Tim Schafer Answers 23 Questions

Tim Schafer is the creative mind behind games like Full Throttle, Grim Fandango, Broken Age, and, most recently, the action platformer Psychonauts 2. Tim’s career goes back 30 years, starting at LucasArts co-writing The Secret of Monkey Island. In 2000, however, Tim set on his own path and founded Double Fine Productions, with its debut title being the cult-classic Psychonauts. In the above video, Tim answers 23 questions like “what’s the hardest part of writing?”, or “what’s Psychonauts 2’s biggest inspirations?”

In Kurt Indovina’s review, he says “Psychonauts 2 does more than just fill the shoes of its beloved predecessor, it sets itself apart as a classic in its own right.” Read the full review here: https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/psychonauts-2-review-mind-over-matter/1900-6417718/

Psychonauts 2 is available now for Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PC, as well as Xbox Game Pass.

Netflix Revives Manifest For One Last Season After NBC Cancellation

Netflix has revived Manifest for one last season after NBC cancelled the series earlier this year.

NBC cancelled Manifest back in June and fans quickly took to Twitter with the “#SaveManifest” hashtag to express their desire to see a fourth season happen.

Now, just over two months later, Netflix has announced that it has picked the series up to create a fourth and final season.

“The fourth and final season will be comprised of 20 episodes, which will bring the story of the passengers of Flight 828 to its conclusion,” a press release from Netflix reads.

When Season 3 of Manifest came to an end, the series left quite a few questions open on the table, ideally to be answered in a fourth season…but Netflix cancelled the series. It seems “#SaveManifest,” and the great numbers the show has seen on Netflix since its premiere on the subscription service back in June, showed that the show had more story to tell (and fans to please).

“Since its premiere on Netflix in June, Manifest has proven very popular with our members,” Netflix Head of Global TV, Bela Bejaria, said in a press release. “[Manifest producer and creator Jeff Rake] and his team have crafted a beguiling mystery that has viewers around the world on the edge of their seats and believing again in second chances, and we’re thrilled that they will bring fans some closure with this final super-sized season.”

Rake said that never in his wildest dreams did he envision the amount of support and love for Manifest that’s been revealed as of late — enough support to revive the series. He also said he’s excited to have the chance to reward the show’s fans with the ending they deserve.

“On behalf of the cast, the crew, the writers, directors, and producers, thank you to Netflix, to Warner Bros., and of course to the fans,” Rake said. “You did this.”

Manifest premiered on NBC back in 2018 and ran for three seasons before it was cancelled in June of this year. The series revolved around the mysterious Montego Air Flight 828. What was supposed to be a standard flight quickly turned into something else when passengers realized that five years had passed after landing.

The mystery of this flight will seemingly be wrapped up in a final 20-episode season set to premiere on Netflix, although the company didn’t mention a release date.

For more about Manifest, check out our thoughts on the show’s start in IGN’s Manifest Season 1 Episode 1 review and then watch this Manifest Season 3 trailer.

Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

The American Vandal Team Is Working on ‘The Last Dance’ Style Mockumentary About Esports

The creators of American Vandal are creating a mockumentary in the style of The Last Dance about a fictional pro League of Legends esports team.

Titled PLAYERS, this documentary series is being produced by CBS Studios for Paramount+ and it will explore the world of esports through a comedic lens. Creators Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault will examine esports through a fictional pro League of Legends team aiming to achieve their first championship win.

“PLAYERS is a comedic documentary-style series that follows a fictional pro League of Legends esports team as they pursue their first championship after years of close calls and heartache,” a press release reads. “To win it all, they will need their prodigy, a 17-year-old rookie, and their 27-year-old veteran to put their egos aside and work together.”

This series will be produced by CBS Studios in association with Funny or Die and it will actually reunite Yacenda and Perrault after their work on two seasons of American Vandal. Both will serve as co-creators and executive producers for PLAYERS, but Yacenda will also direct the series.

Funny or Die’s Joe Farrell and Mike Farah will serve as executive producers, too, alongside Tim McAuliffe, 3Arts’ Ari Lubet, Brillstein Entertainment Pictures’ Todd Sellers, and the studio behind League of Legends, Riot Games.

Anyone that’s watched American Vandal, a raunchy and hilarious high-school-based mockumentary, knows that Yacenda and Perrault don’t pull any punches when it comes to telling their stories, so it will be interesting to see if PLAYERS leans as hard into the raunch, vulgarity, and critical nature that American Vandal did, especially with Riot Games actually involved.

League of Legends is a great window into esports as it’s one of the most-played PC games in the world, generating billions of hours in gameplay each year. It also happens to be the largest esport on the planet, with the 2020 League of Legends World Championship Finals “generating a record-breaking 23.04 million average minute audience,” according to a press release about PLAYERS.

PLAYERS will hit Paramount+ when it premieres, but a release date for the mockumentary series has not yet been revealed.

While waiting for PLAYERS, read about why we gave Season 1 of American Vandal a 9.1 out of 10 in IGN’s review and then check out our thoughts on the second season in IGN’s American Vandal Season 2 review.

Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

Wednesday: Netflix Reveals 10 Characters for Tim Burton’s Addams Family Spinoff

Netflix announced that Tim Burton was creating a live-action Addams Family spinoff show for the subscription service back in February and now the cast has grown by 10.

The spinoff, titled Wednesday, will be aptly centered on Wednesday Addams, but the titular character has not been cast yet. Luis Guzmán was cast as Gomez Addams earlier this month and Catherine Zeta-Jones was cast as Morticia Addams just a few days later, and now, 10 more characters have been added to the show.

  • Hunter Doohan (Your Honor, Truth Be Told) has been cast to play Tyler Galpin, the son of the town’s local sheriff who becomes friends with Wednesday.

  • Georgie Farmer (Treadstone, The Evermoor Chronicles) has been cast to play Ajax Petropolus, a gorgon student attending Nevermore Academy who is awkward, shy, and anxious.

  • Moosa Mostafa (Nativity Rocks!, The Last Bus) has been cast to play Eugen Otinger, a quirky student at Nevermore Academy who is president of the school’s bee-keeping club.

  • Emma Myers (Girl in the Basement, Taste of Christmas) has been cast to play Enid Sinclair, Wednesday’s sunny and Californian roommate who hails from a pack of San Francisco-based werewolves

  • Naomi J. Ogawa (Skylin3s) has been cast to play Yoko Tanaka, a vampire with Harajuku-inspired goth flair and one of the cool kids at Nevermore Academy.

  • Joy Sunday (Dear White People, The Beta Test) has been cast to play Bianca Barclay, one of the most popular students at Nevermore Academy who hails from a long line of Sirens.

  • Percy Hynes White (The Gifted, Pretty Hard Cases) has been cast to play Xavier Thorpe, a charismatic and supernaturally artistic Nevermore Academy student whose father is a celebrity psychic.

  • Thora Birch (Ghost World, The Walking Dead) has been cast to play Tamara Novak, Wednesday’s dorm mother and the only “Normie” staff member at Nevermore Academy.

  • Riki Lindhome (Knives Out, Another Period) has been cast to play Dr. Valerie Kinbott, Wednesday’s new therapist.

  • Jamie McShane (Mank, Bloodline) has been cast to play Sheriff Donovan Galpin, an officer who takes issue with Nevermore Academy and especially one of its former students, Gomez Addams.

These 10 characters will join the already-cast Gomez and Morticia, and eventually Wednesday, in the Addams Family spinoff.

This Addams Family spinoff hails from Tim Burton, who will direct and executive produce the eight-episode series coming from MGM and UA Television. Showrunners Al Gough and Miles Millar are set to executive produce the series as well alongside Andrew Mittman, Kevin Miserocchi, Kayla Alpert, Jonathan Glickman, and Gail Berman.

There’s no official release date for Wednesday just yet, but the series is set to premiere on Netflix sometime in 2022.

Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow Twitter @LeBlancWes.

Firearms Expert Reacts To Rust’s Guns

Rust

First Released Feb 8, 2018

released

  • Linux
  • Macintosh
  • PC
  • PlayStation 4
  • Xbox One

Rust is a survival game created by Facepunch Studios. Inspired by games like DayZ, Minecraft and Stalker – Rust aims to create a hostile environment in which emergent gameplay can flourish.

Get Apple’s MagSafe Duo Wireless Charger For 20% Off

Let’s be real: The iPhone in your pocket is probably close to 10 or 20 percent battery life by the time the sun starts going down. That means that by the time a cell phone would come most in handy, it’s completely dead. Bumming a charge from someone else is normally an option, but then you end up being the person standing next to the bar by yourself side-eyeing your phone and waiting for it to get back to a fifth of the way charged so you can leave.

The best charger to use is this new Apple MagSafe Duo Charger. It typically retails for $150 and is currently 20% off for just $120. The charger is already an Amazon favorite with 4.6 out of 5 stars.

The MagSafe Duo Charger is notable because it can charge two different devices at once. You can charge an iPhone, an Apple Watch, your AirPod case, and more. Even better: It’s completely wireless, which eliminates the biggest reason most of us have owned four or five different chargers in the last couple of years–those fragile wires that seem to fray if you simply nudge your phone an inch outside of the stretch radius. The charger folds in on itself, making it easy to carry anywhere. Instead of having to ask someone if you can use their wired charger, you can simply and discretely plug this charger into an outlet and, as long as your phone is next to or on top of it, charge it very quickly, along with any other Apple device.

The MagSafe Duo Charger has impressive utility, far outperforming most common chargers. You can pick up an Apple MagSafe Duo Charger for $120 with the current 20% discount, and never buy a wired charger again.

Price subject to change

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Psychonauts 2 Loboto’s Labyrinth Collectibles Guide: Everything To Find In The First Level

Like the original, Psychonauts 2 is brimming with collectibles hidden throughout its many locales–both in the real world and in the minds of its characters. Uncovering all of them helps you to level up Raz more quickly, gaining new powers and learning more about each of the people whose minds you’ll explore. But finding everything hidden in the depths of the psyche can be tough.

We’ve been combing through every lobe and synapse of Psychonauts 2 to discover all that’s hidden within the game, with the aim of making it a little easier to discover everything. The guide below will walk you through the game’s first level, Loboto’s Labyrinth, to help you uncover all that’s hidden within Dr. Loboto’s mind.

Stay tuned for more Psychonauts 2 coverage and guides, and don’t forget to check out our Psychonauts 2 review.

Loboto’s Labyrinth Collectibles

  • Nuggets of Wisdom: 2
  • Memory Vaults: 2
  • Emotional Baggage: Hat Box, Steamer Trunk, Suit Case, Purse
  • Figments: 80

Much of Loboto’s Labyrinth is a tutorial for the rest of Psychonauts 2, with your powers slowly unlocking during the course of the level. Those powers then usually allow you to access nearby collectibles, so be aware that you might need to backtrack a bit to get everything you need. We’re marking each collectible as it appears during the course of the level, but some will require you to return to the stage at a later time.

Memory Vault: Look for this first collectible to the left of the first Loboto portrait you find, just as you enter the central office after following him.

Duffle Bag Emotional Baggage: In this same room, you can spot the blue Duffle Bag on a small table to the right of the Dental Door where Coach stands. You’ll need a tag to open the bag, though–look for the Duffle Bag Tag near the desks further to the right when facing the Dental Door.

Hatbox Emotional Baggage Tag: You’ll next enter the Conference Room, which has a long, winding table in the center. The Hatbox Tag is beside it. You’ll find the Hatbox later in the level.

Suitcase Emotional Baggage: You can’t access this one the first time you enter the Conference Room, but you’ll likely hear it. It’s hidden behind the poster on the left wall. You need Pyrokinesis to burn down the poster, but you won’t get it until later in the level. The Suitcase Tag is also located at a later point, so you’ll need to replay the level to unlock this one.

Steamer Trunk Emotional Baggage Tag: Up ahead is the Dental Void area, in which you’ll have to jump between dental mirrors serving as platforms. The Steamer Trunk Tag is on the distant platform you can’t reach, past the sink where you exit the area. You’ll need the Mental Connection PSI power to get to it, which means you’ll have to come back to this level again later.

Nugget of Wisdom: Further on, you’ll enter a room themed on a trash can. Look for a tooth zipper, which hides the Nugget of Wisdom–use Telekinesis to open the zipper.

Hatbox Emotional Baggage: Keep going until you burn through a poster on the wall to reveal a path forward. Keep moving past the pools of water (er, hope that’s water) until you’ve nearly reached the last one. Burn the Loboto portrait on the left wall before the last pool to reveal the Hatbox behind it.

Purse Emotional Baggage: Keep moving until you hit a hallway with another watery canal, this one filled with teeth that sink as you jump from one to the next. At the end of the hall is a room where bookshelves flank both sides and a big portrait of Dr. Loboto waits in the center. Don’t burn it yet–first, look for the Purse on top of the shelf on the left. You won’t be able to open it yet, as the Purse Tag is further in the level, requiring you to return a second time for this one. Burn the portrait to continue.

Memory Vault: This one requires a new power you won’t have your first time through: Mental Connection. Look for the Memory Vault in the Asylum area, after you climb the spiral staircase into a tower.

Steamer Trunk Emotional Baggage: The same platform that holds the Memory Vault in the Asylum section of the level also contains the Steamer Trunk. You’ll need Mental Connection to reach both, so don’t worry about these your first time through.

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Tom Cruise Did 13,000 Motorbike Jumps To Prepare For Mission Impossible

Actor Tom Cruise has developed a reputation for being one of the most daring and committed actors in Hollywood thanks to his willingness to perform dangerous stunts for the sake of a good close-up. Those stunts require preparation. Lots and lots, according to those present for the showing of Mission: Impossible 7 at CinemaCon this week.

Alongside footage of Mission: Impossible 7, Paramount showed a featurette depicting the movie’s centerpiece stunt. In preparation for the stunt, Cruise did 500 skydives and 13,000 motorbike jumps, as well as base jump training. The stunt has the actor jumping his motorbike off of a cliff in Norway, and Cruise called it his most dangerous stunt yet.

“This is far and away the most dangerous thing I’ve attempted; we’ve been working on this for years,” Cruise said in a pre-recorded video for the CinemaCon audience. “I wanted to do it since I was a little kid.”

“The only thing that scares me more is what we’ve got planned for Mission [Impossible] 8,” said Christopher McQuarrie, for whom Mission: Impossible 8 will be his fourth time directing Cruise as Ethan Hunt.

Mission: Impossible 7 is currently set to release on May 27, 2022 after multiple COVID-related delays. Ahead of that, find out everything we know about Mission Impossible 7 and 8, including previous teases about this stunt and others. Along with the danger of the Mission: Impossible films, Universal is spending $200 million to send Cruise into space with the help of SpaceX. Top Gun: Maverick, also starring Cruise, will hit theaters on November 19, 2021.

Minecraft Biomes Guide – What Makes Each Biome Special

No two Minecraft worlds look alike, but they’re all made up of the same elements–Minecraft’s many varied biomes. Each biome has something that makes it special, whether it’s the mysterious spires of Eroded Badlands or the sunflowers that appear only in Sunflower Plains and nowhere else. Knowing what to expect from them will only increase your chances of survival. Did you know that the zombies that appear in the desert are called Husks and don’t burn up in sunlight? Or that swamps are the only place to find blue orchids?

Minecraft might be endlessly huge, but it’s your world–so go in prepared. We’ve split all the major biomes in Minecraft into three categories: Temperate, Hot, and Cold (with a side of Weird. Check out each of our guides below to get the lowdown on each one.

The Temperate Biomes of Minecraft

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Here are the starter biomes–the most common ones you’ll find when you spawn for the first time. Plains, the many types of forests, and swamps make for some of the safer biomes out there, though don’t underestimate the danger of the Dark Forest biome, or the rare Witch Hut that can spawn in a swamp.

The Warm Biomes of Minecraft

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Some of Minecraft’s warmest places are some of the hardest to find. Finding a desert isn’t too hard, but Badlands and Jungles will take a bit more luck if you don’t want to go through third parties. And sure, we have screenshots of these places, but finding them yourself is breathtaking all the same.

The Cold, Wet, and Weird Biomes of Minecraft

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That leaves us with some of the least hospitable places in Minecraft. Places covered in ice, under blocks and blocks of water or, if you’re really lucky, mushrooms. Go for that alpine life in the Taiga or Snowy Tundra, or go full Elsa and find an Ice Spikes biome to call your own and make sure everyone knows how hardcore you are.

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Minecraft Biome Guide – All The Warm Biomes

Note: This guide focuses on the Bedrock version of Minecraft, available on Windows 10, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and mobile.

Some of Minecraft‘s warm biomes are harder to find and can be pretty unforgiving. Deserts are pretty common, but Husks–desert zombie–don’t burn up in the sun. As beautiful as the badlands can be, they’re all but empty. These are Minecraft’s warm biomes.

Table of Contents [hide]

Jungles

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Jungles are rare biomes that feature jungle trees that can grow as tall as 31 blocks, as well as very short trees built around a single block of jungle wood as a trunk. The jungle has quite a few biome-specific elements. When it comes to animals, you can find ocelots, parrots, and pandas, all of which generate exclusively in the jungle biome. You can also find rare jungle temples.

One of the more common variants is the bamboo jungle, which is significantly less dense in terms of trees, but with significantly more bamboo–one of the most easily renewable resources in the game, as well as part of scaffolding, which is a must-have for ambitious builders.

Deserts

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Deserts are exactly what you’d imagine–sand and cacti as far as the eye can see. There are generally no trees here, just dead bushes and cacti. Unlike other biomes, only rabbits spawn in the desert, and they’re a golden hue to match the desert around them. This biome also has its own hostile mob, the husk. The husk is a zombie-like mob that doesn’t burn in the sunlight and, if they successfully attack you, will apply the Hunger status to you, rendering your food ineffective. Desert villages, wells, and pyramids/temples are also found in this biome. There is no rain or snow in desert biomes, even if it’s raining in a directly adjacent biome that does allow rain.

Badlands

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This biome is pretty similar to the desert in that there’s little in the way of flora or fauna. Cacti and dead bushes spawn, and there are no passive mobs–not even those adorable desert rabbits. This biome is very rare and usually bordered by a desert. Mineshafts are more common in these biomes, and gold is found more frequently than in other biomes. The primary blocks for this biome are terracotta and red sand, both of which can be found in great supply. As with desert biomes, don’t expect to find any rain or snow here.

There are a few variants of the badlands biome.

  • Eroded badlands generate with tall spikes of terracotta, seemingly meant to resemble the same sorts of structures found in Bryce Canyon in Utah.
  • Badlands plateaus are similar to standard badlands, except that the plateaus generate with a layer of dirt on top, complete with grass and trees.

Savannas

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Compared to deserts and badlands, Savannas are downright lush. This biome is covered in brown grass and acacia trees, which drop unique orange-colored wood. A variety of passive mobs, like llamas, horses, and cows can generate here, as well as villages and pillager outposts.

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