Despite its release coming up very soon, little is known about the Breaking Bad movie, El Camino. The high-level plot is that it will follow the story of what happened to Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) after the events of Breaking Bad, but not much else is known. However, a new casting announcement and other intriguing details suggest the movie may feature 10 or more familiar characters.According The Hollywood Reporter, Matt Jones will reprise his role as Pinkman's drug-dealer friend Badger in the movie. It was previously confirmed that the character Skinny Pete (Charles Baker) would also come back to play his character again in the film. He was seen in the first El Camino teaser (below).Jones appeared in 12 episodes of Breaking Bad over its five seasons, including the series finale. After Breaking Bad, Jones went on to play a role in the TV show Mom which ran on CBS (whose parent company owns GameSpot). Jones also appeared in the James Gunn-produced action movie Brightburn. He voices the character Wedge in the Final Fantasy VII Remake.Jones played the role of Dwight Schrute's cousin Zeke on The Office, and he was cast to reprise the role in a spin-off called The Farm before the show's cancellation.A separate THR story states that El Camino will feature "more than 10 familiar characters from the show." So far the list seems to only include Jesse Pinkman, Skinny Pete, and Badger, leaving at least seven more to be revealed later; that's intriguing to think about for Breaking Bad fans.El Camino was written and directed by Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan. He made a purposeful decision to keep the film shrouded in mystery--the movie wasn't even announced until post-production work was finished. Another part of the secret-keeping effort was flying one particular cast member to the set in Albuquerque on a private jet so no one would notice them. Filming took place over a period of only 50 days in the same Albuquerque locations as Breaking Bad, but with new locations in differences places as well due to its increased budget.Gilligan also spoke about the origins of El Camino, saying he kept thinking about what happened to Jesse after he fled the compound in his car, an El Camino."You see him driving away. And to my mind, he went off to a happy ending. But as the years progressed, I thought, 'What did that ending--let's just call it an ending, neither happy, nor sad--what did it look like?'"Gilligan went on to say that he initially thought he might tell the story in a five-minute short film. However, after mulling things over with his producer, Melissa Bernstein, they decided to make the story into a full movie.El Camino comes to Netflix on October 11. It will also play in movie theatres in 68 cinemas around the US in the New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago areas--as well as Albuquerque. El Camino will then later be released on the AMC TV network in early 2020. Info from Gamespot.com

It's time to put that GameStop PowerUp Rewards Pro membership to good use--the retailer is launching its third Pro Day sale of 2019 this weekend, starting Friday and running through Sunday. For the 72-hour period, Pro members will have exclusive access to a limited-time trade-in deal as well as discounts on games, accessories, and collectibles.First, let's talk game deals. At first glance, you'll notice many of these discounts have been offered in the past at GameStop and elsewhere, but that doesn't mean there aren't some titles here worth grabbing, if you don't already own them. Control is a brand-new release from Remedy, the team behind Alan Wake and Max Payne, and it's absolutely worth picking up on sale for $50 on PS4 or Xbox One. Another new release from the developers of Until Dawn, Dark Pictures: Man of Medan, is on sale for $20. Meanwhile, Battlefield V is marked down to $20 and now includes its free battle royale mode, Firestorm. There are also several PS4 classics available for $10, such as Horizon Zero Dawn, Bloodborne, and The Last of Us Remastered, and any of those are worth grabbing if you've never played them.If you've got an old smartphone or tablet lying around, GameStop wants you to trade it in and get the new Nintendo Switch in return. During the Pro Day sale, the retailer is offering $300-$420 for various phones and tech that you can use toward the new Nintendo Switch--you can check out more details on that deal below.As usual, there's a wide range of controllers, headphones, memory cards, and other gaming accessories to browse through. Notably, the Xbox One special-edition Phantom White and Phantom Black controllers are down to $50. PowerA's popular Switch Joy-Con charging dock is $17.49. The SanDisk 64GB and 128GB memory cards for the Switch are ridiculously cheap--$13 and $20, respectively. If you've been looking to get into PSVR, the Astro Bot and Moss PSVR bundle is on sale for $230, a fantastic price on a bundle that usually floats around $300.GameStop PowerUp Rewards Pro membership costs $15 for one year and gets you 20 points for every dollar spent, 10% off pre-owned games and accessories, 10% extra trade credit, a free Game Informer subscription, and, of course, access to Pro Day sales.See some of the best deals in this weekend's Pro Day sale below, and check out the full offering of deals at GameStop.*The following prices will be live starting Friday, September 20.Best Pro Day sale dealsControl - $50 on PS4, Xbox OneGamesAssassin's Creed III Remastered -- $24 ($40)Assassin's Creed Odyssey -- $20 ($60)Battlefield V -- $20 ($40)Bloodborne -- $10 ($20)Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night -- $30 ($40)Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition -- $20 ($30)Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 -- $30 ($60)Control -- $50 ($60)Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled -- $30 ($40)Dark Pictures: Man of Medan -- $20 ($40)Devil May Cry 5 -- $40 ($60)The Division 2 -- $25 ($60)Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster -- $35 ($50)Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age -- $35 ($50)Forza Horizon 4 -- $30 ($60)Horizon Zero Dawn -- $10 ($20)Judgment -- $40 ($60)Kingdom Hearts 3 -- $25 ($40)The Last of Us Remastered -- $10 ($20)Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle -- $20 ($60)Metro Exodus -- $30 ($40)Mortal Kombat 11 -- $40 ($60)Rage 2 -- $25 ($60)Rage 2 Collector's Edition -- $85 ($120)Red Dead Redemption 2 -- $40 ($60)Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice -- $40 ($60)Spyro Reignited Trilogy -- $25 ($40)Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition -- $30 ($40)Team Sonic Racing -- $30 ($40)PlayStation VR with Astro Bot and Moss - $230SystemsPlayStation VR Astro Bot and Moss Bundle -- $230 ($300)Certified refurbished / pre-owned PS4 (500GB) -- $200 ($220)Certified refurbished / pre-owned Xbox One (500GB) -- $130 ($160)HTC Vive Pro Head Mounted Display -- $550 ($800)HTC Vive Wireless Adapter -- $230 ($300)Get a $50 gift card with any new Xbox One consoleGet a free Starlink: Battle for Atlas Starter Pack when you buy a new Nintendo SwitchTrade-in dealNintendo Switch for as low as $0 with trade credit for:iPhone 7, Samsung Galaxy S9, or iPad Pro -- $300 creditiPhone X, Samsung Galaxy S10, iPad Pro 3 -- $420 creditSwitch Wired Fight Pad Pro - $18Controllers and charging docksSwitch Wired Fight Pad Pro -- $18 ($25)Phantom White Xbox One Wireless Controller -- $50 ($70)Phantom Black Xbox One Wireless Controller -- $50 ($70)SCUF Vantage Wireless Controller for PS4 -- $160 ($200)SCUF Vantage Wired Controller for PS4 -- $150 ($170)Joy-Con Charging Dock -- $17.49 ($25)DualShock 4 Charging Station -- $17.49 ($25)Xbox One Controller Charging Station -- $21 ($30)HeadphonesSteelSeries Arctis 5 PUBG Wired Gaming Headset -- $70 ($100)Razer Kraken Tournament Edition Wired Gaming Headset -- $60 ($80)HyperX Cloud PS4 Blue Wired Gaming Headset -- $60 ($70)Memory cardsSanDisk 64GB Ultra MicroSD Memory Card for Nintendo Switch -- $13 ($35)SanDisk 128GB Ultra MicroSD Memory Card for Nintendo Switch -- $20 ($50)PC accessoriesCorsair K70 RGB Gaming Keyboard -- $100 ($160)Razer Ornata Chroma Keyboard w/ Ergonomic Wrist Rest -- $70 ($100)Razer Seiren X Microphone -- $80 ($100)Razer Kiyo Webcam -- $80 ($100)Razer DeathAdder Essential Gaming Mouse -- $40 ($50)Funko Gears Collector Box - $56Collectibles and apparel30% off Funko Gears Collector BoxBuy two, get one free on select Amiibo50% off all Jim Lee POP! Vinyl and POP! & Tee combos40% off select collectibles and board games Info from Gamespot.com

It what could be very big news, it appears Call of Duty: Modern Warfare may allow cross-progression between platforms. Players are reporting that their progress on one platform in the beta--including levels and progression-- moves with them to a different platform.It appears that those who link their Xbox Live, PSN, and Battle.net accounts to the same Call of Duty account are able to have their progress move between systems. That would be a very big deal, as this level of freedom to move between competing platforms is rare.GameSpot tested this, and it appears to work. I played the first beta weekend on PlayStation 4 and upon logging into current weekend's beta on Xbox One, I found all of my progression--including levels, gear, calling cards, emblems, and more--came with me.Officially, Activision has only confirmed that Modern Warfare has cross-play, which allows people on competing systems to play against each other. The current Modern Warfare beta, which runs through September 23, features cross-play support.According to CharlieIntel, developer Infinity Ward said it was "exploring" the possibility of cross-progression, but this has not been confirmed as of yet beyond these initial user reports. GameSpot has contacted Activision in an attempt to get more details, but again, we found cross-saves to be enabled using the method mentioned above between PS4 and Xbox One. Whether or not this works between console and PC is unknown. Also unclear is if this cross-save feature is only available for the beta or if it will be available in the full game.Cross-progression is a user-friendly feature because it means players can freely move between platforms with the confidence of knowing they won't have to start over. Platform-holders like Sony and Microsoft have traditionally not allowed this because they have historically wanted players to stay on their platform.Bungie's sci-fi shooter Destiny 2 recently rolled out a cross-save feature, and we found it to be a great new feature.The new Modern Warfare launches on October 25 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.Info from Gamespot.com

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is a trip back to a simpler time, when handheld game systems had monochromatic screens and two buttons were all you needed to go on a grand adventure. The new Switch remake marks the second revival of the Game Boy classic, and it brings the quirky Koholint Island back to life in style. Without taking any wind out of the original game's sails, the revisions drastically enhance the look and feel of the environments and characters, all the while map layouts and puzzle designs remain incredibly faithful to the source material. Nintendo has implemented a few other new features and some new collectibles that will keep veteran players on the hunt, but the renewed presentation is easily the star of the show.Having been transformed from little pixelated people to shiny, cartoony toys come to life, everyone in Link's Awakening brings newfound energy. It's equally true for monsters and bad guys as well. Game Boy games have retro appeal, but the remake casts aside ancient aesthetics for something entirely different that works on its own terms. That which existed only in our imagination before comes through in new animations, accompanied with lively sound effects and music that make you feel like a kid again. It's the sort of look that grows even more attractive over time, and you might, like I did, start to imagine what other Nintendo properties would benefit from a similar visual upgrade.It can, also, be the one thing about the game that irks, as the frame rate takes a noticeable hit when most scenes load into memory. The problem seems to be tied to the game's pronounced depth-of-field effect, which employs an exaggerated blurring effect to enhance the miniature-toy feel of the presentation. Don't get me wrong, this is more of a minor annoyance than anything--which should tell you a lot about the quality of everything else.Link's Awakening will no doubt feel old-fashioned, which is fair considering the original version is over a quarter century old at this stage. It feels wrong to make any comparisons between it and Breath of the Wild, but in the case that 2017's game of the year was your first foray in Link's boots, kiss the open-ended quests and sprawling Hyrule goodbye. Link's Awakening is a tightly designed adventure on a small but dense map. Eight puzzle-filled dungeons comprise the bulk of your journey, but you're also required to meet and greet the inhabitants of the quirky island. Link washes ashore after a calamitous boating accident to find himself stranded in paradise--or it would be, if not for the Nightmares residing in the aforementioned vaults.This setup suggests that Koholint is but a trite land compared to the embattled and sacred Kingdom of Hyrule--an inconvenient pitstop for old Link, if you will. Yet, Link's Awakening never feels like it's trying to butt up against the series' more epic entries. It works, instead, as a fanciful side story, and it ultimately stands out for its playful attitude and moments of bittersweet melancholy.By and large, the flow of the game is managed in a clear fashion. A sage-like owl helps guide Link from one primary task to the next. With each dungeon comes a musical instrument, and with them all, says the wise owl, Link can secure his way off the island. It always appears at just the right time, when one task ends and the other is about to begin, but you're also afforded advice from a shy man named Ulrira. Chat with him at any of the numerous phone-booth trees scattered around the island; just don't bother him in person--he will sheepishly ask that you stick to the phone, anyway. For the remake, you also have the new option of revisiting past conversations via the map menu, and the ability to mark locations on the map using a small selection of different icons.This may prove useful for several reasons, most notably while you're hunting for collectible items like seashells and pieces of heart. There are more of each in the Switch remake than in the original Game Boy game, and though you may have a clear sense of where some are, many will remain inaccessible until you discover new gear that extends Link's capabilities.With the Switch's expanded button count, Link's Awakening is a lot easier to play now because you have access to more items at once without jumping in and out of your inventory. In the past, you could only have two items in hand at any given moment. On Switch, Link's sword, shield, dash, and Power Bracelet strength are always ready to use, and two configurable slots for other items let you juggle even more in any given moment. This greatly diminishes the annoyance of constant menu-flipping and can make certain boss encounters feel easier than ever. For players that want a challenge in battle, a Hero mode exists, where enemies don't drop health replenishments and Link takes twice as much damage as usual.Largely, however, the more manageable enemy encounters aren't to the game's detriment. Link's Awakening is primarily focused on testing you with its circuitous dungeons and an overarching item-trading quest line that requires you to take a closer look at the people who call Koholint home. Their identities and stories aren't all that deep, but your interactions and exchanges help shape the identity of the locale and brighten up your time spent outside of dark and dreary dungeons. Some of the multi-floor dungeons can take the better part of an hour to figure out, with fluctuating obstacles and subtle environmental cues ensuring that the final stages will either test your memory of the original game or your present observation and deduction skills. There are times when you suspect that you've explored every option yet can't find the path forward. As is par for the course, you probably need to take a closer look at your tools and surroundings. Even if it won't test your fighting spirit, Link's Awakening's most challenging puzzles will test your intellect in surprising ways.Like many of the best Zelda games, Link's Awakening gives you a sense of purpose, motivates you with discovery and growth, and delights you with its charming personality. These qualities, unfortunately, don't carry over to the remake's other big addition: the dungeon maker mode. Here, with the help of the series' favorite gravedigger, Dampe, Link can create virtual dungeons derived from rooms seen throughout his adventure. Amiibo can also factor in, either as portable storage for sharing your dungeons with other players--no, you can't upload them online--or as a means of unlocking special additions for your custom dungeons. The Link's Awakening Amiibo, for example, will introduce Shadow Link as a mini boss. Defeating him, or simply playing dungeons, will net you extra consumables, like bombs and arrows, and a bounty of rupees. These are good options to have, and there's some delight that comes with laying out your own dungeon, but because you are limited to premade room tiles and disposable rewards, the dungeon maker mode is easy to dismiss. It's a curiosity at best, and definitely not the Zelda Maker you might be waiting for.Though the remake has a couple of blemishes, it's still an easy game to recommend. People speak of Link's Awakening as the secret best Zelda game. That's a tough call to make, but it's definitely one of the best. If you haven't touched a classic Zelda game in a while, Link's Awakening will almost instantly transport you back to the '90s. It's simple, in many ways, but the orchestrated journey still conveys a sense of adventure, and this new version is without question the best way to experience it. And more than anything else, it will put a smile on your face. Remakes are a dime a dozen nowadays and often easy to overlook. Don't make that mistake with Link's Awakening.Info from Gamespot.com

Every victory in Overland, no matter how small, is won by the skin of your teeth. That's a feeling any good turn-based tactical strategy game gives you, of course. But Overland's pared-down options, compact maps, and fast-rising stakes mean that nearly every decision--the car you drive, the company you keep, where you move, what you carry--feels vital and could potentially have major ramifications. A mysterious and omnipresent race of creatures (I think) has ravaged the USA, and for the characters under your care, road-tripping from the East Coast to the West Coast seems to be the best course of action. The journey across Middle America is a beautiful but difficult one, filled with life-or-death obstacles right from the get-go, and Overland's roguelike structure means you will see dozens, if not hundreds, of ordinary people (and dogs, all of them good) perish in fraught situations. But the high risk makes its small victories, like finding a cool item or escaping an area unharmed, feel all the more rewarding, more motivating. Overland is filled with bite-sized doses of relief that feed you with the encouragement you need to continue helping these poor folk on the off chance that maybe this time, you might make it all the way.The post-apocalyptic survivors of Overland don't possess the combat expertise of XCOM or Fire Emblem soldiers. The randomly-generated personality traits for characters are simple in nature, but make them feel more grounded and sympathetic than your typical strategy soldier, perhaps emboldening them as a good yeller, or informing you that someone “really misses their family.” Attacking and killing the unnerving and aggressive rock-like creatures that stalk you in each area you traverse is an option (if you happen to be carrying a makeshift weapon, at least), but clearing the playfield of hostiles isn't really the objective here. In fact, the noise that you make in attacking the creatures only attracts more, and in the game's densely packed maps, consisting of a 9x9 grid filled with buildings and solid obstacles, it will quickly create a scenario that is impossible to escape.Overland is instead a game that centers around your roadtrip vehicle. The vehicle you drive is your lifeline, and as you move from area to area on your trip west, your main priority is to keep that four-wheeled machine fueled and in good shape. You start with a simple hatchback but will eventually stumble across different models, and your type of vehicle will inform your strategy--vans let you transport more survivors than your standard car should you encounter them and pickup trucks provide plenty of storage for items but sacrifice seating. SUVs are a late-game godsend that marry the best of both worlds. Escaping an area on foot is possible, but as you'd expect, it's impossible to make any cross-country progress--your characters will be funneled into an area with a beat-up car to try and salvage in order to move forward.Keeping your engine running is the game's central challenge, and it's a demanding one. You need to scavenge new areas for fuel canisters, perhaps finding them in dumpsters or slowly siphoning gas from abandoned cars, and you might find some useful tools and items to assist you along the way. But where Overland creates its challenge, and in turn, its compelling high-risk decision making, is in the strict limitations it puts on what you're actually able to achieve. Restrictions characterise every aspect of the game: Your characters can only take two actions per turn and two hits before dying, and getting injured reduces your actions per turn to one; your vehicle can only take two hits before exploding, and its movement is limited to the two-lane road down the middle of the map, which will often be littered with junk; each character can only hold one item, meaning scavenging is an onerous task that potentially means giving up the ability for a character to defend themselves, and the compact maps mean you're always one square away from either narrowly slipping by or getting skewered by a creature. The lack of choice and options available to you in the overall moment-to-moment makes the ones that are there feel intimidatingly important--one misstep can cause serious havoc.There are items and character traits that can help push these boundaries. For example, your lone starter character will always be equipped with a backpack to carry an extra item, some traits will let survivors perform specific actions for free, and most (but not all) dogs have an inherent attack option. But it's rare for you to feel like you have a complete handle on the situation in Overland, and even then, it'll definitely be short-lived. The margin between success and failure is very fine, and constantly having to fly by the seat of your pants and improvise is a heart-pounding feeling--an undo function is available but has limits and conditions, and the game saves after the end of each turn.All of these factors help guarantee that every new run of Overland you play will be filled with memorable narratives born out of the natural flow of the game. One time, I was eking through a road blockage by having two characters clear debris as a third slowly snaked the car through a narrow passage, all while dozens of creatures bore down on us. A larger creature shoved debris between the clearing crew and the car, leaving me no choice but to escape on foot and leave the driver behind to a grizzly fate. In another situation, my crew of three stumbled across a brand-new, well-equipped pickup truck. But it could only seat two people, and after some consideration, I purposely drove away with my two favorites, abandoning the weakest member of the group. Later on in the run, that person would come back to try and get revenge. In one of my favorite scenarios, one of my human characters was cornered, unarmed, by a creature while scavenging. In a moment of desperation, I commanded her two other companions, both dogs, to race to the car, grab a wooden pallet from the trunk, and work to pass it to her relay-style so she could block the hit she was about to take. Overland is filled with these kinds of thrilling, dire scenarios where you need to improvise an immediate solution or resolve to just drop everything and get the hell out of there.There is a caveat to a game with so many difficult decisions, however: The risk of getting yourself stuck in a bad situation with no obvious way out and a feeling of merely perpetuating your eventual demise. You'll likely have many forlorn campaigns in Overland, especially when starting out, where the difficulty and hopelessness can feel overwhelming. Perhaps you're constantly driving on fumes and finding it's too difficult to obtain fuel from any of the areas presented to you, or perhaps your survivors are all injured and movement-restricted, making it feel impossible to achieve anything meaningful. Overland does present you opportunities to crawl back from these hopeless brinks--believe me, it's possible. But it can sometimes feel like the procedurally generated aspects of the game are stacked against you--especially when you have a crew equipped with debuffs like "Bad Driver" and "Clumsy,"’ guzzling up gas at an increased rate and making a racket with every action they take.But Overland's brutal, minimalist design is tough to stay away from. The bite-sized victories you narrowly eke out with each new area are incredibly moreish, and the game feels very well-suited to portable play on both Nintendo Switch and on iPhone through Apple Arcade. The game's clean, stylish art direction and somber, eerie soundtrack help to build the intriguing sense of mystery, too--whatever is happening in this post-apocalypse is likely much bigger than you or your survivors will ever have the chance to fully understand.All that matters is getting your survivors to the West Coast and making it through seven different biomes filled with an increasingly distressing variety of threats and hardships with whatever tools you can scrounge together. Overland perfectly captures a feeling of being helpless, of only just getting by, and of being afraid to venture too far away from your car into the pitch-black dark of night. Every movement you commit, every action you command, and every item or character you sacrifice for another will be an apprehensive decision. But taking each of those tough steps makes you even more grateful to hear the soft chime of your car's open-door alarm when you make it back, and the rev of the motor when you escape down the highway, relieved to leave another pack of abnormal creatures behind. Info from Gamespot.com

Leaks happen--that's just a fact of Hollywood. And one of those leaks is the script for the highly anticipated upcoming Joker movie. The script has been floating around on the internet for some time, and although it's not exactly readily available, it's not impossible to find, either.No, we won't tell you where to get it. But what we will tell you is how the movie's director, Todd Phillips, feels about the leak--and his reaction might surprise you."I don't care that you read it--I like that it's out there," Phillips told GameSpot after a recent Joker screening in Los Angeles. He explained that as a filmmaker, he's simply pleased with the idea that there are still people who are interested in reading scripts at all.Phillips also said the version of the script that's available on the internet is outdated."The leaked script got leaked six months after we started writing, six months before we started shooting," he explained. "Somebody else asked me about it, and I go, 'I like that it's out there. Throw 'em off. Go that way.'"Literally, that script that went out was an April draft. We started shooting the movie in September. That's six months of writing--that's half the writing process."Although there is a legitimate leaked script, there are also several fake versions floating around, so don't believe everything you read about this movie. And even the real leak is significantly different from the final film. The premise is consistent--Joaquin Phoenix's Arthur Fleck is discarded by society and gradually becomes the Joker. But many changes occurred before shooting, from major plot events to small things, like the fact that Phoenix's character is referred to as "Joker" in the leaked script, but only as Arthur in the final one."In the real draft, it's Arthur the whole time," Phillips said--adding that the change took place before he and co-writer Scott Silver even showed the script to Warner Bros. Speaking of the studio, Phillips said he rejected Warner Bros.' offer to try and quash the script's spread through legal means. (Warner Bros., for its part, has no official comment on the leak, according to a representative.)"Warner said to me, 'Well, we can get lawyers involved, but it becomes whack-a-mole,'" the director said. "And I go, 'You know what? It's six months old. Who gives a s***?'"Who gives a s*** indeed? The reviews for Joker so far have been largely positive, and the movie has scored a 70 on Metacritic as of the time of writing.In GameSpot's Joker review, we said that "Joker succeeds, without equivocation, because it transforms the villain into the populist antihero we need him to be now. Joker wears its influences on its maroon sleeves, but it also carves its own gashes through the blood-soaked landscape of contemporary comic book movies, offering something that, despite teetering on the shoulders of 80 years of history, is wonderfully fresh, dangerously exciting, undeniably entertaining, and rock-solid in its artistry. It might make you uncomfortable, and it will no doubt stay with you long after the curtains close; great movies often do."We also chatted with Phillips about whether he has plans for a Joker sequel, and whether the movie has any comic book connections.Joker hits theaters October 4. In semi-related news, The Suicide Squad director James Gunn recently revealed the cast list for his Suicide Squad sequel, and it's a doozy.Info from Gamespot.com

Amazon Prime Video's upcoming Lord of the Rings TV series will film in New Zealand, which is no surprise. The Twitter accound posted a tweet that now confirms it.The tweet simply posted the New Zealand flag, which has sent fans into a tizzy about the show being filmed in the same country as Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies. Amazon later confirmed that yes, indeed, the new show will film in New Zealand."As we searched for the location in which we could bring to life the primordial beauty of the Second Age of Middle-earth, we knew we needed to find somewhere majestic, with pristine coasts, forests, and mountains, that also is a home to world-class sets, studios, and highly skilled and experienced craftspeople and other staff," showrunners and producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay said in a statement (via THR). "We’re happy that we are now able to officially confirm New Zealand as our home for our series based on stories from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings."They added: "We are grateful to the people and the government of New Zealand and especially Auckland for supporting us during this preproduction phase. The abundant measure of Kiwi hospitality with which they have welcomed us has already made us feel right at home, and we are looking forward to deepening our partnership in the years to come."🇳🇿 — The Lord of the Rings on Prime (@LOTRonPrime) September 17, 2019In June, the New Zealand Herald reported that a "huge" part of the Lord of the Rings TV show will film in New Zealand; Queenstown and Auckland were called out as potential filming locations.It was previously rumored that the Amazon Lord of the Rings TV show may film in Scotland. It's still possible the production will shoot in other locations outside of New Zealand.While New Zealand is a beautiful country filled with incredible scenery that has inspired some of the Lord of the Rings' most iconic scenes, the country's association with the franchise hasn't been entirely smooth.Warner Bros., the film giant behind The Lord of the Rings, made headlines in 2010 when it reportedly had a back-and-forth with the New Zealand government to ensure friendlier terms for the movie studio. As Fodors reminds us, the "Hobbit Law," as it became known, focused on how film crews were considered independent contractors, and thus their ability to collectively bargain and enjoy protections and benefits came into question. The new government that took power in 2017 sought to adjust the legislation to be more worker-friendly, but it remains to be seen if anything has changed.Whatever the case, Workplace Relations Minister Iain Lees-Galloway said he's optimistic about the law being changed. "We're looking to restore a lot of workers' rights that have been diminished over the last nine years, and that is a priority for us," he said, as reported by Fodors. "It's something that we want to have the legislation at least introduced within the first 100 days of government."For what it's worth, this time frame has come and gone with no apparent change to the law.The new Lord of the Rings show is set in the Second Age, which is a 3,441-year period that covered major events like the forging of the Rings of Power, including the One Ring; the War of Sauron, the beginning of the Ringwraiths, and when Numenor the island sank into the ocean. Also, it was during the Second Age that the Elven city of Rivendell was developed and the great battle where men, elves, and dwarves fought together for the first time against Sauron. A popular rumor was that the show would focus on a young Aragorn, but that may not happen.JD Payne and Patrick McKay are writing Amazon's Lord of the Rings show. They have no TV writing credits to their name, but neither did David Benioff and D.B. Weiss when they made the massively popular Game of Thrones series. Amazon's Lord of the Rings show recently brought on Game of Thrones series producer Bryan Cogman, who was known as the "third head of the dragon" for Game of Thrones, along with Weiss and Benioff.There is no word yet on when the Lord of the Rings show will premiere, but we're beginning to find out who will star in it. Black Mirror actor Will Poulter and Markella Kavenagh are in talks to play the lead roles, according to reports.Behind the camera, Amazon has assembled an all-star team of writers and producers. The writers room for the untitled Lord of the Rings show includes Gennifer Hutchinson (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul), Helen Shang (Hannibal), Justin Dohle (Stranger Things), Bryan Cogman (Game of Thrones), and Stephany Folsom (Toy Story 4).J.A. Bayona, the director of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, is directing episodes one and two of the Lord of the Rings show.Kate Hawley is the costume designer; she previously worked on Edge of Tomorrow and Suicide Squad. Rick Heinrichs, who won an Oscar for Sleepy Hollow and also worked on The Last Jedi, is the production designer; Jason Smith, who worked on The Revenant, Super 8, and The Avengers is the visual effects supervisor. Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey is also working on the new Amazon show, as is Lord of the Rings movie trilogy illustrator and concept artist John Howe.The Amazon show also has numerous producers, including people who have worked on Westworld, Boardwalk Empire, 10 Cloverfield Lane, and The Departed.In other news, a new Lord of the Rings video game focused on Gollum is in development at Daedalic Entertainment, while a AAA online Lord of the Rings game is also on the way.Info from Gamespot.com

Remember way back in 2014 when people discovered a loot cave in the original Destiny? It was this magical place where you could take advantage of the game's systems to quickly acquire a surplus of rare loot. Well, Borderlands 3 kind of has one of those of its own, allowing players to rapidly farm legendary weapons and items. Here's how it works; you can also see it in action in the gameplay video above.In this case, players discovered a way to exploit the level design for one of Borderlands 3's areas to get an enemy to respawn over and over again to increase the drop rate for random legendary weapons. The farming method was first discovered by Reddit user Nordor222.First off, to fully take advantage of this exploit, you'll need to beat Borderlands 3's campaign and unlock its endgame content. In the endgame, you unlock Mayhem Mode, which allows you to crank the difficulty of Borderlands 3 in a variety of ways. Mayhem Mode also increases your chances of getting a legendary loot drop though, so push it up to Mayhem Level 3 at the Sanctuary III console.Once that's done, fly to Eden-6 and fast travel to the Jakob's Estate. Head to the location that's marked on the image below. You'll know you're in the right place when you see a group of bandits. Among them should be a purple-tinged loot tink. He'll have a pretty hefty shield--one amplified by Mayhem Mode--so bring out your strongest shock weapon to take the tink down. Maybe grab an incendiary weapon too, both to deal with the tink once its shield is gone as well as the group of bandits that spawn in to protect him.This tink already gives you pretty good loot, but with the bonuses provided by Mayhem Level 3, he'll spit out a few purple and yellow items as you take him down. If you defeat him, you can open his backpack, which will typically spew out a few pieces of legendary loot and some phenomenal very rare items. Once you've grabbed all you can carry, warp back to the Jakob's Estate fast travel point, quit to the main menu, reload the game, and head back to the tink's spawn location. He'll be back and carrying a brand-new set of legendary items for you to loot. Just repeat the process for as many times as you please.Keep in mind, Gearbox may already know about this exploit and they could be working on a fix for it right now. When players discovered the loot cave in the original Destiny, Bungie shut that down in days. Given how this exploit essentially removes the need to do any of Borderlands 3's endgame content, we imagine Gearbox will want to remove it at some point before the raid boss is added. So act now if you want to take advantage. Just think, what you see below could be yours. Borderlands 3 News Borderlands 3 Starter Guide: 17 Spoiler-Free Tips You Should Know Before Jumping In Borderlands 3 Shift Codes: All Active Shift Codes And How To Redeem Them Borderlands 3 Review, Release Date, Preload, Unlock Times, PC Specs, And More Borderlands 3 Golden Chest Guide: How To Get Golden Keys And Shift Codes Info from Gamespot.com

Hollywood sure does love rebooting and reviving beloved classics. Every year, multiple movies are remade, and now, there is another big one in the works. Sony Pictures CEO Tony Vinciquerra said in a recent interview that The Princess Bride is now being talked about for a reboot.He told Variety that "very famous people" have come to him to pursue the idea of a Princess Bride reboot. However, the executive declined to say who these people are, stating only that they "want to redo Princess Bride."The quote came as part of a profile of Norman Lear, who produced The Princess Bride, among numerous other film and TV projects such as Stand By Me, All in the Family, The Jeffersons, and Maude. Vinciquerra went on to say that Lear's work is in high demand for reboots."We have so many people coming to us saying, 'We want to remake this show or that show,'" Vinciquerra said. "Some people want to do animated versions of some of the sitcoms. Not a month goes by when we don’t have an idea coming from some very big name wanting to do things with Norman."The Princess Bride stars Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, and Wallace Shawn. Billy Crystal, Fred Savage, Peter Falk, and Andre the Giant also starred in the movie that was directed by Rob Reiner. The movie was nominated for Best Music, Original Song for "Storybook Love" by Willy DeVille.Elwes, who plays Westley in The Princess Bride, spoke out against the idea of a Princess Bride reboot. Jamie Lee Curtis, who is married to The Six Fingered Man actor Christopher Guest, also said it's a bad idea to reboot the movie.There’s a shortage of perfect movies in this world. It would be a pity to damage this one. https://t.co/5N8Q3P2e5G — Cary Elwes (@Cary_Elwes) September 18, 2019Oh really? Well, I married the six fingered man, obviously why we have stayed together for 35 years and there is only ONE The Princess Bride and it’s William Goldman and @robreiner’s. “Life is pain highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something!” https://t.co/hv33UIZKN3 — Jamie Lee Curtis (@jamieleecurtis) September 17, 2019Savage, who played a child who had the Princess Bride story read to him by Falk, reprised his character hilariously as a grown-up in Once Upon A Deadpool. Info from Gamespot.com

Those who play the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare beta and reach a certain level in it will get a free weapon for use in the game when it launches, Infinity Ward has announced.Players who reach level 10 before the beta ends on September 23 will receive the Hammer shotgun in Modern Warfare at release. The weapon comes "fully customized" with a special pistol grip and a double-silenced short barrel. The foregrip is angled while the gun also is equipped with a holographic sight. Here's what it looks like:Infinity Ward also shared some new details on Modern Warfare's Gunsmith system, which allows players to create customized weapons. Through in-game progress, players will be able to tweak their weapons in Gunsmith across nine categories, each of which has multiple configuration options.Gunsmith Customization Categories:StocksLasersOpticsRear GripsMagazinesBarrelUnder BarrelMuzzlesPerksPlayers can further customize their weapons with unique mods like semi-auto and burst, among others. Check out the full blog post to learn more.Modern Warfare's first beta was held earlier this month on PlayStation 4, but everyone--across PS4, Xbox One, and PC--will get to try the game in an open beta starting September 19. The upcoming beta period introduces the massive-scale Ground War multiplayer mode, as well as the ability to compete against players on different platforms through cross-play for the first time.For more on the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare beta, you can check out GameSpot's rundown of everything you need to know about pre-loading, start times, and more.Info from Gamespot.com

There has been a lot of talk about a reboot of The Office, and now it appears to be one step closer to becoming a reality. NBCU boss Bonnie Hammer told Deadline plainly, "It is my hope and goal that we do an Office reboot."NBCU recently paid $500 million to take The Office away from Netflix and release it on its own streaming service, called Peacock, starting in 2021. Hammer said conversations are ongoing about bringing back The Office as a reboot, but it seems nothing is decided yet.It's just like the good ol' days with Ellie Kemper, @edhelms, and @jennafischer joining @SteveCarell for his #SNL monologue. #TheOffice pic.twitter.com/g76oPCVjHf — 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚎 (@theofficenbc) November 18, 2018"The Office comes back to us in January 2021. It is my hope that we can figure what that great reboot would be," Hammer said. "We are having conversations."There have been rumors and reports about a new version of The Office for years already. Actor Steve Carell, who starred on the show as the boss Michael Scott, flamed the rumor fires in an appearance on Saturday Night Live last year.The Office, which was adapted from the Ricky Gervais BBC show of the same name, ran for nine seasons from 2005 to 2013. The American show was developed by Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons writer Greg Daniels, who recently teamed up with Carell for a new Space Force show for Netflix.While no reboot of The Office has happened yet, two of the show's stars are teaming up for what sounds like a can't-miss podcast about the history of the show.According to one report, the character Michael Scott won't be in the reboot. Carell said in an interview that he thinks it's a bad idea to bring back The Office. Not only should the show not come back, but it also might not work if it has a similar tone, he said."The climate's different. I mean, the whole idea of that character, Michael Scott, so much of it was predicated on inappropriate behavior," he said.Info from Gamespot.com

When tuning into Mayans MC, it's not rare to see nods to Sons of Anarchy, the motorcycle club series it serves as a sequel to. Whether it's characters pulled from the original series, updates on what's happened to SAMCRO since Sons ended, or flashbacks to a time when Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam) was still alive and well, there's plenty for SOA fans to sink their teeth into. The following contains spoilers to the latest episode of Mayans MC.In its new installment, Mayans included two Easter eggs that surely pulled at the heartstrings of fans. Both came late in the third episode of Season 2, "Camazotz." The episode finds members of the Mayans traveling to Stockton, a former SOA stomping ground, to help a local chapter of their club following the death of a member. It also brought EZ (JD Pardo) and Angel (Clayton Cardenas) closer to SOA member Happy (David Labrava), who killed their mother years ago.The Easter eggs begin when EZ passes a significant place in Sons of Anarchy history; the stretch of highway where Jax's father John Teller was killed years before the show began. A mountain wall on the side of the road is marked with a simple "JT 11/13/93."At the conclusion of the episode, viewers get their second nod to the series that started it all. As Happy arrives home to a barking dog, he tells the canine, "Relax, Ope." Fans of Sons of Anarchy will surely recognize that name as a nod to Opie Winston (Ryan Hurst), the fan-favorite character that was killed during the fifth season of SOA. In many ways, Opie was the heart of the show, and his death was the final straw in Jax slipping to the dark side of outlaw biker gang life once and for all.Knowing Opie's memory is being kept alive by Happy is good to see. Given how this episode ends, though--with EZ and Angel holding Happy at gunpoint--it casts some serious doubts on whether the SAMCRO Sergeant at Arms will be around much longer to care for his dog. Hopefully, someone else is willing to step in and continue giving Opie the care he deserves.Mayans MC airs Tuesdays on FX.Info from Gamespot.com

Anthem is changing up how it releases future content. Developer BioWare has confirmed that it is ditching the previously announced "Acts" release schedule in favor of seasonal updates.As described before Anthem's release in February, BioWare planned for the game's Acts to introduce new locations and features that roll out over time. The latest of these Acts culminated in the Cataclysm event that's going on now. It's coming to an end soon, and BioWare is now telling fans to expect seasonal updates in the future. BioWare's Chad Robertson explained that BioWare is moving to this structure so that it can address some of the "core issues" people are experiencing."We hear your concerns on core issues in Anthem and are acting on it," he said. "Those systems require a more thorough review and re-working versus quick fixes. We’ve got a team working on that now, and early results are promising. In order to address these long-range plans, we are moving away from the Acts structure for updates. Instead, we have additional seasonal updates planned for this year that we think players will enjoy.""These events will deliver challenges and chases similar to what you’ve seen, and are built around some fun themes we’re bringing to the game."Robertson said BioWare is making this disclosure as part of its effort to be more transparent and honest with fans about the work that's required to "make Anthem better.""We also want to ensure we're backing up our words with a great game you can play," Robertson said. "So I don't have any news today to share about the long-term changes we are bringing to Anthem. What I can say is that we will continue to engage with you, our community, through PTS when we can show you what is coming."Anthem is the 5th best-selling game of 2019 so far in the United States, according to NPD. It only trails The Division 2, Madden NFL 20, Kingdom Hearts III, and Mortal Kombat 11.Presumably in a bid to get more people playing it, EA added Anthem to the free game catalog on EA Access and Origin Access earlier this month. The game's lead producer, Ben Irving, left the team in August. Upon his exit, he said he believed Anthem has a bright future ahead of it.Info from Gamespot.com

Activision has confirmed that most of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's post-release content, including DLC maps, will be released on all platforms at the same time. That is a big deal for Call of Duty, as CharlieIntel reminds us, this will be the first time in more than a decade that neither PlayStation nor Xbox gets a head start on content releases. That said, PS4 gets a "Day 1 advantage" that's yet to be specified, but with cross-play coming, there won't be any concerns about non-PS4 users lacking access to maps.In a statement, Activision said the developers have "worked to ensure that content will be released in a way that enables all players to continue to seamlessly play together."Activision said that "most" of Modern Warfare's post-release DLC--which includes new maps, modes, and Spec-Ops missions--will "release simultaneously across all platforms."That's all Activision had to say on the subject, but the company said it will share more details on Modern Warfare's post-release DLC strategy in the weeks ahead. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare News CoD Modern Warfare's PS4 Players Will Have A "Day One Advantage" CoD: Modern Warfare Makes A Huge Change To How DLC Maps Are Released Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare Beta Details - Start Dates, Cross-Play, And More Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare Pre-Order Guide In May, marketing material from Sony--not Activision--stated that new content for Modern Warfare would release first on PS4. The content was said to be exclusive to PS4 for seven days. This may still be true, as Activision said in its announcement this week that "PS4 players will have an exciting Day 1 advantage," though this was not specified at all. Activision's statement mentions that "most," but not all of Modern Warfare's post-release DLC will launch on all platforms together at the same time, which leaves some wiggle room to still put out some PlayStation-exclusive content.In another huge change for Call of Duty, the game will support cross-play between competing systems. Activision will test the cross-play functionality with the next Modern Warfare beta that begins this weekend.And in yet another massive update, Activision is releasing Modern Warfare's DLC maps for free. This is also part of the company's effort to keep the playerbase together, and it follows the free map DLC strategy already implemented in other major shooter series like Halo and Battlefield.Call of Duty's post-release DLC was initially released as a timed-exclusive for Xbox consoles before Sony swooped in and took it away. The companies pay Activision for the right to release content early on their systems to create a scenario where one platform or the other is seen as the place to play.The new Modern Warfare launches on October 25 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.Info from Gamespot.com

Although "most" of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's post-release DLC will launch on all platforms at the same time--including new maps--Sony's exclusivity deal with Activision is continuing in some form. Activision has confirmed that PS4 players "will have an exciting Day 1 advantage" in Modern Warfare. That's all Activision had to say on the matter, so fans can only guess for now what that may mean.More details will be announced "soon," Activision said. It's unclear if this advantage will eventually come to the Xbox One and PC versions.Activision and Sony have had an exclusivity deal for Call of Duty for years now, with new content releasing first on PlayStation. That's changing somewhat this year, as "most" of the game's after-launch content will be available on all systems simultaneously as part of developer Infinity Ward's intention to keep the playerbase connected. This is especially important now, apparently, because Modern Warfare supports cross-play between competing consoles and PC. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare News CoD Modern Warfare's PS4 Players Will Have A "Day One Advantage" CoD: Modern Warfare Makes A Huge Change To How DLC Maps Are Released Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare Beta Details - Start Dates, Cross-Play, And More Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare Pre-Order Guide Here is Activision's full statement on its partnership with Sony for Call of Duty content:"Call of Duty is excited to continue its partnership with PlayStation, including last weekend’s PS4 debut of the Modern Warfare Open Beta as well as the recent PS4 exclusive 2v2 Alpha. But the best is yet to come. For the very first time in our partnership with PlayStation, PS4 players will have an exciting Day 1 advantage. More details on how Call of Duty will continue to support PlayStation as the best place to play Modern Warfare will be rolled out soon."Activision will test the cross-play functionality with the next Modern Warfare beta that begins this weekend. Modern Warfare launches on October 25 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.Info from Gamespot.com