New Wasteland 3 Dev Diary Talks Plot, Villians, And God-President Reagan

Those who have been waiting for an update on Wasteland 3 will be glad to know that InXile Entertainment has released a new Dev Diary with details on the game’s world, characters, and more.

This is the second dev diary for Wasteland 3 after the first dropped on publisher Deep Silver’s official YouTube channel last week. While that particular video focused on character creation and combat in the tactical RPG, yesterday’s dev diary release has a bigger focus on the narrative.

InXile’s studio head, Brian Fargo, spoke briefly about Wasteland 3’s relationship with the previous titles in the series, describing the protagonists’ start in this third installment as involving working with “the new patriarch of Colorado who’s an authoritarian”.

In the Dev Diary, senior writer Nathan Long noted that one pertinent consideration for the narrative team was their goal of giving Wasteland 3 the same “flavour, moral questions, pathos and humor” as Wasteland 2.

This manifests in the form of difficult life-and-death decisions, and Fargo was careful to note that the latest story’s focus would be much more personal than the usual broad-brush motif of heroes saving the world.

Fans of the Wasteland series will also get to learn a little bit more about other factions present in the game. There’s a cult who worships President Reagan (yes, but it’s God-President to all the infidels), a “lovable, corruptible bodyguard”, and all manner of odd characters bumbling about the deadly landscape rife with killer robots.

This latest Dev Diary promises more than your average amount of drama and satire, and it’ll be interesting to see how the full game plays when it launches on August 28 this year on Steam.

Now Playing: Wasteland 3 – Patriarch Of Colorado Gameplay Trailer

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

Xbox Series X: Phil Spencer Says You Haven’t Understood The True Power Of Next-Gen Yet

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has acknowledged that it’s been challenging to demonstrate the true leap that the Xbox Series X will provide over the Xbox One. In Reggie’s new podcast, Spencer said one of the most defining characteristics of next-gen games is how they “feel” with faster and more stable frame rates.

It’s not possible to demonstrate this with videos, Spencer said. And with physical events canceled or postponed due to COVID-19, Microsoft is facing a new dilemma in trying to communicate the appeal of faster frame rates. This is a new challenge, Spencer said, because for previous console transitions throughout history, the power of new systems was immediately apparent with better graphics.

“One of the things I’ve talked about publicly … but it’s hard to come across, is the way it feels to play games on a box where frame rates are higher, frame rates are more stable,” Spencer said. “The fluidity of it, showing that in video form, is just impossible. How do you show how something feels?”

He added: “We’re getting to the point where the immersion feel that you get through fluidity and other things is now up to par with the visual capabilities that we have. How do you share that with people in this kind of world?”

Spencer said he is optimistic about being able to put the Xbox Series X in front of consumers at some point in the future before launch to help them understand the appeal of the new system. But it’s unlikely to happen soon due to government restrictions around social-distancing.

“The feel relative to previous console generations will be something people remark positively about,” Spencer said.

The Xbox Series X is technically capable of delivering frame rates of up to 120 FPS, but developers will ultimately get to decide what works best in terms of the balance between visuals and frame rate.

Also in the interview, Spencer reiterated that he expects the Xbox Series X launch to go forward as planned this holiday. He said his teams are doing an “amazing job” during a challenging environment.

“We had another hardware review. We did that this week. Our supply chain, we feel good about the hardware side. It feels like we’ll be able to get enough units. We’re pretty committed to a worldwide launch which regretfully we didn’t do with Xbox One,” Spencer said.

The software for the Xbox Series X is also “making good progress,” Spencer said. He added that game development is also moving along, but with some interruption.

“Games are making good progress. The collaborative nature of game development and the scale of game development today,” Spencer said. “Any of the functions that require physical collaboration–things like motion capture, things like symphonic capture–those kinds of things, some of that is put on hold. On the games side, things that are pre content-complete might be impacted more than things that are post content-complete.”

The COVID-19 crisis has led to changes in Microsoft’s policies. For example, Spencer pointed out that third-party developers are now allowed to take their Xbox Series X development kits home–this would not have been allowed under previous circumstances.

Finally, Spencer also spoke about the rebuilding process within the Xbox team. The Xbox One launch in 2013 was marred by controversial policies and a $100 higher price point than the rival PS4. This contributed to Microsoft coming up short against Sony in the previous console generation. Spencer took over as Head of Xbox in 2015, and things seem to be on a better path for the Series X launch this year.

“The team had lost trust in the leadership … the leadership capability and the commitment of the company to this category and our decision-making,” Spencer recalled. “Rebuilding that inside the company was important and it takes time.”

The Talking Games With Reggie and Harold podcast is a charity campaign to raise money to give scholarships and provide other help to students in New York. People who donate can get access to an auction where they can bid on a many special items, including an Xbox Series X signed by Spencer.

Now Playing: Microsoft’s Secret Weapon For Next-Gen Is Xbox Game Pass

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare And Warzone Are Having A Double XP Weekend To Farewell Season 3

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and the free-to-play battle royale spin-off Call of Duty: Warzone, will be offering double XP over this coming weekend. This will also signify the end of Season 3, which will wrap up at the same time this bonus ends.

The Double XP weekend, announced in the latest Call of Duty briefing, will run from Friday, May 29 at 10AM PT until June 1 at 10 AM PT. You’ll also be earning Double Weapon XP and Double Battle Pass tier progression over this weekend.

This will give you a bit of a boost if you need to hit tier 100 in the Season 3 Battle Pass, which will unlock Alex’s Indomitable skin. It’s also a good reason to jump back in if you’ve been away from Modern Warfare for a while and check out the newly added maps.

Season 4 of Modern Warfare/Warzone is rumored to include series stalwart Captain Price as an operator. Meanwhile, Warzone seems to be teasing the next Call of Duty game, which is probably Black Ops: Cold War.

Now Playing: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare – Season 3 Opening Cinematic

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

Mortal Kombat 11 Aftermath – Every Friendship

Mortal Kombat 11’s next expansion, Aftermath, is out now. It features a new cinematic story, three new fighters–Sheeva, Fujin, and RoboCop–and three more skin packs launching over time. Also featured in the new expansion are more “Friendships,” which are the non-violent finishing moves that are nothing like the franchise’s better known Fatalities and Brutalities.

In this GameSpot video, we take a look at every character’s Friendship–and they’re pretty great. We won’t spoil the surprise for you, so be sure to check out the full video to see what they are.

Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath is out now for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. The expansion costs $40 USD.

A Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Reboot Series Is In The Works At Amazon

Amazon is working on a new series based on Lisbeth Salander, the character that originated in Stieg Larsson’s book The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. A report on Variety outlines plans for a new series on Amazon’s streaming service, which will not be a direct adaptation or continuation of the previous books or films.

According to the report, the new series will feature a new setting, characters, and story, separate from those written by Stieg Larsson and David Lagercrantz (who has continued the book series, as Larsson died before the first three books were published). It’s not clear whether the series’ other main character, Mikael Blomkvist, will feature.

No writer or actor has been attached yet, but the series will be executive produced by Andy Harries (Outlander, The Crown) and Rob Bullock (The Night Manager).

No writer or lead actress is currently attached to the series. Andy Harries, founder and CEO of Left Bank Pictures, will executive produce along with Rob Bullock. Amazon Studios and Left Bank will produce in association with Sony Pictures Television.

The character of Lisbeth Salander has been played by three actors previously–Noomi Rapace in the original Swedish trilogy, Rooney Mara in David Fincher’s 2011 adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and Claire Foy in 2018’s The Girl in the Spider’s Web, which was a financial flop.

Amazon has several other major series in the works, including a Lord of the Rings series.

Now Playing: The 17 Biggest Movies To Watch In 2020

The Movie Tom Cruise Is Filming In Space Will Reunite Him With Edge Of Tomorrow Director

Action movie star Tom Cruise is going to film a movie in space with the support and help of NASA and Elon Musk’s SpaceX, and now more details about the film have come to light.

The movie will be directed by Doug Liman, who previously directed Cruise in Edge of Tomorrow and American Made. Deadline reports that Cruise and Liman came up with their idea for a movie in space together, and Liman wrote the first draft of the script.

Cruise, Liman, and others will travel to space to film the movie through a partnership with NASA, which contracts SpaceX for space travel.

There is no word yet on the plot of the space movie or its title, but Deadline reports that Liman and Cruise are optimistic that the movie will be made “in the very near future.”

Cruise is known for performing his own stunts and taking things to the next level, and he’s really going after it in a new way with this new space movie.

Cruise’s next big movie is Top Gun: Maverick, which was delayed to December due to COVID-19. Cruise wanted to fly an actual F-18 fighter jet in the movie, but the Navy said no.

Now Playing: Best Shows And Movies To Stream For May 2020 – Netflix, Hulu, Shudder, Amazon Prime Video

Tenet Director Christopher Nolan Reveals That His Film’s Plane Crash Is Very Real

Christopher Nolan is a director who is given a lot of leeway over the projects he’s allowed to make within the Hollywood studio system, and the latest news about his upcoming movie, Tenet, serves as a great example of this.

In the latest cover story for Total Film magazine (as summarized on Gamesradar), for a scene involving a plane crashing into a hangar–which is alluded to in the film’s second trailer–Nolan decided that the best way to get the stunt on film was to simply buy a Boeing 747 and then crash it.

Nolan says in the interview that he originally “planned to do it using miniatures and set-piece builds and a combination of visual effects and all the rest,” but once he calculated costs, he decided that it would “be more efficient” to buy and crash a real plane on camera.

Nolan calls his decision “a kind of impulse buying,” but says that it all worked out. “Scott Fisher, our special-effects supervisor, and Nathan Crowley, the production designer, figur(ed) out how to pull off this big sequence in camera. It was a very exciting thing to be a part of.”

Tenet has an estimated budget of $205 million–an enormous figure for a non-franchise film. It stars John David Washington (BlacKkKlansmen), Elizabeth Debicki (Widows) and Robert Pattinson (who recently gave an amazing interview about Tenet, The Batman, and his ill-fated ideas for a new pasta restaurant).

Tenet is due to release–in cinemas, despite the current global pandemic–on July 17, 2020.

Now Playing: Fortnite – Tenet Trailer Revealed In Party Royale (Live Event)

Summit1G, Dakotaz And JoshOG Have Signed New Contracts With Twitch

In another swathe of streamer signings for video giant Twitch, three of the platform’s most popular variety streamers have entered into multi-year exclusive deals involving content and partnership support. Summit1G, Dakotaz, and JoshOG follow the likes of DrLupo, honored at last year’s Game Awards, in committing to using Twitch as their only streaming platform for the duration of their deals.

Summit1G, whose real name is Jaryd Lazar, has been streaming with Twitch since 2013 according to his channel, while Brett “Dakotaz” Hoffman has been broadcasting Fortnite gameplay to an audience of 4.3 million followers.

Both Hoffman and Lazar have enjoyed fame on Twitch while streaming multiplayer games, and are full-time streamers according to the Washington Post.

With no shortage of competitors to Twitch (which is owned by Amazon) popping up, including Mixer and Facebook Gaming (to name a few), the bidding war for online talent has been fierce.

While popular streamer, Richard “Ninja” Blevins was reportedly wooed by Mixer to the tune of over $20 million for his own exclusivity contract with the platform, the figures behind Summit1G, Dakotaz and JoshOG’s contracts have not been disclosed by the parties involved.

In the meantime, Twitch isn’t just offering a place for you to watch your favorite streamers play games. From today, Twitch Prime subscribers can claim seven free SNK games including legacy titles like The King of Fighters 2000, Fatal Fury Special, and more. This giveaway is in celebration of NEOGEO arcade’s 30th anniversary, and there will be a number of SNK games available via Twitch Prime for free over the course of the summer.

Ghost Of Tsushima Developer Confirms That Your Horse Is Invincible And Won’t Break Your Heart

In Sony’s upcoming PlayStation 4 exclusive, Ghost of Tsushima, horseback riding is very important. It’s the most efficient way to get around the map, the developers say. And now, they have also confirmed one very important detail about your horse–it cannot die.

“Your horse is not gonna die,” Sucker Punch creative director Jason Connell told USGamer. “Your horse will get scared and run away. You may not be able to bring them back for a brief, brief moment, but nobody’s gonna in combat, in gameplay, kill your horse.”

Animals play a part in Ghost of Tsushima, helping your character find shrines–but you can’t kill them. There is no hunting system in the game, Connell added.

“It kind of goes in theme with a lot of the other stuff we’re doing with nature. Our actor has a nice, sweet sensibility to him. He cares about animals and people, and it comes through in his performance,” Connell added.

Ghost of Tsushima is taking a very different approach to another game with horses, Red Dead Redemption II. In that title, your horse can die–and it’s very sad when it happens.

The horse won’t be the only animal that the game treats well–the developer has confirmed that you’ll also be able to pet the fox. Ghost of Tsushima releases on July 17 for PS4, following another high-profile PS4 game, The Last of Us: Part II, which launches on June 19.

For lots more on Ghost of Tsushima, check out GameSpot’s video above where we run down six interesting facts you might not know.

Now Playing: Ghost Of Tsushima – 6 Interesting Facts You May Not Know

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

Warcraft: 47 Easter Eggs From The Orcs Vs. Humans Movie You Forgot About

Warcraft: 47 Easter Eggs From The Orcs Vs. Humans Movie You Forgot About – GameSpot

“/>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

]]>

Disclosure: ViacomCBS is GameSpot’s parent company