Or should you escape with the key and return when the coast is clear?
Thanks to data-mining Redditors, diverse classes of skeletons are rumored to be in the final game. Codes for bone, metal, plant, and shadow skeletons have been discovered while data mining the alphas, betas, and scale tests.
Become A Pirate Legend
Turns out the slogan "Become Pirate Legend" was not simply Sea of Thieves marketing material but rather the game's first form of endgame content. As you level up your reputation with the various factions, you'll eventually be approached by a mysterious group of NPCs who you'll want to impress. Although it is unclear what these challenges might entail, we do know that once you've proven your worth, you'll be invited into The Tavern of Legends. This secret lair is hidden somewhere within the sea of thieves and was even in the closed beta (although no players were able to uncover its secrets).
Inside the secluded tavern, the ghostly pirate lord will sell you legendary voyages. And although these voyages are by far the most valuable and fruitful in the game, they can still be shared with any other pirates regardless of their rank. Rare expects the first Pirate Legends to arrive in the hideout a couple weeks after launch, and when that happens, you'll begin to see some unique cosmetic items and high-ranking titles sailing throughout the world.
Become A Legendary Captain
For the game's first major update, Rare has promised that you can expect yet another achievement to strive towards: becoming a Legendary Captain. The second tier of endgame content makes the Tavern of Legends your personal hideout, as you'll automatically spawn there when signing on. The ship wading in the background of the cave will also become yours to sail and customize. When other players see the legendary ship sail out from underneath the hideout's waterfall (think the Batmobile bursting out of the Batcave), they'll know a Legendary Captain is on the seas.
Release The Kraken
After much speculation and discussion among the community, we can finally confirm that something wicked lies beneath the ocean's waves. The Kraken is very much real, acting as a force of nature similar to the game's storms that can emerge at any time. The ocean will grow dark with ink and the in-game music will begin to change if the kraken draws near. If you are unable to outrun it, it will wrap its giant tentacles around your ship and any other ships nearby, attempting to crush them beneath its weight. Crew members can be attacked, thrown, and thrashed around if you don't bring the fight to its suction-cupped limbs. And as an emergent gameplay element, the Kraken will act differently depending on the situation. Rare has stated there will be a reward if you and your crew are able to take down the Kraken, but we will have to wait to find out what that might be.
EA and Maxis have plans to release some special Final Fantasy XV themed costumes in The Sims 4. The promotion is part of the roll-out of the FFXV Windows Edition coming on March 6. Final Fantasy XV is already slated to get some wacky Sims costumes, but the content-sharing is going both ways, so Sims players will be able to dress up in the hottest fashions of Eos.
Sometime after launch, The Sims 4 Gallery will include a Noctis Lucis Caelum outfit. Players will be able to download the outfit in all its buckled and laced and zippered glory. You can fashion yourself in classic black, white, or green.
Unlike the Sims-themed costumes, this doesn't require a pre-order or purchase on the Origin service. Instead, it appears to be a free costume for anyone who plays The Sims 4, whether they're Final Fantasy fans or not. So even if you couldn't tell a Noct from a Gladio, you can still get a snazzy new outfit.
Meanwhile, the Sims-themed outfits you can get in FFXV include the iconic Llama Suit and Plumbob Suit. Those are available for your avatar to wear in the multiplayer expansion, or for Noctis to wear throughout the single-player campaign if you like your weighty melodrama to be peppered with some absurdity. You can check those out in the video above.
Netflix's sci-fi action thriller Bright may not have been met with many positive reviews, but it was a huge success for the streaming giant. A record number of viewers watched the movie, and there is a sequel on the way. The producers and stars have been quick to defend it too--following comments in January by Netflix CEO Rex Hastings, star Joel Edgerton has commented on the critical response.
In an interview with Collider, Edgerton blamed some of the negativity on the fact that Netflix is disrupting the way the films are released. "I think there was a little bit of extra critical hate towards it because it's changing the landscape of the movie business," he said. "But I think Bright is maybe a movie that needs to be reviewed by public opinion rather than viewed through the highbrow prism of film criticism."
Edgerton went on to compare the film to Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which was well received by critics but found a more mixed reaction amongst fans. "According to [Netflix], the numbers were there", he said. "And I think that would be supported by the wild discrepancy between the audience score and the Rotten Tomatoes aggregate score, it's almost the inverse of Star Wars [The Last Jedi]. You've got critics at 93 or 92%, and the audience gave it a 50-something, and you get to Bright, which is sort of slammed by critics, but it has a 90% audience score."
Neverthless, Edgerton did state that the filmmakers would listen to criticism when making the follow-up. "[Whether] it's the filmmakers or Netflix or any of us, [we can] learn from the response to the movie--and I'm talking about the negative responses to the movie and what people out there on the street loved about the movie," he said. "I think if you take all that information, it puts you in a nice spot to make a second and maybe a third movie. It's always worth listening to the fans and the good and bad responses to it."
It has been confirmed that Edgerton and co-star Will Smith are returning for the Bright sequel, as well as director David Ayer. Writer Max Landis is however not coming back, so Ayer will handle script-writing duties himself. The movie currently has no confirmed release date. Click here to find out how GameSpot thinks Bright 2 could be a much better film than the original.
Her Story director Sam Barlow, who is hard at work on his next game, is ready to unleash his new project. #WarGames is an interactive six-part web series that will take viewers into a world filled with hacktivism, espionage, and terror, as a group of characters tries to get to the bottom a military conspiracy.
The series will change based on the viewers, as anyone who watches will select between several video feeds that tell the story of #WarGames from different points of views. According to a description from Eko, the interactive startup behind the project, "the series 'learns' from their choices, resulting in experiences that are unique and personal. It's not a game, but an exciting new medium of personalized entertainment."
The series is based on the 1983 movie of the same name. However, as can be seen in the trailer above, it's quite different from the original. With its emphasis on technology, hacking, and modern communications, #WarGames lets the viewer be the one solving the mystery. The cast is led by Juss Nurse (Scandal), who plays "an ex-military brat turned hacker activist."
Eko will launch #WarGames on March 14, via HelloEko.com, Vudu.com, and the Eko app. You can see images from the series, which illustrate the various video feeds viewers will be able to choose between, above.
[UPDATE] Downtime is now over and Fortnite's servers are back online, according to the game's official Twitter account. The downtime was in order to bring a new update, version 3.1.0, to Fortnite. Take a look at the update's patch notes here.
The original story is below.
The Fortnite servers will be offline tomorrow, March 1, for a period of time as developer Epic Games releases a new update for the popular Battle Royale game. Update V.3.1.0 will be released at some point on Thursday, but Epic said in a tweet that it does not yet have any information about when it will come out.
As such, we don't know exactly when the downtime will begin or how long it will run for. Whatever the case, Epic said it will release the patch notes when the downtime begins, so keep checking back for all of those details. As of yet, Epic has not given any indication as to what may be changing with the new update.
Blizzard has revealed the newest hero joining Overwatch: Brigitte (pronounced Bri-gee-ta). The character has been detailed in the latest Public Test Realm patch notes and also on the game's official website, and is listed as a support class hero.
"An engineer with peerless armor-constructing abilities, Brigitte Lindholm is a valiant squire who fights on the front line to protect her allies," reads the patch notes. "Brigitte's armor engineering capabilities make her a stalwart support hero, capable of holding her ground in combat while also providing healing and armor for her allies." The official website, meanwhile, says "Brigitte specializes in armor" and can throw Repair Packs to heal teammates, or automatically heal nearby allies when she damages foes with her Flail.
Brigitte's primary weapon is a "heavy-hitting Rocket Flail," which she "swings in a wide arc in front of her to smash multiple enemies at once." The Whip Shot ability uses the flail to strike enemies at a distance and stun them. Landing blows allows Brigitte's passive ability, Inspire, to heal nearby allies over time.
Her Barrier Shield deploys a "frontal energy barrier that can absorb a limited amount of damage and protect any allies directly behind her." With her shield deployed, she can execute Shield Bash to "lunge forward and stun the first enemy in her path." From the sounds of it, she's a mixture of Reinhardt and her father, Torbjörn.
Her ultimate ability is called Rally, and is described as "a galvanizing call to arms that generates a substantial amount of armor for nearby allies and increases Brigitte's movement speed so she can lead them into battle." Check out Brigitte's origin story in the video above or read her story and learn about her abilities below, courtesy of Blizzard.
"No longer sitting on the sidelines, Brigitte Lindholm has taken up arms to defend those in need of protection. The youngest daughter of weapons designer, Torbjörn Lindholm, Brigitte was the first of his children to show an interest in mechanical engineering. Brigitte spent much of her spare time in her father's workshop, learning the trade and honing her skills. Her aptitude for engineering mirrored that of her father's, but Brigitte's primary interest was in armor fabrication and defensive systems, unlike Torbjörn, who was world renowned (and perhaps infamous) for the weapons he created.
"Everyone expected that Brigitte would continue her apprenticeship and follow in her father's footsteps. But her plans changed due to influence of another prominent figure in her life, her father's close friend and fellow Overwatch agent, Reinhardt Wilhelm. A close friend of the family and Brigitte's godfather, Reinhardt told Brigitte tales of heroes and chivalry as she grew up. After his retirement and Overwatch's fall, Reinhardt declared that he would become a knight-errant on a quest to bring justice. Before he left on his adventures, Brigitte surprised him by asking to join him as his squire. Reinhardt accepted.
"As a squire, Brigitte had many responsibilities, the most important of which was the upkeep of Reinhardt's Crusader armor (a design she was familiar with as the current version was designed by her father). But more and more, she found her main job was taking care of Reinhardt himself, trying to protect him from his overenthusiasm even as his body was breaking down from years of combat.
"Eventually, she realized that serving only as a mechanic wasn't enough, and that the best way she could aid Reinhardt was to become a warrior in her own right. While Reinhardt trained her in combat, Brigitte began to build her own suit of armor in secret. Now Brigitte fights at Reinhardt's side to protect him, and any others in need as knight and squire journey to make the world a better place, one battle at a time."
Rocket Flail: Brigitte's melee weapon has an extended range, enabling her to strike multiple enemies with a single swing.
Repair Pack: Brigitte throws a Repair Pack that can heal an ally. Any healing over that ally's maximum health provides them with armor instead.
Whip Shot: Brigitte throws her flail a long distance, dealing damage and knocking an enemy away from her.
Barrier Shield: Brigitte deploys a frontal energy barrier to absorb a limited amount of damage.
Shield Bash: Once her Barrier Shield is deployed, Brigitte can dash forward to stun an enemy.
Rally (Ultimate): Brigitte moves faster and provides all nearby allies with armor that lasts until it's removed by damage.
Sam and Michael try their hand at the newest beta mode in H1Z1 AutoRoyale that combines battle royale and vehicular mayhem.
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