With the release date of Netflix original series Locke & Key coming soon in February, let’s take a look at the award winning comic book series that it is based on. Here is your spoiler free introduction to Locke & Key.
Infinity Ward has pushed a new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare patch, making some additions and adjustments alongside a wide array of bug fixes. The January 22 patch is now available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The big new additions are a new weapon and additional loadout slots, along with rotated playlists.
The studio has also given a warning about a possible issue when downloading the update, telling affected users to hard-close their application if they get the prompt.
We’re currently investigating an issue where players are getting an error prompt informing them their data is corrupt or did not download properly. Please do not select either option, but please hard close your application. Thank you for your patience while we work on this issue.
The new weapon is a crossbow, which you can unlock by equipping a Marksman Rifle with a Reflex Optic, and then getting 5 kills in 25 matches. In case that extra weapon makes you itchy for more loadouts–or just because more loadouts are always good in general–the update also adds five additional slots. The playlist has been updated with Capture the Flag and Shoot the Ship, and Aniyah Palace is back in rotation.
Meanwhile, the update also makes some fixes to persistent bugs and exploits. One of those was to Aniyah Palace, which is why it’s rejoining the playlist. But by the same token, IW is removing Krovnik Farmland to work out bugs. There’s also bug fixes and balance adjustments for weapons, and some stability and display improvements on PC. You can see the full notes below.
If you’re curious what Infinity Ward has in store for future updates, you can check out its DLC roadmap, which came alongside a dedicated Trello board to keep fans informed of its plans and which bugs are on its radar. You can also still purchase the Outback Relief pack to help bushfire relief efforts in Australia through January 31.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare January 22 Patch Notes
What’s New
Playlist Update: Added Capure the Flag and Shoot the Ship (Removes Shoot House 24/7) playlists! We also added Aniyah Palace back into rotation
5 additional loadout slots!
New Weapon – Crossbow! Unlocked by using a Marksman Rifle with a Reflex Optic, get 5 kills in 25 different matches!
General
In some cases, players could hit an invisible kill trigger in a bush that would cause them to die instantly while near A Flag on Port. This has been fixed.
Fixed an out of bounds exploit on Aniyah Palace
Temporarily removing Krovnik Farmland out of rotation while we work on a few bugs
Fix for a bug that could lock a PC player’s FOV at 60 until they respawn while in Ground War
The “Stand Together” calling card (3 Wins in Team Deathmatch) was being awarded even though this calling card is earned by default. This has been adjusted to the “Redemption” calling card.
The Daily Challenge for getting “10 Claymore Kills” was awarding the “One Shot” spray which is unlocked by default. This has been adjusted to the “Soft Serve” spray.
Fix for an issue where the playlist filter would not switch game modes, even with multiple modes selected
Adjusted the damage threshold for “Get X Kills while Injured” challenge to make it a bit easier to obtain
Various out-of-map exploit fixes
Fix for a few graphical errors that could occur on Ground War maps
Infected: Fixed a bug where the Nuke effects and audio will interrupt and overlap the final killcam if called in after death of the final survivor
Fixes to the Recent Players list appearing incorrectly on Xbox
Fixed a bug that allowed players to capture the Hardpoint while in the hotel on St. Petrograd
Adjusted the obituary to remove the oldest items first
Fixed a bug that would reset Voice Chat settings after the application was hard closed
Fix for a bug that allowed player collision. This has been fixed
Players can no longer cancel their recovery state when sliding, but will always incur the standard fire delay (visually the player will still respond)
On Shipment, players are able to set Care Packages on spawn points, causing players to die instantly when spawning in on these points. This has been fixed.
Fixed an issue where the Elite Xbox One controller had a slight bounce back with the analog sticks
Fixed a bug that could give players invincibility
Fix for some Officer Progression emblems not displaying the correct rarity
Fixed an issue that would lock Operator missions despite having the correct Battle Pass Tier
Field Upgrades:
Fixed a bug where using the ‘Stopping Power Rounds’ Field Upgrade with an empty C4 slot would cause the C4 detonator to appear before reloading with the Stopping Power Rounds
Fixed a bug that allowed players to reach unintended locations while manipulating the Weapon Drop Field Upgrade
Fixed a bug that allowed the Recon Drone to fly into geo if C4 was thrown onto it
Fix for Stopping Power Rounds not applying the correct damage boost to headshots
Trophy System:
Increased protection radius
Decreased the radius and the damage taken by trophy explosions
Fixed a bug where the explosion damage and effects wouldn’t trigger for the third explosion
Killstreaks:
Fixed a bug that allowed the Cruise Missile to kill players while out of bounds on Shipment
Weapons
Fixed a bug where the 1mW Laser would not appear equipped on the 1911 pistol while in the Gunsmith menu
M4A1 Blueprint “OG” ADS position moved forward; the viewmodel or gun’s position relative to the camera or player’s eye is moved forward more, so it blocks less of the line of sight
Changing the magazine capacity from 45 to 50 for the RAM-7 extended magazine.
Increasing the bullet penetration of the MK2 Carbine
Less horizontal recoil on the initial bullets of the FN Scar-17
Changed the way stats are displayed for stocks to be more consistent with other attachments (this is for the graphs only, not the actual stats)
Call of Duty League
Domination: Flags must be neutralized before being captured again. Settings for neutralization timing are now available in settings
Decreased charge time on the Trophy System
Headshot multiplier damage has been clamped; torso and headshots are now the same
Removed lightweight boost and decreased charge time on Dead Silence
Temtem only released on Steam Early Access on January 21, but that hasn’t stopped it from shooting to the top of the Steam charts. A massively multiplayer take on Pokemon sounds like an excuse to print money, and while Temtem is only inspired by Pikachu and co., developer Crema is on to an early winner.
As of writing, Temtem is currently the number one selling game on Steam, while its peak concurrent players currently sits at a healthy 29,545. That’s still someways off Counter Strike: Global Offensive’s 708,409 concurrent players, but for a completely new property in Early Access, it’s pretty impressive.
Its popularity has had some ill side effects, however. Long queues to access the game’s servers started forming not long after release, with spots freeing up mainly due to game freezes and unintended disconnects. Crema has been working tirelessly to shore up Temtem in the time since, and the game seems to be running much more smoothly now after a few patches and hotfixes have gone live, but there are still more issues to sort out.
Temtem certainly wears its Pokemon influence on its sleeve, but it also twists the familiar formula in interesting ways–not least because it’s an MMO. As of right now, you can explore three islands of Temtem’s Airborne Archipelago, with 76 Temtem’s to catch and a 20-hour campaign to play through. The game will gradually expand as the month’s roll by, which will coincide with a price rise that rewards those who support the game early.
It has been confirmed that The Witcher soundtrack will be released later this week, on Friday, January 24. The score is written and arranged by composer Giona Ostinelli and producer Sonya Belousova and will feature the distinctive song “Toss a Coin to Your Witcher,” which is sung by actor Joey Batey, who plays Jaskier, in Episode 2. Ahead of the album release, you can listen to the song over at Spotify right now.
The Witcher Season 2 is expected to premiere in 2021, and showrunner Lauren Hissrich has teased that it will more “more linear” following criticisms about the Season 1 timeline. Nevertheless, the show has not only been a huge ratings success, but it has also helped propel The Witcher 3 to its biggest day ever on Steam, while the publisher of the book series from Andrzej Sapkowski ordered 500,000 more copies to meet demand.
An Xbox One X is great for anyone who wants to get the most out of their 4K TV. It’s the most powerful console on the market right now, capable of 4K gaming, video streaming, and playing 4K UHD movies. And right now, Amazon has a variety of Xbox One X bundles on sale for $349.99. That’s the lowest the console has ever gone, making now a great time to upgrade. Read on for details about the Xbox One X bundle deals.
Xbox One X Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Bundle is $349
Buying this bundle gets you an Xbox One X, plus a digital copy of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Deluxe Edition. That includes the game itself (which we awarded a 9 in our review), plus some in-game skins for your droid and ship, plus a digital art book, plus behind-the-scenes videos. The game is a fantastic single-player adventure that’s like a mix between Uncharted, Dark Souls, and Metroid Prime. It’s one of the best games released last year, making this bundle a terrific buy.
Also discounted to $349 right now is the gorgeous Gears 5 Limited Edition Xbox One X. Instead of the traditional black console and controller, this bundle features an Xbox One X with “dark translucent casing that makes the Crimson Omen appear submerged in snow and ice.” The wireless controller that comes with it is the Gears 5 Kait Diaz Limited Edition controller, with a white design based on the snow-weathered armor in the game. And speaking of games, this bundle also includes digital copies of all the mainline Gears games, including 5.
For Gears fans who don’t necessarily want their game console decked out with a giant skull, this bundle fits the bill. It also comes with the entire Gears of War series, but the console and controller are the standard black color.
The last bundle on the list comes with a digital copy of NBA 2K20 Xbox One X bundle. This one’s a no-brainer for basketball fans, but if you’re on the fence you can check out our NBA 2K20 review.
What if none of those bundles appeal to you? In that case, you can pick up an un-bundled Xbox One X for $329. That’s $170 less than MSRP, making for a fantastic deal on a powerful machine.
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Chris Reed is IGN’s shopping and commerce editor. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.
Ninja Theory, the developer behind Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, Heavenly Sword, and DmC: Devil May Cry, has announced that it has begun development on a new game that it calls Project: Mara.
“Project: Mara will be a real-world and grounded representation of mental terror,” said Ninja Theory in a press statement. “Based on real lived experience accounts and in-depth research, the goal is to recreate the horrors of the mind as accurately and realistically as possible. Project: Mara will be an experimental title and a showcase of what could become a new storytelling medium.”
It seems Project: Mara will draw upon similar influences to Hellblade, which was based on in-depth research into psychosis.
In addition to Project: Mara, Ninja Theory is also working on Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 – another game that will likely explore mental trauma – as well as the multiplayer brawler Bleeding Edge. The developer is part of Xbox Game Studios, and so will release as first-party Xbox exclusives on Xbox consoles and PC.
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Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter.
With Patrick Stewart making his big return as Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: Picard, it looks like the legendary Starfleet officer is mostly making it so with a bunch of new crewmates. And while classic characters like Riker and Troi appear to be showing up for what are likely cameo appearances, it seems one of the OG Next Generation crew is actually a cornerstone of the new series: Lt. Commander Data.
The thing is, Data is dead! Still, the golden android and Pinnochio surrogate had some robo-relatives who looked exactly like him. Yeah, there’s a whole family of Datas and Data off-shoots actually, like the evil Lore, or the not-all-there B-4. Let Brent Spiner himself explain…
“Well, Lore and B-4 are different characters, completely,” Spiner recently told IGN. “I mean, they look like Data, but they have different programming. So I just play what they write, basically. Fortunately, we have really good writers, and had really good writers who inform how the character is played.”
So the question is, could Lore or B-4 or some other Soong-type android figure into Picard? Hey, maybe that’s not even Data we’re seeing in the trailers. Oh, and what’s a Soong-type android anyway?!
Regular Data is just that — the guy you think of as regular old Data. We followed his adventures for seven seasons of Next Generation and four movies, as he served as operations officer onboard the Enterprise. His greatest wish was to become more human, and he did his best to emulate human activities to that end, like playing poker with his friends, and practicing his painting, music, and acting. He dated, he got a cat, and he even learned small talk.
Eventually, he did get emotions, thanks to a computer chip — cough-Macguffin-cough — but unfortunately, he died in the last Next Gen movie, Nemesis, sacrificing himself to save Captain Picard. Or so we thought.
Dr. Noonian Soong (Human-ish Data)
O.K., he’s not an android, but Data’s creator, Dr. Noonian Soong, was also played by Brent Spiner, like most of the characters on this list. Also known as “Often Wrong” Soong because of his misadventures while attempting to perfect the positronic brain — the key to a successful android — the scientist eventually did just that, and Data was born. But only after some less successful prototypes were rolled out…
Lore (Bad Data)
Data (left) and Lore (right)
In Season 1 of Next Gen, Data found out that he was not the only android out there when his “brother” Lore showed up. It turns out Dr. Soong had designed Lore before Data, but there was a bit of a problem with Lore’s ethical subroutines, which is a nice way of saying he was a son of a bitch. Also played by Spiner, Lore would go on to be a thorn in Data and the Enterprise crew’s side through most of the series’ run. He even teamed up with a group of Borg who had become disconnected from the Collective, with the android becoming a sort of cult-like leader to the lost creatures. In the seventh-season finale, Data was forced to gun down his brother during this encounter, and the last we heard was that Lore was to be deactivated. But come to think of it, the Borg are in Star Trek: Picard! Hmmmm…
B-4 (Barely Functioning Data)
B-4 (left) and Data (right)
Speaking of being deactivated, the Picard trailers show us that someone has been disassembled and chilling in a drawer at Starfleet for an unspecified amount of time now. Could that be Lore? Or is it B-4, the android who we learned in Star Trek: Nemesis had been created by Dr. Soong even before Lore? B-4 had a lower-end version of Soong’s positronic brain, and as such was fairly limited in his functionality. But when Data died at the end of that movie, the fact that he had copied his memories and uploaded them to B-4 left a glimmer of hope that our beloved android would be resurrected in his brother’s body… Which, really doesn’t seem all that fair to B-4 when you think about it, does it?
Other Androids (Not Brent Spiner)
Data’s “mom” Juliana Tainer (left) and his “daughter” Lal (right)
But wait, there are even more members of the Soong family, both from one-off Next Gen episodes. Though Spiner didn’t play these two — obviously — Data also had a daughter and a mother, of sorts. Juliana Tainer had been Dr. Soong’s secret wife, but when she died, Soong built an android version of her because he couldn’t deal with the fact that she had died. Funny thing is, she didn’t know she was an android, and Data decided not to tell her as he realized she would be happier going on thinking she was human.
Lal, meanwhile, was built by Data. He considered her to be his daughter, and it seemed that with her, Data had succeeded in constructing a stable positronic brain like his own. Tragically though, when Lal exceeded her father’s programming and began to feel emotion, she suffered a cascade failure in her neural net and died. But notably, Data stored Lal’s memories in his own mind after her death. And as we know, Data’s memories were transferred to B-4… so maybe, just maybe, Data and Lal’s memories are still out there somewhere in the time period of Picard, just waiting to be given life again.
Dream Data (or Dreamy Data?)
We’ve seen Data appear to Picard in the trailers for the new Star Trek show, and it sure seems like this version of the android is a dream or illusion of some kind. We don’t know much about him yet, and even Spiner’s colleague Marina Sirtis, who plays Deanna Troi, seems to have questions.
“Is it Dream Data or Dreamy Data?” she asked when IGN interviewed her recently. You know, it’s a very good question!
So what do you think? Which version of Data are we seeing in Picard? Could there be more than one of these guys lurking somewhere in the new show? Is he a dream or an illusion, or is there more to this than meets the eye? Let us know what you think in the comments, and for more on Star Trek: Picard, check out why Seven of Nine blames Picard, or ponder whether or not the Picard show’s real villains have been revealed…
A young woman named Maud converts to Roman Catholicism, suddenly finding herself in the employ of a strong-headed former dancer who is in her care as a nurse. Maud’s strange obsession with her new charge combined with her newfound religion and a dark past evolve into something terrifying. Sound good? Well, you’re probably the perfect audience for A24’s newest chilling horror acquisition and searing exploration of religious fanaticism, Saint Maud.
The debut film from British director Rose Glass follows a spate of critical horror hits from film distributor A24 over the last few years. From huge genre-defining moments like Robert Eggers’ The Witch and Ari Aster’s Hereditary, to smaller but still impactful flicks like Trey Edward Shults’ It Comes at Night and Jeremy Saulnier’s Green Room, A24 has been delivering some of the best horror films going. Just this year they’ve delivered boundary-pushing follow-ups from Aster and Eggers in Midsommar and The Lighthouse, and they’ve also made a name for giving auteurs like Clair Denis, Yorgos Lanthimos and Peter Strickland a space to make unusual genre films like High Life, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, and In Fabric.
If you’ve seen even a couple of of the aforementioned modern masterpieces then you’ll have an inkling of what makes an A24 horror film stand out. Unusual stories, atmospheric direction, and incredible sound design have thrown the idea of just what horror can be into the spotlight. Saint Maud looks like it will fit into that mold whilst also offering up an examination of womanhood, religious expression, and mental health. The crossover between religion, spirituality, and horror has given us some of the most iconic genre films of all time like The Exorcist, The Wicker Man, and Rosemary’s Baby as well as inspiring new exercises in terror from Pascal Laugier’s French new extremity flick Martyrs to Ti West’s horrifying Jonestown riff, The Sacrament.
Glass is bringing an interesting eye to her entry into the religious horror canon as Saint Maud explores the deterioration of a young woman who is so desperate to believe that she begins to lose her grip on reality. Often spiritual horror films center on the lack of agency that women have over their bodies, whether in the sense of physically, sociologically, or as a person at the mercy of other more powerful people or beings. Here though we enter from a space of choice, as Maud chooses to commit her life to being devout, it is her decisions that lead us into horror and that is a truly exciting subversion of the tropes and trappings of this particular subgenre.
It shouldn’t be surprising to anyone that A24 has picked up a genre flick that turns our expectations of relationships and gender on its head. Robert Eggers The Witch and The Lighthouse both work as dissections on the patriarchy, family, gender, and masculinity. Ari Aster’s Midsommar is a dark meditation on toxic relationships, codependency, and what we’re willing to ignore to find somewhere that we might just be able to call home.
Saint Maud looks like it will offer an interesting twist on the complex genre offerings with a rare female eye behind the camera telling the story of a young woman torn between her faith, her past, and her own torment. We’re incredibly excited for this new addition to the ever-growing and massively impressive A24 horror canon, especially as the film has the potential to once again herald the arrival of another original and vibrant voice to the contemporary horror landscape.
Saint Maud opens in North America on March 27 and in the UK on May 1.
Niantic, the studio behind Pokemon Go, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, and Ingress, has announced its lineup of 2020 live events. The company promises “immersive interactive experiences” themed after each game, with events scheduled for Liverpool, Philadelphia, and St. Louis.
Pokemon Go events will include the Taiwan Lantern Festival in Taichung, and Pokemon Go Safari Zone events in the three select cities listed above. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will again host its annual fan festival, with details to be announced. Finally, Ingress has a ton of locations listed for events on three separate days. Check below for full dates and location information. You can also keep up on the official sites for Pokemon Go events, Harry Potter events, and Ingress events.
Niantic says that its 2019 events led to an estimated $249 million in tourism revenue across the three cities chosen to host events, Chicago, Montreal, and Dortmund. Altogether the company estimates almost 190,000 Pokemon fans attended those three events, and the Chicago event tripled its participation from 2018.
Pokémon GO 2020 Events
Taiwan Lantern Festival in Taichung – February 6-9
Pokémon GO Safari Zone St. Louis – March 27-29
Tickets will go live starting January 24 at 8:00 AM CT
Pokémon GO Safari Zone Liverpool – April 17-19
Tickets will go on sale starting January 31 at 8:00 AM GMT
Pokémon GO Safari Zone Philadelphia – May 8-10
More information about tickets will be announced soon
Ingress 2020 Events
Perpetua Hexathlon – February 29
Asia-Pacific Region: Christchurch, New Zealand; Adelaide, Australia; Naha, Okinawa, Japan; Bengalaru, India; Chiang Mai, Thailand
Regular Data is just that — the guy you think of as regular old Data. We followed his adventures for seven seasons of Next Generation and four movies, as he served as operations officer onboard the Enterprise. His greatest wish was to become more human, and he did his best to emulate human activities to that end, like playing poker with his friends, and practicing his painting, music, and acting. He dated, he got a cat, and he even learned small talk.
O.K., he’s not an android, but Data’s creator, Dr. Noonian Soong, was also played by Brent Spiner, like most of the characters on this list. Also known as “Often Wrong” Soong because of his misadventures while attempting to perfect the positronic brain — the key to a successful android — the scientist eventually did just that, and Data was born. But only after some less successful prototypes were rolled out…
We’ve seen Data appear to Picard in the trailers for the new Star Trek show, and it sure seems like this version of the android is a dream or illusion of some kind. We don’t know much about him yet, and even Spiner’s colleague Marina Sirtis, who plays Deanna Troi, seems to have questions.