Science fiction authors seem to love to imagine the weaponry of the future more than they do almost any other aspect of technology’s ongoing march forward. When considering the combat systems that might codify World War IV or V, certain ideas seem to take hold and become popular go-to choices. When a sci-fi fan imagines a standard weapon of the genre, they might picture the classic Star Trek phaser or theiconic Star Wars lightsaber....

Ever sinceThe Walking Deadcomic book debuted in October 2003, fans have been wondering what exactly caused the series' zombie outbreak.The Walking Deadseries creator Robert Kirkman has consistently said that the origin of the zombie virus wouldn’t be explained in the comics, insisting that its origin was ultimately pointless to the story being told. Despite this, Kirkman has said that he himself knows what caused the virus, and that he may reveal it randomly at some point in a future interview....

Fire Emblem: Awakeningacted as a new beginning for theFire Emblemfranchise, and many fans hold it in high regard since it was their first exposure to those games. Despite this, it certainly wasn’t without its flaws, and some of the plot points were a bit confusing even for veterans. One thing that gets discussed frequently is Lucina’s introduction, namely why she pretended to be Marth. When Chrom and the Shepherds first meet her, she is dressed likeMarth fromFire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, and even wears a mask to conceal her identity....

World of Warcraftrecently added the newDragonflightmenu music to the expansion’s beta testing client. With theWorld of Warcraftexpansion right around the corner, the new theme gives players a taste of the sort of music they can expect inDragonflight. The theme was added to arecent build of theDragonflightbeta. With no other music currently in the beta, theDragonflightmenu theme is the first taste of the new expansion’s leitmotifs sinceWorld of Warcraftfirst revealed it....

Summary SomeWorld of Warcraftfans have pointed out that the Hero Talent trees coming inThe War Withindon’t give every playable race equal treatment. Though the new player power feature seems exciting at baseline, someWorld of Warcraftfans are worried the disparity of themes between Hero Talents like Elune’s Chosen and the Herald of the Sun could become problematic. Hero Talents are a new progression feature coming inThe War Within. Acting as a third Talent tree that players unlock between levels 71 and 80, many Hero Talents are inspired by iconicWarcraftarchetypes, such as the Mountain Thane or Keeper of the Grove....

Summary World of Warcraft Remix: Mists of Pandariais introducing some awesome new spells that can be learned via socketed gems, including cross-class skills, passives, and ultimate abilities. Reminiscent of the Rune engravings from Season of Discovery, these powerful abilities will make the newWorld of Warcraftgame mode truly extraordinary. Blizzard is introducing anew PvE event calledWorld of Warcraft Remix: Mists of Pandaria. Starting May 16, players can make new characters to play throughMists of Pandariaat an accelerated rate and with modern convenience and class balance, collecting transmogs and other rewards as they adventure across the 12-year-old expansion....

Summary A developer at Respawn Entertainment has provided an update about the possibility of Ranked Duos coming toApex Legends, revealing that there are no current plans for the mode. WhileApex Legendshas a regular Duos option for fans who enjoy playing on smaller squads, some were hoping for a more competitive version of the mode. Apex Legendsadded Duos as a permanent modein April 2020, meaning that it has been a major feature of the battle royale for almost four years....

Right now, all ofApex Legends' players have their attention squarely on the upcoming Season 7, which is starting on November 4. The new season will come with a new map, Olympus, a new vehicle called the Trident Hovercar and, of course,a new playable Legend named Horizon. The team at Respawn, however, are always a few steps ahead in terms of development and plans. In a recent interview, director Chad Grenier revealed that the team hascontent planned all the way until Season 12, and it appears that among those plans is another Holo-Day Bash event....

Summary Assassin’s Creed: Valhallais the latest entry inUbisoft’s long-runningAssassin’s Creedfranchise. This one takes the player back to the era of the Vikings and has the player take the role of Eivor, a Viking warrior who comes intocontact with the Assassin’s Guild, then known as the Order of the Hidden Ones. As fun and exciting asAssassin’s Creed: Valhallamay be for many players, no game is perfect. Sometimes, a game needs a little something extra to refine it for a player’s personal taste, and that’s where the modding community comes in....

TheCall of Dutyseries has never been shy about planting Easter eggs or making call backs to earlier games in the series. Perhaps the most famous of this is Captain Price, who was a side character in the very first game and would later become a major player in theModern Warfareseries. However, one eagle-eyed players seems to have found another side-character in the originalCall of Dutywho shares a loose connection with theModern Warfareseries, along with a real-life member of the Soviet cosmonaut program....

WithCall of Duty: Vanguardproving to be one of the least popular games in the series so far, Activision and Infinity Ward have wasted no time announcingCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2and getting a jump on the next game’s marketing campaign. Now a new campaign trailer forCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2has dropped along with a bunch of details about what fans can expect from the game when it releases later this year....

Back in February 2023, publisher 2K announced that a new entry in theCivilizationfranchise was officially in development, alongside the announcement that long-time Firaxis members Jake Solomon and Steve Martin would be leaving the studio. After over a year of waiting, fans have finally gotten their first look atCivilization 7, with a trailer dropping duringSummer Game Fest’s live showcase. Harkening back to the teaser trailers of the franchise’s past,Civilization 7’s reveal takes fans through the ages, all the way from Ancient Era stone carvings right up until space flight....

After being rumored for a long time, there was little surprise to see Hideo Kojima finally announceDeath Stranding: Director’s Cutfor the PS5, alongside an interview with Geoff Keighley duringthe Summer Games Fest event. What will have come as a welcome shock to many onlookers was the obviousMetal Gear Solidvibes the announcement trailer invoked. After a very public falling out with Konami back in 2015, there’s been a begrudging acceptance ever since that Kojima would be unable to return to hisMetal Gearstealth espionage roots anytime soon....