Resident Evil Village Is Already On Sale At Amazon

Resident Evil Village only released last week, but if you’re in the market for the game on either Xbox One or Xbox Series X, then Amazon has you covered. The Xbox version is currently on sale for $50, down from its standard $60 cost, and with Smart Delivery, your system will automatically install the best version it can run.

The deal does not apply to the PS4 or PS5 versions of the game, which are both still $60 on Amazon. It’s worth noting that if you are planning to get the game for PlayStation anyway, the PS4 version is actually the better purchase, as it includes a free digital upgrade to the PS5 version. The PS5 game sold on Amazon does not support the reverse, so you cannot use it on PS4.

$50 for an Xbox Series X game is a fantastic deal, especially considering how new it is and that some publishers are selling these games for $70. That seems like it may be the standard price moving forward, albeit likely after they aren’t offering Smart Delivery releases that also include an Xbox One copy.

This is actually the second time we’ve seen only the Xbox version of Resident Evil Village get a $10 discount, as Newegg was selling the digital version for $50 prior to launch. In this case, it couldn’t do the same with PlayStation because Sony doesn’t allow other retailers to sell digital PS4 or PS5 games, which is the subject of multiple lawsuits now.

Resident Evil Village picks up shortly after the events of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard and once again stars Ethan Winters. His tranquil life with his wife and daughter is quickly uprooted and he’s forced to deal with terrifying monsters–many of which don’t really resemble what we’ve seen from Resident Evil in the past. Phil Hornshaw was a big fan of the game, awarding it a 9/10 in our Resident Evil Village review and praising its “varying pace” and “tight, fluid” combat. If you’re stuck, check out our Resident Evil Village guides for walkthroughs, tips, item locations, and more.

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11 Times Actors Were Lying Liars Who Lie

Sometimes in interviews, actors need to play things close to the vest. Whether it’s because they’re under studio orders or they simply don’t want to ruin things for fans, most will refuse to reveal twists from their movies or decline to comment on future sequels or casting rumors. Most of the time though, by not saying something they’ve already said too much. So with that in mind, welcome to the new age of performers just straight-up lying about things.

Now that most actors know a “no comment” is the same as a yes to many outlets and fans, they’ve had to alter their approach a bit. At this point, we can hardly trust a full and utter denial. Was Chris Evans lying when he tweeted “News to me,” regarding rumors that Captain America will return to the MCU at some point? Well, it’s a definite possibility. Especially when you consider Marvel Studios’ track record for denying casting items that have already been confirmed (though not officially announced by Disney/Marvel) by a reputable source.

Recently, Andrew Garfield said the Spider-Man: No Way Home casting rumors about him were “so crazy.” And this was after star Tom Holland said Garfield and fellow past Spidey Tobey Maguire “will not be appearing in this film.” Maybe these guys are telling the truth, but there’s definitely precedent to question their denials.

So let’s take a look back at this phenomenon. From Hailee Steinfeld having to deny for over a year that she was Kate Bishop to Benedict Cumberbatch being like “Who’s Khan?”, here are some notable times stars have lied and acted all “what he f*** are you talking about?” when asked about a casting rumor.

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Jonathan Majors

jonathan_jurnee_4_copyIn September of 2020, Lovecraft Country’s Jonathan Majors was asked by Jimmy Fallon about the Marvel/Kang the Conquerer rumors for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. “Man, I heard the same thing, bro,” was his cryptic response. But in December 2020, Marvel boss Kevin Feige confirmed at a Disney investors day event that Majors was in fact playing the role.

Hailee Steinfeld

bbumblebee-publicity_still_2-h-2018-928x523“That’s not something that’s necessarily happening,” Hailee Steinfeld said, back in November of 2019, regarding her Kate Bishop role on Disney+’s upcoming Hawkeye series. And this was after Variety reported that September that she’d been offered the role.

And so Steinfeld danced and denied up until December 2020 about actually being on the show. Of course, since she probably signed on to play Kate just this past summer, she wasn’t outright lying. There were negotiations, naturally, and the pandemic also put a pin in just about every production. That being said, Marvel has plans for when they want to announce things to the world, even if most fans, and publications, are ahead of that announcement by a few steps.

Benedict Cumberbatch

khan-cumberbatchBenedict Cumberbatch is the uncrowned king of wholly denying he’s playing someone he’s actually playing. Back in 2012, when he was asked if he was playing Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness, he responded with the following: “A few have asked that which is strange [but] I play a character called John and not that other name. It’s interesting. Speculation is speculation and that’s all fun.”

And guess what?

KHAAANNNNNN!

Doctor-Strange-Benedict-Cumberbatch-Marvel-Studios-1280x720Back in 2014, Cumberbatch got in the repeated habit of saying he wasn’t playing Doctor Strange. Well, maybe not denying, but more along the lines of “Tell the fanboys it’s still a rumor.”

Regardless, never trust a Cumberbatch in the wild. Now he’s denying rumors of possibly playing a live-action version of Thrawn in a Star Wars Disney+ series.

Marion Cotillard

asMuch like Benedict Cumberbatch, who was trying to protect a big twist for his Star Trek movie, Marion Cotillard wouldn’t confess to being Talia al Ghul in The Dark Knight Rises when asked about it at the 2011 premiere for Contagion. “Well, actually, it was not based off of a character in the comic,” was her reply. Spoilers: It was.

Paul Rudd

Ant-Man-Paul-Rudd-Marvel-Studios-1280x720Paul Rudd couldn’t escape the superhero denial game when asked in 2013 if he was going to play the title role in (then-director) Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man. “Oh, that’s all rumors man,” he said, despite a previous report by Variety claiming the role was down to either him or Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Speculation even increased when Rudd was spotted backstage at the Oscars that year hanging with MCU heavy-hitters Chris Evans and Mark Ruffalo.

Tatiana Maslany

tatianamaslanyorphanblack-1280x720-1469294953135Before being officially announced for the role of Jennifer Walters – aka She-Hulk – for Marvel’s upcoming Disney+ series this past December, and despite reports of her being cast in the role coming from Variety, Orphan Black’s Tatiana Maslany had to play the denial game, saying to the Sudbury Star, “That actually isn’t a real thing and it’s like a press release that’s gotten out of hand. It’s totally not – I’ve been connected to these things in the past and press has gotten onto it, but it’s not actually a thing, unfortunately.”

Joaquin Phoenix

wallpapersden.com_joaquin-phoenix-as-joker_1280x720Back in 2018, responding to a question about him playing Joker, Joaquin Phoenix said “What movie about the Joker?” Even though he played dumb about the entire thing, Phoenix at least said that the idea of a standalone Joker movie “sounds amazing.”

Jason Momoa

aquaman-jason-momoa-new-1280x720Back in 2014, at the East European Comic-Con, Jason Momoa laughed off Aquaman casting rumors, saying “I know, Aquaman! I couldn’t even be more random for Aquaman, you know, with the blonde hair. I don’t even know where that comes from, it’s like me being Robin or something. Who pulls that out? I see that on the internet and I’m like, Aquaman? A guy like Lobo I could see.”

Momoa would basically lie to protect the Aquaman secret for years before starring as Aquaman.

Christoph Waltz

Christoph_Waltz_No_Time_To_Die-1280x720In a ruse befitting a Bond villain, Christoph Waltz flat out denied being franchise baddie Blofeld in Spectre, insisting “No. No. It’s more interesting than that.” Of course, the character “Oberhauser” did turn out to be Ernst Stavro Blofeld and Waltz was just a lying liar who lied.

Brie Larson

brie-larson-captain-marvel

Brie Larson did a great job of playing dumb in a 2016 interview with MTV where, when asked about playing Captain Marvel, she responded with “Who’s Captain Marvel?” She also seemed to mistake Captain Marvel with Captain America, and had some laughs over the whole thing. This is called “running down the clock” in the interview business. A month after the interview her casting was confirmed at San Diego Comic-Con.

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What other instances of actors denying the obvious can you think of? Let’s discuss — and maybe forgive — in the comments!

New World Dev Explains How In-Game Store Will Work, Player Feedback Appreciated

Amazon Games’ New World–which seems to be one of the only projects the company has kept from being canceled–is due out this August, and the game is going to have a real-money store. However, the development team is soliciting players’ feedback regarding this store are trying to be transparent about future plans.

The game’s recent alpha-stage patch notes made mention of the in-game store, and studio director Rich Lawrence released a statement on Twitter to explain how it would work.

“All store items at launch will be exclusively cosmetic in nature,” Lawrence said. “We are introducing the storefront in alpha in order to test these items and their value. No selections in the store or their indicated cost (during testing there is no real cost in any case) is final. Our purpose is quality assurance and gathering player feedback, so please share your thoughts once the system is introduced.”

It’s possible that future paid content will be more than cosmetic, however, such as “rested XP” or fast-travel, though Lawrence said this will not be the only way to get this content, and he added that the team wants to keep listening to feedback as it decides how to move forward. Down the line, a battle pass-style system may be introduced to combine certain items, but it will be tested first to ensure it doesn’t cause issues with gameplay.

New World, set to release for PC on August 31, is a huge MMORPG that Amazon Games has been developing for several years, and many of the studio’s other projects have been canceled. This includes a separate Lord of the Rings MMO which was reportedly canceled over a dispute with Tencent, as well as the shooter Crucible, which took the unusual step of actually releasing before it was then removed from sale and shut down.

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Big Nintendo Switch SD Card Is Nearly Half Off At Best Buy

The Nintendo Switch basically necessitates a memory card, and the microSDXC cards it supports can get pretty expensive at higher capacities. That’s why it’s a great time to buy one with Best Buy’s current sale, which prices a 400GB card down to almost half its normal cost.

The SanDisk 400GB microSDXC card for Nintendo Switch is typically $180 at Best Buy, but it’s only $100 during this sale, and a free Shutterfly $25 voucher or 8×8 photo book is included as a free bonus. Though other brands and non-licensed cards will also work perfectly fine with your system and can come at lower prices, some of the other models we’ve seen don’t have the same warranty length. This model is backed by a limited lifetime warranty, meaning that if something goes sideways a few years after you purchase it, there is a good chance you’ll be able to get a replacement for free.

How many games can 400GB hold? That depends on the types of games you play, of course, but for a game like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, you’ll need at least around 14GB for a download. Buying physical games can cut down on the storage you need, but the Switch’s portability means that it’s the perfect system for downloading a whole bunch of games, so having a big memory card is a great option.

If you need a little more or less space than the 400GB card provides, you can find those for sale on the Best Buy site, as well. Keep in mind that the pricing doesn’t exactly scale evenly as capacities increase, so if you really don’t need that much space, the $55 256GB model could be the best choice.

Once you’ve gotten your new storage card, consider buying some of the best first-party Nintendo Switch games in a separate sale via Walmart. Classics like Fire Emblem: Three Houses and Super Mario Odyssey are both just $40, and they’re absolute must-haves.

Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker Release Date Announced; Coming November 2021

Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker, the next expansion for the Square Enix MMORPG, will launch on November 23, 2021. However, those who preorder the expansion will have early access four days ahead of launch starting on Friday, November 19. Director and producer Naoki Yoshida led the opening keynote presentation for Final Fantasy Fan Fest 2021 and detailed a slew of information for FFXIV: Endwalker including these launch dates.

There will be four different editions of FFXIV: Endwalker as well–the Collector’s Edition, the Collector’s Box, the Digital Collector’s Edition, and the Standard Edition. As expected, there will be no physical version of the game itself and all editions come with digital download codes. Whichever edition you preorder, you will be able to start playing on the November 19 early access date.

Now Playing: FINAL FANTASY XIV ENDWALKER Full Trailer

Several details were revealed during the Fan Fest 2021 keynote, including (but not limited to) the new melee DPS job Reaper, the additional zones like Thavnair and Old Sharlayan, parts of the upcoming story dungeons, new mounts, and the next alliance raid series called Myths of the Realm. You can also see all the wild implications for the story of FFXIV Endwalker in the full intro cinematic above.

We’ll have more coverage of Final Fantasy Fan Fest 2021 throughout the weekend–stay tuned.

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New FFXIV Endwalker Job Is Reaper; What We Know About The Scythe-Wielding Class

In true Naoki Yoshida fashion, the director and producer for Final Fantasy XIV kicked off a Fan Fest by giving the keynote presentation cosplaying as a new job featured in an upcoming expansion. For Fan Fest 2021, Yoshi-P came out in a Bloodborne-esque getup holding a huge scythe to represent the fact that players will be able to take on the new Reaper melee DPS job in Endwalker. The presentation showed off the Reaper in action with a video and with several details on how this job works.

Reapers use a scythe as their main weapon to deal most their damage from close range, and they also summon a ghostly avatar from the Void to fight alongside them. Yoshida-san explained that Reapers can temporarily channel the power of their Voidsent avatar and become a host for it–although we don’t know exactly how this will work, this will be a key gameplay mechanic for the job. As for armor and gear category, Reapers will share equipment with the Lancer/Dragoon.

Now Playing: FINAL FANTASY XIV ENDWALKER New Reaper Class Reveal

In order to play as a Reaper in FFXIV, you’ll need to have the Endwalker expansion on your account and have one other job/class at level 70 on your character so you can initiate the required job quest–that job quest will be found in Ul’dah.

Reaper is a completely new job/class for the Final Fantasy franchise and doesn’t reference anything from previous games, other than the scythe weapon. Aesthetically, the Reaper’s glamour draws a lot of similarities to the Victorian-era gothic horror stylings of Bloodborne–and honestly, it just looks cool as hell. The villain Zenos yae Galvus was revealed to take on the role of a Reaper in the story as seen in the full Endwalker trailer.

We previously got details on the other new job coming to FFXIV: Endwalker during the February presentation, which is the Sage. In case you missed it, the Sage is a healer job that uses floating knife-guns called nouliths and barriers to buff and protect party members. There was also a segment from the February presentation that outlined how the Sage works. Key character Alphinaud assumes the role of Sage in the Endwalker story as well, and you can see him in action in the cinematic trailer.

For more on what’s new with FFXIV, be sure to check out my breakdown of the full Endwalker cinematic trailer. Endwalker also got an official release date of November 23–those who preorder can get early access starting on November 19. Final Fantasy Fan Fest 2021 continues through the weekend, so stay tuned for more coverage of FFXIV.

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Full Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker Cinematic Trailer Revealed, Contains Major Story Implications

Final Fantasy XIV players are thriving right now with Fan Fest 2021 kicking off and plenty of new details of the upcoming Endwalker expansion, which is set to launch on November 23 (and November 19 for those who preorder). The full intro cinematic trailer for Endwalker started the show and it contains some wild implications for where FFXIV’s story is going.

A shorter teaser version was first shown back in February this year, but this new version is the official six-minute Endwalker intro, and you can watch it below. Be warned, however–the trailer contains spoilers for those who are not caught up to at least the end of the 5.3 story content.

Now Playing: FINAL FANTASY XIV ENDWALKER Full Trailer

This full version starts similarly with the Warrior of Light walking on the moon, then showing Alisaie fighting beastly creatures on their home planet as the Warrior of Light and Alphinaud–who’s sporting the new Sage healer job–come in to join her fight.

The theme song shifts to a big Heavensward callback, then transitions to a new scene with Estinien and his dragon companion Vritra fighting off an army of succubus-like creatures. This looks to be one of the new zones, and it’s made of up of islands floating in the sky (which was teased later in the keynote presentation).

With a big Stormblood leitmotif, the cinematic then goes to a familiar scene with villain Fandaniel looking over a burning map in a creepy, bio-organic underground dungeon (which could be related to the nature of Hydaelyn), and going up an elevator to see his partner-in-crime, Zenos yae Galvus, sitting on a throne watching the world burn.

Another new scene shows Urianger meeting with Thancred in Thavnair’s Radz-at-Han city-state, a zone that’ll be added with Endwalker. Urianger is as clairvoyant about damning information, implying the world is doomed.

The following scene contains a significant reveal for a new zone that long-time players have been awaiting–Old Sharlayan is shown as a massive, beautiful, and almost too-good-to-be-true paradise surrounded by clear water, lush vegetation, and pristine architecture. Sharlayans are known to be incredible scholars, and deep within its libraries, you see G’raha Tia revealing that he’s uncovered secrets about the nature of their realm. Meanwhile, Y’shtola meets with the Sharlayan council to warn them of the impending calamity, but known to be isolationists, the council leader (whose identity has not been fully revealed yet) says that they’ll be fine, refusing to help the fight.

The cinematic returns to villains Fandaniel and Zenos watching the world burn and looking up to the moon, which also reveals that Zenos has been revamped as a Scythe-wielding Reaper, the new playable melee DPS job coming to Endwalker. As the camera zooms into the moon’s reflection in Zenos’ eye, it cuts to the Warrior of Light on the moon fending off a massive sandworm-like creature before revealing the canon job change to Paladin while overlooking the home planet.

As expected, Endwalker seems to be tying together all story threads throughout FFXIV’s lifespan, which makes sense given that this is the end of the Hydaelyn-Zodiark story arc that’s been ongoing since the start of the game. You can hear it in the samples and leitmotifs in the Endwalker theme song, and you can see it in the characters and how they’ve evolved. This is a rather simple breakdown of the Endwalker cinematic and there is definitely more to parse that could reveal more details about the events surround the expansion’s story. If you noticed something yourself, let us know in the comments below.

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