Chastity recommends Little Fires Everywhere (Hulu) and The Little Hours (Netflix), Greg recommends the SXSW Film Festival Collection (Prime Video), and Meg recommends The Untamed (Netflix). We react to news of Taika Waititi directing and co-writing a new Star Wars movie, Nicolas Cage cast as Joe Exotic for a new TV series about the Tiger King star, and The Twilight Zone Season 2 cast announcement. And finally, we decide on the best episodes of The X-Files ever, as well as our favorite celebrity cameos from the sci-fi series.
You Should Be Watching… is a weekly podcast where we recommend and discuss TV shows and movies, old and new, with new episodes premiering every Wednesday. You can listen to audio versions on Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, and Apple Podcasts.
Tell us what kind of TV and movie recommendations you’re looking for – whether you’re trying to find a good 90s horror movie or a new comedy or anything else.
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Cyberpunk 2077’s character options include private part customization, The Last of Us Part 2 gets a violent new trailer, and Robocop is coming to Mortal Kombat 11.
The ESRB has officially rated Cyberpunk 2077 an “M for Mature” for a long list of reasons, one of them being its character creation options, which includes the customization of private body parts. The Last of Us Part 2 also gets a new story trailer featuring and, as expected, it’s very violent and upsetting.
Mortal Kombat 11 is getting an all new story expansion titled Aftermath, and three new characters are going to be added as part of it, including Robocop. For all the latest gaming news stories, be sure to get your Save State every Monday through Thursday on GameSpot.
One of Fortnite developer Epic Games’ biggest minority investors, the talent agency Endeavor, which is also the owner of the UFC, is looking to offload some of its stake in the studio.
Sources told The Hollywood Reporter that Endeavor is moving to sell “a part of its stake” in Epic Games for a “high multiple.” It’s not clear exactly how many shares Endeavor is looking to sell.
The move comes during difficult times for Endeavor. Some of the company’s biggest businesses include the talent agency WME and the UFC, which it owns. Those businesses have been rocked by the COVID-19 pandemic, and in response, Endeavor announced layoffs and furloughs impacting thousands of employees around the world. Selling a portion of its stake in Epic could be a move to shore up capital in the short-term to help weather the storm.
Fortnite and Epic Games are currently riding high. Fortnite recently celebrated a massive new milestone–350 million registered players. Meanwhile, Epic Games is reportedly close to signing a new round of funding that would bring the independent company’s total valuation up to $15 billion.
Disney used Epic’s Unreal Engine to film sequences in The Mandalorian, and it’s expected the companies will continue to work together in the future.
More recently, Epic acquired the Houseparty app, which has exploded in popularity as people stay home and look for new ways to stay connected with friends during the lockdowns.
One of the defining features of Warzone is the Gulag. Players who die on the battlefield are sent to the Gulag, where they face off against other players in one-on-one battles for a chance at redeploying. It’s a simple enough idea that is resonating with players.
Developer Raven Software led the effort to create Warzone and the Gulag specifically. We spoke with creative director Amos Hodge about the origins, design, and response to the Gulag.
Where did the idea for the Gulag come from in the first place? Hodge said the team, from the very beginning, wanted to create a way for players to return to the battlefield after death.
“Single-life game modes do a fantastic job of adding tension to the gameplay. But they are also unforgiving and can encourage an overly cautious playstyle. After all, one unlucky move and your game is over,” Hodge said.
Another key consideration was that Raven wanted to ensure that the redeployment mechanic was not dependent on teammates. “Not all players have a full squad working together as a well-oiled machine. And there is a certain poetry to a player earning their own way back into the game,” Hodge said.
Concurrently with Raven’s development of what would become the Gulag, another team was working on Modern Warfare’s 2v2 Gunfight mode. It was “showing strong signs of promise,” Hodge said, and this helped encourage the team to realise its vision for a new way of cheating death.
“With our high-level goals in mind it was a small jump to prototype a mechanic where players had to fight their way back into the game,” Hodge said.
As players know, the Gulag is based directly on the mission “The Gulag” from Modern Warfare 2 (which can you play again in Remastered fashion right now). “We wanted to keep the look, theme, and mood from the MW2 campaign, but we need to make sure the combat space was symmetrical to keep both players on equal footing. The end result worked perfectly,” Hodge said. “It feels like the Gulag from the campaign and the layout feels balanced.”
Hodge also shared some new insight on ideas that Raven had for the Gulag that didn’t make it through. He said Raven toyed with the idea of allowing players who successfully win their 1v1 Gulag match to redeploy with their full loadout or their Gulag loadout. The team also thought about taking everything away from players. But the team ultimately decided to go with a pistol. “The pistol was enough so the player wasn’t defenceless, but wasn’t so strong that the Gulag player could drop onto active players for easy kills,” Hodge said.
The developer also spoke about how Raven is planning additional changes to the Gulag in regards to starting weapons. However, the overall goal is to keep the number of weapons limited so players can familiarize themselves with them. Hodge also told us how the very existence of the Gulag changes player psychology and behavior to be more daring and courageous, because they know they can (potentially) respawn.
Check out GameSpot’s full interview with Hodge below, and keep checking back with GameSpot for the latest. There is much more to come for Warzone, as Activision recently promised it will deliver new seasons of content, game modes, and more.
GameSpot: Now that you’re a few months in, how are you feeling about the release overall and the stamp you’ve made on the CoD brand?
Amos Hodge: We are excited with the performance of Warzone. I started in the games industry to make fun experiences and share them with as many people as possible. To see people having fun and enjoying something I helped create is an experience unlike anything else.
The great thing about multiplayer games today is that we get to continually update them. We gather feedback, we build new content, and we continually grow the game. We are always looking for the next thing to take Warzone to the next level.
The Gulag is what we’re here to talk about, and it’s one of Warzone’s more unique and innovative features. Can you talk about your inspiration for this going back to the beginning?
We knew from the beginning that we wanted a way for players who had been eliminated to get an extra shot at coming back. Single life game modes do a fantastic job of adding tension to the gameplay. But they are also unforgiving and can encourage an overly cautious playstyle. After all, one unlucky move and your game is over.
It didn’t take much discussion to arrive at a few high-level goals. First, we didn’t want a mechanic that was dependent on your teammates. Not all players have a full squad working together as a well-oiled machine. And there is a certain poetry to a player earning their own way back into the game. Second, we wanted to focus on what CoD does best, and that is gun play.
At the time, 2v2 Gunfight in Modern Warfare was being developed and was showing strong signs of promise. With our high-level goals in mind it was a small jump to prototype a mechanic where players had to fight their way back into the game.
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Can you share any stories from Gulag’s development that speak to how you iterated on the idea before landing on what fans are seeing in the final game?
Immediately we realized that once a player was in Gulag, the wait time before your fight was comically long. We decided to create six different Gulag locations, so we could spread players out and shorten the wait time.
As time went on Gulag started to feel a little repetitive. It was a small simple map and you saw it every game. We created three different Gulag layouts to keep things feeling fresher longer. In total, we have six Gulag locations with three different layouts.
We also iterated quite a bit on what players have equipped when they came back from Gulag. We tried giving them their full loadout, we tried letting them keep the Gulag loadout, we tried giving them nothing, and eventually we settled on a pistol. The pistol was enough so the player wasn’t defenceless, but wasn’t so strong that the Gulag player could drop onto active players for easy kills.
In terms of the design, I recently played the MW2 Remastered Campaign and it seems Warzone’s recreation of the Gulag is incredibly faithful to that. How much did you want to change and keep the same?
This was the perfect opportunity to connect our fight for your life mechanic into CoD lore. It grounds the mechanic into the CoD universe. It was paramount that we recreated the feeling of Gulag from MW2.
What were some of the design principles you followed when adapting the campaign’s Gulag for a multiplayer environment?
We wanted to keep the look, theme, and mood from the MW2 campaign, but we need to make sure the combat space was symmetrical to keep both players on equal footing. The end result worked perfectly. It feels like the Gulag from the campaign and the layout feels balanced.
What do you want the player to feel when they are in the Gulag? I know I feel tense and on-edge, given the stakes and the 1v1 nature….
It was important that we sell the concept of being captured and fighting for your freedom. We wanted the mechanic to feel grounded and part of a single continuous experience.
We wanted the player to feel tension as well. But not just the normal tension of a 1v1 fight. We wanted the tension of knowing your team was still fighting and you needed a win to get back to them. It’s an added social tension.
What are you hearing from players in regard to feedback about the Gulag so far?
The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Players love the chance to come back into the game and it feels fair. Players can be bolder in early combat and one mistake doesn’t have to be the end. It keeps the in-game player count higher for longer giving players more time and more combat engagements.
Are you planning any updates for Gulag in the future, like different starting weapons or a change in layout for the prison itself to keep things fresh?
We are looking at changing up the Gulag starting weapons for future updates to keep things fresh. The goal is to maintain a small set of weapons so players can get familiar with them.
From a gameplay perspective, how do you think it affects the player psychology of the overall Warzone experience to know that dying on the battlefield doesn’t mean your game is over?
Players are more willing to take risks and complete contracts. Gulag lessens the sting of that first death and shifts the focus to a 1v1 battle. Your Gulag battle adds to your chance of winning. And who doesn’t love coming back for revenge?
Do you have any numbers, or anecdotal stories, about how many people have returned to the battlefield from the Gulag and then gone on to win a match?
One of our guiding principles in Warzone has always been a focus on player stories. This focus is what contributes to the sandbox feel of Warzone.
Winning Gulag feels great. But it feels even better to win Gulag, then buy your teammates back and go on to win the game. Almost everyone has a Gulag comeback story. That is one of the keys to its success.
The Total War franchise has entered into the digital card game space with Total War: Elysium. As more and more franchises are entering the card game scene, Total War is bringing historical battles to the genre.
One of the new features that Total War: Elysium is bringing to the genre is cards that are limited by the time of day. This mechanic is called Daybreak, limiting the use of some cards over the course of the game.
We are very pleased to announce that Total War: ELYSIUM is now entering Closed Beta!
We’re very excited to invite you to be the first to experience our new game and feedback to help us make it even better.
New cards will be earned through leveling up, along with being available for in-game purchase. Crafting cards will also be a mechanic going forward. Decks will be made up of a bunch of generals, all historical figures, and matching unit types. Through the Daybreak mechanic, reserves can be called in for backup during the game.
The developers, Creative Assembly, are planning on releasing Total War: Elysium on PC, Android, and iOS simultaneously. The closed beta is currently only available on Android. To sign up for the closed beta, head over to the official site.
An important new feature has been added to Stadia, Google’s game streaming service, and it’s going to make things easier for anyone who is using a PC or laptop to play their Stadia games. The new feature, announced through the Stadia Community site, allows users to wirelessly pair the Stadia controller with their computer.
“You no longer need to connect your Stadia Controller physically to your computer to play your favorite games,” the post reads. “You’ll be able to link your Stadia Controller and Stadia.com through your Wi-Fi network and play without a USB-C cable connection.”
This brings the Stadia service in line with a more traditional modern gaming/controller set-up, which is good to see.
Stadia Pro has also added new games to its Pro service this month, including Zombie Army 4, PUBG, SteamWorld Heist, and The Turing Test. These are available now for anyone who is a member of the service.
Stadia Pro subscribers can also currently get Doom Eternal at a 25% discount, as well as deals on PUBG DLC and several other games–the full list is available through the Stadia Community site.
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The Studio TRIGGER anime, Little Witch Academia, is getting a second game based on the series. Little Witch Academia: VR Broom Racing will let players race around on brooms in VR with the characters from the anime.
Pair up with your favorite Little Witch Academia characters to race across the finish line and explore the grounds of Luna Nova in an immersive multiplayer VR experience. Players will even encounter ghosts on the grounds that will need to be purified.
The story is being directed by Junichi Yamamoto, the opening and ending movie director from The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening.
This VR experience can be played on an Oculus Quest in late 2020, with support for PSVR, Oculus Rift, SteamVR, and HTC Vive being added in early 2021.
The first season of Little Witch Academia is available to stream on Netflix.
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Jason Alexander played George Costanza across 9 seasons of Seinfeld, and became famous for his hyper-specific grievances, strange Christmas practices, and general comic buffoonery. Seinfeld was enormous, and now, in a new interview, Alexander recalls how big a deal the finale was–and how he could have sold some of the show’s secrets for money if he’d wanted to.
In a video chat between Julia Louis-Dreyfus (who played Elaine Benes on the long-running sitcom) and Alexander, the two discuss how the show ended, as picked up on by The Hollywood Reporter. According to Alexander, he was given the option to leave secrets from the show’s finale–by his own publicist.
“My own publicist–I don’t know if this came for you too–my publicist was asking me if I was willing to leak out some secrets for money,” Alexander said. “And I went, ‘They’ll kill us!'”
Of course, Alexander was doing okay–his salary by the last season was $600,000 per episode (as was the case with Louis-Dreyfus and co-star Michael Richards too; Jerry Seinfeld was making a full $1 million).
You can watch the full 57-minute discussion below–it’s quite lovely. The conversation was hosted to raise money for Direct Relief, which is offering COVID-19 relief. The two stars watched The Chinese Restaurant, one of the show’s seminal early episodes, and discuss it too.
This is, of course, exactly the kind of scheme George would have gone for, although something surely would have gone terribly wrong.
Seinfeld is long over, but two Australian game developers are trying their best to get their hands on the rights to make a spin-off videogame. Jerry Seinfeld, meanwhile, has a new Netflix special out now.
Despite reports that Techland, the developers of Dying Light, was secretly bought out by Microsoft from Polshi Gamedev, it seems that Techland is still going strong. Taking to Twitter, Ola Sondej, the senior PR manager at Techland, has confirmed that the company was not acquired by another publisher like the Polish report stated.
In case you guys wondered, Techland was not acquired by another publisher. We’re still an independent studio, and will deliver Dying Light 2 on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
According to Sondej, the English translation of the Polish article is inaccurate, leading to the misinformation and false news of the company’s status.
While I have your attention, development of Dying Light 2 is moving forward, the game’s in good shape (and in good hands), so worry not. It IS coming.
Thankfully, it seems that Techland is still going strong and pushing ahead with Dying Light 2. While the game was delayed back in January indefinitely, this tweet seems to indicate that development on the title has been going ahead despite the current pandemic.
The latest expansion to EA’s The Sims 4 is all about sustainable living. The Eco Lifestyle pack includes a bunch of new eco-friendly items designed to reduce the carbon footprint of your sims.
Taking place in a new world called Evergreen Harbor, players are encouraged to take the environment into consideration when living their sim’s lives this time around. Players will be able to produce their own electricity and water with wind turbines, solar panels, and dew collectors. Sims will even be able to grow their own food in an all new vertical garden feature.
All of these new features will have a positive influence on the neighbourhood, which is directly influenced by the actions you make. Too much pollution and Evergreen Harbor will become a smoggy, depressing place to live. When the pollution is reduced, the town will recover and burst back to life, with more flora and greenery growing all over the place.
“As Sims explore all of the environmentally conscious efforts that The Sims 4 Eco Lifestyle has to offer, they’ll have plenty of opportunity to learn more about how to maintain a sustainable lifestyle and collaborate with the community to make the most out of the resources they have. Simmers will be surprised by what a positive effect they can have on their world once they start making the rules,” EA wrote.
Sims will even be able to dumpster dive to save some money and find key resources for crafting sellable items. Items found in the dumpsters can be fixed up and used in your own home. Re-purpose fabric, technology, and other materials to decorate your home and wardrobe.
The Eco Lifestyle pack is the 9th expansion to the series and will release on June 5 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.The expansion is available for pre-order on Origin PC and Xbox One now. You can check the site for a live countdown to the release of the pack.
