The upcoming sci-fi thriller Chaos Walking has taken a long time to reach the screen. Principal photography on the adaptation of Patrick Ness’s acclaimed novel wrapped back in 2017, but extensive reshoots and clashing schedules meant the movie was delayed from its initial 2019 date. It finally arrives in January, and the first trailer has been released.
The trailer starts with a ship containing a woman named Viola, played by Daisy Ridley, crashing to Earth. But the world she finds is very different to the one we know–every woman on the planet is now dead, and the remaining men are able to hear each other’s thoughts. She teams up with a young man named Todd (Tom Holland) and embarks on a dangerous mission. It looks like familiar post-apocalyptic territory, but Ridley and Holland will hopefully make it worth watching. Check the trailer out below:
The movie also stars Mads Mikkelsen as the main villain, a tyrant named David Prentiss, plus Demián Bichir (Alien Covenant), Cynthia Erivo (Harriet), and singer Nick Jonas. It’s directed by Edge of Tomorrow’s Doug Liman, while Fede Álvarez (Don’t Breathe) was brought on to assist Liman with the reshoots in 2019.
In an interview with ComingSoon, Liman spoke about trying to make a post-apocalyptic movie that wasn’t as dark as other films in the genre. “One thing that was important to me about Chaos Walking is you cannot make a movie as nihilistic as Children of Men,” he said. “I want audiences to have a little more fun. I think that you can have a little more fun without losing substance.
“My world outlook is, like I said, I like more adventure. I am really interested in adventure and Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley might be in a very precarious situation in Chaos Walking, but they are going on one hell of an adventure. It may not be an adventure that either one of them signed up for, but it’s an adventure that I would want to go on.”
Nintendo has published a set of new guidelines informing businesses and organizations how they may use Animal Crossing: New Horizons as part of their operations. Among those rules is a request that businesses “refrain” from using the game for political purposes.
The full guidelines are split into two segments; permitted and prohibited activities. In the section covering things Nintendo wishes business to avoid, the company asks “Please refrain from using the Game inappropriately or creating any content within the Game that would be considered vulgar, discriminatory, or offensive. Please also refrain from bringing politics into the Game.”
The guidelines do not elaborate on what Nintendo means by ‘politics’, so it’s unclear if it refers purely to the use of Animal Crossing in reference to government politics, or if this applies to the wider social political landscape. It is possible that this specific clause has been created in response to the Joe Biden campaign in the recent US election, which hosted an island with information on the Biden Harris campaign and instructions on how to vote.
Nintendo has made it clear that it intends to take action against any business it deems to have broken these guidelines. “If we see your activity is not following these guidelines or is damaging or having bad influence on the community, we may ask you to stop such activity or usage of our contents, and take appropriate actions, including prohibiting your future business usage of the Game,” the company said.
As for what businesses can do with Animal Crossing, Nintendo stipulates that they may provide custom designs to other players provided they are not sold for financial gain, Dream Addresses may be sent to other players, island invites can be sent, and screenshots/gameplay clips can be uploaded to websites and social media.
It should be noted that these guidelines are for businesses, not for the general public. There are no specific rules that target political protesting from an individual player’s game.
Production on Netflix‘s live-action adaptation of the hugely popular anime series Cowboy Bebop had already been suspended prior to the COVID pandemic, following an injury sustained by star John Cho late last year. But the series has finally resumed shooting, and several new actors have joined the cast.
As reported by Deadline, the show has added six new cast members. They are Geoff Stults (12 Strong) as Chalmers, Tamara Tunie (Better Call Saul) as Ana, Mason Alexander Park (Acting for a Cause) as Gren, Rachel House (Thor Ragnarok) as Mao, Ann Truong (Romper Stomper) as Shin, and Hoa Xuande (Top of the Lake) as Lin.
Cowboy Bebop stars Cho as bounty hunter Spike Spiegel, who leads a team on various intergalactic adventures in the ship of the title. The other previously-announced cast members include Alex Hassell as Vicious, Daniella Pineda as Faye Valentine, and Mustafa Shakir as Jet Black. The showrunners are André Nemec and Jeff Pinkner, while Thor: The Dark World writer Christopher Yost is executively producing and has written the first episodes of the 10-episode first season.
The Cowboy Bebop series was first announced in November 2018 and started shooting in September 2019. A behind-the-scenes video was released in December, shortly before Cho’s on-set knee injury shut down production entirely. At the time, it was reported that the production shutdown would last “seven to nine months,” so it’s possible it might not have started until now in any case.
The anime series Cowboy Bebop was released in Japan in 1998 and ran for 26 episodes. It was followed by an animated movie in 2003, as well as a manga series and a video game. It became one of the key anime properties to break through to a western audience and was screened on Adult Swim in the US.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
Hitman developer IO Interactive has announced Project 007, a new James Bond game.
Announced in a teaser trailer today, IO describes the game as a “wholly original Bond story” in which “players will step into the shows of the world’s favorite Secret Agent to earn their 00 status in the very first Bond origin story.”
In active development for consoles and PC, Project 007 (a working title) will be created on IO’s own Glacier engine, which was used for the recent Hitman games. It’s not clear exactly what kind of game Project 007 will be, but given IO’s history with stealth and espionage games, the studio’s Hitman model seems like a potentially close fit.
The point about this being the first James Bond origin story is slightly confusing, given that Casino Royale features Bond earning 00 status, and there has been a series of Young Bond books by writer Charlie Higson. We’ve asked for clarification on that.
The game is being made in collaboration with Bond movie studios MGM and Eon Productions. No release date or actors have been announced at time of writing.
“It’s true that once in a while, the stars do align in our industry,” said IO CEO Hakan Abrakin a press release, “Creating an original Bond game is a monumental undertaking and I truly believe that IO Interactive, working closely with our creative partners at EON and MGM, can deliver something extremely special for our players and communities. Our passionate team is excited to unleash their creativity into the iconic James Bond universe and craft the most ambitious game in the history of our studio.”
Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].
GeForce has announced that its cloud streaming system, GeForce Now, is coming to iOS, and that it has partnered with Epic Games to bring a touch-controlled version of Fortnite to the platform. This will essentially bring Fortnite back to iOS, without the need for an App Store listing.
GeForce Now is Nvidia’s platform that allows users to play compatible PC games that they own via the cloud. The system is already available via bespoke apps for PC, Mac, and Android, but the new iOS version for iPhone and iPad is accessed via the Safari browser by visiting the GeForce Now website. The service goes live in beta form today.
Because GeForce Now streams ‘proper’ PC games, you’ll need a controller linked to your iPad or iPhone, such as the Razer Kishi or a compatible bluetooth controller to play (keyboard and mouse-only games are not supported). However, in order to act as a true replacement for the iOS version that was pulled as part of Epic and Apple’s legal battle, Fortnite will be provided with touch controls. Because of the work needed for this feature, Fortnite will not be available when the service launches today, and will be added in the “near future.”
If you’ve not heard of GeForce Now before, Nvidia’s system allows you to play PC games in the cloud, powered by Nvidia’s tech, rather than on your gaming PC. This means you can use a phone or underpowered laptop to play games at 1080p, 60 FPS, with ray tracing turned on and at highest settings. You do need to own the games, but GeForce Now imports your existing Steam/Origin/Epic/Ubisoft libraries, rather than you buying them specifically from Nvidia. The service can be used for free with some limitations, or with more features for a $4.99 monthly subscription.
By using GeForce Now on iOS, you’re effectively playing games using Nvidia’s new RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 graphics card technology, including ray tracing and DLSS, without needing to buy an expensive GPU. Hopefully your data plan is up to the job, though; it might bring Fortnite back to iPhones, but it is a streaming system rather than installed game, and so will need a good network connection and enough data to eat.
[poilib element=”accentDivider”]
Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Entertainment Writer.
The PlayStation 5 has sold 118,085 units in its first four days in Japan, beating the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles, which sold a combined total of 20,534 units during the first six days they went on sale in that territory. As reported by Famitsu, sales of the PS5 heavily favored the more traditional console model that includes a disc drive and costs more than the PS5 Digital Edition.
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is the best-selling PS5 game in Japan so far, moving 18,640 copies and narrowly beating Demon’s Souls. The latter, developed by Bluepoint Games, wasn’t far behind Insomniac’s latest effort and sold 18,607 units in the same four-day period.
Sony’s next-gen start may be impressive but constrained supply and a global pandemic likely meant that it couldn’t boast the same numbers that the PlayStation 4 enjoyed when it first launched in Japan, where that console sold 322,000 units in 2013.
Outsold at a rate of more than five-to-one by the PS5, it’s worth noting that stock of the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles were also extremely limited and that the console is currently sold out in Japan. Retailers had to conduct lottery sales for consumers, suggesting that demand for Microsoft’s new consoles were greater than expected.
In the UK, the Xbox Series X/S also performed well, selling 155,000 units in its first two days on the market.
PS5s are expected to be sold out in Japan until the end of the year, while getting hold of the console in the rest of the world has also been a challenge. If you’re looking to see when and where you can find a PS5 for yourself, check out our PS5 order guide to see when it will be back in stock.
Hitman’s Agent 47 is a ruthless assassin with a knack for disguises and creative kills, but he isn’t exactly suave. The studio is digging into a famous franchise for another take on the secret agent, as it’s currently developing a new James Bond 007 game.
Announced with an extremely short teaser on November 19, “Project 007” will be developed and published by IO Interactive with the full support of Eon Productions and MGM. On the game’s official website, IO says it will feature a “wholly original Bond story” and will be an origin game–the first we’ve seen for Bond.
It appears to be very early in production, as the developer is still recruiting developers across several departments. Vacant positions include technical director, senior producer, senior concept artist, and senior multiplayer network programmer. Yes, it appears Project 007 will feature multiplayer in some form or another.
IO Interactive’s Hitman 3 is still in development and planned to launch on January 20, 2021 for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, PC, Stadia, and Nintendo Switch, with the Switch being supported only via cloud streaming. It will also feature full first-person VR support for the PlayStation 4 version.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons released near the start of the global coronavirus pandemic, and the online mode has allowed players to stay connected and interact despite quarantining in their homes. It has also led to several businesses and organizations using the game in creative ways to promote services, but Nintendo appears to be limiting what is actually allowed.
“While our services and products are generally for personal use only, we understand there may be situations in which businesses and organizations would like to use or reference the game in relation to their business,” Nintendo said. “As such, we would like to share a few guidelines with those businesses, organizations, and anyone representing them, to preserve the experience for the millions of people enjoying the game recreationally.”
Approved activities include inviting others to your island, providing custom designs or Dream Addresses you have made, or uploading your screenshots and footage to “family-friendly” websites and social networks. However, there are several activities Nintendo does not allow:
Bringing politics into the game
Sharing false information
Using the game as a marketing platform that directs people to campaigns or activities outside of the game
Selling custom designs or earning advertising revenue from the game
The mention of politics and direction players to a campaign outside the game seems to forbid things like Joe Biden’s Animal Crossing island. It had a website address listed for voting, meaning the Biden campaign team likely wouldn’t be able to do the same thing in 2024 should New Horizons still be popular.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons was recently nominated in several categories for The Game Awards 2020, including Game of the Year. The ceremony will take place on December 10.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
The Hannibal star said he’s “waiting for that phone call,” and can only reference what’s being reported in the press. He might know more than he’s letting on, for but now, that’s all Mikkelsen could say.
“Oh, that is on the rumor basis as we speak,” Mikkelsen said. “So I know as much as you do from the newspapers. So I’m waiting for that phone call.”
Fantastic Beasts 3 is expected to hit theaters in summer 2022, following a delay related to Depp’s exit and the search for a replacement. The film will see the returns of Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander and Jude Law as Albus Dumbledore.
With hardboiled rally enthusiasts and sim junkies currently well-served by the stern and serious spin-off Dirt Rally 2.0, Codemasters has swerved to reshape its main off-road series into a sort of Driveclub on dirt; Dirt 5 is an accessible and rowdy racer that’s easy on the eye and fun to pick up and play, even if it’s ultimately a shade on the shallow side relative to what I’ve come to expect from these games.
For a series with its own long and firmly established history, that Driveclub comparison I just threw at you may come as a slight curveball. However, it makes a lot more sense when you consider Dirt 5 was developed by Codemasters Cheshire – the studio formerly known as Evolution, which made Driveclub before being cut loose from Sony and scooped up by Codemasters in 2016. Like Driveclub, Dirt 5 is a mix of doorhandle-to-doorhandle arcade pack racing and bleeding-edge visuals. This game handles night lighting and extreme weather with particular panache.
That said, Driveclub is far from the single influence on Dirt 5. There’s a heavy handful of Dirt 2’s brashness, a dash of Dirt 3’s gymkhana mode, and a limited sprinkle of MotorStorm’s rough-and-ready brand of fender bending (Dirt 5 even features racing in Monument Valley, the location of the original MotorStorm). There’s even a touch of Trackmania’s custom track builder and some subtle hints of SEGA Rally Revo, RalliSport Challenge, and Gravel to boot. This cocktail of influences combines for a well-executed racer, albeit one that seems content to iterate rather than innovate. It’s solid but lacks exciting novelty.
Land Rush Hour
Ironically enough, one key game Dirt 5 roundly ignores is Dirt 4. Built on the bones of Codemasters Cheshire’s Onrush, Dirt 5 actually doesn’t feel anything like its direct predecessor, ditching its two-pronged “simulation” versus “gamer” approach to handling options for a single, easy-to-grasp driving model. There are certainly differences in the way a custom-built buggy tackles terrain compared to, say, a rear-wheel drive retro rally car (and there are also some subtle variations in grip across the different surface types – especially ice) but overall it’s a bit more basic and I found the handling quickly tameable.
Gone, too, is Dirt 4’s custom rally stage generator tool, and with it, any regular point-to-point rallying at all, actually. With Dirt Rally 2.0 competently overseeing that department nowadays, Dirt 5’s career mode is now an arcade-oriented mosaic of mostly pack racing events across tracks in 10 global locations, including New York, Arizona, China, Norway, Brazil, Greece, South Africa, Morocco, Italy, and Nepal. There’s even a light story woven throughout the career which unfolds exclusively in a series of in-game podcast snippets sprinkled between events as you progress. Hosted by Donut Media presenters James Pumphrey and Nolan Sykes, it’s a low-fi approach – no character models, no cutscenes – but even though the segments are entirely inessential I have to admit I bought into the silly back-and-forth and listened to every one of them. It was particularly entertaining hearing the highly-recognisable voices of video game VO veterans Troy Baker and Nolan North regularly sniping at each other in the guise of two rival races.
My key criticism of the career mode is that the variety it appears to offer doesn’t really stand up to scrutiny. I’ve been playing Dirt 5 for a week and there are still event types I can’t really tell the difference between. Land Rush and Stampede in particular both blur into one for me, and Rally Raid doesn’t feel much different to those either.
Path Finder events are a handful of hill climb time-attacks in a specialty rock bouncer but, while these courses are the steepest and narrowest, they don’t really require a particularly finessed approach so I didn’t find them as interesting to tackle as I thought I would. Sprint racing? Well, it feels like it’s in the wrong game.
The ice racing is probably my highlight – not only are they generally the best showcase for Dirt 5’s impressive lighting and weather effects, but ice is perhaps unsurprisingly the most satisfying drifting surface. These ice racing events require the most car control and, as such, I found them the most rewarding.
However, while Dirt 4’s custom stage generator may have got the chop, Dirt 5 comes with its own custom content solution: a stunt track editor Codemasters has dubbed Playgrounds. When career mode ran out of sizzle for me, I found myself in Playgrounds – and right now I suspect it’s here I’ll stay. It’s perhaps best described through a modern lens as a Dirt-flavoured slice of Trackmania-style madness, but more pertinently Playgrounds might be as close to a modern-day version of the 1990 MS-DOS cult classic Stunts (or 4D Sports Driving) as I’ve ever played. You may be unfamiliar with this 30-year-old relic but at one point as a kid I basically lived in it.
Whether you’re placing stacks of crushed cars or enormous corkscrews, Playgrounds’ editing tools are all quite straightforward – although I’m yet to build something I’m truly happy with. In the interim, I’m having plenty of fun attacking the user-created tracks already available.
In some ways Playgrounds feels a bit like it comes from a completely different game, but it’s an excellent addition to the Dirt 5 package – especially in conjunction with four-player splitscreen multiplayer.