Smite is getting a cosmetic DLC pack themed around Bob Ross. The Bob Ross Bundle, created in cooperation with his estate and Twitch, will give Smite players a skin that turns Sylvanus into the late artist, a special loading frame, and a spray or “jump stamp” that looks like Bob Ross’ smiling face coming out of a paint splatter. While the themed skin has a number of effects like changing Sylvanus’ attacks into paint throwing and happy tree summoning, ASMR addicts will likely not want to watch Smite for their relaxation fix.
The Smite Bob Ross Bundle will be available for $9.99, or 700 in-game quatloos on May 9th.
When Treyarch last updated the PC version of Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, the company hinted that they were working on more content for the game, but declined to share details. There have been rumors for a few days that something was coming soon, and now we have the official confirmation. Zombie Chronicles is an upcoming DLC pack for Black Ops 3 that features eight zombie maps from World at War, Black Ops, and Black Ops 2, but rejiggered to work with the popular (and revenue generating) GobbleGum mechanic. The PlayStation 4 will get the pack first on May 16th, while the PC and Xbox One release will be later thanks to the standing exclusivity deal with Sony.
There’s no denying that the Zombies mode in Treyarch’s Call of Duty games is popular, and the Black Ops 3 player count remains healthy despite the game being almost two years old. More zombie maps for Black Ops 3 is a no-brainer. (Sorry, undead fans.) If you’re confused by the zombie time-traveling, hidden secrets, and celebrity guest star shenanigans, there’s a timeline that can confuse you further.
The Digital Deluxe Edition of Civilization VI is getting more content. Originally, the Civilization VI Digital Deluxe Edition came with the game, the soundtrack, and four DLC packs. The Persia and Macedon Civilization & Scenario Pack released in April should’ve been the end of the obligation, but 2K Games and Firaxis now say they’re going to give Digital Deluxe owners two more DLC packs.
It’s important to us that wherever Civilization fans live around the world, that the Digital Deluxe edition provides a great value. We saw that prices with certain currencies didn’t live up to the savings we’re looking to deliver, and so we are excited to offer this new content at no additional charge to those who purchase, or already own, the Civilization VI Digital Deluxe edition.
The two packs coming in the next few months will contain three new leaders for African and Southeast Asian civilizations.
This is a real thing that comes out on May 18. It is not a joke. Nor is the fact that the publisher’s other game is called Fist of Jesus: the Bloody Gospel of Judas.
Remember the part in Ghost Recon: Wildlands when your character did that really tough thing and said that badass quip at one of the villains? Something profanity-laced and war hard and grim. Maybe it was at the villain that unlocks the cowboy hat. Or maybe the one that gives you the pink gun. Your sidekick/handler chick was there, too, and she said also something really tough and badass and also profanity laced. Remember that part? Remember when your characters tell each other jokes and anecdotes while you’re driving to the next helicopter to take you to the next mission? Remember the cutscenes? Remember how consistent the writing is in Ubisoft’s games and how Ghost Recon: Wildlands is a perfect example of that consistency?
That’s just a taste of what you can expect if Universal ever makes a Gears of War movie. Variety reports the studio hired the Ghost Recon writer for a potential Gears of War movie. His name is Shane Salerno, and you can see it in the credits for Armageddon — yes, that Armageddon — where’s it’s listed as “adapted by” him and another fellow. That’s not language you see very often when a movie isn’t based on a comic book or something. It was the result of arbitration with the Writer’s Guild over a dispute about how many of the nine people hired to work and rework the script would get credit. Five of the nine won the arbitration. So there’s Salerno’s name alongside Tony Gilroy and JJ Abrams.
But to be fair to Salerno, James Cameron has tapped him for the upcoming Avatar movies, so Salerno’s name will be more familiar if those movies ever get made. I give it 50/50 odds. A Gears of War movie, on the other hand, probably has about a zero percent chance of ever getting made. The franchise has declined into irrelevance alongside the Xbox One. Nothing ensures failure quite like tethering your game to a ten-pound brick when you throw it into the marketplace (see also, the Halo sales numbers). Although I’ve been told you can play the latest Gears of War on the PC once you figure out whatever error the Windows Store is giving you this time.
Triumph Studios has updated Age of Wonders 3. The Poseidon Patch fixes some longtime bugs, balances summoned units, and adds a nifty Water Fortress. Builder units can now construct this ramshackle ocean location that wouldn’t be out of place in Kevin Costner’s Waterworld. It’s just missing a pre-Napoleon Dynamite Tina Majorino to give us the secret of Dryland.
You don’t have to have watched Breaking Bad to appreciate Better Call Saul. But you have to have watched Breaking Bad to appreciate it fully. Continue reading →
In the usual horror movie, a monster stalks its victims. Will it get them? When will it get them? How will it get them? What even is it? A Dark Song is the inverse of this forumula. The lugubrious soundtrack that would normally promise Something is coming instead promises Something is being steadily approached.
Nintendo has updated the Wii U and Switch versions of Zelda: Breath of the Wild with language options, putting the kibosh on numerous complaints that the English voice readings for Princess Zelda and others was not up to snuff. Now, picky fans can choose from nine audio and text language options including French, German, Japanese, Spanish, and Russian. Mix and match to your heart’s content! Just note that the majority of the game’s audio will still be high-pitched sounds from Link as he takes damage.
In other Zelda news, Nintendo has released details of the first DLC pack for Breath of the Wild. Wave-based arena trials, a path tracker, “Hard Mode” that powers up enemies, a fast-travel item, and some new masks and outfits round out the DLC. This first expansion pack will be available this summer.
You know how some titles don’t really tell you anything about a movie? What genre it’s in, what sort of tone it will have, what it’s even about? More movies should do that. At the 1:22, this week’s 3×3 about flying cars takes off.
If you’ve played Dungeons & Dragons or any pen and paper role-playing game, you’ve experienced the catharsis of being a fantasy version of yourself in a group social setting. What do sour looks or polite disapproval matter to Thangar the Foul-Mouthed? He enjoys life to the fullest, whether that be with a sword or a mug of ale in his hand!
Kotaku notes that this kind of gaming is of interest to therapists as a tool for emotional exploration. They talked to groups that use Dungeons & Dragons to help teens express themselves and noted some examples of gaming going above and beyond the die roll.
“For someone who never leaves their house except for school, to have a peer say, ‘I need your help picking a lock’ makes a huge difference.”
It’s a good thing they use Dungeons & Dragons and not something like GURPS or Champions. They’d need a week of sessions just to get their characters created.
I own an unwatched copy of Barry Lyndon because it came with a Kubrick collection I bought a long time ago. I didn’t buy it because I felt the need to own a Kubrick collection. I bought it because it was cheaper than buying 2001, Full Metal Jacket, and Dr. Strangelove separately. Those are two movies I love (half of 2001, half of Full Metal Jacket, and the entirety of Dr. Strangelove is two movies worth of movies). Clockwork Orange is quaint for how it was once considered scandalizing and for the synth Beethoven. I didn’t appreciate The Shining until recently. Eyes Wide Shut is like that scene in The Shining where Shelley Duvall sees two furries having sex, but drawn out into a full movie starring movie stars instead of furries. Like everyone else under 80, I’ve never seen Paths of Glory.
In the tradition of renovating their games so that they’re almost unrecognizable (in a good way!), Stardock has pulled away the scaffolding from Galactic Civilization III to reveal the Crusade DLC, available May 4, for $20. If you don’t already have Galactic Civilization III, you can buy it bundled with the Crusade DLC for $40. Let me show you one of several reasons you’ll want it.
That’s the soon-to-be-released 2DS XL handheld. It’s Nintendo’s simultaneous clamshell upgrade to the 2DS, and 3-D less downgrade to the New 3DS XL. The 2DS XL has the New 3DS XL’s snappier processor and second analogue nub, but drops the seldom used glasses-free 3-D display. It will sell for $150, and will be available starting July 28th.
The 2DS XL is likely the DS hardware’s swan song. Nintendo’s Reggie Fils-Aime told Wired in January that the DS line has a “long life in front of it” but with resources being poured into Switch and no refresh of the 3DS planned, it’s not likely we’ll see anything new in Nintendo’s portable space after the 2DS XL until we get the Switch XL.
Tom Chick and Bruce Geryk have started a game of Afghanistan ’11 using the same seed (8B52H7SA1K1W, if you’d like to join us). Every week, they’ll post an update for ten turns of gameplay.
After the jump, where we stand after the first 20 turnsContinue reading →
