Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Gaming News

  • UPDATE: ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Includes Easter Eggs Teasing Scarlet Witch, Doctor Strange, and Wong

    UPDATE: ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Includes Easter Eggs Teasing Scarlet Witch, Doctor Strange, and Wong

    UPDATE: So, it turns out that bug wasn’t actually a bug. Zawavari has various voice lines where he communicates with magic users. In one instance, he is talking to Wanda but the player below entered the circle at a time that made it seem like he mistook Thor for Wanda. In reality, he’s actually talking to her through telepathy. It has been confirmed by a CD developer on Reddit:

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    inPlayAvengers

    There are other lines where it is implied he is talking to Doctor Strange, Wong (even mentions the Ancient One), Loki, and Doctor Voodoo. Loki is also confirmed in a specific voice line when talking to Thor. Content creator @BobDuckNWeave prepared a compilation of these various voice lines, which you can check out here:

    Source: Reddit, YouTube

    It looks like a tiny Marvel’s Avengers bug has found its way into the latest Black Panther expansion that may have accidentally confirmed a new playable character. When you enter Zawavari’s cave, he will greet the Avenger you are playing. It seems that someone may have managed to activate the wrong audio file, as he welcomes “Wanda.” The name is, of course, a dead giveaway that Wanda Maximoff a.k.a. the Scarlet Witch will become a playable character in a future update of the game.

    https://twitter.com/PlayAvenger/status/1427725416773701637

    There’s always the chance this could just be a placeholder that they’ve added in case they want to include the character. So, don’t take it as a definite of her inclusion or that she’s arriving anytime in the near future. As we’ve seen in the past, they record many audio lines far in advance. Still, she was included in the initial character leak that hinted at a whopping 15 characters potentially joining the game if it keeps up the momentum.

    Black Panther is our third addition since the initial launch of the game and is the biggest addition since. We get a free story mode and Wakanda is a brand new biome that offers quite a beautiful vista to explore. The game has come quite far and we’ve been promised an update to the roadmap in the coming weeks. So, we’ll see who the next playable character will be with Spider-Man the most likely due to his confirmed 2021 release.

    Source: Reddit via Twitter

  • ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ First Footage of Black Panther Gameplay Teases King-Worthy Combat

    ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ First Footage of Black Panther Gameplay Teases King-Worthy Combat

    It’s been a long wait for the release of Black Panther on Marvel’s Avengers. It’s been teased since the game’s launch but went silent after the game fought its way through a rough launch. As we’re only a few days away, many outlets revealed quite a bit of footage and information for the upcoming expansion. It’s our first look at the character in action and includes a closer look at the gorgeous Wakandan biome that’ll get introduced in the War for Wakanda storyline. IGN shared a video with him in action, which you can check out here:

    The first confirmation is that Black Panther will indeed use his iconic Vibranium daggers to take out enemies from a distance. Your intrinsic meter also allows you to unleash kinetic energy, which is inspired by the MCU’s Black Panther film. His move set seems quite deeper than that of the other heroes, which continues Crystal Dynamics’ artistry of realizing every Avengers’ unique attributes. The expansion also comes with brand new missions and objectives to add much-needed variety to the game.

    The heroics are also quite interesting, as they include you summoning the Panther god Bast, throw Komoyo beads at your enemies, and a spear that pins up to three enemies. You’re character also can pounce at enemies to get in close. GameRant revealed you can even unlock an ability to climb on larger enemies to take them down. They also tease some amazing sounding upgrades to existing abilities that might even allow you to summon the Dora Milaje to your side.

    Black Panther

    So, Black Panther’s DLC sounds quite promising and we’ll get a full two-hour War Table next Monday. CD has confirmed we shouldn’t expect the Omega-Level Threat with the expansion, but it will follow based on feedback from Family Reunion. It also seems like Spider-Man has once again been confirmed to release in 2021. Plus, the recent coverage also confirmed Crossbone’s inclusion in the DLC. All of this alongside the complete UI overhaul could tease a bright future for the game.

    Source: YouTube, GameRant, black panther gameplay

  • ‘Marvel’s Avengers’: First Look at Crossbones

    ‘Marvel’s Avengers’: First Look at Crossbones

    It looks like the rumors of multiple villains were true for the upcoming Black Panther expansion. Game Informer just dropped a deep dive into the upcoming Marvel’s Avengers DLC, which included the reveal of classic Captain America villain Crossbones joining the game as a new villain. They shared the first look at the villain alongside some details courtesy of Crystal Dynamics writer Hannah MacLeod:

    Crossbones has some of the most iconic comic dialogue ever because he just enjoys himself so much, but he’s also got some interesting tricks up his sleeve. There’s always a lot of discussion of who we think our villains should be. Klaue doesn’t really get his hands dirty in the same way as other villains might, so we needed him to have a character who would have no problem with that.

    War for Wakanda

    It’s great to see another icon from the comics make a return and he’ll offer a unique challenge alongside Klaue. The red glowing energy also hints at him utilizing the new mechanics introduced. So, he’ll probably be equipped with Sonic energy, but they also teased an image of him wielding a giant battling gun.

    So, perhaps he’ll also make use of the Corrupted Vibranium. Game Informer and IGN were able to play through two missions of the game. They teased his mission shakes up things a little, as he’s joined by a sonic cannon that’ll make your life a tad more difficult. Here’s hoping there might be some other surprises in store for us.

    Source: Game Informer

  • ‘MARVEL’S AVENGERS’ Corrupted Vibranium Event Announced for Black Panther’s DLC

    ‘MARVEL’S AVENGERS’ Corrupted Vibranium Event Announced for Black Panther’s DLC

    It looks like Marvel’s Avengers isn’t quite done yet for the upcoming Black Panther expansion, as they just announced the DLC will also include a brand new event. Crystal Dynamic’s System Designer Brian Waggoner offered some insight into the event. It’ll start on August 19th and runs until September 2nd. In it, specific missions will include clusters of corrupted vibranium that need to be destroyed. The following missions will include them:

    • Our Town – Utah Badlands
    • Inhuman Condition – Utah Badlands
    • …And We’re Back – Eastern Seaboard
    • Enter: The Avengers – Eastern Seaboard
    • Stark Realities – Pacific Northwest
    • Here Comes the Pain – Wakanda
    • From Bad to Worse – Wakanda
    • 24/7 Vibranium – Wakanda

    The missions will allow you to gain specialty gear with the new Vibranium status effect. It gives your character the possibility to turn all damage into a kinetic explosion. We also can gain Sonic status effects that help your character’s Heroic and Intrinsic meters charge with enemies near them. They might change the way we build our characters up and approach specific missions.

    Black Panther is coming to 'Marvel's Avengers' later this year | Engadget

    Of course, you’ll also get a unique animated nameplate to showcase your finished mission chains. In the 50th War Table blog, they also confirmed that we shouldn’t expect a roadmap update during Monday’s War Table showcase. It’ll be mainly focused on the new War for Wakanda expansion, which makes sense as they wouldn’t want to distract from their biggest update so far. Yet, they did confirm we’ll get an update within the upcoming weeks. So, there’s a lot to be excited about for the future of the game.

    Source: Play Avengers (Event)

  • New Villain Faction Revealed for ‘MARVEL’S AVENGERS’

    New Villain Faction Revealed for ‘MARVEL’S AVENGERS’

    It looks like we finally will move on from fighting robots and AIM, as Crystal Dynamics revealed the brand new faction coming to Marvel’s Avengers. The new Black Panther expansion will introduce the iconic villain Ulysses Kaue, who brings along his private mercenary army known as Klaue Company. Not just that, we also got a glimpse into two brand new types of enemies that’ll offer a brand new type of challenge to the game.

    The War for Wakanda expansion will introduce the enemy type known as Bruiser. As you can see in the image below, they wield a large axe and hit relentlessly. They are part of Corrupted Vibranium-themed villains that can turn into an overcharged mode. In this form, they’ll take reduced damage and will react slower to taking damage. It’s a permanent mode until they are defeated, but can be dispelled with a new status known as Sonic.

     

    A screenshot of a Klaue Company Bruiser, armored in red and metallic gear and wielding an oversized battle axe.

     

    The fact your heroes can add sonic-based moves means that your enemies can as well. The Strategist has a Sonic Aura, which acts as a shield. It deflects any type of projectiles and can even block melee attacks. Unlike the Corrupted Vibranium, it only stays active temporarily but the Sonic Wave will damage your hero if you’re not careful. As you might’ve guessed, you also can gather Vibranium-based gear that overcomes this barrier. You’ll notice their presence through the disc-like drones that he sends out while hiding on the sidelines.

     

    A Klaue Company Strategist with an active Sonic Aura

     

    It’s great to see new additions to the gear that also changes your playing style directly in the game. So far, the gears have mainly added some minor support buffs or debuffs, but this will force you to think about the way you approach these new enemy types. They confirm that the expansion will include more enemy types, but they want to keep some surprises for next week’s drop. There seems to be a lot heading our way with this expansion and it’ll be exciting to see how it all comes together.

    Source: Play Avengers

  • Latest ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Black Panther Teaser May Hint at HYDRA’s Future Presence

    Latest ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Black Panther Teaser May Hint at HYDRA’s Future Presence

    Marvel’s Avengers is building up to next week’s release of the War for Wakanda expansion. Black Panther will finally be playable and we’ll get a brand new story to play through alongside additional missions. We’ll get our first full look at the character in action during the game’s latest War Table video. To prepare us for the character’s release, we got various videos hinting at the backstory of T’Challa, the Dora Milaje, and Wakanda.

    The latest offers more clues on Ulysses Klaue’s motivation and even reveals a sequence where T’Chaka fought alongside Captain America in the Second World War. We find out they fought against Ulysses Klaue’s father, whose legacy carries over into the DLC. This small detail serves more than just world-building, but might also have bigger implications for the game’s future than we might think. It may be our first hint at the introduction of HYDRA into the game’s universe.

     

    Klaue will introduce the game to a new enemy faction. While it seems he is acting in the name of AIM, it was never confirmed if his team of goons gets a unique name. I do not believe War for Wakanda will introduce HYDRA as the main faction, but I do think it’ll potentially give us the first seeds on their inclusion in the game’s future. Ever since the Cosmic Cube dropped, we’ve gotten more hints at familiar villains joining the franchise’s world. It might be possible the ending of this story arc is the beginning of their introduction.

    Klaue utilized resources from an underground HYDRA, who’ve been building their army in silence. They’ve been waiting for the perfect opportunity to take action. He is chasing after vibranium for Monica, who vanished after the events of Cosmic Cube. So, he might need a new buyer and there’s someone on the market, who was waiting for the perfect opportunity. They did share a connection in the comics as well. It would be the perfect jumping-off point for their introduction into the game. The War Table will drop in a two-hour event hosted by Kinda Funny’s Greg Miller and Ms. Marvel voice actress Sandra Saad on August 16h at 10 AM PT.

    Source: Twitter (War Table), Twitter

  • ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’: Idris Elba to Voice Knuckles the Echidna

    ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’: Idris Elba to Voice Knuckles the Echidna

    It looks like the rumors are false and it isn’t Jason Momoa who will voice Knuckles the Echidna in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Idris Elba took to Twitter to unveil his involvement alongside our first tease at the echidna’s classic knuckled fists. It’s also our first look at the film’s design which is only a small tease. So, perhaps we’ll get a full look at the trio in the near future.

    https://twitter.com/idriselba/status/1425174698007138305?s=21

    It’s amazing to see the details put into the design of the glove. We even see the lining and small details. We sadly never get a chance to see how detailed these characters are designed in the film, but it shows how much work the animators put into these projects. We know that he’ll join Sonic and Tails, who was briefly introduced in the post-credit sequence of the first film, in a new adventure. Yet, his role is still uncertain.

    In the original gaming franchise, Knuckles starts off as an antagonist. He believes Sonic is out to steal his Master Emerald before he joins their efforts to stop the evil Dr. Robotnik. There’s a good chance they might follow this original dynamic and they end up working together at the end of the film.

    Yet, we don’t know who will be the main antagonist. While I would love to see Chaos make his live-action debut, there’s a good chance that Jim Carrey‘s Robotnik will find his way back into the human-filled dimension. We’ll also get to hopefully explore his connection to the echidna’s we briefly saw in the first film’s opening. He might have been sent by them to hunt down Sonic before finding out he isn’t that bad after all.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Mortal Kombat’ Sequel Could Become an HBO Max Exclusive

    ‘Mortal Kombat’ Sequel Could Become an HBO Max Exclusive

    2021 has been an interesting year for Warner Bros. They’ve tested out their new strategy of releasing films in theaters and on their HBO Max streaming service. It included the likes of Godzilla vs. Kong, Mortal Kombat, and recently The Suicide Squad. We sadly have little insight into how these projects perform on the streaming service. It’s a hotly debated topic as the usual Box Office performances aren’t the best metric to get a feel for a project’s success.

    One of the surprises is how well Mortal Kombat seems to be performing on the streaming service. The gaming adaptation is reportedly the best performing weekend release on the service and according to analysts Samba TV, it also dominated the second quarter in US households with 6M watching it on the service. It was far ahead of Those Who Wish Me Dead, Disney+’s Cruella, or The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.

    Reportedly, The Suicide Squad took the second spot of most-watched film on the streaming service, which might hint at a strong performance for R-rated projects. It also performed decently during the first recovery months of the Box Office, as it took the top spot with $22.5M. Yet, its streaming dominance could be an indicator for Warner Bros. to build upon its success and release a sequel for HBO Max exclusively.

    There still has been no official renewal for a sequel, but it seems likely as any film currently faces Box Office troubles during the pandemic. Still, we know the service is looking into creating exclusive films for the service base don DC properties. Batgirl and Blue Beetle are already confirmed. It wouldn’t be too surprised if they’d consider adding Mortal Kombat to the list. Perhaps they’d even explore a TV series instead to give the many characters more character.

    Source: Twitter

  • Comedian Sebastian Maniscalco Reveals Involvement in Animated ‘Super Mario’ Movie

    Comedian Sebastian Maniscalco Reveals Involvement in Animated ‘Super Mario’ Movie

    Video game franchises have always had it rough when it comes to feature film adaptions. Not even Nintendo could avoid the curse. Back in 1993, the popular Super Mario Bros. franchise was adapted for the big screen, with the project starring Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo as the titular brothers. The project was less than well received and fans rather not speak much of it. But it doesn’t seem like that was the final nail in the coffin for its future in Hollywood. An animated film is currently in the works from Illumination, which are best known for the films Despicable Me, Minions, and Sing.

    Comedian Sebastian Maniscalco was recently on Bert Kreischer’s podcast, where he revealed that he would be going to the studio following the Podcast to record lines for the film. Not just that, but he also confirmed he would be voicing a character known as Foreman Spike. The character first appeared in the 1985 game Wrecking Crew.

     

    Wrecking Crew | NES | Spiele | Nintendo

     

    Not much is known about the movie, aside from Illuminations Chris Meledandri co-producing the project alongside the creator of the Mario Bros. franchise, Shigeru Miyamoto. The project has yet to officially add anyone to its cast or even add a director, but Maniscalo confirms the film is in active development and casting has already happened.

    The film is still slated to release sometime in 2022, although no specific release has been revealed. It’s unknown if the pandemic caused any delays in production. As our first real hint at the film’s production, we hopefully will get some more news in the near future.

    Source: NintendoWire

  • RUMOR: ‘XCOM’ Developers Marvel Game May Not Feature Marvel Characters

    RUMOR: ‘XCOM’ Developers Marvel Game May Not Feature Marvel Characters

    Here’s something you don’t expect every day. Journalist Jeff Grubb shared some exclusive insight into publisher 2K’s mysterious Marvel project. The game is being developed by XCOM developer Firaxis and would add a strategy game to Marvel’s growing repertoire. It looks like there is more to this game than we initially expected. It seemed we might hear something about it during this year’s E3, but it was a no-show. Now, it seems that this Marvel game will not even include any Marvel characters. He also goes on to include its focus on the supernatural side of the franchise:

    The game is going to focus on the supernatural elements of the Marvel universe,” he said. “I don’t know if that necessarily means like Blade, but I do think there will be vampires in it, and I don’t know if it means mystical Marvel [characters]… but I think you might see enemies of that type that you’re fighting.

     

    MCU: 10 Supernatural Heroes Who Could Make Marvel Millions

     

    It’s strange to think the game wouldn’t want to include iconic Marvel villains, but they might try to make the strategy game stand on its own merit while utilizing the different mythologies throughout the comic franchise. Yet, not to include any Marvel characters seems odd and could be in reference to the main characters you follow through the game. It seems you’re playable character, as in XCOM fashion, is a customizable character.

    I do think that the character that you’re playing will be a customisable superhero, or at least the team might be customisable, so it’s still going to have XCOM in that way, but that’s why it’s not going to be taking place in any existing lineage of franchises. So I guess they might consider this a new property.

     

    Bilder zu Xcom: Chimera Squad 2/7

     

    There has been no official word on the game. So, we still have to take it with a grain of salt. There’s a chance that the game will follow XCOM’s overall structure, with you building a team of SHIELD agents that face off against unlikely foes within the Marvel universe. Still, not including any iconic Marvel characters seems like a strange direction, but could be their attempt at trying to make it stand out from other entries. Until we get an official word, we’ll have to see what the future holds for this new entry in Marvel’s gaming library.

    Source:  Giant Bomb via Video Games Chronicle