Month: March 2018

A new Duke Nukem movie starring John Cena in the lead role is on the way, and now we’ve learned more about it. Producers Andrew Form and Brad Fuller discussed the upcoming film in an interview with CinemaBlend. The Nukem character is brash, outspoken, and sexist.

Form admitted that it has been a struggle to come up with ideas for how to make the Duke Nukem movie “a really fun ride” despite the title character’s tone.

“You know that having a misogynistic guy in today’s world, how do you make that fun and loveable?” he said. “And at the same time he’s got to be an incredible badass, so those are the things that we’re struggling with and we’re going to try and come out with what I hope is a really fun ride. That’s the goal, is for it to be a really fun ride.”

Form went on to say that they won’t make the movie if the tone is off. He cited Deadpool as an example of a film with a brash leading character that got it right.

“How do you nail that tone in the way that Deadpool nailed the tone?” he said. “I think we have to do that and if we don’t get the tone right then we’re not going to make the movie.”

It is still early days for the Duke Nukem movie. There is no script yet, Form confirmed. And it sounds like Cena is not 100 percent locked in for the role yet. “If he reads the script and he doesn’t like the script I’m sure there’s ways that he could pull out, but right now he’s our guy,” Form said.

You can read the full interview and story here at CinemaBlend.

The Duke Nukem video game series has been dormant since 2011’s critically panned but million-selling Duke Nukem Forever. Gearbox Software, which owns the rights to the Duke Nukem series, confirmed in 2015 that it had done some concept work on a all new, “head-turning” Duke Nukem game. However, Gearbox might not make the new game.

Wes Anderson’s talent for creating whimsical film worlds is unique–no one is better than him at building intricate, candy-coated dioramas masquerading as movie sets and plots. Where many directors strive to make movies that seem as realistic as possible, Anderson bends reality until it drips in slow motion with deep cut ’70s alt rock b-sides and non-sequitur one-liners that get right to the heart. Isle of Dogs is one of his most Anderson-y films yet, but somehow, it’s also more focused, driven, and pared down than anything the director has done before.

Wes Anderson movies rub some people the wrong way. Everything’s too cute, and the dialogue often sounds unlike how people actually talk. When Bill Murray’s Steve Zissou spends several minutes giving the viewer a tour of his boat in 2004’s The Life Aquatic–on an incredibly intricate set of a full-sized boat split lengthwise in half–it can feel overly self-referential. Are these characters aware they’re in a movie? Does this advance the plot, or is it no more than showboating?

I get the complaints. But to me, Wes Anderson movies are great because of all that–the feeling that it’s all make believe, that these characters are play-acting, grandstanding, aware of their own limited existences and determined to make the most of the scant time for which they have our attention. They’re all so deeply flawed, in high contrast with these otherwise perfect movies, where the musical, thematic, and visual cues all swirl together deftly at each emotional climax. (Take a minute to read about the sheer amount of work that went into building Isle of Dogs‘ world, and you’ll understand.)

There’s usually a lot going on in a Wes Anderson movie, but that’s where Isle of Dogs differs. What B-plots briefly flit into existence are quickly folded back into the main storyline: a boy looking for his dog on Trash Island.

Unsurprisingly, Isle of Dogs boasts an impressive cast, including Edward Norton, Billy Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Greta Gerwig, Frances McDormand, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton, F. Murray Abraham, and Yoko Ono. But there are two who really matter: Bryan Cranston, who voices the rough (ruff), intimidating stray dog Chief, and Koyu Rankin, the boy Atari. They’re the main characters, and everyone else exists in service to their story and their character development. That’s not a bad thing; it’s just unusual for a Wes Anderson movie.

This is Anderson’s second stop motion animation film, after 2009’s Fantastic Mr. Fox. That alone sets it somewhat apart from the rest of his movies. But in Isle of Dogs he also foregoes some of the stylistic quirks he usually relies so heavily on, from the frequently deployed slow-mo (check out the excellent supercut below) to the normally Kinks/David Bowie/Rolling Stones heavy soundtracks.

The dominating audio in Dogs is the sound of Japanese Taiko drums and the musical score that composer Alexandre Desplat built around them (no matter what the official soundtrack might have you believe). The movie opens and ends on stop-motion musicians beating these drums with impressively intricate animation–another signature Anderson diorama set piece, complete with diegetic sound, but one that drives the movie forward rather than providing interlude or distraction.

That’s how Isle of Dogs moves: It charges forward toward its conclusion like a dog chasing a ball, and when it gets there you might experience emotional whiplash. The climax comes and goes before you can fully process it, and it’s all denouement from there. At just over 100 minutes, Isle of Dogs could have used a little more time spent on some of its side characters and subplots, and a little more at the end. But there’s a silver lining there: Isle of Dogs is Wes Anderson’s most focused film ever, and you’ll want to go through it again.

Marvel Comics has revealed the name of their upcoming event, Infinity Wars, along with the creative team: writer Gerry Duggan, artist Mike Deodato Jr., and colorist Frank Martin. Duggan has been building up to a large-scale Infinity Stone story in his now-ended Guardians of the Galaxy comic and in the Infinity Countdown mini-series, and now we know that it will come lead to Infinity Wars.

The cover reveals the main players in the event: Adam Strange, Doctor Strange, Gamora, Captain Marvel, Peter Quill, Loki and Thanos. There also appears to be a hooded character with a mask in the shape of the “infinity” symbol.

Art by Mike Deodato Jr and Frank Martin. (Marvel Comics)

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Season 3 of Fortnite: Battle Royale is ongoing, and each week brings a new set of challenges for players to complete. There’s a free set of objectives for everyone to take on over the course of the season, but only those who purchase the Season 3 Battle Pass get to deal with the additional weekly challenges. These present players with specific goals to target and offer a path to quickly level up the Battle Pass and acquire its many rewards.

Although challenges are referred to as weekly, you have more than a week to complete them–they’re available until Season 3 concludes at the end of April. As such, it’s not too late to pick up the Battle Pass now and go back to complete challenges from past weeks.

Many of these challenges are relatively straightforward; you’ll need to secure kills in certain locations or with specific weapon types. Others are things you’ll likely do without even trying, like reviving teammates. Others still will require a bit more attention and management, as they might require certain things to be done in a single match (such as visiting three gas stations) or ask you to go to a specific location you otherwise would be unlikely to stumble upon.

Below, you’ll find a complete list of every weekly challenge that’s been rolled out so far along with links to some of our guides that will help you to deal with those trickier objectives. We’ll continue to update this as more challenges are announced over the course of the season.

Week 1

• Deal damage with Pistols to opponents (500) — 5 Battle Stars
• Search Chests in Pleasant Park (7) — 5 Battle Stars
• Revive players (5) — 5 Battle Stars
• Visit a Llama, Fox, and a Crab — 5 Battle Stars
• Hard: Follow the treasure map found in Dusty Depot — 10 Battle Stars
• Hard: Sniper Rifle Eliminations (2) — 10 Battle Stars
• Hard: Eliminate opponents in Fatal Fields (3) — 10 Battle Stars

Week 2

• Use a Launchpad — 5 Battle Stars
• Deal damage with Assault Rifles to opponents (1000) — 5 Battle Stars
• Search Chests in Wailing Woods (7) — 5 Battle Stars
• Dance in different forbidden locations (5) — 5 Battle Stars
• Hard: Search between a Pool, Windmill, and an Umbrella — 10 Battle Stars
• Hard: SMG Eliminations (3) — 10 Battle Stars
• Hard: Eliminate opponents in Greasy Grove (3) — 10 Battle Stars

Week 3

• Harvest building resources with a pickaxe (3000) — 5 Battle Stars
• Deal damage with Suppressed Weapons to opponents (500) — 5 Battle Stars
• Search Chests in Junk Junction (7) — 5 Battle Stars
• Land on different Bullseyes (7) — 5 Battle Stars
• Hard: Follow the treasure map found in Snobby Shores — 10 Battle Stars
• Hard: Crossbow Eliminations (1) — 10 Battle Stars
• Hard: Eliminate opponents in Salty Springs (3) — 10 Battle Stars

Fortnite week 3 challenges guide

Week 4

• Deal damage with Sniper Rifles to opponents (500) — 5 Battle Stars
• Search Chests in Flush Factory (7) — 5 Battle Stars
• Search Supply Drops (3) — 5 Battle Stars
• Visit different Ice Cream Trucks (5) — 5 Battle Stars
• Hard: Search between a Vehicle Tower, Rock Sculpture, and a Circle of Hedges (1) — 10 Battle Stars
• Hard: Trap Eliminations (1) — 10 Battle Stars
• Hard: Eliminate opponents in Tomato Town (3) — 10 Battle Stars

Fortnite week 4 challenges guide

Week 5

• Use the Bush — 5 Battle Stars
• Search chests in Moisty Mire (7) — 5 Battle Stars
• Deal damage with a pickaxe to opponents (200) — 5 Battle Stars
• Visit different gas stations in a single match (3) — 5 Battle Stars
• Hard: Follow the treasure map in Anarchy Acres — 10 Battle Stars
• Hard: Pistol eliminations (3) — 10 Battle Stars
• Hard: Eliminate opponents in Tilted Towers (3) — 10 Battle Stars

Fortnite week 5 challenges guide

For all of the years of experience Obsidian has across a multitude of platforms and IPs, they’ve never once created a sequel to one of their own original properties. That is, until now. Last week, Obsidian took the time to show me how Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire takes what worked in the original, dramatically expands it, and aims to establish the franchise at the top of the pile among the industry’s elite roleplaying series.

The first and most immediately obvious change is a big one: Deadfire is a legitimate open-world game this time around. In the first Pillars of Eternity, the world was split into a handful of regions that could be openly explored, but for the most part it was a relatively linear affair. But even as an open-world game, Deadfire maintains that hand-crafted feel. There is zero random or procedural generation as each and every combat encounter is hand-placed by the designers. In fact, every single NPC has voiced dialogue and a hand-drawn portrait to really lend a sense of intimacy to every situation.

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If you’ve been holding out on picking up a Nintendo Switch, now might be a good time jump in. Through Ebay, you can get the system with either gray Joy-Cons or neon red/blue Joy-Cons for just $255 USD. The sale also includes free shipping but cannot be shipped to locations outside of the continental US.

The standard price for a Switch is $300, so you’ll be saving $45 with this deal. Take note that you have to use the limited time promo code PREPSPRING to get the discount. This offer will only be valid until 8 PM PST / 11 PM EST today, March 27. The deal runs through Newegg as the Ebay seller, which is a reputable retailer.

Other notable bundles currently available on Ebay (with the aforementioned promo code) include an Xbox One X with Far Cry 5 for $410 and a DualShock 4 or Xbox One controller with Far Cry 5 for $68. More deals are currently active on Ebay and you can check them all out here.

The Nintendo Switch recently made history by becoming the best-selling game console of all time in the US during its first year of release. Although Nintendo hasn’t given a solid sales figure through one year, it did state that the console sold 14.86 million units as of December 31, 2017.

For more on Nintendo’s wildly popular console-handheld hybrid, check out our roundup of the best Switch games out now or our breakdown of what the new 5.0.0 firmware update does. We tested out over 30 different wireless gaming headsets with the Switch; find out which ones work with the system. Be sure to catch up on all the new games that were recently announced for the Switch during the Nindies Showcase and the latest Nintendo Direct stream.

IGN has confirmed Hulu has passed on the Locke and Key pilot, but there still might be hope for the potential series.

One of the pilot’s stars Samantha Mathis revealed to Cultured Vultures that Locke and Key did not get picked up by Hulu after the network had ordered a pilot. However, the show’s producers may still be shopping the series around to other streaming services, such as Netflix and Apple.

THR reports WME has been hosting screenings of the pilot for other networks to consider picking the series up. According to their report, seven scripts for the series have already been written.

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The third Pokemon Go Community Day has come and gone, but players already have an idea of what to expect from next month’s event. Developer Niantic has announced the first details for the next Pokemon Go Community Day, including what bonuses and special Pokemon players will be able to earn this time.

The event takes place on Sunday, April 15, and as usual, it will be held during a three-hour window of time. Typically, Community Days run at different times depending on your region, but so far, Niantic has only revealed the time frame for North America. Like this month’s event, the next Community Day kicks off in the region at 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET and concludes at 2 PM PT / 5 PM ET.

During April’s Community Day, any Lure Modules that are activated will last for three hours. In addition to that, Eggs will hatch at a quarter of the distance they typically require, allowing you to hatch Pokemon much more quickly for the duration of the event.

The featured Pokemon during April’s Community Day will be the Electric-type sheep Mareep. Niantic hasn’t revealed what exclusive move it will be able to learn during the event just yet, but if the previous two Community Days are any indication, there’s a good chance players will need to evolve Mareep into its final form, Ampharos, before the Community Day ends in order to learn the special move.

Before the next Community Day rolls around, players still have a chance to participate in Pokemon Go’s Easter-themed Eggstravaganza event. From now until April 2, Pokemon that typically hatch from 5 km or 10 km Eggs, like Wynaut or Ralts, can be found in 2 km Eggs. April 2 also marks the day the Legendary Pokemon Lugia will leave Raid Battles. The Diving Pokemon returned to the game earlier this month with the “newly improved” Sky Attack move, and this time it’s easier to capture if players manage to defeat it.

Wrestlemania 34 is filled with matches that could serve as the main event of the show. However, to me, there are two matches that stand above the rest in terms of anticipation, buildup, and potential to be instant classics: AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Charlotte vs. Asuka. And while Styles/Nakamura will be fantastic, it’s Charlotte/Asuka that will take the proverbial cake.

The rivalry between the two is new, as the match is built entirely around a Royal Rumble win, but both women’s journeys to the top is just as important. Here is how Asuka and Charlotte got to the main WWE roster and into this Wrestlemania match.

Asuka travelled back and forth between Japan and the United States, beginning in 2004 under the ring name Kana. Most notably, she wrestled for Shimmer, although she never won a title at the promotion. In August 2015, she signed with the WWE and changed her name to Asuka. Early on, she was unstoppable and put on some stellar performances, with her battle against Emma at NXT Takeover: London being the first of many in WWE. In April 2016, Asuka won the NXT Women’s Championship and held onto it until August 24, 2017, when she had to relinquish it due to injury. She did not lose the title once, and her reign lasted an astonishing 510 days. While Asuka was–and still is–undefeated in singles competition, she did suffer three losses and five no-contests in tag and four-way matches. Otherwise, she has been undefeated for two and a half years, racking up 250 wins without a loss.

Since coming to Raw, she remains undefeated, and she won the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble match on January 28. New rules for Rumble winners went into effect this past year, as the lone survivors of each match got to choose who they wanted to fight in a title match at Wrestlemania. It didn’t matter what show the superstar was on. After making the WWE Universe wait, Asuka announced on March 11, at the Fastlane PPV, that she was challenging Charlotte for her belt.

Charlotte Flair, the daughter of two-time WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair, had a very different journey on her way to becoming the Smackdown Women’s Champion. While she had a few appearances in the final years of WCW–as a teenager–she got her true in-ring start in NXT in 2012. In May 2014, Charlotte won the NXT Women’s Championship after beating Natalya. She was a heel during this time and a member of the BFFs along with Sasha Banks and Summer Rae. She dropped the title in January 2015 to Sasha Banks in a four-way match featuring the other Four Horsewomen Bayley and Becky Lynch. This was a golden era for women’s wrestling in NXT.

Later in July, Charlotte was called up to Raw along with Banks and Lynch as part of the Women’s Revolution. She was the Diva’s Champion for a short stint, and then became the first WWE Women’s Champion at Wrestlemania 32, which later became the Raw Women’s Championship after the brand split. Eventually, Charlotte headed to Smackdown and won the Tuesday night show’s championship as well. She will be the only superstar to hold every women’s championship in the modern era: NXT, Diva, WWE, Raw, and Smackdown. No one else will ever achieve that again, as the Diva’s title will thankfully never return.

That brings us to Wrestlemania 34 on April 8. Asuka chose Charlotte as her opponent, and there could not be a better matchup for the women currently in the division. They are polar opposites with their styles, as Charlotte is an American-trained athlete, who works much more like an ’80s or ’90s star with some modern-day pizazz thrown in. Asuka utilizes more kicks and punches and works with a stiffer Japanese style of wrestling–or “Strong Style” if you prefer. What the two do have in common is the use of submission wrestling and a “never give up” attitude. Charlotte is strategic and cunning, and Asuka is controlled chaos.

What we really have to weigh here is Asuka’s streak. Is Wrestlemania the perfect place for her to get her first single’s loss since coming to WWE? Yes. Is the time now? I don’t think so. Even when you ignore the rumors that Asuka’s win will set up a year-long run as champion, only to lose to Ronda Rousey at Wrestlemania 35–which I really hope isn’t true–Asuka and her streak are still new to the WWE Universe. Sure, NXT fans have been seeing her for a few years, but she’s only been on Raw for six months now. She’s still new to the average fan of WWE’s programming. There is still a lot of time to build up just how dominant Asuka is, to really put Goldberg’s WCW streak to shame–which Asuka broke almost a year ago, prompting a congratulations from Goldberg.

The whole match shouldn’t be about making Asuka look like a dominating force and Charlotte simply putting her over though. It’s going to be a battle, as both women are two of the best competitors WWE has to offer currently. Expect this match to be longer, filled with ups and downs, and for Charlotte to look just as tough as Asuka. This should be a clean, straightforward match with no shenanigans or controversial endings. It doesn’t need it.

It’s apparent that Asuka will beat Charlotte and win the Smackdown Women’s Championship, but what could that mean for Charlotte? Will she continue to feud with Asuka or jump ship to Raw during the rumored Superstar Draft happening at Backlash? If she does make the jump, she’ll more than likely take on Ronda Rousey before the former UFC fighter starts her slow build to the aforementioned story with Asuka. Regardless of future storylines, we’re in for an exciting match at Wrestlemania.

If you’re interested in more breakdowns of upcoming Wrestlemania matches, check out all our predictions here and stay tuned to GameSpot for more Wrestlemania coverage.