Halo Infinite‘s road to release hasn’t exactly been smooth. Developer 343 Industries has experienced a good deal of high-level staff turnover, the game was delayed from its place as an Xbox Series X launch title, and what we have seen of the game has been underwhelming in the eyes of some in the Halo community.
Halo community director Brian Jarrard responded to these concerns on Twitter recently. He said he understands the frustration fans are feeling, because he has felt it too. He asked for patience and understanding as 343 finishes the game.
“As an avid fan of many properties (games, movies, TV, music) I 100% understand and appreciate the passion the Halo community has. I also understand the frustration when things don’t go the way you want or it feels like you’re somehow being wronged or not heard,” Jarrard said.
The developer said he feels fortunate to be able to work on a franchise as large and impactful as Halo, and with that comes a dedicated and passionate community of fans. “It’s not easy but I’d rather have people care–and even be mad–than not give a damn. Thank you,” he said.
For Halo Infinite specifically, Jarrard said the journey has not been without its struggles, with 2020 in particular standing out as a difficult year.
“The Infinite road hasn’t been easy. This year in particular has been incredibly challenging,” he said. “We have hundreds of developers who truly only want to make the best Halo game they possibly can. It pains all of us when the community is hurting.”
“No update is going to satisfy everyone,” he said. “We want to turn the corner as 2020 comes to an end and leave the challenges of this year behind us and look ahead to 2021. We are committed to bringing you along on this journey, we just ask for bit of patience and understanding.”
Regarding the staff turnover at 343, Xbox boss Phil Spencer explained to GameSpot recently that it’s nothing to worry about.
“I don’t have any specific concern about 343. I actually think in the long run, turnover is a healthy thing because we want people who are really motivated by the things that they’re working on,” he said.
Halo Infinite was originally set to release as a launch title for the Xbox Series X|S, but due in part to complications related to COVID-19, Microsoft pushed the game out to 2021.
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In Fortnite, players and their friends lead a group of Heroes to reclaim and rebuild a homeland that has been left empty by a mysterious darkness only known as “the Storm.”
This week’s Red Dead Online update, the now standalone online component of Red Dead Redemption 2, includes a new Legendary Bounty, a new Outlaw Pass, and a rank expansion for the Bounty Hunter role. Newly available, the Prestigious Bounty Hunter license adds 10 new ranks to the original 20 Bounty Hunter ranks. Players must already own a Bounty Hunter license to obtain the Prestigious license, which can be purchased at any Bounty Board.
Prestigious Bounty Hunters can also track down this week’s Legendary Bounty, Gene “Beau” Finley. Dressed in dapper suits, the villain stages robberies in the south and causes general criminal havoc. Finley and his gang are based in a dilapidated colonial property in Bayou Nwa. To apprehend him, you’ll need to fight your way into the base.
This week’s update also includes the fourth Outlaw Pass, a 40 Gold Bar purchase that gives players winter clothing, new gear and skill pamphlets, advanced photography enhancements, bonus cash, 30 Gold Bars, special gifts, and more. Players who buy the new Outlaw Pass will also get an extra RDO$400 and a 10 Gold Bar rebate.
Players new to the Bounty Hunter role can get an additional 5 gold bars off a Bounty Hunter license. In even more incentives, all Bounty Hunter missions will give double XP. In Free Roam and Free Roam Events, players will also receive increased XP and RDO$ rewards. “A Land of Opportunities” mission will give a bonus RDO$100, in addition to double XP. And once you make it through all 10 new Bounty Hunter ranks, you will continue to receive Bounty Hunter XP and can trade it for RDO$ and Gold rewards.
Other than new updates for the Bounty Hunter Role, new cosmetic improvements and other discounts are also available. Now you can use the Advanced Camera while on horseback and combine stubble with other beard styles, if you so choose. All Red Dead Online players who login this week will get the following rewards: 2,000 Club XP and 2,000 Bounty Hunter XP. If you’re Rank 5 or above, you’ll also receive a Treasure Map. Players Rank 10 or above get an Ability Card Upgrade of their choice.
Here’s all the discounts this week:
30% off Mustangs and Missouri Fox Trotters
30% off all Pamphlets
30% off all Melee and Thrown Weapons
40% off all Tents, Camp Themes, Camp Dogs, and the Fast Travel Post
30% off all Stable Slots
30% off all Repeaters
30% off all Pistols
30% off the Schofield Revolver
30% off all Horses
30% off all Saddles and Improved Saddles
30% off all Coats (doesn’t include Legendary Animal clothing)
30% off all Vests
40% off all Outfits including Role Outfits
As always, Red Dead Online is giving rewards to players with Prime Gaming accounts, including a free Bounty Hunter license and an award for the Trimmed Amethyst Bounty Wagon Livery. If you link your Prime Gaming account before December 21, you’ll get an additional reward for a free Breton Horse and RDO$100.
Red Dead Online recently decoupled from Red Dead Redemption 2. You can purchase Red Dead Online at a discounted price of $5 until February 15, 2021, when it will revert to its standard price of $20.
Nine-thousand-thirty-six. That’s the number of pieces in the LEGO Roman Colosseum. It has a higher piece count than any other set in the company’s history. The prior record holder, 2017’s massive Millennium Falcon build, came in at 7541 pieces. The 1500-piece difference between these two sets is large enough to encompass its own expert-level set.
I’m struggling to explain how impressive this build is, once complete. Its measurements–10.5” high, 20.5” wide, and 23.5” (59cm) deep–don’t convey its presence. And that’s because this model is more than big; it is aesthetically pleasing, in the way that the actual Colosseum in Rome, Italy, is aesthetically pleasing. However, it is not a 1:1 scaled model. The height is slightly exaggerated–a deliberate, forgivable creative license. The LEGO set portrays the Colosseum as it exists in the public’s imagination: as one of the New Ancient Wonders of the World, where gladiators fought to the death in front of 50,000 to 80,000 spectators.
Today, the real Colosseum, completed in 80 AD, is surprisingly intact. A sizable portion of the outer wall collapsed in the 14th century, although it did not compromise the remaining structure. And Rome has undertaken multiple restoration and repair efforts for centuries; the most recent one began in 2013 and took three years. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world, attracting over 6 million visitors each year.
LEGO packaged the Colosseum in a massive black box. Inside are four smaller boxes, numbered I, II, III, and IIII (sic), each of which contain their own instruction booklet. It’s a great way to approach this build: as four individual experiences that create a summative whole.
The LEGO Colosseum is mounted on a black and grey elliptical platform, which comprises the first quarter of the build. Prior, massive builds, like the LEGO Fairground rides, were built on multiple LEGO plates, which made them difficult to move and prone to falling apart. The Colosseum, on the other hand, is built on a mesh of LEGO Technic pieces, which gives the final model both solidness and stability. Next, you build a number of right-angled wedge pieces, which attach to the sides of the base and give it a smooth, rounded finish.
Photo by Kevin Wong
After building the platform, you build the Colosseum–starting with the Hypogeum, the building’s underground area filled with twisting corridors. In ancient times, this was the backstage area for the larger amphitheater; it’s where the animals and gladiators would be held prior to the fights; wooden elevators could transport them above ground in theatrical fashion. The LEGO designers portrayed the ruined appearance of the Hypogeum by flipping the bricks upside down, showing us their bottom tubes rather than their signature studs. It’s a small, but effective subversion of expectations; any LEGO builder typically aspires to hide the seams and imperfections of their work. But in this model, the visibility of the bricks’ undersides–not to mention the bricks’ crooked arrangement–is a clever reference to the actual Colosseum’s ruined state.
Photo by Kevin Wong
Then, you build the Colosseum’s interior wall. Think of the LEGO Colosseum as a series of individual cake slices, which you bind together with multiple balls and sockets before mounting them onto the platform. You slowly work clockwise around the model, eventually reaching the part of the outer wall that’s still intact.
The real Colosseum has three types of columns on its outer wall: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. The designers created corresponding LEGO interpretations for each of them; they used pre-existing bricks to convey the Ionic columns’ curled, scroll-like appearance When you build each wall, you’re continually alternating traditional LEGO bricks with studs; the resulting shadows evoke the real structure’s pock-marked appearance–created when robbers tore the bronze clamps from the stonework.
The bulk of the LEGO Colosseum’s build is repetitive. To be fair, no “slice” is exactly alike; likewise, each corresponding part of the real Colosseum has crumbled differently. But they’re similar enough that by the end of the build, the foundation for each slice becomes rote; it’s the surface details that have the more interesting variations. Then again, the entire point of the real Colosseum was its symmetry; you ought to know what you’re getting yourself into if you’re building this.
The solution is to space the build out. Once you finish one bag, take a break–for several hours or even a day–before resuming with the next bag. To attempt this build in a handful of marathon sessions would quickly turn from play into labor.
Photo by Kevin Wong
The last step is to build additional, enhancing details, such as additional archways, a piece of the floor that’s still intact, and the jagged rim of the interior wall. The latter is accurate enough to real life that when I looked at photos of the Colosseum after building its LEGO counterpart, I recognized individual imperfections.
Some additional, important notes: The LEGO Colosseum contains no mini-figures; this is LEGO at its most “adult” and self-serious.
The model is self-reinforcing. When you bind all the slices together, the Colosseum’s own elliptical shape will push back on itself, keeping it from falling apart. The final build is sturdy, but until every piece is in place, it’s fragile. You do not want to get into a situation where you bind two slices together, find some small detail that you missed, and need to take them apart. When you connect the slices, push firmly but evenly, lest they come apart from the pressure.
Photo by Kevin Wong
The LEGO Colosseum does not take any shortcuts; there are few “long” pieces that would simplify the build process or make it more efficient. Instead, the entire build is composed of small bricks– many of them three studs wide or less–that build to a larger, cumulative effect. Assembling 9036 pieces feels like assembling 9036 pieces. No doubt, this was the point–to drive home what a physical undertaking it must have been to build the real building in ancient times. The micro process of assembling this model gives it incredible detail. Despite the monochromatic appearance, it is fascinating to look at, from every angle.
As stated previously, it is difficult to understate the presence and size of this model; the promotional photos don’t do it justice, because there’s very few images that demonstrate its comparative size. Here is an attempt: I took the photo below, which shows the LEGO Colosseum alongside my six-year-old son. It comfortably occupies half of my dining room table.
Photo by Kevin Wong
When I visited Rome in 2008, it struck me how the Colosseum was integrated into the modern city that surrounded it. Cars drove past it. Roman citizens, desensitized by seeing it constantly, paid no mind to the close-to-2000-year-old structure in their midst. The LEGO Colosseum takes those modern trappings away. There are brick representations of cars, trees and bushes surrounding the building, but they are dwarfed by the main attraction rather than co-existing alongside it. This is the Roman Colosseum as it exists in our minds, and bringing it to life was well worth the effort placed into it.
The LEGO Colosseum, Set #10276, was created by LEGO designers Jamie Berard (Lead) and Rok Zgalin Kobe. It’s composed of 9036 pieces and retails for $549.99.
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Kevin Wong is a LEGO aficionado. Talk about your favorite sets with him on Twitter at @kevinjameswong.
Fortnite’s big Galactus event has come and gone, and it was an exciting, if somewhat brief, live event. It concluded with the confirmation of when Season 5 will begin, but perhaps more notable right now is that you can’t play Fortnite. Servers are down, and that’s by design.
The live event concluded with a “to be continued in Season 5” message, along with a seven-hour countdown that reveals a start time for Season 5: 12 AM ET on December 2. However, rather than sending players back to the menu to continue playing or grinding away at the battle pass, the only option is “exit.” That closes out the game, and re-opening it only replays this short message from the end of the event. There’s no way to access any component of the game right now, even including something like Fortnite Creative or Save the World, let alone the Battle Royale mode that functions as the game’s main aspect.
As Epic said in advance, you can’t replay the event, but it turns out you can’t do anything. Hopefully you didn’t have plans to play Fortnite tonight. This isn’t the first time Epic has done this–previously, it shut down Fortnite for days, which proved to be quite the unexpected viral moment. It’s not often a massively popular game is shut down in that fashion. In this case, the wait won’t be quite so long–following the conclusion of the Galactus event, there were just over seven hours until Season 5 begins and Fortnite returns.
What Time Will Fortnite Be Back?
It turns out you still won’t be able to play even after this countdown ends. Epic announced on Twitter that Fortnite is in a “prep state” for Season 5 and the v15.00 update that will be released to kick it off. Server downtime will commence at 12 AM and run for four hours, which means Fortnite will become playable at 1 AM PT / 4 AM ET / 9 AM GMT. Of course, that’s barring any issues that might arise and necessitate maintenance to be extended.
We still don’t really know what to expect from Season 5, but it appears it may continue the story of Jonesy that was teased as part of The Device event. Beyond that, we really don’t know much, but stay tuned.
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Watching Charlie Brown and his pals celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas has become a holiday tradition for many over the years. With Apple acquiring the rights to these classic movies, you might be wondering how you can continue to participate in this time-honored tradition. Here’s how you can watch A Charlie Brown Christmas and all other Peanuts Holiday Specials.
Where to Watch A Charlie Brown Christmas Special
Just in time for the holiday season, the beloved classic, A Charlie Brown Christmas special, will stream exclusively on Apple TV+ beginning on December 4, and on PBS and PBS Kids on December 13 at 7:30/6:30 pm CT.
How to Stream A Charlie Brown Christmas Special For Free
A Charlie Brown Christmas will be available to stream for free (without a subscription) on Apple TV+ from December 11 through December 13. Apple TV+ is currently available in over 100 countries and costs $4.99 per month for a subscription.
You can use the streaming platform on a variety of services, including iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, iPod touch, Mac, select Samsung, LG, Sony, and VIZIO smart TVs, Amazon Fire TV and Roku devices, PlayStation and Xbox consoles, and at tv.apple.com.
No one predicted that Fortnite’s Galactus event would have players flying battle buses in a mission that felt like it was straight out of Star Fox. The event, which played like a souped-up Disneyland ride, was a lot of fun, but it only added to the random jumble of themes that makes up the Fortnite universe.
The event saw the entire lobby, along with Iron Man, Galactus, and other heroes, get sucked into what’s called the “Zero Point” after Galactus tried to absorb it. The Zero Point has been a part of Fortnite’s storyline since Chapter 1’s Season 4 and is said to be a singularity that doesn’t abide by the laws of space and time. That’s the reason why different realities from the Marvel and Fortnite universes collided this season.
Galactus trying to absorb the Zero Point.
The event ended with Jonesy, one of the mainstays of Fortnite’s narrative, lying face down in his office. He wakes up right before the screen cut to black. We saw Jonesy two seasons ago during The Device event in the same office, although he wasn’t knocked out that time. Players believe that Jonesy works for a company that runs Fortnite as some sort of simulation and Season 5 may explore more of his background.
The relationship between Jonesy’s storyline and the Zero Point are where things start to get messy. If it’s all just a simulation run by a WestWorld-like faceless corporation, how does this massive singularity factor in? It’s quite possible that the Zero Point will connect Jonesy’s world and the wider world of Fortnite in some wacky way in Season 5. All bets are off at this point. Nothing feels connected–despite Epic Games’ Donald Mustard saying that they are.
Jonesy passed out in his office.
Epic Games has started to release a number of short audio clips on Twitter–including one that mentions a jungle. Players believe that the jungle is related to pictures of Jonesy in a jungle we saw briefly during The Device event. We could be getting a semi-new map with new locations, including the jungle, like this after the Zero Point sucked up the Season 4 map. The map has been absorbed like this before the introduction of Fortnite: Chapter 2, so we could be in a similar situation here.
The Galactus event ended with a countdown set in front of an outer-space backdrop. The entire battle bus segment felt like Luke’s last-ditch effort to blow up the Death Star in A New Hope. The combination of that and a leaked Mandalorian skin and Baby Yoda Back Bling made it seem like a space-themed season is on its way. But these audio clues seem to point in a different direction.
Every season and season-ending event adds another layer of confusion to Fortnite’s ever-evolving lore. It’s clear that there was little long-term vision about what the battle royale’s story would include, especially since the game didn’t even start out as a battle royale. But that also leaves open a wide world of possibilities for the game. Barring new, more extensive leaks, it’s truly anyone’s guess as to what could be next–and that might very well be a positive for Fortnite.
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After the Dark Universe debacle in 2017, the success of this year’s The Invisible Man showed that Universal’s catalogue of movie monsters could still produce a box office hit. The studio has several other classic monster movies in development, and it’s been revealed that Conjuring and Aquaman director James Wan is working on a new movie about Van Helsing.
As reported by Deadline, Wan will produce what is described as “an original horror/thriller” featuring the iconic vampire hunter, who was created by writer Bram Stoker and first appeared in his classic novel Dracula. The film will be directed by Julius Avery, who previously helmed the JJ Abrams-produced World War II horror Overlord. The movie does not have a release date yet.
This isn’t the first time that Universal has produced a Van Helsing movie in the last couple of decades. In 2004, Hugh Jackman starred in the critically-panned Van Helsing, and a “present day” movie about the character was in development back in 2016.
The Invisible Man released in February, and although it was only screened for a few weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic shut theaters down worldwide, it still made $130 million at the worldwide box office from a reported production budget of $7 million. Other Universal monster movies currently in development include The Invisible Woman, to be directed by Elizabeth Banks, and Dark Army, which has Bridesmaids director Paul Feig attached.
This May was the third anniversary of the infamous Dark Universe tweet. Universal’s extremely short-lived cinematic monster movie universe was officially announced on Twitter in 2017, but the box office failure of the first movie, the Tom Cruise-starring The Mummy, meant that the whole franchise was quickly abandoned. While the Dark Universe website is long gone, the Twitter account still exists, with only two tweets as a monument to its glorious failure.
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December is officially here, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons players can snag a couple of new seasonal items in the Switch life sim this month. Two new wintry items are now available to purchase from the Nook Shopping catalog: the Aurora wall and the Midwinter sweater. Like other seasonal items, however, these will only be available for a limited time.
The Aurora wall costs 7,000 Bells and lets you gaze at a beautiful aurora borealis localized entirely in your own kitchen or other room at any time of year. The Midwinter sweater, meanwhile, costs 1,200 Bells and features a cute reindeer design. Both items can be found under the Seasonal tab in the Nook Shopping catalog and will be on sale until December 31.
In addition to the new seasonal items, Nook’s Cranny has begun selling festive toys ahead of Toy Day, the game’s Christmas event. You’ll find a different toy on display in the seasonal corner of the store each day until December 25. Toy Day itself falls on December 24, and as part of the event, you’ll need to dress up like Santa and help Jingle the black-nosed reindeer deliver presents to your villagers.
Now that December is underway, a variety of new fish, insects, and sea creatures have begun appearing in the game. Players with Northern Hemisphere islands can now find the oarfish, pond smelt, dung beetle, and other critters, while those with Southern Hemisphere islands can catch various sharks, beetles, and other summer creatures. You can read more in our Animal Crossing fish and bug guides.
Nintendo recently rolled out Animal Crossing’s big winter update, with another major update on the way in late January. Nintendo hasn’t shared many details on that patch just yet, but it appears it’ll add the Festivale event to the game. A line of Mario-themed furniture is also on the way in March in honor of the Super Mario series’ 35th anniversary.
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