Author: Trafficblast

The first official images from the upcoming J.R.R. Tolkien biopic have been released, showing off Nicholas Hoult as the acclaimed fantasy author. USA Today posted a series of images from the film, which focuses on a young Tolkien in the time leading up to his writing of the epic fantasy.

Director Dome Karukoski told the site that the movie, which is called Tolkien, will cover the author’s life as he considers and confronts his own imagination. “There’s often fear with that, also, in how your imagination starts to play with you, especially the mind of a genius like Tolkien,” he said.

Actor Harry Gilby will play Tolkien as a teenager in the film before Hoult assumes the role of Tolkien in his late 20s at the onset of his writing of the fantasy series. One major part of the film will be Tolkien’s relationship with the woman he would eventually marry: Edith Bratt (Lily Collins).

“She kept him very honest and took care of him throughout all the difficult strives in his life,” Hoult told USA Today about Bratt. She also “also pushed him to create what he did create and gave him the foundation to be able to do that,” Hoult said.

Tolkien the movie will also touch on the orphan author’s friendship with schoolmates and his time serving in World War I. A trailer hasn’t been released yet, so these first images are all we have to go on for now in terms of visuals. Go to USA Today to see them all. You can also see them in Hoult’s Instagram gallery above.

We also learn in the story that Hoult is a big fan of Tolkien, having read The Hobbit on the set of his first big movie, About A Boy.

Tolkien hits theatres on May 10. In addition to this film, another one is in the works that focuses on the relationship between Tolkien and Narnia writer C.S. Lewis, and how Tolkien helped convert Lewis to Christianity.

Outside of these, Amazon is producing a Lord of the Rings prequel TV show, while a massive Lord of the Rings art exhibit is opening in New York City. A new Lord of the Rings video game is also in the work, and it’s said to have an online focus.

BioWare has announced that it’s adding running to Fort Tarsis in Anthem. It’s a change that’s certainly going to be positively met by many of those who played Anthem’s VIP demo, and the update is scheduled to be live at the game’s launch.

In an interview with GamesRadar, Anthem executive producer Mark Darrah said that the decision to have you walk through the fort was so that you would “feel a little bit underpowered,” and understand “that strong difference” for a Freelancer outside their Javelin as opposed to in one. “We want it to feel like walking,” he continued. “If you look at most video games, you’re sprinting everywhere and we gave you a jet pack machine for when you’re out in the world, and we really want it to feel like you’re just a person walking around and now you are that person in Iron Man armor.”

BioWare general manager Casey Hudson added that “there was a run speed that was in [the game]. And then for some reason it was out of the game for when that particular build [the VIP demo build] was made.” Hudson confirmed that sprint function is back in “the main game” so you should be able to sprint in Fort Tarsis when Anthem launches. However, it doesn’t sound like the function will be available in the free February 1-3 demo.

Anthem had a doozy of a VIP demo last weekend. Initially, it seemed as if the demo’s servers were overloaded, but both EA and BioWare clarified that wasn’t the case. Regardless, players still faced dropped games and never-ending loading screens. Eventually, even Origin shut down, and then the problem extended to other EA titles on additional platforms, including consoles. Whatever the issue, it was resolved by the end of the weekend, and all VIP invitees were given the chance to try all four Javelins–as opposed to just two–on the last day of the demo. BioWare also promised a second Javelin vinyl for everyone invited to the VIP demo. It will unlock in the main game come launch.

Anthem is scheduled to launch on February 22 for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. If you’re an EA or Origin Access subscriber, then you can play the game a week early on Xbox One or PC.

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Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls, and Detroit developer Quantic Dream recently raised money from Chinese internet company NetEase, at which time many wondered if it meant that the French studio would continue to make games only for PlayStation consoles. Now we know it won’t.

Quantic Dream boss Guillaume de Foundaumiere told GamesBeat that while the studio will continue to release games for PlayStation consoles, the exclusivity arrangement is seemingly over.

“We will continue to work on PlayStation, which is a platform we love and that we know very well, but we will also consider other platforms as we want to make our creations accessible to as many gamers as possible worldwide, regardless of the platform,” he said. “This is definitely a shift for us after 12 years developing exclusively for PlayStation. We are confident we can make a smooth transition [to multi-platform development] while keeping the high level of quality that we target for our games.”

As for what Quantic Dream’s next game will be, studio founder David Cage said it’s “too early” to reveal anything. However, he did tease that the studio is working on a new game engine that will support multiple platforms. The engine is “even more impressive than anything we have done before,” Cage said.

He added: “We will keep working on projects that are ambitious and original, building on the genre we pioneered and that we will continue to develop, but we also want to explore new grounds.”

Also in the interview, Cage said Quantic Dream wants to become a “global, multi-franchise company” that retains its independence, and raising the money from NetEase will help it achieve that. “We want to keep developing original games in the genre we pioneered, but also expand our audience by being present on all platforms,” he said.

Quantic Dream raised an unspecified amount of money from NetEase. The company previously invested $100 million into Bungie to develop non-Destiny games. NetEase also invested $30 million in Second Dinner, a small team founded by Hearthstone developers who are making a Marvel game.

Detroit: Become Human was released in May 2018 as a PlayStation 4-exclusive. It was generally well-received and it set sales records.

Kingdom Hearts 3 is one of the most anticipated games of the year. Fans have been waiting years for the release date of the third mainline entry in the series to arrive, and that moment is nearly here–it launches tomorrow, January 29.

If you’re not familiar with the series, you might enjoy our Kingdom Hearts story primer, or everything you need to know about Kingdom Hearts 3. One notable thing that’s emerged in the last few days is that the game’s epilogue will be added after launch to avoid spoilers being leaked. And if you want to know how long it will take to see that epilogue, you can find out by taking a look at Kingdom Hearts 3’s campaign length estimate.

We awarded the game an 8/10 in our Kingdom Hearts 3 review, while critics across the board seem pretty positive about this concluding chapter. Read on below for a selection of other reviews or check out GameSpot sister site Metacritic for more, or head over to CNET for thoughts from a series newcomer.

GameSpot — 8/10

“What sticks with me is the exciting battle against elemental titans with Hercules, taking Rapunzel out into the unfamiliar wide world for the first time, snapping selfies with Winnie the Pooh, and going toe to toe with Davy Jones. In 2002, as Sora, I left Destiny Islands to travel across the universe and make new friends. In 2019 I brought old ones home, and I had so much fun doing it.” — Tamoor Hussain [Full review]

CNET

“Kingdom Hearts 3 sticks doggedly to what made Kingdom Hearts successful in the first place, for better or worse. It’s both the poison and the antidote. It’s more than happy to let you swim in its best bits of unpredictable, epic combat set pieces and then sit you down for an extended fireside chat about a Keyblade War with four antagonists that all share the same hair colour and only slightly varied haircuts.” — Jackson Ryan [Full review] CNET is GameSpot’s sister site.

IGN — 8.7/10

“I thoroughly enjoyed Square Enix’s evolution of Kingdom Hearts’ gameplay and fidelity to Disney’s beloved animated movies. While the storytelling could use some punching up, Square has done a fantastic job of capturing the spirit of these worlds while giving us a massive toolbox for battles and exploration. Even as I watched the dust settle on the story I wanted to jump right back in to collect everything. But to see all of the events of the Kingdom Hearts games so far culminate is, frankly, weird. Having been given so much time to ruminate, its specific resolutions aren’t all that surprising, but only a marginal impact is lost as a result. I still loved seeing so many characters from throughout this series interact in new ways and rekindle old bonds. It’s nice to see that, even so long after the very first game, Kingdom Hearts 3 is so full of heart.” — Jonathon Dornbush [Full review]

Game Informer — 9.5/10

“While not perfect, Kingdom Hearts III is the game I’ve been waiting for. After finishing it, I was delighted by how satisfied I was with the journey. I traversed worlds with some of my favorite Disney characters, persevered through challenging boss battles, and saw a triumphant finale that only makes me more excited for the future. The series still has a lot of heart, and that’s what makes it so endearing.” — Kimberley Wallace [Full review]

Polygon — No score

“Kingdom Hearts isn’t simple anymore; it isn’t just joy and bright colors and Disney heroes. Instead, the conclusion of this story is tangled up in so many conflicting threads, each one a heavy burden on its hero, whose smile now feels unnerving. Kingdom Hearts 3 is an example of what can go wrong when a series that once stood in contrast to its peers as a lighthearted alternative loses its way.” — Allegra Frank [Full review]

GamesRadar — 4/5

“Whatever the flaws, there is nothing quite like Kingdom Hearts 3, and it’s a wild, wonderful ride as a result. Name one other game where you can watch Elsa belt out Let It Go before hammering some monsters to death with a giant key. I’ll wait.” — Rachel Weber [Full review]