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Redfall is getting full cross-play on Xbox, Steam and Epic

Redfall is getting full cross-play on Xbox, Steam and the Epic Games Store.

Arkane Studios’ upcoming open-world co-op shooter, Redfall, will have full cross-play across all the available platforms. Arkane announced this via the Redfall Twitter account.

Unfortunately, you won’t be part of the fun if you’re a Switch or PlayStation player. However, for everywhere the game is available, you can all play together.

Redfall releases on May 2nd on Xbox Series X/S and Windows PC. The title costs $89.99 CAD, but you can also get it on Game Pass on both Xbox and PC.

Source: Redfall

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Mobile Syrup

The Last of Us’ Troy Baker praises Calgary for its ‘beautiful landscape’ during production

This weekend, HBO’s The Last of Us delivered a gripping adaptation of one of the most important chapters from Naughty Dog’s game. It also introduced us to the haunting antagonist David alongside James, played by Troy Baker.

Baker is intrinsically tied to The Last of Us. He’s provided the masterful voice of Joel in the game alongside motion capture. Pedro Pascal now helms the role of Joel in the series adaption. However, Baker was cast as David’s secondhand man in the episode dubbed “When We Are in Need.”

Baker recently sat down with Daily Hive for a roundtable interview where he recounted his time spent in Calgary, Alberta. “They were very prepared and to be able to find the sound stages that they shot at and be able to literally take that over like they did… all of the locations that we found within Calgary to be able to shoot… it was surprising how much they could be completely transformed.”

Over the season, Alberta has been shown to be transformed to create many backdrops for this post-apocalyptic tale. For instance, the small town of Canmore was turned into the blooming community of Jackson. Last week’s mall set piece used a real abandoned mall in Calgary.

Throughout the interview, Baker states what many Canadians already know, Calgary is a marvel to look at. Now, it’s put in the spotlight on one of HBO’s most popular series to date. “Calgary provided this beautiful landscape — inside the city and far outside of it,” Baker said to Daily Hive.

This week’s episode used Alberta’s Waterton Park for David’s community in this week’s episode. The extent of the area isn’t shown in full. However, there are many exterior shots showing the snowy streets. It was then up to production to make the area feel like a world living in the age of the Cordyceps virus. “Waterton is the town where we shot a lot of our episodes. It’s a far cry away from Calgary but the landscape that it provided really set the stage and you could believe that this was what the world could look like absent of civilization.”

HBO’s The Last of Us is barrelling toward its season finale on March 12th. Canadian viewers can catch up on the season, and see Alberta’s beauty captured on screen, via Crave.

Image credit: HBO

Source: Daily Hive

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Mobile Syrup

This beautiful Alberta park was home to The Last of Us’ latest villains

After the seventh episode of The Last of Us was filmed almost entirely in an abandoned Calgary mall, the eighth episode is all about the outdoors.

Specifically, the series’ latest (and penultimate) episode, “When We Are In Need,” takes place in the snowy wilds of Colorado and was actually shot at Alberta’s Waterton Park. Bella Ramsey, who plays Ellie in the series, had namedropped the hamlet in an interview with MobileSyrup, but we now get to see it in action.

One establishing shot, in particular, spotlights Waterton Lakes National Park, per the screen industry advocacy group Keep Alberta Rolling.

In the latest episode, Ellie’s hunt for food for her and an injured Joel (Pedro Pascal) leads her to encounter two strangers, David (Scott Shepherd) and James (Troy Baker, who played Joel in The Last of Us video games). Without spoiling anything, let’s just say they don’t become friends.

Interestingly, though, David and James belong to a larger community of survivors who live in an abandoned resort. In a later scene between Ellie and David, the two can be spotted in a place called Todd’s Steakhouse. Notably, the exterior of this set is Lakeside Chophouse, the only Waterton restaurant by the lake.

Other real-life places Albertans spotted include the Thirsty Bear socialhouse and Trappers Mountain Grill.

Over the course of the last several weeks, one of the highlights of The Last of Us for Canadians has been to see where all of the episodes have been filmed in Alberta. It remains to be seen where, exactly, the March 12th finale was filmed, so we’ll have to keep an eye out.

It should be noted that The Last of Us has been renewed for a second season, although there hasn’t been any official word about the production returning to Alberta. For now, though, we can admire the beautiful landscapes and production designer John Paino’s sets.

The Last of Us is now streaming exclusively on Crave in Canada.

 

Image credit: HBO

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Mobile Syrup

Counter Strike: GO 2 may be in development, release as soon as this month

Publishing behemoth Valve is said to be developing a sequel to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO). It’s reported that the follow-up to the widely successful esports title could launch a beta as early as this month.

Richard Lewis, a reputable esports journalist, has reported that CS:GO 2 is “very real” and is “about ready to go.” Apparently, Valve has already been hosting secret playtests of the new competitive first-person shooter. The publisher is said to have flown a group of players to its HQ in Seattle to play the game.

The report goes on to state that CS:GO 2 may be ready for a beta testing program by April 1st at the latest. Lewis continues by saying sources state, “The big priority is getting this out and then polishing it, fixing any bugs and bringing it up to the level people expect from CS.”

Thanks to data mined info, the Counter-Strike sequel appears to be developed on Source 2. The in-house engine from Valve may enable the game to offer improved graphics, frame rates, and more. Furthermore, the game appears to support 128-tick servers. If true, latency could be reduced to that of Valorant. Plus, improvements to matchmaking are also on the table.

News of a reported sequel comes after a successful decade for CS:GO. The game is a blockbuster title within esports. Although Counter-Strike has built a sizeable community, it was the advent of CS:GO that propelled its popularity worldwide and built the franchise a name in esports.

What remains to be seen is how Valve aims to treat the current version of CS:GO. There’s a chance that the publisher may offer players the choice of which version to play. For a brief moment in time, Valve enabled players to access the original version of Dota 2 after it introduced Dota 2 Reborn. However, a merger eventually happened and Reborn became the main title.

However, CS:GO 2 may follow in the footsteps of Overwatch 2. Following the launch of Blizzard’s sequel, the studio shut down the servers for the original game. Rather than separate the player base, Valve may opt to transition all players over to the new version.

Image credit: Valve

Source: Richard Lewis Via: Engadget

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Mobile Syrup

Elden Ring expansion ‘Shadow of the Erdtree’ is in development: Are you excited?

FromSoftware officially revealed the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion for Elden Ring this week, and I’m incredibly excited.

The news was confirmed via tweets from both the Elden Ring and FromSoftware Twitter accounts, offering a glimpse at artwork from the expansion.

The image seems to show Miquella riding on Torrent, the Spectral Steed, and a dying Erdtree in the background.

We don’t know much, but YouTuber VaatiVidya outlines what to expect from the DLC with many of his speculations.

Even though we know little about the DLC so far, I’m hyped. I’m hoping this expansion is massive, though I also want FromSoftware to take its time with it. At The Game Awards, CD Projekt Red was able to win RPG of the year two years in a row (first with The Witcher 3 and then its Blood and Wine expansion), so I’m hoping Elden Ring can take the double crown as well.

Are you excited about the reveal of Elden Ring‘s Shadow of the Erdtree expansion? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us on Twitter @MobileSyrup.

Image credit: FromSoftware

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Mobile Syrup

Disney Canada giving away custom The Mandalorian Xbox Series S console

Disney Canada has teamed up with Xbox for a contest to promote the new season of The Mandalorian.

From now until March 12th, Canadians have a chance to win a limited edition custom Xbox Series S console featuring special Grogu artwork.

While Disney Canada’s official Twitter account shows a picture with both the Grogu Series S and a Mandalorian-adorned Series X and the official contest rules mention “an Xbox Series XSS console,” MobileSyrup has confirmed with Xbox that the Canadian contest is for the Grogu console, specifically.

In addition to the system and matching controller, you’ll also get a cute little Grogu-esque hoodie for the gamepad and three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. In Canada, the Series S and three months of Game Pass Ultimate are priced at $379.99 and $44.99, respectively, while the hoodie is valued at $10 USD (about $13.59 CAD). Of course, this being a special console that you wouldn’t be able to buy normally certainly ups the value.

Canadians interested in entering can do so here. All you need is to give your name and email and answer the decidedly simple question of where you can stream the new season The Mandalorian. (Spoilers: Disney+!)

It’s worth noting that Xbox’s global team is running a Twitter contest for both the Mando-themed Series X and Grogu Series S. This one runs until May 12th and is open to all countries in which Xbox is available, including Canada. To enter, you’ll have to retweet this tweet with the hashtag #TheMandalorianXboxSweepstakes.

The third season of The Mandalorian premiered on Disney+ on March 1st, with new episodes streaming every Wednesday. In the latest season, Mando has reunited with Grogu and now sets his eyes on Mandalore to redeem his past transgressions. The series stars Pedro Pascal, the internet’s favourite daddy and star of another popular streaming series, The Last of Us.

Image credit: Xbox/Lucasfilm

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Mobile Syrup

Metroid Fusion is coming to Nintendo’s Switch Online Expansion Pack on March 9

Nintendo has announced that Metroid Fusion is coming to Nintendo Switch for the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack on March 9th.

Metroid Fusion is an action-adventure game that launched on Game Boy Advance in 2002. This game is the prequel to Metroid Dread, which launched in 2021. Nintendo brought several Game Boy and Game Boy Advance titles to its Expansion Pack earlier this month, including Kirby’s Dream Land, Tetris, Wario Land 3, The Legend of Zelda: the Minish Cap and more.

The Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack costs $63.99 and gives you access to a library of Sega Genesis, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo 64 games and more.

Source: Nintendo

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Mobile Syrup

Nintendo of Canada offering Mario Switch bundle, game discounts for MAR10 Day

Nintendo of Canada has revealed a bunch of new Mario promotions to celebrate March 10th, AKA “MAR10 Day.”

To start, Canadians who buy a Nintendo Switch ($399 CAD) with red Joy-Cons will be able to get a free digital download code ($79.99 value) for one of the following games of their choice: Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe or New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe. Free stickers based on April’s Super Mario Bros. Movie will also be included.

Additionally, retailers will have Switch games up to $25, including Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario Maker 2, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury and Mario Party Superstars. Further, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit will be $40 off.

For those who prefer digital deals, two waves of eShop promotions on Mario-related games will run in March.

The first wave goes from March 10th to March 23rd and will offer deals on the likes of Mario Party Superstars, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Yoshi’s Crafted World and the Canadian-made Luigi’s Mansion 3.

Following that, the second wave will run from March 24th to April 7th and includes savings on Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Mario Odyssey, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, Super Mario Maker 2 and Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury.

Specific savings on each game have yet to be revealed, but more will be available on the eShop starting March 10th at 12am PT/3am ET.

Finally, Nintendo has revealed eight more DLC courses that will be added to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on March 9th:

  • DS Mario Circuit
  • GBA Riverside Park
  • GCN Waluigi Stadium
  • Tour Amsterdam Drift
  • Tour Bangkok Rush
  • Tour Singapore Speedway
  • Wii DK Summit
  • Yoshi’s Island (Mario Kart debut)

A new racer, Birdo, will also join the game in this DLC.

Nintendo says information on MAR10 Day partnerships with the likes of Lego will be added to this site.

Image credit: Nintendo

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Mobile Syrup

LeBron James’ ugly limited-edition PS5 accessories aren’t coming to Canada

PlayStation has teamed up with NBA star LeBron James on a limited-edition PS5 cover and DualSense controller.

The Black PS5 accessories were co-designed by James and feature quotes and imagery from his journey, including “nothing is given, everything is earned” and “build, uplift, empower.

PS5 LeBron accessories

However, PlayStation has confirmed to MobileSyrup that the accessories aren’t coming to Canada. Instead, the company has teased a separate Canada-focused collaboration with Toronto-born actor-comedian, King Bach. While it says more will be shared on that later this year, it did point to a PS5 ad with Bach that ran during the Super Bowl last month:

The partnerships with James and Bach come as part of PlayStation’s new “Playmakers” program, a promotional campaign that sees the gaming giant partner with prominent athletes, actors, artists, gamers and other figures.

That said, PlayStation previously worked with James on a decidedly strange God of War Ragnarök ad in which he, Ben Stiller and John Travolta all appeared with their respective sons.

Source: PlayStation

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Mobile Syrup

Street Fighter: Duel launches on Android and iOS

Crunchyroll Games has launched Street Fighter: Duel, a new mobile RPG, in Canada, the U.S. and a handful of other countries.

The first mobile RPG based on Capcom’s beloved fighting game franchise, Street Fighter: Duel is a party-based title that has characters like Ryu, Chun-Li, Ken, Guile and Akuma fighting automatically as you tap buttons for combos.

Altogether, more than 40 characters are included, and you can unlock variants for each of them, like ‘Mad Ryu’ and ‘Beast Zangief’ with their own unique abilities. A variety of limited-time challenges will also be offered at launch.

The game is free to download (with microtransactions for in-games currencies, of course) on Android and iOS.

Image credit: Crunchyroll