FF7 Remake: Intergrade Preorders Are Live Now

Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intergrade comes to PS5 on June 10, and if you want to snag the game ahead of launch, so you’re ready to jump in as soon as it releases, there are a number of ways to do so. The PS4 version comes with a free next-gen upgrade, though you won’t get the bonus episode that stars the ninja, Yuffie–that will cost extra for those that upgrade.

If you don’t already own Final Fantasy VII Remake on PS4, then you can snag it right now for $30 at Amazon or Walmart. That’ll get you the 60fps PS5 version that features improved textures and a higher resolution when it releases in June. However, if you want to hold off and wait for the PS5 version, there are two different editions to choose from.

Right now, you can preorder Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intergrade digitally on the PlayStation Store or physically at the Square Enix Store. It’s not yet available at retailers.

In addition to improved textures, higher frame rate, and increased resolution, Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intergrade will boast faster loading times, a new photo mode, DualSense haptic feedback integration, and a new “Classic” difficulty setting.

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Blackfire’s Titans Season 3 Costume Revealed By HBO Max

We still don’t know exactly when Titans will return for Season 3 on HBO Max. However, the TV series adaptation of the DC Comics title of the same name has a lot on tap for its characters–and a slew of new superhero and supervillain costumes to put to use.

Previously, we’ve gotten new costumes for both Kory Anders/Starfire (Anna Diop) and Jason Todd’s (Curran Walters) new alter ego, Red Hood. Now, HBO Max has revealed the first look at Blackfire in her super suit. The character, played by Damaris Lewis, was first introduced at the end of Season 2 as Kory’s sister. She came to Earth to hunt down her sister and return her to their homeworld of Tamaran.

The new costume was created by costume designer Laura Jean Shannon, and Lewis is the first person to portray the Blackfire character in a live-action TV show or movie.

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While we don’t know too much about Season 3, some information has been revealed. The next set of episodes will be set largely in Gotham City, with iconic Batman characters Barbara Gordon and Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow appearing. It’s worth noting that on Titans, Barbara has succeeded her father in becoming commissioner of Gotham City’s police department. Crane, meanwhile, is an inmate at Arkham Asylum and is used by police as a consultant and profiler.

Of course, the new season will also see the returns of regular cast members Brenton Thwaites (Nightwing), Teagan Croft (Raven), Ryan Potter (Beast Boy), Conor Leslie (Wonder Girl), Minka Kelly (Dove), and Alan Ritchson (Hawk).

When Titans Season 3 premieres, it will be exclusive to HBO Max.

Two New Final Fantasy 7 Games Revealed: Ever Crisis And The First Soldier

Two new Final Fantasy 7-related games have been revealed: Ever Crisis and The First Soldier, both of which are mobile games. Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade took the spotlight during the recent State of Play, showing off new story content starring Yuffie and flexing the free PS5 upgrade features, but these new mobile games seem to be some wild twists to the FF7 universe in their own right.

Ever Crisis is a…remake of the original Final Fantasy 7 along with reimaginings of Crisis Core, Before Crisis, Dirge of Cerberus, and Advent Children. It follows the same timeline in a chapter structure, but with an all-new graphical style and visual stylings that bridge the game between the original game and FF7 Remake’s flair–a demake of a remake, if you will. It’s coming to iOS and Android platforms sometime in 2022.

The other game coming to the Final Fantasy 7 universe is called The First Soldier. It’s a multiplayer battle royale game that fuses third-person shooter elements with some of the action-based combat and RPG elements of FF7 Remake. It’s also coming to iOS and Android later this year.

For more on what’s going on with the mainline game, catch up on all the details we gathered from Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade to see what’s in store come June 10 this year. To catch up on all the announcements and gameplay reveals, check out our State of Play recap.

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Halo Infinite’s Open World Honors The Old While Embracing Brand-New Ideas

343 Industries has released an interview-focused blog post for Halo Infinite, which looks at Zeta Halo, the open-world setting of the upcoming game. Halo Infinite campaign art lead Justin Dinges said that one of the largest challenges of creating the space was honoring the nostalgic feel of Halo, while creating something that feels brand-new.

“With Halo Infinite, we wanted to take this new adventure back to its roots and create a visually pleasing experience that doesn’t overwhelm with unnecessary complexity where readability and clear artistic composition prevail,” Dinges said. “This is our artistic interpretation of a beautiful world to exist within–rather than something that is purely grounded in photo realism. Both goals have been a true challenge to balance, especially against the expectations of what it means to be a ‘next-gen’ title.”

Part of honoring the appeal of Halo’s roots comes from Zeta Halo’s layout. As an open world, Zeta Halo invokes the same sensation of Halo: Combat Evolved’s opening hours when you could approach problems in different ways depending on what weapons you have, vehicles you’re driving, or pathways you uncover.

“I love the agency we are creating that really doubles down on that premise of delivering on the promise of Halo: CE,” Halo Infinite world design lead John Mulkey said. “Enemy strongholds can be approached from any direction and there are so many options available for how you take on the challenges at hand.”

Part of this new freedom of movement comes from the Grappleshot, Halo’s take on a grappling hook. The new mechanic will allow you to drag smaller enemies to you, propel yourself into larger targets, and reach seemingly inaccessible areas.

“Having a tool like the Grappleshot definitely challenged us to rethink the way we build our environments because it’s such a versatile and fun mechanic that allows players to get nearly anywhere that they can reach,” Dinges said.

With that in mind, we can expect Halo Infinite’s levels to further shy away from the linear manner seen in the more recent entries in the series–with a tool like the Grappleshot, you’d be able to circumnavigate almost every obstacle in your path and just reach the end without needing to fight. It would take the fun out of a linear first-person shooter.

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Halo Infinite gameplay director Troy Mashburn said that from a development standpoint, this change is “both terrifying and completely liberating” as this adjustment has “helped the team break out of the single path design mindset and evolve into something much more exciting.”

Currently slated to launch for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC in Fall 2021, Halo Infinite is in the final months of development. Dinges said that most of the development team is finishing up their remaining tasks. “The team is 100 percent focused on wrapping up the campaign experience which includes gathering and addressing user feedback–both internal playtests and User Research data–bug fixing, performance, and balancing,” Mashburn added.

For more on Halo Infinite, check out our previous coverage of the game:

Now Playing: Halo Infinite – Everything You Need To Know

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Hulu Announces Mike Tyson Biopic Series Iron Mike, Tyson Punches Back

Hulu is working with the team behind 2017’s I, Tonya to examine the life of another infamous sports figure. This time, the team is taking on the baddest boxer to ever step into the ring, and the only one to get an iconic NES game, Mike Tyson, in Hulu’s Iron Mike.

Iron Mike will be an eight-episode limited series that Hulu says will explore “the wild, tragic and controversial life and career behind one of the most polarizing figures in sports culture–heavyweight champion Mike Tyson.”

Tyson himself is not involved with the show and is, in fact, not happy about the announcement. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Tyson had no kind words for the production.

“Hulu’s announcement to do an unauthorized miniseries of my life, although unfortunate, isn’t surprising,” Tyson said in an official statement. “This announcement on the heels of social disparities in our country is a prime example of how Hulu’s corporate greed led to this tone-deaf cultural misappropriation of my life story. To make this announcement during Black History Month only confirms Hulu’s concern for dollars over respect for Black story rights. Hollywood needs to be more sensitive to Black experiences especially after all that has transpired in 2020. My authorized story is in development and will be announced in coming days.”

I, Tonya screenwriter Steven Rogers (not Captain America) created the series, and Karin Gist is showrunner and executive producer. Other executive producers include I Tonya’s Margot Robbie and Craig Gillespie among others.

Hulu has not yet revealed a release window for Iron Mike.

Cherry Review

Cherry hits theaters on February 26, and on Apple TV+ on March 12.

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Avengers: Endgame’s Joe and Anthony Russo, who have now spent the majority of their filmmaking careers in the trenches of the MCU, switch gears for a sullen and sulky dive into the unwell mind of trauma and addiction in Cherry, featuring Marvel’s own friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, Tom Holland. But Holland’s riveting, anti-Peter Parker turn here isn’t enough to save Cherry from being a struggle to get through.

Based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Nico Walker, Cherry tells the story of an introspective Holden Caulfield type, from a hard-knock area of Cleveland, who joins the army after a bad break-up only to wind up severely wrecked by his wartime experience overseas as a medic. He crash-lands back home, adorned in medals, with very few recourses other than to escape via heroin — and then bank robbery to support that horrific lifestyle loop.

The film itself is separated into named chapters, like a book, and that helps slice up the story into more digestible pieces, but it never fully prevents Cherry from falling into a repetitive rut of feelings and themes. Drug addiction is a heavy topic and films about it can be a thick wall to chisel through. Cherry doesn’t offer up anything new nor does it tighten its runtime for the sake of brevity. So the end result is, well, nothing you haven’t seen play out in other movies about maladjustment, anxiety, and drug use.

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As mentioned, the acting is quite compelling here. Most of it falls squarely on Holland’s shoulders as he’s not only the lead but also the narrator and a fourth-wall breaker. Nothing happens here outside of Holland’s scope as he’s in practically every scene, and when he’s not in a moment his voice still looms over it.

Most of the sad-sack characters who orbit Holland’s unnamed character (though he’s supposed to be “Cherry”) feel overly quirky and ornamental, as they’re always viewed through his eyes and he’s a borderline sociopath. The one exception is Ciara Bravo’s Emily, Cherry’s long-suffering partner who winds up meeting his madness halfway and getting torn to pieces in the process. Bravo’s showing is a strong second here, but overall the film is still Holland’s clunky cart to pull.

The gimmicky entryway for Cherry is that it’s from the directors of some of Marvel’s most complicated, and rewarding, films, starring arguably the most likable MCU actor. But it’s a wholly different story and the MCU star is delivering the goods in an Oscar bait-ish role that’s a far cry from what most people are familiar with him doing.

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Once you get through all that webbing (heh) though, there’s some really good stuff in Cherry that can exist on its own merit. It can, at times, offer up quiet devastation. It’s just that, all lined up, it’s a slog that needs a trim down. It’s ambitious, sure, but threading multiple stories together, each of which could be their own movie really makes for a lot of bad bloat.

Cherry certainly has a distinct vibe to it, which is sometimes darkly comedic, and it’s definitely a welcome and ambitious swerve for the Russos and Holland, as the latter says he never wants to stop playing Spider-Man but also wants to play someone other than a teenager (The Devil All the Time, Uncharted, etc), but the movie regurgitates a familiar story (several, in fact) while stretching things out to a sometimes unnerving degree.

Ripley and the Alien Xenomorph Join Fortnite

The Alien franchise has invaded Fortnite, as both Ripley and the Xenomorph are now available for purchase.

Announced by The Fortnite Team, Ripley arrives with her Nostromo Crew Outfit variant and the Weyland-Yutani Cat Carrier, which comes complete with Jonesy the Cat.

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The Xenomorph comes equipped with not only the Xenomorph Tail Back Bling, but also the Xeno Menace built-in Emote.

The Space Gear Bundle is another purchasable addition from the Alien universe, and includes the P-500 Power Loader Arm Pickaxe, the Cheyenne Dropship Glider, and a new emote that’s “bursting on the scene.”

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Ripley and the Xenomorph follow both Fortnite’s addition of Street Fighter’s Chun-Li and Ryu and the crossover with Tron.

This news also arrives a few days after Epic Games announced that any player who purchased its loot boxes called Loot Llamas in the Fortnite: Save the World mode will receive 1,000 V-Bucks for free following a class-action settlement.

For more on Fortnite, check out where you can find every Surface Hub so you can scan every server, and other crossovers including the Flash, The Terminator, and Sarah Connor.

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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.