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How much are you paying each year for your phone contract? If you’d rather not think about it, here’s an uncomfortable fact: the average American pays $114 a month for cell phone service – that’s $1,368 a year. 

Not only is that a wildly huge number, but it’s even wilder when you consider that you don’t have to spend anywhere near that amount – because we’ve found a deal that will save you $1289 off that average cost. Today, you can get a Tello Economy Prepaid 12-Month Plan, which comes with unlimited talk and text, as well as 1GB of LTE Data and a free SIM, for just $79 (regular price $120) – that works out to less than $7 a month. 

Whether you want to cut your ties to expensive contracts, or want an affordable second line to dedicate to business calls, this plan changes what you thought you knew about phone plans. With the pre-paid bundle, you’ll get coast-to-coast wireless coverage on a nationwide 4G/5G LTE network as standard, plus your own free hotspot. 

If you regularly make international calls for work or to stay connected with friends and family, perhaps the best part of this package is that minutes and text messages to more than 60 countries around the world are included in all plans at exactly the same rate as domestic calls – and with this bundle, they’re unlimited.

Not only that but giving yourself freedom from being tied into expensive and complicated cell phone contracts is simply game-changing. Because you’ll pay for this upfront, you can stay with the service for as long or as short as you’d like, as well as zero activation or early termination fees. 

Tello comes super highly rated from its users, too, with an impressive 4.6/5 stars on Trustpilot, with customers loving its reach of service, affordability, and simplicity when it comes to setting up and using right away. As one customer-reviewed, “Porting in my number was easy and extremely fast.” 

Get freedom from phone contracts today with a Tello Economy Prepaid 12-Month Plan: Unlimited Talk/Text + 1GB LTE Data + Free SIM, on sale now for $79 – that’s 34% off the regular price of $120. 

Deadline is reporting that Nico Parker (Disney’s Dumbo) has been cast as Sarah Miller, Joel Miller’s (Pedro Pascal) daughter in the live-action adaptation of The Last of Us. She joins Pascal, Gabriel Luna, Merle Dandridge, and Bella Ramsey for the HBO TV series. Dandridge is the only cast member thus far to reprise their role from the game.

The series will be based on the critically-acclaimed video game series of the same name that’s about a super virus that destroys civilization with Ramsey’s Ellie is the only one that can save it. Parker’s character has a relatively minor role in the game, but also the first character you play in it and sets the chain of events in motion for Joel and his brother Tommy’s path.

Though the first game centers on Joel’s point of view, with small bits for Ellie to play, the second game which came out in the summer of 2020, concentrated more on Ellie and her growing up in this bizarre new world. It received tremendous acclaim and even Game of the Year. Even here at Gamespot, we gave it an 8/10.

Kantemir Balagov (Closeness) is directing the pilot episode of the series and it will be a co-production with Sony Pictures Television. It will be principally produced by Chernobyl’s Craig Mazin and Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann for HBO’s streaming service.

Amazon’s series adapting the classic Geena Davis and Tom Hanks comedy A League of Their Own has cast Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) in its version of the Jimmy Dugan role. The casting news was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

This new adaptation will be an hourlong, live-action series that will not 1:1 revisit the 1992 film. For example, Offerman–arguably pretty much everyone’s favorite deadpan comic actor–will play Casey “Dove” Porter, the coach of the team at the center of the show. Dove was “thought to be the next Major League Baseball star, but blew his arm out after three years.” Similar to the movie, which saw Hanks play a similarly fated Jimmy Dugan, Dove aims to make his comeback by coaching the all-female Rockford Peaches into winning the championship banner.

The series will star Abbi Jacobson (Broad City)–who co-created and will executive produce alongside Will Graham–Chanté Adams (Roxanne Roxanne), D’Arcy Carden (The Good Place), Gbemisola Ikumelo (Brain in Gear), Kelly McCormack (Letterkenny), Roberta Colindrez (Birdman), and Priscilla Delgado (Julieta). This new version promises to bring the familiar story to a new generation “with new characters and their own fresh, modern vision on a timeless story of big dreams, friendship, love, and, of course, baseball,” according to co-head of TV for Amazon Studios Vernon Sanders.

Offerman was also recently cast in Hulu’s upcoming series about the infamous Pamela Anderson/Tommy Lee sex tape.

Battlefield 2042 will feature some impressive tech, particularly to up the player count to 128. However, it seems the upcoming military first-person shooter may not have ray tracing support when it drops on PC this October.

In a press release, Nvidia announced that Battlefield 2042 will take advantage of the card manufacturer’s DLSS and Reflex features found in its GeForce 20- and 30-series GPUs. Nvidia didn’t mention ray tracing here.

In fact, Nvidia only mentions ray tracing when calling out Doom Eternal, which just received DLSS and ray tracing support via a new patch. We’ve reached out to EA for comment and will update this post if we hear back.

DLSS (deep learning super sampling) is a rendering technique used to improve performance without a significant reduction to image quality. It’s a feature that’s only available on Nvidia GPUs like the 30-series cards, which are still incredibly difficult to find and/or extremely expensive to purchase.

EA and developer DICE recently announced that Xbox is the “official console” of Battlefield 2042, though neither clarified what this means. EA will host its annual EA Play Live presentation on July 22, where we should get more information about the game, including a look at a new game mode.

Battlefield 2042 launches on October 22 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. Be sure to check out our Battlefield 2042 preorder guide to learn about the various bonuses and editions available.

Microsoft has released the latest Xbox system update to select members of its Xbox Insider program. The update doesn’t make any significant changes but does fix a number of issues and updates the list of known issues.

The Xbox system update will be available for members of the Xbox Insiders program in the Alpha Ring today, fixing a number of small issues. The update fixes an issue where the Netflix app wouldn’t launch for some users, some games wouldn’t launch even after being reinstalled, and an issue where some consoles couldn’t connect to the network.

Xbox also recently announced that the Xbox Cloud Streaming service is now available to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members in more regions across iOS devices, Windows 10 PCs, MacOS, and Android devices. The service is also now being powered by Xbox Series X technology, allowing for faster loading and higher quality game streaming.

You can read the full Xbox update patch notes here or below:

System Update Details:

• OS version released: XB_FLT_2108CO22000.1595.210628-2200
• Available: 2 p.m. PT – June 30, 2021
• Mandatory: 3 a.m. PT – July 1, 2021

Fixes Implemented

Thanks to the hard work of Xbox engineers, we are happy to announce the following fixes have been implemented for this build:

Apps

• Fixed an issue where the Netflix app was failing to launch for some users.

Installation

• Fixed an issue where some titles would fail to launch even after being re-installed.

Networking

• Fixes to address some consoles not being able to connect to the network after a recent update.

System

• Fixed an issue where some consoles would reboot when powered on from standby.
• Various updates to properly reflect local languages across the console.
  • Note: Users participating in Preview may see “odd” text across the console, for more information go here.

Known Issues

We understand some issues have been listed in previous Xbox Insider Release Notes. These items aren’t being ignored, but it will take Xbox engineers more time to find a solution.

We’re still tracking these known issues:

Audio

• Some users have reported that they are not hearing any audio with Dolby Atmos enabled.

Dolby Vision for Gaming

• Some TVs do not support Dolby Vision at 120 Hz currently and will fall back to either 60 Hz or HDR. We are working closely with TV manufactures to update firmware support for Dolby Vision capabilities. Go to Settings>General>TV & Display Options>4K TV details and look for “Your TV setup supports Dolby Vision”.
• Users may notice that some titles such as Mass Effect: Legendary Edition might stop supporting Dolby Vision for Gaming after the initial release. This is expected while the feature is in Preview.
• Some users have reported Dolby Vision for gaming not performing as expected.
  • Note: If you encounter an issue, please make sure to check the following:
    • Ensure the TV has the latest firmware
    • Use the Xbox-provided HDMI cable that was included with the console
    • Connect the TV directly to the Xbox and try to see if the problem still persists (i.e. remove any AVRs, Soundbars, HDMI boxes, etc.)

Edge (New)

• The new version of the browser is not available for Alpha users at this time. When the browser does become available for Preview to Alpha we will be sure to let users know.

Games

• We’ve received reports that controller input is not working when a game is launched.
  • Workaround: Reboot the console and relaunch the game.

Guide

• We are investigating reports of the audio mixer being unable to adjust chat/game audio levels.

HDMI-CEC

• We’ve received some reports that HDMI-CEC is not working correctly.
  • Note: Ensure that your TV supports HDMI-CEC and is also enabled before filing feedback.

Home

• Some users have reported that the icon for a disc-based title is not appearing on the dashboard.

My Games & Apps

• Titles in collection may incorrectly appear with a “trial” tag.

TV/Display

• Some users may power on their console from standby after last using some media applications and their TV will not display a signal.
  • Workaround: Perform a hard reboot (hold the power button for 5-10 seconds) on the console.

Horror streaming platform Shudder is currently running its “Summer of Chills,” with 12 exclusive films streaming throughout the summer. July is set to bring a quartet new shockers to the platform, plus some classic catalogue tiles.

July’s line-up of new horror kicks off on July 8 with Son, in which a woman comes to terms with terrifying changes in her child after he is kidnapped. It’s directed by Ivan Kavanagh, who previously made the seriously scary 2014 horror The Canal. That’s followed on July 15 by The Call, which unites two genre veterans–Saw’s Tobin Bell and Insidious’s Lin Shaye–as a sinister old couple of who trap a group of friends in their house.

July 22 sees the release of Kandisha, the new movie from acclaimed French duo Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo (Inside, Livid). It’s about a woman who summons a powerful demon to exact a bloody vengeance, but soon finds that the evil entity is out-of-control. Finally, The Boy Behind the Door arrives on July 29, and focuses on a kidnapped boy who faces unimaginable terror when he attempts to rescue his friend.

There’s also a wealth of scary must-watch classic horror hitting Shudder in July. Michael Mann’s serial killer masterpiece Manhunter features Brian Cox as the first screen version of Hannibal Lector, while Kathryn Bigelow’s Near Dark is one of the ’80s best vampire movies. There’s two ’80s favorites from the legendary George Romero–Day of the Dead and Creepshow–plus Joe Dante’s much-loved 1978 creature feature Piranha. Finally, fans of weird horror should check out the bizarre and brilliant Messiah of Evil from 1973, directed by Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck, who subsequently wrote American Graffiti and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

New to Shudder in July 2021

July 1

• Manhunter
• Near Dark
• Burnt Offerings
• Creepshow
• Thirteen Ghosts (2001)

July 6

• The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane
• Terror Train
• Death Ship

July 7

• Pledge Night
• Sorority House Massacre
• Day of the Dead
• Horsehead

July 8

July 12

• Messiah of Evil
• Carnival of Souls
• Piranha
• Straight Edge Kegger

July 13

• White Girl
• Separation
• Everly

July 15

July 19

• She’s Allergic to Cats
• Here Comes Hell
• Vigilante

July 20

• Mass Hysteria
• ROT
• Etheria: The Series
• They Remain
• Der Bunker

July 22

July 27

July 29

• The Boy Behind the Door

One of the coolest parts about remasters and remakes of games is that the mod community is often revitalized, and Mass Effect: Legendary Edition is no exception. Not content with the third-person perspective of the trilogy, one enterprising player has created a mod that converts the exploration sections of all three games into first-person.

Called First Person Mode on NexusMods, the mod was made by user “Jade” and specifically focuses on any section of the game that doesn’t involve combat. That means that you can use this to go explore the Citadel or do anything that doesn’t require Shepard to pull out a gun. It’ll also revert to third-person perspective if you enter into a conversation, but the ability to take in the incredibly rich non-combat areas of the trilogy from Shepard’s perspective is still fantastic.

In order to install it, you’ll need a PC copy of Mass Effect Legendary Edition as well as the ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. Then you can install the First Person Mode mod from NexusMods and get exploring. From the looks of the images on the mod’s page, it really changes the impact of the environments–not least because you won’t have Shepard cluttering up the screen. You can see some of those images in the gallery above.

Interestingly enough, a new interview from a former developer on the trilogy revealed that there was a plan for an official first-person Mass Effect title for Nintendo DS. That never came to be, so the mod’s the best we’ve got for the moment. Even if you’re not interested in mods, though, Mass Effect Legendary Edition is still worth checking out. In GameSpot’s 8/10 review of Mass Effect Legendary Edition, we praised many of the visual and performance tweaks that went into the remake.

The Lord of the Rings Online has introduced two new servers, and they have the best, most appropriate names. The new servers are called Shadowfax and Treebeard, while developer Standing Stone Games is also rolling out new difficulty options. All of this is exclusive to VIP subscribers, so free-to-play users need to upgrade to get started.

The Shadowfax server–named after the iconic Middle-earth horse who runs like the wind–lets you level faster by offering +50% XP, legendary item XP, and mount XP, as well as +20% virtue XP. The Treebeard server–named after the very slow and deliberate Ent–is a slower-paced offering featuring -60% reduced XP.

Additionally, these new servers include a Landscape Difficulty option that allows players to choose how difficult or easy they want the experience to be. You can visit Berthdan near the Prancing Pony in West Bree to make a choice between normal and Deadly +6. The higher the difficulty, the more challenging enemies will become. You can change the difficulty level at any time by speaking with Berthdan, but there are rewards for sticking with it.

“If you begin a higher level difficulty prior to reaching level 11 and stick with a high level difficulty you will get rewarded for reaching levels 50 and 130,” developer Standing Stone Games said.

What’s more, players can earn new titles based on the new difficulty options. You’ll get two titles for hitting level 50 and 130 on Hard+ and two more if you reach the same levels on Deadly+. “You MUST activate your desired difficulty prior to reaching level 11, and maintain that difficulty or higher until you earn your title. A Deed can be found in-game to track your progress,” the developer said.

The Lord of the Rings Online has also added new “Eye of Sauron” effects that are meant to simulate the harsh reality of what happens when the great eye sees you.

“Once the Eye of Sauron is upon you, your progress will be hindered by several random effects for the next minute or so. Players will get an XP and Virtue XP boost for running on higher difficulties, starting at +10% XP up to +20% XP and +1% up to +5% Virtue XP,” Standing Stone said.

Head to the Lord of the Rings Online website to learn more.

The Lord of the Rings Online has been operating non-stop since 2007, though development changed hands from Turbine to Standing Stone Games. It was set to get a major competitor from Amazon’s own Lord of the Rings MMO, but that game was canceled.

In 2022, the parent company behind The Lord of the Rings Online revealed that the game is headed to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S in 2022 alongside a major graphics upgrade.

Check out some other recent Lord of the Rings stories in the links below: