Half-Life: Alyx has received a major update, adding audio commentary from the game’s development team. The VR game, which released in March this year, is now full of anecdotes and information about its own development process.
When commentary is turned on, tracks will appear throughout the game as headphone nodes, which you can pick up and “wear” by putting them on your head. The update is free for all owners of the game.
There are three hours of commentary in total, and in the trailer below you can hear some snippets. According to the update notes, this commentary was delayed when COVID-19 made recording it all in-studio impossible. “Like much of the world, we are all working from home, which means that rather than using our comfortable high-quality recording studio at the office, we have been recording our commentary voice overs in closets and blanket forts around greater Seattle,” it says.
The commentary seems to cover many different aspects, including how the liquid physics were put together and other technical aspects, narrative choices, playtesting feedback, which sections were particularly challenging to make, and more. There are also some visual overlays toggled by these commentaries to better explain some of the topics covered.
The update also adds new localizations for numerous languages: Bulgarian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Norwegian, Romanian, Swedish, Thai, and Turkish.
In GameSpot’s Half-Life: Alyx review, the game scored a 9/10. “Not only has Half-Life: Alyx made good on its shift to VR, it has elevated many of the aspects we’ve come to love about Half-Life games,” wrote reviewer Michael Higham. “It may not be as bombastic as previous games, but the intimacy of VR brings you closer to a world you might have thought you knew over the past 22 years.”
For all the ups-and-downs of DC on the big screen, the studio has a long and successful track record on TV. From the classic Batman and Wonder Woman shows in the ’60 and ’70s to Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and Smallville in the ’90s and ’00s, the company’s legendary superheroes have found a natural home on the small screen. And that’s not to mention its animated output; many fans consider the ’90s show Batman: The Animated Series one of the best-ever screen versions of the Dark Knight.
In 2012, a new series focused on the Green Arrow–simply titled Arrow–premiered on The CW. The success of this show helped inspire an entire connected universe, as it was joined by The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, and Batwoman. The so-called Arrow-verse even featured annual comic book-style “crossover events” where the characters teamed up. Then, the launch of DC Universe in 2018 saw the premiere of DC shows aimed at an older audience, such as Titans, Doom Patrol, Swamp Thing, and the animated Harley Quinn.
However, a lot has changed on the TV landscape in the last couple of years. With rivals Marvel on the verge of launching a series of shows connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe on Disney+, the focus of DC has shifted to parent company Warner’s streaming platform HBO Max. Several new DC shows were announced in advance of the service’s launch in May, and there have been others reported since then, including spin-offs of big upcoming DC movies.
Not every new DC series is being made for HBO Max of course–the Arrow-verse is still going strong, and animated shows made for younger viewers are more likely to end up on Cartoon Network. But there’s no denying HBO Max is the focus. The service needs big shows to grow its subscriber base, and the iconic heroes of the DC universe are perfect for this. So here’s every new upcoming DC show we know about so far–most of these don’t have premiere dates yet, and many are still in development, but it is nevertheless an exciting time to be a DC fan. And once you’ve read this, check out our guide to all the DC movies on the way over the next few years.
Disney, like so many of us, is having a rough year. The company makes a huge part of its yearly income from theme parks, and the COVID-19 pandemic means that some of those parks have are closed. The California state government has been especially strict about re-opening, and the studio has consistently blamed the state as responsible for its continued park closure. Disney CEO Bob Chapek called the state’s re-opening restrictions “arbitrary” and accused the state of destroying local small businesses after nearly eight months of closure.
“We are extremely disappointed that the state of California continues to keep Disneyland closed,” Chapek said during an investor call during a Q4 earnings call. “Despite our proven track record, our health and safety protocols are all science based and have the support of labor unions representing 99% of our hourly cast members. Frankly, as we and other civic leaders have stated before, we believe state leadership should look objectively at what we’ve achieved successfully at our parks around the world, all based on science as opposed to setting an arbitrary standard precluding our cast members from getting back to work while decimating small businesses in the local community.”
Disney parks have re-opened elsewhere, including Florida, China, and Japan, while its park in France remains closed. In a normal year, Disneyland and Disney California Adventure draw around 18.7 million visitors to the park and, consequently, businesses in the city of Anaheim. The park had added the Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge expansion to the park just last May, too, which likely only increased that number.
Because movie theaters have been closed in 2020, movie studios have had to pivot, either pushing back movie theater releases or going VOD. The latest film to pivot in this way is Pixar’s Soul, which will arrive on Disney+ on December 25. Disney’s Mulan also released on the streaming service, but at a premium price. So why is Soul going a different route?
During the Q4 earnings investor call Disney CEO Bob Chapek discussed why this decision was made. “From a studio content standpoint, we were very pleased with the results of Mulan as a Premier Access title, and as you remember, that was our very first foray into strategy like Premier Access,” Chapek explained. “Unfortunately, that title met with some controversy, both in the US and internationally shortly after we released it.
“But we saw enough very positive results before that controversy started to know that we’ve got something here in terms of the Premier Access strategy,” Chapek continued, and he said he’ll explain a bit more about that strategy in December. “In terms of Soul, we also realized that part of the lifeblood Disney+ is providing great content to the base level subscribers that are in there. So the idea is that we thought it was a really nice gesture to our subscribers to take Soul during the holiday period and provide that as part of the service.”
So while there is a bigger strategic plan behind what will and will not be on Premier Access in the future, Disney is essentially giving Disney+ subscribers a Christmas present on December 25. While the company is having an issue with its parks staying closed, at least loyal subscribers and fans are getting a little something extra next month.
The legendary over-the-top action series returns, complete with its signature blend of high-octane stylized action and otherworldly and original characters the series is known for.
Black Friday is always the best time of year for finding gaming deals–if you’re looking to save some money before the holidays, it’s a cornucopia of discounts you don’t want to miss out on. If you own an Xbox Series X/S or Xbox One, one of last year’s best Black Friday deals is returning. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will see huge discounts during Black Friday at several different retailers, bringing three-month memberships down from $45 to the low $20 range. The service gets users access to the entire Xbox Game Pass library across console and PC in addition to EA Access, Xbox Live Gold, and more.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is the best purchase you can make if you’re an Xbox gamer, thanks to the large number of games you have access to every month. It’s especially great for those with the new Xbox Series X or S consoles, as there are a lot of next-gen games included. If you’re a new subscriber, you’ll want to snag your first month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $1 first, then stack on extra months with the discounted memberships during Black Friday.
If you’re looking for more great Xbox deals, check out Black Friday’s best Xbox Series X and Xbox One game deals. You can expect some incredible discounts on brand-new games, including Watch Dogs: Legion and Gears Tactics for half-off. And if you’re still looking to buy the Xbox Series X and S, we’re tracking availability. The next-gen consoles will be restocked at some retailers during Black Friday.
GameStop has the best deal for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate this year, offering the service for only $20. However, this deal isonly available on Black Friday, November 27, so you’ll want to mark your calendar and act fast once the deal goes live.
Best Buy’s Game Pass deal runs from November 22 to November 29, and it’s only a few dollars more than the deal from GameStop–though if you buy multiple three-month memberships, it does add up.
This week on Wrestle Buddies, GameSpot’s professional wrestling podcast, Chris E. Hayner and Mat Elfring are celebrating the glorious TV return of our favorite vampire warrior professional wrestler and talking with the first-ever two-time NXT North American Champion about all kinds of topics.
First up, Gangrel appeared at AEW Full Gear as part of the Elite Deletion match. It should come as no surprise that his surprise cameo is Chris and Mat’s favorite thing to happen in all of pro wrestling this week. In a super-sized edition of Gangrel Watch, we break down his return to TV, try to convince both AEW and WWE to sign him to a full-time contract, and talk about what did and did not work in the Elite Deletion match.
Next, two-time NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano joins the show to talk about winning the title a second time and NXT’s growth as a brand. We also dig into Gargano’s reported love of all kinds of wheels, and debate whether Disneyland or Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom is the better theme park. Please note: This episode was recorded prior to Gargano’s championship loss on NXT’s weekly show.
All that, plus we answer your questions. New episodes of Wrestle Buddies are released every Thursday on the podcast platform or app of your choice, including Spotify, Stitcher, and Apple Podcasts. You can also keep up to date with the podcast by following it on Twitter.
While folks are starting to get their hands on Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and Series S, we’ve had the chance to take a closer look at these consoles for quite some time. After analyzing both models–which both yield a ton of promise–we began to consider the numerous ways that Microsoft could further improve its next-generation consoles, whether it be through firmware updates or future hardware iterations.
Below we detail our biggest wishes for Xbox Series X/S as it stands after having had these consoles for a few weeks and what we think would help both consoles shine even brighter than they already do. As a note, we avoided going into predictable requests like “Release Halo: Infinite now” or “Give us more first-party games to play.” This article is focused more on the console from a feature-set or quality-of-life standpoint.
After you’re done reading, be sure to jump into the comments to share your biggest wishes for the consoles moving forward. If you’re still on the fence about which Xbox is right for you, read our Xbox Series X review and our Xbox Series S review.
Add A Notification Feature To Quick Resume
When you cycle through enough games and applications on Xbox Series X, ones that were open earlier in your cycle will shut down, and you’ll have to do a cold boot to bring them back into your Quick Resume lineup. It’s a bit of bummer to have a game state suspended in the background to unexpectedly close (although you should be conscious of keeping up-to-date game saves anyway). We wish the console would tell you when an application is about to get pushed out from Quick Resume suspension or let you manage what remains in the roster at any time. Similarly, it would be nice to know which games don’t support Quick Resume and will need to be rebooted.
Click To Unmute
Xbox Series X Video Review
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
The current setup for viewing your screenshots and video captures in the gallery needs some work to get to a more sensible and seamless place. You have a few filters to sort through them (either by game, or by screenshot/video), but there are some minor inconveniences when trying to flip through or view your content. Opening the “recent captures” option in the Capture & Share on the Guide tab lets you see the last few captures, but if you open one, you can’t flip through them like you can in the gallery. And then backing out from here reverts to the app you had open rather than going back to your recent captures. Another thing is that your options to manage captures (such as uploading, selecting multiple captures, and renaming files) are only available if you switch to the list view since you can’t do much in grid view. Yes, it’s a small thing, but pretty annoying. It’s a bit cumbersome, more so than we expected from a next-gen console..
More Dynamic Backgrounds
At the moment, Xbox Series X’s backgrounds lack a certain pizazz. Don’t get us wrong, it’s elegant and noninvasive, but we wish there were a couple of other options to choose from. There’s only one pattern right now, and all you can do to customize it further is change its color. We’re hoping more dynamic backgrounds are added to make navigating the console a bit more aesthetically pleasing.
Claim Games With Gold Without Downloading Them
The revamped Xbox Store is a dramatic improvement over older versions, and the power of the new hardware makes it quite snappy to use. However, one area where it’s still lacking is in the process of claiming Games With Gold’s free titles. Grabbing a GWG game automatically begins downloading it, which you might not want to do, particularly if you have a Series S with very limited storage space. We could use a PSN-style “Add to Library” feature built for a scenario where you want to claim a game while it’s free but aren’t ready to download it just yet.
Resume Adding Older Xbox Games To Backward Compatibility
Microsoft made tremendous strides in its initiative for backward compatibility on Xbox One. It maintained a frequent cadence of releases, bringing forward some of its most quintessential games onto Xbox hardware. However, Microsoft halted its ongoing push during mid-2019, seemingly setting it aside until further notice. While Xbox Series X supports backward compatibility with all Xbox One games, as well as all Xbox 360 and original Xbox games made compatible in its last push, it’d be wonderful to see Microsoft continue adding classic games onto the platform.
In a recent interview with Game Informer, Xbox director of program management Jason Ronald mentioned that Microsoft is looking to add more titles but that there are still challenges involved. It’s no surprise given the difficulty of adapting old software onto new hardware. Nevertheless, we’d love for Microsoft to continue working its engineering magic on Xbox Series X, hopefully giving classic Xbox games additional graphical improvements in the process. That and we really want to see Jet Set Radio Future added, please. (This one was for you, Ben Janca.)
Give The Xbox Series X Controller A Built-In Mic
We’re hoping that Microsoft adds a built-in mic with subsequent models of Xbox Series X’s controllers. It’s surprising that the tech wasn’t integrated into the controller to boot, but we can likely chalk that up to balancing initial production costs. Regardless, a mic is necessary for most online multiplayer games, and we’re not just saying that because Sony’s DualSense controller has one. So, we’re crossing our fingers that Microsoft releases a new controller model with a built-in mic. Such a move would seem par for the course since the company pulled a similar move in the past when it updated the Xbox One controller model with a headphone jack to accommodate the growing use of headsets while playing games.
James Gunn has confirmed that the script for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has now been “written,” as the project continues to make steady progress in the wake of his rehiring last year.
The filmmaker, who guided the first two installments in the Guardians franchise to box office success, shared a fresh update about the third movie on Twitter, assuring fans that steady progress was being made on the project. Speaking about the sequel, Gunn confirmed that the script for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 had been completed and that the production heads had also been chosen.
In a follow-up tweet, Gunn revealed that “very little” had changed with the script from the original version that he penned before being fired and later rehired by Disney to write and direct the franchise’s third installment. Before being reinstated, MCU architect Kevin Feige confirmed that Gunn’s draft script would be used for the movie, regardless of the director’s involvement.
Although Gunn is back on board for the third volume, he has previously indicated that this next movie will “probably” be the final one with him sitting in the director’s chair and “probably be the last with the current team” of Peter Quill (aka Star-Lord), Rocket, Groot, Drax, Gamora, Nebula and Mantis, though he cautiously added that “you never know.”
At one point, Guardians Vol. 3 was meant to be the first, if not one of the first, titles in Marvel’s Phase 4 line-up. However, with the deck being reshuffled, and Gunn directing The Suicide Squad for DC before Vol 3., the next Guardians flick didn’t end up in the final slate. Fortunately, it sounds like it’ll be worth the wait, as Karen Gillan said the third movie has the best script of the trilogy.
