Happy Star Wars Day – it’s now May the 4th and everyone is celebrating! Including even Vanity Fair, going all out with their latest issue featuring a cover shot of Han, Chewie and the new gang, plus an entire photo spread shot by Annie Leibovitz. What?! I know! The photos have been unveiled in full this morning, and they’re rather revealing, including our very first ever look at Adam Driver in costume on set (as far as we know he plays Rylo Ken). We also get to see more set images featuring director J.J. Abrams and a look at Lupita Nyong’o with her facial capture rig, meaning she’s definitely playing some kind of alien. VF states she’s playing a character named Maz Kanata. Take a look at all of the impressive new shots revealed below. ›››
Assembled and ready to kick ass. Ready to kick the Avengers’ ass? Maybe. David Ayer has tweeted out the first official photo of the Suicide Squad crew in costume from his upcoming DC Comics’ Suicide Squad movie, which is now filming up in Toronto. We finally get a look at everyone in the line-up, and all of their wild outfits, including (seen from L to R): Adam Beach as Slipknot, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, Karen Fukuhara as Katana, Cara Delevingne as Enchantress, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flagg, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Will Smith as Deadshot, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Killer Croc, and Jay Hernandez as El Diablo. We recently got a first look at Jared Leto as The Joker, so that pretty much covers everyone. From this first look, I’m sure Harley Quinn is going to be every geek’s favorite character in 2016. ›››
The Empire Reboots! Is that really the bold, eye-catching headline Lucasfilm wants on the cover of Vanity Fair? Is the new Star Wars saga really being dubbed a “reboot” or is that just mumbo jumbo they threw on there to sell magazines? Who knows. Vanity Fair has unveiled a new cover shot photographed by Annie Leibovitz showing Han and Chewie (Harrison Ford + Peter Mayhew) sitting with two new guys: Daisy Ridley as Rey, John Boyega as Finn, and BB-8 as BB-8. Yes, I’m including BB-8 as part of the new “trio” even though Oscar Isaac as X-Wing pilot Poe is missing from this cover. It’s a cool shot and the best part is that Leibovitz has taken even more photos, and more will be revealed once the magazine is on stands. Woot. ›››
The original Forza Motorsport for Xbox was released on May 3, 2005, meaning Microsoft’s racing series his now ten years old. Developer Turn 10 celebrated the news on Twitter, as did Xbox boss Phil Spencer.
May 3, 2005 it all began. Ten amazing years of Forza! Thanks to all our fans around the world.
Forza Motorsport 6 details are being kept under wraps for now, but Microsoft is planning to reveal gameplay and talk more about the project at E3 next month.
What’s your favorite Forza memory? Let us know in the comments below!
A YouTube video from Noober Goober Gaming uploaded on Saturday before the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight predicted the outcome just about perfectly. That’s not all that surprising, given Mayweather was the favorite and his fighting style isn’t exactly a secret. But the video is still funny and worth a watch.
To fight Mayweather, players must agree to get less money than him, submit to daily drug tests, not be in your prime, and accept that there won’t be a rematch. Saying no leads to a “Game Over” screen and a picture of Mayweather with the text: “Maybe next time you will agree to my terms.”
Once the fight begins, it plays out basically like it did in real life. Mayweather “hugs” Pacquiao quite a lot and a menu screen quotes Pacquiao as saying, “This must be really boring to casual fans.” Mayweather replies, “It doesn’t matter. We already got their money.”
Indie developer Bossa Studios (Surgeon Simulator) is celebrating Star Wars Day with a new Star Wars-themed update for its funny action-adventure game I am Bread. The update, which Bossa is calling “Starch Wars – A New Loaf” takes players to outer space instead of the kitchen from the base game.
Check out a trailer for “Starch Wars” below.
The description for Starch Wars is just the best.
“Following the destruction of the Petrol Station, the remaining crumbs of the rebellious fleet have been intercepted as they head to the planet of All-dough-naan,” reads the first line. “A lone freedom fighter with the call sign Bread Leader picks up the distress signal and speeds to their aid. And yep, you guessed it; he’s their only hope.”
In the update, you’ll fight the forces of the “Dough Baker” and his team of “Rye Fighters” in your ultimate attempt to take down the “Starch Destroyer.”
Anyone who has purchased I am Bread can play the Starch Wars content after they complete the first chapter. I am Bread is available now on Steam for $13.
This week in Australian retail game releases, Bandai Namco’s gorgeous racing game Project Cars launches for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. The game was was originally scheduled to be released in November last year, but several delays saw the game pushed from March to April, before finally being slated for a release date in May. Namco Bandai said a postponement was necessary to ensure that the final version of the game matched fan expectations.
Developed by Slightly Mad Studios, Project Cars will feature 110 courses and 30 locations for players to race in. These are based on real locations around the world, including Nürburgring in Germany, Zhuhai International Circuit in China, Chesterfield in the United Kingdom, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France.
The game will run on 1080p on PlayStation 4, 900p on Xbox One, and up to 12K on the PC. Both console editions will run at 60 frames-per-second, while the framerate on the PC version will be dependent on the hardware. A Wii U version has been confirmed, although no release date has been announced. Check out some screenshots in the gallery below.
For more details on games out this week, we have a full list below.
Project Soul, the internal Bandai Namco developer in-charge of the SoulCalibur fighting game series, wants to know who your favorite character is as it prepares a big announcement.
“Calling all SoulCalibur Fans! Project Soul would like to hear your voice,” said a post on the SoulCalibur Facebook page. “They need to determine precisely who are the favorite characters of the community! Project Soul is probably preparing something huge… Stay tuned and spread the news!”
The post also clarified that the survey is not related to SoulCalibur: Lost Swords, the free-to-play version of the game released last year, but the SoulCalibur brand in general. On the other hand, that doesn’t mean Bandai Namco is necessarily ready to discuss a new SoulCalibur game.
The survey includes 45 characters that appeared throughout the series. So far, it gathered 2,800 votes. You can cast your vote on PC here, and mobile devices here. The survey will last until May 31, and you only have one vote, so choose wisely.
Who’s your favorite SoulCalibur character? Let us know in the comments below.
It’s only been a few weeks since Grand Theft Auto V was released on PC, and the game’s modding scene is just getting started, but we’re already seeing some amazing, hilarious mods. While it’s not technically modifying the game, the coolest if not the most practical mod we’ve seen recently makes the GTA V’s in-game phone work with a real iPhone app.
The mod was created by a Reddit user who goes by the handle planetleak. The mod recreates the in-game app on iPhone using Xcode. Inputs on the iPhone send a URL to an Arduino webserver, which then sends the inputs into the game via keybinding macros. I can’t think of a good reason to use a real iPhone to control the in-game phone, but as you can see in the video below, it’s just impressive that the app works at all.
Unfortunately, you may have trouble installing these mods now. According to members of the modding community, the last patch rendered Script Hook V, a tool used for GTA V mods, unusable. This is forcing those who wish to continue using mods to revert to older versions of the patch, which you can only do if you’ve made backups ahead of time or are willing to download older files online from unofficial sources.
With a brand new Star Wars trilogy in the making, everyone is anxious to return to that galaxy far, far away. But Disney isn’t settling for three new films that follow the saga’s main characters and some new players–it’s also creating multiple new standalone Star Wars films, with each promising to offer a new perspective on the sci-fi universe. Collectively, these films are called the Star Wars Anthology. The first of these, Star Wars: Rogue One, follows a group of Rebels who steal the plans for the first Death Star.
But if you’re a fan of Star Wars games, you may be thinking, ‘Hey–didn’t I already steal the Death Star plans back in 1995?’ Well, you’d be right! But since Disney has effectively erased most stories from the Star Wars Expanded Universe from official canon, many of the side stories that Star Wars video games have told are now no longer recognised. Here are three of our favourite side stories Star Wars games have told which we’ll miss the most.
Who Stole The Death Star Plans?
Because Star Wars games tended to take more liberties with established canon than other tie-in media like films and comics, there are multiple conflicting instances of the Death Star plans being stolen by different people. It’s easy to see why: the theft of the plans is an important event that kicks off the very first Star Wars film. But the most regularly referred-to theft was conducted by Kyle Katarn, the protagonist of Star Wars: Dark Forces, a first-person shooter released in 1995. In the game’s opening level, Katarn infiltrates an Imperial base, shoots a lot of Stormtroopers, and recovers a chip holding the Death Star’s schematics.
But the theft of the Death Star plans didn’t stop there; Star Wars games also filled in how the plans made their way into the hands of Princess Leia. A mission in Star Wars: X-Wing requires to you protect a shuttle as it physically transports the schematics to Leia’s blockade runner, the Tantive IV. And who was in that ship? A character who actually featured in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope named Biggs Darklighter, one of Luke Skywalker’s wingmen whose X-Wing blew up during the Death Star trench run.
How did the Rebels get from Yavin to Hoth?
You can bet the Empire would be pretty pissed after a farm boy blew up its superweapon–and even though it did blow up, the Rebels’ presence on Yavin 4 was still no longer secret. So, they had to pack up shop and skedaddle. But how did they move all their stuff from Yavin to Hoth in the short time between A New Hope and Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back?
It’s an event that’s covered by a couple of different Star Wars games, firstly in X-Wing’s expansion pack, X-Wing: Imperial Pursuit. As the Empire moves to blockade the Yavin system, the Rebels prepare their capital ships to jump to hyperspace. The player must protect these frigates from waves in TIE Bombers, giving them time to evacuate the system. The evacuation ends with a dramatic transfer of a crippled capital ship’s crew to a functioning vessel, after which the player scuttles the massive craft as the last of the Rebels flee the system.
Because the evacuation was so rushed, not every Rebel convoy managed to jump to the same location. A mission in Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader picks up soon afterward, with the scattered convoys attempting to reach a rendezvous point. As Skywalker’s convoy arrives, they find the other Rebels have been ambushed and destroyed, and must flee the meeting point to arrive at Hoth with only a fraction of their supplies and manpower.
Who killed all those Bothans?
There aren’t many other lines in the original Star Wars trilogy that inspired so many off-shoot stories as “Many Bothans died to bring us this information”. The plans for the second Death Star were acquired by this group of people, yet we know almost nothing about them. Think about it–do you even know what a Bothan looks like? (It’s a furry human.)
Rather than create a scenario where you play as the Bothans and steal these plans from the Empire, Star Wars: TIE Fighter included a tour of duty where you hunt down and massacre the Bothans as they flee with the technical readouts in tow. This isn’t just a single mission where you gun down ships labelled “Bothans”, but a multi-stage campaign that involves capturing Bothan spies and delivering them to Darth Vader, destroying a massive Bothan dreadnought, and then sneaking into the Rebel fleet to double-check they believed the plans and would therefore fall into Vader’s trap in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Indeed, many Bothans died, and most of them by your hand.
