Category: Games

After the worldwide success of The Witcher, it’s no surprise that Netflix is betting big on fantasy series in the coming months. In addition to buzzy adaptations of Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone, and Frank Miller and Tom Wheeler’s Cursed – a retelling of the Arthurian legend of the Lady of the Lake – the streaming platform is also launching a series based on the bestselling Dutch novel The Letter for the King (De brief voor de Koning) by Tonke Dragt, and we’ve got an exclusive first look at the upcoming adventure show.

Here’s Netflix’s official description for the coming-of-age series: “The Letter For The King is the story of a ruthless prince who threatens to cast the world into darkness, when a young knight in training named Tiuri (Amir Wilson) embarks on an epic quest to deliver a secret letter to the king. Along the way, he unexpectedly finds himself at the center of a magical prophecy foretelling the rise of a hero who can defeat the prince and restore peace. If he’s going to survive the journey, Tiuri will have to learn what it means to be a true knight — and a true leader.”

Check out five exclusive images from The Letter for the King in the gallery below:

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The show stars Amir Wilson (most recently seen as Will Parry in HBO and the BBC’s His Dark Materials) and Ruby Serkis (whose father, Andy Serkis, is certainly no stranger to epic fantasy projects), alongside Thaddea Graham and Gijs Blom. The Letter for the King is written by How to Train Your Dragon and Johnny English scribe Will Davies, with Paul Trijbits (Sing Street, Saving Mr. Banks) serving as executive producer through his FilmWave production company. The first season will consist of six hourlong episodes and will debut in Spring 2020, with an official release date to be announced at a later date.

The Letter for the King was first published in 1962 and spawned a sequel, The Secrets of the Wild Wood, in 1965. The novel is much-beloved in its native Netherlands and has sold more than a million copies worldwide to date. It was translated to English in 2013, earning praise from British reviewers, including The Guardian, which wrote at the time, “The book is beautifully constructed, and has passages of urgent writing that take their inspiration from fairytales as well as the Arthurian legend.”

For another upcoming Netflix adaptation, check out the trailer for Locke and Key:

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Unlike a lot of recent fantasy adaptations for the small screen, The Letter for the King was written for younger readers, so don’t expect Witcher or Game of Thrones levels of nudity or violence – but judging by the description, the series may still scratch a similar swashbuckling, prophecy-fulfilling itch (and as His Dark Materials recently proved, YA adaptations can still delve into some pretty dark places without the need for gore). While it remains to be seen whether the show will have the scale and scope of some of its fellow fantasy adaptations, the series filmed in New Zealand, so will likely take advantage of the landscapes that made the Lord of the Rings movies so iconic.

If you’re looking for more fantasy to binge, we’ve got good news and bad news: The Witcher Season 2 won’t premiere until 2021, but in the meantime, you can now stream the Season 1 soundtrack (including Jaskier’s earworm “Toss a Coin to Your Witcher“) and look forward to a recently-announced animated Witcher movie, in addition to enjoying these tidbits about what to expect in Season 2. Plus, check out more TV shows we can’t wait to watch in the next few months, meet the cast of Amazon’s upcoming Lord of the Rings prequel show, and learn more about Amazon’s adaptation of another iconic fantasy series, The Wheel of Time.

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Universal Studios and Blumhouse Productions are developing a remake of The Thing, which will adapt the long lost pages of the horror classic’s original science-fiction novel.

According to Bloody Disgusting, the two studios are teaming up for a big-screen adaptation of the novella Who Goes There?, penned by John W. Campbell Jr., though this time the story will contain some new content from the never-before-seen, expanded version of the novel, titled Frozen Hell.

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“It’s OFFICIAL!” producer Alan Donnes reportedly wrote in a Facebook post on Friday. “I received my signed contract and first check! I am Executive Producing a remake of THE THING but with additional chapters of John Campbell’s groundbreaking novel, Frozen Hell, that had been lost for decades. Now, for the first time ever, Campbell’s full vision will be realized on the big screen. The new film will include the very best of RKO’s THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD, John Carpenter’s classic THE THING and both books, Frozen Hell and Who Goes There?”

John Betancourt announced the discovery of the unpublished, full-length version of the classic novella back in 2018, as he launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the release of Frozen Hell, claiming it offers “vital backstory and context to an already incredible tale.”

Betancourt recently shared an update on the fully-funded project, telling his supporters about the forthcoming film adaptation of Frozen Hell. In a post on Monday, he wrote, “The movie will be from Universal and Blumhouse. Everyone is super excited about it, and it’s being fast-tracked. This is just the tip of the iceberg of what’s going on with Who Goes There?, Frozen Hell, and The Thing in Hollywood. I can’t talk about the rest yet, but it’s very exciting — and if all goes as planned, the Thing will be alive and well for quite a while.”

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The original Antarctic horror story has spawned three previous film adaptations; the first being Howard Hawks’ 1951 classic The Thing from Another World and the second being John Carpenter’s iconic 1982 film The Thing. In 2011, a prequel to the Carpenter feature, also titled The Thing, was released to box office disappointment.

In our review of the prequel, we recognized the casts’ efforts “to make the material come alive and to create palpable tension” but ultimately decided that “the last act crystallizes everything that’s wrong with this Thing: It simply runs amok looking to scare you by aping what it had done so much better before.”

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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

If you’re looking to save money on PC games, now’s a good time to buy. The Lunar Sale is live on the Ubisoft Store, dropping prices on tons of gear and games, including Ghost Recon Breakpoint, The Division 2, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, and many more. Even better, DLC, season passes, and Gold and Ultimate editions are also on sale, so you get all the DLC for cheap as well. Let’s take a look at the deals you can get between now and January 30, when the sale ends.

Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 is $12

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• See it at Ubisoft Store

If you’re in need of a game to keep you busy until the heavy-hitters start landing this spring, here’s a killer deal. You can pick up the service game The Division 2 for just $9 right now. It has you and a band of do-gooders keeping the streets of Washington D.C. safe. If you want to grab some DLC while you’re at it, the Gold edition is $20, and the Ultimate edition is $24.

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint is $24

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• See it at Ubisoft Store

Lots of people seem to have skipped over Ghost Recon: Breakpoint when it launched at its $60 price point. Perhaps slashing that number by 60% will bring it down to “why not?” territory. Go in alone or with up to three friends to take down The Wolves, a band of former Ghosts who’ve gone to the dark side.

Rainbow Six Siege is $8

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• See it at Ubisoft Store – $8

This online shooter has remained relevant for over four years for very good reasons. It’s received nonstop attention from the development team, who continues to pump out tweaks and new content. It’s also has a thriving community of dedicated players. And holding it all together is its ultra-tight, strategic team-based combat.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is $24

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• See it at Ubisoft Store

The game that many consider the best Assassin’s Creed title ever is also on sale for 60% off. This game is so packed with open-world murder content that it’ll keep you busy for dozens and dozens of hours before you see the credits roll. Like the rest of the games on sale, the Gold and Ultimate editions also got big price cuts, offering even more play time for pennies on the dollar.

Anno 1800 is $32.99

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• See it at Ubisoft Store

If up-close-and-personal killing isn’t your thing, how about killing enemies from a wider vantage point? That’s what you do in Anno 1880, a strategy game set during the Industrial Revolution. This game’s at least 45% off, depending on which edition you choose.

Other PC Game Deals

• Far Cry 5 – $15
• Far Cry New Dawn – $16
• Trials Rising – $10
• Uno – $3

Here are some other Lunar Sale deals at the Ubisoft Store, but you’ll find many more (including deals on gear) on the sale page.

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Chris Reed is IGN’s shopping and commerce editor. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.

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A Hollywood live-action adaption of the game Steins;Gate is in the works.

Anime News Network reports the big reveal came during the live concert celebrating the 10th anniversary of the series. During the Science ADV Live S;G 1010th Anniversary, a teaser video was played revealing a live-action recreation of the game is being made by Hollywood for television.

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The Science Adventure Series, or Kagaku Adv Twitter account, also tweeted about the tease in Japanese.

特報③#シュタゲ10周年
プロジェクトNo.010

「STEINS;GATE」
ハリウッド実写化企画進行中！https://t.co/uSe67iYr99#科学ADV #シュタゲ pic.twitter.com/khvM6FL0qB

— 科学ADV公式 #シュタゲ10周年 (@kagakuadv) January 26, 2020

 

Steins;Gate started out as a science fiction visual novel game released in 2009. It went on to spark an anime series in 2011, followed by a film adaption as well as a second anime, Stein;Gate 0.

The project will be under the wing of production company Skydance Television, which produced shows like Altered Carbon, Grace and Frankie, and Jack Ryan.

If you’re stuck for anime to watch in the meantime, you can get a look at the best anime of 2019. If that’s not enough, we also have the best anime of the past decade, plus the top 25 anime of all time.

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[poilib element=”accentDivider”]Hope Corrigan is an Australian freelance writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

 

 

Star Trek: Picard star Patrick Stewart has shared the story behind his new Number One, explaining why Jean-Luc has a canine companion in the new series and how they settled on a pit bull for the pint-sized part.

Speaking to StarTrek.com, Stewart opened up about the creative decision of adding a dog to the cast line-up of the Star Trek show, as he suggested Picard’s four-legged friend serves to reveal something deeper about the retired captain of the Enterprise.

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“I wanted a dog because I have, only in the last four years, renewed my acquaintance with dogs,” Steward confessed in the interview. “I had a dog, a border collie, when I was little and nothing since then. I thought all we need to do is to have a dog at Picard’s side. And that, without any dialogue or any dramatic reference, will say a lot about this man, that he now has a dog always at his side.”

As an avowed pit bull rescue enthusiast, Stewart revealed he had some influence over the decision of which breed was going to be selected for the Admiral’s pet, admitting his strong association with pit bulls helped to determine the outcome.

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“Well, I am obsessed with pit bulls. What a dog, and how ill-used they have been, appalling used,” he explained. “In England, they’re a banned breed. I adopted my first pit bull and we already were excited about the thought of taking her back to England, and we couldn’t do it. They won’t be let in the country. I even talked to the British Embassy in Washington about it and they said, ‘There’s nothing we can do.’

“I’m now part of a campaign working in the UK to get this legislation changed because they are the most sensitive, the most loving, the most giving, the most affectionate creatures that you could ever possibly hope to meet.”

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In the new series, Picard awards his pooch the affectionate nickname of “Number One”, as a reference to the informal title of a second-in-command officer aboard a Starfleet ship. In the original Star Trek: The Next Generation, William Riker (played by Jonathan Frakes) starred as the second-in-command to Picard and was frequently referred to as Number One.

For more on Star Trek: Picard, read our review of the first episode, find out how Picard changes everything for Star Trek, and discover how Picard fits into the Star Trek timeline.

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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

This time on our Football Manager spin-off, Cardy is, somehow, on the most familiar ground. His mogul-backed Magpies are on the march, while Dale ups sticks for LA to begin the reign of the Cancun Corona Colts, and Joe embarks on the most terrifying FM journey of all – unemployment.

It’s Football Day: Episode 6

To see why we care quite so much, check out our review of Football Manager 2020, which we call “a fine excuse to delve back into a perennially addictive series.”

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With today being the first day of the start of principal photography on #TheBatman here is a cool tidbit, the production is using Epic Games’ Unreal Engine that was used on #TheMandalorian to provide on-set visual information for the actors & filmmakers.

— Umberto Gonzalez (@elmayimbe) January 27, 2020

Early this month, Rocket League players on Linux and Mac were given the news that their versions of the game would no longer be supported for online play. These players, who are said to make up less than 1% of the game’s total player population, will not be able to play the game online anymore after an update in March.

Thankfully, affected players are now being offered refunds for their purchase of the game. In a post on Reddit, a team member from developer Psyonix has outlined the process involved, and it’s pretty straightforward.

While owners were initially encouraged to contact Psyonix directly, this turned out not to be the best way to handle the situation, and the team has worked with Valve to make the refund process easier.

Here are the steps necessary for Linux and Mac users to claim their refund:

• Go to the Steam Support website
• Select Purchases
• Select Rocket League (you may need to select “View complete purchasing history” to see it)
• Select I would like a refund, then I’d like to request a refund
• From the Reason dropdown menu, select My issue isn’t listed
• In notes, write “Please refund my Mac/Linux version of Rocket League, Psyonix will be discontinuing support”

Rocket League has undergone some major changes recently. In late 2019, it dropped loot boxes in favor of a new “key” system, and had to change its pricing model on this new system after significant backlash.