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Showing posts from July, 2019

The 1,000-Player Battle Royale Game Has Been Canceled

The 1,000-player PC battle royale game, Mavericks: Proving Grounds , has been canceled. Developer Automaton Games is scuttling the project due to "insufficient funding," while the studio overall appears to be closing up shop. The developer confirmed the news in a post on its website . "Please be advised that due to insufficient funding, the development of the Mavericks: Proving Grounds game has now ceased." Automaton Games, which is based in the UK, has become insolvent, and insolvency practitioners Paul Appleton and Paul Cooper have been brought in to wind things down and close up the studio. It's an out-of-nowhere update for Marvericks. Just last week, the developers announced that the game reached the Alpha stage of development--which is a major milestone for any game. Marvericks was playable at E3 2019 back in June. Marvericks used the cloud-based SpatialOS tools that allowed the team to make massive worlds that could accommodate 1,000 players on a map.
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Smash Bros. Ultimate Freebie Now Available For Nintendo Switch Online Members

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 's big 4.0 update has arrived, adding another DLC fighter to the roster--the Hero from Dragon Quest --and a few other new features to the game, such as an Online Tournament mode that will occasionally host special themed events and a new Spectate mode that lets you earn prizes for successfully predicting the winner. Alongside the update, Nintendo has quietly released a little Smash Ultimate freebie for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. Right now, NSO members can download the Spirit Board Challenge Pack 1. The pack contains an assortment of helpful items for the game's Spirit Board mode. You'll receive the following: 1,500 Spirit Points 10 Shuffle All (reshuffles every Spirit on the board) 10 All Primaries (reshuffles the board with Primary Spirits) 10 All Supports (reshuffles the board with Support Spirits) As previously mentioned, the Spirit Board Challenge Pack 1 is an exclusive offer for NSO subscribers. The Eshop notes the pack cann
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Xbox Game Pass PC And Xbox One August Lineup Announced

Microsoft has announced the Xbox Game Pass lineup for the first few weeks of August, so you can play game gratis during the dog days of summer. As usual the service is offering a collection of games that will join the service on Xbox One consoles, PC, and one that will be on both. On August 1, the service will add the sports game Ashes Cricket and the strategy game Pandemic for Xbox One, along with the vertical action game Downwell for PC. Then on August 8, those will be joined by the Jackbox Party Pack 2 on Xbox and Space Hulk Tactics on PC. Finally, on August 14, both Xbox One and PC players will get the roguelike Slay the Spire . The Gears 5 PvP tech tests included with Game Pass have concluded, but a separate Horde Mode tech test is coming sometime in August . Microsoft hasn't detailed when that will come, but like the PvP test, it should be included in Game Pass. That's because the game itself will be included with Game Pass, and the tech tests are open to pre-ord
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Martin Scorsese's Netflix Crime Epic The Irishman Gets Thrilling First Trailer

The first trailer for The Irishman is here. The highly-anticipated crime thriller is the latest movie from legendary director Martin Scorsese, and stars Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci. It's been produced by Netflix and is set to hit the service in the fall. The Irishman tells the real-life story of Frank Sheeran, a union man who also allegedly worked as a contract killer. De Niro plays Sheeran, with Pacino as notorious union boss Jimmy Hoffa and Pesci as mobster Russell Bufalino. It looks like another epic, decade-spanning crime saga from Scorsese--and let's face it, no one does it better the director of Goodfellas and Casino. Check the trailer out below. The Irishman also stars Ray Romano, Anna Paquin, Bobby Cannavale, Harvey Keitel, and Stephen Graham. It's penned by by Steven Zaillian, who also wrote Schindler's List, American Gangster, and David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. One of the most notable aspects of The Irishman is that it w
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New Need For Speed Coming Soon, EA Confirms

EA has confirmed it will release a new Need for Speed title soon. The publisher said in an investor call that it plans to launch the new game before the end of March 2020. "We'll be delivering many other new experiences to players throughout the remainder of this fiscal year," said EA CEO Andrew Wilson. "We'll take the wraps off our new Need for Speed game heading into Gamescom in a few weeks. "We [also] have plans for a Plants Vs. Zombies shooter title, coming to console and PC later this year." The most recent Need for Speed game, Payback , launched in 2017 to a mixed reception , including a 5/10 in GameSpot's review. The upcoming Plants Vs. Zombies shooter , expected to be Garden Warfare 3, was stealth announced just recently with the codename "Picnic." Not long before that, EA announced another mainline PvZ title. Plants Vs. Zombies 3 is currently in the pre-alpha testing phase, but a final release date has not been confirmed. Els
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After The Cats Movie Trailer, Another Cat-Themed Movie Adds To Its Cast

Movies about cats are very popular these days-- yes they are --and now another cat-themed movie has added more actors to its cast. The Tom and Jerry movie, which is based on the classic animated show that in its new form will seemingly blend live-action and CG, has welcomed Ken Jeong, Rob Delaney, Jordan Bolger, and Pallavi Sharda to its cast, according to Entertainment Weekly . The Tom and Jerry movie will also star Colin Jost, Chloe Grace Moretz, and Michael Pena. Fantastic Four and Ride Along director Tim Story is directly the Tom and Jerry movie. According to Entertainment Weekly , the Tom and Jerry movie follows the cat and mouse after they get booted from their home and must live in a New York hotel. Chloe Grace Moretz plays the character Kayla, who works at the hotel and is tasked with hosting a fancy wedding there. No one wants to come to a wedding with a mouse problem, so Kayla brings in Tom the cat to get rid of Jerry. It probably won't go to plan. There have been To
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Sony Says It Might Raise PlayStation Prices If Trump's Tariffs With China Go Through

PlayStation consoles might get more expensive for shoppers in the United States. During an earnings call today, Sony's chief financial officer Hiroki Totoki said it will need to increase the price of PlayStation consoles sold in America if President Trump's proposed tariffs on electronics made in China--including game consoles--do indeed go through. According to The Wall Street Journal , "most" of the components of PlayStation consoles are made in China. "We believe, and therefore have told the U.S. government, that higher tariffs would ultimately damage the U.S. economy," Totoki said. Earlier this year Trump announced a plan to increase tariffs from 10 percent to 25 percent on electronics made in China and shipped to the United States. These export tariffs are not finalized as of yet, and the US and China are coming back to the negotiation table this week. This new comment from Totoki comes after Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo jointly released a statement
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NBA Live 20 Delayed To Pursue A "Different Approach"

NBA Live is not a flagship EA Sports title in the way that heavy-hitters like FIFA and Madden are, and it has a tumultuous history at the company. However, the strides that last year's NBA Live 19 made in a positive direction gave fans some hope that the series was back on track again. Now, it appears something might be amiss or changing with the pro basketball franchise. EA announced today that NBA Live 20 is still coming, but it's been delayed to EA's FY20 Q3, which means the game is now scheduled to release between October 1 and December 31, 2019. A spokesperson for EA Sports told GameSpot that NBA Live will feature a "different approach," but it's not clear if this is the reason for the delay. "We're planning a different approach to NBA Live this year, and will have more to share in the quarter ahead," the spokesperson said. This delay for NBA Live 20 is a big deal because it means the game will launch a while after competitor NBA 2K20
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Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 4.0 Patch Adds New Dificulty, Balance Tweaks; Available Today

A presentation for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate detailed the new Dragon Quest heroes being added to the game today as downloadable content, but they're not the only changes coming. The 4.0 update, coming alongside the DQ heroes, makes several changes of its own. As detailed in the presentation, the patch will add a time limit to your Final Smash meter, making it more difficult to play the waiting game. This change appears like it was designed to encourage players to go ahead and use it while they have the chance, making for more active battles. An Online Tourney mode has also been added to competitive play, and it will occasionally offer special rule sets to create some variety. For players who just want to get through Adventure Mode without too much hassle, the game is adding a Very Easy difficulty. Or if you want to kick back and watch other people play, the Spectate Mode now offers rewards for placing a prediction on the winner. You can use the tokens you earned to purchase re
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Amazon's Lord Of The Rings Show Reveals Its Star-Studded Production Team

If Amazon's Lord of the Rings TV show stumbles, it won't be for lack of talent, it seems. The company has announced some of the creative talent behind the scenes, including writers, producers, and artists. In short, the show is absolutely stacked with talent. The showrunners are JD Payne and Patrick McKay. They have no TV writing credits to their name, but neither did D.B. Weiss and David Benioff before the start of Game of Thrones. The writers room for the untitled Lord of the Rings show includes Gennifer Hutchinson (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul), Helen Shang (Hannibal), Justin Dohle (Stranger Things), Bryan Cogman (Game of Thrones), and Stephany Folsom (Toy Story 4). Cogman in particular is a big get for Amazon, as the veteran Game of Thrones producer was the "third head of the dragon" for HBO's fantasy show alongside Weiss and Benioff. J.A. Bayona, the director of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, is directing episodes 1 and 2 of the Lord of the Rings show.
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First Fallout 76 Raid Coming Next Month And It's "Very Challenging"

Bethesda has revealed that Fallout 76 will get its first four-player raid next month. During a Fallout 76 QuakeCon 2019 panel (go to around 13:15), the future of the multiplayer-focused RPG was discussed--including the launch of the Vault 94 raid. "We are finalizing the first Vault, which is Vault 94," Fallout 76 development director Chris Mayer said. "It's a pretty expansive Vault. We do think it will be very challenging. I, myself, have been challenged in the playtest--many times--trying to get to the end of it. I think some of the rewards are really cool. Some of them might actually help you hide a little better in the environment." Mayer followed up by saying Vault 94 should release in "the next few weeks," barring "something really major or unforeseen." Fallout 76 project lead Jeff Gardner added that it would be "definitely August." According to a tweet , August 20 is the specific date. "The Vaults are designed for f
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Fire Emblem: Three Houses Guide - List Of Class Upgrade Requirements

Fire Emblem: Three Houses is all about taking a group of students, and as their professor, turning into absolute killing machines. That's a problematic setup, but the real question is: What kind of killing machines should they be? Before you start each Sunday, you'll be given the chance to certify your students in a new unit class, provided they've met the requirements. You'll need Seals to do so, which can be found in battle or purchased from the item shop. You'll have a greater chance of passing a certification exam if your student has reached all the recommended skill thresholds listed. You can definitely still pass on lower percentages too, but it's worth noting that each unit can only take on exam per week. It's also worth noting that there's value in sticking with a more basic class for a little while: Maxing out the experience of a certain class will earn you a class-specific ability which you can retain, even if you change to a different one.
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Fire Emblem: Three Houses Guide - What Do Amiibo Do?

If you're playing Fire Emblem: Three Houses , you might have noticed that in the middle of Garreg Mach Monastery, there is something called an "Amiibo Gazeebo", which is frankly, a fantastic name. There, you can scan Amiibo, and even if you scan even just one, then the area surrounding the gazeebo will populate with a selection random items--mostly tea, food, and fish--every time you come back to visit on a free day. If you have an Amiibo of a Fire Emblem character, scanning it will give you new music tracks from the character's respective game. You can listen to these during the game's optional auxiliary battles by choosing them in the "General" tab of the options menu. Here is a list of the tracks each Fire Emblem amiibo will give you: Marth - The Time to Act Ike - Eternal Bond Robin - Id (Purpose) Lucina - Conquest (Ablaze) Roy - Beneath a New Light (Roy’s Courage) Alm - March to Deliverance Celica - With Mila's Divine Protection
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Fire Emblem: Three Houses Guide - Everything You Need To Know About Gardening

There are two nice side-distractions you can partake in when exploring the monastery in Fire Emblem: Three Houses . Fishing is a nice distraction that comes with a few perks. Gardening, on the other hand, is a much more valuable activity, and you should be making the greenhouse your first destination every time you decide to explore the monastery on your free day. You'll increase your Professor Level by doing so, as well as getting a bunch of nice items: food to eat and cook with, flowers to gift to your students, and later on, you'll even get some stat-boosting items. Here's everything you need to remember about gardening: As your Professor Level grows, so will your ability to plant more seeds and use more lucrative methods of cultivation. Growing that level by any means possible (teaching, fishing, etc) should be a priority. Your yield will be better if you plant seeds of the same type in one batch, eg. flower seeds, herb seeds, vegetable seeds, etc. Always cult
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Fire Emblem: Three Houses Guide - Everything You Need To Know About Fishing

Fishing in Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a great way to increase your Professor Level without spending any activity points, with the bonus of being able to stockpile ingredients to have for meals. Sometimes, there will be events on Sundays where rare fish become available to catch, which you can sell for cold, hard, cash. But it's important to fish smart, meaning you shouldn't necessarily reel in the first fish that bites! When a fish catches on, there'll be an icon that shows what kind of rarity the fish will be. When you're using expensive bait to catch rare fish (like during a special event day, for example), you'll want to wait for the Purple, Gold, or Rainbow fish icon to show up to make sure you're making the most of it. However, there is a risk of losing your bait after the third snag, sometimes fourth if you're lucky. So try and get out while you're ahead. Here's how the rarity scales: Blue -> Red -> Gold/Rainbow/Purple (Special Fish
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Fire Emblem: Three Houses Guide - How To Make The Most Of Sharing Meals

Sharing meals in Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a pretty straightforward concept: Pick two students to eat with, bonus points if they favor the dish, have a great time. Here are some good things to always keep in mind in order to make sure you're making the most out of every meal. Think twice before sharing a meal with a class member who has full motivation. Could you be making this meal have a bigger impact by sharing it with someone else who doesn't have any motivation? You don't want to let any activity points go to waste when classes start back up for the week. Do the two characters you're sharing a meal with have the potential for social bonds with each other? If they don't, look for a different pairing. This is especially important when you're incorporating students from other houses--not every character can have a social relationship with every other character. (Pro tip: You can hit the X button when choosing your meal companions to view their soci
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Fire Emblem: Three Houses Guide - How To Effectively Kill Monsters

Fire Emblem: Three Houses will painstakingly explain the mechanics of how to take out monsters when you first encounter them. But let's be honest--with all the stuff going on in this game, you'll probably forget about it by the time another one rolls around and just spam Gambit abilities at it, which is not the best way to do things. Here's what to remember when you take on monsters: Each monster has a number of different segments available for attack. These are all initially shielded, as indicated by the golden squares underneath it. You need to take down these shields by attacking them. You won't do as much damage, but it's a necessity--think about using your weaker units to help out with this. The gold squares that indicate shields will eventually crack, and then shatter. Once they're gone, that particular square will be susceptible to full damage. Gambits will do damage to multiple segments, as well as stun the monster, which means it won't
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Fire Emblem: Three Houses Guide - List Of Faculty Training Options

In Fire Emblem: Three Houses , you're the one teaching students. But what about your own self-development? Weapons skills are easy to practice in battle, but you can't level up things like reason, faith, riding, or flying skills unless you're already certified for the associated classes--and you need Faculty Training in order to do that. Early on, it's a better use of your activity points to invest in those skills so you can, say, become certified as a Pegasus Knight and continue practicing your flying from there. Here's who can teach you the aforementioned skills: Flying: Manuela, Seteth Riding: Jeralt, Hanneman, Gilbert Faith: Rhea, Manuela Reason: Hanneman, Rhea And here's a list of what all the teachers at Garreg Mach Monastery can teach you: Rhea : Sword, Brawl, Reason, Faith Seteth : Sword, Lance, Axe, Authority, Flying Manuela : Sword, Faith, Flying Hanneman : Bow, Reason, Riding Catherine : Sword, Brawl Jeralt : Lance, Authority, Ridin
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Fire Emblem: Three Houses Guide - Gender-Specific Classes

In Fire Emblem: Three Houses , as was the case in previous Fire Emblem games, each gender has its own variety of classes that are unique to them. Most of them will be common, but for whatever reason, only dudes can punch things and be a hero, and only girls can ride the flying horsies. Here is a list of all the gender-specific classes in the game, so you don't waste time training anybody to be certified in a class they're locked out of. Male Only: Intermediate: Brawler (Brawl) Dark Mage (Reason) Advanced: Hero (Sword, Axe) Grappler (Brawl) Dark Bishop (Reason) Master: War Master (Axe, Brawl) Female Only: Intermediate: Pegasus Knight (Lance, Flying) Advanced: None Master: Falcon Knight (Sword, Lance, Flying) Gremory (Reason, Faith) For more in-game know-how, check our complete collection of essential advice and tips for Fire Emblem: Three Houses . It's a huge game, and after our multiple playthroughs, we have plenty of guidance we're dying
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Fire Emblem: Three Houses Guide - Best Skills To Focus On

Fire Emblem: Three Houses certainly gives you a lot of flexibility in terms of how you can develop your protagonist's abilities, as well as those of your students. While you're free to pursue any combat skill with any character you wish, the game definitely nudges you in a few different directions when it comes to certain characters and certain classes. When it comes to picking a goal, it's important to keep a few things in mind: Your gender: Three Houses unfortunately still has gender-specific classes, so it's important to look ahead and see what options you have available in the long-term before you start to pursue a class discipline. I was in the process of making my female protagonist the best hand-to-hand fighter possible until I learned that the later brawler classes, the Brawler, Grappler, and Warmaster, were exclusive to males. You can find a list of the gender-specific classes here. Innate learning advantages: Every character has specific skills they
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Fire Emblem: Three Houses Guide - Student (And Teacher) Recruitment Conditions

When you first start Fire Emblem: Three Houses , You'll probably spend a whole lot of time agonizing over which of the three groups of students you want to teach for the rest of the game. It's a tough choice--each class brings the potential for major differences in the story, and the composition of each is a real mix of pros and cons, both in terms of the personalities of the students, and the initial abilities they bring to the battlefield. But remember--with enough time and effort, you can recruit almost any student you want to your class with the exception of the house leaders and their closest retainer. Each student will value a certain attribute and a certain skill. All you need to do is work to meet that threshold through battles and training, while also making an effort to raise your social rank with them (which will take away time from increasing the social rank and motivation of those already in your class). We've had varying experiences here, and found that the
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Fire Emblem: Three Houses - How To Soft Reset

Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a game with a lot of choices, and a game where things can go wrong--your favorite characters can die permanently on the battlefield or you might accidentally waste a whole day of free time. You could accidentally offend someone in a conversation, or you might have a disastrously embarrassing tea party with someone you're trying to get closer too. Thankfully, Fire Emblem has an autosave function and it prompts you to manually save very regularly. But the one thing it doesn't tell you is how to boot back into the main menu to load a previous save. That's what we're here for. To soft reset the game and go back to the main menu, press and hold: [-] + [+] + [L] + [R] .You're welcome. For more in-game know-how, check our complete collection of essential advice and tips for Fire Emblem: Three Houses . It's a huge game, and after our multiple playthroughs, we have plenty of guidance we're dying to give you. For a behind-the-scenes
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PSA: Last Chance To Buy Nintendo Switch Game Vouchers

Back in May, Nintendo kicked off a limited-time voucher program that gives Nintendo Switch Online subscribers the option to purchase a pair of game vouchers for $100, saving up to $20 off of the two titles' regular combined retail price. If you're interested in taking advantage of the offer, however, your time to do so is running out, as the last day you can purchase these vouchers is Wednesday, July 31. As previously mentioned, this offer is only available to those who have a Nintendo Switch Online subscription. If you fall in that camp, you can purchase the vouchers through Nintendo's website or the Eshop and then redeem them on select first- and third-party Switch games. The vouchers are valid for a full year from the date of purchase and don't both need to be redeemed at the same time. The Switch games eligible for the voucher program range from already-available titles such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild , Super Mario Odyssey , and the recently rele
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11 Star Trek Picard Theories, Based on What We Know So Far

It's nearly time to engage. The buzz around Star Trek: Picard is running high. It will be Trek fans' first, in-depth look at a post-Voyager universe. It will debut on CBS All-Access in early 2020, with 10 one-hour episodes. Picard is completely separate from J.J. Abrams' rebooted Star Trek franchise, which takes place in an alternate "Kelvin" timeline apart from the majority of Trek media. Those Kelvin movies re-envisioned Star Trek as an action-adventure series, with straightforward ethical questions, less talking, and more explosions. To Trek fans who found this too simplistic--and not in keeping with the comparative moral complexity of the television shows--Star Trek: Picard appears like it might be a "return to form." And there is no better person to re-establish Star Trek's hopeful vision of the future than Jean-Luc Picard, reprised by Sir Patrick Stewart. It would be difficult to think of another television character as principled and mora
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Battlefield 5 Adding New Free Map Tomorrow

A new map is coming to Battlefield V very soon. Marita, the next free map to arrive as part of the game's Chapter 4: Defying the Odds expansion, will roll out on PS4, Xbox One, and PC tomorrow, July 30. The map will go live on all platforms alongside the game's 4.2.1 update at 3 AM PT / 6 AM ET / 11 AM BST / 12 PM CEST. Set in Greece, Marita emphasizes verticality and firefights, making for an intense addition to the rotation. As developer DICE describes: "Deploy on a sloping mountain ridge and within the tight streets of a rural town on this infantry-focused map. Tanks and aircraft will stand aside for intense gunfights and sneaky flanks in the cobbled streets." The 4.2.1 update will weigh in at 500 MB on Xbox One and 300 MB on PC; the PS4 file size will be announced ahead of the update's rollout tomorrow. Once Marita is live, a Marita-only playlist will also be available. As DICE explains on Reddit , this playlist will rotate between one round of Conquest and
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New Blair Witch Gameplay Shows Good Dog And Good Scares

During Microsoft's E3 2019 press conference, developer Bloober Team announced Blair Witch , a first-person survival horror video game based on the 20-year-old movie franchise headed to PC and Xbox One. Details have been kept close to the chest since then, but we've now gotten a quick look at some gameplay ahead of the game's August 30 release. The gameplay footage features the protagonist Ellis talking to someone named Jess about the "missing person case" he's investigating. You can walk around the environments, look at stuff, use cameras and flashlights to illuminate your path, and more--all with pretty unnerving apparitions terrorizing your psyche. It all looks in line with the developer's previous titles like Layers of Fear and Observer . Check out the gameplay video below. And yes, you can pet Bullet the bestest dog. Though very little is known about the upcoming game, we do know it's set in 1996, three years before directors Daniel Myrick an
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What's New This Week To Hulu, Amazon Prime, And Shudder? Movies, TV, And Originals

Streaming has become a part of most people's daily lives. Whether it's Netflix , Hulu , Amazon Prime Video , or Shudder , every week offers up a variety of new content for subscribers to enjoy. This week is no exception with new movies, TV series, and originals coming to a television screen near you. If you love Batman, but find Bruce Wayne needs some refinement and isn't British enough for your liking, you may want to check out Pennyworth, which debuted on Sunday on Amazon Prime Video. The Epix series follows Alfred Pennyworth--Batman's butler--as a special forces officer working in London during the 1960s. Find out what adventures Alfred got into in his prime, before he brought Bruce Wayne some tea in the batcave. Also coming to Amazon Prime Video this week is a slew of new movies, most of which arrive on Wednesday. Most notably, the sci-fi thriller 12 Monkeys arrives, along with the 1995 movie Hackers, a movie about hacking that knows nothing about hacking. There a
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