Niantic, the studio behind Pokemon Go, has teased that it’s making a new kind of device. Based on the image, it looks to be a new brand of smart glasses.
“Exciting to see the progress we’re making to enable new kinds of devices that leverage our platform,” founder and CEO John Hanke tweeted.
In a quote tweet response, Wired senior writer Lauren Goode wrote, “Last time we spoke, Hanke said it will still be a couple of years before we see a truly consumer-friendly AR glasses experience.” So we may still be months (or even years) away from getting official confirmation on what this new tech is.
Granted, given the games that Niantic has developed, like the aforementioned Pokemon Go, something like smart glasses with augmented reality (AR) tech makes sense. The creation of smart glasses would also fall in line with the studio’s recent deal with Nintendo to make more games that utilize Niantic’s real-world AR technology–the first of which has been revealed to be a Pikmin mobile game coming later this year.
Titans clash this Wednesday, March 31, when Godzilla vs. Kong hits HBO Max (and theaters). Once the movie hits HBO Max, you have 31 days to view it before it leaves the service again. Here’s how and when to watch the legendary ape and the King of Monsters as they come to blows for the first time in over half a century.
How to watch Godzilla vs. Kong on HBO Max
Godzilla vs. Kong will stream exclusively on HBO Max once it releases. As with Warner Bros.’ other 2021 theatrical releases, the film will be available for 31 days from when it hits the streaming service. While Godzilla vs Kong is live, you can watch the monsters battle using the HBO Max app. The app is available on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, mobile devices, many smart TVs, and on video game consoles like the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
For the ultimate experience, you’ll want to watch on a television and streaming device that supports 4K Ultra HD resolution and HDR. Godzilla vs. Kong will support both the HDR10 standard as well as Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio.
HBO Max doesn’t have any promotions going right now, or free trials, however. That means that if you’re not subscribed already, you’ll have to pick up the subscription for $15 a month. With that said, if you have an AT&T wireless plan or are already paying for the HBO premium channel, you might be able to watch at no additional cost.
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If you’re outside the United States, you’ll have to look elsewhere, as HBO Max is available only in the US. To watch Godzilla vs. Kong internationally, you’ll need to rent the film through services like Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, or iTunes.
When can you watch Godzilla vs. Kong on HBO Max?
Godzilla vs. Kong hits HBO Max on March 31 at 12:01 AM PST / 3:01 AM ET, just as Justice League did when it released on March 18. Once Godzilla vs. Kong hits, though, you’ll have until May 1 to watch it. International viewers may see the film a day late, as some territories receive it on April 1.
While you look forward to the kaiju fight of the century, make sure to check out our Godzilla vs. Kong review. Entertainment editor Michael Rougeau said that the monsters “fight spectacularly, and at length, and if that’s what you’re hoping to see you’re going to get your money’s worth,” but noted that “a movie in which kaiju fight each other and the rest of the script isn’t as brainless as your average garden lizard, remains as rare a discovery as Kong himself.” See what other critics thought with our review roundup. The director promises that the faceoff will have an actual winner after the two clash. Godzilla vs Kong is already performing well in China, pushing the film to a new box office record for the pandemic.
Fortnite Season 6 is a few weeks in, and already the game is set to receive its first major shake-up according to the patch notes for version 16.10. A new kind of wildlife, which dataminers leaked at the launch of the season, seemed all but certain. Now the official patch notes seem to confirm what many were speculating this morning: dinosaurs arrive tomorrow.
A new update is about to hatch. v16.10 is scheduled for release on March 30. Downtime will begin at approx. 4 AM ET (08:00 UTC). (1/4) pic.twitter.com/bajSRNRWKe
The full patch notes also include a nerf to the Primal Shotgun by way of a lowered firing rate, adjustments to crafting, and the addition of Animal Bones and Mechanical Parts to floor loot. That means players will no longer need to rely on finding those crafting items on wildlife, vehicles, or the NPCs who sell them, though those hotspots are probably still going to be your best bets.
With more abundant crafting parts also comes a change to how much of each resource players will need, as Epic revealed patch 16.10 will cause upgrade costs to scale with a Makeshift weapon’s rarity. It won’t be the standard four Animal Bones or four Mechanical Parts anymore, it seems, though this may also mean more common weapons take even fewer resources to craft than what players have been used to so far this season.
All of this, plus Raz’s Spire Quest arrive with the patch. We aren’t yet sure what this task will entail as it’s the first of its kind and, perhaps surprisingly, has not leaked like so much else about this game does. Once it’s unlocked, we’ll have a guide to help you complete it. You can read the full version 16.10 patch notes below.
Fortnite version 16.10 patch notes
A new apex predator stalks the Island
Crafting and loot adjustments
Creative Powerups now support Team, Class, and All combinations
Coming April 3rd at 8 PM ET: new Save the World Ventures Season
Primal Shotgun fire rate reduced
Makeshift Shotgun adjustments
Crafting material costs now scale with Makeshift rarity
Animal Bones and Mechanical Parts can appear as added floor loot
Don’t forget this means it’s also your last chance to play (or replay) the Zero Crisis Finale. The playlist will leave the game when the downtime hits at 1 AM PT / 4 AM ET early tomorrow morning.
In one of the strangest leaks the sporting world has seen, a Reddit user playing Warzone found themselves listening in on an NFL player’s phone calls through a teammate’s open mic, with the player talking about moving to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now, former Bears player Rashaad Coward has confirmed he is signing with the Steelers, proving the redditor’s “very random” leak was indeed correct, as reported by Bleacher Report.
Reddit user ProbationOfficer2035 posted a thread titled “Possible trade coming between the Bears and Steelers” on Reddit’s NFL board over the weekend, saying that they overhead the NFL-related conversation during a Warzone match with a female teammate. While the player confirmed it was her husband talking on the phone, and that he was an NFL player, she didn’t identify him by name. The redditor ended up working out the Bears link through the wife’s social media posts with the team’s merchandise.
As others began to speculate that it might be restricted free agent and former Bears player Rashaad Coward, his agent Brian Adkins tweeted only to comment that Rashaad’s wife, who games on Twitch and YouTube as OohTally, is indeed an “entertaining gamer.”
While Tally streams her gaming on Twitch, it appears as though the leak wasn’t streamed live, but that Tally was simply playing with a particularly perceptive teammate at a key point in her husband’s conversations.
“The last thing I heard was that if no one else calls within the next 30 minutes he’s gonna sign a 3 year deal in order to facilitate the trade because he would love to be in Pittsburgh,” ProbationOfficer2035 reported in the Reddit post. It appears no one else called, as Coward officially announced his signing with the Steelers on Monday evening.
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The locations you explore inMonster Hunter Risehave already felt the delicate touch of humanity’s hand. Traditional Japanese torii can be found weaving through mountainside paths, leading to sacred shrines, while decaying temples have been reclaimed by nature as local plant life envelops the aging architecture. Signs of human life can even be found at the base of a raging volcano and in the midst of a flooded forest, where a Mesoamerican-style pyramid dominates the landscape.
If 2018’s Monster Hunter World was all about unearthing a new continent as an intrepid frontiersman, then Rise is a triumphant return to the Old World with valuable lessons learned. An enhanced port of the 3DS title Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate may have already graced the Nintendo Switch, but Rise is the first game in the series built from the ground up for Nintendo’s latest console. As such, Rise closely follows in the footsteps of World while reneging on some of its changes and introducing plenty of new impactful ideas that excellently shift the focus towards the series’ heart-pumping action.
The core Monster Hunter gameplay loop has remained relatively unchanged as you hunt down gargantuan monsters, harvest their materials to craft new weapons and armor, and tackle increasingly tougher foes. World coalesced both the single and multiplayer parts of the experience into one cohesive whole, but Rise reverts back to the old ways by splitting them into disparate Village and Hub quests. Village quests can only be played alone, while Hub quests can still be tackled solo but are designed with multiple players in mind. This isn’t the most welcome setup for newcomers since it isn’t immediately clear which quests progress the story, nor is there any indication of whether or not you should be alternating between both paths. The impact this structure has on the game isn’t as substantial as it initially seems, though. Hunting the same monster multiple times has always been a part of Monster Hunter’s DNA, so repeating the same mission as both a Village and Hub quest is something you would typically seek out anyway.
That’s not to say Rise isn’t approachable in other areas either. There’s a renewed focus on fast-paced action that strikes an impressive balance between being welcoming for newcomers and satisfying for battle-hardened veterans. When entering a location, for example, your trusty pet Cahoot will mark all of the nearby monsters on your map. You won’t immediately know the identity of each one until you’ve already discovered them, but this cuts down on the time it takes to seek out your foe and gets you into the heart of the action much faster. It’s an ideal fit for the Switch’s handheld mode, allowing you to jump in and out of its most thrilling moments without having to engage with the long-winded slog to find and follow a monster’s tracks.
Exploration is still a key part of the experience, even if you know the exact location of your prey. There are plenty of shortcuts and hidden paths to uncover within each location, and the addition of local wildlife–known as Endemic Life–encourages you to seek out every nook and cranny in order to gain the temporary buffs to damage output, stamina regeneration, and so on, that they offer. On the flip side, if you’re not interested in boosting specific stats to get a leg up in battle, you can always ignore the Endemic Life and tailor the challenge to your liking. Rise offers a degree of flexibility in the way you’re able to tackle each monster that goes beyond your choice of weapon and armor.
With that being said, the verticality afforded by the new Wirebug mechanic has the most significant impact on Rise’s exploration. This exciting new tool allows you to zip through the air by utilizing what’s known as Wire-dashing. From here, you can chain moves together, mixing in wall runs with additional Wire-dashes to reach previously unattainable heights and traverse the environment at a rapid pace. The finesse it requires takes some getting used to, and you still need to be shrewd with the Wirebug’s forgiving cooldown to be successful, but it’s an incredibly fun tool to use once you’re comfortable with its demands.
There’s a renewed focus on fast-paced action that strikes an impressive balance between being welcoming for newcomers and satisfying for battle-hardened veterans.
The Wirebug also plays an important role in combat, as each of Rise’s 14 signature weapons has its own Silkbind attacks. These unique moves are relatively easy to pull off and range from a timing-based counter with the Long Sword to an uppercut leading into an explosive downward strike with the Switch Axe. Each Silkbind attack can be linked into different combos, opening up your repertoire of potential techniques, and the Wirebug expands on this even further with its defensive maneuvers. The evasive Wirefall move, for instance, gives you an opportunity to get back on your feet and avoid a monster’s follow-up attack after being knocked down or pushed back, while the Wire-dash extends the reach of your dodge for when you need to quickly evade a rampaging beast.
Aside from the addition of Silkbind attacks, each of Rise’s weapon types have remarkable depth in keeping with the series’ traditions. Mastering a particular weapon is just as rewarding as before, and there’s also an element of customization available this time around too. The aptly named Switch Skills allow you to swap out certain regular and Silkbind attacks to make a weapon that’s reflective of your play style and preferences. An improved training area, and a reduction in the amount of materials necessary to upgrade a new weapon, also makes this aspect of the game more approachable for newcomers who need to experiment in order to find a weapon type that suits them.
Monster Hunter Rise screenshots via Capcom
Stamina and weapon sharpness have also been streamlined thanks to the addition of Palemutes. These new dog-like buddies will help you out in combat and can be decked out with weapons that only add to Rise’s combat depth, and they also act as mounts for you to ride any time you want. Stamina isn’t consumed when you’re on the back of your trusted Palemute, and you can even sharpen your weapon while traversing to give you something productive to do during travel, thus alleviating some of the more time-consuming aspects of Monster Hunter.
Multiplayer is also a hassle-free experience, whether you’re playing with a group of friends or with up to three strangers. The wait times are relatively short when joining an online hunt, and lag is a non-issue on Nintendo’s new online infrastructure. The frame rate holds up, too, even when the screen is awash with multiple hunters, particle effects, and the beasts themselves. And this is to say nothing of how good Rise is as a multiplayer game. There’s nothing else quite like gathering a party to go and hunt down an imposing adversary, and Rise’s new features only add to the inherent joy you can glean from its hectic cooperative action. Not to mention the fact that it gives support-oriented weapons–such as the reworked Hunter Horn–time to shine.
There is a basic story that sets all of this up by casting you as Kamura Village’s sole hunter, but the narrative is little more than a paper-thin vehicle for introducing Rise’s new mechanics and game modes. Chief among the latter is the Rampage: a special mission type that requires you to defend a stronghold from waves of ferocious monsters. The Rampage is inspired by Japanese folklore and the Hyakki Yagyō “Night Parade of One Hundred Demons” idiom in particular, which sees an uncontrollable horde of yokai march into our world. In gameplay terms, the Rampage is similar to a tower defense game, tasking you with placing various hunting installations around each stronghold in order to repel the frenzied invaders. Some of these installations are automatic and manned by NPC companions, while others can be manually controlled if you fancy dishing out some damage of your own with ballistas, cannons, and other heavy weaponry.
Rampage quests offer a respite from the usual Monster Hunter formula, delivering histrionic thrills as you find yourself bombarded by multiple monsters at once. There’s some satisfying depth to it as well, with progression rewarding you with more powerful installations and upgraded weapons. You can even jump into the action as you would on any other monster hunt, or lure the enemy to specific points on the battlefield to unleash devastating attacks with powerful installations like the Dragonator and the Splitting Wyvernshot. Completing a Rampage quest will reward you with the usual assortment of monster parts with which to craft weapons and armor, but you’re also incentivized to finish them in order to unlock Defender Tickets. These can be spent on numerous Rampage Skills that permanently boost specific weapons stats such as attack, affinity, and defense.
Monster Hunter Rise screenshots via Capcom
Part of what makes the Rampage so exciting is the addition of Wyvern Riding to your offensive arsenal. Monster riding was first introduced in Monster Hunter 4, but it’s had a significant shakeup in Rise. By performing a series of Silkbind and aerial attacks, a monster will enter a mountable state that allows you to hop on their back and go for a ride. You can launch your helpless prey into walls to deal damage and put them in a downed state that leaves them vulnerable for a time, or you can use them as a massive battering ram to attack other monsters. This is a tad cumbersome due to some stiff controls, but being able to ravage the monster you’re hunting with another beast is a singular treat that adds a tinge of kaiju-esque action to the proceedings–not to mention the strategic considerations it introduces to each hunt. Monsters will occasionally bump into each other and fight over territory, but you can also use Wyvern Riding to seek out another monster and force them into a confrontation, creating emergent moments that enhance the game’s core combat.
The monsters themselves consist of fan favorites such as Rathian, Diablos, and Puki-Puki, along with plenty of new monsters and a few surprises. Much like the Rampage, each of the new beasts are inspired by yokai and other legendary creatures from Japanese folklore. The menacing Somnacath, for example, is based on Japanese mermaids, which have the lower body of a fish and the upper body of a demon. It’s a fascinating creature to fight as it moves through the water like a sea otter before putting you to sleep with its siren’s song. Bishaten, on the other hand, is inspired by tengu, presenting an ape-like monster with the face of a crow and a dangerous tail the shape of tengu’s fan. Aside from using its rear appendage to deal damage, the Bishaten also throws large pieces of fruit at you, making it one of the more peculiar monsters in the bestiary.
Going toe-to-toe with these intimidating beasts is the unmistakable core of the Monster Hunter experience, and Rise still feels like a distinctly Monster Hunter game, even if it’s more of a fully-fledged action title than any other entry in the series. This renewed focus doesn’t diminish its layered RPG mechanics, nor does it dumb down on any single aspect of the hunt. Certain changes make Rise a more approachable game for newcomers, but you also have the freedom to tailor the experience to your liking. The moment-to-moment combat is as impeccable as it’s ever been and puts Rise on a pedestal as one of the feathers in the Nintendo Switch’s cap.
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Ratchet & Clank 2016 is the latest game to receive an update for PS5. A tweet from the official Insomniac Games Twitter account announced that the PS4 remake of the first game in the series will be updated for PS5, targeting 60fps for performance.
According to the tweet, that PS5 update will come in April. Additionally, Ratchet & Clank 2016 is free to own as part of Sony’s Play at Home campaign through March 31. Play At Home games are made free to own for a time, and do not require a PlayStation Plus subscription, unlike the other free games that Sony offers every month.
Generally considered one of the best 3D platformers on the PS4, Ratchet & Clank 2016 will soon be getting a sequel. That game, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, is a PS5 exclusive, and it will come to the platform on June 11. Like this PS5 update for the original, we also know that Rift Apart will target 60fps.
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Reviews for Godzilla vs Kong are starting to come in as it nears a simultaneous stateside release both in theaters and HBO Max on March 31, and so far most are–perhaps unsurprisingly–hailing the monster movie showdown as solid, though somewhat mindless, fun time. Here’s what critics thought of it.
Godzilla vs Kong
Directed By: Adam Wingard
Written By: Eric Pearson, Max Borenstein
Starring: Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Shun Oguri, Eiza González, Julian Dennison, Kyle Chandler, Demián Bichir
Release date: March 31 (United States)
GameSpot
“Godzilla and King Kong fight. They do so spectacularly, and at length, and if that’s what you’re hoping to see, you’re going to get your money’s worth. A movie in which kaiju fight each other, and the rest of the script isn’t as brainless as your average garden lizard, remains as rare a discovery as Kong himself.” – Michael Rougeau [Full review]
Los Angeles Times
“After so many tentpoles that have insisted on being metaphors for this or that, the abundance of sound and fury here–take a bow, Tom Holkenborg, composer of the majestic synth score–blissfully signifying nothing, qualifies as a colossal, giddily escapist relief.” — Jessica Kiang [Full review]
RogerEbert.com
“Godzilla vs Kong is a crowd-pleasing, smash-’em-up monster flick and a straight-up action picture par excellence. It is a fairy tale and a science-fiction exploration film, a Western, a pro wrestling extravaganza, a conspiracy thriller, a Frankenstein movie, a heartwarming drama about animals and their human pals, and, in spots, a voluptuously wacky spectacle that plays as if the creation sequence in ‘The Tree of Life’ had been subcontracted to the makers of ‘Yellow Submarine.’ — Matt Zoller Seitz [Full review]
AV Club
“There may be a moral somewhere in Godzilla vs Kong about hubris and greed, but really, this movie knows you came to see monsters punch each other. And monsters punching each other you shall get.” — Katie Rife [Full review]
IndieWire
“In the end, though, it’s all about the battles, and Wingard’s film offers some of the franchise’s best.” — Kate Erbland [Full review]
Empire
“Godzilla vs Kong mostly delivers on its promise of a big monster fighting another big monster. It just depends whether you’re willing to sit through the toe-curlingly bad set-up that surrounds it.” — John Nugent [Full review]
A COVID-19 vaccine site in Northern California will reportedly close this Thursday and Friday to host an anime event, according to The Sacramento Bee. That event will be SacAnime, a gathering for anime enthusiasts taking place at the Roebbelen Center in Roseville, California.
County spokesperson Katie Combs-Prichard told The Sacramento Bee that SacAnime was a “pre-existing event” booked far in advance, and that the vaccine site will extend its hours Monday through Wednesday this week into the evening to “maximize the volume” of doses administered this week, and to attempt to compensate for the closures.
Combs-Prichard also added that 90% of the week’s 5,400 appointments at the site were second-dose vaccine appointments, “so closure or not, the impact on first dose appointments available in that time window is not very large.” Still, it does not help with the optics as the seasons have been changing and the people have steadily finally been getting their vaccines.
As the event draws closer, a recent SacAnime Facebook post confirming it will still be taking place has drawn ire by locals. Despite what Combs-Prichard remarked in the story, one commenter wrote on Facebook, “Bonus points for delaying my 2nd dose past the recommended 28 days.”
On the heels of winning the BAFTA Fellowship, Media Molecule’s Siobhan Reddy spoke to Gamesindustry.biz about her win, issues of diversity in the gaming industry, and the work culture Media Molecule strives to create.
Reddy is the first woman to win the BAFTA Fellowship, a prestigious accolade that recognizes “exceptional contribution to film, television or games.” Former awardees include Hideo Kojima, Tim Schafer, and Gabe Newell. Reddy was awarded for her “pioneering work on advocacy for diversity, inclusion, and creative and collaborative working culture.”
Viewing the BAFTA win as a sign of “real encouragement for all of us to care even more about inclusivity, diversity, and building a work culture that celebrates creativity,” Reddy spoke more in detail about what creating that work culture looks like.
For her, diversity doesn’t stop at getting people through the door; an environment that supports workers is just as key. In a quote to Gamesindustry.biz, Reddy commented, “The issues haven’t really gone away. We’re all making strides to bring in more diverse groups of people, we’re aiming to create studios that enable people to thrive within them–and that’s incredibly important.”
“It’s one thing saying, ‘Oh, we want to bring people in’ but it’s another thing having the setup so you can ensure people can thrive. That’s something I’m very passionate about, and I know a lot of other people are: enabling people to do their best work. The world is flawed. Sexism, racism, ableism–these things are all real, and as an industry we deal with them, too. I’m hopeful by the amount of people and studios trying to tackle big subjects… We’ve all got a lot of work to do, and it is work. It’s about making sure we find new ways to bring people into our industry.”
Regarding what type of environment Reddy aims to cultivate, she said: “If I think about what I’m trying to achieve with the culture, which I think we do a pretty good job of, it’s building a culture of belonging. That’s important because we’re an industry asking people to be creative, to do creative things. When people come in to collaborate with someone, there should be a sense of belonging, friendship and being in it together.”
Reddy’s interview also touched on the genre of creative gaming and how those games can bring in a new generation of developers. Media Molecule’s Dream is one of those creative toolkits that allows players to create their own games easily, producing fun and unexpected results. You can check out Dreams’ subreddit to check out what the community is making.
“The mission is to share that love of making with people so they can find their own passion and share that with people,” Reddy stated. “Maybe that goes on to a career–we’ve certainly hired a bunch of people from the LittleBigPlanet community and now from the Dreams community. As we progress throughout the years, we’ll be working more and more from the Dreams community.”
Reddy ended the interview on a humble note, noting that other people within the industry are working on the same issues. “I don’t feel like I’ve done nearly as much as other people, by the way,” she said. “I think there are plenty of people working a lot harder and more consistently on this than I have… I’ve been really privileged in my life and career in many different ways. So there’s been a journey of understanding privilege and what that means.”
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