Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare features a number of modes that will truly test your skills. As detailed on Activision’s blog, the Specialist Mode is unlocked once the campaign is completed on any difficulty. It is described as “intensely realistic” and “not for the faint of heart.”
In this mode you can only heal with Nano Shots as there are no health regeneration. That alone ratchets up the challenge, but there’s a whole lot more to it that’ll put you to the test. Take a look at the full list of special conditions introduced in Specialist Mode below.
You can only heal with Nano Shots, there is no health regeneration in this mode.
Helmets are your only protection from headshots. They will take permanent damage and will need to be replaced.
Both Nano Shots and helmets take up equipment slots, so remember to equip them in your loadout on the Retribution before each level.
Master the lean from behind cover mechanic, which will be critical for your survival. Approach the edge of cover while standing or crouching, and aim down sights when you see a chevron appear on the side of your crosshairs. You will auto-pop from behind cover as you ADS.
If you get shot in the legs, it will impact your movement. If you get shot in either arm, it will impact your ability to use equipment or aim down sights. Note: Your weapon can be shot out of your hands.
If you manage to complete Specialist Mode, you’ll get access to the YOLO Mode. As fans of Canadian rapper Wheel Chair Jimmy know, YOLO stands for “You Only Live Once,” so you can probably figure out what makes this Infinite Warfare mode tricky.
“This mode is unlocked after beating the game on Specialist, and well… you only live once. By that we mean genuine permadeath,” explained Activision. “If you die, you will start all the way back at the beginning of the entire game.”
Infinite Warfare will unlock at midnight ET on November 4 in North America, which comes out to 9 PM PT on November 3. If you preordered a premium version of Infinite Warfare on PS4, you can start playing Modern Warfare Remastered’s campaign right now.
“There is no change to our continuing [Wii U] production,” the spokesperson said, as translated by Kotaku, stating that they were not aware of the specifics of the original report. That said, the person explained that reports about Wii U production coming to a close are “not true.”
“Even though the Nintendo Switch is slated to go on sale, [Wii U] production is scheduled to continue,” the spokesperson said, adding that more Wii U games are on the way, including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
The live-action version of the anime classic Ghost in the Shell is due out next year, but until now it has not been clear what exactly the movie is adapting. The property encompasses several anime films and series, not to mention the manga on which it is originally based, but now the film’s producer has revealed that it will take inspiration from several sources.
In an interview with Collider, Avi Arad explained that the movie’s villain would be Kuze, who appeared in the series Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig, as opposed to Puppetmaster from the first movie. “We’re not doing Puppetmaster. It’s not Laughing Man. It involves Kuze,” he confirmed. “The big thing we are doing here is that we’re not necessarily doing an origins backstory, but we are addressing [lead character the Major]’s sense of self and resolving how she defines herself in terms of memories. That’s one of the main thrusts in the story. Inspired by [the episode] “Affection” in 2nd Gig. It’s bits and pieces of those mixed together.
“Part of the reason we didn’t do Puppetmaster in this movie was that we didn’t really feel like we had time to tell that story. In your first movie, the way the characters feel about themselves and the relationship with those people that they care about is usually more than enough story.”
Arad went to explain that fans would nevertheless notice elements from other Ghost in the Shell releases in the film. “You’ll recognize some things from Ghost in the Shell: Innocence like the geisha bot,” he said. “Everything we pulled from the movie is because we thought it was cool. There’s a whole thermoptic sequence with the garbageman. We did that because we thought it was really cool.
“A lot of the time when you see futurist movies either it feels very beautiful and removed and clean or you have to go down a grimy, dystopic world. Rupert [Wyatt, director] was chasing something else that was more similar to the source, where it felt really tactile and tangible.”
The first teasers for Ghost in the Shell were released in September–check them out here. The film stars Scarlett Johansson as the Major, who leads a futuristic anti-terrorist taskforce known as Section 9. It also features Game of Thrones‘ Pilou Asbæk as the Major’s partner Batou, plus Takeshi Kitano, Juliette Binoche, and Michael Pitt.
Ghost in the Shell hits theaters on March 31, 2017.
UFC star Ronda Rousey has confirmed that her fighting days are coming to an end. Appearing on Ellen this week, the 29-year-old was asked how much longer she plans to fight.
“Not that long,” she responded. More specifically, she confirmed that her UFC 207 matchup on December 30 against Amanda Nunes is “definitely” one of her last bouts.
“I’m wrapping it up. [UFC 2017 is] definitely one of my last fights,” she said. “Everyone better watch because the show isn’t going to be around forever.”
Rousey didn’t offer any specifics on what she’ll do after retiring from fighting, but said she’s doing a lot of knitting right now to prepare for the end of the world. When the world ends, the only clothes you’ll have are the ones you make, she says. She’s in a knitting club called “the yarn and the restless” with actress Kat Dennings.
Rocket League developer Psyonix has discussed its decision to give the game away for free through Sony’s PlayStation Plus service. Speaking in a two-part documentary created by former GameSpot video producer Danny O’Dwyer, the studio said its inability to market the game itself was a “large factor.”
“We didn’t have any money to spend,” explained Jeremy Dunham, vice president of the San Diego-based independent developer. “Our budget for marketing and PR was practically nothing. Our big challenge was how we get it out to other people.”
The studio’s solution was to let Sony promote its soccer-with-cars title, as it does with all the games it offers for free via PlayStation Plus.
“Our strategy was, ‘If we don’t have the money to market this game, why don’t we let Sony market it for us, because they put in millions of dollars a year in marketing PlayStation Plus games and they do it month after month regardless of what the game is.’”
This was a risky move, considering it would mean that, after spending a great deal of its own money on developing Rocket League, it would be giving it away for at least a month after launch.
“It was a difficult decision,” Dunham continued. It took a lot of discussions … Almost up until the game was announced for PlayStation Plus, we were on the fence.”
“It was a big worry because we didn’t know if it was the right decision. We had a lot of fear that we would just make no money on the game,” added Corey Davis, design director at Psyonix. “Obviously, developers can’t go into details of the deal they have with Sony, but you fight for an amount that they pay you and hope that’s enough if nothing else happens.
“It was really concerning that we may just sign away all this money and then the game just drops off. Even within the first month, yeah it blew up on PlayStation Plus, but what if five million people download it and then no one else buys it ever again and we’ve made nothing and have to pay for servers for five million people.”
Of course, that’s not what happened and, in fact, Rocket League became a bona fide sensation. Word of mouth and online buzz made it one of the most downloaded PlayStation Plus games of all time. It went on to make $110 million for the studio and, by August 2016, amassed 21 million total players. Psyonix counts individual players in this figure, so those that haven’t purchased the game but play through split-screen are included.
In August it was also reported that the game has sold 7 million copies across PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. The exact number of copies that were downloaded through PlayStation Plus has not been specified and Sony never releases this information. However, during the documentary Dunham said Rocket League has now sold 8 million copies and has “almost 22 million players.”
The two-part documentary is a fascinating insight into the history of Psyonix and how it created one of the best games in recent years. Watch it here.
Since launch, Psyonix has supported Rocket League with new downloadable content. It recently introduced a new arena that’s set under the sea, which is available for free alongside two new paid DLC cars based on the deep sea theme.
Disney announced last week that Toy Story 4 had been delayed for a second time, with the highly anticipated animated movie now slated for summer 2019. Now, Pixar veteran Pete Docter, who is assisting on the movie’s story, has spoken about why it’s taking so long to get the movie out.
He told Entertainment Weekly that it’s been difficult to find the right story to tell because Pixar wants to make sure Toy Story 4 doesn’t feel like “another regurgitation of something we’ve seen.”
The first three Toy Story movies have already “plumbed the depths” of main characters Woody and Buzz, so it’s been a challenge to “find something new that hasn’t been done.” Docter is optimistic about where things stand now.
“I feel like we’re onto it now. But it’s taken some real deep investigative work,” he explained.
What we do know about Toy Story 4‘s plot is that it will be something of a love story about Woody and Bo Peep. Pixar boss John Lasseter said this would be the case in a 2015 interview and Docter confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that the love story angle was still in play.
“The last I saw, those were still elements that they’re playing with,” he said. “It brings it to something that you haven’t seen before, which I think is what people want. On the one hand, you like the familiarity, you like these characters, you want to see them again–but if it was the same movie or it felt like, ‘Eh, it was a little bit like Toy Story 2,’ then we’re kind of sunk.”
Toy Story 4‘s screenplay is being written by actors Rashida Jones (The Office, Parks and Rec) and Will McCormack (Celeste & Jesse Forever). Lasseter and Josh Cooley (Inside Out) are attached to direct.
Also in the interview, Docter talked about the possibility of a Monsters, Inc. sequel. He directed the 2001 original and said he has a “never say never” attitude about a sequel. 2013’s Monsters University was purposefully a prequel because Pixar didn’t want to address what might have happened to Monsters, Inc. character Boo and how she grew up after the events of the first film.
For a sequel to happen, it would “have to be really compelling,” Docter said.
After its latest delay Toy Story 4 is now slated to come out in June 2019. It was previously scheduled for a June 2018 release, but that date has now been taken by The Incredibles 2.
Nintendo will share more details on Animal Crossing: New Leaf‘s Amiibo support and possibly more today during a Nintendo Direct briefing dedicated to the game.
As announced previously, the Nintendo Direct kicks off at 7 AM PT / 10 AM ET / 2 PM UK today, November 2. You can watch the entire event right here in this post through the Twitch embed below.
When the update comes out, you can tap compatible Amiibo figures and cards on your 3DS, which will then bring that specific villager to your town. Today’s Nintendo Direct may explain in greater detail how that will work. Check out some screenshots and every compatible Amiibo in the gallery below.
Fox has released a new TV spot for Assassin’s Creed, the upcoming movie based on Ubisoft’s popular video game series. The video uses footage from previous trailers, but compiles it in a new way.
In only 30 seconds, the video touches on the story, shows some intense action scenes, and even includes a cheesy standard fare line from Michael Fassbender. “The party’s just getting started,” he says. The video also confirms Assassin’s Creed will be rated PG-13 and not R.
Assassin’s Creed comes to theaters on December 21. In addition to Fassbender, it stars Oscar winners Marion Cotillard and Jeremy Irons. Ariane Labed, Brendan Gleeson, and Michael Kenneth Williams are also in the movie. A new trailer was released last month–watch it here.
[UPDATE] Uncharted game director Neil Druckmann clarified on Twitter that he has never met the movie’s writer, Joe Carnahan. “I haven’t met the movie writer, don’t know his take on the material, therefore have no opinion on the script,” he said.
In the Collider interview, Carnahan said he met with Druckmann and other people involved with the Uncharted series.
“I sat down with [Uncharted director Amy Hennig] and sat down with [Drake voice actor Nolan North] and sat down with [Uncharted writer and director Neil Druckmann], who created this thing, and took them through what I was doing and what I was thinking of and they loved it,” Carnahan said.
The writer told Collider that Levy is “incredibly” smart and talented and said they both have a fondness for the Indiana Jones movies, which Uncharted shares similarities with. For Carnahan, however, he’s taking an “anti-Indy” approach to the script.
“What I’ve written is very anti-Indy in the sense of the guy that loves museums and wants to preserve these artifacts. He’s not! He’s a thief and he’s a grifter, and he’s a scourge,” Carnahan said. “He and Sully are not good guys but they’re better than the bad guys. It’s a game, you know, they’re certainly rogues, and certainly don’t have a problem, even in the first game he just kind of dumped Elena and it’s interesting.”
Video game movies have a track record of mediocrity or worse, so the Uncharted film faces something of an uphill battle, at least in terms of perception. For a video game movie to succeed, it needs to be something that exceeds the sum of its part, Carnahan said, adding that his script is being well received in its current state. It’s important that the Uncharted movie stay true to its roots but being too beholden to the source material might be a bad thing, the writer said.
“I sat down with [Uncharted director Amy Hennig] and sat down with [Drake voice actor Nolan North] and sat down with [Uncharted writer and director Neil Druckmann], who created this thing, and took them through what I was doing and what I was thinking of and they loved it,” Carnahan said. “She loved it. She understands too that you can’t be so slavish and devoted to the source material. I’m a big believer that the fanboy element or the fan lobbies are massively overrepresented in Hollywood and don’t have nearly the lobbying power that we think they do.”
It’s important for the Uncharted movie to “cut loose” from following the game’s story too closely, Carnahan said. “You need to break with tradition sometimes to tell compelling stories,” he explained.
“It’s just making a great movie and trying to put as much of the game in as you can and the sensibilities of making Drake and Sullivan and so on, and beyond that, just do something original and fun,” Carnahan added. “Roll the dice, like we have to do on anything. There are no assurances, and there certainly are very few hedging your bets when it comes to making movies. So I really believe that. Just be original. Do your best. Try to check the boxes you can, but beyond that don’t get wrapped up.”
The Uncharted movie’s script, as it currently stands, includes important elements from the game like the signet ring, the harvest magnet, and the legend of Sir Francis Drake. Of course, it will also have “big action stuff,” Carnahan said, which is no surprise, given the game series is known for that.
Outside of Drake and Sullivan, we don’t know if any other familiar characters will show up. Carnahan said he did keep some characters, but they have been “reset.”
“So there’ll be names and familiar faces and so on, but they won’t necessarily be what they were in the game, which I think is important, you have to do that, create amalgams,” he said.
At least based on the screenplay, Carnahan said he thinks Uncharted fans will be happy.
“I think people will dig it, but I can’t imagine,” he added. “I’m sure someone will hate my guts, but that’s okay, a lot of people hate my guts.”
Also in the interview, Carnahan said he and Levy have discussed actors who could play Drake, but said nothing is locked in yet because he’s unsure who will be available and what it might cost to get them. Nolan North would be perfect, he said with a laugh. But more seriously, it may end up coming down to “sheer economics,” Carnahan said.
One of the names floated for Drake was Mark Wahlberg. Carnahan said he would be “great” in the role, but it would depend on how old Drake would be in the movie. The same goes for Sully. Another factor to consider is that Sony apparently wants Uncharted to be a film franchise that could span multiple movies. This complicates the matter of choosing an actor.
“Is Sully in his 50s and Nate in his late 30s? Is Nate in his late 20s and Sully’s in his early 40s? Who knows,” Carnahan said. “It really is gonna depend on that process because if X gets excited and says ‘Oh, I want to play that,’ then it means Sully’s gonna have to be this age, and that changes things. And if you’re talking about making three, four films, what’s ideal for that.”
The next high-profile video game movie is Assassin’s Creed, which is based on Ubisoft’s video game franchise. Michael Fassbender stars in the movie, which opens on December 21.
Sega is teasing a new entry in its Daytona USA racing series. The Sega Amusements Twitter account posted a gif that cycles through previous entries in the series, and then teases something new for 2016.
The gif and the accompanying Twitter post confirms the new Daytona will be playable at an International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions event being held at the Orange County Convention Center the week of November 14.
Daytona USA was originally released in 1993 and this new machine is the first entry in the series since Daytona USA 2: Battle on the Edge, which launched in 1998. The beloved arcade racing series was directed by Toshihiro Nagoshi, who went on to create the Yakuza series and Binary Domain.
Although the first Daytona is remembered fondly for its gameplay, it’s standout feature is the superb theme tune, which is sung by Japanese video game composer Takenobu Mitsuyoshi. Here’s hoping he comes back for the new Daytona.
In other Sega news, the company has reported its financial performance for the six months ending September 30 and both sales and profits have increased.
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