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Avatar: The Last Airbender – Zuko and Korra Actors Answer Biggest What-If Questions

Avatar: The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra voice actors Dante Basco (Prince Zuko) and Janet Varney (Korra) have teamed up for an epic podcast called Avatar: Braving the Elements. Every Tuesday, the dynamic Avatar duo revisits old episodes, where they discuss notable battles, break down key themes, and even share behind-the-scenes trivia. In this week’s episode, Dee Bradley Baker (the voice of Appa) is the featured guest.

IGN chatted with Basco and Varney about some of the biggest “what-ifs” from the franchise, as well as what might be in store for the future of Avatar: The Last Airbender on Nickelodeon.

Read on or watch the video below or at the top of the page to check out our full interview with Zuko and Korra:

Could Princess Azula Have Been Redeemed?

The battle between Zuko and his sister, Azula, in the Avatar: The Last Airbender finale was one of the most epic animated fight sequences ever! While Azula’s story has continued in the comic books, we wanted to know if Basco believes there’s still hope for her character to be redeemed.

“I have brothers and sisters in real life, so I’m always the one rooting for my siblings,” Basco told IGN. “And so of course, I would love to have seen Azula be redeemed as Zuko has been redeemed. Zuko is a great redemption arc, who doesn’t want to see that in his family member. So who knows as the stories go on? I know she went down a different kind of place in the comic books, but I think there’s always room for hope.”

Would Korra Have Let Fire Lord Ozai Live if She Was in Aang’s Situation?

We all know Korra can be quick to anger when she’s pushed to her emotional limits, so would she have been as merciful to Fire Lord Ozai as Aang was in the Avatar finale?

“I would like to think that by Season 4 she would have — well, in Season 4, she was so scared and shell-shocked from everything,” Varney explained. “But moving past that into the future, I do think she learned. But had it happened in Season 3, I don’t know. I do not know. And that’s one of the things that’s been so fun about doing the podcast together, is that we’ve had fans and our fellow actors who play characters in the show, we’ve had a handful of people really point out it actually really makes sense that Korra and Zuko would end up on a podcast together.”

The Future of Avatar: The Last Airbender Universe on Nickelodeon

Back in February, the Paramount+ streaming platform and Nickelodeon announced a new division dedicated to creating new series and movies based in the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender, which will be led by creators and executive producers Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. While nothing official beyond that announcement has been revealed, we wanted to know if the former Avatar stars could shine some light on what’s to come.

“Fully sworn to secrecy,” Varney exlaimed. “I can’t even remember the context of why I found out a few things. But it is one of those things where, as much as people want to know, and I totally understand, I understand that fandom that wants to steal the Game of Thrones script from the set and leak it because everyone’s so passionate about it. I get it. But at the same time, I love knowing that I respect and have so much faith, and I know [Dante] does too, in what Mike and Bryan do. I don’t need to know anything because I’m supremely confident that the stories that they’re going to tell, whatever they are from whatever era, whatever it is, I’m going to be on board for.”

You can listen to the Avatar: Braving the Elements podcast on iHeartRadio, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else podcasts are heard every Tuesday.

David Griffin still watches DuckTales in his pajamas with a cereal bowl in hand. He’s also the TV Editor for IGN. Say hi on Twitter.

Call Of Duty Pro Players Were Put In the Hot Seat For Special Hot Ones Episode

Pro players were put to a different kind of Call of Duty test in a special episode of Hot Ones with Sean Evans. In this episode, three of Call of Duty’s pro players are in the hot seat, featuring Attach of the Minnesota ROKKR, Asim of the New York Subliners, and Apathy of the Los Angeles Guerrillas in a head-to-head “Dab of Duty” challenge.

Normally, celebrities would be sitting across from Sean Evans, eating the hottest wings and trying to answer his spiciest questions. Instead, these popular Call of Duty pros had to eat wings doused in Hot Ones’ The Last Dab Apollo hot sauce, and then proceed to compete against each other in Call of Duty.

The players were served a plate of hot wings in the spiciest Last Dab Apollo sauce. They were challenged to first eat the wings, and they were then given five minutes to see who can get the most kills in a match of Black Ops Cold War using only a knife or tomahawk. I think this was a missed opportunity to ask some of the spicy questions about their teams and some behind-the-scenes pro league drama, but it was still fun to see them sweat it out in a match of Call of Duty, quite literally.

Apathy seems to be struggling the most with the heat, announcing that his “tongue is sweating,” but the Guerrillas pro player was still able to secure the win. He finished the Dab of Duty challenge on top with 27 kills, Asim trailed with 16, and Attach finished in third place with 15.

This special Call of Duty episode of Hot Ones is a lead up to the biggest Call of Duty League tournament of the year. Call of Duty League’s Championship Weekend will run from August 19-22. Eight of the top teams from the regular season will fight for the year’s biggest prize at the Los Angeles’ Galen Center, which is the championship trophy and a hefty $1.2 million cash prize.

Call of Duty’s Season 5 is arriving on August 12 to Black Ops Cold War and Warzone, bringing new weapons, operators, and more. You can get a better look at some of the new cosmetics coming to Call of Duty in today’s Season 5 battle pass trailer.

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Heels Star Stephen Amell Is Itching To Wrestle Again, So WWE And AEW Should Give Him A Call

With Arrow behind him, Stephen Amell is ready to hit the wrestling ring in his new series Heels, which premieres Sunday, August 15 on Starz. The show is set in a small Georgia town and finds the actor as the promoter and star of a local professional wrestling group. Of course, Amell is no stranger to wrestling, having previously performed for WWE, Ring of Honor, and at All In. After training for Heels, though, he’s ready to make his return to the industry he loves.

Speaking to GameSpot about the series, Amell admitted that the wrestling training he did for Heels has prepared him for being an actual pro wrestler than anything he learned for his previous matches. “When we trained for SummerSlam or for the Ring of Honor show or for All In, you know, I was faking it,” the actor said. “It was so scripted and so controlled that it was really all about, like, ‘Just sort of fake it. See what you can get away with.’ And I had such great opponents for that.”

After months of training for Heels, plus a plethora of wrestling scenes in the series, he now feels more ready than ever for his squared circle return. “This time I got to put in the time in the gymnasium that they built for us on our soundstages,” Amell explained. “We had a ring and every day that I went to the gym, my warm-up would be–even if I wasn’t doing work in the ring that day–my warm-up would be running the ropes, and just bumping for five minutes, 10 minutes, to get a little bit of sweat going. And just doing that, just working on the basics like, like punching and locking up, that just that that just makes you better? Period.”

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It also doesn’t hurt that he and the rest of the Heels cast initially got to train with Chavo Guerrero in Los Angeles. When production moved to Atlanta, Georgia, Guerrero didn’t make the trip, but thankfully there were plenty of other wrestlers to help them out.

“When we weren’t in the gym, we were in the wrestling ring being trained by pros that were currently wrestling in the south and they were on our stunt team as well–Luke Hawx, Brady Pierce… it was just an incredible group of people,” he said.

So while it was exciting to see Amell wrestle in front of crowds before, wrestling companies should take note that he’s been training and is ready for a comeback–and if the show’s a success, Ludwig wants to get booked with him. “If this show blows up and we get invited to do a match, there’s no way we could even say no,” he admitted.

Heels airs Sundays on Starz.

New Apex Legends Patch Implements Much-Needed Prowler SMG Nerf

Later today, Respawn will release a patch for Apex Legends that implements a much-needed nerf for the Prowler SMG, a powerful firearm that rotated out of care packages and into ground loot at the start of Season 10: Emergence.

The patch reduces the damage of each individual Prowler bullet from 15 to 14. Though that may seem small, it’s actually a fairly significant adjustment. Since the Prowler fires in five-bullet bursts, this reduces each burst from 75 damage to 70.

Now Playing: Apex Legends Emergence – Everything You Need To Know

That means a level 2 blue body shield (which can absorb 75 damage) can no longer be broken on a single Prowler burst. And though it will still only take two bursts to break level 3 purple (100 damage), level 4 gold (100 damage), and level 5 red (125 damage) body shields, that second burst won’t chew into an enemy player’s health bar (100 hit points) quite as much.

To break that down, those with level 3 or level 4 armor will now be left with 60 health instead of 50, and those with level 5 armor will now have 85 health instead of 75. That last number is especially notable–you will no longer be able to knock a player with a level 5 body shield in three Prowler bursts. You’ll now at least need to hit four full bursts and then get two more bullets from a fifth burst to hit.

“We considered hitting the [Prowler’s] hipfire a bit, but after over-correcting with the Hemlok, we’ll take the conservative approach here,” Respawn associate live balance designer John Larson tweeted.

“Prowler has the same hipfire properties as the [R99 SMG], and SMGs should be reliable at close range. I think there are smarter ways to further adjust if it still proves to be the de facto [close-quarters combat] option.”

At the end of the patch notes for this update, Respawn writes that the planned nerf for Seer is scheduled for next week.

“We considered putting something out today, but we figured it’s worth taking the time to assemble a more complete set of changes [for Seer],” Larson tweeted. “Be on the lookout next week.”

The full list of changes coming in today’s patch are listed below.

Apex Legends August 10 Update Patch Notes

  • Reduces Prowler damage from 15>14
  • Reduces speed while ADSing with the L-Star
  • Fixes a map hole near Climatizer
  • Raises prices for the Prowler and L-Star in Arenas

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Daily Deals: The First Ever Herman Miller 15% Off Gaming Anniversary Sale, Includes Herman Miller x Logitech G Embody Chair

One year ago, Herman Miller launched their “Herman Miller Gaming” lineup, which includes gaming versions of their high end ergonomic chairs and desks. To celebrate the one year anniversary, Herman Miller is offering a 15% off coupon on all their gaming products, as well as free shipping. Since there have been no online discounts on any of these items up to now, this is your best chance to save on the highest end gaming chair on the market. In other deal news, all sizes of the the WD SN850 solid state drive with heatsink are back in stock. This is the best SSD to get for your PS5 upgrade. More deals below.

Herman Miller Gaming Sale: 15% Off Gaming Chairs, Including the Herman Miller x Logitech G Embody

Herman Miller makes the best ergonomic chairs in the industry. They’re also not cheap, with several of their models easily topping over $1000 in price. Penny pinchers might find it a waste of money, but honestly, in this case you get what you pay for. Many of us could spend a majority of our lives stuck to our chair, it makes sense that this would be one of the most important purchases we make. Today, Herman Miller is offering 15% off their top-of-the-line gaming collaborations with Logitech. This is the first time we’ve seen a substantial discount on these outside of Sample Sales and employee-only offers. If you’ve got deep pockets, then you’ll save on what is probably the best gaming chair on the market.

Back in Stock (Including 1TB Model): WD Black SN850 M.2 SSD with Heatsink

The Western Digital official storefront has all models of the SN850 SSD with heatsink in stock right now, and that includes the extremely hard to find 1TB model. This is currently the most popular (and probably the best) SSD to get for your PS5 storage upgrade. It’s blazing fast drive with transfer speeds rated at up to 7,000 MB/s and a PCIe Gen4 interface and it comes preinstalled with a heatsink. It’s also confirmed by Western Digital themselves to be compatible with the PS5.

Apple AirPods Pro Noise-Cancelling Earbuds

If you regret not picking the Airpods Pro up on Amazon Prime Day at 24% off, here’s your chance to get it today at the same price. The AirPods Pro is considered one of the best truly wireless noise-cancelling in-ear headphones you can get, especially for under $200.

2021 Apple iPad Pro 11″ 128GB WiFi

Save $100 off the latest and most powerful iPad Pro on the market. This iPad is the newest generation model released earlier this year. It boasts the powerful Apple M1 chip, which is significantly more powerful than any of the previous processors. The 11″ Liquid Retina display with ProMotion, True Tone, and P3 wide color is better than just about other tablet or phone screen out there; the only way to get a better screen is to upgrade to the 12.9″ model.

ASUS ROG RTX 3080 Gaming PC

Scoring an RTX 3080 gaming desktop PC for only $1999.99 is already a great find, but if it’s an ASUS ROG desktop, which generally boasts great build quality and sleek gaming-inspired aesthetics, it’s an outstanding deal. At the time of this post, you can order it now at Best Buy and receive it within 2 weeks. That’s a much better proposition than waiting months for a standalone RTX 3080 video card.

Arcade1Up Ms Pac-Man Arcade Cabinet

Save 15% off the rarely discounted Ms Pacman arcade cabinet from Arcade1Up. This is a 3:4 scaler replica that measures 4 feet tall. A themed riser is also included that raises the cabinet by an additional 1 foot, so you can choose to play comfortably while sitting or standing. Games included are Ms Pac-Man, Pac-Mania, Pac-Man Plus, and Galaxian.

Available: Nintendo Joy-Cons Skyward Sword Edition

After a long haitus, these special edition Skyward Sword themed Joy-Cons are available for order again on Amazon. They Joy-Cons are made over in a royal blue color with white accents. The right Joy-Con controller is themed after the Master Sword and the left controller features a Hylian Shield motif. Get it now before it goes out of stock again.

Best Ultra-Wide Gaming Monitor: Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 49″ 5120×1440 Mini LED Monitor

Preorder the Samsung Neo G9 gaming monitor (out on August 23), and get the JBL Quantum One Gaming Headset for free. That’s a $300 headset. This is the first Mini LED gaming monitor we’ve seen and easily the best monitor in Samsung’s “Odyssey” series. Mini LED technology is pretty new. You’ll see them in the highest end Samsung and TCL TVs as well as the newest Apple iPad Pro 12.9″ XDR display. The cost keeps 99% of us gamers at bay, but for those who can afford it, you currently won’t find a better ultra-wide monitor.

More Daily Deals for August 10

Sonic Movie 2: Idris Elba Cast as Knuckles

Idris Elba has apparently confirmed that he will voice Knuckles the Echidna in the upcoming Sonic Movie sequel.

Elba posted a picture of Knuckles’ iconic, well, knuckles on the actor’s personal Instagram account seemingly confirming that he has joined the cast.

While we knew that Sonic’s friends like Tails will take a more prominent role in the sequel, but a leak from earlier this year also suggested Knuckles will join the cast as well.

Elba has seemingly gone ahead and confirmed those rumors himself with his Instagram post along with the caption “Knock,knock…” and hashtags for #SonicMovie2 and #Knuckles. Elba also tweeted the same image.

Knuckles is an ally and sometimes enemy of Sonic in the games. As a member of the Echidna clan, he’s tasked with protecting the Master Emerald. We’ll see what side he’s on when Sonic Movie 2 is released.

Elba is currently seen in The Suicide Squad which is in theaters and HBO Max. Check out IGN’s review of James Gunn’s soft reboot here. Also, check out IGN’s Sonic Movie review for a recap on the video game adaptation.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN’s News Editor.

Abandoned PS5 Demo Delayed by Technical Issues

After announcing yesterday that a “Realtime Experience” patch would be available universally starting at 12pm PT / 3pm ET time today, Blue Box Game Studios announced that a demo for its upcoming project Abandonded has been delayed due to technical issues.

The Realtime Experience demo is available to download right now on the PlayStation Store. Launching the app loads the game up to where it prompts you to select a language, before displaying a message that notes that it is not a playable teaser but an introduction of what to expect. Yet, launching the demo now, you will be met with a “Check back soon…” message over a black background.

The delay of the Realtime Experience comes at an awkward time for Blue Box Game Studios, which previously postponed the reveal in late June. Abandoned has also been the subject of numerous rumors, most notably that the game is tied to Hideo Kojima and/or a new entry in Konami’s dormant franchise, Silent Hill.

Blue Box has denied rumors, stating that it has no relations with Konami or Hideo Kojima. Abandoned’s director, Hasan Kahraman, made a video on the studios’ Twitter account confirming he is not Kojima in disguise.

Developing…

Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

Sonic 2: Idris Elba Is Playing Knuckles And We’re As Confused As You Are

The Suicide Squad star Idris Elba has teased that he’ll be playing a familiar face, kind of, in the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 2 film. A post on Twitter heavily implied he’ll be playing the part of Knuckles, the Sonic antagonist-turned-ally. It was followed up by confirmation from official movie accounts and actor Ben Schwartz.

It’s hard to interpret the tweet any other way considering he hashtags both the Sonic sequel and the name of the character. Knuckles has generally been a bit gruffer and grouchier than Sonic, though not traditionally British. We’ll have to see if he puts on an American accent for the role, as he has extensively in other past roles.

After Elba’s tweet, it was answered by Schwartz, who plays Sonic, with a “Who’s there?” The official Sonic Twitter account also signal-boosted the tweet.

Knuckles debuted in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, where he guarded the Chaos Emeralds and generally got in the way of Sonic and Tails. When it turned out to be a big misunderstanding, of course, Knuckles joined the good guys against Dr. Eggman aka Robotnik.

In the first film, it’s established that a tribe of echidnas were hunting down Sonic for unspecified reasons, prompting his escape to Earth. Given that Knuckles is an echidna, that detail is probably going to be significant.

The Sonic the Hedgehog 2 film is scheduled for release on April 8, 2022. A post-credits sequence in the first film suggested that Tails is coming, and early rumored plot synopses have said that Robotnik will return from his ring-induced exile with Knuckles as an ally. And this time actor Jim Carrey might be sporting Robotnik’s signature mustache, judging by the end of the first film.

ID@Xbox Twitch Showcase Roundup: All The Big News, Trailers, And Announcements

Microsoft’s second-ever ID@Xbox stream focusing on indie games was held today, and it showcased more than two dozen games from a variety of studios. The event brought new game announcements, interviews with developers, trailers, and details on games you can play right now.

One of the big surprise-launches was Sam & Max Save the World Remastered, which is out now on console. The game was developed by Skunkape Games and has the blessing of series creator Steve Purcell, according to Microsoft. The episodic game previously launched in December 2020 for PC and Nintendo Switch.

The broadcast also brought news that Project Moon’s Library of Ruina is also out today across console and the cloud through Xbox Game Pass. In this game you invite guests to a library and then do battle with them.

Another notable announcement from the event was that a demo for Aeon Drive from developer 2awesome Studios has arrived for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. The demo lets players check out some of the cyberpunk environments and get a feel for the action-platformer that incorporates speedrunning elements, too. The full game is slated to release later this year.

The game Lab Rat from developer Chump Squad was also shown off during the event and given a 2022 release date on console and PC. This satirical adventure game has you playing as a lab rat, of sorts, throughout more than 100 “satisfying and genre-bending” puzzles. A beta for the game is available here.

The skateboarding game OlliOlli World was showcased during the broadcast, too, and reconfirmed for release later this year. Additionally, the game Spacelines From the Far Out from developer Coffenauts is headed to Xbox and PC this fall, but you can try a demo right now on Xbox. You play as the manager of an intergalactic travel company and must help your passengers arrive safely and with as little barf as possible.

The unique-looking game The Big Con from Mighty Yell Studios was on display as well. You play a teenage con artist in this ’90s-set game that has you choosing disguises, picking pockets, and otherwise being a nuisance. The game also got a release date for console and PC: August 31.

Microsoft’s broadcast also included the announcement that Stardew Valley will come to Xbox Game Pass at some point in the future.

The full list of games shown during the ID@Xbox broadcast is below. You can also see a roundup of the titles coming to Xbox Game Pass.

All The Games From ID@Xbox’s August 10 Showcase

  • Aeon Drive (2awesome studios)
  • Anvil (Action Square)
  • Aragami 2 (Lince Works) — Coming to Xbox Game Pass
  • Button City (Subliminal)
  • Evil Genius 2 (Rebellion Interactive) — Coming to Xbox Game Pass
  • Inked (Byte Dance)
  • Inkulinati (Yaza Games)
  • Lab Rat (Chump Squad)
  • Library of Ruina (Project Moon) — Coming to Xbox Game Pass
  • Lightyear Frontier (Frame Break)
  • Loot River (Straka Studio)
  • Mad Streets (Craftshop Arts)
  • OlliOlli World (Private Label)
  • Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous (Owlcat)
  • Planet of Lana (Wishfully)
  • Project Wingman (Meowza Games)
  • Pupparazzi (Kitfox Games) — Coming to Xbox Game Pass
  • RPG Time (Deskworks)
  • Sable (Shedworks)
  • Sam & Max Save the World Remastered (Skunkape Games)
  • She Dreams Elsewhere (Studio Zevere)
  • Solace State (Vivid Foundry)
  • Soup Pot (Chikon Club)
  • Spacelines From the Far Out (Coffenauts)
  • Stardew Valley (Concerned Ape) — Coming to Xbox Game Pass
  • The Big Con (Mighty Yell Studios)
  • The Vale: Shadow of the Crown (Falling Squirrel)
  • The Wandering Village (Stray Fawn)

Microsoft’s next big event is its Gamescom briefing on August 24 which promises in-depth updates on upcoming games and more.

Call Of Duty’s Season 5 Battle Pass Trailer Is Here, Featuring The Operator Kitsune

Call of Duty’s Season 5 is arriving on August 12, and a battle pass trailer has arrived to showcase some of the upcoming season’s unlockable cosmetics for Black Ops Cold War and Warzone.

Season 5 will add the new operator Kitsune for both Black Ops Cold War and Warzone. Kitsune can be seen featured in the key art for Season 5, and she can be unlocked instantly by purchasing the Season 5 battle pass. An additional Ultra-rarity Kitsune operator skin is also unlocked at tier 100.

Four new weapons are coming to Call of Duty as well, and the first two will be featured in the battle pass. The EM2 assault rifle is free for everyone to unlock in Black Ops Cold War and Warzone at tier 15 of the pass, and the TEC-9 submachine gun will be unlockable at tier 31.

The battle pass trailer also features a bonus Kitsune “Kyubi” limited-edition operator skin. This can be obtained by purchasing the battle pass bundle, and if purchased at the start of the season between August 11-26. The battle pass bundles are the pricey 2,400 COD Points version of the battle pass, which includes 20 tier skips and the bonus skin.

Here are all the highlights of what’s coming in Season 5, and details of the new Double Agent multiplayer mode coming to Black Ops Cold War.

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