How to Make a Duke Nukem Movie Work

Here’s what we know: John Cena is in negotiations to star in a movie adaptation of Duke Nukem. The project currently sits at Paramount and Platinum Dunes, a mid-size studio known for franchise horror and the most recent live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films. With no director or writer attached, it’s unclear whether Duke Nukem will even go ahead. But if it does, it faces sizeable creative hurdles.

For one thing, Duke Nukem isn’t exactly current. The franchise’s tortured last outing, 2011’s Duke Nukem Forever, suffered from an overwhelming negative response. Even the series’ high point, Duke Nukem 3D, is mostly remembered for its gameplay and level design – hardly useful for cinematic adaptation. The games’ narratives center around bog-standard alien invasions, and somehow their central character is even less substantial.

First Solo: A Star Wars Story Action Figures Revealed

The first action figures for Solo: A Star Wars story have been revealed, showing off Han, Lando, Qi’ra and the a brand new Stormtrooper variant, the warm-looking Imperial Range Troopers.

Revealed by io9, the figures are part of Hasbro’s 6-inch Black Series line – you can check out all four below:

This is the first we’ve seen of the Imperial Range Trooper, perhaps indicating the film will be spending a significant amount of time on the snowy planet we’ve seen the film’s two trailers so far.

Fortnite Update Out Now On PC, PS4, Xbox One; Here Are The Patch Notes

Although it’s coming a bit later than expected, the new update for Fortnite has arrived on all platforms. The version 2.5.0 patch makes some big changes and additions for both Battle Royale and Save the World modes, including the addition of a new weapon to obtain and new areas to explore in the popular PvP mode on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Battle Royale is now home to the Impulse Grenade, a new type of explosive that, after a short delay, sends all nearby players flying a long distance. It’s a Blue rarity item, and it can only be found in Treasure Chests and Supply Drops. You can get a glimpse at what it can do in the brief video clip below; it may lead to some hilarious match endings in the final circle.

Among the places you’ll now find Treasure Chests in during Battle Royale matches are new “thematic Shrines hidden across the map.” One of these is pictured in the gallery below, and they appear to have a Chinese architectural look to them. Meanwhile, Save the World has introduced new heroes and Dragon weapons themed around the Lunar New Year (also pictured below).

Other notable changes to Battle Royale include some technical changes for PS4 and Xbox One players. The standard versions of those consoles now feature dynamic resolution and high quality temporal upsampling; the former seeks to ensure a smooth framerate by decreasing the resolution when necessary. Those on an Xbox One X can now play at “full” 4K, while PS4 players should no longer experience excessively slow Fortnite patch downloads.

In terms of balance, a variety of adjustments have been made, including the temporary removal of the SMG weapon, which was done to create some breathing room for other weapons that have been added to the game. Additionally, several items are now less likely to drop, including the crossbow, minigun, and Chug Jug. There have also been some notable audio improvements, such as the crossbow making a noise when it’s ready to fire again. There are also now “above” and “below” versions of footstep sounds when running on wood, stone, or metal.

Save the World–which remains in paid early access but will eventually be for free everyone–also receives some significant additions in this update. In addition to the aforementioned Dragon weapons and Lunar New Year heroes, the Heartbreaker Crossbow is now available. Most importantly, the Spring It On event has begun, introducing new quests and rewards, with more to be added in the coming weeks.

All of this is available now. For a complete rundown on what’s new, check out the full patch notes here. And if you’re new to Fortnite: Battle Royale or are just looking for some tips, have a look at our Fortnite building guide or our discussion about what makes the mode so popular.

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email [email protected]

PUBG Sales Reach 30 Million, But PC Player Base Drops Off

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds hit a whopping 30 million sales this week, but the game is seeing its daily active player base on PC decline.

Bloomberg tech reporter, Yuji Nakamura, shared the news on Twitter, suggesting that cheaters could be to blame for the drop. This is the most significant drop in players since the game’s launch, and has been dropping off since January.

PUBG hit 30m in sales this week, but it is churning hard. Bluehole still not taking cheaters seriously enough imo pic.twitter.com/Iqjz8BPzVE

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Crush Your Foes With This Infinity Gauntlet Replica

Thanos might still be chasing down Infinity Stones, but this spring you’ll be able to get your hands on (er, hand into) a fully blinged-out 1:1-scale, light-up, noisemaking, articulated Infinity Gauntlet replica from Hasbro.

The Gauntlet’s individually articulated fingers are perfect for squeezing the life out of puny mortal heroes daring to defy your rule, or for making rude gestures that we can’t show on a family-friendly website like IGN.

Each digit is individually triggered by a trigger-loop inside the glove, and while the range of movement is a little cumbersome, you can still pick up larger objects, thumb-wrestle, and throw up more rudimentary gang signs.

Comic Book Reviews for February 14, 2018

The comic book industry celebrated Valentine’s Day with another massive pile of new releases. DC welcomed writer Grant Morrison back into the fold with Dark Knights Rising: The Wild Hunt #1. Marvel delivered a new Amazing Spider-Man Annual and kicked off Star Wars: Thrawn. And Image had a particularly huge week, as they published the final issue of Invincible and debuted the rebooted Kick-Ass.

Scroll down to check out our reviews for these and various other new releases, and be sure to let us know your favorite books of the week in the comments below.

DC COMICS

Fortnite Patch Introduces Lunar New Year Items

Fortnite is back up and running, and patch v.2.5.0 is live. The update brings new Lunar New Year legendary skins and weapons, a new grenade, and 4K support on Xbox One X.

The full list of patch notes were posted today and as well as a bunch of bug fixes, there’s a new impulse grenade limited to supply drops and treasure chests, and a slew of new Dragon weapons to mark the Lunar New Year.

Lunar New Year heroes with four new kits have also been added, in the form of Berserker, Thunderstrike, Riot Control, and Flash:

Berserker – A fearless Soldier who rushes into combat at close range with War Cry and Shockwave.

The Best Microphone for Streaming and Podcasting

We’ve sampled several of the top microphones to help you find the best one to launch your online career.

Another Sea Of Thieves Beta Begins Tomorrow On Xbox One And PC

Sea of Thieves, the upcoming multiplayer pirate game from Rare, will have another beta this weekend. Those that had access to the first closed beta will be able to set sail again from February 16 at 10 AM GMT / 2 AM PST until February 18 10 AM GMT / 2 AM PST.

According to Rare, this second beta “is to test a lot of the work we’ve done since the closed beta, and to try and hit a higher concurrent players number than we’ve ever seen before.” As a result, it has said players should expect to see sessions being interrupted, difficulty joining games at peak times over the weekend, and issues with using the in-game shop. Of course, this is all in service of ironing out the problems for its eventual release.

Additionally, the content available will be the same as that included in the previous beta. Rare said it will “purposefully be a similar feature set … restricted to the Gold Hoarders trading company and accompanying Voyages,” so it can “drive scale and test issues at a high scale of player concurrency.”

For those that haven’t been able to get into the beta yet, Rare said it plans on running another one closer to the launch of the game. This will provide “a taste of the wider Sea of Thieves experience.”

Following a previous technical test, rate detailed Sea of Thieves’ official PC system requirements and recommended specs, and they’re pretty wide-ranging.

Sea of Thieves launches on March 20 on PC and Xbox One. For those with Xbox Game Pass, Sea of Thieves will be available as part of the subscription program on day one. That gets you access to not just the Xbox One version, but the PC version as well. Special Sea of Thieves-themed Xbox One accessories will also launch alongside the game.

We recently played the game, and you can find out what we think in our Sea of Thieves preview.

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email [email protected]

Blade Runner 2049: Creating the Most Complicated Sex Scene Of All Time

“K, being a Blade Runner, the only time he has been touched, it’s with violence,” explains Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve, gesturing with an energy not matched by his soft Quebecois drawl. “He’s never had real affection, he cannot be in contact with real human beings because they don’t like Replicants. And other Replicants don’t like Blade Runners because they are killing their own kind.

“So he’s alone – the only being he can have a relationship with is Joi, and he can’t have contact with her, physical contact, so it’s a very limited relationship. In fact, it’s a strange, profound relationship, but it’s not complete.”

Around halfway through the movie, Villeneuve and his screenwriters, Hampton Fancher and Michael Green, find a way for K (Ryan Gosling) to complete it.