Monthly Archives: May 2016

Outlander Stars React to Major Reveal

Full spoilers for "Outlander" through "Untimely Resurrection" continue below.

Outlander brought together Jamie Fraser and Black Jack Randall for the first time since the escape from Wentworth Prison in Saturday's episode, which was an especially charged sequence for the two characters. It also was especially charged for the two actors playing those characters, who also hadn't seen each other since the events of the Season 1 finale in a way that would allow themselves to heal.

"I hadn’t seen Tobias, I hadn’t dealt with him," said Sam Heughan of the sequence. "I hadn’t seen him at all, and just to be in the gardens and see this bright red coat there, it really brought out a lot of emotion for me."

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What Wakanda Looks Like in the Marvel Comics

It's a Black Panther world, and we're all just living in it.

The Marvel comics character, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, makes his movie debut in Captain America: Civil War. Fans should expect to see more of the superhero soon, as his standalone movie is due in theaters on February 16, 2018.

IGN already delved into the comics history of Black Panther, but what about where he's from? T'Challa, played by Chadwick Boseman, hails from the African nation of Wakanda. In the comics, he is king of Wakanda. It is a technologically advanced land that blends super-science with the traditions of tribal life.

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Civil War’s 5 Biggest WTF Questions Answered

Now that we’ve all seen Marvel’s latest opus, Captain America: Civil War (and if you haven’t seen it, then why are you on this very spoilerific page?), it’s time to talk about some of the biggest questions, surprises, Easter eggs, and WTF moments that went down in the film.

But as we said, full spoilers for Civil War follow…

Short answer: It sure seems like it.

After Tony Stark and Steve Rogers finish beating the heck out of each other during that intense climax, we see Stark back at Avengers headquarters, where the partially paralyzed Rhodey/War Machine is learning how to walk again. The Vision sits, fingering a chess piece as he no doubt ponders the troubling split that has occurred among his teammates (not to mention the fact that Rhodey was injured because of him). And Spider-Man, another member of Team Iron Man, is back in Queens, no doubt ready to jump the next time his new benefactor calls. (Black Widow, meanwhile, seems to be whereabouts unknown…)

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Fear the Walking Dead: New Photos Reveal Alicia in Danger

Last week's episode of Fear the Walking Dead - which was the best chapter the series has given us to date - revealed much of Strand's backstory while the Abigail got raided and Travis and Alicia were nabbed by a group of seafaring scavengers.

In this week's episode, "Captive," Alicia's off on her own, held prisoner by a man named Connor and his loyal zompocalypse pirates. In these 9 photos released by AMC, you'll see Alicia confront the young man who tricked her over the radio - Jack - along with several shots of Chris being intense and mournful.

But where's Travis in all this? What's been done with/to him?

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Slender Man: Screen Gems Developing Movie for Horror Meme

Screen Gems, the studio behind the Resident Evil film franchise, is currently in negotiations to produce a Slender Man feature film.

The horror film will be developed in collaboration with Mythology Entertainment. The character, who originated as an Internet horror meme, is depicted as a tall, thin figure with really long arms and a featureless face.

Screenshot from Slender Man: The Arrival

Slender Man stories usually involve the character stalking—and terrifying—children and teens.

David Birke, who penned the screenplay for horror-thriller 13 Sins, will write the script.

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Battleborn Review

For a game with so many strong personalities, Battleborn somehow lacks a cohesive identity. Every facet from the characters to the progression to the visual presentation feels overloaded with ideas--some good, some bad, some just confusing. Because it throws so much against the wall, the end result is a scattered grabbag of manic gameplay, complex leveling, and cartoony humor. It vacillates wildly between excitement and predictability, innovation and routine, inspiration and incomprehensibility. In short, Battleborn is fun but messy, and while I appreciate its hyper-stimulating approach, parsing the experience underneath can be maddeningly tricky.

The best example of Battleborn's deep-seated identity crisis is its massive 25-character roster. Though technically a first-person shooter, the game's heroes utilize all sorts of preset weapons, abilities, and roles that pull from every influence imaginable. There's a longbow-wielding wood elf, a penguin piloting a mech suit, a cybernetically-enhanced luchador--the list goes on. Impressively, even characters that seem superficially similar inevitably offer something unique that makes their gameplay memorable and enjoyable--be it a particularly powerful super or simply a higher than average movement speed.

This mechanical variety is not only remarkable, it also drives Battleborn's longevity. Where other game's dole out new tools or gear as you progress, Battleborn builds these unlocks into entirely new characters. You'll unlock new heroes steadily and without much conscious effort, so you'll generally have one or two new options by the time you've outgrown your current character. Unfortunately, you might outgrow them more quickly than you'd expect. Testing out a new hero for the first time can feel a bit overwhelming since some abilities' specific requirements and effects aren't super apparent, but as soon as you overcome this initial teething period, each heroes' gameplay loop starts to grow routine.

This is, in part, a symptom of Battleborn's approach to action: its gameplay is fast and frantic, but also light and loose. Forgiving design choices like infinite sprint and ammo, no fall damage, and the ability to reload while sprinting encourage players to move and shoot rather than stop and think. As a result, I found I generally just had to spam the primary attack button, trigger my special abilities whenever possible, and occasionally retreat to let my shields recharge.

This is especially true during the cooperative campaign, which consists of eight loosely connected missions that feel more like Destiny's Strikes than a carefully crafted, narrative-driven story mode. Enemies are, for the most part, brainless and predictable; cutting them down in droves can feel empowering, but it also underscores the repetitive, simplistic nature of the baseline combat. It's also somewhat frustrating that all eight missions repeatedly remix the same three scenarios: defend the asset, escort the robot, and kill the boss.

Thankfully, you can read all about your character's abilities before diving in. It's a bit tedious but definitely helpful.

Thanks to the variety of the characters and frenetic energy of the combat, however, Battleborn can still end up being a blast. Sure, the moment to moment gameplay feels superficial, but when your five-man squad is getting absolutely swarmed and you've already sunk 45 minutes into a mission and you've run out of respawns, the tension and chaos combine to form a powerful engine of fun. Plus, as you get deeper into the campaign, a discernable difficulty arc emerges and helps give the whole affair some much needed momentum. A word of warning, though: if you're playing alone, you won't have much fun. Without other players, combat becomes a slog and certain objectives become nearly impossible. But hey, at least there's split-screen co-op and streamlined matchmaking.

Outside of the eight campaign missions, Battleborn offers three competitive multiplayer modes, and here the gameplay develops a slightly more strategic sheen. Unlike the mindless fodder you fight in the campaign, multiplayer pits heroes against heroes, which forces you to approach combat more thoughtfully. If you're playing a melee character, for example, charging directly at your opponents is suddenly way more dangerous, so you're forced to seek advantageous positions and strike judiciously. Healers and support characters also become more crucial; team composition can occasionally turn a match's outcome into a forgone conclusion, so choose wisely or suffer humiliation.

The modes themselves add an extra layer of strategy as well. Meltdown, for example, requires both teams to guide minions to designated grinders. The more robots reach the grinder, the more points that team scores. This and the somewhat similar Incursion mode borrow MOBA elements to create setups that emphasize objectives over kills. In practice, this equates to action that's less chaotic but far more involving than anything in the campaign, and the combination of distinct characters and MOBA-inspired objectives makes Battleborn's multiplayer feel genuinely fresh.

For some reason, the characters you're introduced to first are also the characters you unlock last, which feels...odd.

This component is by no means flawless, however. The added strategic depth helps but doesn't eliminate the simplicity of the core gameplay, but more importantly, there's not quite enough content to make Battleborn feel totally substantial. The three modes offer just two maps apiece, and while that's not unusual for a MOBA, it's awfully light for a shooter--especially one with a relatively short, unadorned campaign. The game's also missing certain amenities like killcams, and for some reason, you can't simply vote on a new map when a match concludes. Your team is automatically dissolved and you're booted to the home screen every time, which is especially troubling given the game's team-based nature.

There's also an issue with Battleborn's in-match leveling system. The game features several forms of experience and progression--including individual character leveling, unlockable gear, and an overall "Command" rank--but the most impactful system is the on-the-fly leveling that occurs within each mission and match (another concept swiped from MOBAs). In essence, every character has a unique 10-tier skill tree. Each tier contains two mutually exclusive upgrades. As players earn XP while playing, they'll gradually work their up the tree until one skill at each tier is unlocked. At the end of the match or mission, the tree resets.

In the campaign, this system works remarkably well. I never felt hindered starting at zero, but I was always glad to have all my fully leveled abilities back by the end. Many of those upgrades only marginally improve the effectiveness of an existing ability, but others tangibly impact the character's playstyle, and all of them lend a sense of escalation to every mission. In the competitive multiplayer, however, this system can unfairly stack the odds against players who actually need the most help. The better you play, the faster you're able to progress through the leveling tree, which of course makes you even more powerful. This generally isn't an issue in close matches, but when a round starts to get away from you, it can snowball into a lopsided thrashing that gets less and less fun for the losing side.

While it may not be as important as the progression system or multiplayer modes, it's worth noting that Battleborn's writing is, by and large, excellent. The humor can occasionally produce forced, cringeworthy lines, but far more often, it's goofy, witty, and endearing, with a distinct voice that should be immediately recognizable for Borderlands fans. It won't appeal to everyone's tastes, but anyone can appreciate the deep well of one-liners that flavor both the campaign and, surprisingly, the competitive multiplayer. And while there isn't much of a narrative to speak of, the stylized cinematics that bookend the campaign are pretty spectacular.

Battleborn's strong Saturday morning cartoon vibes might actually be the game's single most defining aspect. Outside of that consistent, permeating voice, the game feels like an elaborate patchwork of ideas that compete for attention without necessarily adding much to the experience. The combat is frantic and tense, but often feels samey and superficial. The in-match leveling works wonderfully in the campaign, but can become problematic in multiplayer. The varied cast of heroes adds longevity, but the game still feels relatively content light. With so many moving parts that never quite gel, I found plenty of things to love but just as much to feel confused by and ambivalent about.

NVC: E3 Woes and Saddling up with Pocket Card Jockey

Download Nintendo Voice Chat Here

Brian struts his stuff in Wave Race. Art by Pandamusk. Brian struts his stuff in Wave Race. Art by Pandamusk.

Persona super fan Andrew Goldfarb joins the cast of Nintendo Voice Chat this week to talk about Tokyo Mirage Sessions, and why it might be the perfect game to keep you busy until Persona 5 comes out on PS4 later this year. Mr. Goldfarb also weighs in with host Jose Otero and Peer Schneider on the recent news that Nintendo will kick off E3 2016 with a Treehouse Live stream of the next Legend of Zelda. After the break, Jose and Peer go gaga for Pocket Card Jockey and answer your questions on the Question Block.

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Scarlett Witch vs Black Widow Civil War Cosplay

Belikov is an Australian cosplayer who's on both sides of Captain America's Civil War, with her Black Widow and Scarlett Witch cosplays.

Belikov told IGN, "Getting to build a costume of one of your favourite characters, then eventually getting to wear said costume is something that is hard to put into words. In the last three years I've learnt some incredible skills."

"I've gone from not knowing how to sew anything, to being able to heavily modify patterns to create what I need."

Click right to check out pictures of both costumes:

The photographers featured are Rebecca Burton PhotographySenergy Photography and Lorenzo So Photography.

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Sharon Stone Says She Has a Role in a Marvel Movie

Oscar nominee Sharon Stone (Casino, Total Recall, Sphere) claims she's going to be in a Marvel movie.

Stone -- whose previous comic book movie was as the villain of 2004's reviled flop Catwoman -- appeared on The Late Late Show With James Corden on Thursday during which time she revealed, "I am going to do a Marvel movie."

"I'm just doing a wee part in a Marvel movie, upcoming, and I can't tell, because you know, you have to sign confidentiality agreements. But I'm going to do a wee part in a Marvel movie now. That's it," said Stone (via WBT).

Sharon Stone oppposite Halle Berry in Catwoman. Sharon Stone oppposite Halle Berry in Catwoman.

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