Cardy has been enjoying a bit of Phoenix Wright, Joe has sadly not been enjoying The Twilight Zone, and Matt has been watching so many comic book movie trailers that his eyes have started to bleed.
Luckily, he still managed to write his first entry into the Endless Search annals, of which we have a brand spanking new jingle for. Bangin’.
IGN UK Podcast #482: Joaquin Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
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FULL SPOILERS ahead for Shazam!
In what seemed like the kind of plot development that might be saved for a sequel, Shazam! totally went there and introduces the entire Shazam Family in its third act — the Shazamily! But who exactly are the Shazam Family — formerly known as the Captain Marvel Family — and what’s their history? Let’s break it down…
The Shazam Family are part of a long trend of superhero “families” like the Batman Family and the Superman Family, except these guys were basically the originals: an entire squadron of superhero sidekicks sporting very similar powers and costumes to the main hero.
The most recognizable members of the group, beyond the Big Red Cheese himself, are Captain Marvel, Jr. and Mary Marvel. Their names, of course, date back to an era when Shazam! was still known as Captain Marvel, and indeed, wasn’t even a DC Comics character yet. (Get the full story on Shazam’s complicated history here.) First appearing in Fawcett Comics’ Whiz Comics #25 (December 1941) and Captain Marvel Adventures #18 (December 1942), respectively, Captain Marvel Jr. and Mary Marvel are the powered-up versions of Freddy Freeman and Mary Batson.
FULL SPOILERS ahead for Shazam!
The very last scene in Shazam! before the end credits roll features the film’s biggest DC Comics cameo — but not in the way fans may have expected. Yes, as had been rumored and hoped for, Superman appears in Shazam! … from the neck down. And it’s not Henry Cavill playing him, although the costume might certainly make some viewers think it’s him.
In the spirit of the movie’s theme of wish fulfillment, the last scene sees in-universe DC fanboy Freddy Freeman (played by Jack Dylan Grazer) meeting his idol Superman thanks to his foster brother Billy Batson’s alter ego, Shazam (played by Zachary Levi). Freddy had previously bragged to his Fawcett High classmates that he could get his pal Shazam to show up at their school for lunch. But when Shazam failed to appear, Freddy paid the price for it in public humiliation.
FULL SPOILERS ahead for the ending of Shazam!
That final scene featuring Superman isn’t the only DC character cameo at the end of Shazam!. The mid-end credits scene pays off an Easter egg planted earlier in the film by introducing viewers to Mister Mind, who is truly one of the strangest (and silliest) DC Comics supervillains ever.
A talking, evil alien worm with a genius-level intellect and hypnotic powers, Mister Mind is one of Shazam’s oldest adversaries, and a truly deep cut of a DC Comics reference. Briefly glimpsed earlier inside a glass case within the Rock of Eternity, that same case is later seen empty. These moments pay off in the mid-credits scene. As he furiously writes hieroglyphs on the walls of his cell — desperately trying to recalculate how to regain access to the magical powers he’s lost — Doctor Sivana (Mark Strong) is visited by none other than Mister Mind, who appears on the cell’s window ledge. (Shazam! director David F. Sandberg confirmed to IGN that he also voices the character.) The brief scene suggests a partnership of some kind between these two baddies is in the offering, with Mister Mind making a reference to the Seven Realms …
Ubisoft is bringing down The Division 2‘s servers tomorrow for an extended period of maintenance. The downtime, which will run for about three hours, will begin Friday, April 5 at 12:30 AM PT.
That works out to 3:30 AM ET, 9:30 AM CEST, and 5:30 PM AEDT. Ubisoft will use the downtime to roll out the new Invasion: Battle for D.C. update, in addition to the regular maintenance.
Invasion: Battle for D.C. is the first of The Division 2’s free post-release updates. It introduces a new stronghold, Tidal Basin, which features the strongest enemies to date, along with a new Heroic difficulty setting. It also adds two new exotic weapons, Pestilence and Nemesis, along with multiple new gear sets. You can find out more about the update in GameSpot’s coverage here.
Here at GameSpot we scored The Division 2 a 9/10, and it’s exciting to think about the new update and other opportunities to continue to explore and spend time in The Division 2’s world.
The Xbox Game Pass catalog grows today with one of the biggest games on planet Earth. As announced during the Inside Xbox briefing in March, Microsoft’s sandbox game Minecraft comes to Game Pass today. It’s the full Bedrock version of the game, not some limited slice.
What’s more, people who get Minecraft through Xbox Game Pass have access to all future updates, including the upcoming Village & Pillage update that arrives later this month.
Minecraft supports cross-play between Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PC (via Windows 10), Gear VR, iOS, and Android. Minecraft is one of the most popular games in history. By Microsoft’s latest count, it has 91 million monthly players, which is many millions more than Fortnite has.
Xbox Game Pass is Microsoft’s all-you-can-eat subscription service on Xbox One that provides members access to a growing catalog of games that users can download and play for as long as their membership remains active. Minecraft is just the latest big-name game to come to Xbox Game Pass; some of the other marquee titles include Halo 5 and Halo: The Master Chief Collection, as well as Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Just Cause 4, all the Gears of War games, Doom, and more.
The service costs $10 USD/month, but new subscribers can sign up for $1 USD/month. It’s only available on Xbox One, but Microsoft has talked about bringing it to every device.
Xbox Game Pass is separate from Project xCloud, which is Microsoft’s upcoming game-streaming service that will enter public trials later this year.
Aside from free monthly games, another perk to being an Xbox Live Gold member is having access to Free Play Days, which make certain games free to play throughout a given weekend. Starting today, three games are available to play for free: Borderlands: The Handsome Collection, WWE 2K19, and Dead by Daylight: Special Edition.
It’s perfect timing to play Borderlands: The Handsome Collection–the two games included, Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, just received free Ultra HD texture packs that greatly enhance the graphics on Xbox One X, PS4 Pro, and PC. Plus, Borderlands 3 finally has a confirmed release date and is now available to pre-order.
If you have a Steam account, you can also play Borderlands: The Handsome Collection for free on PC this weekend. You’ll have to go to each game’s individual store page, where you can then play them at no cost.
Then there’s WWE 2K19, which marks the 20th game in the WWE game series. WWE 2K19 introduces minor quality-of-life improvements for in-ring action and, outside the ring, a plethora of new content and game modes, including a story-driven MyCareer mode.
Finally, you can try out the special edition for Dead By Daylight, a multiplayer horror game that pits four players (the “Survivors”) against one other player (the “Killer”) in an eerie environment. The survivors are tasked with repairing five generators in order to escape before the killer can find and take them out.
All three games are free to play until Monday, April 8 at 12 AM PT / 3 AM ET. To download the games on your console, navigate to the Gold member area on your Xbox One dashboard. If you enjoy the games, you can buy them at a discount this weekend and continue playing with all of your progress.
Not an Xbox Live Gold member? Sign up now for free games, discounts, and more »
Season 8 of Fortnite rolls on with a new set of challenges to complete across PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch, and mobile. Week 6’s challenges run the gamut from visiting animal-shaped structures to finding the highest elevations on the island, but another one that may throw you for a loop is to search where the knife points on the Treasure Map loading screen. Fortunately, we’ve got you covered.
Much like the similar challenge from Week 4, all you need to do is look where the knife rests on the Treasure Map loading screen (pictured below), then head to that location to find a free Battle Star. What makes this a bit tricky is that the map isn’t labeled, so if you aren’t familiar with the layout of the island, it may not be entirely clear where you need to go, but the Battle Star can be found near Lonely Lodge.
Specifically, the star will appear in the middle of a forest located in-between Lonely Lodge and the racetrack north of Paradise Palms, near the top of quadrant J6. Pick it up like you would any other item, then finish the match and you’ll complete the challenge. If you need more help finding it, you can watch us collect the Battle Star in the video at the top of this guide.
There are still a few weeks remaining in Fortnite Season 8, so you still have time to complete any outstanding challenges from earlier weeks and unlock all the new Battle Pass rewards. If you need help finishing them, you can find tips and guides for all of the trickier tasks in our complete Fortnite Season 8 challenges roundup.
Week 6’s challenges follow shortly after the release of Fortnite’s 8.20 content update, which added another new weapon to the game: the Boom Bow. Unlike typical bows, this one has shotgun shells on its arrow tips which will explode upon impact. On top of that, the update brought back the Sniper Showdown LTM and gave a buff to peppers, one of the new scavenged items recently added to the game.
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Stranger Things season 3 doesn’t arrive until July 4, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend the next few months Stranger Things-less. You can always rewatch seasons 1 and 2, but even better, you can play the “Hunt For the Thessalhydra” adventure from the show.
The Stranger Things Dungeons and Dragons starter set uses fifth edition rules to get you and your friends up and running. The box itself is a throwback to the classic red box version of D&D that would have been period-appropriate to the show’s 1980s setting. Inside is a set of dice, rule book, pre-made character sheets, Hunt For The Thessalhydra adventure book, and a pair of Demogorgons.
The next big update for The Division 2 is coming very soon, and it adds a new, more challenging difficulty mode, as well as a new World Tier, weekly invasions, new weapons and gear, and more. Not only that, but the first raid is on the way at the end of the month.
The new update, Tidal Basin, is part of the first post-launch free content, Invasion: Battle for D.C., and it arrives on April 5–here’s exactly when. It adds a new stronghold, Tidal Basin, which is occupied by the Black Tusk faction. “Tidal Basin is now home to some of the most powerful enemies in the game, and they’re not going down easy,” Ubisoft says.
Players who successfully complete the stronghold will rise to World Tier 5, and in turn this lets players get gear scores in the range of 450-500. Reaching World Tier 5 unlocks new weekly invasions that see Black Tusk enemies take over missions and strongholds throughout D.C. They are described as “harder” than other challenges, and the reward for completing them is better loot and gear.
Additionally, Invasion: Battle for D.C. adds a new Heroic difficulty setting that Ubisoft says makes for “some of the most challenging gameplay yet.” On top of that, new two exotic weapons, Pestilence and Nemesis, along with gear sets True Patriot, Hardwired, and Ongoing Directive, are coming to The Division 2 in the update.
In addition, a new PvP map titled Fort McNair is added in the update, while there are more cosmetics to acquire through the Invasion Apparel Event.
Looking ahead, The Division 2’s first raid, Operation Dark Hours, is slated to arrive on April 25. It’s an eight-player raid that is described as “the toughest of all challenges,” and one that will “test the teamwork of the most experienced agents.”
Even further out, Ubisoft will add a new Specialization to The Division 2, but there is no word yet on what it’ll be or when it’ll release.
Invasion: Battle for D.C. is the first of at least three free content drops for The Division 2 in its Year 1. The others include Episode 1: DC Outskirts Expedition (Summer 2019), Episode 2: Pentagon: The Last Castle (Fall 2019), and Episode 3 (Winter 2019).