Author: Trafficblast

Sword of Symphony Is a Viral Music Action Game That Got TikTok Famous By Accident

Stephen Ddungu didn’t know much about TikTok at all when a clip of his upcoming game project, Sword of Symphony, started circulating on the video platform last month.

A clip of a young boy attacking an enemy using musical combos that Ddungu had previously posted on other social channels was reposted on TikTok by an account called @gamedevblaster on August 2. As of the publication of this piece, it has gotten over 335,000 views, and the comments are full of praise and excitement.

Ddungu tells me he was alerted to the sudden popularity of his clip by a friend, so he made an account and posted his own video, introducing himself to his newly-found fans. That video has now been watched 1.6 million times, and a second follow-up he posted later has been seen nearly 3 million times.

“It’s crazy how fast stuff gets out there and gets popular so quickly on TikTok,” Ddungu says. “And just the kind of things that get popular; weird things get so many views. Other people are working for content and only get a few views here, and then you get someone doing a random, weird-looking dance and it’s getting millions of views. I guess people like what people like.”

Ddungu has always been a musician, and loves to both play and compose. He has a music channel on YouTube where he posts orchestral covers of video game songs, and its success directly led to his eventual work on Sword of Symphony.

In 2018, Ddungu’s channel reached 1000 subscribers, and he wanted to do something special to celebrate the milestone. So he made an animation to go with his latest composition, despite never having animated anything before. He admits that this first foray into animation wasn’t incredible, but he enjoyed the process of experimenting in the new medium. And he got a lot of constructive feedback on his work, inspiring him to do better. So Ddungu kept working at it.

You never really know the extent of your potential unless you dive in. And then you surprise yourself.

“All my decisions are down to me just believing that I can do it,” he says. “Just jumping in and making the leap, because you never really know the extent of your potential unless you dive in. And then you surprise yourself.”

Ddungu took his newfound interest in animation to incredible lengths. He worked on it alongside his school studies in music technology, and eventually made his own animation project called Purpose: VERSA, inspired by game series he loved like Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, and Nier. Then, once again, as he was working on one type of project, a new idea manifested itself. What if he used a different medium to support his existing animation work? So he started dabbling in game creation through Blender, and eventually spun off Purpose: VERSA into an action-RPG video game project, called Purpose: VERSUS.

But as hard as Ddungu worked on all of this, his timing was off. He finished a cinematic trailer for Purpose: VERSUS just before he was given his final school assignment, and thus wasn’t able to turn that in. So he started sketching out Sword of Symphony, a little game idea he had about using music as magic.

“I wanted to just do something small, like a little prototype that was just a hand-in assignment and then forget about it,” he says. “I was about to scrap the project afterwards, because there was no need for it.”

But then, Ddungu made a social media page for Sword of Symphony, which he connected to the existing accounts for Purpose VERSA — just to let people who had been interested in his other work know that he was still working on projects. Unexpectedly, Sword of Symphony began gaining traction much, much faster than either of the Purpose titles.

So Ddungu kept uploading new footage as he went. When he reached 1000 followers, he decided he’d write a story for Sword of Symphony instead of limiting it to the combat prototype. Interest only kept growing.

Though Ddungu originally started Sword of Symphony in 2020, he had to rush his work on it to make school deadlines. So in June of this year, spurred on by the project’s popularity and conversations he’d already had with potential publishers, he scrapped the entire thing and started from scratch. Now, Sword of Symphony is four to five years away (though hopefully sooner, he says), but it has a clear direction.

I wanted to just do something small, like a little prototype that was just a hand-in assignment and then forget about it.

The original pitch for Sword of Symphony was a game where you fight with the power of music, and that’s still the case. Now, though, it follows the story of a young man named Stefān, a wielder of musical magic, who lives in a magical world called Sonata styled after 18th century London. Stefān is a member of a group of genius detectives who are hired by a royal council to solve musical mysteries, many of which Ddungu says will subtly teach music theory as players try to solve them.

Ddungu is tight-lipped about much else, as Sword of Symphony is still so early in development, so it’s not quite clear how the combat factors in just yet. But factor in it does, with the musical combos shown off in Ddungu’s TikToks functioning a bit like “rhythmic phrases,” where you can do more damage to enemies by tapping buttons in time with the rhythm of the combo.

He also tells me about a group of friends he’s a part of that calls itself the “Inner Circle.” The group consists of seven creatives all working on projects they hope to link together, crossover, and cross-promote once they’re ready to launch them. Ddungu says he’s invested in not just the success of his own project, but the success of the group — he wants them to thrive together.

TikTok success hasn’t changed much for Ddungu, he says, though he acknowledges a lot more people now know about the game than he expected. He runs a Discord for Sword of Symphony, that he says got around 800 new members on the day his TikTok blew up, and then around 400 the following day. He ran it alone at the time, so for a while he was struggling to approve all the new members individually, and eventually had to ask a friend for support. He expects that things like Discord community management and social media management will now take up more of his time, which he thinks will force him to develop better time management skills.

What I love doing is teaching me to be a better person.

“It’s actually good, in the sense of character development, learning new things…getting into this system of being a better person,” Ddungu says. “I’m happy that this has come from something that I love doing. What I love doing is teaching me to be a better person.”

With school completed and a new project beloved by a growing community, Ddungu is now committed to making games. He reiterates to me his earlier comment about how he — and anyone — never know what skills they might possess until they dive in and try, which can often result in discovering hidden, unexpected talents and passions.

“You’ve got to focus and put in the effort and the work and hustle and stuff, even if it means sacrifices here and there, but it’s really like a test of strength,” he says. “That kind of lets you know whether this is for you or not…But once you dive in, if you feel that you’re inclined to be committed despite the sacrifices, that’s when you know it’s for you. I’ve tried other things in the past but never really got that [feeling] but with [Sword of Symphony], I know that this is something I want to do long term. I feel so encouraged right now.”

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

This article was amended after publication to correctly identify Ddungu’s field of study as music technology.

Marvel’s What If…? Episode 4 Cast: Every Returning (and Replaced) MCU Actor

Full spoilers follow for Marvel’s What If…? Episode 3.

The MCU-based What If…? animated series is finally here, and it features many of the actual MCU actors from the movies voicing their iconic characters. At the same time, some actors aren’t back to reprise their roles as part of the What If…? cast…

In the fourth episode, What If…? delivered its darkest and most shattering story yet as Doctor Strange, having saved the world from Dormammu, found himself traveling down a forbidden path in order to change an Absolute Point in time and reclaim his lost love, Christine. Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, and Tilda Swinton all reprised their MCU roles for this one – as did Rachel McAdams, marking her first return to the saga since 2016’s Doctor Strange!

Each episode will feature new and returning characters from the MCU, and we are here to gather each one so you can keep track of which voice actors are returning to their roles, which aren’t, and what these new versions of our favorite heroes look like. We will also be updating this article throughout the season so be sure to check back each week!

What If…? Episode 4 Cast: What If… Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?

Doctor Strange – Benedict Cumberbatch

Benedict Cumberbatch returned to play Dr. Stephen Strange M.D. — aka Sorcerer Supreme for Earth — in this twisted tale of obsession and regret.

Christine Palmer – Rachel McAdams

Rachel McAdams once again played Christine Palmer, Stephen Strange’s love interest, marking her first return to the MCU since 2016’s Doctor Strange. McAdams will be back as Christine again in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

The Ancient One – Tilda Swinton

Tilda Swinton reprised her role as The Ancient One, once again attempting to guide Doctor Strange through obstacles and temptation that could lead to ruin and cosmic devastation.

Wong – Benedict Wong

Benedict Wong was back as Doctor Strange’s trusty Sanctum Sanctorum sidekick, Wong, though ultimately no one would be spared in Strange’s dark and warped quest to reclaim the love of his life.

O’Bengh – Ike Amadi

A new character in the MCU, O’Bengh was the guardian of the Lost Library of Cagliostro. He eventually died of old age after Strange spent centuries learning forbidden knowledge and absorbing the energy of other magical beings.

In the comics, there is speculation that Cagliostro’s real name was O’Bengh.

Christine Everhart – Leslie Bibb

Leslie Bibb can be heard briefly as reporter Christine Everhart, who appeared in both Iron Man and Iron Man 2 (as well as a viral videos released by Marvel preceding Ant-Man and Captain America: Civil War).

What If…? Episode 3 Cast: What If… The World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?

Nick Fury – Samuel L. Jackson

Nick Fury takes center stage in the third episode of Marvel’s What If…?, and Samuel L. Jackson returns to voice the MCU character he’s been playing since 2008’s Iron Man. Unfortunately for this version of Nick Fury, his idea to form the Avengers didn’t go quite as planned.

Hank Pym / Yellow Jacket – Michael Douglas

Michael Douglas returns to play Hank Pym, but in this alternate universe he ends up becoming one of the episode’s true villains after his daughter Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly/The Wasp in the MCU!) passed away on a S.H.I.E.L.D. mission. Instead of becoming Ant-Man, he becomes Yellow Jacket, as he did in the comics.

Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow – Lake Bell

Scarlett Johansson, who is currently in a legal battle with Disney over a Black Widow contract breach, did not return to play Black Widow in this show. Instead, actress and comedian Lake Bell lent her voice to the iconic role. Bell and her voice have appeared in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later, the Harley Quinn TV series, Cryptozoo, and much more.

Tony Stark / Iron Man – Mick Wingert

Much like Black Widow, Iron Man also has a new voice actor as Robert Downey, Jr. did not return to play the character that kicked off the entire MCU. Instead, Mick Wingert took up the role. Wingert has played Tony Stark in a ton of Marvel shows, including Marvel Future Avengers, Spider-Man, Avengers Assemble, Guardians of the Galaxy, and more.

Agent Coulson – Clark Gregg

Clark Gregg once again becomes Agent Coulson in Marvel’s What If…? and is rightfully very impressed with Thor and his hair.

Brock Rumlow – Frank Grillo

Frank Grillo is back as Brock Rumlow and adds Marvel’s What If…? to the list of his MCU appearances that also include Avengers: Endgame, Captain America: Civil War, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Clint Barton / Hawkeye – Jeremy Renner

Jeremy Renner, who already appeared in the first episode of Marvel’s What If…? alongside Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury, returns for a bigger role in episode 3. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have quite a happy ending. Luckily, he will reprise the role once more in his own Disney+ show later this year.

Betty Ross – Stephanie Panisello

The role of Betty Ross has changed once more as Hulk’s Jennifer Connolly nor The Incredible Hulk’s Liv Tyler returned to reprise their role. Instead, Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness’ Stephanie Panisello makes her MCU debut in Marvel’s What If…?

Bruce Banner / Hulk – Mark Ruffalo

Bruce Banner and The Hulk make their Marvel’s What If…? debut in episode three. Although it’s always great to see Mark Ruffalo take on the role again, he returns for a story that sees an unfortunate end to his character.

Loki – Tom Hiddleston

Hot off the season finale of Marvel’s Loki, Tom Hiddleston appears again in the MCU as Loki in Marvel’s What If…? In this alternate universe, he comes to get his vengeance after the fall of Thor, and also takes the opportunity to become the ruler of Earth. Not bad for a day’s work.

General Ross – Mike McGill

Although William Hurt played General Thunderbolt Ross in Black Widow, Mike McGill was the one who voiced the short appearance by the general in this episode. McGill was recently seen in Bosch, Grace and Grit, Shameless, Grey’s Anatomy, and more.

Lady Sif – Jaimie Alexander

Much like Loki, Lady Sif returns to the MCU after making an appearance in Marvel’s Loki. Even better, Jaimie Alexander returns to lend her voice. Alexander is also set to be a part of Thor: Love and Thunder.

Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel – Alexandra Daniels

Although she is only seen for a brief moment at the very end, Captain Marvel answers Nick Fury’s call and heads to Earth to help her old friend. Instead of Brie Larson, Mothers and Daughters’ Alexandra Daniels plays the hero also known as Carol Danvers.

Thor

Thor and his majestic hair appeared in this episode of Marvel’s What If…?, but the God of Thunder had no lines, so there was no chance for Chris Hemsworth to return… yet.

What If…? Episode 2 Cast: What If… T’Challa Became a Star-Lord?

Star-Lord T’Challa – Chadwick Boseman

Before his death in 2020, Chadwick Boseman recorded his final lines for T’Challa for Marvel’s What If…?, but in this version he plays Star-Lord T’Challa instead of Black Panther. While he made his debut as this alternate version of his character in the second episode of the series, there are still more episodes with his character in them.

Nebula – Karen Gillan

Karen Gillan returns to voice Nebula, and this time she is sporting some flowing blonde hair and, thanks to T’Challa becoming Star-Lord and helping turn Thanos into a “good guy,” she is free to live another life that is not helping her adopted father balance the universe.

Yondu – Michael Rooker

Michael Rooker once again becomes Yondu in this episode of What If…? and sees first-hand what happens when he leaves important jobs to other people. Since his Ravagers picked up T’Challa instead of Peter Quill, the trajectory of his life has changed greatly as well.

Korath – Djimon Hounsou

In a hilarious twist to the beginning of Guardians of the Galaxy, Djimon Hounsou returns to play Korath, who is this time a huge fan of Star-Lord and ends up joining his team of Ravagers.

King T’Chaka – John Kani

The life of King T’Chaka is altered when his son goes missing one day, but that doesn’t stop him from searching the stars for T’Challa in the years that followed. John Kani returns as the voice of the king, and we get to see younger and older versions of him in the episode.

Thanos – Josh Brolin

In perhaps the most shocking twist of all, Josh Brolin returns to play a Thanos who has decided to give up on his idea of wiping out half of all living things in the universe. He has joined Star-Lord T’Challa and the Ravagers and, while he still jokes about his original plan being efficient, he has turned into a much more friendly Mad Titan.

The Collector – Benicio del Toro

Benicio del Toro once again plays The Collector, a character who has seen his stock rise after not having to deal with Thanos in his quest for the Infinity Stones. He is a force to be reckoned with in this alternate timeline, but ultimately is no match for T’Challa and his friends.

Ego – Kurt Russell

While it is but a brief cameo, Kurt Russell once again becomes Ego and decides to pay a visit to his son Peter Quill at a Dairy Queen. Quill of course never ended up becoming Star-Lord in this reality, though what this meeting with Ego means for him is unclear (for now).

Kraglin – Sean Gunn

Hot off his role as Weasel in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, the director’s brother Sean Gunn lends his voice once more to Kraglin.

Taserface – Chris Sullivan

Chris Sullivan is also back as the Ravager Taserface, joining Star Lord T’Challa and the rest of their crew across the stars.

Howard the Duck – Seth Green

Howard the Duck, who makes his fourth MCU appearance following the first two Guardians of the Galaxy films and Avengers: Endgame, is once again voiced by Seth Green and looking classy as ever.

Okoye – Danai Gurira

Danai Gurira has only one line, but it’s always a treat to hear and see Okoye – the general of the Dora Milaje – get more screen time.

Carina – Ophelia Lovibond

In this alternate story, Carina was never killed as she never tried to use the Power Stone against The Collector. What’s more, she gets some karmic justice against her captor.

Proxima Midnight – Carrie Coon

Carrie Coon once again plays Proxima Midnight, who joined forces with The Collector after Thanos had a change of heart.

Ebony Maw – Tom Vaughan-Lawlor

As with Proxima Midnight, Ebony Maw was on the look-out for new work following Thanos joining the Ravagers, and he joined The Collector just as the other members of the Black Order did.

Drax – Fred Tatasciore

Drax the Destroyer shows up in this episode of Marvel’s What If…?, but now he is… Drax the Bartender? While it’s great to see Drax again, he was voiced by Fred Tatasciore instead of Dave Bautista, who has said he was not asked to return to play his MCU character.

Corvus Glaive – Fred Tatasciore

Fred Tatasciore also plays Corvus Glaive from the Black Order, replacing the original voice actor Michael James Shaw.

Young T’Challa – Maddix Robinson

Young T’Challa only showed up in a deleted scene in Black Panther, but he gets a bigger role in Marvel’s What If…? In this episode, he was played by Maddix Robinson instead of Ashton Tyler.

Peter Quill – Brian T. Delaney

Peter Quill’s destiny was changed the most when the Ravagers picked up T’Challa instead of him. While we only see him for a brief moment, we see that his new fate was to work at Dairy Queen until his Dad pays him a visit. Chris Pratt did not return to voice this version of Peter Quill, and he was instead voiced by Brian T. Delaney.

Queen Ramonda, Shuri, and Cull Obsidian

Queen Ramonda of Wakanda, Shuri, and Cull Obsidian all make an appearance in this episode of Marvel’s What If…? but they have no lines so there were no returning or new actors for their characters.

What If…? Episode 1 Cast: What If… Captain Carter Were The First Avenger?

Captain Carter/Peggy Carter – Hayley Atwell

Hayley Atwell voices Peggy Carter in a story focusing on what would happen if she was the one who became a super soldier. Steve Rogers still joins the fight with a suit made by Howard Stark. Chris Evans did not return for this episode of What If…?, and instead Josh Keaton lent his voice to Skinny Steve Rogers.

Skinny Steve Rogers – Josh Keaton

Despite many of the other MCU characters returning to reprise their roles, Chris Evan did not return for What If…? to voice Skinny Steve Rogers. Instead, Josh Keaton became this alternate version of Steve. This voice actor is also known for his roles as Peter Parker in the animated The Spectacular Spider-Man series, Tony Stark in Marvel’s Iron Man VR, and many other projects.

Dr. Erskine – Stanley Tucci

Stanley Tucci voices Abraham Erskine, the only scientist to perfect the Super Soldier Serum. In this version of the story, he lives!

Howard Stark – Dominic Cooper

Dominic Cooper is back as (the younger version of) Howard Stark, who is the father of Iron Man himself, Tony Stark. In this story, Howard Stark created the first Iron Man armor in the Hydra Stomper.

Colonel Flynn – Bradley Whitford

While Bradley Whitford’s Colonel John Flynn has not been in a big MCU film, he was part of the Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter, which was one of a series of shorts that expanded on the MCU world.

Johann Schmidt / Red Skull – Ross Marquand

Hugo Weaving did not return in What If…? to reprise his role as Red Skull, and instead Marvel brought back Ross Marquand, who played Red Skull in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

Dum Dum Dugan – Neal McDonough

Neal McDonough is back to voice Howling Commando Dum Dum Dugan from The Winter Soldier (and Agent Carter).

Bucky Barnes – Sebastian Stan

Sebastian Stan voices Bucky Barnes. In this alternate tale, Bucky was not experimented on by Arnim Zola and therefore never became The Winter Soldier.

Arnim Zola – Toby Jones

Toby Jones has returned to the MCU to voice Arnim Zola, and his fate is still very tied to Bucky Barnes, even if he isn’t as successful in this timeline.

Nick Fury – Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson returns to play Nick Fury and make a brief appearance at the end of the episode.

Hawkeye – Jeremy Renner

Jeremy Renner once again become Hawkeye in Marvel’s What If…?

The Watcher – Jeffrey Wright

Jeffrey Wright plays The Watcher, a celestial being assigned to watch over Earth and its surrounding solar system. He’ll serve as the narrator for the series each week.

MCU Characters Confirmed for Future Episodes

Thor – Chris Hemsworth

Chris Hemsworth will voice Thor in a story that might be Ragnarok focused, considering some of the other casting news revealed.

Grandmaster – Jeff Goldblum

Jeff Goldblum will voice Grandmaster, the ruler of Sakaar.

Korg – Taika Waititi

Ragnarok (and Love and Thunder) director Taika Waititi will be voicing a character — probably (hopefully!) Korg.

Loki – Tom Hiddleston

Tom Hiddleston will return to Disney+ to voice Loki. A Variant Loki, probably!

Jane Foster – Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman returns to voice Jane Foster. Will she somehow figure in a Ragnarok-era story, even though she was absent from that film? Time will tell!

Ant-Man – Paul Rudd

Paul Rudd will voice Ant-Man.

Kurt – David Dastmalchian

David Dastmalchian will voice Kurt, the hacker member of Scott Lang’s crew.

Hank Pym – Michael Douglas

Michael Douglas will voice Hank Pym, creator of the Ant-Man suit and tech.

Killmonger – Michael B. Jordan

Michael B. Jordan will voice T’Challa’s cousin N’Jadaka – aka Erik Killmonger.

Bruce Banner/The Hulk – Mark Ruffalo

Mark Ruffalo will voice Bruce Banner and/or The Hulk.

For even more on the show, check out our article on how to watch Marvel’s What If…?, get the lowdown on these nine crazy What If…? comics storylines, or catch up on how Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa becomes Star-Lord in the series.

August 18, 2021: This story has been updated with the latest information about Marvel’s What If…?

All Nine Seasons of Seinfeld Are Coming to Netflix in October

All nine seasons of Seinfeld will be available to stream on Netflix on October 1 — and in 4K. This will mark the first time that every episode of the NBC series will be available to stream on a single service globally.

To accompany the announcement, Netflix released a video on Twitter touting the show’s arrival on the streamer as a “180 episode premiere.”

“[Seinfeld co-creator] Larry [David] and I are enormously grateful to Netflix for taking this chance on us. It takes a lot of guts to trust two schmucks who literally had zero experience in television when we made this thing,” said Jerry Seinfeld in a press release. “We really got carried away, I guess. I didn’t realize we made so many of them. Hope to recoup god knows how many millions it must have taken to do. But worth all the work if people like it. Crazy project.”

Netflix acquired the rights to stream Seinfeld in 2019. Hulu had held the exclusive streaming rights to Seinfeld until last June. This new deal will see Netflix house the NBC sitcom for five years. While financial details of the agreement were not disclosed at the time, it was reported that Netflix paid “far more” than $500 million — the total that NBCUniversal paid to bring The Office to Peacock.

“This is the first time we’ve taken a risk of this nature, going all in on 9 seasons at the jump. But Jerry has created something special with this sitcom that nobody has ever done,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said in a statement.

In other Seinfeld news, a fan-designed LEGO set of Jerry Seinfeld’s apartment in the show hit the market last month, complete with Minifigs of the show’s main characters (and Newman). And if you really can’t wait to see some Seinfeld on Netflix, Bee Movie is currently available to watch on the streaming service in the US.

J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer.

Best Xbox One Racing Games: 20 Picks That You Can Also Play On Xbox Series X

The best racing games on Xbox One are almost as varied as the fast cars you drive in them. Want to cruise around a gorgeously rendered take on the English countryside in a rambunctious open-world adventure? Forza Horizon 4 has you covered. Eager to simulate the racing thrills of regulated sport? F1 2021 and MotoGP 21 have dials to fiddle with and switches to flick. Want a bright and shiny take on an arcade classic? Burnout Paradise Remastered and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered are for you. Or maybe you just want to be an anthropomorphic mascot hurling blunt objects at friends and enemies alike? Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled brings the wumpa while Sonic Team Racing scarfs down a chili dog.

Last generation, Microsoft often struggled to produce major AAA exclusives for the Xbox One. The biggest exception, though? Racing games. With two spins on Forza–one of the studio’s biggest franchises–both devoted to burning rubber, Xbox has become a racing game powerhouse (as reflected in the impressive selection of driving games on Xbox Game Pass). And, as we’ll see in this list, even outside the Forza stable of racers, Microsoft’s consoles may well be the best place to put tires to virtual pavement. These are the best racing games on Xbox One and Xbox Series X. Many of the games listed below have free Xbox Series X enhancements.

For more Xbox game suggestions, check out our lists of the best Xbox Series X games and best Xbox One games. And if you happen to own a PS4 or PS5, make sure to take a look at our best PS4 racing games list, too.

Art of Rally is perhaps the most unique game on this list as a racing game that eschews nitty-gritty graphical realism in favor of a top-down, low-poly take on the sport. Taking place during the “Golden Age” of rally racing, Art of Rally’s campaign tasks players with racing in one location for each year of the sport’s 1967-1996 run. These locations–ranging from Finland to Kenya, and more–are chopped up into smaller, visually distinct and colorful tracks. Despite the playful look, Art of Rally is a serious racer with controls that straddle the line between arcade and sim-style. If you get sick of racing, there’s an open-ended Free Roam mode to explore where you can search for various collectibles, like the individual letters spelling “RALLY” and Time Attacks to complete. It’s a wonderfully different take on the racer, and Game Pass subscribers can pick it up for no extra cost on both PC and consoles.

Burnout Paradise Remastered brought Criterion’s 2008 sandbox classic to PC and modern consoles with improved visuals and gameplay, which expertly balances open-world exploration, thrilling races, slow-motion crashes, and collectible hunting that fans know and love. To start a challenge in Paradise City, you simply pull up to a traffic light and spin your wheels. As a result, every stretch of this open world, which ranges from cities to mountains is a potential race track. If you enjoy the formula of Forza Horizon 4, Burnout Paradise Remastered is a great way to experience a beloved, earlier entry in the open-world racer genre. This remaster is available, at no added cost, for Xbox Game Pass subscribers, on both PC and consoles.

See our Burnout Paradise review.

Mario Kart isn’t available on Xbox, but Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is a lot like it. The big difference, though, is that, while anyone can pick up Mario Kart and easily win some races, Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled is tough as nails, right from the start. Beenox’s remake of Naughty Dog’s 1999 kart racer collects the courses from the original PS1 game (Crash Team Racing), plus additional content from its sequels, Crash Nitro Kart and Crash Tag Team Racing. This punishing party game requires players to finish first in a race before the next course will unlock, and doles the courses out slowly.

See our Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled review.

A colorful off-road racer with globe-spanning tracks and the world-class voice talent of Naughty Dog mainstays Nolan North and Troy Baker, Dirt 5 is a brilliantly arcade-y title with beautiful locales and stunning particle effects. With roughly 80 tracks and a wealth of online and offline modes, Codemaster’s 2020 outing is well worth the price of admission, especially if you already have Xbox Game Pass where the game is available on both consoles and PC.

See our Dirt 5 review.

A significantly more difficult off-road racer than Dirt 5, Dirt Rally 2.0 is the sim-heavy counterpart to the main series’ arcade-style racing. If you’re looking for challenging races in gorgeously rendered locales, Dirt Rally 2.0 has you covered. The game includes six real-world locations, a bevy of tracks, and more than 50 cars. Tune your ride, manage your team, or just race to your heart’s content in Codemaster’s strong 2019 sim. This rally racer is available for Xbox Game Pass subscribers on both PC and consoles.

Break out the racing wheel and prepare to go fast or crash trying…now with added emotional stakes. F1 2021 introduces a full-fledged campaign, “Breaking Point,” to the long-running series. Not to be confused with your typical race-a-bunch-of-races career mode, the campaign here is story-focused, with players donning the helmets of one of two characters: a rookie at the beginning of his career or an experienced racer nearing the finish line. This kind of thing has become more common lately–see Madden NFL’s Longshot–and it’s a welcome way to introduce players to the mechanics of the game, while also giving them a reason to be invested. Additionally, F1 2021 includes a two-player career mode and split-screen play. If none of that is doing it for you, My Team mode lets you create a driver and manage their team through the season. And shorter modes like Time Trial and the ability to shorten the season length mean that, even if you don’t have much time, you can still get plenty of racing in.

This terrific open-world game offers players a huge English countryside to explore and a wide variety of cars to explore it with. Even more interesting, courses constantly change in response to the weather. So, a lake which might be impassable during the summer could become an icy bridge to slide across in the winter. With plenty of side activities to take part in, beautiful environments to behold, and Death Stranding-style asynchronous multiplayer populating your world with other players, Forza Horizon 4 is a great racing game (and for RPG fans, ample evidence that developer Playground Games has the potential to make a stellar Fable game). We’re eagerly anticipating this year’s sequel, Forza Horizon 5, which will move the action to Mexico. This Microsoft-published title is available for Game Pass subscribers on console and PC.

See our Forza Horizon 4 review.

The latest installment in Forza Horizon’s more realistic sister series, Forza Motorsport 7 packed in a whopping 700+ cars to collect and rendered them in painstaking graphical detail. Turn 10 Studios’ most recent racing game boasts over 100 tracks, with weather effects that add interest to routes, even after you’ve played them repeatedly. Add in a suite of accessibility options, and this sim-focused title is far easier to jump into than other realistic racers like Project Cars 2. And, if you feel ready for a steeper challenge, Forza Motorsport 7’s inclusion of Mod Cards allows seasoned players to introduce more difficult objectives for greater rewards. Pick it up on PC or console for no extra cost with Xbox Game Pass.

See our Forza Motorsport 7 review.

This 2019 reboot offers a variety of racing disciplines to master, from street racing to NASCAR and beyond. Slightly closer to the sim side of things than Codemaster’s Dirt series and closer to the arcade end of the spectrum than Codemaster’s Dirt Rally games, GRID is a down-the-middle racer that manages to offer plenty of action, while still being fiddly enough for folks who want to take a look under the hood. While the selection of tracks is fairly limited, Grid keeps things interesting with its Nemesis system, which causes NPC AI to develop grudges if you drive too aggressively during a race. Push someone off the track? Don’t be surprised if they push back when you’re least expecting it. It’s a neat touch, and helps keep Grid’s Career mode interesting. If you’re looking to play with friends, Grid offers a variety of online modes.

Inertial Drift asks the important questions like, “What if drifting were 90% of what you did in a racing game?” To answer that question, this cel-shaded 2020 racer ties steering to the left stick and drifting to the right stick, a move that provides for a significantly more nuanced take on cornering than most racers are able to provide. Each of the game’s 16 cars is tied to a different racer and feels significantly different as you narrowly rush through the game’s 20 tracks. In single-player, local 1-vs-1, and online multiplayer, Inertial Drift offers a gorgeous, retro-futurist world that handles like nothing else on the market.

With MotoGP 21, developer Milestone recreates the 2021 season, with more than 20 tracks and 120 official riders. This bike-racing game offers players the opportunity to race at the ground level, with solid handling, and manage the season from a bird’s eye view. MotoGP 21 isn’t too different from previous entries, but it does feel slightly better to play. Bikes handle with more sensitivity and feel incredibly responsive. The A.I. is plenty intelligent, too, as MotoGP 21 implements the same machine-learning system as Milestone’s other racer on this list, Ride 4. Newcomers should know that this bike sim is pretty tough out of the box but can be tweaked with assists to make the difficulty curve a lot gentler. Plus, there’s a good tutorial if this is your first time out, or just need a reminder on some of the basics. Even with those changes though, winning takes more strategy than you might expect.

Like driving around in a circle? NASCAR Heat 5 is for you. This sim racer is true to the sport that inspired it, packed with roughly 40 ovals to speed up, slow down, speed up, slow down, speed up, and slow down around until you reach the finish line. NASCAR Heat 5 is the first entry in the series developed by 704Games, and doesn’t change much up from the previous game, NASCAR Heat 4, developed by Monster Games. While it isn’t revolutionary, the 2020 entry is solid, with driving controls that can be tweaked to skew more sim or more arcade depending on what you’re in the mood for, or to be tuned to your skill level.

In Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered (a 10th anniversary upgrade for Criterion’s 2010 original) players play both as street racers, and as the police tasked with bringing them down. Gameplay is split between the two groups. In some levels, racers attempt to escape the police, dropping spike traps and running their cars off the road. In others, cops chase down the speedsters, hoping to do enough damage to their cars to take them out of commission before a time limit. It’s a smart conceit that provides variety across the game’s 15-hour campaign. The 2020 remaster introduced crossplay multiplayer across PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC, so everyone can get in on the action. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered is available on console, at no added cost, via Xbox Game Pass.

See our Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit review.

Until this entry, Slightly Mad Studios’ Project Cars series was known for taking a simulation-heavy approach to the racing genre. But, with Project Cars 3, the series ditched the finicky handling for something more friendly to mainstream players. The result is a game that doesn’t really feel like Project Cars, but still succeeds at providing racing thrills for less-experienced players. That said, if you’ve played earlier entries and are expecting more of the same, don’t. Difficulty, handling, and opponent AI have all been drastically reworked.

See our Project Cars 3 review.

The latest entry in Milestone’s motorcycle series, 2020’s Ride 4 is a challenging sim-style take on bike racing featuring dozens of tracks across three continents, dynamic weather, and hundreds of bikes to unlock, ride, and customize, across its 30 hour campaign and competitive multiplayer. Ride 4 also boasts an Endurance mode, where players can test their mettle in lengthy races, complete with pit stops. Competitors in single-player are powered by A.N.N.A. (Artificial Neural Network Agent), a machine-learning system that makes for some intelligent A.I. This is a substantial racing experience, but its steep difficulty right out of the gate means that Ride 4 may not be the best place for newcomers to start. But, if you can get over the early hump, Ride 4 is a deep sim with impressive customization options and tons of bikes.

Team Sonic Racing is a colorful kart racer featuring Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and a whole host of other anthropomorphic animals in big ol’ karts developed by Little Big Planet 3 and Sackboy: A Big Adventure creators Sumo Digital. With smart team-based mechanics, Team Sonic Racing is a multiplayer arcade game for players of all skill levels, where seasoned racers can help out struggling newbies by leaving a gust of wind in their wake. Each of the 21 courses are memorable, with plenty of the gravity-defying loops that Sonic is known for, gorgeous and varied backgrounds, and obstacles that tie in nicely with each stage’s theme. The Adventure mode is a weak spot, but this package is quite robust otherwise and generally way past cool.

See our Team Sonic Racing review.

Ubisoft’s 2018 sequel brings open-world thrills and spills spanning the entirety of the continental United States, but its coolest feature is the ability to swap between planes, boats, and cars on the fly. Flying over a lake and see a cove you want to scout at sea level? Switch to a boat and your ride will instantly swap out, sending you in a freefall to the water. It’s a cool trick that reminds us of Grand Theft Auto 5’s approach to multiple protagonists, but it’s much faster here. The Crew 2 is a little rough in some ways, but i’s conceit is incredibly cool and exploring a whole country in this arcade racer is a joy.

See our The Crew 2 review.

The TrackMania games ask an intriguing question: What if you could be both a Hot Wheels car and also the person building Hot Wheels tracks? 2016’s TrackMania Turbo is a strong entry in the stunt race series, with tons of tracks (more than 200!), a robust track builder, and the ability to search and play tons of user-created content online. It was also the first entry to come to consoles, and brought kinetic, freewheeling racing to a whole new group of players. Turbo is ridiculous fun, with loop-de-loop tracks and gravity-defying cars that are just as comfortable flying through the air as they are with rubber grounded against the road. And Turbo is a time trial focused game–you’re attempting to beat the clock, not other players–so taking to the sky is often the fastest route from A to B.

The 2020 entry in the long-running World Rally Championship series replicates a real-world season that never happened. The calendar might be a fantasy, but the thrills here are the real deal as WRC 9 maintains the improvements made by 2019’s WRC 8, while making enough small tweaks for the new entry to be worthwhile. It’s a fairly modest upgrade over the previous year’s entry, but with 14 locations (including the additions of the gorgeous Japan, Kenya, and New Zealand tracks), 100 special stages, a career mode that puts you in charge of team management, and more than 15 classic cars, WRC 9 is a great place to start for anyone looking to get into the series.

Part combat racer and part demolition derby, Wreckfest is designed to facilitate the smashing of cars in a variety of different ways. With wacky vehicles like lawn mowers and motorized sofas, creative tracks, and fun, frantic multiplayer, Wreckfest is a wild time for players of all ages and skill levels. Xbox Game Pass subscribers can nab this one on both PC and consoles for no added cost.

See our Wreckfest review.

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Halo: MCC Brings Grifball Back, So Grab Those Gravity Hammers

343 Industries is bringing a classic game mode back to Halo: The Master Chief Collection, albeit likely for a limited time. As part of one of its routine playlist updates to The Master Chief Collection, 343 has reintroduced Grifball, the game of bombs and gravity hammers.

The game mode, created by Rooster Teeth in its Red Vs. Blue series, was a mainstay in Halo 3 as a custom game mode before being adopted by then-developer Bungie. In the years since, Grifball has made appearances throughout the franchise and is now routinely rotated in and out of Halo: The Master Chief Collection’s playlists.

Sadly, 343 Industries hasn’t announced whether or not Grifball will be returning in Halo Infinite. The game’s first multiplayer beta wrapped up earlier this month, with players only being able to square off in Slayer matches.

While we don’t know when the next Halo Infinite multiplayer beta will start, 343 has said that it will include two new game modes for players: Big Team Battle and 4v4 Slayer. If you didn’t make it into the first one and want a chance at trying out the game in the second, the sign-up process is easy. Just follow the GameSpot guide to signing up and cross your fingers.

Halo Infinite is set to release on December 8 for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S, much later into the holiday season than any other entry in the franchise. The game will also launch without two Halo mainstays: Forge mode and co-op campaign.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife Delayed by One Week

With Paramount pushing Top Gun: Maverick to Memorial Day 2022, Sony Pictures is swooping in to claim its now-vacated pre-Thanksgiving release window. Ghostbusters: Afterlife will now hit theaters one week later than previously planned, moving from a November 12 release date to November 19.

The delay gives the Jason Reitman-directed sequel a little more room from Marvel’s Eternals, which is set to hit theaters on November 5. Ghostbusters: Afterlife will now open against the Warner Bros.’ Will Smith drama King Richard, though that film will also be simultaneously released on HBO Max for 31 days.

Additionally, the Ghostbusters sequel will now play in IMAX and other premium format auditoriums, many of which were originally being reserved for Top Gun: Maverick.

While Paramount has delayed its entire theatrical slate beyond 2021, Sony has maintained most of its plans for the year. Although Sony Pictures Animation is working out a deal with Amazon to bring Hotel Transylvania: Transformania to streaming, most of the studio’s fare is still on track to release this year.

Rumors swirled about the studio potentially pushing Venom: Let There Be Carnage to 2022, but new promotional material indicates that the sequel will still hit theaters on October 15. Additionally, Spider-Man: No Way Home remains set for an exclusive theatrical run this holiday season.

For more on Ghostbusters: Afterlife, check out our exclusive trailer breakdown with director Jason Reitman and take a look at our breakdown of the franchise’s new and returning cast members. And if you haven’t already, meet Muncher.

J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer.

Track Your Stock Portfolio For Life With Statfolio

Keeping track of your investments can be daunting — especially for those of us who don’t have strong financial backgrounds. You could be an artist, a teacher, or a web developer and you still can invest and build your income with a financial portfolio. Especially nowadays when there are so many great services that help streamline this process.

For example, you can pick up a Statfolio Portfolio Tracker: Lifetime Subscription for only $59 right now, which is a generous 90% drop from its list value of $600. Statfolio is a portfolio tracker designed to help anyone who might own some financial investments gain a better, clearer understanding of how they are exactly performing. Whether you’re a professional investor, portfolio manager, or everyday professional — Statfolio can be quite informative with its focus on analytics and visualization.

Keep an eye on things like how your investments performed over the last year, and whether or not your portfolio is diversified enough, and what’s happening in the various sectors and industries where your investments live with Statfolio.

Structured into 3 sections, the first features raw and aggregated data to show you the portfolio ad orders that you’ve created as well as the holdings Statfolio automatically aggregates. It also shows you the dividends you received under the portfolio. There’s also a visualization section that shows the metrics at portfolio, sector, industry, and holding levels. Last is the research section, which is designed to help you understand the current state of the market, discover new potential investment opportunities, and study company data.

Statfolio is a nominee for “The Best Portfolio Tracker” for the Benzingo Global Fintech Awards and it’s currently available at a remarkable rate. While you can, be sure to grab the Statfolio Portfolio Tracker: Lifetime Subscription while it’s on sale for only $59 (reg. $600).

Get A 1-Year Sam’s Club Membership For Just $20 With This Exclusive Offer

Warehouses have long been destinations for shoppers who see the value in subscribing to more wholesale purchases. Over time, they’ve slowly developed their own distinct cultures — including becoming sought after havens for a delicious hot dog, or the ever mouthwatering rotisserie chicken. If you haven’t explored the world of wholesale club membership before, maybe now is your time.

Right now, you can get a Sam’s Club Membership for Only $19.99 with a Free Rotisserie Chicken & Cupcakes! This is quite the price drop as the membership typically lists for $57 and has been on sale for $29, and then recently dropped down to $19.99. What does it yield a member beyond crispy golden chicken skin and fall-off-the-boat meat with a sugary cupcake dessert, you ask?

Once you become a Sam’s Club member, you can shop premium quality products and enjoy incredible perks and sales. Sam’s Club is a membership warehouse and it’s a limited-item business that offers members the best groceries, kitchen supplies, video games, electronics, furniture, and more. Focusing on quality and savings, it takes the American shopping experience to a customer-focused place that’s constantly growing in popularity.

Rated 5/5 stars by nearly 1,000 verified purchasers, this membership is well worth its astonishingly low price point. By redeeming and signing up as a member, you’ll be able to access the special perks of this deal upon making your first in-club purchase. Specifically, you will receive a free seasoned rotisserie chicken that’s nearly $5 in value, and an 8-count of gourmet cupcakes that lists for just under $8. You will also get a complimentary household card for even more savings on items that are already listed at a bargain.

To begin saving money on all of your food, home furnishings, and everyday needs — sign up now for a Sam’s Club Membership for Only $19.99 with a Free Rotisserie Chicken & Cupcakes!