Monthly Archives: June 2018
The Last of Us 2 is Great – But There’s Still a Way to Go for LGBTQ Representation in Games
I joked about the lesbian sex scene in Mass Effect 3 to anyone who would listen at the time, whooped about it as if it was the novelty porn my flatmates and I had watched in our first shared apartment. I thought it would be a scene I cringed through, a cynical product of my calculated romance option selections set deep in the Uncanny Valley. As it began, though, it hit me that I was watching an actual lesbian sex scene in a video game, between two characters I had grown to care about over a long period, whose relationship felt important to me. It felt too big to laugh at.
That was 2012. The Mass Effect trilogy was the first experience I had with LGBTQ characters in a video game since my grandma bought me a Gameboy in 1990. Nothing has measured up to that experience for me since, and of course, nothing could. It was revelatory to me in the way late-‘90s queer films like But I’m a Cheerleader were -- my palms sweating, clutching the side of the couch and furtively glancing at the door in case my parents came in.
DC Finally Reveals Who’s Faster – Superman or Flash
The question of whether Superman or The Flash is truly the fastest hero in the DC Universe has been the source of fan debate for decades. And today, DC Comics finally settled that question once and for all in the pages of The Flash #49.
Warning: this article contains spoilers for The Flash #49!
This issue features the penultimate chapter of "Flash War," as former allies Barry Allen and Wally West have come to blows. Wally has been convinced by Zoom that his children (supposedly wiped out of existence thanks to the New 52 reboot) are trapped inside the Speed Force. He wants to use his speed to destroy the Speed Force itself and free them, while Barry would prefer to use less drastic measures.
DC’s Doom Patrol Explained
With the Doom Patrol debuting on the DC Universe streaming service in their own series, now's a great time to dig into where this colorful cast of tragic heroes came from in the comics. (Check out our DC's Doom Patrol pilot review.)
The Doom Patrol may not be the most well-known of DC's various super-teams, but fans know that this group is a perfect fit for the streaming format. Here's everything you need to know about the Doom Patrol and their strange comic book history.
Doom Patrol Explained: The Basics
The simplest way to describe the Doom Patrol is that they're DC's answer to the X-Men. They're a team of misfit heroes led by a brilliant man in a wheelchair and who fight to protect a world that hates and fears them. Though depending on whom you ask, the Doom Patrol concept might have been developed first (more on that below).
Jessica Jones: Krysten Ritter to Make Directorial Debut on Season 3
Krysten Ritter, who plays the titular role in Marvel's Jessica Jones, is set to make her directorial debut in the show's third season.
As reported by Deadline, Ritter will direct a single episode of the season, and while Season 3's episode count has not been officially released, both the first and second seasons of the show contained 13 episodes. Ritter's role as director will continue the second season's trend of having separate female directors helm each episode.
“I am beyond thrilled to make my directorial debut on Marvel’s Jessica Jones,” said Ritter. “The entire crew and cast has become family to me, and I’m so appreciative of the opportunity to work with our incredible team in this new way.”
Frontrunners for Top Gun 2 Lead Role Reportedly Revealed
The frontrunners for a lead role in Top Gun: Maverick have reportedly been unveiled.
THR reports Nicholas Hoult, Glen Powell, and Miles Teller are all in the running to play the son of Maverick’s (Tom Cruise) best friend, Goose. Anthony Edwards portrayed Goose in the original Top Gun, while his son is featured as a young boy with Meg Ryan playing the mother in that original film.
Hoult is most known for his role as Beast in the new X-Men films. Teller's breakout movie was 2014's Whiplash, while Powell currently stars in Netflix's Set It Up.
Val Kilmer is also set to reprise his role as Iceman in the sequel, with Tom Cruise leading the cast as Maverick. The film will feature a new version of the 1980s hit, Danger Zone, while Cruise also recently teased a look at the film as production of Top Gun 2 started.
Jumanji Sequel Release Date Announced by The Rock
The official release date for the Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle sequel has been revealed by the film's star.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson shared a brief video on Instagram announcing the film will open in theaters on December 13, 2019. Johnson did not specify if this release date is only for North America or a worldwide release.
The third Jumanji movie will opening in the same month as Star Wars: Episode IX, but Jumanji will have a week to breathe, as Star Wars: Episode IX opens on Dec. 20.
BioWare Producer Says Release Timing May Have Hurt Mass Effect: Andromeda
Mass Effect: Andromeda was not as critically well received as past entries in the series, and one BioWare producer offered his insight into one aspect he believes may have contributed to Mass Effect: Andromeda's review scores.
In a Twitter thread today, BioWare Executive Producer Mark Darrah wrote that he believes Andromeda suffered somewhat from releasing in the midst of a crowded schedule. Nier: Automata, Nioh, Horizon: Zero Dawn, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild all released mere weeks before BioWare's sci-fi RPG. Darrah sees this as a "crowded" release environment, noting he believes each one of those games "does something better" than Andromeda, which he admitted to be a "flawed game."
Best Wireless Charger: Wireless Freedom with Qi Chargers
Wireless charging is possibly one of the greatest inventions ever made. The ability to just plop down your smartphone onto a surface and have it recharge without having to plug in a cable can never be oversold.
There is a bevy of charging mats, stands, and other gadgets that can juice up your phone with wireless wizardry. Whether you have an iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, or another Qi-enabled device, here are the best Qi wireless chargers you can buy.
TL;DR – These are the Best Wireless Chargers:
Ant-Man and the Wasp’s Rotten Tomatoes Score Revealed
The Rotten Tomatoes score for Ant-Man and the Wasp has been unveiled.
The Ant-Man sequel has been certified fresh on the Tomatometer with a score of 89%. The score may still change as more reviews for the latest MCU film start coming in.
For now, Ant-Man and the Wasp has a higher score than the first Ant-Man, which is also certified fresh at 82%. This year's Avengers: Infinity War has an 83% score while Black Panther is also certified fresh at 97%.
In our review of Ant-Man and the Wasp, we say it "isn't an essential Marvel movie, but it's further proof that good things come in small packages."
12 Awesome Playground LTM Creations From Fortnite’s V4.5 Update
With just a few hours since release, Fortnite players have already constructed a number of different creations in the new Playground limited time mode.
The new mode gives players one full hour to run around the entire map with just yourself or a squad with the freedom to do just about anything you want. While server issues forced Epic to temporarily disable the mode, the small window of time allowed fans to build whatever they desired and we've rounded up 12 of the most impressive constructions made in just a few mere hours.
Building the Next Great Pyramid
