Good news, comic fans: Right now you can load up on some terrific graphic novels for cheap. ComiXology is running a DC Starter Pack Sale that has discounts upwards of 50% on the first volumes of books like Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, 100 Bullets, Sandman, Y: The Last Man, Shazam, Suicide Squad, Scooby-Doo — you get the idea. You can check out the full sale here or scroll down for some of the highlights.
By the way, ComiXology Unlimited still has its extended free trial in place that gets you 60 days of unlimited access to over 25,000 comics. As you’re browsing the site, any book you see that has the “Unlimited” banner across the cover is free to read with ComiXology Unlimited. If you haven’t tried it before, you might as well give it a go. And if you’re wondering where to start, check out our lists of the best Venom and Batman comics on ComiXology Unlimited.
Dr. Jane Goodall is spending her days like most of the world right now: isolating at home. Despite usually traveling 300 days out of the year at the age of 86, Dr. Goodall is now becoming comfortable with being grounded at home – connecting with people online, preparing a “Jane” podcast, and continuing to spread her message of conservation to the world, including through a new documentary, Jane Goodall: The Hope.
The new documentary from National Geographic premieres today, on Earth Day and celebrates her legacy and 60 years of combined research and advocacy work with chimpanzees in Tanzania, along with how she spends her time now – outside of the forests. Dr. Goodall spoke with IGN about what has changed in her work over the past 60 years, our current global pandemic, and why she still has hope for future generations.
Dr. Goodall is largely known for her studies on chimpanzees in the wild – specifically her research on chimpanzees’ ability to create and use tools – which she began in 1960 at Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania. Her shift from chimpanzee research to wider conservation efforts came later, following a conference she helped put together at the Academy of Sciences in Chicago in 1986.
“When I began it was just me out there, but by ’86, there were six other field sites. And at that meeting, it was mostly to talk about chimp behavior and how it differed from one environment to another,” Dr. Goodall said. “But we had a session on conservation that was an absolute shock. Everywhere in Africa where people were, the forests were going, the chimp numbers were decreasing, and the bushmeat situation was opening up, and foreign logging companies were destroying forests and building roads and mining for gas, oil, and minerals, and with human populations growing, it was a grim picture.”
Photo credit: National Geographic Creative/ Hugo van Lawick
“So I went to that conference and had my Ph.D. by then, and I was, you know, thinking I could go to Gombe and study the chimps forever. And I left as an advocate. I didn’t make the decision. It was just something that happened.”
Focusing on her advocacy work over the past four decades, Dr. Goodall no longer spends her time studying chimps in the wild, as she says her job now is to help others see the importance of environmental and wildlife conservation.
“I’ve been going back twice a year for short visits (to Tanzania) and I will resume doing that. But it won’t be a longer one, because I know that’s not my job anymore,” Dr. Goodall explained. “What I’m doing now is my job, trying to wake people up to the fact that if we go on putting economic development over protecting the environment, that’s destroying humans’ future. We will become extinct if the globe continues heating up.”
Jane on Working With the ‘Bad Guys’
In the documentary, Dr. Goodall explains why she made the controversial decision to work with the oil company, Conoco, in the late ’80s to get a sanctuary built for chimpanzees in the Republic of the Congo. She was told it would “contaminate her image,” but she didn’t let that affect her decision.
“I started thinking about it very carefully when Conoco wanted to help. And I thought: I fly out on planes, I drive around in cars, I use electricity. And if I say I refuse to take money from a company that – at that time Conoco was way, way, way, greener than any other oil company, which is why in the end they let DuPont buy them because they couldn’t survive,” Dr. Goodall told IGN. “But, you know, if you work with a company that’s really putting a lot of money into alternative energy and posing the least harm to the environment, then how hypocritical to use their products, pay them money, but not let them pay any money to you. Because a few people will say, ‘How dare you take money from them, you’re condoning their practices.’ But we’re not; we’re helping them to get greener, quicker.”
With COVID-19 affecting the globe, including in less pollution as more countries have adopted shelter-in-place rules, Dr. Goodall hopes the awareness for wildlife and the planet will last but thinks more people may realize the negative outcome of humans coming in too close of contact with animals in certain situations.
“I fear that when the restrictions are lifted, it’ll be business as usual, plus to make up for lost time,” Dr. Goodall said. “We see the result of less pollution, wildlife is coming into city centers because it’s deserted, but I’d love to think it could last. It will wake some more people up. They might fight harder to reduce emissions and reduce pollution.
“But I think the real silver lining is more people will be understanding and will have to realize this pandemic is our fault, it’s been predicted, and it’s because we’re destroying the environment. Animals and people are getting in closer contacts, and factory farms and the meat market in China and Africa are really creating the conditions for viruses to jump from an animal to us. We’ve had these zoonosis’ before, with SARS, and MERS, and Swine Flu and all these other things. But we’re not learning from it and maybe this time we will,” Dr. Goodall said.
The Jane Goodall Institute, a non-profit founded in 1977 by Dr. Goodall, has programs in Africa looking after chimpanzees, in which, Dr. Goodall said she hopes they will have enough resources to keep the chimps protected from COVID-19, as they are able to contract the disease.
“We have got to desperately try and protect the chimps in Gombe, these famous chimps we’ve been studying for 60 years. And to do that, we have to get protective masks – and the staff in Gombe is being reduced to just two.”
Jane Goodall: The Hope, 60 Years Later
Dr. Goodall never imagined her life would take her where it has but says she’s proud of the work that has been accomplished over the past decades by so many people. The Jane Goodall Institute has programs to expand conservation efforts globally, including the Roots & Shoots organization that began in 1991 and is now in 65 countries, which encourages youth from kindergarten to university levels to work on projects involving people, animals, and the environment.
“It makes me feel very proud of all the amazing people who have been doing the research all these years,” Dr. Goodall said. “The wonderful Tanzanian field staff, the students, the fact that we’ve expanded to include 104 villages around Gombe national park, including their lives in the way they wanted.”
Photo Credit: National Geographic/Bill Wallauer
“And growing Roots & Shoots around the world. Hundreds of thousands of young people have gone through that program, and they retain the values, I think because we don’t tell them what to do, we just say you have to choose three projects – roll up your sleeves and get out there and take action. So they’re empowered.”
It’s programs like these that keep giving Dr. Goodall hope. “Everywhere I go, there are these groups of young people from kindergarten to university, and they are so excited to tell me what they’ve been doing to make the world better,” Dr. Goodall said.
“For the rest of my life, I’ll go on growing Roots & Shoots, fighting for better conditions for chimps and other creatures in research. Trying to make this a better world.”
Jane Goodall: The Hope premieres on April 22 on National Geographic channel. The film picks up following the 2017 documentary, Jane, which focused primarily on found footage from the National Geographic archives that was thought to be lost, of Goodall and her then photographer/filmmaker, and later husband, Hugo Van Lawick and their time in Gombe as she studied chimp behavior in the wild.
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Jessie Wade is Homepage Editor at IGN and the science-environment-wildlife lady. Follow her on twitter @jessieannwade for science, games, and movie goodness.
Grabbing an extra set of Joy-Con or a Pro controller for multiplayer on Switch isn’t cheap. Joy-Con typically cost $80 for a pair, while the Pro controller goes for $70. That adds up quickly, especially if you want to have three or four controllers. If you’re simply looking for an extra controller or two to have on hand for the occasional multiplayer session (or when your Pro controller is charging), GameStop’s current Deal of the Day features a solid wireless gamepad for a great price. Pre-owned PowerA Enhanced wireless controllers are discounted to $20 until the end of the day (April 22), which is $15 off its regular price.
PowerA’s Enhanced wireless controller is one of the best budget controllers for Switch. During our tests, we found them to be quite similar to the Pro controller–though they are a bit lighter. In addition to mirroring the Pro controller’s layout and ergonomics, they also have two programmable triggers on the back panel that can be mapped on the fly to fit your needs. Though the controller uses AA batteries for power, you can get about 30 hours of playtime before having to swap in new ones. Unfortunately, if you’re looking for NFC support for Amiibo or rumble, PowerA’s controllers lack both features.
While PowerA has a bunch of cool themed controllers celebrating Super Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, and more Nintendo franchises, GameStop’s Deal of the Day only includes the black controller with a red back panel. However, you can snag the hard-to-find (and adorable) Animal Crossing-themed PowerA controllers directly from the manufacturer right now.
It’s a good time to secure your Nintendo Switch online account. Not just because anytime is a good time to beef up your online security, but because Nintendo recommends taking a few extra security steps given recent reports of account breaches,. One common security measure Nintendo recommends is to set up 2-factor verification, but how?
With 2-factor verification enabled, you’ll need both your password and a unique code sent to your mobile device at the time of login. This way, even if your account password is compromised, a potential bad actor wouldn’t be able to obtain your unique code–and you’ll get an alert on your phone when someone tries. Fortunately, the process of signing up for two-step verification is simple.
First, sign in to your Nintendo account from a web browser, and then select “Sign-in and security settings.” Edit the Two-Step Verification settings and click the option to enable it, then submit. A confirmation will be sent to your email, and then you’ll just follow the on-screen prompts to scan a QR Code using the free Google Authenticator app. You’ll be given a one-time verification code to enable it, as well as a list of backup codes in case you ever need to access it without the Authenticator app. Be sure to copy those codes down and put them somewhere safe.
This is in addition to other common-sense steps you can take to protect your account, like not reusing passwords across sites, changing your passwords regularly, and making your passwords hard-to-guess alphanumeric strings of letters and numbers. A password manager can help detect reused passwords and set up reminders to change them, as well as generate secure alphanumeric passwords.
Nintendo confirmed that it is aware of reports of account breaches, which have been said to fraudulently purchase items like Fortnite V-Bucks.
Bleeding Edge, the new multiplayer game from Ninja Theory, is adding a new character soon, and all players will be able to access them for free. The new character is Mekko, a dolphin piloting a mech, and they’ll arrive in an update scheduled for the week beginning April 27.
Mekko–which is, of course, a mash-up of “mech” and “echo”, was delayed slightly so that the game’s development team could deal with other issues. But now the character is on track for release.
Mekko’s abilities have been outlined on the game’s website. The character will be able to connect a lifeline to an enemy and absorb a percentage of the damage aimed at them, and can grant allies armor and lifesteal. Its supers allow it to hit enemies with huge sonic blasts or trap them inside a bubble, preventing them from attacking.
Beyond its abilities, though, Mekko is definitely one of the most fun bits of character design in the game.
Alongside Mekko, the update will also introduce new unlockable emotes for all fighters, as well as the Techno Viking board to use.
Bleeding Edge is available for all Xbox Game Pass subscribers on Xbox One and PC. The game earned a 6/10 in GameSpot’s review.
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The developers of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds have released a new blog post outlining the company’s plans concerning their Anti-Cheat and performance plans for 2020. The blog mentions the developer’s roadmap and plans that are in place for the year, with the devs focusing on cracking down on hacking and cheating programs in use.
In order for PUBG to implement new countermeasures for these hacking and cheat programs, the developers are going to be creating a stronger monitoring and banning reliability, along with putting an emphasis on improving preventative measures.
The team has expanded the detection range of the anti-cheat system along with adding automatic analysis, toughening HWID bans, and bringing in stronger levels of bans to be more strict against accounts that have been suspected of using cheats.
Vulnerabilities in the code that the cheat programs target have been altered, with weapons, vehicles, and character movement codes all being rewritten to prevent manipulation. Two-factor authentication will also be added to the game, with an SMS and secondary authentication system linked to accounts in order to prevent account hacking and the trading of accounts online.
All of these anti-cheat measures are set to be applied in June after the developers have re-established the existing policy standards to reflect these changes.
In terms of the game’s functions, the developers will be making improvements to the performance, stability, and the network. The team is working on optimization of GPU performances by utilizing HLOD, introducing various check-up systems in game to monitor the game’s health, adding an automatic verification tool for enhancing manual verification methods, and fixing various issues due to memory loss that have caused crashes in the past.
Streamers may be happy to hear about the new optimization updates, with a number of improvements and issues being fixed for performance in regards to streaming PUBG. This includes fixing some stuttering issues, improving hitching issues caused by graphics loading and unloading, and an improved seek time to find content in the packages through pak file optimization.
Stability is still an issue for some players, with crashes in both lobby and during games keeping some players from enjoying the game. To help improve some of these issues, the developers have worked to utilize crash reports from users. The client crash report issues have mostly been occuring due to memory loss, so the developers have removed memory being unnecessarily used through continuous memory filing, prevented art resources from being used more than needed, optimized content loading methods in general through code refactoring, and preventing memory leakage through live profiling.
Microsoft appears to be setting the stage for another Xbox Series X reveal. On April 16, the company filed a new trademark application for the next-generation console that, among other things, included what appears to be the console’s logo.
The trademark application, which was filed with the United States Patent & Trademark Office–first noticed by users on Reddit–shows a logo that features a stylized X and the world “Series.” It’s possible that this is the logo that we’ll see on packaging or other marketing materials.
However, trademark applications are also known to be almost completely meaningless. For example, Activision trademarked Call of Duty: Secret Warfare and Space Warfare, and those never came to be. The difference here is that we know Xbox Series X is the name of the console, so it appears likely that this is the genuine article.
The trademark application also confirms that it covers all types of things, from a game console to bathrobes and even squeezeable stress balls. That’s common for these types of filings, as this trademark is meant to cover all types of different uses and applications.
Halo Infinite has been announced as a launch title for the console. By all accounts, that is still the case, but developer 343 Industries has also cautioned that the COVID-19 situation may get worse before it gets better. The developers are currently working from home.
The Xbox Series X may not be the only next-gen Xbox that Microsoft releases this year. The company is also said to be working on a lower-price next-gen Xbox under the codename Lockhart. Windows Central recently reported that this console is approaching a new development milestone, as workers begin to use the system at home for testing purposes. The same report said Microsoft may be planning to make more next-gen Xbox announcements in May.
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Ubisoft is making Monopoly Plus free to play this week on UPlay. The game will be free to promote people staying inside and having some form of entertainment during the COVID-19 crisis.
“With Monopoly, players will be able to enjoy the game they know and love on three unique 3D living boards. As players progress and invest, cities will live, evolve and prosper in front of their eyes,” said Ubisoft. “At the start of each game, players can choose from one of the six House Rules chosen by Monopoly fans from around the world or keep games short with the new Special Goals.”
To kick off the 10th anniversary of Danganronpa, we’re thrilled to announce that Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair AND Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony are coming to mobile devices. Look forward to more #DR_10th news! pic.twitter.com/lSuW6drX60
— Spike Chunsoft, Inc. (@SpikeChunsoft_e) April 21, 2020
While the news of the three ports was announced during the Famitsu and Dengeki Game Awards, the tweet confirms that the ports will be getting new UI and touch controls. There will also be a newly added gallery mode, where players can find concept art and event scenes from the series.
This is only the first announcement of the anniversary celebrations, with more news set to be released on the official website during May 2020. Spike Chunsoft will be hosting a Dangan TV Broadcast on the third Thursday of each month, with the character Megumi Ogata acting as the MC. Each broadcast is going to have a specific theme or tone, with the first broadcast on May 21 set to be themed “How I met Danganronpa”.
The mobile releases have no release date as of yet.
Over the years, we’ve learned about a long list of actors who turned down roles in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings series or had a connection to them, and now another name can be added to the list.
Mission Impossible actor Dougray Scott told NME that he was approached to play Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings, a role that eventually went to Viggo Mortensen.
Dougray said he declined to initiate a conversation about appearing in the movie because, after coming off Mission: Impossible 2, he was not thrilled with the idea of picking up his life and moving to New Zealand to shoot the epic fantasy movie trilogy. Jackson famously shot the three movies back-to-back-to-back over the course of multiple years. Dougray also specified that he was never officially offered the role, but he was sent the script to read and extended an invitation to meet with Jackson.
“They sent [the script] to me,” he said. “They wanted me to go meet Peter Jackson in New Zealand, but to be honest with you I’d just finished doing MI:2 and the idea of spending two years away in New Zealand I just couldn’t quite contemplate. The idea of spending that amount of time away in New Zealand at that particular time, I didn’t want to do.”
Dougray said he enjoyed The Lord of the Rings films, and he praised Mortensen specifically. He’s also not losing sleep at night over the matter. “I don’t have regrets about anything,” he said.
Jackson initially hired Stuart Townsend to play Aragorn in his Lord of the Rings trilogy. Townsend trained for the role and filmed some scenes before Jackson decided to make a change and bring in Mortensen.
Jackson was also said to be looking at Daniel Day-Lewis and Russell Crowe for Aragorn, while Nicolas Cage was offered the role but turned it down.
