Everything We Know About The Boys Season 3

Game of the Year Watch 2020 Continues!

Welcome back to Game Scoop!, IGN’s weekly video game talk show. This week your Omega Cops — Daemon Hatfield, Tina Amini, Sam Claiborn, and Justin Davis — continue the Game of the Year Watch 2020 discussion with Hades, The Last of Us Part 2, Ghost of Tsushima, Animal Crossing, and more. There’s also the PlayStation 5 UI to discuss, the Xbox Series launch lineup, D-pads, and more. This episode features music from Werewolf and Blaster Master on NES, and closes with a track from The Terminator on Sega Genesis. Watch the video above or hit the link below to your favorite podcast service.

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Find previous episodes here!

The Best Anime Gifts For Christmas 2020

It’s a great time to be an anime fan, with dedicated streaming services like Crunchyroll and Funimation and mainstream services like Netflix and Hulu all offering a diverse range of shows and movies. If you’re shopping for someone who loves anime this holiday season, you might not know where to start with gifts, but there are so many great options, from Blu-ray sets to anime-inspired video games, merch, and more. Buying them a subscription to one of the aforementioned anime streaming services is one of the best gifts you could give them as well.

Though it helps to ask them directly what anime shows or movies they’re into, we’re here to point you in the right direction with anime gift ideas many fans would be thrilled to receive. Here are some of the best gifts for anime fans in 2020.

Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC

There aren’t many anime video games that capture the look and feel of their respective show, but Dragon Ball FighterZ does so with the utmost grace and blazing fast action. The game earned an impressive 9/10 in GameSpot’s Dragon Ball FighterZ review. Critic Peter Brown wrote, “FighterZ is complex and distinct enough to be enjoyed by fighting game competitors, but there’s no question that it’s been designed to tap into the hearts of Dragon Ball’s most dedicated fans, and no doubt those same qualities will win people over who’ve never given the series a chance.”

Switch

The latest mainline Pokemon games, Pokemon Sword and Shield, released last year, and since then Nintendo has released the first of two DLC packages as part of the Pokemon Sword and Shield expansion pass. The Isle of Armor released earlier this year, while The Crown Tundra DLC is set to release October 22, which means both will be out by the holidays. If you’re shopping for someone who missed out on Pokemon Sword and Shield last year, there’s now an option to buy either one of the base games bundled with the full expansion pass. There’s no discount for doing so–the bundle costs $90, the full price of the game and expansion–but it’d make a nice gift for a die-hard Pokemon fan. The games received a 9/10 in GameSpot’s Pokemon Sword and Shield review for their rewarding raids, free exploration, and more.

Switch, PS4, PC

Released in August, Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions is based on the popular sports anime and features a mix of fast-paced soccer gameplay and story modes that cover both the events of the anime and original content.

Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC

Jump Force is the ultimate anime-crossover fighting game, with characters from more than a dozen different series clashing in tag-team battles. GameSpot scored it a 7/10 in our Jump Force review, praising its action, character customization, and how it captures the feel of all of the characters.

Released this year, these new Studio Ghibli limited-edition steelbooks offer some of the Japanese animation studio’s most popular films in a striking new package. Each steelbook comes with a Blu-ray and DVD copy, though unfortunately no digital copy is included. As always, these Blu-rays include neat bonus features like Behind the Microphone, which offers a behind-the-scenes look at the voiceover process; an audio commentary; feature-length storyboards; and more.

One of the biggest anime films of 2019, Promare is an action-heavy film set in a world where half of the human population has been killed by spontaneous combustion, leaving a group of mutants with pyrokinetic abilities behind. Developed by Studio Trigger, known for Kill la Kill and more, Promare is one of the must-see anime films of recent years, and it’s available in this stunning limited-edition steelbook, which makes a great gift for any anime fan.

Directed by Makoto Shinkai (Your Name), Weathering with You is about a girl with the ability to manipulate the weather and her friendship with a boy who’s run away from home. Beautiful, funny, and heartwrenching, Weathering with You is a worthy successor to Your Name, and even if the person you’re shopping for has seen it, they’ll appreciate having this gorgeous limited-edition steelbook, which comes with special features.

The entirety of Cowboy Bebop, a massively popular sci-fi anime about a group of galactic bounty hunters, is compiled in a brand-new steelbook package with four Blu-ray discs. It includes every episode of the anime along with special features like English and Japanese commentaries, interviews, and more. Cowboy Bebop is regarded as a rare classic, so this limited edition will be a real gem for any fan.

The entire Dragon Ball manga is collected in this complete box set, featuring all 16 volumes of the series that inspired the wildly popular show. The manga follows Goku, a strange kid with a tail, as he searches for seven artifacts known as the Dragon Balls, which are said to grant the wish of anyone who finds them all. If you were wondering were Goku’s saga behind, this is a fantastic buy.

For those willing to go into full otaku mode, this box set compiles the rest of the Dragon Ball manga, which covers the events of the Dragon Ball Z anime. From Raditz to Majin Buu, this collection has it all. Goku and friends protect Earth (and the rest of the universe) from a barrage of bad guys, each more powerful than the last.

The first film in the Dragon Ball Super series reimagines the ultra-powerful Broly, making him a more interesting and sympathetic character. The evil Frieza wants to take advantage of the super-strong Saiyan, pitting him against Goku and Vegeta, who must combine forces to defeat their new foe. It’s a perfect buy for any Dragon Ball Super marathon viewing.

This package includes the classic card game Uno, adorned with various characters, one of the most popular and longest-running anime series out there right now. It doesn’t get much better than this.

Whether they’re a longtime fan of Akira or want to read the acclaimed manga for the first time, this 35th anniversary box set is the ultimate gift. The set includes six beautiful hardcover volumes that cover the entire story of Akira, which takes place in a post-apocalyptic, cyberpunk version of Tokyo, and features the original Japanese art with the right-to-left reading format. In addition to the manga itself, the set also includes the Akira Club art book and an exclusive iron-on patch.

For fans of the movie, there’s also a new 4K Blu-ray limited edition of Akira releasing December 22–if you preorder at Amazon, you’ll get the Blu-ray on release day, just in time for Christmas. This limited edition contains a fully remastered version of the 1988 film in both 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray formats along with special features, including a storyboard collection, the end credits from the original theatrical release, and more.

Nendoroids are more expensive than Funko Pops, but they’re also higher quality and feel like real collectibles. For anime fans, there are a ton of great Nendoroids out there, but this particularly adorable one featuring Alphonse Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood caught our eye. The Nendo comes with multiple faceplates to give Al different expressions or have him look different directions, and because he’s also a cat lover, the Nendo comes with two little kittles to display near him.

For more anime Nendoroids, Good Smile is the best place to shop, but you can also find some of them at Amazon.

Fruits Basket was one of the most popular manga of the early 2000s, and with a remake of the original Fruits Basket anime currently in progress, there’s definitely been a resurgence in Fruits Basket’s popularity. This cute sticker set is only $1 at Right Stuf Anime and would make a nice stocking stuffer. If you want to get them a bigger Fruits Basket gift, you can also buy Blu-rays of the first and second parts of Season 1 at Amazon.

TeePublic offers thousands of designs from independent artists that can be printed on T-shirts and other apparel. It’s worth browsing all of the store’s designs–you can search “anime” if you want–but this particular design from Illustrata caught our eye with its retro, vaporwave-style design. You can really customize your order, from the color of the T-shirt and design to the cut and style of it.

These three Japanese-style teacups are just too cute and are sure to get plenty of use by the Ghibli fan in your life. The first two cups feature little images and the names of characters (both in English and Japanese) from My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away, while the third cup shows Big Totoro and his friends engaged in their iconic dondoko dance.

The entire Sailor Moon ColourPop collection is currently back in stock (at time of publish), and the standout product is this stunning eyeshadow palette, which features shade names inspired by the iconic anime. We’ve tested this palette ourselves and can vouch for its quality–the shades are ultra-pigmented and perfect for those who love pastel colors. The collection also includes blushes, glitter gels, and liquid lips, and you can buy it all as a bundle for $89. If you’re shopping for someone who loves Sailor Moon and/or makeup, this is a must-buy.

My Hero Academia’s protagonist, Deku, gets a new, limited-edition Funko Pop this November. Announced earlier this year during New York Toy Fair, this new glow-in-the-dark Pop is finally about to release and makes a great gift for fans of the hit manga and anime.

Released in North America earlier this year, the latest (and final) My Hero Academia film is available on Blu-ray October 27 and makes a great gift for someone who wasn’t able to see it in theaters. The movie follows Deku and the rest of Class 1-A as they temporarily take over a hero agency to learn how to respond to problems without hero supervision. You can preorder the Blu-ray at both Amazon and Best Buy–Amazon’s edition comes with a free digital comic, while Best Buy’s comes in a steelbook.

On cold winter nights, there’s nothing better than a big blanket to curl up in, and this throw inspired by Spirited Away will help keep them feeling cozy. It features landmarks from the hit film, such as the bridge and the bathhouse.

Aggretsuko is one of the best anime on Netflix right now, and this FigPin is perfect for someone who loves Sanrio’s heavy metal-loving red panda. This 3-inch collectible pin can be displayed thanks to a backer card it comes with, and it also comes with a unique ID code that contains details on its edition run, artist bio, and rarity scale.

Funimation’s gift cards can be used in its online store on various Blu-rays, merchandise, and more, including a Funimation Now subscription. Funimation Now provides access to a library of English-dubbed series, though some do feature an option to watch in the original Japanese with subtitles.

Rightstuf’s gift cards can be used on the anime retailer’s website, which features a huge selection of products, ranging from Blu-rays and manga to figures, collectibles, and clothing. The gift certificate can be purchased in $10, $25, $50, and $100 options.

Everything We Know About The Boys Season 3

Everything We Know About The Boys Season 3 – GameSpot

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By Michael Rougeau on October 16, 2020 at 12:05PM PDT

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Here’s what we know about The Boys Season 3’s release date, plot, cast, and more.

The Boys Season 2 ended on a bang–well, technically, multiple bangs, as the last two episodes featured a veritable bloodbath of head explosions (and what a twist the culprit’s identity turned out to be). The Season 2 finale also wrapped up many of the season’s storylines, from Butcher’s quest to reunite with Becca to Homelander’s journey down the nazi rabbit hole with Stormfront. The finale tied a bow on these things and more, while laying the groundwork for future episodes.

Of course, that just leaves us looking forward to The Boys Season 3 all the more. So far, we only have tidbits of information about it, so let’s get right into breaking down everything we know.

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The Boys Season 3 release date

Currently, we have no idea when The Boys Season 3 will premiere. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, production on most TV shows and movies has halted or become unpredictable, and The Boys is no exception. That said, we know The Boys Season 3 will arrive at some point–Amazon announced as much during 2020 Comic-Con, before Season 2 had even premiered.

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Showrunner Eric Kripke hopes to begin shooting in 2021

During the Season 3 renewal announcement, The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke did give a vague window when the show might begin Season 3 production: early 2021, although “that’s up to a microscopic virus,” as Kripke put it. In the meantime, he and the other writers are in the “virtual writer’s room” focusing on writing and pre-production in anticipation of being able to start shooting.

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The show will continue to tackle current events and politics

Anyone who watched The Boys Season 1 and Season 2 definitely has a solid idea of the show’s politics. The Boys has never been shy about incorporating current events and themes, particularly with Season 2’s focus on right-wing propaganda, social media, and extremism worming its way into American culture. When Season 3 was announced, showrunner Eric Kripke said, “the world has given us way too much material,” confirming that the show will continue looking to current events for inspiration.

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We can infer some plot points

Besides that, we don’t know anything concrete about Season 3’s plot. That said, we can infer some things based on the way Season 2 ended. For example, it’s probably safe to guess that Hughie will be working directly for Congresswoman Neuman next season–which is bad news for The Boys, given what we learned about Neuman in the finale. In addition, with nothing left to lose, it seems likely that Butcher will accept Mallory’s offer to resume working for the CIA.

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Black Noir will return

Just in case you thought Black Noir’s Almond Joy-induced coma might be permanent, rest assured that the most mysterious member of The Seven will return. When we chatted with Nathan Mitchell, the actor behind the opaque black mask, he confirmed that Black Noir has a future on the show. If you want a hint of what that future might be, check out our explanation of Black Noir’s comics storyline, and what a certain Season 2 reveal might mean for him.

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Season 3 will introduce Soldier Boy

In August 2020, The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke announced that another character from The Boys comics, Soldier Boy, will be introduced in Season 3. Soldier Boy is a Captain America parody whose origin story involves having allegedly fought in World War II, though in the comics, that narrative is called into question. Soldier Boy will be played by Jensen Ackles, who fans may recognize from Kripke’s previous show, Supernatural. Kripke said Ackles will “bring so much humor, pathos, and danger to the role.”

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A Walking Dead star may join as well

Soldier Boy might not be the only new face and Supernatural alum appearing in The Boys Season 3. After The Walking Dead star Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Negan) had an exchange with The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke on Twitter in early 2020, Kripke confirmed with Collider that he and Morgan have seriously discussed the possibility of the actor joining The Boys. “There’s one role we’re already talking about,” the showrunner said, adding that they’d been “texting back and forth” about it. “I don’t think it’s a done deal yet, but the will is there, and we’re both talking about it,” he continued. So while Jeffrey Dean Morgan joining The Boys isn’t a sure thing, it is a real possibility.

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We may get a spin-off too

In addition to The Boys Season 3, Amazon may be developing a Boys spin-off series. The show will focus on a “supe college” run by Vought, the evil megacorporation that serves as The Boys’ central villain. Variety describes it as “an irreverent, R-rated series that explores the lives of hormonal, competitive supes as they put their physical, sexual, and moral boundaries to the test, competing for the best contracts in the best cities. Part college show, part Hunger Games–with all the heart, satire and raunch of The Boys.” The pilot is reportedly being written by The Boys writer and executive producer Craig Rosenberg, who will also serve as showrunner. The Boys’ executive producers Eric Kripke, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and James Weaver will also serve as executive producers, alongside Neal H. Moritz and Pavun Shetty.

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Disclosure: ViacomCBS is GameSpot’s parent company

Star Trek: Discovery Renewed for Season 4

Star Trek: Discovery has been renewed for season 4. The cast appeared in a special video to announce that filming for the next season will begin on November 2.

Sonequa Martin-Green, who plays Michael Burnham on Discovery, and Doug Jones who plays Saru, appeared in a short video alongside the co-showrunners Michelle Paradise and Alex Kurtzman to announce the season 4 renewal.

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No plot details were shared in the video, but the cast and crew shared their excitement at filming together again after being separated throughout the pandemic.

Star Trek: Discovery premiered in 2017 and was developed specifically for CBS All Access. The news comes a day after the premiere of Star Trek: Discovery season 3 on CBS All Access. Set after Commander Burnham went into a wormhole in the season 2 finale, season 3 finds the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery in a mysterious future.

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You can read IGN’s Star Trek: Discovery season 3 premiere review. No release date has been set for the season 4 premiere.

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Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Doctor Strange 2 Adds New Cast Member

The long-awaited Doctor Strange 2 has had its share of setbacks–including losing original director Scott Derrickson, until Spider-Man’s Sam Raimi stepped in earlier this year–but hopefully they will be firmly a thing of the past, especially as new casting announcements are coming out. According to Deadline, Xochitl Gomez (The Baby-Sitters Club) will be the latest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It has not yet been announced who she will be playing.

Benedict Cumberbatch will be returning in the title role, and also reprising roles are Benedict Wong (Deadly Class) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (The Lion King)–Wong as the sorcerer coincidentally with the same name, and Ejiofor as nemesis Karl Mondo. Elizabeth Olsen (Avengers: Age of Ultron) is also reportedly due to return as Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff for a storyline that will connect with this year’s still upcoming Disney+ series WandaVision. As it stands, the WandaVision show will be the only MCU release for the year–the last time a year went by without a new movie was 2009.

Information regarding the sequel is still scarce. In a recent interview, Cumberbatch indicated that filming is due to start either “in late October or early November,” so it is reasonable to expect more details to emerge sooner rather than later. While Derrickson is no longer producing, he previously revealed he will stay on as an executive producer.

Check out our breakdown of Marvel’s Phase 4–the production slate for movies due to be released between 2020 through early 2022–for a look into what’s still ahead from Marvel. Even though it’s been a rough year for movies, there’s still a lot ahead to look forward to.

Phil Spencer on Whether Microsoft Needs to Bring Future Bethesda Games to PS5

Microsoft shocked the gaming world when it acquired Bethesda and parent company ZeniMax Media recently for a whopping $7.5B. However, the decision has left a lot of people curious about the future of Bethesda games on other platforms, notably Sony’s upcoming PS5.

Kotaku’s Stephen Totilo interviewed Xbox’s Phil Spencer to discuss a bit more about the deal and what implications it may have for players outside the Xbox ecosystem.

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“Is it possible to recoup a $7.5 billion investment if you don’t sell Elder Scrolls VI on the PlayStation?” asked Totilo.

“Yes,” Spencer quickly replied. Then he paused.

“I don’t want to be flip about that,” Spencer added. “This deal was not done to take games away from another player base like that. Nowhere in the documentation that we put together was: ‘How do we keep other players from playing these games?’ We want more people to be able to play games, not fewer people to be able to go play games.”

“When I think about where people are going to be playing and the number of devices that we had, and we have xCloud and PC and Game Pass and our console base, I don’t have to go ship those games on any other platform other than the platforms that we support in order to kind of make the deal work for us,” Spencer continued. “Whatever that means.”

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Bethesda is home to some of the biggest franchises in gaming including The Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises, as well as DOOM, Wolfenstein, Dishonored, and more. Not having future titles arrive on PlayStation 5 or elsewhere puts Microsoft in a unique position, and one it must navigate delicately.

Xbox purchased Bethesda after it already had timed exclusivity with PS5 for games like Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo and Spencer has stated that the company plans to honor those deals. It has already begun adding some of Bethesda’s back catalog of games to Xbox Game Pass including the recent addition of DOOM Eternal earlier this month.

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While he didn’t completely rule out the idea of the upcoming Elder Scrolls VI or Starfield coming to other platforms outside Xbox and PC he did confirm in September that future titles would come to “other consoles on a case by case basis.”

This wouldn’t be out of the norm as Xbox has already released a number of first-party games on other platforms—most notably Minecraft, which Microsoft acquired in 2015 for $2.5B. Additionally, titles such as Cuphead have made it over to PS4 and Nintendo Switch with a version even playable on Tesla electric cars. Recently, Ori and the Will of the Wisps debuted on Nintendo Switch, as well.

Even after the massive purchase of Bethesda, Microsoft said it still considering purchasing additional video game studios “where it makes sense.”

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We’ve learned quite a bit about the upcoming Xbox Series X during our final hands-on preview including how specific games enhanced for Xbox Series X perform as well as just how important an SSD is for next-gen gaming.

If you’re still looking to get your hands on Xbox Series X or S be sure to check out our Xbox preorder page for the most up-to-date information on where to purchase. We’ve also got a handy next-gen guide that includes how to transfer saves and a list of all games coming to Xbox Series X and S.

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Matthew Adler is a Features, News, Previews, and Reviews writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @MatthewAdler and watch him stream on Twitch.

Star Trek Discovery Season 3: All The Easter Eggs, Callbacks, And References So Far

Star Trek Discovery Season 3: All The Easter Eggs, Callbacks, And References So Far – GameSpot

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By Dan Auty on October 16, 2020 at 11:45AM PDT

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While Star Trek found a new lease of life on the big screen in 2009, it had been more than a decade since the last TV show in the long-running sci-fi franchise when Star Trek: Discovery premiered in September 2017. The show’s producers faced the difficult task of making a show that appealed to modern audiences and new fans, as well as satisfying die-hard, long-term Trek devotees.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 2 followed in 2018, and embraced a darker, more emotionally complex approach to the series. But while the first two seasons of Discovery took the story and characters in some surprising directions, the show has remained very aware of its past. Every episode contained multiple references and callbacks to something from the grand 55-year history of Star Trek, which you can check out in our Season 1 and Season 2 Easter Egg galleries. Sometimes these are sly jokes that only the most dedicated fan would spot, and sometimes they are crucial plot-points and familiar characters.

Season 3 of Discovery is now here. This season is set 900 years after the events of Season 2, so we’re perhaps less likely to see familiar characters such as Pike and Spock, both of whom were main protagonists in the previous season. But the show is already delivering plenty of Easter Eggs, callbacks, in-jokes and references, so let’s take a look at them so far…

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1. The Gorn (Episode 1)

Book tells Burnham “the Gorn destroyed two light-years worth of subspace.” The Gorn are a humanoid reptilian species that first appeared in The Original Series episode “Arena.” There’s also a reference to them in Season 2 when Section 31 boss Leland jokingly talks about “alligators” on the Gorn planet Cestus III.

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2. Andorians and the Orions (Episode 1)

Burnham is surprised to learn that Andorians and the Orions are working together. Blue skinned Andorians first appeared in the Original Series episode “Journey to Babel,” and were used as recurring characters on Star Trek: Enterprise. Orions are green-skinned and first featured in the original Star Trek pilot “The Cage.” Most recently, the animated show Star Trek: Lower Decks features an Orion character named Ensign D’Vana Tendi.

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3. Subspace Amplifier (Episode 1)

Burnham notices that Book’s ship has a Subspace Amplifier. These devices are used for subspace communication, and were previously used in various episodes of Enterprise to allow the ship to communicate with the Earth and Starfleet Command.

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4. Dylithian Recrystalizer (Episode 1)

Book asks Burnham to “whip up a new dylithian recrystalizer.” This technology was invented by Queen Po back in Season 2, when she helped the Discovery recharge the time crystal. 900 years in the future, it is clearly used widely.

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5. Benamite and the Quantum Slipstream (Episode 1)

Book also mentions needing “Benamite” to “fly Quantum Slipstream.” Benamite is the extremely rare crystal that the USS Voyager used to construct a quantum slipstream drive in the Voyager episode “Timeless.”

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6. Tachyon Solar Sails (Episode 1)

Another of Book’s tech references is to tachyon solar sails, which are “slow as s***.” In the Deep Space 9 episode “Explorers,” tachyons are used to power an ancient solar sailing ship to warp speed.

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7. The Temporal Cold War (Episode 1)

Book tells Burnham that all time travel technology was destroyed after the Temporal Wars. This was a conflict fought across different points in time, involving a variety of factions who wanted to manipulate history. These factions included a mysterious benefactor of the Suliban Cabal, the Na’kuhl, the Sphere-Builders, and the Federation. The Temporal Cold War featured as a main plot point in several episodes of Enterprise, in which Captain Jonathan Archer helps to end the conflict.

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Disclosure: ViacomCBS is GameSpot’s parent company

Future Bethesda Titles Don’t Need To Be On PS5, Says Xbox’s Phil Spencer

Last month Microsoft announced the acquisition of ZeniMax Media and its subsidiaries, including Doom, The Elder Scrolls, and Fallout publisher Bethesda. While Microsoft hasn’t detailed its release plans for Bethesda titles in the future, Xbox’s Phil Spencer says that the price of the deal isn’t forcing any decisions.

The acquisition cost Microsoft $7.5 billion and is expected to close soon, but Microsoft has said that existing exclusivity deals for games like Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo on the PlayStation 5 will not be changed. The future of Bethesda titles is less certain, however, with Microsoft previously stating that it would determine release platforms for games on a “case-by-case” basis.

Spencer, speaking to Kotaku, didn’t elaborate on that stance, but did mention that Microsoft has no obligation to release games on platforms it doesn’t control for the financial aspect of the deal to make sense.

“[W]e have xCloud and PC and Game Pass and our console base, I don’t have to go ship those games on any other platform other than the platforms that we support in order to kind of make the deal work for us. Whatever that means,” replied Spencer when asked about whether Microsoft will need to sell The Elder Scrolls VI on PS5 to recoup costs.

Although Spencer doesn’t outright say whether future Bethesda titles will be multi-platform, it does seem clear now that Microsoft has the flexibility to decide that without having to think about the costs of the publisher purchase. It has also released Microsoft-funded titles on competing platforms, most recently with Ori and the Will of the Wisps on Nintendo Switch. Spencer does mention in the same interview that he doesn’t see that strategy as sustainable, however.

Elsewhere in the interview Phil Spencer shares his thoughts on the differences between the Xbox Series X and Series S, saying that he believes the latter will eventually be the best-seller during this coming generation. The Xbox Series X and Series S launch on November 10.

Joe Biden’s Animal Crossing Island Is Impressive

The Joe Biden campaign put some serious work into its island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The Democratic presidential nominee can be seen walking around his field office, a polling place, and much more in the meticulously designed ‘Biden HQ.’ He’ll shout one of his campaign slogans, “no malarkey” if you speak to his character.

“A lot of the residents on the island are dogs, Joe Biden loves dogs,” said Kinda Funny’s Greg Miller while exploring the island on Twitch. Kinda Funny debuted the town on their stream on October 16 by visiting it with the Dream Suite. Miller was joined by Animal Talking Host Gary Whitta.

Biden HQ's Polling Place — Biden HQ’s Polling Place

The island has Joe Biden yard signs, a field office with a basement full of trains (one of Joe Biden’s nicknames is ‘Amtrak Joe’ since he often commuted by train), a polling place with voter information, and an ice cream stand in front of Nook’s Cranny. There are a lot of fun spaces on the island, including Joe Biden fliers (made with custom designs) on the ground in places.

It’s clear that whoever designed the island is a big fan of Animal Crossing. The back part of the Biden HQ is covered in dog houses (turned around so they look like houses in the distance) and windmills. It’s a common design trick that makes islands feel bigger in the Animal Crossing community.

You can visit Biden HQ in Animal Crossing by laying down in bed to open the Dream Suite and entering the code DA-7286-5710-7478. You won’t be able to take anything from the island, but you can text “AC” to 30330 to get a special Biden campaign shirt for your villager.

President Trump doesn’t have an Animal Crossing: New Horizons island yet and with the election fast approaching he better get on that. Terraforming takes a long time. Both candidates had individual town halls this week to talk to voters about social justice, climate change, and other issues.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

Last Chance To Claim Escape From Tarkov Gifts And 25% Off Discount

Battlestate Games, the studio behind Escape From Tarkov, is celebrating its birthday this week. As a thank you to its fans, the team has marked down all preorder editions of the game by 25%, but there’s not long left to take advantage of it. The sale ends today, October 16 at 2 PM PT / 5 PM ET. This is also your last chance to claim your free in-game gift bundle—another token of Battlestate’s gratitude.

The sale comes ahead of the highly anticipated Escape From Tarkov 12.8 update, which was supposed to go live this week, but had to be delayed last-minute due to “unforeseen bugs” and other issues.

How To Claim Escape From Tarkov Gift

To claim your free Escape From Tarkov gift, head to your Battlestate Games profile, scroll down to where it says “Additional ingame equipment,” and click “Receive” on the newest bundle. Don’t forget to also claim any leftover gifts you may have missed from prior events.

Then, load up Escape From Tarkov and head to your in-game messages. You should have a message from SYSTEM stating, “Here is a small gift to celebrate the birthday of our company! Good luck in Tarkov!” Hit the “Get’ button to receive the package. You’ll be taken to an inventory screen with a showcase of the free gift items on the left and your own stash on the right.

The free birthday gift bundle includes the following in-game items:

100x GP coin
540x 5.45×39 mm PS
280x 5.7×28 mm SS190
1x modified RPK-16 5.45×39 light machine gun
1x FN P90 5.7×28 submachinegun
1x grenade case
1x dogtag case
1x FORT Redut-M body armor
2x 95-round 5.45×39 magazine
4x FN magazine for P90, 50-round capacity
1x ZSh-1-2M helmet + ZSh-1-2M face shield
64x F-1 hand grenade (inside grenade case)

How To Claim 25% Off Escape From Tarkov Preorders

There are several editions of Escape From Tarkov available to preorder, which we’ve broken down in our Escape From Tarkov preorder guide. Each one, including the $140 Edge of Darkness Limited Edition, is 25% off until October 16 at 2 PM PT / 5 PM ET.

You can preorder your edition of choice on the Escape From Tarkov website, but remember to login to your Battlestate Games account first for more accurate prices. If you already own the Standard edition of Escape From Tarkov (or any of the middle tiers), the pricier editions will be listed at a lower price because you’d be upgrading from your current version. For instance, if you own the Standard edition already, it usually costs $95 to upgrade to Edge of Darkness, but with the 25% off applied, it’s now just $71.25.