Remember Clippy, Microsoft’s virtual Office assistant that gave “helpful” hints and tips while you toiled away on projects? Well, with the popularity of House House’s Untitled Goose Game, it was only a matter of time until the goose was let loose on your desktop–and now, the goose is loose.
Developer Sam Chiet created a free Windows PC desktop app that lets House House’s notorious goose be used as your virtual assistant to trample all across the screen, tracking mud, leaving unsolicited memes and notes, and even stealing the mouse. In the middle of cleaning your desktop? Desktop Goose doesn’t care. Trying to get some work done? Desktop Goose isn’t worried about your deadline. Playing a tense video game? Desktop Goose just wants to help ruin your perfectly lined-up shot.
Desktop Goose can be customized to leave whatever GIFs and images you want to see onscreen. You can also adjust the goose’s aggression to make it more annoying, as well as prompt it to play MP3s. Leave the goose unattended for a while and you’ll even come back to a hilariously unwelcome surprise. All the shenanigans can be canceled by holding the escape key, but why would you do that?
Chiet told The Verge that Desktop Goose served two distinct purposes: 1) To “get in the way of your work” and 2) To recall virtual assistants of the ’90s and ’00s. “If you look back, that’s pretty bad design by a lot of (okay, literally all) standards today,” Chiet said. “But I think they also had so much more personality. And even though what we have today is certainly very clean, usable software, I can’t help but feel like something was lost in that sanitization.”
Now that the trailer dropped for Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge–the upcoming animated movie from Warner Bros.–everyone is wondering exactly when the movie will be releasing. Sadly, it’s a bit of a ways away, as the straight-to-video home release isn’t out until this April.
While it will be a bit of a wait until Scorpion’s Revenge releases digitally on April 12 on Movies Anywhere and on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD on April 28, the details for the upcoming home release are out. Both the 4K UHD and Blu-ray versions of the movie will come with digital copies as well, as long as you don’t mind waiting a week to see the movie.
From the looks of the trailer, the movie will tell the origin story of Scorpion, who was once Hanzo Hasashi, a man murdered by Sub-Zero who comes back to life for revenge, like the title suggests. However, the official synopsis for the movie is a bit more broad: “Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge spotlights the once-in-a-generation tournament between the champions of Outworld and Earthrealm–a competition that will ultimately determine the fate of Earth and all its citizens. Lord Raiden, protector of Earthrealm, must gather the greatest fighters of his realm to defend it from the evil Shang Tsung in the battle to end all battles–Mortal Kombat!”
The press release for Scorpion’s Revenge has an MSRP listing of $40 for the 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack, $25 for the Blu-ray Combo Pack, $20 for the DVD, and $20 for the digital purchase. As mentioned, the 4K and Blu-ray Combo Packs also come with digital copies of the movie. At this time, you cannot pre-order the movie.
Below, you’ll find the special features for Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge, everything listed below is available on the 4K UHD Combo Pack, the Blu-ray Combo Pack, and for the digital versions.
Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge Special Features:
From Epic Game to Extreme Animation – Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon and the filmmakers reveal the creative process behind adapting the best-selling game to an all-new animated film.
The Weapons, Wardrobe and World of Mortal Kombat Legends – The artists reveal the design challenges of animating the world of Mortal Kombat, from authentic armor to wildly imaginative weapons and fantasy settings.
The Savage Sound Design of Mortal Kombat Legends – This hard-hitting audio exploration reveals the art of designing the sonic language of the fight scenes.
Mortal Kombatants – Dive deep inside the cast of characters to reveal their unique abilities, signature moves and backstories.
Filmmaker Commentary – Producer Rick Morales and screenwriter Jeremy Adams sit down for an insightful audio commentary that reveals the process of creating a compelling animated film based on one of today’s most popular fighting games.
Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge arrives digitally on April 12 and to 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD on April 28.
Disclosure: ViacomCBS is GameSpot’s parent company.
The second episode of Star Trek: Picard, “Maps and Legends,” spends quite a bit of time on the decommissioned Borg Cube we saw briefly teased at the end of Episode 1, “Remembrance.” Two episodes in, we’ve learned a lot more about the location–it’s a Cube that’s only partially active, cut off from the Borg Collective, and being studied and worked on by the Romulan Free State, the government of what’s left of the Romulan people.
The people aboard the Cube refer to it as the Artifact, and they both live and work there. Parts of the Artifact are safe, but some are still actively Borg, and it sounds like it’s possible to be attacked and even assimilated into the Borg Collective in certain areas of the Cube, if you’re not careful.
We don’t get much information about exactly what the Romulans are up to on the Artifact, though. Soji mentions the idea that part of the operation is salvaging the Cube and selling what it yields. We also see Soji’s work on the Cube with former Borg drones; the Romulans refer to them as “The Nameless,” and in Episode 2, “Maps and Legends,” we see Romulan doctors removing the former drones’ Borg implants. Soji tells one such drone that they’re now free, so it seems part of the operation on the Artifact is to save drones from the Borg Collective, perhaps to reintegrate them into society.
Still, even though we’ve seen Soji and others seemingly helping drones and other workers hanging around on the Artifact, we don’t know what the goal of the work on the Borg Cube actually is. This is the Romulans, after all–the secretive, arrogant, militaristic race that had been in various stages of conflict with the Federation for years. Even though the Romulan Star Empire is gone, thanks to the destruction of Romulus 14 years before Star Trek: Picard begins, it seems unlikely that the new Romulan Free State is just using the Borg Cube to make some cash from salvage, or to make some scientific discoveries.
That viewpoint is bolstered by the fact that Laris explains the Romulans have an aversion to artificial intelligence when she’s telling Jean-Luc about the Zhat Vash. If the Romulans aren’t fans of synthetic lifeforms, they’re definitely going to have some general qualms about the Borg, a race that assimilates other cultures by forcing them to become partially cybernetic. Those feelings might help drive the Romulans to want to free Borg drones from the Collective, like we see in Episode 2, but it seems more likely that they wouldn’t want anything to do with a Borg Cube–unless there was some advantage in it.
So what could they be doing? The Borg are a formidable foe thanks to their technology, and they came close to destroying the Federation on more than one occasion. Borg Drones and ships capable of adapting to phaser fire so that it can’t harm them, for instance. The Romulans might be hoping to salvage some of that tech in order to bolster their own military capabilities and again become a power in the quadrant. Borg technology could offer a lot of serious advantages to the Romulans, especially if they’re still hoping to take on the Federation; the Borg were probably the adversary who came closest to defeating the Federation.
And in Episode 2, we know that the destruction of Romulus didn’t wipe out all the old vestiges of militaristic Romulan society. The Tal Shiar, the Romulan Empire’s secretive and powerful intelligence agency, still exists and is even operating on Earth. Romulan spies working with the Zhat Vash have infiltrated Starfleet. The Romulans are still formidable, even in their current state and lacking a homeworld. And it seems likely that a lot of Romulans blame the Federation for abandoning them when their planet was destroyed–and are eager for revenge.
The fact is, right now, we just don’t know what the Romulans want or what they might be hoping to gain from the Artifact. We know that two former Borg drones from other Star Trek series, Hugh from The Next Generation and Seven of Nine from Voyager, are going to appear on Picard at some point in the future. Given the other elements of artificial life that have been a big part of the story up to now–android clones of Data’s technology in Soji and Dahj, the attack on Mars by synthetics, and now the salvage operation on the Artifact–we can expect the Borg to play a big role of some kind as Star Trek: Picard goes forward.
Disclosure: ViacomCBS is GameSpot’s parent company.
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Warning: Spoilers! During episodes of Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman, each of the CW/DC shows pitted its heroes against the Anti-Monitor–an evil being trying to destroy the multiverse. And because this massive event contained every hero–and some villains–from CW’s Arrowverse, of course there will be some Easter eggs and references to other DC properties from movies to forgotten TV shows to comic books.
In our video of the best Easter eggs from Crisis on Infinite Earths, there are references to Batman 66, Batman 89, Superman II, Batman: The Animated Series, Lucifer, Smallville, Constantine, the Justice League movie, Green Lantern, Super Friends, Kingdom Come, Birds of Prey, and more. You can also check out the full list of 63 Crisis on Infinite Earths Easter Eggs here, and read about how the Crisis on Infinite Earths finale completely changes DC’s Arrowverse for the better.
Phantasy Star Online 2, the popular online action-RPG, will not be locked to any specific regions when it launches later this year on Xbox One, according to the North American PSO2 Twitter account.
A fan asked whether the upcoming online-ARPG will be region-locked. The NA PSO2 Twitter account responded that there are currently “no plans” to seclude players to any regions and that region-locking is not on the table for PSO2 “at this moment.” Things could change later on down the road, however.
Hi there! There are no plans to region lock Phantasy Star Online 2 at this moment. Thanks for reaching out! 😊
PSO2 is holding a closed beta next week, with sign-ups available now and pre-loading starting on Monday, February 3. The closed beta, exclusive to Xbox One, starts on Friday, February 7 and ends the following Saturday. Playing the closed beta lets you earn in-game rewards, and all progress will carry over to the open beta and official game launch. You can download PSO2’s closed beta from the Xbox Insiders Hub app.
Season 2 of Fortnite Chapter 2 is just around the corner, but there are still a few more Season 1 challenges to complete in the popular battle royale game. The latest batch of missions is called Camo Vs. Chic, and a number of them have you traveling around the island looking for certain objects. One such challenge asks you to destroy a telescope, television, and telephone pole. If you’re having trouble tracking those down, we tell you where to go below.
Where Are The Telescope, Television, And Telephone Pole Locations?
Many homes around the island have television sets, so you can find those fairly easily in residential areas, particularly in the western portion of the map. Similarly, telephone poles are a common sight around suburban areas, so you shouldn’t have much difficulty coming across one as you play.
Telescopes, however, are a bit trickier to track down, as they are not nearly as common as either of the aforementioned objects. That said, you can reliably find one on the island just off the northern shore of the map, northwest of Craggy Cliffs. The telescope is hidden in a bush, so look around carefully and you’ll be able to spot it.
How To Complete The Challenge
Now that you know where you can find the three objects, all you need to do is destroy them, be it with your pickaxe or a weapon you pick up along the way. You don’t need to destroy all three within a single round to complete the challenge, but you may be able to anyway given how plentiful televisions and telephone poles are.
This isn’t the only challenge that may give you some trouble from the Camo Vs. Chic set. Another asks you to fish up an item at three different No Fishing signs. If you need help tracking those down, be sure to check out our No Fishing sign locations guide. You can also see our other maps and guides in our full Fortnite Chapter 2 challenges roundup.
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Over the past 50 years, arguably no filmmaker has made a bigger impact on the industry than Steven Spielberg. He has directed many monster box office hits like Jaws, Jurassic Park, and the Indiana Jones franchise. Spielberg has also won a pair of Academy Awards as a director for Saving Private Ryan and Schindler’s List. If you’re a Spielberg fan, Amazon has a stellar deal on a great Spielberg Blu-ray collection that includes blockbusters like Jaws, E.T., Jurassic Park, and lesser-known works like The Sugarland Express and Duel.
Normally $100, the Steven Spielberg Director’s Collection is currently discounted all the way down to $22.97. It’s fulfilled by Amazon and Prime-eligible, but orders placed now won’t ship for a few days. The Blu-ray collection includes the following eight movies:
Duel (1971)
The Sugarland Express (1974)
Jaws (1975)
1941 (1979)
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Always (1989)
Jurassic Park (1993)
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
The collection comes with eight films and an informative booklet
Steven Spielberg Director’s Collection | $22.97 ($100)
The major selling points are obviously the popular films: Jaws, E.T., and the pair of Jurassic Park movies. The discounted price would be great even for just those four films. But for those interested in seeing where Spielberg’s genius started to form, this collection offers a glimpse into that, too.
Based on a short story by Richard Matheson, Duel was Spielberg’s first feature-length film and originally released on television before getting a theatrical release. Crime drama The Sugarland Express was Spielberg’s debut theatrical release and kicked off his longtime collaboration with legendary composer John Williams.
Along with the standard assortment of special features–behind-the-scenes looks, deleted scenes, original trailers, etc.–this collection comes with a booklet with information on each film.
Xbox One is getting another dashboard refresh, and an Xbox Insiders update gives a preview of what’s likely to be coming to all users. For the time being these features are only for Alpha users of the Insider program, so it’s unclear exactly when most of the changes will roll out to the wider audience.
The most noticeable interface change comes to the main Home screen, which replaces the Twists with dedicated rows for Game Pass, Mixer, Xbox Community, and the Microsoft Store. Microsoft says you’ll be able to customize the layout by adding or removing rows. This part of the update will be entering full public release in February. The My Games & Apps UI will also be getting more content grouping settings for easier navigating, along with labels for trials and demos, and a cleaner settings menu.
Other new additions include image support in your messaging conversations. You’ve been able to send that hilarious animated gif in the mobile or desktop app, but now it will display properly on console. Notifications will let you set a portion of your screen to appear, and Xbox Game Pass will let you select an individual game to download from within a bundle. If you have external storage, a new “move” option will appear in your storage management for an easier time freeing up space.
Microsoft also announced that Mixer is getting a few big changes in upcoming updates. You’ll be able to switch your chat mode to “classic chat,” which displays the chat messages in their own window alongside the stream. You can also manually select video resolution, and viewing info and VODs from your favorite streamers will be a smoother experience.
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Blizzard has detailed Overwatch patch 1.45 and explained a shift in its approach to updating the game going forward. As part of the developer update, game director Jeff Kaplan revealed that the team will be adopting a new balance philosophy that involves implementing more frequent and impactful updates to deliberately change the meta.
This, according to the studio, is an effort to respond to feedback from players who have been asking to keep the game fresh. As part of this new strategy, Blizzard has said it will be making and reverting changes more rapidly than before.
The mechanism used to implement these changes is a new mode that is represented through the “Experimental” card on the mode select screen. Here, Blizzard will test major changes to the game that may or may not make it to the main game. Although it sounds similar to the Public Test Realm–which is a PC-only build of the game used to iron out balance and bugs–Blizzard notes that the Experimental Card is not for bug testing, it’s specifically for testing balance changes, modes, and rules. Additionally, those that take part will still be able to earn experience and progress, as well as unlock loot boxes.
Leading up to the reveal of patch 1.45, rumors swirled that Blizzard was preparing to introduce a pick and ban feature. This, it seems, is not entirely the case. Instead, Blizzard is opting for Hero Pools where certain characters will be disabled from Competitive Play for a given week, and availability will be rotated weekly. The cadence for the rotation is also being examined, so it may be that it is quicker or slower in the future.
Importantly, Blizzard has said Hero Pools as a feature is being tested during Season 21 and, depending on how it performs, it may not return for Season 22. The goal of the Hero Pools approach, Blizzard says, is to allow the meta to change weekly and to encourage hero diversity in matches. Finally, the update will bolster anti-cheating efforts and have workshop quality of life updates.
In terms of balance, Blizzard is currently testing a version of the game that makes a number of significant changes to Reaper, McCree, Orisa, Sigma, Hanzo, and Baptiste. You can read the latest PTR patch notes to learn about the upcoming Overwatch buffs and nerfs.
Blizzard is currently working on Overwatch 2, which will have a significant story mode. Character progression will be distinct for Overwatch 2’s campaign and multiplayer. As of yet, Overwatch 2’s release date and platforms have not been confirmed.
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In 2020, there is no shortage of ways to play retro video games. Whether it’s with micro-consoles from Nintendo and Sega, remastered re-releases, or RGB-modded consoles, there’s never been a better time to enjoy the games of our past. However, when it comes to recreating our days in the local arcade, bringing old cabinets into your home can be an expensive, time-consuming hobby–not to mention the space you need to house them. Sure, you can play old arcade games on most modern platforms, but the feeling of competing for a high score just isn’t the same on a DualShock 4. This is where Arcade1Up comes in, and for the past couple of years, the company has released 3/4-scale cabinets of some of video game’s biggest classics, including Mortal Kombat, Rampage, and now, BurgerTime.
Arcade1Up’s latest is a limited-edition BurgerTime cabinet, which also includes a number of other Data East classics: Karate Champ, Caveman Ninja, and Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja. After building the cabinet–which is about as relaxing as building IKEA furniture–the unique shape of the BurgerTime machine is particularly striking. Arcade1Up did a good job in making BurgerTime feel like you’re bringing the actual cabinet home. For the first time, the company has created panels that more closely resemble the original machine–nearly all of Arcade1Up’s cabinets before this have shared the exact same physical design. BurgerTime’s rounded panels give the cabinet more character, excellently paired with the panel art featuring Peter Pepper.
It’s not an exact copy of the original cabinet’s design, however. In fact, the Arcade1Up machine features more stylized curves than the original. This feels important in evoking the original, as the rest of the machine is like any other Arcade1Up cabinet. The original 1982 cabinet features a screen that’s flush with the control board, asking the player to look downward at the screen. Arcade1Up’s rendition will have you looking straight ahead, much like the rest of the company’s line-up. And of course, Arcade1Up cabinets don’t utilize CRT monitors, instead opting for modern flat screens. The Arcade1Up display looks great, but if you are looking for that exact original experience, it will be different than you remember.
Otherwise, Arcade1Up’s BurgerTime cabinet is gorgeous. The colours are bright and emulate the original design, with a light-up marquee that makes the machine pop in a dimly-lit room. It’s a beautiful cabinet, and thankfully, games are well-emulated to help make it a great experience.
Ported by Other Ocean Interactive–with assistance from Digital Eclipse, which is known for its excellent work on classic game compilations like Mega Man Legacy Collection and Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Edition–the games play, look, and sound great. The joysticks are responsive and feel sturdy, while the buttons are satisfying to click when you need to pepper a living sausage or kick a ninja. The control board includes two joysticks and two buttons per player, giving you everything you need to play each game the way they were made to be played–the dual joysticks are for use with Karate Champ, the game that kickstarted the fighting game genre as we know it today. It’s a good selection of games, especially if you have a friend to enjoy them with.
Everything about Arcade1Up’s BurgerTime cabinet works great. It’s as simple as putting it together, plugging it in, and playing. The simplicity is also its downside, however. Arcade1Up’s machines don’t offer anything beyond the means of actually playing the games. There aren’t any video options, sound settings, art galleries, or anything in between–something as simple as scanlines or a sound test would be appreciated. It’s also important to note that there’s no official way of obtaining new games for Arcade1Up’s cabinets.
Arcade1Up makes excellent machines. The BurgerTime cabinet is exemplary of the company’s dedication to create experiences that–while not exactly as they were back in the day–are roughly as good as you remember. But at the end of the day, the $399 price tag is a lot to ask for from most people. Arcade1Up’s 3/4-scale cabinets are awesome machines, but they’re only for those who are most passionate about the featured games. Thankfully, Arcade1Up treats those games with the respect they deserve, and anyone who cares about Data East’s classic games will find a lot to love in the BurgerTime cabinet.
The BurgerTime cabinet is sold exclusively on Arcade1Up’s website for $399, and it’s only available for a limited time. If you order before January 31, you’ll get guaranteed shipping by March 1.
Arcade1Up recently announced a series of smaller, more affordable products at CES 2020. These include classic micro-consoles and new plug-and-play systems for classic series like Mega Man, DuckTales, and Pac-Man. You can see all of the retro gaming hardware we loved at CES 2020 right here on GameSpot.
