Month: January 2025

One of the best parts of Pokemon Sword and Shield was exploring the Wild Area, an expanse of rolling hills, sand dunes, and lakes that made collecting the games’ 400 Pokemon especially enticing. The first DLC for the games, The Isle of Armor, improves upon the original Wild Area–in fact, the island is all Wild Area, with far more variety and much more interesting locales to explore. While it doesn’t alter the game much, The Isle of Armor recaptures the joy of exploration and catching new Pokemon, and it makes me especially eager to see where the next DLC takes us.

In my original Pokemon Sword and Shield review, I said that “the Wild Area is the show-stopping feature of this generation. Pokemon roam the fields and lakes, changing with the day’s weather. They pop up as you walk by, and you can even identify Pokemon out of your direct line of vision by their cries. It’s all too easy to set out for one destination only to be distracted by a Pokemon you haven’t caught yet, an item glittering on the ground in the distance, or even an evolved form of a Pokemon that you didn’t realize you could catch in the wild. There’s constantly something new to do…

1974’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a horror landmark. It’s gritty like no other, unflinching in its brutality, and downright terrifying as often as it wants to be. Bringing those same qualities to a video game adaptation of the movie milestone would be paramount, which is exactly what Gun Media and Sumo Nottingham have done. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (TCM) is every bit as nauseatingly tense as the classic movie, all while cleverly gamifying its scares in ways that are satisfying and built for the long haul.

Asymmetrical horror multiplayer games have been experiencing a golden age for several years now, but TCM is already my favorite of them. In TCM, a unique 4v3 setup allows each round to play out like an actual horror movie. What I didn’t realize until I played it for review is that to properly balance this particular game, creating an even playing field isn’t necessarily the best approach. Each round is a horror story, and its team of “victims” intentionally have the odds stacked against them, often coming down to just one Final Girl (or Guy) who might limp off the property to salvation. The high-stakes game of hide-and-seek is better for it. Continue Reading

The first details on the next movie starring Oscar winning actor Nicolas Cage has been revealed, and it’s a comedy. Deadline reports that Cage will star in a new comedy called Dream Scenario.

A24 (Midsommar, Uncut Gems) is financing and producing the movie, which will be directed by Kristoffer Borgli (Whateverest, Sick of Myself).

Dream Scenario will be produced by Midsommar director Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen through their Square Peg banner. Borgli wrote the script, but there is no word yet on the plot as of yet.

Square Peg and A24 previously collaborated on Aster’s Hereditary and Midsommar, as well as his next movie, Disappointment Blvd., which stars Joaquin Phoenix.

As for Cage, the actor has kept busy of late. He starred in the well-received drama Pig and then played himself in the meta comedy The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. He’s also set to appear in a western called Butcher’s Crossing and Renfield, in which he plays Dracula Come from Sports betting site VPbet . Cage is also lined up to play a vodka-loving dragon in a new TV series.

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EA has published the schedule for EA Play Live and its pre-event Showcase series, and Mass Effect and Dragon Age did not show up anywhere Come from Sports betting site VPbet . BioWare subsequently made it official, telling fans there won’t be any news on Mass Effect or Dragon Age at the event this month.

“We’re hard at work creating the next Dragon Age and Mass Effect games and have some exciting stuff coming to Star Wars: The Old Republic,” BioWare said before acknowledging that it won’t show “anything” at EA Play Live.

BioWare’s ongoing MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, and the studio will announce something new for the game at 12 PM PT / 3 PM ET today, July 1.

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