Month: February 2020

Scientists have picked up on a strange radio signal coming from outer space which seems to repeat in a noticeable pattern.

The Independent reports that although these aren’t the first fast radio bursts scientists have observed, they may well be the most unusual thanks to the regular and predictable pattern in which they occur. Fast radio burst is a term used in radio astronomy to describe very short transient radio bursts, usually under a few milliseconds long. They are said to be caused by unknown, extreme, and unusual places in space.

These oddly regular bursts were picked up by the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment, which looks specifically for fast radio bursts to determine their origin. In a paper, the scientists described the repetition and pattern as “an important clue to the nature of this object”. They repeat in a 16-day cycle, appearing frequently for four days, occurring at least every hour, and then dropping quiet for the other 12.

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While researchers aren’t sure exactly what’s causing it, they have narrowed the signal down to likely be emanating from the edge of a huge spiral galaxy around 500 million light years away. It is also likely to be from a binary system and could potentially be being disrupted by a black hole, based on previously detected objects with similar characteristics.

Other theories for sources of fast radio bursts even include potential communications from far away alien races, though probably unlikely.

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In other cool space news, while signs of liquid on water on Mars have been confirmed for years, a new study has shown a lake on Mars held salty, mineral filled water.

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]Hope Corrigan is an Australian freelance writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

Two SNES game never before released in the United States are being added to the Nintendo Switch Online lineup for February 2020.

According to Business Wire, the two SNES games coming to Nintendo Switch Online on February 19 – Pop’n TwinBee and Smash Tennis – have never had official releases in North America before now. They will be joined by two NES titles – Shadow of the Ninja and Eliminator Boat Duel.

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Pop’n TwinBee is a vertically scrolling top down shooter developed by Konami which released in 1993 in Japan and then also in PAL regions but never made it to the United States. Smash Tennis also released in 1993, but was under the name Super Family Tennis in Japan and made by Namco. It gained the title Smash Tennis when it released in Europe in 1994.

These two titles bring the number of SNES games available on Nintendo Switch Online to 52 since they became available back in September 2019. This makes it a grand total of 78 games on the service which include other cool unreleased games like Star Fox 2, which came out in last December’s offering.

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If you haven’t looked into a Nintendo Switch Online membership yet, you can find out how to set up the most cost-effective membership for multiple people here.

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]Hope Corrigan is an Australian freelance writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

Warning: this review contains full spoilers for The Flash: Season 6, Episode 11. If you need a refresher on where we left off, here’s our review for Season 6, Episode 10.

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It’s almost Valentine’s Day, which usually means The Flash is taking a break from weightier matters to dabble in romantic drama and more lighthearted hero/villain conflicts. And given that we’re only two episodes removed from Crisis, why not? What’s the harm in a little goofy fun before the show dives headlong into its new Mirror Master storyline? “Love Is a Battlefield” manages to shift the series in a sillier direction without completely losing sight of the threads introduced in the midseason premiere. In the process, it even manages to do something fun with one of the series’ more frustrating villains.

Though “Love Is a Battlefield” builds directly on the terrific cliffhanger ending from last week, it makes a point of not resolving that cliffhanger. If anything, there’s a fun dose of tension to this followup. We don’t know what exactly happened to Iris when she was dragged into Eva McCulloch’s mirror dimension. What does she remember? Is this even the real Iris? Those questions become all the more urgent as Iris begins acting strangely hostile and reckless and pushing Barry away in a time when they should be savoring the holiday and their happy ending from Crisis.

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The tension works because Mirror Iris is never portrayed in such a way as to seem totally out of character. It’s not unreasonable to assume that Iris really is fed up with being the damsel in distress and having Barry’s metahuman woes constantly getting in the way of their relationship. Nor is it a huge leap to believe Iris would take the end of Crisis as an opportunity to reinvent herself and carpe diem her heart out. If anything, this series has established that a gung-ho, aggressive Iris is the way to go.

So with that in mind, it’s almost a disappointment to get confirmation in the closing stinger that the real Iris has been replaced by a mirror version. I wouldn’t necessarily mind if this transformation were a genuine evolution for her. But a lot rests on how the series proceeds with the Mirror Master conflict. We need a better sense of how Iris and her mirror self are linked and what makes these mirror clones different from alternate universe doppelgangers. There’s no point in casting judgment just yet.

This episode also stands out for making unusually solid use of Amunet Black. Katee Sackhoff has always been enjoyable in the role – clearly she’s having a blast hamming it up in each and every scene – but Amunet always tends to be reserved for the most forgettable, throwaway storylines. Granted, this week’s conflict is a very low stakes one. The writers practically have to bend over backwards to justify Barry not bringing Amunet to justice in a split second. But it’s a fun conflict nonetheless, and one that makes excellent use of the romantic tension between Amunet and her equally ostentatious ex-lover, Goldface. And however silly the main story is this week, it does succeed in giving Amunet something resembling depth and humanity.

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Unfortunately, while the main Iris/Amunet conflict this week works as both a fun romp and a prelude of things to come for the Mirror Master conflict, the B-plot falls completely flat. Season 6 has yet to really justify adding Allegra to the mix. Even the reveal that she’s apparently the long-lost daughter of Nash is doing nothing to boost Allegra’s standing. Like I said last week, we’ve already done the “Harrison Wells tries to reconnect with his angsty daughter” shtick, and there’s little appeal in returning to that well now. Why is this plot twist even needed? Those few moments this episode spends in exploring Nash’s lingering guilt over his role in Crisis argue that the character already has all the dramatic fodder he needs without the family angle.

Even ignoring the Nash factor, Allegra’s struggle this week fails to make her a more interesting character. Heck, most of her arc happens off-screen, in between pep talks with Frost. It’s enough to wish Frost herself had been the focal point of this subplot, as she tries to embrace her newly independent existence by trying her luck at love. Maybe next year.

Nintendo has announced the free NES games that Nintendo Switch Online subscribers can grab in February–and there are four in total coming this month.

These include the “cute-’em-up” shooter Pop’n TwinBee and the 16-bit tennis game, Smash Tennis, for SNES, as well as the NES games Shadow of the Ninja and Eliminator Boat Duel.

Both titles arrive in the Switch’s US eShop on February 19. With the new additions, there will be 52 NES games in the library and 26 SNES titles for a total of 78 freebies for subscribers.

Check out the video above to see these titles in action. GameSpot’s managing editor, Peter Brown, speaks highly of Shadow of the Ninja in particular. He says, “Shadow of the Ninja is a sick-ass NES game and you can quote me on that.”

In other Nintendo news, the company has confirmed that the Coronavirus outbreak will not impact Switch sales in the west, while the new Pokemon subscription service, Pokemon Home, is now available across Switch, iOS, and Android.

Pokemon Home, the cloud-based Pokemon storage service, is now live on Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.

Pokemon Home allows trainers around the world to manage their collection of Pokemon across multiple games, trade with others, participate in Wonder Box and the Global Trade System, and much more.

After downloading the free Pokemon Home App on either Nintendo Switch, iOS, or Android, users will also be given the option to upgrade to a Premium Plan for $2.99 (£2.69 on Switch / £2.99 on smartphones) for one month, $4.99 ($4.49 on Switch / £4.99 on smartphones) for three months, or $15.99 (£14.49 on Switch / £15.99 on smartphones) for 12 months.

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The Premium Plan allows for transferring of Pokemon from Pokemon Bank to Pokemon Home, raises the deposited Pokemon limit from 30 to 6,000, lets users place 10 Pokemon in Wonder Box instead of 3 and have 3 Pokemon in Global Trade System instead of 1, allows for players to host in addition to participate in Room Trade, and gives the ability to utilize the Judge function.

It’s also important to note that there are differences between the Nintendo Switch version and mobile phone versions. The Nintendo Switch version of Pokemon Home does not allow for trading, receiving Mystery Gifts, and checking Battle Data and News.

The mobile version, on the other hand, does not let trainers move Pokemon from Pokemon Sword, Pokemon Shield, Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu!, and Pokemon: Let’s Go, Eevee! or exchange Pokemon Home Points for BP (Battle Points).

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Pokemon Home will not be compatible with Pokemon GO at launch, but that functionality is currently being worked on. Unfortunately, there is no time table for its release.

Pokemon Home will essentially replace the need for Pokemon Bank, and to learn more, be sure to check out our Pokemon Home Wiki Guide.

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Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

While the fans and critics have all weighed in on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker to divisive results, there are many who have been waiting to hear what The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson thinks of the film. Now, the wait is over. Johnson spoke to MTV while walking the red carpet for the 2020 Academy Awards and shared how he felt after watching JJ Abrams complete the Skywalker Saga.

“I had a blast, man,” Johnson said. “Made me so proud and seeing the heart and soul that JJ put into it. And seeing my friends who were in the movie just like, bring the whole thing to a conclusion. Yeah, for me as a Star Wars fan, it was a really special experience.”

Johnson clearly enjoyed himself watching the film, although he didn’t get into any specifics. If anything, Johnson would have reason to be miffed at how The Rise of Skywalker unfolded because it seemed to contradict, ignore, and outright retcon numerous things he did in The Last Jedi, from Rey’s parentage to the restoration of the Skywalker saber. Much has been made about how Abrams and co-writer Chris Terrio’s story went out of its way to “fix” things that certain fans didn’t like about The Last Jedi, but Johnson seems unbothered by any of that.

Johnson also seems unbothered by the fact that Kelly Marie Tran’s Rose Tico, a character he created and introduced in The Last Jedi, was only given 90 seconds of screen time in The Rise of Skywalker.

Regardless, Johnson has been enjoying the success of Knives Out, which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay and has just received the green light for a sequel starring Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc. And despite rumors to the contrary, Johnson is still working on a series of new Star Wars movies for Disney.

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Joshua is Senior Features Editor at IGN. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Game of Thrones are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.