Chris Hemsworth has revealed why he doesn’t like Thor: The Dark World.
Speaking to GQ, Hemsworth briefly touched on what didn’t work in The Dark World, saying the 2013 movie didn’t quite take enough risks and felt a bit too “familiar” as a result.
“The first one is good, the second one is meh,” Hemsworth said. “What masculinity was, the classic archetype—it just all starts to feel very familiar. I was so aware that we were right on the edge.”
Hemsworth previously discussed why he pushed for a major tonal shift with the third film, Thor: Ragnarok. Seeing the slightly poor response The Dark World was receiving, Hemsworth knew a changed was needed and credited Ragnarok director Taika Waititi for successfully bringing about this change.
After drawing inspiration from films like The Goonies, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, and Ghostbusters, Stranger Things’ showrunners have turned their attention to another ’80s movie in creating Season 3 – 1985’s Fletch, reports Variety.
David Harbour, who plays Chief Jim Hopper on Stranger Things, said show creators Matt and Ross Duffer are relying on Fletch to help them add some whimsy to the third season. This is despite the season supposedly being darker, scarier, bigger, and broader than the first two seasons.
“The Duffers are so specific each year with the movies,” said Harbour. “And Fletch is one movie we get to play around and have some fun with this season, which you wouldn’t expect from Stranger Things, and you wouldn’t expect from the Spielberg universe, and you certainly wouldn’t expect from a darker season.”
With Gamescom 2018 almost underway, Square Enix has shared a new gameplay trailer for its upcoming open-world action game, Just Cause 4. The latest video provides fans with their first proper look at tornadoes, one of the four “extreme weather” simulations they will have to contend with in the game.
The trailer follows protagonist Rico Rodriguez on a mission to divert a tornado that is moving through the grasslands. He pursues the cyclone in an armored vehicle called the Storm Chaser, racing along winding dirt roads and leaping off ramps as the tornado tears through bridges, huts, towers, and anything else in its path. “Everything you see, as well as trajectory of every spiraling object is being calculated in real time,” developer Avalanche says.
Rico eventually arrives at Solis’s airport, which has been overtaken by the Black Hand. The mission then becomes to destroy the wind cannons keeping the tornado at bay. Avalanche says these can be dispatched using any method the player chooses, but the trailer shows Rico destroying the first with the railgun, one of the new weapons being introduced in Just Cause 4. Like all of the other new weapons in the game, the railgun has a “secondary fire option”–deploying a drone that can accompany Rico and also be used as a grapple point.
Square Enix formally unveiled Just Cause 4 during Microsoft’s E3 press conference this past June, but the game was actually leaked twice ahead of the expo. Alongside a slew of new weapons, staple gadgets like the wing suit and grappling hook will return in the upcoming installment, and Avalanche is even upgrading them with new abilities and features.
Just Cause 4 launches for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on December 4. The game will be available in two editions: standard and Gold, the latter of which runs for $90 and includes the Just Cause 4 season pass and other digital content. Those who pre-order the Gold edition will also get access to the game 24 hours early.
At Gamescom 2018, Nvidia held a press conference to announce and detail its next generation of video cards. It revealed the GeForce RTX 2070 ($500 USD), RTX 2080 ($700), and RTX 2080 Ti ($1000), all of which will launch on September 20, 2018. These new cards use the Turing GPU architecture and boast the ability to perform ray tracing technology (or RTX for short, hence the card names). The first of them is already available for pre-order ahead of their launch next month.
Nvidia’s presentation included live in-game demonstrations of ray tracing in action from Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Metro: Exodus, Assetto Corsa, and Battlefield V. In short, ray tracing technology is capable of more realistic global illumination and accurate projections of ambient light, and affords the ability to efficiently calculate the reflections and light sources that exist outside of the screen space. For ray tracing specifically, the Turing architecture is four times faster than Volta-based workstation GPUs and ten times faster than the current Pascal GTX 10-series–not to be confused with overall performance outside of ray tracing.
It’s been over two years since the current generation of Nvidia’s graphics cards were released. The GTX 10-series (Pascal) first hit the market in May 2016 with intermittent releases of different models afterward. AMD released its RX Vega line of cards in August last year, which competed with the GTX 10-series.
Pre-orders are live for both the RTX 2080 and RTX 2080 Ti at retailers like Nvidia’s website and Amazon. Curiously, Nvidia’s website lists higher prices than those announced during the Gamescom event, though it’s unclear if that’s a simple mistake. Regardless, those eager to get their hands on one of the new cards as soon as possible can now place a pre-order.
You can get a small taste of what to expect from real-time ray tracing in the video below, which shows it both enabled and disabled in Battlefield V.
There are a lot of benefits to being an Amazon Prime member, especially for PC gamers. Anyone with an Amazon Prime membership automatically gets a Twitch Prime membership. Simply by linking your accounts, you can get lots of free stuff. The latest freebie is a Jungle Crate in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. Prime members can grab their free crate between now and September 17.
Available only in the PC version of PUBG, the Jungle Crate contains six jungle outfit items and two weapon skins. The outfits, detailed below, look like typical safari gear, albeit with purple being a prominent color. The weapon skins are Croc Bite for the M16A4 and Bengal Blade for the SCAR-L. Here’s the full list of what’s included in the Jungle Crate.
Explorer Hat
Tiger Print Bandana
Explorer Coat
Leopard Print Vest
Explorer Knickers
Leather Boots
Croc Bite Weapon Skin
Bengal Blade Weapon Skin
This is the third free PUBG crate for Twitch Prime members. In July, members could grab a Deadmau5 Crate and a Spa Day Crate. Two more free PUBG crates will be available in the future.
To grab your PUBG freebies, just head over to Twitch and click the crown button next to the search bar. This pops open a dropdown menu, where you’ll find a link to access your free Jungle Crate. Just make sure to do it by September 17, when the offer goes away.
In addition to free games and add-ons, Prime members get one free Twitch channel subscription per month, plus pre-order discounts on games from Amazon, free two-day shipping on many items, access to Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Music, and more. You can findmore details here.
The dinosaurs are back once again, along with Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pratt, and company. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is the sequel to 2015’s Jurassic World, a resurrection of the series that examines everything that would definitely go wrong if we brought back dinosaurs and used science to make them even better at hunting prey (including humans).
This blockbuster sequel is set to release on digital platforms September 4 and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on September 18. If you’re wondering whether the movie is any good, you can check out GameSpot’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom review. And when you’re ready to secure your copy, you’ll probably want to know what your options are. Let’s break down what comes with the home versions of the movie, where you can pre-order it, and how much it costs. Read on for the details.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Digital Edition
If you want to grab the movie as early as possible, you’ll have to go with the digital version. Here’s where you can pre-order it now and how much it costs.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom 4K Ultra HD
The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray version also includes a standard Blu-ray copy, as well as a digital version.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Blu-Ray
If you buy the movie on Blu-ray, you’ll also get a DVD and digital copy for free.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom 3D Blu-Ray
If you have a 3D television, you’ll probably want to make full use of it by getting the movie in 3D. This version also comes with a standard non-3D Blu-ray as well as a digital copy.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom DVD
Aside from the digital version on certain sites, the DVD version is the most affordable way to bring home this blockbuster.
Jurassic World 5-Movie Collection
Maybe the new movie isn’t enough to satisfy your Jurassic needs. If you want a full collection of Jurassic Park/World films, you can pre-order this set. It comes with the original Jurassic Park trilogy as well as the two movies from the current series.
Amazon
Best Buy
Target
Walmart
Bonus Features
What’s a home version of a movie without bonus features? Some of the bonus features included with home copies of the movie are exclusive to the 4K Ultra HD, Blu-Ray, and digital copies. Here they are:
The Kingdom Evolves–Filmmakers discuss how the second chapter in the Jurassic World trilogy pushes the franchise in a new direction.
Return to Hawaii–Cast and crew discuss shooting the film in Hawaii.
Island Action–A behind-the-scenes look at the bunker scene and runaway gyrosphere sequence.
Aboard the Arcadia–Cast and crew discuss working with the animatronic dinosaurs.
Start the Bidding!–A behind-the-scenes look at the auction scene.
And here are the bonus features you’ll find on the DVD, 4K Ultra HD, Blu-Ray, and digital copies of the film:
On Set with Chris & Bryce–Go behind the scenes with Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.
Birth of the Indoraptor–An inside look at the genetically designed monstrosity known as the Indoraptor.
Death by Dino–Go behind the scenes as the Indoraptor faces off with a key character.
Monster in a Mansion–Director J.A. Bayona discusses how Jurassic Park and Dracula (1979) influenced his approach to directing the monster in a mansion scene.
Rooftop Showdown–A look at the terrifying showdown on the rooftop of the Lockwood Mansion.
Malcolm’s Return–Behind the scenes with the one & only Jeff Goldblum.
VFX Evolved–The team at ILM discuss their cutting-edge approach to creating dinosaurs.
Fallen Kingdom: The Conversation–Filmmakers and cast sit down for a candid and casual conversation about Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
A Song for the Kingdom–Justice Smith sings for the cast and crew of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
Chris Pratt’s Jurassic Journals
Vivian Baker, Makeup Artist
Mary Mastro, Hair Stylist
Chris Murphy, 1st Assistant Sound
Dean Bailey, Stunt Edge Car Driver
Peter Harcourt, Diver
Daniella Pineda and Justice Smith, Actors
Jody Wiltshire, Set PA
Kelly Krieg, Assistant Script Supervisor
J.A. Bayona, Director
James Cox, Stunt Performer
Rachelle Beinart, Stunt Double
Bryce Dallas Howard interviews Chris Pratt, Actor
Jurassic Then and Now–Presented by Barbasol – Key moments from the Jurassic saga that tie into Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
Unlike Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo has no official weekly sale that begins and ends at pre-determined times. That said, Thursdays tend to be when the most game deals appear for Nintendo Switch and 3DS. This week finds a few new notable discounts, plus some good deals still hanging on from weeks past. And if you don’t find anything you want here, Amazon has many of the Switch’s best games on sale right now.
The biggest Switch game on sale on the Eshop this week is L.A. Noire, the 1940s detective game that’s set during the Golden Age of Hollywood. It follows a young detective over several years as he moves through various departments, investigating murders, arsons, and racketeering cases. It’s on sale for $25, down from $50. Note that this game is so big it requires you to have a microSD card in your switch for additional storage (you can grab a 128GB one on sale for $40 right now).
And if RPG fans are looking for a reason to keep their 3DS/2DS on hand, they have two good ones this week. The time-traveling game Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology is on sale for $28. And anyone who likes to hand-draw maps while exploring labyrinthine dungeons can pick up Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth for $22.50.
We have more picks listed below, or you can find all the games on sale on the Eshop here.
A surprise sale has popped up on PSN, and it’s one of the biggest ones we’ve seen. It’s called Attack of the Blockbuster, and the sale more than lives up to the name. Dozens and dozens of the biggest PS4 games are discounted now, including tons of major PS4 exclusives. As often happens with these things, PlayStation Plus members get additional savings. There’s no official word on when the sale will end, but a few of the games say they’re going back to regular price August 28. In any case, get ready to put a hurting on your credit card.
Let’s start with God of War, which is on sale for $40 (or $35 if you’re a PS Plus member). That’s a great deal, considering how recently this surefire Game of the Year contender came out. Speaking of major PS4 exclusives, you can grab Horizon: Zero Dawn: Complete Edition for just $16 ($12). And the massive JRPG Persona 5 is down to $35 ($30).
It’s not just Sony exclusives on sale, either. The Witcher 3: Complete Edition, a sprawling game you could spend hundreds of hours exploring, is down to $25 ($20). The first-person horror-fest Resident Evil 7 is on sale for $22.50 ($20). For bonus scares, you can play the whole game using PSVR.
Deals on Steam aren’t limited to the quarterly mega-sales Valve puts on (though those are nice, too). Each Monday the digital game retailer puts up a new set of PC game deals that last a full week. This week’s batch is up, and it contains some great titles available at low prices. Let’s see what discounts are available between now and August 27.
All told, 549 games are on sale this week, so there’s a good chance you can find something you’re interested in playing. Among the standouts is Life is Strange: Before the Storm, which is 60% off, bringing it down to $7. It takes place three years before the original game and focuses on Chloe. Ryse: Son of Rome, a melee-centered action game that tells the story of a Roman soldier seeking revenge against his enemies, is on sale for just $4.
Puzzle platformer fans can pick up The Swapper for $3. You play as an astronaut trying to navigate difficult terrain on a faraway planet. To get from point A to point B, you have to use a device that clones your body. All of the clones also follow your control inputs, making for some fun, mind-bending puzzles.
If you’re open to a psychological horror adventure game that’s displayed in a big-pixel art style, you can pick up The Last Door: Collector’s Edition for $5; it contains four episodes of Victorian terror. And if the idea of surviving the zombie apocalypse appeals to you, you might want to grab How to Survive: Storm Warning Edition while it’s on sale for just $2. It comes with the core game, plus six pieces of DLC.
You can find more picks below, or view the whole list here.
