Month: May 2018

It’s that time of the year where television networks decide what gets renewed and what gets canceled, and on social media, we all let out a slew of sorrowful tweets as we commemorate the loss of our favorite television series. This year has been a troubling one to say the least as one of the best comedies and best sci-fi series were both canceled.

Almost as an “in memoriam,” we are taking a look at shows canceled in 2018 that were taken way too soon from us. These shows were canceled because of low viewership, budgeting, or to make room for new shows. Or it could possibly be because a series which aired originally on ABC and starred Tim Allen was picked up by another network, which would literally make the series the “Last Man Standing” as far as sitcoms go on Fox.

Throughout the year, we’ll keep this list updated with shows that deserve a second chance as they get canceled this year. Luckily, some of these canceled shows may find new life on streaming service or other networks. Hours after Brooklyn Nine-Nine got the axe, Hulu, Netflix, TBS, and NBC reached out to producers. As of this writing, none of these series have new homes, but it’s wishful thinking.

Ubisoft has shared some more details on what awaits in Rainbow Six Siege‘s upcoming Operation Para Bellum update. The update kicks off the second season of Year 3, and along with introducing two new Operators and other features, it makes two major balance changes to the game.

First, Echo will receive a significant buff following the update. Specifically, Ubisoft is giving him a second Yokai drone. The max charge for each of his drones has also been decreased, from 3 to 2, while the recharge time between shots has been increased to 20 seconds.

“Our original intention was to have an anchor that would be active throughout the whole round,” Ubisoft said of Echo. “We decided several months ago to give Echo a second Yokai. The goal is to encourage him to take more risks with them throughout the round.”

Other Operators are also receiving some tweaks in Season 2. Operators with three Speed will be “slightly slower” following the update, while those with one Speed will move a little faster. Additionally, movement speed with a handgun will receive a “small increase.”

“One of the foundations of the speed vs. armor system is the balancing act between the two. However, we have seen that speed was stronger than armor in almost all situations,” Ubisoft said. “To refine that balance, we will bring both ends of the spectrum closer to the middle. The intention of this change to the speeds is to make high armor Operators more viable.”

Finally, Ubisoft shared a new trailer that provides our first look at Season 2’s new map: Villa. As its name implies, the new map is based around a huge mansion in the Italian countryside, which fits along with the two new Italian Operators being introduced in Operation Para Bellum.

You can read more details about the upcoming Operation Para Bellum update on the Rainbow Six Siege website. The update will be officially revealed during the Rainbox Six Siege Pro League Finals, which takes place on May 19-20. You’ll be able to watch the reveal on the game’s Twitch channel.

Bethesda only began hosting its own E3 showcases a few years ago, and the company has already become known for packing them with surprise announcements. As E3 2018 approaches, company marketing VP Pete Hines says this year’s could end up being the longest they’ve ever done.

“Bethesda Showcase is in one month. I’m starting to get excited,” Hines said in a tweet. “We have a lot to show you this year. Might be our longest E3 Showcase ever? Not sure, but it’s packed.”

As a strategy, Bethesda tends to keep its announcements very close to release. Often a look at E3 is the first we’ve seen of a game before its release in the fall, with an unusually low occurrence of leaks. That appears to be different this year, as Rage 2 from Bethesda was one of the games seemingly outed by Walmart Canada. Rather than deny it or go radio silent, though, both the official Rage 2 account and Hines have made tweets all but confirming it, and recent teaser images have pointed to an announcement coming soon–possibly as soon as Monday.

Bethesda’s conference will take place Sunday, June 10 at 6:30 PM PT / 9:30 PM ET. Other conferences are spread throughout the weekend and Monday, including presentations from Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Square Enix, Ubisoft, Sony, and Nintendo. Check out the full schedule for more details.

The third round of testing for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds‘s new Sanhok map (formerly known as Codename: Savage) is now underway on PC. For the next few days, everyone who’s purchased PUBG on Steam will be able to try the smaller island map, which boasts a number of changes for this test.

As developer PUBG Corp. detailed in the patch notes for the third Sanhok test, the map now features four new areas: Cave, Tambang, Lakawi, Na Kham. To go along with the map’s new name, PUBG Corp. has also renamed all of the existing areas on Sanhok, and several of them have received “various improvements” since the last round of testing.

Additionally, PUBG Corp. has adjusted how the red zone operates. Now, the developer says the red zone will “generally” no longer appear appear within the safe zone. However, this won’t always be the case, in particular when the blue circle is near the white one, but PUBG Corp. says this change will make it generally riskier to play outside of the safe zone.

On top of implementing the sweeping balance tweaks it made to weapons recently, PUBG Corp. has also adjusted the spawn rates for certain items on Sanhok. In particular, AR-type weapons should now be more plentiful. The spawn ratio of the M16A4 and AKM have been increased, while the M416 has been slightly decreased–although PUBG Corp. says “the total amount spawned will remain similar to before.”

You can read the full list of changes on Steam. The third Sanhok test runs from now until May 14, and as previously mentioned, is open to everyone who has purchased PUBG on Steam. To get into the test, you’ll need to download the Experimental Test Server client from your Steam Library. The same client can be used to access future Sanhok tests. You can find the exact start and end times for this round of testing below.

PUBG Sanhok Test #3

Starts May 10

• 7 PM PT
• 10 PM ET
• 3 AM BST (May 11)

Ends May 14

• 4 AM PT
• 7 AM ET
• 12 PM BST

Black Panther has already gone down in history as one of the most successful and beloved Marvel movies yet. Now that its home release date on digital, Blu-ray, and DVD is upon us, we get to finally return to Wakanda. Granted, we had a brief sojourn there in Avengers: Infinity War, too, but it’s nice to return for a longer stay.

Black Panther’s special features include some in-depth featurette videos, most notably a lengthy conversation between many of the minds behind Black Panther–the movie, as well as the original and contemporary comics. There’s even a featurette on the first 10 years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole, and a sneak peek of the upcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp.

But the most informative and interesting feature of Black Panther‘s home release is the audio commentary that accompanies the film. Director and co-writer Ryan Coogler and production designer Hannah Beachler break Black Panther down frame by frame, discussing everything from scenes that were shot but never included to the subtle nod to The Lion King you might have missed.

We compiled those nuggets and many more into this handy list, but all of Black Panther‘s special features are definitely worth watching for yourself. Black Panther is out now on digital, and releases May 15 on Blu-ray and DVD.