Ubisoft is hosting a Ghost Recon World Premiere event this Thursday, May 9, at 11:30 AM PT / 2:30 PM ET / 7:30 PM BST. Ubisoft hasn’t shared any other details about its Ghost Recon stream and it isn’t linking the event to 2017’s Ghost Recon Wildlands, so this reveal might be something entirely new. Ghost Recon Wildlands is currently available for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Arrow Benefits From a Terrific Guest Star
Warning: Full spoilers for Arrow Season 7, Episode 21 below. If you need a refresher on where we left off, here’s our review for Season 7, Episode 20.
Each new episode of Arrow makes it a little more apparent the end is drawing near. Not just the end of Season 7, but the looming series finale at the end of the year. That sense of finality fueled the penultimate chapter of Season 7. This episode delivered plenty of dramatic weight even as it showed the weaknesses in the series’ current villain of choice.
Easily the most welcome development this week involved the return of Colin Donnell as Tommy Merlyn. Apparently it’s becoming a trend to bring Tommy back from the dead right before the season finale every year. Half the fun is in seeing the clever ways in which his “resurrection” is worked into the plot. Last year Tommy served as a disguise for the Human Target. This year he’s a figment of Ollie’s fevered imagination.
Borderlands 3: Original Claptrap Voice Actor Makes Serious Accusations Against Randy Pitchford
David Eddings, the original voice actor for Claptrap from the Borderlands series who isn’t returning for Borderlands 3, has shared some new insight into the situation–and it is dramatic. After Randy Pitchford, the CEO of Borderlands developer Gearbox Software, called him “bitter and disgruntled,” Eddings spoke up again today. He shared his side of the story, which includes a claim that Pitchford physically assaulted him in a hotel lobby at the Game Developers Conference in 2017.
“I was fine moving on after Gearbox,” he said. “But when my former boss starts mouthing off about various aspects of my employment, including ‘how highly compensated’ I was and how ‘generous’ he is, I feel obligated to correct the record.”
In the Twitter thread, Eddings said he had “mixed feelings” when Gearbox asked him in 2018 if he would come back to voice Claptrap for Borderlands 3. He said he was willing to “put differences aside and do something cool for Borderlands fans with my friends at Gearbox.”
Eddings said he offered to do the Borderlands 3 voicework for “free” in exchange for Gearbox paying him past royalties for his work doing the voice of Claptrap in the previous Borderlands titles. As reported previously, Eddings did the voicework for Claptrap on Borderlands 1 and 2 when he was an employee at Gearbox, so he did not draw any additional payment.
Eddings also brought up a significant claim against Pitchford: that Pitchford assaulted him in 2017. Eddings said Pitchford “physically assaulted me” in a hotel lobby during GDC 2017. The alleged misconduct reportedly took place at the Marriott Marquis hotel in downtown San Francisco. The situation surrounding the alleged assault is unclear, and Eddings did not say if he filed a police report. Whatever the case, Eddings said he offered to do the voicework for Claptrap in Borderlands 3 if Gearbox gave him the requested backpay and an apology for the reported assault. It appears that didn’t happen.
“Personally, I think Randy’s been on the tilt the last few years. He’s not the victim he portrays himself to be. I even blocked him a couple years ago for stalking me on social media. Enough is enough,” Eddings said.
He went on to mention again the reported $12 million that Pitchford is alleged in a lawsuit to have received as a secret bonus paid to him instead of going to the Gearbox development team’s bonus pool. Eddings said it was “conspicuous” that Pitchford would talk about Edding’s salary but not mention the alleged $12 million payment that, in Eddings’ words, Pitchford “siphoned away from the employee royalty pool.” Eddings added, “Gearbox employees are asked to take lower salaries with the promise of royalty shares.”
2K Games, the publisher of Borderlands 3, has not publicly commented on the lawsuit in question, which was filed by a former Gearbox lawyer at the tail end of 2018. 2K Games is owned by Take-Two Interactive, which handles the legal matters for its subsidiaries.
Here is Eddings’ full Twitter thread on the subject:
I was fine moving on after Gearbox. But when my former boss starts mouthing off about various aspects of my employment including “how highly compensated” I was and how “generous” he is, I feel obligated to correct the record.
— David Eddings (@davideddings) May 7, 2019
I had a lot of mixed feelings when asked to reprise the role of Claptrap late last year and eventually realized I was willing to put differences aside and do something cool for Borderlands fans with my friends at Gearbox.
— David Eddings (@davideddings) May 7, 2019
I ultimately offered to do it for “free” in exchange for past royalties owed plus an apology for something I’ve never spoken about publicly until now: Randy physically assaulted me in the lobby of the Marriott Marquis at GDC 2017.
— David Eddings (@davideddings) May 7, 2019
Personally, I think Randy’s been on tilt the last few years. He’s not the victim he portrays himself to be. I even blocked him a couple years ago for stalking me on social media. Enough is enough.
— David Eddings (@davideddings) May 7, 2019
It’s nice not feeling the need to spot any sleight of hand these days or wonder if the card was chosen or forced. I’m happy to be free from the half-truths and full-on deceptions. And thankful to no longer hear people referred to as “muggles” like a con-man refers to a “mark”.
— David Eddings (@davideddings) May 7, 2019
As an aside, seems a bit conspicuous that he chimed in on my salary but didn’t mention anything about the $12M of revenue he siphoned away from the employee royalty pool. FYI – GBX employees are asked to take lower salaries with the promise of royalty shares.
— David Eddings (@davideddings) May 7, 2019
2K says they won’t give a statement regarding an ongoing lawsuit but if the allegation is false then it sure seems a lot easier to just deny it since that’s the only reason they’re mentioned. The whole thing stinks.
— David Eddings (@davideddings) May 7, 2019
Eddings was a decade-plus executive veteran at Gearbox before he left in 2017 to take a job at Rooster Teeth, where he currently serves as Head of Game Publishing. According to Pitchford, Eddings was terminated, but the specifics surrounding his departure from Gearbox are unclear. Whatever the case, Eddings appears to be directing his misgivings solely at Pitchford. He says Gearbox is “full of amazingly talented game developers,” adding that it’s unfair to blame the developers “for the actions of one person.”
Nah man — Gearbox is full of amazingly talented game developers. It’s not fair to blame the employees for the actions of one person. Be kind. They’re the ones forced to cringe and bear it every time the boss shoots himself in the foot.
— David Eddings (@davideddings) May 5, 2019
According to Pitchford, Eddings was paid “handsomely” during his time at Gearbox. And regarding the invitation to return as Claptrap in Borderlands 3, Pitchord said Gearbox offered him two times the standard union voice acting rate, which Eddings refused for the reasons mentioned above.
Pitchford has yet to respond to Eddings’ comments today. GameSpot has contacted 2K Games in an attempt to get more details. Keep checking back with GameSpot for the latest.
Game Of Thrones Season 8 Episode 4 The Last of the Starks Breakdown!
The fourth episode of Game of Thrones has come and gone, and with its arrival, it’s now safe to say that we probably have a pretty good idea of what the show’s final climax will involve. That’s more than we could say at the beginning of Season 8, when many fans would have guessed that the fight between the living and the dead would ultimately take center stage. Instead, the Iron Throne has turned out to be a bigger prize than life itself–particularly because the Night King was rather easily dispatched last week in Episode 3, thanks to Arya’s incredibly high stealth stat.
But we digress. Season 8, Episode 4, titled “The Last of the Starks,” saw some celebrating following last week’s battle, but it wasn’t all falling action. It seems Game of Thrones has at least one more fight left in it, and some surprises too. Warning: There are spoilers in the video above, as well as in the text below.
Yes, Dany suffered some unbelievably devastating losses this episode–in her relationship with Jon, the trust of her advisors, her best friend and translator Missandei, and the military might of her dragon (or arguably Jon’s dragon, depending how you interpreted the events of recent episodes) Rhaegal. It’s unclear how–if at all–the Dragon Queen will recover from these blows. Wouldn’t it be just like classic Game of Thrones for Jon and Dany to defeat the dead, but Cersei to win the final battle?
With Season 8 almost done, we’re running out of juicy theories to mull over, but we still have a few–from what exactly is actually going on with Cersei’s pregnancy to whether Dany is going to go full Mad Queen. One thing is certain: We still have no idea how this is all going to end, except that Cleganebowl is absolutely, 100% confirmed, and we’ll tolerate no arguments otherwise.
What did you think of Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 4, “The Last of the Starks”? Is Game of Thrones still the best show on TV, or has it lost its way in these final days? Let us know in the comments below after you watch Lucy, Ryan, Tamoor, and Dave discuss in the video above.
Tolkien Movie Review Roundup: Here’s What The Critics Are Saying
The new J.R.R. Tolkien biopic, Tolkien, comes to theatres this week. The film stars Nicholas Hoult as Tolkien and Lily Collins as Edith Bratt in a story that covers the events of Tolkien’s formative years, including his time at school and the fellowship of friends he found there, as well as his serving in World War I and his personal and romantic relationship with Bratt.
The movie covers Tolkien’s major life events that inspired his acclaimed fantasy novels including The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The movie also teaches us the correct way to pronounce Tolkien. Hint: it’s “Tol-keen.”
If you’re looking for an action-oriented, grand spectacle film like The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit, this is not it. Tolkien is a dramatic retelling of some of the key moments in Tolkien’s early life as an author, friend, and partner to Bratt.
To help you get an idea about if the film is worth your time and money, we’ve collected review excerpts from around the internet. You can see a rundown of Tolkien review excerpts below, while more information on the film’s critical reception can be found on GameSpot sister site Metacritic.
It is also worth mentioning that the Tolkien Estate has distanced itself from the Tolkien movie, though it reportedly issued its statement before viewing it. This was no surprise, as the Estate has for decades declined to endorse dramatizations of Tolkien’s life and works.
Tolkien
- Directed By: Dome Karukoski
- Written By: David Gleeson, Stephen Beresford
- Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Lily Collins, Colm Meaney, Craig Roberts, Patrick Gibson, Pam Ferris, Anthony Boyle, Tom Glynn-Carney
- Release Date: May 10 (United States)
- Runtime: 111 minutes
Entertainment Weekly
“Hoult brings a quiet, romantic intensity to the young Tolkien (pronounced ‘Tolkeen,’ who knew?), Lily Collins does a lot with a little as his first love Edith, and the Hobbit horde will gobble up all of the easter-egg references peppered throughout the movie. But Karukoski occasionally tries too hard to juice up his fustier Dead Poets Society-esque stretches with fevered battlefield visions of German flamethrowers transforming into fire-breathing dragons. Tolkien was never what anyone would call a subtle writer, but even he’d probably find those CGI flourishes a bit too much.” — Chris Nashawaty [Full review]
The Wrap
“… a biopic that hits so many familiar notes that it’s practically a cover song. It’s the ceaseless parade of foreshadowing, suggesting that every microscopic part of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy novels was based on a specific, real-life event. It reduces everyone Tolkien knew to supporting players in someone else’s shameless ‘great man’ narrative. If you were trying to produce a parody of what a Tolkien biopic would look like, you’d get the exact same film.” — William Bibbiani [Full review]
The Hollywood Reporter
“Handsomely made in the customarily fastidious style of most period biographical dramas, Tolkien is strongly served by Hoult, who, after four X-Men outings (and a supporting role in last year’s The Favourite), demonstrates that it’s high time he moved on from that sort of thing to more interesting and challenging dramatic characterizations.” — Todd McCarthy [Full review]
Variety
“The film–stately, well-acted, and ultimately insubstantial–dilutes its considerable charms with hoary literary biopic conventions, and then risks strangling them entirely with its reductively literal takes on the vagaries of artistic inspiration.” — Andrew Barker [Full review]
The Washington Post
“The movie is a capable and attractive enough biopic, if also less than riveting cinema.” — Michael O’Sullivan [Full review]
The Guardian
“This refreshing origins story, starring Nicholas Hoult, traces the early life of JRR Tolkien as he makes friends at Oxford, finds love and faces the horror of war.” — Peter Bradshaw [Full review]
Event Leviathan: Bendis and Maleev’s New Story Will Change The DC Universe
Even if you’re only casually aware of the DC Universe, either through the comics, the TV shows, or the movies, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve come across some sort of shadowy top secret organization at some point or another. Some of them are all about that dubiously ethical paramilitary science–think Supergirl’s ARGUS or Young Justice’s Cadmus. Others are fixated on murder, like the League of Assassins or Kobra. Some don’t fit in one niche or the other, like Checkmate or Spyral.
The point is: The DC Universe is filled to bursting with clandestine secret societies, and depending where you land in terms of your comic book consumption, they can get pretty confusing–even redundant–if you try and keep track of them all.
But not for long.
The legendary creative team of Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev are teaming up for the first time in the mainline DC Universe for a brand new event series called Event Leviathan, and it’s going to shake the secret societies of the DCU to their very core–but maybe not in the way you expect. Far from the macro-cosmic Crisis-level events DC is known for, Event Leviathan is going to be, in Bendis’s words, “more like [Agatha Christie’s mystery novel] And Then There Were None.”
At DC’s offices in Burbank, the writer sat down with journalists to talk about the new project, Maleev’s iconic artwork, and the potential repercussions for the DCU at large.
Bendis described the tone of the six-issue mini series as the opposite of a “disaster movie,” focusing entirely on a group of DC’s finest detectives, who, Bendis assures, will “solve a case every issue.” So don’t worry about too much wheel-spinning or time-wasting. These are characters on very specific missions.
The larger case–the inciting event that brings them all together–might be a little bit harder to crack, however. The setup, which can be found interwoven through both the ongoing Superman and Action Comics titles, revolves around the mysterious “Leviathan,” a masked supervillain of unknown identity and origin who is making “pitches” to various heroes around the DC Universe to try and bring them over to their side. Leviathan’s identity is a complete mystery–but it won’t be forever.
“[By the end of the story] Leviathan will have risen and what it is and what they’ve done will have landed,” Bendis said. “And so there are a lot of pieces that are going to shift and a lot of heroes are going to have a kind of a new purpose–like a new motivation, because the enemy will have revealed itself. He’s not selling villainy and he’s not selling antagonism. There’s heroes and there’s villains and then there’s this other thing right now. And that other thing isn’t playing by the rules dictated by the rules of the genre. That’s going to mess up a lot of people’s heads.”
Even Leviathan’s design was meant to evoke a specific reaction–both from readers and from the characters themselves.
“This is a character who’s dealing with a icons in psychology and with imagery, specifically. This is a character who is very aware of [pop culture characters like] Darth Vader and very aware of what images do for people and how they respond to them,” Bendis elaborated. “That [mask], it looks scary to some people and it looks not scary to other people. They designed it that way. There’s a psychology behind it, but, OK. There’s gonna be a lot of stuff in this that is going to reflect a more modern sensibility than you may have seen in [classic espionage and spy stories of] the past, where people are wearing the white carnation or sliding an envelope across the table.”
Bendis went on to tease some of the key players in the upcoming event, specifically highlighting the starring role of Lois Lane, who Bendis calls “the most dangerous woman in the DC Universe,” thanks to her unfiltered access to the Daily Planet’s publishing platform and ability to literally control the flow of information. Alongside Lois will be some of DC’s most brilliant detectives–Batman, Plastic Man, The Question, and so on–all working to crack the case: Who is Leviathan, what do they want, and most importantly, how can it be stopped?
Event Leviathan #1 (of 6) hits shelves June 12 everywhere comics are sold.
Devil May Cry Coming To Nintendo Switch
Dante is coming to Nintendo Switch. Capcom has announced that the very first Devil May Cry is coming to the platform sometime this summer. The announcement didn’t give word on whether this will be a straight port of the PS2 original or based on the more recent HD Collection.
While the announcement was short on details, though, the implications are huge. Devil May Cry has never been on a Nintendo platform before in any capacity. Series head Hideaki Itsuno pointedly said in an interview in February that for Dante to appear as a guest character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he’d sensibly have to appear in a game on the platform first.
“Devil May Cry has never been on a Nintendo platform,” Itsuno told VG247. “So it seems like the first thing to do would be to get Capcom to put Devil May Cry on a Nintendo platform in some way, shape or form–whatever game that might be.”
This would appear to fulfill that criteria, and Itsuno would have likely known about any pending Smash Bros. guest spots at the time he made that comment. Dante may not be destined for Smash at all, but this at least raises the possibility.
The first and so-far only announced guest DLC character is Joker from the Persona series, who went live with an update in April. Meanwhile Dante has continued making devils cry with further adventures and a growing cadre of allies, most recently with the altogether excellent sequel Devil May Cry 5.
GameStop Just Slashed The Price On A Ton Of Pre-Owned Games
Usually, we keep an eye out for the best deals on new or critically acclaimed games, but the latest sale at GameStop offers the chance to pick up older titles for a fraction of their original price. Running now through Saturday, May 11, GameStop’s Pre-Owned Sale offer markdowns on used games for not only PS4 and Xbox One, but also PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, and DS–so if there’s an older title you always meant to buy and never did, now could be a great time to snag it.
There’s a lot going on in this sale, so here are the highlights: First off, most pre-owned games are marked down by $5 to $10. On top of that discount, you can get two for $20 on all pre-owned games listed as $15 or less. Pre-owned, refurbished Wii and Nintendo DS systems are $20 off, a pre-owned Xbox One (500GB) is only $150, and if you buy any pre-owned console, you’ll also be eligible for a buy one, get one 50% off deal on any pre-owned PS3 and Xbox 360 games. And it’s worth mentioning that all Animal Crossing Amiibo are currently buy one, get one 50% off as well.
Many recent Pokemon titles are notably marked down on 3DS, if you feel like taking a trip down memory lane before Pokemon Sword and Shield launch on Nintendo Switch later this year. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask for 3DS is only $19, and usually sells for $40. Far Cry 5 on PS4 and Xbox One is down to $20, and while there aren’t many Switch deals, you can grab Bayonetta 2 for $35.
SHOP GAMESTOP’S PRE-OWNED SALE »
See more of the best deals below, and check out the full collection of pre-owned game discounts at GameStop. Note that if you’re part of GameStop’s PowerUp Rewards program, the price will be even cheaper.
Consoles
Nintendo games
Switch:
Wii / Wii U:
DS / 3DS / New 3DS XL:
PlayStation games
PS4:
PS3:
Xbox games
Xbox One:
Xbox 360:
Jessica Jones Season 3 Release Teased By Marvel
Following the wave of cancellations that hit all Marvel’s Netflix show over the past six months, it’s easy to forget that there’s still one more season of Jessica Jones to come. The third season of the show is due to hit the streaming service this year, and its release has now been teased by Marvel.
In a new tweet, the studio has announced “the final season” of Jessica Jones. While it was assumed that the recent second season of The Punisher would be the last, it was released before the show was officially cancelled and just presented as Season 2. But this is not the case with Jessica Jones, which was officially axed in February. The tweet doesn’t reveal when we’ll see it, just that it’s “coming soon.” But for fans of the dark superhero drama, it’s exciting news. Check it out below.
“Everything changes, and nothing really changes. People die, new people are born, and we exist in between.” The final season of Marvel’s @JessicaJones is coming soon to Netflix. pic.twitter.com/HswnJuCdva
— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) May 6, 2019
Jessica Jones Season 2 will star Krysten Ritter as troubled private detective Jessica, plus Rachael Taylor (as Trish), Eka Darville (as Malcolm Ducasse), and Carrie-Anne Moss (as Jeri Hogarth). Few details about the story of the new season are known, but a trailer shouldn’t be too far behind.
Jessica Jones was the second Marvel Netflix show, following Daredevil, and Season 1 was released in November 2015. Iron Fist, Luke Cage, The Punisher, and The Defenders followed, but ultimately all were cancelled. Disney launches its own streaming platform, Disney+, in the Fall and has a host of its own Marvel shows in development for the new service.
In February, Ritter posted on Instagram shortly after the show’s cancellation. “It has been a dream to play Jessica alongside my amazing cast and the best crew in the business for these past 5 years,” she wrote. “I am so grateful for every second of it. We have THE BEST fans. You guys mean the world to me and I appreciate you beyond words. The final season of #JessicaJones is coming later this year and I am proud of how we complete JJ’s journey.”
What To Do After You’ve Seen Avengers: Endgame
So, you’ve seen Avengers: Endgame. You’ve processed through your feelings about the variousendings, you’ve started trying to wrap your head around all the weirdest parts of the plot, and maybe even decided to try your hand at understanding just what the hell Dr. Strange was thinking.
With all that behind you, the post-movie depression might be starting to set in–after all, for a lot of us, this movie was over a decade in the making, and now it’s done. It’s over. These characters are probably never going to appear on screen together again in our lifetime–at least, not to this effect. And that’s a pretty heavy thought, right? Now that we’re a week out from the high of just sitting down in the theater, it feels a little bittersweet.
But thankfully, we’ve got a cure for the melancholy. The theatrical versions of the core six Avengers may never share another blockbuster moment with one another, but that definitely isn’t the case for their comic book inspirations. With over fifty years of stories behind them and more on the way every month, you can keep harnessing all the magic of the MCU without endlessly re-watching your favorite movies over and over again.
Though you can certainly do that, too. We definitely won’t try and stop you.
We’ve curated a list of the best Avengers comics around to cure your post-Endgame blues.
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