Monthly Archives: September 2016
Stardew Valley Getting Huge Update Next Week
A big update for Stardew Valley, the farming simulator and country life RPG from ConcernedApe and Chucklefish Games, is planned for Monday, October 3. You can find instructions for participating in the beta on the Stardew Valley forums.
One of the biggest updates is the addition of four new starter farm maps, available on the character creation screen. Each map caters to specific skills sets: the Riverland Farm has plenty of fishing spots, the Forest Farm comes with more foraging areas and a special mixed seed-dropping weed, Hill-top Farm has mineral deposits for mining enthusiasts, and Wilderness Farm spawns Bats and Golems at night. The standard Stardew Valley farm map still exists.
Battleborn Reportedly Will Become Free to Play
Update: Gearbox head Randy Pitchford has responded to the rumor on Twitter, saying "There are no plans to convert Battleborn free to play."
"We have some unannounced plans to do a trial version of the game that would be free and from which retail can be purchased along with DLC," Pitchford said in a followup tweet, then added, "Free trial plans are not firm yet - months away. Expect great continued support and awesome line up of DLC."
The Flash, Arrow, and Supergirl Team Up in New Promo
The Flash and Arrow have decided it's time to introduce Supergirl to their fight club.
The CW has released a new ad featuring the DC superheroes, along with the Legends of Tomorrow. But instead of fighting each other to blow off steam, this time it's more of team-up training session, at least in the clip below.
The full, new Fight Club 2.0 promo is only currently available to watch on The CW's new app, which will also allow users to watch a number of episodes the network's shows for free.
Now to be clear, none of this footage is from the upcoming DC Comics four-show crossover. Though we did just learn that the Dominators will serve as the villains for the superheroes.
Ranking the Dexter Seasons From Worst to Best
Warning: Full spoilers for Dexter below.
This week marks the 10th anniversary of Dexter, which made its debut on Showtime on October 1st, 2006, and to mark the occasion, we're once more looking back at the entirety of the series to reflect upon the good times and the bad.
Plenty of fans still feel stung by how the show ended, but it's worth remembering that when Dexter was good, it was great. And when it tightened the vice, the pressure could be devastating. Let's not forget that there was a time when we were all telling our friends, "You have to see this show! It's totally awesome and twisted!"
So let's put it all on record. Which seasons sizzled? Which sank like an anchor? And at what point did Dexter's "ingenuity and originality" turn into "textbook Dexter blunder?" Here are all eight seasons of Dexter, ranked from worst to best...
Daily Deals: PS Plus, Quantum Break, Xbox One With Two Free Games
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Get PS Plus for $50 While It Lasts
Amazon is currently offering PS Plus for $50 again. In case you missed the news, the price of PS Plus went up to $60 last week, so you should really snag a year (or two) at the old price, because why pay more?
Johnny Depp, Judi Dench Join Murder on the Orient Express
Update: In addition to Depp, Variety reports that Daisy Ridley and Judi Dench, as well as Michelle Pfeiffer and Michael Pena have all signed on to star in Murder on the Orient Express.
Additionally, the outlet confirms that Leslie Odom Jr., Tom Bateman, Derek Jacobi and Lucy Boynton have also joined the project, which will begin production in November.
It looks like Johnny Depp may soon join the upcoming film adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express, as the actor is reportedly in talks to star alongside director Kenneth Branagh.
Son of Zorn Is Serious About Its Animated Land, Zephyria
Son of Zorn might be largely set in Orange County, but it establishes a decidedly more fantastical world from the get-go in its pilot. The show's titular barbarian hails from the land of Zephyria, an island animated nation which, according to executive producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller, exists "under the 'A' in the Pacific Ocean."
Zephryia is a realm straight out of '80s action cartoons, comparable to He-Man's Eternia, and much of the fun of Son of Zorn is seeing those fantastical elements meld with our own more mundane world. The second episode of the show sees Zorn using the Stone of Sight to help his son Alangulon get the girl he's been pining after, though the episode is also loaded plenty of nods to other Zephryian secrets waiting to be discovered.
Ash vs Evil Dead Peels Back the Layers on Its Leading Man
You might think that after three feature films, a handful of comics and video games and one season of a TV show that you know everything there is to know about Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell). But Season 2 of Ash vs Evil Dead is out to prove you don't know nothin' yet.
When Season 2 picks up in its October 2nd premiere, Ash has finally accomplished his life-long dream: going to Jacksonville. But evil doesn't stay tamed for long, and he soon finds himself and his partners, Kelly (Dana DeLorenzo) and Pablo (Ray Santiago), heading to his home town of Elk Grove, Mich. to find some answers.
There audiences will meet some new faces: Ash's father, played by Lee Majors, and Ash's childhood best friend Chet, played by Ted Raimi. Meeting these two will shine a light back on Ash vs Evil Dead's titular hero, particularly when people get a sense of the man his father is.
Villain Revealed for The Flash, Arrow, Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow Crossover Event
We've known that a four-show CW superhero crossover is on its way for some time - but now we know the reason for all those supers getting together. It ain't a party.
"We’re excited to announce," reads a Warner Bros press release, "that the Big Bad for this season’s 4-way crossover between Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow will be DC Comics’ Dominators."
A Dominator in action.
How VR Could Change the Way We Treat Depression
While most of the hype surrounding VR has focused on games and entertainment, virtual reality in its latest guise poses a number of practical possibilities within clinical settings. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, an estimated 43.6 million adults in the United States alone have a diagnosable mental disorder, giving VR the scope to help a lot of its potential users.
Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy has been around for more than 20 years, but technological limitations and cost have prevented it from becoming widely available. That said, the advent of affordable mobile headsets means there are new opportunities to decentralize mental health treatment, and for it in turn to reach the masses. The current lack of clinical data, and how developers go about creating medically reliable experiences moving forward, will undoubtedly prove to be VR’s biggest challenge from a health perspective, though more and more studies are coming to light.