4K Halloween Collector’s Editions Are Up for Preorder

Good news, horror fans: 4K UHD collector’s editions of the first five Halloween movies are coming soon from Shout Factory. They’re all available for preorder on Amazon right now. Better yet, they’re on sale. They ship on September 28, so you’ll have plenty of time to binge them before Halloween, and before Halloween Kills — the next entry in the series — comes out. Speaking of, you can check out our Halloween Kills review.

All of the movies include a 4K UHD Blu-ray along with a standard Blu-ray. They’re based on new 2021 4K scans from the original negatives. We have preorder links below, followed by details about what’s included in each one.

Preorder Halloween 1 – 5 in 4K

With Amazon’s preorder price guarantee, if they drop lower anytime between now and release, you’ll lock in the lowest price even if they go back up. So if you have a PS5, Xbox Series X, or any 4K Blu-ray player and you enjoy watching a masked maniac walk around murdering people, pick up whichever ones you want.

Halloween

Synopsis

THE ONE. THE ONLY. THE CLASSIC.

On a black and unholy Halloween night years ago, little Michael Myers brutally slaughtered his sister in cold blood. For the last fifteen years, the people of Haddonfield have rested easily, knowing that Michael was safely locked away in a mental hospital … until tonight. Michael has escaped and he will soon return to the same quiet neighborhood to relive his grisly murder again. For this is a night of evil. Tonight is Halloween.

DISC 1 – 4K ULTRA HD: 2160p 4K Dolby Vision (2.35:1)/Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, 5.1, Original Mono

DISC 2 – BLU-RAY: 1080p High-Definition (2.35:1)/Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, 5.1, Original Mono

DISC 3 – BLU-RAY: 1080p High-Definition (2.35:1)/DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Bonus Features

DISC ONE (4K UHD):

  • NEW 2021 4K Scan From The Original Negative, Approved By Cinematographer Dean Cundey
  • NEW Dolby Atmos Track
  • Audio Commentary With Co-Writer/Director John Carpenter And Actress Jamie Lee Curtis
  • Audio Commentary With Director Of Photography Dean Cundey, Editor Tommy Lee Wallace, And Actor Nick Castle

DISC TWO (BLU-RAY):

  • NEW 2021 4K Scan From The Original Negative, Approved By Cinematographer Dean Cundey
  • NEW Dolby Atmos Track
  • Audio Commentary With John Carpenter And Jamie Lee Curtis
  • Audio Commentary With Dean Cundey, Tommy Lee Wallace, And Nick Castle
  • “The Night She Came Home”
  • TV Version Footage
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • TV Spots
  • Radio Spots

DISC THREE (BLU-RAY):

  • Original Color Timing Presentation
  • Vintage Interview With Producer Moustapha Akkad
  • “Halloween: A Cut Above The Rest”
  • “Halloween Unmasked 2000”
  • Halloween – The Extended Cut In HD (TV Inserts Are In Standard Definition)
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • TV Spots
  • Radio Spots

Halloween II

Synopsis

“This — Like Its Predecessor — Is A Class Act.” – Janet Maslin, The New York Times

Picking up exactly where the first film left off, Halloween II follows the same ill-fated characters as they encounter the knife-wielding maniac they left for dead in the first film. The inhuman Michael Myers is still very much alive and out for more revenge as he stalks the deserted halls of the Haddonfield hospital. As he gets closer to his main target, Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) discovers the chilling mystery behind the crazed psychopath’s actions. Written by John Carpenter and Debra Hill, Halloween II is a spine-tingling dark ride into the scariest night of the year.

DISC 1 – 4K ULTRA HD: 2160p Dolby Vision (2.35:1)/Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Stereo

DISC 2 – BLU-RAY: 1080p High-Definition (2.35:1)/Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Stereo

DISC 3 – DVD: 4×3 Full Frame/Dolby Digital Mono

Bonus Features

DISC ONE (4K UHD):

  • NEW 2021 4K Scan From The Original Negative Approved By Cinematographer Dean Cundey
  • NEW 2021 Dolby Atmos Track
  • Audio Commentary With Director Rick Rosenthal
  • Audio Commentary With Stunt Coordinator Dick Warlock

DISC TWO (BLU-RAY):

  • NEW 2021 4K Scan From The Original Negative Approved By Cinematographer Dean Cundey
  • NEW 2021 Dolby Atmos Track
  • Audio Commentary With Director Rick Rosenthal
  • Audio Commentary With Stunt Coordinator Dick Warlock
  • “The Nightmare Isn’t Over – The Making Of Halloween II” Featuring Rick Rosenthal, Dick Warlock, Composer Alan Howarth, Director Of Photography Dean Cundey, Actors Lance Guest And Leo Rossi, And More
  • Horror’s Hallowed Grounds Revisiting The Original Shooting Locations
  • Deleted Scenes With Optional Audio Commentary With Rick Rosenthal
  • Alternate Ending With Optional Audio Commentary With Rick Rosenthal
  • Still Gallery
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • TV and Radio Spots

DISC THREE (DVD):

  • Television Cut (In Standard Definition)
  • Film Script (DVD-ROM)

Halloween III: Season of the Witch

Synopsis

“It’s Almost Time Kids, The Clock Is Ticking …”

A terrified toy salesman is mysteriously attacked. At the hospital, he babbles and clutches the year’s most popular Halloween costume, an eerie pumpkin mask. Suddenly, Doctor Daniel Challis (Tom Atkins, The Fog, Night Of The Creeps) finds himself thrust into a terrifying Halloween nightmare. Working with the salesman’s daughter, Ellie, Daniel traces the mask to the Silver Shamrock Novelties company and its founder, Conal Cochran (Dan O’Herlihy, RoboCop).

Ellie and Daniel uncover Cochran’s shocking Halloween plan and must stop him before trick-or-treaters across the country never come home in this terrifying thriller from writer/director Tommy Lee Wallace (Stephen King’s IT).

DISC 1 – 4K ULTRA HD: 2160p Dolby Vision (2.35:1)/Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD Master Audio Mono

DISC 2 – BLU RAY: 1080p High-Definition (2.35:1)/Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD Master Audio Mono

Bonus Features

DISC ONE (4K UHD):

  • NEW 2021 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative Approved By Cinematographer Dean Cundey
  • NEW 2021 Dolby Atmos Track
  • Audio Commentary With Director Tommy Lee Wallace
  • Audio Commentary With Actor Tom Atkins

DISC TWO (BLU-RAY):

  • NEW 2021 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative Approved By Cinematographer Dean Cundey
  • NEW 2021 Dolby Atmos Track
  • Audio Commentary With Tommy Lee Wallace
  • Audio Commentary With Tom Atkins
  • “Stand Alone: The Making Of Halloween III: Season Of The Witch” Featuring Tommy Lee Wallace, Actors Tom Atkins And Stacey Nelkin, Stunt Coordinator Dick Warlock, Director Of Photography Dean Cundey, And More
  • Horror’s Hallowed Grounds: Revisiting The Original Shooting Locations With Host Sean Clark And Tommy Lee Wallace
  • Interview With Make-Up Effects Artist Tom Burman
  • Still Gallery
  • Theatrical Trailers
  • TV Spots
  • Radio Spots

Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers

Synopsis

He Changed The Face Of Halloween. Tonight, He’s Back …

He butchered 16 people trying to get to his sister. He was shot and incinerated, but still the entity that Dr. Sam Loomis (the legendary Donald Pleasence) calls “Evil on two legs” would not die. Tonight, Michael Myers has come home again … to kill! This time, Michael returns to Haddonfield for Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris, 2009’s Halloween II, The Last Boy Scout) – the orphaned daughter of Laurie Strode – and her babysitter Rachel (Ellie Cornell, Halloween 5: The Revenge Of Michael Myers, House Of The Dead). Can Loomis stop Michael before the unholy slaughter reaches his innocent young niece?

Michael Pataki, Sasha Jenson and Kathleen Kinmont co-star in this smash sequel that marked the long-awaited return to the original storyline and remains infamous for its startling twist ending and graphic violence.

DISC 1 – 4K ULTRA HD: 2160p Dolby Vision (1.85:1)/Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

DISC 2 – BLU-RAY: 1080p High-Definition (1.85:1)/Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Bonus Features

DISC ONE (4K UHD):

  • NEW 2021 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative
  • NEW 2021 Dolby Atmos Track
  • Audio Commentary With Actors Ellie Cornell And Danielle Harris
  • Audio Commentary With Director Dwight H. Little And Author Justin Beahm

DISC TWO (BLU-RAY):

  • NEW 2021 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative
  • NEW 2021 Dolby Atmos Track
  • Audio Commentary With Ellie Cornell And Danielle Harris
  • Audio Commentary With Dwight H. Little And Justin Beahm
  • “The Making Of Halloween 4: Final Cut”
  • “The Making Of Halloween 4”
  • Horror’s Hallowed Grounds – A Look At The Film’s Locations
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • TV Spots
  • Still Gallery

Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers

Synopsis

Michael Still Lives … And He’s Out For His Revenge.

Because Hell would not have him, Michael Myers survived the mine explosion thought to have killed him. One year later, his traumatized young niece Jamie (Danielle Harris, Rob Zombie’s Halloween) is horrified to discover she has a telepathic bond with her evil uncle … and that Uncle Michael is on his way back to Haddonfield. But Dr. Loomis (the legendary Donald Pleasence) has a new plan to destroy The Boogey Man in his childhood home using Jamie as bait. Tonight, the carnage begins again: Michael Myers is back with a vengeance! Ellie Cornell and Beau Starr return for this hit sequel that features grisly gore by K.N.B. EFX Group (The Walking Dead, Army Of Darkness).

DISC 1 – 4K ULTRA HD: 2160p Dolby Vision (1.85:1)/Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

DISC 2 – BLU-RAY: 1080p High-Definition (1.85:1)/Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Bonus Features

DISC ONE (4K UHD):

  • NEW 2021 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative
  • NEW 2021 Dolby Atmos Track
  • Audio Commentary With Actor Don Shanks
  • Audio Commentary With Director Dominique Othenin-Girard And Actors Danielle Harris And Jeffrey Landman

DISC TWO (BLU-RAY):

  • NEW 2021 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative
  • NEW 2021 Dolby Atmos Track
  • Audio Commentary With Don Shanks
  • Audio Commentary With Dominique Othenin-Girard, Danielle Harris, And Jeffrey Landman
  • “Inside Halloween 5”
  • “The Making Of Halloween 5”
  • “On The Set: Behind-The-Scenes Footage”
  • Horror’s Hallowed Grounds – A Look At The Film’s Locations
  • Halloween 5 Promo
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • TV Spots

Chris Reed is a commerce editor for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.

Xbox One Controllers Are Getting Next-Gen Features Thanks To New Firmware

Microsoft is testing a new firmware update for Bluetooth-enabled Xbox One controllers, Xbox Elite 2, and Xbox Adaptive controllers that will grant them a range of next-gen features previously only available on Xbox Series X|S controllers.

Microsoft announced that it has begun testing the new firmware update in a blog post on the Xbox website. The firmware update, which is available to Alpha Skip-Ahead and Alpha users today, aims to reduce controller latency and improve cross-device connectivity.

In terms of the latter, the firmware update will allow the compatible controllers to support Bluetooth Low Energy, which allows for better pairing experiences between devices. The majority of Xbox One controllers are already able to utilize Bluetooth support when connecting to a PC or smartphone, but pair with Xbox consoles through the Xbox Wireless protocol. The Bluetooth Low Energy update will allow for a quicker switching experience between Xbox Wireless and Bluetooth devices as players will be able to do so at the double-tap of the pair button.

In line with next-gen controllers, the updated Xbox One, Xbox Elite 2 and Xbox Adaptive controllers will receive Dynamic Latency Input (DLI). This essentially allows for more responsive gameplay by delivering controller inputs more efficiently when connected to an Xbox Series X|S console. DLI is a feature that was previously only incorporated on Xbox Series X|S controllers, and while the firmware update isn’t necessarily as useful for players using last-gen consoles, it certainly improves the versatility of the accessories overall.

In the blog post, Xbox elaborated further on its reasoning behind testing the firmware update on its controllers. “We believe it’s important to maintain backward compatibility with Xbox accessories people already have in their collection and to ensure we deliver the best gaming experience no matter how you choose to play,” said Xbox.

In other Xbox news, Microsoft recently announced a new Forza Horizon 5 Limited Edition Controller as part of its Xbox Gamescom showcase. The upcoming controller features translucent yellow panels with an accompanying pink and blue color scheme and will launch on November 9 alongside its dedicated racing title. Fans can already pre-order the controller.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 Review

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 launched alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 3 to show just how much the Korean smartphone maker’s prowess in foldable technology has come along. Where the larger phone fumbled with a design that didn’t always make practical sense, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 presents a more familiar form – whether you started using a cell phone in 2001 or 2021. And at $1,000, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 makes the series more approachable than ever. Let’s see how this smartphone-turned-flip-phone plays out.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 – Design and Features

You’ll find two different forms for the Galaxy Z Flip 3. In the way it’ll primarily be used, it feels quite like the Galaxy S21. It’s a tall hunk of phone with a big display, narrow bezels, a solid frame, and a glass rear. The main display itself is actually surprisingly rigid with the crease of the fold providing the only hint that the display isn’t the same sort of glass found on other phones.

The phone is on the tall side. It packs a 6.7-inch, 2640 x 1080 display for a 22:9 aspect ratio. This provides a lot of space for content, whether that’s a movie, a lengthy Twitter feed, or a game. The display is also nearly on par with some of the best smartphone displays, providing a high enough peak brightness for outdoor use as well as an adaptive refresh rate that tops out at a smooth 120Hz. While the crease on the display can be distracting in certain conditions – in very bright environments or with dark on-screen content – it actually all but disappears in many cases, becoming as easy to overlook as notches and punchhole cameras have become in recent years.

When that big display isn’t in use, the phone can fold in half. The hinge is firm, holding in place at almost any angle, though it snaps closed lightly in the last few degrees. Those fond of the old days of folding phones may be a bit disappointed, as the Galaxy Z Flip 3 doesn’t whip open and clap closed quite like they used to. It has a satisfying but subdued snap closing, but the tight grip of the hinge prevents the classic thumb-flip to unfold. I found I generally had to unfold the phone with two hands or crack it open with my thumb and then press against my torso or hip to unfold it the rest of the way. It’s possible to swing it mostly open with momentum, but I’d highly recommend getting a case first.

When closed, the phone actually remains quite useful. There’s a small, 1.9-inch external display (bigger than that found on the Z Flip 2, but much smaller than that on the Motorola Razr 5G) that is effectively a stand-in for the status bar and notification shade. It can show notifications from apps, conveniently letting me check to see if a text came in and needs a response. It also offers shortcuts to a small number of extra widgets from weather and timers to Samsung Pay and music playback controls. Chiefly, the external display can also serve as a viewfinder for the main cameras, making selfie photos and video incredibly easy to capture with those higher-quality cameras. The display is also a Super AMOLED type, so it hides itself superbly when not in use.

Like the Galaxy Z Fold 3 this year, the Z Flip 3 offers a side-mounted fingerprint scanner that works quickly. It’s handy for unlocking the small external display to check notifications, though it’s a bit high up on the frame to reach when unlocking the phone in its unfolded position.

One big addition this year is IPX8 water resistance, which makes this premium product far more practical to take with you in everyday life. It’s enough protection to handle a splash into water, and it can shrug off rain. Dust and dirt are more of a threat though, so steer clear of the beach and bakery kitchens.

Altogether the design is quite elegant. The hinge is still a bit boring to look at, but the multi-tone color scheme comes together nicely. Motorola may have an edge for iconic design and a cooler hinge, but Samsung gets out far ahead of Motorola in this race for many other reasons. Samsung may have the most pocket-friendly smartphone on the market with the Z Flip 3 as its tight dimensions are neck and neck with the Motorola Razr 5G’s. The Flip is just a tad thicker, but also shorter and narrower, and it does that all while packing in more battery (3,300mAh), a wireless charging coil, a much bigger internal display, and more cameras. The biggest fault in the design is that, from opening the phone to reaching for the fingerprint scanner and volume buttons to even navigating the UI, this tall device often requires two hands or a bit of shifting my hand around – it’s no one-handed device.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 – Software

The Galaxy Z Flip 3 comes running Android 11 with a special version of Samsung’s One UI 3 with special features for the foldable series. Primarily, that means a new taskbar that tucks away on the right side of the screen and provides a quick shortcut for opening apps in a split-screen view. It can be a little confusing to use, particularly because there seems to be no way to get apps that aren’t in the taskbar to enter the splitscreen, even though you can go to Recent Apps and make an app display as a floating pop-up window. A full-screen app can shrink down to a half-screen if a second app is dragged from the taskbar, but it’s a little bit of a clunky workaround.

The extra tall display on the Z Flip 3 actually makes multitasking somewhat attractive, as it’s easy to squeeze a video into a small window at the top of the display and then browse the web or chat on a larger window at the bottom.

The external display could benefit from some more third-party widgets. Having access to things like NFC payments and calendar entries is useful, but not if you don’t use Samsung’s calendar or Samsung Pay.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 – Gaming and Performance

Let’s not get confused, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 making a big splash with its design doesn’t mean Samsung would neglect to put some muscle under the hood. This phone comes with the same Snapdragon 888 chipset powering the fastest Android smartphones of 2021, and it holds up extremely well in my testing.

Whether the Galaxy Z Flip 3 is launching a pair of apps, running a video in one while I scroll twitter in the other, pulling up the camera, or gaming, it offers responsive performance and a smooth experience. Its 8GB of memory is a bit less than the Galaxy Z Fold 3’s, but it doesn’t need to be ready to run three apps at the same time. Even if Asphalt 9 wasn’t ready to go in memory after an hour of using a ton of other apps, the storage was fast enough to relaunch the game in a few seconds.

The phone holds up in gaming as well. The big screen makes for a great viewing experience, especially considering it’s a quality Samsung AMOLED display. Asphalt 9 runs as smooth as ever, and my thumbs can stay out of the way at the sides, covering up less of the action.

The phone predictably gets warm while in use for more demanding tasks. The camera running, heavy multitasking, and gaming all will see the back glass and frame heat up. It’s not scorching, but it won’t make for the most comfortable gaming experience. The stereo speakers actually pump out some decently loud and clean sound, too, though the earpiece speaker doesn’t contribute nearly as much to the mix as the bottom speaker.

With a 3,300mAh battery, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 isn’t equipped for the same level of daily use as Samsung’s other flagships. That said, I didn’t struggle to get it through a full day of use. A ton of gaming, photography, or video playback on a max-brightness display will hobble the battery, but lighter use should see it to the end of the day with a small margin to spare. The phone is certainly aided by the external display. I’ll often check notifications on that smaller display, which helps conserve battery considerably throughout the day since the large main display doesn’t have to light up everytime I want to see a text or email.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 – Camera

Right after the battery, the cameras are the biggest corner cut in making Galaxy Z Flip 3. I will say, what the cameras offer is good, but it’s more on par with a $700-800 phone than a $1000 one. That said, selfie-takers are in for a treat.

The Galaxy Z Flip 3 has the following camera setup:

  • 12MP wide at f/1.8 with OIS and 1.4-micron pixels
  • 12MP 123-degree ultra-wide at f/2.2 with 1.12-micron pixels
  • 10MP selfie at f/2.4 with 1.22-micron pixels

Samsung has the main wide camera game on lock. The 12MP sensor provides enough sharpness to capture fine details while it’s color and high dynamic range do justice to photos in even tricky lighting. It’s shooting pretty much on the same level as the Galaxy S21. It does continue to be a bit officious when it comes to shooting in Night Mode, though, trying to use the longer exposure when it may not be necessary to capture a decent shot.

The ultra-wide camera offers quality that’s just a grade below the wide-sensor, which is pretty standard for most of the flagship phones I’ve tested. It doesn’t diverge on how it handles color, but just tends to get a bit noisy when it gets darker before the wide camera does. The distortion from the ultra-wide is minor, but does leave photos feeling just a bit overly dramatic.

Unfortunately, zooming is pretty much out of the question. There’s no optical zoom sensor, and the results from digital zoom even at 2x are a bit lacking.

The phone really shines for selfies, which fits the showy nature of the device. The 10MP internal selfie camera is a competent shooter, capturing crisp and vibrant enough photos for most uses. But, thanks to the external display’s ability to serve as a viewfinder, the two rear cameras are easy to use for selfies. This makes for selfies with excellent clarity and the option of a wide FOV or the shallower depth of field available from the f/1.8 lens. The downside of shooting this way is that Samsung appears to have it locked down to a square aspect ratio for both photo and video with no clear settings to prevent this cropping. It’s more than a little puzzling given the viewfinder has a wide aspect ratio, and it means what you see in the viewfinder is cropped in from what the phone will actually capture, which is itself cropped in from what the sensor sees. It would be great if Samsung provided more flexibility here, but the resulting photos still look great regardless.

The Matrix Resurrections Trailer Breakdown: How Is Neo Alive?

Strap on your RayBans and leather jackets, because it’s finally time to reenter the Matrix. The first trailer for the long-awaited fourth film in the series is here. It’s got blue pills, red pills and martial arts galore, but we have two questions above all else. First, how are Neo and Trinity still alive? And second, what’s up with that rubber ducky?

Let’s break down this new footage and why it suggests the conflict between man and machine is taking a very different turn in 2021. Watch the video at the top of this page, or read on for the article version. And also be sure to check out everything we’ve learned from the Matrix Resurrections teaser website.

The Matrix Rebooted

The early shots show us an older yet inexplicably still living version of Keanu Reeves’ Thomas Anderson (aka – the Cyber Messiah Neo), living inside the latest version of The Matrix with only faint memories of his old life. Later in the trailer, Neo encounters Trinity at a coffee shop, and we see both of them struggling to figure out why the other seems so familiar.

The Matrix itself looks far more peaceful and futuristic than the grungy, turn of the century metropolis we saw in the older movies. Based on the ending of The Matrix Revolutions, humans and machines have formed a peace treaty and the Matrix has been rebooted to become less of a totalitarian hellscape. But if Neo himself is any indication, that doesn’t necessarily mean most humans are aware they’re living inside a simulation.

If anything, the elevator scene shows just how enthralled the average person is with technology and social media. How can anyone free their minds from the Matrix if they can’t even log off Reddit? We can probably guess what sort of social commentary director Lana Wachowski is making with this sequel.

How Are Neo and Trinity Alive?

So how are Neo and Trinity alive when we saw them both die in the climax of The Matrix Revolutions? For one thing, we don’t know if either of them still has a physical body outside of the Matrix. Is it possible Neo’s communion with the Machine intelligence somehow allowed his mind to escape into the Matrix as his body died?

This shot shows Neo with a very strange reflection in the mirror. It could suggest Neo and Trinity have both hijacked someone else’s body, just like Agent Smith and his colleagues used to do.

Speaking of which, we do see a shot of an Agent taking over a police officer’s body. Even if the new alliance between humanity and machines still exists, it seems the Matrix still needs these remorseless programs to keep the peace.

The trailer features another brief shot of someone waking up in the real world inside their pod. It’s hard to tell if this character is Neo, Trinity or someone else entirely, but perhaps we’ll learn the machines were somehow able to revive Neo’s body and plug him back in.

After all, Neo is the most thinly disguised Christ metaphor this side of Zack Snyder’s Superman. His death was always going to be followed by a resurrection.

The New Cast of The Matrix 4

The trailer introduces several of the new cast members for the sequel. Early on, we meet Neil Patrick Harris’ therapist character, who helps Thomas Anderson deal with his troubling dreams and keeps him supplied with a steady dose of memory-wiping blue pills. Those pills are called Ontolofloxin. Ontology is a branch of philosophy that deals with existence and the nature of reality. Prime Matrix material, in other words.

Later, we meet Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s character, a man who looks and speaks an awful lot like a young Morpheus. Assuming this is Morpheus, one of the big mysteries in the sequel is why Neo’s old friend and mentor has been reborn in a new form rather than aging like Neo and Trinity have. According to The Matrix Online MMORPG, Morpheus died after the events of the original trilogy, but at this point we have no idea if Resurrections is treating the game as part of the official canon.

Echoing the original film, this Morpheus gives Neo a red pill to help awaken his mind and counteract the blue pills. His line “Time to fly” is a callback to the first movie, both the line “Mescaline, it’s the only way to fly” and the fact that Neo alone is able to transcend the physical laws of The Matrix enough to literally fly.

Morpheus also refers to, “the only reason you’re still here, why you’re still fighting.” Is this implying that Neo willingly reentered the Matrix in order to find and rescue Trinity?

We also see a new take on the iconic dojo fight between Neo and Morpheus. This time, instead of saying “I know kung fu,” Neo tells Morpheus “You don’t know me.”

The trailer also introduces Jessica Henwick’s character, another martial arts whiz who may or may not be working alongside Morpheus. At one point we can see both characters fleeing down a hallway while an Agent shoots at them.

Interestingly, Morpheus’ clothing is dominated by the color red here, whereas Henwick’s character has a distinctive blue streak in her hair. Does this mean Henwick’s character is morally opposed to pulling humans out of the Matrix? The red vs. blue motif can be seen all over the trailer, from the blue color of the therapist’s glasses to the red of Morpheus’ suit. But unlike the original trilogy, the conflict between red and blue and enlightenment vs. security may not be so clear-cut. Maybe escaping the Matrix isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, especially if the love of your life is still inside.

Late in the trailer, we also meet Jonathan Groff’s character. This man seems to be aware of the Matrix and of Neo’s past. Could he be the Architect in a new form? Possibly not, as a clip seen on WhatIsTheMatrix.com shows Groff’s character enduring the same mouth-erasing torture Neo faced in the original movie. Whomever he is, this character appears to be human.

Easter Eggs in the Resurrections Trailer

The trailer includes a handful of other Easter eggs and nods to the original movie.

Neo sees a black cat again, mirroring the scene where he learned about the true meaning of deja vu.

There are several references to Alice in Wonderland, including the use of Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” in the soundtrack and Henwick’s character sporting a rabbit tattoo.

And as for that rubber ducky that seems to be Neo’s only companion? This could be a reference to a computer programming concept known as Rubber duck debugging, where a programmer reviews their own code by explaining it, line by line, in the simplest terms possible to a rubber ducky. Don’t forget that before becoming a techno-superhero, Thomas Anderson was a computer programmer and hacker. Like Morpheus once said, no one can be told what the Matrix is, and this is a puzzle Neo has to solve for himself.

Finally, it’s worth pointing out the one thing that’s conspicuously absent in the trailer. While we see brief glimpses of the film’s many action scenes, we don’t see any slow-motion Bullet Time sequences. Are those scenes being saved for the final movie, or has even Lana Wachowski decided Bullet Time’s day is done?

That’s all we found in the new trailer. Let us know if we missed anything in the comments below! The Matrix Resurrections hits theaters and HBO Max on December 22. For more on the sequel, check out how someone’s reverse engineered the movie’s website to let you choose what teaser you watch.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Xbox Game Pass Gets Another New Game On Day One, Football Manager 22

Xbox Game Pass is getting another new release on day one, and it’s Sega’s Football Manager 2022 for both Xbox and PC. The game launches on November 9, which is also the day Microsoft’s own Forza Horizon 5 is released (and on Xbox Game Pass as well).

Football Manager 2022 is the latest iteration of the popular football management game where players become the manager of a club and make important decisions to guide their side to success.

Football Manager 2022 comes to Game Pass in November
Football Manager 2022 comes to Game Pass in November

If you’re an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriber, you also get access to Xbox Cloud Gaming, so you can play by streaming on any supported device. Progress between the Xbox version of Football Manager 2022 carries over to streaming if you decide to play that way, as well as to the PC edition through Xbox Play Anywhere.

While you have to wait a bit longer for Football Manager 2022 on Game Pass, the first of September’s new additions to the catalog are out now, including Final Fantasy XIII, Surgeon Simulator 2, and The Artful Escape. Here is the full list of September’s Game Pass titles so far.

Xbox Game Pass is a subscription-based service that grants access to a wide library of games. Individual console and PC subscriptions are available for $10 per month apiece, or as a combined Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription that also includes cloud gaming and Xbox Live Gold for $15 per month. The cloud gaming beta recently expanded to PC, giving PC players access to some previously console-only games.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

The Marvel Unlimited App Just Got a Major Overhaul

Marvel Comics has revealed the latest major update to the Marvel Unlimited subscription service. The Marvel Unlimited app has been relaunched, ushering in both a major technical overhaul and the debut of a brand new line of “Infinity Comics.”

According to Marvel, these Infinity Comics have been created specifically with high-resolution digital screens and the vertical, scrolling format in mind. 27 Infinity Comics are available at launch, including a brand new incarnation of the anthology series X-Men Unlimited. As with previous volumes, each issue of X-Men Unlimited will feature a different creative team and tell a standalone story with a different lead character. The first issue is written by the “Head of X” himself, Jonathan Hickman, who is also debuting the long-awaited miniseries Inferno later this month. Declan Shalvey (Moon Knight) is the artist on X-Men Unlimited #1.

Marvel is promising the Infinity Comics library will grow to over 100 comics by the end of the year. Other creators involved include Skottie Young, Dax Gordine, Alyssa Wong, Nathan Stockman, Kelly Thompson, Gerry Duggan, Lucas Werneck and Jeffo. The full list of Infinity Comics titles revealed includes:

  • X-Men Unlimited
  • Giant-Size Little Marvels
  • Captain America
  • It’s Jeff
  • Black Widow
  • Amazing Fantasy
  • Deadpool
  • Shang-Chi
  • Venom/Carnage

“The goal for Marvel Unlimited has always been to provide the best digital experience for our fans by giving them direct access to all of their favorite Marvel comics. With this relaunch, we’re bringing fans an even richer experience with Marvel stories designed in a vertical format for the first time,” said Marvel Entertainment President Dan Buckley in a statement. “Our new Infinity Comics give our creators a chance to tell stories in entirely new ways, and we’re looking forward to connecting our fans to those stories in the months to come.”

Marvel Unlimited has also been given a significant technological upgrade with this relaunch. Along with the redesigned interface and improved search functionality and app stability, users now have the option to download as many comics as they want for offline viewing (previously the downloads were limited to 12 books at a time).

“These updates and a focus on personalization will allow us to reach a new generation of Marvel fans and enhance the experience of current fans,” said Doug Vance, VP of Product and Marketing, DMED Technology. “When we redesign apps like this from the ground up, we align with business goals of our different partners and subsidiaries of The Walt Disney Company with the ultimate goal of growing our audience and digital subscriptions while also delivering an even more visually immersive experience.”

As before, Marvel Unlimited is available as either a monthly subscription ($9.99 a month) or annually ($69.99 per year for a standard subscription or $99.99 per year for the Plus tier). The service currently features roughly 29,000 Marvel books, with new releases being added as soon as three months after their original publication.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

The Matrix Resurrections Seemingly Hints At Link To Dead MMO

When the original Matrix trilogy ended back in 2003, the Wachowskis made it clear they were interested in passing the future of the franchise–and its lore–to fans through the Matrix Online MMO game. The game has long since ended, but a moment included in the first full trailer for The Matrix Resurrections appears to suggest it’s still being considered canon.

Major spoilers for the films and The Matrix Online to follow, and yes, that is actually important!

It’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in the first Matrix Resurrections trailer, but you can very briefly see Neo’s body in a post-Revolutions moment at roughly 12 seconds. His eye is clearly burned away, as it was in the film following his encounter with Bane, and he’s being worked on by a few spider-like Sentinel machines.

“I didn’t say it would be easy, Neo. I just said it would be the truth.”

Now, what does any of this have to do with The Matrix Online?

Well, the Wachowskis didn’t want the story for The Matrix to end with the third film. Instead, the MMO acted as a continuation, and one of the major story threads involved Morpheus’ frustration that the machines had not yet returned Neo’s body. This led to him committing attacks in the Matrix, planting “code bombs” to wake up and confuse those still connected until he was ultimately (apparently) assassinated.

Based on the shot from the trailer, it appears the machines never did give back Neo’s body. This isn’t a guarantee that Lana Wachowski is treating the game as 100% canonical, but given her statements in the past, it could certainly be the case. If so, it would help to explain why Laurence Fishburne isn’t in the film, though the reason for Carrie-Anne Moss’ involvement remains a mystery, given that she died in the real world near the end of the third film. Neo did, as well, but the Oracle’s prophecy that he would one day return does seem to account for his, well, resurrection.

We’ll just have to wait and see if this is all true, of course. The Matrix Resurrections releases on December 22, both in theaters and via HBO Max’s ad-free tier.

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Sifu Preview – What Kills You Makes You Stronger

Though the game isn’t a roguelike, with its levels and encounters hand-crafted, it is a game in which you’ll be running through levels over and over again, trying to bring what you learned in your past attempts at gaining your revenge to become a more efficient fighter.

We got a pretty extensive hands-off look at Sifu, in which we learned quite a bit about how the game works and what combat will be like when players actually get their hands on it. The game is all about fighting groups of enemies, where you’ll need to rely on combos, blocking, parrying, and smart use of your environment to stay alive and get the upper hand. Improvisation and adaptation are key–but you’re still probably going to lose quite a bit.

In Sifu, you play a kung fu student whose family has been murdered, and you set out to take your revenge on the five kung fu bosses responsible. Thanks to a special amulet, if you fall in battle, you don’t die–instead, years are taken off your life, causing you to age. We didn’t see the aging mechanic in action, but Sloclap co-founder and CEO Pierre Tarno explained a lot about how it’ll work, as well as what we can expect from combat, how you’ll unlock new moves, and what you can expect as you seek your revenge and discover what it’ll cost you. The footage shown is from the previously released Sifu trailers, and any gameplay shown is from a work in progress build. Sifu is set to release on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC on February 22.

In Sifu, Death And Aging Are Steps Toward Ultimate Kung Fu Mastery

With martial arts brawler Sifu, developer Sloclap is hoping to capture the meaning of kung fu, creating an experience of learning and mastery through practice. According to Sloclap co-founder and CEO Pierre Tarno, that means you should expect to die a lot as you brawl your way through the game. But as you do, you’ll become older, wiser, and stronger–both as a player and as a character.

Sloclap recently gave GameSpot a hands-off look at the three of Sifu’s five different levels, providing a more complete understanding of what your quest for revenge will actually play like. It’s a game that focuses heavily on executing combos, parrying incoming attacks, reading your opponent, and improvising to keep yourself from getting overwhelmed–and each death is a learning experience that makes you stronger next time.

Now Playing: Sifu Preview – What Kills You Makes You Stronger

You play a kung fu student whose family is murdered and you set out on a one-day quest for revenge against the five kung fu fighters responsible. To get to them, you have to fight through five different levels filled with each boss’s fighters.

In combat, Sifu will probably be familiar to fans of similar action games, including Sloclap’s precious martial arts title, Absolver. You execute combos through different combinations of light and heavy attacks, while also dodging, blocking, and parrying your enemies’ moves. Tarno said players should expect the game to be pretty challenging, and we got that impression from the hands-off presentation–enemies come at you fast and often in big groups, requiring you to learn how to deal with their moves, isolate fighters, and control the crowd.

You can’t just block your way to victory; you have a gauge that measures your guard strength, and as you take hits or block blows, it fills up, indicating when your guard will be broken, leaving you stunned. Enemies also have a similar gauge, and filling it leaves them open for a quick, cinematic takedown, while also replenishing some health. So there’s an incentive to play aggressively, especially because even taking a few hits can cost you dearly in health. Thanks to a special amulet that you wear, being defeated doesn’t mean you die–you just pop right back up to go on brawling. However, your age progresses significantly every time you’re killed, and if you age too much on a run, it’s game over. You’ll revisit these levels over and over, learning how to better handle them, with the goal being to finish the game without taking much of a beating.

“You’re going to want to finish the game as young as possible, because one of the themes that is related to aging is that question of the cost of revenge,” Tarno explained. “More likely than not, the first time you complete the game and beat all five enemies, you’ll be pretty old. So the character has devoted, in one day, 50 years of life in the pursuit of vengeance, and so, was it really worth it? And can you get your vengeance without spending your whole life on it?”

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We didn’t see the aging mechanic in action, but Tarno told us a bit about how it works. He said the fantasy at play is the idea of becoming a wise master, but the drawback is that getting older takes a toll on your body.

“We’re still refining design on that front, but we’re currently playing with this idea where there’s this old master thing, where your attacks are more precise, more devastating, so you do more damage, but your body is growing old so you’re slightly weaker, so you’ve got less HP,” he said. “So you do more damage but you can receive less damage, so it’s sort of a balance exercise, which should orient you toward a more aggressive playstyle as you grow older, because you can suffer less damage. That’s sort of the idea we’re going for. But you won’t have a weaker character because that would be a bit depressing, I guess, if every time you revived you’d be weaker and weaker and so have less and less chance of moving forward in the game.”

We saw a brief portion of three different locations from the game: an apartment building, a nightclub that houses a secret fight club, and a museum. Each one presents a different kind of environment to fight through, and it’s essential that you pay attention to and use your surroundings, because taking advantage of the space around you is key to staying alive. In the apartment building, you fight your way up a big central staircase, which means you can potentially throw enemies over the railing into space. If you’re close to a wall or a ledge, you can bounce an enemy’s head off it or throw them into it. Pushing someone down a flight of stairs or out a window helps you to eliminate enemies quickly, and anything from empty glass bottles to pieces of furniture can potentially be a weapon to give you the upper hand.

From the looks of things, Sifu’s combat is all about keeping control of the situation, or getting out of harm’s way quickly. At one point in the nightclub, the player was backed into a corner, so they quickly scrambled up a decorative lattice on the wall behind them to reach the floor above. At another point, the player quickly rolled over a couch to put some distance between themselves and some enemies that were surrounding them.

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“It’s the sort of Jackie Chan fantasy of putting the environment between you and your enemies,” Tarno said. In the demo, after climbing the wall, the player was then able to attack two enemies as they ran up a flight of stairs to catch up, nailing one by throwing a bottle to isolate and beat down the other.

You can also unlock different moves that let you throw enemies into one another, swap places with them, or knock them down. Unlocking those moves and working them into your combos allows you to constantly think about how to control the fight, even when facing a crowd.

The same goes for when you’re fighting enemies with weapons. Knock an enemy down, and you disarm them, so you want to be thinking about how to get enemies off their feet and out of the fight before they slash you with a machete or nail you with a baseball bat. You can then grab their weapons for yourself–although Tarno said that weapon durability is pretty low, so don’t expect to carry the same blade or metal pipe through the whole game.

Finally, fighting well builds up a resource for your character called Focus. When you’ve got enough Focus, you can briefly slow down time, allowing you to pick from a group of powerful moves that have specific effects. One move might leave an enemy stunned, while another might knock them down or do extra damage. You can also unlock moves specific to the weapons you find, like blades, to deal massive damage under the right circumstances.

It seems like Sifu will have a whole lot of options for fighting, and it might be a lot to keep track of. Tarno said the player character has around 150 different attack moves, all created with the help of a real-life Pak Mai kung fu master, and that doesn’t count the many takedown moves. But you won’t have access to every move every time you play the game, as Tarno explained. Instead, it’ll take you time to unlock various different abilities, and for a while, you’ll only have them in a specific run.

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As you rack up combos and beat enemies, you’ll earn experience points you can then spend at certain places to unlock new moves–either shrines you find in levels, which convey something like perks that only last through a given run through the game, or at your wuguan, the kung fu school you return to between levels. But while you can unlock a move during a run, you’ll lose it if you age out and die until you’ve spent enough points to unlock it permanently. That’ll give you time to figure out which abilities you like and want to use in your kung fu, and which you don’t.

That gives Sifu a bit of a roguelike flair, although Tarno clarified that the battles you’ll encounter are hand-crafted and the levels aren’t random. What’s different each time is the set of perks and moves you might have unlocked, especially as you fight and age. There are also elements of randomness as you play through a level. If you efficiently wail on a group of enemies, the one or two left standing might surrender, allowing you to avoid fighting them or even question them for information about the boss you’re chasing or what lies ahead in the level. But in the same situation, an enemy might become the “last man standing,” gaining a health boost and unlocking additional combos to become something like a miniboss. All the enemies have access to the same moves you do, so fighting these boosted characters will be a test of your knowledge and experience, and they can pop up semi-randomly.

So there are roguelike elements at play in Sifu, mixing up the play of a straightforward action game so that every run through the game isn’t exactly the same. But you’ll also be unlocking things that will persist between runs. Tarno described another element, a menu called the Detectiveboard, where you’ll gather information about each of the bosses and the levels as you play through them. The more info you have, the more paths you might unlock in a level, allowing you to access shortcuts to avoid fights. Again, the theme is mastery through practice, so you’ll replay levels over and over, learning their ins and outs and gathering info on your Detectiveboard, while also becoming a better fighter and unlocking more and more moves. It sounds like we can also expect multiple endings from Sifu; once you’ve cleared all five levels, Tarno said, you might want to reconsider your actions as you play again.

“There is that notion of runs because eventually, the objective of the game, beyond seeing the first ending, is that once you’ve tackled your vengeance, you’ll understand that the way you wreak vengeance is not compatible with the values of your clan, your family, or kung fu,” he said. “So you’re going to get your vengeance in a different way without being as violent toward the bosses, et cetera.”

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Though we only saw three brief sections of the game, it seems like all those systems will work together to make Sifu a pretty deep action experience, but one that’s excitingly cinematic. The focus on paying attention to and using the environment makes for some great improvised moments, like one in which the player battles a gang of enemies in a museum exhibit with a giant kunai-shaped pendulum–which swings around the room, nailing people and stunning them. There are also moments where the camera will shift perspective, like a hallway full of enemies that suddenly adopts a side-scrolling perspective, which Tarno said was an homage to the movie Old Boy and to classic 2D brawlers.

Tarno also said that, since this is an action game in which timing for blocks, parries, and strikes is essential, visual fidelity is something Sloclap is focused on. Expect the game to run at 60fps on both Playstation 4 and Playstation 5, Tarno said, and in 4K on PS5.

Everything we saw in the hands-off presentation makes Sifu look like an impressive, if tough and demanding, action game–one in which you’ll want to keep practicing to become a kung fu master.

Sifu is set to release on PS4, PS5, and PC on February 22.

Sifu: The First Preview

If there’s one thing that developer Sloclap has shown that they have a unique mastery over in the world of video games, it’s martial arts. If 2017’s hand-to-hand-combat-focused open-world RPG, Absolver wasn’t a convincing enough case, their upcoming beat-em-up, Sifu, certainly aims to prove that few do kung-fu better than the Paris based studio. After getting a 30-minute developer-driven demo, I’d find it hard to argue against the point.

Sifu is a game that’s obviously inspired by classic Asian martial arts movies, with its laser focus on being a single outnumbered martial artist facing off against a group of thugs and goons and scraping by not only with your skill, but also your environmental awareness and ingenuity. I know what you’re thinking: “But Mitchell, that’s like… every beat-em-up or action game.” But it’s different here, and it comes down to a couple of key things.

For one, Sifu’s martial arts combat is smooth as butter. Not only are the animations super fluid, but the way strikes flow naturally into parries, which can then transition seamlessly into grabs and throws, perfectly mimics the style of a classic kung-fu movie. Even more importantly, though, is the role that the environment plays in combat, which we’ll get to in a bit.

Sifu’s martial arts combat is smooth as butter.

On a fundamental level, Sifu’s combat very quickly brings to mind the Batman Arkham games and most specifically, Sleeping Dogs, but there are some key differences. For one, at its core is a structure meter that governs both your own and your opponents’ ability to block. By continuously landing attacks, you’ll deplete their structure meter, eventually opening them up to a takedown or execution. The same is true for you as well. Block too often, and your meter will decrease until eventually your guard is opened up. You can parry by timing a block just as an opponent strikes, which will stun and open them up for strikes or a directional throw. You can throw enemies into walls, down stairs, through guardrails, over railings, and so on and so forth, making it a vital technique. There’s also a focus gauge that allows you to slow down time and target specific body parts that each cause a different effect when hit.

There’s a ton of destructibility in play as well. In one part, the player was picked up and slammed through a partition, which then allowed him to pick up a wooden piece of it and use it as a weapon. Bottles can also be picked up and thrown, and even objects on the floor like ottomans can be kicked towards enemies to knock them off their feet. Despite it being a developer-led hands-off demonstration, the combat still managed to have a very improvised look to it, with the player having multiple options to deal with enemies at any time.

What really struck me the most about the combat, though, was how contextual and reactive everything was. By positioning himself next to a counter and luring the enemy in, the player was able to dodge a strike, and then slam the enemy’s head into the counter for a quick knockout; pieces of furniture will get destroyed as combatants get knocked through them; bad guys will either surrender as you take out their friends, or become enraged and become even more dangerous when they’re the last one left. I saw a lot of fighting over the course of the demonstration, and yet every scrap had a unique feel to it thanks to the unique placements of objects, hazards, and how the player was able to turn a bad situation around by using the environment to their advantage.

The demonstration also touched briefly upon unlockable skills and upgrades, which can be purchased from shrines, but what’s interesting is that your upgrades and skills are lost upon death, which almost moves Sifu into a roguelite territory. But I wouldn’t go that far, as the randomization elements that are key to that genre don’t seem to be present in Sifu. There is, however, that element of single-run progression versus permanent progression. Instead of spreading your points out and buying a bunch of skills to help you in your current run, you could instead opt to pool the points into one skill and work towards unlocking it as a permanent upgrade that persists on all future runs. It’s an interesting choice and I’m curious to see how else the roguelike elements manifest and develop over the course of the game.

I was impressed by virtually everything I saw of Sifu. The combat looks exquisite, the roguelite elements are intriguing, and the ways in which it brings to mind classic asian martial arts movies should be exciting to any fan of the genre. Sifu releases on February 22, 2022 for PS4/PS5 and PC.

Mitchell Saltzman is an editorial producer at IGN. You can find him on twitter @JurassicRabbit