Can you ever truly have too much of a good thing? If you’re a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan, this question must have sprung to mind at least once in recent years. Because in truth, the good things have been coming thick and fast.
2022 brought arguably the series’ best beat ’em up ever in Shredder’s Revenge and gave us a trip down memory lane with Konami’s excellent Cowabunga Collection. Then last year saw things were taken in a brave new direction on the big screen with Mutant Mayhem, the Dimension Shellshock DLC brought roguelike action to Shredder’s Revenge, and we got confirmation that a Last Ronin game was in development at THQ Nordic (albeit not for Switch). In short, the phrase “I love being a Turtle” had never rung truer.
Xbox and Marvel Animation’s “X-Men ’97” have united to bring fans an extraordinary collaboration – the “X-Men ’97” Xbox Series X, wrapped in an exclusive comic by Marvel’s Rich Douek and Paco Diaz.
Immerse yourself further with Xbox Design Lab’s X-Men character controllers. Each inspired by your favorites, they come in nostalgic blister packs.
Enter our limited-time sweepstakes for a chance to win this ultimate collector’s bundle! Don’t miss your shot at this iconic piece of mutant history.
Calling all Xbox and X-Men enthusiasts! We’re ecstatic to announce an incredible collaboration between Xbox and Marvel Animation’s “X-Men ’97,” now streaming on Disney+. Prepare to immerse yourself in the world of mutants like never before.
Xbox and “X-Men ’97” have come together to bring you a very special Xbox Series X wrapped in a limited-edition comic inspired by the all-new series and created by Marvel writer Rich Douek and artist Paco Diaz. This thrilling 2-page story with full page cover is exclusive to the Xbox Series X, and features Cyclops leading the X-Men in a battle against Sentinels and Master Mold, with an Xbox Series X console making a special appearance in the Danger Room.
Marking the first time an Xbox Series X has been wrapped by a comic book, this collaboration promises to immerse fans in a nostalgic journey through the world of the “X-Men ’97.”
In addition, Xbox Design Lab created a set of controllers inspired by you the colorways of your favorite X-Men characters from the show: Wolverine, Storm, Rogue, Morph, Magneto, Jubilee, Gambit, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Beast, and Bishop. Each character comes to life through unique controller designs, and comes in a 90’s inspired blister pack that makes for the ultimate collector item.
Fans eager to get their hands on the “X-Men ’97”-inspired Xbox Series X and one of the Xbox Design Lab character controllers will have the opportunity to enter the sweepstakes hosted on Xbox Twitter.
By following Xbox on X (formerly Twitter) and retweeting the official Xbox sweepstakes tweet ( #XMen97XboxSweepstakes) during the Entry Period, fans can secure their chance to win a Xbox Series X Console inspired by X-Men ’97, Xbox Wireless Controller (this comes with the console but will not be customized), and a Xbox Design Lab Controller inspired by X-Men ’97 Wolverine . The sweepstakes will run exclusively from Monday, April 22, 6:00am PST through Sunday, May 19, 8:00pm PST, offering participants ample time to join in on the excitement.
Get ready to unleash your mutant powers with this Xbox and “X-Men ‘97” team-up and don’t forget to catch the latest episodes of “X-Men ’97” on Disney+, available on your Xbox!
About Marvel Animation’s “X-Men ‘97”
Marvel Animation’s “X-Men ’97” revisits the iconic era of the 1990s as The X-Men, a band of mutants who use their uncanny gifts to protect a world that hates and fears them, are challenged like never before, forced to face a dangerous and unexpected new future.
The all-new series features 10 episodes. The voice cast includes Ray Chase as Cyclops, Jennifer Hale as Jean Grey, Alison Sealy-Smith as Storm, Cal Dodd as Wolverine, JP Karliak as Morph, Lenore Zann as Rogue, George Buza as Beast, AJ LoCascio as Gambit, Holly Chou as Jubilee, Isaac Robinson-Smith as Bishop, Matthew Waterson as Magneto, and Adrian Hough as Nightcrawler. Beau DeMayo served as head writer; episodes are directed by Jake Castorena, Chase Conley and Emi-Emmett Yonemura, and the series is executive produced by Brad Winderbaum, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso and DeMayo. Featuring music by the Newton Brothers, Marvel Animation’s “X-Men ’97” is now streaming on Disney+
Microsoft’s run of custom Xbox consoles continues, this time with an X-Men ‘97 Xbox Series X and controllers.
Amid the continued success of the Disney+ X-Men ‘97 animated show, Microsoft has revealed the Marvel Animation’s X-Men ‘97 Custom Comic Xbox Series X. It’s an Xbox Series X wrapped in an exclusive comic by Marvel writer Rich Douek and artist Paco Diaz, with Xbox Design Lab’s X-Men character controllers to accompany it.
The comic is a two-page story with a full page cover exclusive to the Xbox Series X, and features Cyclops leading the X-Men in a battle against the Sentinels and Master Mold. An Xbox Series X console makes a special appearance in the Danger Room.
This is the first time an Xbox Series X has been wrapped by a comic book, Microsoft said. And in now Microsoft tradition, it’s only available as part of a limited-time sweepstakes hosted on Xbox Twitter.
Meanwhile, Xbox Design Lab created a set of controllers inspired by X-Men characters from the show: Wolverine, Storm, Rogue, Morph, Magneto, Jubilee, Gambit, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Beast, and Bishop. Each character has a unique controller design, and comes in a 90s-inspired blister pack.
By following Xbox on X (formerly Twitter) and retweeting the official Xbox sweepstakes tweet (#XMen97XboxSweepstakes) during the Entry Period, fans can secure their chance to win a Xbox Series X Console inspired by X-Men ’97, Xbox Wireless Controller (this comes with the console but will not be customized), and a Xbox Design Lab Controller inspired by X-Men ’97 Wolverine. The sweepstakes will run exclusively from Monday, April 22, 6:00am PST through Sunday, May 19, 8:00pm PST, offering participants ample time to join in on the excitement.
X-Men ‘97 is now six episodes into its first season, and things are looking increasingly bleak for the merry mutants. Check out our article, X-Men ’97: 10 Burning Questions After Episode 6, for more.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
No Rest for the Wicked launched into early access as a bit of a fixer-upper, even by the standards of its ‘buy now, play finished game later’ model. The good news is that the grim action-RPG’s wonky performance is already being straightened out, with two of its three hotfixes thus far delivering a noticeable improvements, even on older graphics cards.
The Pokémon Company is selling a giant, 59 inch-long Slowpoke plushie for $450.
As reported by Nintendo Life, the jumbo Slowpoke is now available to preorder online at the Pokémon Center, where it’s pictured taking up an entire single bed and alongside a woman who’s roughly the same size.
The Slowpoke plushie was released in Japan in 2021 but is now making its way to the west. “It is so cute and so squishy,” said verified purchaser Christopher K in the reviews section. “Its vacant stare is also so calming, and its tail is so cuddly.”
“You really don’t know how big it’s going to be until it’s taking up half of your queen sized mattress and you have to rehome all the other stuffed animals so you can sleep on your own bed,” added Catherine B.
Nothing will prepare you for the sheer girth and size of this gargantuan unit.
“You will read the measurements but nothing will prepare you for the sheer girth and size of this gargantuan unit in person,” said Georgia M.
Slowpoke may be the ideal candidate for such a plushie given it rarely moves in the world of Pokémon. “It is incredibly slow and dopey,” reads its Pokédex entry. “It takes five seconds for it to feel pain when under attack.”
That’s a lot of bananas! 😅🍌 How else can we show off Slowpoke’s size, Trainers? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/Y5VA2suxI6
This plushie is on the large side even for a Slowpoke, however, as its average size is just 47 inches compared to this one’s 59, which places it at four foot and 11 inches or 1.5 metres long. The Pokémon Company measured it in a less conventional way too, learning the Slowpoke plushie comes in at 11 bananas long in a X/Twitter post (above).
While this may seem among the most premium Pokémon merchandise available, its $450 doesn’t scratch the surface of a custom line of Tiffany & Co jewellery. While some of the cheaper items come in at $1,290, the most expensive piece, a Pikachu pendant made of 18-karat yellow gold with diamond accents, costs $29,000.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
As one of the Treehouse’s resident Atlus sickos, I was incredibly happy to wake up to 25-minutes of Metaphor: ReFantazio‘s director Katsura Hashino talking us through some new footage. We get a look at a new rural town and the activities you can get up to, like bounty hunting. Travel on your magic mech is compared to “camping”, which I wasn’t expecting. And there’s lots of combat on show, with transitions from real-time to turn-based battles outlined in a bit more detail. Oh and it’s coming out in October, which gives me plenty of time to clear my JRPG backlog before this inevitably takes over my entire existence for the foreseeable.
If you, like us, are looking forward to the upcoming remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door on Switch, then you might want to check out this rather awesome-looking acrylic standee from Jay Choi (AKA Jayperior).
Officially called ‘Paper Plumber & Friends’ because, y’know… reasons, the characters have all been handdrawn by Jay and can slot into the main standee in whichever order you see fit.
Nintendo 64 game Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness released 25 years ago, but a new Konami Code, essentially a cheat code, has just been discovered for it.
YouTuber JupiterClimb uploaded a video revealing the code, which he said makes Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness “the definitive way to play Castlevania on the N64”. While the game arrived as a definitive edition of the regular Castlevania 64, some criticised it for making only the werewolf character Cornell playable from the beginning. Thanks to this code, however, that’s no longer an issue.
By inputting C-Up x4, C-Down x4, C-Left x2, C-Right x2, C-Left x2, C-Right x2, L, R, and Z twice in the main menu, players can create a brand new save and see all four characters unlocked, meaning Reinhardt Schneider, Carrie Fernandez, and Henry Oldrey are all available from the beginning.
Players would otherwise have to play through significant portions of the game to unlock each character despite some being available from the beginning in the original version. Beyond just their base versions, each character’s alternate skin is also made available immediately.
The Konami Code also grants access to hard mode once players begin a new save and reach a save point after inputting it. By quitting out of the game and returning to select a new save, the hard difficulty will be unlocked.
Bizarrely, JupiterClimb also showcased other newly discovered codes, which essentially fill a character’s inventory, grant a max level power-up and sub-weapon, and give them 99 jewels.
This discovering of new codes and the reception to the Netflix show perhaps show fans are eager for more Castlevania games, however, and Konami itself acknowledged the “excitement and enthusiasm” of fans and told IGN this was “really motivating”.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
What’s it like to watch a smash hit TV show set in the backyard of a game you’ve made? It’s a question which Fallout: New Vegas project director Josh Sawyer is uniquely qualified to answer.
“The show really does capture the aesthetic of Fallout 4 and 76, while also feeling like it is set on the West Coast,” he says. “If you’re a fan, then you can see where the plot elements have been pulled from in previous entries. And if you’re new to it, thankfully, those plot elements are fairly straightforward. So I think it’s a good show for fans and a good show if you’re new to it, even though there’s a lot of stuff going on. I’m certainly interested to see where they’re going in the second season.”
