I’m convinced that writer/director Vaughn Stein is secretly the Riddler. His debut film, Terminal, is my only proof. Far from a bad movie – the strong acting and clever use of classic literature is certainly entertaining – this dark tale twists and turns a little more than it needs to.
Terminal’s story focuses on a few key characters and their interactions with a seemingly deranged waitress. A legendary underworld figure, Mr. Franklin, hires two assassins to take part in a high-profile hit. They aren’t given any details on the target, just a black briefcase with clues leading them to a contact with more information. To mull over the details in a quiet place, the pair of hit men take refuge in a rundown diner. Meanwhile, a grammar school teacher with a terminal illness wanders about a train station at night. His disposition is grim; he isn’t trying to catch a train in the normal sense. Before he can make good on his departure, the teacher’s solitude is invaded by an inquisitive janitor. Their brief chat about train schedules end with a suggestion: a nearby diner where the teacher could get some tea and possibly rethink his travel plans.
Bad guys don’t always want to cause destruction for destruction’s sake, or because they were mistreated as youths and now harbor resentment that plagues their everyday adult life. No, some villains see themselves as the heroes. Or, in the very least, as someone willing to make hard and cruel choices for the “greater good.” They truly see themselves as saviors and mostly understand that the world will view them as horrible people. They’re willing to make that sacrifice though. Your sacrifice, really.
In Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos was willing to risk everything, including those he loved (in his own way), to “mercifully” use the six Infinity Stones and erase half the life in the universe. He knew his wasn’t a popular vision, exactly. He expected resistance on all fronts. He also was perfectly content not being beloved by anyone for his decision.
Welcome back to Game Scoop!, IGN’s weekly video game talk show. This week we’re talking video game prequels, Nintendo Switch Online, retro games, and more. Watch the video above or download the podcast below.
Activision will finally pull back the curtain on Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 in just a few days, but in the meantime, developer Treyarch continues to drop hints about the game on social media. This time, Treyarch sent out a cryptic tweet that again seems to confirm Zombies mode will return in this year’s Call of Duty.
The tweet, which you can see below, simply reads, “So it begins…” and is followed by “#Zombies.” However, the most intriguing aspect of the tweet is the accompanying image, which shows what appears to be a zombie-like character putting on a mask, with the words “Mankind’s reckoning will be its salvation” lining the bottom of the image.
This isn’t the first we’ve heard about Zombies mode potentially returning in Black Ops 4. Earlier this week, the official E3 Twitter account apparently outed the mode in a tweet about an E3 Coliseum talk with Treyarch. “What’s lurking around the corner of Treyarch’s next Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Zombies experience? Come hear the history of Call of Duty Zombies from the creators themselves at E3Coliseum!” the tweet reads.
Outside of that, there’s little that we know about Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Activision has confirmed that the game will release for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on October 12–nearly a full month earlier than Call of Duty games typically launch. We’ll get our first look at the game next week when Activision hosts the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Community Reveal Event. That takes place on Thursday, May 17, at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET.
Blizzard has kicked off a limited-time Overwatch event to help fund breast cancer research. The centerpiece of the effort is a Pink Mercy skin available for $15, with 100% of proceeds going to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Blizzard has committed to a guaranteed minimum donation of $250,000, and it will update players with a final tally if it surpasses that amount. Pink Mercy will be available through May 21.
But the charity drive actually has a lot more to it than the skin alone. A limited-edition Pink Mercy t-shirt is available for $30, and 100% of those proceeds will go to the BCRF too. Logging on anytime during the promotional period will get you a player icon, and watching charity streams can earn you up to four special sprays (pictured below) and another icon. You can check out the full list of charity streams through the Blizzard site. Be sure to link your Twitch and Blizzard accounts to be eligible for the sprays.
The most recent Overwatch update added a new Rialto map, an Escort mission set in Venice, Italy. That also served as the release for some big hero changes that had been previewed in the public test realm, most notably to Hanzo.
The week may be young, but we’re already knee-deep in sales on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch games. You can even find decent discounts on hardware like the Xbox One X and Nintendo 2DS XL. So if you’re in the market for a new game or a new system, check out the sales below, because there’s a fairly good chance you can find a deal on what you’re after.
Multiplatform
Fortnite players with Twitch Prime accounts can now pick up their free Fortnite skin and items in Fortnite Twitch Prime Pack #2. PS4 and Xbox One owners who want to explore the open world of Hope County and shoot cult members in Far Cry 5 can do so for $40 thanks to a promotion going on now at Newegg. If you’re looking for a different big game at a steeply discounted price, check out GameFly’s used game sale. It has titles like Battlefield 1 and Injustice 2 on sale for a fraction of their normal prices. And GameStop’s weekly sale is now live, including discounts on everything from the Destiny 2 Expansion Pass (which includes Warmind) and Fingerlings. Yes, Fingerlings.
This week, Amazon is running a massive sale on digital Xbox One games and expansions. It features big savings on tons of newer games, some of which don’t often go on sale. Over at Best Buy, you can save money on Xbox One X-enhanced games with the purchase of an Xbox One X. Or, with this deal at Newegg, you can effectively save $60 when you buy an Xbox One X. Or, if you want to try your luck, you can enter to win one of five limited-edition Black Panther Xbox One X consoles.
Nintendo
If you have a Nintendo Switch and you’ve had your eye on a Pro controller, you can get one at Best Buy this week at a discount. Nintendo 3DS owners can save money this week at Target. Most of the best 3DS games currently in stock are part of a buy one, get one half off promotion, including recent Pokemon games and lots of Mario titles.
PC
Steam has an appealing selection of games for up to 80% off during this week-long sale. Of particular note are the Far Cry games, on sale for 60% off, and the Mass Effect series.
Movies
We can’t play games all the time. Sometimes it’s necessary and healthy to set down the controller and pick up a bowl of popcorn–because it’s movie time. Best Buy is running a fine sale on Blu-rays, 4K UHDs, DVDs, and digital movies. Also, if you pre-order a Best Buy-exclusive Steelbook version of Black Panther, you’ll get a great add-on that’s worth $20.
That’s it for now, but we’ll keep updating this article with the latest and best deals on video games throughout the week.
Some links to supporting retailers are automatically made into affiliate links, and GameSpot may receive a small share of those sales.
Video cards have been tough to find recently, and even if you could find one in stock, it was probably selling for two to three times its normal price. This has been due to a surge in cryptocurrency mining and video cards’ efficiency at performing the task. It has also created a strange excitement for when a video card is available for close to MSRP; even then, stock would run dry rather quickly. However, Nvidia is making a push to let PC players know that GPUs are out there, “with great availability across retailers at prices gamers can afford.”
Of course, you should note that stock can run out at any minute, so if you’ve been eyeing a GTX 10-series card for a while, you might want to take that into consideration. An email notifying us that GeForce GPUs are back in stock included links to retailers offering specific cards–like the GTX 1080, GTX 1070 Ti, GTX 1070, and GTX 1060–at a reasonable price, which you can see below (all prices are listed in USD).
Captain Marvel’s cast continues to grow, with Annette Bening now being the latest star to join the upcoming MCU film.
THR reports Bening will portray a “scientist” of some sort in what will be her first superhero movie. Details about her role are being kept under wraps.
Once the glamor of Destiny 2: Warmind’s short but well-told story campaign wears off returning to the power level grind feels less fulfilling than ever before. While there’s a lot more power to chase this means you won’t be accessing a decent chunk of the content in the immediate future. When the most enticing new activity, the Escalation Protocol horde mode, is locked behind a 370 recommended power level, you may find yourself wondering what new content there is to enjoy in the meantime.
That two-hour campaign is at least intriguing in that it fleshes out the lore of the universe in some interesting ways and introduces us to the compelling (but underused) Ana Bray. I was excited to learn more about her via the adventures as her storyline connects with the Warmind construct known as Rasputen, which has been at the core of the Destiny storyline since the original campaign. Throughout the main story and adventures we’re treated to a public space with plenty of secrets to uncover, and afterwards there’s the new Escalation Protocol that pits Guardians against wave after wave of enemies for Legendary rewards. There are also new multiplayer maps in the Crucible and a raid lair on the way this Friday.
The release of Deadpool 2 is right around the corner, with the loudmouth mercenary sharpening his swords in anticipation of a sequel that’s already predicted to make over $150 million during its opening weekend in North America.
If May 18 can’t come soon enough for you, here are some new photos in the slideshow below that will hopefully sustain you until opening day.
In recent news, Deadpool star Ryan Renolds told EW that the sequel was originally going to make Wade Wilson a father. He informed the outlet that the premise didn’t fit the story they were trying to tell. “By page 1.5, it was totally untenable. We were just like, ‘Nope. Nope. No, no, no. This is never, ever going to work.'”
