Month: March 2020

Nintendo And Levi’s Are Teaming Up For Super Mario Pants, We Hope

Famous jeans company Levi’s is teasing some kind of partnership with Nintendo. The San Francisco-based apparel giant on Monday tweeted a three-second teaser that appears to signal that Nintendo-branded pants are on the way.

What a time to be alive.

Nintendo would be just the latest massive entertainment brand that Levi’s partners with. The company previously made officially licensed Star Wars and Disney clothing.

No other details are available on the Levi’s + Nintendo partnership, so all we can do is speculate on what the offerings might include, like Mario-branded overalls to match what the portly plumber wears in the games. We can only hope.

In 2016, then-Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima explained that, as a result of changes in the gaming landscape, fewer and fewer young people are finding out about Nintendo games through … games. Instead, they’re discovering Nintendo and its characters through things like officially licensed Mario toothbrushes. Kimishima said at the time that you can expect these kinds of licensing deals to continue and possibly increase, and this includes the new Levi’s partnership.

Nintendo also recently agreed to a licensing deal with Universal for a Super Mario movie, while Nintendo is also working with Universal Parks on a Super Mario Land attraction in Japan and Orlando.

As Nintendo thinks about itself more broadly as an entertainment company, these kinds of licensing arrangements will be important if Nintendo is to grow.

In other Nintendo news, the Switch has received a new update–but it doesn’t do much.

Don’t Expect A Kirk Series After Picard

As Picard nears the end of its first season–and already looks towards a second–William Shatner has shot down the idea of doing a similar revival for Captain Kirk, as picked up by the Hollywood Reporter.

When a fan on Twitter asked if Star Trek was likely to get a new series for Kirk, Shatner answered in no uncertain terms, saying that Kirk’s story “is pretty well played out at this point.”

Other questions from fans were met by apathy from the Star Trek actor, implying he is well and truly done with the franchise. Even a cameo is out of the question for Shatner, with one of his tweets stating “I don’t do cameos. It’s a throwaway part to sell DVDs.”

The last time Shatner played Kirk was back in 1994 for Star Trek Generations, which showed Kirk’s death. He did revive the character again in 2013 for a brief appearance during the opening of the 85th Academy Awards.

Shatner still maintains his links to the character and is currently touring a show that features a screening of Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan ahead of the actor’s talk and Q&A session.

While Shatner hasn’t played Captain Kirk for over 25 years now, a younger version of the character has lived on more recently, as played by Chris Pine in the three Star Trek reboot films.

Now Playing: 11 Star Trek: Picard Theories – The Borg, Data, and Everything We Know So Far

12 Minutes Of SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle For Bikini Bottom Rehydrated Gameplay

SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom, the 2003 cult classic game featuring everyone’s favorite yellow sponge, is coming back thanks to THQ Nordic. The game’s “Rehydrated” version launches later this year, featuring better-looking visuals and an improved camera, among other modern updates.

GameSpot recently had the chance to play 12 minutes of the remaster, and it was a full-on nostalgia trip. Check out the video above to see us make our way through Jellyfish Fields, crushing the invading robots and culminating in an epic boss battle.

Rehydrated launches later this year for PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. There are brand-new features like a multiplayer mode and content that was cut from the original game, including a boss fight against a robot version of Squidward.

BAFTA Games 2020 Nominations Announced

The nominations for the BAFTA Games 2020 Awards have been revealed. IGN’s Game of the Year winner Control has the joint-most number of nominations at 11, alongside Death Stranding, which is IGN’s Best PS4 Exclusive of 2019. Disco Elysium, which is IGN’s Best PC Game of 2019, has been nominated for seven awards.

11 is the highest number of nominations any single game has received since the standalone BAFTA Game awards began in 2004. That high number is helped along by the new award categories this year, which are Animation, Technical Achievement, Best Performer in a Leading Role, and Best Performer in a Supporting Role.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/26/control-review”]

The winner of the Mobile Games of the Year award is decided by the public. So if you want to, cast your vote for either Assemble with Care, Call of Duty: Mobile, Dead Man’s Phone, Pokémon Go, Tangle Tower, or What the Golf?.

The winners will be announced on April 2, 2020, and you’ll be able to tune into BAFTA’s Facebook, Twitch, and YouTube channel to watch it all happen live. As previously announced, Hideo Kojima will receive the BAFTA Fellowship on the night.

The full list of nominations for the BAFTA Games 2020 Awards are below.

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Best Game

  • Control
  • Disco Elysium
  • Luigi’s Mansion 3
  • Outer Wilds
  • Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
  • Untitled Goose Game

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for British Game

  • DiRT Rally 2.0
  • Heaven’s Vault
  • Knights and Bikes
  • Observation
  • Planet Zoo
  • Total War: Three Kingdoms

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Animation

  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
  • Control
  • Death Stranding
  • Luigi’s Mansion 3
  • Sayonara Wild Hearts
  • Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Artistic Achievement

  • Concrete Genie
  • Control
  • Death Stranding
  • Disco Elysium
  • Knights and Bikes
  • Sayonara Wild Hearts

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/10/30/death-stranding-launch-trailer”]

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Audio Achievement

  • Ape Out
  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
  • Control
  • Death Stranding
  • Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
  • Untitled Goose Game

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Debut Game

  • Ape Out
  • Death Stranding
  • Disco Elysium
  • Katana Zero
  • Knights and Bikes
  • Manifold Garden

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Evolving Game

  • Apex Legends
  • Destiny 2
  • Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers
  • Fortnite
  • No Man’s Sky: Beyond
  • Path of Exile

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Family Game

  • Concrete Genie
  • Knights and Bikes
  • Luigi’s Mansion 3
  • Untitled Goose Game
  • Vacation Simulator
  • Wattam

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Game Beyond Entertainment

  • Civilization VI: Gathering Storm
  • Death Stranding
  • Kind Words (lo fi chill beats to write to)
  • Life is Strange 2 (Episodes 2-5)
  • Neo Cab
  • Ring Fit Adventure

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/10/17/disco-elysium-review”]

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Game Design

  • Baba Is You
  • Control
  • Disco Elysium
  • Outer Wilds
  • Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
  • Wattam

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Multiplayer Game

  • Apex Legends
  • Borderlands 3
  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
  • Luigi’s Mansion 3
  • Tick Tock: A Tale for Two
  • Tom Clancy’s The Division 2

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Music

  • Control
  • Death Stranding
  • Disco Elysium
  • Outer Wilds
  • The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
  • Wattam

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Narrative

  • Control
  • Disco Elysium
  • Life is Strange 2 (Episodes 2-5)
  • Outer Wilds
  • The Outer Worlds
  • Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Original Property

  • Baba Is You
  • Control
  • Death Stranding
  • Disco Elysium
  • Outer Wilds
  • Untitled Goose Game

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BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Performer in a Leading Role

  • Laura Bailey as Kait Diaz in Gears 5
  • Courtney Hope as Jesse Faden in Control
  • Logan Marshall-Green as David in Telling Lies
  • Gonzalo Martin as Sean Diaz in Life is Strange 2 (episodes 2-5)
  • Barry Sloane as Captain Price in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
  • Norman Reedus as Sam in Death Stranding

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Performer in a Supporting Role

  • Jolene Andersen as Karen Reynolds in Life is Strange 2 (episodes 2-5)
  • Troy Baker as Higgs in Death Stranding
  • Sarah Bartholomew as Cassidy (Lucy Rose Jones) in Life is Strange 2 (episodes 2-5)
  • Ayisha Issa as Fliss in The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan
  • Léa Seydoux as Fragile in Death Stranding
  • Martti Suosalo as Ahti the Janitor in Control

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Technical Achievement

  • A Plague Tale: Innocence
  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
  • Control
  • Death Stranding
  • Metro Exodus
  • Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Mobile Game of the Year

  • Assemble With Care
  • Call of Duty: Mobile
  • Dead Man’s Phone
  • Pokémon Go
  • Tangle Tower
  • What the Golf?

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Chris Priestman is a freelancer who writes news for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

A Quiet Place Part 2 Is Premiering With A Special Double Feature

A Quiet Place Part II is coming to cinemas on March 20, but you’ll be able to catch it early if you grab tickets to a one-night-only double feature on March 18.

Some films just have to be watched in the cinemas, and A Quiet Place is undoubtedly one of them. With a proper surround system dropping every tiny sound, and a full audience all holding their breath on behalf of the protagonist, it’s an experience that can’t be replicated.

Luckily, if you missed the chance to watch A Quiet Place in cinemas the first time–or if you’re just a big fan of the film–you have the chance to catch it again, in a double feature with the upcoming sequel.

Tickets are available here, both for the double feature and for regular showings of A Quiet Place Part II beginning March 20.

A Quiet Place Part II follows the same family from the original film, promising to give us more details on how exactly you raise a young baby in a silent apocalypse. The sequel will introduce a larger cast, with the Abbott family running into other survivors as they flee their ruined home.

Now Playing: A Quiet Place Part 2 (2020) – Big Game Spot

New Apex Legends Update Makes Bloodhound Work As They Should

Respawn is trying to get people to play with Apex Legends character Bloodhound as the technological tracker is designed. Update 4.1, which launches alongside the System Override Collection event, contains several character patches–including several aimed at making Bloodhound more of a recon character.

The role of the recon character in Apex Legends has always been a little nebulous–why, for example, was Pathfinder a support character at launch when his passive ability is literally a form of reconnaissance? Respawn is seemingly attempting to better define the role going forward. Pathfinder is now a recon character, for instance, and the terrifyingly aggressive Bloodhound is being adjusted to be less of an attacker and more of a hunter.

In Update 4.1, the range of Bloodhound’s tactical ability, Eye of the Allfather, will be increased by three times. Whereas before, Eye of the Allfather was good for seeing an enemy hiding in one building, now it’s range can encompass several structures. The scan lasts a whole second longer too, making it easier to catch enemy squads with the ability.

To balance this change, however, Eye of the Allfather will now take twice as long to activate. This decreases the utility of Eye of the Allfather in the midst of a firefight. “The intent is that we want Bloodhound players to come upon a town and maybe see some markers and then use [Eye of the Allfather] to scan the town,” Respawn lead game designer Carlos Pineda said during Apex Devstream #4.

The idea is to use Bloodhound’s abilities prior to a fight in order to locate another squad instead of during the fight to help you find where enemies are hiding. So Bloodhound finds markers with Tracker, scans the area with Eye of the Allfather, and then leads their squad to the enemy’s hiding spot with Beast of the Hunt. It’s a bit more of a passive role for the recon specialist, who has been mostly used as another offensive character since day one. This new role is more in line with Pathfinder and Crypto’s jobs (the other recon characters), which is to provide intel for their squad as they move around the map.

It remains to be seen whether players actually adopt this strategy or not, though it’s nice to see Respawn beginning to define the role of recon characters as information gatherers as opposed to characters that just have some form of scanning ability.

Now Playing: Everything To Know About Apex Legends System Override In 3 Minutes

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Apex Legends System Override Update Makes Wattson Less Of A “Must-Have,” Says Respawn

Alongside the addition of Octane’s heirloom and the start of System Override (which sees the return of Kings Canyon), Respawn is implementing a new update into Apex Legends. The full patch notes for the update reveals several in-game changes, including one that aims to make Wattson less of a must-have for a squad’s success.

Currently, a full stack of two grenades takes up a single slot in a player’s inventory–allowing them to, for example, hold six grenades at the cost of only three slots. Once you have a big enough backpack, this makes it very easy to stockpile grenades, which your squad can then use to bombard an opponent from afar.

This tactic is devastating in the final circles of a match (especially if you throw in Bangalore’s Rolling Thunder, Cautic’s Nox Gas Grenade, or Gibraltar’s Defensive Bombardment), where it’s more difficult for an enemy squad to find space to retreat and reposition themselves. So, of course, more and more people have started using it.

The counter to this strategy is to have a Wattson in your squad. Her Interception Pylon will destroy all incoming ordinance, whether it’s a grenade or one of the aforementioned character abilities. Because of the growing popularity of grenade spamming in the final circles, it’s made Wattson an increasingly necessary component of any squad looking to win at a high ranked level.

In order to curb this problem, Respawn is changing how in-game inventory works–specifically when it comes to grenades. With Update 4.1, instead of a stack of two, each individual grenade will fill an entire inventory slot. “We’re trying to address the problem of grenade spamming,” Respawn lead game designer Carlos Pineda said during Apex Devstream #4. “Right now, people carry a lot of grenades and endgame they’re just chucking grenades–it almost makes Wattson a must-have because everyone is throwing grenades.”

Wattson isn’t the only character Respawn is addressing with Update 4.1. The new update adds a necessary buff to Gibraltar, a much-needed change to Crypto, and adjusts Bloodhound into the character they’ve always meant to be. The update goes live alongside System Override on March 3.

Now Playing: Everything To Know About Apex Legends System Override In 3 Minutes

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Apex Legends Kings Canyon Map Will Return As Season 2 Version

Respawn has already given players a chance to play on Apex Legends‘ original map, Kings Canyon, a few times in Season 4: Assimilation. Both times, however, the map has returned as one of the older versions of Kings Canyon. Going forward, you’ll play on the Kings Canyon you remember from the final days of Season 2: Battle Charge.

Kings Canyon will first return in the System Override Collection event, during the second week of the limited-time Deja Loot mode. “This will be the Season 2 version of Kings Canyon,” Respawn design director Jason McCord said on Apex Devstream #4. “[The version] with the leviathans in it and all the town takeovers–the last version of the map that [players] played live.”

Halfway through Season 4: Assimilation, the ranked playlist will transition from World’s Edge to Kings Canyon. However, the legends won’t be playing on a new Kings Canyon. During the devstream, Respawn community manager Jay Frechette said that, like in System Override, the Kings Canyon that returns at the ranked playlist split is still the version of the map from Season 2: Battle Charge. So don’t expect a brand-new version of Apex Legends’ original map.

System Override launches alongside an update for Apex Legends, which sees the implementation of several in-game changes and adjustments to Gibraltar, Crypto, and Bloodhound. The most significant patches are to in-game inventory and the heirloom system–Respawn is hoping to curb grenade spamming and make it easier to earn the heirloom you want (like the newest one, Octane’s butterfly knife, which is a reminder of the adrenaline junkie’s sad backstory.

Now Playing: Everything To Know About Apex Legends System Override In 3 Minutes

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E3 2020 Still Going Ahead As Planned Amidst Coronavirus Concerns

E3 2020 is scheduled to happen from June 9 through June 11, but as numerous worldwide events are cancelled or postponed due to the COVID-19 (aka coronavirus) outbreak, it would be reasonable to question whether organizers were wavering. In the wake of GDC being postponed, E3’s organizers have stated that they still plan on having the event in June.

The news comes from Vice’s Patrick Klepek, who received a statement from the ESA and shared it via Twitter. The statement confirms that the company is “watching the situation very closely”, and makes it clear that things could change, but for now, it is “moving ahead full speed with E3 2020 planning.”

Exhibits and ticket sales have continued unabated, and it’s not possible to know whether the outbreak will be contained–or what state things will be in–by June.

E3 2020 is already shaping up to be tumultuous, with PlayStation deciding not to attend for the second year in a row. They won’t be the only ones skipping, as Geoff Keighley will also miss E3 for the first time in 25 years. Since 2017, Keighley has hosted the E3 Coliseum, a fan-focused showcase that delved into the making of the biggest games on show.

With E3 still planned for June, we can expect to see new games from Nintendo, Microsoft, and several other publishers. We should also see more of the Xbox Series X during the event.

Now Playing: E3 2020 Loses One Of Its Biggest Hosts – GS News Updates

No Time To Die Tickets On Sale Now, But Some Fans Want A Delay

No Time to Die is set to have its world premiere on March 31 in London and a theatrical release in the US on April 10. If you’re antsy to secure a seat for Daniel Craig’s final performance as James Bond, tickets are now officially on sale.

However, a group of fans has called for the release of No Time to Die to be pushed back to summer, citing coronavirus concerns. The letter is authored by some of the most popular fansites and blogs, including James Page, the co-founder of the MI6 website, and David Leigh, the founder of the James Bond Dossier. It states, “With the Coronavirus reaching pandemic status, it is time to put public health above marketing release schedules and the cost of canceling publicity events.”

The letter nodded to the cancellation of the film’s publicity tours in countries where the coronavirus has hit the hardest, such as China, South Korea, and Japan, stating, “These are sensible actions that should be applauded.”

The authors end the letter by reiterating the importance of public health, expressing, “It’s just a movie. The health and well-being of fans around the world, and their families, is more important. We have all waited over four years for this film. Another few months will not damage the quality of the film and only help the box-office for Daniel Craig’s final hurrah.”

The movie made headlines earlier this week for its potential lengthy runtime that clocks in at 2 hours and 43 minutes. According to director Cary Joji Fukunaga, No Time to Die will tie up the loose ends from other movies. He added, “Everything that was left unsaid, will finally be said.”

Now Playing: No Time To Die – 007 James Bond Official Trailer