Month: January 2020

Nintendo is kicking off the new year with another look at one of 2020’s biggest Switch titles, Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Ahead of the game’s release in March, the company has shared a new trailer that offers another brief glimpse at its gameplay–as well as our first look at a returning fan-favorite character.

The video, which you can watch below, is presented as a commercial for Nook Inc.’s Deserted Island Getaway Package. An audience of Animal Crossing characters watches clips of some of the new tasks you’ll be able to perform in the game, such as collecting material to craft furniture and paving pathways with a new trowel tool.

What’s most notable about the trailer, however, is that it also provides our first glimpse at Isabelle. Up until now, Isabelle has only been teased for New Horizons, but her appearance in the video confirms she’ll indeed return in the game, and her excited reaction to the clips of island life seems to suggest she’ll play a fairly major role.

In addition to the trailer, Nintendo has released a handful of new Animal Crossing: New Horizons screenshots on the game’s Japanese website, along with new key art. The latter in particular is interesting because it reveals two new characters and offers another look at Isabelle, who seems to be showing a village around the island–possibly hinting at her role. Harvey, the dog who runs the RV campground in Animal Crossing: New Leaf, can also be spotted in the background, confirming he’ll likewise be returning in New Horizons. You can take a look at new screens and key art below.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons launches for Nintendo Switch on March 20, 2020. No pre-order bonuses for the game have been announced yet, but you can already reserve a copy at various retailers. You can learn more in our Animal Crossing: New Horizon’s pre-order guide, and be sure to check out our roundup of everything we know about New Horizons to catch up on all the details that have been revealed so far.

Infinity Ward has introduced a new mode to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare with the start of 2020. The studio shared details about Grind, a deathmatch mode combining two Call of Duty game types into one fast-paced battle for dog tags, in a blog post.

Grind, as seen in 2013’s Call of Duty: Ghosts, is an amalgam of Hardpoint and Kill Confirmed, and is now playable on all platforms. The objective is to kill your enemies and collect their dog tags by delivering them to your team’s location. Similar to Kill Confirmed, you can deny dog tag confirmations by grabbing them yourself. But you also drop your own dog tag, along with the many you may have collected, when you are shot down.

Infinity Ward said Grind “add[s] multiple levels of tactics into an already tension-filled battlefield,” and the studio shared several strategies and tips on how to perform best while playing the new mode.

Infinity Ward also tweeted a playlist update alongside Grind’s announcement, saying the new mode replaces Drop Zone, Shoot House 24/7 replaces Shoot the Ship, and Snowfight has been removed.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare received an update on December 18 that added several new pieces of content and implemented numerous balance changes and bug fixes. Packaged within that update were new multiplayer maps brought back from 2007’s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The patch also included a new Operator and Special Operation, addressed issues with audio and weapons, and much more.

A complete walkthrough and guide for The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening for the Nintendo Switch.

Google has surprised Star Wars fans with a small Easter Egg that will allow them to explore other planets while traveling at light speed — similar to what one would experience aboard the Millennium Falcon.

Uncovered by Redditors and reported by Express, you can try out the Google Maps Star Wars Easter Egg by heading to Google Maps on your desktop browser (doesn’t seem to work on mobile) and zooming out while in satellite view.

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In a tweet from the official Twitter account for the STALKER game series, developer GSC Game World officially announced that it is using Unreal Engine 4 for the upcoming sequel STALKER 2. The previous games, which are several years old at this point, used the proprietary X-Ray Engine that allowed those games to stand out visually at the time with stunning lighting, shadows, and weather, but it seems that Unreal will make things simpler for the devs.

GSC Game World stated that “UE was the most suitable choice for us.” Its statement continued, “It gives the opportunity to make the game you wait for with the atmosphere of tension and mystery, the flesh and blood of the STALKER universe.” The team also mentioned that mods factored into the decision, saying, “Unreal Engine harmonizes well with our goal to make modding more easy and accessible.”

For those unaware, Unreal Engine is owned and developed by Epic Games. Questions about Epic Games Store exclusivity naturally begin to pop up in light of the engine announcement, but GSC Game World addressed the speculation rather bluntly. It stated, “Yes, we know what you are thinking about, but this announcement has nothing to do with platforms or digital stores. We will talk about this later.”

Very little is known about the game at the moment, though it’s likely to build on the open first-person shooter/RPG hybrid foundation of the original games. Back in March of last year, the official STALKER 2 website was updated with key art and foreboding atmospheric music. A full STALKER sequel was planned in 2010 and was eventually cancelled in 2012; this upcoming STALKER 2 is a separate project. STALKER 2 is said to launch sometime in 2021.

Respawn Entertainment CEO and co-founder will soon be taking on a new role under the EA umbrella as head of DICE LA. The change will happen in 2020 and Zampella says a studio name change and unannounced game are already in the cards.

“Under Zampella, there are plans to expand and launch an original, as-yet-unrevealed game,” the LA Times reports. “The company will remain separate from Respawn and, Zampella says, likely will drop the DICE name.”

It’s unknown at this time what DICE LA will be renamed as. The studio has often served as a support studio for DICE in Stockholm, Sweden where the company was originally founded. Zampella says that with a new studio name he wants to give the developer “a new image. We want people to say, ‘This is a destination you can go and make new content.’”

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With the surge in popularity from The Witcher live action show on Netflix, there’s no better time to get in on some witching of your own in The Witcher 3. Taking place long after the events of the show, Geralt of Rivia embarks on an expansive quest to locate both his former lover, the sorceress Yennefer, and his protege, a now grown-up Ciri who is being pursued by dangerous enemies known as the Wild Hunt.

The Witcher 3 is impossibly expansive, with continents to explore, monsters to hunt, and deep sidequests to undertake – sometimes with surprising consequences. Using our Witcher 3 beginner’s guide, you’ll have all the tools you need to become the best monster slayer there is, and leave no stone unturned in your quests.

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The upcoming DC movie Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) will not feature Jared Leto’s Joker, according to star Margot Robbie.

Variety (via Newsarama) reports that Robbie confirmed Leto’s Joker will not appear in the film, even as a cameo, although a direct quote from Robbie was not given.

Harley Quinn is intrinsicly linked to the Clown Prince of Crime considering he created her and she fell manically in love with him, as seen in 2016’s Suicide Squad movie, but Birds of Prey picks up after Harley and Joker have broken up, which is why he won’t appear. Although, as the trailers have shown, the Joker’s presence will still be felt in the upcoming movie, as we see Harley throwing knives at a drawing of Joker and we watch as Harley seemingly blows up ACE Chemicals, the place where Joker fell into a vat of acid as part of his origin story and where he gave Harley her own villainous baptism.

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