Author: Trafficblast

The Mandalorian is set to return in October. It has been announced that Season 2 of the acclaimed Star Wars TV show will start streaming on Disney+ from Friday, October 30.

The news was confirmed by Disney+ in a new tweet. We’ve yet to see any footage or images from the new season, and the tweet only displays the shows’s familiar logo. But is exciting to think the new season is only a few weeks away. Check it out below.

While many upcoming shows have been delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, production on The Mandalorian Season 2 was already complete by the time much of Hollywood shut down in March. Jon Favreau returns as showrunner, with Pedro Pascal back in the title role. Other returning cast members include Gina Carano (Cara Dune), Carl Weathers (Greef), and Giancarlo Esposito (Moff Gideon).

In terms of the new cast, Terminator and Aliens star Michael Biehn will reportedly play a bounty hunter, while it is rumored that Rosario Dawson might appear as fan-favorite character Ahsoka Tano, who first appeared in the animated movie and show The Clone Wars.

For more, check out GameSpot’s guide to everything we know so far about The Mandalorian Season 2.

Though it’s technically been out for a few months, finding the Amazon-exclusive TurboGrafx-16 Mini in stock for list price hasn’t been easy. The mini console’s North American release was delayed earlier this year due to the coronavirus pandemic before finally releasing in limited quantities in May. For those who have wanted to scoop one up, the TurboGrafx-16 Mini is available to order at Amazon for $100.

$100

Amazon isn’t expecting a new batch of consoles until September 14, but you can order now and get one by September 16 with two-day Prime shipping. The console is loaded with 57 TurboGrafx and PC Engine games, with a heavy preference toward shooters and platformers. It comes with one wired controller, an HDMI cable, and a microUSB cable (you’ll need to use your own outlet adapter).

The TurboGrafx-16 Mini includes several can’t-miss classics like Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, Bonk’s Revenge, Ninja Spirit, Ys Book 1 & 2, and Neutopia. In our TurboGrafx-16 Mini review, tech commerce editor Mat Paget praised the big library of games and the console’s authentic design. “Being able to experience these classic titles in one convenient place–and witness M2’s charming, nostalgic presentation–makes the TurboGrafx-16 Mini an exciting device that does a great job of capturing the past of a console that should not be forgotten,” Paget wrote.

Since the console supports multiplayer for up to five users, you may want to grab some extra controllers and a multitap to add support for more than two players. 8Bitdo’s wireless TurboGrafx-16 Mini controllers are a great option, and they are available at Amazon for $25 each. Meanwhile, you can grab a multitap for $30 if you want more than just two-player support.

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Destiny 2: Beyond Light will introduce three new sub-classes when it launches in November, with each power-up focusing on assisting other players and controlling the flow of combat. Hunters can access the Revenant sub-class and Titans can tap into the power of Behemoths, while Warlocks will be able to channel the Stasis energies of Shadebinders.

Bungie revealed in a blog post more details on the new Warlock subclass, which specializes in the art of immobilizing enemies and then shattering them with Stasis energy. Warlocks can also wield a Stasis staff that fires energy projectiles or get up close and personal with enemies, freezing them in place with Penumbral Blast melee attacks.

Stasis sub-classes will also have an exclusive benefit in the form of Aspects and Fragments. Aspects are class-specific physical items that can be slotted into your inventory. Once equipped, Aspects will unlock new abilities, that can also be freely mixed and matched. Fragments, which aren’t locked to specific classes, can be added to these Aspects and offer passive perks at the cost of a stat penalty.

How Aspects and Fragments can be combined, will be up to players. One example that Bungie described was the Frostpulse Aspect, which augments a Warlock Rift ability, freezing any enemies who come into range. Frostpulse can also be further augmented, such as with the Whisper of Refraction Fragment. Once it has been added, Warlock guardians will then replenish some of their class ability energy whenever an enemy is shattered in combat. The cost of using this second Fragment is a slight reduction in Intellect and Discipline.

Xbox Game Pass subscribers will be able to add Beyond Light to their collection in November, along with the Forsaken and Shadowkeep expansions. Announced yesterday alongside several other games that’ll arrive in September, the Game Pass additions don’t have a final release date for when they’ll land on Microsoft’s subscription service other than “soon”.

Early last year, Samsung announced the original Samsung Galaxy Z Fold with an eye-watering $1980 price tag. Now that the Fold 2 has been announced, Samsung has rounded up, selling the second edition of its folding phone for an even $2000 (well, $1999 to be precise).

The device was revealed at the recent Unpacked Part 2 event, as detailed by GameSpot sister site CNET, after first being announced at last month’s event alongside the Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra. The new phone includes a number of improvements on its predecessor, including an improved hinge design and display, as well as the addition of 5G functionality.

While $2000 is a lot for a phone, rivaling the price of a decent gaming PC, it’s not as bad as it could be, as CNET points out. When compared to the price of last year’s Galaxy Z Fold, the new edition is only $20 more expensive, and includes some decent upgrades. The Fold 2 is a refinement on the original, addressing most of the concerns raised by early adopters of the first model.

Still, it seems like the Fold 2 is still destined to be a novelty for those few who can afford it, between its high price tag and dubious functionality. The more traditional phones just announced by Samsung include the Galaxy Note 20, which retails for $1000, and the $1300 Galaxy Note 20 Ultra–still a high price for a piece of tech, but far more reasonable.

The Galaxy Z Fold 2 is available to pre-order now if you have $2000 to drop on a phone, while the Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra are already available for sale.

Black Panther director Ryan Coogler has written a tribute to his friend Chadwick Boseman, who passed away last Friday after a private battle with cancer. In a statement posted on Marvel.com, Coogler reminisces on his work with Boseman, and how the T’Challa actor brought so much to the film above and beyond what would be expected.

In particular, Coogler reveals that one of the film’s most striking lines was suggested by Boseman–not for his own character, but for Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger. “In early drafts of the script, [Erik] Killmonger’s character would ask T’Challa to be buried in Wakanda,” Coogler explained. “Chad challenged that and asked, ‘What if Killmonger asked to be buried somewhere else?'” In the finished film, Killmonger says “just bury me in the ocean with my ancestors who jumped from ships, ’cause they knew death was better than bondage.”

Throughout the whole process, Boseman put a lot of thought and effort into the film, not just for what it was, but for what it would come to represent. “We would often speak about heritage and what it means to be African,” Coogler said. “When preparing for the film, he would ponder every decision, every choice, not just for how it would reflect on himself, but how those choices could reverberate.”

“We talked costumes, military practices,” Coogler added. “He said to me, ‘Wakandans have to dance during the coronations. If they just stand there with spears, what separates them from Romans?'”

Every step of the way, Boseman put the time in–including on Captain America: Civil War, before Coogler even came on the scene. Boseman even turned up for auditions for the film’s supporting roles, something Coogler reveals is “not common for lead actors in big budget movies.”

Tributes to Chadwick Boseman have flooded in since his sudden passing last week, including by his Black Panther co-star Michael B. Jordan, the developers of Marvel’s Avengers, and even Fortnite players have gathered to remember him.

The Sims 4 is getting a new Star Wars expansion, Journey to Batuu, which will take your Sims to a galaxy far, far away. We’ve already seen many of the additions coming with the expansion, including lightsabers, droids, and Stormtroopers, but now a new trailer has shown off how it’ll play, and what will make the experience unique beyond the aesthetics.

The trailer below shows off the game’s Star Wars-style missions, where you pick a side (there’s the resistance, the First Order, and the “scoundrels”) and complete tasks. The trailer shows the player meeting an informant at a catina, but compared to, say, The Mandalorian’s equivalent scenes, it’s pretty light.

The trailer also shows how you can choose and build a droid, and gives us a preview of some remixed versions of various pieces of Star Wars music.

Both Rey and Kylo Ren will feature in the expansion–and, of course, you can make and use your own lightsaber. Your reputation can grow, and you can meet other Star Wars characters along the way.

The Sims 4 Star Wars: Journey to Batuu is available September 8. You can pre-order it now.

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The Seattle-based mobile and social game developer Big Fish has laid off 250 people just one day after courts ordered the studio to pay $155 million from multiple class-action suits. The two matters are not connected, management says.

Geekwire obtained a memo from Big Fish’s co-president Andrew Pedersen and Jason Willig, who said the cuts were part of the company’s ambition to “strengthen our business and position Big Fish for long-term success.” The executives said they are making the cuts as Big Fish enjoys a “position of financial strength,” adding that cost-cutting is “the primary driver behind the changes.”

Pedersen and Willig said in their memo to say that succeeding as a multiplatform publisher of mobile games at scale “requires greater agility and different operating and creative capabilities.”

With the job cuts, Big Fish is “pivoting how we operate and sharpening focus.” They added: “We will gain increased flexibility to engage players more effectively today and invest more for the future.”

Big Fish is said to employ around 600 people, so the job losses affect close to half of staffers. It’s not immediately clear which departments were impacted, but Geekwire said the majority of the job losses came at the company’s main headquarters in Seattle, and not the second studio in Oakland, California.

The site also reported that these substantial job losses are not related to the class-action lawsuits that Big Fish is facing regarding claims of violating Washington state laws about online gambling. As mentioned, Big Fish was recently preliminarily ordered to pay $155 million as part of the lawsuits, which remain ongoing and not yet finalized.

The lawsuits are related to the game Big Fish Casino, which is alleged to represent illegal online gambling based on Washington state’s laws.

Churchill Downs, the horseracing company that operates the Kentucky Derby, acquired Big Fish in 2014 for $885 million, before selling the studio to Australian gambling company Aristocrat in 2018. Geekwire reports that Churchill is on the hook to pay $124 million in the settlement, with Aristocrat picking up the balance of $31 million.

Big Fish Games is perhaps best known for Big Fish Casino, but the company makes numerous games across a variety of genres such as match-three, adventure, puzzle, and strategy. The company partnered with Disney for the game Toy Story Drop, a free-to-play match-three puzzle game.