A Space Jam Game Is Coming To Xbox, And Fans Are Designing It

A new Space Jam game will be coming to Xbox Game Pass in 2021, though there’s two things you should know. Firstly, the game will be based on the upcoming sequel Space Jam: A New Legacy with LeBron James, and secondly it’s going to at least partially designed by fans.

Microsoft has announced the game, and its associated competition, in collaboration with next year’s Space Jam sequel. It says the game will be an “arcade-style” video game, with games based on two of the competition’s winning ideas to be brought to life.

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The competition gives entrants a number of pre-made concept screens based on combinations of genres like action, adventure, sim, strategy, shooter, and more, then asks for an in-depth description of how the game would play. It’s not clear whether the winning games will make up the entirety of the final Space Jam game, or if they’ll just be a few options among a selection of other mini-games.

The finished game will be available as a perk to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members in 2021.

With the competition seemingly targeted more at young fans (though it does have a minimum age of 14), Microsoft is also using the Space Jam collaboration to run a series of themed virtual coding workshops for young people looking to get into game development.

The original Space Jam also got a tie-in video game back in 1996, though according to GameSpot’s review, the combination of 16-bit basketball gameplay and poorly-implemented cartoon-themed mini games was not a winner.

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Warner Bros. Completes Justice League Investigation, Promises ‘Remedial Action’

Almost half a year after actor Ray Fisher spoke out against Warner Bros. and members of the Justice League production, WarnerMedia announced that its investigation into Fisher’s allegations has completed.

“WarnerMedia’s investigation into the Justice League movie has concluded and remedial action has been taken,” the company said in an official statement Friday night.

WarnerMedia provided no information about what those actions are or will be, which reflects in the statement Fisher made on Twitter following the announcement.

“The following was relayed to me on behalf of @WarnerMedia at 5pm EST today,” Fisher wrote. “The investigation of Justice League is now complete. It has led to remedial action (some we’ve seen, some that is still to come.)”

“And this statement (which truly belongs to all who participated in the investigation): ‘WarnerMedia appreciates you having the courage to come forward and assist the company with creating an inclusive and equitable work environment for it’s [sic] employees and partners,'” Fisher continued.

“There are still conversations that need to be had and resolutions that need to be found,” he said in a final tweet. “Thank you all for your support and encouragement on this journey. We are on our way. More soon. A>E”

The A>E at the end refers to “Accountability>Entertainment,” which Fisher has used as a rallying cry throughout the investigation.

Fisher kicked off the investigation in July when he tweeted to retract complementary statements made at San Diego Comic-Con in 2017. As the investigation progressed, other members of the Justice League cast came out in support of Fisher, and Fisher more explicitly called out Joss Whedon, who filled in for Zack Snyder when he stepped away due to a family tragedy, as well as producers Jon Berg and Geoff Johns.

In October, Fisher accused Whedon of changing the complexion of an actor of color, which the director denied, as well as saying that he heard “blatantly racist conversations” among studio executives, including Berg, Johns, and Warner Bros. Pictures Group chairman Toby Emmerich.

Fisher has been vocal throughout the investigation, speaking on Twitter about concerns about who was performing the investigation. When Whedon stepped down from his role as a producer, writer, and director on HBO’s The Nevers, Fisher pointed to the WarnerMedia investigation as the cause of Whedon’s departure.

During the investigation, Zack Snyder’s re-shot, re-cut Justice League transformed from a film to a four-part limited series headed for HBO Max with a 2021 release date. When the initial cut of the movie hit theaters in 2017, it quickly became the Warners’ least-successful comic-book movie both financially and critically. The gap between fan expectations and response to the movie led to the #releasethesnydercut hashtag, laying the responsibility for the movie’s failure squarely at Whedon’s feet. Snyder has been working on re-shoots for the film, involving primary cast members Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Fisher himself, and others, with a budget that began at $20 million and inflated to a reported $70 million.

Warner Bros. has not yet set a release date for Zack Snyder’s Justice League, but WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar has suggested in a recent post that it will come out in early 2021.

The Jackbox Audience Kit For Twitch Makes It Easier For Audiences To Join In

In 2020, when leaving the house and being with friends and loved ones has been harder than usual because of the COVID-19 pandemic, socially distanced game nights have become part of many people’s social routine. The newly released Jackbox Party Pack 7, and the six earlier games in the series, are excellent games to play with friends–and doing so through Twitch just got a little easier.

Twitch has announced the Jackbox Audience Kit, an extension for streams that makes it possible to join Jackbox games without needing to open a separate browser. This extension lets audiences join the game through the Twitch app, making it easier to join in on games.

As long as the Twitch streamer has installed and enabled the extension, joining a game is a simple process of following the on-screen instructions.

Right now, the extension is supported by the majority of Jackbox games, although some cannot be played with an audience. Monster Seeking Monster currently does not support the extension, but support is “coming soon”; The Devils and the Details and You Don’t Know Jack: Full Stream will not work with it, now or in the future.

Hopefully this means that your next friendly game of Quiplash 3, Trivia Murder Party, or Mad Verse City will be easier to set up and play than before. All 7 Jackbox games are available on PC, Switch, PS4, and Xbox One.

Now Playing: The Jackbox Party Pack 7 – Launch Trailer

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Cobra Kai Season 3: Everything To Know

It’s been far too long since Cobra Kai’s season 2 finale left us hanging after a traumatic high school karate riot. But, season 3 is finally on the horizon, so let’s take a look at everything we know so far.

First and foremost, the most important question of all – what’s the release date? Season 3 of Cobra Kai will premiere on January 8, 2021, and this time it’s exclusively on Netflix. All episodes of the new season will be available that day, so get ready to binge.

Before we get into what to expect, here’s where we left off: Four words: High school karate riot. The end of Season 2 saw the tensions between the Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do dojos finally boil over, leading to an all-out war between the two groups in the middle of the high school. Ultimately, Robby delivered a kick to Miguel that saw him fly over a balcony, landing spine-first on the rail of a staircase below. As a result, Miguel ended up unconscious in a hospital, with Robby on the run.

Meanwhile, Kreese assumed control of Cobra Kai, ousting Johnny and turning his students against him. If Cobra Kai is Star Wars, this season was definitely The Empire Strikes Back, leaving all of the show’s heroes down and out, with the evil grasp of the Empire (a Kreese-led Cobra Kai) growing in power.

Nintendo Switch Is China’s Console Of Choice

2020 is the year of consoles battling for supremacy, and China is another arena for the big three–Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo–to duke it out. The country, however, is a complicated place for gaming corporations to distribute their products officially due to its strict and opaque media regulations. Consoles were banned in the country until 2013, though they were available through unofficial channels even before then.

But with the aid of native multimedia giant Tencent, Nintendo Switch gained a sales edge in China. Market tracker Niko Partners estimated that over 1.3 million Switch units sold this year through both formal and informal channels (via Bloomberg), a number bigger than the combined sales of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in the same timeframe. In lifetime sales, Niko Partners reported that the Switch has sold almost 4 million units in China since the end of 2019, more than either of Xbox One’s and PS4’s lifetime sales in the country. The PS4 and Xbox One both launched in China in 2014.

Bloomberg cited the popularity of certain Switch IP’s and incorporation of widely-used apps in China as reasons for the console’s current popularity. Tencent integrated Wechat functionality into the Switch, making payment systems and social functions familiar and easier-to-use. Two Switch titles also became immensely popular this year: Ring Fit Adventure and Animal Crossing.

Tencent’s partnership with Nintendo extends to creating games together as well. The two companies are collaborating on a new Pokemon game that will run on both smartphones and the Switch. This MOBA title will let players choose a Pokemon they want to battle as and compete in 5v5 rounds.

While Niko Partners’ research shows that the Nintendo Switch edges out PS4 and Xbox One sales in China, it’s unclear if the Switch will be more popular than the PS5 or Xbox Series X / Series S in the long-run. Both next-gen consoles are not officially released in China yet, with no release date announced. Unofficially, however, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S are both circulating in China due to the powers of the enormous Chinese shop Taobao. It’s not easy to track these transactions, since most of them are imports from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other countries. We’ll have to see if any market researcher can put some numbers to these unofficial sales in the future.

Now Playing: Nintendo Switch Holiday Gift Guide 2020

Cyberpunk 2077: How To (Try To) Get A Refund

After years of anticipation, the release of Cyberpunk 2077 has been soured by bugs ranging from funny graphical glitches to game-breaking crashes. The bulk of these are occurring for players on PS4 and Xbox One, which led CD Projekt Red to suggest that players who are unhappy with the game should seek refunds.

Depending on what country you’re in and where you bought the game, however, this might not be the easiest task. In a tweet, CD Projekt Red admitted that the game had performance issues on PS4 and Xbox One, and recommended seeking a refund at your point of sale. “For copies purchased digitally, please use the refund system of PSN or Xbox respectively. For boxed versions, please first try to get a refund at the store where you bought the game.”

As Lifehacker reports, online retailers like Amazon and Walmart have extended their returns periods for the holidays, which may be a bonus for unhappy Cyberpunk 2077 players. However digital storefronts like Steam, the PSN Store, and Microsoft store often have more restrictive refund policies.

Reports say customers have nevertheless been successful in getting refunds from both Sony and Microsoft, though some players have had to spend over an hour on the PlayStation support line to get one. PC players unhappy with how the game performs on their computers can also submit refund requests through Steam even if their gameplay has passed the two hour limit, while CD Projekt’s GOG platform will also allow refunds.

Getting a refund from physical stores may be more difficult depending on the individual store’s policy, though reports from Australia–where customer protections explicitly entitle players to a refund when a game is broken or buggy–say multiple game stores are honoring refunds.

With all these refund methods, it’s worth mentioning game crashes and game-breaking bugs in your refund request, just as you would if you were returning a faulty piece of hardware. If all else fails, CD Projekt Red has set up the dedicated email address [email protected] for players looking for help refunding its game.

Now Playing: Cyberpunk 2077 Review

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The Hong Kong Massacre Is Coming To Switch This Month

The Hong Kong Massacre, a stylish, brutal, difficult top-down action game that hit PS4 and PC in early 2019, is coming to Switch. The shooter, a tale of revenge that wears its Hotline Miami influence on its sleeve, will release on the Nintendo Switch Eshop on December 26.

The reveal trailer below shows off how the game looks on Switch–and it looks very much like the PS4/PC versions of the game. The game will cost $20, but it can be preordered at a discounted price of $16.

Warning: the trailer below is very violent, as is the game itself.

While this version of the game won’t add any new features, it’s the only way to play the game on a portable system. In the meantime, you can get yourself a free digital copy of the game’s soundtrack by signing up for the developer’s mailing list through the game’s website.

In GameSpot’s 7/10 review of The Hong Kong Massacre, it earned praise for its stylish action. “It’s a game that sticks with you when you’re not playing it, as you think through different approaches to the room you died in last time,” the review states. “You’ll fail frequently, and the repetition can wear you down, but it’s hard to resist the temptation of bursting through a window and perfectly lining up three kill shots.”

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Peter Jackson’s Favorite Lord of the Rings Scene Wasn’t Made by Him

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy director Peter Jackson has revealed that his favorite scene from the three films was not written or directed by him.

As reported by IndieWire (via The Independent), Jackson was speaking to Stephen Colbert and was asked to pick his favorite scene. While there are many iconic choices, it wasn’t Helm’s Deep, it wasn’t Sam helping Frodo climb Mount Doom, but it was Gollum’s monologue where he was having a conversation with himself as Sméagol from The Two Towers.

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“We were shooting ‘Two Towers’ and it was introducing Gollum,” Jackson said. “A key thing with Gollum is that most people know he’s Sméagol and he’s Gollum, it’s like a split. But we hadn’t got a scene where you really got the idea of it…‘This guy is two people.’ So we knew that we needed it but we had no time to shoot it.”

Jackson was busy with other parts of production at the time, and had asked his co-writer and co-producer Fran Walsh to create this scene where the two halves of Gollum were interacting with each other. Not only did Walsh write the scene, she also went on to direct it.

“Fran wrote a scene where Sam and Frodo are asleep, so they can be just lumps in the bed, we don’t even have to have Elijah [Wood] and Sean [Astin],” Jackson said. “We didn’t have anyone to direct it, so I said to Fran, ‘You wrote it, you should shoot it.’ So she went in for a day and she wrote and directed a scene which has become pretty famous now.”

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Jackson was out helping promote the 4K released of both The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Hobbit, both of which we included in our Best Gifts for Movie Lovers for 2020.

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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.

Cyberpunk 2077 PSA: Get Double-Jump Cyberware, Not Charge Jump

Cyberpunk 2077 is a huge game, and part of what makes the size of Night City compelling is the number of options you’ll have to go through many of its missions. When working your way through the territory of gangs, corps, or other enemies, you can go in guns blazing, pick a stealthier approach, or even often talk your way out of conflicts altogether. Having more options allows you to tune Cyberpunk 2077 to your playstyle.

Apart from the character attributes you choose to invest in, one of the biggest ways you’ll unlock new paths for yourself is through your cyberware. These are the cybernetic augmentations you can install in your body, enhancing your strength, vision, hacking capabilities, and more. But there’s one piece of cyberware you should absolutely get, even if you ignore all the others–it’ll change the way you play Cyberpunk 2077 and open up a whole lot of possibilities, from how you approach missions to how you get around the world.

That piece of cyberware is the Reinforced Tendons upgrade for your legs, and it unlocks an extremely useful ability: double jump.

Why You Want Double Jump

Lots of video games offer you the ability to double jump–to jump once, and then jump again in mid-air. But in Cyberpunk 2077, double jump is a complete game-changer. Having the ability allows you to reach new heights in what is already an extremely vertical city. Most of the missions you play that have any kind of action component will usually have you entering a hostile area full of enemies, leaving up to you how you want to traverse that area. Usually, your options are to go stealthy or to fight your way through, but you’re stuck on the ground, meeting enemies wherever they are.

With double jump, you suddenly can reach rooftops, high ledges, and open windows. You can leap straight over fences in a lot of cases, or circumvent enemy defenses. You can get above patrolling bad guys and scope out their patterns, or just bypass them altogether. Double jump opens up a huge number of alternative paths you can’t otherwise get at in Cyberpunk 2077–in fact, without the upgrade, you might not even know those paths are there. Double jump is especially useful if you plan to be a stealthy mercenary who prefers to sneak past conflicts or take down your prey without being seen. The pathways you can access by jumping over defenses or onto rooftops make sneaking a whole lot easier and, often, much more effective.

You can also double jump your way out of a lot of bad situations. Accidentally wandering into gang territory or passing too close to criminals engaged in illegal activity can trigger combat, but with double jump, you can usually high-tail it out of an area and bounce right over obstacles that would otherwise doom you. You can also hop over roads to avoid traffic or cut across the tops of some buildings, lowering your travel time as you try to navigate Night City. Double jump makes just about everything easier and more efficient, and you’ll save a lot of time once you have it.

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How To Get Double Jump

You can obtain the cyberware to give yourself Mario-like jump capabilities from a number of locations in Night City, but it’s going to cost you. Most Ripperdocs–the physicians who will sell you cyberware–offer the Reinforced Tendons augmentation (you can find it most easily from Vik, the first Ripperdoc you meet during the story). The trouble is the cost: You’ll need some 45,000 Eurodollars (or “eddies”) in order to afford the chrome.

This is a hefty sum, especially early in the game, but definitely worth the investment. Earning the money can be tough, though. The best way is to complete certain side gigs like Cyberpsycho Hunts and the Epistrophy quest line, while also hawking just about everything you can find in the game. Check out our guide to making money in Night City for some useful shortcuts to procuring eddies.

It might take you a bit to open up the ability to double jump, but you’ll be glad you did. The extra verticality will allow you to explore parts of Night City you’d otherwise never get a chance to see.

We’ve got a whole lot more Cyberpunk 2077 coverage to help you through the game as well–be sure to read our Cyberpunk 2077 review, and check out our essential tips, character attributes and build guide, romance guide, life path guide, and guide for making money quickly and easily in Night City for more tips.

Now Playing: Cyberpunk 2077: Things I Wish I Knew Before Playing

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