Author: Trafficblast

The free demo for NEO: The World Ends With You is available now for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. Save data from the demo carries over to the main game when it releases on July 27, and the demo can be played on PS5 via backward compatibility.

Square Enix shared the info on Twitter, encouraging people to play the demo, which was released after the final episode of The World Ends With You animation premiered. NEO: The World Ends With You is a sequel to the 2008 Nintendo DS game, The World Ends With You, which was later ported to the Nintendo Switch in 2018.

The action JRPG follows Rino as he and his friend must compete in the Reaper’s Game in a twisted version of Shibuya. NEO: The World Ends With You will have players control their entire party at once during real-time action and will take the elements fans loved from the first game and update them for a more modern JRPG.

NEO: The World Ends With You launches on July 27 for Nintendo Switch, PS4, and PC. In GameSpot’s preview of the game, Michael Higham wrote, “It’s carefree and often cheesy, but the experience is better for it. For a game that uses quirky fashion, a mix of nu-metal and J-pop for its soundtrack, and silly characters alongside somber ones, you wouldn’t want it to take itself too seriously anyway.”

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate‘s next DLC character is Kazuya Mishima from Tekken, and Nintendo is giving fans an in-depth look at the new fighter in a special video presentation next week. The presentation airs on June 28 and is hosted by game director Masahiro Sakurai, who will reveal more details about Kazuya, the next wave of Mii Fighter costumes, and other updates coming to Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Kazuya Stream Start Time

The Kazuya showcase takes place on Monday, June 28, at 7 AM PT / 10 AM ET. Nintendo says the presentation will run for roughy 40 minutes and will offer a deep dive on the new DLC character, including a closer look at his moveset. Nintendo will also reveal Kazuya’s release date, as well as the next batch of Mii Fighter DLC costumes coming to the game.

• 7 AM PT
• 10 AM ET
• 3 PM BST

How To Watch

You can watch the Smash Bros. presentation right here on GameSpot via the YouTube embed above. You can also tune in to Nintendo’s Twitch channel to watch the presentation.

What To Expect

Nintendo noted that Monday’s stream “will not include any reveals for Challenger Pack 11,” so the presentation will be devoted exclusively to Kazuya and any other content arriving as part of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s 12.0 update. We got a brief look at Kazuya during Nintendo’s E3 2021 Direct presentation, but Monday’s showcase will offer a much more in-depth overview of the new fighter.

Kazuya marks the fifth DLC character to arrive as part of the Fighters Pass Vol. 2, following Pyra/Mythra from Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Sephiroth from Final Fantasy 7, Steve from Minecraft, and Min Min from Arms. One more DLC fighter is still on the way to the game, although Nintendo hasn’t revealed that character’s identity yet.

The Fighter Pass Vol. 2 costs $30 USD and includes all six of the aforementioned DLC characters. Each character pack can also be purchased separately for $6 USD apiece. Besides the fighter themselves, the character packs also include a brand-new stage, several music tracks taken from their respective series, and a handful of new Spirits.

HBO Max is developing a new series featuring DC spellcaster Madame Xanadu, bringing its nascent plans for the Justice League Dark further into focus, Variety reports.

The proposed one-hour drama is being developed in part by J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot and will be written by True Blood contributor Angela Robinson. Abrams will serve as executive producer alongside Robinson and Ben Stephenson. Otherwise it’s early days yet for this show, with little revealed in terms of how it will adapt the comic.

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First introduced in 1978, Madame Xanadu is an immortal Arthurian mystic who was taught to wield magic by Merlin. She was introduced in a series called Doorway to Nightmare, and would later go on to appear in a self-titled series from Vertigo, as well as The New 52. She’s also one of the founders of the Justice League Dark, a team featuring many of DC’s supernatural heroes, which was first introduced in 2011.

Early last year, IGN confirmed that J.J. Abrams’ production company Bad Robot was working on potential TV and movie projects based on Justice League Dark. At the time, Bad Robot and Warner Bros. were reportedly working together to decide which characters would get their own solo projects. Since then, a Constantine reboot has been reported to be in development, with a Zatanna movie also in the works from the writer of Promising Young Woman.

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Madame Xanadu has previously appeared in Young Justice and Swamp Thing. She was also set to be featured in Guillermo del Toro’s own adaptation of the Justice League Dark comics. No word yet on a potential release date for the HBO Max series, but there’s more Justice League Dark coverage right here.

Back before Mass Effect was even a complete trilogy, Hollywood was preparing to mount a film adaptation of the hit BioWare sci-fi series. After running into some screenwriting difficulties, the project never came to fruition. Mac Walters, the project director for Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, recently discussed the fate of the movie, citing an uncertainty on how to fit the games’ sprawling narrative into the format of a commercial blockbuster.

“It felt like we were always fighting the IP,” Walters told Business Insider. “What story are we going to tell in 90 to 120 minutes? Are we going to do it justice?”

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Walters also cited a change in leadership at Legendary Pictures as a reason the film project fell to the wayside. The studio bought rights to a film adaptation of Mass Effect back in 2010, with Warner Bros. attached to serve as distributor.

“It never picked up again after that, not for lack of trying,” Walters said.

While a Mass Effect movie seems to be a lost cause, video game adaptation have experienced a resurgence in recent years through television. Netflix is developing new series based on Resident Evil and Assassin’s Creed, alongside a second season of The Witcher, which is set to debut on the streamer later this year. Meanwhile, HBO has been casting its series adaptation of The Last of Us and is moving forward with production.

Walters sees Hollywood’s current investment in high-budget television as a more beneficial landscape for a potential Mass Effect adaptation.

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“If you’re going to tell a story that’s as fleshed out as Mass Effect, TV is the way to do it,” Walters said. “When we build out a Mass Effect game, we have a backbone, or an overall story that we want to tell, but each level or mission is like its own TV episode. It doesn’t get written ahead of time. It gets written at the time that we get to it. So it gets added to the main story and sometimes the main story gets adjusted because we did something really cool in that episode. So long-form storytelling is a great place for game franchises.”

While nothing is confirmed, The Witcher star Henry Cavill recently posted a tease on Instagram that could potentially hint at a Mass Effect project.

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J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is finally about to see the light of day, and Marvel Studios just released a new trailer to prove it. This new footage gives us a better look at the many action scenes in this superhero-flavored martial arts epic, including new glimpses of the Mandarin wielding his titular rings in battle.

At this point you might be wondering – what exactly are the Ten Rings? Wasn’t that the name of a terrorist organization in the Iron Man movies? How exactly is this movie adapting the Shang-Chi and Iron Man comics? Let’s break down everything you need to know about the Ten Rings, their powers and why these weapons and their wielder are being re-imagined for the MCU.

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What Are the Ten Rings?

In Marvel’s comics, the Ten Rings appear to be a set of highly powerful, magically charged jewelry that gives the wielder control over elemental forces. In truth, they’re neither magical nor jewelry.

These “rings” are actually pieces of an advanced alien spacecraft that crashed in a remote part of China centuries ago. The Mandarin discovers this spacecraft after being exiled from his home. He spends years studying the ship and the science that powers it. He finally harvests 10 ring-like fragments that power the ship’s warp core, turning them into deadly weapons he controls through a psychic link.

Why does the Mandarin pass these rings off as supernatural artifacts? This is a villain obsessed with creating an image and spreading his legend across the world, even if that story doesn’t necessarily align with reality. He would have humanity believe he’s an all-powerful sorcerer standing up against the West and its technological might. But in truth, he’s merely benefitting from an even more advanced breed of technology.

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The Ten Rings: Their Names and Powers

Each of the Ten Rings has a specific name and power. In fact, the rings have an intelligence all their own and are known to communicate with one another. Here’s a rundown of each ring:

Daimonic – controls light and energy on the electromagnetic spectrum

Incandescence – generates waves of heat and flame

Influence – manipulates various forms of energy

The Liar – manipulates the minds of others and creates hallucinations

Lightning – generates lightning blasts

Nightbringer – creates a bubble of complete darkness (possibly by tapping into the Darkforce Dimension)

Remaker – manipulates molecules and speeds up and slows down entropy

Spectral – completely destroys a person/object down to the atomic level

Spin – creates vortexes of air, can be used for flight

Zero – controls ice and cold, allowing the Mandarin to emit freezing blasts or lower an opponent’s body temperature

Over time, the Mandarin’s bond with his rings has grown strong enough that he doesn’t actually need to wear them to tap into their power. At one point, he even had the rings fused to his spine after his hands were severed.

How the MCU Changes the Ten Rings

The trailers for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Make it clear that a great deal has changed in the journey from page to screen. For one thing, these artifacts aren’t depicted as jewelry. Instead, they’re shown to be a series of metal bands Tony Leung’s Wenwu wears on his forearms. We don’t know why Marvel Studios made this particular change, but it may have been to help visually differentiate the Ten Rings from the Infinity Gauntlet.

It’s also not clear whether the Ten Rings have the same range of powers in the MCU. The trailers seem to show certain trademark Mandarin abilities. For example, one shot shows an awestruck Shang-Chi watching as water slowly twists and turns around him.

But the various shots of battle mainly show Wenwu wielding them offensively. They appear to hover in front of his arms, enhancing his strength and allowing him to fire powerful energy blasts. They also have a more uniform look, with one half giving off a purple glow and the other an orange/gold glow. Rather than each ring having specific powers and an independent intelligence, these bands may simply work together to give the wielder seemingly supernatural power.

Marvel may also be hoping to rein in the Mandarin’s power level a bit. It’s one thing to be able to control matter, energy and the electromagnetic spectrum when you’re fighting Iron Man. But with the Mandarin being re-imagined as a Shang-Chi villain in the MCU, that much power is probably overkill.

It also remains to be seen if the Ten Rings will have the same origin story in the MCU. On one hand, the idea of the Mandarin/Wenwu harnessing relics from an alien spacecraft and passing them off as magical artifacts is in keeping with the MCU’s general approach to magic. The Asgardians are highly advanced aliens rather than gods, Doctor Strange’s magic mostly involves tapping into interdimensional energy, etc.

But on the other hand, the MCU has definitely veered in a less science fiction-oriented direction of late. Black Panther shows us the afterlife of Wakanda’s kings. WandaVision presents a more traditional, spell-oriented form of magic. And with Shang-Chi apparently featuring literal dragons, who’s to say the Ten Rings aren’t legitimately magical?

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Will Shang-Chi Connect to the Iron Man Movies?

The Mandarin and the Ten Rings have had a very confusing and controversial journey in the MCU so far. The first hint of this villain came way back in 2008’s Iron Man, as Tony Stark is captured by a terrorist cell called The Ten Rings. The group’s leader, Raza, can be seen fingering a mysterious, red-jeweled ring some fans assumed was Incandescence. The organization also plays small roles in 2010’s Iron Man 2 and 2015’s Ant-Man.

2013’s Iron Man 3 threw Marvel fans for a loop by introducing two fake versions of the Mandarin. We eventually learn Tony Stark’s rival Aldrich Killian adopted the imagery of the Ten Rings in order to disguise his failed Extremis experiments as terrorist attacks. Killian hired struggling actor Trevor Slattery to pose as the Mandarin, while also taking the name himself after gaining superhuman powers.

But as confirmed in the short film “All Hail the King,” neither character is the true Mandarin. When last we saw him, an imprisoned Slattery was kidnapped by a Ten Rings member as punishment for besmirching the Mandarin’s name. We’re left to assume the version of the Ten Rings seen in the first Iron Man movie is real, even if Raza’s ring was probably nothing more than a token or calling card.

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Surprisingly, Marvel has yet to really follow up on this major loose end. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is believed to finally introduce the true Mandarin – Shang-Chi’s father Wenwu. Wenwu is essentially a new character created for the MCU, one who seems to be a composite of Fu Manchu/Zheng Zu (Shang-Chi’s father in the comics) and the traditional version of the Mandarin. But Marvel has yet to actually refer to Wenwu as “The Mandarin” in any of its marketing, so we can’t rule out the possibility that yet another Mandarin fake-out is coming.

The Shang-Chi movie may introduce the long-awaited “real” Mandarin and resolve that years-old cliffhanger. We may finally learn what connection Wenwu has to the Ten Rings organization and what role they’re meant to serve. But it’s probably safe to assume the movie will be less interested in tying back to the Iron Man movies than laying the foundation for a brand new MCU rivalry. Wenwu wields the Ten Rings. Does it really matter what he calls himself?

For more on this upcoming MCU movie, learn about Shang-Chi’s comic book roots and see more footage and images from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Twelve Minutes, the upcoming interactive thriller about a man stuck in a time loop published by Annapurna Interactive, got an official “film” poster. Shared on the Twelve Minutes Website, the poster was designed by Mocean and was inspired by the films that influenced the game’s director Luis Antonio.

“As you might know, I’m a pretty big movie fan and Twelve Minutes has been inspired by the work of the masters that crystallized the psychological thriller genre. Hitchcock, Kubrick, and Fincher to name a few,” Antonio said. “These creators have a way of wielding the visual language to tell stories on several different levels. With their movies, the composition and mise en scene have as important of a rule in revealing story and character as the words that are coming out of the actors’ mouths.”

Antonio went on to say that he wanted Twelve Minutes to have a marketing campaign that felt in line with films of that genre. He said that the poster was designed to fit with the narratives and themes of the game as well as be cool enough to hang on your wall.

Twelve Minutes is a time loop adventure game in which a man remains trapped in a 12-minute time loop. During this loop, someone claiming to be a cop accuses his wife of murdering her father and eventually kills the man during an interrogation. Twelve Minutes releases on August 19 for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. It will launch on Xbox Game Pass the same day.

HBO Max will soon be home to another DC Comics adaptation, according to The Hollywood Reporter. JJ Abrams is teaming up with Angela Robinson (The L Word) in an adaptation of Madame X–a character who falls under the Justice League Dark umbrella. Robinson was personally brought on board by Abrams’ wife and producing partner, Katie McGarth. Robinson will be writing and executive producing the series.

In DC Comics history, Madame X is also known as Madame Xanadu, and is rooted in the magical alternate-history of the DCU. Dating back to the realm of Camelot, Madame X was born Nimue Inwudu and is the half-sister of King Arthur himself. Taught magic by Merlin, Madame X was soon granted a sort of immortality which explains her existence in the modern age.

Madame X is also a member of the Justice League Dark, a team of magic and mysticism based superheroes in the DCU. The JLD has been the subject of much speculation and stop-and-go adaptation rumors, with the latest reports revolving around Abrams himself developing a JLD show for HBO Max–though no news of production has surfaced since those announcements have been made. Perhaps with Madame X in the works, fans of the JLD can take this as a good sign for the team’s future on the platform.

No news of production timelines, casting, or plot details have been made available about Madame X.

Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin arrives on July 9, but Switch owners can sample a portion of the game right now. Capcom has released a free demo of Monster Hunter Stories 2 on the Nintendo eShop, and any progress you make in it can be carried over to the full game once it releases.

As detailed on the official Monster Hunter website, the demo weighs in at roughly 2.8GB and lets you experience the beginning of the game. You can customize your avatar’s appearance, collect Monstie companions, and raise your character up to level 11. However, the demo does not let you sample the game’s local or online multiplayer modes.

In addition to being able to carry over your save data, you’ll receive a bonus in Monster Hunter Rise for playing the Monster Hunter Stories 2. Specifically, you’ll earn the Kinship Talisman, which can activate the Master Mounter and Wide-Range skills. You’ll also receive layered armor in Monster Hunter Rise if you have Monster Hunter Stories 2 save data, and vice versa.

Ahead of Monster Hunter Stories 2’s release, Capcom is airing a final preview presentation for the game on July 2. The presentation will showcase a launch trailer, co-op gameplay footage, and more information about its free updates. The first of those is slated to go live on July 15 and will introduce the Palamute from Monster Hunter Rise as a new Monstie companion.

Unlike the mainline series, Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin is a turn-based RPG that puts you in the role of a rider, who can form bonds with monsters. We recently got to speak with the developers of the game about its new art style, expanded multiplayer, and their favorite Monsties.

The Supernatural prequel is moving ahead at The CW, but it looks like one of the Winchester brothers won’t be involved.

On Thursday, Supernatural co-star Jensen Ackles announced that he and his wife Danneel Ackles will co-executive produce a prequel series called “The Winchesters” starring Sam and Dean Winchester’s parents. While Ackles will reprise his role as Dean to narrate the series, his co-star and on-screen brother Jared Padalecki will apparently not be involved.

How do we know this? Because Padelecki shared on social media that he found out about the prequel series on Twitter, the same time as the public.

Dude. Happy for you.
Wish I heard about this some way other than Twitter.
I’m excited to watch, but bummed that Sam Winchester had no involvement whatsoever. https://t.co/bAcEvFKM7p

— Jared Padalecki (@jarpad) June 25, 2021

Supernatural was a long-running CW series starring Ackles and Padelecki as Dean and Sam Winchester, two brothers who solve supernatural mysteries involving ghosts and demons. After 15 years, Supernatural aired its series finale in 2020.

But, despite this long tenure working together, it seems only one Winchester sibling will be involved with the CW’s prequel series. Across several tweets, Padalecki told fans that his non-involvement was not a joke, writing,

“No. It’s not. This is the first I’ve heard about it. I’m gutted.” Padalecki also tweeted (then deleted) a message to Supernatural executive producer and now The Winchesters writer Robbie Thompson calling him “Brute” and “coward.”

Another Supernatural Alumn Misha Collins, who had a major recurring role in Supernatural, also apparently didn’t get the memo about The Winchesters. Though his tweet suggesting his character’s return is more tongue-in-cheek.

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The Winchesters will be produced by Danneel and Jensen Ackles’ production company Chaos Machine. In a statement, the two shared why they wanted to revisit Supernatural with a prequel.

“After Supernatural wrapped its 15th season, we knew it wasn’t over. Because like we say in the show, ‘nothing ever really ends, does it?… I always felt like my character, Dean, would have wanted to know more about his parents’ relationship and how it came to be. So I love the thought of having him take us on this journey.”

In Supernatural, the Winchester brothers’ parents were played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Samatha Smith, though any casting announcements for the prequel series have yet to be announced. Ackles will also appear in The Boys season 3 as Soldier Boy.

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Matt T.M. Kim is IGN’s News Editor.

The Bollywood Boyz, Sunil Singh and Samir Singh, have announced on Twitter they have been let go by WWE. According to a report from Sean Ross Sapp at Fightful, Tyler Breeze has been reportedly released, along with Killian Dain. At the time of this writing, Breeze has not commented on social media, and WWE has yet to comment on any of these releases on its website, which the company typically does. GameSpot has reached out to WWE for confirmation.

Additionally, PWInsider has reported Marina Shafir, Curt Stallion, and Arturo Ruas have also been released by WWE.

WWE is currently laying off another round of wrestlers from the company. Fandango, Tony Nese, Ariya Daivari, Ever-Rise, and August Grey are the most-recent cuts from the company.

While WWE has not commented on social media yet with it’s traditional “future endeavored” post, Fandango took to Twitter to thank Vince McMahon, Triple H, and Stephanie McMahon for employing him the past 14 years.

Fandango was one-half of the tag team Breezango–with Tyler Breeze–known for their entertaining entrances where they wore different occupational outfits, like space suits and construction worker uniforms. Additionally, the duo were exceptionally over with their segment Fashion Files, where they tried to solve crimes backstage. Breeze has become a major part of the YouTube video gaming channel UpUpDownDown with Xavier Woods, with one of their more popular series being Battle of the Brands, where the duo play GM Mode for Raw vs. Smackdown against each other.

Nese was the winner of the 2019 Cruiserweight Tournament and one-time WWE Cruiserweight Champion. He was once a staple of 205 Live–which folded into NXT territory back in September 2019. Recently released Daivari was also a part of the cruiserweight division and had feuds over the past couple of years with Nese, Isaiah “Swerve” Scott, and Oney Lorcan. The tag team of Ever-Rise–made up of Chase Parker and Matt Martel–was also released today, and the duo took part in the 2021 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Grey was also a member of 205 Live, and was recently promoting a match for Friday night, June 25, on Peacock.

2021 has seen a slew of layoffs from the company, which include headliners names like Braun Strowman, Aleister Black, and Samoa Joe–Joe was recently rehired and is currently working on NXT. This may not be the last round either, as many are predicting more to come.