It's not hard to get attached to animals, and that's exactly what happened to Viggo Mortensen during the filming of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Mortensen purchased three of the horses used during filming when they went on sale, and said this week that two of the horses Mortensen adopted have passed away, the actor said in a recent interview.Speaking to NME about his new film, Falling, Mortensen talked about the steeds when the interview touched on the trilogy."There were actually three horses that I bought, they were up for sale once the movies were done. There were the two I’d ridden–a chestnut and then the big bay that Aragorn rides–but I also bought the white horse that Arwen rides in The Fellowship Of The Ring when she’s being chased through the forest by the Black Riders," Mortensen explained. The first two horses, named Uraeus and Kenny, Mortensen said, have passed away. Uraeus was credited as Brego in the films, and Kenny as Hasufel. The third horse he purchased for the stuntwoman who rode the horse in that scene, and that one is still around.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Google has released its Google Trends for the year, and looking over the stats for searches in the US, as well as the global searches, there's some interesting insights into the entertainment people wanted to know more about in 2020.The most searched term in the US was "election results;" globally, it was "coronavirus," for reasons that should be obvious. Tom Hanks was the most searched-for actor, in the US and globally, likely because he was the first major celebrity to contract COVID-19.The impact of COVID-19 can also be seen in searches that start with "Where To Buy," with "toilet paper" ranking high. But in the US, "Where to buy PS5" was the top search, ahead of toilet paper in second. Of course, in a normal year it would not be that surprising that the new PlayStation was in rarer supply than toilet paper, and anyone seeing this headline after time traveling here from 2019 would be confused and worried. But 2020 was not a normal year.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The wait is over: CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077 is finally here. The RPG has released on Steam, and it's already doing huge numbers.According to Steam's public data page, there are more than 980,000 concurrent players for Cyberpunk 2077 right now. That makes it Steam's biggest game, exceeding Valve's own free-to-play juggernaut Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.There have been some reports about issues and outages with Steam, but as always, your mileage may vary.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Rocket League Season 2 is now live and it brings a host of changes to the game about supersonic acrobatic rocket-powered battle-cars. Season 2 adds a new battle car and arena, as well as player anthems.The new battle car is the R3MX, unlocked in the first level of the Rocket Pass. The R3MX possesses the Hybrid hitbox, so it strikes the ball similarly to battle cars like the Venom and X-Devil. Meanwhile the new arena, Neon Fields, is a colorful field that reacts to the music being played during the match.Neon Fields interacts with Rocket League Radio and each individual player's player anthem, reacting to songs as they play.Really, music is the overall theme of Season 2. For example, several new goal explosions, battle car decals, wheels, and boosts in the Rocket Pass all relate to music. This theme most comes through in the brand-new player anthems. You can now assign yourself a player anthem, a song that will play when you score a goal, get an epic save, or earn MVP for a match.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

PC players of Destiny 2 who have stuck with the game's free-to-play version following the launch of Beyond Light might want to keep their phone on hand while playing from now on. A new security measure has been added to the game to prevent cheating as of Update 3.0.1, adding SMS verification to certain activities.As Bungie explains in a help article, this applies only to "certain pinnacle level activities," and players who have purchased a Destiny 2 expansion do not need to do this. Trials of Osiris, competitive Crucible matches, and the Iron Banner will be affected--all PvP activities.Here are the steps necessary to activate and use SMS verification from Destiny 2 on PC:Launch into an SMS restricted activity when playing on PC, and receive a pop-up requesting SMS verificationClick the "Verify Now" button. This will redirect players to Bungie.netSign into their Bungie.net profileEnter their phone number in the space provided and request a verification codeEnter the verification code sent to their phone numberThis might be a minor hassle, but hopefully it will have an impact on cheating and account theft on PC. Players with the expansions can also choose to opt-in for SMS verification, if they would like to do so. If you're a console Destiny 2 player who has managed to get their hands on a PS5 or Xbox Series X version, make sure you check the game out after this latest update--it's a major upgrade.Info from Gamespot.com

For the first time, Hollywood heavyweights and Oscar-winners George Clooney and Ben Affleck will work together on a feature film. According to Deadline, Clooney will direct an adaptation of the book The Tender Bar, with Affleck set to appear in the starring role. While Clooney and Affleck have never worked directly with one another, they did win an Oscar together for the movie Argo. Affleck starred and directed that film, while Clooney produced it.According to Deadline's report, Clooney and Affleck have been trying to work together more directly for years. Affleck was said to have been "high" on Clooney's list to star in The Tender Bar.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

When you start a new game in Cyberpunk 2077, you're asked to pick one of three life paths: Street Kid, Corporate, and Nomad. The path you choose will have some effect on the stories you see, the characters you meet, and the conversations you might have. While your life path will inform your V's backstory, it won't drastically change the game--but there are a few key elements that the choice will alter, including the prologue and your path into Night City.Here's what you need to know about the three Cyberpunk 2077 life paths and how they'll change your Night City experience. It's worth noting that, after the prologue section, all three paths merge together with the game's main story to take you on a similar journey. Your life path will change some of the details, however, and it's important if you want to immerse yourself in V's experience. Your life path choice will bring you some specific side quests related to your prologue.We've also got some essential tips for Night City newcomers, a guide to help you make money in Cyberpunk 2077, a rundown of how romances work in the game, and our full Cyberpunk 2077 review--so check those out too.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

You'll find all sorts of weapons in Cyberpunk 2077, whether you earn them from completing mercenary jobs, buy them from stores, or pry them from the hands of your cold, dead enemies. But hidden out in the world among all the standard (if high-tech) guns, clubs, and swords you can find in Night City are much rarer, special weapons with unique properties. These are Iconic weapons, which you can only find in some key places and stand well above the other equipment you'll find on your journey to become a living legend.Though Iconic weapons are some of the best in the game, they're also easy to miss. We've compiled a list of some of the Iconic weapons you can find throughout your journey, running down what they can do, and more importantly, where you can find them. While you're hunting for these, don't forget to read our Cyberpunk 2077 review and check out our essential tips, romance guide, life path guide, and guide for making money quickly and easily in Night City.Fenrir -- Power Submachine Gun Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War has received another update, this one fixing some bugs and crash scenarios, and also making some changes to multiplayer playlists.The Miami map has been added to the Combined Arms playlist, joining Crossroads, Armada, and Cartel as the fourth map in the 12v12 playlist. For the Zombies mode, this new update adds the "Pack-a-Punch" camos for the Ray Gun. Additionally, Nuketown '84 has been added to the Onslaught map playlist.In terms of fixes, the update addresses an issue where player-voting for the next map could become disabled. Additionally, the updates fixes scenarios where the game could crash in some cases. You can see the full patch notes below, as posted by Treyarch.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Sony has had its eye on anime streaming service Crunchyroll for some time, and was set to spend a whole load of cash to get the service. Now, it's official, and Crunchyroll is a Sony brand, acquired from WarnerMedia for the price of $1.175 billion.Sony is no stranger to anime. The actual purchase of Crunchyroll went through Funimation Global Group, LLC, which the official press release for the sale describes as "a joint venture between Sony pictures Entertainment Inc. and Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc's subsidiary, Aniplex." Funimation, founded in 1994, is one of the longest-standing names in anime in Western territories. Aniplex came together a year later, and has been producing anime and music, as well as publishing games, ever since."The Crunchyroll team has done an extraordinary job of not only growing the Crunchyroll brand but also building a passionate community of anime fans. Crunchyroll’s success is a direct result of the company’s culture and commitment to their fans," said WarnerMedia's Chief Revenue Officer, Tony Goncalves, in an official statement.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

All the way back in 2012, Disney bought LucasArts, and the rights to Star Wars, for $4.05 billion, making series creator George Lucas even richer than ever before. In the years since, we've had insights into the man's thoughts on the new films, and how he feels about no longer being involved with Star Wars. Now, in an excerpt from an upcoming book about the series, Lucas has talked more about his decision to step away from the spacefaring saga.This excerpt, from Paul Duncan's upcoming book The Star Wars Archives Eps I-III 1999-2005, is from an interview with Lucas, who directed Episode IV and the prequel trilogy. Why did George Lucas sell Lucasfilm in 2012? He tells me why in this extract from my new book The #StarWars Archives Eps I-III. My unboxing video here: https://t.co/M907YGZsjm pic.twitter.com/MEPRStOil8 — Paul Duncan (@kershed) December 3, 2020Lucas reflects on how, before the sale, he had begun work on a new trilogy, and at the same time he was anticipating the birth of his daughter. "It takes 10 years to make a trilogy--Episodes I to III took from 1995 to 2005," he reflected, saying that he was 69 years old at the time. "So the question was am I going to keep doing this the rest of my life," he reflects.Lucas says that working on the prequel trilogy took 10 years--so if he'd started work in 2012, he'd likely finish in 2022. Ultimately, Lucas decided that he'd rather spend time raising his daughter and pursuing other projects. "I could have not sold Lucasfilm and gotten somebody to run the productions, but that isn't retiring," he says. "On The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi I tried to stay out of the way, but I couldn't. I was there every day." Lucas says that he'd always wanted to build a museum, and knew that if he spent a decade making another trilogy, that likely wouldn't happen. The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art was established in 2014."I've spent my life creating Star Wars--40 years--and giving it up was very, very painful," Lucas says. "But it was the right thing to do."It's previously been revealed that George Lucas felt "betrayed" over how the Disney deal played out. Lucas does not go so far in his own words, but he suggests that he had less input on the new films than he anticipated. "I thought I was going to have a little bit more to say about the next three because I’d already started them, but they decided they wanted to do something else," he says. "Things don’t always work out the way you want it. Life is like that."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

While thrillers and horror movies based around pandemics and contagious outbreaks have been made for decades, the events of 2020 have, obviously, made them even more terrifying than ever before. The latest addition to the sub-genre is the new South Korean series Sweet Home, which hits Netflix this month. The first trailer has now been released.Sweet Home focuses on a pandemic that sweeps across the world, turning people into terrifying creatures. The series is set in an apartment block, and centers on a group of residents who have to work together to survive. It looks a lot of wild and scary fun, with some really cool monsters; in particular, there's one crazy creature known as the Protein Monster, who seems to be rendered in old-school stop-motion claymation style. Check the trailer out below:Sweet Home is directed by Lee Eung-Bok, and stars Song Kang, Lee Jin-Wook, Lee Si-Young, Lee Do-Hyun, and Kim Nam-Hee. It's based on a webtoon of the same title by Kim Kan-bi and Hwang Young-chan, which was published in 2017. All 10 episodes arrive on Netflix on December 18.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

2020 was a tough year in many respects due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and how it tore holes in every aspect of our lives, from the glaringly obvious to the minute. As a result of this, many people sought refuge in games and gaming content this year on sites like YouTube. Now, YouTube Gaming has announced that the service had its best year ever, with over 100 billion hours of content watched--that's a lot of Fortnite.According to a blog post announcing the milestone, more than 80,000 channels hit 100k subscribers this year, over 1,000 hit 5 million, and over 350 hit 10 million. The top games watched for 2020 were Minecraft, Roblox, Garena Free Fire, Grand Theft Auto V, and Fortnite. Minecraft notched over 201 billion views by itself, doubling Roblox's count of 75 billion.The blog post highlighted the charitable giving of top YouTubers like Jacksepticeye and The Game Theorists, with the former raising over $660,000 for COVID-19 relief in a 12-hour stream. It also listed the most successful streamable live events of the year, with Travis Scott's Astronomical Fortnite concert coming in at #1.Info from Gamespot.com

Marvel's Avengers now has the first of its post-launch characters, Kate Bishop. The sassy archer is another hero in the Marvel universe who uses the Hawkeye codename--Clint Barton, who's also Hawkeye, is her mentor and will be the second post-launch character for Marvel's Avengers. Yup, Marvel's Avengers is getting two playable Hawkeyes back-to-back."Yeah I mean, I'll be honest, from a gameplay standpoint, it would probably have been easier to not have to do two very similar characters," Marvel's Avengers lead combat designer Vince Napoli told me. "But, as with everything in the game, I think it's a decision driven by story and narrative. [The team] sort of fell in love with the idea of telling a story we only could by having Hawkeye as the first character. And then when they were looking at the storyline, they were like, 'Hey, it'd be awesome to also throw Kate in there.'"As Napoli tells it, developer Crystal Dynamics wanted to use the two Hawkeyes to tell the next chapter of Marvel's Avengers story, but the team didn't want Kate to just be thrown in solely for story purposes. If she mattered to the overall narrative of the game then she deserved to be playable too, not just Clint. "At least it gives us a couple of playable characters right away, one after the other, which is really cool," Napoli said. "And I know you're excited to have a quick two-part introduction and kickoff to this whole post-release story stuff. So that's kind of nice, the fact that there's a nice, a quick turnaround."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Early Access farming/collecting sim Ooblets has just dropped its latest update: V.05 Coldyrain. The Ooblets team have laid out their plans for content drops, and this is the latest. If you're familiar with the naming conventions in Ooblets, it's probably not a stretch to understand that this is a snow/winter update for both PC and Xbox.According to the Latest News dialogue that appears after you've downloaded the update, this new content drop is a bit different than what the devs were originally planning. The first idea for this update was for it to be a big Wildlands update, with some fun winter stuff thrown in for good measure. But it soon became apparent that the new wintery features were both substantial and fun enough to warrant being a main focus for this update. According to the team, that big Wildlands update is still in the pipe, and will probably release as its own update later this month.So what all can you expect from this new season in Ooblets? Well first off: get ready for snow. This new chilly precipitation will work similarly to the pre-existing in-game rain, but instead of watering your plants, it will freeze them. Frozen plants aren't dead, but they won't grow either, so you'll need to be managing them with the different tools the update is adding to keep your crops warm like heaters and special anti-freeze fertilizer. Or you can wait for the snow to melt, I guess. For now, it will snow pretty regularly, but the frequency will decrease after January as things start to warm up again irl. On top of the new weather, this update has also added new crafting recipes, new resources, and even a new chilly ooblet to collect! You can see all the new features below.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com