Month: July 2018

Infinity Ward, the Activision studio behind the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series, as well as Call of Duty: Ghosts and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, is hiring a narrative scripter to work on a game being developed for “multiple next-gen platforms.” While the game isn’t mentioned by name, given the studio’s history, a Call of Duty title for the next iterations of the PlayStation and Xbox seems like a safe bet.

A job listing on Selectminds, a recruitment portal used by Activision, states what the successful candidate will be tasked with and the ideal qualifications. Although these don’t provide further insight into the project, they do line up with what most people would expect out of a Call of Duty title.

The listing says the candidate will have to “collaborate with scripters, sound designers, writers, and directors to implement voice-over performances in-game across a wide variety of player experiences–from combat to set-pieces.” Among other qualifications, this person will need to have “strong interest and passion for First Person Shooter (FPS) games” and a “broad understanding of both multiplayer and single-player game design.”

2018’s entry in the yearly first-person shooter franchise is Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, which is being developed by Treyarch. Activision has not provided any indication of its plans for the series beyond this game. There are currently three studios developing Call of Duty titles: Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games, and Treyarch. Since 2017’s Call of Duty: WWII was handled by Sledgehammer, and Black Ops 4 is Treyarch, that would mean that 2019’s title should be from Infinity Ward.

It is unlikely that the “next gen” game Infinity Ward is recruiting for will be available in 2019, as Sony and Microsoft have not indicated they will have new platforms available next year. At E3 2018, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said Microsoft is in the early stages of creating the next Xbox consoles. Sony, meanwhile, has indicated PS5 will arrive in 2021 at the earliest.

Of course, Infinity Ward could reveal a new intellectual property, but given that Call of Duty: WWII’s impressive sales showed the series is still a money-making powerhouse, that would be a surprise.

Even though the last Men in Black movie was only released in 2012, a reboot of the sci-fi comedy franchise is on the way. With original stars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones no longer involved in the series, the new movie will reunite Thor: Ragnarok stars Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson in the lead roles. The movie is set to start shooting this month, and we have some more casting news.

As reported by Empire, Kumail Nanjiani and Rafe Spall will join the cast. Nanjiani is best known for his role in HBO’s comedy Silicon Valley and the movie The Big Sick, while Spall has appeared in films such as Prometheus and the Netflix horror movie The Ritual. While Spall’s role is currently unknown, the site reports that Nanjiani will play a “wise-cracking extra-terrestrial.”

Empire also provided some more details about the two main characters. Hemsworth’s Agent H is “a suave, slightly goofy British MIB officer,” while Thompson will play Molly, a civilian who “knows aliens exists and aims to join the organisation.”

The new Men in Black is reportedly not a remake but will take a place in the same universe as the earlier films. It is set to be directed by F. Gary Gray, who helmed last year’s blockbuster The Fate of the Furious, as well as the hip-hop biopic Straight Outta Compton, and hits theaters on June 14, 2019.

Back in 2016, it was rumored that Sony was looking to reboot Men in Black as a crossover movie with its other comedy franchise, the Jump Street movies. There has been little news about this project since, although Deadline did state earlier this year that it remains in development at the studio.

All three original Men in Black movies were big box-office hits. Although the third movie was not as well received critically as the first two, it still made $624 million at the worldwide box office. In total, the whole series has made more than $1.6 billion.

As June winds down to an end, PlayStation Plus members are running out of time to grab their free PS4, PS3, and PS Vita games for the month. July 2 is your last full day to grab your freebies, because the following day they’ll go back to full price and be replaced by July’s free PS Plus games.

The PS Plus freebies this month are pretty fantastic. On PS4, you can grab XCOM 2, a strategy game that has you control a team of resistance fighters after an alien invasion of Earth. In GameSpot’s XCOM 2 review, our critic gave the game a 9/10, saying, “the layered tactics, impactful meta-game, and deep character-building are all intact on PS4 and Xbox One. XCOM 2 remains a superb strategy title.”

Also free on PS4 is Trials Fusion, which has you compete in challenging stunt race time trials. From GameSpot’s Trials Fusion review: “Trials Fusion is a great game that not only tests your skill and patience, but keeps you laughing at the ridiculous scenarios.”

PS3 owners this month can download Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, a futuristic take on this tactical shooter series, and Zombie Driver HD: Complete Edition, a game that has you use vehicles to take on hordes of zombies. PS Vita owners can grab the multiplayer action game Atomic Ninjas and the puzzle game Squares.

Those aren’t the only free PlayStation games you can grab at the moment, though. PS Plus subscribers can also download Call of Duty: Black Ops III, as well as a free trial of Destiny 2 you can play between June 29 and July 2.

Sony has already announced the free PS Plus games for July 2018. Starting July 3, you’ll be able to download Absolver and Heavy Rain on PS4, Deception IV and Rayman 3 HD on PS3, and Space Overlords and Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma on Vita.

PS Plus Free Games Lineup For June 2018

PS4

• Trials Fusion
• XCOM 2

PS3

• Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
• Zombie Driver HD: Complete Edition

Vita

• Atomic Ninjas
• Squares

While for the most part, Marvel Studios has been the undisputed leader of the comic book movie phenomenon, there is one piece of the puzzle where the MCU is lagging behind the DC universe: female representation. While Patty Jenkins is hard at work directing the second Wonder Woman movie, Marvel has yet to debut its first standalone movie about a female hero or feature a female director behind the camera.

That will change with Captain Marvel‘s release in 2019. Starring Brie Larson, the upcoming MCU entry will be co-directed by Anna Boden–she’s co-directing with longtime collaborator Ryan Fleck–marking the first time a woman has been even partially at the helm in the MCU. According to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, though, this is just the beginning. GameSpot sat down with the MCU boss to find out when to expect news of more women directors being hired for upcoming films.

“We’ve got announcements that we’ll be making at some point revealing that,” Feige tells GameSpot while promoting Ant-Man and the Wasp. That particular film is already a step forward for Marvel, as it’s the first time a female hero has been included in the title of an MCU movie–and GameSpot’s Ant-Man and the Wasp review makes it clear that she’s the true star of the film.

While Feige doesn’t say when the announcements about having more women behind-the-camera will come, chances are those developments will play a big role in the MCU after Avengers 4. Following that film, all that’s been announced are sequels to Spider-Man: Homecoming and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

After those, though, Feige previously spoke to GameSpot about the importance of evolving its movies and characters to keep them fresh. Just as important to him, though, is the evolution of those making the movies.

“To me, it’s always actions are much more important than words, and showcasing the types of movies we’re making and the types of people making those movies,” he says. “And I think we’ve learned beyond a doubt that when you surround yourselves with different types of people, and people who don’t look like you, and people who haven’t had the exact same experiences than you, creatively things start to get very interesting, and very new and unique.”

In the meantime, if unique is what you’re looking for, Ant-Man and the Wasp is about as far a departure from Avengers: Infinity War as you can get. The latest MCU adventure hits theaters on July 6.

They say this time of year is a bit dry for video games, but New Releases keeps on trucking. July does have a bunch of re-releases, like the beautifully destructive Red Faction Guerrilla remaster, the souped-up Sonic Mania Plus, and an enhanced version of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker on 3DS and Nintendo Switch. The Switch is also getting the new JRPG adventure Octopath Traveler, while Xbox One owners will finally get their hands on No Man’s Sky.

Red Faction Guerrilla: Re-Mars-Tered — July 3

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC

One of the most action-packed games of last generation is coming to current consoles and PC. The Red Faction Guerrilla remaster sports native 4K support, better shadows and lighting, and fully reworked textures and graphics. Of course, that just means buildings and landscapes will look better as you tear them apart with all sorts of weapons and vehicles.

Further Reading:

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker — July 13

Available on: Switch, 3DS

In another enhanced re-release, Captain Toad is leaving behind the Wii U for an adventure on new platforms. The Switch version will let you play local co-op by sharing a pair of Joy-Cons, while the 3DS version will let you analyze the isometric courses in stereoscopic 3D. As for the courses themselves, this version of Treasure Tracker has new stages inspired by Super Mario Odyssey.

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Octopath Traveler — July 13

Available on: Switch

Switch owners are also getting a new JRPG experience this month with Octopath Traveler, which stars eight different protagonists, as you might have guessed from the title. The battle system also introduces a “boost” mechanic, where you can forego action in one round to double up your attacks on the next turn. Deep battle strategies and multiple heroes mean there’s a lot to try with this one.

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Sonic Mania Plus — July 17

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch

Everyone’s favorite fast hedgehog is also getting another outing in July. Sonic Mania Plus takes last year’s smash hit and beefs it up with an all-new Encore mode and an improved Competition mode. Even better, you can try both of those out with two new playable characters: Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel.

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No Man’s Sky — July 24

Available on: Xbox One

You might be surprised to see No Man’s Sky featured in 2018, but it’s about time Xbox One owners got to zen out with the space exploration game themselves. This port comes packaged with the Foundation, Pathfinder, and Atlas Rising expansions, plus the Next update, which launches the same day on PS4 and PC too. With that, you’ll be able to able to crew up and explore with your Xbox Live buddies.

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