Month: February 2020

If you are anything like me, one of your childhood dreams was to have versions of your favorite arcade games in your own home. Thanks to the wonderful people at Arcade1UP, that’s easier than ever, and thanks to deals at Walmart, you can do it for less.

Right now you can save 50% on Space Invaders and get deals on Golden Tee, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Star Wars, and more, so you can create your own, completely stacked, arcade room.

Best Deal: Space Invaders Arcade Cabinet for $149

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• Get it for $149 at Walmart

There are few arcade games as iconic (or fun) as Space Invaders. This 4-foot arcade cabinet by Arcade1UP normally costs $299, but right now you can save 50% and snag it for just $149 from Walmart and get free delivery.

Star Wars Arcade Machine for $449

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• Get it for $449 at Walmart

Take Luke’s place and relive the legendary trench run against the Death Star, and much more with this arcade cabinet. It includes games based on Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi and a riser so you can set the height to your liking. It normally costs $499, but you can shave off $50 and get it for $449 at Walmart.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade Machine for $369

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• Get it for $369 at Walmart

This classically recreated arcade cabinet includes Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Turtles in Time, as well as a riser. It normally goes for $399, but you can save $30 and get it for $369 at Walmart with free 2-day delivery.

Other Arcade Deals

• Galaga/Galaxia Machine for $349 – Get it at Walmart
• Golden Tee Machine for $399 – Get it at Walmart

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Brian Barnett writes news, features, wiki guides, deals posts, and much more for IGN. You can get your fix of Brian’s antics on Twitter and Instagram (@Ribnax).

Last year, IGN visited the set of Altered Carbon Season 2 as part of an exclusive IGN Premiere first look at the Netflix show’s much-anticipated return. We’re rolling out a series of exclusive sneak peeks for Season 2 this week, so keep it locked right here for never-before-seen interviews and behind the scenes footage of Anthony Mackie as Takeshi Kovacs, Chris Conner as Poe, and Renée Elise Goldsberry as Quellcrist Falconer. For more, be sure to check out our spoiler-free review of Altered Carbon Season 2, our interview with Mackie discussing how his version of Kovacs is different from Joel Kinnaman’s, an exclusive clip featuring Takeshi and Poe walking the streets of Harlan’s World, and learn what makes Poe’s new A.I. companion so fascinating.

Warning! Some spoilers follow for what we saw on set.

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The universe of Netflix’s Altered Carbon has always looked amazing on-screen, so when we were given the opportunity to have our very own guided tour of the immense sets by production designer Carey Meyer (Firefly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), we jumped at the opportunity to learn how Meyer’s team created the Season 2 setting of Harlan’s World.

Harlan’s World is the birthplace of Takeshi Kovacs (Anthony Mackie), and it also happens to be home to the highest concentration of Elder artifacts and technology in the settled worlds. One of the first stops on our tour landed us in Governor Danica Harlan’s (Lena Loren) apartment, which was decorated with various Elder relics. Meyer told us that by the time you finish binging Season 2, “you’ll know what all of those artifacts are all about.”

Be sure to watch the entire tour of Harlan’s World with Meyer in the video below, or at the top of the page:

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Probably the most jaw-dropping place we saw was the “street set,” which is one of the major thoroughfares in Season 2 and can hold hundreds of extras if needed. Meyer explained that this particular set was built on top of the same street set from Season 1 that Joel Kinnaman’s Kovacs walks through many times.

Meyer explained that the dominant design elements of Harlan’s World are rock and water, since the colonizers built their civilizations into the planet’s core, but despite the organic materials, you can still see the grimy, neon-lit Cyberpunk aesthetic that made Season 1 so memorable, especially in locations like the “street set.”

You can watch Poe and Takeshi walk down that same street in the video below:

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If you’ve already binged Season 2 of Altered Carbon, check out our ending explained to find out what’s in store for Season 3 if the series is renewed by Netflix.

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David Griffin still watches DuckTales in his pajamas with a cereal bowl in hand. He’s also the TV Editor for IGN. Say hi on Twitter.

When it’s released on March 23, Half-Life: Alyx will be a notable moment in the timeline of VR gaming – perhaps the medium’s first true blockbuster. It’s led to a rush of first-time VR buyers, eager to play the first full Half-Life game in 16 years. However, the outbreak of COVID-19 (a.k.a. Coronavirus) has led to production shortages of several of the compatible headsets you’ll need to actually play it.

With under a month until release, we looked into each of the major VR headset manufacturers – Oculus, HTC, and developer Valve itself – and what the status of their production is ahead of HL: Alyx’s release date, to get a sense of which units may be available to buy if you don’t already have one.

Before we get going, of course there are more important things than games, and factory shutdowns have been a major means of protecting lives in the wake of a virus that has already killed thousands – these are necessary means, not inconveniences.

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Valve Index

Valve’s Index headset was already sold out practically worldwide following the announcement of Half-Life: Alyx, with Valve proactively working to supply more for those who hadn’t secured a pre-order. In a statement, however, the developer confirmed that coronavirus-related factory shutdowns meant there would be “far fewer units” available on release than planned:

“With Half-Life: Alyx coming March 23rd, we are working hard to meet demand for the Valve Index and want to reassure everyone that Index systems will be available for purchase prior to the game’s launch. However, the global Coronavirus health crisis has impacted our production schedules so we will have far fewer units for sale during the coming months compared to the volumes we originally planned. Our entire team is working hard right now to maximize availability.”

It’s unclear at time of writing how many will be made available at release, but it may well be that Index is in short supply, at best, come March 23.

Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift S

Oculus Quest, considered a popular entry-level device for VR, is in a similar position. Facebook (which owns Oculus) has also announced that the standalone VR headset has been selling out in many regions, and remains unavailable to buy in the UK and US at time of writing. It too, has seen an impact on replenishing those stocks because of coronoavirus.

A spokesperson told IGN, “like other companies we’re expecting some additional impact to our hardware production due to the Coronavirus. We’re taking precautions to ensure the safety of our employees, manufacturing partners and customers, and are monitoring the situation closely. We are working to restore availability as soon as possible.”

Facebook wouldn’t comment on the effect of production shutdowns on its other headset model, the Oculus Rift S but, given it too is made in China, it seems likely to have been hit by factory shutdowns as well. The Rift S is also currently unavailable to buy in the US or Australia, with no indication of when stock might be replenished.

It remains to be seen how many units of either Oculus headset will be released in the next month but, again, it feels unlikely to meet demand.

HTC Vive

Of the three main manufacturers, HTC is the only company seemingly untouched by production problems, and its Vive headsets seem to be the surest bet for availability come launch day.

In a statement to IGN, a spokesperson said, “As our Vive VR products are assembled and built in Taiwan, our supply chain has been relatively unaffected by COVID-19. In addition to having our Cosmos headset in stock, the newly announced Cosmos Elite began preorders on February 24 and will ship to those who preordered on or around the on-sale date of March 18 […] We look forward to allowing customers to experience Half-Life: Alyx on our headsets as soon as it is released.”

Of course, Vive remains a relatively expensive way to play HL: Alyx – requiring a powerful PC as well as a headset that comes in at $499 USD / £499 / $939 AUD. However, with no production problems, it may be the easiest route to playing as Alyx on March 23.

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Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter.

The Nintendo Switch has been home to many ports of gaming’s recent past, even games that you may have never believed would have been playable in handheld form like The Witcher 3, Doom (2016), Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, and Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. Now, we have both of the Redux versions of Metro 2033 and Metro Last Light, two tremendous single-player FPSs out now Switch. And having put some time into both, I’m coming away wildly impressed–these are Switch ports done right.

You kind of know what you’re getting into when it comes to Switch versions of bigger games; lower resolutions, lower framerates, muddier textures, and toned-down effects. Those factors don’t necessarily diminish the quality of the game itself though, so long as it’s done within reason and the game remains playable. However, these Metro ports exceed what we’ve come to expect for Switch–they look sharp and run extremely well, all things considered. You can see for yourself in our gameplay footage below.

Naturally, the compromises are noticeable when playing in docked mode on a full size display, but Metro Redux is truly stunning in handheld mode. It’s not just that the condensed screen mitigates the perceivable blemishes of lower graphical fidelity, it’s that the graphical compromises are somewhat minimal as not to muddle or obscure overall visual clarity. Even lighting effects and character models, which are imperative to the Metro experience, still shine through.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Shockingly Alex has returned again, despite promising a 3 month hiatus recently. He’s joined by Dale, who talks Resident Evil 3 and has Siege tales from San Francisco. Mr Matt Purslow rounds off the threesome and he is BIG into everything Baldur’s Gate 3 and Hunt: Showdown.

Also, not only is The Endless Search back, but so is The Perpetual Pursuit. The extra twist is Alex is hosting his first ever Endless Search game on the podcast! Guess he had to pull his finger out at some point…

Remember, if you want to get in touch with the podcast, please do: ign_ukfeedback@ign.com

IGN UK Podcast #528:Spunky Ticker

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• IGN UK Podcast #527: Mother: Unleashed
• IGN UK Podcast #526: Are There Hedgehogs on the Moon?
• IGN UK Podcast #525: The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Vincent D’Onofrio
• IGN UK Podcast #524: Final Fantasy 7 Remake Hype
• IGN UK Podcast #523: Doom Eternal Might Be the Best FPS… Ever?

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Director Paul WS Anderson made no fewer than six Resident Evil movies with star (and wife) Milla Jovovich. The pair have now moved on to another big video game adaptation–Monster Hunter–which hits theaters in September. The first posters have been released.

There are two posters. One shows Jovovich in the role of Lieutenant Artemis, while the other has Thai martial arts star Tony Jaa as a character simply known as The Hunter. Fans of the game will immediately recognise the weapons on display here–Jovovich is wielding what seems to be the Giant Jawblade, while Jaa is holding a bow that could well be the Great Hunter’s Bow. Check them out below:

Monster Hunter’s story focuses on a group of human soldiers–led by Artemis–who are transported to an alien world populated by monsters. Artemis and The Hunter must team up to fight back against the terrifying creatures. The cast also includes Sons of Anarchy star Ron Perlman and rapper-turned-actor T.I. Harris, and the movie releases on September 4.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Epic Games and industry analyst SuperData are squaring off after a report claimed Fortnite’s earnings had dropped to their lowest level since 2017.

It began when SuperData put out a monthly games industry earnings report for January 2020. The report placed Fortnite as the 7th highest earner on console, but outside of the top 10 on PC and mobile, and summed up the game’s performance by saying the game’s “earnings continued their gradual decline and hit their lowest level since November 2017.”

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Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, an Epic spokesperson subsequently called SuperData’s reports “wildly inaccurate”, although didn’t go so far as to point specifically at this latest one:

“SuperData does not and has not ever had access to Epic’s Fortnite revenue data, and SuperData’s reports do not accurately reflect Fortnite’s performance. We are disappointed that SuperData has repeatedly published wildly inaccurate reports about Fortnite based on what we believe is questionable methodology. While we do not and have not publicly shared revenue numbers for Fortnite, we will say that SuperData’s reports do not align with reality.”

This is particularly notable as it’s become increasingly rare to see Epic reach out to press about Fortnite, particularly around the hugely successful battle royale’s financial success.

SuperData, however, has hit back. The analyst told GI.biz that it stands by the results, and saying it has “a proven methodology and validation process”. Epic has yet to reply.

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It’s an unusual squabble to see occur so publicly, and draws attention to how secretive the games industry – most particularly its top earners – tend to be about financial matters. Much of the analysis of in-game earnings tends to come from educated guesswork by analysts – and it remains to be seen how accurate SuperData is in this instance.

Fortnite recently launched the second season of Chapter 2, and has added everything from Deadpool, to rickrolling, to mythic weapons. But is it all just a game? Ninja doesn’t think so, and the Internet and lots and lots of opinions about that.

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If you love the undead returning to life, only to crave human flesh, and the hordes of other zombie movies and TV shows released in the last decade don’t do it for you, then you may be happy to learn that Syfy is making a new series. It’s based on George Romero’s 1985 movie Day of the Dead–and hopefully, the virus wasn’t created by space spores.

Syfy has ordered a 10-episode series, and the show will take place during the first 24 hours of the zombie apocalypse and revolved around six strangers trying to survive according to The Wrap. The team of Jed Elinoff (The Banana Splits Movie) and Scott Thomas (R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour) will serve as showrunners for the upcoming series.

The original Day of the Dead film takes place in a world where zombies have already taken over. A group of scientists and military officers live in an underground bunker. When the military finds out the scientists have been using undead soldiers for their experiments, the scientists are banished to the caves. Also, zombies are invading the bunker, and one of them knows how to use a gun.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Xbox Series X is coming out later this year, but with forwards compatibility, you can still pick up an Xbox One X and play games like Halo Infinite, even if you don’t pick up the new console right away.

Right now you can save big on Xbox One X console bundles, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Xbox Live Gold, and a bunch of Xbox One games at Walmart (all of which will work with the next generation of Xbox gaming).

Best Deal: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Bundle for $299

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• Get it at Walmart for $299

If you’ve been looking for some 3rd-person action set in the Star Wars universe, and you don’t have an Xbox One X yet, now is the time to strike.

This Xbox One X console bundle has 1TB of storage space and comes with Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Deluxe Edition, as well as one month of EA Access, Xbox Live, and Xbox Game Pass. It originally cost $499, but now you can save $200 and get it for $299 at Walmart with free 2-day delivery.

NBA 2K20 Bundle for $299

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• Get it at Walmart for $299

If you prefer the court to fantastical worlds, this Xbox One X console bundle has 1TB of storage space and comes with NBA 2K20, as well as one month of Xbox Live and Xbox Game Pass.

It used to be $499, but now you can save $200 and pick it for $299 at Walmart with free 2-day delivery.

3 Months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $24.99

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• Get it on Amazon for $24.99
• Get it at Walmart for $24.99

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is the gift that keeps on giving. Gain access to over 100 games on both Xbox One consoles and Windows 10, as well as Xbox Live Gold for the duration.

This 3-Month package normally costs $44.99, but right now you can get it for $24.99 at Walmart or Amazon so you can try every first-party Xbox title, and a whole lot more, for a lot less than the normal asking price.

Other Xbox One Deals

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare for $44.99 – Get it at Walmart
• Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order for $39 – Get it at Walmart
• Madden NFL20 for $25 – Get it at Walmart
• Borderlands 3 for $23 – Get it at Walmart
• The Outer Worlds for $35 – Get it at Walmart
• WWE 2K20 for $29.95 – Get it at Walmart
• Forza Horizon 4 for $29 – Get it at Walmart
• Rainbow Six: Siege for $14.99 – Get it at Walmart
• 3 Months Xbox Live Gold for $14.99 – Get it at Walmart

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Brian Barnett writes news, features, wiki guides, deals posts, and much more for IGN. You can get your fix of Brian’s antics on Twitter and Instagram (@Ribnax).