Month: March 2020

Call Of Duty: Mobile Gets Huge Update With New Battle Pass, Map, Character, And More

It’s a big week for Call of Duty: Mobile, as the game’s newest season has begun, ushering in a new Battle Pass, along with a new map and character.

Starting with the new character, John “Soap” MacTavish has been added to the game, and the only way to get him is through the new battle pass, which is called “Rise of Soap.” There is also a new scorestreak called H.I.V.E. This streak grants players a weapon that shoots proximity mines that, when triggered, release a bunch of “nano drones” that kill enemies in the area.

The new multiplayer map is called Cage, and it’s available now in all ranked modes. The close-quarters map is noteworthy because it’s the first map in Call of Duty Mobile that was made specifically for the game. The rest are borrowed from the console/PC games.

The new season also includes an update for Zombies with a new area called “Night of the Undead” to explore. This includes “more dangerous areas, new enhancements, and new mechanisms to utilize. “This map launches on March 2.

Additionally, everyone who logs into Call of Duty Mobile on March 1 will receive “special rewards” and in-game events that players can participate in to earn extra gear, though specifics were not shared.

Call of Duty: Mobile is developed by Timi Studios, which is a subsidiary of the Chinese internet giant Tencent. Activision recently announced that Call of Duty: Mobile had surpassed 150 million downloads.

In other Call of Duty news, Call of Duty Zombies director Jason Blundell has left developer Treyarch during the same year that Black Ops 5 is rumored to release.

Now Playing: Call Of Duty Mobile – Full Match On Crash

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Diablo 3 Patch 2.6.8 To Add Three Brand New Class Sets

As Diablo III’s Season 20 draws closer, Patch 2.6.8 is adding some much requested balances, bug fixes and new items for PC and console players alike.

This season, Barbarian, Witch Doctor and Wizard players will see a shake up with brand new class sets, designed to boost play styles and skills most popular with the player community.

The full patch notes explain the changes in detail, with a number of minor bug fixes and balancing updates, but the most interesting additions are the new class sets. After promising a new set for each class after Patch 2.6.7, this update adds three.

The new Barbarian set is Horde of the Ninety Savages:

  • 2-Piece Bonus: Double the effectiveness of all Shouts. Feared, Frozen, or Stunned Enemies take double damage.
  • 4-Piece Bonus: Each stack of Frenzy reduces damage taken by 6%. Frenzy lasts twice as long.
  • 6-Piece Bonus: Frenzy deals 1000% increased damage per stack.

Witch Doctors are getting a set called Mundunugu’s Regalia:

  • 2-Piece Bonus: Big Bad Voodoo now follows you and lasts twice as long.
  • 4-Piece Bonus: Gain 60% damage reduction for 30 seconds when you enter the Spirit Realm.
  • 6-Piece Bonus: Spirit Barrage deals 20000% increased damage plus an additional % equal to 5 times your Mana Regeneration/Second.

Wizards will get The Typhon’s Veil, a set aimed at boosting Hydra after nerfs to supplemental Legendary items:

  • 2-Piece Bonus: Double the duration of Hydras and increase the number of heads on multi-headed Hydras by two.
  • 4-Piece Bonus: Damage taken is reduced by 8% for each Hydra head alive as long as there is one available. Each time you take damage, a Hydra heads dies. Heads cannot die more than once every 2 seconds
  • 6-Piece Bonus: Hydras deal 1300% increased damage for each Hydra head alive.

Blizzard is working on Diablo IV right now, which will bring back talent trees to the series. They recently unveiled the game’s terrifying new cannibal enemies.

Now Playing: Diablo III On Switch Makes Anything Bearable

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Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Has Broken its Own Concurrent Player Count Record Again

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive first released in 2012, but in 2020 it’s had more players than ever. The game, which hit a peak player count of 901,000 in February 2020, has now gone even further. As reported by PCGamesN, tracking site Steamcharts recorded a peak player figure of 924,045 on Sunday, March 1.

Steam’s own figures put it even higher–the 24 hour peak count, as of right now, is at 925,990.

The game went free-to-play in December 2018, which seems to have led to a steady growth for the title. The rise of streaming, esports, and the fact that the game receives regular patches and updates have also all contributed to its growth.

The IEM Katowice esports tournament over the weekend of February 28-March 1 likely boosted the game’s player numbers, too–the CS:GO tournament had a $500,000 prize pool.

Counter-Strike: GO is inching towards the coveted one million concurrent player figure that games like Minecraft, Dota 2, and Apex Legends have enjoyed. It’s a ways behind Fortnite’s astonishing record of 8.3 million players, however.

It’s not the only game experiencing long-term growth, either–Rainbow Six: Siege, which is not free-to-play, nevertheless recently broke its own concurrent player count record on Steam.

CS:GO expanded with Halo-themed stickers and music in November 2019.

Now Playing: The Biggest Games To Play In 2020 And Beyond

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The Suicide Squad Finishes Filming, As Director Shares A Tragic Personal Message

The Suicide Squad has finished filming ahead of its release in 2021, director James Gunn has announced. The director announced the news in a Instagram post where he also shared some tragic personal news. Gunn shared that his father passed away weeks before filming began and his dog died just before the end of filming.

“It was a hard, hard time in my life and yet the most fulfilling time I’ve ever had making a movie,” he said. “The professionalism, talent, compassion and kindness of this cast and crew inspired me every day. Thanks to everyone involved in this film, in every stage of development, in every department–I am grateful from the bottom of my heart for you all. You are why I make movies.”

The Suicide Squad comes to theatres in August 2021, which is still a very long time away. The rest of the production schedule will presumably include post-production efforts like visual effects and any reshoots, if necessary.

The Suicide Squad is not exactly a sequel to 2016’s Suicide Squad, but instead a film that stands on its own. Gunn wrote the script, but plot details are under wraps. What we do know is that Harley Quinn actress Margot Robbie is coming back, while Viola Davis, Joel Kinnaman, and Jai Courtney are also returning to reprise their characters. Will Smith, however, won’t be back as Deadshot, while Jared Leto is not returning as Joker.

The film will feature a long list of famous actors in undisclosed roles, including Nathan Fillion, Peter Capaldia, Pete Davidson, Idris Elba, John Cena, Flula Borg, Michael Rooker, Taika Waititi, and more.

Gunn signed on to write and direct The Suicide Squad for rival studio Warner Bros. after Disney fired him from the Marvel movie Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Disney eventually reinstated Gunn for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which he will direct after he finishes his responsibilities for The Suicide Squad.

2016’s Suicide Squad was bashed by critics, but it made more than $746 million globally at the box office and won an Oscar.

The Red Lantern Is Oregon Trail With Sled Dogs | PAX East 2020 Gameplay

The Red Lantern is a harrowing survival game set in the wild white north, asking you to survive using nothing more than your wits and a pack of sled dogs. Think The Oregon Trail, but instead of your sister dying of dysentery, your favorite dog could get attacked by a bear. It consists mostly of menu prompts asking you to hunt for wild game, make camp, or inspect hazards and points of interest.

Your dogs have their own personality traits, with unique strengths and weaknesses. The lead dog Chomper loves to chase squirrels and will rarely ignore them. Another has a fear of loud noises. Each of them excels at one of three traits, making them excellent natural hunters, faster sled dogs, or naturally curious about the world and able to sniff out secrets. Managing your pack’s physical and mental health adds an extra wrinkle through the lonely landscape. And yes, you can give scritches, as seen in the video above.

The Red Lantern is coming to PC and Nintendo Switch in 2020. Check out our PAX East 2020 hub for more intriguing indie titles like this.

PAX East 2020 PIN

No Time to Die: Billie Eilish Has Broken a Bond Song Record

Daniel Craig’s final James Bond film, No Time to Die, doesn’t even hit theaters until April, but Billie Eilish’s song for the film, also titled “No Time to Die,” is already a smash hit in the U.K.

As reported by MI6 HQ, Eilish has topped the U.K. charts with the biggest opening week ever for a James Bond song. The track has sold 90,000 copies in its first seven days of release, and racked up 10.6 million streams.

The only other Bond song to nab the number one spot was 2015’s “Writing’s On The Wall” by Sam Smith, selling close to 70k copies in its debut. Both Adele and Duran Duran got close to hitting the top, but just missed. Adele, however, holds the record for most weeks on the Top 100 chart for a Bond song.

Here’s a quick look at the highest positions each released Bond song got on the charts (ranked from highest to lowest)…

  • 1 No Time To Die – Billie Eilish (2020)
  • 1 Writing’s On The Wall – Sam Smith (2015)
  • 2 Skyfall – Adele (2012)
  • 2 A View To A Kill – Duran Duran (1985)
  • 3 Die Another Day – Madonna (2002)
  • 3 We Have All The Time In The World – Louis Armstrong (1994)
  • 5 The Living Daylights – a-ha (1987)
  • 6 Licence To Kill – Gladys Knight (1989)
  • 7 You Know My Name – Chris Cornell (2006)
  • 7 Nobody Does It Better – Carly Simon (1977)
  • 8 The James Bond Theme Re-Version – Moby (1997)
  • 8 For Your Eyes Only – Sheena Easton (1981)
  • 9 Another Way To Die – Jack White & Alicia Keys (2008)
  • 9 Live And Let Die – Paul McCartney & Wings (1973)
  • 10 GoldenEye – Tina Turner (1995)
  • 11 The World Is Not Enough – Garbage (1999)
  • 11 You Only Live Twice – Nancy Sinatra (1967)
  • 12 Tomorrow Never Dies – Sheryl Crow (1997)
  • 13 The James Bond Theme – The John Barry Orchestra (1963)
  • 20 From Russia With Love – Matt Munro (1963)
  • 21 Goldfinger – Shirley Bassey (1964)
  • 35 Thunderball – Tom Jones (1965)
  • 38 Diamonds Are Forever – Shirley Bassey (1971)
  • 39 From Russia With Love – John Barry (1963)
  • 49 If There Was A Man – The Pretenders (1987)
  • 75 All Time High – Rita Coolidge (1983)

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Looking for more No Time to Die content? Read more about Rami Malek’s supervillain and check out everything we know about Bond 25, including plot details, shooting locations and specifics on the cast and crew.

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Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

Mark Ruffalo Says There is ‘Talk’ of Hulk Appearing in She-Hulk Series

Appearing at Chicago’s C2E2 this weekend, MCU star Mark Ruffalo revealed that there have been preliminary discussions about him appearing on Marvel’s She-Hulk series as Bruce Banner/Hulk.

Created in 1980 by Stan Lee and John Buscema, She-Hulk — real name: Jessica Walters — is Bruce Banner’s cousin. In the comics, it’s a life-saving blood transfusion from Bruce that turns Jessica into her own (eventually smarter) version of Hulk.

Check out The Laughing Place’s tweets for what Ruffalo said about a possible Hulk appearance on the show…

Previously announced, Jessica Gao, who wrote Rick and Morty’s Emmy-winning “Pickle Rick” episode, will be the head writer on She-Hulk.

Production on She-Hulk will wrap in 2020, though the Disney+ series will most likely air in 2021.

Check out our full rundown of She-Hulk’s origins and most famous storylines here.

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Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

Box Office: The Invisible Man Sees Big Opening Weekend

It may not be part of the “Dark Universe,” but Universal and Blumhouse’s The Invisible Man scared up some serious box office loot, with an estimated $29 million opening.

This is good news for horror/thrillers as the genre has been flailing a bit since It: Chapter Two, what with Doctor Sleep, The Turning, and Brahms: The Boy II pulling in less than ideal hauls in recently months.

Overseas, as reported by Variety, The Invisible Man nabbed another $20.2 million, bringing it to $49.2 million worldwide.

You can read our review of The invisible Man here, where we call it a “chillingly effective” reimagining of a classic.

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Funimation’s My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising also did well for itself, in a much smaller release, generating $5.1 million, and a grand total of $8.4 million (since debuting on Wednesday).

Check out our positive review of My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising, which calls out the fun action and “excellent team-ups.”

North American Box Office Estimates

Sonic the Hedgehog continued to race for gold, earning $16 million and landing in second place. With $128 million domestically, to date, Sonic is now has a global total of $265 million.

Everything else in the Top 10 held on as expected. Call of the Wild has only brought in $79.3 worldwide so far, which doesn’t bode well considering its massive budget.

Parasite didn’t crack the Top 10, but it’s raked in $51.5 million in America to date, closing in on setting a record for a non-English language film here in the States.

Here are the Top 10 North American box office estimates for the (2-day) weekend (via Box Office Mojo)

  • 1. The Invisible Man $29,000,000
  • 2. Sonic the Hedgehog $16,000,000
  • 3. Call of the Wild $13,205,000
  • 4. My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising $5,109,247
  • 5. Bad Boys for Life $4,300,000
  • 6. Birds of Prey $4,100,000
  • 7. Impractical Jokers $3,545,000
  • 8. 1917 $2,670,000
  • 9. Brahms: The Boys II $2,622,381
  • 10 Fantasy Island $2,330,000

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Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.