A dedicated fan is creating a remaster mod for The Simpsons: Hit & Run – while also hand-drawing every cutscene for the game in the classic Simpsons style.
El Gato Del Tejado on YouTube uploaded a video showing their progress so far, which includes the complications that occur when remastering a near-two decade old game by yourself. One of these issues occurred as El Gato Del Tejado began work on Hit & Run's cutscenes, which are depicted in 3D in the original 2003 version.
"I would love to see the cutscenes of Hit & Run with current 3D technology like [the] Crash Bandicoot remake or Battle for Bikini Bottom," they said in the video. "I don't have much experience in 3D animation, so better to choose 2D."
El Gato Del Tejado explained that they tried using rotoscoping – where animators trace over footage frame by frame – but this only really worked for the backgrounds and not for the actual characters. The only alternative was to draw these by hand, and several pages of research of Simpsons creator Matt Groening's work was shown before the final result. Instead of being in 3D like the original game, the remaster mod will therefore have a cutscene style more akin to the Simpsons cartoon.
However, outside of cutscenes, El Gato Del Tejado is updating the original 3D look of the game. A previous video showed the modder's work recreating dozens of textures, and updating the Homer Simpson model to offer a more modern look at the character. It's clearly not going to be a quick process, with El Gato Del Tejado readily admitting the issues they've run into (including how Bart's nose disappeared in the new style and how Lisa turned into a monster), but the work so far is pretty astonishing.
El Gato Del Tejado hasn't offered a timescale for how long the work might take, but has opened a Patreon to help fund the project.
It's not the first remake of The Simpsons: Hit & Run, however, as several other modders have tried to recreate the beloved open world game.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
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As reported by PC Gamer, VRChat announced it would soon introduce Easy Anti-Cheat – a common PC counter-hacking and cheating service used in games including Elden Ring, Fortnite, and more. It's being introduced because, according to the developers, "malicious modified clients allow users to attack and harass others, causing a huge amount of moderation issues".
There were other reasons listed too, with developer VRChat Inc. saying that "even seemingly non-malicious modifications complicate the support and development of VRChat, and make it impossible for VRChat creators to work within the expected, documented bounds of VRChat."
A compilation of reactions to VRChat adding Easy Anti Cheat (to ban mods)
A passionate member of my discord put this together and I thought it was a great way to archive the moment (with their permission) pic.twitter.com/A4jJaIqdWI
Some mods add major features to VRChat and are otherwise a huge part of its appeal for the community. For some, those mods' features are more vital, such as adding closed captions for deaf and hard-of-hearing, which will be removed as a result of the anti-cheat implementation.
As you might expect, the announcement has sent the community into an uproar, with Twitter, Discord, and other social platforms exploding with complaints in response to the blog post. The game's Steam page shot from showing mostly positive reviews to overwhelmingly negative as a result of the announcement, as users with hundreds of hours of playtime slammed the developers behind the game they love.
User FrostClaw wrote: "Horrible devs. Entirely disconnected from the community and what they want." Another, Zullfix, wrote that Easy Anti-Cheat will "lower framerates, increase instability, stop 'wholesome' mods, accessibility modes, and quality of life mods" among other things.
@VRChat "VRC-CC" is a mod that adds closed captions to movie worlds so deaf/HH people can watch movies with their friends. VRChat is killing that today by banning all mods. They've done absolutely nothing to address serious accessibility gaps on their platform. Please RT pic.twitter.com/DuJSUJCb4n
VRChat Inc. has issued a response to the community, updating its initial blog post to say that it has heard and understood the complaints but it will not cancel the implementation of Easy Anti-Cheat.
"However, we hear you and see you saying that many of the modified client features that are being lost due to this are extremely important to you, or in some cases allow you to use VRChat at all, when in regards to modifications that added accessibility features that VRChat currently lacks," it said.
"Addressing these concerns and feedback is our highest priority. We are changing our internal development roadmap and priorities to focus on the features and additions that you want. Currently ongoing projects are being paused, rescheduled, or re-prioritized, and resources are being re-allocated to account for this change."
The first changes being made pertain to accessibility issues such as the removal of closed captions, with VRChat Inc. saying it is fast-tracking several similar features through production. It promised that more information will follow soon, and that these initial updates will be first of many, also thanking fans for their patience as they work through the list of concerns.
Whether fans will show that patience remains to be seen.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
As the heading no doubt already explained, Meta has announced it will be jacking up the RRP on VR. If you've been umming and ahing over a purchase, now's the time to pull the trigger (on a Touch controller…that you just bought). Another deal worth noting: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is going for pitful amounts. Why is that important? Because the remake has been put on hiatus indefinitely. So many of you need to play this game before you become a Force ghost.
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Adam Mathew is our Aussie deals wrangler. He's@grizwords and games onYouTube.
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2023 is going to be another busy year for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Among the many new movies and Disney+ shows in the pipeline, Secret Invasion is poised to shine a light on Nick Fury's mysterious corner of the MCU. Samuel L. Jackson's hero is finally taking center stage as Nick Fury fights to stop an alien invasion happening in plain sight.
Secret Invasion was one of many upcoming MCU projects teased at Comic-Con 2022, where a Spring 2023 release date was confirmed. Unfortunately, the trailer from that panel isn't being released online, but it did confirm that Don Cheadle's War Machine and Martin Freeman's Everett K. Ross will appear in the series.
What is Secret Invasion exactly, and how is this series drawing from the Marvel Comics crossover? We're going to break down everything you need to know to prepare for Nick Fury's most important mission. These are the topics we cover here:
What Is Secret Invasion?
Nick Fury and Secret Invasion in the Comics
Secret Invasion's Impact on the Marvel Universe
How Will Secret Invasion Be Adapted for the MCU?
Will Secret Invasion Reboot the Secret Warriors?
What Is Secret Invasion?
Secret Invasion is a 2008 comic book crossover centered around a Skrull invasion of Earth. But as the title suggests, humanity isn't even aware of this invasion until it's too late. As readers learned in the long buildup to Secret Invasion, the shape-shifting Skrulls have spent years kidnapping and replacing powerful heroes and politicians, all to help pave the way for a global takeover. With their own world having been destroyed by Galactus, the Skrulls see Earth as their rightful new home.
When that takeover finally happens, Earth's heroes are ill-prepared to fight back. SHIELD is immediately taken down and the Avengers are left scrambling to figure out who among them is human and who is a Skrull impostor.
Eventually, the Avengers (and more than a few villains) are able to repel the Skrull invasion, but not without a heavy cost. Much like Civil War before it, the fallout of Secret Invasion wound up shaping the course of the Marvel Universe for years to come.
The shape-shifting Skrulls have spent years kidnapping and replacing powerful heroes and politicians, all to help pave the way for a global takeover.
Nick Fury and Secret Invasion in the Comics
Nick Fury may only have one good eye, but he alone sees the Skrull invasion coming and is in a position to do something about it. Secret Invasion pays off on an ongoing Nick Fury storyline that began back in 2004's Secret War (not to be confused with the 1984 crossover Secret Wars and its accompanying toy line). Secret War shows Fury enlisting a group of heroes on a clandestine and completely unsanctioned mission in Latveria. When Fury's actions are exposed, he loses his command of SHIELD and goes underground. That paves the way for Iron Man to become Director of SHIELD in 2006's Civil War.
Fury spends months preparing and watching devastating conflicts like Civil War and World War Hulk play out in the Marvel Universe. He assembles a new team of teenage metahumans known as "Caterpillars" – super-powered children of known heroes and villains who aren't on the radar of the Avengers or the U.S. government. That lineup includes Phobos, son of the Greek god Ares, the speedster Yo-Yo Rodriguez and Fury's righthand woman Daisy "Quake" Johnson.
When the Skrulls finally launch their invasion, Fury and his newly minted Secret Warriors are ready to fight back. They prove instrumental in repelling the Skrulls and eventually regaining control of the planet. Although as far as the general public is concerned, Nick Fury was never even there.
Secret Invasion's Impact on the Marvel Universe
Secret Invasion introduces some major plot twists as popular heroes are revealed to be Skrull impostors. For example, the Avengers only become aware of the impending invasion after Echo kills Elektra and Elektra's body reverts to Skrull form. The Avengers are then betrayed when "Spider-Woman" reveals herself to be the Skrull Queen Veranke.
However, Secret Invasion's real importance is in how it sets the stage for the next several years of Marvel storylines. Secret Invasion is immediately followed by Dark Reign, an extended story in which Norman Osborn (who happily hogs most of the glory for repelling the Skrulls) takes control of SHIELD and transforms it into a more militaristic agency called HAMMER. Osborn also forms his own Dark Avengers, a team where villains like Bullseye, Venom, Moonstone and Osborn himself masquerade as heroes. In this bleak new reality, the bad guys are in charge and the real heroes have become fugitives from the law.
Even though Osborn and his Dark Avengers are eventually discredited, the effects of Secret Invasion are felt in the Marvel Universe for a long time. This conflict represents one of the Avengers' greatest failures, even if it also happens to be exactly the challenge Nick Fury was born to confront.
How Will Secret Invasion Be Adapted for the MCU?
When it comes to Nick Fury himself, the state of the MCU is very reminiscent of the buildup to Secret Invasion in the comics. Once again, Fury is at a point in his life where he's left SHIELD behind and is quietly pursuing his own agenda. Thanks to the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, SHIELD has been officially dismantled and most of the world believes Fury is dead.
It stands to reason that the Secret Invasion TV series will follow the same basic premise as the comic, with Fury coming out of the shadows to deal with a clandestine alien invasion. The series sees Samuel L. Jackson and Cobie Smulders once again reprising their roles as Fury and Maria Hill, respectively, while Ben Mendelsohn's Talos also plays a key role in the series. Zachary Quinto is also rumored to be making an appearance. Other returning MCU favorites include Don Cheadle as War Machine and Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross.
That being said, fans shouldn't necessarily expect a close adaptation of the comic. We don't even know for sure the Skrulls are the ones invading Earth this time. Don't forget that 2019's Captain Marvel revealed Fury has been working alongside Talos and other Skrulls since the '90s. The post-credits scene in Spider-Man: Far From Home hints at Fury's ambitious plans, which may involve spearheading SHIELD's space-focused sister agency SWORD.
The Skrulls have thus far been painted in a much more heroic light in the MCU, whereas their longtime rivals the Kree are the imperialistic aggressors. Given that some Kree can pass for human (such as Annette Bening's Mar-Vell and Jude Law's Yon-Rogg), they may be the ones infiltrating Earth's governments. Or perhaps Fury and Talos are working against a rival faction of Skrulls who have a less favorable opinion of Earth.
It was revealed at Comic-Con 2022 that Secret Invasion will debut in early 2023 with a six-episodes season as part of Marvel's Phase 5.
Secret Invasion Cast
The full cast of Secret Invasion has yet to be revealed, but we know the following actors will appear in the Disney+ series:
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
Ben Mendelsohn as Talos
Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill
Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross
Don Cheadle as James "Rhodey" Rhodes
Kingsley Ben-Adir
Olivia Colman
Emilia Clarke
Killian Scott
Christopher McDonald
Carmen Ejogo
Dermot Mulroney
Will Secret Invasion Reboot the Secret Warriors?
Many Marvel fans are wondering what role, if any, Fury's Secret Warriors team will play in the Secret Invasion series. That question is complicated by the fact that we've already seen a version of this team in an MCU-adjacent series.
The Secret Warriors factor heavily into Agents of SHIELD: Season 3, and Chloe Bennett's Daisy Johnson (nicknamed "Skye" in the series) is a main character throughout the show's seven seasons. However, Agents of SHIELD became increasingly disconnected from the larger MCU over time, and Marvel Studios' film and streaming projects still have yet to openly acknowledge the events of the series. As far as the Avengers are concerned, Clark Gregg's Agent Coulson has been dead since 2012.
There's also the fact that Skye doesn't have a close relationship with Fury in the MCU. Agents of SHIELD instead positions the resurrected Coulson as her mentor/father figure. That, coupled with Bennett's denial that she'll be appearing in Secret Invasion, has led some fans to assume the Secret Warriors will be rebooted in the MCU proper. Still, with Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock and Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk both making the jump to the main MCU, there's always a chance the cast of Agents of SHIELD will return.
Note: This story was originally published in February 2022 and updated on July 26, 2022 with the latest info about Secret Invasion.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
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The MCU is in a bit of a weird place lately. The Avengers as we knew them are basically gone following the events of Avengers: Endgame, and Marvel is still building towards the debut of iconic teams like the Fantastic Four and X-Men. This world needs protecting, and that responsibility might just fall on the shoulders of the Thunderbolts. But why are the worst villains on the planet suddenly fighting to save it?
With the recent news that Paper Towns' Jake Schreier has been tapped to direct a top-secret Thunderbolts movie, as well as Kevin Feige confirming that Thunderbolts will mark the end of the MCU's Phase 5, it's a good time to brush up on this history of the team in Marvel's comics and why they could be a major game-changer in the MCU. These are the topic we cover here:
There have been many incarnations of the Thunderbolts over the past 25 years. There's only one common thread linking every version of the team – they're villains masquerading as heroes to further their own agenda. But though the various leaders of the Thunderbolts often have their own agendas, the team has a surprising habit of becoming a force for good. In the act of pretending to be heroes, the Thunderbolts often find themselves genuinely becoming heroes in the process.
Still, even at their most heroic, the Thunderbolts are more extreme and brutal in their methods than most superhero teams. The Thunderbolts' mission is best summed up by their slogan of choice – "Justice, like lightning."
In the act of pretending to be heroes, the Thunderbolts often find themselves genuinely becoming heroes in the process.
The Thunderbolts: The Origin of the Original Team
The Thunderbolts were originally created by writer Kurt Busiek and artist Mark Bagley. Following an early teaser appearance in the pages of Incredible Hulk, the team made their proper debut in the first issue of The Thunderbolts in 1997.
Led by a mysterious, patriotic hero named Citizen V, the Thunderbolts make their debut in the aftermath of a devastating conflict with Onslaught. In this period, the Avengers and Fantastic Four have vanished (the premise behind Marvel's short-lived Heroes Reborn initiative), leaving a power vacuum the Thunderbolts are only too eager to fill.
However, despite presenting themselves as worthy successors to the Avengers, the Thunderbolts are hiding a dark secret that's revealed at the end of The Thunderbolts #1. They're all villains in disguise. Citizen V is actually Captain America's nemesis Baron Zemo. Many of Zemo's teammates are former Masters of Evil members using new costumed identities. Even 25 years later, that twist ending is widely regarded as one of the most memorable moments in Marvel Comics' history.
But though Zemo forms the team in order to win the public's trust and gather secrets about the superhero community that he can sell to the criminal underworld, the Thunderbolts find themselves warming to the idea of being superheroes. That shift continues even as the Thunderbolts are discredited following the return of the Avengers and Fantastic Four. By the time the team finally dissolves, even Zemo himself begins to flirt with the idea of redemption.
The Many Incarnations of the Thunderbolts
Though Zemo's version of the Thunderbolts disbands following the events of Marvel's 2006 Civil War crossover, that crossover also paves the way for a brand new incarnation of the team. After the victorious Tony Stark becomes director of SHIELD, Norman Osborn is tasked with leading a new version of the Thunderbolts comprised of incarcerated supervillains like Venom, Bullseye, Penance and Thunderbolts veterans Songbird and Moonstone.
That team is similar to DC's Suicide Squad in that it's a government-sanctioned black ops unit charged with hunting down heroes who violate the Superhuman Registration Act. Also like the Suicide Squad, the Thunderbolts are kept under strict surveillance and fitted with remote-controlled devices to prevent them from defying orders.
Against all odds, Osborn's team succeeds and even become international heroes thanks to their role in repelling a Skrull invasion (learn more about the MCU's version of that story here). Osborn usurps Stark's position at SHIELD and transforms it into HAMMER. Many of his Thunderbolts graduate to the "Dark Avengers," a team where these villains usurp the names and costumes of heroes like Spider-Man, Hawkeye and Wolverine. Even Osborn steals Stark's tech and rebrands himself "Iron Patriot," though the Green Goblin side of his personality doesn't stay buried for long.
Osborn forms another new version of the Thunderbolts during this period, one that can carry out the missions too dirty for his public-facing team of Avengers. However, both teams implode after Osborn's true nature is finally exposed in 2010's Siege.
Since then, the Thunderbolts have undergone a number of evolutions and transformations. Luke Cage briefly lead the team as a more law-abiding alternative to the Osborn era. General Thunderbolt Ross, in his guise as Red Hulk, assembled a squad of skilled assassins that included Punisher, Venom, and Elektra. The Winter Soldier formed his own Thunderbolts that included many veterans of the original team. And most recently, Wilson Fisk spearheaded multiple versions of the Thunderbolts during his tenure as mayor of New York City.
The Thunderbolts Marvel Movie
Following a handful of appearances in animated projects like Ultimate Spider-Man and Avengers: Ultron Revolution, the Thunderbolts are making their live-action debut in an upcoming MCU movie. According to reports, Paper Towns' Jake Schreier has signed on to direct the film, with Eric Pearson (Black Widow) penning the screenplay.
Beyond that, very little is known about this secretive project, apart from its July 2024 release date. We don't even know which specific version of the comic book team is being adapted for the MCU. As with so many past MCU projects, it's likely the Thunderbolts movie is drawing inspiration from several different incarnations.
It does seem safe to assume Daniel Brühl's Baron Zemo will be involved. Zemo has already been portrayed in a more sympathetic light in 2016's Captain America: Civil War and 2021's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and the Thunderbolts movie may see him continue to seek redemption for his past by spearheading a team of would-be heroes.
It's also very likely that Julia Louis Dreyfus' Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine is a major character in the movie. We've seen Contessa appear in several Phase 4 adventures already, recruiting characters like Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova and Wyatt Russell's John Walker to her mysterious cause. Contessa may be responsible for forming the Thunderbolts in response to the dissolution of the Avengers, hence why she wants a Black Widow and a Captain America of her own. But given the character's often treacherous nature in the comics, it's hard to say which side Contessa is truly on.
2021's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings may have been setting up the Thunderbolts movie, too. Tim Roth's Abomination is briefly seen taking part in a superhuman fight club before being escorted home by Benedict Wong's Wong. This former Hulk villain is seemingly being rehabilitated, which could pave the way for his involvement with the Thunderbolts. Perhaps we'll learn more when the character returns in the upcoming She-Hulk series.
Finally, there's a possibility the team is somehow connected to William Hurt's General Thunderbolt Ross, hearkening back to Marvel's 2012 Thunderbolts series. Sadly, Hurt's recent passing means Ross himself probably won't be appearing in the movie, but who knows — maybe we'll learn the team is named in his honor.
In short, the MCU Thunderbolts are shaping up to be a fusion of several versions of the comic book team. As with the original incarnation, Baron Zemo is likely a major player in this story. As with the post-Civil War version, the team is probably a government-sanctioned alternative to the Avengers, rather than simply being a group of disguised villains. The real question is how heroes like Spider-Man, Doctor Strange and Thor will react to seeing this new team arrive on the scene.
Thunderbolts Release Date
It was announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2022 that Marvel's Thunderbolts will conclude Phase 5 of the MCU when it is released on July 26, 2024.
Thunderbolts Cast
We don't know who will be in Thunderbolts yet, but we can take some guesses. As noted above, these characters all seem like good candidates to join the MCU version of the team: Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Baron Zemo (Daniel Brühl), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), and Abomination (Tim Roth).
What MCU characters do you want to see join the Thunderbolts? Vote in our poll and sound off in the comments! And be sure to check out all the new Marvel movies in 2022 and beyond.
Note: This article was originally published on June 16, 2022 and updated on July 26, 2022 with the latest news about Thunderbolts.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
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