Batman Fans Can Soon Build Gotham City’s Skyline With 4,200 Lego Pieces
There’s no city like Gotham City, Batman’s stomping grounds for foiling colorful supervillains, and a massive upcoming Lego set will artfully capture the essence of that iconic location. Specifically, this is a Lego Batman set adapted from Batman: The Animated Series, the cult-classic ’90s series that took the world by storm when it first debuted. Arriving on April 1 for Lego Insiders before its general release on April 4, this is a gorgeous recreation of Gotham City priced at $300.
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A 4,210-piece buildable backdrop, this set is designed to add some Art Deco flair to your home. It has 15 panels that can be removed to reveal the inside of Wayne Manor, the Batcave, and Arkham Asylum, and it comes with four minifigures of Batman, the Joker, Harley Quinn, and Catwoman in their animated series incarnations. There’s also a mini-Batmobile and a mini-Batwing included with this set, and if you’re not ready to mount it on your wall, you can display it safely on a surface using a flip-out stand.
Once assembled, this piece will measure 16.1 inches (41cm) tall, 30 inches (76cm) wide, and 2.3 inches (6cm) deep, so you’re going to want to make certain you have ample room to show it off when you’re done.
If you want to build a Batman Lego set while you wait, this Lego Store-exclusive Batcave diorama hailing from the 1992 movie Batman Returns is very cool, too. It’s thicker but packed full of bat-details like a command chair, computer screens, and even a Batsuit vault. It’s a display piece that folds up neatly when you’re not playing with it, although it is pricier at $400.
For a more affordable set, check out these trio of builds based on some of Batman’s high-tech vehicles: Batmobile ($40), Batwing ($37), Batcycle ($40).
Epic’s Return To iOS Hits A New Hurdle After Apple Cancels Its Developer Account
Ahead of its intended return to iOS this month in Europe, Epic’s plans to build and release its own app store on that platform have been derailed after Apple terminated its developer account. Back in February, Epic had been granted a developer account that would have allowed it to launch its app store and sidestep Apple’s 30% platform fees, thanks to European Union regulation and the new Digital Markets Act.
Earlier this week, Epic claimed in a blog post that Apple had pulled the plug on its developer account. Epic shared a letter from Apple’s lawyers that described Epic as “verifiably untrustworthy,” pointing to things like Epic’s ongoing litigation against Apple and past circumvention of its rules.
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“This is a serious violation of the DMA and shows Apple has no intention of allowing true competition on iOS devices,” Epic wrote. “In terminating Epic’s developer account, Apple is taking out one of the largest potential competitors to the Apple App Store. They are undermining our ability to be a viable competitor and they are showing other developers what happens when you try to compete with Apple or are critical of their unfair practices.”
In response to Epic, Apple says that it is legally allowed to terminate Epic’s account based on a September 2021 judgment, not needing any special circumstances to do so.
“Epic’s egregious breach of its contractual obligations to Apple led courts to determine that Apple has the right to terminate ‘any or all of Epic Games’ wholly owned subsidiaries, affiliates, and/or other entities under Epic Games’ control at any time and at Apple’s sole discretion,'” Apple said in a statement. “In light of Epic’s past and ongoing behavior, Apple chose to exercise that right.”
Epic first announced its plans to return to iOS in January. The new DMA legislation is aimed at big companies like Apple and Microsoft and effectively levels the playing field by creating a more competitive environment, and this act went into effect this week. The EU has confirmed that it is investigating Apple’s decision to cancel Epic’s developer account.
“We have requested further explanations on this from Apple under the DMA,” a European Commission spokesperson told Reuters. “We are also evaluating whether Apple’s actions raise doubts on their compliance with the DSA (Digital Services Act) and the P2B (Platform to Business Regulation), given the links between the developer program membership and the App Store as designated VLOP (very large online platform).”
It appears that Epic was granted a developer account in Europe without it being reviewed by Apple executives, setting up the subsequent retraction. Epic noted that among the reasons cited by Apple was public criticism of its DMA compliance plan, pointing to a Twitter thread in which Epic CEO Tim Sweeney discussed Apple’s “contradictions.”
Zack Snyder Has A Theory On Why His Movies Are So Divisive
Director Zack Snyder has been making movies for a long time, and not all of them have been universally enjoyed–with Rebel Moon being the latest of his divisive films. The Justice League and Batman v Superman director understands why people might not enjoy his movies, but can’t get his head around the idea that people extend this to the man himself.
“I remember the last article said, ‘Zack Snyder: Love him or hate him.’ And I’m like, ‘Hate him?!’ I don’t understand. What? It’s a movie,” he said said on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
“I have no issue with you not liking the movie. That’s not the question. Who cares? The thing is, you’d hate me? I don’t understand that,” he said.
Part of the reason why people get so worked up about the movies Snyder makes is because of the subjects–mainly superheroes. He said the characters and stories have transcended the pages and the screen and have become a way of life and a religion for some.
“That’s a lifestyle choice for a lot of people. It’s not a movie,” he said. “If I made a romantic comedy, you’d be like, ‘OK, that was fun.’ I love that [fans] feel this passionately. In no way would I criticize that, because I live the same life. For me, it’s morning, noon, and night. For those guys, it’s not just a movie. So you have to, on some level, you have to acknowledge that this is their religion. And they feel strongly about it. The truth is–it’s my religion, too.”
The full interview touches on numerous other subjects, including Snyder’s longstanding desire to make an adaptation of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. He said after reading that comic and Watchmen (which he did adapt already), it’s “hard to go back.”
Specifically, Snyder questioned why Batman is not allowed to kill. Snyder said he’d be interested to see Batman go further and show if he can “survive that” as a character. People should have faith in their superheroes, Snyder said. “The characters have not let us down; these myths have not let us down,” he said.
Also during the interview, Snyder said there are additional elements of the Batman character that could be explored. He said Batman is someone who “f*cks and forgets” and is a drunk, because being a playboy is a way for him to deal with the trauma of losing his parents.
Snyder’s next film is Rebel Moon: The Scargiver in April, followed by an R-rated director’s cut of the first Rebel Moon later in the year.
Fallout TV Show Trailer Reveals The Violent And Scary Nuclear Wasteland
A new trailer for Prime Video’s upcoming Fallout TV series has arrived, and it provides the best look yet at the video game-inspired show from the creators of Westworld.
The show is described as the story of “haves and have-nots in a world in which there’s almost nothing left to have.” The series takes place 200 years after a nuclear apocalypse, with vault-dwellers emerging back into the world. But it’s not the same world of their ancestors, as they emerge into a apocalyptic wasteland that’s “gleefully weird and highly violent.”
Fallout hails from Westworld creators Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan, and it stars Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, Walton Goggins, and Kyle MacLachlan. The series debuts on April 11, and all episodes will be available from the get-go.
It’s Prime Video’s first video game TV series but it won’t be the last. Prime Video is also producing a God of War TV series, though not much is known about it right now.
Beyond TV, Bethesda will eventually release Fallout 5. No one should expect this game anytime soon, though, as the developer is making The Elder Scrolls VI next, and then Fallout 5, so it’ll no doubt be many years until the next Fallout game arrives.
Alan Wake 2 Has Lowered Its Minimum PC Requirements
After Alan Wake 2 launched last year with a demanding set of PC requirements, the team at Remedy Entertainment have put some work into optimizing the title so more computers will be able to run it. The new requirements are in effect now, as of Alan Wake 2’s latest update 1.0.16.1.
Running Alan Wake 2 on minimum settings, which will run the game on the low graphics preset at 1080p and 30fps now only require a Geforce GTX 1070, Radeon RX 5600 XT, or better card. The patch notes for the update note that the lowered GPU requirements come from “optimized rendering for GPUs that don’t support mesh shaders,” meaning the other system requirements remain unchanged. Minimum settings will still require an Intel i5-7600K equivalent CPU and 16GB of RAM.
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The new update has changed only Alan Wake 2’s minimum PC requirements, so any players who want to run ray tracing or higher graphics presets and frame rates likely won’t notice any difference from the update.
We’ve been optimizing the PC version of Alan Wake 2, and as a result the minimum PC system requirements have been lowered. Please check the updated image!
These changes take effect with update 1.0.16.1, out on PC now.
Alan Wake 2 on the Epic Games Store: https://t.co/EorFz62yrp pic.twitter.com/xswqfT7U4Z
— Alan Wake 2 (@alanwake) March 6, 2024
It’s an unusual move for games to have their minimum PC requirements lowered after release, with many instead having requirements raised as updates add content and make the systems more demanding. Disco Elysium is another game that notably lowered its minimum PC requirements with the release of the Working Class update in 2020, the same year as Fortnite opened up to less powerful PCs with the addition of Performance Mode.
