The creator of Mario and legendary video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto is currently on a whistle-stop tour around the world to promote The Super Mario Bros. Movie. And during this promotional tour, Miyamoto has shared his thoughts about one of the plumbers side gigs: Dr. Mario.
In an interview with IGN, the Nintendo legend talks about how the movie has shown us a brand new side of Mario. But as a result, that calls into question the multiple roles Mario has undertaken over the years. Miyamoto specifically singles out Mario’s career as a doctor, which began way back in 1990 on the Game Boy and NES.
In a week full of Nintendo-related films, Cardy, Dale, and Mat are here to help you decide which is more worthy of your time between The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Tetris. Before that, though, excitement is in the air following our latest look at the Barbie movie, plus there’s Resident Evil 4 chat again, but for a special reason this time. Dale had the pleasure of chatting to Leon Kennedy himself Nick Apostolides about what it was like to play the protagonist in a remake of his favourite game.
For Nintendo and Illumination, it means the partnership will likely continue on. During an interview with Screenrant, Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed this – mentioning how he was “sure” the two companies would stick together going forward.
Hello PlayStation nation! I’m Edvin Edsö, the Promotion Producer of Resident Evil 4. I hope that you have been enjoying the game these past two weeks! Today, we are pleased to announce the release of a fan favorite mode: The Mercenaries, available as a free DLC. Check out the trailer here first.
The trailer offers a glimpse into the fast-paced gameplay of The Mercenaries, where the goal is to defeat as many enemies as possible in a limited amount of time for the highest score you can.
Leon starts each round with all of his weapons, and in order to defeat as many enemies as you can, you must make quick decisions about which weapon to use against which opponent.
Don’t forget to keep track of how much time you have left. Killing enemies with melee attacks, headshots, and other methods, as well as defeating tougher enemies like the Chainsaw Man, will give you extra time.
It is also important to know when to grab the green Time Orbs, which will give you even more time to defeat additional enemies.
Did you notice the yellow diamond-shaped icon? This is the Mayhem Mode meter. When Leon activates Mayhem Mode, his basic abilities such as attack power and movement speed are greatly increased for a period of time! You will also receive additional points, and each enemy you defeat in Mayhem Mode will add extra seconds to the clock. The Mayhem Mode meter accumulates over time, by defeating enemies, and by successfully parrying an attack. The gauge also increases by one when you acquire a Mayhem Mode Orb.
The first stage of The Mercenaries is the Village from the beginning of the game. New stages and more content will be unlocked as you progress.
Like the main game, The Mercenaries supports the DualSense controller features. In this mode’s fast-paced gameplay, players can instantly switch weapons and take on multiple enemies, with haptic feedback and adaptive triggers providing an even greater sense of immersion.
How you take on The Mercenaries depends on your own strategy, including weapon selection, positioning, and how you use Mayhem Mode. Whether you have already completed Resident Evil 4, or are just getting started, be sure to check out this intense free DLC.
It’s a celebration of all things Mario this week with his new animated movie making its debut in cinemas worldwide.
As part of this, Nintendo has released a new bunch of icons to its ‘Missions and Rewards’ scheme for the Switch Online service. This time around, it’s a set of icons based on Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury. Here’s a look at each wave available throughout the month of April through to the earlier half of May:
Planned for release tomorrow, April 7, some players in Korea are reporting that they’re able to access the remake of Resident Evil 4’s Mercenary Mode early. Unfortunately, some are also saying that the mode is missing key content at the moment.
A staple of the Resident Evil games, Mercenary Mode is an arcade-style horde mode where players fight against waves of infected to compete for high scores. The original Resident Evil 4 allowed players to unlock Mercenary Mode upon completion of its campaign, but the remake has taken a different strategy, as Capcom announced the mode would be making its debut tomorrow, April 7, instead.
Hehehe, thank you, strangers, for all your support on Resident Evil 4. Check out what the experts have to say about this reimagined action-horror classic!
Players have noted that the version available to those in the previously mentioned regions is missing Ada Wong and Albert Wesker as playable characters, both of whom were in previous versions of the mode and were datamined as being in the remake as well. This has led some to speculate that perhaps Capcom intends to offer the characters as paid downloadable content in the future.
The item description for these Upgrade Tickets reads: “here’s your ticket to the gun show! Specifically a ticket to be redeemed at the Merchant’s shop. With this, you’ll have access to a weapon’s exclusive upgrade at any time, regardless of the weapon’s level. Not only that, but once unlocked, the upgrade itself is free of charge!”
As a single-player game mode, this “pay-to-win” model might prove less contraversial than those deployed in competitive multiplayer games, but the omission of two key characters is likely to be a disappointment to some.
On the heels of the blockbuster release of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Jack Black is singing his praises for video game adaptations. So much so that he has praised The Last of Us on HBO Max.
In an interview with BBC yesterday, Black, who voices Bowser, that he’s a fan of multimedia adaptations of video games so long as they’re treated right. He praised HBO’s The Last of Us for how faithful it is to the hit PlayStation game.
“The Last of Us was fantastic,” he said. “And what’s crazy is how loyal it is to the original source material. It’s basically all from the game with just a couple of tweaks. It’s going to win all the awards. They used the video game almost like a storyboard and I was like. ‘Whoa, this looks just the same.'”
Black also commented on how, with video game adaptations of movies and TV shows gaining traction, studios will look to adapt more games for years to come. “It will be very interesting to see what happens to the entertainment industry over the next 20 to 30 years but I think we will be seeing more and more storytelling from the gaming universe,” he said.
Red Dead Redemption next?
One video game adaptation the character actor wants to see on the big screen is Red Dead Redemption from Rockstar Games, because he believes “that [has] just as good or [an] even better story than The Last of Us.”
Black’s comments speak to how video game films and TV shows have been gaining popularity in the last few years, starting with Detective Pikachu and Sonic the Hedgehog. Both of these were considered to have broken the “video game movie curse,” a phenomenon in which past video game adaptations were critically panned, including the 1993 live-action Super Mario Bros. film, The Prince of Persia, Assassin’s Creed, and even Ratchet and Clank.
The popularity of video game adaptations now is such that Netflix series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and Arcane: League of Legends were nominated for Best Adaptation at The Game Awards 2022, with the latter show taking that honor home on top of being the first streaming series to win an Emmy for Best Outstanding Animated Program. Today, more games are being adapted to screens big and small, including God of War, Ghost of Tsushima, Death Stranding, and Borderlands.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is in theaters now. For more on Illumination’s first video game outing, read our review.
Dying Light 2 came out last year, but the polished zombie-parkour sequel didn’t make its predecessor obsolete. If what you’re after is a more freeform, organic open world in which to survive, then the first Dying Light is arguably the better choice. Good news: its currently free-to-keep from the Epic Games Store alongside its excellent expansion.
Tee it up on the golf course, get rich or die trying, adventure out into the world as the new Maega class, or explore Tamriel once more in this packed Free Play Days weekend. PGA Tour 2K23, Black Desert, and Bravery and Greed are available for Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members to play from Thursday, April 6 at 12:01 a.m. PDT until Sunday, April 9 at 11:59 p.m. PDT, and The Elder Scrolls Online will be available until April 17.
How to Start Playing
Find and install the games on each of the individual game details page on Xbox.com. Clicking through will send you to the Microsoft Store, where you must be signed in to see the option to install with your Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership. To download on console, click on the Subscriptions tab in the Xbox Store and enter the Gold member area to locate the Free Play Days collection on your Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
Keep the Fun Going
Purchase the game and other editions at a limited time discount and continue playing while keeping your Gamerscore and earned achievements during the event! Please note that discounts and percentages may vary by title and region.
Challenge the greatest players on the PGA Tour and find your swagger in PGA Tour 2K23. Bolstered by a diverse cast of playable pros, featuring Tiger Woods, Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Brooke Henderson, Lydia Ko, and many more, you can swing on world-renowned, officially licensed courses. Enjoy a bevy of online competitive modes, ranging from competitive Online Societies to the always-fun Topgolf mode and adrenaline-inducing Divot Derby. More golf and more games await in the latest iteration of the PGA Tour 2K franchise.
Black Desert
Jump into Black Desert during the new season and experience Maegu – the newest class in an ever-growing cast. Enter a world created with state-of-the-art graphics, spectacular scenery, realistic environments, and sophisticated details. Experience an innovative combat system unlike any other MMORPG. Join formidable guilds as they fight head-to-head on the battlefield. Be victorious, become lords, seize control of resources, and more! Don’t like fighting? Countless other activities await! Farming, cooking, fishing, sailing, hunting, gathering… dive into diverse life skills! Experience an insane level of customization with a character creator like no other. Not feeling a specific outfit’s color? Dye it to suit your style and become your true self!
Bravery and Greed
Get rich or die trying with up to 4 friends via local or online co-op in Bravery and Greed. Get ready to battle against new fearsome bosses waiting for you in the jungle and ice caves. Grab that sweet loot to unlock new content and game changing augmentations. Discover thrilling dungeons in adventure mode or engage in robust combat with PvP and survival mode. Whether you play as the valiant Warrior, mighty Amazon, agile Rogue or spellcasting Wizard, greed is eternal.
The Elder Scrolls Online
Download and play The Elder Scrolls Online Standard Edition for free from April 6 to April 17 on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. With access to the base game, you can explore 24 story zones, including iconic Morrowind, dive into the game’s Battlegrounds, Imperial City, and Cyrodiil PvP areas, and even get an opportunity to begin your Legacy of the Bretons year-long adventure via the High Isle Prologue. Explore the new Necrom Prologue quest starting April 12 in the base game.
Don’t miss out on this exciting Free Play Days for Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members! Learn more about Free Play Days here and stay tuned to Xbox Wire to find out about future Free Play Days and all the latest Xbox gaming news.
With five new Multiplayer maps, four new game modes, and a new Special Ops Raid, prepare for a massive content offering in Season 03 of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0. Alejandro and Valeria return to settle the score, Resurgence expands to Al Mazrah, and Ranked Play for Warzone 2.0 sets the battleground for the most competitive Operators.
Season 03 launches on PlayStation on April 12. Now onto the intel.
Modern Warfare II Brings Gunfight, New Maps and Modes
Gunfight
Prepare for 2v2, multi-round cage matches as Gunfight makes its debut in Modern Warfare II. Players start each round with the same random Loadout, which changes every other round. Eliminate the enemy team or capture the Overtime flag to win the round. The first team to win six rounds takes the match.
Gunfight will support four maps at launch, including new maps Alley, based somewhere in Al Mazrah,and Blacksite, which is the new Gulag in Battle Royale.
New Core and Battle Maps
Pelayo’s Lighthouse (Core Map, Launch): A storm rages over this island battleground as Operators take position in the Main Building, set up in one of the scattered maintenance buildings throughout, or brave it in the open.
Black Gold (Core Map, Launch): Infiltrate Al Mazrah’s Rohan Oil in Black Gold, the first iteration of night ops in Modern Warfare II. Use your night vision goggles and the available light sources to track down and eliminate the enemy team.
Rohan Oilfields (Battle Map, Launch): Expanding on Black Gold, the Rohan Oilfields Battle Map widens the arena around this Warzone 2.0 point of interest, adding vehicles for rapid transport.
Sattiq Cave Complex (Battle Map, Launch): Explore a network of caves, battle through small buildings, and set up by the downed plane in an area that should recall fond memories for longtime fans of the series.
A fifth brand-new Core Map will additionally launch in the midseason.
Get Cranked, Fight the Horde in GW Infected
Two series-favorite game modes are making their way to Season 03:
Cranked (Launch): Eliminating an enemy activates a timer. Get another elimination before it hits zero or — boom! — you’re out.
GW Infected (In-Season): Experience Infected on a bigger stage as you fight to survive against the horde on GW maps. Coordinate with your teammates to set up a defense. When you’re infected, take them down.
New Multiplayer Ranked Play Rewards
A new season brings new Multiplayer Ranked rewards. Earn rewards for winning Ranked Play matches, plus get new Operator Skins and cosmetics for placing within the Gold Division or above. Get extra rewards for placing in the Top 250 or finishing the season as the top-ranked player in the world.
Raid Episode 03 Comes to Special Ops
Take on the Las Almas Cartel in a new Special Ops mission and regroup with Task Force 141 as they embark on Raid Episode 03 in the midseason update.
Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 Adds Massive Resurgence, Plunder
Massive Resurgence (Launch): Massive Resurgence is coming to Al Mazrah; taking place across the entire map, this mode features a higher player count to better fit the playing field.
Plunder (In-Season): Eliminate enemy Operators, scavenge Supply Boxes, complete contracts and in-game events, and search out loose Cash. In Plunder, it’s all about who can get the richest, quickest. Respawns are enabled and Loadouts are available from the start so you can get right to the money on deployment.
New Gulag: Set to replace the current version, a new Gulag is coming to Al Mazrah. Modern Warfare II players who drop into Gunfight will get a taste of the map in Blacksite.
New Features and Items
Al Mazrah Redeploy Drones (Launch): The Redeploy Drones currently flying over Ashika Island are making their way to Al Mazrah. Use their power to launch toward your next target objective.
UAV Towers (Launch): Sweep the surrounding area for enemy positions using the new UAV Towers, first discovered in DMZ and coming soon to Battle Royale. Note that activating the tower alerts enemy squads, so be ready.
Tempered Plate Carriers (In-Season): Tempered Plate Carriers require fewer Armor Plates to fill, so replating is speedier and more efficient.
Decontamination Station (In-Season): Gas closing in fast? Set down this Field Upgrade, which provides a safe atmosphere within the gas that lasts several seconds. This is a vital strategy in surviving the final circle collapse.
Perk Package Items (In-Season): Players who prefer looting up in the environment instead of calling in a Loadout Drop will now have a means of securing Perks with preset Perk Packages found in Supply Boxes and at Buy Stations.
Deployable Buy Station (In-Season): Even in the farthest reaches of the map, you can still buy the necessary items by activating the Deployable Buy Station. This portable version features limited stock.
Gulag Entry Kit (In-Season): Eliminated again? You’re not out of luck yet. Operators with a Gulag Entry Kit on hand can battle in the Gulag for a second time for another chance to return to the field.
High-Capacity Plate Carrier (In-Season): Carry more Armor Plates for those drawn-out fights.
Arriving Soon — Battle Royale Ranked Play
Launching in the midseason, Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 Ranked Play takes Battle Royale to new competitive heights as Trios climb the ranks to the Top 250. Watch and learn from the best in the upcoming World Series of Warzone, featuring the tournament’s first ever in-person Global Final.
New DMZ Features: Barter System, Workbench, New Faction and Missions
Barter System: Trade unwanted items in your inventory using the new Barter Systen feature found at Buy Stations.
Workbench: For a small fee, add and remove attachments on Contraband weapons. Equip any unlocked attachment on that weapon’s platform. Found near Buy Stations.
Active Duty Operator Slots: Select from three different Operators when deploying to the DMZ, each with their own inventory, Backpack, Plate Carrier, Killstreaks, Self-Revive, and Gas Mask. Decide whether you want to deploy your best-equipped Operator or a raw recruit.
New Faction, Missions, and Bosses: A new faction enters the fray, offering three tiers of faction missions and more to come in-season. Brace for new bosses being deployed around the exclusion zone, and seek out concrete intel on the rumors circulating about something deep underground in Al Mazrah.
With other features coming, like new Backpack and Plate Carrier types, you know you’re in for some big battle in Season 03.
New Operators, Including Rivals Alejandro and Valeria
Formerly fighting side by side in the Los Vaqueros unit of the Mexican Special Forces, Alejandro Vargas and Valeria Garza are now bitter rivals.
Alejandro: Born and raised in Las Almas, Alejandro spent over a decade as a high-ranking member of Los Fuerzeas Especiales, the Tier 1 Mexican Army Special Mission counterterror unit. His unit, Los Vaqueros, is the only one in the country authorized to work alongside international Special Operations Forces, including those at the CIA headed by station chief Kate Laswell.
Valeria: A former Mexican Army commando who used to work alongside Alejandro, Valeria defected to enforcing cartels in 2014 and ultimately ascended to power as the leader of the Las Almas Cartel. She now works under the name El Sin Nombre — the Nameless One.
Expect more Operators to join the ranks throughout the season.
New Weapons
Season 03 brings four new weapons in total. Once you earn these, you can use them across all modes. Two of them are earned for free within the Battle Pass:
FJX Imperium Sniper Rifle: Engineered destruction at its finest, this anti-personnel, bolt-action sniper rifle intervenes in tense situations with hard-hitting .408 rounds.
Cronen Squall Battle Rifle: A bullpup, semi-automatic rifle chambered in 6.8 Wrath and designed for distance shooting and exceptional damage output.
Earn two more weapons launching in the midseason either by purchasing a Store Bundle or completing a weapon unlock challenge.
New Seasonal Event and Camo Challenges
During the Season 03 Trophy Hunt event, enemy Operators will drop a trophy whenever they are eliminated in any mode. They can also be found by other means, such as within Supply Boxes. Exchange these trophies for event rewards like Weapon Blueprints, Vehicle Skins, and even Battle Pass Token Tier Skips.
Look for the midseason Camo Challenge event, too, giving players the opportunity to earn new seasonal camos.
PlayStation Combat Pack
Beginning April 19, PlayStation Plus members will be able to download the Season 03 Combat Pack, featuring a new Operator Skin for Oni consisting of an updated gold face mask and high-tech shoulder padding.
The Season 03 Combat Pack also includes the “Striking Distance” Assault Rifle and “Show Stopper” SMG Weapon Blueprints, the “Prepared to Fight” Sticker, “Tusk to Horn” Emblem, “Oni Ready” Weapon Charm, and the “Crumbling” Calling Card.
Out-of-Combat Improvements
BlackCell: Set to replace the current Battle Pass Bundle, the BlackCell offering includes everything in the original Bundle and more, including a BlackCell Operator with Animated Camo plus a Weapon Blueprint, Vehicle Skin, and Finishing Move. Begin your Battle Pass journey in an alternate BlackCell Sector, which offers a unique entry point to the rest of the Battle Pass Map that allows you to unlock higher value items more quickly. In addition to all this exciting content, BlackCell will also include a BlackCell Bonus Topper of 12 Operator Skins as well as the Season 03 Battle Pass plus 20 Battle Token Tier Skips– 25 if you are a PlayStation player – access to the BlackCell Sector provides something for everyone.
Automatic Pathing: If you’d rather unlock Battle Pass items in a linear fashion, the new pathing feature offers an automatic path through the different Sectors. Players can switch between Automatic and Manual pathing at will.
Season 03 of Modern Warfare II Launches April 12
Purchase Modern Warfare II on PlayStation today, and get access to a load of content across three modes, including the ability to unlock 14 exclusive Operators for use across both games. Modern Warfare II owners also get Premium XP while playing Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0, awarded at the end of every match.
