Month: May 2020

A new 3DS physical release is coming soon, courtesy of developer Atooi–and it’s called Atooi Collection. The cartridge, which will collect together various Atooi releases from the 3DS Eshop, doesn’t have a release date yet, but it’ll be published through Limited Run Games.

Atooi announced that the game has been approved by Nintendo, and is now just awaiting some final confirmations before it can go on sale.

Atooi Collection was actually announced in June 2019 with a video (below), but with no word since, it wasn’t clear what was happening with it until now. It will collect together Mutant Mudds, Mutant Mudds: Super Challenge, Bomb Monkey, Xeodrifter, and Chicken Wiggle.

The last 3DS cartridge released up to this point was Persona Q2, which released on June 4, 2019. Unfortunately, Atooi Collection will likely only be available in North America, as 3DS carts are region locked. Atooi confirmed this in a follow-up tweet, stating that if a region-free cart was an option, they would take it.

3DS game collectors might want to make a little more room on their shelf for this final title–it seems unlikely that we’ll see more 3DS cartridges after this.

The Gears of War franchise is synonymous with Xbox. Even before Microsoft acquired the franchise, the series was exclusive to Xbox. The game began as a console exclusive to Xbox and has remained that way ever since. So it was an interesting piece of news recently when footage of 2011’s Gears of War 3 running on PlayStation 3 was published online.

Epic Games has now confirmed that the studio never had any plans to release Gears of War 3 on Sony’s console. The footage is derived from tests that Epic conducted for Unreal Engine 3.

“This footage is a byproduct of Epic’s internal Unreal Engine 3 testing process, which utilized both Gears and Unreal Tournament, and was never part of any actual product work for PS3,” Epic told Kotaku.

The latest mainline Gears game, Gears 5, was released in September 2019 for Xbox One and PC. Developer The Coalition is bringing the game to Xbox Series X as a launch title, featuring frame rates up to 120FPS. Outside of the main series, the XCOM-style strategy game Gears Tactics debuted in April.

Move over Black Friday. When it comes to Dell, the best deals don’t come in November, but right here and right now in May. The Dell Memorial Day Sale has always offered the best deals you could find on Alienware gaming PCs and gaming laptops, and this year looks to be no different. The deals start today and they are definitely the best we’ve seen for 2020. This article will be updated constantly all the way through Memorial Day.

Dell and Alienware Coupon Codes

If you already have a particular config in mind at Dell (or Alienware), use one of these codes. Not all configs are eligible but you’d be surprised how many are (especially for the $50 off).

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The Best Dell Memorial Day Gaming PC Deals

You have a variety of tiers to choose from. If you’ve got a big budget, there are discounted models on Alienwares equipped with Intel Core i9 processors or RTX 2080 Ti video cards. For more budget minded folks, gaming PCs with RTX 2070, RX 5700 XT, and GTX 1660 TI video cards can be had for less than $1200.

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The Best Dell Memorial Day Gaming Laptop Deals

Gaming laptops are more powerful than they used to be, and lighter to boot. Most of these Dell and Alienware gaming laptops (those equipped with GTX 1660 Ti video cards and up) are capable of running just about any game at 1080p resolution. If you want one of the fancier laptops equipped with 4K OLED displays, 144Hz refresh rates, or you want to plug in a VR headset, then more powerful options are also available at the best prices we’ve seen so far.

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The Best Dell Memorial Day HDTV Deals

What’s a good Memorial Day Sale without great TV deals. Dell is never one to skip out on solid deals. These prices match the best you’ll find anywhere else, but in addition you get a bonus gift card that you can spend on anything at Dell’s site. Use it on gaming consoles, video games, computers, electronics, or anything else that tickles your fancy. The gift card is emailed within 2-3 weeks after your TV ships out, and they carry a 90-day expiration date.

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Eric Song is IGN’s deal curator and spends 25% of his pay on stuff he posts.

IGN’s Xbox team discusses Phil Spencer’s recent comments about how COVID-19 might affect early 2021 games, the dates and details for Gamescom’s all-digital event later this summer, the three classic games that Double Fine is bringing to Xbox this year, and more!

Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, or grab an MP3 download of this week’s episode. For more awesome content, check out the latest episode of IGN Unfiltered, featuring an interview with Master Chief creator and longtime Bungie veteran Marcus Lehto:

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It’s already an incredibly fun year of Xbox coverage, and the best is yet to come. Join us!

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Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s Executive Editor of Previews. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan, catch him on Unlocked, and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.

Director Denis Villeneuve has revealed the level of attention to detail and time spent on perfecting the look of the iconic sandworms of planet Arrakis in his upcoming screen retelling of Dune.

Villeneuve, who previously brought alien creatures to life in Arrival before tackling Blade Runner 2049, told Empire Magazine (via /Film) that he and his production team spent a year understanding how such a giant creature would operate in a desert environment in order to obtain the right look.

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“We talked about every little detail that would make such a beast possible, from the texture of the skin, to the way the mouth opens, to the system to eat its food in the sand,” Villeneuve said.

He added, “It was a year of work to design and to find the perfect shape that looked prehistoric enough.”

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The sandworms literally loom large in the saga of Dune. They inhabit the deserts of the planet Arrakis, where they are integral to the production of the spice that makes Arrakis such a singularly important world.

And the spice, as any Dune fan knows, is the source of great wealth and thus power, leading to the dangerous rivalries between the story’s great houses.

For more on Dune, check out our breakdown of the new stillsuits and weapons, all the official photos, get the lowdown on the prequel comic, and learn why Dune ’84 director David Lynch has “zero interest” in the remake.

SteelSeries is known for producing solid gaming headsets, and the company’s Arctis line is especially great. Durable frames, high level of comfort, that signature Arctis sound – there’s a reason a bunch of them landed on our Best Gaming Headsets of 2020 list.

Take the Arctis 1 Wireless Xbox Johnny Silverhand Edition headset for example. At first glance, it offers more of the same; this limited model features all the bells and whistles we’ve come to expect from the Arctis line. That said, some slight tweaks to its design make it more compatible with Microsoft’s console this time around – including compatibility with the upcoming Xbox Series X.

Design and Features

SteelSeries’ Arctis 1 Wireless Xbox headset is similar to the one we reviewed last year. It still has a steel-based headband wrapped in plastic and foam. The frame applies slight pressure for a snug fit while the soft, padded cushions hug the ears for extra stability. A detachable mic extends from the left cup, connecting right above several important features. They include a Micro-USB jack for charging, a standard 3.5 mm audio jack, the volume wheel and a microphone mute switch. The right cup houses the power button and LED that indicates connectivity and overall battery life.

Again, these basic design elements can be found in the previous model. That’s not a bad thing mind you. The frame is sturdy. Built with durability in mind, it feels solid enough to survive a fall from a computer desk or short table. And while the steel headband isn’t very flexible, the pressure it places on the ears is reasonable. As someone who’s sensitive to that sort of thing, I can’t stress enough how important this is. No one wants to wear an uncomfortable pair of cans. Thankfully, the Arctis 1 is all about comfort; its extremely soft ear cushions can attest to that.

The Arctis 1 feels great to wear. They’re also rather easy to use. It only takes a second or two to raise the speaker volume and/or mute via the left cup. Long pressing the power button (on the right cup) turns the headset off and on. A short press will answer/end calls or play/pause music; skipping between the next and previous track requires double and triple presses, respectively.

Connecting wirelessly to various devices is also a breeze. This is thanks to that the aforementioned tweaks and multiple connecting cables. The PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC, and Android devices – sans Samsung phones prior to the Galaxy Note 10, which lack voice functionality via USB-C – utilize the Arctis 1 wireless dongle. This is done by either connecting the dongle to a device’s USB-C port directly or by using the USB-A adapter cable. The same goes for the Xbox One. Previously, you’d have to connect the headset to an Xbox One controller using a 3.5 mm audio cable. That’s not the case anymore. Just simply shift the wireless dongle’s mode to Xbox, connect it to the USB-A adapter, plug it into the console and you’re off to the races.

The Arctis 1 Wireless Xbox headset is great in terms of form and function. I’d be remiss if I didn’t bring up the flashy decorations on the unit I tested. Inspired by Keanu Reeves’ Cyberpunk 2077 character, the Johnny Silverhand special edition is uniquely stylized. Half black, half chrome (or silver), each earcup seems to visually showcase Johnny’s human and cybernetic sides. The right cup is adorned with an Oni Demon – part cyborg as well – while the left is chromed out, the words “No Future” are scratched into the frame.

Everything from the Samurai headband to the silver mic arm screams Cyberpunk. Even the inside of the ear cups is stylized, featuring an Arasaka – a megacorporation found in the upcoming game – logo and serial number. Basically, the cool design should resonate with Cyberpunk fans.

Performance

Like previous Arctis headsets, this one features SteelSeries’ high-performance speaker drivers. Their purpose is to provide pertinent details during play. You won’t get a true 7.1 surround sound experience. But you will be able to pinpoint a rival’s location in Call of Duty: Warzone by the sound of their footsteps.

Being able to hear where enemies are is important. Being able to communicate that information to your peers is even more so. The Arctis 1’s 2.4 Ghz wireless connection and ClearCast mic help in this regard. For one, the connection was always solid. I never had to deal with latency issues or choppy audio regardless of what I was doing during play. Even when I went upstairs towards the back of my house, away from my Xbox, I was still able to hear my friends in private chat. My friends could also hear me thanks to the ClearCast mic. Made with a bidirectional design, the mic was great at picking up my voice while ignoring background noises; my teammates couldn’t hear my kids running around while we played various games.

The same could be said when playing on other devices. Especially on my PC, where I could use its sound settings and/or the SteelSeries Engine 3 software to tweak my experience. Which actually brings to me my only complaint: the inability to address sound issues on the Xbox One. There were times when a game’s sounds would drown out portions of the chat. Gunfire, loud music, explosions – whenever things got really exciting, I’d have a hard time hearing anyone who was speaking lower than usual. And because the headset doesn’t differentiate/split the game audio from voice chat, cranking up the volume only made things worse.

To be fair, this issue had more to do with the console than the SteelSeries’ headset. That’s because there’s no menu option to change the volume when connected wirelessly. If you connect it to an Xbox One controller via the 3.5 mm audio cable, an audio option pops up under settings that allows you to adjust how much of the game’s audio is heard over chat. That doesn’t happen when connected through the wireless dongle. Outside of changing the stereo settings – choosing audio formats like Dolby Atmos – and tweaking the mic’s output, you’re pretty much stuck with a shared audio experience. That’s not the case with the PS4 though. On Sony’s console, you can toggle between having all of the audio or just the chat coming through your speakers when using the headset wirelessly.

Purchasing Guide

The limited edition SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless Xbox Johnny Silverhand Edition is compatible with PC, PS4, Android phones (with a USB-C port), Nintendo Switch, and Xbox – both the Xbox One and the upcoming Xbox Series X. It can be found at Best Buy or direct from SteelSeries with an MSRP of $109. The regular edition is available without the Cyberpunk branding for $10 less.

InXile Entertainment, a California-based video game developer founded by Brian Fargo, confirmed that its next project after the release of Wasteland 3 will be a new triple-A RPG developed using Unreal Engine 5.

Considering inXile is now a Microsoft first-party studio, it means the Xbox Series X will indeed have first-party games developed using Epic’s game engine.

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In response to a question from a fan on Twitter, inXile Entertainment confirmed that its next video game project will “indeed be using Unreal Engine 5 for our next project.” Studio boss Brian Fargo also confirmed on Twitter that its “next gen RPG” will use Unreal Engine 5.

Unreal Engine 5 is Epic Games’ next-gen game engine. Two major features of the engine are two technologies called Lumen and Nanite. Lumen is a universal lighting system that makes it easier for developers to create realistic lighting effects, while Nanite lets developers import movie-quality digital assets directly into their games.

In an interview with IGN Tim Sweeney said that the technology running the Lumen in the Land of Nanite tech demo was possible thanks to the SSD technology in the PS5. But Sweeney also said the same two technologies were able to run on the Xbox Series X.

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Xbox boss Phil Spencer also tweeted how “many of our [Xbox Game Studios] are using Unreal,” and mentioned Ninja Theory is using the engine for Hellblade 2.

InXile is currently developing Wasteland 3, a sequel to the isometric post-apocalyptic RPG, Wasteland 2.

In 2018 Microsoft Studios announced that it acquired InXile along with Obsidian Entertainment to join its new Xbox Game Studios stable. Other Xbox Game Studios developers include Rare, 343 Industries, Ninja Theory, and more.

Both Xbox and PlayStation are prepping to reveal more next-gen games, with Sony’s CEO confirming PS5 game reveals will happen soon. Meanwhile, Xbox is planning another 20/20 livestream focused on first-party titles, including Halo Infinite.

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Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.

The 93rd annual Academy Awards show isn’t scheduled to air until February 28, 2021, but it appears that due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the upcoming ceremony could be delayed.

Per Variety, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is considering a postponement of the 2021 telecast on ABC. “It’s likely they’ll be postponed,” a source close to the situation informed Variety. The outlet goes on to report that the details surrounding the potential delay have not been formally discussed and “another source says the date is currently unchanged.”

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Back in April, the Oscars changed its rules in a big way because of Coronavirus, allowing movies that debuted on digital or streaming platforms to qualify for Best Picture. However, this new exception is only being made for the upcoming 93rd Academy Awards. In normal circumstances, the Academy requires a movie to be shown in a movie theater in L.A. County “for a theatrical qualifying run of at least seven consecutive days, during which period screenings must occur at least three times daily.”

In regards to whether or not the Oscars will actually be delayed, Academy president David Rubin told Variety that “It’s impossible to know what the landscape will be. We know we want to celebrate film but we do not know exactly what form it will take.”

In other Oscar news, find out why Joker was never going to win Best Picture, and check out the complete 2020 winner’s list right here.

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David Griffin still watches DuckTales in his pajamas with a cereal bowl in hand. He’s also the TV Editor for IGN. Say hi on Twitter.

Ruby Rose is exiting the title role in The CW’s Batwoman. The network will recast the role of Kate Kane with a new actress for the second season, which isn’t slated to debut till January 2021.

“I have made the very difficult decision to not return to Batwoman next season,” Rose said in a statement obtained by Deadline.

“This was not a decision I made lightly as I have the utmost respect for the cast, crew and everyone involved with the show in both Vancouver and in Los Angeles.”

Rose continued, “I am beyond appreciative to Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Caroline Dries for not only giving me this incredible opportunity, but for welcoming me into the DC universe they have so beautifully created.”

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Batwoman, which just recently aired its first season finale, was already renewed for a second season at the time Rose announced her exit.

While no official reason was given for Rose’s exit, Deadline reports that it is not related to the very serious injury Rose endured filming season one.

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The creative powers-that-be reiterated that they would recast the role of Batwoman with another LGBTQ actor:

“The studio and network are firmly committed to Batwoman’s second season and long-term future, and we — along with the show’s talented creative team — look forward to sharing its new direction, including the casting of a new lead actress and member of the LGBTQ community, in the coming months.”

For more on Batwoman, check out our review of the Season One finale, how it sets up the next CW crossover, and get the skinny on that (kinda sorta) Bruce Wayne reveal.