Category: Games

One of the most surprising revelations about Zack Snyder’s director’s cut of Justice League is that the film will feature the return of the Joker, as portrayed by Jared Leto–who reprises his role from the Suicide Squad movie. For those wondering how this came about, Snyder gave some context during IGN’s Fan Fest.

As revealed in a trailer for Justice League, Joker appears in Batman’s Knightmare vision of a post-apocalyptic world that was first seen in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. How that fits into this movie and whether it’s actually a version of the future or merely a dream remains to be seen, though it could have something to do with the cliffhanger that will end the Snyder Cut. Regardless, that setting was too tempting for Snyder to not include Joker.

“You’d always wanted [Joker] to be in the Knightmare reality,” he explained. “And so it was a great opportunity. And when I talked to Jared and he was interested in doing it, I just felt like, ‘Okay, this feels like a thing. I can’t pass up.'”

As for Joker’s new look in the film, Snyder elaborated on the makeover. “What inspired the look was, you know, the sort of post-apocalyptic world that I’m a huge fan,” he said. What’s more, this version of Joker–and the Knightmare sequence as a whole–could have eventually fed into future movies.

“The idea was that as the movies progressed, the next movie–if there ever was one and it doesn’t seem like there ever will be–but if there was, it would exist primarily in that world with them trying to set it right,” he explained. “We played around with a lot of different things. I did a bunch of drawings and we pulled a bunch of different costumes and tried a bunch of different looks. Jared had a bunch of great ideas and we all kind of mashed that together and sort of settled on this cool version of Joker.”

It’s worth noting that while Snyder did collaborate with Leto on Joker’s appearance in Justice League, he did not consult with Suicide Squad writer and director David Ayer. Instead, Snyder said he looked to the film itself, as well as the images released to support it–including advertising. “I was inspired a lot by that imagery,” he said.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League launches March 18 on HBO Max.

Zack Snyder’s cut of Justice League arrives on HBO Max on March 18. The director revealed that the finale of the movie is open-ended. During IGN’s Fan Fest, Snyder said multiple times that his cut of the movie ends on a “massive cliffhanger.”

Snyder spoke additionally about the original Justice League, which was going to be two have more films. “No, [The Snyder Cut] doesn’t really encompass any of the additional movies, other than little, I mean it hints at a potential other worlds,” explained Snyder. “I plant the seeds, as I wanted to of what would come in the you know later films.”

Originally, the sequel to the theatrically-released Justice League would have taken the team to the Knightmare future where we briefly saw Batman. “The next movie–if there ever was one and doesn’t seem like there ever will be–but if there was, it would exist, primarily in that world with them trying to set it right,” Snyder explained.

However, when it comes to the Snyder Cut, all we know is that is ends on a cliffhanger. Where it will take us next and what happens won’t be known until the Snyder Cut of Justice League lands on HBO Max next month. IGN Fan Fest also revealed the opening title shot of the new movie, which contains a bunch of Easter eggs.

It won’t be long before fans will finally be able to watch Zack Snyder’s director’s cut of Justice League on HBO Max when it releases on March 18. Until then, though, you have to sustain on trailers and clips released in anticipation of the film–including the newest one released during IGN’s Fan Fest.

The clip, which doesn’t actually feature any of the actors from Justice League, was something Snyder was working on before he originally left the film. The director explained that he didn’t know if it would be used as an opening credits sequence or promotional material released ahead of the film.

In it, a Mother Box is shown, documenting the history of the DC universe’s superheroes. And while it looks impressive, it’s going to be something fans are going to want to study closely. “There’s a million Easter eggs in it,” Snyder teased during the panel.

He continued, “I feel like it’s important for everyone to kind of take it apart and analyze it and say, like, ‘Oh look I see this and I see that,’ and then we can talk about it more often.”

What Easter eggs do you see in the clip? Sound off in the comments before with everything you notice about the heroes. Zack Snyder’s Justice League launched March 18 on HBO Max.

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In most ways, the now 10-year-old 3DS was an oddity–the next evolution of the equally strange Nintendo DS, and with a trendy 3D hook to boot. While glasses-free 3D was the marquee feature, riding the wave of renewed popularity from 3D films like Avatar, the real killer app was StreetPass. Serving as both enticement to tote your portable system around with you and a bulwark against the encroaching threat of mobile games, StreetPass is a social feature that no other gaming system has ever replicated as successfully, not even Nintendo has done something like it again.

With StreetPass, leaving your 3DS on in sleep mode and taking it with you would ping other 3DS owners doing the same thing, transferring your Mii to their Mii Plaza and vice-versa. This encouraged real-world exploration, especially in more densely-populated urban areas, because you would come home to a Mii Plaza bursting with new friends. It made 3DS owners part of their own little secret club, frequently and anonymously giving each other a handshake.

Sometimes you might recognize someone with wild hair or a very identifiable set of glasses from your bus ride. Checking your Mii Plaza when you got home was a sweet way of realizing that stranger was, in their own way, a kindred spirit. It was an inclusive sense of belonging to the society of “gamers.” The concept was said to have originated from meeting fellow dog owners while walking your own canine companion, an activity oriented around getting to know your community.

But your new friends weren’t limited to waiting at your plaza. You could import them to help you in a variety of minigames. The initial slate of two games was fairly simplistic: a puzzle swap game in which your visitors would drop off puzzle pieces of classic Nintendo games and new releases, and a stripped-down RPG called “Find Mii” where your visitors were adventurers trying to save your own Mii, the monarch of a kingdom.

These were breezy time-wasters, but the real fun began when Nintendo introduced paid DLC games that expanded on the StreetPass Mii Plaza concept–and opened your gate to hold many more visitors at a time. These ran the gamut from slot car racing to stock trading to a strategy game. You might fend off zombies to save your StreetPass companions one moment in Battleground Z, and then switch to cooking a fine meal with ingredients supplied by your companions in Feed Mii. The sheer variety was overwhelming.

My personal favorite was Ultimate Angler, in which your visitors would provide you with new types of fishing bait, and you could take them out on boating trips to help with your catches. While it was still simple, this was essentially a full-fledged fishing game, complete with its own currency system, equipment, and upgrades–remarkably ambitious for a cute diversion to pair with a firmware feature. That level of quality should be no surprise considering it was developed by Sonic the Hedgehog creator Yuji Naka. Other StreetPass games were notably designed by similarly talented developers and studios, like Grezzo (3DS Zelda remakes), Good-Feel (Yoshi’s Wooly World, Crafted World), and Spike Chunsoft.

Nintendo further capitalized on the concept by showcasing some of its personalities. During special events, you could turn on your 3DS to find your plaza visited by notable figures like Reggie Fils-Aime, Shigeru Miyamoto, and Takashi Tezuka–all sporting golden pants that marked them as a special event Mii. These cameos often brought greater rewards than the standard Mii trades, which made it feel like a special experience.

StreetPass was even incorporated into standard games. In Pokemon X / Y, meeting other people via StreetPass earned you Poke Miles, which you could exchange for special items like rare candy. On the other hand, Super Smash Bros. utilized the feature for a mini-game called StreetSmash, where you fought against AI-controlled versions of the people you passed to earn currency to buy trophies. Dozens of games used Street Pass in creative ways like this, feeding into this larger overarching sense of community built by simple wireless communication technology.

The 3DS was a strange mishmash of design choices and priorities, but its best feature deserves a successor.

When Nintendo announced the Nintendo Switch, I was astonished. The company finally committed to tying the fates of its console and handheld businesses, and the new unified structure would mean less split development between its two platforms. The system’s success speaks for itself. But the one feature missing is StreetPass. The hybrid console is still portable–albeit less so than the comparably tiny 3DS–but there’s no tingle of excitement to taking it out and about. Admittedly, the portable functionality is an end to itself. You bring it along because you want to keep playing a video game on the go, and that’s all. But I just wish it had more of the exciting bells and whistles that helped define Nintendo’s dual-screen family of portables.

I still remember doubling back to my hotel when visiting a city, specifically to grab my 3DS because I didn’t want to give up the opportunity for new StreetPass pings. That encouragement was special, not just because it helped remind me that I might want to play a game on the go, but because it helped new places feel a little more familiar and friendly–a little more like home. The 3DS was a strange mishmash of design choices and priorities, but its best feature deserves a successor.

For more 3DS-related features, be sure to check out our roundup highlighting the best 3DS games, as well as our feature discussing our favorite 3DS games that actually utilized 3D well.

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Hunt: Showdown is a supernatural take on the Wild West complete with an arsenal of period weaponry that includes interesting takes on the Colt Single Action Army revolver, the LeMat revolver, and the Winchester Model 1873 rifle.

In the above video, Jonathan Ferguson–a weapons expert and Keeper of Firearms & Artillery at the Royal Armouries–breaks down the guns of Hunt: Showdown and compares them to their real-world counterparts.

If you’re interested in seeing more of Jonathan, you can check out more from the Royal Armouries right here. – https://www.youtube.com/user/RoyalArmouries

If you would like to support the Royal Armouries, you can make a charitable donation to the museum here. – https://royalarmouries.org/support-us/donations/

And if you would like to become a member of the Royal Armouries, you can get a membership here. – https://royalarmouries.org/support-us/membership/

You can purchase Jonathan’s book here. – https://www.headstamppublishing.com/bullpup-rifle-book

One of the games reportedly canned as Google Stadia struggled to gain traction was from Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding creator Hideo Kojima. It appears to have been canceled last year, though the studio is also working on a different game.

According to VGC, a game Hideo Kojima had mentioned getting canceled in 2020 was set to be an episodic horror game released for Stadia. Former studio head at Stadia Jade Raymond had visited Kojima Productions prior to this, but the report says it was Stadia boss Phil Harrison who stopped the project. Prior to working for Google, Harrison had been an executive at both PlayStation and Xbox during some of the brands’ lowest points, including the launch of the PS3 and Xbox One.

Kojima is no stranger to having projects canceled. The horror reboot Silent Hills, which he was creating with film director Guillermo del Toro, was canceled by Konami after the high-profile PT was released. Kojima later put del Toro’s likeness in Death Stranding, along with planned Silent Hills actor Norman Reedus in the lead role.

Google recently shut down its internal game development division for Stadia, reducing the service to third-party companies’ projects and putting its long-term viability into even greater question. Another project reportedly canceled was a Journey to the Savage Planet sequel. The original game’s studio, Typhoon, had been acquired and absorbed by Google in late 2019. With the studio now dissolved along with the rest of Google Stadia’s development team, it’s unclear if the original creators can produce a sequel, at all.