November 2019 – Page 78

Avengers: Endgame Performances Lead Disney’s Award Season Considerations

Disney has announced which Oscars they are campaigning for on their awards site, confirming award campaigns for five separate movies.

Avengers: Endgame and The Lion King lead the charge, with Avengers being putting forward for 14 awards, and The Lion King for 13. Disney is asking that Aladdin be considered for a single award (Best Original Song for “Speechless”), while Toy Story 4 and Frozen 2 are both seeking 12 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Animated Feature, and Best Director. Curiously, The Lion King is seeking a Best Picture nomination but not a Best Animated Feature one, despite being the highest grossing animated feature of all time.

Perhaps most interesting is how many actors Disney is putting forward for supporting roles. Disney is campaigning for Avengers: Endgame actors Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Josh Brolin, Paul Rudd, and Don Cheadle for Best Supporting Actor. It’s seeking Best Supporting Actress nominations for Scarlett Johansson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan, and Brie Larson. Disney is also asking to be considered for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and several other awards.

The Lion King is asking for Donald Glover to be considered for Best Actor for his portrayal of Simba. The Best Supporting Actor consideration list consists of Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Billy Eichner, John Kani, John Oliver, Eric Andre, Keegan-Michael Key, and JD McCrary. Disney seeks Best Supporting Actress nominations for Alfre Woodard, Florence Kasumba, Shahadi Wright Joseph, and Beyonce Knowles-Carter.

‘For Your Consideration’ lists for Captain Marvel, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker are not included as of yet. 2017’s Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi was nominated for four Oscars, though, so it’s likely that Disney is planning a campaign following The Rise of Skywalker’s release.

Oscar nominees are typically announced in January, so we’ll have to wait to see how many–if any–of these performances make the cut. If history repeats, Disney’s best odds are in the Animated Feature category and in the technical and styling categories, such as Visual Effects and Best Costume Design, and the sound categories.

IGN UK Podcast #512: We Can Now Talk About Death Stranding

Look, we know you’re expecting Death Stranding chat this week… and that’s exactly what you’re getting. Dale and Joe’s impressions of Kojima’s latest is succulently sandwiched between two beautifully baked slices of wholemeal in the shape of Cardy and Alex’s trials with Modern Warfare’s Spec Ops, and excitement for Overwatch 2.

Go On Name Them makes a glorious return and the Cardy’s Football Manager team is revealed in a podcast climax that the world has never heard the like of, and likely never will again…

IGN UK Podcast #512: We Can Now Talk About Death Stranding

Death Stranding Walkthrough: Episode 3 – Fragile

Getting to Episode 3 in Death Stranding means a brand new map to explore, a whole lot of side content, and a whole heap of new tools for doing just about everything–delivery cargo, taking out enemies, and dealing with BTs. There’s a lot in this chapter, and much of its is optional. We encourage you to follow you heart and go at your own pace, but if you’re more interested in punching through to the other side and seeing what kind of weirdness lurks beyond, this walkthrough should help you find the shortest route there. If you haven’t arrived at Episode 3 yet, then you can follow our Prologue Walkthrough, Episode 1 walkthrough, and Episode 2 walkthrough as a guide.

Afraid of spoilers? Don’t worry! We’ll make sure these walkthroughs are as spoiler-free as possible when it comes to the main story beats. However, at certain points much later in the guide, revealing a few broad snippets of information will likely be necessary.

Again, the thing to keep in mind is that a big part of Death Stranding is the flexibility of the environment and the creativity of how you want to forge a path forward. There are a whole heap of different ways to tackle each mission, and on top of that, the map you encounter might also be different to the one you see in this guide–that’s thanks to the multiplayer aspect of the game, where members of the community will clear different paths and place helpful structures in different ways depending on your personal game.

That said, this walkthrough will give you a good idea about what you need to do. It can offer one viable path to success if you’re at a bit of a loss, or if you just want some inspiration to get you started.

Before you start, definitely check out the broader tips in our Death Stranding guide hub to get your head around some must-have tips to always keep in mind, as well as get your head around what you can expect a little later down the line. Things will definitely get a little less tough over time with the right preparation!

History Of The Terminator Movies

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Black Friday 2019 Deals: Gaming PCs, Laptops, And More Great Deals At Office Depot

The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.

November has brought a flood of Black Friday ads from various retailers. We’ve already gotten a closer look at the Black Friday offerings from stores like Best Buy, Target, and Microsoft; now, Office Depot has released its own selection of deals, which are worth browsing if you’re into PC or retro gaming. The sale includes gaming PCs and laptops as well as monitors, headsets, and chairs–and if you’ve had your eye on one of those Arcade1Up cabinets, you’ll be happy to hear there are deals on a couple of those, too.

Office Depot’s online Black Friday deals will go live at 9:01 PM PT on November 27 / 12:01 AM ET on November 28. The in-store deals will be available when doors open at 8 AM on Friday, November 29.

Office Depot Black Friday 2019 deals

The following items and prices will be available at the aforementioned start times (both online and in stores). However, quantities are limited, so keep that in mind and act fast if you see anything on your wishlist.

iBuyPower Gaming PC w/ i7 + GTX 1660 Ti | $1,000 ($1,250)

This iBuyPower Gaming PC comes equipped with a 9th-generation Intel Core i7, a GTX 1660 Ti, and 16 GB of RAM in addition to a 1 TB hard drive and 480 GB SSD. It’s not the most high-end PC, but it should be able to handle most modern games at decent settings.

Lenovo T540 Gaming PC w/ i7 + GTX 1660 | $750 ($1,130)

Another mid-range option, this Lenovo gaming desktop drops the hard drive and boasts a 512 GB SSD. It’s also got a 9th-gen i7 processor, a GTX 1660, and 16 GB of RAM.

Lenovo Legion 15.6-inch Laptop w/ i7 + GTX 1650 | $800 ($1,080)

This mid-range gaming laptop can handle most modern games at decent settings, but don’t expect it to run any game at a decent frame rate with ray-tracing enabled. It comes with a 9th-gen i7 processor, a GTX 1650, and 8 GB of RAM in addition to a 256 GB SSD.

Lenovo Ideapad 15.6-inch Laptop w/ i5 + GTX 1650 | $630 ($900)

The main difference in this Ideapad laptop is the i5 processor instead of the i7. It matches the Legion with a GTX 1650, 8 GB of RAM, and a 256 GB SSD. Don’t expect it to run everything at max settings, but it will work very well for games like Fortnite and Minecraft.

AOC Curved 24-inch 60Hz 1080p Monitor | $150 ($230)

This LED curved monitor boasts a 1ms response time, 60Hz refresh rate, and 1080p resolution.

MSI Optix G24C 24-inch Curved 144Hz 1080p | $140 ($250)

If you’re looking for something with a higher refresh rate, this MSI Optix monitor is a good pick. It features a 144Hz refresh rate, which will make games running at high frame rates look great.

LG UltraWide 29-inch Monitor | $160 ($300)

If you’re looking for an entry-level UltraWide monitor, then you’ll be happy with this 29-inch LG monitor. It features AMD FreeSync, which will work excellently with an AMD graphics card–this basically means you won’t have to enable V-Sync to enjoy games without screen tearing, making for a better-performing experience.

HyperX Cloud II Gaming Headset | $70 ($100)

HyperX’s Cloud II line features great gaming headsets for their price range. They’re also compatible with PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Realspace Leather Gaming Chair | $95 ($200)

This Realspace gaming chair will be available at a great price for Black Friday. If you’re not in love with the red color, then you can also grab the chair in blue or white at the same price.

Realspace DRG Gaming Chair | $150 ($250)

This Realspace DRG gaming chair features more support and a removable neck cushion for a little extra comfort.

Arcade1Up Space Invaders Counter-cade | $170 ($200)

Arcade cabinets are huge and cumbersome, but Arcade1Up has been creating some excellent mini cabinets that can fit on a counter. This tiny Space Invaders counter-cade may be small, but it features a full-size joystick and buttons for a comfortable playing experience.

Arcade1Up Pac-Man Counter-cade | $170 ($200)

The all-time great Pac-Man is back… in counter-cade form! Like the Space Invaders counter-cade, this Pac-Man cabinet features a full-size joystick and buttons.

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare’s Battle Pass Launches In December

Unlike previous entries in the series, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is forgoing a season pass and DLC in favor of a new battle pass system, much like Epic’s hit battle royale shooter, Fortnite. The first battle pass has yet to arrive, but according to Activision, it’ll be ready to go next month.

During its latest quarterly earnings call, Activision revealed that Modern Warfare’s first season will kick off sometime in December 2019. The company didn’t pin down an exact date, but it did note that time frame is “later than planned.”

Activision has previously shared a few details on how the new battle pass system will work. There will be both Free and Premium streams of content to earn; the former will let you unlock anything that has an impact on gameplay, such as weapons and attachments, while the latter will only feature vanity items like cosmetics. Players will also be able to earn COD Points with the battle pass.

In the meantime, Activision is rolling out some free new content for the game later this week. Beginning Friday, November 8, players will have access to a new multiplayer map (Shoot House), a new Ground War map (Krovnik Farmland), and another game mode, Hardpoint.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare launched on PS4, Xbox One, and PC on October 25 and quickly became PS4’s best-selling game of the month in the US. GameSpot awarded the title a 7/10 in our Call of Duty: Modern Warfare review. Critic Kallie Plagge wrote, “The pitfalls of Spec Ops don’t detract from what Modern Warfare does well. Realism mode is an excellent addition to the slate, and although not all the new multiplayer modes are great, Gunfight and the Night Vision playlist are refreshing standouts.”

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GTA, Red Dead Parent Company On Microtransactions: No Toll Booths

Take-Two, the parent company of Rockstar Games and 2K Games, makes a lot of money through microtransactions. For the latest quarter, the company pulled in more than $300 million from what it calls “recurrent consumer spending.” Take-Two intends to have microtransactions in every game it makes, and now the company’s chief executive has shared more details on its strategy for approaching the controversial business practice.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said the company doesn’t design games with a microtransaction-first mentality. Instead, Zelnick said Take-Two thinks about how to “entertain and engage” players before asking them to spend extra money.

“We only think about monetization after we’ve already focused on that engagement,” he said. “Our approach is that we don’t believe in having toll booths. We want to create a great experience you can enjoy without regard to whether you spend or not.”

Zelnick went on to say that Take-Two understands that players want to be treated fairly when it comes to microtransactions. He acknowledged that Take-Two has stumbled in the past when it comes to this, though he said other companies are more highly criticized.

“We know that, anecdotally, consumers don’t just want to be entertained, they want a fair deal,” he said. “We don’t always get it right but I think compared to the marketplace we tend to get it right more than others. Occasionally we get criticized, but if we are we take a look at the in-game economy and make adjustments.”

Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto Online, the multiplayer mode for GTA V, has been a runaway success when it comes to microtransaction revenue. Despite being more than six years sold, Take-Two expects GTA Online revenue to continue to grow in the current fiscal year.

Take-Two has said it wants to have some form of a microtransaction in every game that it makes, whether that be through in-game purchases, subscriptions, add-ons, or some other means of extra sale on top of the purchase price. Take-Two also owns the Barcelona-based mobile game developer Social Point, which makes free-to-play games that are supported by microtransactions.

Take-Two is not the only company to use microtransactions. All of the major publishers–Activision, EA, Ubisoft, and others–implement microtransactions in their games. For comparison, Activision Blizzard just announced that its own microtransaction revenue reached $700 million for the latest quarter.

For more on Take-Two’s earnings report, check out these stories:

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Death Stranding: Here’s How The Social Strand System Works

Death Stranding is built around the idea that everyone is connected in some sort of way, not just thematically, but in its core gameplay, too. It’s the premise that drives its multiplayer component, which is far from what we’d traditionally expect multiplayer to be. In the video above, we explain exactly how multiplayer works in Death Stranding.

It borrows elements of asynchronous multiplayer components from the Soulsborne games where other players who enable online features can leave behind things for you to find in your own game. But Death Stranding takes that idea and runs with it, hence the Social Strand system. You can build ladders, structures, and generators to leave behind for other players, and they can do the same for you–oftentimes, these are lifelines for surviving in the game itself. With traversal at the heart of Death Standing, bridges to cross rivers or ropes to scale hills will make your life easier and perhaps save you in critical situations.

Multiplayer in Death Stranding is certainly unique and it puts these connections at the forefront of the game. So, if you plan on jumping into the game or have started and are still wondering about how the system works, watch our video above. If you want to know more about how the game is as a whole, be sure to read our full Death Stranding review.

Paranormal Activity 7 Has A Release Date

Paranormal Activity, the massive film series that spooked audiences between 2007 and 2015, is coming back for more. A release date has been set for a new film in the franchise, which has thus far brought in $890.4 million worldwide despite every film in the series being made on a tiny budget.

Deadline is reporting that the next Paranormal Activity has been set on Paramount’s schedule. The film will release on March 21, 2021–the same day as the next Tomb Raider movie, directed by Ben Wheatley.

Few other details are known at this point. The film does not have a director or cast yet, and may not actually be called Paranormal Activity 7–the series dropped numbers from their titles after Paranormal Activity 4. It will be produced by Blumhouse (Get Out, The Purge, Halloween).

The most recent film in the series, Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, was a huge critical flop and performed worse than any of its predecessors, but still grossed $78.9 million worldwide on a $10 million budget. Earlier entries in the series, especially the first three films, were well-received by both critics and audiences.

Paranormal Activity seems to be following a similar trajectory to the Saw franchise, which ruled the Halloween box office from 2004-2010 (albeit with diminishing returns), before returning to cinemas with Jigsaw in 2017. The next film in the series, The Organ Donor, was developed by Chris Rock and is due to release on May 15, 2020.

The most recent Paranormal Activity branded experience was a VR game, Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul, released for PC and PS4 in 2017.

Death Stranding: 61 Essential Tips and Tricks to Be a Master Porter

Learn how to keep your balance, deal with BTs and MULEs, and get lots of likes with these essential Death Stranding tips.