Apple isn’t exactly known for dropping prices on its products. Thankfully, other retailers that sell Apple products have no such aversion to discounts. Right now, Amazon has nearly all models of the latest MacBook Air and MacBook Pro on sale for between $50 and $300 off. So if you could use a new laptop, now’s a good time to pick one up.
All of these laptops are the latest models, and they all sport the Magic Keyboard, which is a huge improvement over the keyboard in the models these replaced. Thanks to the scissor switches used in place of the previous (and infamously unreliable) butterfly switches, the keyboard on these computers offers a superior typing experience.
These machines also all have Touch ID, which lets you enter passwords using your fingerprint, which honestly still feels pretty futuristic.
As for which MacBook to pick, the two questions you need to ask yourself are: how much power do you need, and what’s your preferred screen size? The MacBook Air has a 13-inch Retina display, as does the 13-inch MBP. As you climb up the price point ladder, you’ll get more power, which should come as no surprise. But if you just need a laptop for everyday tasks, a MacBook Air will suit you just fine for years to come.
Those who do more demanding computing tasks like programming or audio/video editing should look at the MacBook Pros. In addition to packing more power, all of the Pros come with the Touch Bar above the keyboard. It’s a long touchscreen whose buttons change depending on which app you’re using. The idea is that it’s more versatile than the physical buttons on the MacBook Air.
The 16-inch MacBook Pro offers the largest screen yet on a MacBook.
Any machine you choose, you’re getting a deal, so grab one if you want one. As usual with Amazon, there’s little rhyme or reason for when its prices go up or down. Usually the online retailer seems to price match the sale prices of competitors when it has the same item in stock. As such, there’s no telling when these deals will go away.
[poilib element=”accentDivider”]
Chris Reed is IGN’s shopping and commerce editor. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.
Grand Theft Auto V‘s Los Santos Summer Special continues this week in GTA Online with the release of the San Andreas Prix Week. The latest update adds new Open Wheel race tracks, more rewards, extra discounts, and a free t-shirt.
Rockstar has unveiled nine new tracks for GTA Online’s Open Wheel race series. These high-speed courses take you past the Vinewood sign, across The Land Act Dam, and onto the Los Santos Freeway, with plenty of other eye-watering stops along the way. If you slide behind the wheel of any Rockstar Created Open Wheel Races this week, you’ll also earn triple GTA$ and RP.
Both VIP and MC Work & Challenges are dishing out double rewards this week, too. Whichever of the two activities is played more often this week will determine next week’s in-game bonuses. If players take on more VIP Work & Challenges, then double rewards will be applied to all Special Cargo Sell Missions the following week. If players partake in more MC Work & Challenges, then all Biker Business Sell Missions will be awarded with 2X GTA$ & RP from September 3 through September 9.
If you complete either VIP or MC work this week, you’ll receive a complimentary Green Dot Tech Mask in case you’ve ever wanted to resemble a Watch Dogs character. By playing GTA Online over the next seven days before September 2, you’ll also be able to get your hands on a free Vapers Den t-shirt.
Meanwhile, in the Diamond Casino & Resort, players who swing by the lobby can give the Lucky Wheel a spin in an attempt to win this week’s podium car: the Progen PR4 wrapped in the Estancia-Tobacco-sponsored livery.
There’s also a range of discounts on offer throughout Los Santos this week, including:
40% off MC Clubhouses
Downtown Vinewood, Grapeseed, Great Chaparral, Hawick, La Mesa, Paleto Bay (1 Paleto Blvd and 68 Paleto Blvd), Pillbox Hill, Rancho, Sandy Shores, and Vespucci Beach.
40% off Executive Offices
Maze Bank West, Arcadius Business Center, Lombank West, and Maze Bank Tower.
Interiors, Organization Name Change, Money Safe, Gun Locker, Accommodation, and Personal Assistant.
There’s also a 35% discount on the Ocelot R88, and 40% off the Declasse Hotrod Saber, Declasse Drift Tampa, and Delasse Drift Yosemite.
Prime Gaming subscribers who have connected their account to the Rockstar Social Club can now earn the latest weekly $200,000 bonus. You can also grab the Vespucci Canals Nightclub location for free, along with access to a special discount that gives you 70% off the Mammoth Avenger and 75% off the Avenger Weapon and Weaponized Vehicle Workshops.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
Marvel’s Avengers is slated for release on September 4, but some people in Australia are getting their hands on the game early. A reader of the website Kotaku Australia said they received a copy of the game on PS4 from Amazon Australia.
It’s unclear if this was a one-off early shipping mistake on Amazon’s behalf, or if Amazon has begun to ship the game ahead of schedule en masse, or some other issue entirely. Whatever the case, with copies of Marvel’s Avengers beginning to appear in the wild, it’s a good time to take extra precautions online if you want to avoid spoilers.
In other Marvel’s Avengers news, dataminers have seemingly unearthed information that suggests the game may feature as many as 15 additional heroes. Alongside Spider-Man, who is a PlayStation exclusive, the list includes Ant-Man, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Doctor Stranger, Mockingbird, She-Hulk, and more.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
Fortnite has been blocked on the Google Play Store, meaning some players are now unable to update the game and play Chapter 2 Season 4, but Epic is making clear to players that its own app and the Samsung Galaxy Store will allow Android players to keep playing.
Epic Games is sending an email to those who have downloaded the game on Android, which notes that Android users can still play the new season via the Epic Games App for Android (accessed via Fortnite.com/Android) or the Samsung Galaxy Store. However, the most traditional download method has now been rendered obsolete due to Epic’s ongoing legal proceedings with Google.
Epic added that Fortnite users who already own the game on Google Play can continue to play the current update, but given that the Season 3 Battle Pass wrapped up on August 27, players will not be able to progress any further – they also will not be able to access new cosmetics, gifts or challenges. The Battle Lab, Duos and Limited-Time game modes have also been rendered inaccessible for Google Play users.
Actor Nick Offerman auditioned for the role of Wolverine many years ago, but the part went to Hugh Jackman. As it turns out, that wasn’t the only superhero role that the Parks and Rec star was in the mix for.
Appearing on Rob Lowe’s podcast, Offerman said about three or four years ago (so 2016-2017), he had a Skype meeting with a director “for a superhero movie.” The production of this film, whatever it was, had some issues, and the director was fired; a crew member replaced him.
Offerman said he knew from the very beginning that there was no chance he would get the role, due in part to how he wasn’t exactly in top physical shape, but he tried to sell the director on the idea that he would be the “funny” choice.
“I don’t get a lot of meetings for superhero movies,” Offerman said. “I knew that this guy wasn’t the first choice as director. The director had been fired, and this guy was a crew member who had been promoted to director. So I knew that, going in, there was no way I was getting this job. No way. You know the math.”
“The only way I get the job is if the man or woman is a maverick,” he added. “Anybody can go to the gym and get ripped. But I will be funnier than any of these other choices. I think the smartest thing you could do is to cast me. It’s the kind of thinking that will allow your superhero movie to stand out.”
Offerman said the same day that he had the call with the director for his project, he started running for exercise. He now runs 5 or 6 days a week, and 4 miles per day.
There are plenty of possibilities for what movie Offerman might be referring to here, and hopefully one day we learn the true answer.
It’s been a rough year for practically everyone. Many of us are stuck at home, unable to see friends, go on vacations, or even make a simple trip to the movies. Initially, 2020 was set to be a pretty fantastic film year, with new entries in a variety of beloved franchises, from Fast & Furious to Ghostbusters. Practically all of them, including upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe films, have been delayed as far as deep into 2021. One highly-anticipated movie, though, simply couldn’t wait that long.
Bill & Ted Face the Music arrives in select theaters and on digital release on Friday, August 28. It’s the first film in the series since 1991’s Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey. Face the Music has been in the works for over a decade, but even with that much development, the prospect of revisiting this franchise after so long is a scary one. Can it live up to the hype? Will it be a worthy entry into the existing canon? Could these 30-year-old characters even resonate in the modern day?
Thankfully, the answer to all three of those questions is a resounding yes. Bill & Ted Face the Music is practically everything you could have asked for, and more. After 30 years, Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) are all grown up, have families, and yet are still the same slacker duo that are trying to unite the world with a single song. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been working out and they are visited by someone from the future who tells them their time is up. Now they have 78 minutes to come up with the song that will save the universe. Not too tall of an order, right?
The key to this movie, just like others in the franchise, is the duo’s performances. They’re able to, for the most part, easily embody the characters they haven’t played in nearly three decades. There is an isolated moment or two when it sounds like Reeves is playing Reeves, rather than Ted. Then again, that might also be due to the fact that the actor has transcended movies to simply become a person whose voice many would instantly recognize, regardless of context.
The chemistry between these two characters is as palpable as ever, likely due in part to the long-lasting friendship between the two actors. And the characters share more than just the bond of friendship, as they’re both faced with their failure to achieve their potential in life. That makes it all the more engaging as they race against the clock to finally prove to themselves what they are capable of.
If you’ve seen the trailer you have some idea about their story in the film, as the duo jump in the phone booth once again to visit different versions of themselves on their journey and, honestly, each iteration of Bill and Ted you meet in the film is entertaining and worthy of a bit more screentime. If anything, that’s the film’s most notable flaw: At just over 90 minutes, Face the Music moves quickly and there are scenes you’re likely going to want to see more of.
Theirs is only one of the movie’s stories, though. The film also introduces their daughters, Billie (Brigette Lundy-Paine) and Thea (Samara Weaving), who nearly steal the show throughout. As Bill and Ted’s kids, they are obviously best friends and love music and hanging out just as much as their dads. However, they’re also brilliant. Seriously, they’re geniuses.
Whereas Bill and Ted rarely think their plans through or process what the next step will be, Billie and Thea are well-reasoned and incredibly intelligent–while still hanging onto many of the personality quirks they’ve picked up from their parents. Lundy-Paine, in particular, is incredible as the daughter of Reeves’ Ted, embodying some of his traits while also making the character her own.
The rest of the cast more than holds their own in supporting roles, with some truly exciting standouts. The most notable is Kristen Schaal’s role as Kelly, daughter of Bill and Ted’s time-traveling mentor Rufus (George Carlin). She sets the duo on their new journey and, of course, winds up just as entangled with them as her dad–who makes a brief appearance using repurposed footage. Additionally, Gotham and Barry star Anthony Carrigan appears as a futuristic cyborg that ends up becoming one of the most hilariously sympathetic characters in the second half of the film.
Lastly, it’s impossible to talk about this movie without mentioning William Sadler reprising his role as Death. The character of Death was one of the best things about the original sequel, Bogus Journey, and 29 years later, Sadler still perfectly embodies the character. He also benefits from possibly more character development than anyone else in the film, as viewers will learn a lot about what he’s been up to since the events of Bogus Journey. That development makes him the emotional core of the second half of the film.
What’s most important about Face the Music is that it feels like a Bill and Ted movie. The visual effects have been upgraded, there are a bunch of new faces, and Bill and Ted are no longer teenagers. Still, the movie’s energy fits right alongside Excellent Adventure and Bogus Journey.
Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson, who have co-written all three of these movies, told GameSpot that this is–in their mind–the final chapter in the story of Bill and Ted. If that is truly the case, they’ve left on a high note. That’s far more than one could have expected when this movie finally became a reality. As excited as fans were, there was a very real possibility it would never meet the hype. Thankfully, it blew it out of the water.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
This week on Wrestle Buddies, GameSpot’s professional wrestling podcast, Chris E. Hayner and Mat Elfring are stepping inside of the Thunderdome. Well, not really. But we can’t ignore WWE’s new arena or a certain wrestler that got to have their first match in it at Summerslam.
First up, Mat and Chris take a long look at the Thunderdome, WWE’s answer to presenting Raw, Smackdown, and pay-per-view events in the pandemic. They filled an arena with video screens, pyrotechnics, lasers, lights, and what is perhaps the biggest Zoom call ever. The technology behind it is truly magical, though there has been some controversy.
Then, hot on the heels of Dominic Mysterio’s debut match at Summerslam, Mat and Chris revisit the ladder match for custody of him back in 2005. That’s right, when Dominik was a child, Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero feuded over who would get to be his dad. It’s a truly bizarre piece of WWE history and something we both love.
All of that, plus we answer your questions! If you wanted to know who our favorite celebrity wrestlers were, strap in for some fun. New episodes of Wrestle Buddies are released every Thursday on the podcast platform or app of your choice, including Spotify, Stitcher, and Apple Podcasts.
Today’s Save State is a Gamescom Opening Night Live special. We got a look at Fall Guys season 2, which promises to be medieval themed, and will come packed with new modes, map changes, and costumes.
We saw an extended look at gameplay from Ratchet And Clank: Rift Apart on PS5, as well as some details on when the game will be launching.
Bungie revealed more details on its upcoming Destiny 2 expansion: Beyond Light, including its new Stasis ability. Tomorrow on Generation Next, we’ll be discussing Gamescom in more detail, as well as helping you pick the perfect TV or monitor for PS5 and Xbox Series X. Check it out on youtube.com/GameSpot.
EA Sports has delayed the NHL 21 closed beta and postponed the announcement of more news about the game in a show of solidarity for athletes’ strikes regarding racial injustice.
Writing on Twitter, EA announced that it has postponed the start of the closed beta, which was scheduled to begin on August 28. The company also said it won’t be releasing new details on the World of Chel mode for NHL 21 today as it had planned to.
“Out of respect for much more important conversations around social injustice, today is not the day. We stand with the African American / Black community in solidarity against racism,” EA said.
EA’s announcement came after the NHL announced that all of Thursday’s Stanley Cup playoffs games were postponed in solidarity with the protests regarding the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
Those of you excited about seeing Christopher Meloni finally return to the Law & Order franchise aren’t going to like this. Law & Order: Organized Crime, the limited series that will see Meloni reprise his role as Elliot Stabler, has been delayed.
The news comes from GameSpot sister site TV Guide, which reports the project has been pushed back to sometime in 2021, instead of the planned 2020 release. It’s possible this has something to do with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, given that most TV shows have yet to begin production again. Those that have are working with many new procedures and rules, as was revealed by the cast of The Goldbergs.
Organized Crimes centers around Stabler’s return to the NYPD, as he heads up the city’s organized crime division. However, according to a series description, “the city and police department have changed dramatically in the decade he’s been away, and he must adapt to a criminal justice system in the midst of its own moment of reckoning. Throughout the series, we will follow Stabler’s journey to find absolution and rebuild his life, while leading a new elite task force that is taking apart the city’s most powerful criminal syndicates one by one.”
In addition to organized Crimes, Meloni is also scheduled to appear once again on SVU. Originally, he was expected to reprise his role in the show’s Season 22 premiere, before the debut of Organized Crimes. It remains to be seen if that plan will change now that the spin-off has been delayed.
