Month: March 2020

The release of upcoming horror sequel A Quiet Place: Part 2 has been delayed due to the coronavius (COVID-19) outbreak. The movie was set to hit US theaters on March 20, but it has been announced that it will now be released at a later date.

Paramount confirmed the delay in a statement, but did not set a new release date. The statement reads, “After much consideration, and in light of the ongoing and developing situation concerning coronavirus and restrictions on global travel and public gatherings, Paramount Pictures will be moving the worldwide release of ‘A Quiet Place Part 2. We believe in and support the theatrical experience, and we look forward to bringing this film to audiences this year once we have a better understanding of the impact of this pandemic on the global theatrical marketplace.”

Director John Krasinski also commented, and stated that he didn’t believe it was the right time to release the film. “One of the things I’m most proud of is that people have said our movie is one you have to see all together,” he said. “Well due to the ever-changing circumstances of what’s going on in the world around us, now is clearly not the right time to do that. As insanely excited as we are for all of you to see this movie. I’m gonna wait to release the film till we CAN all see it together! So here’s to our group movie date! See you soon!”

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Animal Crossing: New Horizons comes out next week, in case you were unaware. In fact, there are 9 excruciating days between now and the release of everyone’s favorite urban planning and fishing simulator. If you’re going crazy with anticipation, we have something that will help soothe your jangled nerves: tons of new Animal Crossing shirts in the IGN Store.

New Animal Crossing Shirts

 

In addition to Animal Crossing: New Horizons and New Leaf designs to help tide you over, we also added have tons of new designs from Nintendo games and characters like The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Super Mario and more.

A Quiet Place: Part II has been delayed one week before it was due to be released as a result of the “ever-changing circumstances” amid the global threat of COVID-19 (aka Coronavirus).

Writer-director John Krasinski announced the delay on Twitter, where he directly addressed Quiet Place fans about the pushback, explaining his new plans to release the movie at a time when everyone can watch it together.

#AQuietPlacePart2…Take2 pic.twitter.com/YrCXLLpxjh

— John Krasinski (@johnkrasinski) March 12, 2020

“One of the things I’m most proud of is that people have said our movie is one you have to see all together,” Krasinski wrote in his post. “Well due to the ever-changing circumstances of what’s going on in the world around us, now is clearly not the right time to do that. As insanely excited as we are for all of you to see this movie .. I’m gonna wait to release the film till we CAN all see it together! So here’s to our group movie date! See you soon!”

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A Quiet Place 2 was slated to begin its international rollout on March 18, with a UK debut expected on March 19 and a US release set for March 20. As of right now, Paramount has not scheduled a new release date for the highly anticipated movie, which is said to be both a prequel and a sequel to 2018’s A Quiet Place.

“After much consideration, and in light of the ongoing and developing situation concerning coronavirus and restrictions on global travel and public gatherings, Paramount Pictures will be moving the worldwide release of A Quiet Place Part II,” the studio said in a statement on Thursday. “We believe in and support the theatrical experience, and we look forward to bringing this film to audiences this year once we have a better understanding of the impact of this pandemic on the global theatrical marketplace.”

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This announcement comes shortly after No Time To Die, James Bond’s latest film, was pushed back from its planned April release to November 2020 “after careful consideration and thorough evaluation of the global theatrical marketplace.”

As previously reported by THR, the coronavirus outbreak may cause a $5 billion loss in the global film industry. Theatres in China have been closed since January, and “the virus is beginning to heavily impact moviegoing in South Korea, Italy and even Japan, the world’s third-biggest film market.”

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A Quiet Place was one of the surprise hits of 2018, taking in $188 million domestic and $340.9 million worldwide from just a $17 million budget – and one of only two original movies to crack the domestic box office top 20, alongside hit rom-com Crazy Rich Asians.

Early reactions to A Quiet Place: Part II have been very positive, with many critics addressing the unrelenting tension and suspense of the follow-up flick, hailing it as a worthy and terrifying successor to Krasinski’s original hit.

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

Nightdive Studios is working to bring back an enhanced version of the 1997 Blade Runner adventure game to PC (via Steam), Xbox One, PS4, and the Nintendo Switch later this year.

Originally developed by Westwood Studios (of Command and Conquer fame), the 1997 Blade Runner game tells a story set in the same cinematic universe, but with different characters. While the main character for the video game is a rookie Blade Runner named Ray McCoy, the events of the game take place at the same time as the 1982 Ridley Scott film.

Some events in the game even intersect with the movie, making the two companions of sorts. Actors from the original film like Sean Young reprised their roles in the video game for cameo appearances.

The Blade Runner video game was stuck in a legal rights battle but was finally re-released on GOG.com in December 2019. Nightdive will utilize its KEX game engine to restore Blade Runner for modern systems, similar to the work done on System Shock: Enhanced Edition, and Turok.

Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition will feature updated character models and animations, upscaled cutscenes, widescreen support, keyboard and controller customization, and other improvements. Nightdive CEO Stephen Kick says however that since so much of the original game was ahead of its time, that the studio will preserve Westwood’s vision and gameplay.

Meanwhile, the former members of Westwood Studios are working on their own remaster of the Command and Conquer series for EA.

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Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.

The 1997 Blade Runner adventure game wasn’t a straight adaptation of Ridley Scott’s film or the original novel, but it received critical acclaim for its deep storytelling and atmosphere. More than two decades later, a new audience is going to get to play the game on everything from PC to Nintendo Switch.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Nightdive Studios and Alcon Entertainment are partnering on a remastered Blade Runner video game for Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Steam. Though the game’s original source code was lost and this could have made a new version impossible, Nightdive reverse-engineered the code and imported it into its own engine. It could then get to making improvements to everything from the character models to resolution.

Dubbed Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition, it’s designed to feel like what you remember rather than how it actually looked. To see for yourself, the original version is available on GOG now.

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For the next week, PC users can snag three great games—Anodyne 2: Return to Dust, A Short Hike, and Mutazione–free of charge at the Epic Games Store. As usual, Epic has also revealed next week’s freebies, so you can already start looking ahead after claiming the new haul. Starting Thursday, March 19, you can grab Watch Dogs and The Stanley Parable. All you need is a free Epic account to claim the freebies, and then they are yours to keep forever.

It’s hard to believe, but Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs is nearly six years old at this point. The 2014 game starring hacker Aiden Pearce earned an 8/10 in GameSpot’s Watch Dogs review. If you haven’t played it, Watch Dogs offers a fun, modern take on Ubisoft’s well-known open-world blueprint and serves as a nice jumping off point to the far bolder and better Watch Dogs 2. The third game in the series Watch Dogs: Legion doesn’t have a release date yet, but it will take the series in an even more ambitious direction thanks to its wildly inventive NPC system.

Originally a Half-Life 2 mod, Davey Wreden’s The Stanley Parable was turned into a standalone game in 2013 and quickly became one of the most talked about indie games around. A walking simulator with no combat or action to speak of really, the game stars a silent protagonist who must make decisions on which route to take in an office building with the help of a narrator. The Stanley Parable is one of those games that’s better enjoyed with as little background information as possible. If you haven’t played it, you should absolutely give it a go. It earned a 9/10 in GameSpot’s The Stanley Parable review. Afterwards, you should check out Wreden’s follow-up, The Beginner’s Guide, which is similarly experimental and equally thought-provoking.

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Grand Theft Auto Online, the huge multiplayer side of GTA 5, has gotten a new update that’s all about motorcycles. The showpiece of the new set is the Nagasaki Shotaro, which carries a distinct Tron-like appearance that’s all the more accented with a limited-time mode focusing on light trails.

Accompanying the hot new ride is a limited-time event offering triple GTA$ and RP from March 12-18 in Deadline mode. In Deadline, the Shotaro leaves a destructive beam of light in its wake, not unlike a certain movie franchise. You can use a special Zoned power-up to slow down the action, Boost to get ahead of your opponents and trap them in your beam, or a Bunny Hop to bounce over your opponents’ trails.

To mark the occasion, the in-game shop is offering 40% off illegal Motorcycle Club properties and business upgrades, and 35% off the Clubhouse Custom Bike Shop. Completing Business Battles will also earn you triple GTA$ and RP.

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