The teaser trailer and stills for 20th Century Studios’ “Avatar: The Way of Water,” which first debuted in theaters on May 6, is available now. James Cameron’s first follow-up to his “Avatar,” the highest-grossing film of all time, will open in theaters on December 16.
Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, “Avatar: The Way of Water” begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure. Directed by James Cameron and produced by Cameron and Jon Landau, the film stars Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clement and Kate Winslet.
To whet audiences’ appetites, the studio will re-release “Avatar” in theaters on September 23.
CCP Games today shared a set of narrative-driven updates on the horizon for spacefaring MMO EVE Online during the 2022 EVE Fanfest Keynote. The introduction of arcs will evolve the Quadrants initiative into a multi-year journey, starting by bringing EVE’s four NPC Empires to the forefront with the addition of consequential story events. An expansion finale to the very first arc will be released in Q4 2022. CCP also continues to invest in future generations of Capsuleers with enhancements to its new player experience, and is set to welcome more players to its iconic MMO with the introduction of a localized Spanish client in late 2022. In addition, CCP announced a partnership with Microsoft that will allow Capsuleers to export data from EVE Online directly into Excel.
Expanding EVE Online’s faction lore, CCP offered the most in-depth look yet at the Caldari homeworld in their trailer here:
Arcs will enable Capsuleers to build stronger ties with their home Empires through dynamic storylines and events, giving players more power to shape New Eden’s living universe. Players can expect improvements to Factional Warfare, infrastructure, and more as arc updates are released, adding further value to player roles and interactions in New Eden. CCP will release more information about EVE’s first narrative-driven arc in the coming months.
“EVE is getting ready to enter its third decade and the future has never been brighter,” Bergur Finnbogason, EVE Online’s Creative Director, said. “With arcs, we’re setting EVE up for the next chapter with a steady stream of narrative-driven content that emphasizes player actions and decisions. Veterans of the Triglavian Invasion may recall the fall of Pochven that altered trade routes and supply chains across New Eden – the narratives coming with arcs can have similar effects. The upcoming stories and events aren’t restricted to veterans, though – with more activities coming soon to the new player experience, all Capsuleers can enjoy EVE’s arcs, regardless of their skill level.”
As part of CCP’s ongoing efforts to enhance EVE Online’s new player experience, Capsuleers taking their first steps in New Eden can soon enroll in the AIR Career Program. The AIR Career Program is an initiative that helps players choose one of EVE’s four distinctive career paths: Explorer, Industrialist, Enforcer, or Soldier of Fortune and presents tailored recommendations from the endless possibilities of EVE Online.
Through the Microsoft partnership, EVE players can add a JavaScript API in Excel to seamlessly export data from EVE Online. Excel feature compatibility will help players access and calculate everything from profit margins to battle strategy, making day-to-day EVE operations easier to execute. The Microsoft integration is another step toward CCP’s goal of making the MMO more accessible for both casual and seasoned players. More information about the Microsoft partnership will be available later this year.
CCP is modernizing EVE Online for the next decade with these additional updates currently in development:
Audio and visual overhauls, including high-resolution nebulae, increased Levels of Detail (LOD) on all in-game models, and improved particle VFX.
Significant improvements to the user interface and explorations into a 3D HUD.
Addition of Structure SKINs, allowing players to customize their buildings in New Eden.
…and more!
EVE Online can be downloaded for free by visiting www.eveonline.com. For all the latest information about the game, please visit EVE News.
Monster movies reigned supreme in the 1950s. When it came time to put butts in seats and cars in drive-ins, producers would throw whatever they could together to crank out a couple of cheap thrills to release as a B-picture. Sometimes this lead to greatness in classics such as I Was A Teenage Werewolf and others it lead to Monster from Green Hell. Recently restored and released on Blu-ray by The Film Detective, is Monster from Green Hell worth a re-appraisal? In short: No.
Feature
It’s not great.
Picture and Audio
Do I have to do this?
Extras and Packaging
Like, seriously, no.
Overall
Okay, fine. You ever had a book report you really didn’t want to write? That’s how I felt approaching this review. I try my hardest to approach every film on its own merits, look for the good in everything. That’s really hard to do with this release.
Monster from Green Hell spins the cautionary tale of what should happen when man in all his hubris loads a rocket ship up with wasps and launches it into a cloud of cosmic radiation for science. Instead of the customary super stretchy, invisible, and flaming wasps one would expect, what results is instead a race of gigantic mega wasps who make their home in a volcano and threaten the people of Central Africa.
As far as cheap thrills go, Monster from Green Hell provides some of the cheapest. Take for instance the fact that the film takes place across Central Africa. This was done specifically because the filmmakers had access to footage from Spencer Tracy’s 1939 film Stanley and Livingstone, making it easy enough to write a story around the existing expedition footage and film new dialogue scenes similar to the Super Sentai to Power Rangers pipeline of the ‘90s.
Then you have the monsters themselves- Stiff wasp puppets, barely capable of movement let alone threatening an entire continent and crudely superimposed over the scenes they’re supposedly attacking. Take these elements, throw in a loose story duct taped together and strung along by constant narration and you have a movie that may best be suited as background noise while you do more important stuff.
Monster from Green Hell is presented with a 4k restoration by The Film Detective and is viewable in either 1.85:1 widescreen or 1.33:1 full screen. The restoration is decent and the black and white tone is consistent throughout. There does happen to be a surprising amount of scratching and debris left but nothing that ruined my viewing. On disc you’ll find a fifteen minute career retrospective on lead actor Jim Davis (no, not the Garfield guy) and a commentary track by comic book artist turned film professor Stephen R Bissette. Included in the clamshell is a booklet featuring an essay Don Stradley that covers mostly the same information found in Bissette’s commentary track. I tend to think of myself as a connoisseur of bad movies. Monster from Green Hell makes the unfortunate error of falling just short of being so-bad-it’s-good and lands with a thud squarely in so-bad-it’s-bad territory. Without much beyond a commentary track to sweeten the deal it becomes hard to find a place for this in my collection let alone recommend to anybody but the most hardcore of 1950’s giant bug movie enthusiasts.
Grinding Gear Games announced today via livestream on Twitch, that Path of Exile‘s latest free expansion, Path of Exile: Sentinel, will launch on Friday, May 13th on PC, and Wednesday, May 18th for PlayStation and Xbox.
During the stream, Grinding Gear Games Co-founder Chris Wilson revealed that the Path of Exile: Sentinel expansion will feature the Sentinel Challenge League, 20 atlas keystone passives, seven uber boss fights, new pinnacle unique items, revamped monster modifiers, game controller support, new quality of life features, a revamped challenge system and much more!
Detailed information for these features is below:
The Sentinel Challenge League –
In Path of Exile: Sentinel, ancient constructs have been unearthed across Wraeclast. You will harness the power of these Sentinels to control your level of risk and reward on the battlefield.
You will uncover and collect Sentinels and take advantage of their great power. When deployed, they follow you for a short time and empower your enemies, greatly increasing both their difficulty and reward.
There are three classes of Sentinels. Stalker Sentinels empower a moderate number of enemies in sequence as you encounter them. Pandemonium Sentinels empower a wide swath of monsters at once in a quick burst. Apex Sentinels only empower rare or unique enemies but have a very strong effect.
Use the Sentinel controller to power your Sentinels and customize their behavior. On the controller, you’ll connect runic nodes with filaments to dictate where the power flows and which behavior is enabled for your Sentinels. You can change these freely to experiment with your desired playstyle.
When your Sentinels run out of charge, they can be combined together with a Power Core to assemble a new, fully-charged Sentinel that inherits properties from both of the husks you disassembled. This hybrid Sentinel may also gain special properties such as an exclusive variant base type or modifiers that can only come from the assembly process.
You may also discover or assemble Unique Sentinels which behave in very specialized and powerful ways
20 Atlas Keystones – We’ve doubled down on the best parts of our recent expansion, Siege of the Atlas, which was very popular with the Path of Exile community. We’re adding 20 new keystone passives to the Atlas-wide passive tree which give you even more control over what type of content you engage with.
Uber Pinnacle Bosses – Six of these new keystones enable uber versions of Path of Exile’s most feared bosses, creating an even more difficult level of combat for our most aspiring players to test themselves again. These boss fights include uber versions of Venarius, Sirius, The Maven, The Searing Exarch, The Eater of Worlds, The Shaper and The Uber elder.
New Unique Items – In our Siege of the Atlas boss kill event, several of our most experienced players earned the right to design unique items, which are being introduced in Path of Exile: Sentinel! These new unique items drop from The Infinite Hunger, The Black Star, The Shaper, The Uber Elder, The Maven and Sirus.
Revamped Monster Modifiers – We’re replacing all existing monster modifiers with the mods that we introduced in the Archnemesis League, which all have a great impact on combat and are easy to identify at a glance. Magic packs share one modifier between them while Rare monsters typically have two modifiers, and can rarely spawn with more. Multiple synergistic mods can create quite dangerous situations in combat.
Game Controller Support – We’ve implemented support for game controllers in the PC version of Path of Exile. This also means that if you’re lucky enough to already have a Steam Deck, you can play Path of Exile on the go!
New QOL – In this expansion, we’ve added several small quality of life features that should help to enhance the ease of your game experience. For example, it’s now much easier to add maps to your Favored Maps list on the Atlas. We’ve also added settings that allow you to define who is able to access the portals in your hideout. There are several other new features that we’ll reveal over the coming week.
Revamped Challenge System – The challenge system in the Sentinel League is much harder but more rewarding than that of the past 21 leagues. Early challenges have been condensed so that their rewards unlock at 6 and 12 completions, rather than at 12 and 24. There are far more difficult objectives available to challenge Path of Exile’s best players and there are ten different rewards you can unlock, which comprise two complete armor sets, each with a pair of wings.
To learn more about the updates coming in Path of Exile: Sentinel, check out the full VOD of the Twitch livestream which aired today.
Alpha Squad has just been given their final mission – they must descend further into hell to destroy Project Ragnarök and bring the nightmare to an end once and for all. The new Ragnarök Campaign & Character Pack for Zombie Army 4: Dead War contains a two-part campaign mission as well as new outfits for Karl, Marie and Josiah and is available now on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Epic Games Store, Steam, Microsoft Store, Google Stadia and the newly released Nintendo Switch version. Additionally, all Zombie Army 4 players will also receive the new “Death Collector” Horde Map free as part of an update today.
Rebellion, one of the world’s most successful video games developers and publishers, has released a hellish new trailer showcasing the content from the Season Four pack:
In the new mission, the few surviving members of the cult have retreated deep into hell and put the mysterious Projekt Ragnarök into effect. With the help of Schweiger, Alpha Squad need to stop the plan which threatens to destroy the world.
The Ragnarök Campaign & Character Pack contains:
Ragnarök Campaign – Parts I & II
Future Karl Outfit – Two Hats for Karl (Robot Eye + Ballistic Helmet)
Marie Lounge Singer Outfit – Two Hats for Marie (Tilt Hat + Quick Disguise Kit)
Josiah Detective Outfit – Two Hats for Josiah (Detective Fedora + Sunglasses)
Developed by Rebellion in partnership with Flix Interactive and Radical Forge, the Ragnarök Campaign & Character Pack is available now for $14.99. The items are also available to purchase individually. Zombie Army 4: Dead War is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Epic Games Store, Steam, Microsoft Store and Google Stadia. It’s also playable on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S with upgraded new-gen features.
Fracked, the trailblazing and critically acclaimed VR action-adventure game from nDreams, is out now on Viveport, Steam and the Rift Store. The game is also available to all Viveport Infinity members from today.
Fracked is natively compatible with HTC Vive Pro, Valve Index and Rift S headsets, while Meta Quest and Quest 2 owners can get involved in the action via the Oculus Link Cable or Air Link.
In Fracked, you are a reluctant hero, stuck deep inside a remote mountain facility and forced into a final stand between the planet and the ‘Fracked’ – an army of gun-wielding, interdimensional enemies. There’s no room here for subtlety and stealth, this is bold, brash and uncompromising explosive action! Alone. On the edge. And really fracked off… humanity’s survival is in your hands!
“Fracked allowed us to push action-adventure gameplay in VR to new limits and let players live out their dream as an action hero,” said David Corless, VP of Publishing at nDreams. “We hope PC VR players enjoy the thrill of throwing themselves into Fracked’s exhilarating and intuitive 1:1 gameplay.”
Fracked’s innovative VR gunplay blends improvised run and gun combat with a 1:1 grabbable cover system allowing you to move freely around the battlefield outflanking, outsmarting, and outgunning the Fracked. The game also features free and intuitive no-rails movement on foot, on skis and climbing.
Originally released for PS VR last summer, Fracked’s first-person combat and free movement earned praise from reviewers and the game was featured on multiple ‘Best of 2021’ lists.
For more on Fracked, visit www.ndreams.com or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.
Good Shepherd Entertainment and Ice Code Games have announced that the open beta for Hard West 2, the supernatural sequel to the hit turn-based strategy game experienced by over half a million players, kicks off today on PC via Steam. Running now until June 5, the beta features a small slice of the game’s full campaign and introduces players to some of the special abilities they’ll acquire in their journey through the dark heart of the West.
Hard West 2 ups the ante on the original game in every way. The unique new Bravado system delivers a more aggressive approach to tactics and combat, rewarding you for going on the offensive so you can extend your streak and dish out even more damage. Experience shootouts on the move with dynamic levels that play out in changing environments to recreate the action-packed feeling of high-speed horseback chases and nail-biting train showdowns.
Demolish your adversaries with special abilities like Gin’s Shadow Barrage, which ignores cover and can hit several enemies; Flynn’s Shadow Swap, which lets her trade places with friend or foe; Old Man Bill’s Dead Man’s Revenge, which can hit anyone in line of sight and scales based on the amount of damage he’s taken; and Laughing Deer’s Wild Run, which increases in damage the further he is to the target.
Turn dire situations to your advantage by utilizing Luck, which you’ll gain when taking damage or missing shots and can be used to improve your chance to hit. Obtain new abilities and give your posse additional skills or enhance existing ones when you find and equip cards from the Deck of Haunts.
Key Features:
Conquer the Dark Frontier: When first-class con man Gin Carter raids a legendary “ghost train” in search of gold, he discovers it haunted by the Devil himself! Now Gin must lead a posse of strange outlaws to save his soul in a land claimed by darkness. Explore the frozen wastelands and lawless frontier towns of the Wild West in a desperate battle against the living and undead.
Unleash Your Bravado: Rack up kills to activate the new Bravado State and replenish your Action Points. Rush out of cover, go on the offensive, and chain together stylish kills to extend your streak as you take down anyone or anything brazen enough to stand in your way.
Shootouts on the Move: Hard West 2’s turn-based combat is set in dynamically shifting environments, keeping your brain as busy as your trigger. Let your Western imagination run wild, from horseback chases to tense train holdups, as you hone your strategic skills to a fine edge.
Supercharged Posse: Unearth mysterious playing cards to build your crew’s poker hands. Arm them with guns, explosives, trinkets, or just some beans and whiskey to keep them in top shape.
Unnatural Leader: Responsibility for your growing posse of gunslinging outlaws, witches and other mysterious beings lands at your boots. Make the right calls to get more Loyalty Points and new skills for those closest to you, but choosing poorly will test their commitment to your cause.
The Good, the Bad & the Undead: Wild West folk tales and the occult collide in a character-driven story featuring the voice talents of Kevin Conroy (Batman: The Animated Series), Darien Sills-Evans (Days Gone) and Adam Gifford (The Colony), plus a score by BAFTA Award winner Jason Graves (Dead Space) and story co-written by Origins Awards winner and New York Times bestseller Matt Forbeck (Deadlands).
Hard West 2 is available to wishlist on Steam. Visit www.HardWestGame.com for more information, and join the community on Facebook, Discord and Reddit.
CORSAIR® (NASDAQ:CRSR), a world leader in high-performance gear for gamers and content creators, today launched an exciting new addition to its gaming headset lineup: the HS65 SURROUND. This stylish headset features lightweight aluminum-reinforced construction along with plush memory foam for superior comfort while gaming and listening, and introduces innovative Sonarworks SoundID technology that personalizes your audio experience with individually calibrated audio profiles. Available in either black or white to match your setup, the HS65 SURROUND is a fantastic choice for both all-day comfort and high-quality, customized sound.
The HS65 SURROUND is built with an exceptionally lightweight frame for all-day, all-night listening. Its plush leatherette memory foam ear pads are lined with soft fabric that’s easy on the ears, while an adjustable headband fits comfortably on your head. Complete with aluminum-reinforced construction accentuated with a striking mesh grill cup design for durability through years of gameplay, the HS65 SURROUND is just your style.
The HS65 SURROUND utilizes an included USB adapter that fits onto its 3.5mm connector, unlocking in-depth audio customization and Dolby Audio® on PC and Mac. Sonarworks SoundID technology creates your ideal sound profile with a quick, simple, and intuitive assessment of your unique preferences using sample audio clips. The result is an extremely personalized experience rivaling that of professional-grade headphones, without a professional price tag. Connecting via USB also enables Dolby Audio 7.1 surround sound, putting you in the middle of the action so you can pinpoint in-game audio cues that may otherwise be missed.
For other platforms, a universal 3.5mm connection ensures wide compatibility on PS5/PS4, Xbox Series X | S, Switch, mobile, and more. High-quality, custom-tuned 50mm neodymium audio drivers deliver excellent sound with the range needed to hear everything on the battlefield on any device. An omni-directional microphone captures your voice loud and clear, with a convenient flip-to-mute function and on-ear volume control to boot.
HS65 SURROUND
“The HS65 SURROUND is a particularly exciting launch for us,” said Aaron Smith, Senior Director of Audio Product Management & Development at CORSAIR. “Thanks to the magic of SoundID, we’ve created a headset that combines the HS Series’ celebrated design and sound quality with the intelligence to learn your personal audio preferences and automatically tailor your listening experience accordingly.”
With a remarkably comfortable modern design, high-quality audio performance, and a range of connection options, the CORSAIR HS65 SURROUND presses play on great sound.
Other Headset Launches
Joining the HS65 SURROUND are three more CORSAIR gaming headsets launching today: the HS80 RGB USB, HS55 STEREO, and HS55 SURROUND. Available in both black and white color options, all four headsets offer gamers exceptional comfort, durable construction, and refined styling that complement great audio performance.
HS80 RGB USB
HS65 SURROUND
HS55 SURROUND
HS55 STEREO
SoundID
X
YES
X
X
3.5mm Connection
X
YES
YES
YES
USB Connection
YES
YES, VIA ADAPTER
YES, VIA ADAPTER
X
Dolby Audio 7.1 Surround Sound on PC
YES
YES
YES
X
Omni-Directional Mic
YES
YES
YES
YES
Flip-to-Mute Function
YES
YES
YES
YES
50mm Neodymium Drivers
YES
YES
YES
YES
Memory Foam Ear Pads
YES
YES
YES
YES
Floating Headband
YES
X
X
X
RGB
YES
X
X
X
High-Res 24bit/96kHz
YES
YES, VIA ADAPTER
YES, VIA ADAPTER
X
MSRP
$99.99
$79.99
$69.99
$59.99
Dolby Audio 7.1 Adapter
Availability, Warranty, and Pricing
The CORSAIR HS65 SURROUND, HS80 RGB USB, HS55 SURROUND, and HS55 STEREO gaming headsets are available immediately from the CORSAIR webstore and the CORSAIR worldwide network of authorized retailers and distributors.
The CORSAIR HS65 SURROUND, HS80 RGB USB, HS55 SURROUND, and HS55 STEREO gaming headsets are backed by a two-year warranty, alongside the CORSAIR worldwide customer service and technical support network.
For up-to-date pricing of the CORSAIR HS65 SURROUND, HS80 RGB USB, HS55 SURROUND, and HS55 STEREO gaming headsets, please refer to the CORSAIR website or contact your local CORSAIR sales or PR representative.
Web Pages
To learn more about the CORSAIR HS65 SURROUND, please visit:
Animal Shelter Simulator is one of the biggest premieres in recent months in Games Incubator’s portfolio. It received a warm welcome and gained many positive reviews. Now the developer has announced a DLC for the game.
Animal Shelter Simulator: Puppies & Kittens will be additional content for the main game. It brings new challenges which will test the players’ skills.
Players can expect a lot of new content with this DLC. It will bring new buildings and decorations to the main game, as well as new healing mechanics. But the most important aspect of it will be the addition of puppies and kittens. These small animals will steal your heart and make you happy when you will find a new home for them. Also, new animations for pets will be added – mostly focused on the mechanics of feeding and playing.
Animal Shelter Simulator: Puppies & Kittens will be released in Q3 of 2022. It will require the main game for playing.
Games Incubator is also sending help to real animal shelters. It has already donated 10 000$ to shelters around the world. It is also raising awareness about the situation of pets and animals in need during the war in Ukraine.
Beat Saber, the popular VR music rhythm game, has today launched a new Electronic Mixtape featuring 10 iconic tracks from artists including Fatboy Slim, Martin Garrix, deadmau5, and more.
Announced last month during the Meta Quest Gaming Showcase, this DLC pack is now available on all VR platforms.
