Regardless of personal opinions on Star Wars: The Last Jedi, it appears that Russian trolls used latent fan disagreements around the film to propagate and weaponize a “narrative of widespread discord and dysfunction in American society,” at least according to a recent study.
Via Mashable, the study in question was done by Morten Bay, a research fellow at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. It compares the social media reaction that happened in the 2016 US Presidential Election to the social media climate that existed (and still exists) around The Last Jedi.
With a new season of Doctor Who about to premiere, and with it begin another whole new era in the show’s 50+ year history of adventures in space and time, and with more focus than ever on the series’ vast backlog of stories in the wake of events like the recent Twitch Classic Who marathon that had a generation of young fans enjoying and embracing – and meme-ing – the past, we offer here a quick list of 25 essential Doctor Who stories that provide a good grounding in the show and its many delights as we prepare to welcome Jodie Whittaker as the thirteenth incarnation of the time-traveling Time Lord known as the Doctor.
A bit of explanation: These are not all necessarily the “best” stories, or the most important to continuity. We’ve picked 25 adventures – at least one for every official television Doctor – that give newcomers a solid sense of the shifting tones and styles of the series as it’s navigated its way through a half-century of history and popular culture. Also, we’ve skipped including any of the plethora of audio, comics, prose, and other stories that have helped to make Doctor Who one of the most vital and varied fictional universes in history.
A movie centered around the arcade sensation Dance Dance Revolution is currently in the works.
According to Variety, Greg Silverman’s new company Stampede is behind the film which is being made in partnership with producers J. Todd Harris and Marc Marcum from Branded Entertainment as well as Konami who still own the intellectual property.
Dance Dance Revolution appears to have been taken quite literally as the movie is set to take place in a world where their only chance of survival is to unite through the power of dance.
The announcement was made alongside the news that Cara Fano, who has been at Stampede since launch and previously worked with Silverman at Warner Bros, has been promoted to director of development across film and television.
As Red Dead Redemption 2‘s release date draws ever closer, we continue to learn more about Rockstar’s new open-world western. We’re now getting to discuss our time with the opening few hours of the game, including some of our favorite encounters with random strangers who inhabit the world.
In the video above, we recount some specific examples of the random open-world happenings that we got to see during our hands-on time. As we’ve detailed elsewhere, witnesses to your crimes can report you. You’re free to chase these people down and kill them or attempt to intimidate them, but even if they insist they’ll keep their mouth shut, it doesn’t mean they necessarily will. As our Mike Mahardy notes, these types of moments make what could be minor, inconsequential events feel like something far more notable.
During another sequence, which again felt like a spontaneous event more than a specific moment crafted by Rockstar, we were challenged by a man to a shooting contest. When we lost, he expected us to pay up, but this doesn’t happen automatically. When we unwittingly walked away, he assumed we were trying to cheat him, causing him to draw his gun. (It didn’t turn out well for him.)
You can hear about more of these examples in the video above. For a broader look at the game, we’ve detailed all of Red Dead Redemption 2’s new mechanics, as well as the things that have surprised us.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse unabashedly pays homage to its comic book roots with a veritable league of Spider-people from dimensions crossing paths. The first trailer showed us the traditional Spider-Man and Miles Morales, with a brief glimpse of Gwen Stacy’s “Spider-Gwen,” but the new trailer showed off no less than six Spideys. Who are all these people?
First, a word about the Marvel multiverse. Marvel has established different continuities for its characters. To organize them, it has a “Multiverse,” with different numbers corresponding to different realities. The main continuity in Marvel comics is Earth-616, which includes the vast majority of Marvel comics over the years. Other universes might be full of zombies or cross over with DC comics. Even our own actual reality, where superheroes and villains don’t exist, is given a number in the Multiverse.
The Spider-beings from the Into the Spider-Verse trailer hail from several different dimensions, or versions of Earth. Some are minor variations on established continuity, while others are wild or comedic departures.
Spider-Man (Earth-616)
This is the main Marvel continuity, and the one occupied by Peter Parker, the traditionally recognized Spider-Man. In Into the Spider-Verse, Parker is an experienced superhero played by Jake Johnson.
Miles Morales (Earth-1610)
Miles Morales first occupied the Ultimate continuity, which had its own Ultimate versions of X-Men, Fantastic Four, and even Peter Parker’s Spider-Man. However, in the Ultimate continuity, a young boy named Miles Morales was bitten by an experimental spider engineered to imitate Spider-Man’s powers. Soon after, Peter Parker died protecting the city, inspiring Miles Morales to follow in his footsteps. He has similar powers as well as some unique ones like a cloaking ability. In the film he’s played by Shameik Moore.
Spider-Gwen (Earth-65)
Spider-Gwen occupies an alternate reality in which Gwen Stacy was bitten by a radioactive spider instead of Peter Parker. She became Spider-Woman, aka The Ghost Spider. In her own twist on the tragic backstory, her best friend Peter Parker himself became this universe’s version of the Lizard, and she accidentally killed him during a battle. She is played by Hailee Steinfeld.
Spider-Man Noir (Earth-90214)
This alternative take on the character is still Peter Parker, but set in the 1920s and 1930s. In this darker take on the character, Parker gains his superpowers in a very similar manner to the main continuity, and uses them to take down a crime boss named The Goblin. The primary differences are his costume and the setting. He’s played by Nicolas Cage.
Spider-Ham (Earth-8311)
Hailing from a universe in which the recognized heroes are anthropomorphized animals, the pig Peter was given superpowers through an accident with his caretaker, May Porker. He’s surrounded by similar animal parodies like Hulk-Bunny, Ducktor Doom, and Deerdevil. Spider-Ham is played by John Mulaney.
Peni Parker (Earth-14512)
A distinctly anime take on the iconic character, Peni Parker is a schoolgirl whose father piloted a robot known as the SP//dr. Pilots are chosen by a sentient spider that forms a mental link with the mech pilots. Peni takes control of piloting the SP//dr after her father dies. She is played by Kimiko Glenn.
Oh, One More Thing
Six Spider-persons seems like plenty, but this trailer squeezed in one more cameo appearance or Easter egg. Marvel’s Spider-Man, the recent PlayStation 4 game, has its own continuity as Earth-1048. The animators paid it homage with a small glimpse of his suit, appearing in the background between Peter and Aunt May in one scene.
The new trailer for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse prominently features six alternate versions of the Spider-Men/Spider-Women that make up the vast web of the Spider-Verse. However, there are brief snippets of other notable Spidey timelines and stories, including an Easter egg to 2018’s Marvel’s Spider-Man.
If you pause the trailer at 1:39, you’ll see display cases for certain spider suits in the background. Over Aunt May’s shoulder, you’ll spy the Advanced Suit that Peter Parker wears in Marvel’s Spider-Man, marked with its trademark white spider design. It comes as no huge surprise to see a reference to Marvel’s Spider-Man in the upcoming Into the Spider-Verse movie, as Insomniac’s Spider-Man–confirmed to be a part of Earth 1048–is recruited by Superior Spider-Man to participate in Spider-Verse‘s sequel story, Spider-Geddon.
Into the Spider-Verse‘s previous trailer already showcased one of the Peter Parkers (probably Earth 616, but it hasn’t been confirmed) as well as Miles Morales, the Ultimate Spider-Man from Earth 1610, and Gwen Stacy’s Spider-Ghost, the Spider-Woman of Earth-65. This new trailer introduced three more spiders: Earth-14512’s SP//dr, Earth-90214’s Spider-Man Noir, and Earth-8311’s Spider-Ham.
SP//dr is the superhero codename for Peni Parker, a nine-year-old girl who lets a radioactive spider bite her so she can bond with a spider-like mech suit her deceased father used to pilot, a responsibility her Uncle Ben and Aunt May inform her that only she can do. Spider-Man Noir is another Peter Parker, but from an alternate universe where the present day is 1933 during the Great Depression. Spider-Ham is the alias of Peter Porker, a spider who’s bitten by his adoptive Aunt May Porker, a pig, after she’s accidentally irradiated. He transforms into a pig as well, but discovers he retains all the abilities he had as a spider.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse sees Miles Morales meeting several of the spiders from alternative dimensions, including Peter Parker who offers to train the fledgling Spider-Man. The web-slingers of the Spider-Verse must band together to stop their clashing dimensions from destroying Miles’ reality, as well as return the members of their respective rogues gallery to the correct universes. The movie debuts in U.S. theaters on December 14.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is the next installment in the long-running time-jumping series. This one puts you in the boots of an unallied mercenary during the Peloponnesian War in Ancient Greece. In a first for the series, players can choose between a male or female protagonist and participate in romance. The game will also see the return of naval warfare and Layla. It’s set to release for Xbox One, PS4, and PC on October 5, although it’s available now for those buying certain special editions.
In our Assassin’s Creed Odyssey review, Alessandro Fillari writes, “Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s ambition is admirable, which is reflected in its rich attention to detail for the era and its approach to handling the multi-faceted narrative with strong protagonists at the lead. While its large-scale campaign–clocking in at over 50 hours–can occasionally be tiresome, and some features don’t quite make the impact they should, Odyssey makes great strides in its massive and dynamic world, and it’s a joy to venture out and leave your mark on its ever-changing setting.”
If you’re looking to get your copy reserved now and get some cool Assassin’s Creed Odyssey gear too, we’ve got you covered. Below, you’ll find a rundown on the numerous editions–from standard to collectors–and bonuses retailers are offering. If you’re interested in the PC version, be sure to also check out the recommended specs.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Pre-Order Bonuses
Pre-orders from the Ubisoft Store will include access to The Blind King mission.
Pre-orders from Best Buy will include a $10 rewards certificate.
Pre-orders from GameStop will include The Blind King mission and a helmet keychain.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Standard Edition
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Deluxe Edition
This version includes only digital content. with this, you’ll get some XP and currency boosts, a couple gear packs–the Kronos and Herald of Dusk featuring armor sets for Alexios and Kassandra–and the Capricornus naval pack.” There is a digital and physical version of this.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Gold Edition
This version will include the title’s deluxe content, season pass, and three days early access. Early access will begin October 2, 2018. There is a digital version and a physical version with a steelbook case.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Ultimate Edition
The Ultimate Edition includes all the content from the Deluxe and Gold Editions of the game.
GameStop will offer its own exclusive Collectors Edition. The Kassandra Collectors Edition includes all the Deluxe and Gold Edition content–bonus content, early access and season pass–a steelbook case, and a 9-inch tall figurine of Kassandra.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Spartan and Pantheon Collectors Editions
This collectors edition will come in two different versions–Spartan and Pantheon. Each are nearly identical. The Spartan edition will include just the spartan statue, and the Pantheon Edition will include both the Spartan and Athenian statues to create the Pantheon diorama. Both will include the digital content of the Deluxe Edition and season pass, a steelbook case, 64-page artbook, a lithograph by Hugo Puzzuoli, a map, and soundtrack with select music pieces from the game. Both versions will be exclusively sold through Ubisoft.
Collector’s Statues
For the the true collector, there are three different statues available exclusively from the Ubisoft store. There are two basic figurines of Alexios and Kassandra for $60 each. Alexios’ figurine is 32 cm tall, and Kassandra’s is 29 cm tall. Purchasing these Alexios and Kassandra figurines together will net you a 10 percent discount.
There is also a highly-detailed, premium statue for $750. The premium statue features Alexios on the head of Medusa in the Hero of Sparta armor and the broken spear of Leonidas. This massive statue stands at 68 cm tall.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is the largest game in the franchise to date. The overall map in Odyssey is over twice the size of the one in Assassin’s Creed Origins, and it’s filled with a branching main storyline and hundreds of side quests. Simply playing through the game’s campaign only scratches the surface of how much you can do.
For our Assassin’s Creed Odyssey review, editor Alessandro Fillari completed the game’s main story in just over 50 hours. And that’s without hitting every single island and side mission available. There’s a broad array of optional content to tackle outside the main campaign, including additional islands to explore and mythological creatures to slay.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey also has nine different endings. Not every ending is dependent solely on late-game decisions either, so you won’t be able to save near the story’s end to quickly see what you missed. For some of the endings, you’ll need to make key choices early on–even as early as the game’s opening two hours–and then make dialogue decisions or take certain actions throughout the campaign. You’ll have to play through the entire game numerous times just to see everything, so if you’re looking to see all the game has to offer, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey will probably take you hundreds of hours to fully complete. That’s not counting the two episodic post-launch expansions–Legacy of the First Blade and The Fate of Atlantis–that continue Kassandra and Alexios’ story.
In our review, Alessandro gave Odyssey an 8/10, and described the game’s ambition as “admirable” while also complimenting “its rich attention to detail” and “multi-faceted narrative with strong protagonists at the lead.” Unfortunately, its massive campaign was occasionally “tiresome” so going for all nine of Odyssey’s endings will be a daunting, time-consuming task. With no Assassin’s Creed game scheduled for 2019, it’s clear Ubisoft wants you to be playing Odyssey for a very long time.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey launches on October 5 for Xbox One, PS4, and PC.
Red Dead Redemption 2 puts you in the shoes of Arthur Morgan, an outlaw cowboy on the run. He’s the key member of a gang and, as all outlaw gangs are wont to do, they commit crimes from time to time. However, given that Rockstar has created a game world that reacts to your behaviour and presents the knock-on effects of your actions to you, getting away with no good is much harder than you’d think.
The people that inhabit Red Dead Redemption 2’s wild west are always watching, and while some will turn a blind eye to your misbehaviours, others may feel compelled to do something about what they’ve seen. This means that if you break the law while people are around, they could narc on you. In our hands-on gameplay session we got a good example of this system in action.
While in a marshy area, we gunned someone down and were immediately informed that there was a witness who had seen the whole thing. As we turned to locate this person, a lady screamed and began running away. Naturally, not wanting to spend the night behind bars or even six feet under, we gave chase to stop her. Once close enough to her we fired Arthur’s gun into the air and she stopped in her tracks.
Using the game’s new conversation options, we selected the “Threaten” option and she replied by saying she wouldn’t tell anyone about what she’d seen. However, there was a boldness to her voice, and her tone and attitude presented her as someone who would do the right thing and tell on us at the next available opportunity. We chose to let her go and, as suspected, a few moments later the incident was reported. When we asked Rockstar if we could have guaranteed that she wouldn’t report it, a representative said we could have doubled down on the threat to effectively convince her that we meant business and scare her into staying hush.
Ensuring that things don’t escalate when you’re engaging in criminal activity feels like it’s going to take a fair amount of thought and careful planning. In addition to keeping in mind potential witnesses, there are also other small ways in which things can go awry if you’re not careful. For example, if you’re not wearing a bandana or covering your face in some other way, witnesses will also remember you and report you to the authorities.
Based on our time with the game, once things devolve into fisticuffs and gun fights it’s much harder to de-escalate and return to a neutral state than in previous Rockstar games. In the Grand Theft Autos of old and the previous Red Dead Redemption, calming things down usually involved breaking line of sight from witnesses or lawmen to simply hide out until things blow over. However, since the world is more reactive, even doing that can be difficult in Red Dead Redemption 2. Something like bad hygiene can change the way people behave towards you, so you can bet that walking around covered in blood is going to make escaping a whole lot harder for Arthur Morgan.
Red Dead Redemption 2 releases on October 26 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. There will be a bunch of special editions, and you can get the details on all of them in our Red Dead Redemption 2 pre-order guide. One month after the game’s launch, in November 2018, Red Dead Online will become available as a public beta.
Tuesday has brought with it the latest weekly reset in Destiny 2. That means players have numerous new opportunities to obtain some Powerful gear, along with a refresh of certain fixed activities–including the Dreaming City mission rotation, which has reached the end of its cycle for the first time.
At least so far, this week isn’t as big as last week, which saw new Exotic weapons become available and a new Crucible mode called Breakthrough debut. In terms of what to expect this week, here’s the full rundown on the Nightfall, Ascendant Challenge, and more.
Ascendant Challenge
For players who have advanced far enough in Forsaken, you may be ready for a high-end activity. The Ascendant Challenge is just the ticket, providing a difficult mission of sorts to take part in for some Powerful gear–provided you can find where to go. This time, you’ll enter the challenge through a portal located in the Bay of Drowne. This takes you to the Agonarch Abyss, where you’ll be platforming (probably to your death at least a few times).
Before starting, you’ll need to pick up the bounty from Petra and to secure a Tincture of Queensfoil, a consumable item that provides the Ascendant buff that allows you to see and travel through a Taken portal to enter the Ascendant Plane.
Spider Bounty — Wanted: Gravetide Summoner
The set of bounties available from Spider have rotated yet again. One of these in particular is worth grabbing, though you’ll need five Ghost Fragments to purchase it. Completing the bounty, Wanted: Gravetide Summoner, will reward you with Powerful gear. Yes, this is a repeat of last week, but it’s found in a slightly different spot, meaning you’re doing a different Lost Sector.
As always, this provides you with an Adventure to do. This one is located on Titan, right next to the Siren’s Watch landing zone (rather than The Rig last week).
Tap To Unmute
Destiny 2: Forsaken’s Weekly Powerful Gear Bounty For Gravetide Summoner
Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos.
This video has an invalid file format.
Sorry, but you can’t access this content!
Please enter your date of birth to view this video
Another avenue to Powerful gear is the Nightfall Strike. Taking part in the Nightfall allows you to pick from three different Strikes; this week’s choices include Lake of Shadows, Tree of Probabilities, and The Arms Dealer. The corresponding bounties for Powerful gear, as usual, ask you to complete a Nightfall and to complete one with a score above 100,000.
Eververse
Tess at Eververse has new weekly bounties, the most expensive of which is Crucible Crux, but it also rewards you with the most Bright Dust based on what you spend on the bounty. This requires you to complete matches in the Crucible, with wins netting you extra progress.
Tess has also cycled in a new wave of items to get your hands on. Most important to grab is the Rise to the Challenge bounty. This only asks you to complete a challenge to receive a Prismatic Facet. This item allows you to activate the Prismatic Matrix, which is just an overly complex term for what is basically a chest with 10 cosmetic rewards inside. The Matrix’s items rotate each week; here’s what’s available right now:
Sanctified Vigilance Shell (Exotic Ghost shell)
Transcendent Geometry (Exotic Warlock ornament for Vesper of Radius)
Aim to Misbehave (Exotic ornament for Malfeasance)
Dragonfly Regalia Greaves (Legendary Titan leg armor)
Smooth Dance (Legendary emote)
Where Stars Collide (Legendary ship)
Endymion Cavalcade (Legendary vehicle)
Mappa Mundarum (Legendary vehicle)
Jeweled Projection (Legendary Ghost projection)
Petra
Petra is the most important vendor and NPC in Forsaken, providing you with bounties in the Dreaming City. She continues to move around the area and this week can be found back in The Strand. She has multiple bounties offering Powerful gear, as well as Gateway Between Worlds, which rewards you with an Offering to the Oracle (which is now an easy ticket to a Seed of Light and third subclass tree).
Additionally, she’s again offering a bounty to do the mission Broken Courier; this marks the first reset of the rotation of Dreaming City missions she has. If your Power level wasn’t high enough to try this out in September, here’s your opportunity to do what you missed. Petra actually has some dialogue to acknowledge that things are back to the way they were three weeks ago.
Tap To Unmute
Destiny 2: Get A Seed Of Light And Your Third Forsaken Subclass
Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos.
This video has an invalid file format.
Sorry, but you can’t access this content!
Please enter your date of birth to view this video
At the Tower, head over to Hawthorne to grab your daily and weekly clan bounties. On the weekly side, this week has you doing the following with clanmates: complete Blind Well at Tier 3 or higher; clear three waves of Escalation Protocol; and do three Heroic Adventures. As per usual, completing enough clan bounties before the weekly reset will net you some Powerful gear, as will completing the standard weekly clan objectives. The weekly Raid challenge has you complete the Which Witch challenge for Powerful gear.
Vanguard Strikes
For standard Strikes, the weekly challenge is to complete three while using the same Light element as a team member. The modifiers for Strikes have rotated, and here’s what you can expect to encounter right now:
Arc Singe — Arc damage increased
Grounded — Damage taken while airborne increased
Grenadier — Grenades deal more damage and recharge faster
Daily Heroic Story Missions
Five story missions have been swapped in for you to tackle as part of the daily Heroic story missions activity. Complete your choice of three before the next weekly reset to net a piece of Powerful gear. The modifiers are the same as Strikes, as outlined above. Here are the mission options:
Fury — 280 Power level
Chosen — 280 Power level
The Gateway — 310 Power level
Last Call — 500 Power level
High Plains Blues — 500 Power level
Gambit
Gambit was already one of Forsaken’s best additions, and it took on greater importance last week as it became a mandatory step in the questline to obtain the Exotic hand cannon Malfeasance. You’ll sometimes encounter a special boss in place of the Primeval; defeat that to get an item called Seething Heart that will set you on the difficult path toward unlocking the gun.
For this week, The Drifter is offering a weekly bounty, On the Grind, that asks you to earn points in Gambit. Points are earned by defeating enemies and guardians, and by banking Motes. The reward is a piece of Powerful gear.
Flashpoint
The Flashpoint is not tied directly to the weekly reset, but it has nonetheless been shuffled. At the time of this writing, it can be found on Mercury. Complete Public Events, Lost Sectors, and Heroic Adventures in the zone to fill a meter and earn a piece of Powerful gear.
