In early April, veteran voice actor Rick May died after contracting COVID-19. May was known for his work in Star Fox 64 as Peppy Hare, and the actor also played the Soldier character in Team Fortress 2. As a memorial, Valve has included a tribute to May in the game’s latest update.
Listed only as “a tribute to Rick May, voice of the Soldier” in the game’s patch notes, the latest Team Fortress 2 update erected statues on the game’s maps as well as a changed main menu theme. Players have been hearing May’s voice lines since the game launched over 12 years ago.
Some players have decided to pay tribute to May in Team Fortress 2 themselves, as well, choosing to play as Soldier and holding a ceasefire when a match begins. Instead of firing at each other, they instead fire their weapons up into the air while standing at one of the statues. Others have used Source Filmmaker to create their own short films paying tribute to him.
May’s role as Peppy Hare is equally iconic as his Team Fortress 2 role, and many of Star Fox 64’s famous catchphrases were delivered by him. These include the infamous “Do a barrel roll,” which has become a meme in its own right. It was the only game in the series with his voice acting, and a different person has played the character in each subsequent Star Fox game.
Here at IGN we occasionally like to showcase something from geekdom’s rich history — a pop-culture Time Capsule, if you will, that gives us a peek in to the past, perhaps providing a new appreciation for previous projects.
If you’d like, please check out the past few Time Capsules:
Before he melted hearts while kissing Kirsten Dunst in the rain, lifted spirits while battling Doc Ock on a train, and ruined childhoods while finger-gunning and acting vain, Tobey Maguire had to screen-test for the Peter Parker/Spider-Man role. It was a part that required him to get super buff. A great power that required great Maguire-ability.
With Sony now officially revealing the name of their Spider-Man Marvel Movie Universe – featuring the Tom Holland/MCU-related films as well as titles such as Venom and Morbius and apparently older films like the Maguire movies — it’s an opportune time to look back at the Tobey tests for Sam Raimi’s first Spidey film. The following reel shows Maguire, Dunst, Willem Dafoe (acting completely normal), the Uncle Ben who could barely change a light bulb, the Aunt May who screamed Biblical verses at Green Goblin, and the real hero of this trilogy, J.K. Simmons’ J. Jonah Jameson. He’s who Chad Kroeger and the one dude from Saliva who always ate the last garlic knot was singing about. To be fair, Sony’s Spidey slate for the past two decades should be called the Simmons-verse.
Funny thing though: The opening test scene here seems like a run-of-the-mill New York City mugging. A woman walking alone past crates and boxes that are selling for 500k on Zillow. An abundance of kissing noises one uses to call legions of rat minions to your side. The flash of a blade and a “Hey, didn’t I see you on the giant posters for Manhattan Memories but also at the diner pouring my decaf?”
But then Tobey turns up. Not in his costume. Not swinging into action. But shirtless and jacked and looking like he just exited Enter the Dragon. The F-bombs start flying like pumpkin bombs. More than one too, guaranteeing an “R” rating (but beeped out here)! The rest of it plays out like a bone-crunching kung-fu film. So stand back, because this Cider House RULES! Watch it below or at the link here.
As you can see (biscuit), Tobey had time to turn those fools inside out and show up for the most awkward family portraits ever. Man, Uncle Ben didn’t even like baseball. He just wore that Yankees cap to try and bond with Peter, who just scowled, ate an entire jar of peanut butter with his finger, and painted Warhammer miniatures until dawn.
Then there’s Willem Dafoe making sweet, sweet Undertaker eyes at the camera. It was right after Raimi told him that the entire screen test had to be taken back to formula. By the way, a billionaire with his eyes rolled back deep into his head is the Osborn family crest. It’s been seen for centuries proudly retreating from some of history’s greatest battles.
What did you think of the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man screen test? Let’s discuss in the comments!
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Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.
Extraction released exclusively for Netflix on April 24, and the action film looks poised to set a new record for the streaming service. Netflix projects 90 million households will watch the movie over its first four weeks, which would blow past the previous record-holder and even far surpass hit documentary series Tiger King.
Tyler Rake is kicking ass. 👊💪💥💥💪👊 EXTRACTION is well on its way to becoming the biggest-ever film premiere on Netflix — with a projected 90 million households getting in on the action in the first 4 weeks. Thanks to everyone who watched so far! pic.twitter.com/WqZWrW2gBV
Netflix previously reported that the Michael Bay film 6 Underground had been viewed by 83 million people in its first four weeks, meaning it would lose its throne to Extraction. However, it’s unclear how many people watched either movie in their entirety.
Netflix originally required a title to be viewed 70 percent or more in order to count for a view, but this has been changed to two minutes or more. It’s done to create parity between shorter and longer titles, but could also make it difficult to gauge a film’s actual popularity.
Extraction is a crowd-pleasing and all-out action blockbuster from beginning to end. Chris Hemsworth is in top form in the shootout-filled movie which draws heavy inspiration from John Wick for its camera work and gunfights.
The story is less impressive, and Dan Auty gave the film a 6/10 in GameSpot’s Extraction review.
Prior to Extraction, actor-director Sam Hargrave worked as a stunt coordinator for Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. The Russo brothers co-wrote and produced Extraction.
And y’all thought locking up your neighbors in cages like the animals they are was bad. Clearly, you haven’t seen anything yet–because this week, Byle the vile villager has decided to commit an even worse offense: Lie about Animal Crossing: New Horizons turnip prices.
In Episode 4 of Vile Villager, Rob Handlery and Jake Dekker decide to forgo winning employee of the month and tell their fellow GameSpot coworkers that the Nook’s Cranny on Byle’s island is buying turnips for 544 bells…when they’re actually only going for 80.
“What’s wrong with that?” we hear you ask. “After visiting MeatHouse island, you just walk over to Nook’s Cranny, see that they lied, and then leave. It’s only like a waste of 60 seconds.” Well see, here’s the thing. Rob and Jake didn’t just lie about the turnip prices. They also built an elaborate obstacle course between the MeatHouse airport and Nook’s Cranny so you actually had to waste a whole lot of time to only then learn that the entire ordeal wasn’t even worth it in the first place.
In the video above, you can watch Byle build his diabolical trap, attract his would-be victims, dress up as a creepy jester (because why not), and then observe his prey scurry around to his heart’s content. Because if it’s not clear already, Byle is a psychopath.
Call of Duty games have occasionally featured third-person modes over the years, but 2019’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is not one of them—or it wasn’t one of them. A glitch discovered in the game’s Survival mode on PS4 turned the game into a third-person shooter for one player, and it shows potential for an official mode.
Discovered by Reddit user Tkade14 by accident, the third-person “mode” in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare puts the camera far behind the player-character, and their movement remains smooth enough that it doesn’t look like a glitch. The player stuck with a knife for much of the footage and no target reticle made shooting a challenge, but they still managed to take out several enemies first.
It isn’t the only instance of the glitch happening recently. You can watch another video, also in Survival mode, below.
The glitch arguably gave them an advantage over first-person players because of the increased environmental awareness you get in third-person, though the Survival mode is against computer-controlled enemies. When they’re swarming your position and you need to make an exit, being able to see in all directions is a huge asset. It comes at the cost of quicker aiming and accuracy, but this is less important in single-player and cooperative modes.
Call of Duty Mobile on iOS and Android does include a third-person option, as well, for its battle royale mode. Players are given their own lobbies in order to eliminate any balance issues, but the console games have seemed opposed to the idea for more than a decade.
These days the average Joe is favoring portability over power. Laptops definitely have more versatility when raw horsepower isn’t a factor. Gamers, however, are a different story. No matter how far gaming laptops have come, they still pale in comparison to the benefits of the gaming desktop PC. The advantages are numerous. A gaming PC is massively more powerful than a gaming laptop at the same price point. A gaming PC can be upgraded to keep up with the times. The vast majority of laptops cannot be upgraded other than the RAM and hard drive, thus locking you in until you buy yet another new laptop. A gaming PC gives you the flexibility of a better, larger monitor. Yes, you can attach an external monitor to your laptop, but then you’ve spent needless dollars on your built-in display. The gaming PC offers better ergonomics compared to your traditional laptop setup. Here are the best deals we’ve found on bona fide gaming desktops. We will update this article regularly.
HP OMEN Obelisk Intel Core i5-9600K RTX 2080 Ti Gaming PC for $1682.99
I’ve never seen a prebuilt gaming PC with an RTX 2080 Ti (the fastest video card out right now) for this price. This PC is customizable on HP’s website, but buying the base config has its merits. In terms of gaming, upgrading from an Intel Core i5-9600K to an Intel Core i7 is a waste… performance-wise they are identical. Also, by upgrading the RAM and storage on your own, you can save alot of money and pick your own, better parts at the same time.
Select Graphics Card – NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti (+$450)
At cart, apply code “10GAMERSPRING“
Price should show up as $1682.99
Alienware Aurora R9 Intel Core i7-9700 RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming PC with 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, and 1TB HDD for $1620
Use code “LCS10OFF”
The new 2019 Alienware Aurora desktop boasts a facelift, improved thermals, new RGB LED lighting system, toolless chassis for easy swapping of parts, and performance components. This config boasts a 9th gen Intel Core i7 processor and the newest RTX 2080 SUPER video card. It’s about 10% more powerful than the non-SUPER model.
Alienware Aurora R8 Intel Core i7-9700 RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming PC with 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, and 2TB HDD for $1593
Use code “LCS10OFF”This gaming PC boasts a 9th gen Intel Core i7 processor and the newest RTX 2080 SUPER video card. It’s about 10% more powerful than the non-SUPER model and considerably more powerful than the GTX 1080 Ti. For those of you who would rather have a PC preinstalled with all the RAM and storage you’ll ever need, this model has 16GB RAM and dual drive storage.
New Alienware Aurora R9 AMD Ryzen 7 3700X AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT Gaming PC for $1089
Use code “LCS10OFF”For those of you who haven’t been keeping up with the Intel vs AMD CPU war, AMD has been giving Intel a run for its money with its flagship processors. The new AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8-core processor is comparable to the Intel Core i7-9700, both in terms of gaming and workstation performance. The RX 5700 XT is on par with the RTX 2070.
If you want a new 2019 model AND a tremendous value, then take a look at this Dell G5 gaming desktop. This is a customizable config so you can pick and choose your preferred combination of components. The config we chose gives you a 9th generation Intel Core i5 6-core processor and a powerful RTX 2070 SUPER video card for about $1000. That’s hard to beat. Despite the fact that the G5 model is not as pricey as Alienware, it still boasts a toolless chassis so you can easily upgrade your memory and hard drive.
The Alienware AW2518H 25″ 1080p Monitor is all about a stutter and tear-free gaming experience.. Besides having a blazing fast 1ms response time, this is one of the very few monitors that can support a 240Hz refresh rate and support NVIDIA’s GSYNC tehcnology. It retails at $710, but you can get it today for almost $300 less.
Arozzi Arena Gaming Desk with 100% Mouse Pad Surface for $205
Why don’t you complement your slick gaming PC with an equally slick gaming desk. This one normally sells for $360 but you can get the black and blue model for $155 less. The desk features an edge-stitched 5mm thick mouse pad on the entire desktop surface, heavy duty metal height adjustable legs, and integrated cord management.
This week on Good News Gaming, we look at a blast from the past: Through The Fire And Flames on Guitar Hero 3. Only this time, it’s being completed on expert at 165% speed. Better dig out the plastic axe and get practicing.
The movie Troy gets improved exponentially with the addition of Age of Empires sound effects, there’s a baby that looks like a Metal Gear Solid character, and we have some fun with some giant Nintendo DS consoles.
We also talk about GameSpot’s Play For All initiative, and how we’re going to be raising money for COVID relief all summer. If you have any uplifting news stories you’d like to see mentioned next week, leave them in the comments!
In this video:
Distracted boyfriend in FF7 Remake: https://twitter.com/dmseto/status/1253332541269897220?s=20
Through The Fire And Flames at 165%: https://youtu.be/VtEeDUeBrMg
Games for Carers link: giveaways.keymailer.co/nhs
Super Nintendo fish tank: https://youtu.be/clMe7aQm8y0
Elijah Wood in Animal Crossing: https://twitter.com/directedbyrian/status/1253365992849276934?s=20
Centre For Computing History JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/computermuseum
Centre For Computing History tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkRg1wtSAqw&feature=emb_title
Troy with Age Of Empires sound effects: https://youtu.be/ocXv7u8iOb0
Huge Nintendo DS: https://twitter.com/HugeNintendoDS
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the gift that keeps on giving, whether you’re looking to hang out with celebrities or just need an outlet for your psychopathic tendencies. The game has curated a lovely community as well, which we aim to celebrate in this weekly video series–starting with our favorite path designs.
In the video above, Persia talks about her favorite eight path designs and the creators behind them. From stunning black brick roads to rural tree stump paths, these designs are sure to help you capture the perfect aesthetic for your New Horizons island. We’d love to hear from you as well–let us know in the comments what your favorite path design is (even if it’s your own; don’t worry, we won’t judge).
In GameSpot’s Animal Crossing: New Horizons review, Kallie Plagge writes, “New Horizons has a slower pace even than other Animal Crossing games, and at times, that can feel unnecessarily restrictive. But there’s still plenty to do, and each of those activities feeds into the next brilliantly for a rewarding and relentlessly cheerful experience. New Horizons certainly came at the right time, and its strengths are particularly comforting right now. I’m as excited to see what random events await me each morning as I am glad to have it during hard times, and that’s sure to keep me coming back for the foreseeable future.”
The designs featured in this video include:
Black Brick design by user Zelda: MA-3689-2143-4570
Ivy Brick Path by user Kk: MA-2906-7843-7498
Ivy Stone Boarders by user Toria: MA-1264-3478-7702
Brick Boarders by user Udee: MA-9448-9193-5517
Terracotta Round Boarders by user Melissa: MA-7011-8313-9106
Black Street Design by user TyCo: MA-0495-7028-1200
Tree Stumps Path by user Kaya: MA-0792-0805-1685
Stone Land Plaques by user Lupa: MA-9799-1853-4863
Streets of Rage 4 is a fantastic throwback to the classic era of side-scrolling brawlers. While this revisit to one of the Sega Genesis’ most iconic franchises introduces a brand new look and revamped gameplay, its roots are firmly planted in the retro-era, making it a faithful sequel. SOR4 also includes some hidden easter eggs that take the references to the classic games. These include the original soundtracks and the entire cast of unlockable characters from the first three games, but there’s also another set of secrets that take the retro element even further.
Throughout the game, you’ll come across arcade cabinets for Bare Knuckle–the international title for the Streets of Rage series. While you may feel inclined to bash open these cabinets to receive some precious cash to score extra points, these are the gateway to hidden challenge stages that take you back to familiar locales from Streets of Rage 2. To access these stages, you’ll need to pick up a taser weapon and strike the arcade cabinet, taking you to a special battle that you’ll need to clear with only one life. For many reasons, however, this can be tough to pull off, so we’ve broken down how to find each cabinet and what sort of challenge you’ll face in each retro fight.
Stage 2: Police Precinct
Shortly after breaking out of jail, you’ll encounter a police officer wearing a black outfit named Barney. While you’ve beat down other cops, this one is the strongest. He’ll quickly use a grab to zap you with his taser, so keep your distance and strike him when he’s vulnerable to get him to drop it. Leave the taser on the ground and clear out the extra enemies before proceeding forward.
Once the fight is over, pick up the taser and walk forward until you see an open door, leading to an arcade cabinet. Use the taser on it to be transported to the first hidden stage. This encounter pits you against Jack, one of SOR4’s first mini-bosses. After defeating him, destroy the objects nearby to gain extra pick-up, including a star move. Proceed through the door to get transported back to the police precinct.
Stage 4: Old Pier
The next retro challenge is located in the middle section of the Old Pier stage. You’ll come across an arcade with a Bare Knuckle cabinet inside. However, you’ll need to clear out numerous foes, including elite police officers and average brawlers, to gain entry. This fight can be tough, even without trying to get into the arcade, as you’ll have to contend with multiple shield cops along with the return of Barney–who still loves to grab you for a quick zap from the taser. Remember, keep your distance and go in for quick strikes. Dodging attacks in this fight is especially important, which you can do by moving up and down the field away from the same plane that attacks are coming from.
Once that fight is done, you’ll get the prompt to proceed with the level by jumping from the pier. Instead of doing that, pick up the taser and head through the open door to the arcade. Walk over to the cabinet and use the taser to start the next challenge. This fight will pit you against Zamza, the claw wielding mini-boss from SOR2’s amusement park stage. The fight can be a tough one given his speed, along with his ability to attack on recovery, so stay on your toes and go in for quick strikes to take him down.
Stage 5: Underground
The next arcade cabinet in the Underground stage is in plain sight—unfortunately, it’s also one of the more challenging stages to unlock. Once you reach the bar after exiting the sewer, you’ll encounter street brawlers and bikers inside. As you progress through the room, you’ll see a Y. Signal enemy at the cabinet. But before you can make a beeline to the machine, you’ll jump immediately into a fight with a swarm of goons along with the elite biker Caramel–who will destroy a table revealing the taser upon her arrival. The challenge here is completing the fight without the cabinet taking any damage. One hit from either you or the enemies will destroy it, and you’ll need to restart the stage to try again. Once this fight starts, backtrack to the left keep the battle far away from the cabinet. Once the enemies are cleared out, track down the taser and use it on the cabinet to start the hidden stage.
This hidden battle will have you face off against Abadede, the hulking wrestler from SOR2 who challenges you to a brawl in a fight pit. Facing off against this boss can be tough, as he’s the most aggressive enemy you encounter up to this point. His charging attack is especially harmful, so remember to dodge his strikes by moving away from his line of attacks. Keep hitting him with your rapid strikes, and eventually you’ll take him down.
Stage 8: Art Gallery
The final hidden stage is the least stressful to find, yet it also leads to the hardest retro challenge you’ll come to face. In the backroom of the Art Gallery, just before facing off against the twin bosses Beyo and Riha, you’ll find the arcade cabinet right in front of you. However, the taser to activate it is well hidden. To find it, look towards the bottom of the screen to see a faint glint of an object. Walk over to it and pick it up to reveal the taser. Use it on the cabinet to start the final challenge stage.
Taking place in the final level of SOR2, this multi-stage fight pits you against common enemies, master martial-artist Shiva, and the head of the Syndicate himself: Mr. X. While the previous battles had you fight against single foes, you’ll be taking on common enemies along with elite bosses, making it an especially tricky fight. With only one life, you’ll need to show restraint and not be greedy with your attacks, as both Mr. X and Shiva can attack upon recovery and use counter-attacks if you get too close. The best way to defeat the enemies is to dodge attacks and strike when they finish their combo-strings. Keep a steady flow and rhythm with your strikes, and eventually you’ll clear out the enemies to earn yet another star power-up.
That does it for the retro stages. For more on Streets of Rage 4, including our full review when that goes live, check back with us at GameSpot.
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It’s time for another seasonal event in Animal Crossing: New Horizons! This time it’s May Day, which runs from May 1 through 7. Unlike Bunny Day, May Day doesn’t actually last the whole week–you instead have the week to go on a one-time May Day Tour at your leisure. This tour will take you to a special island unlike the regular Mystery Tour islands you normally go to.
How To Get Your May Day Ticket
To kick off May Day, talk to Tom Nook at Resident Services. He’ll tell you he appreciates your hard work and would like to reward you with a May Day Ticket, which will be ready at the airport counter for you. You have to use the May Day Ticket before the end of the day on May 7, and you can only use it once. The May Day Tour takes around 15 minutes to complete, so make sure you have enough time.
When you’re ready to do the May Day Tour, head to the airport, talk to Orville, and select “I wanna fly!” and then “Use May Day Ticket.” Don’t worry about what’s in your pockets–everything you’re carrying will be held for you at the airport, so you don’t need to empty your inventory before leaving like you might do before going on a Mystery Tour.
How The May Day Tour Works
The goal of the May Day Tour is to make your way through a maze using only the items you find on the island. These items include tools, your native fruit, and crafting materials; you’ll also find DIY recipes for the flimsy axe and regular axe in case you didn’t already have them. Within the maze there are 9 bell vouchers to collect, which can be sold at Nook’s Cranny for 3,000 bells each, though your main goal is to reach the special NPC at the end of the maze: Rover.
Outside the May Day hedge maze in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
The puzzle relies on fruit power, which is the stamina you get from eating a piece of fruit. While powered up from eating fruit, you can dig up entire trees and destroy rocks–which are your main obstacles in the maze. You’ll need to eat a piece of fruit to dig up a tree or break a rock, which will then let you access an area that has more fruit or crafting materials. If you want to get all the bell vouchers, the challenge is to use your fruit sparingly, craft an axe, and chop down trees instead of using fruit power to pick them up; you’ll need the fruit power to destroy rocks instead, since you can’t otherwise move them or get rid of them the way you can simply chop down trees.
If you get stuck, you can use the Rescue Service app on your NookPhone or ask Wilbur for a hint. Using the Rescue Service will completely reset the maze and your inventory, which is useful if you used an item you shouldn’t have and can’t reach certain areas of the maze.
You’ll be able to get to the end of the maze without doing everything perfectly, though, so if you don’t care about bells, you can pretty easily reach Rover. This blue cat, who’s a returning NPC from previous Animal Crossing games, will give you a special piece of furniture for completing the maze (and even teases his return in the future).
What Do You Get For May Day?
While you won’t be able to bring any items back with you, the dodos will send you both Rover’s prize and the bell vouchers you picked up in the mail; they should arrive as soon as you’re back from the tour. The prize, Rover’s briefcase, is an item you can display that has cute stickers from Rover’s travels all over it; like we said above, the bell vouchers can be sold for 3,000 bells apiece at Nook’s Cranny.
May Day isn’t the only event going on in New Horizons right now. Nature Day continues through May 4; you can also see our upcoming events schedule for what’s on the… horizon.
