Ubisoft's collection of games is way cheaper this week, so if you've been holding out on a game from franchises like Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Tom Clancy's, now's the time to claim it at a much lower price. The PlayStation Store launched an Ubisoft publisher sale on PS4 games this week, but if you prefer to play on PC, Fanatical has a similar sale with even steeper discounts--up to 90% off on some titles.Assassin's Creed Odyssey is currently the "Star Deal" at Fanatical, which is simply a flash deal that lasts 48 hours or while supplies last. The epic Greek adventure is 63% off for a short time; you can grab it for just $22.49. This deal ends very soon, so don't wait too long to claim it. Stay tuned for more Ubisoft Star Deals as they're unveiled later this week.Over 100 other Ubisoft games are marked down, including Far Cry New Dawn, which released in February and is now available for just $18.39; Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands for $19.79; Watch Dogs 2 for $9; and The Crew 2 for $17.39.The Ubisoft PC game sale (excluding Star Deals) runs through May 15 at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET / 3 PM GMT (and 1 AM AET on May 16). Note that these games are available to redeem via UPlay. You won't receive a UPlay key; instead, you can redeem via Ubisoft Connect. Get more info on how to redeem a Ubisoft purchase at Fanatical.GET UP TO 90% OFF UBISOFT GAMES »See more of the best deals below, and check out the full sale at Fanatical.Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag -- $6.59Assassin's Creed Odyssey -- $22.49 (STAR DEAL)Assassin's Creed Origins -- $17Assassin's Creed Revelations -- $7.79Assassin's Creed Rogue -- $6.79Assassin's Creed Syndicate -- $11.59Child of Light -- $5.09The Crew 2 -- $17.39Far Cry 4 -- $11.69Far Cry 5 -- $19.79Far Cry New Dawn -- $18.39Far Cry Primal -- $11For Honor -- $15.59I Am Alive -- $3.74Rayman Legends -- $7.49Rocksmith 2014 Edition - Remastered -- $12South Park: The Fractured But Whole -- $12Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands -- $19.79Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Blacklist -- $10.19Trials Fusion -- $6Trials Rising -- $18.74Watch Dogs 2 -- $9Watch Dogs - Complete Edition -- $5Info from Gamespot.com

As what can only be called tradition at this point, one of Ubisoft's next games has leaked. Called Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, the game is a direct sequel to Ghost Recon: Wildlands and is scheduled to release on October 4 for Xbox One, PS4, and PC.According to post on Reset Era, the leak came from a retail listing which was shared in a since-removed post in the Ghost Recon subreddit. Breakpoint will feature Major Cole D. Walker, a character both voiced and stylized after actor Jonathan Bernthal, as the game's villain. Cole is the focus of the new story content that went live in Wildlands as part of Operation Oracle.Breakpoint will be a "story-driven four-player experience," which is a very similar description to 2017's Wildlands. Cole has gone rogue, seemingly killing Holt, Midas, and (possibly) Weaver, and he's got an army of weaponized drones at his disposal.The retail listing is specifically for the Wolves Collector's Edition of the upcoming Ghost Recon game. The edition comes with the game, a map, artwork, a Year 1 Pass, the Ultimate Pack (which contains extra missions, vehicles, and cosmetics), three day early access, and a statue of Cole--now disguised with a hooded cloak and mask.Ubisoft has already announced a world premiere event in concern for a new Ghost Recon game. Scheduled for May 9 at 11:30 AM PT / 2:30 PM ET (you can watch it here), the event is most likely going to be the official reveal of Breakpoint, as well as confirmation for the information revealed in the leak. The leak implies the event will showcase alpha footage of Breakpoint's gameplay, including traversing a jungle, mud mechanics, and clearing an outpost.In our Ghost Recon: Wildlands review, Miguel Concepcion wrote, "As only the second open world game in the Clancyverse, Ghost Recon: Wildlands is a middlingly safe tactical shooter and a slightly wasted opportunity given the ambitious scope of its seemingly boundless map. While its main strength is its mission diversity, it doesn't take long to lose the motivation after reaching El Sueno's doorstep. Even with a foursome of highly trained friends, Wildlands eventually reveals its diminishing returns. The feeling of positive immediacy and dopamine hits begin to wane sooner than you expected from a game with such a large and diverse world."Info from Gamespot.com

Regardless if you loved or hated Captain America's Endgame finale, or if you prescribe to the writers' or the director's explanation of what actually happened in that scene, one fact remains: a version of Steve Rogers now exists (or existed) through the 1950s in America. Sure, maybe it was an alternate 1950s we'll never see on screen and can't reference in our history books, but it's still the post-war era in America, no matter how the quantum physics shake out.This left us wondering: Do the comics leave any clues as to how something like that would actually shake out for our favorite Star Spangled Man With A Plan?The answer is a completely bizarre yes and no.Understanding The Real Life History Of CapThe first thing you need to understand about Captain America comics is how the whole "frozen and woken up in the modern era" thing we all tend to take for granted as Steve Rogers' defacto origin story was actually an invention of the 1960s, 20 years after Steve was introduced in the comics, not the original game plan for the character. In fact, just about every part of Steve Rogers' origin story is a somewhat modern invention. Just like the other heroes of the '30s and '40s, Captain America was introduced with only the most cursory background. The idea of skinny Steve Rogers being empowered by a super serum wouldn't come for another couple decades.Captain America comics were published through the end of World War II, despite the character's waning post-war popularity. The idea that he "died" in the late '40s? Like skinny Steve, that wasn't a thing yet. Cap was shuffled around a bunch of different titles as his publisher, Timely, hopped him from one team to the next through the 1950s. In 1946, he lead the All Winners Squadron; in 1948, Bucky was shot and taken out of action to be replaced as a sidekick by Cap's girlfriend, Betsy Ross (no, really) aka Golden Girl; and by 1953, he'd undergone a bit of a re-brand for a headline role in Young Men Comics. Welcome to the age of Captain America: Commie Smasher.As you might imagine, commie smashin' Cap didn't really do all that well in terms of sales. This was the pre-Marvel era where the concepts of things like superhero shared universes were in their infancy and without a consistent story or team--and with post-war paranoia ramping up daily--the idea of a propagandistic children's character rapidly lost its appeal. By 1954, Captain America had been completely shelved--not killed off, just no longer under mainstream publication.And then a little publishing phenomena we know as Marvel Comics happened. In the early 1960s, superhero comics found their footing again as legendary creators Jack Kirby and Stan Lee began inventing teams like the Fantastic Four and The Avengers. Kirby, who had co-created Captain America back in the '40s, used his new publishing platform to do a "soft" revival of the character, bringing him into a Fantastic Four story in 1963, which ultimately culminated in the reveal that the man behind the mask was an impostor, not Steve Rogers.Lee, however, took the idea of a modern day Cap and ran with it, positing a complete revision of the last decade or so's worth of Captain America comics for one shocking reveal: Steve Rogers had actually been frozen at the end of World War II and could now be literally revived as a Marvel Comics character proper and member of the Avengers. One year later in Avengers #4, Captain America was back.But there was a problem.People still remembered all of those post-War Captain America comics, no matter how unpopular they may have been. Suddenly, Lee and Kirby were positing that Captain America had been completely out of action since 1945, leaving readers and fans to wonder, if that were the case, who had they been reading comics about for the last ten years?Enter William BurnsideThe answer to that question would take another decade to resolve. The official answer to "what about the Captain America who existed after 1945?" was "that's not Marvel canon" until the early 1970s when a story called Secret Empire broke across Captain America comics.Centering around the machinations of an evil, Illuminati-style organization called--you guessed it--the Secret Empire, the story involved a highly complicated plan to destroy the public image of Captain America by unleashing an impostor. At the time, Steve still had a secret identity, so the complication of another person showing up in the Captain America costume claiming to be him wasn't easily resolved.Rather than just plucking someone off the street to fill the role, the Secret Empire enlist the help of a man named William Burnside who was eventually revealed to, retroactively, be the person behind the mask throughout the late '40s and '50s. In this revision, Steve Rogers had "disappeared" in 1945, but the government refused to accept that their greatest propaganda tool had been taken off the board. In light of that, they crafted a secret project to covertly "replace" Captain America with a new hero, but their plan was only partially successful. Burnside was selected out of a roster of potential candidates and given the same enhancing treatment Steve had been, but the calculations were off, and the radiation of the process slowly left Burnside unhinged.Burnside's madness was largely tolerated, however. He was used as a symbol throughout the Korean War and as a zealotus anti-Communist force through the Cold War. He even had his own Bucky--a kid named Jack Monroe who, like Burnside, was recruited for the project and indoctrinated to their new lifestyle and gas-lit into accepting that he actually was Bucky Barnes. Burnside went as far to have his face surgically reconstructed to be identical to Steve Rogers after Rogers' personal records were made available to him.In short, things were pretty dark, and extremely disturbing, but they were also a not-so-subtle commentary on the place and the responsibility of a character like Captain America during that specific chunk of American history. It was an idea that helped form the modern conception of Steve Rogers in a major way, shifting him from what many readers in the 1970s believed to be a dated, regressive token of vintage Americana into a modern, multifaceted paragon who stood for more than just blind loyalty to the flag. By setting up a story in which Steve was able to literally face down his own past--even after that past had been transposed onto someone else--Secret Empire helped pave the way to the Captain America we all know and love today.Unfortunately, it's pretty unlikely that we're going to see any similar commentary--or any commentary at all--in the live action incarnation. Chris Evans is officially done with his MCU contract and, contentious and unsatisfying as it may be, the end for Steve Rogers in the live action movies is just that: The end. It may be fun to imagine a time-and/or-dimensionally displaced Steve Rogers tearing his way through the 50s in revolutionary style to provide a poignant commentary on things like nationalism and xenophobic paranoia as a direct response to the legacy of William Burnside, but the sad truth of the matter is that's not something we'll ever get to see in theaters. Info from Gamespot.com

Avengers: Endgame, the biggest movie of the year--and one of the largest of all time--will be hitting the upcoming streaming service, Disney+ this fall. It will not be available on launch day for the new service, but it will be hitting one month after Disney+ is available to consumers.During an investors call, Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that Endgame will be coming to the Disney+ streaming service on December 11. This is one month after the service debuts, on November 12. Many expected Endgame to be on the service on Day One, but Disney has stated that there will only be four Marvel movies available on launch: Captain Marvel, Iron Man, Iron Man 3, and Thor: Dark World. However, there will be a ton of Star Wars content available at launch.Alongside the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, Disney+ will be debuting original content featuring familiar faces from the MCU. Aside from previously revealed series featuring Loki, Falcon and Winter Soldier, and Vision and Scarlet Witch, there is a Hawkeye show going into production which will feature Clint Barton passing on the torch to Kate Bishop. If these Marvel shows have the same high production value as Mandalorian--which we got to see some footage of at Star Wars Celebration--then these Marvel shows will have nearly the same production value and quality as the Marvel movies.The new service will be major competition for the streaming giant Netflix, as Disney+ will cost $7 a month or $70 for a yearly subscription. Is it a Netflix killer? That remains to be seen, but Disney+ will undoubtedly cut into Netflix's hold on the streaming market.Info from Gamespot.com

Niantic has been slowly introducing Gen 4 Pokemon to Pokemon Go over the past few months, but two that remain conspicuously missing from the game are Glaceon and Leafeon, the Ice- and Grass-type evolutions of Eevee. However, a new leak suggests the two Eeveelutions may be on the way to the game soon.Dataminer Chrales, who has a long track record of leaking new Pokemon Go features before they're officially announced, discovered text for three new types of Lure Modules. The Glacial Lure, according to the text, attracts Pokemon "that love the cold;" the Mossy Lure has the same effect on Pokemon that "love mossy scents;" and the Magnetic Lure draws in those that "possess a magnetic field."Each of the three new Lure Modules also reportedly cause some Pokemon to evolve, which suggests this is how players will be able to obtain Glaceon and Leafeon in Go. In the mainline Pokemon games, Eevee would only evolve into one of those two forms if it leveled up while near the Ice or Moss Rock. Similarly, Magneton and Nosepass would only evolve into their respective final forms, Magnezone and Probopass, if leveled up in a magnetic field. The three new Lure Modules appear to be Niantic's way of replicating that process in Pokemon Go.Niantic has yet to officially confirm the new Lure Modules, so it remains to be seen when they'll arrive and how players will be able to obtain them. In the meantime, new Gen 4 Legendary Pokemon are available in Raid Battles. The Legendary lake trio, Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie, are appearing in Gyms until May 27; however, each one is currently only available in a specific region.Pokemon Go's next Community Day is also just around the corner. The monthly event returns next Sunday, May 19. The featured Pokemon this time will be Torchic, one of the three starters from Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. A Detective Pikachu event is also underway until May 17. During that time, you'll be able to find increased spawns of Bulbasaur, Jigglypuff, Snubble, and other Pokemon that appear in the movie, and you may even come across a Shiny Aipom or a Pikachu wearing a detective's hat.Info from Gamespot.com

Mortal Kombat 11 released just a couple of weeks ago on April 23, and while it's becoming increasingly common for new games to go on sale in a matter of weeks, we were particularly shook by the speed of MK11's price cuts. Amazon has been selling Mortal Kombat 11 for $10 off ($50) since release day, and multiple other retailers have offered the game at a discount at some point. Now, we're seeing the game at its lowest price yet, and PC gamers who have been holding off may want to jump on this particular deal.For the next week (or while supplies last), Newegg is offering a Steam key for Mortal Kombat 11 for $44. When you add the game to your cart, you'll be able to see the price; the discount is applied automatically. If you're interested in the Premium edition, that version is also marked down to $75 (generally sells for $100) and you'll also receive a Steam key when you buy. The Premium edition includes the base game and the Kombat Pack, which gives you access to six new DLC playable characters, a week of early access to DLC characters, exclusive character skins, and exclusive sets of gear.Get Mortal Kombat 11 standard edition for $44 »Get Mortal Kombat 11 Premium edition for $75 »The game earned a 9/10 in GameSpot's Mortal Kombat 11 review for its deep, accessible combat system, cinematic story, diverse character roster, and rewarding new single-player mode, the Towers of Time."MK11 isn't just a sequel for series fans and NetherRealm devotees, it's a gateway into the realm of fighting games for anyone who has a passing interest in watching ruthless warriors beat each other silly," wrote critic Edmond Tran. "Streamlined mechanics keep the act of fighting furiously exciting no matter what your skill level, and comprehensive tutorials encourage you to dig into the nitty-gritty. There's a diverse roster of interesting characters and playstyles, and the story mode is an entertaining romp."If you're picking up the game, brush up on our best tips for fighting well in Mortal Kombat 11 and see all the changes and improvements rolled out in MK11's latest update. Info from Gamespot.com

Ubisoft has announced Title Update 3, set to go live in The Division 2 this month, will not increase the game's Gear Score to 515 like previously stated. Instead, the maximum Gear Score will remain at 500."Our intention, as always, is for players to enjoy the content they love and continue to make progress with their Agent," a blog post on The Division 2 website reads. "After talking about loot and Gear Score in a lot of meetings, chats and video calls and many white boards being filled with thoughts, notes and graphs, we decided that with all the changes coming with [Title Update 3], increasing the Gear Score at this point would have created a couple of issues."The post goes on to list some of those issues, including how raising the Gear Score to 515 would have made all Gear Score 500 items outdated ahead of the raid that's also included in Title Update 3. "We don't want to invalidate your progression and we heard that feedback loud and clear from our community," the post reads. Ubisoft also doesn't want The Division 2 to become too focused on chasing higher Gear Scores, as "it should be about finding a playstyle and build that you enjoy."To reinforce this, Ubisoft has made several changes to Title Update 3 ahead of its release. These changes are listed below. The list of in-game adjustments and add-ons coming in Title Update 3 are listed in the full patch notes on The Division 2's website.The Division 2 Title Update 3 ChangesWe have increased the rewards for daily Priority Hard and Challenging missions. Once you've reached Gear Score 500, those activities will guarantee Gear Score 500 drops.Heroic Mission bosses, Stronghold bosses and Bounty bosses, as well as Control Point Alert Level 4 reward containers guarantee Gear Score 500 items if your average Gear Score is at 500.DZ contaminated loot does not drop below player's average Gear Score. When you've reached an average Gear Score of 500, Contaminated loot will guarantee Gear Score 500 items.We've balanced loot across the board to reduce the chances of items dropping at a lower Gear Score than that of your character.The Division 2 is available on Xbox One, PS4, and PC.Info from Gamespot.com

A new Exotic weapon, an updated version of the Destiny 1 favorite Outbreak Prime, popped up in Destiny 2 after the recent release of Update 2.2.2, but don't be surprised if you haven't even heard about it yet. The weapon is in the game, but finding the mission to unlock it is no easy feat, and it's completely secret; Destiny players stumbled upon it soon after the update and spent the entire day figuring out everything about unlocking it.The trick to finding the weapon is knowing how to start the quest: Here's what you need to do and where you need to go. We've also got a full guide on unlocking your Outbreak Perfected if you don't feel like trying to figure it out for yourself.To start down the path to get Outbreak Perfected, you need to head to Titan. Despite early speculation, there's no activity you have to play in order to find the start of the quest--you can reach the location just walking around while you're exploring the planet. Land on the Rig, then head south into the Tidal Anchor area.You'll recognize this section of the game from several story missions you've completed on Titan (including "Bad Neighbors," the Adventure that was first thought required for Outbreak Perfected). Work your way through the Tidal Anchor area until you hit the big control room with various switches and a big window. Continue forward into the next room just below it, which also has a big window. You'll know you're in the right place if you come through the door in the room and find a scannable Hive crystal floating in the corner immediately to your right; at the left end of the room, you should see a door leading into a room with red lighting. That's where you're headed.In the red room, you'll see a big door ahead of you that's sealed, and one to your left, both with the number 7 printed on them. Walk to the left door and you should get an "Unlock" prompt to interact with it. That'll open the door, leading you into a new room with a glass wall dividing a control area from the rest of it.Head to the right side of the room, toward the Fallen version of the computer that stands near a sealed door. Beside that will be a slight ramp, at the top of which is a bin full of scrap metal and other junk--something that normally just looks like level decoration that you'd otherwise ignore. Check the bin, however, and get a prompt to "Examine Fallen device." Do so and you'll get an Exotic quest item called a Fallen Transponder.You're now on your way to unlocking Outbreak Perfected. You'll next need to decipher some riddles and break some codes, before completing a timed mission similar to The Whisper, the one needed to earn Whisper of the Worm. Check out our full guide for help, including our Zero Hour mission video that shows the right path through the mission's maze-like corridors.Info from Gamespot.com

2015's PlayStation 4 game Until Dawn was generally well-liked by critics and it sold better than developer Supermassive anticipated. The studio said it had ideas about Until Dawn 2, but it never happened. Instead, Supermassive developed a spinoff, Rush of Blood, and a prequel called The Inpatient. But will Supermassive ever make Until Dawn 2? It seems unlikely.Supermassive CEO and executive producer Pete Samuels told Game Informer said the team wants to tell new stories, and it's doing just that with its new game Man of Medan, which is part of the multi-title Dark Pictures anthology. "After Until Dawn, [many] started to request a sequel, and it still happens today, so we know there is a fanbase that likes this kind of thing," he said."A lot of [creating the anthology] is about our desire to serve that fanbase from our perspective and to serve us ourselves in what we love to do, which is do more stories and characters, and do it more frequently than one or two every few years," he added.Game director Tom Heaton said working on an anthology series is more exciting because it gives the studio more freedom and opportunity to take on a new subject with new characters each time. "You're not tied to historical characters that you have to use," he said.Until Dawn features eight players, all of whom you control, and you must make choices that determine whether they live or die. There can be many different endings. This presents a problem for Until Dawn if it were to have the same characters, of course. "If we were making sequels, we don't know who survived," producer Dan McDonald said. "I mean we could probably work it out from your game save, but we don't want to make a sequel to that. We want to make a different story with different people."Man of Medan follows a group of four young Americans and the ship captain in the South Pacific on a diving trip in search of a World War II-era wreck. This do not go to plan, and the four face "unimaginable stress and terror" as they try to escape the ship. As with Until Dawn, players will make choices that determine the fates of the main characters.Also similar to Until Dawn, Supermassive is bringing on big-name actors to play the characters in Man of Medan including X-Men actor Shawn Ashmore and Pip Torrens from The Force Awakens. Man of Medan launches this summer on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Info from Gamespot.com

Oscar winner Mel Gibson will play a "rowdy, unorthodox" Santa Claus in a new comedy called "Fatman," according to Variety. According to the report, the movie will begin filming in Canada in early 2020. There is no word as of yet about who will star alongside Gibson in the film.Variety's description of the plot states that that Gibson will play a version of Santa Claus who is "fighting his business decline, while a neglected and precocious 12-year-old hires a hitman to kill Santa after receiving a lump of coal in his stocking." Fatman will be directed by brothers Ian and Eshom Nelms, working off a script they wrote. They previously worked on Waffle Street, Lost on Purpose, and Small Town Crime.Gibson is just the latest big-name actor to play Santa. Tim Allen portrayed the character in The Santa Clause series, while Richard Attenborough played him in 1994's Miracle on 34th Street. More recently, Kurt Russell played Santa in the popular Netflix movie The Christmas Chronicles. Gibson is a two-time Oscar winner who earned his awards for for 1995's Braveheart. Info from Gamespot.com

Bill Skarsgard was praised for his performance as Pennywise the killer clown in the 2017 Stephen King movie It, and he's returning to play a more sinister version of the clown in this year's sequel. In a new interview, Skarsgard talks about how playing the clown affected him personally.He told Entertainment Weekly that he went home after wrapping up It: Chapter II, and at night, he was visited by Pennywise. "I was home, done with the movie, and I started having very strange and vivid Pennywise dreams. Every night, he came and visited," he said.Looking forward to IT CHAPTER 2? You should be. I've seen it, and it's terrific. The trailer is coming Thursday, at noon. You'll float. — Stephen King (@StephenKing) May 7, 2019Just like in the films, Pennywise assumed different forms when he visited Skarsgard in his dreams. "It was in the shape of either me dealing with him, sort of Pennywise as a separate entity of me, and then also me as Pennywise in circumstances that I didn't appreciate," he said.Even though Skarsgard says he was visited by Pennywise in his dreams, the actor said it was like an exorcism to finish Chapter II. "Him exiting my body and getting rid of the Pennywise toxins," Skarsgard said.Also in the interview, Skarsgard said Pennywise--having been "defeated" in the 2017 film--returns 27 years later in the sequel as more terrifying and bloodthirsty. "He's inflicted fear on his prey, and he's very focused on fear, but he's never experienced it himself," he said. "Now he's experienced something that he has been inflicting on others and … there's a shift leading into the second movie."The actor teased that Pennywise is not bound by continuity in the sense that a traditional character would be, and this allows him to go to some horrifying places. "We can explore his unpredictability now that we've established the character for the audience. We can still sort of shock them," he said.The first trailer for It: Chapter Two will be released on Thursday morning, so keep checking back with GameSpot for more. Chapter Two picks up 27 years after the events of the first movie. The kids are now adults, and Pennywise the Clown is back to terrorise them once more.The cast is full of big names. James McAvoy plays Bill and Jessica Chastain portrays Beverly, while Bill Hader stars as Richie, Jay Ryan as Ben, James Ransone as Eddie, Andy Bean as Stanley, and Isaiah Mustafa as Mike. Bill Skarsgard returns to play Pennywise. The children who played the child characters from the original movie will return as well in flashback scenes.Andy Muschietti, who directed the original, is back as well for the sequel. It: Chapter Two hits theatres on September 6.The 2017 movie It made more than $700 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing horror movie in the history of cinema.Info from Gamespot.com

Did you know that the original Pokémon movie is still the highest grossing anime movie in the US? No matter how many critically acclaimed Studio Ghibli movies come out, there's no denying the power of Pikachu and the Pocket Monsters.But the original Pokémon movie, or Pokémon: The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back, didn't get anywhere near the critical praise that other anime movies have received outside Japan. Western critics called the movie an obvious attempt at selling toys, and called out the movie's contradictory anti-violence message that goes against the very point of the anime and games.Yet in Japan, Pokémon: The First Movie was better received critically. While the complex philosophical themes were criticized for being too difficult to understand for children, the film's exploration of cloning and genetic modification was praised, according to Joseph Tobin's book, "Pikachu's Global Adventure: The Rise and Fall of Pokémon."Before Detective Pikachu is unleashed in theaters and makes us all party like its 1999, let's put on our tiny detective hats and see what the hell happened to the original Pokémon movie and solve the twisty mystery of why the Japanese version is much, much better.Twisty IndeedThe basic plot is that Ash and his friends are invited to a mysterious lair on a remote island to meet the world's greatest Pokémon trainer, who is organizing a private tournament with the best trainers around. When they arrive, they realize the trainer is actually a powerful psychic Pokémon named Mewtwo, who has created an army of clones and plans to take over the world and kill everyone. Except this last bit is completely different in the Japanese version, and Mewtwo's motivation is actually a lot more developed.You see, when Pokémon: The First Movie was released in Japan in 1998 it was accompanied by an audio drama that aired on Japanese radio before the movie, and was added as an animated prologue to the movie's TV broadcast later on. It was called The Birth of Mewtwo. The ten-minute short served as a prologue detailing how Mewtwo came to be. Though the short was added in North America to the sequel Mewtwo Returns, it is completely absent from the original movie where it belongs.Read next: How The Detective Pikachu Movie Makes Pokemon Work In The Real WorldIt tells of a group of scientists, led by a Dr. Fuji, who found a fossilized sample of the DNA of Mew, the original mythical Pokémon. They successfully clone Mew and enhance it to create Mewtwo, the most powerful Pokémon alive.When Mewtwo gains consciousness, it uses its psychic powers to communicate with a cloned Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander that reside in the lab, as well as Ambertwo, the clone consciousness of the deceased daughter of Dr. Fuji, and they all become friends. This happiness isn't allowed to last, and complications with the cloning process cause Mewtwo's friends to fade away Thanos-style and die. We watch as poor, little Mewtwo witnesses its only friends in the world die, and starts crying. This is a being that doesn't know who it is and what it's meant to do, two questions that carry its whole character throughout the movie. Traumatized by watching a smaller version of The Snappening, Mewtwo starts activating its psychic powers, which prompts the scientists to put him in stasis for years. (The short also explains that Pokémon tears are special--because their tears are filled with life. This explains how they can magically revive Ash when he turns to stone later in the movie.)Then the actual movie begins. Mewtwo wakes up wondering who it is, where it is, and why it came to be. When it doesn't get the answers it wants, Mewtwo blows everyone up.This short prologue alone gives us an entirely different Mewtwo, one that isn't just a despot wanting to kill everyone, but a confused creature in the middle of an existential crisis.In a series of blogs, Takeshi Shudo, chief writer for the original series of the anime and the first movie, detailed his original plans for Pokémon: The First Movie. He wrote that prologue in order to make a film that not only entertained kids, but mentally stimulated their parents with some tough questions of existentialism. The conflict of his film came from Mewtwo's struggle to find meaning to its existence. This is far less ambitious in the version of the movie localized for Western audiences; in the original, there is no wanting to annihilate the world and rule it. All Mewtwo wants is answers to the questions regarding its identity, purpose, and most of all, value.Mewtwo then decides the best way to do this is by testing its power. If Mewtwo is stronger than the strongest Pokémon trainers, or even Mew, then surely its life has value? If Mewtwo's clone army can defeat natural-born Pokémon, then they must have a more valid reason to live than the originals, right? While Mewtwo does mention that humans aren't fit to rule the world, when asked, he mentions that Pokémon aren't fit either--he's just trying to figure out his place the only way he learned how.I Mewtwo, Therefore I AmThe original version of Mewtwo is not just a maniacally evil and genocidal psychopath, but a villain with depth and an arc. So what happened?Turns out, Nintendo and 4Kids happened. The official, very '90s US website for the movie clearly states that "Pokémon: The First Movie had to be virtually reimagined for American audiences." Nintendo, which owns all rights to Pokémon in America, brought 4Kids Entertainment (who also localized Yu-Gi-Oh! and One Piece in the US) on board to essentially "Americanize" the movie. 4Kids is infamous for heavily censoring the shows they buy, removing things like guns, cigarettes, and religious symbols, and even changing Japanese food like rice balls for more recognizable American food like jelly donuts. In the year between the Japanese and US releases of the movie, 4Kids's Norman Grossfeld "dramatically rewrote the script, incorporating all-new story elements," according to the website. They also re-scored the entire movie with music that Grossfeld thought "better reflected what American kids would respond to," which explains the weird inclusion of Christina Aguilera and M2M, and also the very excellent "Brother My Brother," which plays during the final battle.These changes did not sit well with the writers and producers of the Japanese original. As written in an essay and quoted by Tobin in "Pikachu's Global Adventure: The Rise and Fall of Pokémon," executive producer Masakazu Kubo wrote that "The people at Warner gave us some hassle over the script. According to them, the Japanese original does not distinguish clearly enough between the good guys and the bad." According to Kubo, the distributor told him that the viewers would not be able to know who to identify with and who to cheer on. "In other words, the heroes and villains needed to be identified clearly."It is a perfectly reasonable concern. After all, kids would not understand that Mewtwo was supposed to be the villain. He only kills a bunch of people at the beginning of the movie, fights against Ash and turns him to stone, and the movie is called "Mewtwo Strikes Back," but, you know, kids are dumb! The only way they will know that Mewtwo is the villain is if we make him want to take over the world and kill every single human. Otherwise, the kids may not identify with Ash, the main guy from that super popular TV show the movie is based on.In the end, Grossfeld changed quite a bit, including the opening narration that talks about the meaning of life, the pop music, well known gaffes like a character calling a Pidgeot a Pidgeotto, and everything pertaining to the climax of the movie.After Mewtwo unveils his army of clones, Ash foolishly attempts to punch the villain in the face, but is sent flying away, before Mew arrives and saves Ash. Then Mewtwo declares that it is more powerful than Mew and will prove it in battle, while also psychically blocking his clone army's abilities so they can fight the old-fashioned way, with tooth and nail instead of flamethrowers and water-cannons.Mew sides with the original Pokémon to fight Mewtwo. Watching Grossfeld's version for the West, one can see Mew as almost a messianic hero who defends Ash and the other Pokémon from Mewtwo's evil and saves them with an anti-violence message, saying that "shows of force prove nothing, real strength comes from the heart." Meanwhile, watching the original Japanese version based on Takeshi Shudo's script you see a different side of the little Pokémon, with Mew saying that the originals are the only real living creatures and they won't lose to the copies. Mew in this movie goes so far as to say it can't forgive the existence of a copy made by humans, so they fight--seemingly to the death.While the heartbreaking fight is going on, we cut to the human characters witnessing the carnage, and here is where the biggest and worst change happens. In the US dub, which was then translated in all Western countries, the characters realize that violence is wrong, and Pokémon should absolutely never fight one another. It's a very strange message to have in a movie based on a franchise that's all about having Pokémon fight each other.Only this isn't the message of Shudo's original script. Since the whole point of Mewtwo was that it wanted to find its place in the world and the fighting was a way to show that the clones' lives had more value, the human characters' moment of realization involves them talking about how both originals and copies are still living creatures and therefore their lives have value. When Ash gets petrified and the Pokémon tears bring him back, both Mew and Mewtwo finally realize that all lives are meaningful--whether human or Pokémon, original or lab-grown.This message is far more fitting of the franchise's mythology, since Pokémon don't really fight to the death, they just "faint." It's a shame that 4Kids never understood the message, and did everything it could to make a compelling and complex film into a merely entertaining but dumb kids' movie. Takeshi Shudo may have had some weird ideas--he wanted to end the anime with the revelation that it was all in Ash's head, including a movie involving a Spartacus-like revolution led by Pikachu where Pokémon rebelled against their trainers--but there's no denying that the Japanese version of Pokémon: The First Movie had a way more fitting message, even if lacked that killer pop soundtrack.Read next: How Detective Pikachu's Filmmakers Kept Hardcore Pokemon Fans In MindInfo from Gamespot.com

David Eddings, the original voice actor for Claptrap from the Borderlands series who isn't returning for Borderlands 3, has shared some new insight into the situation--and it is dramatic. After Randy Pitchford, the CEO of Borderlands developer Gearbox Software, called him "bitter and disgruntled," Eddings spoke up again today. He shared his side of the story, which includes a claim that Pitchford physically assaulted him in a hotel lobby at the Game Developers Conference in 2017."I was fine moving on after Gearbox," he said. "But when my former boss starts mouthing off about various aspects of my employment, including 'how highly compensated' I was and how 'generous' he is, I feel obligated to correct the record."In the Twitter thread, Eddings said he had "mixed feelings" when Gearbox asked him in 2018 if he would come back to voice Claptrap for Borderlands 3. He said he was willing to "put differences aside and do something cool for Borderlands fans with my friends at Gearbox."Eddings said he offered to do the Borderlands 3 voicework for "free" in exchange for Gearbox paying him past royalties for his work doing the voice of Claptrap in the previous Borderlands titles. As reported previously, Eddings did the voicework for Claptrap on Borderlands 1 and 2 when he was an employee at Gearbox, so he did not draw any additional payment.Eddings also brought up a significant claim against Pitchford: that Pitchford assaulted him in 2017. Eddings said Pitchford "physically assaulted me" in a hotel lobby during GDC 2017. The alleged misconduct reportedly took place at the Marriott Marquis hotel in downtown San Francisco. The situation surrounding the alleged assault is unclear, and Eddings did not say if he filed a police report. Whatever the case, Eddings said he offered to do the voicework for Claptrap in Borderlands 3 if Gearbox gave him the requested backpay and an apology for the reported assault. It appears that didn't happen."Personally, I think Randy's been on the tilt the last few years. He's not the victim he portrays himself to be. I even blocked him a couple years ago for stalking me on social media. Enough is enough," Eddings said.He went on to mention again the reported $12 million that Pitchford is alleged in a lawsuit to have received as a secret bonus paid to him instead of going to the Gearbox development team's bonus pool. Eddings said it was "conspicuous" that Pitchford would talk about Edding's salary but not mention the alleged $12 million payment that, in Eddings' words, Pitchford "siphoned away from the employee royalty pool." Eddings added, "Gearbox employees are asked to take lower salaries with the promise of royalty shares."2K Games, the publisher of Borderlands 3, has not publicly commented on the lawsuit in question, which was filed by a former Gearbox lawyer at the tail end of 2018. 2K Games is owned by Take-Two Interactive, which handles the legal matters for its subsidiaries.Here is Eddings' full Twitter thread on the subject:I was fine moving on after Gearbox. But when my former boss starts mouthing off about various aspects of my employment including “how highly compensated” I was and how “generous” he is, I feel obligated to correct the record. — David Eddings (@davideddings) May 7, 2019I had a lot of mixed feelings when asked to reprise the role of Claptrap late last year and eventually realized I was willing to put differences aside and do something cool for Borderlands fans with my friends at Gearbox. — David Eddings (@davideddings) May 7, 2019I ultimately offered to do it for “free” in exchange for past royalties owed plus an apology for something I’ve never spoken about publicly until now: Randy physically assaulted me in the lobby of the Marriott Marquis at GDC 2017. — David Eddings (@davideddings) May 7, 2019Personally, I think Randy’s been on tilt the last few years. He's not the victim he portrays himself to be. I even blocked him a couple years ago for stalking me on social media. Enough is enough. — David Eddings (@davideddings) May 7, 2019It's nice not feeling the need to spot any sleight of hand these days or wonder if the card was chosen or forced. I'm happy to be free from the half-truths and full-on deceptions. And thankful to no longer hear people referred to as "muggles" like a con-man refers to a "mark". — David Eddings (@davideddings) May 7, 2019As an aside, seems a bit conspicuous that he chimed in on my salary but didn't mention anything about the $12M of revenue he siphoned away from the employee royalty pool. FYI - GBX employees are asked to take lower salaries with the promise of royalty shares. — David Eddings (@davideddings) May 7, 20192K says they won't give a statement regarding an ongoing lawsuit but if the allegation is false then it sure seems a lot easier to just deny it since that's the only reason they're mentioned. The whole thing stinks. — David Eddings (@davideddings) May 7, 2019Eddings was a decade-plus executive veteran at Gearbox. According to Pitchford, Eddings was terminated, but the specifics surrounding his departure from Gearbox are unclear. Whatever the case, Eddings appears to be directing his misgivings solely at Pitchford. He says Gearbox is "full of amazingly talented game developers," adding that it's unfair to blame the developers "for the actions of one person."Nah man -- Gearbox is full of amazingly talented game developers. It's not fair to blame the employees for the actions of one person. Be kind. They're the ones forced to cringe and bear it every time the boss shoots himself in the foot. — David Eddings (@davideddings) May 5, 2019According to Pitchford, Eddings was paid "handsomely" during his time at Gearbox. And regarding the invitation to return as Claptrap in Borderlands 3, Pitchord said Gearbox offered him two times the standard union voice acting rate, which Eddings refused for the reasons mentioned above.Pitchford has yet to respond to Eddings' comments today. GameSpot has contacted 2K Games in an attempt to get more details. Keep checking back with GameSpot for the latest.Info from Gamespot.com

The upcoming movie about The Lord of the Rings author, called Tolkien, does not come with a stamp of approval from the Tolkien Estate. That is no big surprise, as the Estate has for decades distanced itself from dramatic adaptations of the fantasy series, including Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings series. Now, Tolkien director Dome Karukoski has spoken about why it's in the movie's best interest to have avoided any relationship with the Tolkien Estate to begin with.Speaking at the Tolkien premiere in New York City, Karukoski the movie might have been "suffocated" had the producers worked alongside the Tolkien Estate. "Honestly, you try not to work with the Estate for reasons obvious," Karukoski said, as reported by Indie Wire. "Even if it would be out of kindness to ask the Estate, you start servicing them, they become your friends. You shouldn't mess with the Estate, so the film can exist purely for your own reasons and your own feelings about the characters."Karukoski went on to say the the Tolkien movie producers did "very, very thorough research" to try to under Tolkien the man and the other key characters in the story, like Edith Bratt. The director said what viewers will see is that "the emotional truth of [the characters] is very true."Had the Tolkien producers worked with the Estate, that might have led to situations where the film would obscure or ignore certain character traits--and that wouldn't be good, Karukoski said."To dig out the emotional truth of the characters, you have to try to not hide certain evidence and when you work with an Estate what happens is that that kind of gets suffocated," he said. "You're not allowed to do certain things so that the audience can feel an emotion from it."In another interview, Karukoski told SkyNews, "Even if they were the kindest Estate ever, they would kind of become your friends and you start servicing them rather than the purity of the drama you need to make the best possible film."Karukoski also confirmed that the producers invited the Estate to view the Tolkien movie before its premiere, but representatives reportedly declined. Karukoski said he is hopeful that members of the Estate see the movie someday.The Tolkien Estate is led by J.R.R. Tolkien's son, the 94-year-old Christopher Tolkien. He told French newspaper Le Monde in 2012 that "the commercialisation [of Tolkien's work] has reduced the aesthetic and philosophical impact of the creation to nothing." In the same interview, Christopher Tolkien said of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, "They eviscerated the book by making it an action movie for young people aged 15 to 25."Going further back, Tolkien himself was skeptical and hesitant about the commercialization of his work, and specifically the prospect of selling the Lord of the Rings movie rights to Disney in the '60s. He said he had a "heartfelt loathing" for Disney movies, and he said Walt Disney himself was "hopelessly corrupted" by profit-seeking.Fox Searchlight, the production company behind Tolkien (which is now owned by Disney), said in a statement that it "has the utmost respect and admiration for Mr. Tolkien and his phenomenal contribution to literature."Nicholas Hoult (Mad Max: Fury Road, X-Men series) plays the adult Tolkien, while Lily Collins (To The Bone, Stuck In Love) plays Tolkien's wife, Edith Bratt.Middle-earth Enterprises, which is the rights-owner of Tolkien's work separate from the Tolkien Estate, is by comparison more enthusiastic about commercial deals related to The Lord of the Rings than the Estate. Just this year, it announced a partnership with Daedalic Entertainment for a new Lord of the Rings game about Gollum. Additionally, Electronic Arts remains a Lord of the Rings licensee, as does WB Games and Lord of the Rings Online developer Standing Stone Games.While the Tolkien Estate might not be involved with the Tolkien movie, the group does support some commercial endeavors. The Estate recently partnered with Amazon on the new Lord of the Rings TV show coming to the retailer's streaming service.Tolkien opens in theaters on May 10. Reviews have started to show up online--here's a breakdown of what the critics are saying.Info from Gamespot.com

Monster Hunter World is Capcom's best-selling game of all time, the publisher has revealed. As part of the company's financial year 18/19 results, it was confirmed the PS4, Xbox One, and PC RPG has shipped over 12 million units."Monster Hunter World ... continued to report strong sales," Capcom said, "with total shipments breaking 12 million units, marking a record high for any single title in the company's history." The statement also revealed horror remake Resident Evil 2 has shipped over 4 million units, while Devil May Cry 5 has shipped 2 million. Note "shipped" only refers to units delivered to retailers, not through to consumers.These sales have helped the company record pre-tax profits of 18 billion yen (US $164m), an increase of 13% over last year. Elsewhere in the financial release, Capcom stated its intention to improve working culture for its employees, a topic which has come under increasing scrutiny in recent months with workers from companies such as Rockstar, Epic, and many more complaining of an exhausting work life."Starting from April 2019, laws related to workstyle reforms will go into effect and various measures including the reduction of overtime work will become imperative," reads the statement. "As part of measures to promote work-life balance and reduce any instances of excessive working hours, the company has endeavored to improve and maintain employee health by encouraging employees to take paid leave and through holding nine safety and health committee meetings every month."The company is also working to create an environment with child-rearing support and other initiatives, including on-site childcare facilities, which will empower employees to pursue their careers actively. At the same time, it will seek to foster a corporate culture that provides job satisfaction in order to secure and leverage outstanding talent."Looking to the future, Capcom is bringing the first Devil May Cry to Nintendo Switch this summer. Monster Hunter World, meanwhile, has an ongoing special event named Spring Blossom Fest, which runs until May 16.Info from Gamespot.com