Here’s A Picture Of George R.R. Martin At A Grateful Dead Show In Mexico

George R.R. Martin, the wildly successful author of A Song of Ice and Fire, is still writing the sixth entry in the series, The Winds of Winter. But that’s not all that’s keeping him busy.

The novelist apparently attended a recent multi-day Dead and Company concert in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico earlier this month. Here’s a picture of Martin and ESPN Radio Miami host Stugotz at the “Playing in the Sand” concert, as shared by ESPN’s Pablo S. Torre:

In 2014, Martin revealed that he and his wife are big fans of Grateful Dead. “I’m certainly a fan of the Grateful Dead. I’ve attended Grateful Dead concerts and my wife Paris is perhaps even more of a fan… and I do have Grateful Dead lyrics always coming around and rattling around in my head,” he said at the time in an interview with 92Y.

Dead and Company is the new version of Grateful Dead whose lineup includes classic Grateful Dead musicians including Bob Weir and Mickey Hart, along with John Mayer and others.

HBO adapted A Song of Ice and Fire into the award-winning and highly rated show Game of Thrones. The series continues in 2019 with its eighth and final season, though HBO is producing multiple spinoffs that could follow later.

As for the book series, Martin said last year that The Winds of Winter could be released in 2018, though no official announcements have come as of yet.

James Gunn Reminds us That Baby Groot is Groot’s Son

In case you missed it, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn has confirmed that yes, the original Groot is totally dead. Sorry.

Though he’s said this before, Gunn recently clarified in a tweet that Baby Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is Groot’s son, not a baby version or a clone of Groot himself.

“First Groot is dead,” wrote Gunn. “Baby Groot is his son.”

Gunn’s tweet has sparked a lot of discussion over the nature of plants reproducing. Feel free to browse this (highly entertaining) thread at your leisure.

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More Free Xbox One And Xbox 360 Games Available Now

It looks like March 2018’s free Games With Gold titles on Xbox One and Xbox 360 are rolling out early. On Xbox One, you can now download the motorcycle platforming game Trials of the Blood Dragon for the low, low price of $0.00. A physics-based motorcycle platforming game from Ubisoft, Trials of the Blood Dragon is a spinoff of sorts from the main Trials series that incorporates the aesthetic of another Ubisoft game, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon.

On Xbox 360, you can pick up Brave: The Video Game completely free. Based on the Pixar movie of the same name, the Brave video game puts you into the role of Merida in mythical Scotland. The game, which plays on Xbox One through backwards compatibility, also incorporates motion controls through the Kinect camera.

You can download Trials of the Blood Dragon and Brave: The Video Game now on your Xbox console or through the Xbox.com links here: Trials of the Blood Dragon; Brave.

Trials of the Blood Dragon is free on Xbox One throughout all of March, while Brave: The Video Game is free until March 15. Then on March 16, Xbox One owners can grab the first-person shooter Superhot for free, while the puzzle-platformer Quantum Conundrum will go free on Xbox 360 on that date. Also note that one of February’s free Xbox One Games With Gold titles, Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: India, will stay free until March 15.

Even though March 2018’s free Games With Gold titles are already out, February’s are still free. So be sure to act quickly to grab games like Shadow Warrior and Crazy Taxi now while you still can.

Beyond: What Happens After You Release an Indie Game?

This week, join Max Scoville, Brian Altano, Chloi Rad, and special guest Luis Hernandez, half of Necrophone Games, the two-man studio behind indie first-person cyberpunk comedy adventure game Jazz Punk. Luis gives some insight into the arduous process of making a game, getting it on consoles, and then… What next? Retirement? DLC? Next-gen ports?

Meanwhile, Chloi reviewed Metal Gear Survive, which on closer inspection, has some Silent Hill DNA. Max, Brian, and Luis all weigh in on Moss, the long-awaited PSVR game about the adventures of a little mouse. The mouse is a girl mouse, regardless what Brian thinks. Anyway, the mouse game is a wonderful use of virtual reality.

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SEGA Removes Yakuza 6 Demo Because Players Were Able to Unlock Full Game

The Yakuza 6: The Song of Life Demo has been removed from the US PlayStation Store after SEGA discovered users were able to unlock the full game.

The official SEGA Twitter account issued an apology today for having to remove the demo for the latest Yakuza title.

The tweet explains that some players were able to use the demo to unlock the full game without paying for the full game, which isn’t too surprising given its whopping 36.53GB download size.

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Free Stuff Available In Metal Gear Survive, As Dev Apologizes For Issues

Metal Gear Survive launched earlier this month on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. It didn’t get the best review scores, and to make matters more difficult, the game suffered from some server issues. Developer Konami has now apologised for those problems and announced that it will give away free in-game currency to try to make up for the issues. Not only that, but a new patch has been rolled out to address balance issues and more.

“We know there’s been some bumps during launch and we’re working hard to sort out the final issues,” Konami wrote on Twitter. To make up for the problems, Konami is giving away 100 SV coins and 1 Premium boost pass to everyone who created an avatar in the game before February 27. If you did, you only need to log in to redeem your bonuses.

As for the new patch, Metal Gear Survive has been updated to tweak the balance for the Clear Rank requirement on hard-level co-op missions. Additionally, and proving that patch notes are The Best™, this patch “fixe[s] a recipe for custom undergarments.” You can see the full patch notes in the tweet embedded above.

Finally, Konami mentioned in a follow-up tweet that the issue related to Support Defender characters mysteriously vanishing has now been fixed. “Thank you for your understanding, patience, and support,” the studio wrote.

GameSpot’s Metal Gear Survive review scored the game a 5/10.

“For the most part, Metal Gear Survive feels oppressive, demanding, and obtuse, and needlessly so,” reviewer Tamoor Hussain said. “It’s a shame because there’s actually a good survival game in there, but the pressures it places on you make uncovering and enjoying that unappealing. Over time the ability to manage thirst and hunger becomes slightly more manageable, especially if you play the multiplayer, but the lead up to that is debilitating. There’s some satisfaction to be had if you persevere and savor the small victories, but you’ll quickly find yourself thinking about if your time would be better spent playing something else.”

HyperX Alloy Elite RGB Review

Be sure to visit IGN Tech for all the latest comprehensive hands-on reviews and best-of roundups. Note that if you click on one of these links to buy the product, IGN may get a share of the sale. For more, read our Terms of Use.

The HyperX brand has branched out considerably in recent years, and most recently the company has started releasing mechanical gaming keyboards. It seems like with each new keyboard we get more features, and with its new HyperX Alloy Elite RGB (See it on Amazon) it seems like they’ve finally completed the cycle, since it has pretty much everything you’d expect in a flagship RGB keyboard. Though this is a “new” model, it’s basically the Alloy Elite but with RGB lighting. At $170, its in direct competition with other high-end mechanical decks like the Corsair K95 Platinum and Razer BlackWidow Chroma V2. But does it have the chops to stand with the best?

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Dragon Ball FighterZ Patch Notes Include Bug Fixes And More

A new patch is coming soon for the Dragon Ball FighterZ, and it’ll make changes to the fighting game’s modes, characters, and other features. The complete patch notes were posted on the Bandai Namco Facebook page and can be seen in full below.

For the training mode, this patch fixes a bug that caused the Assist Gauge to replenish when the player continuously guards and another that fixes an animation issue. There is also a new feature added in the patch called Party Match; this allows you to find matches with five other players. Additionally, the controller will now rumble in Ranked and Casual modes when the game has found an opponent; a small change, but a welcome-sounding one.

In terms of character changes, do not expect balance changes, but instead bug fixes. Specifically, the update fixes a bug that stopped Goku Black from vanishing after using the special move “The Work of a God” after an Ultimate Z change. Additionally, there was a bug that stopped Frieza from using the “You Must Die by My Hand” movie when on the ground in some circumstances, but this new patch will fix that.

Dragon Ball FighterZ is available now on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Critic Peter Brown awarded the title a 9/10 in GameSpot’s Dragon Ball FighterZ review and said, “Even if you think Dragon Ball is old hat, and even if you’re intimidated by fighting games, there’s a good chance you’ll be drawn into the explosive action and personalities that expertly evoke the anime’s infectious spirit.”

If you’re still new to the Dragon Ball fighting game, we’ve put together a guide of tips and everything you need to know about Dragon Ball FighterZ. We’ve also detailed how to find all the Dragon Balls and summon Shenron during a match, as well as how to unlock Android 21, Super Saiyan Blue Goku, and Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta.

Dragon Ball FighterZ Patch Notes:

MODES

  • PARTY MATCH: Added the Party Match feature which enables automatic match-up with 5 other players to play a Party Match.
  • REPLAY CHANNEL: Expanded Replay Channel functions (added “Followed Player Channel” and “Search Channel”) – Previous replay data will be deleted
  • RANKED MATCH / CASUAL MATCH: Added controller vibration to indicate when an opponent has been found
  • ARCADE MODE: Added “Return to Character Selection” and “Return to Course Selection” after completing a course
  • TRAINING MODE: Fixed a bug that shows the Dragon Balls collection animation while options were set on “Do not display”
  • TRAINING MODE: Fixed a bug that made the Assist Gauge recover when player guards continuously
  • BATTLE TUTORIAL: Fixed a bug that prevented the UI to be displayed properly when player passes the objective right after the beginning of the match

CHARACTERS

  • GOKU BLACK: Fixed a bug that prevented the character to disappear when Goku Black’s Special Move ” The Work of a God ” was used after an Ultimate Z Change
  • ANDROID 21: Fixed bug that prevented Android 21 from disappearing immediately after she is called in for a Z-Assist and the main character takes damage
  • ANDROID 21: Fixed a red visual bug when Android 21 is called in for a Z-Assist and the main character takes damage
  • FRIEZA: Fixed a bug that prevents Frieza to properly use “You Must Die by My Hand!” when lying on the ground after his Golden Frieza transformation
  • HIT: Fixed a bug that prevents the “Super Ghost Kamikaze Attack” effect to disappear when used during Ultimate Z Change and Hit’s Meteor Special Attack
  • HIT: Fixed a bug that prevents the Z-Assist character to disappear when the main character is damaged at the very same moment by Hit’s “I Keep Improving” attack
  • TIEN: Fixed a bug that makes a character invisible when both the main character and Z-Assist character are damaged by Tien’s attack “Farewell, Tien…”
  • CAPTAIN GINYU: Fixed a bug that allows Ultimate Z Change to be performed with less than 3 gauges after performing “Powerful Energy Wave”
  • MAJIN BUU: Fixed a bug that makes the opponent invincible if Majin Buu’s “Standing Light – Follow Up 2” and the opponent’s Super Dash hit simultaneously
  • ANDROID 18: Fixed a bug of voice/mouth synchronization when special dialogues are played against Piccolo and Vegeta

OTHER FEATURES

  • SHENRON: Fixed a bug that prevents Destructive Finish and Stage Destruction effects to appear with a character resurrected by Shenron
  • SUPPORT CHARACTERS: Fixed a bug that prevents voices of Support Characters (like Android 17 or Ginyu Force) to be played normally when called into battle
  • DRAGON RUSH: Fixed a bug that reversed the guard controls when a character is being changed by a Dragon Rush