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According to court documents published as part of the Epic Games vs Apple legal case, an internal review document that details how Microsoft keeps a competitive analysis on its rival Sony has been revealed. As spotted by Twitter account Game+, the documents feature an internal review written by Microsoft’s Global Gaming Partnership & Development portfolio team that gives high praise to Sony’s The Last of Us Part II.

According to the review by Xbox, the game sets a high benchmark for storytelling and is looked at as inspiration for where Xbox games can go in terms of narrative and visual design.

“Last of Us Part II is the exceedingly rare video game where what it accomplishes in moving forward the art of narrative storytelling in video games as a medium ultimately outweighs whether or not everyone ‘likes’ it or even if everyone has ‘fun’ playing it,” the document reads.

“That said we loved it, had a great time playing it, and find ourselves still thinking about its characters and stories even after finishing the playthrough. The visual quality and attention to detail in The Last of Us Part II is absolutely best-in-class in basically every area, and the overall presentation is significantly ahead of anything that other teams have been producing on console and PC.”

Microsoft was especially enamored by the game’s narrative-driven “walking simulator” chapters, which it says were well produced and should be “aspiring to accomplish with their character dialogue, presentation and voice acting.”

Another interesting note in the review was the topic of not allowing the player to directly influence the ending of a story, which Microsoft acknowledged could be seen as a drawback by players but at the same time it argued that “not every video game must be about the player roleplayer their character’s story.”

While it had plenty of praise for The Last of Us Part II, Microsoft did criticize how the game featured poor gunplay from Naughty Dog, which it felt had become a calling card of the developer.

“Naughty Dog still can’t seem to make decent gun combat in any of their games, and this one is no exception,” the review added. “Luckily for them, it fits in with the game’s overall theme and pushes the player toward using stealth over head-on.”

Microsoft has requested that these documents be sealed by the court that is currently hosting the Epic Games vs Apple legal case which begins this week. For more on that case which could have big ramifications for both parties and mobile gaming, you can follow along right here in our court proceedings story.

There are things that the MSI Optix MAG274QRF-QD could have done better, like that alphabet soup of a name and a build that is far from perfect. But there’s also things it has done right, namely its almost impeccable “rapid IPS” panel that delivers gorgeous true colors and 1ms Gray to Gray response time. At $450, this 1440p 165Hz gaming monitor is an excellent proposition, especially if you’re looking for something in the mid-range market.

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MSI Optix MAG274QRF-QD – Design and Features

A quick run-through will tell you that the MSI Optix MAG274QRF-QD is a nicely built monitor with some great design details. The bezels are slim, giving you a bit of extra screen real estate. The rear has some cool gaming textures and flourishes, like the more subtle customizable RGB lighting, while still keeping things smart and classy. The stand has a built-in cable management solution as well to keep things fairly neat and tidy.

The hinge gives users a lot of flexibility in terms of positioning and orientation. The Optix can tilt 5° down and 20° up, slide up to 100mm up and down, swivel 75° to the left or right, and pivot -90° to 90°, which means you can switch to portrait mode if there’s a need for it. That’s something only a handful of monitors these days can do, and certainly gives this one a bit of an advantage when it comes to ergonomics. That said, sadly there’s no screen auto-rotation option, which means you have to dive into the settings menu to rotate your desktop every time you change its physical orientation.

There are a couple of things MSI could have also done better here. To start, the bottom bezel isn’t completely flush with the screen. There’s a bit of gap there that’s noticeable, especially at the center where the MSI logo is. I’ve compared this to two other monitors I’m reviewing – one from Dell, the other from AOC – and this MSI monitor is the only one that has this gap.

The other design gripe I have is its stand. With a hinge this versatile, you’d think MSI would have taken care to give it a heavier, more robust stand to keep it in place while you turn and pivot. Unfortunately, this stand is too light, meaning every turn, slide, and pivot causes the whole thing to move a bit. It’s a tad disappointing and inconvenient, but hardly a deal-breaker.

MSI Optix MAG274QRF-QD – Features & OSD Menu

There’s a decent number of ports on the MSI Optix MAG274QRF-QD, with two HDMI 2.0, one DisplayPort 1.4, and one USB-C port. It’s worth noting that while the DisplayPort and USB-C will give you the monitor’s advertised 165Hz, the refresh rate does drop down to 144Hz when connected via the two HDMI ports. To eliminate screen tearing, stuttering, and latency, the monitor also comes with a 1ms GTG response time and adaptive sync.

On top of those video ports, there are two USB Type A and one USB Type B ports for connecting and charging your peripherals, as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Much like other monitors, the Optix comes with an OSD accessible via the tiny red joystick positioned at the rear in the bottom right corner where it’s within quick reach. The OSD menu is easy to navigate, with different options for viewing modes, image settings, and monitor settings, as well as quick access to the input source selection.

For a more complete list of choices, however, it’s best to download the MSI Gaming OSD app, which you can get from the monitor’s dedicated page on the MSI website. This app not only gives you access to the different modes or profiles, but also allows you to tweak each one, adjusting such things as brightness, contrast, Night Mode, and Image Enhancement, as well as toggling HDCR, Anti-Motion Blur and Adaptive Sync.

This app also lets you choose to quickly arrange your open windows (and some unopened programs) in ten different layouts so you won’t have to drag each one yourself, select a preset for the RGB lighting in the back via the Mystic Light button, and change settings like mouse pointer speed and auto shutdown time.

Sadly, there are no speakers built-in, but given that most monitor speakers aren’t worth using in the first place, you probably won’t miss them too much.

MSI Optix MAG274QRF-QD – Performance and Gaming

The MSI Optix MAG274QRF-QD may have its share of minor design flaws, but it really shines in performance. Based on its Lagom LCD test results, it boasts a full range of contrast, decent black and white levels, and smooth transitions in the gradient test. There’s also very minimal ghosting at 165Hz when doing the UFO test.

With a 165Hz refresh rate, 1ms refresh rate, 2560 x 1440 WQHD resolution, G-Sync compatibility, and wide DCI P3 color gamut, that’s not a surprise. With a 178-degree viewing angle, that picture quality remains consistently great whichever angle you’re viewing from. It’s listed as “HDR Ready,” but only has 300 nits brightness – which isn’t bad, but falls short of the HDR400 standard.

There is an HDCR option you can toggle on and off, but it does very little to the image quality. In gaming, it only seems to brighten and sharpen the picture a little, but the difference is hardly noticeable. It doesn’t get in the way of the monitor’s overall performance, but if you’re looking for something with HDR capabilities, you’re better off considering other options.

There are a couple of noteworthy additional settings worth exploring: Night Vision and Image Enhancement features. Night Vision, which has four modes – normal, strong, strongest, and AI – lets you “brighten” dark areas in your game and is extremely effective when playing FPS titles. The Image Enhancement feature, on the other hand, effectively sharpens picture quality.

When it comes to gaming and media consumption, the MSI Optix MAG274QRF-QD really does exude with crisp picture quality, vibrant colors, and the smoothest graphics. Testing it with Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Metro Exodus, and Red Dead Redemption 2, it delivers butter smooth performance with no discernible lags or screen tearing. That’s much improved when you have adaptive sync on.

With a fast-paced game like Rocket League, it’s even more impressive. If you’ve played the game, you’ll know that it’s very busy with fast turns, flips, and direction changes, and the monitor delivers crisp, vibrant picture quality with no ghosting or stuttering.

I found that Netflix content comes through slightly softer, but you can remedy that by turning on Image Enhancement, which sharpens content noticeably. The monitor at default does have a warmer tone, so if you prefer a cooler, bluer hue when watching movies, I’d recommend swapping to the Movie preset.

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Marvel has revealed that the official titles for the sequels to Black Panther and Captain Marvel are Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and The Marvels.

Revealed alongside a celebration of Marvel films and a tease of what’s to come, Marvel also gave fans a glimpse of Eternals.

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Marvel also highlighted the release dates for its upcoming films, except for Fantastic Four. The full list is as follows;

• Black Widow – July 9, 2021
• Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – September 3, 2021
• Eternals – November 5, 2021
• Spider-Man: No Way Home – December 17, 2021
• Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – March 25, 2022
• Thor: Love and Thunder – May 6, 2022
• Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – July 8, 2022
• The Marvels – November 11, 2022
• Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania – February 17, 2023
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – May 5, 2023
• Fantastic Four – TBA

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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will not recast the late Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa, but instead will “continue to explore the world of Wakanda and all of the rich and varied characters introduced in the first film.”

Ryan Coogler will be returning to direct and write the sequel, and Letitia Wright (Shuri), Lupita Nyong’o (Nakia), Winston Duke (M’Baku) and Angela Bassett (Ramonda) are all expected to reprise their roles as well.

The Marvels will see Brie Larson returning as Captain Marvel and WandaVision’s Teyonah Parris (Monica Rambeau) has also signed on board for the sequel. Velvet Buzzsaw’s Zawe Ashton is set to play the villain.

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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.

The Epic Games v Apple trial, which could have big implications for both companies and the industry as a whole, is set to begin this week. If you’d like to follow along with the court proceedings as they happen, the California District Court is hosting the trial as a public webcast so you can hear it all happen for yourself.

The US District Court page for Judge Yvonne Rogers has a Zoom link with the webinar ID and password, listed below. The trial will take place 8:30 AM to 1:30 PM PT / 11:30 AM to 4:30 PM ET on Mondays-Thursdays throughout the trial. It’s expected to last three weeks.

An attached resources and information page says the court set it up due to the “level of interest in this case.” It also includes dial-in information if you need to listen by phone.

The public interest is likely due not only to the case being a battle of industry titans, but also because of the potential impact. Epic Games is alleging that Apple’s restrictions around its App Store constitute a monopoly, and is seeking to force the company to change its policies toward everyone–not just Epic itself. Apple, meanwhile, is trying to protect its App Store profits as a major source of revenue for the company. And since it’s so high-stakes, both Epic CEO Tim Sweeney and Apple CEO Tim Cook have been called to testify.

Of course, if you don’t have the time or interest to keep up with the trial as it happens, we’ll be providing regular updates on any big moments and the outcome. To catch up on what brought the Epic and Apple to legal blows, read our primer on Epic’s Fortnite ban and the Apple/Google legal battle.

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email [email protected]

Warning: this review contains full spoilers for the Season 6 premiere of Legends of Tomorrow. If you want to see our thoughts on other recent Arrowverse premieres, check out our reviews for Batwoman: Season 2, Episode 1, The Flash: Season 7, Episode 1, Supergirl: Season 6, Episode 1 and the Superman & Lois series premiere.

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Legends of Tomorrow started its life as a fairly straightforward sci-fi/superhero mashup series. It’s all about a bunch of costumed morons fighting to protect the Arrowverse timeline from outside interference. But over time, the series has drifted in more of a fantasy-oriented directions, with later seasons focused on magical creatures or the opening floodgates of Hell itself. Now the series has seemingly looped all the way back to becoming a sci-fi show again, with Season 6 turning its attention to alien abductions. But as great as it is to see Legends is still a show hellbent on reinventing itself every year, it remains to be seen if this latest premise is really one for the history books.

This pivot toward an alien-centric conflict comes across as strange given that aliens have always been the purview of Supergirl. Maybe that show’s impending end freed up the Legends crew to dip their toes in these waters? Whatever the motivation here, it is strange to see “Ground Control to Sara Lance” make such a big deal out of aliens. Supergirl and the DEO exist in this world now. Why does Sara’s abduction need to serve as the foundation for an entire season? Even the attempts to tie back to the events of Supergirl: Season 5 and explain why the DEO isn’t getting involved feel a little forced.

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Perhaps the bigger issue is that the premiere doesn’t do a great job of establishing what the core Season 6 conflict is meant to be. Is this some sort of riff on Star Trek: Voyager, with Sara and Gary inching their way back toward Earth? What are the Legends doing in the meantime? Are all those jettisoned space pods meant to be plot catalysts for future episodes? The premiere doesn’t give us a very clear idea of the bigger picture here, and that hurts the show’s early momentum.

The good news is that Legends has never really lived or died on the strength of its plot. It’s all about the team and their kooky, close-knit dynamic. And that much remains intact in Season 6. If anything, it’s a testament to this show’s ability to thrive no matter how many faces come and go. Legends is now down to two original team members – Caity Lotz’s Sara and Dominic Purcell’s Mick Rory. Even Purcell looks to be on his way out after this season. But the series has done such a fine job of integrating newer characters like Jes MacCallan’s Ava Sharpe and Matt Ryan’s John Constantine that no one character will ever make or break the show. Well, it’s hard to imagine Legends without Sara at its core, but we’ll see if that ever becomes an issue.

The premiere taps into that fun, dysfunctional family vibe very well, with the early scenes doing a great job of reintroducing the whole gang and showing them in the midst of a raucous post-victory celebration. New developments like Constantine’s romantic fling with Zari promise to spice up the group dynamic this season, as does Ava’s discovery of Sara’s would-be proposal. There’s just the right blend of zany humor and heartfelt bonding. The fact that Mick is now cast as the straitlaced adult in a ship full of unruly teenagers only adds to the hilarity of it all.

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It’s a shame, though, that Astra’s tenure as a Legend looks to be very short-lived. No doubt the writers probably felt it redundant to include multiple spellcasters on the team, but there would have been a lot of potential in keeping Astra in the mix and having a character who sees right through every bit of Constantine’s BS. The jury is also still out on the Gary of it all. With all the evolutions this dorky but well-meaning pencil-pusher has undergone over the course of the series, revealing him to be an alien in disguise might be a step too far.

This episode does add one significant new face to the mix in the form of Esperanza “Spooner” Cruz (Lisseth Chavez). Again, the whole alien conflict is so vaguely defined that it’s hard to know how Spooner will fit into the overall puzzle. It’s not even clear whether she’s inspired by an existing DC character (not that it really matters, given how loosely some of these characters adhere to the source material). But Chavez at least proves she has the right energy for the show, with a gruff but energetic demeanor that should make her an entertaining foil for many of her shipmates. This episode also makes strong use of its two historical guest stars, whether it’s Thomas Nicholson’s hilariously spacey David Bowie or Shawn Roberts’ himbo rendition of Spartacus. Where the plot comes up short, the characters and humor still deliver.

Shirley Curry has achieved a lot in her rise to fame as the Skyrim Grandma. Now she’s hit another milestone: Thanks to a new mod, Skyrim Grandma can now be a follower for your Skyrim character.

As reported by Eurogamer, user Thesparalius uploaded the mod to Nexus Mods for Skyrim Special edition and to Bethesda.net for Xbox and PC. The mod doesn’t just add Shirley’s face to an NPC, either: In addition to a character model, the in-game Shirley is also fully voice-acted, has a unique bow, will tell you about her past, and lives in a house with a stunning view. The mod also adds several other unique items.

The mod was created by users from a community calling itself “Shirley’s Grandkids” (which comes from what Shirley herself calls her fans). Many of the members of this community also pushed to get Shirley included in the follow-up to Skyrim; she’ll be an official NPC in The Elder Scrolls VI. For the mod, the creators got permission from Shirley and also worked with her to get voice-acted dialogue for the in-game character.

In real life, Shirley has become an increasingly popular YouTuber in the Skyrim fan community, with around 960,000 subscribers. She’s 85 right now and still consistently producing videos. And, in case you were wondering, she has published a video of herself playing Skyrim with the Skyrim Grandma mod installed.

As for Elder Scrolls VI, we’ve still got a long time to wait. It will launch sometime after Bethesda’s next IP, Starfield, which is itself far off.

If visitor numbers to digital spaces are anything to go by, the science fiction novel Ready Player Two has built quite the fanbase. As of this week, over 28 million players have visited the Ready Player Two hub in the blocky creation game Roblox.

The Roblox space has become popular since its launch in November 2020 by offering in-game goodies and events themed after the novel. For example, anyone who enters the hub will earn a digital book to wear on their head (yes, you read that right), as well as a shirt. In addition, the hub presents players with a set of puzzles to complete and relics to earn, and if all seven relics are collected, players can grab a digital pair of META Shades. There are also a handful of themed items available from the in-game shop. Finally, you can also watch a Q&A session with the novel’s author, Ernest Cline, in the hub.

The event was originally designed as a promotional campaign for the novel, going live ahead of the book’s release. It granted a handful of special items for the first set of players to finish the games. Despite the novel having been released in November 2020, the event has continued on and has proven to retain a strong user base.

Ready Player Two launched to commercial success in spite of a lukewarm critical reception. Cline confirmed in December that a film adaptation was already in the works. Meanwhile, Roblox continues to be one of the most popular games in the world, with around 200 million active users. Yet, in contrast to extremely strong revenue, Roblox still does not make a profit.

It Takes Two is the best game eccentric director Josef Fares has made to date, and if you haven’t played through the cooperative-only platformer yet, you can get it on sale for a great price right now. Normally $40, it has been discounted to $30 on both PS4 and Xbox One, and the game’s cross-buy feature means you can get an upgrade to the newer consoles for free.

The deal is live at Target, and it’s for both in-store pickup and delivery orders. Though the game can only be played cooperatively, it uses a Friend Pass feature that lets someone else join your game and play with you from beginning to end without them needing to also own the game. This feature was included on developer Hazelight’s previous game, A Way Out, which also required cooperative play.

On PS4, It Takes Two includes a free PS5 upgrade, which will let you run a digital PS5 copy as long as the PS5 disc remains in your system. On Xbox, it supports Smart Delivery, meaning it will automatically install the best version your system can run.

A far cry from the gritty prison drama of A Way Out, It Takes Two is a whimsical platformer in a dream-like story, but its subject matter is still serious. With a husband and wife preparing to divorce, they must work together after being transformed into homemade dolls… and possibly rekindle their love along the way.

It Takes Two receive nearly unanimous praise, and in GameSpot’s It Takes Two review, Andrew King praised the “wildly varied” levels as well as the lead performances and evolving gameplay mechanics.