Let's dispense with the pleasantries and cut to a deal that's close to my heart. You'd be nuts not to go buy Broforce for 80% off and under a fiver. It's like a side-scrolling Expendables film—but not rubbish—that includes OTT gore, a who's who pun-ification of every action star that matters, and 4P co-op. I'm also all about that dirt cheap Pokémon Pearl and a cool 144 bucks off a Switch OLED.
In especially topical retro news, I've baked a cake with a big 15 on it for Pokémon Platinum. Part of the DS Gen IV series, this sprawling Sinnoh shenanigan served as a third version to PokémonDiamond and Pearl. My memories of it include a gleeful hunt for the 59 extra Pokémon added, and dipping into the new M.C. Escher-esque Distortion World to bag a Giratina. It also had some of the best post-game content in the series, and, oh crap—I've just talked myself into a replay...
Sony will be replacing former PlayStation boss Jim Ryan with two CEOs: Hideaki Nishino and Hermen Hulst, the company announced today.
Effective June 1, 2024, Hideaki Nishino will be CEO of SIE’s Platform Business Group, and Hermen Hulst will be CEO of SIE’s Studio Business Group, as revealed in a press release today. Hiroki Totoki had been serving as interim CEO in the wake of Ryan's retirement, and will serve as Chairman of SIE in addition to his role as President, COO and CFO of Sony Group Corporation. Both Hulst and Nishino will report to Totoki.
“Sony Interactive Entertainment is a dynamic and growing business that delivers incredible entertainment experiences through the connection of content and technology," Totoki said in a statement. "These two leaders will have clear responsibilities and will manage strategic direction to ensure the focus remains on deepening engagement with existing PlayStation users and expanding experiences to new audiences."
As Senior Vice President of the Platform Experience Group, Nishino is already embedded in PlayStation's hardware and tech operations. In his new role, Sony says he'll "continue to be responsible for technology, products, services, and platform experience," as well as overseeing third party publisher and developer relations and commercial operations, "including sales and marketing of hardware, services, and peripherals."
Hulst, meanwhile, is currently Senior Vice President and Head of PlayStation Studios. In addition to developing content across PlayStation consoles and PC, he's helped oversee the growth of PlayStation IPs across film and TV through PlayStation Productions. Unsurprisingly, Sony's press release namedrops HBO's smash-hit adaptation of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us, developed by PlayStation Productions. In his new role, Hulst will be responsible for development, publishing, and business operations of SIE’s first party-content.
Hulst also posted about the news on X/Twitter today:
It’s a true privilege to be asked to lead the new Studio Business Group for Sony Interactive. I’m excited to continue working with incredibly talented teams and studios to deliver unforgettable game and entertainment experiences. #sony#playstation#playstationstudios
“We will continue to connect players and creators through world-class products, services, and technology. We always strive to grow our community even bigger with innovation in every area at Sony Interactive Entertainment,” Nishino said in the announcement. “I am honored to be appointed such an important role alongside Hermen. By working more closely together, we will be positioned to build incredible experiences for an ever-expanding audience now and in the future.”
“I am thrilled to lead the studio business group and continue to build on our success with PlayStation 5, while preparing for the future,” Hulst added. “The video game industry is one of the largest entertainment industries in the world and has been built on the marriage of content and technology, and I look forward to continuing to push the boundaries of play and entertainment.”
Sony announced Ryan's retirement last September, with the former PlayStation head exiting the company this past March. In his initial announcement, Ryan cited the difficulty of living in Europe while working in North America as a reason for the decision to leave the company after 30 years.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
The pending U.S. trademark filed by Microsoft’s ZeniMax Media is for a project called “IDKFA.” Longtime fans of developer id Software will recognize the string of letters as a famous cheat code for the original Doom that grants players access to all in-game weapons and keys with full ammo and armor.
To be clear, it’s possible the trademark isn’t related to a new Doom game, but there are a few reasons to hold out hope that a fresh installment may soon be announced. Microsoft has already revealed plans to hold its major games showcase on June 9, meaning we’ll learn more about upcoming Xbox games in only a few weeks.
Leaked court documents from last year also mentioned a mysterious title known as Doom: Year Zero, though details on what this project could be have yet to be revealed. The Verge’s Tom Warren has also repeatedly teased that a Doom announcement could arrive during the upcoming June showcase. Eurogamer says it has heard similar information.
The last mainline Doom entry arrived in March 2020 with Doom Eternal, which went on to receive two expansions by March 2021. While Microsoft has recently moved to shut down Bethesda’s Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin, id Software has remained quiet when it comes to how it might continue its classic FPS franchise.
If a new Doom game is going to be revealed soon, there’s no telling what shape it will take or if it will keep the Doom: Year Zero name that leaked in 2023. Until Microsoft has more to reveal, it’s probably best to take all rumors with a grain of salt.
While we wait to see what id Software is cooking up, you can read our 9/10 Doom Eternal review, where we said “Whether you're a new Doom fan or a veteran one, Doom Eternal is bound to delight & entertain you. It's gloriously fun.”
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.
Given the Xbox Series X comes with around a measly 800GB of useable storage, you’ll probably need to pick up one of the best Xbox Series X SSDs if you want to save more than a few AAA games. Unfortunately, only a couple of SSDs can run Xbox Series X games, like our favorite, the plug-and-play Seagate Storage Expansion Card. But we know it’s all a little complicated, so we’ve created a comprehensive guide to the best SDDs for your console.
If you don’t need to play current-gen games directly from your SSD, that opens up a world of other options. These external SSDs offer faster speeds than the best hard drives while remaining around the same price. You can play titles from Xbox One and Xbox 360 directly from these drives or just store the latest Xbox Series X games. Plus, you get various speed and storage size options depending on your needs.
So, whether you want to play the latest titles directly from your SSD or are after something ready to hold a massive gaming library, we’ve found the best Xbox Series X SSDs. Take a look at our five picks below.
1. Seagate Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S
The Best Xbox Series X SSD Overall
Pros
Easy to install
Fast transfer speeds
Cons
Expensive
The Seagate Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S is just about as fast as the console’s internal SSD meaning you can play games optimized for Xbox Series X|S
By offering plug-and-play installation, you don’t need to be a tech wiz to gain extra Xbox Series X storage. Extra storage is available with no setup, providing you with high data transfer rates and loading times, so it will feel no different to playing an Xbox game directly from your console’s storage.
Yes, it is expensive, but that’s really the only downfall of the expansion card. If you want to increase your Xbox Series X’s limited storage the “official” way, this is how you do it. Working side-by-side with the Xbox’s Velocity Architecture and supporting Quick Resume, you can enjoy games how they were intended. You can also choose between the 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB versions depending on your requirements.
2. WD_Black 1TB C50
The Most Portable Xbox Series X SSD
Pros
A cheaper alternative to the Seagate Expansion Card
Durable and pocket-sized
Cons
Marginally slower boot times
While Seagate previously owned the Xbox expansion card market, there is now a Western Digital drive with the WD_Black 1TB C50. Compact in size and durable in design, this expansion card comes in 512GB and 1TB storage options and is a more affordable option than Seagate’s offering.
This expansion card easily slots into the Xbox Series X’s expansion card port, meaning no setup is required. You can transfer games to the expansion card in a matter of minutes, so you can have a variety of games at your disposal. Compared to the Series X’s internal storage, the WD_Black 1TB C50 does offer slightly slower boot times, but this is really very marginal.
If you don’t need the 2TB option that Seagate offers, then the WD_Black 1TB C50 is the next best thing at a more appealing price. It will take a couple of minutes to transfer large 80GB files, and it’s small enough that you can easily transport it from your house to your friend’s, and enjoy a large library of Xbox games.
For Archival and Backwards-Compatible Games Only
3. Samsung T7 External SSD
The Most Versatile Xbox Series X SSD
Pros
Lightweight and portable
256-bit AES encryption for storing files
Cons
Cannot play Series X games directly from the SSD
When you move away from the Xbox Series X’s expansion card storage options, you’ll start to notice you get a lot more storage for your money. This SSD from Samsung, for instance, is around the same price as the WD_Black 1TB C50 but offers an additional 1TB of storage, but there’s a catch – you can’t play Xbox games directly from the SSD.
Instead, the Samsung S7 is best used for storing Xbox games that you might want to play at a later date, but don’t want to wait around installing them. For instance, you can install the latest Call of Duty game directly onto your Xbox Series X, then store the previous version on the Samsung SSD S7 and transfer it back to your console when you feel like playing it again.
Weighing a mere 2 ounces, the S7 is perfect for portability. And with 2TB of storage, you can easily store your Xbox games, photos, or work documents on the same SSD. Simply connect it to the Series X using a USB-C cable and enjoy read/write speeds of up to 1,050/1,000 MB/s. Plus, you can make the most of Samsung’s AES 256-bit encryption to secure your files.
4. Crucial X8 External SSD
The Best Value Xbox Series X SSD
Pros
Compact and quick
Storage up to 4TB
Cons
No encryption
No different in speed from the Samsung T7, the Crucial X8 offers exceedingly good value for money. You can purchase the X8 in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities. This portable device is great for storing Xbox Series X games, but just like the Samsung T7, you can’t run current-gen games off of it.
However, you can use the Crucial X8 for your Xbox, PC, and Mac. Whether you need to store games, files, music, photos, or more, it’s easy to carry this little SSD with you. It’s also shock-resistant and durable, so you can sling it in your backpack without it getting damaged.
With 4TB of storage space potentially at your disposal, it’s an easy sacrifice to make if you have to wait a few more minutes for your Xbox Series X games to transfer over back to your console. In fact, you could store your whole library of Xbox games on the Crucial X8 and enjoy a more affordable storage solution.
5. WD_Black 2TB P40
The Best External Xbox Series X SSD
Pros
Fast transfer speeds
Robust and stylish design
Cons
A little pricey still
If you want to make the external storage on your Xbox Series X stand out, you might want to consider the WD_Black 2TB P40 for its stylish design, complete with flashy RGB lighting. Granted, the RGB lights aren’t going to offer better performance, but they do look pretty awesome. Plus, the P40 can be used for your Xbox, PC, Mac, and PS5. But, because it’s an external SSD, you can’t run Xbox Series X games off of this drive.
Options start from 500GB, and include 1GB, and 2TB capacities, too. The WD_Black 2TB P40 is relatively affordable when compared to the Xbox’s official expansion card SSDs, but in the realm of external SSDs, it’s still a little pricey.
But, thanks to the USB 3.2 Gen2x2 interface, you can enjoy speeds of up to 2,000MB/s, which is faster than the Crucial X8 and Samsung T7. The SSD is also encased in a shock-resistant material, which can survive drops of up to 2m.
If you appreciate style and want the substance to go with it, the WD_Black 2TB P40 offers both, with plenty of storage to house your Xbox Series X games and other files.
How to Choose the Best Xbox Series X SSDs
If you’re looking for a plug-and-play SSD ready to run the best Xbox Series X games and support features like Quick Resume and Velocity Architecture, you’re options are limited. That makes deciding on an SSD easy, as the Seagate Storage Expansion Card or WD_Black C50 are basically your only options. Unfortunately, they're both expensive and hover around the same price for 1TB of storage; we’ve found that 1TB is usually the sweet spot for these SSDs.
However, if you don’t need to play your Xbox Series X games directly from the drive, there are a variety of other USB 3.2 SSDs to choose from. So, you’ll have an easier time finding budget or high-capacity options ready to store Xbox Series games as well as play older Xbox One and 360 titles. Luckily, these drives easily slot into the USB port on the Xbox Series X.
You’ll want decently fast read and write speeds for quick loads and saves. Other factors like durability and size should be taken into account, especially if you’re looking to take your SSD on the go. As mentioned, you’ll probably want a 1TB SSD or larger if you’ve got a decent gaming library, but there are drives up to 4TB for a massive amount of storage.
FAQ
Can any SSD work with Xbox Series X?
You can only play Xbox Series X games directly from the console’s internal storage, or via a licensed external SSD, like the Seagate Expansion Card. However, you can use external SSDs to store your Xbox games so you don’t have to keep installing and uninstalling them to free up space.
Is the Xbox Series X SSD fast?
The Xbox Series X’s storage is a 1TB NVMe SSD, with an IO throughput of around 2.4GB/s.
Why does my Xbox Series X only have 800GB?
While the Xbox Series X’s advertised storage is 1TB, it uses some of this space for system software, reducing the available storage space to around 800GB.
Do You Actually Need Additional Storage for Your Xbox?
While the Xbox Series X|S comes with either 1TB or 500GB of storage, you may want to increase this if you plan to install multiple games on your console at any given time. Some AAA titles exceed 150GB in size, so after installing a handful of games, you’ll soon realize you need additional storage if you want to quickly access games and play them straight away.
We haven't heard much about the Sydney Sweeney-starring Barbarella remake since it was first reported on back in 2022, but we just got quite the development about who might be in the director's chair.
Deadline broke the news today that Edgar Wright is in talks to direct the new film based on the character from Jean-Claude Forest's comic series. IGN has also confirmed the news with a source close to production, although they caution that a deal hasn't closed yet and it's still early days.
Deadline also reports that Jane Goldman (Kick-Ass, Kingsman: The Secret Service) and Honey Ross are in negotiations to write the script.
This won't be Barbarella's first time on the big screen, of course. Jane Fonda portrayed the comics character in a 1968 film directed by Roger Vadim, which saw Fonda as a space-travelling mercenary hunting for a scientist on behalf of the U.S. government. It got largely mixed reviews upon its original release, but it's since become a cult favorite, with a numberof proposedand failed revivals cropping up over the years.
If a deal with Wright does go through, it would partner one of Hollywood's most in-demand actresses with one of its most popular living directors. Along with Shaun of the Dead and the rest of the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy, Wright is famous for films like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Ant-Man (screenplay and story by), Baby Driver, and Last Night in Soho. He's known for a fast-paced, kinetic style (with lots of needle-drops), so it gives us a good idea of where this sci-fi reboot could be headed.
Sweeney, meanwhile, has been on the rise over the past few years, particularly in the wake of her role in HBO's Euphoria. She recently scored a rom-com hit in last year's Anyone but You, and produced and starred in the recent psychological thriller Immaculate. She also dabbled in the superhero genre with Sony's Madame Web as Julia Carpenter (future Spider-Woman), although that film's poor performance at the box office and with critics mostly dashed any sequel hopes.
We don't have much of an idea of Barbarella's timeline, but Deadline notes that both Wright and Sweeney remain busy, so it probably wouldn't be the next project for either of them.
Thumbnail credit: Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for Neon
Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify that Wright wrote the screenplay for Ant-Man.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
Super Mario 64 players have opened a door that was previously believed to be unopenable, and they did it without cheating.
Detailed by Pannenkoek2012 on YouTube, Discord user Alexpalix1 was able to access the cabin door at the base of Cool, Cool Mountain by using a very specific string of moves and an upset mother penguin (via Tom’s Hardware). Players will likely recognize the location as the same spot where many have dropped a young penguin off of the mountain’s cliff in the Nintendo 64 classic.
The cabin set just to the side of the penguin nest is where you can find Super Mario 64’s unopenable door. It usually serves as an exit for Cool, Cool Mountain’s first stage, Slip Slidin’ Away, awarding players with a Star after they complete the slide and walk through the door. However, Mario is unable to walk back through from the outside, as this half of the door is uniquely missing a doorknob and is blocked by an invisible wall. Anyone who’s played Super Mario 64 has probably tried to walk through the door even if they don’t remember doing it, and now, after 28 years, a solution is here.
Pennenkoek2012’s video walks players through the struggles presented by the legendary door and how Alexpalix1 managed to bypass them. While players have been able to use the mother penguin to make Mario clip through the invisible wall and near the door, they’ve never been able to actually use the door itself to enter the cabin.
Alexpalix1’s new method still guides the penguin up against the cabin, while backflipping in between the blue bird and the building just as others have done before. What they change, though, is Mario’s animation just as he comes into contact with the door’s hitbox. There’s no floor on the other side of the invisible wall that blocks the entrance, and unfortunately for our plumber friend, he needs to be walking when opening a door.
Alexpalix1 tricks the game by turning Mario around just before he falls, allowing him to briefly walk in midair long enough to use the door. The player can levitate for one frame when triggering Mario’s turn-around animation, so even though Mario continues to fall through the floor, the door opens and sends Mario back inside the cabin. Voila!
Players have finally solved a mystery they were never intended to solve after nearly 30 years of work. Unfortunately, it looks like there isn’t really a good reason for anyone to try and replicate Alexpalix1’s strategy. Entering the cabin from the outside does not benefit the player in any way other than providing an alternate entrance to the bottom of the ice slide. As Pannenkoek2012 notes, the doesn’t seem to have any use as a speed-running strategy either, as it’s still quite a bit slower than simply taking the slide down from the top.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.
Today Amazon is currently offering the 2022 Apple iPad Air M1 64GB tablet in Blue and Space Gray only for $399. That's $200 less than MSRP and the best price we've ever seen. In fact, it's $100 less than what we saw during Black Friday of last year. The iPad Air is a pretty massive upgrade over the standard iPad and is closer in performance to the iPad Pro.
2022 Apple iPad Air 10.9" 64GB WiFi for $399
The 5th generation Apple iPad Air was released in March of 2022 with a $599 MSRP. It's on sale with a hefty $200 discount thanks to the recently announced 2024 iPad Air with the M2 chip. The 2022 iPad Air is still a very relevant tablet in 2023 and a far better value. It features a 10.9" 2360x1640 Retina display with True Tone and P3 wide color and the powerful Apple M1 chip (the newer 2022 model now has the Apple M2 chip). It's considerably more powerful than the iPad, but it's still thinner and weighs less. Like all of the newer iPads released, the iPad Air features the universal USB Type-C connector.
Dell is currently offering the 2024 Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 4070 Ti SUPER gaming PC for $1799.99 after a $200 instant discount. It's equipped with an 14th gen Intel Core i7 processor and a 240mm AIO cooler. The GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is an excellent GPU that was released earlier this year. It's powerful enough to handle just about any game at 1440p and 4K resolution.
Alienware RTX 4070 Ti SUPER Gaming PC for $1799.99
The Alienware Aurora R16 is the most current Alienware Aurora gaming desktop. The R16 chassis is 40% smaller in volume compared to previous iterations. It features a simple yet proven airflow design; air is drawn in through the side intake vents over the GPU area as well as a 120mm rear fan drawing air in and a generously sized 240mm all-in-one liquid cooler exhausts air out through the top. A side benefit is that the GPU is supplied with fresh air from the outside instead of recirculating hot internal air.
This particular model is equipped with an Intel Core i7-14700F CPU, GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16GB GPU, 16GB of DDR5-5600MHz RAM, and a 1TB NVMe SSD. The 14th-gen Intel Core i7-14700F Raptor Lake Refresh CPU boasts a max clock of 5.4GHz with 20 cores, 28 threads, and a 33MB cache. This is Intel's newest i7 chip and it boasts a higher clock speed, more cores, more threads, and more cache than the 13th-gen i7-13700 CPU. The "F" in 14700F simply means that the chip doesn't have onboard graphics (iGPU). That won't matter if you have a discrete GPU, which in this case is the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER.
The GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER is about 10% more powerful than the RTX 4070 Ti. This is an outstanding card for 1440p gaming, but it certainly has the chops to run most games at 4k as well. The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER also increases the GDDR6X RAM count to 16GB compared the the RTX 4070 Ti's 12GB. That makes it a better performing card for any program that benefits from more VRAM, including AI image generation apps like Stable Diffusion, machine learning, 3D rendering, and more.
Why Pick a Dell or Alienware Gaming PC?
The Alienware Aurora R16 was one of our picks for best prebuilt gaming PCs of 2024. Not everyone is the DIY type, and these days prebuilt gaming PC aren't that much more expensive than building your own computer. In fact, depending on the demand of certain components like the GPU, it might even be cheaper. Alienware gaming laptops and desktops offer a staggering array of options, all built into a custom chassis that's both easy on the eyes and easy on the wallet. The newest Alienware gaming PCs have significantly improved their cooling performance, especially when paired with a liquid cooling solution. Alienware gaming laptops in recent years have been redesigned to be thinner and lighter while still offering the same immense power under the hood. Consistent build quality, available inventory, frequent sales, and solid customer service are the main reasons why Dell is at the top of our buying list.
When you're looking to build a gaming PC, picking the right CPU for the job is really the first thing you need to do. While a lot of the processors out right now will all get the job done, your choice of processor is going to affect the motherboard you pick, the RAM you pair it with, and will even influence what your PC is going to excel at. So, yeah, the best CPUs aren't going to impact your framerate quite as much as a graphics card will, but it's still an incredibly important part of your rig. It's called the Central Processing Unit for a reason, after all.
When picking the best CPU for the job, there are a couple of things you need to consider. Price is of course a big one: you can find processors for anywhere from $200 to nearly $900, so setting a budget early is critical. You should also consider what you plan on doing with your PC: If you're just going to play PC games, you're probably not going to need the same horsepower as a creative professional that's cranking out projects in Blender or Adobe Premiere. So no, you don't need that Intel Core i9-14900K to run Overwatch 2 – that's why our top CPU for gaming is the Core i5-14600K or the Ryzen 5 7600X, both of which provide excellent performance at a decent price.
The big question is: AMD or Intel? Whatever you go for, take a look at our recommendations below.
Similar to its predecessor in almost every way, the Intel Core i5-14600K brings minor improvements while still delivering the perfect balance of price to performance. So, if you’ve already got the Intel Core i5-13600K, you can probably skip this upgrade.
This chip is part of Intel’s Raptor Lake refresh and utilizes the same hybrid architecture as the 13th-gen chips, offering six speedy performance cores and eight efficient cores with 20 threads to easily divide and conquer tasks. Those P-cores hit slightly higher clock speeds this time around at 5.3 GHz and are still capable of hyperthreading for a boost in processing muscle.
You’ll need an LGA 1700 socket for this processor, but it works with both Z690 or Z790 motherboards after a simple BIOS update. The Intel Core i5-14600K also supports the PCIe 5.0 and PCIe 4.0 interfaces along with DDR5 memory up to 5,600MHz, though you can always use more affordable DDR4 memory. Overall, it’s a solid all-around option that especially excels in gaming.
If you’re after sheer performance prowess in games, the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D goes head-to-head with Team Blues' top processors. Offering the latest Zen 4 architecture, you get 16 cores with 32 threads, allowing impressive speeds, ready to be overclocked higher, and enough power to breeze through even your most graphically intense AAA games. Its 3D Vertical Cache technology means this chip can deliver an impressive 128MB of L3 cache, stepping up gaming performance further.
Even with all that extra muscle, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D is still incredibly energy efficient and has lower power consumption when compared to Intel chips. But you’ll still want a solid cooling system in place to keep peak performance.
The Ryzen 9 7950X3D requires an AM5 motherboard and offers the newest connectivity, like DRR5 memory and a PCIe 5.0 interface. Unfortunately, you can’t use older motherboards or DDR4 RAM to help cut costs, and this is a pricey CPU to begin with.
3. AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
Best Budget CPU for Gaming
For those working on a budget PC build, the AMD Ryzen 7 5700G is a great processor ready to take on all your tasks. This chip uses the slightly older but still highly capable Zen 3 architecture with eight cores and 16 threads. It excels in basic gaming and is an all-around workhorse. The integrated graphics are also top-notch and ready to play in 1080p.
Since the Ryzen 7 5700G has less performance prowess compared to some of AMD's newer and pricier Zen 4 chips, it’s super power-efficient, keeping under a 65W TDP. Thermals are equally great, so even with more modest cooling, it still maintains peak performance. And did we mention it comes bundled with a AMD Wraith Stealth cooler?
The Ryzen Ryzen 7 5700G uses an AM4 socket and doesn’t support the PCIe 5.0 or 4.0 interfaces. You’ll also rely on DDR4 RAM versus the higher frequency DRR5 RAM. But even if you lose out on speed, you can save some money, which is what this budget pick is all about.
The Intel Core i5-13400 proves that you don’t need to spend a fortune to get a highly capable gaming CPU. Costing around $200, this mid-range chip has no problem running games at 1080p – or even up to 1440p and 4K. If you’re on a tight budget, the integrated graphics can handle some action while you save up for a solid GPU, and it even comes with a cooler to keep your extra costs down. However, it draws more power than the last-gen model.
You aren’t making many sacrifices when going for this budget-minded processor, as you still get some of the latest technology, including DDR5 memory and PCIe 5.0 interface. It has the same hybrid architecture seen in higher-end models with six performance cores and four efficient cores alongside 16 threads. Those P-Cores can hit 4.6GHz right out of the box and offer hyperthreading for snappy performance and plenty of oomph to handle any mainstream PC build.
For unbeatable speeds and insane overclocking, there’s nothing better than the Intel Core i9-14900K, but be prepared for it to put a good dent in your wallet. This beastly chip boasts a heavily threaded hybrid architecture with eight P-cores and peaks at a wild 6.0 GHz. Its 16 E-cores are no slouch either, taking some burden off the P-cores and ensuring your game’s action or creative endeavors are never interrupted.
If you’re big into streaming, the Intel Core i9-14900K is an absolute must. You’ll also be hard-pressed to find a game or program that the Intel Core i9-14900K can’t handle; it actually might be overkill for some. However, this is a power-hungry, hot-running processor, so be sure you’ve got proper cooling.
Similar to the Intel Core i5, the Intel Core i9-14900K makes only minor upgrades from the 13th gen model, like slightly higher clock speeds and Wi-Fi 7 compatibility. So, if you find the Intel Core i9-13900K significantly cheaper, you may want to grab that instead.
The AMD Ryzen 5 7600X gives you the best bang for your buck when it comes to the latest Ryzen 7000 series chips. However, it still lags slightly behind its most comparable Intel counterpart, the Core i5-13600K. But there’s still plenty to love, thanks to the Zen 4 architecture, which brings DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 support while slotting into an AM5 socket.
Beyond connectivity, this chip packs six cores and 12 threads for plenty of prowess in multi-threaded and single-threaded activities. As for speed, the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X doesn’t disappoint, offering a 4.7GHz base clock with a 5.3GHz boost that’s unlocked for overclocking. All that, combined with 38MB of cache, ensures this processor outshines Ryzen’s previous generations.
How to Pick The Best CPU for Gaming
If you’re looking for a CPU, the first step is determining which type of processor you want to use. Of the mainstream options, you can go with either Intel’s Core lineup of i3,i5, i7, and i9 products or AMD’s Ryzen 3, 5, 7, and 9 series. Intel does slightly edge out AMD in price versus performance thanks to their recent release of 13th and 14th gen Raptor Lake chips, but they are still pretty neck and neck with Ryzen’s 7000 processors. Both offer the latest connectivity like PCIe 5.0, DDR5 memory, and newer sockets, along with plenty of cores to cruise through the best PC games.
Speaking of cores, as a general rule of thumb, the more, the merrier. CPU cores essentially receive instructions and in turn, perform specific actions. Therefore as you increase the core count, the more the processor can do for you.
Cores
When it comes to gaming, you should aim for a Hexa core processor or higher. With six cores, you should have no problem running most games. However, you may want a higher core count for more processor-intense titles – like RTS games and management sims. A faster, more robust CPU can power more AI elements and help raise frame rates.
Intel also introduced two different types of cores with its 12th gen processors, P-cores and E-cores. P-cores do most of the heavy lifting, hitting higher speeds and taking on beefier workloads like games—essentially the cores you’re used to seeing in CPUs. E-cores are much less powerful, generally working on background tasks to help ease the load of the P-cores. AMD has yet to differentiate its cores.
Speed
Though core count is important, speed may be just as, if not more. You generally get a base clock and boost clock, telling you how fast the CPU runs, with a higher number of gigahertz (GHz), meaning a snappier performance in your games. Many options we’ve chosen are also unlocked for overclocking—letting you push the CPU past its listed clock speed limits—though there’s always a risk of damaging the chip when you do this.
Threads
Threads should also be kept in mind. These act like schedulers, telling the cores what to do next. It’s not super important if you’re just gaming, but say you also want to stream simultaneously, then grab a chip that offers hyper-threading (Intel) or multi-threading (AMD). Those terms are essentially the same, where one core has multiple threads, which is helpful in multitasking.
Upcoming CPUs
The battle between AMD and Intel will likely never cease, and for that reason, we can expect great things in 2024. Gamers can start getting excited about AMD’s Zen 5 Ryzen 8000 series, as well as Intel’s 15th Gen Arrow Lake CPUs.
It’s rumored that AMD is going to launch an entirely new architecture for 2024, with Zen 5 boasting greater performance and higher efficiency. However, the new CPUs will still be compatible with AMD’s current AM5 motherboards.
On the flip side, Intel is planning its 15th Gen Arrow Lake CPUs around the same time, with a new LGA1851 socket. This means existing 600 and 700-series chipset motherboards will not be compatible.
FAQs
What type of CPU is best for gaming?
Depending on whether you’re on team AMD or team Intel will depend on which CPU is best for gaming. Since both manufacturers are pretty much neck and neck in terms of performance and efficiency, the choice is up to you.
For AMD, the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D is ultimately the best option for high-performance gaming PCs. Intel fans, however, can expect great things from the Intel Core i5-14600K, which comes out top as one of the best CPUs for gaming.
Where to Get the Best CPU for Gaming in the UK
Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra
Danielle Abraham is a freelance writer and unpaid music historian.
Elden Ring developer FromSoftware has unveiled a new Bloodborne-like enemy that is set to appear in next month’s Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, and fans are already talking about how it will terrorize fellow Tarnished.
The studio pulled back the curtain on its latest nightmare on X/Twitter today. An image of the currently unnamed creature reveals a cloaked, cane-wielding being with a glowing head. The Bloodborne comparisons come from its tentacle-like face, giving the enemy an almost Lovecraftian flair.
“The abandoned and tragic who forage beneath the umbra pray for the embrace of a new master,” FromSoftware’s post says.
Fans were quick to compare the creature to Bloodborne enemies like Winter Lanterns and Garden of Eyes, which both feature large, eye-covered heads and cloaked torsos. Even the image’s grim setting calls back to FromSoftware’s PlayStation 4 exclusive game, signaling to Elden Ring players that Shadow of the Erdtree will, of course, provide yet another challenging and gruesome experience.
While it’s nice to see an enemy that calls back to Bloodborne, most fans are hoping this new nameless being isn’t quite as tough to deal with as something like the Winter Lanterns. Those enemies notoriously built up an annoying status effect known as Frenzy just by being near the player. There’s also the location that the new enemy resides in, which looks suspiciously swamp-like and may or may not be poisonous.
That thing will spam status effect, i just know it.
Please don’t be a winter lantern Please don’t be a winter lantern Please don’t be a winter lantern Please don’t be a winter lantern Please don’t be a winter lantern Please don’t be a winter lantern
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree was announced in February and has a PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X | S release date of June 21, 2024. In typical FromSoftware fashion, we don’t know much about how the DLC will build upon Elden Rings already great foundation. However, you can read some of what we do know here.
For more on Elden Ring, you can read our 10/10 review. We called the open-world action RPG a “masterpiece” upon its release in 2022, saying, “Elden Ring is a massive iteration on what FromSoftware began with the Souls series, bringing its relentlessly challenging combat to an incredible open world that gives us the freedom to choose our own path.”
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.
The premiere of Season 2 of Interview with the Vampire may not be as bloodsoaked as previous entries in the series, but the show still has a keen understanding of when to take its gory shots and when to, shall we say, set the scene. This first episode kicks off with a hell of a lot of introspection, and even has the presence of mind to call out its own exposition, but the heaviness still looms large in a way that the lack of gore isn’t super important.
Here, it's the blood — including the "bad" blood — that is connected to the changes our characters are undergoing in the wake of last season's finale. And it’s the wounds that don’t bleed that matter the most. Even when it comes to feeding.
When we left the main trio at the end of Season 1, Lestat (Sam Reid) had just met his fateful “end” after being poisoned by Claudia (Bailey Bass). However, though Louis (Jacob Anderson) understood that their abusive maker had to die and supported the cause by slitting Lestat’s throat, his heart would not let him burn the body. While this moment only confirmed what Claudia had already known — she had left Louis out of the loop on the plot to kill their sire because of his feelings — her brother’s refusal to finish the job or to allow her to do it herself drives a considerable wedge between the two of them.
By the Season 2 premiere, Claudia (now played by Delainey Hayles)and Louis make it safely to Poland. “Safely” is, of course, relative, as they land in Poland at the height of WWII. But the series makes it immediately clear that it has no interest in entangling its vampires with the troubles of humanity. The exception here being when it relates directly to their survival and, while bullets can’t do anything to harm them, tainted blood has been a longstanding concern for vampires in Anne Rice’s universe. What’s new here, however, is that perpetual trauma and despair evidently have effects on human blood and how it nourishes vampires in the AMC series.
Hitler eating a bullet (or chomping a pill, depending on your history book) comes and goes, making way for Soviet occupation across Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania. Turns out, this has such a devastating effect on the people of the region that their “blood is bad.” Louis attempts to explain to Claudia as they sit trying to warm themselves at the fire, but she’s still so furious over his slight — now six years prior at this point — that his words fall on deaf ears.
The pair had made their way to Romania as yet another effort to find more of their kind. Where better to find more vampires than their birthplace, after all? But the people are so downtrodden that their blood doesn’t fill, so the vampires who feast on them cannot get warm and get a literal taste of their victims’ despair. It’s a curious effect, one not explored in Rice’s novels, but acts as a welcome companion to Louis’ own misery (over Lestat, over the blood, over life, death, whatever…). What is explained, at least briefly, in the books is the concept of revenants. Braindead, fledgling vampires turned and then trapped in a coffin, unable to feed.
We meet what I can only assume is the series’ version of a revenant in this Season 2 premiere. At first, we’re not sure what it is. We only know that it’s ravenous, killing off the few survivors, and broken in a different way than Louis and Claudia’s deep emotional wounds. It’s very strong, but otherwise it’s more zombie than vampire. We only learn of its age when its mother kills it after Claudia gouges out its eyes to stop it from attacking Louis again. “How would he hunt?” Daciana (Diana Gheorghian) asks in misery while standing over the corpse of the last of her kin.
The introduction of Daciana is an important one, not because of any potential for her lingering as a recurring character, but because her fate ultimately returns Louis and Claudia to the same page.
Before meeting Daciana and her youngling, the two protagonists were oceans apart. But when Daciana chooses suicide, throwing herself into the open fire rather than leave her homeland in search of better blood and believing in Claudia’s many promises, something in the young vampire breaks.
Early in the episode, she screams at Louis that there must be others, because the only ones she has met are, and I’m paraphrasing here, tremendous assholes. Discovering Daciana was the hope that Claudia so desperately needed. Having it ripped away mere moments after their introduction broke the girl in a way that we haven’t seen yet in the series despite her many challenges in Season 1. Lestat never had the power to hurt her in the way that he hurt Louis, but Daciana choosing to end it all rather than believe in the promised future presented by Claudia destroyed the girl’s dream that she could find a future with her own kind.
The aftermath is a great equalizer between the two protagonists. Claudia falls to the emotional depths that Louis had been occupying since slitting Lestat’s throat; Louis claws himself out of his haze long enough to give Claudia some hard and soft words (the soft words are the ones that are important: he promises he will not make the same choice that Daciana did so long as they are by each other’s side) and to decide their next destination.
Claudia and Louis will make their way to France, and undoubtedly the Théâtre des Vampires to show the beginning of Louis and Armand’s (Assad Zaman) relationship. The real question of what awaits them in France centers on Claudia, given the fate that she is to meet there (at least in the books). But will the series elect to keep her alive instead? With Louis and Armand still partnered in the present, it seems that, at the very least, Armand’s involvement in her death will be shifted somewhat. Only time will tell, though.
In the meantime, it seems that bad blood has restored the troubled little vampire family for now. Still, here’s hoping there’s a brighter day awaiting the two of them in France, at least for a time. Lestat is still very much alive and extremely particular about being abandoned, so his presence in the series will undoubtedly change from haunting Louis’ mind to chasing down his traitorous companions and seeking his revenge.
Amelia is the entertainment Streaming Editor here at IGN. She's also a film and television critic who spends too much time talking about dinosaurs, superheroes, and folk horror. You can usually find her with her dog, Rogers. There may be cheeseburgers involved. Follow her across social @ThatWitchMia
Today Amazon has dropped the price of the new 2024 LG UltraGear 27GS95QE 27" OLED gaming monitor to $696.99. It normally retails for $900. This is the best price out there right now for a 27" OLED gaming monitor with a 240Hz refresh rate. We rated the previous generation GR950QE model as the best 27" 1440p OLED gaming monitor of 2024 (at the time of the post, the newer GS950QE hadn't been released yet).
27" LG UltraGear 27GS950QE OLED Gaming Monitor $697
The new 2024 LG UltraGear 27GS95QE replaces the previous year's 27GR95QE. At first glance, these two monitors look largely the same, however the 2024 GS95QE is a much brighter monitor. That's a welcome improvement considering OLED monitors in general are not as bright as other panel types. It also helps that right now, the 2024 GS95QE is $100 less expensive than the older GR95QE.
This is a 27" 2560x1440 (1440p) monitor that boasts a 240Hz refresh rate. At 1440p resolution, even today's mid-range cards (like the RTX 4070 or 4070 Ti) are capable of achieving 240Hz+ framerates, especially on older games like Fortnite, Apex Legends, or Warzone. OLED panels offer nearly infinite contrast ratio thanks to their ability to display true blacks. They're best-in-class when it comes to accurate color reproduction and HDR performance. OLED panels also boast near instantaenous response times, so ghosting is non-existent. In comparison, IPS, VA, TN, and even Mini-LED panels can't even come close.
LG also includes a 2 year "zero burn-in" warranty. Burn-in is probably the biggest fear that prospective buyers have when looking at a new OLED purchase. Burn-in warranties are uncommon and a two year burn-in warranty is only reserved for LG's gaming monitors, NOT for their OLED TVs. That's yet another reason to choose a dedicated OLED monitor over converting an OLED TV to monitor use.
Netflix’s One Piece live-action series set a high bar for anime adaptations' capabilities of fitting the anime’s admittedly intimidatingly long arcs into palatable episodic chunks. With Season 2 on the horizon, Luffy actor Iñaki Godoy has revealed three iconic anime scenes he would love to see the series plant its flag in next.
In an interview with Youtuber Full Haki Marco (translated by ComicBook.com), Godoy revealed that the three scenes he’s most excited to see the Netflix series tackle are Princess Vivi’s heartfelt farewell at the end of the Alabasta Arc, Nico Robin’s tear-jerking “I want to live” scene from the Ennies Lobby Arc, and the totality of the Marineford arc.
It should be noted that while many of these scenes (and whole arcs) top the tier list for many a One Piece fan’s most emotionally climactic junctures, they're also awhile away in terms of where the live-action series is in the grand scheme of things with the manga/anime. The Alabasta arc is the last arc of the Alabasta saga’s five-part story arc. Likewise, the iconic Nico Robin scene is a story arc and a half divorced from the events of Alabasta. Marineford correspondingly serves as the series pre-time-skip arc. Suffice it to say, it would take the Netflix series a while before it would hit Godoy’s most anticipated scenes. This fact, however, hasn’t deterred the Luffy actor, as he plans on sticking with the series for the long haul.
“I am happy to play Luffy and will play Luffy for as long as it makes sense,” Godoy told Full Haki Marco. “Whatever time it takes, if I am playing Luffy is because I am happy to play him, I want to play him, and it makes sense for me to play him."
One Piece’s second season is reportedly slated to drop on the streamer sometime in 2025, with filming expected to begin next month. While little is known about the scope of the upcoming season, various social media posts from creator Eiichiro Oda and Godoy respectively celebrating the show’s second season and Luffy’s birthday all but confirmed it will include the introduction of the Straw Hat’s doctor, Tony Tony Chopper, and will revolve around the Alabasta arc.
That being said, there’s also a high chance that the Netflix live-action series' second season — much like the first, which condensed 93 chapters (around 17 hours of anime) into eight hour-long episodes — will play with the order of events in the Alabasta arc while also injecting some original storylines to complement the original series. Season 1, for example, depicted Koby’s and Admiral Garp’s blossoming student-mentor relationship, which happened off-screen in both the manga and anime.
In our review of One Piece (Netflix’s version), we gave the series a six out of 10, saying it was “an entertaining adaptation that's hindered by a desire to recreate every major event found in its source material.”
Isaiah Colbert is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow them on Twitter @ShinEyeZehUhh.
In a throwback to 2021, GameStop stock is once again seeing a wild spike after meme stock enthusiast and influencer "Roaring Kitty" tweeted for the first time in almost three years.
The post, which depicts a gamer leaning forward and paying attention in their chair, sparked a frenzy among meme stock day traders yesterday, who drove the stock price up as high as 110% throughout the day. Today, the stock is up 68% from its previous close, and is up 76% year-to-date.
Amid the stock's sudden surge, a number of individuals on social media have reported trading halts in the last 24 hours. Trading app Robinhood shared a statement with CNN on the pauses, saying the temporary freezes on the stock were the result of market-wide limits kicking in due to increased volatility.
As before in 2021, day traders are taking advantage of investors short selling GameStop stock to drive the price up. Essentially, short selling is an investment strategy where someone borrows stock from someone else, then sells it at a certain price to make money. As long as the stock price remains low, it's not a big deal, as the investor will simply buy the stock back to cover what they borrowed at a lower price and, in theory, make money. But if the price suddenly rises, the investor needs to cover their short, and will have to purchase the stock back at a higher amount than they sold it for, and will lose money. And if a lot of investors are short selling stock and have to cover themselves all at the same time, the price of the stock can be driven even higher as they fight over the limited amount of stock that remains.
What's happening here, as before, is that groups of day traders are taking advantage of these short sellers by buying up cheap stock, driving the price up in something called a "short squeeze" and forcing the short sellers to cover, driving the price up even further. In 2021, Roaring Kitty (aka Reddit user u/DeepFuckingValue, aka Keith Gill) and other online investment influencers drove a frenzy of this exact behavior, causing GameStop's stock price to skyrocket. Gill himself even testified in front of Congress about the phenomenon.
At the time, a number of individuals cited the addition of Chewy founder Ryan Cohen to GameStop's board as a legitimate reason to invest in GameStop. Cohen has since been appointed GameStop's CEO, but the company's actual business has seen an ongoing decline including layoffs, store shutdowns, and other cost cutting measures.
It's unclear what, if anything, the day trading community sees in GameStop this time around, or whether the trading fervor of the last 24 hours will continue to explode as it did in 2021. Notably, both Reddit and AMC have also seen sizeable spikes since Monday along similar lines, though both AMC and GameStop had already been rising steadily throughout the month prior.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
In 2022, fans of the 1990s adventure series Monkey Island finally got another game with Return to Monkey Island, which notably marked creator Ron Gilbert's first time directing a Monkey Island project in 30 years. Now, it looks like Gilbert has another project up his sleeve that's due out just two (or maybe three) years later.
As pointed out by Time Extension, Gilbert has been sharing progress on an untitled RPG that's described as "classic Zelda meets Diablo meets Thimbleweed Park," according to studio Terrible Toybox's website.
Earlier this week, Gilbert also announced that Elissa Black is joining the team as a quest designer. "This ups the chance by 37% that I'll finish the game before becoming bored and disillusioned," his post reads.
According to publisher Terrible Toybox's website, the untitled game will be released in "late 2024 (or maybe early 2025, this is gamedev after all)."
IGN gave Return to Monkey Island a 9 in our review, saying Gilbert's return to directing a Monkey Island game "meant a lot to me before I ever clicked to start a New Game, and it meant far more after the end credits rolled." We also crowned it as the best puzzle game of 2022, and it finally made its way to mobile last summer.
Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN who loves all things indie and Nintendo. Outside of IGN, they've contributed to sites like Polygon and Rock Paper Shotgun, and they're currently developing a game called Garage Sale. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.
Starting today, Amazon has discounted the popular 2TB WD Black SN850X PCIe Gen4 M.2 NVMe solid stae drive (SSD) with pre-installed heatsink for only $144.99 after you clip a $35 off coupon on the product page. The SN850X works equally well as additional storage for your PS5 console or as a blazing fast boot drive for your gaming rig. We picked the SN850P (which is identical to the SN850X but with official PS5 certification) as the best high-capacity M.2 SSD for 2024.
2TB WD Black SN850X SSD With Heatsink for $144.99
The SN850X is the latest generation of WD's flagship Black series M.2 SSDs. It's easily one of the fastest SSDs on the market. There are only a few SSDs out right now that can match its speed like the Samsung 990 Pro and the SK Hynix P41 Platinum, but they're also more expensive.
The SN850X's upgrades over the SN850 include newer flash chips (BiCS5 vs BiCS4) and an updated firmware, both of which offer improved sequential and random read/write speeds. What this all means is that the SN850X will perform exceedingly well as a boot drive for a gaming PC. For PC gamers, there's also an updated Game Mode 2.0 utility that's designed to tune the SSD for better performance during gaming sessions. The 4TB capacity means you won't have to worry as much about overfilling your drive full of games and apps. With that much storage you might not even need another drive.
The SN850X also makes for an excellent PS5 SSD. It is identical to the SN850P, which is the only officially licensed PS5 SSD on the market. It fulfills almost all of Sony's requirements, like a minimum read speed of 5,500MB/s and a PCI-Express Gen4x4 interface. This model even comes with a beefy heatsink already preinstalled; it's sliim enough to fit in the PlayStation 5 SSD bay without any modifications.
If you're looking for more SSD storage upgrade options for your PS5 console, check out our best PS5 SSD deals of 2023. There are even less expensive options if you're not married to any brand.
Square Enix will be the latest publisher to undergo layoffs in the U.S. and Europe amid extensive restructuring, VGC reports.
Square Enix president Takashi Kiryu reportedly confirmed that layoffs will take place in the U.S. and Europe during an internal town hall on Monday. IGN can confirm that the town hall took place and that workers within Square Enix are bracing for layoffs as a result. According to VGC, many of Square Enix's internal Slack channels were locked following the meeting.
According to the report, Square Enix's publishing arm, IT, and indie division are among the areas that will be most affected by the layoffs. The scale of the layoffs has not been confirmed.
IGN has reached out to Square Enix asking for confirmation of the layoffs and an official statement.
Square Enix is plotting a three-year plan it hopes will spur long-term growth, including a shift to multiplatform development. Square Enix recently absorbed a $140 million "content abandonment" loss due to canceling multiple unannounced projects, and has reportedly elevated a new group of creators, according to a Bloomberg report.
Meta is making its Quest 2 and 3 virtual reality headsets more travel-friendly, as the tech giant announced a new Travel Mode for both devices.
In a blog post, Meta revealed that Travel Mode is available as an experimental feature on Quest 2 and 3 headsets. Users who want to try the feature need to go to their headset's settings, then the Experimental Features section, to enable the feature.
As you'd expect from an experimental feature, Meta confirms that Travel Mode is currently "optimized for use on planes," but it plans to add support for other modes of transportation like trains. Any app or video game that requires an internet connection, like Xbox Cloud Gaming or Rec Room, needs the user to connect to the plane's Wi-Fi. More interestingly, Meta notes that if you use your headset before enabling Travel Mode, the device may automatically detect you are on a plane. It is recommended that you allow Travel Mode before use.
As UploadVR pointed out previously, users who wished to use their Meta Quest VR headset on a flight had to turn off positional tracking.
While the concept might seem silly to some, using Travel Mode on a VR headset, particularly the Meta Quest, isn't that farfetched of a concept. The Meta Quest 2 and 3 specifically offer native apps for streaming and video services such as Netflix, Peacock, and YouTube, not to mention the ever-growing list of VR games that are released regularly on both devices and do not require a ton of movement such as Real VR Fishing and Moss: Book 2.
Travel Mode may sound familiar, as this feature was previously available in the Vision Pro, Apple's pricey spatial computer released earlier this year. In recent months, Meta has been rolling out new features previously found on Vision Pro onto its VR headset. Additionally, Vision Pro-esuqe features Meta has introduced to the Quest line, such as Laying Down Mode.
Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
Bowflex isn't the only option when it comes to adjustable dumbbell sets. PowerBlock is another trusted brand that offers its own version, and right now it's on sale. Woot has the PowerBlock EXP Stage 1 (5 to 50lb) adjustable dumbbell set for only $219.99. Amazon Prime members get free shipping (otherwise play $6 flat rate shipping). That's 45% cheaper than a comparable set of Bowflex SelectTech dumbbells.
It gets even better. If you need even more weights than the base 100 pounds (50lbs per dumbbell), then you can pick up the expansion kits on sale as well. Both the Stage 2 (50 to 70lb) Expansion Kit and Stage 3 (70 to 90lb) Expansion Kit are only $89.99 each, normally $179.
PowerBlock EXP Stage 1 (5 to 50lb) Adjustable Dumbbells for $219.99
Free weights are a good choice for someone who wants to get as many different workouts as possible in the smallest amount of space and the least amount of equipment. A pair of dumbbells alone grants you access to a wide range of exercises that can target just about every muscle in your upper and lower body.
Each PowerBlock 50 dumbbell is adjustable from 10 pounds all the way to 50 pounds in 5 pound increments with just a turn of a dial. It's definitely more efficient than constantly swapping discs. In terms of space saving prowess, adjustable dumbbells are unmatched. All the plates are neatly contained and doesn't take up much space. You're basically housing two larger profile dumbbells instead of an entire rack of weights.
If you're worried about the quality of these dumbbels, don't. I've tried these myself and they are every bit as solid and well built as the Bowflex variants. The handles are rubber coated so your grip won't slip and the weight adjusting mechanism is smooth and intuitive. PowerBlock backs these dumbbells with a 5 year warranty. If you can still maintain your workout regimen after that amount of time, kudos to you.
Warning: This article contains full spoilers for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
What a wonderful day indeed, because Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is now in theaters. The tenth entry in the venerable science-fiction franchise is starting off with strong reviews (including IGN’s) and a $129 million global opening weekend, proving that the Apes series can still be a draw even without Andy Serkis’ Caesar in the lead role. Although director Wes Ball’s newest entry is apparently intended to start a new trilogy, it works perfectly well as a standalone entry. We’ll see how the film’s trajectory pans out over the coming weeks, but at least for now, it seems the Apes franchise will be with us for quite a while longer.
Which raises a question: how has Planet of the Apes managed to stay fresh after so many entries? Set aside the fact that Kingdom is the fourth of the reboot series; there were also five movies in the original series produced in the 1960s and ‘70s, two spin-off television shows, as well as Tim Burton’s 2001 remake (we’ll forgive you if you forgot that one). Kingdom seems to have highlighted the answer: keeping the conflicts relatively localized, with only the aftereffects having global ramifications. The way the franchise hones in on small, personal stakes for the characters involved gives it an edge over many of its contemporaries, and keeps the series squarely in the science-fiction genre, as opposed to crossing over into full-out action blockbuster territory. What’s going on here? Let’s take a look.
Monkey Business
Since the release of Rupert Wyatt’s 2011 film Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the Apes reboot series has remained one of the most well-respected blockbuster brands. Although Rise was later outdone by its sequels, it’s still a solid science-fiction entry with an admirable sense of restraint. Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver’s script zeroes in on relatable human (and ape) drama, with the film’s action setpieces only coming into play in the final third. At a time when we’re drowning in action blockbusters that are often structured like roller coasters, it’s remarkable to look back on Rise and see a big studio movie that was willing to be so patient. Rise trusts its audience to engage with the story’s core themes, and that trust extends into its sequels.
How has the Planet of the Apes series managed to stay fresh after so many entries?
The new Apes series really hit its stride in 2014, when Matt Reeves took over the property with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Building on the cast of ape characters introduced in the first film, the motion capture work by Weta Digital fully cemented itself in this film, giving life not just to Caesar and a small handful of compatriots, but to an entire community of apes. The film gives nuance to the ape supporting cast and paints their conflict with a human settlement living in the ruins of San Francisco with emotional depth. This is exemplified in the film’s antagonist, Toby Kebbell’s Koba. Despite a tragic backstory and an understandable motivation for his hatred of humans, Koba emerges as the aggressor in what was ultimately a completely avoidable conflict.
Said conflict explodes into all-out war in the appropriately titled War for the Planet of the Apes. But once again, the movie keeps its scale relatively small. Even though it’s a war story, the actual conflict is between Caesar’s tribe and a single battalion, the Alpha Omega militia, while the plot primarily concerns an attempt to liberate Caesar’s people from the militia’s prison. In all of these movies, the narrative engine is driven by a conflict that is specific and contained, where the movie’s bigger themes can be expressed without needing to belabor the plot with excessive exposition or world-building. These movies share an attitude of self-discipline that has become somewhat rare in mainstream Hollywood, and this tendency continues into its latest entry, if to slightly more mixed results.
Gorilla Warfare
Make no mistake, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is another worthy installment in the Apes canon. Wes Ball’s keen directorial eye produces some of the series’ best visuals, the story takes surprising turns even though it’s the fourth film in this continuity, and Ball gets several strong performances out of his main cast (special shout-out to Kevin Durand as main villain Proximus). But if Kingdom has a main flaw, it’s that it’s perhaps too leisurely paced, with the first half stretched far too thin for how little dramatic meat it explores. Once Noa gets to Proximus’ kingdom, the movie locks in for a stellar back half, but the post-apocalyptic journey he takes to get there is low on tension and banks too much on pushing back a reveal that should have happened way earlier.
The reveal is that Mae, the human joining Noa on his journey, is not an unintelligent mute like he expected, but is instead posing as one. She is from a group of isolated humans who never lost their ability to speak living inside an underground structure. These humans are seeking a way to communicate with the outside world. It’s a great twist, one the marketing didn’t even hint at, but delaying it for so long not only throws off the pacing, but also raises many questions about what her plan even was. She was apparently selected for this mission of great importance (along with some teammates who are killed by Proximus’ soldiers before the movie starts), but the way she acts before we learn she’s intelligent rests too much on her assuming that Noa and his orangutan companion Raka would risk themselves multiple times to save her.
This issue mostly fades away once the back half begins, where the film focuses on a localized conflict about Proximus trying to open a human vault full of military technology, and the good guys trying to both stop him and save the kidnapped apes from Noa’s tribe. Like with Koba in Dawn and Woody Harrelson’s Colonel in War, Proximus’ ambitions as an antagonist are kept in check by the logistics of what he is seeking to achieve, which comes down to greater control over the territory we actually see. Would he become a global threat if he had access to guns and a few tanks? No. But would he become a tyrannical force over the small amount of countryside and all the characters we do see? Absolutely. Whether or not every storyteller involved in the series agreed to do so, placing the attention on specific stakes instead of abstract ones has been the Apes series’ most important throughline.
Ape-pocalypse Now
That is not a goal that many other contemporary film franchises share. As blockbuster budgets keep ramping up and franchise films feel less and less like products of their directors, a push for grand-scale conflicts has settled in for many of our biggest movies. Superheroes are always trying to save the world (or universe) from whatever mega-villain threatens it this week, and characters in big movies are often motivated by hazy ideals that leave them feeling like empty vessels who don’t really want anything tangible. That’s not to say all blockbusters are like that, or that there aren’t any good movies that run into these pitfalls, but part of what’s kept Planet of the Apes so well-respected by critics and audiences, consciously or otherwise, is that it knows what is important to each of its respective entries. Each story keeps its conflicts within a small realm that the audience can engage with, and only allows the aftereffects to be wide-reaching.
In Rise, Caesar and his friends were simply trying to escape an abusive situation; they had no idea that would lead to the spread of a devastating virus. In Dawn, the armed conflict Koba starts only takes place between two small factions within one city, but that ignites greater war because of Dreyfus contacting other militarized settlements. In War, Caesar simply wants to free his people from captivity at the Colonel’s hands, and has nothing to do with the mutation in the virus that renders people mute. And in Kingdom, Noa and Mae are just trying to stop Proximus from getting access to weapons (and Mae also has a secret mission to swipe a decipher key her settlement needs to access satellite communication), but now there is an understanding that intelligent human society will start reasserting itself in a world ruled by apes.
The series' tradition of small events unintentionally sparking global consequences is one of the key ways it adheres to the conventions of classic science fiction. This makes sense given that the original 1968 film was based on La Planète des singes, a 1963 French sci-fi novel by Pierre Boulle. Exploring the ramifications of technological innovation and societal collapse through a personal lens are ever-present themes in the genre, and the Apes movies take their cue from that creative impulse. Sure, the events that occur are apocalyptic by nature, but no one in the Apes films is fighting simply for “the fate of the earth” or something else as elusive. They’re fighting for the people and things right in front of them, and so long as the series keeps its eye on that ball, we’ll likely be enjoying these films for a long time to come.
Carlos Morales writes novels, articles and Mass Effect essays. You can follow his fixations on Twitter.
Jon Watts, the director behind the most recent Spider-Man trilogy starring Tom Holland, has received some pushback from fans over his advice to not rely on practical effects for web-swinging scenes.
It doesn't look good when someone is just swinging on a rope.
"I have a very practical bit of Spider-Man advice, and I think every Spider-Man director goes through it. It doesn't look good when someone is just swinging on a rope," he said. "You think you're gonna go in there, you're like, 'we're gonna do it all practical. We're gonna get a stuntman. We're gonna be swinging around.' It's boring. It looks dumb. It looks like a monkey swinging on a vine when you put someone on just a rope. Don't waste your time. That's my advice to the next Spider-Man director."
These comments caused a stir on social media, with people openly rebuking Watts' opinion by sharing behind-the-scenes videos of the stunt work on past Spidey entries and praising the outcome. Marc Webb's Amazing Spider-Man films frequently came up in the conversation as a positive example of practical effects.
It’s crazy how he says doing it all practical it’s boring and looks dumb but Marc Webb pulled it off don’t believe me check down below 👇🏽 pic.twitter.com/d8A8GXxnWs
— PlayStationStudios🎮 and Spider-Man 🕷️🕸️account (@Marvelfan2023) May 12, 2024
Here a video of the practical affects within Amazing Spider-Man movie that was made by possible by Marc Webb: pic.twitter.com/bgGuEq7DRS
His movies were good... But they had the worst swinging and action of all the spidey movies. The amazing spider man movies, for as bad as they were, were miles ahead of Holland's movies in that aspect.
If you want swinging advice they should ask marc Webb or Sam raimi
— meatrub strikes again! (@meatrub1290) May 12, 2024
While the majority seemed to disagree with Watts on taking the CGI route with Spider-Man's web-swinging, a few thought the filmmaker might have a point. One person argued that live-action swinging can end up looking "awkward and slow" because it's something that "just can't really be done properly practically."
Someone else on X/Twitter suggested that "the proof is in the pudding" because "every sequence someone shares as 'the best swinging ever' is a CGI sequence that doesn't look like someone just swinging on a rope."
"Everyone's cooking Watts but he literally very much in the right here," another person added, throwing their opinion in the mix. "You wouldn't be able to get grand swinging sequences where cameras fly through the city following someone who has incredible agility and flexibility... in real life. You just won't. Watts gave great advice."
One thing that debaters can't rebuff is the enormous success of Spider-Man: No Way Home. It grossed over $1.9 billion at the worldwide box office and set several records along the way, but Watts has since said he "needs a break from the superhero realm," leaving the door open for another filmmaker to take the reins.
Holland, who has donned the Spidey suit for three standalone movies and a handful of other MCU appearances, said in April that he will "always want to do more" Spider-Man films and confirmed that work is still underway on the story for the fourth installment, noting that everyone involved has "a legacy to protect."
It will likely be a while before we hear any news about the fourth film since Marvel is working through a full slate of movies and shows for the MCU's Phase 5 and Phase 6.
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter @AdeleAnkers.
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