Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone‘s big Season 5 update is nearly here, and now developer Infinity Ward has offered a few more details on what to expect.
Season 5 introduces the Shadow Company, which is a “mysterious new private military company” that is aligned with the Alliance, but in name only.
Grindstone, an Apple Arcade launch title that remains exclusive to the service, has just received a major update full of new content. The Daily Grind update adds a new daily mode, as well as 50 new levels and more.
The new mode is a daily challenge with leaderboards, so you can log in every day and try to dominate. It’s designed with long-term players in mind. You’ll be able to access the new Shrine of Greed and fight your way through four levels to reach a high score.
The new levels introduced bring the game up to 230 levels total, and they can be unlocked with Grindstones. They’ll likely be trickier than what was available in the base game. There’s also new items to unlock, with a new Pickaxe and Goldrush Garb to nab.
Jeff Minter has been delivering strange, unique games since the early 80s, and that trend is going to continue on August 12 with the release of Moose Life. The game, which now has a Steam page with a release date (as picked up on by Eurogamer), is an arcade shooter with VR support.
The game continues on with the style of gameplay Minter pioneered with 1994’s Tempest 2000, meaning that it’s another tube-style shooter made to feel like older Vectrex arcade games.
“Moose Life is the latest step on our journey into euphoric trance,” the Steam page reads. “Created in the style of an 80s arcade game, but in fully immersive 3D/VR. You’ll feel like you are inside the mind of Eugene Jarvis himself.”
The first Halo Infinite campaign footage was released during the July 23 Xbox Games Showcase, and people commented that the graphics left something to be desired. In a new blog post, developer 343 Industries responded to the concerns, stating that the company is trying to make a more “classic”-looking game, while also acknowledging the studio still has work to do to make Halo Infinite look better before launch. The blog post also touched on how Halo Infinite will approach microtransactions.
Regarding the graphics, 343 said there are multiple issues at play here, including the overall art style and the visual fidelity. For the art style, 343 is moving back to the “legacy” look of the original Halo trilogy. The company said it’s doing this based on the feedback surrounding Halo 4, Halo 5, and Halo Wars 2, which had more modern-looking graphics.
“With Halo Infinite, we’re returning to a more ‘classic’ art style which was a key message going back to the very first reveal that garnered enthusiastic and positive responses,” 343 said. “This translates to a more vibrant palette, ‘cleaner’ models and objects with less ‘noise,’ though it doesn’t mean less detail. While we appreciate this may not be everyone’s personal preference, we stand by this decision and are happy to see it resonating with so many fans around the world.”
Amy Adams has signed on for a new film with a wild premise. Deadline is reporting that Adams is attached to star in and produce a film adapted from the upcoming Rachel Yoder novel Nightbitch (that name could change for the cinema release), which will be released through Annapurna Pictures.
The book is a dark comedy about a mother who used to work as an artist, but is now a stay-at-home mother. For one reason or another, the woman believes that she is turning into a dog–hence the name.
Yoder is adapting her own book for the screen, and will serve as executive producer along with Megan Ellison, Sammy Scher, and Sue Naegle. Stacy O’Neil will also produce.
The book is due to be published in Summer 2021, so it’s a while away yet. It’s not the only Amy Adams adaptation on the horizon, either–she recently wrapped on The Woman in the Window, a Joe Wright (Atonement) adaptation of the popular A. J. Finn book.
Adams has been nominated for six Oscars (Junebug, Doubt, The Fighter, The Master, American Hustle, Vice), but has never won. Her time is surely coming.
Grand Theft Auto V has announced this week’s bonuses, discounts, and Lucky Spin prize car, and if you’re a fan of Survival Series of Arena War you’re in luck. These modes will pay out higher than usual this week, so they’re worth jumping into if you need more GTA$.
The Horde Mode-style Survival Series is paying out double rewards all week long, so you’ll be rewarded for enduring at a better rate than usual. Arena War, the game’s large-scale destruction derby-style mode, is paying out double RP and GTA$, but it’s also giving players triple Arena Points this week.
By competing, you can also get 50% off the Apocalypse variant for any vehicles that can be used in this mode.
The Lucky Wheel at the Diamond Casino and Resort can win you a Dinka Sugoi this week, a hatchback without quite as much oomph as some of the game’s other cars, but still a classy little vehicle. Of course, you’ll have to rely on luck to land it.
The U.S. House of Representatives has voted down a measure that would have prevented the military from recruiting on platforms like Twitch. Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez proposed the amendment after the US Army was caught running fake giveaways that would give viewers information to recruiters among other controversies.
The measure would have prevented the military from using video games, esports, and livestreaming services for recruitment, according to Vice. Several branches of the military, including the US Army and Navy, maintain their own esports teams and Twitch channels. The US Army recently paused their recruitment efforts on Twitch after facing backlash.
Numerous controversies regarding the military’s Twitch presence have occurred over the past month. The US Army and the US Navy have been banning viewers who ask or talk about war crimes, which is potentially a violation of the First Amendment right to free speech since the organizations are extensions of the federal government. Twitch recently stopped the US Army from promoting the aforementioned giveaways that would give viewers information to recruiters.