Soon You Can Fight Mutated Dinosaurs With Second Extinction On Early Access

Second Extinction, the dinosaur-hunting FPS from Just Cause developer Avalanche’s new Systemic Reaction studio, will come to Steam Early Access very soon. The studio has confirmed the game will launch there in September 2020.

Second Extinction’s early access version will include a “really robust rock-and-roll shooter to play with,” the developer said in an FAQ. The purpose of launching in an unfinished state is to “dial in our core gameplay and mechanics to the perfect frequency at launch,” the team said.

The early access will include the newly announced War Effort “metagame.” The overall dino threat level in the game will depend on how players perform by killing dinosaurs, completing missions, and partaking in extra activities. “This constant wave of conflict will affect the kind of enemies, activities, rewards, and more you’ll encounter in any given region,” Systemic Reaction said.

Systemic Reaction is not sure how long Second Extinction will stay in early access, only stating that it will be there for “as long as it takes.”

“When the community is happy with the overall direction, and when we are ready to welcome more players to the party, we will leave early access,” the studio said.

Progress made in the early access version of Second Extinction will carry forward to the full release when it launches. “So you’ll be able to show off and strut around the community when all the full release noobs show up,” the developer said.

The dinosaurs in Second Extinction won’t be what you expect. They are mutated, and more deadly as a result. For example, there is a raptor in the game that has the power of electricity in addition to its own chompers. The game supports co-op for up to three players at a time.

Second Extinction is also coming to Xbox Series X, but there is no word on if it will come to the Game Preview program, which is similar to early access.

Now Playing: Second Extinction Gameplay Trailer | Inside Xbox

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Avatar 2 Photos Reveal Giant Sets And Shots Of Director James Cameron

Filming on the Avatar sequels is due to resume again in New Zealand, and now new set photos have emerged that provide a behind-the-scenes look at the large-scale production.

One of the images showcases “the lab,” which looks to be the place where the human characters are transformed into their Na’vi counterparts. A second, smaller structure can be seen in the background of the image, and this appears to be another set.

Another images shows director James Cameron on the lab set, with production materials plastered on poster boards surrounding him.

The Avatar movie Twitter account also replied to questions from fans, and confirmed that while Cameron looks very tired in the image, he’s actually “just very focused.” The account also confirmed that, despite the production delays, Avatar 2 remains on track to come to theatres on December 16, 2022. Further sequels are expected to follow in the years after.

Avatar 2 brings back the stars of the original movie, including Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, and Zoe Saldana, along with newcomers Kate Winslet, David Thewlis, and Vin Diesel.

In addition to the Avatar movie sequels, The Division developer Ubisoft Massive is working on a new Avatar video game. In 2017, Ubisoft announced that it hired Battlefield veteran Patrick Bach to lead the team, which is on a hiring spree.

Marvel’s Avengers On PC: Min And Recommended Specs, Plus Unique Features Revealed

Marvel’s Avengers is releasing on September 4, and if you’re planning on buying and playing it on PC you’ll want to know whether your computer is up to the task. Thankfully, developer Crystal Dynamics has released the minimum and recommended specs for the game, as well as the exclusive features coming to the PC version.

No matter what, you’ll need at least 8GB of RAM and a fair chunk of HDD space. Check out the minimum and recommended specs below.

Minimum Specs

  • OS: Windows 10 64-bit
  • CPU: i3-4160 or AMD equivalent
  • 8GB RAM
  • NVIDIA GTX 950 / AMD 270 (min 2GB video ram)
  • DirectX 12
  • 75GB HDD space

Recommended Specs

  • Windows 10 64-bit
  • CPU: Intel Core i7 4770K, 3.4 Ghz or AMD Ryzen 51600, 3.2 Ghz
  • 16GB RAM
  • NVIDIA GTX 1060 6GB or AMD Radeon RX 480, 8GB.
  • DirectX 12
  • 110GB SSD space

The PC version will also give you the option of downloading a 30GB high-resolution texture pack, if you don’t mind sacrificing some HDD space for enhanced visuals. You’ll likely want a 4K monitor to get the most out of this. Ultra-wide resolutions are also supported for the PC version, as well as multi-monitor set-ups.

The PC version also sports an unlocked framerate, and full customization options across keyboards and controllers. You’ll be able to check out some of these features yourself in the upcoming closed beta across August 14-16 if you’ve preordered; there’s also an open beta on Steam across the August 21-23 weekend. If you jump in, look out for the hidden mission that stands as the beta’s highlight.

It remains to be seen when the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions release, and whether they’ll include some of these higher-res textures.

Now Playing: Marvel’s Avengers – Official Beta Trailer

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Cyberpunk 2077 – Which Life Path Is Right For You?

The world of Cyberpunk 2077 reacts based on your choices. The first of these is one of the most important, as it determines where your character starts, and how the world will react to them: their life path. In preparation for Cyberpunk’s November release, we’re going to dive into all three choices so you can be prepared to build your perfect V.

You’ll have three options to choose from for your life path: street kid, nomad, and corporate. The one you select will impact how you move through Night City, as you’ll encounter different characters, story beats, and conversations depending on your origin. In this video, Jake breaks down each life path, and explains how they impact V’s life leading up to the start of the RPG.

Life paths follow you into the main quest and beyond as well. CD Projekt Red has said that each origin will determine which characters you meet and your relationships with them, and though some will appear across life paths, their disposition towards you will differ. Jackie Wells, your in-game companion, is an acquaintance regardless of which you choose, but your relationship will vary as each origin gives the two of you a different history.

So which path are you taking to Night City?

Shroud’s Return To Twitch Brings In Half A Million Viewers

Superstar streamer Michael “shroud” Grzesiek returned to a massive audience on Twitch today, even though he went live an hour late. Hundreds of thousands of viewers tuned in to watch him play Valorant, although most had to watch a “starting soon” banner for an hour. The viewership numbers kept climbing during the wait, too, even despite some technical difficulties.

“It wouldn’t be a Shroud stream without some difficulties,” he said once he went live. Viewership ballooned to over 500,000 people once he started his broadcast. “I’ve been gone for a long time.”

Shroud was originally scheduled to go live at 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET, but didn’t show his face until almost an hour later. Once he did start the stream had several technical issues including audio dropping from his opening video.

“I don’t know how many people were watching this expecting something grand,” he said adding that he was just going to “play games” like any other stream. Shroud said he got more than 13,000 Twitch subscriptions from viewers shortly after going live.

“I am so excited to be able to announce my return to Twitch and more importantly get back to streaming. Twitch is where I was able to first turn my passion for streaming into a successful career—and it is all due to my incredible and loyal fanbase,” Shroud said in a statement yesterday. The streamer signed a new exclusivity deal with the Amazon-owned service recently.

Shroud announced an exclusive return to Twitch after his deal with Mixer got paid out after Microsoft chose to close the service and partner with Facebook Gaming. His original deal is rumored to have made him $10 million. Not a bad payday after streaming on Mixer for less than a year.

Shroud was one of the most notable faces on Twitch when he announced he would exclusively stream on Mixer last October. Viewership on Mixer remained low compared to competitors like Twitch and Youtube despite Microsoft shelling out millions to bring over streamers like shroud and Tyler “Ninja” Blevins. As of July 22, all Mixer sites and apps direct viewers to Facebook Gaming.

Hard-To-Find Arcade Cabinet With 300 Games Will Be Back In Stock Soon

Last year, AtGames entered the arcade market with the ambitious Legends Ultimate arcade cabinet. Unfortunately, disruptions in manufacturing caused by the coronavirus pandemic slowed production to a crawl, making the cabinet extremely difficult to find. It’s been out of stock for months now, but AtGames has announced that a re-release is coming soon–really soon. Starting August 31, you’ll see the Legends Ultimate making its way back to major retailers for $600, including Walmart, GameStop, and Sam’s Club.

AtGames is mostly known for its officially licensed Atari Flashback consoles and other plug-and-play systems. The Legends Ultimate is decidedly more expensive than AtGames’ earlier retro products, but it’s also a full-size cabinet packed with hundreds of games and unique features you don’t typically find in home cabinets.

$600

The $600 Legends Ultimate Arcade Cabinet is a full-size cabinet (29.53 x 21.65 x 65.44 inches) that boasts 300 games, including Centipede, BurgerTime, Tempest, Missile Command, Tetris, and Space Invaders.

You can check out the full list of games on AtGames’ site. Games are played on a 24-inch HD LCD monitor, with sound coming through the down-firing stereo speaker.

The Legends Ultimate has a variety of control inputs to support its eclectic library of arcade and home console classics. Each cabinet has two joysticks, a trackball, a pair of spinners, and two sets of six buttons (ideal for multiplayer). You can also get third-party controllers to work via USB/Bluetooth.

Separating itself from some other modern cabinets, the Legends Ultimate has built-in Wi-Fi and an ethernet jack to view global leaderboards, livestream your gameplay, and download new updates. It also has an add-on tool that lets you load more games, or even make your own titles to play on your Legends Ultimate cabinet. And for those who like tinkering with Raspberry Pi, you can pair it with the Legends Ultimate over Bluetooth.

In addition to all of the onboard games and customization options, the Legends Ultimate has an optional subscription service called ArcadeNet ($20 per month), which gives you access to a growing library of games. You can also stream games from cloud servers and your own PC games with the Bring Your Own Game feature–it does cost $1 per hour, though.

Walmart and Sam’s Club had been selling the original iteration for $50 to $100 off at times, so it’ll be interesting to see if this pricey, albeit feature rich, cabinet is sold for less than retail price again.

AtGames’ Legends Ultimate is part of the growing trend of home arcade machines boasting hundreds of games and customization features. It’s joined by the upcoming iiRcade cabinet, which has a Sega license and shattered its Kickstarter goal recently. SNK also just revealed the Neo Geo MVSX, which comes packed with 50 classic Neo Geo and SNK arcade titles. The Legends Ultimate is certainly aimed at retro gamers, and if that’s you, don’t forget to check out our complete guide to retro gaming in 2020.

Magic: Legends Unveils Black Mana Necromancer Class

Magic: Legends is a Diablo-like action RPG based on the popular card game, and so all of its classes are based on one of the traditional Mana colors. Developer Cryptic Studios has now revealed the fifth and final Mana color’s associated class: the Black Mana wielding Necromancer.

According to a blog post, the Necromancer is a devotee of death and decay, letting them manipulate minions from the dead and make sacrifices to charge their attacks. The class is largely based around the power set of Liliana Vess from the Magic card game, one of the more popular Planeswalker characters. The power set revolves around reanimating corpses, debuffing enemies with curses, and sacrificing your allied creatures.

Necromancer’s primary ability is called Grim Siphon, a mid-range attack that also poisons the enemy and heals the player. The secondary ability, Grave Upheaval, damages enemies and summons skeletons to their side, while the utility ability Soul Wither poisons and slows enemies immediately around the player in a black cloud and healing the player. As an example, you could summon creatures, then use your health to cast a powerful spell, and then sacrifice one of the creatures to get your health back.

In many ways this is the opposite of the most recent class revealed, the White Mana powered Sanctifier. That one is a long-range support class with powerful healing abilities. Those join the other three known classes: Mind Mage (Blue), Geomancer (Red), and Beastcaller (Green).

Magic Legends is currently in beta. It’s coming to PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Now Playing: Magic: Legends – Official Gameplay Trailer

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Pokemon Go Is Letting Players Choose Next Two Community Day Pokemon

There are still a few August events lined up for Pokemon Go, but developer Niantic is already preparing for the game’s next two Community Days, and it’s giving players a say in the events.

The studio has announced that September and October’s Community Day Pokemon will be decided by voting. Player will be able to cast a ballot for four possible choices–Charmander, Caterpie, Grimer, and Porygon–and the winners will be featured during the game’s next two Community Days.

No further details–such as when the voting will take place or what event move each monster will possibly learn if it’s selected as the featured Pokemon–have been announced just yet, but Niantic promises that more information is coming “soon.”

This is the second time this year that Niantic has given players a chance to vote on a Community Day’s featured Pokemon. The studio held a similar poll back in May that featured Squirtle, Weedle, Gastly, and Sandshrew. Weedle earned the most votes and was featured during June’s Community Day, while runner-up Gastly was July’s featured Pokemon.

In the meantime, the third and final Ultra Unlock event of the summer, Unova Week, kicks off on August 14 and runs until August 21. Throughout that time, Gen 5 Pokemon like Sewaddle, Cottonee, and Emolga will appear in the wild much more often than usual, while the Mythical Genesect will appear in five-star Raids. Niantic is also holding a Pokemon Go Fest makeup event on August 16 that will give Go Fest ticket holders another chance to catch Pokemon from last month’s event.

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Striking New Tenet Poster Released, Features Elizabeth Debicki

Tenet, the next movie from Oscar-nominated director Christopher Nolan, is coming to cinemas in Australia on August 27 ahead of its release in the US on September 3 for the Labor Day weekend.

Ahead of its release, GameSpot can reveal a new poster for the film featuring one of the stars, Elizabeth Debicki. The striking poster shows Debicki ominously peering into frame, one eye covered by blonde hair. The background depicts a seaside town near a rockface.

The poster also contains the movie’s tagline, “Time Runs Out.” Check it out below.

Elizabeth Debicki in Tenet
Elizabeth Debicki in Tenet

In addition to the release of Tenet later this month, writer-director Christopher Nolan’s earlier film, Inception, is returning to Australian cinemas on August 13 (that’s today!) to celebrate the dream-inside-a-dream film’s 10th anniversary. The re-release of Inception includes a special featurette with Nolan that plays before the film and a new behind-the-scenes video for Tenet that includes footage from the movie and interviews with the cast, among other things.

Other posters for Tenet for other regions have also been released, showcasing the main characters from the film have also been released. You can see a roundup of these in the image below.

Tenet–which is written and directed by Nolan–stars Robert Pattinson, John David Washington, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Martin Donovan, Kenneth Branagh, and Elizabeth Debicki, in addition to Michael Caine who played Alfred in Nolan’s Batman movies.

The movie remains a mystery in terms of its plot and story. Pattinson recently said the movie is like the “greatest plate-spinning trick you’ve ever seen.”

Several of Nolan’s past movies–including Inception, Batman Begins, and The Prestige–streamed inside of Fortnite back in June. We watched Inception in Fortnite, and it was actually pretty cool.

Mario Kart Tour Adds A Mario 64 Boss And More In Latest Event

A new event has begun in Mario Kart Tour. This week marks the start of the Pirate Tour, and it introduces another classic course to the game, as well as a new kart and two new playable racers.

The aforementioned course is Airship Fortress from Mario Kart DS. This track has players racing around the exterior and interior of one of Bowser’s flying airships, with Rocky Wrenches, Bullet Bills, and other hazards littering the path.

The Pirate Tour also introduces two new racers to the game’s ever-expanding roster. First is Pirate Bowser Jr., who is outfitted with a pirate hat, eye patch, and cutlass. Pirate Bowser Jr. is currently spotlighted alongside the new Pirate Sushi Racer kart, but the Pirate Tour will also add King Bob-omb from Super Mario 64 as a playable racer.

The Pirate Tour runs until August 25. Collect enough Grand Stars during the event and you’ll be able to earn rubies, Dry Bones, and other gifts, while Gold Pass holders can unlock a Boo Hanafuda glider and other rewards during the tour.

Last month, Nintendo rolled out a big update for Mario Kart Tour that added a landscape mode and made a few other adjustments to the game. Another Nintendo mobile game, Dr. Mario World, also received a big update recently, which introduced 8-bit Dr. Mario to the game along with a new Skill Summit mode that lets you earn additional rewards.

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