Cinemas in England could reopen on May 17, following the government's announcement about the easing of lockdown restrictions. Prime Minister Boris Johnson laid out potential dates for the reopening of different parts of the economy.Most of the dates in Johnson's announcement are dependent on a series of milestones being reached, as the UK's ambitious vaccination program continues throughout the spring and the nation's COVID-19 infection rate falls. Indoor hospitality, which includes cinemas, bars, and restaurants, are currently looking at May 17 as the day that they can open their doors once more. Drive-in theaters will be allowed to open from April 12.English theaters closed in December following a dramatic increase in COVID-19 infections and deaths. While the country was operating under a tier system prior to this, with a variation in restrictions depending on the infection rate in each area, the spring reopening of cinemas and other commercial businesses will be nationwide. Scotland and Wales have devolved governments, and are yet to announce their plans about easing lockdown.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Pokemon Go developer Niantic has announced an extra event for those who purchased Pokemon Go Tour: Kanto tickets. Because technical issues allowed some players to access that paid event without a ticket, the studio will hold a bonus event for those who did purchase a ticket."Trainers, Thanks for your patience while we looked into the Pokémon GO Tour: Kanto ticket issues. We will be hosting a bonus event for all paid ticket holders at a later date," the studio explained on its official support Twitter account (via Eurogamer).Trainers, Thanks for your patience while we looked into the Pokémon GO Tour: Kanto ticket issues. We will be hosting a bonus event for all paid ticket holders at a later date. Please stay tuned for details. — Niantic Support (@NianticHelp) February 20, 2021No other details about the event have been announced just yet, but the Pokemon Go Tour: Kanto event took place on February 20. Tickets for that event ran for $12, making it one of Pokemon Go's priciest activities to date, but fan reception to the event was generally positive.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

With the Mass Effect: Legendary Edition coming in March, you might be craving some new Mass Effect merchandise to further reminisce about your time with BioWare's space-faring trilogy. This limited-edition Garrus Vakarian statue could be just that.Teased earlier this year, BioWare has officially launched preorders for the statue on its website. Made of polyresin and standing 6 inches tall, this hand-painted statue features everybody's favorite Turian in a recognizable pose; on the verge of taking out a target with deadly precision. Garrus Valkarian Statue $95 See at BioWare Gear Mass Effect: Legendary Edition $60 See at Amazon Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's big Season 2 update lands this week, and one of the most exciting new additions is the Outbreak mode for Zombies. Treyarch has now posted a new trailer for the mode and announced details on what to expect. These details were posted on Activision's website, and we've rounded up the key points below.What It's All About:Outbreak is an objective-based mode that challenges teams of four to take part in what's called Operation Threshold. Taking place across different environments in the Ural mountains of Russia, Outbreak is a large-scale mode that requires players to work together strategically.Outbreak also adds new Aetherium Crystal types--Refined and Flawless--which players can use to upgrade weapons, gear, perks, and ammo.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

To celebrate the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's big new Season 2 update, the developer is making the game's multiplayer and Zombies modes completely free.From February 25-March 4, players can check out the full multiplayer and Zombies suite at no cost. This includes the brand-new Outbreak mode for Zombies, along with some of the new content and maps coming to Black Ops Cold War multiplayer.Call of Duty: Warzone is always free, but players can also look forward to new content with the Season 2 update including new points of interest to explore on the map, a new mode called Exfiltration, and more mysterious to solve across Verdansk.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The boutique retro console maker Analogue has announced that it will soon have restocks of several of its most popular items. These include the Super Nt, Mega Sg, and the company's DAC, which allows users to convert those consoles' digital output to analog signals.The Super Nt and Mega Sg are reproductions of the Super Nintendo and the Sega Genesis, respectively, that are powered by FPGA technology. Analogue often refers to its products as "reference-quality," meaning that the experience is essentially identical to playing on original hardware. However, these products have more bells and whistles compared to playing on an old box, including support for modern video signals like HDMI. You must provide your own game cartridges, however.Super Nt, Mega Sg and DAC restocks incoming asap. Super Nt in March/April. Mega Sg and DAC soon after. There will be a heads up before live on the store. As always, sign up for stock notifications to be notified the instant they are back in stock: https://t.co/wClKgtdVJQ — Analogue (@analogue) February 22, 2021According to the company, the Super Nt restock will take place sometime in March or April, with the Mega Sg and DAC coming soon afterward. There's still no word on a restock for the company's latest offering, the Analogue Pocket, which is a portable handheld console that plays the entire Game Boy game library. The initial run of the Pocket is scheduled to go out this May.Info from Gamespot.com

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is currently the top-selling game on Amazon's Nintendo Switch charts. While this isn't exactly surprising, given that it's an enhanced re-release of an entry in the beloved Zelda series, many fans did complain about the game's $60 price tag after its reveal at the February Nintendo Direct. Fellow re-release Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury is second on the charts, followed by Animal Crossing: New Horizons.As a company, Nintendo is well-known for keeping its games at full price years after they came out. For example, 2017's Zelda: Breath of the Wild still sells for $60 new at Amazon, though the price is currently discounted to $50. That said, that doesn't mean that fans are happy about paying $60 for a HD re-release of a 10-year-old game. Though it received favorable reviews on its original Wii release, Skyward Sword generally has a reputation as one of the lesser entries in the series.i love rebuying slightly enhanced nintendo games at full price as much as anyone but skyward sword (probably the worst mainline zelda game) at $60 is really pushing it. — 9 V O L T (@9_volt_) February 18, 2021Skyward Sword, Twilight Princess, and Wind Waker HD would have been one $60 bundle if nintendo was a good company — conar (@subtoconnorpls) February 17, 2021Some fans were hoping to see other Zelda games ported to the Switch, such as the Wii U re-release of Wind Waker, or the early Wii entry Twilight Princess, or perhaps all three in a bundle. This wasn't a particularly outlandish expectation, given that Nintendo just did something similar with Super Mario 3D All-Stars, which packed together three 3D Mario games. That said, Super Mario 3D All-Stars is only available until March 31, so if you're looking to snag it, you better get a move on.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The upcoming Chains of Domination patch for World of Warcraft's Shadowlands expansion lets players do battle against the Banshee Queen herself, Sylvanas. It's a fight that's been brewing for years, and players are now finally getting the chance to go to war against her.Sylvanas is the final boss in the Sanctum of Domination raid that's coming to Shadowlands with the 9.1 update. At BlizzConline recently, we had a chance to speak with World of Warcraft technical director Frank Kowalkowski, who offered his thoughts on the greatly anticipated fight and what players can expect from it."This has been years in the making. This has been a very long story arc," he said. "And tying back to Domination. It's fitting that she's at the top of the sanctum of Domination. Sylvanas' own life began at the hands of Domination and she's followed this path to eventually align with the Jailer going down the path that she's had. So I think it'll be a satisfying fight. I think it's going to be very unique. We have some very cool things planned for players. Wish we could share them now! But players will see soon enough what we have planned there."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Netflix has announced The Irregulars, a new series "that follows a gang of troubled street teens who are manipulated into solving crimes" for Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes. The eight-part drama is slated to hit the streaming service on March 26. Check out the first official teaser for the series below. The verb "manipulated" in that synopsis above is intriguing, as it suggests some reimagining of both the characters of Holmes and Watson (or at least just Watson). However, it's hard to glean any insight into what's going on with Watson and his perhaps devious intentions. What instead is clear is these "misfit" kids collaborate with the famous detective duo on investigating "crimes [that] take on a horrifying supernatural edge." The Irregulars is based on the Baker Street Irregulars gang from the original books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

EA Sports' newest Madden game, Madden NFL 21, is being added to EA Play very soon. The publisher has confirmed the professional American football game will join the subscription service on March 2, and this includes the version of EA Play bundled with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.In addition to the game itself, EA Play members get three Gold Team Fantasy packs for Madden Ultimate Team every month. If you're an EA Play Pro subscriber, you get six.EA Play is available across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC, but the situation isn't exactly the same on each platform. EA Play is available for $5/month on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC by itself, while Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members get EA Play included with their $15/month subscription that also includes all first-party Xbox games and a big library of other titles.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The second World Count Challenge event for Super Mario Bros. 35 kicks off today, February 22, at 11 PM PT. The goal of this collaborative event is for players to collectively defeat 350 million Goombas, with My Nintendo points up for grabs if they can meet that goal.If players can defeat the required number of Goombas before the event ends, everyone who participated and defeated at least one Goomba will receive 350 My Nintendo Platinum points. Platinum points can be redeemed on the My Nintendo website for various rewards, including physical items like a Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury keychain. You can see the full list of rewards here.The second #SuperMarioBros35 World Count Challenge is on the horizon, live from 2/22 11pm PT to 3/1 10:59pm PT! Team up with players worldwide to defeat 350 million Goombas! If achieved, all participating players defeating at least 1 Goomba get 350 My Nintendo Platinum Points! pic.twitter.com/1BheolLEjC — Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) February 19, 2021The World Count Challenge event runs until 10:59 PM PT on March 1. To download and play Super Mario Bros. 35, you'll need to have a Nintendo Switch Online subscription. Memberships cost $4 for one month, $8 for three months, and $20 for one year, while an annual family plan costs $35 and covers up to eight different Nintendo Accounts.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

This final week of February, Netflix is only rolling out a mere 15 titles new to the streaming service by the time the next weekend rolls around. Or to put a more positive slant on that fact, think of it this way: Even if there's nothing on the list below that you've been anxious to kick back and watch, it's only a few days before March rolls around, and there's a whole month of new content awaiting you.On the anime and manga side of things, February 25 sees the release of High-Rise Invasion. Adapted from the suspense manga by the same name, the series is about a young girl witnessing a masked figure splitting a man's head open with an axe. As the title suggests, this crime takes place on the roof of a high-rise building, and the girl, Yuri, has to make a choice whether to make a hasty escape or fight the criminals. Just think, this show could also double as educational viewing, as these are the sorts of situations we can all look forward to potentially encountering once quarantine ends. Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Everything you do in Valheim is in favor of helping you to eventually hunt down and destroy the enemies of Odin. The second boss you'll face is the Elder, and taking defeating it is essential to progressing through the game--you'll need to kill the Elder to get access to Iron in the Swamp biome, which will allow you to venture into tougher biomes and defeat even tougher bosses.It takes a lot of effort to locate the Elder, and fighting it can be tough on its own. Here's everything you need to know to track down and defeat the Elder, including what gear you should bring, where you'll have to go, what battle strategy you should employ, and what to do once it's defeated.Where Is The Elder?Tracking down the Elder requires you to venture into the Black Forest biome, which is best handled after you've defeated Eikthyr, the Meadows boss. Taking out Eikthyr gets you the Hard Antler, which you can fashion into the Antler Pickaxe, allowing you to mine Tin and Copper.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Amazon's streaming service Prime Video has a pretty solid March in store for viewers. While Coming 2 America, the sequel to the hit 1988 comedy Coming to America, is something of the centerpiece for the month's new content, there also lots of great programming in store for fans of those kinds of classic '80s comedies.First off, Coming 2 America is landing on Prime Video on March 3. The film, having been delayed from a theatrical release in December, has been a long time coming for fans of the original. Helmed by Craig Brewer, who previously directed Eddie Murphy in 2019's acclaimed Dolomite is My Name, the director said in a recent interview that while the film is a comedy it's also pretty grounded: "What I hope people will like when they see Coming 2 America is that it's 30 years after that fairytale ended… We saw a young couple come together in a fairytale. Well, now they're parents. Now they're dealing with what happens when you're 30 years later. The same thing that's happening in the audience is happening on the screen."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Blizzard has big plans for Hearthstone in 2021. The Year of the Gryphon will introduce three new expansions, each with its own mini-expansion, formulating a year-long narrative starring an all-new cast of characters. The underlying structure of the game will undergo a massive shift too, with the introduction of the Core set and new spell schools. And sometime later this year, a new Mercenaries mode will turn the familiar card game into a roguelike RPG.Fresh off the presentation at BlizzConline, we spoke with senior game designer Alec Dawson and associate game designer Cora Georgiou about the plans for the coming year and lessons learned from past expansions. For more on Hearthstone and the Year of the Gryphon, check out everything we know about Hearthstone's 2021 plans. Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com