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Author: Trafficblast
Fortnite Is Adding Video Chat, Here’s How It Works
Epic’s popular battle royale game Fortnite keeps evolving with new updates and features, the latest of which is video chat, which is coming at any moment.
Fortnite will soon connect with the app Houseparty (which Epic acquired in 2019) to allow players to hang out and have a video chat while playing Fortnite.
At launch, which will be soon, voice chat will be available on PC, PS5, and PS4, and you will also need an Android or iOS device with the Houseparty app installed. Once you’ve done that, just connect your Houseparty account to your Epic Games account and it’s done.
Players who link these accounts will receive a special Rainbow Fog wrap; here’s what it looks like.
Here is a rundown of how Fortnite video chat works, with step-by-step instructions written by Epic:
- Open Houseparty on iOS or Android and Connect to Fortnite through Settings or the TV icon
- Join your friends like you normally would or invite them to join you
- Fire up Fortnite on a PC or PlayStation
- Continue talking to your friends while you play
Epic said it is concerned about safety, so the video chat will only crop to your face. The app will supply a Fortnite-themed background that wipes out everything but your face. Additionally, only people who are friends on Houseparty can connect to the chat, so you don’t have to worry about random people coming in to watch.
Regarding support for other platforms, including Xbox and Nintendo Switch, Epic said, “We will let everyone now if we’re able to support more platforms in the future.”
Go to Epic’s website to learn more about video chat in Fortnite.
GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.
Godfall Review
Godfall makes a good first impression. Even if you’re playing on a moderately powerful PC, as I did, it’s clear from the opening moments that developer Counterplay Games has endeavored to show off advancements in visual fidelity, no doubt in light of new hardware such as the PlayStation 5. From the way sparks fly to the myriad particles that coat every inch of its action and the reflectiveness of its gaudy gold and marble halls, Godfall wants you to know that next gen is here. Beyond the visual spectacle, however, lies a game that’s immediately familiar and over-reliant on an amalgamation of loot-driven games from the past eight years or so.
Godfall’s mixture of loot progression and third-person melee combat has been described by Counterplay Games as a new type of genre: the looter-slasher. The name holds up insofar as you loot and slash things, but there’s nothing about Godfall that feels intrinsically new. Diablo, Monster Hunter, and Warframe make up a portion of its overt inspirations, but it manages to avoid feeling completely derivative by pulling from so many different influences at once. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this approach, especially since it mixes in a few of its own ideas as well. The issues Godfall faces occur outside of combat, where its structure and gameplay loop are decidedly uninspired.
The whole game takes place across three distinct realms: Earth, Water, and Air. Upon entering each biome, you’re given a brief tour of the area before being tasked with finding some kind of door that’s locked by a specific number of MacGuffins. From here, you have to return to previously visited locations and defeat a number of mid-bosses–some of which are unique, but most of which are repeats of fights you’ve already had. Once you’ve slain each of these enemies and acquired the requisite amount of MacGuffins, you can open the door and fight that realm’s boss. Then you simply ascend an elevator and repeat the whole process again in the next realm.
As you can imagine, this rigid framework quickly devolves into tedium and wears out its welcome long before the final credits roll around nine hours in. To make matters worse, Godfall’s endgame revolves around yet more fights against the same bosses you’ve already clashed steel with before. There are some new wrinkles to this endgame content, including ways to earn new loot, a reward system that grants temporary buffs, and the prospect of failing and having to start over, but the core conceit of repeating battles to unlock loot to repeat more battles is not an enticing one when that’s all there is to it.
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Part of this tedium is due to routine level and quest design that does little more than shuffle you from one battle to the next. Your objective rarely deviates from the basic task of killing everything in sight, aside from a select few outliers where you might have to destroy an object as well. You have no interaction with the world around you, and there’s no nuance to indicate a sense of history in each locale. Enemies simply mill about waiting to die–their entire purpose served by being vanquished at your hands–and the environments, for as good as they look, end up feeling like hollow set dressing. The threadbare story provides little context either, offering just enough of a reason for all the bloodshed. The end goal is to kill your brother before he can become a god and bring about the apocalypse. At one point it looks as though the narrative might add some depth by musing on the potential for power to corrupt those who have no need for it, but this is dropped just as soon as it arrives in favor of a predictable sequel tease.
Godfall is a game built on monotony that would fall apart completely if the combat weren’t there to prop it up. Your melee repertoire consists of light and heavy attacks, a snappy dodge, and a shield that can both block and parry incoming attacks. There’s the usual assortment of gear rarities, with common, uncommon, rare, and legendary loot to find, while your weapon arsenal features everything from giant greatswords to nimble dual blades. Each weapon type is diversified by the range, speed, and cadence of its moveset, but they all share the same four-button combo and an array of abilities that can be unlocked via a modest skill tree. Whichever weapon type you opt for will come down to personal preference, particularly since Godfall’s combat is meaty and satisfying no matter which one you choose, with a palpable sense of skull-crushing weight behind each and every blow.
It can also be surprisingly measured due to the fact you can’t interrupt attack animations if you need to block or dodge. This works well on paper, forcing you to learn enemy patterns and be deliberate in your actions, but it belies Godfall’s emphasis on aggression. Being patient works against bosses and in one-on-one encounters, but you spend the vast majority of the game fighting mobs where speed is of the essence. You need to quickly cut through ranged enemies or healers before dealing with anyone else, and this approach is antithetical to the way defending works. There’s even a Rampage mechanic that rewards you for staying on the front foot with a 20% damage increase. However, these mechanics are undermined by the fact that dying in Godfall is so inconsequential that it’s actually advantageous a lot of the time. Falling in battle simply respawns you back where you died, with all of the enemies right where you left them, whether that means they’re dead or damaged. Doing so also replenishes all of your healing items, so there’s little reason to avoid letting your health bar reach zero unless you want to keep hold of any of the energy you’ve built up. This changes during boss fights, but even these are generously checkpointed each time you deplete a chunk of the boss’ health.
Fortunately, there is some meaningful depth beyond the combat’s familiar basics. Every weapon type has two unique variants of special attacks called Southern and Northern Techniques. You can execute these by spending energy that’s gradually accumulated during the heat of battle. Performing a Northern Technique with the longsword, for example, will launch you into a rapid flurry of strikes that cuts through any foes around you, while the polearm’s Southern Technique sends you into a leaping ground slam that functions similarly to an AOE attack. Aside from being flashy displays of power, these techniques are also a vital part of Godfall’s Soulshatter mechanic. By using light attacks and Northern Techniques, you can apply Soulshatter buildup to an enemy’s health bar before switching to heavy attacks and Southern Techniques to bank all of that volatile energy and dish it out in the form of destructive Soulshatter damage.
There are a number of other abilities you can unlock throughout the game as well, such as a Weak Point skill that lets you aim the cursor at highlighted enemy weak spots to deal extra damage. This adds an element of finesse to those moments when you’re simply wailing on a group of enemies, forcing you to course-correct and hone in on a specific point. There are also Polarity Attacks that encourage you to swap between both of your equipped weapons in the midst of battle by rewarding you with a shockwave attack and extra damage for a brief period. It’s these physical abilities that really stand out during the chaos of Godfall’s combat. Some loot has a chance to apply different status effects like bleeding, or add fire and electric damage on top of your physical attacks, but none of this is particularly noticeable. You know when you’ve killed an enemy using Soulshatter damage because they explode in a bright dust cloud, but status effects just get lost in the noise.
Godfall is a game built on monotony that would fall apart completely if the combat weren’t there to prop it up.
As a result, Godfall’s loot is defined by basic number crunching–where gear is equipped according to the highest digits and little else. Your preference for a particular weapon type will factor into this, but finding a legendary warhammer is only exciting because your damage numbers grow in size. A legendary weapon doesn’t function any differently to a common one; they both still have the same combo and rhythm to their attacks. There’s still an inherent endorphin rush that comes from seeing that golden orb burst forth from a defeated enemy, but this mostly feels like muscle memory that’s accrued from playing other loot-heavy games. Seeing numbers grow is always a good thing, but it does nothing to change or evolve the flow of combat.
Valorplates are similarly disappointing. These armor sets come with slightly different stats and various Archon abilities–which are essentially ultimates–but the stats and passive buffs they apply are still barely perceptible, and there are only three Archon abilities split amongst its 12 Valorplates. They’re varied from a visual perspective, offering different styles on Godfall’s cosmic knights aesthetic, and this does allow you to look different from one another when playing in co-op. The game is naturally better with friends–even if there’s little synergy shared between your attacks and abilities–but you will need friends if you want to play cooperatively, since there is no matchmaking.
Even if you can play with others, Godfall’s meaty combat eventually begins to wear thin after the umpteenth version of the same fight. This is a shallow game bolstered by decent combat that struggles to bear the weight of an entire game. Uninteresting loot mixed with a monotonous and grindy structure is not a good combination, and for as satisfying and fun as it can often be to hack your way through one battle after another, there’s not enough here to sustain that enjoyment for more than a few hours.
35 Things You Didn’t Know About Addams Family Values, The Best Thanksgiving Movie
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The 1993 sequel features the greatest Thanksgiving scene in cinematic history.
Addams Family Values might not seem like a Thanksgiving movie if you only read the back of the box. The 1993 sequel sees the Addamses driven apart by the influence of a gold-digging serial killer who gets Wednesday (Christina Ricci) and Pugsley (Jimmy Workman) sent to summer camp while she lulls Morticia (Anjelica Huston) and Gomez (Raul Julia) and seduces Uncle Fester (Christopher Lloyd). It had the same macabre sensibilities as the original, and continued to be inspired by Charles Adams’ original cartoons.
What does this have to do with the upcoming holiday, and how could Addams Family Values possibly be the greatest Thanksgiving film ever? It’s simple: Throughout the movie’s second half, the kids’ unbearably upbeat camp counselors plan a Thanksgiving-themed pageant for the end of the summer, and the results rocket AFV to the top of the Turkey Day list.
If you haven’t seen it, go watch it now, but suffice to say, Wednesday, who plays Pocahontis in the pageant, does not stick to the script. Instead of worshipping the pilgrims, she demolishes her “privileged” fellow campers’ racist Thanksgiving myth and sums up centuries of mistreatment of this country’s native population with a handful of incisory, flawlessly delivered lines of dialogue. And then she burns her fellow campers at the stake and roasts their counselors on a spit.
If that doesn’t make a film the best choice to watch on Thanksgiving, I don’t know what could. To celebrate this masterpiece, we combed through interviews the cast and creators gave over the years–there are no special features to speak of, unfortunately–and the movie itself to find hidden details, jokes, and Easter eggs you might have missed. Enjoy, and happy Thanksgiving.
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1. The movie was intended to be overtly anti-Republican
The original Addams Family movie was not overtly political, but the sequel’s writer, Paul Rudnick–who also helped re-write the first film–wrote anti-Republican themes into Addams Family Values.
“I did also want the movie’s name to be a response to the Republican Party’s constant harping on ‘family values,’ as if only conservatives could define a loving family. In Republican terms, ‘family values’ is always code for censorship and exclusion, and Republicans still refuse to respect or even acknowledge, for example, LGBTQ families. I like to believe that the Addams Family is far more loving and accepting than their enemies,” Rudnick told The Hollywood Reporter in a 2018 interview.
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2. Raul Julia’s eye fell out during shooting
In the same feature as above, Anjelica Huston recounted a story involving her co-star Raul Julia’s eye falling out of his head at a bar after shooting one day. “I came on set one morning and someone said, ‘Raul’s eye fell out last night,'” Huston said. Apparently he caught it, and inserted it back in his head, then showed up to set the next morning looking bloodshot.
The incident inspired an excellent prank: “That afternoon, I called up every joke store in L.A. and bought every pair of those joke glasses on springs, where the eyeballs fall out,” Huston continued. “So the next morning, when Raul walked onto the set, the entire crew was wearing these glasses. He laughed like hell. It was serious, but it was also really bizarre.”
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3. Raul Julia sang opera to Anjelica Huston’s frogs
Another Huston anecdote: “I also remember when we shot in the Sequoia National Forest, which is close to a little ranch that I had then owned for about five or seven years, something like that. Raul stayed with me while we filmed up there. My housekeeper made him a really beautiful Mexican meal with chicken mole, margaritas and everything. That night, I went to bed. And he stayed up and sang to the frogs in my pond. That was a really magical moment, hearing Raul singing opera to the frogs.”
Julia died less than a year after Addams Family Values hit theaters; it was his last movie released during his lifetime.
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4. Granny Addams was recast for the sequel
Played by Judith Malina in the original, Morticia’s mother, Granny Addams, was portrayed by Carol Kane in AFV. Kane already knew several of the cast, including Huston, so she was a good fit, with one problem: she was actually slightly younger than the actress playing her daughter. Kane told THR that the makeup process to turn her into Granny took about four hours per day, and the wig alone weighed around 5 pounds.
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5. Lurch is playing a variation on the original theme song
In the first scene set in the Addamses’ mansion, Lurch is seen playing a variation on the original Addams Family theme song, written by Hollywood composer Vic Mizzy for the 1964 TV series.
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6. Baby Pubert was an unused idea from the original comics
According to the writer, Rudnick, the idea for the Addams clan to get a new member named Pubert came from original creator Charles Addams. “And the name of their child, Pubert, was, in fact, from a cartoon that The New Yorker had refused to publish because it was considered way too over-the-line and provocative at the time,” he told Buzzfeed in 2013.
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7. The movie pushed boundaries, but received little pushback
In 1993, seeing so much violence perpetrated on–and largely by–children was envelope-pushing, even if that violence was entirely cartoonish and bereft of consequences. “I remember there was one moment on set when [director Barry Sonnenfeld] called his wife gleefully and said, ‘Guess what? Today I threw a baby off a roof!'” Rudnick told Buzzfeed. “So once that proved normal, there were very few boundaries.”
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8. This wallpaper changes throughout the movie
The decor in Baby Pubert’s room changes obviously throughout the movie as Debbie’s influence infects the child with a very un-Addams-like innocence. More subtle is the way this botanical wallpaper changes; At times the leaves appear wilted, while during other scenes they’re healthy.
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9. Torture? Yes please
Among the many torture devices in the Addamses’ attic–not to mention presumably plundered traffic and warning signs–are a bed of nails and an iron maiden. Who didn’t want those as a kid?
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10. Hi Miranda
Sex and the City fans should recognize the actress who plays this would-be nanny: She’s Cynthia Nixon, who would go on to portray Miranda on the popular HBO show.
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12. This line is a reference to The Fly
When the Addams kids meet Debbie for the first time, Wednesday tells her to “Be afraid. Be very afraid.” It’s a reference to the 1986 David Cronenberg body horror classic; this was the movie’s tagline.
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13. This show should seem familiar
While “America’s Most Disgusting Unsolved Crimes” is not a real show, it’s certainly a satirical reference to two actual programs that were popular at the time: America’s Most Wanted and Unsolved Mysteries. These things are burned into your subconscious if you grew up in the ’80s or ’90s.
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11. Octopus
There’s an octopus painted on the end of the bed the kids are sitting on. In the original series, Pugsley had a pet octopus named Aristotle.
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14. “It means orphan.”
Wednesday grimly declares that the word “Chippewa” means “orphan,” but in reality, the Chippewa are a tribe of people native to southern Canada and the northern Midwestern United States, also known as the Ojibwa or Ojibway.
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15. You guys want some cookies?
Wednesday’s summer camp rival, Amanda Buckman, was played by Mercedes McNab. She should look familiar if you’re a fan of both Addams Family films, because she also played a girl scout in one memorable scene in the original.
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16. A regular Hitchcock
Here’s another cameo: Barry Sonnenfeld, who directed both movies, played Joel’s dad.
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17. A morbid background joke
Christina Ricci’s performance as Wednesday Addams is so arresting that it’s easy to miss the fact that Pugsley is trying to hang himself in the background of this shot. After being introduced to Camp Chippewa, can you blame him?
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18. They heated the lake
Mercedes McNab, who played Amanda, told Buzzfeed that the production crew somehow heated the lake for the scene in which she jumps in and pretends to drown. In the scene, you can see steam coming from the water’s surface.
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19. Another familiar actress
The woman whose cigarette Gomez lights in the restaurant is played by Monet Mazur, who would go on to have more prominent roles in movies like The House Bunny and shows like All America.
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20. Michael Jackson made an original Addams Family tie-in song and music video
The Michael Jackson song Is It Scary was written for the Addams Family Values soundtrack. Jackson even made a music video involving an Addams-like mansion. However, the first child abuse allegations against Jackson emerged just a few months before the movie was set to be released, and the song was cut from the soundtrack–which makes the gag when Joel screams at the MJ poster all the darker.
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21. A Brief History of Time
To demonstrate that Joel is a nerd, he’s seen holding A Brief History of Time, the seminal 1988 book by renowned physicist Stephen Hawking. Joel laments that he’d rather read about science than do dumb summer camp arts and crafts. I’ve never related to a character more.
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22. Under an Amber Moon
The drink that Gomez mixes for Baby Pubert following the bachelor party is an Amber Moon, also known as a Prairie Oyster: Vodka, raw egg, and hot sauce. Hair of the pup!
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23. This was improv
According to David Krumholtz, who played Joel Glicker, he actually screwed up during this scene, because he really couldn’t get the arrow knocked. “In real-life frustration, that’s me throwing [the arrow] down and walking out. I was super angry at myself. Then, after they cut, they all started laughing and they were like, ‘That was hilarious!’ I was like, ‘Oh! OK!'” he told Buzzfeed.
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24. The Long Island Lolita
Joel gets an Amy Fischer card in his “Murderers Killers and Psychos” pack. Fischer, known as the Long Island Lolita, shot her lover’s wife, Mary Jo Buttafuoco. She served seven years in prison and was paroled in 1999. Ironically, Fischer never actually killed anyone.
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25. Deja vu
The cop in this scene is played by Nathan Lane, an actor who you probably recognize from various movies and shows over the years. However, you might not know that Lane eventually played another Addams Family role: He starred as Gomez himself in the 2009 stage play The Addams Family: A New Musical.
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26. Always a day away
Among Sound of Music and The Brady Bunch, the kids are also forced to watch the classic musical Annie in the Harmony Hut. It’s an interesting choice, considering that the 1982 film was directed by John Huston–Anjelica Huston’s father.
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27. A lawyer? Not in my house
Gomez laments the fact that, as Granny predicts, Pubert might someday become a lawyer if the family isn’t reunited. This is ironic given that, in the original 1960s show, Gomez was a retired lawyer.
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28. Killer choreographer
AFV’s dance numbers were choreographed by Adam Shankman, who has directed, produced, and consulted on countless projects since, from the Step Up franchise to 2002’s A Walk to Remember. That’s why “Eat Me” is so damn good.
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29. Monk ho!
The chief Manly Sailor here is played by Tony Shalhoub, who would go on to star in the popular USA Network procedural Monk.
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30. Christina Ricci was not into this kiss
According to David Krumholtz, who played Joel Glicker, Ricci was freaked out by his awkward teenage mustache (invisible as it may appear on film). “I remember Christina complaining that I had peach fuzz on my upper-lip. She didn’t like that. And that made me really self-conscious,” he told Buzzfeed. Later, Ricci told THR that although their romance was awkward, she and David got along great, thanks in part to their mutual love of sarcasm.
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31. Amanda’s final scene originally wasn’t in the movie
According to Mercedes McNab, they had to add the brief shot of Amanda on the plane home with her family, because test audiences had been concerned that Wednesday had actually killed her during the play. “They didn’t want kids watching the movie to think that because that obviously doesn’t really look too good for them to be out there killing off children, no matter how awful the child is,” the actress told Buzzfeed.
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32. There’s a Back to the Future reference here
The line “Dementia, what a beautiful name” can be viewed as a reference to Doc Brown’s line in Back to the Future 3, “Clara, what a beautiful name.” Of course, both the Doc and uncle Fester were played by Christopher Lloyd.
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33. This is another horror reference
The shot of Debbie’s undead hand shooting up out of the ground to shock Joel is an homage to the 1976 classic horror film Carrie.
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34. Whoomp there Itt is
The credits song is a remix of the chart-topping one hit wonder Tag Team’s Whoomp! (There It Is). The new version incorporated elements of the original Addams Family theme song, along with new lyrics, and was called “Addams Family (Whoomp!)” Christina Ricci and Jimmy Workman appeared in the music video. In 1994, the year following the film’s release, Adams Family (Whoomp!) won the Razzie Award for worst original song.
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35. Box office woes
Finally, although critics praised the sequel, it was less warmly received by the movie-going populace. It made around $49 million at the box office, well shy of the original’s $113 million. Since then, however, it’s become a cult favorite for ’90s kids–especially around Thanksgiving.
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