Valve has acknowledged its Dota 2-themed digital card game Artifact has “deep-rooted issues,” and has committed to fixing them.
In a new post on the Artifact site, Valve stated bluntly that “Artifact represents the largest discrepancy between our expectations for how one of our games would be received and the actual outcome.”
While the response to Artifact was generally positive, complaints rose around its monetization model and lack of progression mechanics. As a result, its player base declined rapidly, and Artifact’s average concurrent player count for the last month currently sits at a meager 359 at the time of publishing this.
Bethesda has announced that it will not be showcasing or revealing additional details for either The Elder Scrolls VI or Starfield during E3 2019. Both games were announced and given tiny teasers during E3 2018, alongside more detailed reveals for Fallout 76 and Rage 2.
“That’s just a little sneak peek at the technology that we’ve been building,” Bethesda executive producer Todd Howard said during a PAX East panel, in regards to further details about a new game engine. “People are going to see [the tech] at first, actually, in Starfield. And so that tech will have like the second version of it in TES6, and–before everyone asks–please be patient. It’s going to be a long time. It’s not something we’re going to be talking about at E3–either of those games–this year. And so patience, please. But given the [Elder Scrolls] anniversary, we did want to give everybody a taste.”
It’s not that much of a surprise to hear that neither game will be shown at this year’s E3, given that their showings from last year’s event implied both titles are still in the early stages of development. Howard has said he already knows the release dates for both games, but he’s “not going to tell” as it “would be foolish to say it.”
During PAX Australia 2018, Bethesda marketing boss Pete Hines and ZeniMax Online Studios game director Matt Firor said The Elder Scrolls VI is still a long way off, most likely releasing on the next generation of console hardware. Howard said something similar about Starfield during last year’s E3, but clarified, “I can’t absolutely say yes to [leaving current generation consoles behind]. We’re not going to limit the game that way yet. I’m willing to [leave current generation consoles behind] but it’s not a priority right now. I’d put it that way.”
Next to nothing is known about Starfield, other than it’s the first new IP Bethesda has announced in 25 years. The first and only trailer for the game showcases a planet outlined by a distant sun, only for the camera to pan down and focus on a small space station which is seemingly sucked into some sort of black hole.
Even less is known about The Elder Scrolls VI. According to its trailer, the game takes place in a mountainous region. There are some trees and patches of fog. That’s about it. Even with so little information, though, fans are still theorizing and trying to piece together The Elder Scrolls VI’s setting.
Apple has announced that it is cancelling its AirPower charging mat as it is having “difficulty meeting its own standards.”
As reported by TechCrunch, the AirPower charging mat has reportedly had “engineering problems related to the laws of physics” and that it ran too hot because the 3D charging coils were too close to each other and “required very, very cautious power management.”
“After much effort, we’ve concluded AirPower will not achieve our high standards and we have cancelled the project. We apologize to those customers who were looking forward to this launch. We continue to believe that the future is wireless and are committed to push the wireless experience forward,” said Dan Riccio, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering in an emailed statement today.
Dead Cells newest update, dubbed Rise of the Giant, is out now on Steam and slowly rolling out to consoles, bringing with it a ton of new content to a game that keeps getting better and better with age.
When I filed the IGN Dead Cells review last year, I thought it was one of the best action games I’d ever played, fusing breakneck speed, risk-versus-reward decision-making, and roguelike elements for something unique with an absolute ton of replay value.
And within that perfect storm of difficulty Dead Cells is known for, it’s also got an incredible tongue-in-cheek personality and is positively loaded with Easter Eggs that you might not have spotted yet, which helps alleviate some of that brutal atmosphere.
The question of whether Batman kills or not is one of the key moral quandaries in comics. Though it feels like his “No Killing” rule is a concrete part of his character it’s actually something which has shifted, evolved, and changed since the earliest days of his creation.
The debate has been reignited thanks to Zack Snyder’s recent profanity-filled comments about superheroes which included the line, “Someone says to me: Batman killed a guy. I’m like, ‘F**k, really? Wake the f**k up.'” As Snyder here implies Batman has and will always kill, we thought it would be a good time to look back at the history of the Caped Crusader and his stance on killing.
Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington and Peter Dinklage have gone on record discussing the consequences of Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen’s romance in the final season of Game of Thrones.
Spoiler Warning: Some spoilers for Season 8 ahead.
Via TV Insider, it’s clear Jon and Daenerys aren’t aware of their blood relationship at the beginning of Season 8, but appear to find out rather quickly – Jon (born Aegon Targaryen) is the son of Daenerys’ older brother Rhaegar Targaryen, making Jon not only the rightful heir of the Iron Throne, but Daenerys’ nephew. Fans were treated to this revelation at the end of Season 7 while the two began to consummate their relationship. Naturally, things were bound to get messy.
One of the several aspects that make Celeste a superb game is the soundtrack. Its catchy, rhythmic mix of piano and chiptune-style synths masterfully complement the game’s tone, story, and intense platforming at just the right moments. The Celeste soundtrack is also wonderful to simply listen to as a standalone album, and the remixed Piano Collections just as much. But you don’t have to take my word for it. It’s been nominated for multiple awards including Best Music at the upcoming BAFTA Game Awards, and it took home Best Audio at the 2019 GDC Awards. That’s because of the work of composer Lena Raine, and today she released her debut solo album titled Oneknowing.
Oneknowing is now available on multiple music streaming platforms such as Bandcamp, Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, and much more. While you may recognize a few parallels between that of Celeste’s soundtrack and Raine’s new record, Oneknowing hits a more relaxing, ethereal vibe especially in the songs “Breath” and “Momodani.” Raine also sings in an expressive, artificial language with her voice modified via vocaloid software for tracks like “Tsukuyomi” and “Light Rail.”
Cover art for Lena Raine’s “Oneknowing” done by artist Erica June Lahaie (@aurahack on Twitter)
I caught up with Raine following the win for Best Audio at the GDC Awards this year and asked her about the approach in creating Celeste’s soundtrack. She said, “In a lot of ways, Celeste was sort of me finally claiming my own voice. I had been writing music for other franchises, like Guild Wars 2, that already had an established voice. And so Celeste was finally my chance to actually just go super into the kind of music that excited me. And in a lot of ways, everything that has come since then, that’s where I now need to diversify my sound and keep coming up with new things to challenge myself.”
You may have seen her performing at The Game Awards 2018 alongside renowned composers Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe. Celeste was one of GameSpot’s favorite games last year and we awarded it a spot in our 5 Best Nintendo Switch Games of 2018. In regard to the soundtrack, writer and editor Oscar Dayus said in his Celeste review, “The piano and chiptune-heavy soundtrack adapts in a similar fashion [as the art style and environments], moving from the serene to the spooky at the perfect moment, all while remaining forever catchy.”
After countless teasers and subtle misdirections over the years, developer Gearbox has finally lifted the veil over Borderlands 3. The game was revealed at the developer’s PAX East panel, which was met by as much fanfare as it was technical difficulties. Still, the game’s big debut trailer sparked excitement and a ton of questions. If you haven’t watched it already, be sure to check it out in the player above.
To catch you up on all things Borderlands 3, we’ve compiled all the latest news, features, impressions, trailers, and details we know about the game. Be sure to check back often as we update this article with even more new information about this highly anticipated loot shooter.
Borderlands 3 is the highly anticipated third game in the popular Borderlands franchise, a series whose mechanics and conventions predated many of today’s most well-known loot-based shooters, such as Destiny and The Division. Like previous games, it appears that you’ll be taking on the role of one of four treasure-seeking mercenaries known as Vault Hunters. You’ll explore the world and complete missions, which feeds into your overall skill progression and acquisition of new guns and gear. The series is predominantly known for its number of available guns; Borderlands 3 claims there are over a billion guns to collect, some of which are capable of walking and acting autonomously of its user.
Not much is know about the Borderlands 3’s overall story; though, glimpses of several returning characters and a set of new baddies called the Calypso twins seem to be setting up a much larger conflict than previous games–as noted from the variety of new planets it appears you’ll be visiting this time around.
Release Date
There’s still no confirmed release date for Borderlands 3. More details are set to be announced about the game on April 3, but it’s unclear whether or not we’ll hear a release date during that time. However, we have reason to believe the game will be out in the next year. Coinciding with the other franchise news it had to share, Gearbox has dubbed 2019 the Year of Borderlands, which may suggest Borderlands 3 will be out this year. Beyond that, Take Two has repeatedly referred to a highly anticipated sequel to a 2K franchise during past earnings reports. That game was believed to be Borderlands 3, which–if true–means it is scheduled for release between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020.
Playable Character Classes
The first trailer features a few familiar faces from the series’ past, but much of the focus goes to a group of four new characters in the screenshot above, which are likely the Vault Hunters you’ll get to control. Currently, it’s unclear what specific classes they correspond to or even what their names are.
The Borderlands games tend to have a mixture of traditional shooter-RPG class archetypes, like Berserker, Hunter, and Soldier. However, the series is also known to utilize several unexpected classes that mash up a variety of interesting skills and abilities. This tradition seems to continue with one of the female Vault Hunters, a Siren who showcases a skill where she summons multiple ethereal arms, possibly alluding to her being a more melee-centric character.
We got brief glimpses of the remaining three that give some detail into what they are. The robotic fella appears to have a pet Skag that follows him around, the grizzled old guy seems to be able to create doppelgangers of himself, and the helmeted girl has a D.Va-like robot that she and other Vault Hunters can jump into.
Confirmed Returning Characters
As stated, many of the series’ characters are returning in Borderlands 3, which includes folks from Borderlands 1, Borderlands 2, and spin-off Tales from the Borderlands. Despite not making an appearance in the first trailer, Gearbox has stated that characters from Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel will appear too. Below you’ll find the confirmed returning characters so far.
Brick
Claptrap
Ellie
Lady Aurelia
Lillith
Marcus
Maya
Mordecai
Moxxi
Rhys
Sir Hammerlock
Tannis
Tiny Tina
Zero
The First Trailer Impressions
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Borderlands 3 – Gameplay Reveal Trailer
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After watching the first trailer, we had a lot of thoughts to share about how the game appears to be shaping up. Check out our breakdown of the trailer and what we think about getting a new Borderlands game in the video above.
While traditionally, blockbuster sequels tend to keep major spoilers like character deaths a secret, the cast of Dark Phoenix has no problem discussing a major death in the upcoming movie. During an interview, Nicholas Hoult was open about how said character’s death affect his role of Beast. Warning, there are spoilers for the movie ahead.
During an interview at Wondercon, the cast of Dark Phoenix were open to discussing that a major character will die in the movie. Hoult, who has played Beast in all four of the new X-Men movies, starting with First Class, explained how the death of Mystique affects his character. “[Director Simon Kinberg] told everyone that Raven dies, and that’s the relationship that’s been culminating in these last few movies for the Beast role,” Hoult explained at a roundtable interview. “So that was obviously an emotional moment. And the catalyst for Hank to depart being with Charles and the X-Men and seek redemption and revenge in different forms. So emotionally, this film’s rooted in much more realistic, family drama and that’s what makes it different from the other X-Men movies in some ways.”
Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique will meet her fate in Dark Phoenix, which has been hinted at in previous trailers. However, back in February, Kinberg told EW that she would be dying in this latest installment. Like Hoult, Lawrence has been a staple of this franchise since 2011’s First Class as both friend and foe to Charles Xavier. However, in trailers for Dark Phoenix, Mystique seems to have taken on a leadership role on the team, as a mentor to younger mutants. It won’t go well for her though, as Jean Grey accidentally kills her while fighting with the Dark Phoenix force raging inside of her.
While Dark Phoenix is set to hit theaters on June 7, it’s had a few bumps along the way. Originally set to premiere in November 2018, it was pushed back to February 2019, then again to its June release date. Both Dark Phoenix and New Mutants–another fox X-Men movie–had reshoots last year, but at least Dark Phoenix is coming out. There is no word yet on when New Mutants will be released, if at all, even though it was originally slated to come out a year ago.
