Monthly Archives: January 2020
Super Nintendo World is Coming to New ‘Epic Universe’ Theme Park in Orlando
Super Nintendo World is Coming to New ‘Epic Universe’ Theme Park in Orlando
Bill Murray Is Officially on Board for Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Netflix in February: Locke & Key, Altered Carbon: Season 2, and More
Coming Soon in February (Exact Date TBD)
- Amit Tandon: Family Tandoncies -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
- Taj Mahal 1989 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Avail. 2/1/20
- A Bad Moms Christmas
- A Little Princess
- Back to the Future Part III
- Blade Runner: The Final Cut
- Center Stage
- Cookie's Fortune
- Dear John
- The Dirty Dozen
- Dirty Harry
- Driving Miss Daisy
- Elizabeth
- Elizabeth: The Golden Age
- Fools Rush In
- Hancock
- Love Jacked
- The Notebook
- The Other Guys
- The Pianist
- Police Academy
- Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment
- Police Academy 3: Back in Training
- Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol
- Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach
- Police Academy 6: City Under Siege
- Police Academy 7: Mission to Moscow
- Purple Rain
- Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
- Scary Movie 2
- Sex and the City 2
Avail. 2/3/20
- Sordo -- NETFLIX FILM
- Team Kaylie: Part 3 -- NETFLIX FAMILY
Avail. 2/4/20
- Faith, Hope & Love
- She Did That
- Tom Papa: You're Doing Great! -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Avail. 2/5/20
- Black Hollywood: 'They've Gotta Have Us'
- #cats_the_mewvie
- The Pharmacist -- NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY
- Uppity: The Willy T. Ribbs Story
Avail. 2/6/20
- Cagaster of an Insect Cage -- NETFLIX ANIME
Avail. 2/7/20
- The Ballad of Lefty Brown
- Dragons: Rescue Riders: Season 2 -- NETFLIX FAMILY
- Horse Girl -- NETFLIX FILM
- Locke & Key -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
- My Holo Love -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
- Who Killed Malcolm X?
Avail. 2/8/20
- The Coldest Game -- NETFLIX FILM
Avail. 2/9/20
- Better Call Saul: Season 4
- Captain Underpants Epic Choice-o-Rama -- NETFLIX FAMILY
- Polaroid
Avail. 2/11/20
- Good Time
- CAMINO A ROMA -- NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY
- Q Ball
Avail. 2/12/20
- Anna Karenina
- To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You -- NETFLIX FILM
Avail. 2/13/20
- Dragon Quest Your Story -- NETFLIX ANIME
- Love is Blind -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
- Narcos: Mexico: Season 2 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Avail. 2/14/20
- Cable Girls: Final Season -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
- Isi & Ossi -- NETFLIX FILM
- A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon -- NETFLIX FAMILY
Avail. 2/15/20
- Starship Troopers
Avail. 2/17/20
- The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia -- NETFLIX FAMILY
Avail. 2/19/20
- Chef Show: Volume 3 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Avail. 2/20/20
- Spectros -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Avail. 2/21/20
- A Haunted House
- Babies -- NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY
- Gentefied -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
- Glitch Techs -- NETFLIX FAMILY
- Puerta 7 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
- System Crasher -- NETFLIX FILM
Avail. 2/22/20
- Girl On The Third Floor
Avail. 2/23/20
- Full Count
Avail. 2/25/20
- Every Time I Die
Avail. 2/26/20
- I Am Not Okay With This -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Avail. 2/27/20
- Altered Carbon: Season 2 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
- The Angry Birds Movie 2
- Followers -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
- Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution -- NETFLIX FAMILY
Avail. 2/28/20
- All The Bright Places -- NETFLIX FILM
- Babylon Berlin: Season 3 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
- Formula 1: Drive to Survive: Season 2 -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
- Jeopardy!: Celebrate Alex Collection
- Jeopardy!: Cindy Stowell Collection
- Jeopardy!: Seth Wilson Collection
- La trinchera infinita -- NETFLIX FILM
- Queen Sono -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
- Restaurants on the Edge -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
- Unstoppable -- NETFLIX ORIGINAL
Avail. 2/29/20
- Jerry Maguire
Sonic the Hedgehog Movie Heading for a $40m+ Debut
Apex Legends Season 4 Introduces New Legend Forge
Nioh 2 Story Trailer, Post-Launch DLC Content Revealed
Kojima Productions Wants to Develop Anime, Manga, and Smaller Games
Fortnite Gets Official High School and College Esports League
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot Review – Mondo Cool
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot begins right where the anime does: introducing us to Goku and his son Gohan just before the Saiyans are set to invade earth, revealing Goku's true Saiyan heritage and setting off a chain of events that threatens the entire universe. It's a story we've seen played out in many Dragon Ball Z games over the years, but unlike recent examples, Kakarot tells its tale by way of a narrative-driven RPG rather than a strictly combat-focused game. It gives life to the world and story of DBZ in a refreshing way, offering us a glimpse into what life is like for Goku and his many companions outside of battles to decide the fate of the universe.
All of Dragon Ball Z's major story arcs are contained here: the Saiyan invasion, the showdown with Frieza on planet Namek, the Androids, the fight against Cell, and Majin Buu's story. But among all of these massive, earth-shattering sagas and intense fights are numerous smaller stories and character interactions that many games have simply glossed over.
The game's structure is split into parts: free-roaming/exploration sequences with a semi-open world, battle scenes against foes big and small, and cutscenes where you watch some of the most dramatic story moments of DBZ play out in gorgeous in-engine renditions. There's a good balance between all of these; it rarely feels like you're spending too long watching a cutscene or that you're thrust into constant battle without being able to take a moment to catch your breath. Sometimes the exploration sequences can seem overlong, but a lot of that depends on how much time you want to spend doing side quests and hunting collectibles like power-up orbs, food supplies, and materials for side pursuits like cooking and crafting. It's not essential to spend a lot of time on side pursuits, but it does provide benefits--and while you're flying around the big, vibrant environments, it's easy to be swept up in exploring the DBZ world itself, which is filled with giant fish, rampaging dinosaurs, and futuristic cities.
One striking thing about DBZ: Kakarot is how it showcases the large cast of the anime. You begin the game as Goku, but as the story progresses, you assume control over several other characters, like Gohan, Piccolo, Vegeta, and Trunks, to name a few. Familiar faces like Krillin, Tien Shinhan, Yamcha, and Android 18 also appear to aid you in combat as assistants. Many of the other supporting DBZ cast members make cameos in side quests and story scenes as well. Building friendships with characters through questing and giving gifts rewards you with a character emblem, and by placing it on a “community board” that represents a group of Goku's companions, you can earn assorted boosts to combat, item-gathering, cooking, and other adventurous pursuits.
But these rewards are only part of what makes DBZ: Kakarot's adventuring feel satisfying. Dragon Ball Z is a series where character relationships and interactions are important, and that really comes through in the non-combat story bits. You see Piccolo warm up to young Gohan, Chi Chi's tough mother role, the fighters bonding outside of battle, teenage Gohan doing his goofy Great Saiyaman shtick, and much more. Even relatively minor characters like Yajirobe, Launch, and Puar have side quests that showcase funny interactions, silly scenarios, and genuinely sad and touching moments. Seeing so many DBZ characters given their moment to shine is great, and it helps you forget that a lot of the side quests are fairly typical RPG kill-these-enemies or collect-this-item affairs. As someone who thinks some of the “filler” and comedy episodes of DBZ are among the series' best, I really appreciated an increased focus on these stories in DBZ: Kakarot.
Of course, it wouldn't be Dragon Ball Z without combat. While the 3D, action-driven combat takes some getting used to at first, once you've got a decent handle on the controls, you'll be flying around, shooting off ki blasts and Kamehamehas like a pro. You control a single character who has two basic attacks--up-close melee strikes and ranged ki blasts. If you have companions in the fight, the CPU will control them, and you can command them to make use of special attacks. Besides your basic strikes, you have several powerful special skills, a boost to get up close to the opponent, several defensive techniques to guard, dodge, and catch an attacking opponent off-guard, and even (eventually) the ability to transform into stronger forms. Many of these abilities cost ki, which can be charged mid-battle but leaves you vulnerable when doing so, making ki management very important. A tension gauge fills over time, and when it's full, you can send your warrior into a superpowered state where you can chain special attacks into each other, causing some serious devastation.
It's an intriguing combat system, and the 3D aerial movement element is unique, but there's a lack of depth--most normal enemies and even a few bosses can be patterned to make fighting them much easier. On top of that, enemy variety outside of main story battles tends to be lacking, particularly the annoying cannon-fodder foes that will interrupt you during times when you just want to explore. But fighting still has some standout moments during big boss fights when enemies whip out massive, incredibly damaging energy attacks that force a rapid change in strategy. Overcoming some of the nastiest things Dragon Ball Z's iconic villains toss at you with skillful dodging and well-timed attacks is immensely satisfying, and it somewhat makes up for all of the combat time wasted punching the same robots over and over again.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot's modern, semi-open approach to telling the saga of DBZ--despite some minor issues--is a good one. Zooming around the environments and seeing the world up close is a blast, and it's great being able to interact with so many fun DBZ characters and see stories that usually get passed over for game adaptations. And even though combat can be a bit lacking, when the big battles happen, they feel suitably epic and engaging. If you're looking for an enjoyable way to see the life and times of adult Goku through a new perspective, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot will grant your wish.