Month: September 2020

Star Wars’ Daisy Ridley Reveals That Rey Was Almost A Kenobi

In a new interview for Jimmy Kimmel Live, Josh Gad sat down with Star Wars star Daisy Ridley to ask her “more nagging questions” about the franchise, now that there’s nothing left to spoil. Chief among them was a question we’ve all wanted to ask since Rise of Skywalker premiered–was Rey always destined to be a Palpatine?

The answer is, predictably, no. “At the beginning there was toying with an Obi Wan connection,” Ridley says–something fans picked up on early on as they tried to figure out the puzzle of Rey’s heritage. In the flashback moment when Rey first picks up the lightsaber in The Force Awakens, you can hear Obi Wan’s voice saying “Rey” and “these are your first steps,” the former taken from Alec Guinesses’ performance in the original trilogy and the latter recorded by the prequel trilogy’s Obi Wan, Ewan McGregor.

The question of Rey’s parentage is answered outright in The Last Jedi, and apparently that answer was meant to be the final one. “There were different versions,” Ridley explained. “And then it really went to that she was no one.”

Even when production on Episode IX started, apparently the final answer still hadn’t been decided on. “JJ pitched me the film and was like, ‘oh yeah, Palpatine’s granddaddy,’ and I was like ‘awesome.’ And then two weeks later he was look ‘oh we’re not sure.’ So it kept changing.”

Gad also asked if Ridley knew who Palpatine got busy with in order to have children and grandchildren, but this wasn’t a question she had the answers to, thankfully.

As far as what’s next for Ridley after Star Wars, she’s set to make her non-Star Wars video game debut in Annapurna Interactive’s Twelve Minutes, which is due to launch by the end of the year. When asked if she would ever return to Rey and the Star Wars universe, Ridley said, “I say never say never, but to me Rise of Skywalker was tied up with a bow.”

Now Playing: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Spoiler Review & Breakdown

Just Cause Developer Avalanche Studios Is Hiring For Its Biggest AAA Project Yet

Swedish game company Avalanche Studios Group has done a lot of expanding in recent years, and now is beefing up its New York team in preparation for “the largest and greatest AAA project we’ve ever taken on.”

Industry analyst MauroNL compiled some of the details from Avalanche job listings on Twitter, revealing that the New York studio branch is preparing for something big.

While Avalanche Studios Group has a number of offices around the world, and three separate divisions under its label, the New York office is part of Avalanche Studio, the division that handles externally-published large-scale AAA games like Rage 2 or the Just Cause series.

A job listing for a system programmer says the studio is “looking for a System Programmer to join our ranks in creating the largest and greatest AAA project we’ve ever taken on,” listing it as a great opportunity “to play an instrumental role on developing our next-generation game.”

Another listing for a gameplay animation programmer says “on this project we want to push animation quality a lot further than we have done previously and this will require us to take our animation technology to the bleeding edge.” Another listing for a senior world designer confirms that the game will be open world and externally published.

While the upcoming game could be another entry in the Just Cause series, it could also be a new IP, or a game based on a film or TV show like Mad Max, developed by Avalanche in partnership with Warner Bros in 2015.

Now Playing: Rage 2 – What Is Rage 2? Official Trailer

Nintendo Is Reportedly Boosting Switch Production Numbers

The Nintendo Switch has sold over 55 million units since its launch in 2017, and now it seems that Nintendo is gearing up for a strong finish to 2020. The company has reportedly increased production on the Switch to meet expected demand.

Bloomberg has reported that Nintendo is looking to increase its production goal by up to 20%, which would mean producing 30 million units during the current fiscal year. In August, its production order was raised to 25 million, but now it’s aiming even higher.

Earlier this year, COVID-19 led to production challenges for the Switch that led to low stock; as of early August, Nintendo said that their production chain had almost recovered. The system has seen some huge sales figures this year: Animal Crossing: New Horizons has achieved incredible sales figures, surpassing 22 million units sold since its release in March. The game is expected to be popular over the holidays, too.

According to industry tracker Katsuhiko Hayashi, who is quoted in the article, “Switch sales are likely to gain further momentum at the year-end.”

Bloomberg has previously reported that Nintendo is planning on releasing an upgraded version of the Switch in 2021, although this has not been made official.

Nintendo’s end-of-year line-up is beginning to take shape, with Pikmin 3 Deluxe, Super Mario 3D All-Stars, and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity looking to be big releases for Christmas 2020.

Now Playing: Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity – Official Announcement Trailer

Borat 2 Is Happening, And It’s Already Finished Filming – Report

Big news today for fans of Sacha Baron Cohen and his Borat character, as Collider is reporting that not only is Borat 2 happening, but it’s already finished filming.

According to the report, the character Borat–a TV personality from Kazakhstan–is now a big star after his adventures in the 2006 film. Now that people recognize him, he needs to go undercover to film his interviews.

A source told Collider that the sequel is more akin to “Cohen playing Borat playing Cohen,” but another source said that is not the case. Also unknown is who is financing the film, though the site suggests it may be a streaming service. The film is reportedly planned for release ahead of the November US election to help reach and influence young people.

The new film has been secretly filming in Los Angeles this year, and social media reports have documented some of the production (see below).

Borat made $262 million worldwide at the box office. Cohen’s follow-up movies, Bruno and The Dictator, did not perform as well at the box office. More recently, Cohen created the Showtime political parody show Who Is America?

Fall Guys Never Really Die; They Achieve Serenity And Then Respawn

We’ve learned a little more about the Fall Guys lore thanks to a delightful interview with the developers conducted by The Gamer. One of the more interesting takeaways from the interview is regarding what happens to a Fall Guys blob when they fall off the map.

Lead designer Joe Walsh described what the Fall Guy is feeling when they crash to their death. “A moment of displacement, serenity, zen-like detachment from all worldly and physical bonds… Then they pop back onto the podium to celebrate their achievements!” he said.

According to the Fall Guys lore, the fallen Fall Guy is resurrected as opposed to spawning a new one. “What you’re seeing when you respawn is the same Fall Guy. So the more you play the more you’ve been through together. You’ve put that Fall Guy through a lot, you know. Make sure you thank them by buying them a new outfit once in a while,” Walsh said.

When Fall Guys characters fall, they drop into slimy ooze. Walsh confirmed that this is just regular old slime, and it is definitely not made of dead Fall Guys. “They’re falling a pretty long way so we felt like it was only fair we cushioned their fall a bit. I can confirm it’s not dead Fall Guys though, no matter what Devolver might say,” Walsh said.

The interview has so many more excellent nuggets, including the confirmation that there are no Fall Guys children. “Fall Guys pop into existence fully grown and ready to compete, so there are no ‘baby’ Fall Guys (although I reserve the right to completely change my mind at a later date),” Walsh said.

Please read the full interview here at The Gamer.

In other news, the developers of Fall Guys recently spoke about how the game will adopt Fortnite’s anti-cheating tools going forward.

Now Playing: Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout Video Review

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Animal Crossing: New Horizons Acorn And Pine Cone DIYs

Each season in Animal Crossing: New Horizons brings with it a new set of seasonal DIY recipes and materials to collect. While summer has just a handful of shell-related DIYs and only one seasonal material, the summer shell, fall has three different sets of recipes with quite a few different resources to find throughout the season. The first of these sets uses a combination of two materials you can find starting on the first day of autumn: acorns and pine cones.

In New Horizons, fall begins on September 1 in the Northern Hemisphere and March 1 in the Southern Hemisphere. The season continues until the last day of November or May, respectively, and you can find acorns and pine cones, as well as their associated recipes, all season long. Here’s how you can get the materials and DIYs.

The recipe for tree's bounty little tree as shown in a New Horizons trailer.
The recipe for tree’s bounty little tree as shown in a New Horizons trailer.

How To Get Acorns And Pine Cones

To find acorns and pine cones, you’ll need to shake your trees once a day during fall. Acorns drop from hardwood trees (the ones that look like fruit trees but don’t bear fruit), while pine cones drop from cedar trees. You’ll want a healthy mix of both types to maximize your chances of finding acorns and pine cones. Just be careful, because five wasp nests will drop from random trees each day, leading to a wasp attack–keep your net out while you shake so you can catch wasps easily and avoid stings.

Both materials are relatively rare, and you’ll likely only get one of each per day, if any. You can travel to mystery islands using Nook Miles Tickets if you want to try getting a few more each day, since acorns and pine cones can drop on those islands too.

How To Get Fall DIY Recipes

As we mentioned above, there are three sets of fall DIY recipes to collect. Acorns and pine cones make up the initial set, which you can find throughout the entire season. Then, in November (Northern Hemisphere) or May (Southern Hemisphere), you can find mushrooms and mushroom DIYs, and finally, you can find maple leaves and maple leaf DIYs from November 16–25 or May 16–25. Some of the maple leaf DIYs also require acorns and pine cones, but they can only be found during that 10-day period rather than throughout the entire season.

Like with any seasonal DIY recipes, you can only get them through balloon gifts–the one exception is the tree’s bounty little tree recipe, which Isabelle will give you at the start of fall. See our full guide to balloon gifts in New Horizons for an explanation of when they appear and tips on how to farm balloons for seasonal DIYs.

All Acorn And Pine Cone Recipes

Below are all the acorn and pine cone recipes you can find throughout the fall season. Note that this list does not include tree’s bounty big tree or tree’s bounty arch because although they require acorns and pine cones, they can only be found during the 10-day maple leaf season toward the end of fall.

  • tree’s bounty little tree
  • tree’s bounty mobile
  • tree’s bounty lamp
  • traditional balancing toy
  • pile of leaves
  • yellow-leaf pile
  • leaf campfire
  • acorn pochette
  • pine bonsai tree

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Xbox Series S & Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity Announced | Save State

A Breath of the Wild prequel, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity has been announced. It’ll be a mix of combat and puzzle solving, and you’ll be able to play as Zelda, Link, as well as the four champions: Mipha, Revali, Daruk, and Urbosa.

On top of today’s Age of Calamity announcement, Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma asked fans to “wait a bit longer” for Breath of the Wild 2 news. We last saw the game at E3 2019 when it was revealed.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 And 2 Adds DLC That Supports Military Veterans

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2 has added new DLC that supports military veterans.

A Call of Duty Endowment (CODE) United Pack is now available to buy in the game across PS4, Xbox One, and PC, and it includes seven unique customization items for the create-a-skater mode. 100% of net proceeds go to CODE.

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The $5 DLC pack comes with various pieces of cosmetic gear for your skater, and each item was designed by the artist Ricardo Gonzalez, who runs the It’s A Living art shop.

The clothing for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2 was inspired by tie-dye designs. There are also military camo outfits included in the bundle. The full contents are listed below, and you can see all of the gear in the images in the gallery above.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2 United Pack:

  • United T-Shirt
  • United Pants
  • United Wheel Set
  • United Hat
  • United Beanie
  • Two United Camo Decks (One Tie-Dye; One Traditional Camo)

As mentioned, proceeds from this DLC pack will go toward helping to place military veterans in jobs after they leave the service. The Endowment’s goal is to place 100,000 veterans in jobs by 2024.

The United Pack will be available until December 31, 2021, or once $500,000 is raised from it.

Pro Skater 1 and 2 launched on September 4 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. GameSpot’s Pro Skater 1 and 2 review scored the game a 9/10.

“Playing through the newly remade levels is immensely enjoyable, and that on its own is enough to call Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 a success,” reviewer Mat Paget said. “However, smart additions and an engaging challenge system make it an experience that’s more than just a brief skate through Tony Hawk’s past.”

Now Playing: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 Video Review

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HBO’s Lovecraft Country Episode 4 “A History of Violence” Breakdown & Easter Eggs

In Episode 4 of Lovecraft Country, Christina mysteriously shows up at Leti’s house. Tic, Leti and Montrose go to Boston to search for missing pages of a crucial text, with Hippolyta and Diana joining their roadtrip. Greg and Meg break down the plot points of Episode 4 and explain all of the Easter eggs and references to the Lovecraft Country novel, American history, literature and pop culture.

PS5 And Xbox Series X Versions Of Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom Are Coming

Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom, the well-liked retro 2D platformer from 2018, is coming to next-gen. The game, which is already available on PC, Switch, PS4, and Xbox One, will come to PS5 and Xbox Series X. According to Gematsu, you’ll be able to upgrade for free if you own the game on the previous system in the same console family.

Developer FDG Entertainment announced the new next-gen version in a tweet today, promising 4K resolution and a framerate of up to 120FPS. Whether there are other visual upgrades remains to be seen, but it seems that the game might make use of some other new next-gen tech.

When asked if the game would make use of the haptic sensors in the PS5 DualSense controller, the developer replied “hm…probably ;)”. This isn’t, of course, a firm answer one way or the other, but it certainly seems possible.

Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom earned an 8/10 in GameSpot’s review. “With a well-realized world filled to the brim with secrets and excellent platforming mechanics that always keeps things interesting, the Cursed Kingdom is a place you will want to discover every corner of,” wrote reviewer Alexander Pan.

Now Playing: Monster Boy And The Cursed Kingdom – Gamescom 2018 Trailer

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