Developers Blue Mammoth Games and Crystal Dynamics have teamed up to deliver a brand-new character to Brawlhalla‘s roster. Lara Croft is the free-to-play fighter’s latest Epic Crossover, collaborations between Brawlhalla and big-name pop culture properties like Adventure Time and Steven Universe, bringing with her an additional game mode and stage as part of a new Tomb Raider in-game event that runs until March 16.
Lara Croft’s moveset mirrors that of Diana, the black-and-red clad hunter with high dexterity and speed; albeit with her own “unique signature attack designs, custom select animations, sound effects, two brand-new weapon skins, and a dedicated roster spot,” according to a press release. She comes equipped with her twin pistols and bow, and has a variety of skins that play off her two now-iconic looks: the classic blue-top-and-brown-shorts combo from the first Tomb Raider game in 1996 and her “survivor” getup seen in recent entries like Rise of the Tomb Raider and Shadow of the Tomb Raider.
Brawlhalla also gets a new mode thanks to Lara Croft’s inclusion called Temple Climb. It’s an endless-ascending, vertically-scrolling map that tasks you with climbing higher while defending yourself against both enemies and obstacles. There are also pressure plates that allow you to trip up the competition with cannonballs, spring spikes, flames, and more. Temple Climb will be available even after the Tomb Raider in-game event ends next month.
Lastly, the free-for-all game mode has another map added to its selection. With Lara Croft comes the Temple Ruins, a new multitiered map featuring plenty of places to spike and blow away your enemies.
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Brawlhalla – Tomb Raider Crossover Reveal Trailer
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The Lara Croft Epic Crossover bundle can be purchased for 300 Mammoth Coins (Brawlhalla’s in-game currency, equaling about $13 based on the PlayStation Store). If you miss everything before March 16 rolls around, Lara Croft will still be purchasable even after the special in-game Tomb Raider event ends.
Brawlhalla looks a fair bit like Rivals of Aether, both of which take a lot of inspiration from Nintendo’s massively-successful mashup fighter Super Smash Bros. Developed by Blue Mammoth Games, Brawlhalla is a free-to-play 2D fighter where the objective is to knock your opponent out by racking up their damage meter and finishing them with a powerful attack that either spikes them to oblivion or sends them flying to the edges of the screen.
There is plenty of lore surrounding movies–particularly horror–that certain film sets had a curse put on them. Most famously, there has been a rumor for decades that the skeletons used in Poltergeist were actual human remains from India, and in turn, using the bones of the deceased placed a curse on the project.
The new Shudder docuseries Cursed Films explores the myths and lore around certain movies, interviewing those involved with the production to find out what really happened. You can find out more about the new series in the trailer below.
This first season will consist of five episode, 30-minute episodes. Each one will explore one film that many have perceived to be cursed through stories that have been passed from one person to another over the years.
While these movies were all filmed and released prior to the popularization of the internet, these stories still lived on. And now that we use the internet as out primary way to communicate, these stories have become more popular than ever. Check out the release schedule for Cursed Films below.
Cursed Films release schedule:
April 2: The Exorcist
April 9: Poltergeist
April 9: The Omen
April 16: The Crow
April 16: Twilight Zone: The Movie
Jay Cheel has written, directed, and edited the new series, and this isn’t his first time diving into myth and lore surround horror. In 2017, he directed the bizarre Helltown movie for Travel Channel. It explored an Ohio town, which in 1974 was bought by the National Parks Service to be made into a national park. Cheel’s movie discussed all the conspiracy theories revolving around why this happened, which included a military cover-up of a chemical spill and a satanic cult taking over the area.
When Destiny first launched, I kind of hated it. Bungie’s weirdo space shooter was a delight to play when you were actually shooting things, but lost momentum as it picked up all the worst habits of MMOs. In the early days of Destiny, even in the endgame, you were constantly grabbing up new guns and tossing your old ones because of the slightly higher number on the new ones. The loot chase in the game was tedious and time-consuming, forcing you to play and replay content to make minor gains that never seemed like they amounted to much.
Destiny has come a long way since those days, first through the latter expansions of the original game, then through a bunch of smart and interesting changes in Destiny 2. Today, I play Destiny 2 almost every day and the franchise has gone from one of my most reviled to one of my most beloved. I love whipping through the Crucible and raids, I’m fascinated by the story, and I have a heap of cool weapons to use in a variety of situations. I even have come around on chasing the best gun stat rolls, something I’m usually loathe to do in games such as this–it’s the thing that keeps me from picking up other MMOs or loot shooters. For some reason, Destiny 2 continues to cut through the noise and make me happy.
But the latest Director’s Cut blog post from Destiny 2 director Luke Smith has me a bit worried, because it sounds like, in trying to continue to tweak the game to make it engaging for players long-term, Bungie is considering returning to those early D1 days. To me, there couldn’t be a worse move for keeping a live game continually relevant and fun to play than reverting to the earliest ideas of Destiny.
Smith describes the situation into which Bungie thinks Destiny 2 has stumbled in its third year: It’s lost some of its aspirational drive that pushes players to work through the game to get the best gear. For a loot shooter, that slot machine aspect of the game is a big part of the draw: You’re constantly playing in hopes of getting cool new stuff that you can then use to perform better in PvP, or to more efficiently take down the toughest content, or to get even better cool new stuff.
And in some aspects, Smith is right. Destiny 2 is currently full of weapons that sit in inventories or get immediately discarded and go mostly unused. Each new season introduces a bunch of new, unique weapons, but there’s not a lot of drive in the game to ditch your favorite old gear in favor of trying out new gear. Part of that is because some guns are just too good to let go, like some of Destiny 2’s “Pinnacle” and “Ritual” guns, which are unique items you earn through the completion of lengthy quests and grinds. Some are just guns that can have really strong stat and perk rolls, and continue to be dominant parts of the metagame in PvP and PvE settings season after season.
Bungie wants to push players to try new things, and most importantly, to chase new guns. That’s the engine that keeps Destiny 2 going, after all. But the solution Smith is proposing sounds like it’ll wreck another fun aspect of Destiny 2: the accomplishment of actually using the things you go chasing after.
The solution Smith is suggesting sounds like Destiny 1 before the “infusion” system was introduced. In Destiny 2, all weapons have a “Power” number that dictates their overall strength, and the average Power of all your gear determines your total strength as a player–so you often want to have the highest Power numbers you can. In Destiny 1 before infusion, that meant you were always tossing weak guns in favor of strong ones, and even if you particularly liked those weak guns, like the weapons you might pull from the Vault of Glass raid, they would become obsolete when a new expansion was released and raised the Power (then called “light level”) cap. That incentivized you to play through the new expansion and try its new guns, but it also meant the stuff you previously earned and maybe really liked was now collecting dust or tossed in the trash because it couldn’t hang in the tougher content. Destiny eventually added upgrade paths for guns, but they often required you to put in a lot of work to get the necessary materials.
Infusion changed that by allowing you to cannibalize a gun with higher Power that you didn’t want in order to beef up a lower Power gun you did, and it’s been the standard of Destiny ever since The Taken King’s release in 2015. It also means that, in Bungie’s eyes, once you get a set of guns you like, you don’t really have a good reason to switch, even if the new guns they release every few months are cool or powerful in their own right. Bungie seems particularly perturbed by this fact, but at the same time, it fits with another of the developer’s maxims: that there are a number of ways to play the game and that you can pick the way you want to play.
Smith says Bungie is considering a push back toward a system that would render old guns obsolete over time to push you to chase new ones. You’ll still be able to infuse your guns, but after a set period of seasons, an old gun will hit an infusion cap, and you won’t be able to drive its Power up anymore. It’s a lot like the old Destiny 1 system, in which a Power cap escalation every three months with the start of a new expansion could render lower-Power guns useless, at least in high-level content. It’ll just take longer to happen.
It sounds like a bad solution to Bungie’s problem. There’s a reason a lot of the same guns get used a lot in Destiny 2: They’re fun to play with. They’re successful examples of Bungie’s ability to create weapons that feel good and are effective. This isn’t to say Bungie shouldn’t be constantly tweaking and rebalancing guns, but players don’t just get attached to certain weapons because they’re the most powerful ones available. Sometimes people simply fall in love with certain guns because they worked extra hard to earn them, because they carry unique perks that vibe with specific playstyles, or because they look cool. Sunsetting those weapons arbitrarily over time doesn’t increase choice and variety, it just shunts players into a new meta box until the next patch rolls around.
Bungie’s solution of rendering old guns mathematically obsolete in endgame content feels like it’ll do nothing but push Destiny 2 toward even more grinding, which, for my money, has always been the worst element of the game. Losing the best guns you worked hard to earn just to force you to work hard to earn new, likely similar ones sounds a lot more like busywork than it does a meaningful interaction with the game, and what’s more, it continues to strip out player choice. Smith’s blog says Bungie might reintroduce old guns in later seasons to bring them back into circulation, but that just sounds like another grind to get something you already earned.
Yes, there are too many guns in Destiny 2 that players don’t use, and yes, that seems like something that unduly burdens the development team as it spends its time creating these weapons, only to find everyone continues to use old standbys. But it sounds like Destiny 2 needs to find new ways to make more of its guns viable choices for players. I’d prefer to see Bungie introduce fewer new guns each season, in favor of, say, more gun perks–things that can change how old guns operate and create new potentially great rolls.
Maybe that’s not a viable solution to Bungie’s issue, but it also seems that for a game to run on player aspiration, it can’t only be focused on goals in the future; it also has to provide the accomplishment of achieving those goals. Your digital trophy room (in this case, having cool guns and armor) is as important as the next hunt you’re planning. These proposed changes sound like they’ll push more grind back into Destiny 2 just for the sake of that grind, and to me, grindy for the sake of it is the least interesting thing Destiny can be.
The first trailer for Netflix‘s upcoming series I Am Not Okay With This recently arrived. Now, days later, you can check out the first seven minutes of the new show, which revolves around a high school girl dealing with teenage life–and superpowers.
Starring Sophia Lillis (Stephen King’s It), Wyatt Oleff (Stephen King’s It), Sofia Bryant (Blue Bloods), and Kathleen Rose Perkins (Fresh Off The Boat), the new Netflix original series does deal with a teenager developing superpowers. However, the primary focus of the video below is traversing the landscape known as high school. Check out the video for yourself below.
I Am Not Okay With This is available to stream on Netflix right now. The series is based on the graphic novel of the same name by Charles Forsman, and the show is directed and produced by Jonathan Endwistle.
If this preview feels a lot like Netflix’s The End of the F***ing World, it’s for good reason. That series is also based on a graphic novel by Forsman, and features Entwistle as director and producer as well.
There’s more coming to Netflix in 2020, including plenty of new original movies. However, what most people are really looking forward to is Season 4 of Stranger Things, and we got our very first teaser for this season, which features Hopper alive and cold in Russia.
Jordan Peele, producer and co-writer of 2020’s Candyman, found a clever way to release the new movie’s first teaser, playing on the film’s legend of saying “Candyman” five times to summon the hook-handed killer.
As noted by Mashable, Peele revealed Twitter users can post a tweet that includes “#Candyman” five times to have the sneak peek sent directly to their feed. The six-second teaser features our first look at Candyman’s infamous hook, as well as a blood-curdling scream from star Teyonah Parris (WandaVision).
Peele’s Candyman will be a “spiritual sequel” to Clive Barker’s 1992 original. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Aquaman, HBO’s Watchmen) stars alongside Parris and Colman Domingo (Fear the Walking Dead). Original Candyman actor Tony Todd is reportedly returning for the 2020 film, according to Bloody Disgusting, though it’s unclear in what capacity.
Nia DaCosta (Little Woods), who co-wrote the script alongside Peele and Win Rosenfeld, is directing.
“The original was a landmark film for black representation in the horror genre,” Peele said when the film was announced in 2018. “Alongside Night of the Living Dead, Candyman was a major inspiration for me as a filmmaker — and to have a bold new talent like Nia at the helm of this project is truly exciting.”
Yakuza 0, the sixth entry in the series, can be downloaded on PC and Xbox One for Xbox Game Pass subscribers. Kingdom Hearts 3 is only accessible through Xbox Game Pass for those on Xbox One.
Several more games have been added to Xbox Game Pass in addition to Kingdom Hearts 3 and Yakuza 0. Xbox Game Pass for PC members can pick up the action-RPG Indivisible, hospital-simulator Two Point Hospital, and critically acclaimed top-down RPG Wasteland Remastered right now. On the other side, those on the Xbox Game Pass for Xbox One tier will get access to Two Point Hospital and Wasteland Remastered.
We set out on a mission to let you all know that these two games are available now and this tweet is doing just that. Feeling very accomplished right now. pic.twitter.com/wHzGOabTyv
Of course, all of these games are available to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, which packages the Xbox Live Gold online service, discounts on the Microsoft store, access to PC and Xbox One Game Pass titles, and more into a single $15 per month charge.
February saw a plethora of games get tossed into the Xbox Game Pass bag. Alongside the aforementioned Kingdom Hearts 3 and Yakuza 0 and such, you can also download Ninja Gaiden 2 for Xbox One right now, Jackbox Party Pack 3 for Xbox One on February 27, and Reigns: Game Of Thrones sometime later this month.
Full List Of February’s Xbox Game Pass Offerings
Xbox Game Pass for PC
Two Point Hospital — February 25
Wasteland Remastered — February 25
Yakuza 0 — February 26
Indivisible — February 26
Reigns: Game of Thrones — TBD
Xbox Game Pass for Xbox One
Ninja Gaiden 2 — February 20
Kingdom Hearts 3 — February 25
Two Point Hospital — February 25
Wasteland Remastered — February 25
Yakuza 0 — February 26
Jackbox Party Pack 3 — February 27
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We’re a handful of months away from Amazon Prime Day, but with the rising threat of COVID-19, more commonly known as coronavirus, the deals may not be as abundant as past years. In a new report from The New York Times, the retailer is apparently concerned it won’t be able to meet demand during its big sale, as factories in China are shut down as the virus spreads.
The New York Times reports that Amazon is taking measures to combat stock shortages, including ordering more than its usual amount of products–six to eight weeks’ worth as opposed to its regular two to three weeks. The report also says Amazon is contacting third-party sellers in order to assess stock availability for Prime Day–some companies are reportedly not advertising on Amazon to ensure there is stock available for the July sale.
An Amazon spokeswoman told The New York Times, “Out of an abundance of caution, we are working with suppliers to secure additional inventory to ensure we maintain our selection for customers … We are monitoring developments related to the coronavirus and taking appropriate steps as needed.”
It’s currently unclear whether coronavirus will affect E3, PAX West, or the production of the PS5 and Xbox Series X, but we’ll report back as we learn more.
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Pokemon Go‘s Pokemon Day event is underway until March 2. Not only has Niantic brought Armored Mewtwo back for the occasion, it has also introduced new kinds of Pokemon to the game: Clone Pokemon. Like Mewtwo, you can encounter these monsters in Raids, but they’ll only be around for a limited time. If you’re hoping to catch a few of them while you can, we’ve broken down everything you need to know about Clone Pokemon below.
What Are Clone Pokemon?
Like Armored Mewtwo, Clone Pokemon are from the Pokemon movie Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution (which itself is a CG remake of the very first Pokemon film from 1998). They are just as their name says–cloned versions of other Pokemon that Mewtwo created. While their general appearance is the same, they feature unique patterns on their bodies that regular Pokemon don’t have.
What Clone Pokemon Are There?
There are four different Clone Pokemon in Go:
Venusaur
Charizard
Blastoise
Pikachu
Each of these Clone Pokemon will be available until the Pokemon Day events at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET on March 2. Aside from their unique appearance, what makes the Clone versions of Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise special is they each know their respective Community Day moves, which they can’t normally learn outside of that event. Clone Venusaur knows Frenzy Plant; Clone Charizard knows Blast Burn; and Clone Blastoise knows Hydro Cannon. These attacks are all very useful in battle, so it’s a good idea to catch some Clone Pokemon before they leave the game.
How To Catch Clone Pokemon
Clone Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise will appear in four-star Raids throughout the Pokemon Day event, so to catch them, you’ll first need to team up with other players and defeat them in battle. Here are some good Pokemon to bring along when you face each:
Clone Pikachu, meanwhile, can be encountered a little differently. When you take a photo of a Pokemon using the game’s Go Snapshot feature, there’s a chance Clone Pikachu will photobomb your picture. If that happens, it will appear in the wild once you back out of the menu. Tap and catch it as you would any other Pokemon to add it to your collection.
Today’s deals cover a nice range of interesting items. Starting out is the amazing 27% savings for the Resident Evil 3 Preorder, then it’s followed by great deals on a wide array of electronics, and games. On top of that, we now have the official IGN Store where over 100 new designs were just added including ones from Mulan and Pixar’s Onward.
Out 4/3: Preorder Resident Evil 3 for PC and Save 27%
PC gamers rejoice, Resident Evil 3 has dropped 27% off to $43.79. Resident Evil 2 was a remake done right, and we expect RE3 to receive the same treatment. RE3 completes the Raccoon City arc, and this time you’re playing as the iconic Jill Valentine.
Grab Some Awesome Merch from our Official IGN Store
The IGN Store is home to countless awesome clothing items, and that number is only increasing as over 100 new designs have recently been added, including ones from Mulan and Pixar’s Onward.
The latest MacBook Air is currently $999 at Amazon, a savings of $300! This is the 13.3″, 256GB model, that also features a powerful i5 and beautiful Retina Display. Don’t miss out on your chance to grab this excellent, and easy to carry laptop.
Preorder the NBA Jam WiFi Enabled Arcade1Up Gaming Cabinet at Best Buy
Arcade1Up’s newest cabinet ships out in July but it’s available for preorder right now. The cabinet includes matching themed stool and riser (which raises the height of the cabinet from 4 feet to 5 feet). It’s also the first WiFi-enabled Arcade1Up cabinet we’ve seen, meaning you’ll be able to play multiplayer against other human opponents.
Yes it’s used and yes it’s a few generations old, but scoring a Pixel 2 smartphone for $100 is still a fantastic deal. In fact, the Pixel 2 is compatible with the latest Android 10 operating system. It boasts a 90-day Woot warranty (Woot is owned and operated by Amazon).
This arcade stick normally sells for $219.99. The Razer Panthera is a tournament-grade fighting machine that uses premium Sanwa hardware components. Layout includes 10 highly responsive buttons and an 8-way joystick. For tinkerers, the fight stick is fully mod-capable and effortless to customize. The entire bottom of the internal compartment is also easy to screw mount in every location.
2 Months of The Wall Street Journal All-Access Digital Edition for $1
This sponsored deal is brought to you by The Wall Street Journal.
For a limited time, pay only $1 and get 2 months of unlimited access to WSJ.com as well as The Wall Street Journal mobile and tablet apps. It’s normally $39/month.
Ravpower 20,000mAh USB-PD 60W Power Bank for $39.89 (Great for Nintendo Switch and MacBook Pro)
Occasionally we see 20,000mAh power banks with USB Power Delivery for about this price, however most of them have an 18W maximum power draw. That’s perfectly fine for devices that draw less power like the Nintendo Switch (which only allows up to 18W max). This power bank, however, boasts up to 60W maximum power draw, which is what you want for stuff like the MacBook Pro.
While it’s not the most powerful tablet on the market, it’s certainly a handy one. The Fire HD 10 is perfect for just lounging in bed and browsing some apps, watching Netflix or handing off to the kids when you don’t want them using your more expensive pieces of technology.
Xbox One X Bundles with 1 Free Month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for Only $299 (or 3 Months for $309)
Save $100 on the retail cost of an Xbox One X bundle plus you can get 1 month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for free or 3 months for $10. Each of the bundled games has been highly rated here at IGN (Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order scored 9/10, NBA 2K20 scored a 7.8/10, and Gears 5 scored a 9/10). The Gears 5 bundle also includes all the other Gears games. Game Pass Ultimate is basically Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass combined into one membership.
Preorder Cyberpunk 2077 for Xbox One, Get Free Xbox Series X Upgrade
Update: Anyone who purchases a copy of Cyberpunk for the Xbox One console will be eligible for a free Xbox Series X upgrade as well.
This one has been out of stock from nearly the beginning and bound to go out of stock again well before the September release date. This is easily one of the most anticipated games of 2019. The studio CD Projekt Red are the masterminds behind the incredible Witcher games and if you’re a huge fan like I am then you will most definitely be getting this game. The Collector’s Edition includes the game with steelbook case, 10″ statue of V in action, hardcover art book, metal pin set, metal keychain, patches, postcards, sticker set, DLC, and more.
The Alienware m17 is the newly designed 17″ laptop and weighs only 5.8 pounds, which is remarkable given its payload. It’s easily one of the best laptops you can get in terms of build quality and under-the-hood power, especially at this price point. This particular config is equipped with a 17″ 4K 3840×2160 display and an RTX 2060 Max-Q video card, which is on par in performance to the previous generation GTX 1070.
The latest Fallout 76 patch is rolling out ahead of the huge Wastelanders expansion launching on April 7. Update version 1.2.7.26 is 6 GB on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and under 1 GB on PC.
The patch makes some behind-the-scenes preparations for the upcoming Wastelanders expansion, and also fixes a number of bugs related to stability and performance; art and graphics; C.A.M.P., crafting, and workshops; and items. These include fixes for numerous crashes on all platforms, corrections to visual effects not appearing, and a fix for basic floor components consuming more C.A.M.P. budget than intended, among others.
Full patch notes for update version 1.2.7.26
General bug fixes
Stability and performance
Stability: Addressed multiple issues that could sometimes result in a crash when a world was under heavy load.
Stability: Fixed an issue that could cause the PlayStation 4 client to crash after disconnecting while in-game.
Stability: Addressed a UI issue that could cause the Xbox One game client to crash.
Stability: Fixed a crash that could occur when reconnecting to the internet while running the Xbox One game client.
Art and graphics
Graphics: When entering Power Armor with the Nuka-Cola Dark paint, parts of the armor’s interior no longer appear see-through.
Graphics: Corrected visual effects that were not appearing when firing and reloading a Black Powder Rifle with the Flintlock paint.
Graphics: The Nuka-Cola Vending Machine will no longer continue to appear damaged after the owner has repaired it.
Textures: When reloading and firing a Lever Action Rifle with the Starlet Sniper paint, bullets and casings now display the correct textures.
C.A.M.P., crafting, and workshops
Floors: Corrected an issue that caused basic floor objects to consume more C.A.M.P. budget than intended.
Please Note: If you had lots of basic flooring in your C.A.M.P., you should notice a small boost to your available C.A.M.P. budget after today’s update.
Lights: Added an alternate version of the Oval Holiday String Lights that can be mounted on walls.
Please Note: If you already own the Oval Holiday String Lights, you will now be able to build both the wall and ceiling mounted versions. Players who unlock this item in the Atomic Shop in the future will also be able to build both versions.
Misc.: The Scorchbeast Heart Specimen Capsule’s collision no longer persists in the world after the Capsule has been destroyed.
Stairs: Addressed an issue that could prevent NPCs from going up or down the Nuka-Cola Metal Stairs.
Items
The Dragon: Applying the Nighthawk skin to The Dragon now correctly renames the weapon to The Nighthawk.
Fallout 76 will also be coming to Steam on April 7 when the Wastelanders expansion launches. The game famously bypassed Steam when it released in October 2018, instead opting to launch through Bethesda’s own launcher.
Wastelanders itself will launch on all platforms as a free update for everybody. The major content expansion finally adds fully-voiced NPCs to the multiplayer-focused RPG, and includes a brand-new main mission campaign to take on, either alone or with other players. Wastelanders also sees you meet and interact with competing factions, with your choices determining who ends up on top.
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