Month: July 2019

The start of the new month is always an exciting time for Xbox Live Gold members, as a new batch of free Xbox One and Xbox 360 Games with Gold will be available to claim and add to your library. July’s first two free games are available to claim now, with the second two games becoming available halfway through the month. Here’s what’s on deck for Gold members in July:

First up is Inside, Playdead’s critically acclaimed puzzle-platformer and follow-up to Limbo. Inside features a creepy, mysterious environment where you control an unarmed boy as he makes his way through a strange facility. The setting is dark and largely monochromatic and noise is minimal, but Inside’s ending is one you won’t soon forget. It’s available to claim now on Xbox One.

Also available now is Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, which initially released in 1997. Considered one of the best 2D action side-scrollers of all time, Symphony of the Night is a cult classic and a must-play, especially if you’ve been enjoying the newly released Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. Thanks to backward compatibility, you can play Symphony of the Night on both Xbox One and Xbox 360.

Starting in mid-July, two more games will become available. The first is Meet the Robinsons, which is based on the animated film of the same name. You’ll play as Wilbur Robinson, who’s in the midst of some time travel chaos that requires him to track down a villain called the Bowler Hat Guy. The action-adventure game includes 40 missions and six different environments in which Wilbur must solve puzzles and battle enemies while armed with various scientific gadgets. You can play Meet the Robinsons on both Xbox One and Xbox 360.

Big Crown: Showdown is the fourth and final game Gold members can claim in July. Available to play locally or online with up to four players, Big Crown: Showdown pits you and your friends against each other across three wacky medieval worlds and 15 insane courses. The goal is to stay on the course as it constantly shifts and throws hazards your way while also attempting to shove your friends off. Big Crown: Showdown is available to play only on Xbox One.

July 2019 Games with Gold

• Castlevania: Symphony of the Night — July 1-15 (Xbox One, Xbox 360)
• Inside — July 1-31 (Xbox One)
• Meet the Robinsons — July 16-31 (Xbox One, Xbox 360)
• Big Crown: Showdown — July 16-August 15 (Xbox One)

There have been various attempts to make a movie version of Neil Gaiman’s classic Sandman comic book series over the years, but none of them have so far made it to screen. However, it now looks like a Sandman adaptation is finally happening, with Netflix set to make a TV version of the acclaimed series.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix has signed a “massive financial deal” with Warner to adapt Sandman. THR’s sources state that this will be be the most expensive DC show ever produced. The series’ showrunner will be Allan Heinberg, who co-wrote the hugely successful DC movie Wonder Woman.

The Sandman show will be executively produced by Gaiman and DC veteran David Goyer, whose credits includes co-writing Man of Steel and Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies, as well as the TV show Krypton. DC and Netflix are yet to make an official announcement about the deal.

The most recent attempt to bring Sandman to the screen was in 2016, when Dark Knight Rises star Joseph Gordon-Levitt was on board to star and produce a version for Warner subsidiary New Line Cinema. That project collapsed when Gordon-Levitt walked away, stating that he and executives at New Line couldn’t “see eye to eye on what makes Sandman special.”

The original run of Sandman lasted for 75 issues, plus one special, between 1989 and 1996. Gaiman has returned to the title a number of times since, including a novella and a six-part prequel series. The comic has won over 26 prestigious Eisner Awards, and by the end of its run was DC’s most popular title, outselling the likes Batman and Superman.

Netflix has taken the wraps off of its upcoming The Witcher series with a round of cast shots that show the major cast in full costume. In a pair of tweets, we got our first looks at Geralt (Henry Cavill), Yennefer (Anya Cholatra), and Ciri (Freya Allan).

The shots also came alongside a poster-style image of Geralt facing the horizon, with the tagline, “The worst monsters are the ones we create.”

The company also revealed the series’ logline that sheds light on a story direction for this first season: “Based on the best-selling fantasy series of books, The Witcher is an epic tale of fate and family. Geralt of Rivia, a solitary monster hunter, struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts. But when destiny hurtles him toward a powerful sorceress, and a young princess with a dangerous secret, the three must learn to navigate the increasingly volatile Continent together.”

Netflix is planning a panel at San Diego Comic Con on July 19 that will share more details on the series. That may be where the company drops a release date. So far we only know that it’s planned for a fall release, and that the first season has wrapped production.

The series appears to be modeling itself primarily after the well-loved Witcher 3. That game is currently slated for a release on Nintendo Switch, with a few graphical compromises.

Remedy says it “could bring Alan Wake to different platforms.” The company earlier announced it had acquired the publishing rights to the series, which until now has only come to PC and Xbox 360, from Microsoft.

When asked by GameSpot what this meant for the future of the franchise, Remedy replied, “The only thing we want to clarify, now that Remedy owns the publishing rights, is that we could bring Alan Wake to different platforms if we so choose. We have nothing to announce for now.”

Alan Wake and its spinoff, American Nightmare, were both published by Microsoft on Xbox 360 and self-published by Remedy on PC. The developer now solely holds the publishing rights, though it did not address the chances of a sequel. In the past, Remedy has repeatedly stated its desire to make Alan Wake 2, though it’s unclear if that is more likely now. What is more likely, though by no means confirmed, is a PS4, Nintendo Switch, or Xbox One port of the existing Alan Wake games, which were released in 2010 and 2012, respectively.

We do know of one project already underway: a live-action Alan Wake television adaption is in development. The show is a collaboration between Remedy and movie production company Contradiction Films.

Remedy’s next game, meanwhile, is Control, which launches for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on August 27. We saw the shooter at E3, and we think it’s Remedy’s most interesting game since the first Alan Wake.

The first trailer for Jumanji: The Next Level is here. The sequel to 2017’s hugely successful Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle reunites Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, and Jack Black in another video game-themed adventure, and it hits theaters in December.

The new movie has a similar plot to the last one, with Johnson, Hart, Gillan, and Black playing the avatars of people pulled into insane adventure game Jumanji. But this time, Johnson and Hart aren’t being controlled by kids–they’re the avatars of two wise-cracking old folks, played by Danny DeVito and Danny Glover. It looks every bit as wild and funny as the last movie, with lots of humor derived from the fact that De Vito and Johnson are physically about as far from each other as you can get. Check the trailer out above.

Jumanji: The Next Level is directed by Jake Kasdan once more, and also stars Awkwafina, Madison Iseman, Colin Hanks, and Nick Jonas. It releases on December 13.

The original 1995 movie Jumanji starred Robin Williams, Kirsten Dunst, and Bonnie Hunt. In that movie, Williams’ character became stuck in a board game as a young boy before being set free (along with other creatures and characters) in the modern day.

In related news, Johnson will be seen next month in the Fast & Furious sequel Hobbs & Shaw–watch the latest trailer here. For more, check out GameSpot’s guide to the year’s biggest movie releases.

You need a javascript enabled browser to watch videos.

Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos.

This video has an invalid file format.

Sorry, but you can’t access this content!