Category: Games

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EA Adds Skate.Reel To Skate And Launches Today

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts has brought back skate.Reel, a website that players could access to upload clips of Skate gameplay for the community to see. The original service was shut down back in 2014.

Now that the new site is back up, players can submit clips, screenshots, and fan art that can then be shared with EA’s social channels or on the featured section of the skate.Reel page. In order to do submit an entry, players need an EA account, along with a URL of their creation like a link to a YouTube video. The submission also requires a PSN ID, Xbox Gamertag, or EA ID.

There are also several style options to choose from to indicate what kind of creation the submission is, such as Realistic, Casual, or Offboard. Other well-known Skate community creators including Calplex, Nebula, Skate3Tommy, and KellyLitz have already started sharing content on the new website.

Skate and Skate 3 are available to play on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S via backward compatibility as well as EA Play. Additionally, Skate 3 can be played on PC through Xbox Game Pass Ultimate’s cloud gaming feature.

EA is also working on a new entry in the series. There’s no confirmed release date or platforms yet other than PC for now, which is a first for the series.

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Daily Deals: 20% Off Plex Lifetime Pass, Save on the Oculus Quest 2 & Accessories, WD SN850 PS5 SSD Upgrade Back in Stock

Today Plex brought back its annual 20% off discount on the very popular Plex Lifetime Pass. If you’ve built yourself a sizeable digital collection of movies or music, this service is totally worth investing in. For those of you who are looking to upgrade your PS5 internal storage, the WD SN850 solid state drive (with heatsink) is back in stock at the WD Store, with the 500GB and 2TB models cheaper than anywhere else, even Amazon. Last but not least, score a free Newegg gift card when you purchase an Oculus Quest 2 VR headset or its accessories.

20% Off Plex Pass Lifetime Subscription

Plex hosts this offer only once or twice a year, and it’s the best deal you’ll find for a Plex Pass subscription. A lifetime sub normally costs $119.95, so you’d be paying a one time only fee of $95.99 after the discount. Plex is an incredibly useful service that lets you organize your movies, TVs, podcasts, and music from all of your different sources into one centralized location, and then stream them to any of your devices, like your TV, PC, or phone.

New Oculus Quest 2 VR Headset with More Storage, Same Price, and Bonus Newegg Gift Card

The Oculus Quest 2 has so far been the best value when it comes to VR gaming. It’s hundreds of dollars cheaper than its competitors, it has phenomenal tracking, it doesn’t need to be tethered to a PC, and it boasts a huge library of games (even Half Life: Alyx is easily playable on the Quest 2). Now, Oculus has re-released its Oculus Quest 2 VR headset with double the storage (128GB vs 64GB) for the exact same price. There’s even less of a reason now to pick something else. I purchased an Oculus Rift when it first launched, played the heck out of it, and now own a Quest 2. In my opinion, and with price factored in, it’s far and away the best VR headset to get into Beat Saber.

Buy Quest 2 Accessories, Get a Newegg Gift Card

The Oculus Quest 2 is a bargain at $299, and thanks to the low price, you can pick up some very convenient accessories without having to feel like you just stepped out of your budget. Newegg is offering a bonus gift card when you purchase any of the accessories below. That includes the Elite Strap, the Elite Strap with Battery Pack, the Link Cable, and more.

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, here’s your chance to get it today for an even lower price. Today the price of the AirPods Pro has dropped $70, or 28% off. This is the lowest price we’ve seen for a brand new pair of these highly rated earbuds. The AirPods Pro is considered by many to be the best truly wireless noise-cancelling in-ear headphones you can get, and a very big step up in quality from the standard AirPods.

$2,600 Off Lenovo ThinkPad 15″ 4K RTX 3080 Laptop

Update: The ship date listed on Lenovo’s site shows 4+ months, and that seems to be exaggerated. Some buyers have reported receiving their laptops in about 2-3 weeks.

Lenovo ThinkPad laptops are known for their best-in-class ruggedness and reliability, and even if it ever breaks down, Lenovo offers the best customer service in the business. Usually there’s a steep price premium for this. Today, however, this $5000 MSRP laptop is discounted by $2600 thanks to a combination of an instant discount and a new coupon code that popped up today. If you’re looking to purchase a ThinkPad that’s got the power to do some serious gaming, you won’t find a price like this anytime soon.

Dell XPS Intel Core i7 RTX 3060 Ti PC for $1369

Enjoy high end PC gaming on a budget. There is one of the best deals we’ve seen for an RTX 3060 Ti equipped PC and handily beats out a similar deal we saw on Labor Day by over $100. The RTX 3060 Ti is a very powerful video card; it’s better than the previous generation’s RTX 2080! It’s a big upgrade from the 3060 non-Ti model and the one to get if you’re going to play games at resolutions of 1440p or higher. This particular deal is found on the Dell Small Business site, but anyone can purchase there just like on Dell’s regular site; you can treat Dell Small Business as exactly the same as Dell Home.

Preorder the Middle Earth 6-Film Ultimate Collector’s Edition (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital)

This impressive Middle Earth Collector’s Edition includes both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit Trilogies over a whopping 31 discs. That’s because there are separate 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray discs for both the Theatrical Editions and the Extended Editions. You also get digital HD copies for free, and they are compatible with MoviesAnywhere so you can merge it into your digital library. As far as extras go, you get a Special Features Blu-ray disc, a 64-page booklet, and 7 travel poster art cards. All the discs are stored in collectible foil sleeves.

Video Game Deals

More Daily Deals for September 14

Norm Macdonald, Legendary Comedian and Saturday Night Live Cast Member, Has Died at 61

Norm Macdonald, known for his acerbic wit and jabs at conventional comedy, has died. He was 61.

Deadline broke the news that Macdonald died after a nine year battle with cancer, which he has kept largely private. Producing partner and friend Lori Jo Hoekstra told Deadline that he wanted to focus on his comedy.

“He never wanted the diagnosis to affect the way the audience or any of his loved ones saw him,” Hoekstra said. “Norm was a pure comic. He once wrote that ‘a joke should catch someone by surprise, it should never pander.’ He certainly never pandered. Norm will be missed terribly.”

Comedians and other influential figures on social media quickly paid tribute to Macdonald.

Macdonald is best-known for his stint on Saturday Night Live between 1993 and 1998, where he hosted Weekend Update in an era in which figures like O.J. Simpson and Bill Clinton loomed large. His savage sense of humor and penchant for pushing boundaries won him many fans, among his greatest moments being his utter destruction of ESPN’s Award Show as its host in 1998. That same sense of humor reportedly resulted in his firing from SNL, as he wouldn’t stop insulting O.J. Simpson, much to the reported displeasure of NBC president Don Ohlmeyer.

Outside of Saturday Night Live, Macdonald’s work included appearances in films including Billy Madison and The People vs. Larry Flynt, as well as a recurring role in The Orville as the voice of Yaphit. As recently as last year, Macdonald hosted a YouTube talk show called Quarantined in which he interviewed various celebrities such as Chevy Chase.

Macdonald was born in Quebec, Canada. He is survived among others by Neil Macdonald, a well-known Canadian journalist.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN.

iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro Announced, Have Big Improvements For Games

Apple has announced its latest iPhone, the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro. If you’ve been paying attention to smartphone upgrades, you’ll probably have guessed that all the new features are small–the cameras are better, there’s some neat new software tricks, and the screen is slightly brighter. The iPhone 13 is no different, even with its new A15 chip. But it’s this chip that could be a big deal for mobile gaming.

With huge games like Fortnite, Call of Duty: Mobile, Genshin Impact, and more, mobile gaming requires more power than ever before. Couple this with advancements in game engines, such as Fortnite moving to Unreal Engine 5, and it’s simple to understand that smartphones will need to keep up. Apple’s silicon has been ahead of the competition for years now, but the A15 makes a big deal about being better for gaming.

Now Playing: 11 Minutes of Genshin Impact Aloy Gameplay

In the iPhone 13, the A15 chip features a 4-core GPU for accelerated gaming performance, with Apple claiming that you can expect up to 30% faster performance in games. The iPhone 13 Pro is a step further, with a 5-core GPU letting you take advantage of the phone’s 120Hz True Motion display. Both models feature OLED panels, just like last year, so you don’t have to go all in with the Pro for the best-looking display, but that extra horsepower might be useful if you really need all the performance you can get.

This doesn’t just apply to native apps either. The iPhone 13, like many other smartphones, will be a great device for game streaming, whether it’s just remote play with your Xbox Series X|S and PS5 or cloud gaming via Xbox Cloud Gaming or Google Stadia (although native support for either is still missing on iOS). Having more GPU performance will only serve to make these gaming experiences smoother, and the benefit of 5G in both the standard and Pro models mean you can take advantage of the low latencies the technology offers, if you’re in a supported region.

The iPhone 13 launches on September 24 for $799, while the iPhone 13 Mini starts at $699. The iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max launch on the same day for $999 and $1099 respectively. All models now start at a base of 128GB of storage, and improvement from last year without a price bump.

Best Star Wars Games: 10 Must-Play Titles Set In A Galaxy Far, Far Away

Star Wars is composed of dozens of different stories, many of which have been told outside of the mainline movies. One of the most prominent sources since the franchise’s creation has been video games, with studios reimagining Star Wars’ existing stories and characters or creating new ones across dozens of gaming genres, including racing games, shooters, flight simulators, and role-playing games. And though Star Wars games could stand to get a little bit weirder going forward, there have already been plenty of wonderful games that take place in a galaxy far, far away. Below, we’ve rounded up the 10 best Star Wars games.

As a quick note: These games are not listed in the order of best to worst, or vice versa. We’ve simply listed them in the order by which they launched, from 1994’s TIE Fighter to 2021’s Republic Commando Remastered and every game we loved in between. And yes, KOTOR is on the list. You do not have to keep scrolling if you came here just to make sure that we didn’t forget to list KOTOR–we got you. And with a Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake for PS5/PC in the works at Aspyr, there’s never been a better time to look back on the iconic BioWare RPG. We’ll be sure to come back and update this list as new Star Wars games are released (assuming they’re good enough to knock any of these games off).

Developer Totally Games’ Star Wars: TIE Fighter is a flight simulator meets space combat game set in the Star Wars universe that wowed fans back in 1994 and surprisingly still holds up in several ways today. It begins immediately following the events of The Empire Strikes Back and continues until the final battle of Return of the Jedi, having you play as a talented TIE pilot charged with going after pirates or traitors to the Galactic Empire. It’s a shame that TIE Fighter is no longer canon, as it tells a superb story about what it was like to be an Imperial during the events of the original Star Wars trilogy. The game provides insight into “the bad guys” of Star Wars, showing that most Imperial soldiers weren’t Emperor Palpatine-level evil. It’s a perspective that other Star Wars video games–like Battlefront II and Squadrons–have tried to replicate, but have never quite done as well as TIE Fighter. Star Wars: TIE Fighter is available for PC.

Developer Raven Software’s Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast is the third game in the Jedi Knight series, which began with 1995’s Dark Forces. The series follows Kyle Katarn, a mercenary-turned-Jedi who briefly embraces the Dark Side and thus can use all manner of Force abilities. In Jedi Outcast, Kyle has forsaken the Force, only to learn that he needs to reconnect with his Force sensitivity in order to combat a threat posed to the New Republic. Jedi Outcast is the point in the Jedi Knight series where combat fully transitions to a hybrid of shooter and lightsaber combat. That, along with the really good single-player campaign, makes Jedi Outcast the best of the Jedi Knight games. Jedi Outcast also sees Kyle meet with several popular Star Wars characters, like Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian, providing a look at their lives (admittedly, one that is no longer canon) after the events of Return of the Jedi. Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast is available for PS4, Switch, Xbox, GameCube, and PC.

See our Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast review.

Developer BioWare’s Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is beloved by Star Wars fans as one of the best (if not the best) Star Wars games ever made. Set thousands of years prior to the events of The Phantom Menace, KOTOR sees you exploring the Star Wars galaxy in an effort to find a way to stop Darth Malak, a Sith who killed his master, Darth Revan, to take over the Sith armada and launch an invasion against the Galactic Republic and a fractured Jedi Order. Along the way, you recruit new allies, learn Force abilities, and make meaningful choices that influence both how the story ultimately ends and whether you embrace the Light or Dark Side of the Force. KOTOR also introduces some of the best Star Wars characters ever created, such as Jedi Knight Bastila Shan, Twi’lek street urchin Mission Vao, and assassin droid HK-47. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is available on Xbox, PC, and both Android and iOS devices. As mentioned already, a KOTOR remake is currently in development at Aspyr.

See our Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic review.

Developer BioWare Austin’s Star Wars: The Old Republic has come a long way since its launch in 2011–this massively multiplayer online role-playing game is still kicking too, with a thriving playerbase and an eighth major content expansion, Legacy of the Sith, coming out in celebration of its 10-year run. Taking place hundreds of years after the events of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, The Old Republic allows you to play through eight distinct storylines during the ongoing conflict between the Sith Empire and Galactic Republic. Each storyline sees you recruiting different squadmates, responding to different moral-based dialogue choices, wielding different weapons and abilities, meeting different characters, and having the chance to fall in love with different romance options. So you basically have eight different story-driven RPGs here, all of which feature missions you can tackle alongside well-written NPC companions or real-world players. Star Wars: The Old Republic is available for PC.

See our Star Wars: The Old Republic review.

Developer Traveller’s Tales Games’ Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a charming and fun way to once again experience the story of Episode 7. The Force Awakens introduces a lot of new ideas to the formula for the Lego games, many of which seem to be the basis of what we’ll get in Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga–cover-based shooting, multiple hubs that exist as separate open worlds, and starfighter battles, for example. Star Wars fans who know Episode 7’s plot inside-and-out can find something new here too, as The Force Awakens provides backstory for details that were never explained in (or were cut from) the movie, like why C-3PO has a red arm and how Poe Dameron managed to escape from Jakku after being separated from Finn. Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens is available for Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS4, PS3, PS Vita, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, PC, and both Android and iOS devices.

See our Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens review.

Developer DICE’s Star Wars: Battlefront II (not to be confused with Pandemic Studios’ 2005 game Star Wars: Battlefront II) made an extremely rough first impression in 2017–there aren’t many games that can claim to have a microtransaction controversy prior to their official launch on par with this one. But to the credit of DICE (and support studios Criterion Games and Motive Studios), Battlefront II got substantial post-launch content, balancing updates, bug fixes, and (most importantly) adjustments to how the in-game economy works. It’s now a rewarding game to play, with a decent-but-not-fantastic single-player campaign about an elite Galactic Empire special forces trooper defecting to the New Republic, and an expansive online multiplayer experience with plenty of awesome modes to play. Star Wars: Battlefront II is available for Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

See our Star Wars: Battlefront II review.

There are very few moments in Star Wars that capture how terrifying Darth Vader is–the final moments of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, his few appearances in Star Wars: Rebels Season 2, and his adventures in Kieron Gillen’s Star Wars: Darth Vader are the standouts. But that overwhelming sense of fear that many feel when standing in Darth Vader’s presence wasn’t fully-realized within video games until developer ILMxLAB’s Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series. You don’t quite realize just how imposingly tall and intimidating Vader is until he’s looming over you and threatening your life. The game’s story takes place in between Revenge of the Sith and Rogue One, seeing you play as a smuggler who gets caught up in Darth Vader’s attempts to bring Padmé Amidala back to life. Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series is available for Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift, and PSVR.

Developer Respawn Entertainment’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is an action-adventure game that incorporates a Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice-like parry system for its lightsaber combat and takes inspiration from both metroidvania and Souls-like games for its exploration and progression. Taking place after Revenge of the Sith, Fallen Order sees you play as Jedi Padawan-turned-scrapper Cal Kestis, who goes on the run with Jedi Knight-turned-outlaw Cere Junda, pilot Greez Dritus, and droid BD-1 when Imperial Inquisitors Second Sister and Ninth Sister (former Jedi turned to the dark side and trained by Darth Vader) start hunting him. Fallen Order digs deep into some of the themes only glossed over in other Star Wars media, such as understanding yourself enough to fight against your own darkness and knowing how and when to ask for help when tackling an overwhelming adversity. There’s some excellent storytelling going on when Cal meets Nightsister Merrin and the two try to broach common ground through the trauma of watching their respective orders fall. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is available for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, PC, and Stadia.

See our Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order review.

Developer Motive Studios’ Star Wars: Squadrons is fantastic. Though the game’s single-player campaign–which sees you alternate between the newest members of the New Republic’s Vanguard Squadron and the Galactic Empire’s Titan Squadron following the events of Return of the Jedi–isn’t very good beyond acting as a decent story-driven tutorial, online multiplayer is a blast to play. Matches put you into fast-paced 5v5 dogfights where communicating with your team and managing how much energy you’re putting towards your shields, engines, or weapons is just as important as being a good shot. Squadrons is simple to learn but rewards commitment with a high skill ceiling–there are few things as satisfying as finally mastering an advanced maneuver and pulling it off at the end of a match to get the winning kill. Star Wars: Squadrons is available for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS4, and PC. The PS4 and PC versions can be played in VR.

See our Star Wars: Squadrons review.

Developer LucasArts’ Star Wars: Republic Commando was one of the earliest stories to explore the identical faces but vastly different personalities of the soldiers that make up the Galactic Republic’s Clone Army. Aspyr Media’s enhanced port is the same excellent game but with prettier visuals, a better control scheme, and no multiplayer (though Republic Commando’s online multiplayer was never that good to begin with). Despite being an older game–Republic Commando first launched in 2005–it’s still wonderful to get to know the members of Delta Squad (Boss, Scorch, Fixer, and Sev) as the four take part in three special ops missions in between the events of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. Star Wars: Republic Commando Remastered is available for PS4 and Switch.

See our Star Wars: Republic Commando Remastered review.

Netflix’s Grendel Series Reveals Full Cast for Comic Book Adaptation

Netflix has added the acclaimed Dark Horse series Grendel to its ever-growing lineup of comic book adaptations. The streamer has greenlit an eight-episode season centered around the comic’s original protagonist, Hunter Rose.

Grendel will be written by Supernatural veteran Andrew Dabb, who is also serving as showrunner and executive producer. The series is also executive produced by Grendel creator Matt Wagner and Dark Horse Entertainment’s Mike Richardson, Keith Goldberg and Chris Tongue.

Abubakr Ali (Power: Book II) has been tapped to star as Hunter Rose. A gifted fencer and acclaimed novelist, Rose is driven by a mixture of boredom and vengeance to become a costumed vigilante, before ultimately taking control of the city’s criminal underworld. Jaime Ray Newman (Dopesick) has been cast as Hunter’s mentor Jocasta Rose. Julian Black Antelope plays Hunter’s heroic nemesis, Argent, a centuries-old Native American man transformed into a werewolf.

The Season 1 cast also includes Madeline Zima (Californication) as Liz Sparks, Kevin Corrigan (Scenes from an Empty Church) as Barry Palumbo, Emma Ho (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds) as Stacy Palumbo, Erik Palladino (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) as Teddy Ciccone, Brittany Allen (What Keeps You Alive) as Annabelle Wright and Andy Mientus (The Flash) as Andy Stohler.

Grendel originally debuted in 1982’s Comico Primer #2, with Wagner later expanding on his original, unfinished story in the graphic novel Grendel: Devil by the Deed. Since then, the Grendel saga has continued at Dark Horse through various ongoing and limited series, the most recent of which was 2019’s Grendel: Devil’s Odyssey. While the early Grendel tales focus on Hunter Rose’s rise and fall, Wagner’s story often jumps forward in time to explore other characters taking up the Grendel mantle and the the never-ending cycle of violence and aggression Rose leaves in his wake.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled about the Grendel saga, one of the longest-running independent comics series, finally being translated into live-action for the screen,” said Wagner in a statement. “Under the sharp guidance of showrunner Andrew Dabb, our incredible creative team, sure-to-be stellar cast and Dark Horse Entertainment have teamed with Netflix to produce this provocative adaptation that will bring my characters and concepts to an all new audience and yet still provide excitement and surprises for die-hard fans. I’m especially excited to see Abubakr Ali bring the character of Grendel/Hunter Rose to life — he has the charisma, style and vital edginess that I’ve been envisioning in the role for years.”

Grendel marks the latest collaboration between Netflix and Dark Horse. The streamer announced Umbrella Academy: Season 3 in November 2020, and we have some ideas for where the story is headed next. Netflix is also developing an animated adaptation of Stan Sakai’s Usago Yojimbo comics dubbed Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Bayonetta Creator Says Older Games’ Unavailability Is “Holding Game Culture Back”

Platinum Games’ Hideki Kamiya (studio creative director) commented on the frenzy and the sky-high prices attached to certain “vintage” video games, expressing understanding but also pointing out the problems obscenely high prices attached to older games causes–it makes it harder for players to experience classic titles, and this is in his view, “holding game culture back.”

In an interview with VGC, Kamiya stated, “As a collector myself, I understand the lure of wanting to have that game in the sealed package,” Kamyia stated. “People want the value of that package and not necessarily of the game itself. But as a fan, it’s a problem if somebody wants to play a game but they can’t get it because it’s being traded in these ridiculous marketplaces.”

Now Playing: Project GG – Teaser Trailer (Platinum Games)

He continued, “And the responsibility for keeping those games available belongs to the company that owns the IP. If people want to play a classic game and they can’t, because it’s not available on new platforms and can’t be found in its original form either, that’s like a threat … it’s holding game culture back. The people who own the rights to these games should be actively making moves to preserve game culture and making games available to everyone who wants to play them.”

In the same interview, Kamiya and Platinum Games’ Atsushi Inaba (studio head) covered other ground, including the question they both probably expected: Any Bayonetta updates? Short answer: No.

It largely sounds out of Inaba and Kamiya’s hands on what Bayonetta details–including an approximate timeline–they can reveal. Kamiya commented, ” … If you remember last time, I said that even though everyone was asking about Bayonetta 3, maybe you should tell everyone to forget about it for a while. I kind of need to keep to that stance for now because ultimately, it’s not our decision what to say and when to say it.”

In other Bayonetta 3 news, original Bayonetta voice actress Hellena Taylor gave a pretty indirect, sort-of, comment on her involvement in the upcoming game. In response to a fan saying that they could not imagine anybody else voicing Bayonetta, Taylor replied, “Well you might have to.” Asked to further clarify, Taylor responded, “I’m not at liberty to say.” She later replied to another tweet asking about her involvement in the project, stating “I so wanna answer that one but I’m bound by confidentiality agreement.”

Sol Cresta–a retro vertical shooter–is Platinum Games’ next big release and will launch on December 9. It will retail for $40 and be available on PC, PS4, and Nintendo Switch.

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Halo Infinite’s Warthog Is Real: Here’s How It Was Made

A real-life Warthog from Halo Infinite made a splash at the world premiere of the Ryan Reynolds video game-themed film Free Guy, and now a new 10-part weekly video series on YouTube will dive deep into the vehicle’s creation.

The build comes from Hoonigan Industries, an automotive brand that is no stranger to crafting custom vehicles. The Warthog took hundreds of hours to build over the course of a year, and is capable of reaching a top speed of over 100 mph thanks to a 438ci twin turbo small block Ford V8 engine. The vehicle’s body, interior, and accessories were all hand-crafted using high-res images of the Warthog provided by Halo developer 343 Industries.

This real-world Warthog comes with fully functional off-road racing suspension and active 4-wheel steering, meaning it’s capable of climbing over rocks and rough terrain just like its in-game counterpart.

In the first first part of the ongoing series, fans get to see the early stages of the Warthog’s creation, including a discussion with Halo franchise creative director Frank O’Connor and senior Halo franchise manager Corrine Robinson. Oh, and the builders over at Hoonigan also play a bit of Halo: Combat Evolved for good measure.

Players will get their first chance to take Halo Infinite’s Warthog for a spin soon, as the game’s next multiplayer test starts September 24 and will include the game’s Big Team Battle mode. The mode will pit two teams of 12 against one another on larger maps perfect for vehicular mayhem. To get the chance to participate in the upcoming playtest, you need to become a Halo Insider.

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Netflix’s Bright Is Returning in October as a Samurai Anime… With Orcs

Netflix has released a trailer and poster for Bright: Samurai Soul, an upcoming anime set in the magical world of David Ayer’s live-action, Will Smith-starring film Bright.

Netflix recently offered fans a slice of the action by dropping the first trailer for director Kyohei Ishiguro’s anime spinoff. The story revolves around Izou, a Ronin, and Raiden, an orc, who work to bring a young elf girl and the wand she carries to the land of the elves in the north during the early years of Japan’s Meiji Restoration. Check out the first trailer below:

The English-language voice cast of Bright: Samurai Soul features Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star Simu Liu in the role of Izou, the one-eyed wandering samurai. Netflix revealed that Liu is joined in the cast by Fred Mancuso as the orc Raiden, who attempts to redeem himself from a life of thievery; and Yuzu Harada as the young elf Sonya.

The Netflix Geeked Twitter account also shared a poster for Bright: Samurai Soul, which is set to premiere on the streamer on October 12. The upcoming anime explores an all-new setting and era while introducing a fresh bunch of characters, many of whom are featured on the poster, with the film’s human ronin, orc assassin, and elf orphan taking center stage.

Last year, Netflix announced its plans to produce more anime content after noting an exceptional uptake in anime streaming on the platform, with statistics showing that over 100 million households globally watched at least one anime title on Netflix between October 2019 and September 2020 — a noted increase of more than 50% on the previous year’s figures.

Bright: Samurai Soul is just the latest addition to a growing list of anime titles on Netflix, with many more still to come. It joins several other planned titles at the streamer, including a Tomb Raider anime series with Hayley Atwell as the voice of Lara Croft, an anime prequel series of Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead, and a new horror sci-fi tale called Make My Day.

Adele Ankers is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Alan Wake Remastered Is Ditching the Original’s Product Placement

With brand deals for the 2010 cult classic Alan Wake long since expired, the title’s upcoming remaster will not feature its predecessor’s iconic product placements when it launches on October 5.

According to an article by Screen Rant, Remedy is set to strip the game of its real-world products when it releases next month. With brand deals having since expired for the title, a PR representative for Alan Wake Remastered confirmed that the remaster will be replacing its partnership-sponsored advertisements with generic in-universe branding.

Aside from its otherworldly tone and cult classic status, the original release of Alan Wake also became known (less lovingly) for its high number of brand deals. Product placement in the psychological thriller managed to creep its way into everything from background environment models to the title’s core gameplay elements. When exploring the quaint mining town of Bright Falls, fans will likely remember the Verizon billboards that stood proudly along the game’s forest-lined streets, even after darkness fell.

The title didn’t stop there, however, as a number of core gameplay elements also brought with them exclusive brand tie-ins. From searching far and wide for Energizer branded batteries as a vital source of power for Alan’s torch to including vehicles manufactured by Ford and Lincoln, players were never far away from encountering a familiar corporate logo in the game.

The inclusion of real-world products in Alan Wake is one that divided its fanbase. While some players balk at the idea of real-world products being pushed on consumers during a time of escapism, others found it gave the title grounding and relatability. In a Reddit thread detailing Remedy’s decision to replace the old branded products with in-universe advertisements, one fan seemed particularly repulsed by the thought of using anything but Energizer batteries to power their torch:

To see more from the upcoming remaster, make sure to check out the title’s recent trailer, which debuted at this month’s PlayStation Showcase. It’ll be interesting to see – if there is an Alan Wake sequel on the way – whether that game gets the same generic branding, or if the real-world advertisements return.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.