Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is not the only new entry in the series in the works. Activision announced a partnership with Chinese internet giant Tencent today to make a new Call of Duty mobile game for China. The name of the game has not been announced, but Activision said it will be an “original” game, which suggests it’s not a port of an existing title. Though it’s new, it will include characters, maps, modes, and weapons you’re already familiar with.
Tencent’s internal studio, Timi, is developing the game, not Activision. It’s set to launch in China “in the coming months.”
“We’re working closely with one of Tencent’s top mobile studios, Timi, to develop a fun and original Call of Duty experience that delivers superb gameplay and mechanics to mobile players,” Call of Duty executive Rob Kostich said in a statement. “Call of Duty has been the leading first person action experience around the globe for years and seeing that come to life on the mobile platform has been really exciting. We can’t wait for fans to play.”
For its part, Tencent boss Steven Ma said in a statement that the new Call of Duty game is “tailored to meet the interests and play styles of mobile players in China.”
We’ll report back with more details on the new Call of Duty mobile game for China as they’re announced. It’s not the first Call of Duty mobile game, as Activision already released a title called Call of Duty: Heroes that features notable characters from across the franchise.
As for Black Ops 4, the game launches in early October for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. You may not have to wait that long to check it out, however, as a beta starts this week on PS4.
Grand Theft Auto V, which was released four years and 10 months ago, is still doing huge business for Rockstar Games and parent company Take-Two Interactive.
The company announced today that GTA V has now shipped almost 100 million units. This is up fro the 95 million figure that Take-Two announced back in May. The game “outperformed” Take-Two’s expectations during the quarter. Indeed, it continues to be a massive hit so long after launch, as it was the No. 3 best-selling game in the United States during June, outselling the new release The Crew 2 and other titles.
Not only is GTA V the base game doing well, but its GTA Online mode also did better than Take-Two expected. “Grand Theft Auto Online continued to exceed our expectations in the first quarter, as it has in every period since its release,” Take-Two said.
Part of the reason why GTA Online has been and continues to be so successful is that Rockstar releases new content for it very frequently. The latest substantial update was GTA Online: After Hours, which Take-Two said “had a bigger week-one audience than last December’s Doomsday Heist, which went on to be a record-breaking update.”
Looking ahead, Take-Two said Rockstar plans to launch “much more innovative content” for the game in the weeks and months to come.
A big part of GTA Online is its microtransactions, and these have been performing extremely well. During an earnings call, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said “recurrent consumer spending” i.e. microtransactions performed better-than-expected this quarter.
The next big release from Rockstar is Red Dead Redemption 2, which launches in October.
“Nothing is impossible for PUBG Mobile, the world’s most popular mobile battle royale game–not even a partnership with an iconic movie franchise such as Mission: Impossible,” said PUBG Mobile general manager Vincent Wang. PUBG Mobile now has over 100 million downloads, and Wang hopes this Mission: Impossible Fallout tie-in brings in more players.
The update adds Mission: Impossible background music to the game, as well as new parachute customizations that are themed to the film. Players can also unlock the attire of Ethan Hunt and his fellow agents, and compete in Mission: Impossible inspired challenges for various rewards.
PUBG Mobile is available to download for free on the Apple App Store for iOS and Google Play for Android devices. PUBG is available on PC and Xbox One.
On PC, PUBG has a new limited-time event called Sanhok Forty-Fives where 80 players face off against one another on Sanhok in teams of four. The catch is that only throwables and firearms that take .45 ammo spawn during the match, so players are forced to rely solely on Tommy Guns, Win94s, R45s, P1911s and Vectors.
Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar’s next big game, Red Dead Redemption 2, is coming in October and parent publisher Take-Two has high hopes for it.
During an earnings call today, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said the game will be “yet another creative milestone” for Rockstar. Boasting further, Zelnick said Red Dead Redemption 2 aims to “redefine our industry” and “captivate audiences around the world.”
“Red Dead Redemption 2 is Rockstar Games’ first title developed from the ground up for the current console generation,” Take-Two said. “We could not be more excited about the upcoming launch of Red Dead Redemption 2, which is poised to be another massive entertainment event.”
Zelnick didn’t say anything more about how Red Dead Redemption 2 will “redefine” the gaming industry. Intriguingly, Rockstar has said the game will have a new and innovative multiplayer mode, but no further details about this have been announced.
EA has scrubbed a mention of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in a song featured in Madden NFL 19.
‘Big Bank’ by YG ft. 2 Chainz, Big Sean and Nicki Minaj is one of the 31 songs on the latest Madden’s EA Trax soundtrack. The original verse by Big Sean goes like this: “You boys all cap, I’m more Colin Kaepernick.” The below video is how it sounds with Kaepernick’s name entirely removed in Madden 19.
Kaepernick is a controversial figure in football and politics for protesting police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem in 2016, which was the last year of his contract with the 49ers. His protest sent ripples throughout the NFL, and other players began taking the knee, attracting ire from conservative figures and President Trump. Following his departure from the team, Kaepernick remained unsigned, leading him to file a grievance against the NFL.
Details about Matt Reeves’ project, The Batman, have all been unsubstantiated for a long time. Now, things are getting more tangible as Reeves talks about getting the script together, and gives us just a tiny bit of information on the new Batman film.
For a while, many reports seemed to indicate that Reeves’ project would be based on the Year One storyline from the comics, which follows Batman’s origins. But now, Slashfilm is reporting that Reeves definitively denied that claim, saying, “We’re not doing any particular [comic]. Year One is one of the many comic books that I love. We are definitely not doing Year One. It’s just exciting to be focused very specifically on a tale that is defining for him and very personal to him. Obviously we’re not doing an origin tale or anything like that.”
He went on to talk about the tone of the film he wants to create, saying, “We’re doing a story that is definitively Batman, though, and trying to tell a story that’s emotional and yet is really about him being the world’s greatest detective and all the things that for me, since I was a kid, made me love Batman,” Reeves continued, “I’ve talked about making it a very point of view noir-driven definitive Batman story in which he is investigating a particular case and that takes us out into the world of Gotham.”
Reeves also talked about how this film will fit into the larger DC Cinematic Universe. Ben Affleck was initially set to helm the film, but the actor has since backed away from the franchise, and now he may not appear in the movie at all. Reeves didn’t answer the question of whether Affleck will be in the movie, but he did say, “There are ways in which all of this connects to DC, to the DC universe as well.”
Reeves is known for having directed Cloverfield and the two most recent Planet of the Apes movies. With the image of Batman brooding over his latest case with a cigarette and a gravely voice-over firmly planted in our minds, we’re really interested to see Batman conceptualized as a film noir detective.
Now that a couple trailers for October’s Venom have been released, many people have wondered why the titular character’s voice is so weird. Why does Eddie Brock talk to Venom? What’s going on? While it may be tough to make out what he or Eddie Brock say in the trailers, as actor Tom Hardy makes weird choices with his speech, there is a method to his madness. Eddie Brock is a character slowly losing his mind, something the comics took years to set up.
The Venom symbiote made its first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #252 back in the spring of 1984. It was revealed at the end of the year that Peter Parker got this suit from an intergalactic sewing machine in Marvel Super Heroes Secret War #8. No, that’s not a joke. At first, nothing seemed too off about this costume, but as time progressed, Peter Parker became a bit of a jerk and began acting aggressively.
Parker realized this was a problem and parted ways with the symbiote, only for it to fall into the hands of journalist Eddie Brock, who was obsessed with ruining Spider-Man’s life. When the Venom symbiote bonded with Brock, it seemed to heighten that even further. In Amazing Spider-Man #300, he appeared a bit unbalanced when fighting Spider-Man, especially when Brock decided to dress as a priest in a church. This is the first time he referred to himself and Venom as “we.”
It wasn’t until Amazing Spider-Man #316 that Brock started speaking in the second person more regularly, something Venom fans are more accustomed to. However, at this time, it wasn’t happening every time he spoke. Brock and Venom were slowly becoming a single entity, which was greatly affecting Brock’s psyche. Throughout the years, Venom and Spidey had a few more battles, and Venom slowly became the dominant force in Brock’s body.
By the time Amazing Spider-Man #374 rolls around, Brock is using second person a whole lot more in his speech. In fact, he’s no longer saying “I” or “me” when talking. And Brock, out of costume, has become very reliant on the Venom symbiote to do the simplest of tasks. By the next issue, it’s clear Brock is completely unhinged as his mind has completely bonded with Venom. He’s delusional, thinking he’s a hero, and wants to protect civilians from Spider-Man, who he believes is a monster.
While the ’90s primarily played on Venom being an unstoppable anti-hero, who also tried to juggle a love life, it wasn’t until the ’00s when creative teams started playing with the idea that there’s a battle internally in the symbiote’s host body. The 2011 volume of Venom played heavily to this as Peter Parker’s high school bully turned war hero–Flash Thompson–is recruited to be a secret agent, and his weapon is the Venom symbiote. Thompson deals with trying to control Venom, but it’s an uphill battle as Thompson finds out in this series, as well as when he becomes a member of the Guardian of the Galaxy. Undoubtedly, it’s one of the best Venom series as it’s a near-perfect reinvention of the character that doesn’t sacrifice Venom’s core. Additionally, the 2016 volume of Venom–which takes the character a bit more to its roots–also plays with the fight over the symbiote host’s body. This time, army veteran Lee Price has bonded with Venom, and right off the bat, Price states that Venom talks to him. He’s hearing and seeing things. If you’ve seen the trailers for the Venom movie, you know this is a predominant part of the movie.
Venom revolves around mental instability. The bodies he takes over already have some form of weakness inside of them, and that’s what the symbiote preys on. It’s about breaking down the character to make them lose their minds, and an easy way to show that is to have the host change their voice. Make them speak less intelligently. Change their pitch and flow. Make the audience feel that this person is crazy by way of audio cues and the characters usage of dialogue. While Venom’s voice in the trailers may not be how you want the character to sound, it’s conveying a message to the viewer: this dude is broken.
Essentially, Venom looks like a greatest hits of the character since his first appearance over 30 years ago. Instead of giving that slow, decades-long build towards a character breaking, that’s where the movie plans to start. It wants to set Venom up as a mental threat as soon as possible, so the film can move forward.
Middle-earth: Shadow of War Definitive Edition packages the main game with the full Expansion Pass–which includes all paid DLC–and the free updates and improvements that have come out since release. The Expansion Pass adds additional missions, playable characters, weapons, abilities, and enemy types to the game, as well as a completely new region for Talion to explore. The main storyline is expanded upon in the Blade of Galadriel and Desolation of Mordor DLCs, and the Nemesis system gets two more Orc tribes with the Slaughter Tribe and Outlaw Tribe DLCs.
Most notable among the free updates is a streamlined post-game Epilogue, narrated by Shelob, the Witch-king, and Dark Talion. The Epilogue rewards players with Masks of the Nazgul, each of which comes with its own in-game bonus. The Epilogue was previously known as the Shadow Wars, a lengthy slog of missions that occurred at the end of the game that we complained about in our Shadow of War review.
Shadow of War also includes the updated Follower level cap–which has been increased to 80–and greater XP rewards so Talion and his Orc army grow stronger more quickly. An Endless Siege mode adds a feature where Talion must defend his fortresses against never-ending waves of Sauron’s forces and two new difficulty levels add even more challenge to the game.
Middle-earth: Shadow of War Definitive Edition is launching for Xbox One, PS4, and PC on August 28. It’s sold at $60 in the US and at £50 in the UK.
A new retail version of Rocket League is coming to store shelves on August 28. Called Rocket League: Ultimate Edition, this version of Psyonix’s popular sports game features 16 DLC Battle-Cars and a collection of cosmetic items.
Rocket League: Ultimate Edition includes the DLC that comes with the original game–Chaos Run, Revenge of the Battle-Cars, and Supersonic Fury–and the four Battle-Cars included in the Rocket League Collector’s Edition: Esper, Masamune, Aftershock, and Marauder. The Ultimate Edition also adds the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Car Pack, DC Super Heroes DLC pack, and the Proteus, Triton, and Vulcan Battle-Cars. All of these updates come preloaded on the disc or cartridge, so you won’t have to punch in a code to download all of the cars and add-ons.
The Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Car Pack includes the Batmobile from the film. The Batmobile has proven to be one of Rocket League’s most popular Battle-Cars–its wide and flat hit box makes it easy for players to dribble past opponents, whether on the ground or in the air. The pack also includes three antenna flags, each dedicated to one of DC Comic’s famous trinity: Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.
The DC Super Heroes DLC Pack adds the Batmobiles from 2012’s Dark Knight Rises and 1989’s Batman. The two Battle-Cars haven’t seen much popularity in Rocket League’s competitive scene. The same can be said for the Proteus, Triton, and Vulcan.
The Octane, Dominus, and Breakout–as well as their updated models the Octane ZSR, Dominus GT, and Breakout Type-S–continue to be popular in competitive play for their balance of hit box height, width, and length as well as their tight turn radiuses. As said before, the Dawn of Justice Batmobile is also one of the top choices for competitive play. Mantis, which has a similar hit box and turn radius to the Batmobile, is beginning to rise in popularity as well.
Rocket League is available on Xbox One, PS4, Switch, and PC. The Ultimate Edition is only available for consoles.
Since the horror genre’s very earliest days, filmmakers have delighted in shocking audiences and pushing back the boundaries of what is acceptable on-screen. A big part of why horror fans keep coming back for more is the hope that the next movie will really deliver something they’ve never seen before. Of course, screen taboos have shifted over the decades–what was considered shocking in the 1930s might seem laughable today, and audiences back then would have been utterly appalled by what is considered mainstream entertainment in 2018.
Cannibalism is one of the on-screen taboos that still has the power to upset viewers. We’ve been watching people eat other people in horror movies for decades, but there is something so primal and unpleasant about the concept, that no matter how many times you’ve seen it, even the strongest stomach can be turned by onscreen cannibalism if delivered effectively by a director.
The most controversial cycle of cannibal movies came from Italy during the late-’70s and early-’80s. These were exploitation movies, often set in South America, in which people from the “civilized” world were captured and eaten by the natives. This sub-genre didn’t last long, but the most extreme examples remain notorious today, for both their staged violent content and the real-life animal cruelty that the filmmakers included to increase their notoriety.
Beyond those movies, cannibalism has taken on different forms in horror. Sometimes played for laughs, sometimes as an allegory, and often for old-fashioned scares. So, here’s a look at some of the best, scariest, and most shocking cannibal movies ever made. As once you’ve done that, check out our guide to the best possession movies, the best exploding heads in horror, and the horror sequels that are better than the originals. Hope you’re hungry…
