Month: March 2020

Locke and Key, the Netflix show based on the graphic novel of the same name, has been renewed for Season 2.

Announced by Netflix on the Locke and Key social platforms, the show is due to return for a second season. No date has been announced yet – potentially due to the continued uncertainty around COVID-19 that has caused Netflix to halt production on many shows – but showrunners Carlton Cuse and Meredith Averill will return to helm Season 2.

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The announcement provides no details on what to expect from Season 2, aside from mentioning that the “stakes grow higher” for the Locke family. Fans who have already read the original graphic novel by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez may have a few ideas of where the show is heading, though. If you were left confused where things left off, take a look at our Locke and Key ending explained story.

We already knew that more episodes were on the way thanks to executive producer Carlton Cuse saying that season 2 was already being written ahead of the Season 1 premiere and Netflix even ordering it.

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The first season of Locke and Key launched February 7 this year, and was well received by us. Our own David Griffin gave Season 1 a good write up in his review, noting the great visuals and performances, but criticising the decision to lean more on whimsy than horror. Perhaps a second season will increase the spook factor.

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Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter. 

Nemesis is out for blood and all we can do is run. Check out 4 minutes of Nemesis chasing us down with a rocket launcher.

Resident Evil 3 Remake is out this week, offering another dose of zombie survival-horror in the style of last year’s Resident Evil 2 Remake. This time the focus turns to Nemesis, the ever-present danger who defined the original. But how long can you expect to be on the run from this looming threat?

A standard critical path run through RE3 will take you about six hours, while taking your time to gather all the collectibles will last roughly 11-plus hours. That means getting all of the weapon upgrades and secrets, opening all of the locks, and finding all of the bobbleheads.

Resident Evil 3 is coming alongside Resident Evil Resistance, a standalone multiplayer mode that pits four survivors against one mastermind controlling the output of zombie hordes. A final open beta for Resistance was planned recently, but the PC and PS4 versions ran into technical problems and had to be postponed.

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Editor’s note: This review in progress covers the single-player content of Resident Evil 3. We will be playing the multiplayer part of the Resident Evil 3 package, Resistance, over the next few days and finalizing this review once we’ve fully tested the mode.

The opening hours of Resident Evil 3 are incredibly effective at putting you on edge. A remake of the original 1999 game, Resident Evil 3 puts the volatile and intense conflict between protagonist Jill Valentine and the unrelenting force of nature, Nemesis, front and center–giving way to some strong survival horror moments that show off the best of what the series can offer. But after that solid start, this revisit to a bygone era not only loses track of the type of horror game that Resident Evil once was, but also loses sight of what made the original so memorable.

Much like 2019’s Resident Evil 2, the remake of Resident Evil 3 interprets the classic survival horror game through a modern lens, redesigning locations and altering key events to fit a significantly revised story. Resident Evil 3 doesn’t deviate too much from the formula set by the RE2 remake, but it does lean harder into the action-focused slant the original version of RE3 had, giving you some greater defensive skills to survive. RE3’s introduction is a strong one, conveying a creeping sense of paranoia and dread that’s synonymous with the series, and Jill Valentine once again proves herself to be a confident protagonist to take everything head-on.

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If you love gaming and you love books, there are some excellent deals happening at Amazon today to help you combine two excellent passions into one. Not only are there some great books on sale, but you can get a $5 credit when you spend $20 on eBooks at Amazon.

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All of Boss Fight Games’ Kindle books are just $4.99 right now, making them a great value as far as a productive way to pass the time. Being on sale is great in and of itself, but the chance to read some incredible insight into the best video games of all time, written by people whose works you might already be familiar with, is even better.

Way back in the 1950s, reading was the exclusive domain of nerds. If you read a lot of books, people would hurl old-timey insults at you, like “bookworm.” There’s a famous episode of The Twilight Zone where a man’s bookishness is both his salvation and his ironic downfall. Thankfully we’ve come a long way since then, and reading is not only encouraged, but it’s widely considered a admirable way to spend your free time.

If you’d rather listen to books than read them, Amazon has a 30-day free trial for Audible. If you prefer comics, the ComiXology free trial has been extended to 60-days, with over 25,000 books to choose from.

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Nvidia’s solution for ray-tracing has been implemented only in parts in most big-budget releases. Battlefield 5 utilizes it for reflections, while Metro: Exodus uses it instead more realistic shadows and ambient occlusion. Very few games use ray-tracing throughout their rendering, which is why Minecraft with RTX is such a big step forward for the technology.

Coming soon to Windows versions of the game (and later this year to the Xbox Series X), Minecraft with RTX is one of the first big tests for full ray-traced rendering, following the likes of Quake II RTX from last year. Its worlds are fully path-traced, meaning every shadow, reflection, illumination and effect is bounced off of physically based textures that are applied to every one of Minecraft’s many blocks.

It’s impressive technology that truly has to be seen to be believed, which is why Nvidia drafted three Minecraft creators to show off the benefits of RTX in three differently lit scenes. Below you can see screenshots from creators Razzleberries, BlockWorks and GeminiTay respectively, showing how the enhanced lighting note only illuminates structures in new ways, but adds a sense of vibrancy to them thanks to the per-pixel ambient light calculations from reflections.

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If you’re sitting around at home this week, you’re probably interested in what’s coming to Netflix in the upcoming days. There are new movies, TV shows, anime, and originals headed to the streaming service this week. Check out the full list below along with a few recommendations.

On April 1, a slew of new movies arrives to Netflix, including some classic action movies you should watch. All four Lethal Weapon movies are coming to the series this week. So if you love explosions, people being days away from retirement while saying, “I’m too old for this s***,” and the sexiest saxophone music the world has to offer, then you may want to enjoy the adventures of Riggs and Murtaugh. Also arriving that day is the cult classic horror film Killer Klowns from Outer Space. The whole plot description is in the title, so you know what it’s about.

If you’re looking for something from the world of anime, there are a couple of selections to check out. On April 1, Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon: S3: Sun & Moon – Ultra Legends will be available for streaming. This is actually Season 22 of the main Pokémon anime, and the show still follows Ash on his quest to catch them all. Additionally, Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll arrives, and the anime is about a woman who takes a job as a letter writer after a great war. The first season of the show is currently available on Netflix.

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Reports claim that a remastered version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will launch tomorrow, March 31.

Eurogamer reports that a PlayStation Store listing for the game, which has since been removed, is accurate and that Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered will launch March 31.

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The rumours of a remastered MW2 campaign have been long standing and come from several sources. Initially, at least in recent history, it began on Reddit, where a datamine into Modern Warfare Season 3 found details of the then unreleased Call of Duty Warzone, as well as details on a MW2 remaster.

Subsequently, Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered was rated by a South Korean games rating board, and a Twitter account called Okami – which previously accurately dated Call of Duty Warzone ahead of launch – suggested Modern Warfare was releasing March 30.

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While there is no sign of the game so far today, Eurogamer reports that it will be the following day. That report suggests that the remaster has actually been finished for a long period of time, with Activision awaiting the right time to release. If reports are true, then it would appear that Activision considers this time as good as any.

The Modern Warfare 2 remaster allegedly only remasters the campaign of the original game. Multiplayer maps from the 2009 favorite are reportedly set to be added to Modern Warfare (2019).

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Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter. 

John Krasinski reunited with his former The Office co-star Steve Carell on the first episode of his new YouTube series, Some Good News.

Krasinski launched a new YouTube channel “dedicated entirely to good news” over the weekend, in which he aims to highlight some positive stories from around the world amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The first newscast featured coverage of global celebrations for health workers and an interview with a young girl who recently finished chemotherapy, alongside a host of other heartwarming stories sent in from the audience.

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In a later segment, Krasinski introduced Carell as his “entertainment correspondent” via video link. The pair reminisced about their favourite moments from NBC’s The Office, which celebrated its 15th anniversary this year. Carell fondly recalled some of the exchanges that took place around the micro flatscreen TV on-set while Krasinski reflected on the day that they filmed their emotional final scene together.

“Some of the most fun memories, personally or professionally, are intertwined and connected with that show,” said Carell, who played office manager Michael Scott in the long-running sitcom. “Without a doubt. Listen I know everyone’s talking about a reunion, hopefully one day, we just get to reunite as people. And just all get to say hi,” added Krasinski, who starred as the affable paper pusher Jim Halpert.

The Office aired on NBC from March 24, 2005, to May 16, 2013, lasting a total of nine seasons. In the years since, there have been rumours of the show being given the revival treatment, with NBC President Bob Greenblatt saying it could be possible, though it might not include the complete original cast. Krasinski, however, previously said he would be open to the idea of reprising his role in the future.

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John Krasinski joins a host of other celebrities offering lighter entertainment options while in isolation. Seth MacFarlane recently launched a podcast hosted by Family Guy’s Stewie and Brian, Jodie Whittaker transformed into Doctor Who for an “emergency transmission”, and Sir Patrick Stewart has been reading daily sonnets for his fans.

For a list of recommendations on how best to help, and stay safe, during the Coronavirus pandemic, please read our resource guide.

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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

A remaster of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is indeed real, according to a PSN listing in Germany. It’s also set to launch far sooner than you might expect, with the revitalized campaign scheduled for tomorrow, March 31. It will retail for 25€ (or an expected $30).

The remaster was leaked previously thanks to a ratings listing on a South Korean Ratings board, after having been rumored to be in development since the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 in 2018. Files pertaining to the remaster were then datamined out of the latest patch for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare over the weekend, before the trailer and release date leaked on PSN in Germany before any official announcement.

The remaster includes only the campaign of Modern Warfare 2, which continues the story of Soap MacTavish and Captain Price, and features the infamous “No Russian” mission. Although the remaster won’t include multiplayer like the original Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare remaster in 2016, some Modern Warfare 2 maps have already been added to 2019’s Modern Warfare.

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