The Marvel heroine is returning to Netflix in March, so get caught up on her world with this cheat sheet.
Black Panther Dialogue Muted in India to Avoid “Hurting Religious Sentiments”
Black Panther has had a sentence of its dialogue removed in India so as not to offend religious sensibilities. Mild spoilers for Black Panther to follow.
io9 reports that at a domestic screening in India, the use of the name of the Hindu god Hanuman wasn’t very well received.
Subsequently, the line “glory to Hanuman” from the leader of the Jabari tribe, was muted in screenings across the country.
There’s some disagreement over whether this decision came from India’s Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), or the film’s producers, but either way, they obviously thought it best to err on the side of caution when it came to potentially upsetting their audience.
The Weirdest Failed TV Pilots in History
Think about the weirdest television show you’ve ever seen. Now think about this… the network thought that show was a safe bet, at least compared to the pilot episodes we’re about to talk about.
What’s a pilot, you ask? Nobody has ever described it more concisely than Jules did in Pulp Fiction: “The way they make shows is, they make one show. That show’s called a pilot. Then they show that show to the people who make shows, and on the strength of that one show they decide if they’re going to make more shows. Some pilots get picked and become television programs. Some don’t, become nothing.”
For the most part, the first episode of every television series you’ve ever seen was the pilot. If the network thought the pilot was good, they made the whole series. But again, for every pilot episode that went to series there are probably dozens that didn’t get picked up. Sometimes these episodes wound up airing as “Made for TV Movies,” but most of them languish in complete obscurity. At least until the internet came along and some of the weirdest footnotes in television history found their way into the hands of TV geeks everywhere.
Nintendo Switch One Year Later: 5 Wii U Games That Deserve A Second Chance
One year after launching Switch, Nintendo is enjoying its regained popularity. The console-handheld hybrid continues to fly off of shelves, and it’s no doubt due to the incredible selection of games available–including the likes of Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, our (any many other websites’) favorite game of 2017.
Switch’s popularity has also been bolstered by great ports of some of the most popular Wii U games. We’ve already got Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Pokken Tournament DX, and Bayonetta 2, but anyone familiar with the Wii U library knows that’s merely scratching the surface of what’s possible.
A port of Super Smash Bros. feels like a guarantee–the sort of game that stirs up a lot of excitement and attention among Nintendo’s player base. Looking beyond the obvious choice, however, Nintendo could give also give RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles X and Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE a second chance at success, as they would benefit greatly from being made portable, let alone available on a console that people are eager fill with games.
There are plenty of games that could fit the bill, but if we were forced to pick five Wii U games to transition to Switch, we know exactly what we’d pick. Take a look at the video above for our choices and why we believe they’d be right at home on Switch. And if you have any suggestions for games we might have missed, give them a shout out in the comments below.
How to Recover Deleted Files
Have you ever accidentally deleted a file, or trash binned a document only to later discover that you still need it? Maybe you let someone hop on your PC and they accidentally managed to wipe away an entire folder of precious files. Or perhaps you forgot to backup your data before reformatting. There are all kinds of crummy scenarios that can lead to deleted data that you might wish you could have back. Well, good news–sending a file to the Recycle Bin is far from permanent, even after you’ve emptied it.
When you delete a file in Windows, it doesn’t actually get erased–it’s not like sending a piece of paper through a file shredder and then setting the scraps ablaze. Instead, Windows keeps an index of where parts of a file reside on your hard drive. When you delete a document or a photo (or any data), Windows marks the sectors of your storage device that it resided on as being available for new chunks of data. Think of it as swapping out the “No Vacancy” sign for one that says “Vacant,” without clearing out the space. This also applies to reformatting your drive–the data isn’t necessarily gone for good.
What this means is that your deleted data is often recoverable, even when all hope seems lost. Unfortunately, the same isn’t true for solid state drives that use TRIM, which involves a different method of recording and deleting data. For the purposes of this guide, we’re going to focus on how to recover deleted data from a hard disk drive or portable flash drive.
Are you ready to get your data back? Then let’s get started!
Start with the Recycle Bin
This one is obvious, but for the sake of thoroughness, let’s start things off easy. If you’ve deleted a file and want to get it back, open up the Recycle Bin on your desktop and find the file. It’s helpful to sort the contents by the “Date Deleted” if this is a file that was recently trashed, or by “Name” if it’s buried in the Recycle Bin and you know the name of the file.
How many deleted files reside in the Recycle Bin is depends on how much space Windows has allotted it. You can change this by right-clicking on the Recycle Bin and selecting “Properties.” Each drive and partition has its own Recycle Bin. Click on the one you want to change and then enter an amount in the “Custom size” field. Note that this is measured in megabytes, with 1,024 megabytes equivalent to 1 gigabyte.
Assuming the file you want to recover is not in the Recycle Bin, you’re going to need to dig deeper. To do that, you need a file recovery program. We’re going to recommend some, but first, a few tips.
Plan Things Out
There are many data recovery programs available, some of which are free and others that cost money. While results will vary from one program to another, they all take a similar approach, which is to scan sectors of your hard drive that Windows marks as available.
Before you install one of these programs, hook up a secondary drive to your PC, if that’s an option. Every time Windows writes over a section of your hard drive that might contain previously deleted data, your chances of recovering it lessen. So, it’s important to install a data recovery program on a separate drive to prevent that from happening.
The same applies to recovering files. If you’re able to, recover deleted data to a separate drive rather than the one the data originally resided on, otherwise you risk overwriting other files before you have a chance to recover them as well.
Time is of the essence, too. Even though you might not be moving files around and installing more programs, Windows and your other applications might be downloading and installing updates on their own. All of this activity puts your deleted data at further risk of disappearing forever, so don’t procrastinate.
Recuva
Recuva is a data recovery program from the makers of CCleaner, a popular utility for managing Windows. There are two versions, a free one and one that costs $20. The latter adds support for virtual drives and automatic updates, and comes with tech support. For most uses, however, the free version is sufficient.
One thing we like about Recuva is that it’s extremely fast. The total time it takes to run depends on a variety of factors, including the size of your storage device and the number of files you deleted. In our case, it whipped through a lightly used 3TB hard drive and found nearly 99,000 files in under 30 seconds.
Recuva does a good job of breaking things down by telling you the state of the deleted file you’re trying to recover. If it says “Excellent,” there’s a good chance Recuva will be able to restore it. Your chances are lower if its says “Poor” or “Very poor,” and “Unrecoverable” is self-explanatory.
Give this one a whirl first, and use the Deep Scan option if your initial scan doesn’t find what you’re looking for.
EaseUS Data Recovery
This is another undelete program that’s offered in free and paid trim. The free version limits the amount of data you can recover to 2GB, so it’s best for when you just want to recover a smaller file (or set of files) that you accidentally deleted, rather than an entire drive’s worth of contents. Otherwise, you have to shell out $70 for the Pro version to recover as much data as you want.
EaseUS does a quick scan of your drive, then hops right into a deep scan. It’s kind of a weird approach, as the deep scan should be optional, especially since it takes a long time to run. We gave up waiting after it spent a half hour scanning our hard drive with no end in sight. It isn’t mandatory that you let it finish a deep scan–just hit the “Back” button and you have the option of stopping the scan and viewing the results.
To make things easier, there are several pull-down menus at the top to sort through whatever files it finds by type, such as graphics, audio, documents, and so forth. You can choose specific file extensions within each one. This makes it a cinch to sort through potentially thousands of files for a JPEG, for example.
File Scavenger
QueTek does not offer a free version of its File Scavenger program, though you can run a demo to see how many files it’s able to dig up before commiting to a purchase.
One thing that is neat about File Scavenger is that you don’t have to install it. You can download the program to a USB flash drive and run it from there, which makes it a great option for portable rescues. If you a keep a toolkit of programs to work on other people’s PCs, this is a great one to have.
File Scavenger’s isn’t quite as user friendly as some of the other options, as the interface is fairly sparse. For example, instead of using pull-down menus or buttons to let you search for a specific file type, you have to type it into the “Look for” field. So for example to instruct File Scavenger to only look for any and all JPEG files, you would type “*.jpg” (without the quotation marks). Or you can leave the default “*” option to search for all file types.
FreeUndelete
As its name implies, FreeUndelete is a no-cost data recovery program, at least for personal use. Businesses are required to purchase a license starting at $69, but the program itself is the same, as opposed to tacking on more bells and whistles for paid customers.
Like File Scavenger, it is not the most intuitive program. However, it does a good job of rooting out deleted files. Just select the drive where you lost your file and hit the “Scan” button. If you want, you can filter search results by type, you just have to manually input them into the search field.
This is another program that can be run without installing. That means you can stick it on a USB flash drive and not have to worry about overwriting your main drive, which could potentially destroy your chances of recovering a file. To do that, click the “Advanced” option instead of proceeding with a full install. You will then see a “Run without installing…” button. Click on that and off you go.
Wise Data Recovery
Wise Data Recovery is one of the easiest data recovery programs to use. There is not much to running it, and it doesn’t inundate the user with options. Once installed, just select a disk and hit the “Scan” button.
The scanning engine is extremely fast. Part of that is because it doesn’t offer a deep scanning option like some other programs do. That also means it isn’t likely to find as many files as some of the other programs, which was our experience. However, it’s a good option for taking a mulligan on emptying the Recycle Bin.
We also like that Wise Data Recovery has a preview pane that allows you to view some image files. It was hit or miss in our experience whether it would actually produce a preview, even for images with a high probability for recovery. But when it works, it’s a nice amenity.
IObit Undelete
In terms of the user interface, IObit Undelete is the most polished program of the bunch and one of the better options for less experienced users. This comes at the expense of advanced options, but if you’re looking for a straightforward solution, this is the one to use.
IObit Undelete’s main window breaks things down by file type, but not in a confusing manner. It presents users with six options: All Types, Pictures, Music, Documents, Videos, and Other types. By default, all six categories are checked. There’s also tab to select where you want to IObit Undelete to scan.
While incredibly easy to use, IObit Undelete doesn’t let you configure scans for files with a specific file extension. That’s a bummer if you all you want to recover are JPEG or PNG photos, rather than all of the various file extensions that apply to pictures. IObit Undelete also lacks a true deep scanning option.
MiniTool Photo Recovery
Some data recovery programs are purpose built to scan for specific types of files. MiniTool Photo Recovery is one of them, and if you’re looking to recovery photos and videos, this one does an excellent job of resurrecting them.
Once you start the scan, the main window will be populated with thumbnails of the images and other media files that it was able to find, in real time. This is a huge convenience, as file names are not always preserved when digging them up from the digital grave. Using thumbnail images takes the guesswork out of what you’re recovering, and makes quick work of sifting through your photos and selecting only the ones you want to recover.
The scanning process is slow, presumably because it’s doing a deep dive into your storage device. There is no quick scanning option, so you just have to be patient. If you’re working with a large capacity hard drive, you may want to find something else to do while it works its mojo, like catch a movie or take a nap.
TestDisk
We saved this one for last because you’ll probably only turn to it when the proverbial poo really hits the fan. Or more specifically, when you’ve lost a partition and Windows just shrugs as if to say, ‘I don’t remember there being a D: drive, are you sure there ever was one?’ Well of course you’re sure, but unfortunately yelling obscenities at Windows doesn’t help. TestDisk can, however.
TestDisk is not meant for recovering individual files, at least not directly. It was designed to recover lost partitions and to make non-booting disks bootable again. And it’s good at what it does, though it’s not much to look at.
Rather than serve up a fancy GUI, TestDisk resides in a command prompt. The creators attempted to take some of the scariness away for less experienced users by breaking things down into menus, which you can navigate with your keyboard’s arrow keys (not your mouse). Still, it’s a bit intimidating.
If it’s come to this, your best bet is to follow the developer’s step-by-step instructions. They’re pretty thorough, and with any luck your drive will back up and running the way it was before things went terribly wrong.
Sea Of Thieves For Xbox One And PC: 10 Reasons We’re Excited
It’s A Pirate’s Life For Me
We are less than a month away from Rare’s latest release of their swashbuckling pirate game, Sea of Thieves. And throughout the past few weeks we’ve had the opportunity to dive into some of the title’s latest improvements during a studio visit and various betas. From pirate legends to skeleton raids to the kraken and beyond, updates on the game’s features have been numerous. Even with all the hype surrounding Microsoft’s first exclusive title of 2018, here are 10 reasons to be excited for Sea of Thieves.
Sea of Thieves releases on March 20 for PC and Xbox One. For those with Xbox Game Pass, the game will be available on day-one as part of the subscription program. That gets you access to both the Xbox One and PC versions, as Sea of Thieves will support cross-play between the two platforms. 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.
What are you most excited to explore when Sea of Thieves finally releases? Let us know in the comments below.
Sailing The Beautiful High Seas
Based on our experience with the game’s alphas and betas, it’s clear that Rare’s pirate adventure game is absolutely gorgeous. The video game water you sail on is second to none and the picturesque islands feel like unique worlds by their own right. As the sun sets and rises on the sea of thieves, Rare’s use of Unreal Engine 4 shines brightly.
Aside from the game’s graphical quality, its cartoon art style complements the comedic and silly aspects of the game (like firing fellow crewmates out of cannons or playing pirate dress-up with goofy accessories). Sea of Thieves’ art style is both beautifully designed and humorously quirky all at the same time.
Thrilling Pirate Voyages
Voyages are Sea of Thieves’ version of quests, and there are many different types of adventures pirates can embark on. But before venturing out onto the open ocean, you’ll need to visit an outpost to purchase a voyage from one of the game’s three factions, also known as Trade Companies.
The first trade company is the Gold Hoarders. Those who had the chance to play during the closed beta will have become familiar with these gilded NPCs. The Gold Hoarders challenge you to hunt for treasure via x-marks-the-spot maps and solving riddles. And it is also possible to sell them other rare artifacts discovered around the world.
The second company is the Order of Souls. These mysterious NPCs will pay pirates to go on bounty hunts for the most deadly pirate captains; return with their skulls in hand and you’ll be handsomely rewarded by the trade company. It’s rumored that a future open beta will allow players to try these combat-oriented voyages.
The third and final trade company that we know of is the Merchant Alliance. They wish to control trade in the world and will thus pay you to scout for supplies (like pigs, chickens, or gunpowder) across the sea. Only caveat is, you must fulfill your contract on time, so best make good use of your in-game pocket watch.
These are the three trade companies that Rare has shared details on, but it’s important to note that they plan to add more factions in due time.
Team Up Or Go Alone
It’s no secret that Sea of Thieves is a unique type of multiplayer game that operates best when players adventure in groups and communicate properly with one another. The larger galleons sailed by a crew of four are not only better equipped with many cannons and multiple sails but are also more sturdy when it comes to attacks.
Yet you might prefer to explore the world alone, and Rare has made this possible with the addition of single-sailed sloops. These small vessels are more nimble than galleons but are far more fragile. Everything necessary to operate the ship (including the sails, wheel, anchor, and map) are within arm’s reach, even for solo pirates. Rare has stated that it is far more difficult to play alone, as other crews can easily overwhelm a lone player. But if you sail carefully, you can still venture out on your own solo adventures when your friends are offline.
Guns At The Ready
Although the tranquil waves can be mesmerizing, it’s important to survey the seas as danger lurks around every corner. Other crews are constantly trying to sink your ship and steal your treasure, so you’ll need to be prepared for battle at a moment’s notice. Ship-to-ship combat on the high seas can be chaotic. As the cannon balls whiz by, you’ll need to manage the game’s warfare mechanics between firing back, repairing holes, and steering your vessel. And although that can be overwhelming at first, boarding, killing, and sinking an opposing ship is quite satisfying.
While scouring the various islands on foot, you’ll often run into other crews off on their own adventures or skeleton hordes protecting their long-lost treasures. The sword-fights and gunplay that follow can be a little clunky from time-to-time, but you’ll be rewarded in gold if you can successfully ambush another crew and return the stolen loot back to an outpost. It’s a pirate life for all and you’ll need to fight for your precious cargo.
Dress The Part
When you first fire up Sea of Thieves you’ll be greeted by what Rare’s calling “The Infinite Pirate Generator.” You’ll be able to circle through eight pre-created pirates coming in different shapes, sizes, genders, and appearances. If none fit your preference, you can regenerate the eight characters over and over again until you find one you’d like to roleplay.
Once you’ve selected your pirate the real fun begins. At outpost shops you can spend your hard-earned gold on a ton of cosmetic items to dress up your buccaneer. From full costumes to peg-legs, how you choose to outfit your character will allow you to further stand out.
Rare has confirmed that microtransactions will be in the final game but stated there will not be a loot box system nor will purchases affect gameplay or give unfair advantages. During the first patch update Rare plans to sell virtual pets, so you will know exactly what you are buying.
Game-Changing Treasures
During the closed beta and scale tests, players discovered two uniquely designed treasure chests with some interesting effects. The Chest of a Thousand Grogs will make the carrier drunk immediately, and the Chest of Sorrow will periodically cry and fill your ship with water if you don’t bail quickly. These cursed chests will change the way you play the game. For example, some players have reported that playing their concertina and hurdy-gurdy instruments have soothed the Chest of Sorrow’s tears. And others have shared that they’ve used the Chest of a Thousand Grogs to easily ambush drunken foes. Although these chests might seem like an unnecessary challenge, they are worth your trouble as they can be sold to the Gold Hoarders for far more gold than most regular chests.
In recent developer updates and concept art, Rare has shown some additional chests that appear out of the ordinary, but we don’t know what effects these chests will have on the player or the world around them. We can only speculate and hope that more cursed chests are on the horizon for the game’s full release.
Skeleton Forts
Since the first Sea of Thieves marketing materials launched, players have speculated about the skull cloud with glowing green eyes. We now know it is one of the title’s emergent gameplay systems. A giant skull cloud will randomly appear above a particular skeleton fort which informs all pirate crews sailing around the map that a raid is going down. As crews converge on the island, they can choose to work together or battle each other through the waves of enemy skeletons. Once you’ve fought your way through the horde, the captain will appear and challenge players to a battle.
When the captain is defeated, the cloud will dissipate and the skeleton will drop a key to the fort’s vault. Once the vault is open, other crews are free to sabotage, but Rare has stated that there will be more loot than a single crew can carry. How raids will transpire is up to you: Can crews work together? Will there be an all out war for the vault’s contents? Or should you escape with the key and return when the coast is clear?
Thanks to data-mining Redditors, diverse classes of skeletons are rumored to be in the final game. Codes for bone, metal, plant, and shadow skeletons have been discovered while data mining the alphas, betas, and scale tests.
Become A Pirate Legend
Turns out the slogan “Become Pirate Legend” was not simply Sea of Thieves marketing material but rather the game’s first form of endgame content. As you level up your reputation with the various factions, you’ll eventually be approached by a mysterious group of NPCs who you’ll want to impress. Although it is unclear what these challenges might entail, we do know that once you’ve proven your worth, you’ll be invited into The Tavern of Legends. This secret lair is hidden somewhere within the sea of thieves and was even in the closed beta (although no players were able to uncover its secrets).
Inside the secluded tavern, the ghostly pirate lord will sell you legendary voyages. And although these voyages are by far the most valuable and fruitful in the game, they can still be shared with any other pirates regardless of their rank. Rare expects the first Pirate Legends to arrive in the hideout a couple weeks after launch, and when that happens, you’ll begin to see some unique cosmetic items and high-ranking titles sailing throughout the world.
Become A Legendary Captain
For the game’s first major update, Rare has promised that you can expect yet another achievement to strive towards: becoming a Legendary Captain. The second tier of endgame content makes the Tavern of Legends your personal hideout, as you’ll automatically spawn there when signing on. The ship wading in the background of the cave will also become yours to sail and customize. When other players see the legendary ship sail out from underneath the hideout’s waterfall (think the Batmobile bursting out of the Batcave), they’ll know a Legendary Captain is on the seas.
Release The Kraken
After much speculation and discussion among the community, we can finally confirm that something wicked lies beneath the ocean’s waves. The Kraken is very much real, acting as a force of nature similar to the game’s storms that can emerge at any time. The ocean will grow dark with ink and the in-game music will begin to change if the kraken draws near. If you are unable to outrun it, it will wrap its giant tentacles around your ship and any other ships nearby, attempting to crush them beneath its weight. Crew members can be attacked, thrown, and thrashed around if you don’t bring the fight to its suction-cupped limbs. And as an emergent gameplay element, the Kraken will act differently depending on the situation. Rare has stated there will be a reward if you and your crew are able to take down the Kraken, but we will have to wait to find out what that might be.
Final Fantasy 15 Outfit Coming To The Sims 4
EA and Maxis have plans to release some special Final Fantasy XV themed costumes in The Sims 4. The promotion is part of the roll-out of the FFXV Windows Edition coming on March 6. Final Fantasy XV is already slated to get some wacky Sims costumes, but the content-sharing is going both ways, so Sims players will be able to dress up in the hottest fashions of Eos.
Sometime after launch, The Sims 4 Gallery will include a Noctis Lucis Caelum outfit. Players will be able to download the outfit in all its buckled and laced and zippered glory. You can fashion yourself in classic black, white, or green.
Unlike the Sims-themed costumes, this doesn’t require a pre-order or purchase on the Origin service. Instead, it appears to be a free costume for anyone who plays The Sims 4, whether they’re Final Fantasy fans or not. So even if you couldn’t tell a Noct from a Gladio, you can still get a snazzy new outfit.
Meanwhile, the Sims-themed outfits you can get in FFXV include the iconic Llama Suit and Plumbob Suit. Those are available for your avatar to wear in the multiplayer expansion, or for Noctis to wear throughout the single-player campaign if you like your weighty melodrama to be peppered with some absurdity. You can check those out in the video above.
Comic Book Reviews for February 28, 2018
Before we get to the reviews, please read this important note from the editor of IGN Comics, Joshua Yehl.
Hello friends,
Since before I was hired by IGN four years ago, IGN Comics has published dozens of comic book reviews every week. We’ve weighed in on everything from the big events at Marvel and DC to exciting indie projects, utilizing a variety of reviewer voices who helped readers decide what to put on their pull lists. I am proud of all the work that we have done and the role we’ve played in the larger comics community, which is why it’s bittersweet to announce that IGN Comics will be bringing our current comic review format to an end.
Moving forward, we’ll be reviewing a handful of comics each week, selected based on what our audience likes to read and what intriguing books we want to spotlight. In addition, we’ll be running more analytical pieces that explore ongoing themes, artistic styles, and character arcs. The big advantage here is that we are now free to analyze a whole story arc or an entire comic run as opposed to just a single issue, all in order to help you, the reader, better find the comics you want to buy for your bookshelf.
Detroit: Become Human Release Date Confirmed For PS4
Sony has revealed Detroit: Become Human‘s release date for PlayStation 4. The narrative game, developed by Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls studio Quantic Dream, will launch worldwide on May 25 this year.
This is the first time Sony has mentioned a release date for the game; the company had previously stated “spring 2018,” and before that, David Cage had only said “2018.” Some people believed the game would launch last year after a PlayStation sizzle reel listed it as part of the platform’s 2017 releases. However, Sony’s president of Worldwide Studios, Shuhei Yoshida, later stated the listing was a mistake.
Detroit has been no stranger to controversy throughout its development. The game touches on real-world issues such as terrorism and domestic abuse, and its developer, Quantic Dream, recently denied allegations of a poor studio culture and harassment.
The game itself tells the story of a group of androids coming to terms with their newfound sentience. You control three separate characters and can guide them in their journey by making decisions along the way, in a similar way to some of Quantic Dream’s previous games. For more, check out some Detroit: Become Human gameplay or our thoughts on how a preview build attempted to tackle some difficult issues.
Detroit: Become Human Has a Release Date
Detroit: Become Human, the next game from David Cage’s Quantic Dream, will be released on May 25.
Cage himself made the announcement on the PlayStation Blog, calling it “Quantic Dream’s most ambitious title to date.”
Following the stories of three androids in a near-future Detroit, the game charts the beginnings of an android revolution.
In classic Quantic Dream style, the game is an action-accented adventure game, with multiple choices and concsequences depending on players’ decisions.
Cage has promised it’s the most variable game the studio has made yet. “Each story is almost as unique as your DNA,” he adds.