A developer has created a very smart mod that turns Crusader Kings 3 and Mount & Blade 2 into a single game, allowing players to strategize in the former and battle inside the latter.

For as much as Crusader Kings 3 does an impressive job at simulating the complex political and social structures of medieval rule, one particular element that it lacks is a battle simulator that allows players to jump into the action and see their forces battle it out in real-time.

Now, however, a developer has created Crusader Blade – a new mod that remedies that exact problem. Taking your armies from Crusader Kings 3, the Crusader Blade mod then uses the battle engine from Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord to allow you to fight against your enemies at ground level before sending the data back to Crusader Kings 3 to update your campaign.

The mod even accounts for scaling issues and factors in the size and scope of battles that each game can run. As it doesn't have to render conflict in real-time, battles in Crusader Kings 3 can sometimes be fought between tens of thousands of troops on the battlefield at once – a factor that Mount & Blade 2 can't quite manage.

Thankfully, the mod takes this into account. Taking a proportional approach to unit representation as it brings data from Crusader Kings 3 to Mount & Blade 2, the mod looks at both the size and composition of the armies set to go into battle and maintains this as it scales the forces down to a size that Mount and Blade can render on screen. Then when the battle is over, the mod applies a similar logic to sending that data back to Crusader Kings 3 – scaling up your losses so that they make sense in your campaign going forward.

If you're hoping to get a hold of the mod itself then you can do so by downloading it from Crusader Blade's itch.io page. While the mod has launched, its developers plan to keep it updated over time, supported by a Patreon. In order to run the mod, you will of course need to own both Crusader Kings 3 and Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord.

To learn more about both games, check out our 10/10 Crusader Kings 3 review, and our look at Mount & Blade 2's early access version, which we awarded an 8/10.

Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

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Note: this is a spoiler-free advance review of Animaniacs: Season 2, which premieres on Hulu on Friday, Nov. 5. As with Season 1, Hulu made five of the 13 new episodes available to critics ahead of time. Because the series doesn't have much in the way of an ongoing plot or continuity, we once again figured it's safe to render judgment on the new season based on those episodes.

With '90s nostalgia in full swing these days, it's sure been nice seeing the Warner siblings given a second lease on life. Season 2 of Hulu's Animaniacs "reboot-y" is every bit as goofy and entertaining as the first, even if this second batch of 13 episodes does very little to shake up the established formula.

You surely know the drill by now. The series revolves mostly around the slapstick antics of Yakko (Rob Paulsen), Wakko (Jess Harnell), and Dot (Tress MacNeille) as they continuously escape the confines of the Warner Bros. water tower and run amok across the pop culture landscape. Nothing about that formula really changes in Season 2, though the writers and animators tend to be more eclectic this time in terms of setting and time period. Case in point — the season premiere features a lengthy segment set in ancient Rome that casts Emperor Nero as a long-winded, populist buffoon.

In case you were wondering, yes, there's still a fair amount of political humor targeted at the previous presidential administration. That said, the series does succeed in casting a slightly wider net this time and not relying too much on political jokes that became outdated sometime between the scripting and animating phases. If there's any sort of through-line at all in this very plot-light series, it's that the Warners are both fascinated with and mystified by 21st Century social media. That's what winds up driving many of the show's storylines.

Season 2 further cements the fact that Yakko, Wakko, and Dot have lost none of their edge over the past few decades. If anything, they have a bit more bite now than they did back in 1994. The tone may be lighthearted and silly, but the writers have mostly abandoned any pretense of Animaniacs being a show aimed at children. Whether it's lengthy musical numbers patterned after Gilbert & Sullivan plays or jokes that veer into surprisingly dark territory, the new Animaniacs can be surprisingly edgy at times. Thankfully, these more adult-oriented moments never feel out of place, and the experienced, talented voice cast certainly help in that regard.

By now, the new series has established a very clear formula. Every episode features one Animaniacs segment, one Pinky and the Brain segment and one shorter segment to wrap things up. As in Season 1, there's little effort made to introduce new characters and break up that pattern. In the five episodes Hulu screened, there's only one segment that doesn't fall into either of those two categories.

It's hard to say whether this more rigid format is the right approach or not. On one hand, it's tough to describe the new Animaniacs as a "variety series" when it's really just a pairing of two elements. On the other, none of the ancillary characters and skits from the original series really measured up to the Warner siblings or Pinky and the Brain. It's hard to argue the new series actually suffers because of a lack of Goodfeathers or Buttons and Mindy skits.

All the same, there is a distinct lack of variety to the current format, one that becomes more evident the longer this show goes on. Perhaps what Animaniacs needs isn't more side characters, but a more coherent, serialized storyline. Why not, if the target audience has skewed much older? Occasionally the scripts will include callbacks to old jokes, but this is hardly a series that pays much heed to continuity.

Maybe that should change in the upcoming Season 3. It would be a refreshing change of pace to see Animaniacs storylines that stretch out for a full half hour or even continue from one episode to the next. It's clear from some of the more risque jokes in Season 2 that the writers are being given carte blanche. So why not take full advantage of that freedom?

A solo Donkey Kong movie is reportedly in the works, with Seth Rogen set to reprise his upcoming role as the iconic Nintendo character.

According to Giant Freakin Robot, Donkey Kong will be the next Nintendo character heading to the big screen following the upcoming Super Mario Bros. movie.

Seth Rogen has already been confirmed to voice Donkey Kong as a side character in the upcoming Super Mario Bros. movie, so it’s not a huge leap to see Rogen head up his own solo project.

GFR claims that the upcoming Donkey Kong solo movie is currently in development at Illumination – the studio that has previously brought Despicable Me and the Minions to the big screen. The company is also working on the Super Mario Bros. movie starring Chris Pratt as everyone’s favourite Italian plumber.

While very much an early report, the folks at Giant Freakin Robot have a good track record breaking exclusive movie news over the last couple of years – confirming that Ryan Gosling had been cast in the upcoming Barbie movie, among other stories. It's also worth pointing out that movies can be in development before being subsequently cancelled, so this isn't an assurance than the movie will arrive.

The very much confirmed Super Mario Bros. movie will star Chris Pratt as Mario, with Charlie Day in the role of Luigi. They’re joined by Anya Taylor-Joy as Peach, Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, and Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong.

Additionally, Kevin Michael Richardson will voice Kamek, Fred Armisen will voice Cranky Kong, and Sebastian Maniscalco will voice Foreman Spike, while long-time Mario voice artist Charles Martinet will have a number of featured cameos in the movie.

Although Seth Rogen has been highlighted to star in the new Donkey Kong movie, it’s unclear whether any of his Super Mario Bros. co-stars will be joining him.

While the Super Mario Bros. movie was originally announced back in 2018, nothing has been heard about a solo Donkey Kong movie until now.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

The Nintendo Switch N64 controller released in conjunction with the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership will seemingly remain sold out until 2022 in the US.

After selling out quickly following release late last month, the US Nintendo Store now displays a notice saying, "More controllers will be available in 2022." It's not clear if that applies worldwide – while also sold out in the UK, that regional store doesn't include the same notice.

It's more of a problem than you might expect – the difference in layout between the N64 controller and Joy-Cons means that some N64 games released on Switch have seen unusual button mapping, which can't currently be remapped. In essence, players may find it hard to play the games they're subscribing for without the appropriate controller.

We've contacted Nintendo for comment on the controller shortages.

N64 games were added to Nintendo Switch as part of the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership, which adds the benefits of the original Nintendo Switch Online service as well as N64 and Sega Genesis Games, as well the Animal Crossing: New Horizons Happy Home Paradise DLC – albeit at a $30 price increase per year.

The Expansion Pack, particularly its price and problems with the games upon release, have made it a controversial addition by Nintendo. Our own Nintendo Voice Chat podcast said that its N64 emulation leaves a lot to be desired.

Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].