Author: Trafficblast

Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox consoles, the Xbox Series X and S, arrive this November, accompanied by a healthy lineup of games, useful features like Xbox Smart Delivery, and attractive services like Game Pass. You may already have your eye on a few launch titles like Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla or Yakuza: Like A Dragon for 2020, but there are also going to be some heavy hitters coming to the Xbox Series X|S in 2021.

In the video above, we highlight nine new games that you can play on the Xbox Series X or S in 2021. A few of these titles aren’t 100% confirmed for 2021 launches just yet, but could surprise us, so we wanted to mention them just in case. The line-up features Xbox staples like Halo Infinite as well as long awaited sequels like Psychonauts 2, Resident Evil Village, and more.

Among the titles that could surprise us with 2021 launches, there’s Everwild, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, and Unknown 9: Awakening, all of which got fans excited for their arrival with memorable cinematic trailers. You can see these titles and more in our video.

The Xbox Series X and S will launch on November 10th. The Series X will cost $500, while the S will retail for $300. You can learn more in our Xbox Series X and S preorder guide.

Genshin Impact is a free-to-play action RPG available for PS4, PC, and both Android and iOS devices. The game has managed to make a splash in the traditionally crowded fall season thanks in part to its The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild-looking visuals and world.

In the video above, Max Blumenthal takes on one of Genshin Impact’s mini-bosses. In Genshin Impact, you play with a party of up to four characters, each of whom have control of the element of ice, fire, water, wind, electricity, or earth.

Genshin Impact has its detractors, largely because the game is driven by gacha mechanics. Gacha games are a lot like games that revolve around loot boxes in that they encourage players to use real-world money to buy in-game currency, which can then be spent to receive a random virtual item–in most cases (like Genshin Impact), a new character.

In the time we’ve spent with Genshin Impact, the game doesn’t seem to lean too hard on its gacha mechanics. They are still there, but you can still largely succeed at the game and unlock new characters without inputting your credit card information. So if the gameplay above appeals to you, you’ll be okay at least trying out the game without dropping any cash.

Idris Elba (Thor, The Wire) and John Cena (The Suicide Squad, WWE) will be teaming up on a new project for Amazon Studios, according to Deadline. The film sees the pair working together in another post Suicide Squad movie.

The new movie, tentatively titled Heads of State is a “’90s style two-hander, a high-octane premise that has a bit of Air Force One meets Hobbs and Shaw, bringing together an odd couple in a high-stakes situation.” Otherwise, details are still scarce about the show and the deal, which reportedly was closed before the pitching process with executives was even finished.

The new movie is the result of a collaboration between screenwriter Harrison Query (Three Musketeers, War Party) and producers Peter Safran and John Rickard. Query also is working with Netflix on My Wife And I Bought A Ranch, a horror short story adapted from Reddit posts.

Meanwhile, Elba recently teased a hopeful future for another one of his projects, Luther. Elba said that while there are no “formal plans” for a sixth season of the gritty BBC crime drama series, he’s “made it very clear that I’d like to see Luther come back as a film… I can tell you this, that we are this close to making a film of Luther.”

Cena, who teams with Elba in James Gunn’s upcoming The Suicide Squad, said his role of Peacemaker in that movie will be a “douchey Captain America.” The Suicide Squad movie is currently slated for a 2021 release, and Cena’s Peacemaker character is already due to get a spin-off show from James Gunn.

Taking place after the events of Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Squadrons sees the freshly formed New Republic face off against the now emperor-less Galactic Empire. You take control of two pilots, both on opposing sides of the conflict, and fly for the Republic’s Vanguard Squadron and Empire’s Titan Squadron. Both in-between and during missions, you’ll hear quite a few names and references that the game never explores or explains. To help you out, we’ve thrown together a quick glossary of people and places you’ll hear about in Squadron’s campaign.

As a quick heads-up, you don’t need to know all of the following information to understand Squadron’s campaign. A vast majority of the main characters are original creations that developer Motive made specifically for the game. But these are still just cool Easter eggs that are fun to know. Plus, we need the smallest of excuses to flex our knowledge of Star Wars’ expanded universe.

Alphabet Squadron

Alphabet Squadron was first introduced in the 2019 Star Wars novel of the same name. The group is one of the first of its kind, a squadron composed of different types of ships. Previous rebel squadrons were primarily solely composed of one type of ship, whether X-Wing, Y-Wing, B-Wing, U-Wing, A-Wing, etc. But Alphabet Squadron is made up of all the letters.

Overseen by New Republic general Hera Syndulla, Alphabet Squadron tackles missions that no other squadron can–as their diverse assortment of ships allow them to handle everything from bombing runs to starfighter dogfights and everything in-between. Squadron’s Vanguard Squadron seems to be inspired from Alphabet Squadron, as it’s also composed of different starfighters.

Dragon Void Race

The Dragon Void Race is described as one of the oldest competitions in the Star Wars galaxy. It sees pilots have to fly between three predetermined planets, with the planets acting as mandatory pit stops for refueling. The race was first mentioned in 2016’s Star Wars: Han Solo, a comic book series.

Hera Syndulla

Daughter of Clone Wars hero General Cham Syndulla, Hera Syndulla is one of the earliest leaders of the Rebellion. She led a rebel cell composed of former Jedi (and her lover) Kanan Jarrus, his padawan Ezra Bridger, Mandalorian warrior Sabine Wren, Lasat survivor Garazeb Orrelios, and astromech droid Chopper, and succeeded in an insurgency on Lothal during the events of Star Wars: Rebels.

Hera would go on to become a general for the Rebellion, her new title is first mentioned during Star Wars: Rogue One. We actually see her as a general in Star Wars: Squadrons, now overseeing a secret project for the New Republic. Hera is one of the best pilots in the galaxy–her personal ship, the Ghost, was introduced during Rebels and seen again in both Rogue One and The Rise of Skywalker.

Iden Versio

An Imperial special forces commando and commander of Inferno Squad, Iden Versio was a Galactic Empire loyalist until she learned of the purpose of Operation: Cinder, a secret project to be enacted in the wake of the Emperor’s death. Iden went on to join the Rebellion, marry her crewmate, have a daughter, and help shape the New Republic. Her story is told in Star Wars Battlefront II, which seems to roughly take place at the same time as Star Wars: Squadrons.

Mimban

Mimban is a swamp planet and home to the Mimbanese (that’s the species of alien that Gunny is). The planet was largely ignored by the rest of the galaxy until the first year of the Clone Wars, when the Separatists learned that Mimban is an excellent source for mining. As heard in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the Republic sent the 224th, nicknamed the Mud Jumpers, to defend the Mimban. Years later, the 224th would return to Mimban as Imperial invaders to mine the planet’s resources. The planet was first mentioned in The Clone Wars Season 1, Episode 5 “Rookies” and first appeared in Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Mirial

Mirial is the home planet of the Mirialans (that’s the species of alien that Keo is), though there’s not much known about it. Other pieces of Star Wars media refer to the planet as cold and dry, which is likely why the planet was largely ignored throughout both The Clone Wars and Galactic Civil War–the planet doesn’t provide any significant military advantage.

Mon Calamari

Mon Calamari, or Mon Cala for short, is a planet that’s primarily composed of oceans. It’s home to both the Mon Calamari and Quarren. Mon Cala was a hotbed during both the Clone Wars and Galactic Civil War, appearing as the location for battles in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith, and Star Wars: Squadrons.

Pazaak

Pazaak is a card game that’s basically Star Wars’ version of blackjack (the rules are different but the gist of both games are largely the same). Only, instead of trying to get as close to 21 without going over, in pazaak you’re aiming for 20. Though it’s been mentioned in plenty of different pieces of Star Wars media, it wasn’t until BioWare’s RPG, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, that we got to see the game in action.

Rae Sloane

Though she did not command Darth Vader’s respect like Tarkin, nor possess a powerful intellect like Thrawn, Rae Sloane clawed her way up to the top of the Imperial military hierarchy all the same. One of the Imperial survivors of the battle of Endor, Sloane remained composed even in the death of the Emperor. Her ability to calmly command even in grave situations, impressive military record, and ruthless strategies impressed the remains of Imperial command, and Sloane was ultimately promoted to Grand Admiral and leader of the Empire’s entire fleet.

Grand Admiral Sloane would go on to lead several successful campaigns and became a prominent leader within the First Order. She also took a young Armitage Hux under her wing, and the man would take her teachings to go on and become the power-hungry antagonist that serves directly under Kylo Ren in The Force Awakens. Despite her role largely being directorial and behind the scenes, Sloane’s influence is felt throughout the Star Wars saga post-Return of the Jedi, including Battlefront II.

Skystrike Academy

The Skystrike Academy is one of the most prestigious Imperial starfighter flight schools–it’s where the Empire’s best TIE pilots learned how to fly. In Squadrons, Wedge mentions his time there, but you’ll have to watch Star Wars: Rebels in order to actually see it.

Thrawn

Mitth’raw’nuruodo, or more commonly known as Thrawn, is one of the most infamous antagonists in the Star Wars universe–and one of the most popular amongst fans. One of the few alien officers in the Galactic Empire (tldr: Emperor Palpatine is super xenophobic and used the monstrosity of General Grievous as a means of perpetuating the idea of aliens being barbaric, and that’s why pretty much only humans hold important positions in the Empire), Thrawn is a brilliant tactician who rose through the ranks to become a grand admiral.

Though most of Thrawn’s best stories are no longer canon, the character is a prominent and terrifying threat in Star Wars: Rebels. If Ezra Bridger hadn’t found a way to get rid of Thrawn, arguably the biggest threat to the Rebellion following the Emperor and Darth Vader, the rebels may have failed to stop the Empire. The New Republic is pretty lucky that Thrawn isn’t around in Squadrons–dealing with Terisa Kerrill and Titan Squadron is hard enough.

Wedge Antilles

First seen in A New Hope, Wedge Antilles flies alongside Luke Skywalker in Red Squadron against the first Death Star during the Battle of Yavin. He and Luke are the only two members of their squad to survive. Wedge would go on to join Rogue Squadron, who participated in the Battle of Hoth during The Empire Strikes Back. Wedge would continue to fight for the Rebellion and then for the New Republic for quite a while, including fighting alongside Vanguard Squadron in Star Wars: Squadrons.

Not always a freedom fighter, Wedge originally learned how to pilot a starfighter by attending the Imperial Skystrike Academy. As seen in Star Wars: Rebels, Wedge was able to leave the academy with the help of Sabine Wren, another former Imperial turned rebel who was a part of the cell led by Hera Syndulla. His escape from the Imperials can be seen in Rebels Season 3, Episode 4 “The Antilles Extraction.”

Yrica Quell

Yrica Quell joined the Imperial Military in hopes of learning valuable knowledge and combat skills that she could take with her when she ultimately defected to the Rebellion. But then she grew to care for her Imperial colleagues and saw goodness in the Empire that the Rebellion propaganda hadn’t mentioned, convincing her to stay. Years later however, like Iden Versio, she grew disillusioned with the Empire upon seeing it resort to Operation: Cinder, and decided to join the Rebellion.

Under General Hera Syndulla, Quell would go on to lead Alphabet Squadron–their first mission was the pursuit and destruction of the 204th Imperial Fighter Wing, Quell’s squadron when she flew for the Empire. Quell would continue to fight the Empire as a starfighter pilot for the New Republic–she’s regarded as one of the best pilots in the galaxy.

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Beloved actor Rick Moranis has been out of the spotlight in recent years, but he’s now back in the news after he was assaulted on the streets of New York. Fortunately, Moranis is said to be okay after the attack–although the internet is quite mad on his behalf.

On Thursday morning, at 7:30 AM on Central Park West near 70th Street in New York City, the 67-year-old actor was attacked by an unknown assailant. CrimeStoppers posted footage of the incident and the suspect walking from the assault.

A representative for Moranis has stated that the actor is doing “fine.” THR reports that the comedy icon went to the hospital with pain in his head, back, and hip before going to a station to report the crime. “He is fine but grateful for everyone’s thoughts and well wishes,” the rep said.

Moranis unofficially retired in 1997 after his wife died of cancer to take care of their children, though he recently came out of retirement to star in a commercial for mobile provider Mint with fellow Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds. He also made an appearance in Disney+’s Prop Culture in the Honey, I Shrunk The Kids-centric episode, but for the most part, Moranis has shied away from big public roles.

Twitter users have been posting messages in support of the Spaceballs and Ghostbusters star–with some humorous results.

Following stock issues for both the RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 launches, Nvidia has decided to delay the launch of its most affordable new graphics card, the RTX 3070, to the end of October.

In a blog post, the company explained that it was pushing back the launch so that more cards could be available for purchase when listings go live. The RTX 3070 will now only go on sale on October 29, two weeks later than its original release date. The card is the cheapest of the new RTX 30 Series line, with Nvidia saying it will match RTX 2080 Ti performance for just $500.

The new date is a curious one, however, given its proximity to AMD’s reveal of its new GPUs. The company is set to finally unveil its RDNA 2 GPUs, nicknamed Big Navi, the day before, making the RTX 3070’s new launch date a possible limelight-stealing affair. That’s especially true if AMD reveals performance metrics and pricing that Nvidia’s card can rival, although we’ll have to wait for AMD to share more to know for sure.

Both the RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 are blisteringly fast GPUs that are nearly impossible to find in stock, especially if you’re looking for Nvidia’s Founder’s Edition models with its innovative cooling solution. The RTX 3080 is a worthwhile upgrade to wait for, as critic Michael Higham explained in our RTX 3080 review, saying, “The RTX 3080 is a powerful video card with big generational jumps, especially when considering its $700 MSRP.”

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