BAFTA Games 2020 Nominations Announced

The nominations for the BAFTA Games 2020 Awards have been revealed. IGN’s Game of the Year winner Control has the joint-most number of nominations at 11, alongside Death Stranding, which is IGN’s Best PS4 Exclusive of 2019. Disco Elysium, which is IGN’s Best PC Game of 2019, has been nominated for seven awards.

11 is the highest number of nominations any single game has received since the standalone BAFTA Game awards began in 2004. That high number is helped along by the new award categories this year, which are Animation, Technical Achievement, Best Performer in a Leading Role, and Best Performer in a Supporting Role.

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The winner of the Mobile Games of the Year award is decided by the public. So if you want to, cast your vote for either Assemble with Care, Call of Duty: Mobile, Dead Man’s Phone, Pokémon Go, Tangle Tower, or What the Golf?.

The winners will be announced on April 2, 2020, and you’ll be able to tune into BAFTA’s Facebook, Twitch, and YouTube channel to watch it all happen live. As previously announced, Hideo Kojima will receive the BAFTA Fellowship on the night.

The full list of nominations for the BAFTA Games 2020 Awards are below.

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Best Game

  • Control
  • Disco Elysium
  • Luigi’s Mansion 3
  • Outer Wilds
  • Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
  • Untitled Goose Game

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for British Game

  • DiRT Rally 2.0
  • Heaven’s Vault
  • Knights and Bikes
  • Observation
  • Planet Zoo
  • Total War: Three Kingdoms

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Animation

  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
  • Control
  • Death Stranding
  • Luigi’s Mansion 3
  • Sayonara Wild Hearts
  • Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Artistic Achievement

  • Concrete Genie
  • Control
  • Death Stranding
  • Disco Elysium
  • Knights and Bikes
  • Sayonara Wild Hearts

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BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Audio Achievement

  • Ape Out
  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
  • Control
  • Death Stranding
  • Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
  • Untitled Goose Game

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Debut Game

  • Ape Out
  • Death Stranding
  • Disco Elysium
  • Katana Zero
  • Knights and Bikes
  • Manifold Garden

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Evolving Game

  • Apex Legends
  • Destiny 2
  • Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers
  • Fortnite
  • No Man’s Sky: Beyond
  • Path of Exile

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Family Game

  • Concrete Genie
  • Knights and Bikes
  • Luigi’s Mansion 3
  • Untitled Goose Game
  • Vacation Simulator
  • Wattam

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Game Beyond Entertainment

  • Civilization VI: Gathering Storm
  • Death Stranding
  • Kind Words (lo fi chill beats to write to)
  • Life is Strange 2 (Episodes 2-5)
  • Neo Cab
  • Ring Fit Adventure

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BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Game Design

  • Baba Is You
  • Control
  • Disco Elysium
  • Outer Wilds
  • Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
  • Wattam

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Multiplayer Game

  • Apex Legends
  • Borderlands 3
  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
  • Luigi’s Mansion 3
  • Tick Tock: A Tale for Two
  • Tom Clancy’s The Division 2

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Music

  • Control
  • Death Stranding
  • Disco Elysium
  • Outer Wilds
  • The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
  • Wattam

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Narrative

  • Control
  • Disco Elysium
  • Life is Strange 2 (Episodes 2-5)
  • Outer Wilds
  • The Outer Worlds
  • Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Original Property

  • Baba Is You
  • Control
  • Death Stranding
  • Disco Elysium
  • Outer Wilds
  • Untitled Goose Game

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BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Performer in a Leading Role

  • Laura Bailey as Kait Diaz in Gears 5
  • Courtney Hope as Jesse Faden in Control
  • Logan Marshall-Green as David in Telling Lies
  • Gonzalo Martin as Sean Diaz in Life is Strange 2 (episodes 2-5)
  • Barry Sloane as Captain Price in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
  • Norman Reedus as Sam in Death Stranding

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Performer in a Supporting Role

  • Jolene Andersen as Karen Reynolds in Life is Strange 2 (episodes 2-5)
  • Troy Baker as Higgs in Death Stranding
  • Sarah Bartholomew as Cassidy (Lucy Rose Jones) in Life is Strange 2 (episodes 2-5)
  • Ayisha Issa as Fliss in The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan
  • Léa Seydoux as Fragile in Death Stranding
  • Martti Suosalo as Ahti the Janitor in Control

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Technical Achievement

  • A Plague Tale: Innocence
  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
  • Control
  • Death Stranding
  • Metro Exodus
  • Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

BAFTA 2020 Nominees for Mobile Game of the Year

  • Assemble With Care
  • Call of Duty: Mobile
  • Dead Man’s Phone
  • Pokémon Go
  • Tangle Tower
  • What the Golf?

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Chris Priestman is a freelancer who writes news for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

A Quiet Place Part 2 Is Premiering With A Special Double Feature

A Quiet Place Part II is coming to cinemas on March 20, but you’ll be able to catch it early if you grab tickets to a one-night-only double feature on March 18.

Some films just have to be watched in the cinemas, and A Quiet Place is undoubtedly one of them. With a proper surround system dropping every tiny sound, and a full audience all holding their breath on behalf of the protagonist, it’s an experience that can’t be replicated.

Luckily, if you missed the chance to watch A Quiet Place in cinemas the first time–or if you’re just a big fan of the film–you have the chance to catch it again, in a double feature with the upcoming sequel.

Tickets are available here, both for the double feature and for regular showings of A Quiet Place Part II beginning March 20.

A Quiet Place Part II follows the same family from the original film, promising to give us more details on how exactly you raise a young baby in a silent apocalypse. The sequel will introduce a larger cast, with the Abbott family running into other survivors as they flee their ruined home.

Now Playing: A Quiet Place Part 2 (2020) – Big Game Spot

New Apex Legends Update Makes Bloodhound Work As They Should

Respawn is trying to get people to play with Apex Legends character Bloodhound as the technological tracker is designed. Update 4.1, which launches alongside the System Override Collection event, contains several character patches–including several aimed at making Bloodhound more of a recon character.

The role of the recon character in Apex Legends has always been a little nebulous–why, for example, was Pathfinder a support character at launch when his passive ability is literally a form of reconnaissance? Respawn is seemingly attempting to better define the role going forward. Pathfinder is now a recon character, for instance, and the terrifyingly aggressive Bloodhound is being adjusted to be less of an attacker and more of a hunter.

In Update 4.1, the range of Bloodhound’s tactical ability, Eye of the Allfather, will be increased by three times. Whereas before, Eye of the Allfather was good for seeing an enemy hiding in one building, now it’s range can encompass several structures. The scan lasts a whole second longer too, making it easier to catch enemy squads with the ability.

To balance this change, however, Eye of the Allfather will now take twice as long to activate. This decreases the utility of Eye of the Allfather in the midst of a firefight. “The intent is that we want Bloodhound players to come upon a town and maybe see some markers and then use [Eye of the Allfather] to scan the town,” Respawn lead game designer Carlos Pineda said during Apex Devstream #4.

The idea is to use Bloodhound’s abilities prior to a fight in order to locate another squad instead of during the fight to help you find where enemies are hiding. So Bloodhound finds markers with Tracker, scans the area with Eye of the Allfather, and then leads their squad to the enemy’s hiding spot with Beast of the Hunt. It’s a bit more of a passive role for the recon specialist, who has been mostly used as another offensive character since day one. This new role is more in line with Pathfinder and Crypto’s jobs (the other recon characters), which is to provide intel for their squad as they move around the map.

It remains to be seen whether players actually adopt this strategy or not, though it’s nice to see Respawn beginning to define the role of recon characters as information gatherers as opposed to characters that just have some form of scanning ability.

Now Playing: Everything To Know About Apex Legends System Override In 3 Minutes

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Apex Legends System Override Update Makes Wattson Less Of A “Must-Have,” Says Respawn

Alongside the addition of Octane’s heirloom and the start of System Override (which sees the return of Kings Canyon), Respawn is implementing a new update into Apex Legends. The full patch notes for the update reveals several in-game changes, including one that aims to make Wattson less of a must-have for a squad’s success.

Currently, a full stack of two grenades takes up a single slot in a player’s inventory–allowing them to, for example, hold six grenades at the cost of only three slots. Once you have a big enough backpack, this makes it very easy to stockpile grenades, which your squad can then use to bombard an opponent from afar.

This tactic is devastating in the final circles of a match (especially if you throw in Bangalore’s Rolling Thunder, Cautic’s Nox Gas Grenade, or Gibraltar’s Defensive Bombardment), where it’s more difficult for an enemy squad to find space to retreat and reposition themselves. So, of course, more and more people have started using it.

The counter to this strategy is to have a Wattson in your squad. Her Interception Pylon will destroy all incoming ordinance, whether it’s a grenade or one of the aforementioned character abilities. Because of the growing popularity of grenade spamming in the final circles, it’s made Wattson an increasingly necessary component of any squad looking to win at a high ranked level.

In order to curb this problem, Respawn is changing how in-game inventory works–specifically when it comes to grenades. With Update 4.1, instead of a stack of two, each individual grenade will fill an entire inventory slot. “We’re trying to address the problem of grenade spamming,” Respawn lead game designer Carlos Pineda said during Apex Devstream #4. “Right now, people carry a lot of grenades and endgame they’re just chucking grenades–it almost makes Wattson a must-have because everyone is throwing grenades.”

Wattson isn’t the only character Respawn is addressing with Update 4.1. The new update adds a necessary buff to Gibraltar, a much-needed change to Crypto, and adjusts Bloodhound into the character they’ve always meant to be. The update goes live alongside System Override on March 3.

Now Playing: Everything To Know About Apex Legends System Override In 3 Minutes

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Apex Legends Kings Canyon Map Will Return As Season 2 Version

Respawn has already given players a chance to play on Apex Legends‘ original map, Kings Canyon, a few times in Season 4: Assimilation. Both times, however, the map has returned as one of the older versions of Kings Canyon. Going forward, you’ll play on the Kings Canyon you remember from the final days of Season 2: Battle Charge.

Kings Canyon will first return in the System Override Collection event, during the second week of the limited-time Deja Loot mode. “This will be the Season 2 version of Kings Canyon,” Respawn design director Jason McCord said on Apex Devstream #4. “[The version] with the leviathans in it and all the town takeovers–the last version of the map that [players] played live.”

Halfway through Season 4: Assimilation, the ranked playlist will transition from World’s Edge to Kings Canyon. However, the legends won’t be playing on a new Kings Canyon. During the devstream, Respawn community manager Jay Frechette said that, like in System Override, the Kings Canyon that returns at the ranked playlist split is still the version of the map from Season 2: Battle Charge. So don’t expect a brand-new version of Apex Legends’ original map.

System Override launches alongside an update for Apex Legends, which sees the implementation of several in-game changes and adjustments to Gibraltar, Crypto, and Bloodhound. The most significant patches are to in-game inventory and the heirloom system–Respawn is hoping to curb grenade spamming and make it easier to earn the heirloom you want (like the newest one, Octane’s butterfly knife, which is a reminder of the adrenaline junkie’s sad backstory.

Now Playing: Everything To Know About Apex Legends System Override In 3 Minutes

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E3 2020 Still Going Ahead As Planned Amidst Coronavirus Concerns

E3 2020 is scheduled to happen from June 9 through June 11, but as numerous worldwide events are cancelled or postponed due to the COVID-19 (aka coronavirus) outbreak, it would be reasonable to question whether organizers were wavering. In the wake of GDC being postponed, E3’s organizers have stated that they still plan on having the event in June.

The news comes from Vice’s Patrick Klepek, who received a statement from the ESA and shared it via Twitter. The statement confirms that the company is “watching the situation very closely”, and makes it clear that things could change, but for now, it is “moving ahead full speed with E3 2020 planning.”

Exhibits and ticket sales have continued unabated, and it’s not possible to know whether the outbreak will be contained–or what state things will be in–by June.

E3 2020 is already shaping up to be tumultuous, with PlayStation deciding not to attend for the second year in a row. They won’t be the only ones skipping, as Geoff Keighley will also miss E3 for the first time in 25 years. Since 2017, Keighley has hosted the E3 Coliseum, a fan-focused showcase that delved into the making of the biggest games on show.

With E3 still planned for June, we can expect to see new games from Nintendo, Microsoft, and several other publishers. We should also see more of the Xbox Series X during the event.

Now Playing: E3 2020 Loses One Of Its Biggest Hosts – GS News Updates

No Time To Die Tickets On Sale Now, But Some Fans Want A Delay

No Time to Die is set to have its world premiere on March 31 in London and a theatrical release in the US on April 10. If you’re antsy to secure a seat for Daniel Craig’s final performance as James Bond, tickets are now officially on sale.

However, a group of fans has called for the release of No Time to Die to be pushed back to summer, citing coronavirus concerns. The letter is authored by some of the most popular fansites and blogs, including James Page, the co-founder of the MI6 website, and David Leigh, the founder of the James Bond Dossier. It states, “With the Coronavirus reaching pandemic status, it is time to put public health above marketing release schedules and the cost of canceling publicity events.”

The letter nodded to the cancellation of the film’s publicity tours in countries where the coronavirus has hit the hardest, such as China, South Korea, and Japan, stating, “These are sensible actions that should be applauded.”

The authors end the letter by reiterating the importance of public health, expressing, “It’s just a movie. The health and well-being of fans around the world, and their families, is more important. We have all waited over four years for this film. Another few months will not damage the quality of the film and only help the box-office for Daniel Craig’s final hurrah.”

The movie made headlines earlier this week for its potential lengthy runtime that clocks in at 2 hours and 43 minutes. According to director Cary Joji Fukunaga, No Time to Die will tie up the loose ends from other movies. He added, “Everything that was left unsaid, will finally be said.”

Now Playing: No Time To Die – 007 James Bond Official Trailer

Saw Writer Reflects On Film’s Legacy, Saying It Was Meant To Go Straight-To-DVD

Leigh Whannell is currently enjoying the success of his new film, The Invisible Man, which opened at the top of the US box office and has reviewed well. The director and writer, who has just signed on to create more horror films for Blumhouse, is also instrumental in one of the most important horror franchises of the 2000s–he wrote and starred in the original Saw, and then wrote Saw II and III as well.

In an interview with Fandom, Whannell has reflected on the Saw films–particularly the first one–and recalls that he and director James Wan had lower aspirations than you might expect. “We never intended that movie to connect with people the way it did,” he says. “Our goal was to make a straight-to-video film. This was 2003. Video stores were still a thing.” Whannell says that he and Wan were big fans of video stores, and that they thought “it would really be cool if we could land in Blockbuster on that shelf.”

Saw went on to gross over $100 million worldwide on a budget of $1.2 million, and the series continued to expand from there. Whannell’s last writing credit for the series was on Saw III, which ends with the brutal death of Jigsaw, the serial killer behind the film’s murders. “The last Saw movie I wrote was the third one and I killed the villain,” Whannell recalls. “Doesn’t get more definitive than that. He’s dead!”

But, of course, the series continued on after this, despite Whannell stepping away from writing them. “They came to me and said ‘Let’s get into it. Let’s do Part 4!’ And I said ‘No, I think we’re done here.’ And they said ‘No, we’re not done but thanks for your time!’”

Whannell says that he feels that they created a sort-of “millennial Freddy Krueger,” as although Jigsaw’s death was never reversed, he continued to be a part of the series from beyond the grave. “In the same way I used to go to sleepovers in my teens and watch Freddy movies, millennial kids were doing that with Saw movies. I still have people come up to me and go ‘When I was a kid I grew up on Saw movies.’ So that’s pretty cool.”

A new movie in the Saw franchise, Spiral: From the Book of Saw, will release May 15, 2020. It will be the ninth film in the series. It has, by far, the most famous cast of any film in the franchise–it’s is written by and stars Chris Rock alongside Samuel L. Jackson. Whannell is attached as a producer.

Tobin Bell, who played Jigsaw in the other eight movies, is not credited as appearing in Spiral–so if he does, it will be a surprise.

Now Playing: Spiral: From The Book Of Saw (2020) – Official Trailer

Plague Survival Horror Pathologic 2 Is Coming To PS4

The bleak, plague-themed survival game Pathologic 2 will be available for PS4 players from Friday March 6, after initially releasing for PC and Xbox One last year.

Despite the ‘2’ in the name, Pathologic 2 is less of a sequel and more of a reimagining of the original game. Made by Russian developer Ice-Pick Lodge, the game is set on the Russian Steppe, with all the bleakness you might imagine from that setting.

You play as a doctor striving, and usually failing, to save others and even yourself from the grips of a deadly plague. The game is designed to be a punishing, disorienting experience, rather than a typical game where playing well is rewarded with success.

Our review of Pathologic 2 called the game “alternately intriguing and off-putting; it draws you in with its eerie, dreamlike setting and cast of unnaturally eccentric characters, but then it pushes you away with its nagging, mundane demands.”

While it’s not a game for everyone, especially given the current state of anxiety over our own potential pandemic situation, Pathologic 2 is a solid horror game for those who enjoy the challenge of survival–and now PS4 players can join in the fun.

Now Playing: Pathologic 2: Gameplay Teaser

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The Boys Season 2: Black Noir Is ‘A F***ing Force’

The first season of Amazon’s The Boys answered a lot, but it also left just as many questions to be answered in Season 2, including what’s going on with Black Noir.

Originally reported by Comicbook.com, a few of The Boys’ stars shared some information at a C2E2 2020 panel about the show about Black Noir, including that the character is “a f***ing force” in the upcoming season. When asked by a fan what viewers should expect for Black Noir, Karl Urban, who plays Billy Butcher in the show, said fans are going to love what’s coming.

“It is so good,” Urban said. “[Black Noir’s] thread very well through the whole series and culminates in some diabolical action which I can’t get too specific about at this point, and you may even find out what his Kryptonite is.”

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Antony Starr, who plays Homelander in the show, followed up to say that Urban is right.

“He’s right,” Starr said. “Black Noir, I think of all the characters from Season 2, I think they probably wrote to him the strongest in Season 2 in my opinion. Black Noir is like a f***ing force in Season 2.”

Erin Moriarty, who plays Starlight, added that Black Noir is terrifying in the next season.

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Those familiar with The Boys comic books likely know what these stars are teasing, but for those just watching the show, you’ll have to wait until Season 2 drops later this year.

If you haven’t had the chance to check out the show, it’s available to stream on Amazon Prime Video. We thought the first season was amazing, giving it a 9 out of 10. Once you’re finished watching Season 1, or if you’ve already made your way through it, check out this video about nine surprising differences between the show and the comics.

If you’re looking for more Season 2 content, check out this trailer released last December and see if you can guess where Patton Oswalt will pop up in the show.

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Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.