Author: Trafficblast

Sarah Schachner will return to the Call of Duty series to do the music for this year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare reboot. Schachner said on Twitter that she “couldn’t be more thankful” to work on the game, and contribute again to the Call of Duty series.

Schachner also did the music for Infinity Ward’s 2016 game Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. Outside of the Call of Duty series, she also scored Assassin’s Creed Origins and Anthem. She’s also contributed to huge movies like Iron Man 3 and The Expendables 2.

It’s not a continuation of the Modern Warfare trilogy but rather a reboot of sorts of the 2007 game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Captain Price is back as a main character, with some of the storylines involving Russia and the Middle East.

“The world we live in right now is more complex than the world was in 2007, or 2009, or even 2011,” narrative director Taylor Kurosaki said. “Even now the world that we live in, the battlefield is less defined than it’s ever been, and because it’s less defined and because enemies no longer really wear uniforms a lot of the time, that means that civilian collateral damage is a greater part of the equation more so now than it’s ever been.”

“So what does that mean? It means we’re creating circumstances where, as storytellers, we are taking these characters, and we are putting them into complex situations with a lot of pressure on them, and how they respond to that pressure reveals their true nature.”

In other news, it’s been confirmed that the new Modern Warfare supports cross-play and that it will not have a season pass. For lots more, check out the story linked below.

5. Blade

The first Marvel movie with a superhero of color, and the movie that jumpstarted the superhero movie renaissance of the early 2000s, Blade gave us the coolest-looking vampire hunter in Wesley Snipes, and the best action in a superhero movie to date, with Hong Kong-worthy bursts of bullets and action mayhem.

Blade is an action movie first and a comic book movie second, yet it still manages to blend martial arts with slasher horror in a way we haven’t seen before or since. Thankfully, despite its focus on action, the movie doesn’t skimp on the crowd-pleasing horror and gore. The bloodsucking beasts are gruesome, and the blood flows like rain. Honestly, we’re due for another one of these.

Disney has released a new TV spot for The Lion King, and this one for the first trailer showcases Beyonce’s character, Nala. The spot is called “Come Home,” and it covers the sequence in the movie where Nala convinces Simba (Donald Glover) to return home to save Pride Rock.

“Simba, you have to take your place as king. We need you. Come home.”

In addition to teasing out some of the drama when Simba returns home, the new trailer briefly teases the playful and silly comedic duo of Timon and Pumbaa, who are voiced by Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen respectively.

This new spot for The Lion King follows the release of lots of character posters that Disney put out last week. You can see the posters in the gallery below; click through to see them all.

The Lion King opens in theatres on July 19. It is directed by Jon Favreau with a script from Jeff Nathanson, who previously wrote the Steven Spielberg movie Catch Me If You Can starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

James Earl Jones returns in The Lion King as Mufasa, while Chiwetel Ejiofor voices Scar.

In anticipation of another big showing at this year’s E3, Microsoft has announced another entry for its line of custom Xbox One consoles, this one themed after Fortnite: Battle Royale, Epic’s zeitgeist-defining competitive shooter. Available starting June 7, the Xbox One S Fortnite Battle Royale Special Edition Bundle (1TB) will normally sell for $300 from the Microsoft Store, but for a limited time in celebration of E3, Microsoft will offer a $50 discount off the bundle through June 17.

In addition to the console itself, which sports a stylish royal(e) purple gradient, the bundle includes a matching purple Xbox wireless controller, a copy of Fortnite, a Dark Vertex cosmetic set for the game (comprising a Legendary Outfit, Epic Glider, and Rare Pickaxe), 2000 in-game V-Bucks, and a one-month free trial Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass (the former of which is required to play Fortnite). While the base game is free, so much of Fortnite’s culture revolves around cool player cosmetics, so this package should give any new player a leg up in the real battle royale: fashion.

Although Microsoft recently announced a move away from physical media with the reveal of the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition, the Fortnite Battle Royale Special Edition appears to be a holdover from earlier versions with a disc drive. The Fortnite console bundle is launching as part of a huge upcoming Xbox sale on a variety of games, consoles, and accessories–check out all the discounts that’ll be available from June 7 through 17.

The season is finally over. PSG are champions (again), Juventus are champions (again), and Liverpool fans are crying (again, although for a much better reason this year). While there’s more to look forward to in the world’s biggest sport this summer–the Women’s World Cup and UEFA Nations League are bound to be summer highlights–many football fans now have one major date in their diary: the release date of FIFA 20.

FIFA 20’s release date hasn’t actually been revealed yet–the game hasn’t even technically been announced–but it’s a safe bet it will follow series tradition and fall toward the end of September. With that disclaimer out the way, let’s take a look at everything we do know about the world’s biggest soccer game, as well as what we’d like to see from FIFA at E3 2019.

What We Know So Far

Even though this year’s game hasn’t been revealed, developer EA has already shared some of FIFA 20’s gameplay improvements. Top of the list is AI defending, with a larger emphasis and incentive placed on manual defending, as opposed to letting the computer defend for you. One of the ways EA plans to do this is by increasing the likelihood a manual tackle will propel the ball to a teammate. Automatic defending will see its overall efficacy reduced and reaction times slowed.

Shooting is also being revamped, with attackers given greater accuracy during easy shooting scenarios, such as being clean through against the ‘keeper. Goalkeepers’ reaction times will be reduced in these situations to resolve the sometimes “superhuman” reactions players complained of. Additionally, the timing window for green timed shots is being reduced to two frames for all shots, and they’ll also be “slightly less precise.” EA did, however, reassure players that green timed shots will “still be more accurate than non-timed shots.”

Lots of work is being done on making passing and shooting more realistic, EA says, especially when it comes to difficult strikes. Volleys will be more variable and less accurate, for example, while 180° and first-time passes will result in “slower/weaker balls.” To compensate, easy situation passes will now be more accurate. Two new passing options will also be introduced: the driven pass-and-go (which will replace the current manual pass button combo) and the dinked pass, which will cease to be an automatic, contextual pass variant and instead be user-controlled only.

What’s Confirmed For E3?

EA has confirmed an E3 livestream discussing FIFA 20 will air on June 8 at 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET / 7 PM BST (that’s 4 AM AET on June 9). The stream, which is part of EA Play, will be hosted by esports commentator Alex “Goldenboy” Mendez. EA says it will demonstrate some of the gameplay improvements mentioned above, “as well as some other surprises we’re excited to talk about.”

What We Hope To See At E3

FIFA 19 felt great, and the addition of the officially licensed Champions League made for a slicker product. However, career mode was left sorely lacking. No major new features were added to the mode, with very few changes at all from the year prior. With that in mind, we’d love career mode to see a radical overhaul. Give us a proper scouting system, stadium developments, opposition reports, and a way to actually converse with players outside of contract negotiations. Talking of which, the option to pay for new players in installments is long overdue.

Elsewhere, the Ultimate Team community is gasping for more on what FIFA 20 will have in store for FUT, and from a selfish point of view, I’d love to see the English National League introduced. The license for England’s fifth tier would surely come relatively cheaply, and its addition would add another layer of authenticity to an already very lifelike ecosystem.

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge has now opened at California’s Disneyland, letting fans of the franchise visit a new planet where the resistance and the First Order are battling for control. Still, while Galaxy’s Edge is firmly planted in the latest trilogy of Star Wars films, care has been taken by the creative minds behind the land to create as unique an experience as possible for everyone who crosses its threshold.

According to Carrie Beck, vice president of the Lucasfilm story group, the crafting of that experience goes back to when the company first started developing Galaxy’s Edge. “When we got to work at thinking about what was the type of place we wanted to go visit, or what the types of experiences were that we wanted to have participating in Star Wars, we thought a lot about how all of us as fans–how all of us as people who admire Star Wars–how we might want to interact with the Galaxy,” she explained while on a panel during a media preview event. “You may want to see yourself as a Smuggler or a Scoundrel. You may want to see yourself as a Jedi, Sith, a Stormtrooper. You can find yourself being drawn to the dark side of the Force.”

In helping visitors find their own stories within Galaxy’s Edge, the team realized the most integral piece of storytelling was the land itself. Galaxy’s Edge is set on the outer rim planet of Batuu, consisting of a forest where the Resistance is camped out, and Black Spire Outpost, a settlement that is being invaded by the First Order.

“[Batuu is] a place of some light routes that ships used to come and go,” Beck said. “But it’s been largely forgotten until we arrive here at the park and we get to discover it at the same time as the First Order and the Resistance are having their conflict here in the land, the day of our visit.”

And as this conflict unfolds, you should expect to come into contact with both sides of the fight. You may be asked to help out the Resistance in spreading messages or grilled for information by Stormtroopers. What you share–or don’t–is up to you. But the key to it all is you aren’t viewed as an outsider during your visit.

“I think what’s really exciting is just to be able to have them react to you as if you’re actually in Star Wars,” Beck continued. “I think, one of the things that’s so wonderful about the films themselves, is that they feel so real, right? And I think that there was always this dream, this wish to be able to be part of that story. And so, being here and being able to interact and to sort of bring that fantasy to the next level is very exciting.”

And as the story unfolds, visitors will see how Batuu connects to the larger canon of Star Wars. Already, there’s a Marvel comic book about Batuu and Black Spire Outpost. What’s more, the planet has been mentioned previously in the novel Thrawn: Alliances and is the focus of the upcoming canonical novel Galaxy’s Edge: Black Spire. Black Spire Outpost was also referenced in the film Solo: A Star Wars Story.

“There have been adventures that we have crafted that take place or take [the] opportunity to locate here, in Batuu and Black Spire,” Beck said. “And I think that’s one of the great opportunities with a place that is fully new, is it allows the opportunity to layer in all of that narrative and give you that sense of discovery.”

And thanks to the setting of Galaxy’s Edge, that sense of discovery can continue for years as the land is built to evolve. “We picked a spot that has yet to [be discovered] in the Star Wars galaxy,” Black Spire Outpost project manager Brent Nikolin told GameSpot. “There’s some references made in Solo and other places, but I think starting from a place that is nowhere but still uniquely Star Wars, you walk in here, you know it’s Star Wars, right? But it’s not a place that we’ve ever been before. [It] allows you some flexibility down the road to do different things.”

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is open at Disneyland now. It opens at Florida’s Walt Disney World Resort on August 29.

Fortnite‘s Week 4 challenges of Season 9 are now live on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile devices, which means players across all platforms have another chance to rack up Battle Stars and unlock more of this season’s new skins and other cosmetic rewards. That also means you can now complete another one of this season’s Utopia challenges if you manage to finish all seven tasks from a given week, which will lead you to another secret Fortbyte.

Just as in previous seasons, completing a Utopia challenge will unlock a special loading screen, which will serve as your key to finding a free item hidden somewhere around the game’s map. In the past, this item would be either a Battle Star (which levels your Battle Pass up by one tier) or a Banner (which could be used as a profile icon) depending on how many weekly sets of challenges you completed. Battle Stars are still up for grabs in Season 9, but this time, Epic has replaced the Banners with the aforementioned Fortbytes, which are new collectible to find throughout the season.

There are 100 Fortbytes in total to collect, many of which are tied to their own challenges. Each one looks like a computer chip and unlocks a portion of a larger picture. However, the clue to finding a handful of these Fortbytes lies with the loading screens you unlock by completing Utopia challenges. That’s the case for Fortbyte #91. Contrary to what you may expect, the clue isn’t hidden within the loading screen itself, but rather its description, which reads, “Sandstorm and Scimitar race to the Keyboard King ATM and the winner always gets paid.”

As the description suggests, Fortbyte #91 is found in the ATM by Keyboard King, one of the stores located in Paradise Palms. Make your way to the area and smash the ATM in question to reveal the hidden Fortbyte. If you need help finding it, we’ve marked its exact location on the map below. You can also watch where we go to find the Fortbyte in the video at the top of this guide.

While secret Battle Stars will only appear once you’ve completed their corresponding Utopia challenge, this Fortbyte is available to everyone who has purchased a Season 9 Battle Pass. If you fall into that category, you simply head to the right area and collected it even if you haven’t completed Week 4’s Utopia challenge and unlocked the aforementioned loading screen. If you do need help completing this season’s challenges, however, you can find tips and guides in our complete Fortnite Season 9 challenges roundup.

Epic recently rolled out Fortnite’s 9.10 content update, which introduced another new weapon to the game: the Burst SMG, which comes in common, uncommon, and rare varieties. To make room for it, however, the developer vaulted the Suppressed Submachine Gun. That isn’t the only thing of note to happen in Fortnite recently; players have also discovered a mysterious giant eyeball encased in ice beneath Polar Peak. It’s unclear what this means, but many are speculating it could lead to some kind of community event.