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While it never quite recaptures what made the first film work so frighteningly well, A Quiet Place Part II nevertheless succeeds in delivering plenty of thrills and chills, keeping the viewer invested thanks to its focus on character and the moving performances from its returning cast and solid new addition Cillian Murphy.

Director John Krasinski plays in a bigger sandbox this time around, enlarging this ravaged world even as he deftly treads the expectations and formulae established by so many other post-apocalyptic movies and shows.

The mission of survival the Abbots are on here sees them cross paths with another survivor, Emmett, and whether this man can really be trusted is the source of much of the film’s suspense. Cillian Murphy is utterly compelling as Emmett, his scenes with Millicent Simmonds’ Regan being among the most gripping in the film. Emmet could have used a bit more development, but Murphy nevertheless imbues this deeply damaged man with pathos, intensity, and mystery.

Simmonds once again delivers an engrossing performance as we see Regan struggling to fill the void left by her father’s death. She is the main protagonist here rather than Emily Blunt’s Evelyn, who has two particularly standout scenes — one with Murphy and the other with Noah Jupe’s Marcus — that showcase what a powerful and understated actress she can be, but this is definitely Simmonds’ film and she carries it well.

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The spine of this movie is similar to the first film’s — run, hide and stay quiet if you know what’s good for you — but Part II employs a multi-storyline approach that occasionally tries one’s patience. While the respective emotional journeys of Regan and Marcus allow the film to conclude on the right note for those characters, the ending itself still feels abrupt and doesn’t allow for the full catharsis some may have been hoping for, given all the story’s cross-cutting. (To elaborate further would be to risk spoilers.)

The sequel also reveals the world before the invading creatures wiped out most of humanity, flashbacks that feature some of the movie’s biggest action and visual effects moments that call to mind 2005’s War of the Worlds. As skilled as Krasinski is at crafting these suspense set-pieces and Spielbergian moments of awe and terror, it’s his understanding of character and performance that makes both the original film and this sequel emotionally authentic and relatable. These characters feel real and thus so too does the otherworldly peril they face.

By opening up the story to a larger world, A Quiet Place Part II delves into the myriad dangerous scenarios of post-apocalyptic life that anyone who has ever seen any film or show set in such an environment will recognize as all too familiar. The movie deftly navigates this well-trod ground without letting the inherent tropes undermine it. There are only so many ways to zig when the audience expects you to zag in the post-apocalypse sub-genre, but A Quiet Place Part II largely maintains its footing despite occasionally dipping into been there, done that territory.

On a technical level, A Quiet Place Part II is as much a testament to sound design as the original film. The strategic use of noise and silence is just as remarkably employed here as we follow the hearing-impaired Regan through completely silent moments or where Evelyn strategically utilizes noise to misdirect a lurking monster.

While it definitely has its share of jump scares, the film is more interested in ratcheting up tension and unease in service of action set-pieces rather than for outright horror. A Quiet Place Part II then is to the more action-packed Aliens what the first film is to the more claustrophobic and horrifying Alien. In that sense, some may not find Part II as scary as its predecessor but still thoroughly enjoyable.

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New details, screenshots, and the official keyart for Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade have been revealed, and they showcase the Summon Ramuh, the return of Nero, the Fort Condor mini-game, and more.

We first see the return of Dirge of Cerberus’ Nero the Sable – a member of an elite unit within Deepground known as Tsivets. He also happens to be the brother of Deepground’s leader Weiss, who he “practically worships.” He was created by a special experiment and can manipulate the power of darkness.

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Scarlet and The Crimson Mare will also play a big role in the upcoming DLC, and Scarlet, who is Shinra’s director of Advanced Weaponry, is in charge of creating the ultimate materia Wutai wants to steal. Yuffie and Sonon will run into Scarlet, and she “graciously” lets them be test subjects for the Crimson Mare – a “suit of battle armor she developed and pilots herself.”

Yuffie’s Final Fantasy 7 Remake INTERmission episode was a spotlight, and it was explained that while new character Sonon can’t be directly controlled, using the L2 button will let Yuffie and Sonon use Synergised attacks. These include Art of War, which hits an enemy and increases the damage of future attacks, and Windstorm, which creates a gust of wind to damage enemies and launch them towards you.

Yuffie’s Limit Breaks were also revealed, and they include Bloodbath, which unleashes a flurry of blows and deals major damage, and Dance of the Dragon, which delivers a ton of high-powered strikes.

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The mini-game Fort Condor from the original Final Fantasy 7 is also making a return, albeit in a slightly different form. In FF7R, Fort Condor is a strategic board game that tasks players with sending out units to attack an enemy’s base and protect your own. It has arrived in the Sector 7 undercity and has become quite popular. If you are able to defeat the grandmaster, you will get a “rare orb of materia.”

To play, you will need to consume ATB to place units on the field that will move forward automatically to attack their opponents. There are Vanguard, Ranged, and Defense units, and one-time use materia can be utilized to cast powerful spells.

Ramuh, the Lord of Lightning himself, will be a new Summon in Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade. He was said to once “cast judgment on the wicked with mighty bolts and exhorted humanity to accept the ways of law and order.” He can use the ability Voltaic Lance to deal damage to nearby enemies over time and Judgment Bolt, his Ultimate Attack, conjures up a powerful lightning storm that “lays waste to all enemies on the battlefield.”

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Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade will launch on PS5 on June 10, 2021, and will be free for all those who own the remake on PS4. However, the Yuffie-focused Final Fantasy 7 Remake EPISODE INTERmission will be an additional purchase unless you purchase a new copy of Intergrade.

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Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

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

Four years after it was first announced, Biomutant finally releases later this month on PC and console. Ahead of its launch, developer Experiment 101 has released a new trailer explaining what type of game it is exactly.

“Biomutant is an open-world post-apocalyptic fable,” art and creative director Stefan Ljungqvist explains in the video below. “Basically in terms of structure, it’s like Breath of the Wild I guess, but the feedback that we’ve been getting over the years is that it’s kind of a strange, good, weird mix between Ratchet & Clank, Devil May Cry, Batman Arkham, and a couple of other influences.”

The rest of the video goes into detail about numerous other features in Biomutant. There’s a section devoted to crafting your own flair for the clothing and armor you’ll pick up over the course of the adventure, details on the six factions you’ll interact with, allegiances that you can form in a world ravaged by the presence of titanic World-Eater creatures, and lots more.

Actions also have consequences, as you’ll need to keep track of your character’s moral compass pointing towards the light or the dark of Biomutant’s world. Neither alignment is wrong or right, and it’ll be up to players to choose the influence that they have on the world around them.

Mutations will also have a big impact on the character that you create, and you’ll be able to invest in a range of bio-mutations to cater to your specific playstyle.

“For example, you can spawn a mushroom in front of you that has multiple uses,” Ljungqvist said. “In terms of creative freedom for you as the player, [you can] combine this with jumping and electricity shooting out of your fingers like the Emperor in Star Wars.”

Biomutant releases for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on May 25. If you’re looking for more information on the game, Experiment 101 also recently released a video showing the quality difference between PC and console.

Apple is gearing up to release a brand-new 2021 model of its Apple TV 4K streaming box. This refreshed hardware has an improved Siri Remote and comes packing a powerful new chip to ensure your 4K video and games look super smooth. It’s set to launch on May 24, but you can place your preorder now at a number of retailers. It’s available in a 32GB model and a 64GB model.

In addition, you can pick up a new version of the Apple TV HD. It streams video in 1080p and includes the new Siri Remote. It’s out the same day and is also up for preorder. Finally, if you don’t want to upgrade your Apple TV but are eyeing the new remote, you can buy that separately.

Preorder 2021 Apple TV 4K, HD, or Siri Remote

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The 2021 Apple TV 4K replaces the previous Apple TV 4K, which arrived back in 2017. The new one features the A12 Bionic chip, which allows for higher frame rates while playing 4K HDR content, as well as better graphics when playing video games. Another new selling point is the redesigned Siri remote (which is also available to preorder separately, if you’re fine with your current Apple TV).

Lots of people were baffled by the remote that came packaged with the previous Apple TV. It had a number of issues. For starters, it was symmetrical, which looked nice, but made it difficult to tell if you were holding it the right way without looking at it.

The new one is easier to tell if you’re holding it correctly just by touch. It also includes a touch-enabled clickpad that makes it easy to navigate the menu just by swiping. It also makes it easy to fast forward and rewind while streaming video, something that has always been kind of a pain. There’s also a dedicated Siri button on the side of the remote that lets you search for content using your voice.

As for the Apple TV box itself, it features 4K HDR streaming, with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. The A12 Bionic chip lets it play back HDR content at twice the frame rate of the previous model.

A new feature this time around lets you calibrate the color settings on your Apple TV using an iPhone. All you have to do to calibrate your settings is point your iPhone’s light sensor at the TV screen, and the Apple TV handles the rest.

For those who don’t need a 4K streaming box, you can also preorder a new model of the Apple TV HD. It’s powered by the A8 chip, so it can only stream up to 1080p. But it includes the new Siri Remote and is great for anyone not looking to upgrade their TV to 4K anytime soon.

Apple TV 4K (2021 Model)

32GB Model

• Get it at Amazon – $179
• Get it at Best Buy – $179.99
• Get it at Walmart – $179
• Get it at Apple Store – $179

64GB Model

• Get it at Amazon – $199
• Get it at Best Buy – $199.99
• Get it at Walmart – $199
• Get it at Apple Store – $199

The 2021 Apple TV 4K is ideal for anyone with a 4K TV, or planning to get one soon.

Apple TV HD (2021 Model)

• Get it at Amazon – $149
• Get it at Best Buy – $149.99
• Get it at Walmart – $149
• Get it at Apple Store – $149

If you’re not planning to get a 4K TV anytime soon, you can use the 2021 Apple TV HD on your 1080p television.

Siri Remote (2021 Model)

• See it at Amazon – (Not yet available)
• See it at Best Buy – (Not yet available)
• Get it at Apple Store – $59

The Siri Remote is compatible with Apple TV HD, Apple TV 4K (first generation), and Apple TV 4K (second generation).

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Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert at IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.

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A brand new set of Game Pass titles have just been announced for the second half of May. This includes Knockout City coming to Game Pass and EA Play day one of release, alongside other games rolling out from May 18, such as Snowpiecer, Conan Exiles, The Wild at Heart, and quite a few more as well. This follows up from the strong start to the month, where we saw the likes of Dragon Quest Builders 2, Red Dead Online, Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD, and others join the service.

The only bad news when it comes to Game Pass is on the deals front, as Microsoft has officially closed the extremely popular EA Play loophole. This allowed users to pay $30 and extend their Game Pass Ultimate membership by four months. This is no longer the case, but we’ll keep an eye out for any other top Game Pass discounts in the future.

Coming to Game Pass May 2021

• Peggle 2 (Cloud) EA Play – May 20
• Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville (Cloud) EA Play – May 20
• Secret Neighbor (PC) ID@Xbox – May 20
• The Wild at Heart (Console and PC) ID@Xbox – May 20
• The Catch: Carp & Coarse Fishing (Cloud, Console, and PC) – May 21
• Knockout City (Console and PC) EA Play – May 21
• Maneater (Cloud, Console, and PC) ID@Xbox – May 25
• Conan Exiles (Cloud and Console) ID@Xbox – May 27 – Optimized for Series X|S on May 27
• Fuzion Frenzy (Cloud) – May 27
• Joy Ride Turbo (Cloud) – May 27
• MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries (Console) ID@Xbox – May 27
• Slime Rancher (PC) ID@Xbox – May 27
• Solasta: Crown of the Magister (PC) ID@Xbox – May 27
• SpellForce 3: Soul Harvest (PC) – May 27

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Dragon Quest Builders 2 is another headliner this month, and if you’re thinking it’s just Minecraft with a Dragon Quest skin, that’s a massive oversimplification. It’s an extremely charming world-building game with more than a passing resemblance to Minecraft, sure, but it differentiates itself, and sticks to the source material, expertly. You can start playing it right now and it will be available for the foreseeable future, if you don’t want to dive right in.

Already Live on Xbox Game Pass in May 2021

• SnowPiecer (Live Now)
• Dragon Quest Builders 2 (Live Now)
• FIFA 21 (Live Now)
• Outlast 2 (Live Now)
• Steep (Live Now)
• Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster (Live Now)
• Just Cause 4: Reloaded (Live Now)
• Psychonauts (Live Now)
• Red Dead Online (Live Now)

Red Dead Online is another notable addition to Game Pass, and as a (lapsed) PC player, I might have to put the posse back together. Red Dead Online continues Rockstar’s excellent track record with online gaming and is on-par with GTA Online as far as varied missions, continued support, and level of bonkers stuff that can happen in-game. I highly recommend checking it out if you’re an Xbox Game Pass subscriber.

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Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. Send him awesome gaming screenshots @robertliam21 on Twitter.

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GTA 5 and GTA Online will receive PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions on November 11 – and Rockstar has promised ‘surprises’ related to the upcoming 20th anniversary of Grand Theft Auto 3.

Announced in a press release, the new-generation upgrades of both Grand Theft Auto 5 and GTA Online will be “expanded and enhanced”, and come with as-yet-unannounced new features. Updates added to GTA Online this summer will also “include special benefits for players to take advantage of in these expanded and enhanced versions when they drop.”

More intriguingly, Rockstar is also promising “surprises” related to the 20th anniversary of the release of GTA 3 – including some related to GTA Online. It’s not clear just yet what that will entail. GTA 3 was first released on October 22, 2001, so it shouldn’t be all too long before Rockstar begins announcing what those surprises could be.

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GTA Online will be released as a standalone game on both PS5 and Xbox Series consoles – and for three months after release, it’ll be totally free to PS5 owners. No pricing has been revealed for the Xbox version at launch. PlayStation Plus subscribers can claim $1 million of in-game currency every month until the updated version launches.

GTA Online was announced for PS5 and Xbox Series consoles last year, with exclusive content announced for new-gen versions and PC. Recently, Rockstar implemented a fan fix to improve loading times in GTA Online – and taht should only be faster on new hardware.

Of course, the big question for most is, “but what about GTA 6?” While we know GTA 6 is in development, Rockstar has never formally commented on when it might arrive. That hasn’t stopped fans looking for clues in GTA Online, however.

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Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].