Author: Trafficblast

Lawmakers from Pennsylvania have put forth a bill that proposes a 10% excise tax on violent video games. House Bill 109 seeks to impose the so-called “sin tax” on games sold at retail that are rated by the ESRB as M for Mature or Adults-Only. The money would go into a fund called the “Digital Protection for School Safety Account” that aims to enhance security measures at schools in the wake of the school shootings in Parkland, Florida and Newtown, Connecticut.

State representative Chris Quinn, a republican, initially put forth the bill in 2018, but it never made it out of committee during the 2018 legislative session. The new version is similarly worded.

The 10 percent tax would be in addition to applicable state and local taxes. The sales tax rate in Pennsylvania is 6%, which means a standard $60 game costs around $64. With the extra 10 percent tax on violent games, the cost of an M-rated game like Red Dead Redemption 2 would make the game end up costing about $70.

Explaining the bill last year, Quinn said violent video games might be an element in the rise of school shootings in America. “One factor that may be contributing to the rise in, and intensity of, school violence is the material kids see, and act out, in video games,” he said.

Quinn cited the National Center for Health Research’s statement that studies demonstrate a link between violent video games and increases in aggressive thoughts and behaviors. Quinn’s comments conveniently leave out the same statement’s disclaimer that other factors like mental illness, access to weapons, and adverse environments should be considered as other risk factors. Not only that, but the National Center for Health Research’s own reporting states that studies have not shown that aggression leads to increased instances of deadly violence or criminal activity.

Expectedly, the Entertainment Software Association, which lobbies on behalf of the video game industry, is taking a hard line against this bill. In a statement to Variety, the ESA the bill is a violation of the US Constitution.

“Numerous authorities–including scientists, medical professionals, government agencies, and the US Supreme Court–found that video games do not cause violence,” it said. “We encourage Pennsylvania legislators to work with us to raise awareness about parental controls and the ESRB video game rating system, which are effective tools to ensure parents maintain control over the video games played in their home.”

After the Sandy Hook shooting, a lawmaker from Connecticut proposed a similar tax in 2013. Also that year, a state representative from Missouri proposed a sales tax on games rated M and above. In both cases, the funds would have gone towards mental health programs. However, the bills never became law.

With Season 7 of Fortnite winding down and a new season on the horizon, strange phenomena have once again begun occurring in the hit battle royale game. Epic Games typically heralds the arrival of each new season with some kind of world-changing event, so this isn’t entirely surprising. This time, however, the developer is literally shaking things up, as players have begun to experience earthquakes while playing.

Following the release of game’s 7.30 update, dataminers discovered audio files indicating some sort of earthquake event would occur in the game (via Fortnite Insider). It appears the tremors have started, as players on Twitter and Reddit are posting clips of the map spontaneously quaking in the middle of a match.

The aforementioned audio files were labeled as “small,” “med,” and “lrg,” suggesting the tremors players are experiencing in the game will only continue to grow in strength as we approach Season 8. As for what they could mean for the new season, that remains anyone’s guess at this point, although it’ll likely result in some portion of the map being dramatically transformed.

Season 7 of Fortnite is set to end on February 28 according to Epic’s website, which means you only have a little time left to complete any outstanding challenges and unlock this season’s skins and other rewards. If you need help mopping up any remaining tasks, you can find tips and guides in our complete Season 7 challenges roundup.

In other Fortnite news, Epic recently rolled out the game’s 7.30 content update, which introduced another new item to the game: Bottle Rockets. The developer also tweaked environmental campfires so they can be lit to restore health and kicked off another limited-time mode.

Microsoft has made Crackdown free on the Xbox Live marketplace, allowing you to download the game on Xbox 360 or Xbox One. With Crackdown 3 right around the corner, it’s a good opportunity to see how the series originated.

In Microsoft’s announcement of the deal, there was no word whether or not the game would be free forever or for a limited time. However, as the deal is to “celebrate the launch of Crackdown 3” it’s probably best to act on this offer prior to Crackdown 3’s release.

When we got the chance to check out Crackdown 3, we thought it’s single-player was a little too much like the original game. Despite the 12 year difference in release dates, Crackdown 3’s campaign looks and plays just like the first title in the series. However, Crackdown 3’s multiplayer is fantastic, and made an incredible first impression that completely overshadowed the single-player gameplay.

Crackdown 3 is one of three major February PC releases that isn’t releasing on Steam. A Microsoft first-party exclusive, Crackdown 3 is releasing on the company’s store. Also this month, BioWare’s multiplayer-focused shooter Anthem is launching on Origin, while 4A Games’ post-apocalyptic RPG Metro Exodus is exclusive to the Epic Games Store. Of the three, Exodus has proven to be the most controversial, with Valve calling the game’s move to Epic to be “unfair” for players, and Steam users review bombing both Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light in response to the exclusivity.

The original Crackdown is available for Xbox 360 and PC, and can be played on Xbox One with X-Enhancement via backwards compatibility–along with a long list of other games. Crackdown 3 is scheduled to launch for Xbox One and PC on February 15.

In our Crackdown review, Jeff Gerstmann gave the game a 7.8/10, writing, “Crackdown feels unfinished. It feels like the developers sat down and crafted a wonderful-looking city and carefully considered how the gameplay and abilities should work, and then they didn’t have enough time to plug in enough activities to take advantage of it all. While you’ll certainly have a lot of fun playing Crackdown, it’s hard not to get the distinct feeling that it was on the cusp of being so much more.”

Crackdown 3 is finally actually arriving, but you can try out the Wrecking Zone multiplayer a little early by taking part in a technical test. It will begin on Thursday, February 7 at 12 PM PT / 3 PM ET.

According to the announcement, the test will be exclusive to Xbox Insiders. Players will try out the Agent Hunter game mode, which involves taking down rival agents and stealing their badges for points. The Blackout Zone map will be the one used for this test. If you’re in the program you can begin installing at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET. Other playtests throughout the weekend will be announced through the Xbox Insider hub, as well as on Discord and on game’s Facebook and Twitter.

If you’re not an Xbox Insider, membership is free so you can join whenever you’d like. You just have to download the Xbox Insider Hub from the storefront on your Xbox One, and then go to the Insider Content section and download “Wrecking Zone: Technical Test.” That will give you access to the test, and Microsoft encourages users to leave feedback.

The company says that the Wrecking Zone multiplayer uses its Azure Cloud service, which is part of why it’s putting the mode through its paces this way. We came away impressed by Crackdown 3’s multiplayer, finding it overshadowed even its single-player offering. If you’re a subscriber to Game Pass, you’ll have access to Crackdown 3 on its release day, February 15–along with a raft of other games this month. A new launch trailer (above) shows off some of what’s in store.

With no pre-release marketing whatsoever (unless you count the leaks), EA and Respawn both announced and released a brand-new game earlier this week, Apex Legends. It’s a battle royale game spin-off of sorts from the Titanfall series, and early impressions of it have been positive. Being free-to-play on PS4, Xbox One, and PC means that most anyone can jump in. But maybe battle royale isn’t your thing. Or perhaps using the weapons from Titanfall has, like me, gotten you thinking about that series. Whatever the case, if you’ve gotten the urge to jump back into a proper Titanfall game, you can do so for awfully cheap right now on Xbox One.

As part of this week’s Xbox Live sale, you can pick up Titanfall 2: Ultimate Edition for just $4.50/£3.75. That’s a steep discount of 85% off the regular price, and a mere pittance for such a terrific game. It’ll be available for that price through February 11 with or without Xbox Live Gold (though you’ll need it in order to play online multiplayer). This Ultimate Edition comes with some extra perks to give you a head start on progression and some cosmetics in multiplayer.

Titanfall 2 was released back in October 2016 and faced somewhat of an uphill battle to garner attention, due to stiff competition launching that fall. But it was nonetheless a genuinely excellent game, expanding on its predecessor in intelligent ways while still providing the fluid, fast-paced gameplay it was known for. There are few, if any, games that can deliver the same kind of thrills as Titanfall 2. It’s not uncommon to parkour through the environment, leap into your titan, and take out an enemy all in one intense sequence, or to rip the pilot out of a titan using your own and then soar through the air as you eject, causing a massive explosion. It’s great.

Titanfall 2 also features two notable elements absent from Apex Legends–the titular titans and the ability to wallrun–as well as a surprisingly enjoyable single-player campaign. While short, for just a few bucks, the story mode is worth the price of admission on its own.

This great deal is unfortunately only available on Xbox One, and not PS4 or PC. Bear in mind, Titanfall is 2 is available for free to EA Access subscribers on Xbox One and Origin Access subscribers on PC, so you do potentially have an avenue to play it for relatively cheap on those platforms. An equivalent PS4 service is not yet available, although comments made by EA this week may have teased that a PS4 version of EA Access is finally on the way. And although Respawn has said Titanfall 3 is not currently in the works, a new “premium” Titanfall game of some sort is on the way.

The eighth and final season of Game of Thrones is now only two months away, and while we are yet to see a full trailer, a new batch of images has been released by HBO. Unsurprisingly, the photos don’t give much away, but it does show all of the main characters and will get fans excited for the upcoming season.

There are 14 images in all, and if nothing else, it’s a handy way to remind viewers exactly who is still alive as we go into Season 8. So there’s Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey), Arya Stark (Maisie Williams), Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage), Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner), Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), Jon Snow (Kit Harrington), Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie), Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright), Samwell Tarly (John Bradley), Samwell Tarly (John Bradley), Varys (Conleth Hill), and Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham). Check them out below:

Although the full trailer for the next season is yet to be released, a cryptic first teaser was released last month. It didn’t contain any actual footage, but it did hint at the fates of members of the Stark family. We also know the final battle in the new season is the largest in the entire series, and most brutal as well. It premieres on HBO on April 14.

Although Game of Thrones is nearing the end, there is a prequel spin-off on the way. X-Men: First Class’ Jane Goldman will serve as showrunner and has developed the story with George RR Martin, who wrote the original novels. This week it was revealed that the show will start filming early this summer.

While it’s yet to receive an official title, Martin suggested last year that it would be called The Long Night. He subsequently walked that back, perhaps due to pressure from HBO that didn’t want that name shared yet. In any event, it does provide some insight into what to expect. It is expected to premiere in 2020 or 2021.

Despite being members of the Justice League alongside one another, Bruce Wayne and Barry Allen aren’t exactly the characters you’d expect to team up. It’s not that they don’t have a healthy working relationship–they’ve saved the world together more times than anyone could really count–but at the end of the day, they’re just very different people. Anyone who’s seen an episode of The Flash and watched one of the many, many Batman-centric films out there in the universe could tell you that.

But the truth of the matter is, the dynamic between Batman and The Flash over in their comic book incarnations is fraught with a lot more complexity than the boiled down versions we see on screen–and that’s exactly what the four-issue mini series, The Price, by Joshua Williamson, Guillem March, and Rafa Sandoval, explores.

“When you think about characters in the League, characters like Bruce and Clark have this relationship that’s explored, or Clark and Diana, or Bruce and Diana. Barry has this relationship with Hal Jordan that’s well known–but we’ve never really explored the idea of Bruce and Barry who are like these two guys that are like nerdy science friends. They’re detective bros, right?” Writer Josh Williamson explained in an interview with GameSpot. “For a really long time, Barry didn’t have someone he could talk about [his forensic work] with. Barry is very much this like, nerdy awkward guy and Bruce is this suave cool guy but underneath that they have this connection. They have this understanding for each other as scientists and as detectives.”

That connection is specifically important, since the case currently holding their attention is not only incredibly disturbing–it’s deeply personal. In the Heroes In Crisis event series, a mass murderer targeted Sanctuary, a secret mental health facility for superheroes. One of the victims was, unfortunately, Wally West–Barry’s protege and close friend of Dick Grayson, Batman’s protege. As if the murder itself weren’t horrifying enough, the Justice League still has no real idea who was responsible or why which, on top of being grieving friends and guardians, is arguably the worst position a pair of detectives could be in.

Worse yet? Wally’s stay at Sanctuary was Bruce’s idea. There’s a certain amount of unspoken blame floating between the two heroes as Barry forces himself to reconcile Wally’s death with Bruce’s advice and Bruce is forced to stomach the guilt and responsibility for the part he played.

Yeah, it’s messy–and people like Barry and Bruce tend to take messiness to a whole new level. They may be superheroes, but neither of them are well known for their healthy coping mechanisms.

So of course, the pressure of those circumstances–the grief, the frustration, the need to solve the mystery–is starting to weigh on both Barry and Bruce’s shoulders. “There’s this growing tension between them,” Williamson said. “They’re two people who are good friends, who understand each other, but they’re both feeling so burnt out and worn down by all of this. […] It’s about not only about solving the case, it’s about solving the friendship.”

That level of interpersonal struggle is where The Price really sets itself apart. It departs, largely, from the formulaic superhero conflict that is ultimately resolved by punching, and digs into the emotional stakes at hand. Is there a place for grief and self-care in the realm of people who have to save the world daily? Can someone like The Flash ever take a break, sort himself out, and come back with fresh eyes? Is Batman ever allowed to stop and refocus?

Obviously, there are no clear right or wrong answers, making the story that much more engaging. Sure, there’s a villain–there is an immediate concern. “Stopping [a villain] is obviously the chief concern,” Williamson said, “but it becomes about what’s after that. The question becomes, okay, if we stop [the villain], what do we do with them? Whose responsibility are they?”

Thankfully, the heaviness of the theme doesn’t weigh the story down any more than it needs to–thanks, in part, to artists Sandoval and March alongside colorist Tomeu Morey, who help bring a cohesive energy and life to the forefront. The Price takes place in four issues, alternating between Batman #64 and #65 and The Flash #64 and #65 with March handling the former and Sandoval on the latter. “They make such great storytelling choices,” Williamson explained, “by the end of the process, we were actually going through and striking lines of dialogue. The art just worked better to make the point.”

The Price is a perfect story for anyone looking to dig a little deeper into the minds of their favorite heroes–whether they’re fans of the live action Barry on CW’s The Flash looking for more to read between episodes, or long-time fans of the DCU who have lapsed in their reading. It doesn’t take much prerequisite work–pick up the trade paperbacks for The Button (conveniently available on Comixology Unlimited), Flash War, and catch up with the currently ongoing Heroes in Crisis event if you’re looking to be a completionist; or hop right in with The Price part 1 in Batman #64.