Meet Overwatch's Junkertown Queen

This is Overwatch's new map, Junkertown's, queen. It's easy to see why fans are so obsessed with this particular piece of lore. Doesn't she look KICKASS?! She was first introduced as a disembodied voice speaking over the Junkertown Escort map preview, but now she has many of us hoping she'll become a playable character one of these days. The image above is a poster found around the new Junkertown map. 

The map also features what we assume to be the queen's throne, complete with wicked looking weapons. One looks like a spear, while the other looks to be some sort of bladed-death-boom-stick-thing.

Although she is just a voice, so far, we do happen to know a little about her. Like the rest of Junkertown's residents, she survived a blast that wiped out the Australian outback, turning it into a irradiated wasteland. We also know...she's no friend of the Omnics (or Junkrat and Roadhog).

Her decree, scribbled across the streets of Junkertown, is topped by the #1 rule: NO OMNICS. As we learned from The Plan - one of the recent animated shorts released by Blizzard - Junkrat and Roadhog caused a lot of trouble for her as they stole a bunch of money and blew up her "summer shack", as it were. You can check out The Plan below! 

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D&D Salutes the LGBT Community

****FYI! This post contains spoilers for the D&D adventures Storm King's Thunder and Curse of Strahd****

In the D&D adventure Storm King's Thunder, three giant rocks have crushed the Osstra family's farm in the abondoned village of Nightstone, causing them to flee the town. Of course, the Osstra family and all their neighbors get captured by a band of goblins, who scurry them to a cave. Players have the option to rescue the villagers and if they choose to do so, they'll run into farm Thelbin Osstra, his husband, and their adopted nephew.

The family is actually a shout-out to one of the story's writers, Jeremy Crawford. Crawfor lived with his husband and nephew when the adventure was being written back in 2016. He approached D&D publisher, Wizards of the Coast, with the notion of expanding the game's outreach to more players and making D&D more...gay!

The original game was made by two men, both conservative christians at one point (*shudders*), and now 40 years later, the game is coming out of the stone age. D&D is embracing the variety of players who enjoy their adventures.

Curse of Strahd actually involves even more gay quirks. Players can persuade a spellcaster to join their quest in defeating a vampire. In the course of said quest, they will meet Vladimir Horngaard, a commander who was once the spellcaster's lover. If the spellcaster joins up a painful moment of recognition may follow.

Since Strahd has come out, every adventure since has included at least one queer character with queer plotlines woven into the story.

Stay wonderful, Wizards. The inclusion of more gayness into the living and breathing monster that is D&D is some fantastic news to all of us in the LGBT community! And you, the players! Keep being awesome and DMing those custom lesbian love scenes like champions! We love you!  

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Final Fantasy and...Assassin's Creed?

Odd as it may seem, you've certainly heard it right; Final Fantasy XV will be receiving a DLC in collaboration with Assassin's Creed Origins. The collab kicks off on August 30th. FFXV players who have obtained the Dream Egg from the Moogles Chocobo Carnival event will be gifted an Assassin outfit for Noctis. On August 31st, the free Assassin's Festival DLC for FFXV will be released.

Ubisoft says,"The town of Lestallum will transform itself for the event with signs and banners signaling the arrival of the festival, and new activities will be available for players to participate in. It doesn't end there. The Assassin's Festival will have some additional themed items and features, including another outfit from Assassin's Creed, along with abilities that enable Noctis to explore more like an Assassin and even use some of the Assassins' more well-known abilities."

So enjoy the weird crossover. It sounds cool...cooler than a stupid pocket themed mobile game, for sure.

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Glorious. An Anime Opening for Spongebob.

Last night, Narmak, a US-based animator, uploaded a masterpiece to their YouTube account. Here it is -- a video full of anime cliches and the best damn anime drama totally fitting of Spongebob.

It had me in tears. Big, beautiful, joy-filled, globby anime tears.

Check it out below -->

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Some Changes to One of Overwatch's Most Played

Jeff Kaplan, the illustrious game director for Overwatch, issued a developer update targeting one of the mos popular support characters in the game: Mercy.

Most noteworthy would be changes toward Mercy's ultimate, (*screams* HEROES NEVER DIE!!!) that allows her to bring fallen comrades back to life, and the idea of changing such a technique to be her second ability. Don't get excited though -- there will be changes to the ability. Now, HEROES NEVER DIE will be single target only, and on a cooldown.

Mercy's new ult is Valkyrie, which does "a lot of things" according to Kaplan. When Valkyrie is activated, Mecy can fly - actually fly. No boosting of floating. Her entire basis is enhanced, allowing her to stream several buffing beams to multiple targets. Her pew-pew gun also shoots faster and hits harder.

Check out the video below for more information --

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Saint Seiya gets a Netflix remake

Netflix has done it again. Not only were they happy to release a Cyborg 009, Cyborg 009 vs Devilman, and Voltron remakes, but now they have ventured into remaking one of the most dearest animes to the 80's and 90's generation: Saint Seiya.

An initial season of 12 episodes has been announced, which supposedly spans the first four arcs of the series using 30 minute episodes. Could a mere 6 hours pack the whole adventure that were The Twelve Houses Battle, Asgard, Poseidon and Hades sagas??

I honestly doubt it... but Yoshiharu Ashino, director of D. Gray Man Hallow, is going to direct the episodes and we can only hope that he does a good job.

Personally, I am quite annoyed at the fact that really awesome animes are getting remade just for a quick look. The original series consisted of more than 100 episodes plus all the movies and spin offs, it really expanded on each saint's story and you got to grow fond of each character with their faults and virtues. In the old days, it took dedication to become a fan! Nowadays, things have to get remade for a quick buck for punks who can't even keep their attention span longer than 30 mins.

I know I am being a bit harsh, but honestly, there is no need to repaint a Mona Lisa or redesign a pair of converse. The art comes from the original design ;)

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Naughty Dog is Hiring!

Naughty Dog is responsible for some amazing games like The Last of Us and Uncharted. Interested in working on the next Naughty Dog game? Well, they're hiring! Check out their website for all open positions! 

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Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition. WHY?!

WHY? Why is Square Enix wasting time to make a cute, adorable version of their hit, Final Fantasy XV? To be honest, I don't have the answer...I just think it is silly. Regardless of my opinion, it is happening. Square is currently working on a mobile (iOS & Android) FFXV game that centers around the adventures of Noctis and his friends.

It's a retelling of the original game that lets players explore the world of Eos through ten different episodes. The first episode is free, but the others will need to be paid for (LAME!). Just another example of Square wanting your money for something pointless. I sound bitter, but I just hate gimmicky FF stuff. They argue the game will be good for fans wanting to get involved in the adventure without taking the big step into the daunting hours and hours of play through.

The official release information out of L.A. says the game will be great, "Giving fans and newcomers alike the freedom to journey through Eos whenever and from wherever they want."

Sigh. Anyway...it's cute, and many people will fly toward it because it has the name "Final Fantasy" tagged to it. So go ahead and play your Pocket Fantasy (isn't that the name of a sex toy? If not...it should be.)

The game is slotted to be released later this year, with its adorable art style and easy-to-use touch controls. All ten episodes will be available at launch, but as I said above, only the first one will be free. The announcement trailer is below:

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Create Your Own Ninja!! : A Look at Naruto to Boruto: SS's Avatar System

I AM. SO EXCITED!!! Well, the young me is certainly screaming. Whether you're willing to admit it or not, we've all liked SOMETHING related the the Naruto anime. As for me, I'm not ashamed. I love Naruto, and I enjoy Boruto as well. Regardless of your tastes, let me just say...IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME! Finally, for the first time in a Naruto game, we'll be able to create our own custom ninja!

The game itself, Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker, will be released next year and promises an interesting twist to the traditional style for fighting games we know. The game introduces a team based online multiplayer arena battle system with games like capture the flag, base control, etc.. There is already a plethora of characters from the Naruto/Boruto universe we can play...but now you're fanfiction creations can actually come to life (juuuust like DBZ Xenoverse)!

Players can customize everything from eyes, hair, mouth, etc., and then get to choose their ninja's class-based weaponry and ninja techniques. From the trailer, it sounds like you can learn additional moves from different mentors across the game (OMG! DBZ Xenoverse!). 

No doubt, I'm excited for the game...but, like everything, I'm going to give it some time before picking it up. So many Naruto games...too little money. Check out the newest trailer down below! 

       

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This Weekend: Pokemon World Championships!

The annual Pokemon World Championships are being held in Aneheim, CA this weekend! This is YOUR chance to see the best of the best compete in both the official Pokemon Trading Card Game (TCG) and the Pokemon video game world. Over $500,000 in prizes will be awarded through the games.

You can watch all the action via Pokemon's official World Championships livestream -- 

Watching, you might be a bit confused why some things are being done the way they are. Don't get discouraged! Here is a quick overview on the rules being implemented and followed for the video game bouts:

For 2017 - 

--Only pokemon in the Alola Pokedex are allowed (Pokemon Sun and Moon)
--Pokemon MUST have the Alola symbol showing they were caught in the Alola region
--Mythical and some Legendary Pokemon are NOT allowed
--No Mega Stones are allowed
--All other items are allowed, including z-Crystals
--Double battle format -- Each player has two Pokemon out on the field at one time

--90-second team preview, 45-second turn limit, 10-minute "player time". 90-second: each player is given this time to preview their opponent's battle team. Based on that, said players can then pick four Pokemon from a pre-registered six, they think would match best against the opponent.
--All Pokemon are set to level 50, including Pokemon below 50
--Ties at the end of the time limit are broken based on how much HP each player's Pokemon have left
--Z-Moves can be used once per battle

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Overwatch Summer: Grillmaster: 76 Is Literally the BEST Thing

To be honest, it's been a while since we've had the opportunity to play some consecutive matches in Overwatch; not because we no longer like the game, but some life events have been keeping us busy. Luckily, time is coming back to us...just in time for Overwatch's newest event! The Summer Games have returned, and with it, some fabulous new skins!

We'll start with the bang: Solider 76's (Dad 76's) Grillmaster: 76 skin. We just can't get over this one...hands down our favorite. The best part? Soda can healing! Ah, and we cannot forget those amazing dad sock/sandal combo. It's just too perfect. Too. Damn. Perfect.

 Up next is Widow's sexy new swimwear: Cote d'Azur. We love seeing as many of Widow's tats as we possibly can, so this skin really stole our hearts. The hair is just icing on the cake! 

Although pretty, this is one we don't necessarily agree with for this particular event: Mercy's Winged Victory. Okay...I get the "victory" theme, but it just feels like it's trying too hard to fit in with the rest of the themes (beach/games). Regardless, it's a great looking skin with some fabulous details -- probs won't waste the 3k coins on it though... because it'll always be Witch Mercy or nothing with us.

Close to Sakti's explosive heart: Junkrat's Cricket uniform. Um...so this was a pretty awesome idea as a whole. His peg-leg is a CRICKET BAT!!

There are three more legendary skins that we're a bit "meh" to us, but probably interest many of you Sombra, McCree, and Reaper Mains. Sombra's Tulum, Reaper's Biker, and McCree's Lifeguard. The beach towel and flare gun are excellent additions to the McCree skin. We wouldn't complain if we happened to roll up on these three through the good 'ol lootbox system, but we'll be saving our coins for future events...especially because the recent fix gives us less of a chance for dupes (which is a good thing!!!) and thus less coins.

  

Tell us your favorite event items! Shoot a tweet to @2girls__1up or comment below!  

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