This week on Wrestle Buddies, GameSpot's professional wrestling podcast, Chris E. Hayner and Mat Elfring are stepping inside of the Thunderdome. Well, not really. But we can't ignore WWE's new arena or a certain wrestler that got to have their first match in it at Summerslam.First up, Mat and Chris take a long look at the Thunderdome, WWE's answer to presenting Raw, Smackdown, and pay-per-view events in the pandemic. They filled an arena with video screens, pyrotechnics, lasers, lights, and what is perhaps the biggest Zoom call ever. The technology behind it is truly magical, though there has been some controversy.Then, hot on the heels of Dominic Mysterio's debut match at Summerslam, Mat and Chris revisit the ladder match for custody of him back in 2005. That's right, when Dominik was a child, Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero feuded over who would get to be his dad. It's a truly bizarre piece of WWE history and something we both love.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Set for release on August 28 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One, Project CARS 3 is shaping up to be the most robust entry in the series to date. While it stays true to the series' sim-racing foundations, the third entry in the franchise shakes things up to offer something more approachable for the general racing fan base.During GameSpot's Play For All event, we had the chance to interview esports Manager Joe Barron and production director Pete Moorish about the third game's revised approach to sim-racing. In addition to fleshing out the game's customization, the career mode will also highlight more of the experience being an up-and-coming driver who's a part of a global racing league. Along with this, rival drivers will have more advanced AI and attributes, aiming to make for more engaging races.Before the release of Project CARS 3, we had another remote correspondence with Barron about what's to come with PC3 and how it will evolve following its launch.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Parks and Recreation is one of NBC's most successful and memorable TV shows, and it's still bringing in money through syndication and streaming deals, but it appears the cast are not always benefitting from those profits at a level they would have wanted.Actors Rob Lowe and Nick Offerman, who played Chris Traeger and Ron Swanson on the show, recently spoke about this on the newest episode of Lowe's podcast. Offerman said the union representing the Parks and Rec cast was not able to get them a lucrative deal at the beginning of the show. Offerman also suggested that the union "bargained away" the cast's residual payments as part of the negotiations.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Actor Nick Offerman auditioned for the role of Wolverine many years ago, but the part went to Hugh Jackman. As it turns out, that wasn't the only superhero role that the Parks and Rec star was in the mix for.Appearing on Rob Lowe's podcast, Offerman said about three or four years ago (so 2016-2017), he had a Skype meeting with a director "for a superhero movie." The production of this film, whatever it was, had some issues, and the director was fired; a crew member replaced him.Offerman said he knew from the very beginning that there was no chance he would get the role, due in part to how he wasn't exactly in top physical shape, but he tried to sell the director on the idea that he would be the "funny" choice.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Thousand Threads opens outside a tent in an unknown land, a dirt path presenting one potential way forward. If you stray from it, odds are a wolf will take notice and attack; you might fend it off with a stick, you might outrun it, or you might accidentally lead it to a house and watch in horror as it attacks the two randomly generated occupants that were sitting calmly a moment before, minding their own business. You might seek out more people and start performing little odd jobs for them; you might also return to the path and find the dead body of the region's mail carrier, still carrying a sack of undelivered letters.It's a hell of a setup for Thousand Threads, a first-person exploration game that, over several hours, delivers on few of the promises these opening minutes set up. Nothing I experienced in the game after quite matched the excitement I felt in those opening minutes up to the point where I found the dead mail carrier. That's not to say the game isn't charming in places, though--this large open world has stories to tell and sights to see, even if they emerge at an achingly slow pace.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Call of Duty is returning to its government conspiracy-focused subseries with Black Ops Cold War. And unlike the previous multiplayer-only Black Ops 4, this new entry is going for a mind-bending single-player campaign and story that Black Ops established in its other entries. That much is evident in the trailers and teasers that show off the game's 1980s political thriller setup, but the espionage and mind-bending narrative will also play into some of the open-ended mission structure you'll experience in Cold War.In the gameplay footage we've seen, one mission will have you playing as an undercover agent in the Lubyanka Building in Moscow. It's a semi-open level with multiple objectives and some freedom on how to approach them that give off Hitman-style vibes. There's a map you can pull up as reference for the unique ways you can complete the mission, points of interest, and which areas of the level are off-limits. It's non-linear in a way that's new for Call of Duty, and examples were given where you can steal, poison, bribe, or blackmail your way through the mission. That's half the mission, however, and the second half turns into a series of over-the-top firefights.In a late-game flashback mission that takes place in Laos during the Vietnam War in 1968, there are multiple paths you can take which will make for different gameplay scenarios and story beats. The mission will then reset itself to let you explore these alternate paths. The conceit is that the characters relive dark memories from the war which are supposed to tie into the larger plot of tracking down the Soviet spy Perseus, who helped Vietcong soldiers seize a nuclear weapon. This particular mission uses other surrealist elements that play into that conspiratorial plot. For example, we saw visions of red doors dropping into the environment while a voice kept repeating for you to "go into the bunker now," "open the door," and "tell me about Perseus."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War has finally been officially announced. The game returns to the political thriller angle of single-player campaigns that Black Ops is known for, but it also makes some notable changes and additions. That includes the ability to create your own character, who can be referred to using gender neutral pronouns.Before starting Cold War's campaign, you need to make a character and will have several customization options. And as we saw from the character creation screen during our preview, you can choose your name, skin tone, gender, place of birth, military background, and psychological profile. But you also have the choice to leave any of those things "classified."With gender options, you have male, female, and classified. The game will treat the classified option as gender neutral and refer to you using they/them pronouns, which includes voiced dialogue from other characters.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

With the full official reveal of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and a recent briefing we received about the game, we have plenty of details about the game's single-player campaign. It's confirmed that Black Ops Cold War is a direct sequel to the original Black Ops, picking up the story 13 years after the events of the first game.Familiar characters like Mason, Woods, and Hudson return, and another global conspiracy takes center stage after the failure of the numbers program. As the name implies, it's based on the tensions between the United States and Soviet Russia. Black Ops Cold War is predominately set in 1981 and takes you around the world in covert ops and espionage missions in what seems to be a hunt for an elusive Soviet spy named Perseus. And in a story cutscene, Perseus is said to have helped Vietcong soldiers get a hold of a nuclear weapon during the Vietnam War.Lead narrative designer Murray Kraft from Raven Software mentioned in a presentation that the game's story has many real-world connections despite the wild conspiracy elements at play. "Drawing key narrative elements from history, we used recently declassified US government documents from just the last four or five years for a key piece of the plot's puzzle," Kraft mentioned. He continued, "When I was researching, I was shocked at some of the things I was learning. We're really messing with people's heads and having them question what is real."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a direct sequel to the original Black Ops, and while the numbers have been long defeated, a new imminent threat seems to loom over this new Call of Duty. At the height of the Cold War in 1981, returning characters Alex Mason, Frank Woods, and Jason Hudson are back to track down the enigmatic Soviet spy Perseus.Although no one really knows who Perseus is, they're said to have supplied Vietcong soldiers with a nuclear weapon and continues to be a threat amid rising tensions between the United States and Soviet Russia. There is a new character within the Black Ops crew who's the most familiar with Perseus, though: Russell Adler, played by Bruce Thomas (also Master Chief in Halo 4 through Infinite). And if I'm being honest, Adler straight up looks like Robert Redford.Adler is said to be a clandestine operations officer for the CIA and has this stoic, hard-to-read personality, and is the type to cross lines to accomplish missions. He seems to take the Perseus threat personally, and from what we know so far, it probably has to do with something that happened during the Vietnam War, in which Adler is a veteran.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

It's taken a long time to get here--and for many people, it's not even here yet. But Christopher Nolan's hugely anticipated movie Tenet is now screening in theaters around the world, and is set to arrive in selected US cinemas next week. Reviews for the film are now out, giving us an idea of what critics think of Nolan's new mind-bender.In any other year, Tenet would have been one of many big Hollywood movies hitting theaters this summer. Nolan is one of the few directors who can command a huge budget for an entirely original movie--the only films that usually cost more than $200 million to make are sequels or those based on existing, popular properties. But Nolan's hugely successful track record, from the Batman movies to the likes of Inception and Dunkirk, has ensured that Warner is seemingly happy to give the filmmaker what he needs to get his extravagant vision on the screen.Of course, this isn't any other year. Tenet was moved back from its initial July release date, but while many of the year's biggest movies have been pushed to the end of the year or into 2021, Warner stayed firm with its commitment to a summer release. When it became clear that many American theaters would not be open in time, the studio announced that Tenet would first roll out internationally, and then come to the theaters and drive-ins in the US that were open in early September.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

While the COVID-19 pandemic continues, certain industries are going back to work as best they can, including the entertainment business. While most movie theaters in the United States remain closed, productions are slowly resuming. So too are TV shows, with some series returning this fall. However, the process of filming a show has vastly changed.That's more than obvious in a new series of Tik Tok videos released by The Goldbergs star Hayley Orrantia, who plays eldest Goldberg child Erica. In her first days back on the show's set, Orrantia has shown off a lot of the process of preparing to film now.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The big Call of Duty: Warzone reveal event for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War has concluded, leading to the unveiling of a new trailer and our first glimpse at Cold War's campaign and multiplayer. This was a much different sort of event for Call of Duty than we've ever seen before, and it saw players scrambling to secure control of a weapon.There's been speculation for quite some time that the secret nuclear weapon hiding on Warzone's Verdansk map would be detonated at some point. With Activision confirming that Cold War's reveal would happen inside the game, it seemed as if that detonation would lead to some change in the map. It temporarily changed exactly how Warzone can be interacted with.Following a playlist update, all standard playlists were removed in favor of a special one called Know Your History. By diving in, you're able to squad up and attempt to complete four objectives, dubbed "Steps to Freedom:"Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Nintendo surprised-released a Nintendo Direct Mini today, with loads of new announcements. Among them was the first word of Just Dance 2021, the next entry in the popular casual dancing game. It's coming to Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Stadia. Unlike Just Dance 2020 and many series titles before it, it won't be coming to Wii.Just Dance 2021 will include 40 new tracks. The full list hasn't been released, but the announcement detailed 11 of the tracks, so there's only 29 left to go:"Señorita" by Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello"Dance Monkey" by Tones And I"Que Tire Pa Lante" by Daddy Yankee"Don’t Start Now" by Dua Lipa"Temperature" by Sean Paul"Feel Special" by TWICE"Juice" by Lizzo"all the good girls go to hell" by Billie Eilish"In The Navy" by The Sunlight Shakers"Zenit" by ONUKA"Heat Seeker" by DREAMERSYou'll also be able to team up in co-op. A new Quickplay option lets you jump straight into a dance with a randomized playlist. This year's version will also include a Sweat mode for working out and a Kids mode for kid-friendly songs and choreography. The announcement also promises an optional subscription to Just Dance Unlimited, which will let you stream over 550 songs, with new ones dropping throughout the year. The game will come with a one-month trial.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

What made the original Mafia from 2002 such a memorable game was its focus on the bloody and ruthless story of Tommy Angelo. Coming shortly after the boom of open-world games started by Grand Theft Auto III, Mafia operated within the same genre-space. But unlike the open-world antics shown in GTA3, Mafia honed in on a linear story set within the chaotic city of Lost Heaven during the 1930s. Since the original's release, it's still remembered by many as an excellent crime thriller that had a challenging edge to it. With the full remake, Mafia: Definitive Edition, developer Hangar 13 kept its sights on what made the original such a refreshing game while giving it a much-needed update.I recently got to play three hours of a near-final build of the game ahead of its September 25 release, and diving into this full remake of a game that's still etched into my memories was an interesting experience. Right from the opening credits, which feature sweeping shots of the city of Lost Heaven and its citizens going about their business, it's clear that much has changed on the surface. In addition to fully revamped graphics and gameplay that borrows more from Mafia III, the Definitive Edition has also revised the original story, giving its characters a bit more nuance and agency.In the opening of the game, which sees Tommy meet with a detective to betray the crime family that he's worked with, the atmosphere feels a lot more involved this time around. There's more subtlety at work as well, particularly in the way that Tommy references events that have transpired, which you'll see play out in the course of the story. I still felt engaged in the plot despite knowing what's in store for those characters, and that was due to the stronger writing and performances in the Definitive Edition. Though it has the appearance of a modern game, the remake still hangs onto the original structure, in that it's a linear, narrative-driven game that just so happens to be set in a large open-city.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Long gaming sessions can be a pain if you don't have a good chair or desk to support you. That's why features like adjustable lumbar support and monitor stands are so important--if you can tweak your setup to match your specific needs, then you can game comfortably for longer. Thankfully, Newegg has a pair of deals that can help you achieve this. The Killabee massage gaming chair is currently $150, down from $300, while the GTRacing gaming desk is $140, down from $186. These deals are valid through the rest of today, so not much time is left to place your order.Both items ship from the United States and can arrive on your doorstep within nine days, depending on your location. Of course, there may be delays due to the pandemic, so please be mindful of that when you place your order. Killabee massage gaming chair $150 (was $300) The Killabee massage gaming chair features an adjustable lumbar cushion, a back-tilting mechanism that ranges from 90 to 175 degrees, and a memory foam seat cushion. The lumbar cushion even vibrates when powered by USB. This is all wrapped in PU leather and supported by a rolling base. Unfortunately, the only colour option available at the moment is black and grey. If you're looking for more options, check out our guide to the best cheap gaming chairs. See at Newegg GTRacing gaming desk $140 (was $186) The GTRacing gaming desk is one of the best gaming desks out there. It measures in with a surface area of 47.2 inches by 25.5 inches and a height of 28.4 inches. It comes with a number of amenities, including a headphone hook, game controller holder, an adjustable monitor stand, and a compartment to hide a power strip. The desk does require some assembly, though GTRacing says it will only take 20 minutes to build. See at Newegg Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com