WW1 Verdun Follow-Up Isonzo Announced

M2H and Blackmill Games have announced Isonzo, the follow-up to the World War I first-person shooter Verdun. It is in development for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, PS4, and Xbox One. Take a look at the announcement trailer in the video below.

Isonzo will take place on the Italian front of the first Great War and will feature “Alpine warfare.” The developers describe the FPS’s setting as such: “The fighting takes place among the scenic peaks, rugged valleys and idyllic towns of northern Italy. The brand new Offensive game mode puts players right in the middle of key historical offensives on the Italian Front, from high-altitude combat in the Alps through to the ferocious battles for the Isonzo river.” Take a look at the first screenshots in the gallery below.

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Isonzo, like Verdun and Tannenberg before it in the WW1 series, aims to be as accurate in its details as possible. Weapons, uniforms, and specific settings have been accurately recreated, say the developers, who describe all three games as being “built on a base of thorough research.” While Verdun focused on trench warfare, Isonzo will take things well above the trenches into the Alpine mountains.

“The Italian Front was the perfect opportunity for us to elevate the WW1 Game Series, both figuratively and literally,” said M2H co-founder Matt Hergaarden. “Alpine warfare in Isonzo brings lots of fresh game mechanics to the series, along with the all new Italian army, facing off against Austria-Hungary.”

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For more on Isonzo, stay tuned to IGN as development on the game progresses.

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Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s Executive Editor of Previews. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan, catch him on Unlocked, and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.

Nobody (2021) Review Roundup

Reviews for Bob Odenkirk’s Nobody are starting to come in ahead of the film’s release on March 24, and it looks like most are calling the movie enjoyable, if not spectacular.

The film is Breaking Bad star Bob Odenkirk’s debut as an action hero, and the actor has previously shared the arduous journey of getting into shape for it. With Hardcore Henry‘s Ilya Naishuller directing and a script by John Wick creator Derek Kolstad, Nobody definitely has promise. Here’s what critics thought of it.

Nobody

  • Directed By: Ilya Naishuller
  • Written By: Derek Kolstad
  • Starring: Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, RZA, Aleksei Serebryakov, Christopher Lloyd
  • Release Date: March 26 (United States)

USAToday

“Nobody fails to break a bunch of new ground transforming another normal guy into a murder machine although Odenkirk’s presence does give the film a conflicted and darkly comic center. Let’s hope more machine-gun antics are in his future.” — Brian Truitt [Full review]

CinemaBlend

“Given all of the talented involved both in front of and behind the camera, I had great hopes for Nobody as a smart character piece accentuated by stylish action and quick wit, but it ultimately delivers only one of those things. Given the effectiveness of his performance, I’d certainly be happy to watch Bob Odenkirk as the hero of another ass kicking festival one day, as he more than proves that’s another arena in which he excels, but hopefully he navigates to one with greater substance.” — Eric Eisenberg [Full review]

Variety

“Nobody is a thoroughly over-the-top and, at times, loony-tunes entry in the live-and-let-die vengeance-is-mine genre. Is it a good movie? Not exactly. But its 90 minutes fly by, and it’s a canny vehicle for Odenkirk, the unlikeliest star of a righteous macho bloodbath since Dustin Hoffman got his bear trap on in Straw Dogs.” — Owen Gleiberman [Full review]

Entertainment Weekly

“I don’t think we ever need another movie about a murderous white guy proving to his family that he’s a total badass. (Especially after, well, Breaking Bad, which brilliantly inverted that husband-gone-wild narrative into a demonic descent.) Nobody could play well for anyone desperate to visit a recently reopened theater, but this is a rather chilly festival of carnage, too rigid to ever really spark to life. It’s wickless.” — Darren Franichy [Full review]

AV Club

“Make no mistake, this is pure caveman bullshit. Yet it’s caveman bullshit made with style and wit, qualities that extend from its screenplay to its performances to its staging. If there are times when Nobody feels catered to the crowd that sees no satire in Fight Club, at least that (red) pill goes down smoother via some Fincher-grade editing.” — A. A. Dowd [Full review]

Stephen Colbert Expands On The Snyder Cut’s Post-Credit Scene

Just when you thought Justice League couldn’t possibly be made any longer, Stephen Colbert has added a whole extra minute to the just-over-four-hours of Zack Snyder’s Justice League. The additional content comes right at the end, in the form of an extended post-credit scene between Lex Luthor and Deathstroke.

Released on YouTube as “Justice League: The Colbert Cut,” the new scene features Colbert as a far more devious version of Lex Luthor, complete with crazy straws and full knowledge of the interior workings of Disney. Take a look for yourself.

While the Snyder Cut has been generally well-received by fans, critics are more divided on whether the sprawling four-hour epic was worth the effort. GameSpot’s review of Zack Snyder’s Justice League rated the film 3/10, criticizing the film for feeling both too crowded and way too long. “Taking up time seems to be the name of the game for most of the cut,” Mason Downey writes. “Whole scenes exist to engineer deeply contrived explanations for things that need no explaining while actual gaps in the plot’s logic are dismissed out of hand. If you were worried about how, exactly, Batman’s bracers can withstand the energy blasts from a Parademon, The Snyder Cut has you covered in meticulous detail.”

Best Fortnite Clips of the Week

Fortnite

First Released Dec 31, 2015

released

  • Android
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  • PC
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In Fortnite, players and their friends lead a group of Heroes to reclaim and rebuild a homeland that has been left empty by a mysterious darkness only known as “the Storm.”

Jill Valentine Is Now Playable In Rainbow Six Siege

A crossover between Rainbow Six Siege and Resident Evil is now live in Ubisoft’s ongoing shooter, with an elite Jill Valentine-themed skin now available for operator Zofia. The skin features Jill’s S.T.A.R.S uniform from Resident Evil 1, RE-themed skins for Zofia’s gadget and weapons, as well as an R.E Elite Zofia chibi charm.

The crossover is similar to a Tomb Raider event from last year, which released an elite Lara Croft skin for operator Ash. Where that skin included Lara Croft’s dual pistols as Ash’s victory animation (allowing for Rainbow Six Siege’s lack of dual wielding), Zofia’s Jill Valentine skin also includes a unique animation showing Resident Evil’s iconic First Aid Spray in use.

The next Resident Evil game due to release is Resident Evil Village, which is due out on May 7. Jill Valentine doesn’t seem to be in the upcoming game, but with the return of series regular Chris Redfield, some fans are holding out hope for a cameo. Jill will be playable in the upcoming Resident Evil: Re:Verse, a multiplayer take on the series which will release for free on the same day as Village.

Rainbow Six Siege has just launched its latest season, Crimson Heist. Despite being into its sixth year, Siege is doing better than ever, with a recent free weekend and the new season bolstering player numbers to record highs for the game. Ubisoft has recently revealed its Year Six roadmap, which includes a number of map reworks, at least three new operators, and quality-of-life changes to a number of the game’s core features.

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Mayans MC Season 3: Get Ready For An “Animalistic” and “Broken” Adelita

There are a number of concerning things happening on Mayans MC Season 3, thus far. Whether it’s the potential war brewing with the Sons of Anarchy, Miguel becoming unleashed after the death of his mother, to the Reyes family’s internal strife. After the third episode, “Overreaching Don’t Pay,” though, there’s a new piece of the story unfolding.

Warning: The following contains spoilers for the third episode of Mayans MC Season 3, “Overreaching Don’t Pay.” If you’ve yet to watch the episode, stop reading now.

The final scene of the episode saw a reunion that, under almost any other circumstances, would theoretically be a happy one. However, Angel (Clayton Cardenas) and Adelita (Carla Baratta) haven’t seen each other since the latter was taken into custody, after which she gave birth to their child and had it taken away by the government. Beyond having her own child ripped away from her, she’s also been held captive in terrible conditions.

Due to all of that, it should come as no surprise that the Adelita sitting in Angel’s living room now isn’t the same person he last saw in Season 2. She’s “a completely different and broken Adelita,” Baratta told GameSpot. “We’re going to find someone that doesn’t even look human. She looks more like an animal. She has all these animalistic actions and she behaves in different ways than she used to behave.”

It’s a far cry from the restrained yet vicious leader of the Los Olvidados rebel group, who led an army of young people to rise up against the drug cartels.

“I think it’s gonna be really difficult for her to find the strength and to get to that warrior that she always had and the other she lost with Los Olvidados and with her kid ripped from her,” the actress said. “So I think we’re going to find a completely broken soul. And it’s going to be beautiful and hard to see a person going through all that she’s going through and she’s going through the whole season.”

While this experience had surely hardened Adelita more than she was previously, it seems very likely that she will eventually come out on the other end of this more powerful–and hopefully, able to rebuild Los Olvidados into more than the crumbled group that it’s become.

Until then, though, these “animalistic actions” Baratta speaks of could become very dangerous for those around her–and anyone who stands in her way.

Mayans MC airs Tuesdays on FX.

Now Playing: Mayans MC: How Season 3 Ties Into Sons Of Anarchy

Shazam! Fury of the Gods: Helen Mirren Cast as Villain Hespera

Academy Award-winning actress Helen Mirren has joined the cast of Shazam! Fury of the Gods as the villain Hespera.

The Hollywood Reporter says Mirren will join Rachel Zegler in the Shazam sequel as sisters who “both my or may not be of ill intent.” Zachary Levi will reprise his role as the adult version of Billy Batson who gains superpowers after inciting an ancient incantation.

Mirren is no stranger to comic book movies or playing villains in big studio franchises having starred in RED as Victoria Winslow and appearing in the Fast and Furious franchise as Magdalene “Queenie” Shaw.

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Not much is known about Hespera as there’s no DC Comics character counterpart. In the synopsis, Mirren’s character is called the daughter of Atlas, who is a character in the DC universe created by Jack Kirby. Atlas re-appeared in Grant Morrison’s All-Star Superman and is closer to his roots in mythology given that Greek Gods are very much a thing in the DC world.

With that in mind, Mirren’s character could be based on The Hesperides, who are nymph daughters of Atlas, depending on the telling of the myths.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods was announced at last year’s DC FanDome and will follow the adventures of Billy Batson, Freddy Freeman, and the Marvel Family. The post-credits for the first Shazam saw the villain Doctor Sivana meet an alien named Mister Mind, but it’s unclear how this storyline will interact with Mirren’s casting as Hespera.

Funny enough the Shazam sequel won’t intersect with 2021’s Black Adam starring Dwayne Johnson. And there’s still a bunch of DC movies coming out before Shazam 2, including The Suicide Squad, The Flash, and Aquaman 2. Also, check out IGN’s review of Zack Snyder’s Justice League here.

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Matt T.M. Kim is IGN’s News Editor.

(Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

GameStop Stock Is Still High, But Seemingly Not Because Of The Company’s Performance

Following the Reddit-influenced Wall Street battle over GameStop’s share value earlier this year, GameStop stock currently stands nearly 10 times higher than where it started in 2021. That may seem like an indication that the company is in a good place after a rough 2020, but, it remains clear the stock price is not directly driven by the company’s current performance, as evidenced by GameStop’s fourth quarter and fiscal 2020 results.

Net sales during the fourth quarter were $2.122 billion. That’s a slight decline from the same period during the prior year, when net sales were $2.194 billion, and a miss compared to analyst expectations. For the full year, net sales were $5.090 billion, compared with $6.466 billion the year prior. Comparable store sales dropped 9.5% for the full year (e-commerce sales, as you might expect, were up significantly, increasing by 191%).

These declines are notable for occurring during an ongoing pandemic, a period which has led to an overall spike in sales for the games industry, and the launch of a new generation of consoles (PS5 and Xbox Series X|S), which also usually leads to an increase in game sales.

Among other things, GameStop cites store closures as a reason for the decline–both permanent closures it planned prior to COVID-19 and temporary ones due to the pandemic.

So yes, GameStop stock is still high–$181.75 per share at the end of Tuesday–but that’s most likely still a result of other factors, not just the performance of the business. In after-hours trading, the share price rose to $197 before dropping to $161 at the time of this writing.

GameStop, for its part, did not address the wild ride of its stock price in 2021 during its earnings call with investors, nor did it host the traditional Q&A session. The company also declined to provide guidance for 2021.

GameStop CEO George Sherman tried to highlight some positives in the earnings report, saying, “I am proud of how our entire organization came together in 2020 to adapt to the challenging pandemic environment, effectively serve our customers’ demand for gaming and entertainment products, and navigate through the year with strong liquidity and a strengthened balance sheet. Our execution led to a profitable fourth quarter that included a 6.5% comparable store sales growth, a 175% increase in global E-Commerce sales and a $92.6 million reduction in SG&A. The past year also saw us take steps to accelerate our de-densification efforts and streamline our store footprint, leverage our retail locations to provide same-day delivery and curbside pickups, and continue to enhance our suite of E-Commerce platforms.”

Following the release of the earnings report, GameStop announced that Jenna Owens (previously Amazon’s director and general manager for distribution and multi-channel fulfillment) has been hired to be GameStop’s new chief operating officer.

Alongside Owens, GameStop is bringing on two executives: Neda Pacifico as senior vice president of e-commerce, and Ken Suzuki as vice president of supply chain systems. Pacifico previously worked as the Chewy vice president of e-commerce, while Suzuki was the Zulily vice president of supply chain technology.

How to Tame Wild Boars in Fortnite

Fortnite Chapter 2, Season 6 added a bunch of primal elements to the Battle Royale map. These new elements include new challenges, crafting, and wild animals that can be tamed during play. We’ve already covered weapon crafting in Fortnite but if you’re looking to tame a boar or hunt with a wolf, peruse our guide below to learn how.

How to Tame Boars in Fortnite

Boars are typically hostile upon contact. You won’t be able to befriend them by walking up and petting them – at least, not at first. What you’ll want to do is grab some vegetables, like corn, apples, and cabbage, before walking up to one of these animals.

fortnite-how-to-tame-animals

Next, you’ll want to toss out a few veggies and wait for the boar(s) to wander over. They’ll give off a translucent glow, indicating that they’re interested in eating. Once they’ve started chowing down, that’s your chance to tame them. Simply walk up and press the button/key to interact.

Make sure you have enough vegetables before trying this out. The boars eat really fast, turning hostile again once all the food is gone. Tossing a bunch of food on the ground in one area is the best way to ensure that you’ll tame the animal on the first try.

fortnite-tamed-boar-1

How to Tame Wolves in Fortnite

Wolves are tamed in a similar fashion but the difference is they prefer meat to vegetables. To get some meat, you need to hunt down a few animals – wolves or otherwise – and pick up the meat they drop. Be wary though: Trying to tame a wolf after killing its pack can be tricky. It’s not that you can’t tame them, it’s that they are more likely to forgo the meat and attack you if they see you actively killing their kin.

Where to Find Boars and Wolves in Fortnite

When it comes to locating a wolf or boar, you’ll want to stick to the more primal areas of the map; more Boney Burbs or Weeping Woods and less Pleasant Park or Sweaty Sands. Wolves roam the woods in those areas. Boars do as well but (seemingly) to a lesser extent.

That said, if you’re looking to quickly tame a few boars, we’d recommend heading to Colossal Crops. Not only will you find a group of boars in a pen on the western side of the farm-like area, but plenty of crops as well. If you plan your approach just right, you should be able to tame multiple boars within a few minutes.

When tamed, both wolves and boars will follow you wherever you go. They’ll also attack nearby enemies similar to the hirable NPCs that roam the map. They can get stuck on obstacles (stay away from water) and occasionally get lost. Still, being able to befriend animals in this way is rather cool. Who couldn’t use a friend right now?

For more, check out our Fortnite review and how to unlock all Agent Jonesy styles.

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Kenneth Seward Jr. is a freelance writer, editor, and illustrator who covers games, movies, and more. Follow him @kennyufg and on Twitch.

John Wick 4 and 5 Moving Forward Without Series Writer Derek Kolstad

Although John Wick will be returning for two more sequels, it seems that the series will continue without some of its original team. Screenwriter Derek Kolstad will not be involved in John Wick: Chapter 4 or Chapter 5.

Kolstad is the major architect of the John Wick universe, having solo writing credit on the first two movies and shared credit with Shay Hatten, Chris Collins, and Marc Abrams on John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum.

The screenwriter revealed the news in an interview with Collider, saying it wasn’t his choice to leave the series. “No, it wasn’t my decision. When you think of the contractually of these things, the third one I shared the credit with any number of people, they didn’t have to come back to me, and so they didn’t.”

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Still, Kolstad did not wish anyone working on the movies ill will, saying he’s still rooting for series director Chad Stahelski.

“I’m still close with Chad [Stahelski], still close with [John Wick co-director] David [Leitch]. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m excited to see… Seeing what the industry is and how things go, I just believe that you bless everything and hope it all the best, and to the players involved who are doing other things elsewhere. And yeah, it’s personal, so I’m never going to talk shit about John Wick. I want this thing to survive and thrive.”

Although Kolstad is no longer penning the Keanu Reeves-starring series, he still has plenty of things in the works. The writer is currently developing an adaptation of the action-horror manga Hellsing for Amazon Studios, which he describes as a dream project. Additionally, Kolstad is the sole screenwriter on the upcoming Bob Odenkirk action movie Nobody, which releases this Friday.

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The next two John Wick sequels are set to be filmed back-to-back this year, with John Wick: Chapter 4 eyeing a May 27, 2022 release date.  Additionally, a spinoff TV series titled The Continental is still on the way.

In our review of Nobody, IGN gave the film an 8, calling it “gruesome and violent, but also wickedly funny and surprisingly poignant.”

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J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer.