Nathan Fillion Seemingly Teases Uncharted News

Actor Nathan Fillion has seemingly teased some kind of Uncharted-related news just days before San Diego Comic-Con is due to kick off. The actor, who is known for his roles on TV and in video games, posted some cryptic teasers on Instagram this week.

The first image shows rapper Drake with the caption “Sic Parvis Magna,” which means “greatness from small beginning,” along with a date of 16 July. Drake, of course, is the name of Uncharted hero Nathan Drake, and the Latin line is inscribed on his ring in the game. A second image posted on Instagram shows an Uncharted-style map and a magnifying glass, again referencing 16 July. You can see both images embedded below.

Sic Parvis Magna. 7/16/18

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Given the timing with Comic-Con coming up, it might be that Fillion is teasing news about the long-in-development Uncharted movie. Fans petitioned for Fillion to play Drake in the film, but Spider-Man actor Tom Holland will play the character in the movie directed by Stranger Things veteran Shawn Levy.

Perhaps Fillion will be hosting a panel about the Uncharted movie at Comic-Con. We’ll know more soon, apparently. According to Variety, Fillion is not involved with the film.

7/16/18

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Fillion is known for TV shows like Firefly, Castle, and Serenity. He also did voicework for the Halo franchise and more recently voiced Cayde-6 in Destiny.

The Uncharted movie is a prequel to the games. Inspiration was drawn from a sequence in Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, which revealed the first encounter between Drake and his longtime buddy, Victor Sullivan.

An Uncharted movie has been in the works for years now, having been announced back in 2009. Actors whose names have been connected to leading roles over the years include Mark Wahlberg, Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, Amy Adams, and Scarlett Johansson. Chris Pratt is among those to pass on the role of Drake.

As for the Uncharted game series, the last entry was 2017’s Uncharted: Lost Legacy, which told the story of Chloe and Nadine, not Nathan Drake. Drake’s story is reportedly wrapped up, and Naughty Dog won’t make any more games in the series. However, future Uncharted games could be made by a different developer.

The First Purge Comes to Halloween Horror Nights 2018

Halloween Horror Nights, the annual nighttime event held at Universal Studios resorts, is receiving a haunted maze based on The First Purge for their Hollywood location.

As reported by Forbes, this haunted maze is modeled after The First Purge film, which will come alive as the Purge surges across the theme park in its inaugural outing. It will reportedly place guests “at the heart of a controversial sociological experiment empowered by the New Founding Fathers of America.”

Credit: Universal Studios

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PS4 Servers Down As PSN Experiencing Issues, Rendering Some Games Unplayable [UPDATE: FIXED!]

[UPDATE] The issues with the PlayStation Network appear to be fixed now, according to the PSN Status website. The original story follows below.

If you’re unable to play a game right now on PS4, it may not just be you. Sony has confirmed that the PlayStation Network is currently suffering from issues which may specifically impact your ability to get online and play games.

“We’re aware that users are having issues accessing some features on PSN,” Sony said through its official Twitter support account. “Thanks for your patience as we investigate.” It doesn’t offer any further specifics, but a look at PSN’s status page identifies the Gaming And Social services as being the problem area. The message there states, “You may have some difficulty launching games, applications, or online features. Our engineers are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible, and we thank you for your patience.”

A variety of game developers have also noted the problems facing players of their games, including Bungie with Destiny 2. It’s unclear what’s causing the issue, though the biggest event of the day is no doubt the launch of Fortnite Season 5, which brought a major new update and all sorts of changes and additions to the popular battle royale game. That game is facing what appear to be its own, unrelated issues on PS4, as Epic’s status page notes that some players are unable to join a party with their friends. Across all platforms, the game is also facing in-game voice chat problems.

We’ll report back as new details are shared.

Microsoft Stock Price Hits An All-Time High

Microsoft’s stock price reached an all-time high at the close of market on Thursday. The Xbox company’s share price ended the day up 2.2 percent to $104.19 per share.

The surge in stock price comes just a week before Microsoft is due to report earnings next on July 19. As Investor’s Business Daily explains, analysts are projecting Microsoft to report strong earnings with earnings-per-share rising 9 percent for the period.

Microsoft is one of the biggest technology companies on this Planet Earth we call home. The company operates across a number of business sectors and segments, including Windows, Enterprise, cloud computing, and more, in addition to Xbox.

At E3 this year, Microsoft announced that it had begun work on the next home console to follow the Xbox One. No further details about this system have been announced, but Xbox boss Phil Spencer said he wanted to show fans–and analysts alike–that Microsoft is committed to the gaming space.

The next big gaming event of 2018 is Gamescom in August. We don’t know what Microsoft may have planned, or if the company is even attending, but all eyes will be on Cologne, Germany next month where some big announcements for the industry overall are expected.

Nintendo Switch Online, Fortnite Season 5, Firmware 6.0, Octopath Traveler, and More! – NVC Ep. 415

Weeelcooome to episode 415 of our weekly Nintendo show and podcast, Nintendo Voice Chat. This week, the NVC crew shares their thoughts on Nintendo’s initiative on cross-play, Warframe for Switch, a possible launch lineup for Nintendo Switch Online, Fortnite Season 5 update, Octopath Traveler, Captain Toad, and much more!

As always, you can watch NVC here on IGN and on our YouTube channel (subscribe and hit that bell! It gives fairies wings!) or listen to it on your commute in audio format. If you enjoy the show, share it with other Nintendo fans, leave us a comment, and give us a thumbs up or leave us a review! If you prefer audio over video, please subscribe to NVC on iTunes or your podcast service of choice. You can also download and listen to the latest episode of NVC Right Here.

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Madden 19 Player Ratings Revealed

The final list of player ratings for Madden NFL 19 have come online, revealing how each NFL player stacks up in this year’s pro football game from EA Sports.

As summarised by Pasta Padre, The Philadelphia Eagles, who won the Super Bowl in February, have nine players rated 90 or above and 26 players rated 80 or above, and are considered the strongest team this year. The Atlanta Falcons, New England Patriots, and New Orleans Saints trail closely behind.

There are seven players rated 99 this year, including New England Patriots QB Tom Brady, Pittsburgh Steelers WR Antonio Brown, Los Angeles Rams defensive ed Aaron Donald, New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, Carolina Panthers middle linebacker Luke Kuechly, Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller, and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Bear in mind that all of these player ratings will change as the season plays out. The 2018-2019 NFL season kicks off in August and runs through February 2019.

You can see all of the player ratings at the EA Sports website. You should also be aware that EA added a dozen new ratings categories for offence, including Short, Medium, and Deep Route running, as well as Run Block Power, Throw Under Pressure, and Break Sack.

As is tradition, some NFL players have responded to their Madden ratings, in particular to voice their displeasure. Leonard Fournette of the Jacksonville Jaguars doesn’t agree with his 87 overall rating. Another oddity this year is that the longsnapper position is apparently not in Madden 19, which means longsnappers are rated as tight ends. And in turn, this meant that some longsnappers had poor overall ratings, like Casey Kreiter of the Denver Broncos, who is taking it all in stride.

Madden 19 launches in August for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, while the game is also coming to PC in a move that marks the franchise’s first time back on PC in a decade. In other news, the game will deliver graphical improvements, not the least of which are advancements to how sweat looks.