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Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror is one of Netflix‘s big sci-fi shows, but season six is probably a while away yet. Back in May, Brooker said that he was working on other things, but wouldn’t give more details–and now, one of the actors involved in a project he’s working on has spilled the beans.

In an interview with Vulture, Hugh Grant has revealed that he’s filming something for Brooker’s next project, a mockumentary about 2020. Grant says that he’ll be playing “a historian who’s being interviewed about the year,” which makes it sound like the film will be set in the future, looking back on the year.

“I’m pretty repellent, actually,” Grant continued. “And you’ll like my wig.”

No further details about the film are revealed. Hugh Grant’s latest series, The Undoing on HBO, has just finished airing.

The most recent season of Black Mirror had an episode focused on an online VR fighting game, called Striking Vipers. Before that, the interactive Black Mirror film Bandersnatch was released, which ultimately resulted in a recently-settled lawsuit.

The PlayStation 2 is the best-selling console of all time, but many of its best games are now much harder to access, partly because of a lack of backwards-compatibility with modern systems, and partly because the system is notoriously difficult to emulate. But as it turns out, Microsoft’s new, cheaper system does a pretty good job of it.

As VG247 reports, the Xbox Series S has a feature called “Developer Mode,” and when it’s active it’s possible to run RetroArch emulation on Microsoft’s $299 console. From there, it’s possible to get PS2 games running on Sony’s system. This would be possible on the more powerful Xbox Series X, too.

RetroArch on Xbox isn’t perfect–and games are capped at a 2GB limit, meaning that not every PS2 game is playable–but as you can see in the video below from Modern Vintage Gamer, it’s possible to play PS2 titles like Metal Gear Solid 2 and Jak & Daxter on the console. The controls even work on an Xbox controller.

RetroArch can also emulate other consoles, such as the Nintendo GameCube, but the PS2 is particularly noteworthy because good PS2 emulation is rare. It’s also interesting because while the Xbox Series X/S are backwards compatible with numerous Xbox/Xbox 360 titles, the PlayStation 5 can only run PS4/PS5 titles.

Of course, the Xbox Series X/S are never going to support official PlayStation emulation–but it’ll be interesting to see whether the PS5 eventually introduces better backwards compatibility options.

Peter Dinklage has played both an evil scientist and a Norse blacksmith in Marvel movies, but he’s never been the hero in a superhero movie. Now, the actor best known for playing Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones has found his superhero picture: The Toxic Avenger.

Dinklage will star in Legendary‘s Toxic Avenger film, according to a report from Deadline. The original 1984 film, produced by Troma Entertainment and co-directed by founders Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz, sports Troma’s trademark low-budget visual effects and grotesque imagery. It tells the story of a man named Melvin who, after being pushed into a vat of toxic waste, transforms into a mutant. He has to save his family and town from organized crime and corrupt officials.

The original Toxic Avenger is the very definition of a cult classic. It didn’t get much traction during its initial release, but New York’s midnight cinema scene gave it new life. From there, it spawned multiple sequels, a children’s cartoon, a line of toys, and some video games. Legendary acquired the license in 2018.

Along with Dinklage in the starring role, Macon Blair is set to direct. Blair, who has mostly worked as an actor, made his directorial debut with 2017’s I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore. Original directors Kaufman and Herz of Troma Entertainment are producing the film. In addition to his roles in Game of Thrones and Marvel movies, Dinklage has plenty of dramas under his belt, including The Station Agent, Living in Oblivion, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Legendary has not yet revealed a release window or production timeline for Toxic Avenger.

In 2018, Tetris Effect’s mesmerizing sounds and sights heightened the classic game’s aesthetically pleasing properties and its ability to consume our attention to almost therapeutic levels, reinvigorating our appreciation for one of gaming’s oldest obsessions. But even as former GameSpot editor Peter Brown proclaimed Tetris “better than ever” in Tetris Effect, he noted it “sadly” did not apply its wondrous approach to multiplayer. Two years later, Tetris Effect: Connected–an updated re-release for Xbox consoles and PC–fills that gap. Just as the original did for the classic version of the game, Connected reimagines Tetris multiplayer with flair and vision. It also loses a major component, VR support, which delivers the most intense version of the experience. While I’m of two minds on that tradeoff, the soothing intensity of Tetris Effect hasn’t lost any potency. On the contrary, it feels more vital than ever in 2020.

Though it adds and removes modes whole cloth, the core of Tetris Effect remains unchanged. Despite the fact that Journey mode hasn’t been touched, its shifting, syncopated themes enraptured me level by level, even on my second time through. Tetris Effect is a significant challenge to average Tetris players like myself. Each level revs the speed up to push you just up to the edge of what you can handle. Even as you improve–and you are getting better, whether you see it or not–the levels scale to demand your full focus. It sounds unapproachable, but there’s something about the combination of the way your brain looks for patterns, combined with the rhythmic sensory elements and this challenge, that lets you give yourself over to the game, almost trance-like, without even trying.

You’ll need that focus in multiplayer. Whether you’re playing cooperatively with other players or competing against them, the multiplayer modes in Connected ratchet up the intensity found in the original. Connected features four multiplayer modes–three competitive, one co-op. As in most games, other players will push you in ways a single-player campaign will not.

Most players will rush right to Zone Battle, an updated version of what I imagine when I think of competitive Tetris, a survival mode where completing lines on your field creates extra garbage lines for your opponents. The Connected version adds the zone mechanic from Tetris Effect, which stops the parade of pieces and allows you to complete a large number of lines in a short time. Using zone effectively adds an extra layer of strategy: Activating it at the right time can guarantee a victory, but it’s surprisingly tricky to find the correct moment to use it. Though it seems like the ability to save up and cash in lines would only intensify the dominance of elite players, I found it allowed you to turn a good flow into a meaningful attack, regardless of whether you’re winning or losing. It won’t keep a superior player from stomping you, mind you, but zone rewards players who can be mindful of the situations on both fields and retain the focus to clear lines.

In addition to Zone Battle, Connected also has two versions of Score Attack, a more traditional competitive mode without garbage-line or zone mechanics. In standard Score Attack, you play for the high score and survival. In Classic Score Attack, you do the same, but with the original 1984 rules, so you can’t bank pieces, use T-Spins, and so on.

Zone Battle is an interesting riff, but it’s a known quantity. The most interesting mode–this game’s crown jewel–is the eponymous Connected co-op mode, where three players collectively try to outlast a series of AI opponents, one at a time. At first, the four players simply play Tetris. The AI enemies, named after the signs of the Zodiac, have special abilities called “blitzes” to make things difficult for you, which range from annoying parlor tricks like moving your field up and down to genuinely infuriating maneuvers like temporarily increasing the speed of your drops to force errors. Once a week, there’s also an asynchronous Connected Versus mode, where players can spar 3-on-1.

When the three human players clear enough lines on their fields, you automatically trigger a special form of the zone ability, which combines all three of your fields into one. You and your partners take turns placing pieces on the extra-wide field and must clear extra-long lines. Like every level and mode in Tetris Effect, you need to find a natural rhythm in the game, but in this case you do so by getting in sync with your partners. Only one person plays a piece at a time, so being able to quickly find the right spot and anticipate where the others will go becomes crucial. Like zone battle, you need to be focused to fill gaps quickly, but also mindful of the whole field and what’s happening.

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In most games, that kind of coordination would require voice chat, but this particular mode benefits from relying on non-verbal communication. It requires more awareness and consideration of your fellow players than the competitive modes because you’re sharing a single field. The goal of Tetris Effect, across its modes, is to feel the flow of the game without interruption or getting into your own head; silently syncing with your partners, showing them what you plan to do with your next piece and trusting that they’ll understand and plan around that offers an interesting variation on that theme, and it can create incredible results if you can… connect.

Since it’s a re-release, we should also talk about what’s missing from Connected. Unlike the original release, Tetris Effect isn’t playable in virtual reality. Since Connected is primarily an Xbox release, removing VR seems like a practical decision: The Xbox consoles don’t support VR headsets, so only PC players would be able to enjoy it. In the original Tetris Effect, VR felt like the coup de gras, tuning you into the game intensely by letting you see and hear the levels all around you. It’s a unique experience, and part of the magic of the original version. While I think multiplayer is the more approachable feature, and what I would want if forced to choose, I do wish there were a way to have both in a single package.

But there’s no time for regrets in Tetris. The next piece is falling and you only have a few seconds to put it in place. Then the next piece, and the one after that. Some people meditate to clear their minds. Other people cook, or build models. Tetris Effect has a similar capacity to clear your mind. In 2018, that made Tetris Effect feel special. In 2020, it feels essential.

In The Mandalorian Season 2 Episode 5, Mando (Pedro Pascal) heads to Corvus to find former Jedi Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson). On Corvus, The Magistrate asks Mando to kill a Jedi, offering a pure beskar staff as payment. Mando asks where to find the Jedi. While looking for her, Mando is ambushed by Ahsoka. He tells her that Bo-Katan sent him , and he’s there to ask her about the Child.

Ahsoka communicates with the Child telepathically and we learn more about his past, and his real name, Grogu. He was raised in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant and was later taken and hidden from the Empire for many years. She tests Grogu’s abilities and finds that Grogu has formed a strong attachment to Mando, aka Din Djarin. While this episode moved the series forward and taught us about Baby Yoda’s backstory, it also had more Easter eggs and Star Wars references.

Nintendo Switch update 11.0.0 is here, and the latest numbered update makes some big additions. The main one is the addition of a Nintendo Switch Online hub on the main page, but there’s plenty of other stuff to dig into.

The new “Nintendo Switch Online” hub button appears on the home screen next to News, and it collects together all of Online’s functions and services into one place. This includes a list of smartphone apps, online games, current tournaments, an archive of NES and SNES titles arranged by year, your save data in the cloud, and member offers.

Cloud data will now be automatically downloaded on multiple systems attached to the same account, too. This could be a blessing for anyone using a regular Switch and a Switch Lite in conjunction, as once it’s activated save data will jump between the two systems automatically.

A new “Trending With Friends” option is now available on your user page, below “Friend List”. It shows what your friends have been playing recently, telling you exactly how many of the folks on your friend list are still regularly playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons and other titles. It tracks who has played over the last ten days, and will tell you the total playtime of the friends listed.

12 new user icons are also added. They’re focused on Mario’s 35th anniversary, with icons based on Mario’s classic appearance right through to Odyssey. You can even use Mario with FLUDD as your icon, if you’re a huge fan of Super Mario Sunshine.

Perhaps most useful of all for those who like to share screenshots, it’s now much easier to transfer screens and videos from the Switch to other devices. You can copy to a computer via USB, or to a smart device via a QR code.

There are a few other changes introduced here, including download prioritization, the ability to name button remaps, and support for Brazilian Portuguese. You can read the full update notes below.

Nintendo Switch Ver. 11.0.0

Nintendo Switch Online was added to the HOME Menu.

• Access all Nintendo Switch Online services, from getting the latest information to checking your membership status.
  *This feature is not available in some countries/regions.

A new feature that automatically downloads backed up save data was added to the Save Data Cloud.

• When using software with the same Nintendo Account linked to multiple systems, save data backed up from one console will automatically be downloaded to your other system(s).
  *To use this feature, it must be enabled under System Settings > Data Management > Save Data Cloud.
  *Save data will not be downloaded automatically unless save data for that software exists on the console. The first time only, users must download the save data manually.
  *A Nintendo Switch Online membership is required to use the Save Data Cloud service.

A new Trending feature was added to the User Page.

• Users can check what software their friends are playing or have started playing recently.
  Information will not be displayed for friends who have their online status set to display to no one.

Users can now transfer screenshots and videos from Album to their smart devices.

• Users can wirelessly connect their smart devices to Nintendo Switch to transfer the screenshots and videos saved within their Album.
• For screenshots, users can transfer a maximum of 10 screenshots and 1 video capture at once.
  *To connect, users must use their smart device to scan the QR Code displayed on the Nintendo Switch screen.

A new Copy to a Computer via USB Connection feature was added under System Settings > Data Management > Manage Screenshots and Videos.

• Users can use a USB cable to connect Nintendo Switch to their computers to copy the screenshots and videos saved under Album.
  * A USB charging cable [model HAC-010] or a USB-IF certified USB cable that supports data transfer is required to connect to a computer.

Users can now select what download to prioritize when there are multiple downloads in progress.

• When there are multiple software, update data, or downloadable content downloads in progress, users can now select which they want to download first.
• You can set this under Download Options by selecting the icon for the software you want to download first on the HOME Menu.

User icons were added.

• 12 user icons that commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Super Mario Bros. series were added.

Users can now name preset button mappings with the Change Button Mapping feature.

Brazilian Portuguese was added as a supported language.

• When users set their region to the Americas and their language to Português, the language used on the HOME Menu and in certain software will be displayed in Brazilian Portuguese.

Several issues were fixed, and usability and stability were improved.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is finally here, and one part of the military FPS that people are particularly enjoying is the campaign and its story. The Black Ops brand has always had a special flavor to it. It is less serious–remember this?!–and more narratively open-minded than the ripped-from-the-headlines storylines in the other historical and modern Call of Duty games.

With Black Ops Cold War, the game’s story plays with history and covers real historical events, but with a healthy amount of conspiracy theories and deniable operations baked in.

With that in mind, we connected with former Australian Security Intelligence Organisation operative David Callan (who has since become a comedian, but more on that later), who told us about his experience as a counterintelligence officer. Callan worked for the ASIO in the ’80s and ’90s, which was a stormy time for international politics and clandestine operations. Callan shared stories and insight from his time in the service, and he also discussed what he thinks Black Ops Cold War, which is set in early 1980s, gets right about its depiction of the era.

“What Black Ops Cold War captures is the gravitas of the elite operators that are the pointy end of the intelligence spear,” Callan said. “They don’t tolerate fools; they [are] not afraid to go to the extreme, even in training; and they absolutely do not quit. Pure mission focus. Black Ops Cold War absolutely nails that.”

Callan recently appeared in a video from Call of Duty ANZ where he provides instruction to professional Australian athletes Nick Kyrgios and MMA champion Alex Volkanovski on how best to manipulate their opponent during a match of Black Ops Cold War. You can check out the video above.

Regarding his own experience as a spy and a deceiver, Callan said the movies don’t get it right. Intelligence officers like him don’t wear fancy suits and watches, and they don’t drive sports cars. The whole idea is to blend in.

“Do not be fooled by the trope that spies are glamourous,” Callan said. “Your average intelligence officer is ordinary. They have to be! You don’t want to intimidate a potential source; you want to put them at ease, even make them feel they have the whip hand in the relationship. Larger-than-life people don’t blend in; they stand out, and that can be a real problem.”

To be an effective intelligence officer, the most desirable and important skills pertain to mental acuity and a capability to lie, deceive, and manipulate. And then go home to your family, Callan said.

“Outwardly, they truly are quite ordinary, but exceptionally shrewd and focused,” Callan said. “If you have that moral ambiguity and mental agility, you might just be someone ASIO is interested in, just don’t expect martinis, tuxedos and edge-of-your seat thrills. No, your average spy looks like an accountant, drives like a grandad, and lies like a politician.”

Be sure to read on to hear everything Callan had to say about his time in the ASIO and what he learned working clandestine operations. He also shares how he got his nickname, “Frosty,” and why he moved on to pursue a new career in comedy.

“My training and experience have been invaluable as a comedian, as comedy relies on observation and analysis much like intelligence gathering,” Callan said. “Taking seemingly unrelated bits of information to create a coherent picture of a target is the stock and trade of the average spy, and it is the same for a comedian, only you’re creating jokes rather than intelligence reports.”

The full interview follows below.

GameSpot: One of the most interesting parts of Black Ops Cold War is that it plays with history and tells us about conspiracies and stories about deniable operations and secret missions. You served as an intelligence officer for ASIO in the ’80s and ’90s, which was a turbulent time politically and internationally, so what can you tell us about what you learned about the real activities of intelligence and espionage operations?

David Callan: I worked as an intelligence officer with ASIO for more than 20 years. In the area of counterespionage, there was more watching and information gathering than Black Ops Cold War would suggest, but considering Australia’s geographic position, we were more of a terminus than a hub like Berlin or Beirut. The iconic cities of the Cold War were all either the capitals of the leading powers–Washington, Moscow, London–or cities where trade, culture, and ideologies met–Berlin, Istanbul, Hong Kong–essentially where the big players rubbed up against each other, and as such there was a lot more action in those locations.

Australia was regarded by some foreign powers–including some allies–as being something of a soft intelligence target. However, the Australian intelligence community, whilst small and seemingly isolated, was and remains incredibly effective in countering multiple attempts by adversarial powers to breach our national security.

In Black Ops Cold War we get to see the history we know but with a Black Ops lens that puts enough truth in it to make the player wonder if these things might have actually happened. The game developers can use a lot of creative license to play with this. Based on what you know of the game and spy operations in real life having served, what’s your take on it?

What Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War captures is the texture of the times. It looks magnificent and truly reflects the grim austerity that surrounded the era. There was, on the other hand, a lot less gunplay, especially for people like ASIO officers. That kind of duty was the job of what are essentially special forces–soldiers trained in intelligence work but only ever deployed in the most extreme of circumstances.

“No one is going to want to play a game where you sit at a desk, going through transcripts of telephone intercepts” — David Callan, former ASIO spy

But this is Call of Duty! No one is going to want to play a game where you sit at a desk, going through transcripts of telephone intercepts. That is the true work of an intelligence officer, while the force projection and glory is the realm of an elite few.

People often think about spies as fictional agents who only exist in movies, but they are real, and you were one of them. What did you learn in the service about how spies infiltrate the everyday lives of people?

Do not be fooled by the trope that spies are glamourous. Your average intelligence officer is ordinary. They have to be! You don’t want to intimidate a potential source; you want to put them at ease, even make them feel they have the whip hand in the relationship. Larger-than-life people don’t blend in; they stand out, and that can be a real problem. While intelligence officers are ordinary in appearance and attitude, intellectually they are as sharp as razors. It takes a very specific personality to lie, deceive, manipulate and then go home to the family…

Yes, spies do have families, and credit card bills, mortgages and all the other everyday concerns of your average citizen. Outwardly, they truly are quite ordinary, but exceptionally shrewd and focused. If you have that moral ambiguity and mental agility, you might just be someone ASIO is interested in, just don’t expect martinis, tuxedos, and edge-of-your seat thrills. No, your average spy looks like an accountant, drives like a grandad, and lies like a politician.

There is also the idea that spies wear fancy suits and watches and drive sports cars, but I’m guessing this is not the case? What other myths about spies can you dispel?

You are bang on about the cars. If you’re being tailed by a guy driving an Aston Martin or better yet, a Lotus Esprit Turbo that converts into a submarine, you are going to tend to notice them. Spies drive very ordinary cars, and they drive them at the speed limit or slower. There were no high-speed chases in mobile surveillance because the best way to shake a tail is to slow down. Sounds counter-intuitive, I know, but if you slow down to under the speed limit, the car following you has to slow down or overtake you. Methodical and patient driving is the key to counter surveillance in a vehicle.

“Your average spy looks like an accountant, drives like a grandad, and lies like a politician.” — David Callan, former ASIO spy

With Black Ops Cold War specifically, how did you find the game’s modern representation of espionage and wider spy culture?

In essence, what Black Ops Cold War captures is the gravitas of the elite operators that are the pointy end of the intelligence spear. They don’t tolerate fools; they [are] not afraid to go to the extreme, even in training; and they absolutely do not quit. Pure mission focus. Black Ops Cold War absolutely nails that.

What’s behind your nickname, Frosty?

According to the ASIO House Security Rules, whenever there was a visitor in the building, we weren’t meant to use each other’s names; we were instructed to use the number of our house security passes. Well, who wants to do that?! As such, we all quickly started creating nicknames for each other. There was Slugger, Dazzlin’, Cammo, HATS… HATS was a great nickname. It was an acronym for ‘Hundreds and Thousands Sandwiches.’ because that’s what HATS insisted we serve him at his birthday morning tea each year. Oh yeah, we may have been protecting the country from espionage, sabotage and terrorism, but we still had time for a bit of cake on your birthday.

My nickname was Frosty because I was so cool… literally, not figuratively. When I first started with the Organisation I wanted to get fit and save money, so I decided to ride my bicycle to work each day. Bad, bad idea.

Canberra winters are brutal and after I arrived one morning blue and shivering from the cold, someone in the office shouted: “Someone’s looking a little Frosty!” Boom! Prestige nickname acquired.

Since leaving ASIO you’ve gotten into comedy; can you talk about what drove that change in direction and how you apply your spy skills to the comedy scene?

My training and experience have been invaluable as a comedian, as comedy relies on observation and analysis much like intelligence gathering. Taking seemingly unrelated bits of information to create a coherent picture of a target is the stock and trade of the average spy, and it is the same for a comedian, only you’re creating jokes rather than intelligence reports.

ASIO was also great training as an actor. Seriously, when you consider acting is just lying with flair, what better place to learn how to do that than in a building full of spies?