Africa’s week in pictures: 24 – 30 April 2020
Quiz of the Week: On UFOs, lockdown loosening and more
Coronavirus: Inside story of Spain’s care home tragedy
Coronavirus: President Trump’s testing claims fact-checked
Coronavirus in Ghana: Online funerals, face masks and elections without rallies
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Details And Apex Legends’ New Character Revealed
Xbox Boss Is Confident Xbox Series X Will Launch On Schedule, But Games Are Another Question
Xbox boss Phil Spencer has commented on the impact of COVID-19 on Microsoft’s plans to launch the Xbox Series X and new games on schedule.
Speaking to CNBC, Spencer said he feels confident that the Xbox Series X hardware will be able to launch on time this Holiday period. He said there was “some impact to schedules” for the hardware, but his team has been able to overcome those. Overall, Spencer said Microsoft is in line with its expectations for where it would be at this point in the year as it relates to the Xbox Series X hardware.
As for games, however, that’s a different story. Spencer said the nature of large-scale game development means that the work-from-home setup may lead to production slowdown.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Trailer Breakdown; Story, Viking History, Hidden Blade, And More
Within the wave of news amid the official announcement of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, developers at Ubisoft did their own breakdown of the reveal trailer. The four-minute cinematic trailer showcases the game’s Viking era setting, story premise, and what’s to come from gameplay. However, there are plenty of key details that the trailer doesn’t spell out.
In the video below, you can watch creative director Ashraf Ismail and narrative director Darby McDevitt talking through the trailer with Ubisoft news editor Youssef Maguid. They gave broader context for specific scenes and spoke about the approach for depicting Vikings with their culture and history in mind, and how the trailer also contains gameplay details. There’s also a hint as to how the new protagonist Eivor might be connected to the Assassins.
We have this next game in the storied franchise covered from all angles; be sure to read our own interview with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla narrative director Darby McDevitt for an even deeper dive into the game’s story. While a male protagonist is portrayed in the trailer, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will let players choose between a male and female lead. There are also a few details on how Assassin’s Creed Valhalla uses next-gen console features.
Space Jam 2 Title Finally Revealed
The sequel to the 1996 basketball and Looney Tunes film, Space Jam, has finally been given a title. In an Instagram post on Thursday, LeBron James revealed that the title for the long-awaited next installment will be called “Space Jam: A New Legacy”.
The Space Jam sequel has a new title:#SpaceJam A New Legacy, ushered in by LeBron James and Bugs Bunny in 2021. pic.twitter.com/JvQttk10cU
— Fandango (@Fandango) April 30, 2020
The original film came out over 25 years ago and starred Bill Murray, Wayne Knight, Theresa Randle, and also featured cameos by Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Muggsy Bouges, Larry Johnson, and Shawn Bradley. The plot centered around Micheal Jordan during his brief period of retirement during the 90s, with the cast of the Looney Tunes desperately trying to rope Jordan into a basketball match against a team of aliens for the Earth.
Space Jam: A New Legacy is rumored to have a full cast of famous basketball players like the original, including a mix of players from the NBA and WNBA.