Games

When creating his character Johnny Cage, Slater drew some inspiration from Brad Pitt’s Cliff Booth in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. He was particularly influenced by the idea of a fading star who almost reached his full potential. Slater wasn’t writing the part with Karl Urban in mind, and was surprised when Urban was suggested for the role. Luckily, producer Simon McQuoid saw the potential in casting Urban.

Developer Wit One and publisher Sunsoft are bringing back the classic puzzle game Route-16 this summer, along with its enhanced version, Route-16 Turbo, and a brand-new game, Route-16R. Route-16 first appeared in arcades in 1981, published by Sun Electronics, and later came to the Arcadia 2001 and PlayStation in 2001. Route-16 Turbo, a remastered version, was released for the Super Nintendo in 1985 and has been available on Nintendo Switch Online since 2019, with an arcade archive release in 2018 for Switch and PlayStation 4. After decades, a new entry in the Route-16 series is being released on August 6th, alongside the re-releases of the original games.

Bhunia joined the company in December 2023 and now leads research focused on improving the visual quality of PlayStation games. This includes work on technologies like video frame interpolation, super-resolution, and generative models. Frame interpolation uses AI to create extra frames that are inserted between the game’s existing frames, a technique used by graphics card makers like AMD and Nvidia to make games appear smoother.

The regular battle pass costs around $9.99, and the Battlefield Pro version is priced at $24.99. Players are split on the decision to allow pre-orders of the battle pass so far in advance, as some believe it gives those who pre-order an unfair advantage in unlocking weapons and items before the season officially begins.

This month, two Borderlands games are available for free: Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands and Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep. Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, released in 2022 by Gearbox Software, is a spin-off and sequel to Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep, which was originally downloadable content for Borderlands 2. Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep became available as a standalone game in 2021, before the release of Wonderlands. So, while Wonderlands isn’t the newest Borderlands title, it’s the second most recent after Borderlands 4.

If you haven’t yet claimed April’s PlayStation Plus games, you have about 24 hours left! These free games will be replaced with May’s selection soon. The lineup includes Lords of the Fallen, Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream, and Tomb Raider I-II-III Remastered. While technically three games, the Tomb Raider title is a collection of three games, bringing the total to five! Good news for PlayStation 4 owners: Tomb Raider I-II-III Remastered is available on both PS4 and PS5.

There aren’t many standout games this time, but we’re cautiously optimistic about a couple. MOTORSLICE, a parkour platformer, seems promising, and Mixtape looks like it could be a really good coming-of-age story.

If you haven’t yet claimed April’s free PlayStation Plus games, you have about 24 hours left! These games will be replaced with May’s selection soon. The free games for April are Lords of the Fallen, Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream, and Tomb Raider I-II-III Remastered. While there are technically three titles, Tomb Raider I-II-III Remastered is a collection of three games, bringing the total to five! Good news for PlayStation 4 owners: Tomb Raider I-II-III Remastered is available on both PS4 and PS5.

According to Slater, Oscar Isaac’s contract allows for future appearances if compelling stories are developed that creatively interest him. Marvel essentially has the flexibility to bring him back whenever they find the right project. Isaac is actively involved in shaping the character’s future, so the biggest task for Marvel is finding stories he’s excited about. While it might take time to develop a story worthy of his involvement, and coordinating schedules with a popular actor is always challenging, Isaac’s connection to the character suggests the wait will be worthwhile.