Category: Games

Sony has published a neat mini-documentary about the music of the latest big PlayStation 4 exclusive, Days Gone. In the video, composed Nathan Whitehead, who worked on the Purge film series before this, talks about how he went about creating the music for the game.

He speaks about how the sounds he went for–acoustic, organic, folk, Americana–are rough around the edges just like main character Deacon St. John is. Another cool part of the video is Whitehead talking about how he came up with the musical expression for the Freakers.

“Scoring Days Gone is the same as scoring three movies, plus figuring out how the music can be interactive and how it can respond to what the player is doing,” Whitehead says.

GameSpot spoke to Whitehead recently, and he told us all about making the game’s dark and grimy music. He also offered some thoughts on the kind of music that Deacon might like.

You can listen to Days Gone’s complete soundtrack through the Spotify embed below.

Twilight and Harry Potter actor Robert Pattinson could be the next Batman. Variety reports that Pattinson will play the Caped Crusader in the new standalone film, The Batman, which is releasing in June 2021. The film is directed by Matt Reeves, who made the latest Planet of the Apes movies.

Deadline, however, reports that the deal isn’t done yet. X-Men actor Nicholas Hoult is also reportedly a top choice to play Batman in the film. According to Deadline, Warner Bros. likes both actors, but Pattinson is the No. 1 choice at this stage.

The Hollywood Reporter also weighed in. Their sources said Armie Hammer and Aaron Taylor-Johnson were also considered for the role of Batman in the movie.

Pattinson or Hoult will take over as Batman from Ben Affleck, who played the character in Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad, and Justice League. At 29, Hoult would be the youngest-ever actor to play Batman. As would Pattinson at age 32. Other actors to have donned the cowl include Christian Bale, George Clooney, Val Kilmer, and Michael Keaton, among others.

“Warner Bros., in giving Reeves plenty of time to develop the script, is hoping the latest iteration of the DC icon is done right, following the disappointments of Batman v Superman and Justice League,” according to Variety.

Sources told Variety that filming might begin on The Batman later this year or early 2020.

The Batman would be Pattinson’s latest project with Warner Bros. He’s also set to appear in Christopher Nolan’s untitled “event movie” that’s coming out in July 2020.

Affleck–who won Oscars for Good Will Hunting and Argo–was initially attached to write, direct, and star in a new Batman movie called The Batman. However, he eventually dropped out. Explaining his decision to leave, Affleck told Jimmy Kimmel that he “couldn’t crack it.”

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In 2017, actress Michelle Rodriguez said she might quit the Fast & Furious franchise if the producers do not “show some love to the women” for the franchise going forward. Now, she’s decided to come back for Fast & Furious 9 because the producers hired a female writer.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Rodriguez said about the Fast & Furious series, “I felt like there was not enough of a female voice in the franchise.”

Rodriguez said Universal Pictures executive Donna Langley agreed that the Fast & Furious franchise needed to do better, and it was decided to hire a female writer. “If I’m coming back, I really want there to be a female writer to give it a female voice. And finally, they showed me some love, and said yeah!” Rodriguez recalled.

The actress went on to say that she was tired of having to re-write lines that men wrote for her to say on the Fast & Furious series. Rodriguez didn’t say who the female writer joining Fast & Furious 9 is, but that information should become known in due time.

Rodriguez and Vin Diesel are the only remaining members of the Fast & Furious original cast still involved in the series, so it would have been a big deal if she left.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly in 2017, Rodriguez talked about the “male-dominated environment” that she works in for the Fast & Furious series. “My heart doesn’t feel right doing this in front of millions of people, so I can always oblige myself and depart because money, to me, isn’t as important as my lines that you’re not allowed to cross,” she said.

The next Fast & Furious movie is the spin-off Hobbs & Shaw starring The Rock and Jason Statham. Fast & Furious 9 with Michelle Rodriguez is slated for 2020.

Even though it’s mid-May and the days are growing warmer, you can pretend it’s still winter and conquer snowy mountains in Steep, an extreme sports game that’s 100% free to claim from the Ubisoft Store right now. The game normally sells for $30, but you can grab it for $0 and it’ll be yours to keep as long as you claim the title before 6 PM (your local time) on Tuesday, May 21.

To claim the free game, just click the green text that says “Get it for free before 5/21,” and you’ll be prompted to either launch Uplay (Ubisoft’s PC games platform) or download it for free if you don’t have it already. Once in Uplay, you’ll be able to claim the deal, and Steep will automatically be added to your Ubisoft account so you can play immediately.

GET STEEP FOR FREE ON UPLAY »

(And here’s an alternative link, just in case.)

In Steep, you’ll take to the snowy Alps to ride, perform stunts, and compete with other players. There are four unique ways to travel around: skis, wingsuit, snowboard, and paraglider. You can create your own tricks and challenge friends to beat your records, or just ride around exploring the snowy mountain terrain, discovering secret spots and enjoying the spectacular view.

“Steep’s reflective moments and the sheer joy of its exploration can outweigh some of its rougher points, and some of the most fun it offers comes from simply traveling to undiscovered locations–just you against the mountain,” wrote critic Leif Johnson in GameSpot’s Steep review.

Speaking of free PC games: The latest free game from the Epic Games Store, Stories Untold, is also available to claim now on PC. You can claim it at no cost until May 30.

Gotham City can’t seem to catch a break from the villainy. That’s the case once again for the CW’s latest superhero series, Batwoman, which just launched its first full trailer and an extended clip from the pilot.

The female Caped Crusader is joining the Arrow-verse full time, and she has her sights set on cleaning up the streets along the way. In the three-minute trailer, Kate Kane (Ruby Rose) is introduced as coming home to Gotham and picking up where her cousin Bruce Wayne left off. She quickly integrates herself into the city, before suiting up and donning a cowl.

According to a synopsis for the show, what brings Kate back to Gotham is the Alice in Wonderland gang targeting her father. The crew is headed by Alice (Rachel Skarsten), who is one of Batwoman’s biggest comic book villains, and maybe the nearest thing she’s ever had to her own version of The Joker.

The synopsis continues, “With the help of her compassionate stepsister, Mary (Nicole Kang), and the crafty Luke Fox (Camrus Johnson), the son of Wayne Enterprises’ tech guru Lucius Fox, Kate Kane continues the legacy of her missing cousin, Bruce Wayne, as Batwoman. Still holding a flame for her ex-girlfriend, Sophie, Kate uses everything in her power to combat the dark machinations of the psychotic Alice, who’s always somewhere slipping between sane and insane. Armed with a passion for social justice and a flair for speaking her mind, Kate soars through the shadowed streets of Gotham as Batwoman. But don’t call her a hero yet. In a city desperate for a savior, she must first overcome her own demons before embracing the call to be Gotham’s symbol of hope.”

While a premiere date has not been announced for the series, The CW has revealed it will air Sundays at 8 PM. Additionally, though it hasn’t been confirmed, it’s likely that the show will be featured in the upcoming Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover.

Microsoft and Sony have announced plans for a strategic partnership that will include technology and information sharing, as well as shared infrastuctures for some of their initiatives. While the announcement doesn’t mention the Xbox or PlayStation brands specifically, it does suggest the partnership will focus on consumer entertainment platforms including gaming.

Specifically the agreement says that the two will jointly develop future cloud solutions within Microsoft Azure. It also says that Sony will use Microsoft Azure for its own game and content-streaming services, including a push to build better tools for content creators. The two are also committing to work together on semiconductors and artificial intelligence.

“PlayStation itself came about through the integration of creativity and technology,” Sony president Kenichiro Yoshida said in the announcement. “Our mission is to seamlessly evolve this platform as one that continues to deliver the best and most immersive entertainment experiences, together with a cloud environment that ensures the best possible experience, anytime, anywhere. For many years, Microsoft has been a key business partner for us, though of course the two companies have also been competing in some areas. I believe that our joint development of future cloud solutions will contribute greatly to the advancement of interactive content.”

“Sony has always been a leader in both entertainment and technology, and the collaboration we announced today builds on this history of innovation,” added Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. “Our partnership brings the power of Azure and Azure AI to Sony to deliver new gaming and entertainment experiences for customers.”

Xbox head Phil Spencer and Nadella also followed up with tweets that stressed the entertainment and gaming aspect of the partnership.

The partnership has only just been announced, so any results from it could take a while to manifest. The mention of Microsoft’s cloud solutions in gaming comes just as Microsoft is planning its own streaming platform, xCloud., which will compete directly with Google Stadia. It’s unclear how this could impact PlayStation’s streaming platform, PlayStation Now.

With E3 2019 only weeks away, it’s unclear if this new strategic partnership will be discussed. We do know Microsoft is planning to “go big” while Sony has opted out of the show altogether. Check out the full schedule of press conferences for more details.