As part of a wide-ranging interview with The Hollywood Reporter, actor Ben Affleck discussed why he took on the role of Batman, and it’s for a pretty wholesome reason.
He explained that he did it to make his kids happy. “I did Batman because I wanted to do it for my kids,” Affleck said. “I wanted to do something that my son would dig. I mean, my kids didn’t see Argo.”
Affleck’s first appearance as Batman came in Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which was followed by appearances as the Caped Crusader in Suicide Squad and Justice League. Affleck is coming back once more to play Batman in 2022’s The Flash.
Affleck recalled the experience of working with Snyder and how they originally had plans to do something different with his time as Batman.
“Zack [Snyder] wanted to do a version of the Frank Miller Dark Knight graphic novel series, which is a really good version of that. Unfortunately, there are a lot of reasons why things go the way they do in the movie business, and just because your face is on the poster doesn’t mean that you’re dictating all of those things–and even if you were, that they would go well.”
Working on Justice League was not a great time in Affleck’s life, as he remarked that it was around this time that he started drinking too much. He says he always sobered up before he came to set, but this isn’t the case for everyone he knows.
“If you knew how many actors and directors and writers were alcoholics or compulsive in some way–I mean, it’s the most ordinary thing in the world in Hollywood,” he said. “I’ve worked with actors who showed up drunk! And that was not me. I drank, like, alone in my living room and just passed out, like, with scotch. But I got sober.”
While the experience of making Justice League might not have been the smoothest or most enjoyable, Affleck remarked that it was all worth it in the end.
“I wore the suit to my son’s birthday party, which was worth every moment of suffering on Justice League,” he said.
The next actor to play Batman is Robert Pattinson, who is suiting up for The Batman from director Matt Reeves.
Nioh 2 publisher Koei Tecmo and developer Team Ninja have detailed the PC-specific features in the upcoming Nioh 2 Complete Edition, which will be released on February 5.
PC players (Nioh 2 Complete Edition will be available on Steam) can expect support for 4K resolution, ultra-widescreen, HDR, 144hz (including the option for locked 60fps or 120fps), customizable key bindings, and gamepads.
You can see them in action in the trailer above, and check out a bunch of screenshots in the gallery below.
Those who buy Nioh 2 Complete Edition in its first three weeks of release will also receive the bonus pieces of armor “Sohaya Deserter Garb” and “Ornate Gold Armor.” Check those armor sets out below:
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s Executive Editor of Previews. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan, catch him on Unlocked, and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.
The Marvel drought is over. With no MCU movies released since 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home, Marvel Studios’ cinematic universe has reopened with its first TV show on the Disney+ streaming service. WandaVision picks up some time after Avengers: Endgame and finds the characters of Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) living their lives in a sitcom world, with different episodes highlighting different eras of the genre.
In the three episodes provided for review, the show recreates the feeling of sitcoms from the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s on the surface, while something more sinister is brewing underneath. WandaVision wants you to relish in these classic eras of TV, while also asking why the characters are there, how it happened, how it connects to the larger Marvel universe, and–most importantly–how long it will be before the characters themselves figure out what is happening.
After redefining what superhero franchises are over the last 12 years, Marvel Studios is stepping into something of a new genre of storytelling with WandaVision. Taking two of the MCU’s heroes, who happen to also be locked in a tragic love story, and dropping them into a vintage comedy is a risky move. Thankfully, though, it works like a charm.
WandaVision’s commitment to the premise of revisiting classic sitcom settings is endearing. Gone, for the most part, are the cutting-edge visual effects, sweeping musical scores, and over-the-top superpowers MCU fans have come to expect from the franchise;What you get instead is more akin to shows like Bewitched or I Dream of Jeannie, in which “flying” objects are hanging from fishing wire and transformations are shown via jump cuts that never quite match–all techniques that those who worked on the show went to great lengths to recreate. It’s a good thing they did because anything else would be distracting. Instead, it’s easy to sink into the world of the show, almost as if you’re watching reruns late at night on TV Land.
That comfort allows WandaVision to build a sense of foreboding below the surface. Starting pretty early on in the first episode, it’s clear that something isn’t quite right–whether it’s the main characters being unsure about small details in their life prior to the show or lines of dialogue that show cracks in the armor of their black-and-white reality. And, honestly, not knowing what’s happening, in this instance, is scary, and the show does a good job of keeping it guarded, only giving small hints and clues.
For Marvel fans who don’t appreciate the classical TV setting quite as much, this will likely be what draws you in further. WandaVision wants you guessing and theorizing about the mystery that’s unfolding, taking logical and illogical leaps in hopes you’ll figure out what the endgame (no pun intended) is. And with it being a weekly release on Disney+, you’ll have plenty of time to do it. Plus, as the trailer shows, eventually more familiar aspects of the MCU will creep their way into the show over the course of its nine episodes.
However, that might not be something all viewers will be interested in waiting for. After all, most of the MCU thus far is made up of movies, which tell a complete story in one sitting. WandaVision, meanwhile, is taking a slow burn approach to its mystery. It’ll be weeks before you get any concrete answers, if they come at all. If you stuck with it, though, based on the first three episodes, it’s going to be worth the journey.
Just as much an achievement as the aesthetic of the show and the story it’s telling, though, is the cast. Bettany and Olsen, in particular, are incredible leads. Bettany’s Vision is played as essentially a bumbling husband trying to navigate a world he doesn’t quite fit into. If that sounds like the version of the character Bettany has played in the films, that’s because this take on Vision closely aligns with what we’ve seen previously.
Now, however, he seems unable to figure out what it is that makes him not fit in this particular world. His core remains the same, though. He’s an all-knowing entity that cares deeply for Wanda, even if he is unsure of himself.
Wanda, on the other hand, feels greatly evolved from where we last saw her in Avengers: Endgame. Throughout the MCU franchise, Wanda has never been too clearly defined (and I’m not just talking about her ever-changing accent). Since her introduction in Avengers: Age of Ultron she’s primarily been used as a side character that exists to drive the plot forward.
With WandaVision, though, Olsen is attempting to let Wanda stand on her own two feet. Gone is the vaguely European accent she sometimes used for the character. In its place is a voice that sounds heavily inspired by I Love Lucy star Lucille Ball. She’s confident in a way MCU fans haven’t seen in Wanda before. And after the events of Avengers: Endgame, you can’t blame her for having that confidence.
It also can’t be understated how funny Olsen and Bettany are in these roles. That might be one of the most surprising things about WandaVision. While there was always an awkwardly comedic dynamic to their relationship in the past, they’re outright hilarious in WandaVision as they completely embrace the tropes and humor of sitcom classics.
They also happen to be surrounded by a very talented supporting cast. Of note, Katheryn Hahn stars as their wacky neighbor Agnes, who happens to drop by quite a bit to gossip with Wanda and complain about her husband Ralph. Hahn is perfectly cast in this role, with her remarkable comedic talents easily blending in with the surreal sitcom setting.
Then there’s Teyonah Parris. Parris plays Monica Rambeau, who the MCU first introduced as a child in 2019’s Captain Marvel. Now grown, Monica finds herself in WandaVision’s sitcom world. How she got there and what her role will ultimately be remains to be seen but, as with Hahn, Parris’s comedic sensibilities work well with the show’s sense of humor.
In all, WandaVision is an undeniable success. Marvel Studios attempted something they hadn’t tried before and wound up with a show that’s somehow a classic family sitcom that is also propelling forward the storytelling of the universe of epic films that has been unspooling for over a decade. Now you will just have to wait for the slow burn narrative to reveal itself.
Capcom has invited fans to sign up for a closed beta test for an upcoming Resident Evil multiplayer game, a title that apparently has not been announced yet. Or perhaps this is all related to Resident Evil Village and Capcom is intentionally keeping that a secret for now.
Coinciding with the announcement of the Resident Evil Showcase, Capcom has launched a website that mentions a closed beta test for a game that will celebrate the 25th anniversary of Resident Evil. The beta test will run on PS4 and Xbox One, though people with a PS5 or Xbox Series X|S who are accepted into the beta can play via backwards compatibility.
More details about the beta test will be shared during the Resident Evil showcase on January 21. Nowhere on the page is the name Resident Evil Village mentioned, though the landing page includes “Village” as a directory.
Whatever the case, the beta test itself will be held on January 28 and 29, and you have until January 25 at 6:59 AM PST / 9:59 AM EST to register. Capcom said people who are in the Resident Evil Ambassadors program will have a better chance at getting selected. Silver members will have a 2X chance of getting in, while Gold members have a 5X chance, and Platinum users have a 10X chance.
The website mentions that this new Resident Evil game supports 4-6 players, but that’s all the information that’s available at this stage. Capcom has tried Resident Evil multiplayer before, most recently with Resident Evil Resistance.
Resident Evil Village, meanwhile, is slated for release in 2021 on PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC. The first-ever gameplay footage and a new trailer will be released during the Resident Evil Showcase on January 21.
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Third-person shooter Outriders is still a few months away, but we now have a better idea of all the options it’ll include when it launches in April. Developer People Can Fly outlined the game’s PC specs in a new video, while also pointing out a bunch of additional customization options for the PC version, including the ability to unlock its frame rate and adjust your field of view.
First and foremost is the rundown of what you’ll need to run Outriders when it launches on April 1. For the low end, running the game at 720p resolution and 60fps, you’ll need at least an Nvidia GeForce GTX 750TI or AMD Radeon R9 270x graphics card, an Intel i5-3470 or AMD FX-8350 CPU, and 8GB of RAM. To hit the recommended specs for 1080p resolution and 60fps, you’ll want at least a GeForce GTX 1060 6GB or Radeon RX 480 8GB graphics card, an i7-7700 or Ryzen 5 1600 CPU, and 16GB of RAM. You’ll also need 70GB of storage space to install the game.
On the quality of life side, Outriders will include subtitle and interface support for 13 languages, a fully customizable user interface, unlockable frame rates, an adjustable FOV, ultrawide display support, and full cross-play between all platforms. There’s also cross-save across the different platform ecosystems (so you’ll be able to pass your save file between PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, or on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, but not from Xbox to PlayStation).
On PC, you can play with a mouse and keyboard, but Outriders also includes support for most first-party controllers. You can plug in an Xbox One, PS4, or Steam controller and play the game without a problem.
The video notes a handful of other useful PC features as well:
Dynamic Resolution Scaling (DRS)
NVIDIA DLSS
NVIDIA Ansel
Razer Chroma RBG
Check out the video above for a more detailed look at Outriders’ PC options and features.
Samsung has announced a new set of Galaxy Buds Pro wireless earbuds for discerning audiophiles.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro is going head to head with the Apple AirPods Pro with features like active noise canceling, clear microphones, and of course, quality audio.
Each earbud features an 11-millimeter woofer for deeper bass and a 6.5- millimeter tweeter for richer treble. Thanks to its intelligent ANC capabilities you can reduce background noise by up to 99%. Alternatively for times when you need to hear the environment around you, switching on Ambient Sound mode amplifies nearby sounds by more than 20 decibels.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro also features three microphones and a Voice Pickup Unit (VPU) on each earbud to ensure you’re heard as clearly as possible. One of the outside microphones is dedicated to cutting out background noises with its high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) rating.
Even the earbuds shape is designed to fit flat in the users’ earlobe to reduce wind contact, plus there’s Wind Shield technology built into the earbuds.
There’s a new Auto Switch feature that allows the earbuds to easily switch between playing audio from a Samsung phone or tablet. For instance, you could be watching a video on your Samsung Android tablet, quickly answer a phone call from your smartphone, and then switch back to hearing the tablet audio.
You can expect 5 hours of playback from each earbud with ANC turned on and there’s an additional 13 hours in the wireless charging case. Without ANC, users can enjoy 8 hours of playback with 20 hours in reserve on the case.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro comes in three colors: Phantom Black, Phantom Silver, and Phantom Violet. They’re available starting now from Samsung for $199 and will be available from retailers starting on January 15th.
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Kevin Lee is IGN’s Hardware and Roundups Editor. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspam
It’s still too early to say how important a role Monica Rambeau will play in WandaVision, Marvel Studios’ first streaming show, which debuts January 15. According to Teyonah Parris, the actress portraying the grown-up version of Rambeau on the series, the reveal of who her character is will unfold slowly across the season’s nine episodes. But comics readers know Monica already, and the fact that she’s a key figure in the story that kicks off the MCU’s Phase 4 is a big deal because it signals the opportunity for redemption for one of the most badly mishandled characters in recent comics history.
Movie fans first met Monica as the precocious young daughter (played by Akira Akbar) of Carol Danvers’ friend Maria Rambeau in 2018’s Captain Marvel. But the character’s comic-book roots date back nearly 40 years.
Monica Rambeau’s first appearance was in 1982’s Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16. A co-creation of Roger Stern and John Romita, Jr., she was the second hero to take on the Captain Marvel name. The first, the Kree warrior Mar-Vell, had died in The Death of Captain Marvel graphic novel the same year as Rambeau’s debut. Her power set was massive; she had control of and could transform into any form of electromagnetic energy. She could traverse the globe in less than two seconds. But we quickly learned something else about her: Monica Rambeau had attitude.
Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) in a poster for WandaVision.
After her first mission, she immediately signed up with the Avengers, moving from trainee to full-time member and eventually team leader. Rambeau made history as the team’s first-ever female black Avenger. She was part of the team during Stern’s five-year stint on the book, allowing for a consistent development of her character, and was equal parts empathetic, sarcastic and tough. In one memorable moment in Avengers #229, she tore into the demoralized team and inspired them to action during the “Trial of Hank Pym” storyline. She stood her ground against her more difficult teammates such as the Sub-Mariner and Hercules, and had enough self-control not to blast Doctor Druid into oblivion as he worked to undermine her position as team Chairwoman.
She more than justified Captain America’s faith in her potential, and became particularly close to him. In the aftermath of the classic “Masters of Evil” tale, when Zemo and a team of villains had occupied Avengers Mansion, it was Monica who was there to offer moral support to an emotionally spent Steve Rogers. It was no surprise that he would be the one to nominate her to be team leader.
Monica takes charge in Avengers #229.
Captain Marvel No More
Captain Marvel was an essential member of the Avengers through the back half of the 1980s, until issue #294 when a battle with the sea creature the Leviathan essentially left her powerless. Rambeau regained some of her powers in her first solo adventure, Giant-Size Captain Marvel, written by the late, great Dwayne McDuffie and drawn by Mark “Doc” Bright, but she was nowhere near as powerful as she was before. Inexplicably, she wouldn’t return to full-time status with any version of the Avengers for years. In 1994, McDuffie and co-writer Dwight D. Coye partnered with Bright again on another CM one-shot, which had her fighting the Sons of the Serpent in a story that tackled racism in unflinching fashion. But two years later, Monica Rambeau hit rock bottom.
She gave up the Captain Marvel moniker to Mar-Vell’s son Genis and adopted the name Photon, a name so incredibly generic that future writers would have Rambeau’s teammates make fun of it. As if that indignity wasn’t bad enough, nearly a decade later Genis would drop the family name and adopt a new one – Photon. That meant she had to adopt another name that was only slightly better – Pulsar. Once again, one of Marvel’s most important female characters of the modern age had been slighted.
By the time she reappeared in the short-lived but fondly remembered Warren Ellis/Stuart Immonen series Nextwave, which was practically an in-continuity sendup of Marvel’s own superhero universe, she was just going by Monica. She continued her sporadic appearances throughout the 2000s, including as part of the 2009 mini-series Marvel Divas along with Hellcat, the Black Cat and Firestar. Aside from that, Rambeau remained largely sidelined until 2013, when writer Al Ewing brought her back into the Avengers fold.
In the first issue of The Mighty Avengers (Vol. 2), Ewing wrote about discovering the Avengers as a kid during Captain Marvel’s time as leader. His affection for the character came across loud and clear in the book. Ewing not only reconnected her with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes for the first time in two decades, but penciler Greg Land also updated her original costume for the 21st century. She also had a new code-name: Spectrum. (Carol Danvers had claimed the Captain Marvel moniker by then.)
Monica Rambeau in WandaVision, Captain Marvel 2, and Beyond
Monica Rambeau’s identity crisis has defined much of her fictional lifespan, and it seems like that will continue to some degree in WandaVision. In one of the trailers, Wanda asks Monica who she is, and the character replies, “I don’t know…”
Rambeau confronts Carol Danvers over claiming the Marvel name.
When we first met her back in that 1982 Amazing Spider-Man annual, she was a harbor patrol officer in New Orleans frustrated over her inability to break the glass ceiling. When she first gained her powers, she worried about living up to the legacy of a revered fallen hero. The various name changes over the years only compounded that sense that she didn’t know exactly who she was. Writer Kelly Sue DeConnick addressed this in one memorable scene in issue #7 of her landmark Captain Marvel series where Rambeau confronted Danvers over claiming the Marvel name and not even calling her to let her know. It’s a meta moment that seems to point out just how little respect this amazing character, once one of Marvel’s most prominent Black female heroes, has received over the years. Fortunately, Ewing’s fondness for Rambeau remains strong. He included Spectrum in another Avengers book, No Road Home, in 2019.
Beyond WandaVision, Parris will return as the character in Captain Marvel 2, reuniting the adult Monica with Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers. Bringing the marvelous ladies of the MCU together, the film will also feature Iman Vellani’s Ms. Marvel (who is getting her own Disney+ series).
Will Monica have superpowers by the time she shows up in Captain Marvel 2? Does she already have them in WandaVision? Will she take on the name Captain Marvel, or Spectrum, or perhaps Photon, which was her mom’s call sign as a pilot in the first CM movie? We have a lot of questions right now, and the sky is the limit for where the character can go next.
And now that she’s in play in adult form in the MCU, it would also seem to point to a brighter comics future for one of the most powerful and interesting heroes in the Marvel canon. After the way she was mishandled for so long, that would be the very least that Monica Rambeau deserves.
Returnal is set to release exclusively for PS5 on March 19 (see it on Amazon). You don’t have to wait until then to lock in a copy for yourself, assuming you’re lucky enough to have a PlayStation 5. It’s available in two editions, and you can preorder it right now at a variety of retailers.
The standard edition of Returnal comes with the game itself and any applicable preorder bonuses (see below).
Returnal is a third-person shooter that kicks off when an astronaut crash lands on a strange alien planet that’s home to spooky, ferocious creatures. When these monstrosities inevitably kill her, she wakes up again right before crashing on the same planet–only now the surroundings have changed. It’s effectively a big-budget roguelike game, with procedurally generated environments, a full story, and new weapons and items available each run.
As a PS5 exclusive, Returnal takes advantage of the console’s special features, like fast loading and 3D audio. The weapons will also take make use of the DualSense’s haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, so each one should feel unique. The game is made by Housemarque, the developer behind PlayStation gems like Resogun and Alienation.
If you want a few in-game extras to go along with Returnal, you can pick up the digital deluxe edition from the PlayStation Store for $10 more. Here’s what it comes with:
Electropylon Driver weapon
Hollowseeker weapon
1 Reflex Stimulant consumable
1 Pulsating Mass artefact
1 Adrenaline Booster
Digital soundtrack
2 in-game suits for Selene
Returnal Preorder Bonus
Preorder the digital version of Returnal from the PlayStation Store, and you’ll receive two in-game suits for Selene:
Intel is going through a senior executive shakeup, with former CTO, Pat Gelsinger, returning to the company to take up the position of CEO.
A skilled engineer at heart, Gelsinger spent many years at Intel before rising through the ranks to the position of CTO. He left the company in 2009 and since gone on to serve as CEO for VMWare. His return to Intel comes at a crucial time for the company, as it continues to struggle with the pressure that AMD is mounting on it.
“My experience at Intel has shaped my entire career, and I am forever grateful to this company,” Gelsinger says in a statement. “To come back ‘home’ to Intel in the role of CEO during what is such a critical time for innovation, as we see the digitization of everything accelerating, will be the greatest honor of my career.”
Gelsinger replaces Bob Swan, who has led Intel since June 2018. Swan was originally meant to act as an interim CEO, transitioning from his previous position as CFO, before being named the permanent replacement months afterwards. The return of an engineering-focused CEO to the company has already been welcomed by investors, with Intel’s stock price increasing by more than 12% since the announcement.
Intel recently revealed its line-up of 11th generation processors for desktop CPUs, with the flagship Core i9 featuring two fewer physical cores than last generation. Despite boasting a high 5.3GHz single-core boost speed, Intel’s processors have been stuck on a 14nm process for years now, something which Gelsinger might be quick to change.
