Month: October 2022

It’s been a good run, but Overwatch has closed its servers for good. The hero-based competitive shooter from Activision Blizzard shut down the game on Oct. 3 so they could prep it for the transition to Overwatch 2 on Oct. 4. In a way, you can argue it’s the same game, but it’s just receiving a huge update. By closing down the servers and the changes that are on the way, though, it’s hard not to feel like this is anything other than a new game.

There are a lot of fans of Overwatch out there and they may use this extremely brief lull as an opportunity to try something new, or maybe they’ve always wanted to find a similar game out there and give something else a try. This list is for everyone who really loves Overwatch but wants to try out a different game.

Paladins

What if Overwatch just looked a little different? Paladins is not ashamed of just how much it has been “inspired” by the far more popular hero shooter. It’s a clone through and through, which means that it’s going to feel very familiar to longtime Overwatch players, but considering that it has a very dedicated player base, that doesn’t seem to bother too many people. Some of the best games ever made were clones or started off as clones until they branched out into becoming their own thing.

How has Paladins separated itself? By having way more characters, way more skins, and a few cross promotions to boot. There aren’t many games out there where the characters from RWBY can go head-to-head with the engineer from Team Fortress 2 or Ares from Smite. That makes Paladins unique and it should only find more ways to differentiate itself as time goes on.

Team Fortress 2

Why play Overwatch when you can play one of its biggest inspirations in Team Fortress 2? Valve might be busier with Steam than it is with game development these days, but TF2 was a masterpiece of a game that is still completely playable on PC. It’s free-to-play and there is an extremely dedicated community of players that keep it continuously towards the top of Steam’s most current active players, alongside games like Apex Legends and Destiny 2.

The one downside of Team Fortress 2 is that when a game is active for 15 years, the learning curve of players is rather steep. You’re gonna be going up against people who have put literally thousands of hours into this game and they are not going to go easy on beginners. Don’t let that intimidate you, though. Find a character you like, turn off chat, and just start learning. Eventually, you’ll be a veteran with the rest of ’em.

Apex Legends

Speaking of Apex Legends, this is another phenomenal game for longtime Overwatch players to dip their toes into, but it’s also going to be the most drastically different from the bunch. Apex Legends is a battle royale, so players will be gunning to be the last one standing instead of trying to accomplish an objective, but what makes it like Overwatch is the unique characters. Every legend in Apex Legends comes with unique skills and quirks that help players differentiate themselves from each other and don’t turn matches into a battle of who simply has the best loot at any given time.

There are also some team elements as well that help Apex stand out from other battle royales. Players are paired into a party of three and while team comps aren’t the end all be all, there are definitely characters who pair better together with others. It’s a different kind of game and one that some Overwatch players may find enjoyable.

Valorant

Valorant was once dubbed the Overwatch killer by many fans, but in reality, the only similarity between the two games is that they both have unique characters with special gimmicks and powers. So, why is it on this list? It’s for those of you who want something that is less about hero compositions, or pressing Q at the right time, and more about clicking on heads.

Valorant is a twitchy, skill-based shooter far more similar to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive where players with the best instinct, reflexes, and aim come out on top. It can feel really intense sometimes, but since it’s such a popular game, there are plenty of newbies to learn alongside. It has a good learning curve and the heroes are fun. If you thought you were a good shot in Overwatch then consider giving Valorant a try.

Overwatch 2

Did none of these appeal to you? Well then don’t worry, because Overwatch 2 is still there for you. Despite all the changes, it should still be largely the same game, just with some new learning curves. Many of those heroes that players have put hundreds of hours into will still be there. It’s an opportunity to fall back in love with an old friend all over again.

Netflix seems to be shifting its content from various scamming grifters to Italian porn star origin stories. What will they possibly think of next?!

The streamer announced that they will be making a new drama titled Supersex which will be loosely based on the life and career of famous Italian adult film star Rocco Siffredi.

The seven-episode series will be “a profound story that runs through his life since childhood,” and explore “the starting point and the context that led Siffredi to embark on his path in pornography.” Shooting is currently underway in Rome, with Italian A-lister Alessandro Borghi starring as an up-and-coming porn star.

Despite the fact that the series will be inspired by Siffredi himself, the actor says that the series will stand on its own. “This beautiful story is inspired by my life, but it is not my life,” Siffredi told FQ, an Italian magazine, over the weekend. “Everything you will see in Supersex originates from me, but then the writer put a lot of herself into it.”

Siffredi has starred in over 1500 hardcore films (and two art films!) in his wide-spanning career. In 2016, he starred in Rocco, a documentary about his life and legacy in the porn industry. The actor also owns Rocco Siffredi Productions, which has been described as a “porn industry powerhouse” AKA a much more hardcore version of Netflix. So this should be fun!

Supersex is expected to premiere on Netflix in 2023.

(Via Variety)

Blessd is breaking new ground for Warner Music Latina. Today (October 4), the rising Colombian singer released the virtual reality music video for “Quién TV” through Meta Horizon Worlds.

Blessd is part of a new wave of reggaeton artists from Medellín who are following in the footsteps of J Balvin, Maluma, and Karol G. Since the release of his debut album, last year’s Hecho En Medellín, he’s scored a number of global hits. Among those are hits are his anthem to his hometown, “Medallo,” which has amassed over 316 million streams on Spotify, and the alluring “Quién TV” that has over 57 million views on YouTube.

For his first foray into the virtual reality world, Blessd developed another video for “Quién TV” with Warner Music Latina, Meta, NSpire Create Labs, and Merc. Holdings Inc. While flirting over text, Blessd is invited to see the girl that he’s interested in at her home in Meta Horizon Worlds. After a Meta Quest 2 headset magically appears, he puts it on and is transported into Meta Horizon Worlds. His virtual avatar noticeably sports Blessd’s signature blue hair. The VR video marks a first for his record label, Warner Music Latina.

A two-dimension version of Blessd’s virtual “Quién TV” is now streaming on his Facebook page. Blessd recently teamed up with another one of Medellín’s rising stars, Ryan Castro, for his new single “Fumando.”

Blessd is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Today is National Taco Day which is a pretty good excuse to hit up your favorite local taco spot (plus it’s Taco Tuesday, we doubt that’s an accident). As if you really needed another reason to want tacos. Tacos are amazing, so we’ll pretty much eat them any chance we get, but if you happen to be a Taco Bell fan this isn’t just any old Taco Tuesday/National Taco Day. For today only, Taco Bell Rewards members can sign up for Taco Bell’s Taco Lover’s Pass via the Taco Bell app.

The pass is a digital taco subscription that you can use to score any one of Taco Bell’s seven taco variations once a day for 30 consecutive days.

Taco Bell is already insanely cheap as it is, so you can probably find enough change lying around the house to buy tacos for a month. But the Taco Lover’s Pass, which will only run you $10, offers a lot of savings, which is always welcome as we approach the expensive holiday months. Once you purchase the pass, a new category will unlock in the app which will allow you to claim either the Crunchy Taco, Crunchy Taco Supreme, Soft Taco, Soft Taco Supreme, Spicy Potato Soft Taco, or any of the Doritos Locos Tacos once a day for 30 consecutive days.

That’s a lot of tacos, but no word yet on if this will apply to the possible return of the Double Decker. Fingers crossed!

Migos fans received a blow today as Quavo and Takeoff, who have alternately gone by the name Unc & Phew, confirmed that the former trio is now a two-man band after Offset apparently departed earlier this year. While an excerpt from their appearance on Revolt’s Big Facts podcast with DJ Scream seemingly confirmed their new status as a duo, a different, longer clip finds Quavo explaining why the remaining Migos aren’t on good terms with their former partner.

“We stand on real deal loyalty, and sometimes that sh*t ain’t displayed,” he explained. “This ain’t got nothing to do with no label, no paperwork, no QC, nothing. This got something to do with the three brothers. And sh*t, it is what it is. Right now, we gon’ be the duo ’til time tell.”

That means that, at least according to Quavo, the trio was not split up by Offset renegotiating his deal with their label, Quality Control Music. Earlier this year, he sued QC when the label added its name to the credits of his solo single “54321,” pointing out that his solo material should be solely released by Motown under his new deal. Unfortunately, it also means that whatever happened behind the scenes won’t be so easy to fix as a contractual issue. We’ve seen situations like this before with groups like NWA, A Tribe Called Quest, and Little Brother. Sometimes, it takes a long time to repair such personal issues — here’s hoping that it won’t take 20 years to do so.

Meanwhile, Quavo and Takeoff’s album, Only Built For Infinity Links, is due on 10/7 via Motown Records, while Offset’s as-yet-untitled solo project is due on 11/11.

Fatboy Slim, the UK DJ and producer behind ’90s hits like “The Rockafeller Skank” and “Praise You,” put on a 2002 concert that would live in infamy. The show was at Brighton, England’s Brighton Beach and was attended by 200,000 people, well more than the expected 60,000. At that gig, one person died at at least 100 more were injured.

At the time, the artist (whose real name is Norman Quentin Cook) was neighbors with Paul McCartney, and now Cook has spoken about the advice that McCartney gave him at the time.

In a recent interview with NME, Cook said, “He told me to leave the country — that’s what he’d do when things got on top of him.”

This advice came after, as NME notes, Cook became tabloid fodder following the tragic event.

He continued, “It’s always bizarre having Paul McCartney as a neighbor, especially if you’re as much of a Beatles fan as me. Whenever he’d walk through the back door saying, ‘Only me! Just popped in for a cuppa,’ I’d be singing ‘Hey Jude’ in my head the whole way through! He’s a lovely man and like the dad I always wanted.”

As for McCartney, he recently won a Creative Arts Emmy Award, putting him just one step away from the coveted EGOT.

Unlike House of the Dragon, which has been plagued with viewers complaining about the show’s lighting (or lack thereof), The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has been routinely praised for its visuals as it nears its season one finale. However, those visuals came at a price tag that seems to be steadily increasing with each new report on the fantasy series’ enormous budget.

While discussing Season 2 plans for The Rings of Power (the series is reportedly set to run for five seasons), Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke revealed that ultimately the first season cost nearly $700 million dollars. That’s $250 million just to secure the rights from the J.R.R. Tolkien estate plus $450 million in production. However, Salke told Variety that the price has been worth it after seeing viewer reactions:

We’re building infrastructure for five seasons. We’re building a small city. We were always going to spend what we needed to spend to get it right. I’m fortunate to be working at this company where we want to be financially disciplined, but nobody wanted to compromise on what this would be visually. I think it was all money really well spent. If you look at how people are reacting to the visual experience of the show, that’s been overwhelmingly positive.

In another stark contrast from House of the Dragon, Salke also revealed that Amazon set up a “war room” for The Rings of Power‘s premiere. There was a massive international operation put in place to make sure the streaming platform didn’t crash as users flooded in to see the fantasy series that had been years in the making. As the premiere went off without the hitch, the war room teams sent each other champagne popping photos.

“They were up all night long,” Salke said. “Pictures were being sent around to everybody. It was just a very culturally defining moment for the global company.”

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

(Via Variety)

It’s pretty brave for Jack in the Box to name its new milkshake the “Basic Witch Shake” all for a cheap joke, especially when it runs the risk of being more prophetic than funny. The Basic Witch Shake combines Jack in the Box’s deliciously thick Oreo cookie milkshake with everyone’s favorite fall flavor — pumpkin spice! People feel all sorts of ways about pumpkin spice, and the flavor combination runs the gamut from legitimately delicious to straight-up awful.

So where will the Basic Witch Shake land on that spectrum? We found out!

The Basic Witch Shake is available right now at Jack in the Box while supplies last, but with the spooky theme attached, we don’t expect to see this milkshake last past the month of October in most locations. This means if the idea of a pumpkin spice Oreo milkshake sounds delicious to you, you’re going to need to move fast.

Here’s what to expect.

The Basic Witch Shake

Tasting Notes:

The Basic Witch Shake goes HEAVY on the pumpkin spice. Each sip is an explosion of nutmeg, ginger, and sugar with the slightest hint of cinnamon on the back end. I’m not really getting much allspice or clove and the cinnamon isn’t strong enough for this drink to be considered spicy, so if you love the sweeter flavors of pumpkin spice, you’re going to find a lot to like here, but if you want something that tastes a bit more natural then this is going to massively miss the mark for you.

Once the shake begins to melt in your mouth a bit, the mouthfeel is very similar to a forkful of extra sweet pumpkin pie, especially when you mix the whipped cream into the drink with your straw. The Oreos are a nice feature, but the flavors don’t really meld together that well. I’d like them to combine to form some new flavor greater than the sum of its parts, but the Basic Witch Shake doesn’t really do that. Instead you just occasionally get some bits of Oreo coming up through your straw, which adds a nice rich element, but there isn’t nearly enough Oreo to truly be satisfying.

Overall, I found myself enjoying the Oreo more than the flavors of the pumpkin shake, so while it’s fun to have a seasonal snack to liven up your fast food routine, I think at the end of the day the better move is to just order a regular Oreo shake over the pumpkin.

My other gripe is with the cherry. I get it, Jack in the Box milkshakes are all topped with a single maraschino cherry but I don’t think the bright sweet flavor compliments this shake very much, had JiB gone with a small graham cracker, or better yet, blended graham crackers into the shake itself, I think it would’ve done a lot to balance out the sugary sweetness.

At least JiB is trying something new though, we just wish they weren’t going for something so… well, basic.

The Bottom Line:

If you love the flavors of pumpkin pie, this is worth satisfying your curiosity. It tastes like you’re drinking a slice of pumpkin pie. But if you’re looking for something that’ll make you fall in love with the pumpkin spice flavor profile, this isn’t going to sell you on it.

Find your nearest Jack in the Box here.

Kicking off a month full of K-pop comebacks, AB6IX is one of the groups to make a return with their sixth EP Take A Chance alongside its lead single “Sugarcoat.”

Released earlier today at 6 p.m. KST – 5 a.m. ET/2 a.m. PT — the Brand New Music boy group expresses how whipped they are, enough to not sugarcoat how they feel about someone. First, singing about realizing how foolishly in love they are in the first half of the song, the rest of the track becomes a serenade to the listeners of the group confessing their feelings. (Woojin’s rap says it all: “I need someone to be with me, I pick you/I want to see the ending, so skip the process/I need a Picasso to paint my heart/I am now Peter Pan, you are my Tinkerbell/I’ll keep it forever in the film rolling in my head/Pray to the sky every day…”)

In addition, the music video to “Sugarcoat” only amplifies the lovey-dovey theme with colorful visuals, where the members are seen working a candy shop, creating their own concoctions and love spells in the form of sweet morsels.

“Sugarcoat” was co-written and composed by member Lee Daehwi. Take A Chance features seven new tracks including a Korean version of their first English single, “Chance.”

Find the tracklist to Take A Chance below.

1. “Paranoia”
2. “Sugarcoat”
3. “Weightless”
4. “Complicated”
5. “Resonance (공명 (共鳴))”
6. “Crow”
7. “Chance (Korean Version)”

Kim Petras couldn’t ask for a better start to October. The budding German pop star is riding her recent “Unholy” momentum by announcing her aptly titled next single, “If Jesus Was A Rockstar” on Tuesday (October 4). It comes one day after Petras made her Billboard Hot 100 debut alongside Sam Smith for “Unholy,” coming in at No. 3 behind only Steve Lacy and Harry Styles.

Petras previously released Slut Pop, her fourth EP, just in time for Valentine’s Day. “If Jesus Was A Rockstar” appears to be joining 2021 releases “Coconuts,” her major-label debut after signing with Republic Records, and “Future Starts Now” on the tracklist of her highly anticipated debut LP.

“Unholy,” the Petras-featuring lead single to Sam Smith’s forthcoming fourth studio album, arrived in late September with an expectedly provocative music video. It debuted at No. 1 in the UK’s Official Charts before opening at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Global 200 and No. 3 on the Hot 100. “Unholy” has surged to over 87.5 million Spotify streams alone.

“This little German idiot got her first top 5 on the Hot 100 and number 1 on the Global 200,” Petras tweeted. “Thank you to everyone who believed in me all these years, you know who you are ! I can never thank you enough @samsmith . Bunheads ur the realest ilysm.”

“If Jesus Was A Rockstar” does not yet have a release date, but you can pre-save it here.