Square Enix has revealed more details on Final Fantasy XIV's upcoming expansion, Shadowbringers. During the FFXIV Fan Fest event this weekend, the publisher announced that Shadowbringers will launch for PS4 and PC on July 2, and it gave fans a glimpse at some of the new content the expansion will introduce to the MMO.
Along with a variety of new dungeons, Shadowbringers will add another playable race to the game: the rabbit-like Viera, the race Final Fantasy XII's Fran belonged to. The expansion will also introduce several new beast tribes: Nu Mou, dwarves, and pixies. Players will have a "harrowing encounter" with the ruler of the pixies, Titania, in one of Shadowbringers' new trials.
Square Enix also revealed one of the new classes coming in Shadowbringers: Gunbreaker. The class wields gunblades and fills the role of a tank. The game's level cap is also being increased from 70 to 80, and there will be a number of new areas to explore, including the Rak'Tika Greatwood, Amh Araeng, and Il Mheg.
On top of that, Square Enix announced that Shadowbringers will kick off a new Alliance raid series. The publisher hasn't shared many details about it yet, but this one will be a surprise crossover with Nier: Automata and is titled YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse. You can read more about the upcoming expansion on the Shadowbringers website.
Shadowbringers will be available in standard and Collector's editions. The latter will retail for $200 and comes with a variety of bonus physical and in-game items, including an art book, Dark Knight figure, playing cards, Fran minion, and Revolver Gunbreaker weapon. Pre-orders for Shadowbringers will open this week, on February 6; everyone who reserves the expansion will be able to access it several days early, beginning June 28.
We don't yet know Legion Season 3's release date, but we do know one concrete thing about it: Legion Season 3 will be the show's final season, FX announced today. The network made the announcement during its panel at the twice-yearly Television Critics Association event in Los Angeles. FX CEO John Landgraf said during the panel that ending Legion with its third season was always creator Noah Hawley's plan.
FX announced Legion Season 3 before Season 2 had even completed airing, back in June. The network's president of original programming, Eric Schrier, issued a statement in a press release at the time indicating that FX has faith in the series and its creators.
"Legion has redefined the superhero drama and exceeded all expectations as the intensity and revelation build through the second season," Schrier said. "We are incredibly proud of Noah Hawley's achievement and are honored to continue the series as it pushes the boundaries of conventional television storytelling. We are also grateful for the contributions of our executive producers, John Cameron, Lauren Shuler Donner, Simon Kinberg, and Jeph Loeb with Marvel Television, as well as our outstanding cast and crew of this groundbreaking show."
FX has ordered a series of Y, based on the highly-regarded Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra graphic novel series Y: The Last Man. The adaptation has been shopped around and in development for some time, and this finally lands it a permanent home. You can see the first image from it below.
The series will follow the travels of Yorick, the lone male survivor of a mysterious event that has spontaneously killed every other male animal on the planet. Women are left to keep society going, exploring themes of gender, race, and class.
Last year FX announced its planned cast for the series, which includes Barry Keoghan, Imogen Poots, and Diane Lane, as the lead characters Yorick, his sister Hero, and their mother Senator Jennifer Brown, respectively. Joining them will be Lashana Lynch as Agent 355, Juliana Canfield as Beth, and Marin Ireland as Nora. Executive producer Melina Matsoukas directs the pilot episode.
The adaptation has been long in development, having gone through attempted film adaptations from Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane) and D.J. Caruso (XXX: Return of Xander Cage). The script was delayed in part because showrunner Michael Green says he struggled to make an impactful show about gender dynamics in light of the 2016 election.
"Y: The Last Man is a towering achievement among graphic novel storytelling and it's been rewarding to work with this outstanding team," FX president of original programming Nick Grad said in an announcement. "Michael Green and Aïda Mashaka Croal have partnered with Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson to deliver a stunning new expression of this fascinating and timely story. Melina Matsoukas, who directed the pilot, did an incredible job bringing it to life with Diane Lane and this stellar cast."
The Division 2 will have a photo mode, unlike its predecessor, and its inclusion is supposedly thanks to the series' community. After seeing fans of The Division asking for a photo mode, Ubisoft decided it was necessary to add the feature to the sequel.
"It's something that the community asked for a lot," The Division 2 lead designer Keith Evans said in an interview with USG. "Throughout [The Division's post-launch], there would be these amazing pictures that the hardcore community members would start posting on Twitter. They were just doing it themselves and it was very grassroots."
Although the first game didn't have a photo mode, you could download a mod for the PC version, titled Cinematic Tools, that added a camera function to the game. When it was first released, the mod got its creator banned from the game. However, plenty of players used the mod, and that caught the attention of The Division creative director Julian Gerighty. When it came time to develop The Division's sequel, Ubisoft decided to add a photo mode, which will be available in The Division 2 on day one.
The Division 2's photo mode works similarly to the one in Assassin's Creed Odyssey, so you'll be able to pretty easily take photos throughout the game without having to mess with settings. After taking the photo, you can also add filters or adjust the depth of field and brightness.
You'll be able to try out The Division 2 prior to launch with the game's private beta. The beta starts on February 7 and continues to February 11. In order to participate, you can either pre-order The Division 2 for a guaranteed invite or register on the game's main website for a chance to win one. The Division 2's private beta includes a fair bit of content. On February 7, you'll have access to two story missions, several open-world activities, one of the PvP modes, and one of the three Dark Zones. Starting February 8, endgame content will also be unlocked in the private beta, which allows you to try playing with one of The Division 2's level 30 specialized agents in a late-game Invaded mission.
The idea that Disney might not make a third movie in the Guardian of the Galaxy series, which has grossed more than $1.6 billion worldwide, would have seemed ridiculous less than a year ago. But when writer/director James Gunn was fired by the studio after offensive tweets he made nearly a decade ago resurfaced, it threw the fate of the Guardian of the Galaxy Vol.3 into uncertainty. However, star Chris Pratt has now commented on the future of the series.
Pratt was asked about the status of Vol.3 by Variety, and he assured fans that the movie will happen. "I promise there'll be a third movie," he said. "I don't know exactly what that's going to look like, but I know everyone on board is just eager to give the fans what they want and wrap up a trilogy in a meaningful way."
While Vol.3 was never given a release date by Marvel, it was expected to go into production in early 2019 ahead of a 2020 release. Dave Bautista, who plays Drax and was the most outspoken about Gunn's firing, stated in August that the movie was "on hold indefinitely," and and he had no interest in appearing in the movie if Gunn was not involved. Pratt and the rest of the cast offered Gunn their support, but stopped short of asking for him to be rehired.
In October last year, it was announced that Gunn had been hired by Marvel's rival DC to write a reboot of Suicide Squad. Last week, it was confirmed the movie, titled The Suicide Squad, will hit theaters on August 6, 2021. It has also been reported that Gunn is in negotiations to direct the movie, and that it will "take the franchise in a new direction with a mostly all-new cast of characters and actors."
Whether the third Guardians movie happens or not, we will definitely see some of the cast in the upcoming Avengers: Endgame. The much-anticipated follow-up to Avengers: Infinity War is released in April, and a new trailer was screened during last weekend's Superbowl.
It's the first full week of February, and streaming giant Netflix has some new offerings on its service this week. And the next seven days are filled with Netflix original series and movies for you to check out.
Hitting the service this past Sunday was everyone's favorite movie about a spoiled canine who gets lost in Mexico. That's right: Beverly Hills Chihuahua is now available for you to stream. Aside from that, 2009's The Soloist, starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr., are the only two non-Netflix originals debuting this week.
On the original side of things, Ray Romano returns with his first comedy special in 23 years with Ray Romano: Right Here, Around the Corner, available now. Additionally, Mexico gets its own spin-off of the wildly-entertaining baking series with ¡Nailed It! México coming on February 8. Also headed to Netflix that day is Kevin Hart's Guide to Black History, where the comedic actor highlights black Americans' contributions to the cinematic artform over the years.
There is only one movie leaving the series this week, and that's the animated musical Sing. It scampered away on February 3.
Ever since its debut at E3 2018, the developers of The Division 2 have focused on the sequel's endgame. It's a recurring topic for many online looter-shooters such as Destiny and Anthem, as it's often seen as the make-or-break point for a game's long term success. That's something the developers of the original Division know all too well. Players who finished its vanilla campaign inevitably hit a slump, leading to a repetitive cycle. Ubisoft eventually overhauled much of the game's mechanics and added in new encounters--leading to an impressive post-launch life for The Division. However, many players still burned out by the original release missed out on the revival once other games came around.
With the sequel, Ubisoft is taking steps to ensure that it won't fall into the same traps as the original, while also giving the campaign a greater sense of purpose. We recently spent some time getting an early look at the game's upcoming private beta--playable February 7-10--which offers a tease for what's to come in the early hours of the campaign and the late-game content that follows. After you've established yourself in The Division 2's turbulent setting of post-outbreak Washington D.C. during the campaign, things take a more chaotic turn after the conclusion, forcing you to defend what you've built up in the expanded endgame.
During this event, the developers spent some time reflecting on what they learned from the original game and detailed their approach in the sequel.
"One of the biggest things for The Division 2 is the importance of the endgame and our focus on it," said creative director Julian Gerighty. "We launched The Division 1 with very little in terms of endgame content. It was a great campaign, you reached level 30, the endgame started, but it was lacking in activities. We were trying to operate this live game, yet we saw things that weren't working out for the long term. That's why a very tough decision was made before patch 1.4, which was to stop the development on all of the planned features and the DLCs to be able to focus on the technological debt and on the improvements to get the game to where we wanted it to be. That all fed into how we've set up The Division 2 production-wise, creatively as well."
The Division 1 is a vastly different game now than it was at launch, and all for the better. That second wind is something that the developers wanted to carry over into the sequel, which they did in a few important ways. For starters, The Division 2 will incorporate much of the existing game's content from the post-launch updates, which includes update 1.2's bounties, 1.4's world tiers, 1.6's exotic weapons, and 1.8's PvP arena. These features will also be available for all players at launch, and future DLCs for the first year will be free. This is not only to stay consistent with the current game's flow and meta but also to ensure that the community would stay engaged.
With the new game, there also comes a fresh start for all players. Whereas the original was set in Manhattan, Division 2 brings a new set of agents to the nation's capital, which introduces new systems and world events that occur in the field--presenting more moments and opportunities to leave a large footprint. At the beginning of the demo, our first mission was to retake the White House from one of the opposing factions, which becomes your base of operations soon after.
Over the course of the campaign, the White House increases in influence and followers the more you expand the Agency's reach throughout Washington D.C. In order to reassert control over the city, you'll set up new settlements and interact with key characters who will aid in your rise to power. Some NPCs are recruitable and can even be brought to the White House to upgrade the various areas--leading to new items and perks to acquire.
Exploring ruined D.C. offered plenty of opportunities to meet new characters and come across control points that are in constant dispute. Though D.C. doesn't have nearly as strong of an atmosphere and eerie vibe as the original, it does fill that void by presenting more reasons to explore and engage in the various side-missions. Much like in the original, there are ECHOs that allow you to play back moments from the lives of supporting characters. While the original's take felt one-sided since the characters were dead long before you arrived, several of the persons of interest in The Division 2 are alive and reasonably well, and the ECHOs offer more details about their connections to others throughout D.C.
Things, however, take a particularly surprising turn in the endgame. A new threat in the form of Black Tusk emerges, leading into the broader endgame that shakes things up. Similar to the Hunters from The Division's 1.8 update, who only appeared in the Survival mode and Underground DLC, Black Tusk is a roaming faction that serves as the antithesis of the Division agency. Possessing an arsenal of high-tech weapons and gadgets that match your own, this new faction invades D.C. and actively tries to retake areas of the city--and even the Dark Zones. In the two endgame missions we played, one in the Air and Space Museum and along with the Federal Emergency Bunker, the Black Tusk proved to be a powerful force to be reckoned with. Along with using robots that look like they come right out of the Boston Dynamics lab--except they actually have guns this time--the endgame faction also uses mini-drones, and have soldiers wearing heavy armor that require strategic shots to open up weak points.
During the endgame, you'll unlock new specializations that further enhance your character, which also open up power weapons like the grenade launcher, heavy sniper rifle, and the crossbow. In order to find better loot and gear, you'll have to tackle missions that are several notches more challenging than the campaign. But as is typically the case for endgame content, you'll also be repeating some older missions. The Division 2 does, however, spice things up by introducing a new tier called Invaded missions. During the endgame, all previous missions from the campaign will have a new difficulty that replaces the existing enemies with the Black Tusk. To cut down on repetition, the Invaded missions will also randomize each encounter with Black Tusk in the level, leading to different fights with enemy squads on each playthrough.
This new faction also changes the dynamic of the Dark Zones in the endgame, which actively occupies one of the areas. As we detailed in another preview, the Dark Zone's PvPvE (player-versus-player-versus-environment) dynamic has been upgraded for the sequel. In addition to three separate zones, all of which have story missions that allow you to get your feet wet, the endgame will introduce an Occupied Dark Zone. With one Dark Zone under occupation by the Black Tusk faction, which cycles to a different location every week, the occupied zones also remove certain handicaps from the base version of the PvPvE mode, particularly level-balancing and friendly fire.
The skirmishes with Black Tusk during the two missions we played were intense and required some solid communication from our team to make it through. However, the invaded missions also felt a bit exhausting as well, leading to some moments where we were trapped in a room for up to 10 minutes dropping squads of bullet-spongy enemies as they funneled in. Though this is often the case for endgame content, it definitely hurt the pacing of some otherwise thrilling missions. Granted, we were just dropped into these missions for the purpose of this demo, which came after the rather brisk early game missions we played at the beginning. They may flow better once you've invested the hours to work your way to this content.
However, this also reminded me of some of the larger issues I've felt from The Division 2, in that it comes off a bit too similar to the original. It strongly emulates much of what worked in its predecessor, almost to a fault. Though some of the new innovations make for a more engaging and interesting setting to explore, the general looter-shooter loop itself can be exhausting, and lead to those familiar moments of occasional tedium that bogged down the first game. Having said that, I do feel the new approach to the endgame, though somewhat overwhelming, does offer a more compelling hook that felt absent from the original. By tasking you to defend the place you've been actively building up and investing yourself in throughout the campaign--which can be taken by the enemy faction. It creates a greater sense of urgency in the late-game, which was lacking from the original.
Ubisoft seems to be on the right path for The Division 2. Though it's obviously building off of what came before, the new features do seem to be a natural step up that plays to the renewed strength the series saw with its revamped gameplay from the original. Ubisoft's approach with this private beta was a neat way to kick the tires from both ends, and it'll be interesting to see how players--even those that missed out on the revival of the original game--will take to it. The Division 2 is series' second chance, and hopefully it'll be able to make good on it's renewed vigor.
For more info on The Division 2, including how the new Dark Zones work and how to get into the private beta, you can check out our features and articles on here on GameSpot.
A new Pokemon smartphone app is on the way to iOS and Android. The Pokemon Company has announced the Pokemon TCG Card Dex, a free application that allows users to easily catalog their Pokemon card collections.
The Pokemon TCG Card Dex is available today in Sweden and will expand to other regions "soon." The app allows you to scan your physical Pokemon TCG cards using your smartphone's camera and keep track of those you own. You're also able to browse an extensive database featuring every card since the release of the Pokemon TCG: Sun & Moon series and manually catalog your collection.
The Pokemon Company hasn't announced when the Pokemon TCG Card Dex will be available to download in other parts of the world, but the application supports several languages, including English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Portuguese. The Pokemon Company says that any card you scan will be displayed in the app in the language you've selected, even if it differs from that on your actual card.
The Card Dex app arrives shortly after the release of the latest Pokemon TCG expansion: Sun & Moon--Team Up. First announced during the 2018 Pokemon World Championships last August, the expansion introduces new Tag Team GX cards that feature Pokemon duos with incredibly powerful attacks and high HP. You can read more about the expansion on the Pokemon TCG website.
If you're in the market for an Xbox One X, now is a good time to buy. GameStop is offering all of its Fallout 76 bundles for $100 off, including the store-exclusive white model. That matches some of the lowest prices we've seen, including for Black Friday, even without a game.
Each of the Fallout 76 models at GameStop are priced at $400. That includes the 1 TB bundle with the game, and two different versions of the white console: one with the physical disc, and another with a digital copy. That bundle was exclusive to the retailer, giving you options for which neutral color you want to match with your decor.
Usually the Xbox One X goes for $500, and some discounts during the holiday season reduced it by $70-100, usually with some store extras like Kohl's Cash.
Fallout 76 has had a rocky start. It received low review scores at launch, and then Bethesda was criticized for its advertisements about a special edition canvas bag that was switched for a nylon one. In its attempt to send the canvas bags as a make-good, it leaked personal data. More recently, a bug temporarily disabled nukes, and a series of patches had unintended consequences.
"Bethesda has stated it intends to continue supporting the game for a long time, but at launch, Fallout 76 is a poor experience," critic Edmond Tran wrote in GameSpot's review. "There are echoes of the series' admirable qualities, but look past that facade, past the cute Vault Boy animations, past the familiar radio tracks, and you'll find no heart--just an inconsequential wasteland doomed to be nuked over and over again."
The Mission Impossible series might be six films and over 20 years in, but the huge success of last year's Mission Impossible: Fallout proved that the action franchise is just as popular as ever. Earlier this month, it was reported that the next two parts will be shot back-to-back and will arrive in 2021 and 2022. We now have confirmed release dates for both.
As reported by Variety, Mission Impossible 7 will hit theaters on July 23, 2021, while the eighth movie will arrive on August 5. Both films will be written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who helmed both Fallout and 2015's Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. While we know Tom Cruise will return as Ethan Hunt in both movies, other cast members and titles are yet to be revealed.
Mission Impossible: Fallout was a massive success commercially and critically. It made more than $791 million worldwide, which represented the biggest box office performance in the history of the Mission Impossible series. It was also well-received by critics, notching a franchise-best 97 percent on Rotten Tomatoes; it was heralded as one of the best action movies of 2018.
Before we see more of Ethan Hunt, Cruise will reprise another iconic role next summer. Top Gun: Maverick, the sequel to the 1986 classic Top Gun, is currently in production and hits theaters on June 26, 2020. Cruise will play Pete "Maverick" Mitchell once more, and the cast also includes Glen Powell (The Dark Knight Rises), Jay Ellis (Insecure), Jennifer Connelly (Spider-Man: Homecoming), and Miles Teller (Whiplash). Additionally, Top Gun alumni Val Kilmer has been cast to reprise his role as Commander Tom "Iceman" Kazansky. McQuarrie is one of the writers on the movie.
Microsoft plans to expand Xbox Live to other platforms, including Nintendo Switch and mobile. The company says bringing the network to more consoles will "enable game developers to connect players between iOS, Android, and Switch in addition to Xbox and any game in the Microsoft Store on Windows PCs."
The description continues: "Xbox Live players are highly engaged and active on Xbox and PC, but now they can take their gaming achievement history, their friends list, their clubs, and more with them to almost every screen." Further details are scant at present, but we'll learn more during GDC, which takes place from March 18-22.
Taking Xbox Live to other consoles seems like the natural next step after the cross-platform play that exists within certain games, such as Fortnite or Minecraft. Sony has been less cooperative when it comes to cross-platform play and allowing other services on to its PlayStation Network, and it appears this Xbox Live expansion will not apply to PS4 as yet. However, Sony did enable Fortnite cross-play as a beta late last year, so perhaps further integration of the major gaming platforms will become a possibility down the line.
After a long wait, Kingdom Hearts 3 is finally out, and its release has clearly struck a chord with UK gamers. Square Enix's RPG has debuted at the top of the UK physical sales chart for the week ending February 2.
Aside from Final Fantasy, only one new release entered the chart this week. DreamWorks Dragons: Dawn of New Riders, a tie-in to the new How to Train Your Dragon movie, debuts at No.37.
Kingdom Hearts 3 has received a positive critical reception since its launch, including an 8/10 from GameSpot. "The story of Keyblade wars, time-travelling villains, body-hopping also-rans, and world-ending darkness isn't what I'll remember about Kingdom Hearts 3 or the series as a whole," wrote Tamoor Hussain in our Kingdom Hearts 3 review. "What sticks with me is the exciting battle against elemental titans with Hercules, taking Rapunzel out into the unfamiliar wide world for the first time, snapping selfies with Winnie the Pooh, and going toe to toe with Davy Jones. In 2002, as Sora, I left Destiny Islands to travel across the universe and make new friends. In 2019 I brought old ones home, and I had so much fun doing it."
You can read the full top 10 sales chart for this week below, courtesy of UKIE and GfK Chart-Track. Note this table does not include digital sales data, and so should not be considered representative of all UK game sales.
This year's Super Bowl has concluded, with the Los Angeles Rams falling to the New England Patriots in a low-scoring game. But as always with the Super Bowl, many of the people tuning in aren't there for the game; they're watching for the weird and funny commercials. So why not keep track of some of the best ones that aired during the big game?
Listen, I know comedy. I was once paid $50 to do standup at a cosmetology school, but that's besides the point. Throughout the evening, we'll be reporting some of the funniest, silliest, and wackiest commercials from the evening. From Harrison Ford yelling at his dog with a collar equipped with Amazon Alexa to the Bud Knight getting murdered by The Mountain from Game of Thrones, there were some fantastic TV spots this year.
If you're looking for every single new TV spot for this year's Super Bowl, don't worry, we have a list of everything that aired during the big NFL game for you as well. For now, here are the funniest commercials we saw during the evening.
Olay Won't Save You From Murderers
Sarah Michelle Gellar pops into this Olay ad which aired during the 1st quarter. Apparently, her Olay facial products have worked so well, she can't unlock her phone with her face anymore.
Audi Fever Dream
A man finds himself inside an electric Audi, but it was all a dream, as he was choking on a cashew.
Game of Thrones Bud Light
In quite possibly the weirdest crossover commercial of all time, the Bud Knight was murdered by The Mountain from Game of Thrones. Dilly dilly?
Amazon Alexa
There were plenty of items that incorporated Alexa which didn't work out. The best bit of this star-studded commercial was Harrison Ford's dog ordering dog food.
Alexa Can't Eat Pringles
While stacking Pringles to make a new taste combination is something we all do, an Amazon-like device, in this commercial, is depressed it can't taste them.
Buble Rebrands Bubly
Acclaimed singer Michael Buble has decided to rename PepsiCo's product Bubly by taking a marker to every single product.
Tony Romo In Easy Mode
Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo shows us all what his easy mode is like, which includes a golf putt that even I could make.
The Super Bowl has come and gone, but in the aftermath, Pixar revealed a trailer for Toy Story 4. The gang is back, but they're not all together. Buzz is all on his own, and in quite the predicament. In the new trailer--which you can see above--Woody and Bo Peep are back together again, but where is Buzz Lightyear? Well, he's now at the state fair, but he's not there visiting. He's now a prize for one of the games. We also get to meet a couple of new, fluffy characters, who aren't too friendly to Buzz.
Back in November, we got our first look at the upcoming movie and that included an introduction to the new character Forky, voiced by Tony Hale. However, since then, fans of the longtime series weren't too sure what this movie was about.
Toy Story 4 hits theaters on June 21 and sees the return of Tom Hanks (as Woody), Tim Allen (Buzz), Annie Potts (Bo Peep), Joan Cusack (Jessie), Blake Clark (Slinky Dog), Wallace Shawn (Rex), and John Ratzenberger (Hamm). The movie will be directed by Josh Cooley, who wrote 2015's Inside Out.
Halftime has concluded for the 2019 Super Bowl, where the New England Patriots faced the Los Angeles Rams. And while CBS offered a halftime show featuring Maroon 5 and Atlanta's own Big Boi, WWE delivered something completely different--shirtless people punching each other.
The resident wrestling nerds of GameSpot could not have been happier about this, as WWE's Halftime Heat aired on the WWE Network, along with YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. And if you're someone who frequents GameSpot, then you know Mat Elfring and Chris E. Hayner are going to talk about wrestling. Just like any PPV, we're going to review the match.
You can watch the match for yourself below. Halftime Heat starts at 3:34:29.
Aleister Black, Ricochet & Velveteen Dream vs. Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano & Adam Cole
Wow… Triple H kicks off the whole thing by saying, "If you are all in as a fan, then NXT is for you." Shots have been fired, and they didn't need to be. Or maybe I'm looking way too much into the "all in" aspect of his line, which was the largest independent wrestling shows of 2018: one I got to attend. The atmosphere is bizarre, considering this is taking place inside the Performance Center and the crowd isn't as big nor as rukus as a normal NXT crowd. Sure, it got better as it went on, but it didn't start off too hot. Velveteen Dream feels so out of place in this match, in the best way possible. His NFL-inspired ring gear is awesome, and he's the only wrestler on his team who is 100% personality. He rounds out the group really well. Then, there's Ricochet, who I could watch flip around the ring all night. The dude is a complete innovator.
Around the 10 minute mark, I noticed I've turned into a morose mouth-breather as my jaw has been completely dropped after a series of insane high spots. As this match progressed, we got some amazing spots, and Adam Cole became the whipping post for Team Dream. I wasn't surprised by the outcome of this, by any means. It delivered exactly like I thought it would and was the perfect counter-programming for CBS' halftime show.
The only real problem--for me--with Halftime Heat was that the in-ring storytelling aspect of wrestling wasn't really as solid as it could have been. It was primarily tons of high spots to get new folks engaged with the product, which is perfectly fine. This match played as more of a Greatest Hits than a full-fledged wrestling match. I guess the only real question I have for WWE is, "Who is watching Halftime Heat that already isn't super familiar with the WWE and NXT products?" Regardless of my nitpicking, this was a blast, and I hope WWE does this again next year.
Side note: Hey, WWE Network. Work on your app on Smart TVs. During a 16 minute match, it crashed on me three different times, including during the finish.
-- Mat Elfring (9/10)
When WWE announced that NXT was going to have its own Halftime Heat event, it was great news because I don't really care for Maroon 5. That said, it also meant the brand would have to deliver the absolute best it has to make for a compelling Super Bowl alternative. Thankfully, NXT delivered in a massive way and had to make a few new fans tonight, between airing live on the WWE Network and across the company's streaming platforms. Right from the start, it was clear that the small crowd at the performance center was made up of die-hard fans that were ready to be loud, as each NXT Superstar--six of the brand's top names--made their way to the ring.
What followed was an exciting six-man tag match loaded with high spots, everyone getting in their signature moves, and an actual story. It was all set up at the end of TakeOver: Phoenix, when the three heroes and three villains had a pull-apart brawl, something that overflowed onto Halftime Heat. I honestly can't say enough about how great this was, even with some shaky production work at the beginning of the broadcast. It's hit some highlights, though.
Velveteen Dream's football-inspired attire was amazing, as were the tackles he doled out early in the match.
Having a female referee preside over Halftime Heat was so smart. Those who watch NXT already know women are referees for some matches. However, for non-fans, having a female in charge helps to show how much the role of women in WWE has changed over the last few years.
Shawn Michaels joining the commentary team for the show was the right move. He's clearly super passionate about NXT as one of the brand's trainers and it showed in how he spoke about the action. Honestly, they should utilize him in that role more.
If this didn't make you a believer in Ricochet and his ability to do literally anything, I don't know what will. That said, he defies gravity regularly and I love it.
Something this match did was allow each talent to show off their style of fighting. For Aleister Black, this means kicking as hard as he possibly can and itlooks so painful for his victim each time.
I know wrestling fans are split on the overuse of the superkick. I love it and loved how it was on display here.
I love Tommaso Ciampa and think he's a great NXT Champion, but find me a better heel than Adam Cole, I dare you.
During the Super Bowl, a new Captain Marvel trailer debuted (as did an Avengers Endgame trailer). And, as we've seen in the past, it again has people asking whether Captain Marvel the character has always been a woman. As with so many things in comics, that's a complex subject, as detailed below.
While we're a couple months away from Marvel's next movie, Captain Marvel, the second trailer has arrived, and yes, she's still punching old women in the face. The character has a very confusing history, which has led to a few people to question who this character is. More specifically, some are not sure why she's a woman. To the average person who isn't well-versed in comic book lore, this can all be a little confusing. Don't worry, we'll get you up to date and explain it all as quickly as possible.
First are foremost, comic book continuity is confusing and full of plot holes and errors. Keeping track of what's gone down in stories for the past 80 years or so can be quite the task. However, Captain Marvel at Marvel Comics is a woman and has been for the past six years, and the character behind the mask--Carol Danvers--has been a part of the collective comic book universe for 50 years now. When Danvers took on the role of Captain Marvel, it made the character relevant again, which it hadn't been for 30 years or so.
So let's talk Captain Marvel. There are three main characters using this name. The first is DC Comics' Captain Marvel--who goes by the name Shazam now. He's actually a young boy named Billy Batson who becomes a superpowered adult when he yells "Shazam." He's the DC hero in the red suit with a giant yellow lightning bolt on his chest. Zachary Levi will be playing the character on the big screen on April 5, 2019.
Then, there's Marvel's first Captain Marvel, Mar-Vell. He was the captain of a Kree militia and a protector of the universe. Mar-Vell died in 1978 after inhaling poisonous gas and getting terminal cancer. He's been resurrected a few times, and still shows up every now and again but he hasn't been a heavy hitter for decades.
So that leaves us with Carol Danvers, the current Captain Marvel. Throughout the years, many people of various sexes and races--both alien and human--have fought under this mantle, but Danvers was the person that made this character relevant again. If you grew up in the '90s and watched the X-Men cartoon, you know who this character is. In the realm of X-Men: The Animated Series as well as comic book canon, Rogue got her super-strength and flight by sucking the life out of Ms. Marvel, Carol Danvers. However, Danvers eventually recovered, and years later, after the Avengers vs. X-Men storyline, she took on the mantle of Captain Marvel. Her backstory is wildly confusing, as is almost every cosmic character from Marvel's silver age. However, her origin is getting a little bit of a clean up in the new movie.
You can learn more about the character by checking out her history video above to see just how insane it is or wait until Captain Marvel hits theaters on March 8, 2019.
A new game appears to be on the verge of being officially revealed by Respawn. Leaks have circulated throughout the weekend regarding a new game called Apex Legends; whatever it is, the developer will be sharing details during a stream taking place later today.
Respawn CEO Vince Zampella sent out a tweet during the Super Bowl that linked to a Twitch account called Play Apex. This account is scheduled to host a livestream on Monday at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET / 4 PM GMT. Zampella said in a subsequent tweet this morning that this is only a "teaser" stream; a full reveal stream for the game will follow at 12 PM PT / 3 PM ET / 8 PM GMT.
Zampella's original message seems to reference the leaks, saying, "Looks like everything is unlocked now? Fun. So, if you like Respawn, our games or even me, you should tune in tomorrow. Our stream starts at 8 AM PT and we'll tell you everything about Apex Legends. Everything."
Respawn is the developer behind Titanfall and Titanfall 2, two popular first-person shooters that see players engage in large-scale battles as either agile Pilots or powerful Titans. Titanfall 2 is one of the most critically-acclaimed shooters in recent years--we gave it a 9/10 in our review and listed it as one of our top games in 2016--and fans of it have been clamoring for more since its release.
In Titanfall 2, unlike its predecessor, you can pick which faction you choose to fight for in multiplayer. One of those factions is the Apex Predators. The Apex Predators are also featured heavily in the game's campaign, as the group of merciless guns for hire who serve as Titanfall 2's primary antagonists. Seeing as Respawn is no longer making more post-launch content for Titanfall 2, it's probable that the upcoming live stream is for something brand new. Even so, the Twitch channel's name implies it still might relate back to the 2016 game.
We've known for a while that Respawn has been working on another Titanfall title. The developer has actually confirmed its working on three games right now--Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order, some Titanfall-related game, and an unnamed VR title. During an EA quarterly earning call, the company's CEO Andrew Wilson announced that at least two Respawn games would release in 2019. One of those has been confirmed to be Jedi Fallen Order, which is scheduled for release sometime before the 2019 holiday season, but we have no official word on what the other title(s) might be.
If you're watching the 2019 Super Bowl, you probably saw plenty of Bud Light commercials over the course of the evening--many of which were about corn syrup. However, during one spot in the second quarter, the Bud Knight met his demise at the hands of The Mountain.
It was turning out to be another silly Bud Light ad, where the King and Queen were enjoying a couple of beers and about to watch the Bud Knight triumph during a joust. At least, that's what they thought would happen.
Sadly, the Bud Knight was knocked off his horse during this exhibition, and the new champion was none other than Gregor Clegane, also known as The Mountain from HBO's Game of Thrones. Clegane walked up to the fallen knight, and used his thumbs to gouge out his eyes. We're all presuming the Bud Knight is now dead.
It didn't end there. A dragon flew overhead and burned everything to the ground. Is "dilly dilly" no more? This was easily one of the oddest commercials during the final NFL game of the season.
While this was a sad moment, we were all reminded that Game of Thrones is returning for its final season this April. The first trailer for the new season aired back in January in a cryptic teaser, which didn't contain any actual footage. However, it did hint at the fates of members of the Stark family.
Game of Thrones returns to HBO for its final season on April 14 at 9 PM ET / PT. And you can watch the Super Bowl live while the game is still going on.
Super Bowl LIII was replete with trailers, and although movies are often the biggest draw--see: Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame--a few TV shows also caught viewers' attention. One of these is the upcoming Twilight Zone reboot from Get Out director Jordan Peele. The trailer pulled a bit of a bait and switch on us by interrupting what looked like the official Super Bowl broadcast, before cutting to an empty stadium.
This was all setup to introduce Jordan Peele, who is not only producing the new Twilight Zone series, but is also narrating it. The stadium seems to exist in two different dimensions, with lights flicking on and off, sodas vanishing, and signs also disappearing in mid-air. Peele eventually asks the viewer to question the truth, and also what dimension they're in.
The Twilight Zone is scheduled to premiere on April 1. The TV series will debut on CBS All Access, and be exclusive for subscribers. The first two episodes will be available for subscribers on Monday, April 1, with new ones releasing on a weekly basis from Thursday, April 11.
Along with Peele, The Twilight Zone's cast includes Ike Barinholtz, John Cho, Lucinda Dryzek, Taissa Farmiga, Greg Kinnear, Luke Kirby, Sanaa Lathan, Kumail Nanjiani, Adam Scott, Rhea Seehorn, Alison Tolman, Jacob Tremblay, Jefferson White, Jonathan Whitesell, Jessica Williams, DeWanda Wise and Steven Yeun.
As expected, Super Bowl LIII has given us plenty of new trailers to watch. On top of a new Avengers: Endgame spot, Marvel and Disney offered viewers another quick look at Captain Marvel, which releases in theaters next month. The trailer begins with Carol Danvers getting ready to hop in a jet, saying she's ready to go "higher, further, and faster." You can get a full rundown in our Captain Marvel Super Bowl trailer breakdown.
From there, there's quick cuts between hard-hitting moments of action, with Carol training, standing in the midst of some destruction in her Captain Marvel costume, being subsumed by energy, and flying into outer space where she launches projectiles at enemies. The whole time an almost robotic female voice can be heard saying, "higher, faster, further." It's pretty badass and you can watch it above--it's all a bit more optimistic than the Endgame trailer, where things remain fairly bleak.
Captain Marvel follows the shocking conclusion of Avengers: Infinity War, during which Nick Fury put out a distress signal to Carol. How that moment plays into the ongoing broader story remains to be seen, but a younger version of Fury plays a central role in Captain Marvel, so we'll see plenty of him anyway. As for Captain Marvel herself, yes, the character is a woman.
Captain Marvel hits theaters on March 8. Check out one of the other trailers for the movie to get acquainted with the character before the movie releases, and before she becomes a big part of Avengers: Endgame too. Avengers: Endgame comes to theaters on April 26.
Head over to CBS Sports to watch Super Bowl LIII, along with the adverts and trailers, live.
This year's Super Bowl is delivered some fantastic, championship-level play, just without much scoring. More notably for Marvel fans, it also brought a new trailer for Avengers: Endgame--and you didn't even have to wait for the game to get underway to watch it. What more could you want? Finally, we get to learn a little more about the second Marvel movie of the year, in which the surviving heroes try and find a way to stop Thanos (and Captain America picks up his shield again for the first time in years).
In this new Super Bowl LIII trailer for Avengers: Endgame, which you can watch above, the world is pretty bleak. This movie will take place sometime after the events of Infinity War, where the planet is trying to move on after so many were dusted away by Thanos. However, there is still a group of heroes who refuse to give up. These will be the Avengers who will try to make things right. But can they? You can get a rundown on everything in this new look at the movie in our Endgame Super Bowl trailer breakdown. Beyond everything it suggests to us about the plot, it's possible we also get a glimpse at a Rocket Raccoon outfit that diehard comic fans might recognize.
The first trailer for Endgame debuted in early December, and it got more than 200 million views in the first 24 hours. It gave just enough away to leave fans speculating and to come up with crazy, completely non-probable theories. The new Super Bowl spot has helped shine a little bit of light on certain elements of the upcoming movie like who is left to defeat Thanos and just how far ahead in the future this movie takes place.
Avengers: Endgame stars Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner, Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton, and Karen Gillan as Nebula. And you can see what happens to the heroes of the MCU for yourself when Endgame comes to theaters on April 26.
It will be a big year for Marvel starting next month, when Captain Marvel hits theaters on March 8. Check out one of the newer trailers for the movie to get acquainted with the character because she'll probably be a big part of Avengers: Endgame.
Before Super Bowl LIII officially began, viewers were treated to a few trailers, one of which was for Alita: Battle Angel, the upcoming blockbuster movie adaptation of the Japanese manga series. The movie is directed by Robert Rodriguez and produced by James Cameron, and its special effects are front and center in the short trailer.
Spectacle looks like its going to be a big part of the Alita: Battle Angel viewing experience and, between shots of Vector--who is played by Mahershala Ali--hunting the titular cyborg, we get to see some impressive shots of the futuristic setting. There's also some very threatening looking bad guys floating around.
Alita: Battle Angel also stars Jennifer Connelly (Hulk), Ed Skrein (Deadpool), and Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen). When the first trailer for Alita was released in 2017, it sparked some controversy for the look of the title character--specifically, her unnaturally large eyes. At the time, Rodriguez explained at San Diego Comic Con that he wanted a realistic depiction of the source material, which in turn stayed true to James Cameron's wishes to bring the manga to life.
To watch this year's Super Bowl, you can head over to CBS Sports and catch the game, along with the adverts and trailers, live.
The WWE Studios filmography is an interesting thing to wade through. It's riddled with cinematic classics like The Marine 3: Homefront, 12 Rounds 2: Reloaded, and the horror masterpiece See No Evil, which ends with a dog urinating in the empty eye socket of WWE Superstar Kane. That's not to say the company's big-screen track record is all bad. Movies like Oculus, Sleight, and The Call--none of which are built around a WWE wrestler cameo--are legitimately good movies.
So where does Fighting with My Family, the studio's first wrestling-centric biopic, land on that spectrum? As it turns out, it's actually WWE's best movie yet. That's not to say it's perfect, but WWE has taken a piece of its own history and crafted a truly engaging and inspiring film.
Fighting with My Family follows the story of Saraya Bevis, who wrestling fans know better as retired WWE Divas Champion Paige. The film starts in her childhood and follows her upbringing within a family that runs its own independent wrestling company as she chases her dream of one day making it to the big league.
Starring as Bevis is Florence Pugh, most recently seen in the Netflix movie Outlaw King. As the aspiring pro wrestler, Pugh manages to embody the cockiness that would eventually become Paige's in-ring persona, as well as the awkwardness and lack of confidence that comes with anyone coming of age. She swings wildly between knowing she's the best person suited to become WWE's next breakout star and being so unsure of herself that she's on the verge of giving up her dream because she doesn't think she's good enough, and it is incredibly believable the entire time.
Also worth pointing out is Vince Vaughn as WWE trainer Hutch Morgan. There are times when the actor delivers the exact kind of deadpan humor he's known for while walking his students through the beginning steps of wrestling training. However, when he gets to the serious moments as Paige wonders if her choice to move to the US to chase her dream is a mistake, Vaughn shines. He's unrelenting as he hits the wannabe WWE superstar with the harsh truth that she might not be cut out for the reality of the fantasy she's built in her own mind. It's rare that we get to see Vaughn go to such an emotional place, and his sobering performance in Fighting with My Family is some of the best work of his career.
The rest of the cast are no slouches either. As Paige's parents, Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz) and Lena Headey (Game of Thrones) ride the line between old school carny wrestling hustlers and a proud mom and dad well. Meanwhile, Jack Lowden (Mary Queen of Scots) is impressive as a brother who shares his sister's dream, only to be told he's never going to be good enough. There's also a motley crew of local kids Paige helps to train whose characters help the better define the world she's leaving behind.
The only sore thumb sticking out, oddly enough, is Dwayne Johnson. The Rock plays himself and is something of a mentor that pops up a few times throughout the movie, and each appearance seems rather forced. Johnson's Seven Bucks Productions is one of the producers on this film, and he's been a very public supporter of telling this story, but outside of a scene in which he interacts with Frost's character over the phone, his moments disrupt the flow of the movie.
As for the film itself, Fighting with My Family is largely great. It's an uplifting story of a young woman who refuses to give up, even when everyone tells her she should. As those who know wrestling history know, however, it paid off in the end. Watching this young woman go from awkward teenage Saraya to bonafide WWE Superstar Paige is inspiring and a fitting prequel to what has become WWE's women's revolution, which she was a huge part of.
That all said, there are some problems with the movie and what they are is surprising. The film seems to have a huge misunderstanding of how professional wrestling and WWE work. While there were obviously going to be changes made, given that this is a film aimed at a mainstream audience, this being a WWE Studios movie should mean more than the company's various logos popping up throughout the story.
Its portrayal of WWE's developmental brand NXT, and Paige's history with it, is quite different from reality. In NXT, Paige was an NXT Women's Champion and developed the "anti-diva" persona that got her over with crowds. That entire portion of her career isn't mentioned at all.
As for misunderstanding wrestling, the film tries to work in "insider" lingo like delivering "receipts"--hitting your opponent back hard when they mistakenly hit you--but can't decide if the matches results themselves are predetermined or actual competitive contests.
Honestly, though, these are gripes that only hardcore wrestling fans will likely have about the film. Mainstream audiences likely won't have the same kind of hangups about the inner-workings of sports entertainment. And, while some of these moments might be problematic to fans, they don't take away from what this movie is truly about. It's about a woman with a dream that risked literally everything to follow it and managed to help change an entire industry in the process. As far as wrestling goes, Paige is something of a superhero in that regard. This is her origin story.
Fighting with My Family will release in select theaters on February 14.
What's Good
What's Bad
The cast, especially Vince Vaughn and Florence Pugh, are top notch.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson sticks out like a sore thumb.
It's a simple story that shines a light on the positive aspects of pro wrestling.
This WWE Studios movie doesn't understand how WWE or wrestling works
The characters populating her small English hometown are very entertaining.
Paige's journey from working the indies with her family to becoming a WWE Superstar is engaging.
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