Super Mario Lego Release Date And Price Revealed

The high-tech Super Mario Lego sets announced in March have been given a release date. You’ll be able to get your hands on them from August 1, with pre-orders for the starter set open soon.

When Nintendo teased a Mario and Lego collaboration back in March, it was unsure whether we’d be getting a Mario-themed Lego set, or a Lego-themed Mario game. As it turns out, it’s a little of both.

New info has been revealed on the Lego sets courtesy of Siliconeera. The Lego Super Mario Adventures With Mario Starter Course is a Mario Maker-style assortment of blocks and items that will let people build their own physical Mario levels. A fancy teched-up Mario figure makes noise and displays different colours with LCD screens when he interacts with certain “Action Blocks” in the set.

Also launching alongside the Lego set is a companion app that will track the Power-Ups and coins a player collects, as well as their progression through different levels.

Two expansion sets have been announced as well, the Piranha Plant Power Slide Expansion Set and Bowser’s Castle Boss Battle Expansion Set. Only the initial set will be available for pre-order at first.

The Starter Set will cost $59.99 on release, the Pirahna Plant set will be $29.99 and Bowser’s expansion will cost a whopping $99.99. While the pre-order doesn’t seem to have gone live yet, it should be unlocking shortly at this link.

Now Playing: Super Mario Lego – It’s Lego Mario Time Trailer

The Last Of Us 2 Digital Pre-Orders Are Being Refunded

After The Last Of Us 2 was delayed indefinitely due to logistical issues caused by the COVID-19 (coronavirus) crisis, players who bought the game on the PlayStation Store are having their pre-orders automatically refunded.

With no new release date announced and the listing being taken down from the PlayStation Store, those with digital pre-orders have no option but to accept the refund. The refund doesn’t apply to anyone who pre-ordered through a third-party seller, however.

Refunds are also being sent out for Marvel’s Iron Man VR, an upcoming PSVR game that has likewise been indefinitely delayed by the crisis.

A note on the PlayStation support website says, “The Last of Us Part II and Iron Man VR have been delayed. All digital pre-order consumers will automatically receive a refund. Please check your email for more details.”

If you’ve pre-ordered either of these games, you won’t have to do anything to redeem a refund, and should have an email from PlayStation with more details. There’s no reason to believe either game has been cancelled at this time.

Unlike most of the games that have been delayed due to coronavirus, The Last Of Us 2 is mostly finished. Sony and Naughty Dog have pointed to “logistic issues” preventing the game’s launch from fulfilling expectations.

Now Playing: The Last Of Us Part 2 – What We Thought Of The Demo

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Final Fantasy 14 v5.25 Patch Notes: New Quest Lines, Skysteel Tools And More

The latest big patch for Final Fantasy 14 is here, bringing with it new quests, furniture, weapons, and bug fixes. The game is down for maintenance between 10 PM PDT on April 6 and 3 AM PDT on April 7. Here’s what to expect when the patch is complete.

For Final Fantasy 14 players hungry for new content, patch 5.25 will add a new side story quest “Save the Queen: Blades of Gunnhildr,” which can be started once the player has completed the main scenario quest “Shadowbringers” and sidequest “The City of Lost Angels.” Two quests to unlock Skysteel crafter and gatherer tools have also been added.

New furnishings have been added, including the winners of last year’s Furnishing Design Contest. You can check them all out on the Final Fantasy 14 blog here.

A new questline will reward players with job-specific resistance weapons. While completing the quest will only award the weapon for job they did the quest with, a different quest will allow players to collect weapons for additional jobs. The patch notes specify that these weapons will be able to be upgraded with future content expansions, though with an ominous warning that “enhancing these weapons may require players to invest a significant amount of time.”

A new eight-player raid has been added, though the notes leave the details a secret, so you’ll have to discover more about this one yourself.

There’s plenty more in this patch, including new items that are as yet a mystery, new achievements, minor gameplay tweaks and plenty of bug fixes. Check out the full patch notes for v5.25 here.

As updates continue to expand on the story of Shadowbringers, check out GameSpot’s review of the expansion here. Reviewer Ginny Woo said, “For a story that starts with a laser focus on your character’s motivations and misgivings, it tells a tale that ends up being the biggest and the best that Final Fantasy XIV has ever told. Equal parts redemption, vengeance, cruelty, and sassy Elezen, Shadowbringers promises a hell of a lot when you take your first steps into Norvrandt and delivers a truly spectacular finish even if it stumbles a little along the way.”

Now Playing: Final Fantasy 14 – Echoes Of A Fallen Star Patch 5.2 Trailer

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Super Mario 64’s Strange Smoke Texture Is A Bug–Here’s How It’s Meant To Look

For nearly 24 years, Super Mario 64 has had a strange-looking smoke effect whenever Mario’s pants caught fire, which is the kind of thing we’ve long attributed to it being a launch title from a team that had never made a 3D game before. As it turns out, though, the smoke was actually the result of a mistake in the coding–and it’s now been fixed by modders.

A patch to repair the smoke has appeared on Romhacking.net, and has been brought to wider attention by Twitter user Ryan Bloom, who posted a side-by-side comparison of what the smoke is meant to look like.

As you can see, it looks a lot more like smoke after a fairly simple code fix. On line 47 under /actors/burn_smoke/model.inc.c, a piece of code that was meant to read “G_IM_FMT_IA” was instead written as “G_IM_FMT_RGBA”–meaning that the texture was compiled in the wrong format.

Of course, at this point, we’re pretty used to the old texture, and seeing the game updated with new smoke feels strange, even if it was the artist’s original intention.

Super Mario 64 is reportedly getting a remaster in 2020, although Nintendo has not yet made this official, so take that news with a grain of salt for now. There’s also a new animated Super Mario movie in development at Illumination, the company behind Despicable Me.

Now Playing: Super Mario Lego – It’s Lego Mario Time Trailer

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You’ll Never, Ever Guess What D’Arcy Carden’s First Words To Tom Hanks Were

Actress and improv comedian D’Arcy Carden has shared a silly story of the first time she met Tom Hanks and the improbable words she spoke to the Oscar-winning actor. Carden shared the story in an appearance on comedian and late night TV host Conan O’Brien’s podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend.

Carden and her husband producer Jason attended a party at Conan O’Brien’s home, and O’Brien invited the couple to come sit by the fire. Adam Sandler and Jack McBrayer were there too. Meanwhile, Hanks was sitting by the fire as well but he was speaking to someone else.

Carden, Sandler, McBrayer, and O’Brien were talking about how silly the term “f**king and sucking” is, and well, you can probably guess where this is headed.

“We were truly talking about how funny this thing is, and then Tom ‘Sweet Man’ Hanks comes over and says, ‘What are you guys talking about?’ And the first thing I say is, ‘f**king and sucking.’ It was terrible and wonderful,” she said.

As stories about meeting very famous people go, Carden’s is very delightful and unexpected.

Carden has a tangential connection to Hanks. She is currently filming a new show for Amazon based on the Penny Marshall-directed baseball movie A League of Their Own that starred Hanks as the manager of a women’s baseball team.

Carden is perhaps best known for playing Janet on NBC’s The Good Place. She also does improv comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade in Los Angeles.

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Westworld Breakdown: Season 3 Episode 4 “The Mother Of Exiles” Theories & Easter Eggs

If you thought the last few episodes of Westworld Season 3 were intense, Episode 4 is going to really get your heart-rate pumping. Titled “The Mother of Exiles,” the episode pushes the plot forward in significant ways by finally revealing more about Dolores’s (Evan Rachel Wood) plan, giving us a wealth of information about Serac, and bringing back a few fan-favorite characters.

That character, who was teased previously, is of course William (Ed Harris), better known as The Man in Black. Last we saw him he was in a bad way, and it seems life hasn’t been easy for ol’ William since. Nor should it be, as he has a lot of questionable behavior to pay for–bad karma seems to have come for him.

Undoubtedly the biggest revelation, however, is the identity of the hosts Dolores has conscripted to her cause, which definitely caught us off guard. Join Lucy and Tamoor as they break down everything that happened, pick apart the many references and easter eggs, and react to everything this exciting episode has to offer.

Westworld airs Sundays on HBO.

10 Monster Horror Movies To Stream On Netflix And More Right Now

10 Monster Horror Movies To Stream On Netflix And More Right Now – GameSpot

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Star Wars Reveals 5 New Jedi From The High Republic

Though Lucasfilm teased some of the main characters that will be featured in the upcoming Star Wars: The High Republic publishing initiative when it was revealed in February, now they’ve fully pulled back the curtain on five brand new Jedi heroes on StarWars.com.

The High Republic is an era of peace and prosperity when the Jedi were in their prime some 200 years before the events of the Skywalker Saga. “For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice,” Obi-Wan Kenobi told a young Luke Skywalker once upon a time. And now, through a series of novels, young adult books, junior novels, and comics we’re going to explore it for the first time. There is no single main protagonist in The High Republic, but rather a whole cast of characters who will pop up in the various stories. These five are only some of the new faces we’ll be meeting for the first time.

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Though this is a time of relative peace before the Galactic Civil War that ignited during the Prequels, that doesn’t mean there aren’t dangers. The villainous Nihil are space vikings who pose a threat to the entire galaxy thanks to their unique ability to disrupt hyperspace travel. These are the Jedi Knights and Masters who will stand against them in the High Republic era.

“Readers will see a very wide variety of Jedi in this era,” said Lucasfilm Publishing creative director Michael Siglain on StarWars.com. “This is a hopeful, optimistic time, when the Jedi are good and noble, and we want to reflect that in their characters while still giving them enough depth and dimension so that their individual personalities and idiosyncrasies shine through. The Jedi Knights of the High Republic are both aspirational and inspirational. In short, they’re the good guys.”

Though the Jedi are mighty, all of these news characters were crafted to be flawed and “human” just like anyone else.

“We’ve put a lot of time and effort into making our Jedi feel like real, rounded individuals,” explained Cavan Scott, writer of the Star Wars: The High Republic comic series for Marvel Comics. “They are all different, approaching the Force in individual and unique ways and yet are united with a common goal. They serve not out of unwavering dogma, but a deep passion to protect light and life. And they’re all at different stages in their individual journeys. Some have experience on their side, some have the exuberance of youth. Some are still finding their place in the Order while others step naturally into leadership roles. Some may not have chosen to work with the Jedi they’ve been posted alongside, but all are dedicated to be a guiding light for the galaxy. Individually they are strong, together they are invincible, but like the best heroes they each have lessons to learn and challenges to overcome. Exciting times lie ahead.”

With that in mind, let’s meet these new Jedi.

You can check out the new Jedi by flipping through the slideshow below or keep scrolling for the article.

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Avar Kriss

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Avar Kriss wields a green lightsaber and is described as the brightest and most noble example of what it means to be a Jedi. If there were a Captain America among these new Jedi, she’d be it. She’s optimistic, self-sacrificing, and an inspiration to those around her. She goes by her sense of compassion rather than the dogma of the Jedi. She’s enthusiastic about living on the frontier of unexplored space and the new adventures it brings. (That’s right, the galaxy isn’t as well-explored during this time, so locations familiar to fans might not have been discovered yet.) She is literally described as “the best of the best.” And it looks like the Nihil are about to put that to the test.

Where to Find Her: Star Wars: The High Republic – Light of the Jedi novel by Charles Soule

Loden Greatstorm

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Loden Greatstorm may have a glum look on his face but don’t let that fool you, he’s described as having a good sense of humor. This Twi-lek Jedi Master uses a beautiful yellow blade and is renowned as one of the best teachers in the Jedi Order who is always looking for ways to improve himself and the Padawans under his tutelage. Think of him as Yoda, but taller!

Where to Find Him: Star Wars: The High Republic – Light of the Jedi novel by Charles Soule

Keeve Trennis

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Keeve Trennis is the new kid on the block and comes armed with a green double-bladed lightsaber. Only a Jedi Knight for a matter of weeks, she’s described as a quick-witted and impulsive with a promising future, if only she can trust in herself as much as she trusts in the Force. Keeve finds herself starstruck working alongside living legends like Avar Kriss and wants nothing more than to prove herself. To keep the Marvel metaphor going, she sounds a lot like Peter Parker when he first met his idol Tony Stark. She’s stationed on the Starlight Beacon, a space station that acts as a galactic hub and a main setting in the High Republic era, and she’s immediately tossed into the deep end when the Nihil bring about the Great Disaster — a catastrophic, inciting event that throws the galaxy into chaos.

Where to Find Her: Star Wars: The High Republic comic by Cavan Scott

Speaking of all these new lightsabers, check out our video breaking down why they look a little different than you might expect:

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Stellan Gios

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Stellan Gios is not unlike Avar Kriss in that he’s a Jedi Master described as optimistic and well-respected. Stellan and Avar came up through the Jedi Order together, and while they don’t always wind up on the same assignment, when they do pair together they make one heck of a powerhouse team. But it sounds like we might have to wait to see the duo in action together, as the description on StarWars.com says Stellan is currently stationed at a Jedi Temple on the distant planet of Caragon-Viner. We hope that’s at least a place where he can put that cool Excalibur-esque, metal crossguard lightsaber to good use.

Where to Find Him: Currently unknown

Vernestra “Vern” Rwoh

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Vernestra “Vern” Rwoh was Padawan to Stellan Gios but is now a freshly minted Jedi Knight. In fact, at age 16 she’s one of the youngest Knights in a generation. She’s described as someone who works harder than most people her age, and she struggles to fit in with adults while also trying to be a role model for younger Jedi. So pretty much Hermione Granger with a violet lightsaber.

Where to Find Her: Star Wars: The High Republic – A Test of Courage junior novel by Justina Ireland

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Joshua is Senior Features Editor at IGN. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Game of Thrones are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.

Roccat Kain 200 AIMO Gaming Mouse Review

The Roccait Kain 200 AIMO looks much like its siblings in the Kain family of mice, but Roccat has gone wireless for this model, making for its only new wireless gaming mouse in the latest batch of products. At $99, it costs a considerable amount for a gaming mouse, but actually manages to stay below the asking price for many of the best wireless gaming mice, like the Logitech G502 Lightspeed or Razer Basilisk Ultimate, both of which cost more than 50% more. Let’s see how it stands up against its pricier rivals.

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Design and Features

The Roccat Kain 200 AIMO has many of the features demanded of a premium wireless gaming mouse. It connects using a diminutive 2.4GHz wireless dongle for lag-free gaming. The Owl-Eye optical sensor offers a max sensitivity of 16,000 DPI, which is more than enough in our book. It also has exceptional tolerances for accelerations up to 40G and speeds up to 400 IPS (inches per second). I don’t think I’ve ever had to move my hand that fast to land a flick shot. The sensor also has lift-off detection, allowing a “low” and “very low” option.

The sensor was designed by Roccat with PixArt to use minimal power. This has allowed the Kain 200 to boast 50 hours of play time on a single charge of its 1,000mAh battery, or 35 hours if the RGB lighting is enabled. In my testing, the battery seemed to live up to those claims with the lights on. I tracked hours on the last 40% of battery life, and got 12 hours of play time. Since the Roccat Swarm software annoyingly only shows the battery charge in increments of 20%, it’s likely that test began when the charge was actually below 40%.

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Omron switches feel as good as ever in the Kain 200. The main mouse buttons have a consistent click. The thumb buttons strike a good balance between easy to press and too easy to press, while their placement also makes them easily accessible. The middle mouse button is considerably stiffer than the others, making it tougher to press in a split second.

The build of the mouse is robust and simple. Beyond the customizable, two-zone RGB lighting, a metallic strip between the mouse buttons is the most embellishment it gets. No striking angles or gaudy grip material here.

The Kain 200 isn’t massive at 4.88” x 2.56” x 1.69”, but the smooth arch feels comfortable for a claw or palm grip. The width is mostly consistent with very little taper at either end, making it a cozy fit for big hands. The material used for most of the mouse is also subtly grippy, offering a good hold. And at 105 grams, it’s almost as heavy as the Razer Basilisk Ultimate – making it feel quite substantial.

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The wireless dongle has a base station it can plug into to get better reception. The base station connects with a micro USB cable that also doubles as the charging cable for the mouse. The cable is cleverly built, slotting securely into the mouse and allowing it to switch to wired mode without feeling like a flimsy connection. It feels just like a normal wired mouse would. This is much like the cabling used for the Razer X Basilisk Ultimate and the SteelSeries Rival 650.

Software

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The Kain 200 uses Roccat’s Swarm software. Through Swarm, a lot can be customized, from button reassignment and illumination to various battery saving settings. You can set five DPI settings per profile, from 100 to 1,600DPI with 50 DPI increments. And there’s room on the mouse for 5 profiles in its 512kB of onboard storage. Swarm also has a detailed Macro editor, complete with simple, pre-made macros for various popular games from Apex Legends to Counter Strike 1.6 and software like Photoshop and Office.

Gaming

Thanks to the fit and finish, I found gaming on the Kain 200 a great experience. The comfortable fit made it easy to confidently move around, and all of the buttons are dependable. While it has one fewer thumb button than the Rival 650, I found the buttons it does have to be more appealing and easier to use. Having said that, the middle mouse button was a bit hard to press, but it makes up for that firmness by not scrolling when I’d only meant for a middle click.

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I played a few rounds of Overwatch with the Kain 200 to see if it could hold up in the sorts of flick shooting situations found there. Sure enough, I was able to quickly flick between opponents and fire off mostly accurate shots. The thumb buttons were also reliable for triggering abilities in the game.

Most of the time, I used the Kain 200 in Rainbow Six Siege. I spent over 20 hours between ranked, unranked, and a special event, and all through it the mouse kept up.

In my matches, I was able to line up my angles comfortably, manage my recoil, and snap to targets that showed up in unexpected places. In one round, I was holding an angle on a door when I spotted an enemy far to my right through a hole blown in the wall. I was able to whip around, get them in my sights, and kill them in a split second. That was just one of the occasions where the accuracy and reliable tracking of the Roccat Kain 200 AIMO showed it was up to snuff.

Having just switched from Razer Basilisk X Ultimate and having used the Rival 650 for a long time prior, I can confidently say the Roccat Kain 200 AIMO performs just as well as either of those more expensive wireless gaming mice. But, it may have some competition in the lower end of the market from the Corsair Harpoon RGB Wireless, which is similarly featured, costs about half as much, and adds in Bluetooth support to up the ante on versatility.

Purchasing Guide

The Roccat Kain 200 AIMO is available on Amazon and Best Buy with an MSRP of $99.

New Frozen Shorts Are Being Created And Released By Disney’s Animators From Their Homes

Fans of Disney’s Frozen should keep an eye on Disney Animation’s social media over the next few weeks. Disney’s animators, who are now working from home, are working on new Olaf shorts to be released weekly, with Josh Gad recording his lines from his own home.

The first short, “Fun With Snow,” is available now, and is embedded below. It’s pretty simple, and less than a minute long, but it’s cute. This installment is credited to animator Hyrum Osmond.

These shorts will also be available on the Magical Moments section of Disney’s website. They’re completely free to watch, and should keep fans of Olaf (young and old) happy.

Frozen 2 is now available on Disney Plus, too, if you’re after more Frozen. You can also watch Onward, the new Pixar movie, through the streaming service now.