Rick and Morty: Season 4 Finale review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out Warning: this review contains full spoilers for Rick and Morty: Season 4, Episode 10! If you need a refresher on where we left off, here's our review for Season 4, Episode 9. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rick and Morty's fourth season ends by paying off on some big loose ends from years past. Just not necessarily the ones fans might have expected. Assuming Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon ever plan on giving us that big Rick vs. Evil Morty showdown (and I'm starting to doubt that based on the events of "Never Ricking Morty"), it's not coming anytime soon. Instead, Season 4 wraps by tying together loose ends from the beginning and end of Season 3, resulting in what may well be the best Rick and Morty season finale yet. The season ends by looping back to "The ABCs of Beth" and following up on that wonderfully ambiguous ending where one version of Beth leaves her family behind to seek a new life among the stars and the other returns to her humble life. As we quickly learn, a Beth freed of the responsibilities of motherhood and marriage is every bit as formidable as her father. It's honestly very cool seeing this side of the character. More than ever, it's clear just how much of Rick is inside Beth, both good and bad. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=rick-and-morty-the-10-biggest-wtf-moments&captions=true"] Even better, the decision to bring back this version of Beth results in a very meaningful story that does more than any other to really push the dynamic between Rick and his daughter(s) forward. By the end, it becomes clear the goal was never to actually answer the question of which Beth is real. Even Rick doesn't know, as he took the coward's way out. Instead, bringing both Beths together is a way of forcing both characters to acknowledge how truly toxic Rick is and finally move beyond hating him/craving his approval. This episode teases a new, ongoing family dynamic where both Beths coexist and have the potential to take a much more active role in the series. In general, Season 4 hasn't been great about showcasing Beth (or even Jerry, for that matter), but these final two episodes really make up for lost time. As for Rick, it's fascinating to see how directly this episode mirrors Season 3's finale, "The Rickchurian Mortydate." Once again, Rick is the big loser of the season. His grip on his family has loosened even further. He's basically driven everyone away, to the point where his only companion is the disembodied remains of a very bloodthirsty Phoenix Person. He may not be in quite as low a place as he was back in "Auto Erotic Assimilation," but he's close. It'll be very interesting to see how Season 5 picks up from this point. Will there even be room for traditional Rick/Morty adventures? Could Beth take Rick's place in that regard? I could see this all building to the reveal that Evil Morty is manipulating events so that the multiverse's most dangerous Rick is alone and isolated, but honestly, that's a lot more boring than a status quo where Rick finally has to deal with the consequences of a life of crappy behavior. Balancing out all this father/daughter drama is a welcome dose of wacky humor and spectacle. The Rick vs. Phoenix Person fight alone ranks among the show's most epic and elaborately choreographed action sequences to date. It's hilarious yet brutal in its intensity, in part because Rick is very clearly the bad guy here. It's also a lot of fun watching Morty and Summer bond and help save the world with the combined power of invisibility and indestructible Wrangler jeans. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/19/is-rick-and-morty-season-4-trying-to-distract-us-from-evil-mortys-plan"] However, it's Jerry who tends to steal the show in each and every scene. He's at his most delightfully pathetic in this episode and once again has the lion's share of the best lines. You have to love the payoff to his little puppet fad and the way Jerry manages to bumble his way into saving the entire planet. That's all capped off with a frankly incredible post-credits scene. We absolutely need an Invisible Garbage Truck Jerry spinoff series. Too bad he seems to have killed that franchise before it could even begin. Nice going, Jerry!

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Batwoman: Season 1 Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out Note: this is a spoiler-free review of Batwoman Season 1. The entire season is now available to purchase in Digital HD or stream on HBO Max. Find out how you can subscribe to HBO Max here. [poilib element="accentDivider"] At what point does the Arrowverse become too big for its own good? That's certainly a question that's become more pressing over the past year, as Batwoman has joined the CW ranks and the network moves ahead on other spinoffs like Superman & Lois (premiering in January 2021) and potentially Green Arrow and the Canaries (status still TBD). Do fans really need yet another superhero drama on the CW, even one that finally shines a light on the Arrowverse's little-seen version of Gotham City? Early on, the answer seemed to be a resounding "no," but it's a testament to Batwoman's dogged perseverance that it eventually manages to carve its own niche in a very crowded landscape. Building on 2018's Elseworlds crossover, Batwoman puts Ruby Rose's Kate Kane in the spotlight, as Bruce Wayne's younger cousin comes out of hiding to defend a city that's struggled without a Batman for three years. Early on, one of Season 1's biggest mistakes is the decision to circle back and chronicle Kate's superhero origin story rather than simply continuing where Elseworlds leaves off. That really hinders the show's momentum early on, without actually adding much to the character or her journey by way of compensation. There's no apparent reason why the series couldn't have simply started out with Batwoman already established as Gotham's new protector and filled in the details of her past when and where necessary. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=crisis-on-infinite-earths-crossover-photos&captions=true"] Batwoman's other fundamental mistake is sticking far too closely to the standard Arrowverse formula. So many characters in the early episodes feel as though they're being shoehorned into traditional DC TV molds. Like Oliver Queen, Kate is the wayward rich kid who has finally come home to save her city. Luke Fox (Camrus Johnson) is the seemingly obligatory sidekick who provides Kate with all the gadgets and snarky banter she could ever need. Characters like Kate's stepmother Catherine (Elizabeth Anweis) and stepsister Mary (Nicole Kang) recall that early Queen family drama from Arrow's first two seasons. Early on, Batwoman feels entirely too much like a fusion of Arrow and the Dark Knight movies (in much the same way Arrow itself played like a mash-up of The Dark Knight and Sam Raimi's Spider-Man movies in its first season). It doesn't really help that many outdoor scenes are filmed in Chicago, giving the Arrowverse's Gotham City a very Nolan-esque vibe. This isn't to say Batwoman's problems stem only from its strict adherence to superhero TV tropes. In general, the series juggles too many extraneous characters who don't add enough to the bigger picture. Kate's closeted ex-girlfriend Sophie (Meagan Tandy) is probably the biggest offender there. Neither that character herself nor her will they/won't they relationship with Kate are at all compelling. There's far more chemistry to be found between Rose's Kate and other supporting characters like Julia Pennyworth (Christina Wolfe) and bartender Reagan (Brianne Howey). The dynamic between Kate and her father Jacob (Dougray Scott) is another missed opportunity in Season 1. Here is where the series would have done well to stick closer to the example set by the early Greg Rucka/J.H. Williams/W. Haden Blackman-penned Batwoman comics. Those comics portray Kate as a committed soldier in the war on crime, with Jacob as her handler/tech support/commanding officer. Simple, straightforward, and without the need for the sorts of extraneous supporting characters that bog down the TV series. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/07/18/batwoman-season-1-premiere-review-comic-con-2019"] All this being said, Batwoman does show positive traits even early on when the series is most clearly struggling to find its voice and direction. It's almost a shame to point this out now in light of her surprise exit from the series, but Rose is well-cast as Kate Kane. Compared to every other lead character in the Arrowverse, there's very little differentiation between her civilian and costumed personas. That's not a knock against Rose's performance, to be clear, but a testament to how much Kate's arc and the series as a whole is about the struggle to live openly and be true to oneself. Most of Kate's emotional arc stems from that, or her struggle to reconcile the hero she wants to be with her fears of becoming something darker. Batwoman made headlines for being the first superhero TV series with an LGBT lead, and it's nice to see Batwoman using that distinction to tell a meaningful story. And it should also be noted that the series does improve significantly over the course of Season 1. Certainly not as quickly as it should, but enough that the series really begins to settle into a groove in the latter half of the season. The Crisis on Infinite earths crossover certainly helps give Batwoman a nudge in the right direction. The crossover both helps make Kate feel like a more active and important player in the larger Arrowverse and sets up some compelling storylines the series is able to explore in the aftermath. In many ways, the series really lives or dies on the strength of its main villain, Alice (Rachel Skarsten). And unfortunately, it's usually the latter in the early Season 1 episodes. While the series sticks fairly close to the source material when it comes to Alice's dynamic with Batwoman and her tragic backstory, there's something vital lost in translation. Where the character has this uniquely haunting, surreal quality in the comics, on TV she mostly comes across as someone firmly and awkwardly committed to a Lewis Carroll bit. Skarsten never feels very genuine playing the prancing villainess of a post-Batman Gotham City. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/18/crisis-on-infinite-earths-crossover-review"] The good news is that both Skarsten and the show's writers seem to find their footing with the character over the course of the season. The series becomes less and less fixated with Alice the supervillain and more on the lonely girl who had to affect a new personality in order to survive a hellish existence. When the character's latent humanity shines through, which it does more and more as Season 1 progresses, she really starts to come into her own and become the necessary yin to Batwoman's yang. Like all Arrowverse shows, Batwoman tends to be pretty hit and miss where its villains are concerned. But here, too, the series shows definite improvement over the course of Season 1. Early misses like Magpie (Rachel Matthews) and Tommy Elliot (Gabriel Mann) are given second chances later in the season and come back stronger in Round 2. Others like Dr. August Cartwright (John Emmet Tracy) and his physically and psychologically scarred son Johnny (Sam Littlefield) are more consistently compelling. Batman fans may be turned off by the lack of A-List Gotham City villains, but the series generally makes the most of this off-kilter lineup of rogues. It helps that Season 1 never really hangs its hat on any one villain (even Alice), instead opting for a more organic approach to world-building that leaves plenty of possibilities open for Season 2. Even with as weak as the series started out, and as long as it takes to truly come into its own, there's ample reason to be excited for Season 2 now. If you want a deeper, spoiler-filled dive into individual episodes, here are IGN's past Batwoman: Season 1 reviews (some episodes weren't reviewed because press weren't provided with screeners in advance of air):

• Episode 1 - "Pilot"
• Episode 2 - "The Rabbit Hole"
• Episode 3 - "Down Down Down"
• Episode 4 - "Who Are You?"
• Episode 5 - "Mine Is a Long and a Sad Tale"
• Episode 6 - "I'll Be Judge, I'll Be Jury"
• Episode 7 - "Tell Me the Truth"
• Episode 8 - "A Mad Tea Party"
• Episode 9 - "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part 2"
• Episode 10 - "How Queer Everything Is Today"
• Episode 11 - "An Un-Birthday Present"
• Episode 12 - "Take Your Choice"
• Episode 14 - "Grinning From Ear to Ear"
• Episode 15 - "Off With Her Head"
• Episode 16 - "Through the Looking Glass"
• Episode 20 - "O, Mouse!"

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Apple TV's Central Park: Series Premiere Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out The following is a spoiler-free review for the first two episodes of Central Park Season 1, which is now streaming on Apple TV+. [poilib element="accentDivider"]

For all of the money Apple has been pumping into its still-infant delivery service, we’ve yet to see many shows that radiate with enough creativity to pull our attention from Apple TV+’s more established competitors. Central Park, though, is one of those shows. It’s an animated comedy, which is nothing new in itself, but get this: It’s also a full-blown musical with all only a handful of spoken lines dropped before its cast bursts into songs about everything from superheroes to scooping poop.

Its art style is an instant tip-off that it’s from some of the same folks who gave us Bob’s Burgers, but Apple’s massive cash piles allow it to be animated with a fluidity we never saw in co-producer Loren Bouchard’s previous show. For one of the first times on Apple TV, here’s an example of Apple putting all that money to excellent use.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/10/central-park-trailer-first-look-at-apple-tvs-animated-musical-comedy"]

As in Bob’s Burgers, a lot of the action centers on a quirky family, in this case the family of Central Park manager Owen (Leslie Odom, Jr.), who lives in a sweet "castle" in the park’s heart. We also meet Paige, his journalist wife (Kathryn Hahn)—who works for "the number one most left-on-the-subway paper in the city," his two kids (Kristen Bell and Tituss Burgess), and a lovable busker (Josh Gad) who creeps on them by peeping through their house’s windows. (It’s totally cool, he tells us; after all, he’s the narrator!)

Considering how many songs drop in each episode, I’m impressed by how catchy they are. It’s hard enough to come up with a single good musical episode — as The Magicians did so memorably in 2018 — but the two episodes I saw included everything from the showboating numbers expected from musicals to lightweight raps. Much of Central Park’s humor, in fact, comes from silly couplets like this: "Papa, I believe this puppy’s heaven-sent / I promise to pick up his every excrement." Yes, in true Bob’s Burgers fashion, the poop jokes are as plentiful as gritty gum on Manhattan sidewalks.

Beyond that, the musical approach works so well because the actual singing is delightful, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise as Kristen Bell famously voiced Frozen’s Anna, while Odom and Daveed Diggs (who plays a dour woman) established themselves in the hit musical Hamilton. Some of the songs are better than others — Bell’s "Weirdoes Make Good Superheroes" is an especially memorable standout — but none of them left me longing for everyone to start chatting normally again.

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It’s worth watching Central Park for the quality of its animation and its pun-laden musical numbers alone. It deserves critical attention, though, for the way it uses these elements to tackle important contemporary issues. Central Park tends to start with a foundation of familiar and comfortable concepts like teenage love and job dissatisfaction and then uses them to springboard into commentaries on the ways that, say, some of our most precious institutions exist only thanks to a fragile thread of legislation.

To its great credit, Central Park never knocks you over the head with these messages. Much as Apple TV+ did with its wonderful series Little America, it instead subtly communicates these ideas through empathy and shared experiences with the characters rather than through direct lecturing. The approach works more often than not.

In this era of social distancing and general uncertainty, Central Park also works as a powerful reminder of the importance and vitality of shared public spaces and, for that matter, the messy compromises we sometimes need to make in order for our communities to flourish. Sometimes, Central Park suggests, you simply have to deal with the fact that you’re going to have to pick up some trash. On the other hand, I admire that Central Park seems to be building to a conclusion that argues that some things shouldn’t be compromised.

If there’s one thing that almost all of Apple TV+  shows have had in common until this point, it’s that they take a couple of episodes to put the pieces in place and then the really good episodes — the ones that leave the best impressions — drop later in the season. Based on the two episodes of Central Park available at premiere, that’s true of this series, too. The difference is that few of Apple TV+’s shows have pulled off that approach so successfully, to the point that I’m now eager to see what Bouchard and his buddies have in store for us for the next few Fridays going forward. This is a beautiful and rewatchable setup, filled as much with heart as it is with scatological jokes. It’s also optimistic, and right now, that’s a welcome gift.

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The Vast of Night Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out The Vast of Night debuted on Amazon's Prime Video platform, and at some select drive-in theaters, on May 29. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Modestly framed as an episode of a '50s-era Twilight Zone-style series called Paradox Theater, The Vast of Night, from first-time director Andrew Patterson, is a savvy and stunning slice of throwback sci-fi. The film's small scope and tight assuredness of story makes for a gripping watch as a motormouthed local DJ and a teen switchboard operator in a small New Mexico town begin to precariously peel a few layers off of a UFO conspiracy on a night when just about everyone else in the neighborhood is focused on a local high school basketball game. This shoestring affair manages to eschew most of the clumsy trappings of a low-budget production by keeping things simple and script-heavy. The screenplay, from James Montague and Craig W. Sanger, is light on action but high on tension. The critical speeches delivered by the characters -- tales of clandestine military projects and "people in the sky" who can get inside the heads of ordinary citizens -- are crafted and paced like finely-tuned campfire ghost stories. We hang on every word. The performances from the spare ensemble are simultaneously stylized and natural, allowing the two central characters to shine as anchors while those who share their eerie encounters (a radio caller, an old widow in town) are able to slowly spool out their spooky yarns. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/29/the-vast-of-night-official-trailer"] The Vast of Night could easily work as a stage play -- or even a radio play, if we're really digging into the nearly century-old War of the Worlds influences -- as so much of it takes place either in the high school gym, the switchboard desk, or the local radio hub. The '50s era, and the barren burg setting, gives us a town that's mostly dark at night, with the main source of light emanating from the school as it prepares for the big game. This cloaks the rest of the movie, and the story itself, in a blanket of darkness that rarely even offers up a good clear glimpse of our protagonists' faces. That, plus Patterson's choice to kick things off with an ambitious tracking shot that mostly captures Everett (Jake Horowitz) and Fay (Sierra McCormick) from behind creates a palate that's both dynamic and distant. Horowitz's Everett and McCormick's Fay play kindred chatterbox spirits, like an American Graffiti Mulder and Scully. Both are interested in science and the technology of the time that works to connect and bring people together. Also, both of them plan to, someday, escape the mundane folksiness of Cayuga, NM. Their age difference wouldn't make a budding romance totally unacceptable, especially for the time, but the script is smart enough to mostly lean away from that and keep things centered, after the first ten minutes, on the strange audio phenomenon Fay hears at the switchboard. The Vast of Night is definitely a knowing nod to a famous decade of schlock sci-fi flicks, but the film itself is a quiet storm. It's not out for shock and awe, it aims to unsettle and mystify. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-vast-of-night-gallery&captions=true"] The music by Erick Alexander and Jared Bulmer evokes the serenity of Philip Glass while also hinting at the "behind the veil" cosmic lore that America's southwestern (and more sparsely populated) states been steeped in for almost eighty years. Patterson creates a film that stretches and breathes even while confined to only a handful of locations. It takes a few minutes to get used to the patter, since the characters tend to speak fast and use a distracting (at times) amount of old-timey slang and lingo (some of which sounds made up, in fact), but once Everett and Fay begin their punctuated pairing, as she tests out a new tape recorder during their evening trek to her house, the overall cadence settles and the story starts to nicely build suspense. The Vast of Night is a humble-yet-striking outing for Patterson, who's able to create a jittery and jarring vibe with very little. Now that the world of streaming and VOD often includes hugely-budgeted films that would play much better on giant screens (and in the past months, ones that were ultimately meant to), it's great to see a uniquely stripped-down story like this.  

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ExpressVPN Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out A mainstay in the virtual private network space since its launch in 2009, ExpressVPN is a popular choice with solutions that cover desktop computers, mobile devices, and even routers. Featuring a MediaStreamer service that can run on tv streaming boxes and video game consoles, ExpressVPN makes a strong argument for being the best VPN for gaming or best VPN for Netflix. But ultimately it all comes down to pricing and performance. Read on to determine if ExpressVPN is the best VPN for your bucks?

ExpressVPN - Design and Features

An extremely simple design, ExpressVPN’s desktop client is essentially a big on/off button with a drop-down menu to choose a server location. But if you look closer, you’ll find a hamburger menu on the top left which leads to windows that display server locations, a speed test, and the app’s preferences, which are surprisingly deep for a small, one-window program. ExpressVPN can also run in the taskbar, giving it an even smaller desktop footprint. As for features, ExpressVPN primarily promotes hiding users’ IP addresses and encrypting their network data so no one can see what they’re doing online. ”One click, and you’re protected,” the company says – and a gruesome bit of news unfortunately bears that claim out. ExpressVPN’s service was used to cover up the Dec. 2017 assassination of a Russian ambassador. ExpressVPN, which says it does not monitor accounts nor keep logs of user activity, participated in the murder investigation, though ultimately the IP address of the suspect could not be retrieved – the service performed as advertised. Another major feature distinguishing ExpressVPN is its claim that it works on “all your devices.” This is largely due to ExpressVPN’s MediaStreamer service that runs on gaming consoles including Sony PlayStations, Microsoft’s Xbox, and the Nintendo Switch, as well as streaming devices like Apple TV and Fire TV. The service only works on up to 5 devices simultaneously, but it also has an app for routers, which can protect an entire home’s worth of connected gear. But the backbone of ExpressVPN’s service is its network, which features more than 3,000 servers across 160 locations in 94 countries, worldwide. With this kind of global reach, ExpressVPN also offers 24-hour support and other tools like an IP address locator, a password generator, and both DNS and WebRTC leak tests.

ExpressVPN - Performance

ExpressVPN’s performance was measured in both the afternoon and evening for this review, averaging not only its download and upload speeds while the virtual private network was engaged, but also how well multiple online games pinged their servers as it ran. All tests were conducted using the server that ExpressVPN claimed was its fastest at the time it was engaged. To see if ExpressVPN is the best VPN for gaming, we ran it while playing Fortnite, League of Legends, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. To see if ExpressVPN was the best VPN for Netflix, we also streamed a movie while using the service. Regardless of the time of day it was engaged, ExpressVPN averaged faster download speeds than when the service was switched off. This result may not be something other users should expect, as it’s not clear why the non-VPN internet speed was slower to begin with. I could be that the ISP is throttling traffic or that there’s a routing bottleneck. Regardless, ExpressVPN’s high speeds are a sign that the service will not slow users down significantly. Also, ExpressVPN’s upload speeds were also high compared to competing services, though still somewhat slower than what the non-protected internet service provided. Using ExpressVPN to play Fortnite improved upon what we experienced using an unprotected internet connection, a result we would caution readers not to expect on their own computers. But by providing a quick, responsive internet connection, we were able to run and gun with the best of them, and the same can be said for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. There was an error connecting to Fortnite’s game servers while using ExpressVPN, but it’s unclear if it was related to using the service. Unsurprisingly, ExpressVPN performed similarly well with League of Legends, letting us hack and slash without missing a beat. With its speed humming, ExpressVPN performed as expected while watching Netflix. Connecting to a remote server in Switzerland from the U.S., ExpressVPN worked with the streaming video service without a hitch, minus a little sound buffering during action scenes – which was also occurring when the VPN was off. Visually, Netflix’s Extraction streamed well, not pixelating or blurring any worse than usual during the film’s fastest moments.

Purchasing Guide

Like competing VPNs, ExpressVPN offers its users a range of pricing with varying degrees of discounts depending on how long users will pay in advance for its service. One month of ExpressVPN costs $12.95. A 6-month ExpressVPN subscription will set subscribers back $59.95, breaking the price down to $9.99 monthly. The best monthly rate comes with ExpressVPN’s 12-month subscription, which runs $99.95 a year and equates to $8.32 a month. All these plans come with a 30-day money back guarantee.

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Netflix's Space Force: Season 1 Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out The following is a mostly spoiler-free review for all 10 episodes of Space Force Season 1, which is now streaming on Netflix. [poilib element="accentDivider"] From Steve Carell and Greg Daniels (co-creator of The Office and Parks and Recreation) comes a "ripped from the heinous headlines" comedy about the 2019 initiative that simultaneously amused and terrified us all: Space Force. And like the idea of Space Force itself, the series is a muddled misfire, clumping together disparate tones and styles that don't mesh well or complement each other. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/22/netflixs-space-force-exclusive-season-1-sneak-peek-featuring-steve-carell"] There are occasional moments of charm and leads Carell and John Malkovich (who create a power duo you never knew you wanted to see, until now) do a heck of a job anchoring the madness, but Space Force is underserved by its placement on Netflix. It's a TV series, sure, but one without the usual benefit of a mid-season course correction. Because Space Force had to be served up like a finished movie, there was no point at which Daniels, Carell, Office EP/writer Paul Lieberstein, or any other member of the creative process could have taken a step back to analyze and/or streamline the decision to bounce back and forth between rapid-fire foul-mouthed satire (like Veep), a more restrained and traditional workplace comedy, and a family drama. Within these different tonal bubbles, there are some cute and worthwhile moments, but none of them mix well together. The war room element features a round table of cartoonish lugheads (Noah Emmerich, Jane Lynch, Diedrich Bader, Patrick Warburton, and Veep's Dan Bakkedahl) while the Space Force base contains characters who feel more grounded and natural. It's a facility mostly full of comedy "straight men/women" who do nothing but react to the (off-screen) president's absurd whims and the ridiculous caricature of Astro-political policies. In that regard, this is where Space Force feels the most like The Office, which itself featured a collision of characters who varied greatly in nuance. The other co-creator of The Office and Parks and Rec, Mike Schur, has continued to create some of the absolute best "feel good" ensemble comedies of the last decade with Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Good Place and yet all of those shows were allowed to evolve into greatness because of the nature of network TV production. Elements and characters could be tweaked over time to play to the performers' strengths. All four shows all started off okay and then were purposefully crafted into something extraordinary. From this first season of Space Force, it's clear that Daniels and Carell are intent on keeping the darker edge that The Office had. But Netflix's model doesn't allow for growth that's honed over the course of several episodes - it's a flawed delivery system. And oftentimes we wind up with a show, like Space Force, that's well-meaning, and from talented people, but messy and undercooked. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=space-force-season-1-gallery&captions=true"] It also takes a few episodes to get used to Carell's performance as General Mark Naird, as he's resorting to a gruff, affected voice for a character more in line with the strait-laced goof he played back in 2008's Get Smart. By the time we get to the fourth episode, "Lunar Habitat," where Mark volunteers to replace someone in the final week of an isolated biosphere experiment, the character starts to feel more layered and real as a man unequipped to search within himself and reckon with his emotions. In fact, Mark's overall decency, and love for his family -- Lisa Kudrow's incarcerated wife Maggie and Diana Silvers's adrift teen Erin (who's not crazy about having to move from D.C. to Wild Horse, Colorado) -- winds up being more of a draw than the three-ring circus aspects of the show. Mark, like the series itself, finds himself pulled in many different directions as he's torn between his collapsing home life and the abject lunacy of the lunar endeavors. Malkovich, while still playing things as if he's in a drama for the most part (because Malkovich), is given some wonderful material to chew on as Dr. Adrian Mallory, the program's chief civilian scientist. When Space Force finds itself "at ease" every so often, he and Carell shine nicely. About three episodes in, with "Mark and Mallory Go to Washington," the series seems to decide that Space Force, as a concept, is one that should both be ridiculed and revered. It's farcical, yes, but because Mark is determined to make the best of his new post as its leader, he's going to uncover and reveal its heart. Because of this, and Mark's usual tendency to do what's right, he and Mallory weather several storms together. And in case you were wondering if this particular workplace comedy had its own "Jim and Pam" - the answer is yes. Tawny Newsome's pilot Angela and Jimmy O. Yang's scientist Chen, away from the screwball antics of the higher-ups, are able to form a close bond that's slowly blossoming into something more. The guest stars here are top-of-the-line, as you'd expect, including Fred Willard in his final TV performance. Overall, Space Force's ingredients feel right, but they're not in proper proportion. The Veep-style elements clash tremendously with the heartwarming aspects, and the end result is a noble fumble. Here's hoping a prospective Season 2 manages to course-correct, as The Office and Parks and Rec did after their own rocky launches.

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HBO Max Streaming Service Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out Be sure to check out our reviews of other popular streaming services: Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Apple TV+, and Quibi. [poilib element="accentDivider"]

One of the key elements needed to compete in the Great Streaming War against the likes of Netflix, Disney+, Amazon, Hulu, and others is to possess a vast and diverse entertainment catalog to keep potential subscribers occupied not just for hours, but days, weeks, and even months on end. For HBO Max, the newly expanded streaming service has plenty of content thanks to WarnerMedia's many subsidiaries: HBO, DC Entertainment, Warner Bros., Adult Swim, Studio Ghibli, Crunchyroll, and many more. At launch, HBO Max promises to provide over 10,000 hours of content.

And while Netflix reportedly has around 36,000 hours of movies and shows at any given time, setting a high bar for quantity, HBO Max has quality on its side: it brings with it a level of brand recognition and prestige that no other service (apart for Disney) can match. Warner Bros. alone has been in the entertainment business for over a century, producing iconic, award-winning films like Casablanca, The Shining, and the entire Batman, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings sagas. In short, you don't have to wade through nearly as much junk on HBO Max in order to get to the good stuff.

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However, even with an impressive list of movies and TV shows to stream at launch, HBO Max's user interface has to function as seamlessly as its competitors so subscribers can enjoy the overall experience. At launch, the Max has a greater than average number of kinks in terms of its features and availability that it still needs to iron out. Of course, while there are some red flags to consider, if we've learned anything from Disney+'s technical debacle when it first launched, it's never too late to recover.

To learn more about what we thought of the HBO Max streaming platform, read on for a more detailed overview of its movies and shows, user interface, and pricing when compared to other providers.

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HBO Max's TV Shows and Movies

[caption id="attachment_235755" align="alignnone" width="720"] Photo courtesy of HBO Max[/caption]

In this competitive streaming landscape, holding the rights to popular shows and films is key. Netflix probably realizes this better than anyone, especially since the streaming giant offered WarnerMedia $100 million just to hold onto the rights to the enduringly popular ‘90s sitcom Friends back in 2018. But Warner refused, and now, all of your favorite episodes of Friends can be exclusively be found on HBO Max (even though the highly anticipated Friends reunion special is currently on hold due to the novel coronavirus). Apart from Friends, HBO Max is also the one and only home to countless series from HBO, TNT, Cartoon Network, Sesame Workshop, and across Warner Bros' many studio divisions.

This means, especially if you're already an existing HBO subscriber, that you’ve gone from having access to the entire library of HBO's hit series like Game of Thrones and The Wire, to now having (nearly) everything else from WarnerMedia's empire at your fingertips. IGN has a complete list of everything that's available on HBO Max at launch right here, but some notable highlights include the entire Studio Ghibli collection, all eight Harry Potter films, and a curation of timeless Turner Classic Movies like Gone With the Wind and Once Upon a Time in the West.

But there are glaring omissions in that list. Much in the same way Disney+ did not have its entire lineup available at launch, HBO Max is missing favorites such as Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, and the four Christopher Reeve Superman films due to various licensing agreements with other services that have yet to run their course (or, seemingly, because they want to keep some programming, like Superman and Batman: The Animated Series, exclusively on their DC Universe streaming platform). For more notable movies and shows missing from HBO Max's library, check out the gallery below: [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-dark-knight-trilogy-and-more-dc-movies-and-series-missing-on-hbo-max&captions=true"]

It’s not all about the library of course: there are also a handful of HBO Max Originals, both scripted and unscripted (read our launch reviews here). These include Love Life, an entertaining rom-com starring Anna Kendrick, and Looney Tunes Cartoons, a modern re-imaging of the classic animated series featuring iconic characters like Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig. Sadly, none of these launch shows are worth the price of admission (see our section on pricing below) on their own. It's surprising that WarnerMedia did not strive to release a new tentpole launch series here like Disney+ did with The Mandalorian and Apple TV+ did with The Morning Show and See – which both feature A-list actors such as Reese Witherspoon and Jason Momoa, respectively. Perhaps HBO Max's lack of a prestige series at launch is due to production delays caused by the novel coronavirus, or simply poor planning.

Looking ahead, we're excited to finally see the Justice League Snyder Cut in 2021, Ridley Scott's sci-fi drama Raised By Wolves, Ansel Elgort's Tokyo Vice, the hotly-anticipated Adventure Time specials, high-concept Dune: The Sisterhood, and Greg Berlanti's live-action Green Lantern series that will feature Sinestro and two Earth Lanterns. But it seems shortsighted for the service to rely so heavily on library content at launch without also touting a buzzy, must-watch series to help lure in subscribers.

HBO Max's User Interface

[caption id="attachment_235760" align="alignnone" width="720"] Photo courtesy of HBO Max[/caption]

HBO Max's user interface is seamless to navigate, with the standard curated carousels for when you're in the mood for "edgy animation" like Rick and Morty and Primal, or "blockbuster franchises" such as Die Hard and The Lord of the Rings. You can also easily search by genre via a sidebar, and browse WarnerMedia's various networks by simply clicking on one of the "HBO Max Hubs" to Adult Swim, Studio Ghibli, or DC depending on what you're in the mood for (similar to the way Disney+ breaks down its content across Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, etc). In terms of its aesthetics, HBO Max is a good looking interface with its vibrant blue, purple, and pink hues that are easy on the eyes.

Where the streaming platform struggles is not with its visual appearance and ease of navigation, but in the lack of features that we’ve all come to expect should be found on any modern-day service backed by a multi-billion dollar company. For starters, there's no 4K or HDR support available at the time of writing, which is a big disappointment considering that rivals Disney+, Netflix, and Amazon all offer this feature (although a 4K subscription does cost $15.99 per month on Netflix in the US). To its credit, HBO Max does have a "continue watching" option (Disney+ infamously did not when it debuted) and the ability to download shows and movies for convenient offline viewing on a phone or tablet. The fact that the platform's licensing deals have also prevented a simultaneous global rollout (similar to Disney+, which staggered its international launches over several months) also put it at a disadvantage compared to its competitors. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/21/hbo-maxs-love-life-official-trailer"]

Another issue plaguing the launch of HBO Max is the confusion consumers are having over the differences between HBO Go, HBO Now, and HBO Max when it comes to existing subscriptions. Thankfully, we have an HBO Max sign-up explainer if you find yourself scratching your head, but the TL;DR is that if you have Go or Now, you probably already have HBO Max without even knowing it, although navigating the sign-up process has proven daunting for some.

And lastly, before you make a decision to sign up, you should be aware that HBO Max is currently not available on Amazon Fire and Roku devices due to WarnerMedia and their parent company AT&T not being able to reach a deal with Roku and Amazon yet. That’s a shame, since these particular streaming devices reportedly account for 80 million TV households.

HBO Max's Price

[caption id="attachment_235762" align="alignnone" width="720"] Photo courtesy of HBO Max[/caption]

In terms of cost, HBO Max falls in the higher priced tier of streaming services, on par with Netflix, which currently offers a 4K, four-simultaneous-streams plan for $15.99 in the US. While HBO Max may seem a bit expensive when compared to Disney Plus's surprisingly affordable $6.99 per month rate, it's actually a pretty good deal when you consider that HBO Now, along with most cable packages that carry HBO as a standalone channel, have been charging $15 for some time now. HBO has been able to justify that high cost with its outstanding original content. And here, HBO Max is essentially providing that same service with a ton of additional movies and television series from WarnerMedia's other subsidiaries at no extra cost... it's basically HBO on steroids.

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Those Who Remain Review

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Many of us have felt afraid of the dark at some point in our lives, but Those Who Remain takes that irrational phobia and imbues it with some tangible menace. A creepy psychological thriller that will kill you should you so much as set one foot into its shadows, Those Who Remain forces you to seek solace under streetlights and puzzle your way to illuminate new paths through your shady surroundings, sort of like the inverse of a standard stealth game design. It’s an intriguing horror premise that Those Who Remain uses in some fairly creative ways, but control shortcomings and a disjointed flow to its narrative prevent it from being a consistent thrill for its full six-hour duration.

You play as Edward, a guilt-ridden man making his way to a discreet highway motel with the intention of breaking things off with his mistress and getting his failing marriage back on track. However, he’s soon forced to make his way on foot through the small town of Dormant, where he’s haunted by dark demons that lurk both in his present surroundings and emerge from the events of his past. Despite his prior indiscretions Edward is a likeable enough character, and Those Who Remain did a good job of drawing me into his torment over the first few hours, even if the story never delivered a substantial payoff. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/28/the-first-15-minutes-of-those-who-remain-gameplay"] Those Who Remain cultivates an ominous ambience, with each location you visit shrouded in a darkness that’s only pierced by the glowing blue eyes of the malevolent silhouettes that lurk within it. The first few times I flicked a light switch on and off and watched a horde of stationary shadow people blink in and out of existence was certainly a chilling sight to behold. A number of other neat tricks are successfully employed by Those Who Remain to perpetuate that sense of unease, creating panic with PT-esque infinite hallway loops or diverting your attention one way so that it can sneakily reshuffle the landscape behind you so that new paths, characters, or objects appear where they weren’t just seconds before, to keep you on your toes. Additionally, Edward makes regular trips into a parallel world reminiscent of Stranger Things’ ‘Upside Down’, which he can use to reach areas and interact with objects that he can’t otherwise under the constraints of reality. It quite literally adds an extra dimension to puzzle solving. [poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=The%20last%20time%20I%20obsessively%20opened%20and%20closed%20this%20many%20cupboard%20doors%20I%20was%20still%20in%20my%20terrible%20twos."]That’s not to say that you won’t still be performing tried and tested first-person puzzle-solving tasks like turning water valves and optimistically rifling through desk drawers for hidden keys. In fact, the last time I obsessively opened and closed this many cupboard doors I was still in my terrible twos. But at its best, Those Who Remain makes clever use of light, physics, and audio clues to craft brain teasers that are satisfying to untangle.

What We Redo in the Shadows

Not everything works as effectively as it should, though, and that leads to frustratingly regular checkpoint restarts. Those Who Remain features a pretty streamlined control setup, so it's particularly galling that its main interactions frequently fall down due to their inherent fiddliness. Clearing a room of dark-dwelling demons is as easy as flicking a light switch, or at least it is in theory. In practice, inching through a doorway sideways while waving the reticule over the switch in an attempt to make the hand prompt appear all too often ends in an instant death as you accidently nudge a toe into the black and become consumed by the murderous mob. To make matters worse, light switches have a glowing red LED whether they’re on or off, so it’s not always clear whether they need to be flicked or not.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=The%20inability%20to%20crouch%2C%20lean%20around%20corners%2C%20or%20create%20any%20kind%20of%20distraction%20meant%20I%20felt%20about%20as%20cloaked%20as%20a%20naked%20ninja."]I felt a similar sense of feebleness anytime I encountered Those Who Remain’s recurring main monster: a hulking harpy with a car’s headlight for a face. Unlike the rest of Dormant’s sinister yet static residents, this beast is both mobile and unhindered by light, meaning you’re powerless to stop it and forced to adopt a stealthy approach in order to evade it. Unfortunately, the inability to crouch, lean around corners, or create any kind of distraction meant I felt about as cloaked as a naked ninja, and the monster’s movements were so erratic that I often found myself suddenly snared even when it seemed like I was in the clear.

Atone in the Dark

At a handful of junctions throughout the story and at the behest of a mysterious masked stranger, Edward must gather evidence to either forgive or condemn a Dormant resident who’s trapped in purgatory for a crime they’ve committed. According to the developers, the half-dozen or so fates you determine along the way contributes directly to which one of three story endings you receive; however, in practice I played through Those Who Remain twice, making an opposing series of decisions – one totally benevolent, the other wrathful – and both times I ended up with the exact same total bummer of an outcome. I’m not sure if it was a bug specific to me or a general fault with Those Who Remain – perhaps appropriately, I’m still completely in the dark – but I’m certainly not compelled to play through again to find out if the third time’s a charm.

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Part of the reason I don’t wish to return is that there’s an abruptness to the end of each level in Those Who Remain that shatters any sense of place for its small town setting. As a result, Dormant feels a bit like a theme park where every ride and attraction is a haunted house, and every loading screen is the roped-off line you’re forced to stand in before you get on. You’re at the Ghastly Gas Station then suddenly you’re at the Distressing Diner and then the Chilling Church, but they all feel like they exist in isolation as opposed to inhabiting the same contiguous sprawl. It’s even worse when these jarring jump cuts between areas impacts the continuity, like when a handy zippo lighter you use to illuminate a path along a darkened highway early on is suddenly absent from your inventory when you’re shunted from that level to the next, only for it to be conveniently explained away by Edward saying, “I guess I must have dropped it”. The difference in quality between Those Who Remain’s environments and its characters is just as discordant. While the lighting is certainly striking, from flickering neon signs to moody, moonlit corn fields, the human characters you meet along the way are unnatural-looking mud people, which makes them somewhat hard to empathise with. The mediocre quality of the supporting cast’s voice acting only makes it all the more challenging to completely invest in their fates.  

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Marvel's Agents of SHIELD: Final Season Premiere Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out Warning: Full spoilers for the final season premiere of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD follow. [poilib element="accentDivider"] The official end of the Marvel Television era is upon us as Agents of SHIELD, which was once the MCU's heavily-hyped TV flagship, kicks off its farewell season with, appropriately, a storyline that's almost totally untethered from the overall goings-on in the Marvel-verse - so much so that everything starts with a rollicking romp back to 1931 for a few time travel shenanigans. Obviously, the story still involves SHIELD, and thus Hydra (thanks to the reveal that the Chronicoms are out to eliminate Hydra from forming so that - er - SHIELD never forms?), but it's still all nestled within the show's insulated Hydra mythology (Gideon Malick, Maveth, etc) that doesn't veer too close to the MCU's big screen storylines, and the Chronicoms, which were beings created for the series back at the tail end of Season 4. The draw here, in the show's sunset season, are the characters we've been following for almost a decade. Anyone still on board with the show is watching because of Quake, May, Coulson, and the rest of this bizarre, unstuck-in-spacetime "family" (as, truly, none of them have anyone else except each other now). [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/28/agents-of-shield-season-7-official-trailer-exclusive"] Marvel Television (which was officially folded into Marvel Studios last October) was a modest success in its own right -- with programming on Netflix, ABC, Freeform, and Hulu -- but it was a noble failure on the MCU front. It was always a one-way street, with the TV shows alluding to the movies but never the other way around. Eventually, when Runaways and Cloak and Dagger started, the shows just stopped acting like the Avengers existed at all. And Agents of SHIELD, as of Season 5 (or really the second half of Season 4), decided the best course for itself was to remove its players from the game board completely - whether it meant putting them in a Matrix-style reality or wiping them from the timeline altogether so they wouldn't be affected by Thanos. Fortunately, by the time that was necessary, Agents of SHIELD had built up a solid-enough team dynamic, filled with enough love affairs and close bonds and (numerous) resurrections that allowed it to evolve into a soapy superhero joy in its own right, no longer needing to rely on the Marvel Studios films as a backdrop. The gang's new adventure, which now has them surfing their own rebooted timeline in that timeline's past, feels like the kind of fun and charming adventure these crusaders should be having as the series winds down. That's not to say the stakes won't rise as the season pushes on, but right now even with the "Wilfred Malick" twist right at the end, the show feels more dopey than dangerous. (In a good way, mind you.) [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=agents-of-shield-the-new-deal-photos&captions=true"] "The New Deal" drops our prime time players back in the Prohibition, as the Chronicoms (except for Enoch) intend to muss up the works so that they can lay claim to Earth as their new home. As soon as Deke mentions a theory that allows the team to create a smidgeon of havoc in the past without Butterfly Effecting things too much, it's off to the races. Quake takes down hidden enemies posing as cops, Patton Oswalt shows up as the original Koenig, and Coulson -- who has now (finally) become a full LMD -- geeks out while meeting FDR. We don't know yet how many of this season's thirteen episodes will take place in the '30s, though it feels like perhaps the bulk of the season will have this post-Great Depression setting, as even the opening title graphic is done up in old-style noir. We do know that Enver Gjokaj's Agent Carter character (and Peggy's love interest), Souza, is headed our way, so given the Hydra element and the (presumed) super-soldier serum we saw, this final run could lead into some really cool First Avenger stuff. And since Agent Carter got axed before its time, perhaps this series can offer up some mini-closure on that front. It's doubtful that Hayley Atwell will pop in, but perhaps a teenage Peggy is in the cards. The SHIELD team is, more or less, the best version of themselves right now. Coulson's back, but not as a deluded manifestation from the fear dimension (did I get that right?). Quake is still a badass in the field. Mac is still a "heavy is the head"-style of director. A recuperating Yo-Yo now has her "real" arms back while Simmons keeps the Z1 home fires burning. Deke is a drip, but a delightful one. Fitz is, naturally, gone, as he's wont to do. And May is...well, we're not sure yet. After being almost killed by Sarge last season, she spent the premiere in a healing pod - but then popped up right at the end in menacing fashion. The Season 7 premiere is a good (and semi-goofy) start to SHIELD's last hurrah, giving us just enough teases to indicate bigger things are on the way.

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HBO Max Originals Reviews: What to Watch and What to Skip

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out WarnerMedia's HBO Max has officially launched, with over 10,000 hours of movies and shows from the company's vast entertainment library. (Here's every TV show and movie available on HBO Max at launch.) For the price of a regular HBO subscription, you'll have access to a library that includes Adult Swim's Rick and Morty, HBO's Game of Thrones, TNT's The Alienist, and a slew of anime from Studio Ghibli and Crunchyroll, as well as HBO Max's own Originals developed exclusively for the platform. At launch, the streamer has a small collection of scripted, unscripted, and documentary shows for you to binge, including a new batch of Looney Tunes Cartoons, a rom-com series starring Anna Kendrick, and a new late-night show featuring Elmo as the host. Below, we've reviewed the first batch of HBO Max Originals, with more to come as new shows are released over the next few months, including the first of several Adventure Time specials, Season 2 of Doom Patrol, and Regular Show creator JG Quintel's new animated comedy Close Enough.

Looney Tunes Cartoons

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/25/hbo-maxs-looney-tunes-cartoons-series-premiere-sneak-peek"] Official Plot Synopsis: Looney Tunes Cartoons is an all-new series from Warner Bros. Animation starring the cherished Looney Tunes characters. Looney Tunes Cartoons echoes the high production value and process of the original Looney Tunes theatrical shorts with a cartoonist-driven approach to storytelling. Marquee Looney Tunes characters will be featured in their classic pairings in simple, gag-driven, and visually vibrant stories. The new series will include 80 eleven-minute episodes, each comprised of animated shorts that vary in length and include adapted storylines for today’s audience. Fans can also look forward to holiday-themed specials. Looney Tunes Cartoons is produced by Warner Bros. Animation and features a talented group of voice cast members including Eric Bauza, Jeff Bergman, and Bob Bergen. Pete Browngardt (Uncle Grandpa) and Sam Register (Teen Titans Go!) serve as executive producers. Verdict: Warner Bros.' wacky 90-year-old animated franchise returns with a hefty batch of new adventures (80 in total, with 10 episodes available at launch) featuring iconic characters like Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Tweety Bird and more. Looney Tunes Cartoons honors the past with its distinct animation and over-the-top comedic antics that evoke classic storylines - such as Bugs battling a mad scientist and his hairy monster Gossamer. Everything here feels (if you’re familiar) very much like the Looney Tunes of old without trying to modernize any of the subject matter or violence for today’s audience. Whether or not this new iteration will appeal to a new generation remains to be seen, but if you’ve been longing for some old school Looney Tunes, then this should scratch that itch. (And if not, HBO Max also boasts all the classic Looney Tunes cartoons as part of its library.) - David Griffin Score: 8

Love Life

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/21/hbo-maxs-love-life-official-trailer"] Official Plot Synopsis: Love Life, the first full-length scripted series to star Oscar-nominee Anna Kendrick, is about the journey from first love to last love, and how the people we're with along the way make us into who we are when we finally end up with someone forever. This fresh take on a romantic comedy anthology series is from creator and co-showrunner Sam Boyd (In a Relationship) and is produced by Lionsgate Television and Feigco Entertainment. The series will follow a different protagonist’s quest for love each season, with each half-hour episode telling the story of one of their relationships. Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect, A Simple Favor) stars in the first season along with Zoë Chao (Downhill, Strangers), Peter Vack (Someone Great, The Bold Type), Sasha Compere (Miracle Workers, Uncorked), and Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread, Another Year). Kendrick serves as an executive producer alongside Paul Feig (A Simple Favor, Bridesmaids) and Dan Magnante (Someone Great). Sam Boyd, who wrote the pilot and directs, also executive produces with co-showrunner and executive producer Bridget Bedard (Transparent and Ramy). Verdict: Anna Kendrick is reliably charming in her most prominent TV role to date, providing Love Life with its beating heart; it's just a pity that the show surrounding her feels so conventional. Coming after Hulu's stylish (and considerably more adventurous) High Fidelity, which also tackles the idea of revisiting a person's formative relationships over the course of one season, Love Life is a bittersweet but frustratingly safe exploration of how our dating choices can have ripple effects throughout our lives, treading ground that many dramedies have explored before. Kendrick keeps things buoyant (assisted by a scene-stealing Zoe Chao), and the series' 30-minute episodic structure helps keep the momentum going for an easy, diverting binge, but for a show about the highs and lows of love, it can't help but feel strangely half-hearted. - Laura Prudom Score: 7

The Not Too Late Show With Elmo

Official Plot Synopsis: Elmo is the host of his very own talk show and he's going to bring you some (not-too-late) fun with an all-new, celeb-studded talk show series. This brand-new "primetime" series brings familiar Sesame Street friends like Elmo, Cookie Monster, celebrity guests, and laughs the whole family can enjoy! Elmo will interview guests such as fellow late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon and John Oliver, comedian John Mulaney, New York Times best-selling author Kwame Alexander, actress Blake Lively, and award-winning musical acts Lil Nas X and The Jonas Brothers. The Not Too Late Show with Elmo is produced by Sesame Workshop. Verdict: In his latest venture, Elmo attempts to carve himself on spot on the Mount Rushmore of iconic television late-night hosts like Carson, Letterman, and Leno with a talk show of his own. The Not Too Late Show features all of the elements you’d come to expect in this genre, such as a house band, live studio audience, and celebrity guests like the Jonas Brothers. The problem with HBO Max’s take on this type of show is that it doesn’t offer anything new (despite the puppet host) and is a bit awkward at times, as celebrities try to interact with Elmo in a natural way. But more often than not, the conversations feel forced and the concept feels too adult for kids to enjoy (does the Sesame Street audience really crave a late-night format?) and too juvenile for grown-ups. Elmo, adorable as he is, is no Conan O’Brien. - David Griffin Score: 5

Craftopia

Official Plot Synopsis: Craftopia is an epic kids crafting competition show hosted and executive produced by YouTube influencer Lauren Riihimaki aka (LaurDIY). Creating and demonstrating crafts to over 8.9 million subscribers on her YouTube channel, LaurDIY has been deemed the “millennial Martha Stewart” by Forbes. On Craftopia, 9 to 15-year old contestants put their imaginations to the test and make their crafting dreams come true in a magical studio. After racing to fill up their carts with inspiring materials from the studio “store,” crafters meet larger-than-life challenges, making truly inventive and amazing creations in order to take home the ‘Craftrophia.’ Craftopia is executive produced by Rhett Bachner and Brien Meagher for B17 Entertainment. Verdict: This delightful crafting competition series, featuring contestants between the ages of 9 to 15, showcases the unique talents of these creative youngsters in their quest to win a $5,000 grand prize. Each episode has a different competitive theme, like creating a memorable wall hanging or party invitation using the various tools and crafting supplies found in the colorful studio store. YouTube star LaurDIY is a great host, who not only encourages the contestants but also offers insightful tips about how you can make similar creations at home. Whether you’re a long-time crafter or a newbie, Craftopia is an inspiring and charming look at some of the best young talent around. - David Griffin Score: 8

Legendary

Official Plot Synopsis: Pulling directly from the underground ballroom community, voguing teams (aka “houses”) must compete in unbelievable balls and showcase sickening fashion in order to achieve “legendary” status. The cast includes MC Dashaun Wesley and DJ MikeQ as well as celebrity judges Law Roach, Jameela Jamil, Leiomy Maldonado, and Megan Thee Stallion. From Scout Productions, Emmy Award ® winners David Collins (Queer Eye), Rob Eric (Queer Eye) and Michael Williams (Queer Eye) serve as executive producers. Jane Mun (People’s Choice Awards, MTV Music Awards, America’s Best Dance Crew) and Josh Greenberg (Lip Sync Battle, Sunday Best, America’s Best Dance Crew) serve as executive producers and showrunners. Verdict: Legendary is pure chaos, and you'll either love it or hate it on those terms (and it won't give a damn either way). If you're a newcomer to the world of ball culture (or, like me, only have cursory knowledge thanks to FX's Pose), Legendary doesn't offer much background or context on the diverse community at its heart - diving headfirst into flashy dance contests with only a brief introduction to each of the eight competing houses who are vying for supremacy. That breakneck pace - not to mention the jaw-dropping death drops - makes this glitter-packed competition series an engaging (if slightly overwhelming) watch, but it's unlikely to serve as an easily digestible introduction for anyone who's not already interested in voguing or the underground ballroom scene, and by focusing solely on the performances, it feels like we're missing out on the human connection that has made Ru Paul's Drag Race such an addictive hit. - Laura Prudom Score: 6 [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/21/justice-league-the-snyder-cut-official-hbo-max-announcement"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] What do you think of HBO Max's launch day lineup? Weigh in below! If you're still confused how to sign up for HBO Max, check out our guide, the key differences between HBO Max, HBO Now, and HBO Go, and which notable DC TV shows and movies are missing from the launch. Plus, learn why you can't watch HBO Max on Fire TV and Roku yet, and get the intel on the addition of Darkseid to Zack Snyder's cut of Justice League.

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Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath Review

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Hitting more than a year after launch, the big patch that coincided with the release of Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath is exactly the kind of shot in the arm that MK11 needs to keep going strong in its second year. There are new stages, Friendships for every character, a plethora of big-time balance changes that shake up the meta, stage fatalities, quality of life improvements, and more.

The best part is, all of that is free. You don’t need the $40 Aftermath expansion to experience any of it. ...Which makes the value of the actual expansion itself a bit questionable. Don’t get me wrong, what little content Aftermath offers is great. The three-hour campaign is a worthy epilogue to the main Mortal Kombat 11 story, and the trio of new characters – Fujin, Sheeva, and RoboCop – are all interesting in their own ways (though some are more interesting than others). But no matter how you slice it, there’s just not much meat on Aftermath’s bones when you compare it to most expansions. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/mortal-kombat-11-aftermath-everything-we-know"] Aftermath’s campaign picks up right where Mortal Kombat 11 leaves off and takes us on a predictable but enjoyable and action-packed side-story that inserts all of the non-guest DLC characters. [poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=Shang%20Tsung%20has%20one%20of%20the%20best%20shit-eating%20grins%20I've%20ever%20seen."]Easily the best part of the whole Aftermath campaign is actor Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa as Shang Tsung, who – along with stealing souls – also steals every single scene that he’s in. It should be obvious to any MK fan that Shang Tsung isn’t to be trusted, but the way Tagawa and the writing plays with that expectation is delightful. Few characters are as smug and smarmy as Shang Tsung, and Tagawa is able to convey that masterfully not just with his voice, but also one of the best shit-eating grins I’ve ever seen. [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=6f143d48-0db0-4d9b-8fea-abd12da0b9a1"] Apart from Tagawa’s performance, everything else is business as usual for a NetherRealm story mode, with the exception of it being over in just about three hours or so. There’s tons of well-choreographed fight scenes, smart integration of gameplay that forces you to learn characters you might not otherwise play, and a couple of head-scratching moments of questionable logic as Shang Tsung, Nightwolf, and Fujin attempt to pull off a time-travel heist. Still, if you’re able to turn your brain off and just enjoy the ride it takes you on, Aftermath’s campaign is a good time for as long as it lasts. [poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=Aftermath%E2%80%99s%20campaign%20is%20a%20good%20time%20for%20as%20long%20as%20it%20lasts."]In addition to serving a mini-campaign, Aftermath also doubles as a mini-character pack. The three characters it adds to the roster are Fujin, the God of Wind (making his first appearance in a Mortal Kombat game since Mortal Kombat Armageddon 14 years ago); Sheeva, the four-armed Shokan queen (last playable in Mortal Kombat 9 in 2011); and RoboCop, whose voice and facial capture (when you do actually see his face,) is actually performed by the man himself, Peter Weller. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-mortal-kombat-game-review&captions=true"] RoboCop is no doubt the most prolific of the pack, but unfortunately, he’s also the least interesting fighter. His basic moveset feels very plain, just about every special move he has feels like it’s been done before, and overall his playstyle just isn’t one that’s very fun to play. That said, he’s an extremely effective zoner, with what is probably the best low projectile in MK11, so if you like characters that hang back and bombard your opponents with a constant barrage of bullets, bombs, and missiles, RoboCop was custom made for you. [poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=Unfortunately%2C%20RoboCop%20is%20the%20least%20interesting%20new%20fighter."]Sheeva, on the other hand, is a blast. She’s an absolute bruiser with extremely satisfying combos that make me feel like I’ve hit my opponent a thousand times by the time I’m done. She’s a close-range powerhouse with a nice variety of playstyles in her three competitive variations. Her first variation gives her the ability to alter the landing spot of her iconic teleport stomp for some risky mind games; the second focuses almost entirely on combo damage; and the third is a mixup machine with overheads, lows, and command grabs. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/revealed-your-top-5-mortal-kombat-characters-power-ranking"] In stark contrast to RoboCop, virtually everything that Fujin does is completely unique to him, which makes him a very strange and exciting, if slightly unwieldy, character. Nothing about him is conventional, from his ability to run on air, to his weird launching tornado that requires you to actually manually direct it, to his unique slide that can be used to slip under projectiles and either start a combo or hit with an extremely satisfying krushing blow. It’s kind of a bummer that currently the only way to get any of them is to buy the $40 Aftermath package, whereas all of the other DLC characters are available for $6 a piece. Hopefully somewhere down the line, NetherRealm will offer the option to buy these characters a la carte, or at the very least as a part of a new reasonably priced kombat pack seperate from the Aftermath campaign, because.Sheeva and Fujin especially are great additions to the roster. Even RoboCop, despite being a bit boring to play, is still fun to see in action.

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Crucible Review

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Crucible plucks popular staples from all over esports, attempting to forge a greater whole through the fires of interstellar warfare. This sci-fi multiplayer third-person shooter is a battle royale at one moment, and the next it’s a back-and-forth team affair closer to a MOBA, topped off with a hero-shooter veneer. During my 20 hours with Crucible thus far I grew increasingly exhausted with its manic hat-juggling, culminating in lifeless wildlife hunts, lonely team fights, and excruciating slow matches. Too often, this gauntlet is a messy jumble of parts that don’t fit together.

While there's only one map in Crucible, the rules of engagement shift depending on which of its three modes are in play, and each one contains a smattering of PvE amidst the competitive PvP shootouts. There's Alpha Hunters, where eight teams of two duke it out to be the last duo standing; Harvester Command, an 8v8 conquest to suck up 100 resource points before the enemy team; and finally Heart of Hives, a 4v4 where teams have to topple insectoid hive structures and collect the gooey resources within. The last one is the star attraction, but that’s a low bar to clear. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/crucible-full-match-gameplay"]

I catapulted into Heart of Hives first, eager to see what was awaiting my team and I as our drop pods flew through space and crashed on the planet's surface. The bay doors opened to a lush, neon hue-infused wilderness that stretched as far as the eye could see. Of the 10 playable hunter characters, Tosca, a humanoid rodent whose dry-wit is as corrosive as the acid rounds in her shotgun, was my pick for this excursion. With our boots on the ground, it was time to hunt down beasties and gain some levels.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=The%20fighting%20you%E2%80%99ll%20do%20the%20most%20is%20extremely%20boring."]Our quarry was these hulking reptiles called stompers, and they're the most common creatures you'll hunt in Crucible. They make a good first impression with their massive frames, but any enthusiasm for battling them vanished after that first encounter, though. A teammate let off a few rounds into the herd and they responded by waddling toward us at a comically unthreatening pace. I killed four stompers without breaking a sweat, since Tosca's acid rounds made quick work of them. They have no interesting behavioral patterns and will respond to your assault the same way every time: by walking face-first into your bullets. If by some miracle a stomper gets close enough for a headbutt, they'll whittle off a sliver of your health at best. That means the fighting you’ll do the most is extremely boring. [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=23f7479f-dac4-47d5-8644-28d339e120b7"]

The fauna of Crucible will gleefully swallow on your lead-aspirin, existing only to increase experience bars without actually improving the experience. In that way, stompers are more akin to minions from League Of Legends rather than the majestic wildlife from an alien planet that they're meant to be. Which would be fine, except they're haphazardly sprinkled all over the map rather than strategically placed in lanes. I loathe tediously scouring the hills just to shoot stompers like fish in a barrel, but a team can't totally ignore the PvE portion of Crucible due to the importance of increasing attack power and improving skills through leveling up for when PvP kicks off. Thankfully, experience points are shared between allies so, more often than not, I’d focus on whatever objective is at hand and leave the PvE to whichever teammate doesn't mind the busywork of euthanizing brainless cattle. Someone needs to lock their sights on the opposing team, after all.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=Crucible's%20hunters%20don't%20fit%20into%20the%20tank%2C%20healer%2C%20or%20damage-dealer%20(DPS)%20roles."]As I crept up on the towering insectoid monolith from which Heart of Hives takes its name, anxiously waiting for our opponents, I was ready for a good old-fashioned team scrap. Crucible's hunters don't fit into the tank, healer, or damage-dealer (DPS) roles that are so common in hero shooters. Instead, each of them has five or six distinct offense-centric skills and must rely on medkits found throughout the map for healing. Self-sufficiency is a must if you want to be the victor rather than the vanquished. On the surface, this might sound like combat is more dynamic than a traditional hero shooter like Overwatch, but in practice it’s fairly shallow. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="legacyId=20059624&captions=true"]

Two enemy hunters crested the hill opposite of my position. Earl, an alien trucker packing his trusty minigun, and Drakahl, an ax-wielding brute who looks like he just walked off some mid-2000s graphics card packaging, were about to tee-off on the hive. I used the ping system to call for reinforcements, but all I heard back was silence. Crucible has no in-game voice or text chat, which makes communing with your comrades an unnecessarily grueling affair. It’s nowhere nearly as versatile or in-depth as the pinging in Apex Legends, as every ping command is tied to a command wheel in Crucible. So, I lept into action all on my own, peppering the assailants with acid rounds that deal damage over time. Drakahl wildly swung after me, but I kept him at a distance with Tosca's teleport and sticky grenades that slow targets. Earl was my primary concern, and I was barely able to stay ahead of his torrent of bullets. It’s unusual these days to be able to hold my own, not having to rely on a healer to tend to my wounds, but for the first few matches, I didn't mind the lack of the holy trinity of tanks, healers, and DPS roles.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=Each%20hunter's%20toolkit%20leans%20heavily%20on%20self-preservation%20rather%20than%20providing%20support%20to%20others."]As the bodies piled up, though, I learned how lonely Crucible's PvP is. Not just because of the lack of chat options, either, but the realization that combatants are only in it for themselves. That’s mainly due to the fact that each hunter's toolkit leans heavily on self-preservation rather than providing support to others. As Tosca, the best I could do to help my allies was pop her smokescreen ability when their health was low, paving the way for their escape. But as more hunters began pouring into that chaotic hive fray, helping others was proving next to impossible. So, I stuck it out until my health was low, dashed away, healed with a medkit, and then jumped back in. It worked like a charm, and once the dust had settled after we’d beaten the other team I delivered the final blow to the hive and its exposed heart was mine for the taking. It sounds reasonably dramatic, but it’s very one-note: I could retell that exact story two more times with only minor alterations and you'd know the tale of how I won most matches since the first, too. Get in, get out, endure, and to hell with everyone else. The total absence of synergy leads to the most repetitive and banal team fights I've ever experienced in a hero shooter. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=igns-top-25-modern-pc-games&captions=true"] Any hope that the other two game modes might somehow rectify the teamwork woes of Heart of Hives soon evaporated. Sadly, they only ever-so-slightly tweak match objectives, with the underlying issues with both PvE and PvP being just as apparent as ever. Alpha Hunters is a horrendous take on battle royale. There's no item scavenging, survival elements, or any of the defining tropes that I love about that genre. It's just the same map, with the same dull stomper-killing progression, and the same soulless team fights – only it's you and a buddy against seven other duos. Admittedly, it can dip into so-bad-its-good territory if you and your partner make it to the final round: the gloves come off and the two of you turn against each other and must fight for the top-ranked spot. Harvester Command doesn't fare much better. It's a big team battle where opposing sides fight in a Battlefield-like conquest to collect 100 tickets. The tussles are more frequent, which is good, but tragically that means you're hit with the yawn-inducing respawn process more often. [poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=Way%20too%20much%20time%20is%20wasted%20just%20trudging%20around%20trying%20to%20get%20to%20the%20action."]There's a 30-second wait before you're able to get back in a match in Heart of Hives, and following that, another eight seconds for the drop pod to take you back to the planet's surface. So every time you die there’s way too much thumb-twiddling time, and because there’s no chat you can’t even talk to your team about a potential change of tactics. Worse yet, the character movement speed is agonizingly slow, the map is gargantuan, and respawn points are often as away from the objective as can be. Way too much time is wasted just trudging around trying to get to the action. During those sprawling battles I gave every hunter on the roster a test-drive. Eventually, Rahi, a boisterously jovial fellow with an affinity for lasers, rose above the rest in my eyes. His Shield of Justice is one of the extremely few support-centric abilities in Crucible, granting allies a slight protective barrier from danger. Lending a helping hand tended to put me directly in the crosshairs of the entire enemy team, though, and that quickly resulted in my demise. Cue that horrible respawn process again.

Microtransaction Reaction

Crucible takes a pretty laid back approach to microtransactions: there are no pay-to-win elements and you can totally ignore the in-game purchases. All the stuff for sale are items like character skins, voice lines, art decals, and drop pod skins. You purchase them with an in-game currency called credits, which are sold on the store for real money at various amounts. The credit bundles include: 500 for $4.99, 1100 for $9.99, 2300 for $19.99, 4700 for $39.99, and 10000 for $79.99. There’s also the battle pass, which can be bought for 950 credits. It’s loaded with cosmetics that can be unlocked as you complete daily and weekly challenges.

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Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition Review

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For a story where controlling the future is a critical plot device, it’s pretty ironic that Xenoblade Chronicles has never managed to get its timing right until now. After it’s unfortunate 2012 debut in the final days of the Wii’s lifecycle and a low-res port to the 3DS that didn’t do it justice, at long last it can shine on a console in its prime – and the result is an improvement as massive as the titan Bionis itself – and that’s before we even get into any of the Definitive Edition’s numerous and largely positive improvements.

The most noteworthy improvement is apparent the second you boot Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition up: it has been given an incredible facelift. Finally, Shulk looks like the dorky firebrand we know from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, instead of a blurry piece of concept art. Environments, which were already unforgettable in low resolution, now take on a whole new life in HD. Some textures haven’t quite been given the same love and are still a little blurry, but it’s such a large upgrade over previous versions overall that it's hard to complain about any edges left rough. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/xenoblade-chronicles-definitive-edition-overview-trailer"] Even nearly a decade later, the premise of Xenoblade Chronicles and the weirdness of the world it takes place in maintains its charm, pulling me right back in after just a few minutes. After your hometown is attacked by the robotic, people-eating Mechon, you and your friends set out on a quest for revenge on an unforgettable odyssey that has you journeying across the titan corpses that serve as the setting. The world is remarkably weird and unique, and areas are diverse and include dense jungles, frozen wastes, and floating islands, just to name a few – you’ll even travel inside a creature’s body and fight the creatures inside it like a twisted episode of The Magic School Bus. Speaking of which, the enemies you encounter are equally varied, ranging from menacing beasts to sinister machines, and even with the enormous runtime of the campaign it’s uncommon that environments or enemy types become repetitive or dull. [poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=You%E2%80%99ll%20even%20travel%20inside%20a%20creature%E2%80%99s%20body%20and%20fight%20the%20creatures%20inside%20it%20like%20a%20twisted%20episode%20of%20The%20Magic%20School%20Bus."]Like a lot of JRPGs the story goes to some really, really weird places by the end, and many of which are as confusing as they are preposterous. But Xenoblade Chronicles owns its own absurdity so well that it works. Is the dialogue laughably over-written, almost like characters are trying to find as many ways to say the same thing as possible? Yep. Is the story over-the-top and needlessly convoluted with cutscenes that run on for far too long? Absolutely. But we’re talking about a game that begins with a bunch of people living on a dead god’s corpse, so don’t be surprised when things only get weirder from there. That madness is part of the fun.

What We Said About Xenoblade Chronicles For The Wii

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2011/09/07/xenoblade-chronicles-video-review"] Xenoblade Chronicles is the best Japanese RPG of this generation. The fact that it looks like it's from the last generation is its only drawback, but its technical limitations are offset by imaginative artistic direction, innovative and compelling combat, and thoughtful design. It's a throwback to the glory days of the genre, proof that there are always new ways to tell a story. If you've ever felt neglected by the lack of in-depth gaming epics on the Wii, you owe it to yourself to buy this. – By Keza MacDonald, April 3, 2012

Score: 9

[poilib element="poll" parameters="id=8fdcfce2-787c-4ec5-a71a-5544ea87ced2"]

The Definitive Edition of Xenoblade Chronicles adds an all-new story chapter called Future Connected which takes place a year after the events in the main story. It’s great to have more time with Shulk and friends, but the standalone adventure – which can be played entirely separately from the campaign – doesn’t really add a whole lot. You spend a lot of time with Melia, one of the weaker characters from the main campaign, and two new, highly irritating Nopon named Kino and Nene. The core Xenoblade experience remains intact here, but everything feels tonally different and disconnected from the main campaign, despite being called Future Connected. Even though I enjoyed the almost 10 hours it took to complete, this bonus chapter was ultimately a bit underwhelming and I certainly wouldn’t consider it a major selling point for this remaster. [poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=The%20Definitive%20Edition's%20bonus%20chapter%20was%20ultimately%20a%20bit%20underwhelming."]Still, it just feels great to be back with Xenoblade Chronicles’ memorable cast of characters. Whether it’s the loveable meathead Reyn or the stoic and inscrutable Duncan, each one shines even when the wonky writing or grindy stretches of gameplay otherwise bog down the adventure. The story is squarely focused on Shulk’s quest for revenge and the war against the Mechon, but it also takes the time to introduce and develop its supporting characters, with entire chapters dedicated to fleshing out and resolving their major arcs. If you stray off the beaten path, there’s even more to be discovered through side quests and optional social sections between two characters called Heart-to-Hearts. You might learn more about the goofy but courageous Nopon, Riki, or gain a better understanding of the compassionate sharpshooter, Sharla. By the story’s end you’ll have spent so much time with your companions that it’s hard not to develop understanding and respect for each of them, even the ones you don’t use a whole lot. [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=b24a35d2-3a08-4b71-b0c4-8950db3c4864"] Of course, characters can still get on your nerves by literally never shutting the hell up before, during, and after combat, repeating the same tired lines ad nauseum. Thankfully you can turn combat dialogue off, which you’ll probably want to do once you’ve heard Reyn say “Man, what a buncha jokers” for the 5,000th time. But it feels like maybe there’s a middle ground between no combat dialogue at all and having all the characters scream at you, uninterrupted, for the 100+ hours it takes to complete the campaign. [poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=Gameplay%20has%20been%20improved%20in%20some%20minor%20but%20certainly%20appreciated%20ways."]The gameplay of Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition remains largely the same, though it has been improved in some minor but certainly appreciated ways: characters now have health bars, which is awesome and also kind of crazy that this wasn’t a thing already; the map UI now has a detailed waypoint guiding you towards your objectives instead of a vague arrow; and quest items are marked with a helpful exclamation point so you know which you should pick up instead of having to run toward every glowing blue orb. Each of these adjustments help modernize things just a bit without altering the Xenoblade Chronicles that you know and love, even if many of them are so subtle that you might not even realize they are new. But probably the most crucial change is the addition of a “chance indicator” that pops up during battle to tell you when you are positioned to benefit from damage bonuses and special effects. This is especially important when you’re fighting bizarre looking creatures, like the floating, numerously limbed telethia as Shulk, where it’s genuinely difficult to figure out which side is their front and which is their back. Now you’ll always know when’s the right time to go for that satisfying backstab. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-modern-rpgs&captions=true"] While those improvements are great, this remaster doesn’t go far enough elsewhere, opting to maintain a lot of outdated mechanics. The affinity coin and skill tree system, for example, remain an obtuse and bizarre way to buff characters based on social links, both soaking up far more attention than they seem worth. Gem crafting is still a time consuming and convoluted way to improve your gear, usually a huge chore I felt obligated to do rather than an exciting path to getting stronger. And it’s still a really weird choice to make all the most powerful versions of every Art (your characters’ special abilities) only obtainable via a random in-world drop, meaning you’ve just gotta grind certain areas of the world and farm certain enemy types for hours if you hope to reach the apex of your characters’ abilities. I’m all for staying true to the original when it makes sense to do so, but this Wii-era RPG design doesn’t do a whole lot to make you invested in your team and could benefit from more of a refresh – especially when so many excellent RPGs have come out in the eight years since. Thankfully, another significant upgrade in this remaster is how dramatically the menus have been improved, at least making all of these systems easier to manage. Previously an incomprehensible series of blurry rectangle, menus have now been overhauled into a much more modern and functional UI. This is a godsend considering how much time you’ll spend in them customizing your characters’ abilities, upgrading equipment, and changing your outfits. [poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=Combat%20itself%20is%20still%20just%20as%20tactical%20and%20addictive%20as%20ever."]Combat itself is still just as tactical and addictive as ever, which uses an action-based battle system where your character attacks automatically within range of an enemy, but movement and the more powerful special abilities called Arts, are controlled by the player. Arts allow you to do things like heal your allies, apply status effects to enemies, apply buffs and debuffs, and more, and are absolutely essential for defeating the many of the world’s most powerful foes. Since you’re able to control any character in your party and have the others controlled by AI, you can select a character that matches your preferred playstyle or switch between them to break up some of the repetition. [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=791137ed-1eca-45db-b146-32ac85d8c69b"] Which is great, because combat can grow a little dull at times due to the fact that the campaign is a bit of a grind. Certain areas and boss fights essentially serve as power checks that aren’t usually winnable without a not-insignificant amount of running through an area and killing the same enemies repeatedly. This is especially painful towards the end of the campaign, where levelling requires a ton of XP and the power level of enemies goes up at a faster pace than you can organically scale with if you aren’t going out of your way to grind. It would be absolute blasphemy to not talk about Xenoblade Chronicles' outstanding soundtrack. This was already a major bright spot in previous versions, and now many of these memorable tracks have been re-recorded and somehow sound even better. While other elements of the sound design, particularly the grating combat dialogue, might give you cause to play on mute, the soundtrack is a reason to turn the dial to 11. Open areas have upbeat melodies that incite a spirit of exploration, which then adjust to an appropriately slow tempo at night. Dramatic moments and crucial confrontations are punctuated with pulse-pounding and dramatic themes. It’s pretty crazy that an adventure weighing in over 100 hours without side quests manages to almost never disappoint when it comes to the soundtrack.

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