Author: Trafficblast

After the release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, DC fans are backing a new social media campaign to #RestoreTheSnyderVerse.

DiscussingFilm announced that the hashtag to “Restore the SnyderVerse” hit a major milestone when it was spotted trending worldwide with over one million tweets calling for Warner Bros. to allow Snyder to finish his DC Extended Universe plan. More SnyderVerse supporters joined the movement in the aftermath of Snyder’s Justice League, which debuted on HBO Max on March 18, 2021.

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The Snyder cut itself was released after a legion of fans coalesced into an online collective that, ultimately, a major motion picture studio could not ignore, resulting, in part, with the studio giving them exactly what they demanded by greenlighting Snyder’s version of Justice League, the movie he began but which Joss Whedon finished after Snyder left the project.

As many DC fans already know, the planned Justice League trilogy is no longer happening, even though the newly released Snyder cut ends on a massive cliffhanger. Snyder has already explained why the film sets up a direct sequel that is now not likely to happen, despite having ideas on how the potential trilogy could have ended with a shock new superhero, and much, much more.

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Plot rumors about Snyder’s Justice League 2 have circulated for years, with Kevin Smith claiming the sequel would have seen the superheroes traveling to Apokolips to confront Darkseid. There was even chatter the second film would have ended on a downbeat note in the vein of Empire Strikes Back, while a third and final film would have been the final end battle between the Justice League and Darkseid.

For now, though, we have four hours of Snyder’s Justice League to sit and dissect, with extended fight scenes, a different aspect ratio, new character designs, and deleted scenes to examine. IGN has put together a breakdown of how the new iteration of the film differs from Whedon’s theatrical version of Justice League from 2017, including how much of the film is presented in slow motion.

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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

After years of development, Hazelights’s follow-up to A Way Out is here and it’s getting very good reviews across the board. To help you get a quick snapshot of the review scores, we’re rounding up excerpts from a variety of publications.

Written and directed by Josef Fares, It Takes Two tells the story of Cody and May, a struggling couple going through a divorce. Through magic, their child turns them into dolls and they are transported to a fantastical world where they must solve puzzles together to escape and re-forge their relationship.

The game can only be played in co-op, but every copy comes with a Friend’s Pass that allows anyone to play the entirety of the game for free with someone who owns the game. Additionally, there is a Friend’s Pass Free Trial, separate from the main game, that allows you to play the first level of the game at no cost (except for Xbox Live Gold or PlayStation Plus if you’re playing online).

• Game: It Takes Two
• Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox Series X, PC
• Developer: Hazelight
• Publisher: Electronic Arts
• Release Date: March 26
• Price: $40 USD

GameSpot — 9/10

“It Takes Two is the best 3D platformer I’ve played since Super Mario Odyssey, and like that game, it has a flair for variety. You may ride a frog or fly a plane with wings made from Cody’s boxers or hack-and-slash through a Diablo-style castle. Despite the downright wild amount of things to do, It Takes Two manages to handle every mechanic well. This is the second release from Hazelight, and while A Way Out had plenty of fans, it seems that it may just take two to make a thing go quite this right.” — Andrew King [Full review]

IGN — 9/10

“It Takes Two is a spectacular co-op adventure that lays down a path of great gameplay ideas and uses it to play a giddy game of hopscotch. It’s beautiful, breakneck-paced, and bubbling over with creativity, and playfulness and experimentation are rewarded at every turn. If you have any kind of co-op partner in your life, be they spouse, friend, sibling, or other (even a child, though the themes might be too mature for them), It Takes Two is a truly joyful trip you really need to take together.” — Tristan Ogilvie [Full review]

Polygon — No Score

“Most big-budget games could use an editor to trim away the unnecessary bits that seem to exist to pad the length of the adventure and justify the price on the box. It Takes Two would benefit from a similar trim, requiring a more experienced writer to fix the weak narrative and dialogue, alongside a producer to make the tough choices of which segments of the game are fun versus those that are downright dull. Without that edit, the game feels unbalanced, like a solo performed by a singer going on one too many runs, unaware that the audience has shifted from entertained to annoyed.” — Chris Plante and Russ Frushtick [Full review]

Eurogamer — Reccomended

“If you can swat the story away to the background, and consider it a slightly ill-chosen set-up for an adventure, then there’s a lot about It Takes Two to enjoy. This is a rare kind of co-op experience, with an energy and imagination and playfulness that sometimes rivals Nintendo’s. As a toy, it can be a joy, and it will create some co-op moments to remember.” — Robert Purchese [Full review]

GamesRadar — 5/5

It Takes Two is a unique experience that makes the most of what it means to offer truly co-operative gameplay. Your relationship with whoever you’re playing with is just as important as that of May and Cody, as you’ll get nowhere without robust communication and teamwork. But its blend of reality and fantasy is also refreshingly different, especially within a framework that offers the kind of unique gameplay that never stops surprising.” — Sam Loveridge [Full review]

VG247 — 5/5

“Honestly, It Takes Two is one of the most pleasant surprises in video games I’ve ever had. I went in more or less expecting a fairly gimmick-laden brief but fun escapade, but it’s so much more than that. This is a game that I would recommend to anyone who longs for the kind of no-holds-barred childlike fantasy so common in the 80s but seems less common today. If that is you, don’t sleep on this real gem.” — Tom Orry [Full review]

The developers of STALKER 2 have offered an update on the much-anticipated game with a new diary video, which comes shortly before the game was scheduled to appear at the ID@Xbox Showcase.

Rather than show a full new trailer, the team at GSC Game World opted to give an up-close look at some of the models you’ll see in the game. These include costumes, and the boots you can see near the beginning of the video are impeccably detailed. There is texture on everything, ranging from worn leather on the sides to fabric on the straps. The characters themselves look fairly terrifying, waging war in a nuclear-apocalyptic environment while wearing huge gas masks.

There will be several different factions in STALKER 2, each fighting for dominance and furthering their own ideologies. Because of the time that has passed, there are more factions this time around.

There are more than 30 different weapons to use in the game, as well, with modifications to choose from. If you’ve played the Metro games, this should sound familiar–those games were essentially spiritual successors to the original STALKER, albeit with an enormous conflict wiping out much of humanity rather than a nuclear power disaster.

STALKER 2 doesn’t have a firm release date yet, but it’s planned for Xbox Series X|S and PC. The game will launch on Xbox Game Pass at the same time.

Fortnite’s The Foundation is getting its own action figure. Hasbro revealed the first of The Seven in action figure form, which will arrive in April 2022.

Hasbro’s Fortnite The Foundation: Zero Crisis Edition is inspired by the character which was introduced in Fortnite: Chapter 2, Season 6. Retailing for $40, the figure is available exclusively at Hasbro Pulse and you can preorder it there, a year before the figure comes out. Check some images of The Foundation below.

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This is the first character from The Seven to be included in the Victory Royale Series line. The figure comes with the ‘Brella Glider and a unique Back Bling. Additionally, it features package design that is exclusive to The Seven.

The news comes one month after Hasbro and Epic Games extended their contract, which in turn will mean more Hasbro Fortnite products for consumers. So you can expect more Fortnite figures, Nerf blasters, and more in the near future from Hasbro. And speaking of Foundation, there’s actually an interesting theory out there that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is voicing the character.

New information about 2021’s Call of Duty game have been revealed ahead of an official announcement, including a return to a World War II setting and more. Eurogamer backed up Modern Warzone’s report that claimed 2021’s game is coming from Sledgehammer Games, the studio behind 2017’s Call of Duty: WWII.

According to Eurogamer, the game is called Call of Duty: Vanguard. Modern Warzone reported that this may be a placeholder name, but Eurogamer said the current plan is to call in Vanguard, though the site also acknowledged this could change.

What’s more, the report says Vanguard–or whatever the new game is called–will take place in a “traditional WWII setting.” This contrasts Modern Warzone’s report that the game takes place–at least in part–in an “alternate timeline” where WWII did not end in 1945.

Neither Modern Warzone nor Eurogamer said where their information came from, beyond unnamed sources who indicated the information to be accurate.

It would be no surprise to learn that Sledgehammer is developing 2021’s Call of Duty, as the studio historically releases new Call of Duty titles on odd-numbered years, except for 2014, when it shipped Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.

2017’s Call of Duty: WWII brought the series back to the historical period and changed up the gameplay in a major way. It brought the series back to basics after 2016’s Infinite Warfare, which was set in the future and featured all manner of futuristic warfare technologies and systems.

Activision management has said 2021’s Call of Duty game–whatever it is–will not sell as well as Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. But that’s nothing unusual or unexpected, especially given that 2020 was a banner year for games due in part to the pandemic, which in turn will make comparisons with this year’s game difficult to match. Also, Black Ops is a well-established and fan favorite sub-brand that historically performs very well.

The new Call of Duty game from Sledgehammer, if it is indeed real, will be made under new leadership. 2017’s Call of Duty: WWII was led by co-game directors Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey, both of whom have since left Activision. Condrey now heads up the new 2K studio 31st Union, while Schofield’s new studio Striking Distance is making a horror game called The Callisto Protocol.

Another big unanswered question is how 2021’s Call of Duty will be incorporated into the battle royale game Warzone. Activision has said Warzone is the connective tissue that will tie together future Call of Duty premium games, and this is expected to continue.

In April, it’s believed that a nuke will go off inside Warzone and re-launch the map with a new theme focused on 2020’s Black Ops Cold War. After that, Activision might change the Warzone map again in 2022 based on 2021’s Call of Duty game, or it might not, according to VGC.

GameSpot has contacted Activision in an attempt to clarify the latest rumors and reports about this year’s Call of Duty game.

PureArts has announced a new Resident Evil 2 statue that is impressive in how gross it is. The 1:1 scale “Licker” bust has been announced as part of the Resident Evil 25th anniversary festivities. Limited to 100 units, the statue sells for $900, and it’s very horrifying to look at.

Created with what looks like a very fine attention to detail, the Licker statue is modeled after the creature from Resident Evil 2. “Razor-sharp tongue, vicious claws, and never-ending hunger for flesh… Lickers are one of the most disturbing creatures you can ever imagine encountering,” reads a line from its description.

The Licker has an exposed brain and no skin–it also has a very long and horrible-looking tongue that is truly a sight to behold. You can see more of the creature and the bust in the video above.

The tongue, uhh, borderlines on NSFW, so keep that in mind if you’re looking at this video or the numerous product shots here in a public place.

In other news about Resident Evil, Jill Valentine recently came to Rainbow Six Siege in the game’s latest crossover event, while Capcom has confirmed that the beta for Resident Evil Re: Verse will begin in April.

Beyond that, Capcom is planning a Resident Evil Showcase event for April where it will divulge more news and details about various developments across the franchise. A Resident Evil reboot movie is also on the way, and we recently learned it’s called Welcome to Raccoon City.