Author: Trafficblast

Another DCEU veteran is joining the cast of Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Fresh off the news that Jared Leto’s Joker is being added to The Snyder Cut, Collider reports Joe Manganiello will be reprising the role of Deathstroke.

As with Joker, it’s unclear how extensively Deathstroke will factor into the plot. However, Collider’s source confirms Manganiello is specifically taking part in the current round of reshoots and Snyder won’t simply be reusing existing footage of the character from the theatrical cut.

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Manganiello’s Deathstroke originally appeared in Justice League’s post-credits sequence, where he was recruited by Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor to join the Injustice League. We previously speculated Snyder might be expanding on that scene by adding Leto’s Joker to the mix, and this casting news may lend further credence to that theory.

Prior to Justice League, Manganiello’s Deathstroke also appeared in a quick test shoot for an unknown project. Deathstroke was expected to be the main villain of The Batman, back when that project was still slated to star Ben Affleck’s version of the Dark Knight. However, with The Batman now becoming a full-fledged reboot starring Robert Pattinson, it’s unclear where or even if Manganiello will play Deathstroke again.

The Raid: Redemption’s Gareth Evans is also rumored to be directing a solo Deathstroke movie. Here’s what we think the Deathstroke movie needs to succeed.

Deathstroke did recently star in his own animated movie. Check out the trailer for Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons below:

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Zack Snyder’s Justice League is a four-part limited series exclusive to HBO Max, with a release date planned for some point in 2021. Snyder revealed the first trailer for his version of the movie at DC FanDome, while also teasing some of the new scenes will involve The Flash using time travel.

How do you want to see Deathstroke utilized in The Snyder Cut? Let us know in the comments below.

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

The Acer Nitro 5 is a budget gaming laptop that starts at $580 and can cost as much as $1,200. The wide-ranging Nitro 5 series offers models with 15.6- or 17.3-inch displays powered by AMD or Intel processors with GeForce GTX or RTX graphics. We reviewed a $670 model available at Best Buy and were surprised to find how capable the machine was for such a low price.

This 15.6-inch laptop features an AMD Ryzen 5 CPU, 8GB of memory, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 graphics card. As with any budget laptop, it forces you to make a few sacrifices but offers performance that matches or exceeds that of higher-priced budget gaming laptops.

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Here are the specifications of the $670 Acer Nitro 5 laptop I am evaluating:

• Model: Acer Nitro 5 (NH.Q9GAA.001)
• Display: 15.6-inch IPS 60Hz Full HD (1920×1080)
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 4600H at 3.0GHz (up to 4.0GHz, 8MB cache)
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 (4GB)
• Memory: 8GB DDR4
• OS: Windows 10 Home
• Storage: 256GB PCIe SSD
• Webcam: 720p
• Ports: 3 x USB 3.2, 1 x USB-C 3.2, 1 x HDMI 2.0, 1 x Ethernet, 1 x audio out
• Connectivity: 802.11ax, Bluetooth 5.0
• Dimensions: 14.3 x 10 x 0.9 inches (WxDxH)
• Weight: 4.8 pounds
• Price: $669.99

Acer Nitro 5 — Design and Features

With its aggressive red accents and tapered corners, the Acer Nitro 5 looks the part of a gaming laptop. The all-plastic enclosure comprises matte and glossy surfaces. The bottom panel and screen bezels have a matte finish, and the lid and wrist rest below the keyboard feature glossy finishes that are magnets for fingerprints. The red accents can be found on the letters and side edges of the keys, a narrow border framing the touchpad, and a sculpted plastic piece on the back edge of the laptop.

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What really takes the red accents to the next level and marks the Nitro 5 as nothing but a gaming laptop is the four-level keyboard backlighting. It’s very bright at its top brightness level, and the red glow lends a menacing appearance to the laptop.

Another gaming-centric design element is the outlining used for WASD and arrow keys. These keys feel and respond like the other keys but the red accents and a nub on the W key give gamers a quick reference point for the keys they use the most. A special key above the number pad that launches Acer’s NitroSense utility is also highlighted.

The keyboard creates a comfortable typing experience, with responsive keys that are quiet when pressed but not mushy. My only complaint is the right Shift key was shortened to accommodate the dedicated number pad, but it’s the only key forced to make such a sacrifice. The four arrow keys are full size, which is more important to gamers than a Shift key.

The touchpad integrates the mouse buttons and is roomy and responsive. It’s a bit too firm when clicking the touchpad, but I’d argue it’s better to be too firm than feel flimsy and wobbly.

The 15.6-inch, non-touch, IPS display features a crisp 1,920×1,080 resolution and a 60Hz refresh rate. A glossy screen coating may have allowed colors to pop more. The matte finish means you don’t suffer from glare and reflections on the screen, but colors appeared to be somewhat dull and muted. Rated at 300 nits, the display gets fairly bright but is still better suited for a darkened den or basement than, say, a sunny kitchen table. Still, it did look a bit brighter than the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i’s display.

Likewise, the Nitro 5’s 2-watt stereo speakers offer slightly bigger sound than the 1.5-watt speakers on the IdeaPad Gaming 3i. Still, gamers and music listeners will want to keep a set of headphones within reach. The sound output is not dynamic, with little separation between mid and high frequencies and a weak bass response.

Above the display sits a 720p webcam, and it is not good at all. The image is incredibly pixelated, and there’s no privacy cover.

The Nitro 5 is bulkier and heavier than the IdeaPad Gaming 3i, but neither would make a suitable laptop for daily commutes. At 14.3 inches wide by 10 inches deep and 0.9 inches thick, the Nitro 5 is a hair thinner than the IdeaPad, but wider and deeper. The Nitro 5 forces you to carry around a few extra ounces, weighing 4.8 pounds to the 4.5-pound Gaming 3i.

The Nitro 5 offers a useful selection of ports: a pair of USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, a mic/headphone combo jack, and an Ethernet jack sit on the left side, while on the right, you’ll find an HDMI 2.0 port, a USB 3.2 Type-C port and a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port. The power connect is centered on the back edge of the laptop. (A word on the changing and confusing USB terminology: USB 3.2 Gen 1 was formerly known as USB 3.1 Gen 1 and offers speed up to 5 Gbps. USB 3.2 Gen 2 was formerly known as USB 3.1 Gen 2 and supports speeds up 10 Gbps.)

Remove 11 small screws and you can pop off the bottom panel to find memory and storage expansion options. There is an open DIMM slot to expand the laptop’s memory, and there’s also a free 2.5-inch SATA drive bay to add a hard drive to expand the laptop’s storage capacity beyond our test system’s 256GB SSD. The IdeaPad Gaming 3i has the edge on expansion options; in addition to a free DIMM slot and 2.5-inch drive bay, it also offers a free M.2 connector for adding a second PCIe SSD.

Acer Nitro 5 — Performance and Gaming

Our Acer Nitro 5 test system features the AMD Ryzen 5 4600H processor, 8GB RAM, a 256GB SSD, and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 graphics. The Ryzen 5 4600H CPU offers six cores and 12 processing threads with a core frequency of 3.0GHz and a Max Boost frequency of 4.0GHz. The GeForce GTX 1650 is a low-end GPU from Nvidia’s previous-generation of graphics processors with 4GB of VRAM that lacks support for real-time tracing you get from current GeForce RTX GPUs.

For comparison, I pitted Nitro 5’s benchmark performance against that of another budget gaming laptop, the $880 Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3i. It features the same GeForce GTX 1650 GPU and 8GB of RAM but uses an Intel Core i7-10750H, which has the same number of cores and threads as the Nitro 5’s Ryzen 5 4600H chip but features a slower base frequency (2.6GHz) but a higher max frequency (5GHz).

These two budget gamers traded punches throughout testing, but the Nitro 5 has the advantage where it matters most: 3D graphics performance. The Nitro 5 was a step behind the IdeaPad Gaming 3i on PCMark 10 but was the better of the two with 3DMark. On our gaming benchmarks, the Nitro 5 was slower on the Heaven benchmark but posted betters framerates than the IdeaPad in Borderlands 3, Total War: Three Kingdoms, and Metro Exodus.

I also played Fortnite and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, two less graphically demanding games that are better fits for a budget GPU. At 1080p, I was able to run at 60-65 fps on Fortnite with settings at Epic, and routinely hit 140 fps on CS:GO with High settings. Those framerates are both better than what I experienced with the IdeaPad Gaming 3i. Both budget systems deliver playable, full-screen framerates, but the Nitro 5 does so while costing significantly less than the IdeaPad Gaming 3i.

Acer Nitro 5 — Battery Life

The Nitro 5 also has a significant edge in battery life. It ran for 9 hours 40 minutes on PCMark’s battery test while the IdeaPad Gaming 3i lasted for only 5 hours 32 minutes.

Acer Nitro 5 — Software

The Nitro 5 is not loaded with bloatware, which is appreciated when storage capacity is at premium. Our test system’s 256GB SSD doesn’t leave much room for anything resembling a local game library. A game or two? Sure. A library of installed games? Not unless you add a second drive.

Acer includes its own NitroSense utility that provides basic controls and will likely not be opened too frequently. You can adjust the speed of the cooling fans, switching from the default Auto setting to Max or Custom. On Max, the fans run at full blast and are very loud. And if Max isn’t enough, you can engage CoolBoost, which increases the speed at which the fans can spin on Auto mode.

NitroSense also provides a large area where you can monitor the CPU and GPU, and there’s a small panel that provides access to Windows power plans for running on battery or AC power. In settings, there’s a toggle switch for turning off the keyboard backlighting after 30 seconds or letting them stay on continually. Next to the gear icon for settings is an icon for changing audio modes for Shooter, RPG, Strategy games among other pursuits, but I wasn’t able to hear much of the difference between the various modes.

The fans sound like jet engines when fully engaged, so I would caution against running them in Max mode unless the system is really heating up. Since you are likely to just keep the fan control setting at Auto, the most useful tool in NitroSense is the keyboard backlight setting. And even that is lacking.

I would like to set it so the keyboard backlights turn off after 30 seconds when running on battery power, and I’d like them to remain illuminated when running on AC power. The setting, however, allows for only one option and doesn’t let you set it differently for battery and AC power. There are, of course, function keys that let you turn the keyboard backlights on and off and choose one of its four brightness levels.

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Acer Nitro 5 — Purchasing Guide

The Acer Nitro 5 is available at its list price of $670 at Amazon and Best Buy.

Welcome back to Game Scoop!, IGN’s weekly video game talk show. This week your Omega Cops — Daemon Hatfield, Tina Amini, Sam Claiborn, and Justin Davis — are discussing the big advancements of this console generation, a “new” Fire Emblem, British retro gaming, and so much more. The music in this episode is from Super Castlevania IV and Symphony of the Night. Watch the video above or hit the link below to your favorite podcast service.

Listen on:

Apple Podcasts

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Find previous episodes here!

The latest issue of Marvel’s X-Men comic just changed everything we thought we know about longtime mutant villain Apocalypse. The powerhouse bad guy has enacted numerous evil plans over the years that all stem from his “survival of the fittest” mantra, and while he has often touted various philosophical reasons for why the weak must perish so the strong can survive, we now know the real reason that ideology means so much to him in the first place.

Before we get into the big reveal, it’s important to know that the X-Men’s current status quo is quite different from what you may be used to. Currently, all mutants live together on the mutant island nation of Krakoa. This includes all villainous mutants, who were given a pardon by Charles Xavier, so now Apocalypse is not only an ally of the X-Men but he sits on their governing council and is a key player in the future of mutantkind.

If you want to know more, this video recaps everything you need to know about the current state of the X-Men:

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Now, let’s dig into the big news about Apocalypse.

Warning: beware of full spoilers for X-Men #13, the entire X of Swords event, and pretty much every X-Men comic from the past 40 years!

The New Origin of Apocalypse

The origin of Apocalypse has undergone major changes since writer Jonathan Hickman kicked off his X-Men run in 2019, and now the ongoing X of Swords crossover event by Hickman and Tini Howard puts Apocalypse front and center to reveal his true beginnings. Apocalypse was originally styled as a diabolical mutant from ancient Egypt who went on to become a tyrant bent on world domination, and all of that still stands, but this new era of X-Men fleshes him out with a richer and more nuanced backstory.

As it turns out, back in ancient times Apocalypse was actually a defender of Earth who battled all sorts of monstrous foes to keep it safe. Fighting alongside him was a wife we never knew he had named Genesis, a powerful mutant with the ability to manipulate plant life. The couple had four children with incredible powers of their own, who went on to become the first iteration of Apocalypse’s Four Horsemen. Together, this family ruled over and defended the mutant island nation Okkara.

Everything changed when Apocalypse and his family were drawn into a war to stop demons invading Earth from another dimension called Amenth. The demons’ leader Annihilation used a weapon called the Twilight Sword to strike Okkara in two, with the half named Arakko falling into the dark dimension and Krakoa remaining on the earthly realm. The two armies fought to a standstill and eventually met to parley, and the result was Annihilation offering to end the conflict in exchange for a show of strength from the mutants.

Ultimately, Genesis stepped forward, volunteering herself and her children to travel into the dark dimension to stand guard on Arakko, sealing the breach behind them. Apocalypse said he wanted to join her, but she denied him, speaking the words that would go on to define one of Marvel’s greatest villains: “And yet, we both know you can’t, my love. You’re not strong enough.”

Genesis charged Apocalypse with staying behind and using the time their sacrifice would buy to make the world strong enough to stand against their demonic enemies. “Judge them,” Genesis said. “So that they–that you–become what we need. See that only the fittest remain.” And with that, Apocalypse was left alone, sad, and traumatically motivated to toughen up the world by whatever means necessary.

A New Perspective on Apocalypse

With this revelation, we can look back on all of Apocalypse’s evil schemes in a new light. Obviously this is quite the big retcon, and some stories fit into this new context better than others, but ultimately what this fundamental change offers is an emotional reason for Apocalypse’s fanatical devotion to extreme Social Darwinism.

Every plan he’s ever hatched while preaching that “survival of the fittest” mantra was done in tribute to his one true love and his lost family. And while Apocalypse clearly went way too far time and time again, we now know that he was secretly acting with the world’s best interest in mind. It was his personal mission to make the world strong enough to repel the demons when they inevitably invaded again.

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This isn’t to say that Apocalypse is now retroactively redeemed and absolved of his countless sins. All that blood is still on his big blue hands, but now we have a greater understanding of why he would go to such great lengths to change the world.

He was told he was weak, and everything he’s done since that moment was done in service of becoming strong–and making the world strong–so the loss of his loved ones wouldn’t be in vain. But given how he went about it, it’s clear that Apocalypse overcompensated for his own weakness by becoming a monster. In classic tragic villain fashion, he became a threat to the very world he had pledged to protect.

The Future of Apocalypse

This Apocalypse history lesson came in X-Men #13 by Hickman and artists Mahmud Asrar and Sunny Gho, which is the tenth chapter in the X of Swords crossover event. The event kicked off when, you guessed it, the breach in dimensions opened back up and the denizens of Arakko returned. Only, when Apocalypse was reunited with his children, they turned on him and tried to kill him. Apocalypse managed to escape with grievous wounds, leaving the X-Men to stand up to the invaders of Arakko.

Rather than engage in an all-out war, the controller of the nexus of reality Saturnyne staged a contest where the 10 best sword fighters from each side would duke it out to decide a winner. Kind of like a Mortal Kombat tournament.

Apocalypse was one of the chosen combatants, but he wasn’t exactly in fighting shape after being attacked, so the X-Men’s healers set to work on fixing him. We saw Apocalypse in a rare state, shrieking in pain with tears streaming down his face. And it was in this vulnerable state that En Sabah Nur finally revealed his tragic backstory — and why he must be strong.

With Apocalypse recovered, he set out to reclaim his fearsome sword The Scarab from an ancient Egyptian pyramid, and now he’s poised to fight in the contest, so we’ll finally get to see if he’s strong enough.

If you want to hop into this x-citing Marvel event, check out our guide on everything you need to know to read X of Swords.

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Joshua is a Senior Editor and Producer of Features at IGN. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Star Wars are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.

The Suicide Squad director James Gunn has just given fans a closer look at the DC movie’s full roster.

Gunn tweeted out the cover image to the December 2020 issue of Empire magazine, which features the entire ensemble cast gathered together:

Gunn teases the new issue (which is due out on Thursday, October 29) will feature more new images from the film, along with some revealing interviews with various cast members.

As revealed at DC FanDome in August, The Suicide Squad’s cast includes Idris Elba as Bloodsport, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag, John Cena as Peacemaker, Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man, Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher II, Steve Agee as King Shark (mo-cap) and John Economos, Sean Gunn as Weasel (mo-cap), Flula Borg as Javelin, Nathan Fillion as TDK, Peter Capaldi as The Thinker, Pete Davidson as Blackguard, Alice Braga as Solsoria, Mayling Ng as Mongal and Michael Rooker as Savant.

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Nearly all of those characters are showcased on the Empire cover. Strangely, Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller is MIA, which could suggest Waller has a smaller role in The Suicide Squad than its predecessor. Or maybe Waller would just seem too normal amid a sea of flamboyantly dressed D-List supervillains.

The Suicide Squad is currently scheduled to his theaters on August 6, 2021. But as with so many theatrical releases these days, it remains to be seen how the COVID-19 pandemic will impact that schedule. We’ve already seen Warner Bros. push back the release dates for Wonder Woman 1984 and The Batman multiple times.

The Suicide Squad is also getting an HBO Max spinoff series focused on John Cena’s Peacemaker. We’ll have to see if Empire’s cover story reveals anything new about that project.

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

The PlayStation 5’s faceplates will be removable, and while Sony has yet to announce any plans to release official variations of the standard white color, a third-party company has already created and put some up for pre-order that are set to ship on or before PS5’s release date of November 12, 2020.

PlateStation 5, who is “not affiliated in any way with Sony, PlayStation, or the PlayStation 5 brand,” is offering five new faceplate options for new PS5 and PS5 Digital Edition owners, including Cherry Red, Chromatic, Indigo Blue, Jungle Camo, and Limited Edition V1 Matte Black.

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Each faceplate retails for $39.99, and the team behind PlateStation 5 has said that this site was “born out of the single desire to create a Matte Black custom faceplate, simply because we believes it was what the PS5 community deserved.”

As they were building it out, the community and their partnering manufactures inspired them to make the other options as well.

Sony gave us our best look at the removable faceplates with its PS5 teardown video, and this new aspect of the PS5 have many wondering if/when Sony will offer other official options and what this will mean for limited edition consoles.

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The PlayStation 5 will be released on November 12, 2020, and will launch alongside such games as Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Demon’s Souls, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, and much more.

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Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Sorry Mindhunter fans: a third season of David Fincher’s Netflix crime drama is looking unlikely after the director says a new season is likely not something Netflix will want to pursue due to cost and viewership.

Speaking to Vulture about his latest movie, Mank, director David Fincher said Mindhunter is probably over. He explained to Vulture that the process of making Mindhunter was exhausting and that for the viewership the show had, it was too expensive — likely too expensive for a third season to receive a green light.

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“I think probably,” Fincher told Vulture when asked if he thought the show was done. “Listen, for the viewership that it had, it was an expensive show. We talked about, ‘Finish Mank and then see how you feel,’ but I honestly don’t think we’re going to be able to do it for less than I did season two. And on some level, you have to be realistic about dollars have to equal eyeballs.”

He also told Vulture that making Mindhunter, or at least season two of it, was exhausting. Fincher said the first season of the show was completed without a showrunner, “with me pinch-hitting on a week-by-week basis.” When the director received scripts for season two, he didn’t like what was written so the scripts were tossed and an assistant director he’d worked with before, Courtenay Miles, was brought in as co-showrunner for the second season.

“But it’s a 90-hour workweek,” Fincher said, telling Vulture Mindhunter was a lot for him. “It absorbs everything in your life. When I got done, I was pretty exhausted, and I said, ‘I don’t know if I have it in me right now to break season three.”

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Between the exhaustion and financial challenge of a possible third season, Fincher seems to believe a season three isn’t in the cards. This doesn’t come as a major surprise as back in January, cast members were released from their contracts with Netflix.

If you haven’t yet watched Mindhunter, read our thoughts on the first season in our Mindhunter Season 1 review and then check out our thoughts on the second season in our Mindhunter Season 2 review. Be sure to check out all of the serial killers featured in the show’s second season and who played them after that.

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Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.