Month: November 2019

Ghost Recon: Breakpoint’s 1.0.3 title update patch is available from today on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, and the full patch notes have been released. The patch weighs in at 7GB on both PS4 and Xbox One, and a slightly slimmer 6.7GB on PC. It includes a number of bug fixes, tweaks, and improvements, as well as a few basic gameplay updates.

Some major issues have been addressed–drones will now deploy reliably, and players should no longer respawn under the map. The “Mission Completion” tutorial pop-up won’t display after loading screens anymore, and mission interactions are now prioritized over vehicle interactions. These are just a few examples, with the full patch notes listing many more.

Some controls and mechanics have changed too to make for a more enjoyable experience. Players can now do a camera shoulder swap in cover, which was not possible before. Your character’s base stamina has increased by 66% and regenerates 75% faster than before, while sliding now only consumes half the stamina it used to. This should make for a less frustrating game.

The full patch makes multiple changes to the enemy and NPC AI, as well as animation, audio, camera, chat, loot, and menu updates. Missions and general gameplay have also seen multiple improvements. The patch notes detail over 100 changes that have been made as of 1.0.3, which will hopefully go some way to improve the experience.

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint has had a difficult launch period, and the game’s middling-to-negative reviews have disappointed Ubisoft, especially as the game has not sold as expected. In the wake of this disappointment, Ubisoft promised that the game would become a more “gritty and authentic military experience” in the future, and promised two major updates for November; this is the first of those.

If you’re jumping back in post-patch, make sure you check out our guide for dealing with drones in Breakpoint.

13 Reasons Why actress Katherine Langford filmed a scene for Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame, but it was left on the cutting room floor. Langford never shared any official details about what the scene was, but now we know. Those who booted up Avengers: Endgame on the just-launched Disney+ streaming service might have noticed an “Extras” tab on the Endgame page which features a deleted scene: “Tony at the Way Station.” This scene reveals all the details–SPOILERS FOLLOW BELOW.

Tony Stark, in the wake of his fatal hero moments, enters a “metaphysical waystation” where he meets a young woman named Morgan. After a period of uncertainty, he recognizes her as the daughter he had with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow).

Morgan tells Stark that she “got to live [and] grow up,” according to GamesRadar. She later says to her father, “I’m proud of you” for sacrificing himself and saving humanity with this selfless and courageous act. The scene ends with Morgan telling her father, “I love you.” Stark then leans in and plants a kiss on her cheek; he replies, “I love you 3000.”

It’s a nice scene, but it’s not hard to see why it was cut. After all, the surviving members of The Avengers assembled for Stark’s funeral which wrapped up his story in an emotional and impactful way.

Directors Joe and Anthony Russo spoke about the deleted scene back in May and why they decided to cut it.

“What we realized about it was we didn’t feel an emotional association with the adult version of his daughter. It wasn’t resonating with us on an emotional level, which is why we moved away [from] it,” the Russos said. “The intention was that his future daughter forgave him, and gave him peace to go. And the idea felt resonant, but there were just too many ideas in an overly complicated movie.”

This scene, and the entire Endgame movie, are now available to stream on Disney+. The film was initially expected to come to the streaming service in December, but Disney moved up the release to launch day.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare released on October 25, meaning that some players have had a chance to put serious time into multiplayer and unlock Officer ranks. Officer ranks replace the prestige system from past games in the Call of Duty series, and allow you to chase a new XP target every season, unlocking new Seasonal Ribbons, Season Emblems, and Weapon Blueprints as you move between the 100 ranks available. Players are now be able to gain XP faster in Officer ranks by completing seasonal trials, now available on the main multiplayer screen.

Developer Infinity Ward has announced that Trials have officially come to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, describing how they work on Reddit. Once you level up enough to hit Officer ranks you’ll start to earn tickets, which can be spent on Trials. One ticket grants you three attempts at one Trial, and you’ll be judged on your performance at completion with a star rating between zero and three stars. Tickets unlock as you level up, but they also reset when the season ends, so it’s best to use them as you earn them rather than hoarding.

For a zero star performance in a Trial, you’ll get 0XP. One star nets you 5000 XP, two stars gets you 7500 XP, and three stars earns 10,000XP. Performing well in Trials will help you climb up the Officer ranks faster and earn more rewards each season.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is also getting a battle pass next month in lieu of a season pass, which will let you unlock new items by completing additional challenges. Infinity Ward is working hard: the 725 shotgun has received a few updates in patches already, while the game has also received new maps and modes since launch. The game received a 7/10 in our review, saying that the multiplayer is “up to par, with a variety of game types for different kinds of players.”

The Mandalorian spoilers ahead!

With the long-awaited launch of Disney+, the even-longer-awaited The Mandalorian–the first ever live-action Star Wars TV show–is here. And it’s more than just space poops and twist endings–there are about a bajillion references and Easter eggs for Star Wars fans to obsess over in the Mandalorian. And this is just the first episode.

How much you enjoy the Mandalorian’s premiere may depend on how much time you spend reading Star Wars wikis as a hobby–or how closely you pore over the gallery below. We’ve broken down everything you need to know to get the most out of this episode, from Mandalorian customs to the names of obscure alien races glimpsed in the background.

There are still seven more episodes of The Mandalorian left, and we’ll be giving each the same in-depth treatment. Until the next one arrives on November 15, check out our Episode 1 review and Everything We Know About The Mandalorian on our sister site CNET–and for more on Disney+, try all the Star Wars movies and shows and all the Marvel movies and shows currently available on the platform.

1. Don’t Call Him A Squid Head

One of the thugs in the opening scene is a Quarren, an alien race native to the planet Mon Cala, from whence Admiral Ackbar’s race (the Mon Calamari) also hail. They first appeared in Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Whatever you do, don’t call a Quarren a Squid Head, as it’s a derogatory nickname.

2. Huttese

The thugs in the opening bar scene are speaking Huttese, the language of the Hutts, i.e. Jabba the Hutt. The language pops up again in this episode during the scene with Greef Carga (Carl Weathers).

3. Crying Over Spilled Space Milk

The lead thug insists that the Mando spilled his drink, but you can actually see it spill earlier in the scene, when they’re roughing up the Mythrol.

4. Beskar Steel

Mando’s armor is made of Beskar Steel, also just called Beskar, or Mandalorian Ore. It’s a super-tough metal used by Mandalorian blacksmiths, as we see later in the episode.

5. An Empty Cup

If you watch carefully during the opening fight scene, it’s clear that the cup the bartender slides down toward the Mando is 100% bereft of liquid (there’s no splash–no splash at all!). Maybe the barkeep knew that the Mando was going to use it to smash someone’s head in, and he wanted to avoid the mess.

6. The Fledgling Mythrol

The first time we see the Mandalorian, he’s picking up a bounty on a blue-skinned alien played by Saturday Night Live alum Horatio Sanz. It’s later revealed that his species is the Mythrol, a new addition to Star Wars canon.

7. Bounty Pucks

The “bounty pucks” that the Mando’s bounty hunters guild uses to track commissions are an invention for the show–they’ve never been referenced in Star Wars before.

8. A Kubaz Ferryman

The ferryman who Mando asks for passage to the yards is of the Kubaz species (as first seen in A New Hope). He speaks Kubazian, which sounds like whirring sounds.

9. A Familiar Ride

The first ferry that appears is a familiar Landspeeder with an R2 droid, which most Star Wars protagonists wouldn’t turn down. Why the Mando insists on a ride with “no droids” will hopefully be explained at some point in the series. Of course, he ends up working with IG-11 at the episode’s climax, which probably isn’t easy for him–though he also winds up destroying that droid.

10. Brian Posehn

You might recognize the ice ferry driver who warns the Mando and the Mythrol not to dally on the ice and then is immediately eaten by a giant ice monster as comedian Brian Posehn.

11. The Ravinak

Speaking of which, that ice monster–the Ravinak–is a brand new addition to the Star Wars universe, invented for this scene.

12. Dank Farrik

The Fledgling Mythrol exclaims “Dank Farrik” (trust us, we checked the subtitles) when they escape the Ravinak, much like one would say “thank god.” Since we know nothing about him or his race at this point, we can assume that’s pretty much what he’s saying.

13. The Razor Crest

The Mandalorian’s ship is called the Razor Crest. It’s a converted pre-Empire gunship.

14. Space Toilet

Where do the creatures of the Star Wars universe go to pee and poo? Well, on the Razor Crest, we get to see where The Mandalorian does his “duties.” It’s called a Vacc Tube, and that’s where they do their business. But where does it all go from there? Well, it all goes into the Gray Hold, and for some reason, pilots sometimes dump them on planets–according to the landspeeder driver that escorts The Mandalorian to his ship. Why wouldn’t you dump them in space? Guess there are gross ***holes even in a galaxy far, far away.

15. Happy Life Day

Early on in the episode, The Mandalorian’s bounty mention he was hoping to be free to celebrate Life Day, possibly with his family. That particular holiday was first introduced in the Star Wars Holiday Special, otherwise known as the best thing that’s ever happened to the franchise. Want to know more? We’ve got you covered.

16. Carbonite Capers

The Mandalorian has several marks frozen in carbonite on his ship. When Darth Vader had Han Solo frozen at the end of Empire Strikes Back, he was testing it out to make sure the process wouldn’t kill Luke. Since this show is set after the original trilogy, it makes sense that the carbonite technology would be in wider use by now.

17. Nice Dissolves

There are multiple cheesy wipe transitions between scenes in this episode–a tradition that’s been upheld since the original films.

18. Name That Droid

In the marketplace the Mando walks through, you can spot a familiar droid off to the left. It appears to be an R5 droid, similar to the R5-D4 in A New Hope (the droid with the “bad motivator”).

19. Trandoshans

You can spot some Trandoshans here. These aliens, from the planet Trandosha, were introduced in Empire Strikes Back with the bounty hunter Bossk.

20. A Friendly Game

You can glimpse some aliens playing the card game Sabacc in the cantina here–possibly the variant Corellian Spike, as seen in the movie Solo, though it’s difficult to tell.

21. Imperial credits are no good here

When turning in his bounties, the Mandalorian is annoyed to learn Greef Carga wants to pay him in Imperial credits. Post-Return of the Jedi, he’s simply not interested in accepting this outdated form of payment. Instead, he accepts half payment in the form of Calamari Flan, which we can only assume is a type of money from the planet Mon Cala.

22. Jawas

Even casual Star Wars fans should recognize these Jawas, diminutive aliens that have been around since A New Hope.

23. Don’t Be a Gatekeeper

The cute little bugger that guards the entrance to the Client’s hideout is a TT-8L/Y7 gatekeeper droid, a type of security droid that was first seen in Return of the Jedi.

24. GNK droid

The iconic GNK droid–also known as the trash can droid, for obvious reasons–guides the Mando into the Client’s lair. These first appeared in A New Hope.

25. Imperial Loyalists and dirty Stormtroopers

The events in The Mandalorian take place after the fall of the Empire in Return of the Jedi. While the Galactic Empire is no more, there are still pockets holding onto the past, like Werner Herzog’s character, who is surrounded by Stormtroopers. Because credits aren’t rolling into this former ruling class like it used to, these Stormtroopers probably don’t have the cash to fix or even clean up their armor, so it appears dirty, worn, and broken.

26. The Best in the Parsec

According to the Client, Greef Carga claims Mando is “the best in the parsec,” when it comes to bounty hunting. As previously established in the franchise, a parsec is a unit of distance equal to about 3.26 light years. Han Solo proclaimed that with the Millennium Falcon, he made the Kessel Run–an 18-parsec course–in a mere 12 parsecs. There would be a lot of math to figure out exactly what that means, but it’s safe to say a parsec is a very large distance to cover.

27. A Camtono of Pure Beskar

The Client offers to pay Mando in pure Beskar, should he retrieve his bounty alive. More specifically, he promised a camtono of the substance. What is that, you ask? A camtono is a fancy Star Wars way of saying lock box. As noted by io9, a camtono was briefly seen in The Empire Strikes Back.

28. New Technology

The episode features several pieces of new Star Wars technology, mostly related to the Bounty Hunters Guild to which the Mandalorian belongs. In addition to the bounty pucks, the Mando mentions uses “chain codes” and “tracking fobs” to hunt down commissions.

29. A Period of Disarray

The Client refers to things returning to their “natural order” after this “period of disarray.” Being an apparent Imperial loyalist, the brief “period” to which he refers is clearly the fall of the Empire as portrayed in the original Star Wars trilogy. Little does he know how right he is though, since it will be just a small handful of years until the First Order rises from the Empire’s ashes.

30. Cruel BBQ

The creature roasting on the spit here–and the one watching forlornly from a cage nearby–is a Kowakian monkey-lizard. The first Kowakian glimpsed in the series, named Salacious Crumb, appeared in Return of the Jedi.

31. Is That Boba Fett?

Maybe, maybe not. Before The Mandalorian meets the Mandore Blacksmith, he passes by a guard that sure does look a whole lot like Boba Fett. The infamous bounty hunter supposedly died in the Sarlacc Pit in Return of the Jedi. There’s no way of truly knowing at this point in time whether or not that Mandalorian is in fact one of Star Wars’ most popular characters–even though Boba isn’t truly a Mandalorian. However, we do know his job, and that’s guarding the entrance. And aside from the fact, it appears he’s doing that, his helmet is green, and in Mandalorian warrior culture, the color of your helmet means a lot. Green is the symbol of duty. He has a duty to guard that door and everyone inside.

32. The Mythosaur Skull

The Mandalorian insignia visible above the metalsmith’s door is the skull of the Mythosaur, giant creatures that used to live on the planet Mandalore until the Mandalorians battled them to extinction. They’re referenced again later in this episode, when Nick Nolte’s character, the Ugnaught Kuiil, encourages the Mando by reminding him that his ancestors once rode the mighty Mythosaur.

33. Mandalorian Lore

There are several obscure references to Mandalorian history and customs in this scene, from mention of the “great purge” to the metalsmith asking the Mando whether his “signet” has been revealed yet. To be honest, we have little idea what any of this means.

34. A Significant Pauldron

The metalsmith makes the Mando a silver pauldron from the Beskar ore he gives her. There’s significance to Mandalorian armor colors–and the silver pauldron, if we read it as more of a shiny grey, relates to mourning. No doubt we’ll find out why as we learn more about the character’s backstory. Fun fact: The green of Boba Fett’s iconic armor represents duty.

35. The Mandalorian’s Painful Past

Speaking of colors, the titular character of the show sure does have a lot going on with his costume, and that’s because pieces of his armor represent different moments in his life. His helmet is silver or gray, which means mourning the loss of a loved one, and his chestplate looks like it was once red, honoring his parents. If in fact it was orange, that means he’s just like Iggy Pop and has a lust for life.

36. What the Blurrg?

After landing on a planet to track a bounty, Mando is almost immediately attacked by a pair of Blurggs, which are giant warthog-looking creatures with scarily sharp teeth. While this is the first time they’ve appeared in live-action, fans have seen them before. They were originally introduced in The Clone Wars, before also popping up in Star Wars Rebels.

37. The Ugnaughts

Nick Nolte’s character, Kuiil, is of an alien race called an Ugnaught. Natives of the planet Gentes, they’re considered the working class of the galaxy. They first appeared in Empire Strikes Back.

38. IG-11, A Bounty Droid

The IG-11 bounty hunter droid, voiced by the fantastic Taika Waititi, is not the first IG-class droid we’ve met in Star Wars history. The most notable previously was IG-88, who appeared in Empire Strikes Back.

39. Niktos

The aliens that the Mando and IG-11 fight in the climactic battle scene are Niktos, from the planet Kintan. They first appeared in Return of the Jedi.

40. Rodians

While Mando and Greef Carga discuss further bounties, it’s revealed that among the species inhabiting that bar is a Rodian. These green-skilled creatures first appeared in A New Hope and have since popped up throughout the franchise.

41. That looks a lot like Yoda

What a twist ending that was. After blasting his way through an army of mercenaries, Mando comes across a pod housing a tiny alien that looks like it’s from whatever species Yoda–or Yaddle for you prequels fans–hails from. Not much is known about this species, but given this is just the first episode of The Mandalorian, it looks like that’s about to change. We have a lot more to say about this particular twist, which you should check out.

iPhone company Apple is looking to expand its business into VR and AR, according to a new report. Bloomberg reports that the giant tech company might release a headset that combines virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) in 2021 or 2022. This headset would have a “focus on gaming.”

Bloomberg added that Apple currently employs a team of around 1,000 engineers who are working on the company’s various VR and AR projects. The team is said to be made up of executives who previously worked on Apple’s gaming projects, among other things. Former game developers and graphics “experts” are also on the team, as are former NASA engineers, according to the report. The team is said to be operating out of a “nondescript area” in Sunnyvale, California, which is close to Apple’s main HQ in Cupertino, California.

The new VR and AR technology will reportedly join other existing Apple wearable products such as AirPods, Beats headphones, and the Apple Watch. With iPhone sales slowing down, wearables are primed to take more of a focus at Apple going forward, it seems.

The Bloomberg report also claims that Apple is working on a new iPad for release in 2020 that would feature two camera sensors and a “small hole” for a new “3D system” that would allow people to create 3D models of objects, people, and rooms. This technology is also said to be introduced in high-end iPhones in 2020.

Apple has been a big player in gaming for a long time already. The company recently pushed further into gaming with its Apple Arcade subscription service.

Apple will be a latecomer to VR. Microsoft created a “mixed reality” headset that incorporates VR and AR called HoloLens. The headset could have interesting applications for gaming, but right now Microsoft is focusing on commercial instead of consumer use. In 2018, the US government paid Microsoft around $500 million for a contract to use HoloLens headsets to create new military equipment.

Disney’s new Star Wars TV show, The Mandalorian, is finally out in some parts of the world with the release of Disney+. One of the show’s main actors, Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man, Jack Reacher), has given Variety an interview about it, and it contains some surprising and delightful answers.

Herzog, who hasn’t seen any Star Wars movies before, told Variety is “doesn’t really matter” that he isn’t too knowledgeable about the source material. Show creator Jon Favreau helped brief Herzog on what he needed to know, and that was enough.

“You see, it was a very lively exchange, man-to-man so to speak, between Jon Favreau and myself. I was not tossed into unknown territory. I was very well briefed,” Herzog said. “I knew what was expected of me–I knew the interior landscape of the character and I knew the exterior landscape.”

Herzog added that he doesn’t watch more than four movies every year anyway, so it’s not surprising that he hasn’t seen Star Wars.

He does, however, watch some television–and the programs he called out are unexpected. He tunes in for WrestleMania and Keeping Up with the Kardashians. “As vulgar as they may be, it doesn’t matter that much, but you have to find some sort of orientation. As I always say, the poet must not close his eyes, must not avert them,” Herzog said.

Herzog said he was drawn to Keeping Up with the Kardashians, specifically, because he is passionate about experiencing new things. “I’m curious; that’s my guiding principal,” he said.

Continuing in the delightful interview, which you should read in full to completely appreciate, Herzog said he doesn’t expect to watch The Mandalorian. It’s only available on Disney+, and Herzog said he isn’t very enthusiastic about signing up. He is already a subscriber to the Criterion streaming service, and he’s enjoying that. “They have hundreds of films, and every one of them is great.”

In The Mandalorian, Herzog plays a character called the Client, a mysterious man who gives The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) a bounty to track someone down. GameSpot sister site CNET said Herzog’s appearance in the show is “absolutely brilliant.”

GameSpot’s review of The Mandalorian Episode 1 scored it a 7/10.

“With its first episode, The Mandalorian has made a statement about what a live-action Star Wars TV show looks like,” Chris Hayner said. “Now, with the remaining seven episodes in Season 1, it needs to make a statement about how a Star Wars plot should unfold over a longer form of storytelling.”

Unlike shows on Netflix, episodes of The Mandalorian aren’t released all at once. Future episodes will follow on a weekly basis, except for Episode 2 which premieres November 15.

The ninth Fast & Furious film, currently known simply as Fast & Furious 9, has finished filming, director Justin Lin has announced on Twitter. The upcoming blockbuster is due for a May 22, 2020 release, and will now move into post-production. Lin previously helmed multiple entries in the franchise, directing films three through six, before stepping away for Furious 7. In the tweet, he calls Fast & Furious 9 “by far the most ambitious film of the series.”

Not much is known about the plot of the ninth film yet, as no official synopsis has been revealed. As Lin’s tweet reveals, it was shot between “London, Edinburgh, Tbilisi (Georgia), Phuket & Krabi (Thailand), and Los Angeles,” which is in keeping with the series’ globetrotting nature. Judging by star Vin Diesel’s Instagram updates, the film took 20 weeks to shoot

Fast & Furious 9 will not feature Dwayne Johnson, who stepped away after very public feuds with series stars Vin Diesel and Tyrese Gibson in favor of crafting the spin-off project Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw. But it’ll feature several other returning stars, including Charlize Theron and Helen Mirren from the eighth film in the series, as well as Michelle Rodriguez, who returns after publicly grappling with the ways the series has handled women. This installment will also add franchise newcomers John Cena (WWE) and Michael Rooker (Yondu from Guardians of the Galaxy).

The Fast & Furious movies have followed an unusual naming pattern so far, refusing to stick to a specific naming convention: The Fast and the Furious, 2 Fast 2 Furious, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Fast & Furious, Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6, Furious 7, The Fate of the Furious. With this in mind, it would be surprising if Fast & Furious 9 ended up being the film’s final title.

Fast & Furious 10 has already been announced for an April 2, 2021 release, and is currently in pre-production. To date, the series has made over $5 billion at the international box office. The Fate of the Furious and Furious 7 are the second and third highest grossing American films in China of all time, after Avengers: Endgame.