The NBA and Fortnite continue their crossover partnership this week with new experiences in Creative mode, including a basketball-themed limited-time mode and NBA highlights from around the league. The new NBA Welcome Hub will greet all players heading into the mode, while players are encouraged to retool the new NBA items in Creative all week long to create their own custom content for the community.
At the heart of the crossover–literally named The Crossover–is the Court Crashers LTM created by AtlasCreative. In Court Crashers, players can launch themselves off jumps and slam dunk into basketball nets to score for their teams. Somewhere, the creators of slamball are proud of their legacy. Players can either queue up from the NBA Welcome Hub within Creative to play online with others, or use Creative Code 1898-7178-3313 to explore it privately. Players who visit the Welcome Hub and play Court Crashers can level up to unlock the new Basketball Hoop Banner.
Epic is also introducing live-action video to Creative for the first time. Between May 25 and May 31, players can visit the NBA Welcome Hub and catch themed highlights from the NBA season, including top plays, “dazzling dunks,” crossovers and handles, and more.
In addition to all of that, NBA players have hand-picked their own Locker Bundles, including one from Donovan Mitchell of the Jazz and another from Trae Young from the Hawks. Locker Bundles are curated cosmetic sets from streamers, actors, athletes, and other high-profile folks who team up with Epic to highlight their favorite in-game cosmetics.
Mitchell’s Locker includes the Cozy Chomps Outfit, Sharky Shawl Back Bling, Stark Splitter Pickaxe, Dynamic Fire Wrap, and Fire Spinner Emote. Young’s Locker the Scarlet Commander Outfit, Gold Digger Pickaxe, Happy Stars Wrap, and Baller Emote.
After 16 days of testimony, the Epic Games vs. Apple trial wrapped up its court proceedings on Monday, but we’re still a long time away from getting a decision. The judge indicated that it could take until August for her to reach her decision, and a legal expert agrees that timeline is fairly typical for this kind of case. Here’s everything that happened, how the two sides’ respective cases stack up, and what we can expect next.
Closing Arguments
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers told lawyers in court today that “there is a lot of material” to go through before she can make a decision in this case. It is a bench trial, which means Gonzalez will make the final ruling, as opposed to a jury.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
She joked that she planned to have a judgment by August 13, which was the day in 2020 when Epic deployed a the hotfix in Fortnite for iOS that circumvented Apple’s payment system, precipitating this entire event.
“I am not promising to have this by August 13 but I am going to try–as I said to you–I want to try to get you this while the memories of the testimony is fresh, and while your arguments are fresh. But we do have thousands and thousands of pages to review,” Gonzalez said to the lawyers for Apple and Epic as part of the legal proceeding.
She added that her staff informed her recently that there are 4,500 pages of testimony from the case that she’ll need to go through before making a judgement. “There is quite a bit of work still to do,” she said. “You will receive my decision in writing.”
And now we wait
A Puzzle Box Case
Speaking to the media and other people listening in on the proceedings, Gonzalez said people should think of the case like a puzzle box. The lawyers on each side will tell you what they think the evidence shows, but they haven’t proven anything. As the case progressed, the box continued to fill up with puzzle pieces that could help illuminate the result–or, in this analogy–what the subject of the puzzle was. At the end of the trial, there are no more pieces. Having more pieces might have helped illuminate the puzzle, and some pieces that did get put in the box might seem irrelevant, Gonzalez said. But that’s the end. Now that arguments and testimony are, all the information to render a judgement is out in the open and all that’s left is for Gonzalez to make a decision based on the testimony she heard and documents she saw.
It’s up to the jury, or in this case, the judge herself, to determine how those pieces fit together, and that will be her task until she’s ready to make a decision.
“We’re taking all of that evidence, all of that testimony, all of those documents, and putting it together in a way that seems to make sense in the context of the law. So it may take me a while to do that,” she said.
The court case, which began on May 3, included testimony from Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney and Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, along with other executives from each company. The testimony became fiery and intense at times, particularly in the closing arguments today, as each side’s legal team made one final push to convince the judge to see things their way.
Epic Games is alleging that Apple’s restrictions around its App Store constitute a monopoly, and is seeking to force the company to change its policies toward everyone–not just Epic itself. Apple, meanwhile, is trying to protect its App Store profits as a major source of revenue for the company. The ruling could have major implications.
Epic’s Uphill Climb
Attorney Richard Hoeg told GameSpot that Epic faced more of a challenge in arguing its case, but the gamble could pay off. Apple is essentially arguing on behalf of the status quo, while Epic is requesting the court to intervene with a significant legal change.
“Epic came into the case with a tall hill to climb,” Hoeg said. “Epic brought this case now in part, it would appear, because the political and regulatory world has been re-examining the law’s relationship to these ‘Big Tech’ companies of late and now seemed a good time to test a relatively new antitrust theory in court. In terms of overall strategy I can’t really disagree.”
Hoeg said Epic tried to position its argument as one of “fundamental fairness” but suffered on some of the fine details, while Apple didn’t present a “unified theory of the case” but also doesn’t need to shoulder the burden of proof. He also pointed out based on the judge’s questioning, she could reach a split decision by ruling that Apple’s practices are monopolist–but limit her remedy to ruling against Apple’s “anti-steering” rules that prevent developers from advertising outside marketplaces. In that case, he said, both Epic and Apple would likely be displeased with the result and appeals would likely follow.
As for the lengthy timeline for a result, the August estimate seems very possible, according to Hoeg. A case of this size can typically take weeks or months to decide, and of course, the judge surely has other cases on her docket as well.
The Long Wait for a Verdict
Now, we wait until Gonzalez prepares and releases her ruling. As mentioned, we don’t know when that will be, and given the massive amount of documents she has to go through, it likely won’t be anytime soon. Until a verdict is reached, Epic’s Tim Sweeney says he won’t be commenting further about it.
The Epic vs Apple trial has now concluded! I won’t be commenting before the verdict is delivered. Thanks to everyone whose efforts made this possible, and to Popeyes for building a fine restaurant next door to the Oakland federal courthouse. pic.twitter.com/xma2xyRBtW
Actor Robert Pattinson is deepening his relationship with film studio Warner Bros. The movie company on Monday announced that the Batman actor has signed a “first-look” deal with the company, which means WB will have first right of refusal for projects that Pattinson is developing.
Pattinson’s deal with WB covers not only the main film studio Warner Bros., but also WarnerMedia’s various divisions, including New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Television, and HBO Max.
The Hollywood Reporter had the scoop on this story, and also reports that this is Pattinson’s first time producing content. Pattinson starred in Warner Bros.’ 2020 action movie Tenet from director Christopher Nolan, while he’s also set to play Bruce Wayne/Batman in the new Matt Reeves movie The Batman.
In a statement, Pattinson said Warner Bros. and HBO have “always been synonymous with groundbreaking filmmaking.”
“I’m thrilled to be working with them to discover the most exciting new voices in film and television and help bring their visions to life,” he added. “I’ve loved working with the studio over the years and have so much respect for their dedication, their willingness to take chances and their desire to push the envelope creatively.”
WarnerMedia executives Courtenay Valenti and Richard Brener said in their own statement that Pattinson has impressed them with his “eye for identifying dynamic new filmmakers,” which is part of the reason why they’re making the deal with him.
Terms of the first-look deal were not disclosed.
In other news, AT&T recently announced it will spin off WarnerMedia–including HBO Max–as part of a $43 billion deal with Discovery. What impact this has on future movies and TV shows, remains to be seen, while we also don’t know yet what it means for WB’s games.
It’s been months since Supernatural ended its impressive 15-season run on The CW. Now, thanks to a new Blu-ray set of the complete series releasing on May 25, fans will be able to revisit the series, while also enjoying a slew of new and previously released special features and bonus material.
While you can watch Supernatural on Netflix or buy it digitally at the outlet of your choice, the new Blu-ray set seems to have been crafted as a love letter to the fandom. When you watch the show digitally, you’re getting just that–the show. There are none of the bonus features released on Blu-rays and DVDs that were made available over the last 15 years. This new set, though, has practically everything that’s been released for the show since its launch. That includes a large number of San Diego Comic-Con panels–including the Kansas performance from 2017–deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and a long list of other content fans would probably like to have in their possession.
Along with the previously released material, this new set also offers bonus features from the final season of the show. There is a series of short documentaries about making Season 15, a retrospective on the Winchester brothers, and the show’s final appearance at Comic-Con. That material can also be found on the Season 15 Blu-ray release.
Supernatural: The Complete Series is available on May 25, and includes all 15 seasons of the series, as well as a long list of special features. It’s available on Amazon for $290.
What’s exclusive to the complete series is a booklet, which includes descriptions of all 327 episodes. In addition to that, the pages have a guide to the show’s use of classic rock songs, a collection of rare photos from over the years, concept art, archived interviews, and two letters written to the Supernatural family of fans. Those letters come from longtime showrunner Bob Singer and none other than series creator Eric Kripke, who left the show after Season 5. Both are dated December 2020.
In his letter, Kripke writes of the fans, “I remember when I was the only one. I remember when it was just a single flame. But you made it your own, made it bigger and better and messier and wilder and more loving than I ever could’ve imagined. You believed in it. You made this single flame into a massive bonfire that warms people when the night gets cold.”
Supernatural: The Complete Series is available on Blu-ray on May 25. And if you still want to watch it digitally, the set also comes with a code that’ll enable you to do so.
Many players have long fantasized about the idea of a portable Xbox (and, say, on-the-go Halo), especially during the era of the PSP and the PlayStation Vita. That dream has now come to fruition–to an extent–with official Xbox Cloud Gaming support rolling out for Microsoft’s Surface Duo phone.
This isn’t just another Xbox Cloud app. Rather, as The Verge reported, Microsoft has released a version specifically built for the two-screen functionality of the Surface Duo that basically turns the device into something similar to a Nintendo DS. With a virtual Xbox gamepad on the bottom screen and the game on the top screen, you’ll be able to hold it like a DS to stream Xbox games.
Microsoft is turning its Surface Duo into a handheld Xbox today. The latest app update for Xbox Cloud Gaming (xCloud) let’s you use one screen for touch controls and the other for the game. It’s like a Nintendo 3DS with Xbox games. Details here: https://t.co/ubbsEAW3r8pic.twitter.com/aP94t9xgzC
While Xbox Cloud Gaming supports Bluetooth controllers on any device, players who don’t own an extra controller have to deal with touchscreen controls. On a single-screen device, touch controls naturally obstruct the view of the game you’re playing. As a result, moving those controls down to the second Surface Duo screen has immediate benefits for players who don’t use a separate gamepad. This control scheme works across any of the Xbox Cloud games that currently support touch controls.
Microsoft has been gradually launching its games streaming service since last fall, and it’s currently available just to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers. It’s been usable on Android devices for some time, and in April, the company released the app to beta testers on iOS and PC. Users on iPads and iPhones currently have a different experience than Android users, as Apple policies have forced Microsoft to support cloud gaming only through browsers on Apple devices. If you’re interested in trying out Xbox Cloud Gaming yourself, new subscribers can get their first month for $1.
Disgraced star Kevin Spacey has landed his first film role since a multitude of sexual assault allegations were raised against him. As reported by ABC News, Spacey will appear in the Italian movie The Man Who Drew God.
The film will be directed by veteran Italian actor Franco Nero (Die Hard II, Django), who confirmed Spacey’s involvement. “I’m very happy Kevin agreed to participate in my film,” he said. “I consider him a great actor and I can’t wait to start the movie.”
According to the Guardian, Spacey’s will play a “small role” as a police detective, who is investigating charges of sexual abuse against an artist played by Nero. Nero’s wife Vanessa Redgrave will also appear.
The first allegations of sexual misconduct were levelled against Spacey in 2017, by a number of men working with Spacey at the Old Vic theatre in London between 1995 and 2013. Star Trek Discovery actor Anthony Rapp also accused Spacey of sexual assaulting him when he was 14, and in 2018 Spacey was charged with indecent assault on a teenager in Massachusetts. This charge was later dropped, and Spacey has continued to claim he is innocent of all accusations.
The Alienware Area 51M R2 gaming laptop is on sale for a whopping $770 off at Best Buy. This hulking gaming monitor features a 17.3-inch display with an impressive 300Hz refresh rate. It’s equipped with an Intel Core i7 processor, RTX 2070 Super GPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB solid-state drive. It also has an RGB keyboard.
The Corsair Void RGB wireless gaming headset is $20 off right now. This comfy gaming headset has powerful 50mm drivers and is compatible with PC and PS5/PS4. It boasts 16 hours of use between charges.
If you’re in the market for a gaming monitor, the excellent Samsung Odyssey CRG5 is on sale for $100 off at Best Buy. This 27-inch monitor produces a gorgeous picture and has a 240Hz refresh rate and 4ms response time.
Hitman 3, the final entry in the World of Assassination trilogy, is on sale for only $40 at Amazon for PlayStation and Xbox. Hitman 3 is a wonderful stealth game with large sandbox-style levels that give you free rein over how you approach each objective. It earned a 9/10 in our Hitman 3 review.
As part of GameStop’s Memorial Day sale, you can get Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for $40. This enhanced port of the Wii U gem is a joy for longtime Donkey Kong fans, and Nintendo made it more approachable for newcomers with the addition of the optional Funky Kong mode.
If you didn’t snag Persona 5 Strikers for $40 last week, you have another chance to do so now for PlayStation and Nintendo Switch. Persona 5 Strikers is a delightful blend of Persona and Dynasty Warriors that earns its revered namesake.
A great couch co-op game to play with the whole family, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order is a team-based action-RPG that plays much like its predecessors. Ultimate Alliance 3 has a bevy of superheroes with unique moves and easy-to-learn combat that makes it an excellent choice for Marvel fans who may not have a ton of gaming experience. Stylish combat, engaging boss battles, and a lighthearted tone make Ultimate Alliance 3 a joy to play. This is one of the Switch’s exclusives that rarely gets discounted, so it’s a great time to pick it up.
Yoshi’s Crafted World, one of the cutest games on Switch, is also discounted to $40 at GameStop. Set in a colorful world made out of cardboard, Crafted World looks like it was designed by a precocious child, which gives it a ton of heart. This whimsical platformer plays much like the classic SNES game Yoshi’s Island, but you can also play cooperatively with two friends. Crafted World’s Mellow mode makes it highly playable for even those with no gaming experience.
One of the best online multiplayer games on Switch, Splatoon 2 should be in every Switch owner’s library. With a suite of fun competitive game modes, a fun co-op mode, and a solo campaign that helps you get the feel of the paint-splatting action, Splatoon 2 is a consistently enjoyable experience.
Not much needs to be said about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Although it was a Switch launch game, it’s still arguably the best game on the platform (and one of the best games ever made). If you’ve somehow missed out on this epic open-world adventure, GameStop has it discounted to $40.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is 50% off at Amazon for PlayStation and Xbox. The latest entry in the long-running series earned an 8/10 in our Assassin’s Creed Valhalla review thanks to its compelling story, great world-building, and combat freedom.
You can save $30 on a great pair of wireless earbuds at Amazon right now. The Skullcandy Indy Evo earbuds are discounted to $50. They feature three EQ modes, sound isolation, and a water resistant design. They also come with a charging case that gives you a total of 30 hours of playback between charges.
Monster Hunter World: Iceborne’s Master Edition is only $18 for Xbox at Best Buy. The Master Edition comes with the base game as well as the large Iceborne expansion, making this a lot of bang for your buck.
Best Buy has a solid deal on a budget gaming monitor, dropping the price of this LG option from $200 to $130. This 24-inch monitor has a full HD display, 75Hz refresh rate, 5ms response time, and AMD FreeSync technology.
Biomutant’s post-apocalyptic open world differs from the norm, even if it’s guilty of adhering to a few familiar tropes. The remnants of its neglected towns are still populated by dilapidated buildings and roaming bandits, and its overgrown roadways are littered with the burnt-out husks of abandoned vehicles. But Biomutant also utilizes a vivid color palette that makes its verdant fields and picturesque red mountains pop with the kind of striking vibrancy that’s rarely associated with the apocalypse.
Throw in some furry anthropomorphic creatures, and Biomutant’s character design and general style is certainly atypical of the genre. Yet it also consists of a mishmash of fairly obvious influences, from a Breath of the Wild-esque structure to combo-driven combat that’s similar to Devil May Cry, and other familiar elements from the likes of Fallout, Max Payne, and Borderlands. It’s a flavorful petri dish, for sure, and there are plenty of uneven and drab aspects to its overall design and structure. The mixture between old and new ideas doesn’t always sit right, but Biomutant also manages to carve out its own identity amid its many inspirations.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
This begins with the character creator, as you step into the flocculent skin of one of the aforementioned creatures–an odd hybrid between a squirrel, rat, and any other scurrying critter that comes to mind. Choosing a breed affects your starting stats to a certain degree, and you can pump points into specific attributes if you fancy, say, dealing more melee damage or increasing your chances of bartering with merchants. If this sounds like your typical by-the-numbers RPG progression system, it’s because it is. There’s some personality to the character creator, as your body shape will change depending on which stats you opt to emphasize–big head for intellect, big biceps for strength. Ultimately, however, your starting attributes aren’t especially significant. You’re able to put 10 points into a category each time you level up, so it’s easy to build a fairly well-rounded character within a few hours.
The final part of creating your character involves picking a class, which impacts both your starting weapon and the addition of a unique skill. The Commando, for instance, inflicts 10% more damage with ranged weapons, while the Psi-Freak gets access to a lightning attack that otherwise isn’t available to the other classes. These aren’t game-changing skills, and you’ll be swapping out weapons by the dozen in no time at all, but they do add a smidgen of variety to subsequent playthroughs.
The latter example is also one of the few instances where Biomutant will lock you out of using a specific ability. Even if you pick a class such as the rogue-like Saboteur, you’re still able to use Psi-Powers and Biogenetics and wield any of the available weapon types, so there’s plenty of freedom to play the game how you want. The only other time you’re unable to unlock certain abilities is when you come across Psi-Powers that are dependent upon your Aura alliance. Biomutant’s Aura system is split into light and dark sides, with good and bad deeds affecting your standing in each. It’s a typical morality system, with your deeds and dialogue choices impacting how other characters see you. You’re not locked into either light or darkness once you start going down one path, so there is some flexibility to play as a morally grey character and dabble in both sides of the spectrum.
In truth, the majority of your choices have an insignificant impact on Biomutant’s story. The biggest decision you’ll make occurs within the game’s first hour, as you’re asked to align with one of two tribes. While the obvious light-sided tribe wants you to unite the other clans and defeat four deadly Worldeaters to save the world, the dark-sided tribe would prefer if you did the opposite by conquering the other clans and defeating the Worldeaters to cleanse the world and start anew. This essentially sets up your overarching objective and impacts the ending you’ll get if you decide to stick to your chosen path, but doesn’t change the missions you’ll embark on to get there. Beating the Worldeaters and capturing the other tribe outposts makes up the bulk of the game either way, and the narrative just isn’t interesting enough to make your choices feel meaningful.
The story contextualizes your progression and gives you a reason to push on, but there’s little else to it. The presence of an amiable narrator is a nice touch, and this omniscient voice does add a dash of personality to the game. Aside from occasionally chiming in with destiny-centric tangents, the narrator also acts as a translator for every character in the game. It’s an unusual method of storytelling that alters the dialogue so that a character won’t directly ask you for help–rather, the narrator will say something along the lines of: “She explains that you need to gather wood to repair that building.” This makes conversations inherently amusing, at least initially, but it does mean characters struggle to stand out, considering they all share the same voice. The writing doesn’t do the cast any favors in this regard either, with most characters existing just to spew exposition and lore before sending you on a fetch quest. It’s clear that a lot of effort was put into fleshing out the backstory of this post-apocalyptic world–or at least throwing in as many kooky names as possible–but being told about it via a verbal salvo that foregoes any sense of character isn’t an engaging way to absorb it, particularly when adopting a “tell, don’t show” approach.
Unimaginative mission design compounds the story’s shortcomings, as your quest to defeat all four Worldeaters always boils down to a formulaic back and forth. The general structure is decent enough, with the Tree of Life looming high in the center of the map–its mammoth roots jutting out in four distinct directions. There’s a Worldeater waiting at the end of each root and a supporting character that’s willing to help you reach them. The problem is that the way you reach each one is always the same. You meet a character, they reveal the vehicle you need to use, then you’re sent to grab a part they need to get it working, and repeat. The vehicles themselves offer a nice change of pace, with a hulking mech and gun-toting speedboat on the agenda, among others. But the journey’s always short and quick, making the Worldeaters feel anticlimactic. It’s also a tad odd that you spend the game building up your own character, only to defeat the game’s biggest foes while behind the wheel of various vehicles.
Combat is fun in short bursts, too, although it takes a couple of hours to find its footing. The reasons for this are three-fold: both the dodge and parry mechanics require some time to get the hang of–the automatic lock-on is inconsistent–and your starting moves and weapons are underwhelming. Once your arsenal opens up and you attain a few more combos, the combat begins to find its groove, albeit one that’s dictated by routine. You’re always equipped with both melee and ranged weapons, and each weapon type has its own simple combos. If you perform three different combos in the middle of a fight, you can enter a state of Super Wung-Fu, where you’re able to pummel enemies with a rapid barrage of attacks, soar through the air in bullet time to rain down shots or deliver a devastating ground pound to disperse crowds. Combat is built around reaching Super Wung-Fu, so most fights consist of the same three-combo routine. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but your repertoire of combos isn’t particularly expansive, so you’re regularly using the same moves over and over again.
Gallery
Psi-Powers and the mutated Biogenetics add more variety to combat, allowing you to blaze a trail of fire or encase yourself within a Mucus Bubble that enemies will helplessly stick to. Judicious use of slow-motion also gives your attacks a sense of tangible impact, and the relatively infrequent nature of combat works in its favor when it comes to staving off repetition. In between flights, you’re incentivized to explore Biomutant’s open world with promises of loot. Each location even features a convenient checklist so you know if you’re missing anything.
Although you’ll occasionally find new weapons and armor when scavenging through the wreckage of derelict buildings, loot is more geared towards attaining better materials, since the best weapons in the game are the ones you make yourself. Biomutant’s crafting system is dynamic, with an almost limitless amount of concoctions available for you to build. The items you make are essentially repurposed garbage, as you use whatever rusty contraptions you can get your hands on, whether it’s an oversized toothbrush that was previously attached to a billboard or the handle of a broken vacuum cleaner.
Experimenting with different combinations that shouldn’t work is part of the crafting system’s charm, and provides you with a sense of ownership over your nonsensical invention. Having said that, both melee and ranged weapons are split into distinct categories, such as one-handed slash, automatic rifles, and so on. The weapons within these categories don’t feel all that different from one another, which does take some of the shine off the crafting system. Charging into battle with a new weapon that has enhanced damage numbers is still inherently satisfying, however.
Biomutant often has these moments, where its systems don’t quite cooperate and you end up with something uneven. While combat is fun in moderation and the crafting system is bizarre in all the right ways, the flip side of this is dull and monotonous quest design, a forgettable story, and hollow morality. There’s still an enjoyable game here, but a lot of unfortunate caveats come attached to that statement. Yet while it might not always hit the mark, Biomutant is an ambitiously flawed game from a small studio, and the games industry could always use more risky endeavors like this one.
