Watchmen, our favorite show of 2019, might not come back for another season, but the show’s stars have found a reason to come together. Showrunner Damon Lindelof has taken to Instagram to post a video of the show’s cast encouraging people to wash their hands and practice effective social distancing amid the COVID-19 crisis.
The video doesn’t really contain much in the way of practical advice, but if we put aside for a moment how celebrities creating videos like this can be condescending, we have here a nice little reunion of the show’s celebrated cast–and some of them have delivered their messages in character.
The video, below, includes Regina King (Angela Abar), Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Cal), Tom Mison (Mr Phillips), Sara Vickers (Ms. Crookshanks), Andrew Howard (Red Scare), Jean Smart (Laurie Blake), Tim Blake Nelson (Wade Tillman), Dustin Ingram (Agent Petey), and Jovan Adepo (Will Reeves).
The highlight is Jean Smart returning to Laurie Blake, just as caustic and abrasive as ever. Being called a “social distance denying dips**t” by Silk Spectre herself is a delight. Ingram also gets to hint at Petey’s own Watchmen obsession, which was largely kept outside the show’s diegesis and explained via Peteypedia.
If you’re still puzzling over Watchmen, check out all the details that were explained in the show’s official podcast.
The new Xbox Series X controller, like its predecessors, will use AA batteries instead of a rechargeable battery that is found in PlayStation’s DualShock controllers.
Xbox partner director Jason Ronald told Eurogamer that the Xbox audience is split nearly evenly when it comes their preference between AA batteries versus a built-in rechargeable battery. Sticking with AA batteries for Xbox Series X is an effort to please both camps, as people can still buy a rechargeable battery pack for the controller, Microsoft said.
A closer look at the Xbox Series X controller
“What it comes down to is when actually talking to gamers, it’s kind of polarizing and there is a strong camp that really want AAs,” Ronald said. “So just giving flexibility is the way to please both [sets of] people… You can use a rechargeable battery pack and it works just like it does on the Elite, [but] it is a separate thing.”
The team at Xbox also spoke about some of the small changes they made to the new Xbox Series X controller. Senior designer Ryan Whitaker said the existing Xbox One controller is already designed to be suitable for the 5th to 95th percentile of hand sizes, and the new design improves that range on the lower end. The new design is aiming to support the 3rd to the 95th percentile, and these two percentile points actually represents “hundreds of millions of people,” Whitaker said.
“And so just by slightly shrinking some areas of the controller, we found that we can actually reach a lot more people and at the same time make it more comfortable for everyone,” he said.
Microsoft didn’t change the controller design radically for the Xbox Series X because people generally like it and are used to it. “They’ve got a lot of muscle memory in there,” Whitaker said.
The corners on the bumpers have been rounded to “increase accessibility,” while the bumpers and triggers both now have a matte finish instead of gloss. This was a practical change as well, as the new matt finish should help people maintain their grip when they get sweaty, Whitaker said.
The full report is incredibly in-depth and fascinating, covering more about the design of the Xbox Series X controller and the console itself.
The Xbox Series X, which launches this holiday, comes with a new controller. However, the console also supports existing Xbox One controllers and games through backwards compatibility.
Microsoft has released the “Relief and Recovery” REQ pack for Halo 5, which includes an assortment of rare items that players can use in the game’s multiplayer mode. All proceeds from the $10 USD microtransaction will go directly to the charity Global Giving’s Coronavirus Relief Fund.
The DLC pack comes with five customization items that are at least ultra-rare, in addition to 10 rare or better boost cards to help you level up faster in multiplayer. The DLC pack will be available through April 30
The long, long wait for Final Fantasy VII Remake on PlayStation 4 has been a little shorter for a few fans. Reports have surfaced of the game breaking street date, and a few early copies making their way into customer’s hands amid stores shutting over fears relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Reddit, one user has posted images of their copy of the Deluxe Edition, showing what is available in the slightly-pricier boxed version of the game. Although those images have since been removed by moderators, they clearly showed a copy of the game and the contents of this edition.
Square Enix has also posted an update on the game’s availability, admitting that it might be harder to get physical copies of the game into people’s hands due to the pandemic.
“As we prepare for the release of Final Fantasy VII Remake on April 10, we wanted to keep you updated on how the proactive measures being taken to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus are likely to affect the distribution and retail landscape in western regions at launch,” the post reads. “As you will be aware, many countries are limiting entry or closing their national and state borders and restricting the distribution and delivery of non-essential items. Understandably these restrictions are being implemented so that essential items can reach their destination as fast as possible.”
Final Fantasy VII Remake is not the only game that has been sold early at retail as stores scramble to get games to customers before they are made to shut. There have also been reports of some stores selling Resident Evil 3 early after word got out that the physical release of the game might be delayed in Europe, and Doom Eternal was sold at GameStop a day early due to social distancing measures.
This also means that spoilers for changes made to Final Fantasy 7 Remake are likely to surface online, as they have for Resident Evil 3. This is not the first time the game has been subject to spoilers–an early leak of the demo was datamined for information back in January, before that demo had officially been announced.
Final Fantasy VII Remake will release digitally–and physically, if you can find a copy–on April 10, and it will be exclusive to PlayStation 4 for at least a year. While this Remake only covers a portion of the original game, Square Enix promises that it will be as long as other games in the Final Fantasy series.
Though Family Guy is currently on a break that’s unrelated to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) crisis, you can bet the show would have something to say about our current state of affairs. In lieu of new episodes, show co-creator Seth MacFarlane has released an Instagram video featuring Stewie and Brian discussing coronavirus on their new “podcast”.
The two discuss the coronavirus messaging that has become pretty standard by now, though this time with Family Guy’s classic sense of humor. They urge listeners to wash their hands, keep 6 feet of distance between people, stay at home, and wear masks–though ideally unlike Brian’s, your mask should cover your nose and mouth.
The short segment isn’t animated, but it features MacFarlane voicing Brian and Stewie, along with cameos from his other characters Peter and Quagmire.
The Family Guy characters aren’t the first to deliver coronavirus-related PSAs, with the cast of Watchmen releasing a video titled “Washmen”, appearing in character to implore fans to wash their hands. While the videos aren’t necessarily all that informative compared to official messaging from the CDC or WHO, they’re still a welcome source of entertainment in these times.
Family Guy Season 18 will return with new episodes on April 19, after a break of just over a month.
After unexpectedly shutting down less than two months ago, HQ Trivia is back once again.
The once-popular game show’s co-founder Rus Yusupov took to Twitter tonight to announce the return of the mobile game show, saying he and former host Matt Richards would be “back tonight” on the HQ app.
After the airing of tonight’s episode, a source has confirmed to The Verge that HQ Trivia is officially back for good after the company was acquired by an anonymous investor. Further, the source confirmed that more episodes will be airing in the near future, officially marking the return of the beloved mobile game show.
IGN has reached out to HQ Trivia for further clarification and will update this story if necessary.
A few short days after seemingly closing its doors for good, Yusupov shared on Twitter that he had “found a new home for HQ, with a company that wants to keep it running,” giving the community hope that the show would one day return.
Then, a few days ago the official HQ Trivia Twitter account tweeted a cryptic message and changed its bio to “BRB,” causing many to think the trivia show might actually be making a grand return — and they were right.
HQ Trivia was launched in 2017 and was met with immediate success from trivia lovers everywhere. However, in December 2018 HQ’s former CEO and co-founder, Colin Kroll died unexpectedly of a drug overdose.
Only a few months later, the original and beloved host Scott Rogowsky parted ways with the company after accepting a sports position with streaming service DAZN, and ten short months later HQ Trivia closed its doors.
It’s currently unclear when the next live show will air, so be sure to keep your eye on the official HQ Trivia Twitter account. Additionally, if you had any money left in your account when the company closed up shop, Richards has confirmed that you can hop on the app and cash out now.
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Andrew Smith is a freelance contributor with IGN and is an avid HQ Trivia fan. Follow him on Twitter @_andrewtsmith.
One of the first horror games for PlayStation 5 has received its first trailer. Developer TeamKill Media has released the first trailer for the “cosmic-horror” first-person shooter game Quantum Error.
The trailer looks impressive, but the studio cautioned that the footage was generated in-engine, and is a work-in-progress look at how the game is coming along. As such, it does not represent the final game, so keep that in mind when taking a look at the trailer.
Quantum Error is the second game from TeamKill, following their debut game, Kings of Lorn: The Fall of Ebris. That title was released in 2018 for PS4 and PC.
Quantum Error is also in development for PlayStation 4. It is among the first games to be announced for PlayStation 5, following Godfall from Counterplay Games and publisher by Gearbox. Also confirmed for PS5 are Lord of the Rings: Gollum and Watch Dogs: Legion.
Microsoft Flight Simulator is looking like, by far, the most detailed and meticulous flight sim ever made, but there will inevitably be a divide between players who want to take it very seriously and players who want to do loops and fly erratically. Now, in a new video, the game’s multiplayer features have been revealed–and it looks like Microsoft is planning to cater to all kinds of players.
By default, Microsoft Flight Simulator’s live servers will put you in a shared online world with not only other players, but AI replicas of real-world flight paths, meaning that you’ll be able to track the flights happening all over the world in real-time while flying yourself. Time and weather conditions will also be synced up with real-world conditions in Live Player mode, which can be entered seamlessly without needing to join or start a lobby.
The game will show off “most, if not all” airplanes that are in the air in the real world at any given time. But players can also choose to create their own conditions if they so desire, or make realism less of a priority.
In addition to Live Players Only, you’ll also be able to pick an All Players mode, where you can fly by any rules you want, picking your own weather conditions and time. You can set up groups in this mode if you want to just fly with friends, or you can fly alone if you prefer.
The video also explains the technology behind the servers powering the game, and it’s all very impressive. At any given time, you’ll be able to see 50 players who are within 200km of you so as to not congest the skies.
Microsoft Flight Simulator was announced during E3 2019, and looks very impressive. It does not have a release date yet.
