Detective Pikachu: How Ryan Reynolds Lost Himself In The Pokemon Role

Despite what he says in this newly published video promoting Warner Bros.’ upcoming Detective Pikachu movie, Ryan Reynolds isn’t actually known for disappearing into his roles–unless you count putting on the Deadpool mask as disappearing. But it seems the actor is giving it his all to truly become the electric yellow mouse at the heart of Detective Pikachu.

In the video, Reynolds contends he did everything he could to lose himself in the role of Pikachu. He stopped picking his daughters up from school, practiced living at Pikachu height by lying flat on public sidewalks, and attempted to lose 182 pounds to match the character’s weight. The video even features a special guest to weigh in on the toll the actor’s exhaustive dedication has taken–but you’ll have to watch the video to find out the rest.

Detective Pikachu is the live-action adaptation of the strangely conceived game of the same name, in which Pikachu takes on a human voice and solves mysteries. Here’s the official plot synopsis from Warner Bros.:

The story begins when ace detective Harry Goodman goes mysteriously missing, prompting his 21-year-old son Tim to find out what happened. Aiding in the investigation is Harry’s former Pokémon partner, Detective Pikachu: a hilariously wise-cracking, adorable super-sleuth who is a puzzlement even to himself. Finding that they are uniquely equipped to work together, as Tim is the only human who can talk with Pikachu, they join forces on a thrilling adventure to unravel the tangled mystery. Chasing clues together through the neon-lit streets of Ryme City–a sprawling, modern metropolis where humans and Pokémon live side by side in a hyper-realistic live-action world–they encounter a diverse cast of Pokémon characters and uncover a shocking plot that could destroy this peaceful co-existence and threaten the whole Pokémon universe.

It’s a weird idea, but honestly, that sounds kind of incredible. And based on the movie’s trailers, Detective Pikachu might actually be the live-action Pokemon movie we always wanted. Check out our Detective Pikachu hub if you want to dig deep and find out everything we know about this weirdly compelling film, and check it out in theaters May 10.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s New Game Plus Update Out Tomorrow; Full Patch Detailed

Ubisoft has released the full patch notes for the final scheduled February update for Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Titled Patch 1.1.4, the update comes to Xbox One, PS4, and PC tomorrow, February 26.

The most notable addition included in the update is New Game Plus, a much requested feature from the Assassin’s Creed community for Odyssey. To access New Game Plus, you’ll need to finished the Family Quest Line, which is the largest of the three mainline campaign stories in Odyssey. Once you’ve completed that storyline, you’ll see the option to play New Game Plus on the main menu between Load and Options. Playing New Game Plus puts you back at the beginning of Odyssey’s story, but you keep all of your gear, mounts, spear and ship upgrades, abilities, drachmae, and crafting materials. You’ll also have the choice of continuing to play as your Kassandra or Alexios or switch to the other playable protagonist if you want a change of pace.

Patch 1.1.4 also adds 10 decorative frames for use in Odyssey’s in-game Photo Mode. There are also new accessibility options included in the update that allow you to further customize how subtitles appear in-game. Support for Odyssey’s upcoming Legacy of the First Blade Episode 3: Bloodline DLC–coming to all systems March 5–and the next month’s Lost Tales of Greece missions is included in the patch too.

Most of Patch 1.1.4 contains miscellaneous and balancing updates, as well as over five dozen bug fixes. We’ve outlined the full list below. Spoiler warning: the bug fixes contain major story details from late-game campaign, Lost Tales of Greece, and Legacy of the First Blade DLC missions.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Patch 1.1.4 Notes

Miscellaneous

  • The tier of the perks available on a Lieutenant obtained from Ubisoft Club and the Store will now scale based on the player level.
  • Hard mode fights in the Arena are now a bit harder.
  • Added an option to hold down the respective key to increase the number of items quicker.
  • Improved some UI aspects of Photo Mode to increase usability.
  • Increased maximum player level to 99. NINE NINE.
  • Added new Ship tiers to the game.
  • Added more Mastery Levels.
  • Added two Mercenary tiers and rewards.
  • Added 22 Viewpoints that can be fast traveled to.

Balancing

  • Drachmae acquisition has been rebalanced across several sources
    • Lowered Drachmae gained with Contracts.
    • Increased Drachmae gained with Bounties and Conquest Battles.
  • Crafting Materials acquisition from Naval sources have been rebalanced
    • Added chance to loot Iron Metal and Soft Leather from sinking ship and looting floating loot.
    • Scaled floating loot quantity based on player level.
    • Lower chance to loot Precious Gem and Obsidian Glass from sinking ship.
    • Increased Wood quantity from Epic Ship.
  • Athenian Hero set bonus will be improved to give: All Arrows Pierce Shields and +30% Hunter Damage.
  • Added a missing perk to the Epic Heavy Bladed Champion’s Axe.
  • The Bounty cost for high-level players at a high level of bounty has been slightly increased.
  • Celestial Crown will now increase damage to swords, as intended.

Bug Fixes

DLC

  • Addressed various issues with the Protector of Persia quest.
  • Adjusted a cutscene and tweaked some dialogue in Shadow Heritage.

Main Game

  • Gameplay
    • Addressed various issues with engravings and perks.
    • Addressed an issue where players couldn’t obtain Nestor’s rewards under certain circumstances.
    • Addressed an issue causing the big battle in Achaia to end before enemy forces were depleted.
    • Special Lieutenants can be hired after multiple recruiting. Back to work, Misthios!
    • Hephaestus declares players will no longer be lit on fire by candles or when lighting braziers in tombs.
    • Invisible mercenaries will no longer be easy to track when activating the Multi-Shot ability. Say that again, but slowly.
    • Rapid fire will now work as intended on the various NPC types.
    • Addressed an issue preventing players from dealing damage when attacking with a melee weapon.
    • Addressed an issue allowing the “Tamed animals deal poison damage” legendary engraving to be unlocked from the beginning.
    • Addressed an issue causing players to spawn on a building when fast traveling to Georgios’ Reach.
    • The Daughters of Artemis will no longer be hostile to players after becoming their leader or being provoked. Overthrow averted.
    • Addressed an issue where Kallisto the Bear would leave the Arena invincible.
    • Patrols will no longer grab corpses that were made invisible with the Death Veil ability.
    • Addressed an issue preventing players from dismounting a horse while talking. Don’t ride and talk, Misthios.
  • World
    • Addressed an issue causing several cultists to spawn underground.
    • Players will no longer be swarmed by hordes of wannabe centaur NPCs when entering towns for the first time.
    • Addressed an issue preventing players from looting Orichalcum fragments in several areas.
    • Addressed an issue preventing players from purchasing items from Sargon if the item shared a name with one in their inventory.
    • Addressed an issue causing too many mercenaries to rally to Mykonos under certain circumstances.
    • Addressed an issue causing players to remain trapped in a room at the Farm of Elais.
    • Addressed an issue preventing new weekly contracts from appearing until reloading.
    • Addressed various issues that could prevent Belos the Beast, Cyclops, or Medusa’s minions from scaling to the player’s level as intended.
    • Crane of Georgios can now be fast traveled to.
    • Addressed an issue causing players to be stuck in the Leader House in Keos.
    • Players should now be able to complete Trachis Fort.
  • Quest
    • Addressed an issue preventing Myrrine from traveling to her destination.
    • Addressed an issue preventing players from progressing in She Who Controls the Seas.
    • Addressed an issue causing the objective to disappear in Persian Puppetry under certain circumstances.
    • Addressed an issue preventing players from continuing A Family Legacy.
    • Addressed an issue preventing players from continuing We Will Rise.
    • Addressed an issue preventing players from completing Prince of Persia under certain conditions.
    • [MOTHER OF ALL SPOILERS] Addressed an issue in Ancient Revelations preventing players from killing Pythagoras.
    • Addressed an issue causing the Find and Rescue the Actor objective in The Curse of Fame to display incorrectly.
    • Main quests will now appear after completing the Unearthing the Truth quest.
    • Addressed an issue during Awaken the Myth preventing players from completing the Sphinx after defeating Stentor inside the Arena.
    • Addressed an issue during Heart for a Head where the quest item was not available in player’s inventory.
    • Addressed an issue preventing players from triggering the cinematic to complete A Fresh Start.
    • Testikles will remain alive for players to pick up in Delivering a Champion.
    • Addressed an issue during A Good Toast where an invulnerable NPC could be found in the Leader House.
    • Addressed an issue preventing players from beginning More Questions Than Answers if fast traveling when the letter was open.
    • The quest item located in the chest at the Cave of Arktoi will now be available in Hard to Artemis.
    • Addressed an issue preventing players from receiving the By the Fates quest.
    • Addressed an issue preventing players from completing the On the Grapevine quest if killed, upon respawn.
    • Addressed an issue allowing the ship of Nestor the Formidable to be destroyed by enemy ships.
    • Addressed an issue where NPCs would no longer follow their objective after saving or loading in Learning the Land.
    • Addressed an issue causing the Daughters of Artemis to remain invincible after completing Daughters of Lalaia.
    • Addressed an issue preventing players from interacting with Barnabas to complete A Night to Remember.
    • Addressed an issue preventing players from completing Hunter Camps after finishing Daughters of Artemis.
    • Addressed an issue preventing Athenian ships from entering into conflict with the Adrestia in The Battle of Pylos.
    • [SPOILER] Daphnae can now be killed in deep water during Artemis’s Request.
    • Addressed an issue preventing the legendary boar from dropping its pelt during Daughters of Artemis.
    • Addressed an issue preventing players from completing the Poison in the Air weekly quest.
    • Addressed an issue preventing players from completing the Burned Bodies and Broken Skulls weekly quest.
    • The Clear the Land for Athens contract will now generate where Daughters of Artemis spawn.
    • Addressed an issue with the Ostraka Killer View.
  • Character & AI
    • Addressed various animation issues with NPC and player character.
    • Addressed an issue causing Mercenary’s pets to attack if players shoot fire arrows at them. Also: please don’t shoot arrows at any pets, thanks.
    • Addressed a variety of inappropriate NPC reactions.
    • Addressed a variety of incorrect player controller actions.
  • Photo Mode
    • Using the reset option will now function as intended in Photo Mode.
    • Addressed an issue causing Depth of Field to be disabled when using the left stick while editing in Photo Mode.
    • Addressed an issue in Photo Mode causing Bloom to be very dim.
    • Addressed an issue causing flickering in Photo Mode under certain circumstances.
  • Adrestia & Naval
    • Addressed an issue preventing some players from boarding when prompted.
    • Addressed an issue preventing the game from autosaving when entering open waters or calling the Adrestia.
    • Increased the Adrestia’s health regeneration rate when players are out of combat.
    • Ship upgrade stats will correctly be reflected in the player stats card.
    • [PC] The Aim action toggle is now working for Naval combat.
    • Addressed an issue preventing players from upgrading the Adrestia.
    • Addressed an issue where DLC Lieutenants needed to be manually reassigned.
  • Performance & Stability
    • Addressed various issues causing long loading times.
    • Addressed several freezing issues.
    • Addressed a game crash when the cinematic for the Cyclops begins.
    • [PC] Addressed an issue causing low FPS when using the latest Nvidia drivers on GTX 1060 Max-Q GPU.
    • [PC] Addressed an issue causing juddering and unusual CPU usage on some laptops.
  • Graphics, Animations, & Audio
    • Addressed various graphical issues with world objects.
    • Addressed various lighting issues.
    • Addressed various sound issues.
    • Addressed various visual effects with weapons and outfits.
    • Addressed various camera issues.
    • [PC] Addressed a graphical issue that could occur if 8 GB VRAMs reached maximum capacity.
  • User Interface, Menu, & Subtitles
    • Addressed various UI/HUD display issues.
    • Addressed incorrectly displayed text.
    • Addressed various dialogue mismatches.
    • The “!” above the Inventory tab will now disappear after players have hovered above the acquired items. Praise be.
    • Recruiting enemy NPCs will no longer add to the quest objective counter if asked to “kill” enemies.
    • When using the All filter in the menu, Chapter and Legacy quests will be in order.
    • Addressed an issue causing background flickers in the Options menu.
    • Rewards for defeating the Mythical Creatures will now be displayed in the quest description.
    • Addressed an issue where the Transmogrification menu wouldn’t become available as intended on Level 8.
    • Mercenary Tier S2 players will be granted Hephaistos’s 20% discount in the Workshop, as intended.
    • Addressed an issue preventing players from gaining Ability points after reaching 207.
    • Addressed an issue causing the 200 Free Helix Credits to be missing.
    • [SPOILERS] Addressed an issue preventing players from being rewarded the Abraxas horse skin when reaching the Tier 1 Mercenary rank.
    • [PC] Corrected several CPU and GPU miscalculations displayed in Performance Analyzer.
    • [PC] Addressed an issue preventing players from scrolling through detailed stats with the mouse wheel.
    • [PC] Addressed an issue preventing the HDR option from applying correctly.
    • [SWITCH] Added support for the in-game store on Nintendo SwitchTM system.
  • Ubisoft Club, Achievements, & Trophies
    • Changed the description of the Lord of the Seas achievement to match new progression.
    • Addressed an issue that prevented Legacy of the First Blade achievements from unlocking.

Tony Stark, Not Captain America, Should Die In Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame promises the culmination of a story arc that has lasted more than a decade. The ambitious Marvel Cinematic Universe has borrowed liberally from the criss-crossing continuity that comic fans have known for years, and evolved into a sprawling movie empire. And because it has become so larger-than-life, it’s easy to forget that it began with a single hero. Tony Stark was our unlikely introduction to this universe. Now it’s time for his character to exit, and in the process, to finish one of the longest continuous character arcs in filmmaking history. By the time the credits roll on Endgame, Tony Stark should be deceased.

The MCU has introduced or reintroduced dozens of heroes to the big screen, but none has had a single coherent character trajectory quite like Tony Stark. Captain America has become disillusioned and questioned what his patriotic symbolism means, and Thor has gone through a variety of relationship ups-and-downs with his brother Loki, but Stark has had the most room to subtly grow. Part of that is his sheer screen-time. Due to a combination of his appearances in his own trilogy of Iron Man films, all of the Avengers films, and even cameos in others like Spider-Man: Homecoming, actor Robert Downey Jr. and the MCU writers have had the space to develop Stark to an incredible degree.

In addition, he’s one of the few Marvel heroes who is utterly mortal, making his character that much more identifiable. Other regular humans like Black Widow or Hawkeye just haven’t taken center-stage like Stark. All this builds a relatable human story of a man–a particularly gifted one intellectually, but just a man nonetheless–responding to and coping with the existence of profound knowledge and unfathomable stress.

In the original Iron Man, Tony Stark was a selfish, smug jackass. It took a near-death experience and seeing the consequences of his irresponsible lifestyle firsthand to force him to confront his own complacency. This was the crucial first step to his growth as a person, although he only extended his heroism to correcting his own mistakes and interdicting the misuse of Stark weapons against innocent people. He hadn’t yet learned how to look outside himself or work with others in any meaningful capacity.

This was partially corrected in Iron Man 2, which, although it was the sloppiest of all the movies in characterization, did knock Tony down a peg and allow him to see the value in having support from others. In this sequel, he started to act self-destructively, and only survived thanks to help from his friends Rhodey and Pepper, and to a larger extent, Black Widow and Nick Fury.

By the time The Avengers arrived, Tony Stark was still cocky, but he’d accepted some amount of a mantle of leadership and an appreciation for teamwork. At this point, it’s precisely because of this increased sense of responsibility that he clashes with Captain America. Cap’s criticism after Agent Coulson’s apparent death is harsh, but correct: Tony Stark isn’t a soldier, and deep-down he simply doesn’t believe that sacrifices are necessary.

This is fundamental to understanding Tony Stark, and his relationship with Cap puts it into sharp relief. As we know from Captain America: The First Avenger, Steve Rogers was the type of man to jump on a grenade just to protect those in his company–most of whom thought he was a worthless wimp. Tony Stark didn’t have that trait. His clash with Cap is about a disagreement that comes up over and over throughout the series. Stark always believes that he can engineer a clever solution, a backdoor, a failsafe. His origin story is grounded in outwitting a problem to keep himself safe, and that continued to define his approach. That’s why, when he made the impulsive decision to fly into space at the end of The Avengers, it was a moment of real growth. But it also devastated him, and led to a series of decisions driven by trauma.

When Iron Man 3 began, he was wracked with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. He had seen the expanse of the universe and grappled with the magnitude of its threats. A man utterly confident in his ability to deal with anything the world threw at him suddenly had to cope with the idea that there are other worlds, and he felt a responsibility to be the guardian of his own.

It was this realization that led him to build the Iron Legion, an army of his own equipped to take on any conceivable specialized task. This reckless sense of unilateral responsibility also led him to build Ultron, dubbed “a suit of armor around the world.” This is when he conspicuously pointed out that cosmic threats were “the end-game” that all of his machinations revolved around. And most crucially, the vision shown to him by Scarlet Witch was one of mass death of all his allies and friends. The worst part, he confided in Nick Fury, was that he didn’t die with them. This was a major shift in his perspective and values.

As the team entered Infinity War, Tony Stark had developed more healthy interpersonal relationships, but we quickly learned that he was still constantly mindful of intergalactic danger. In fact, he’d developed a suit that is on him at all times, equipable in seconds, and specifically engineered to deal with cosmic threats. Arguably his decision to venture into the far reaches of space itself carried an implicit acknowledgement that he may not make it back to Earth. By the end of that film, his absolute worst fear was realized when his mentee, Peter Parker, died in his arms.

We can glean additional meaning from the actions of one of Stark’s fellow heroes. Doctor Strange only gave up the Time Stone to save Tony, after explicitly stating that he would rather let his allies die than surrender it. We can infer that he did this because, after peering into the possible futures, he saw only one that was a success: the one in which Tony Stark lives.

Consider Tony Stark’s position and mindset as Avengers: Endgame approaches. He’s finally internalized that sacrifice is sometimes necessary, and he feels survivor’s guilt over living through the randomness of Thanos’s cataclysmic snap. Yet he appears to be crucial to whatever eventuality will stop Thanos. Whatever the Avengers are planning to restore the other heroes and set things right, it’s now Tony Stark who is most primed to sacrifice himself for the greater good. No more failsafes, no more witty solutions, no more outsmarting the problem. Just sacrifice. Someone will need to hold the line, and while Captain America will be more than willing, Tony Stark needs to make sure that it’s him in order to satisfy this decade-long character arc.

It’s possible that the trajectory of Tony’s character arc has happened by chance–that this is all the coincidence of several different script writers planting seeds that will never quite bear fruit. It’s possible that the various teases and winks that Captain America will die in Avengers Endgame are not clever misdirects after all. Maybe the Russo brothers feel they’ve already devastated us with death, and this victorious conclusion will be all catharsis and joy.

But I hope not.

As much as I love Tony Stark and Robert Downey Jr.’s portrayal of him, Marvel has a chance to use its enormous ongoing universe to deliver a powerful conclusion for the character who started it all. It would be a fitting, emotionally resonant send-off to the franchise that brought a new level of serialized storytelling to the silver screen. Tony Stark helped us all become part of a bigger universe. It’s time for him to make a satisfying exit from it.

Dead Or Alive 6 Full Game Early Story and Challenge Mode

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Fortnite Season 8 Start Date Confirmed

Season 8 of Fortnite is just around the corner. With only a few days remaining in Season 7, developer Epic Games has now confirmed that the new season of the battle royale game will kick off across all platforms this Thursday, February 28.

Just as it has done in the run up to previous seasons, Epic is dropping teasers in the days leading up to Season 8. Each of the hints thus far has come in the form of a poem that suggests the new season will have a pirate theme; the first references “X marks the spot” and treasure, while the second warns players to beware “those who arrive on the waves.”

No Caption Provided

What this means as far as gameplay goes remains to be seen, but it’ll presumably somehow tie into the earthquakes that have been occurring in the game. Players first began experiencing these tremors earlier this month following the release of Fortnite’s 7.30 update, and they’ve been growing in intensity since, so much so that cracks are now appearing in the island.

We’ll find out soon enough what all this means for Season 8, but in the meantime, players still have a few days to complete any remaining Season 7 challenges, including the new Overtime challenges. Epic is giving the Season 8 Battle Pass to players for free if they finish these Overtime challenges, so you’ll want to complete them before the season ends to get your hands on the pass without having to shell out any V-Bucks.

You also have until the end of Season 7 to unlock all the variants of the Prisoner skin. If you need help finishing any of this season’s challenges, you can find all of GameSpots tips and guides in our complete Season 7 challenges roundup.

Fortnite Season 8 Could Feature Pirates and Snake Monsters

The Fortnite Twitter account has been slowly dropping hints about the game’s upcoming Season 8, and it seems the new theme may centre around fantasy piracy.

In what seem to be daily tweets, rhymes and teaser images have pointed squarely to a pirate theme. The first is the clearest, from the theme of treasure to the hook-hand in the image:

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PS4 Slim for $260, Red Dead 2 for $40, and More PS4 Deals

If you buy something through this post, IGN may get a share of the sale. For more, read our Terms of Use.

It’s a new week, which means you can find fresh video game deals on at numerous retailers. Among the discounts available for PlayStation fans this week, you’ll find many of the best PS4 games ever made down to just $14.99. Plus, we’ve found some rare deals on PS4 Slim, and Red Dead Redemption 2 remains on sale for $39.99. Let’s dive in.

ps4-slim-deal

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Preorder the Samsung Galaxy S10 at Walmart and Save Up to $330

If you buy something through this post, IGN may get a share of the sale. For more, read our Terms of Use.

Samsung unveiled its new S10 line of smartphones, revealing the S10e, S10, S10+ and the S10 5G. The S10 5G utilizes upcoming 5G data technology, and will be a timed-exclusive for Verizon customers. The S10 5G will see a wide roll-out later this year.

Best Samsung Galaxy S10 Deal

The best deal on preordering a Samsung Galaxy S10 is at Walmart. The promotion applies to the S10 and the S10+, and includes the free Galaxy Buds wireless ear buds, as is the case with all Galaxy S10 preorders. However, on top of the Galaxy Buds, valued at $129.99, Walmart’s promotion offers a free Samsung charger duo on an unlocked Samsung Galaxy S10+ 128GB for $999.

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