You see, Final Fantasy 7 is one in an elite series of games that could be described as truly iconic. It shaped a generation of gamers into appreciating JRPGs – and indeed, Japanese games in general – and was very mich the touchstone for graphical prowess at the time. It also very much tapped into the sort of storytelling that teenagers, in particular, loved – brooding heroes and longing romanticism and dark, black-clad pain.
Nickelodeon has announced that it has greenlit a 13-episode SpongeBob SquarePants prequel series, tentatively titled Kamp Koral, which will introduce a 10-year-old SpongeBob SquarePants during his summer at sleepaway camp.
Production on this new series will begin this month at Nickelodeon in Burbank, CA, and the official description for the show reads “SpongeBob and his pals spend the summer building underwater campfires, catching wild jellyfish, and swimming in Lake Yuckymuck at the craziest camp in the kelp forest, Kamp Koral.”
“SpongeBob has an incredible universe to expand upon and the greenlight for Kamp Koral is a testament to the strength and longevity of these characters known and loved by generations of fans around the world,” said Ramsey Naito, EVP Animation Production and Development, Nickelodeon.
The newest Monster Hunter World: Iceborne trailer not only showcased the fan-favorite Tigrex, but also teased the return of a wyvern from a previous Monster Hunter generation: Glavenus.
At the end of the story trailer, which you can watch below, a hunter confronts a Rathian. Behind the hunter, you can just make out the feet of another monster in the back right corner. The screen cuts to black before we can get a clear shot, but the subsequent roar and fiery sword slice can only belong to Glavenus.
The brute wyvern was originally introduced in Monster Hunter Generations for the Nintendo 3DS. It’s huge, resembles a spikey T-Rex, and wields a heated blade-like tail. It sharpens its tail in its mouth, and one of its most powerful attacks is telegraphed by that very action. Fun fact, its tail can only be severed while it’s heated to the point of glowing. Otherwise, it’s hard as steel!
E3 2019 begins in just a few days, but even before that, Pokemon fans can look forward to some announcements. On Wednesday, June 5 at 6 AM PT / 9 AM ET, Nintendo will be holding a special Pokemon Sword and Shield Direct that will contain “roughly 15 minutes of new information” about the Nintendo Switch games. The original Sword and Shield announcement showed off the three new starter Pokemon, the new Galar region, and a few other details, but there’s still a lot left to learn. Here are our big predictions for the Pokemon Direct.
A Release Date
When Pokemon Sword and Shield were announced, they were given a late-2019 release window. That’s fast approaching, so it stands to reason that the June 5 Direct will confirm the exact date. The most recent Pokemon games–Sun and Moon, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, and Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee–all released in November, so I’ll go ahead and predict a November 2019 release date.
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So far, the only new Pokemon we’ve seen for Gen 8 are the three starters: Grookey, Scorbunny, and Sobble. The Pokemon Direct will include a mix of run-of-the-mill Pokemon–think the Pidgey and Rattata of Galar–and Sword and Shield’s legendary Pokemon, which would presumably be on the games’ boxes. It would also be great to see the starters’ evolved forms, but because they’ve already had their day in the sun, I think we’ll have to wait to see those.
A New Battle Mechanic
The basic Pokemon formula has largely stayed the same over the years, but the series has been good about regularly introducing new battle mechanics to keep things interesting. X and Y had Mega Evolution, Sun and Moon had Z-Moves (and Battle Royals), and Sword and Shield will probably have something spicy to try out. There’s even a circular red-and-blue symbol seen throughout the announcement trailer, including in the games’ Japanese logos, that would seem to indicate a new mechanic–a crystal logo appeared in Sun and Moon’s Japanese logos, representing Z-Crystals–but there’s otherwise no indication of what it might be. I don’t have a guess, either.
Story Details And Version Differences
Finally, I’m willing to bet the Pokemon Direct will include some story info. What’s the deal with the Galar region? What sort of Team will you be up against, if any? The Pokemon Direct will have character intros and some basic details to lay out Sword and Shield’s vibe. I’ll go one step further and say that we’ll also learn what some of the version differences are, whether it’s a gameplay gimmick like Sun and Moon’s day-night shift or simply what Pokemon you might find in each.
What’s Left For E3?
It seems a bit premature holding a Sword and Shield Direct right before E3, right? What will be left? While it’s unlikely Nintendo will reiterate much from the Pokemon Direct during its June 11 E3 presentation, that presentation will be followed by three days of Treehouse streams. In previous years, those streams have featured in-depth gameplay demos, sometimes with developer commentary; Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee got the spotlight last year. The Treehouse streams would be a great opportunity to expand upon what we learn during the June 5 Direct without having to spend precious time going over specifics.
What do you think we’ll see during the Sword and Shield Direct? Let us know in the comments. Stay tuned for all the news, and come back after to see how right or wrong we were!
Modern Warfare’s cross-play system will work much like Fortnite‘s, according to a Forbes article endorsed by Infinity Ward producer Candice Capen. You’ll therefore only be put into matches against players using the same control input method as you–meaning PC users won’t be able to use the quicker keyboard and mouse combination to walk all over console players.
This does change slightly if you’re a console user wanting to play with a PC-owning friend, however. In that situation, Infinity Ward has no choice but to mix the two communities, so you might find yourself having a slightly tricky match. But at least the option is there.
Both this and cross-play should go a long way to helping keep the Call of Duty player base together, without limiting them to only playing with people on the same platform and who own the same maps that they do. In general, there should be a whole lot more people to play against. It may also make the Call of Duty esports scene a little more welcoming, as players will be able to compete on their preferred platforms.
One thing that is not changing is that it will have timed exclusive content on PS4. We don’t know all the details at this point, but like last year’s Black Ops 4, the window will be only seven days, which is much shorter than the 30-day window CoD’s exclusivity used to be.
Sony might not be attending E3 this year, but it still has plenty going on to share with players around the world. The company has now detailed some upcoming changes to the PS4‘s party system, and it sounds intriguing.
In a post on the PlayStation Blog, social media director Sid Shuman revealed Sony is currently testing enhanced chat audio quality, improved network connectivity, and the ability to create and participate in parties of up to 16 people, up from the current limit of eight.
The new features are part of the next PS4 update preview program, which gives beta access to select users for new updates. North American players will be able to test a couple of extra features, too: the PS4 Second Screen mobile app will allow you to enter text which will then be spoken aloud to other party members. Additionally, the app can transcribe the incoming chat audio from your friends. Sony says these app-focused updates are available to US- and Canada-based users only for the time being, and only in English.
Sign-ups for the upcoming beta update will go live today, June 4, in North America, and “soon” in Europe. Note, however, that if you participate in the preview program, you’ll only be able to join parties that contain other members of the program. If you are successfully selected for the beta, however, Sony will allow you to share your access code with 20 friends, meaning you can all test the update together.
On this episode of our monthly interview show IGN Unfiltered, longtime Bethesda Game Studios director Todd Howard joins us to discuss his Hall of Fame career, from the Terminator first-person shooter that got him started to the incredible success of The Elder Scrolls series to the acquisition of the Fallout IP to his new sci-fi project, Starfield.
The latest show to attempt to explore the connection between sensuality, horror, and everything in between is DC Universe’s Swamp Thing, which debuted last week. In a post-Hannibal world, there has been a lack of shows that blur the line between horror and horniness, but as the premiere of Swamp Thing moved ever closer, the promotional materials seemed to be leaning into the erotic aspects of the strange story of Alec Holland and his green alter-ego.
The huge success of the 2015 blockbuster Jurassic World and last year’s sequel proved there was plenty of life left in the long-running dinosaur movie series. They will soon be joined by the new animated show Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous.
The show is latest collaboration between Netflix and DreamWorks Animation, and it will hit the streaming service in 2020. The show will be set at the same time as the events of Jurassic World.
The official synopsis reads: “Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous follows a group of six teenagers chosen for a once-in-a-lifetime experience at a new adventure camp on the opposite side of Isla Nublar. But when dinosaurs wreak havoc across the island, the campers are stranded. Unable to reach the outside world, they’ll need to go from strangers to friends to family if they’re going to survive.”
Neither casting news nor a more specific release date. Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous follows a variety of other successful Netflix/DreamWorks shows, such as Guillermo Del Toro’s Trollhunters, Voltron: Legendary Defender, and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.
Netflix is increasingly moving into producing animated content. Earlier this week, an anime series based on the popular fantasy card game Magic: The Gathering was announced, which will be produced by Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo. In addition, it was previously reported that Netflix plans to launch its own animation studio, which will enable it to make projects in-house without having to outsource much of the technical work to existing animation companies.
What does Xbox smell like? You may soon be able to find out. Microsoft has partnered with Lynx to create a new fragrance called Lynx Xbox. The range includes body spray, deodorant, and shower gel, so really all of your bases are covered.
The official description is simply delightful:
“Lynx Xbox is a fresh scent of pulsing green citrus, featuring top notes of kaffir lime and winter lemon, aromatic herbal middle notes of mint and sage, and woody bottom notes of patchouli and clearwood. Containing a range of natural essential oils, the Xbox Lynx range comes with a sleek new look and features a body spray, deodorant, and shower gel.”
Xbox ANZ boss Tania Chee said in a statement that users can spray or wash themselves with Xbox Lynx to “power up” before heading out the door in the morning.
Xbox Lynx will be available from July at grocery stores and pharmacies across Australia and New Zealand. There is no word yet on if it’ll be released in other parts of the world.
Next up for Xbox is its E3 2019 briefing where Microsoft is expected to “go big.” Among other things, Microsoft is expected to announce a next-generation Xbox and show more of Halo Infinite.
