Immortals Fenyx Rising Review

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In Greek mythology, Icarus’s ambition led to his literal downfall when he flew too close to the sun and melted his wax wings. So yes, being overly ambitious does have its drawbacks, but so too does a lack of it. Immortals Fenyx Rising, for instance, offers a light and entertaining spin on Greek mythology that’s clearly inspired by a reverence for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Its setting, systems, and story are packed with references to iconic deities and legendary tales, but always with tongue planted firmly enough in cheek that it avoids coming off as self-important. All this flavour makes for a great set-up that’s complemented by fun combat, but the puzzle design across this colourful open world is disappointingly workmanlike. In a game about heavenly gods and fantastical monsters, the puzzles are far too grounded by earthly concerns.

Immortals’ most inventive touch is its storytelling. The journey of Fenyx, a mortal soldier shipwrecked on a mystical island, is presented as a tale told by an imprisoned Prometheus to Zeus, and the dynamic between the two is hilarious. The pair’s bantering narration interjects regularly throughout your roughly 30-hour adventure, helping to further the plot, provide mythological context, or simply crack jokes. And further on, Immortals does an effective job of balancing the focus on humour with story-driven character development.

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The overarching story revolves around the hulking monstrosity Typhon, once imprisoned by Zeus, now free and determined to destroy the Gods forever. Typhon also interjects regularly as you travel across the Golden Isle setting, as he’s none too happy that you’re helping out the four gods this beast has transformed – Aphrodite, Hephaistos, Ares and Athena. And when I say transformed, I'm not embellishing. The God of War, for instance, is now a rather handsome rooster. The emphasis here is very much on humour, while also giving us insight into the backstories of Aphrodite, Hephaistos, Ares, and Athena within the pantheon.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=These%20iconic%20gods'%20stories%20are%20full%20of%20fun%20moments%20and%20amusing%20dialogue."]I really enjoyed seeing how the development team chose to play with each of these iconic gods, and their stories are full of fun moments and amusing dialogue. Each of the areas they’re based in also feels radically different. The green hills, lush forests, azure streams and picturesque islands of Aphrodite’s Valley of Eternal Spring couldn’t be more different from the scorched, arid terrain and towering fortifications of Ares’ War’s Den.

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Hermes – emissary of the gods and all-round trickster – is also great value, popping up unexpectedly during missions, and always available at the Hall of the Gods, Immortals’ hub for upgrades and crafting. These are by no means the only characters of myth and legend covered by Immortals. Many of the puzzles, whether they're about restoring a Constellation or completing a Fresco are also references to classic fables, alongside other nods throughout the world.[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=The%20dynamic%20between%20Zeus%20and%20Promethus%20is%20hilarious."]

Obviously the more intimately you know these myths and mythical beings the more you’ll get out of the references and the ways in which Immortals deals with them. I enjoyed the fact that the lives of the Gods are basically presented as a cosmic soap opera, but at the same time, a lot of it washed over me as I’m just not familiar enough with the underlying mythology. It would have been nice if Immortals had some supplemental information for players like myself that could help fill in the gaps along the way.

The Gods are far from the only sources of humour in Immortals. Fenyx is treated quite playfully too, ensuring that even routine things like opening treasure chests or upgrading an attribute brought a smile to my face.

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Far Slight

The Golden Isle is a pretty alluring destination. Immortals’ painterly presentation can be quite striking as you gallop through lush meadows or take in the sights from a clifftop, while the day/night cycle ensures the tone of the landscape is always evolving. Fenyx is very capable within this world too; like Link in Breath of the Wild, he or she (you can choose) is able to climb basically any obstacle given enough stamina, then glide towards whatever destination you’ve picked out using the Wings of Daedalus.

Exploration, though, is where Immortals stumbles a bit relative to its obvious inspiration. Fenyx’s Far Sight ability diminishes the joy of discovery somewhat, reducing it to a mechanical process of climbing to a vista, scanning the world, and marking out collectables and challenges – whether they’re visible or not. This takes a lot of the mystery out of the world.[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=Immortals%E2%80%99%20painterly%20presentation%20can%20be%20quite%20striking%20as%20you%20gallop%20through%20lush%20meadows%20or%20take%20in%20the%20sights%20from%20a%20clifftop..."]

It’s one thing, after all, to climb a peak and spot something in the distance, then drop a pin on it to remind yourself to go and see what it is. It’s quite another to be able to systematically work your way across the entire map waiting for controller vibrations, then mark exactly what’s in that spot – be it a treasure chest, Vault of Tartaros or one of the numerous challenge archetypes. Every time I used Far Sight I’d typically add ten or more new destinations on my map with next to no effort.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/7-things-to-know-about-immortals-fenyx-rising"]

To be honest, I’d much prefer not to know what’s in that deep chasm before I jump down to explore it. And likewise, I want to climb a craggy cliff jutting out of the sea just to see if there’s something up there, not because I know for a fact a shimmering nugget of Ambrosia is waiting.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=The%20Golden%20Isle%20is%20fun%20to%20roam%20around%2C%20with%20plenty%20of%20optional%20combat%20and%20some%20truly%20impressive%20vistas."]Of course, I don’t have to use the functionality, but to me the fact that it’s included at all says that Immortals is more concerned with the destination than the journey, and that was largely borne out in my time with it. While Immortals does use a stamina system for gliding and climbing, my plentiful supply of easily crafted stamina potions ensured that I could still quite easily get to wherever I wanted. As such, the environment itself wasn’t much of a puzzle, which is a real shame for an open-world game.

Despite this, The Golden Isle is still fun to roam around, with basic collectables to gather and discover, plenty of optional combat, and some truly impressive vistas.

Old’s Cool?

Regardless, many of the destinations in Immortals aren’t what I’d describe as riveting once you reach them. It’s not that these challenges are bad – they just have no ambition whatsoever. That murky chasm I mentioned earlier? Turns out its deep secret was a puzzle where I had to shoot flaming arrows into three braziers to open a door. Then, 20 metres further along, I had to find three switches to open another door. Then a bit on from that, there was a puzzle where I had to find three weights to put on three pressure plates to open yet another door. I’m not even kidding.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/immortals-fenyx-rising-ps5-quality-vs-performance-mode-gameplay"]

A large percentage of the puzzles in Immortals revolve around cookie-cutter gameplay like this. Immortals is grounded in pushing, pulling, lifting, stacking and throwing blocks… most of the time to trigger switches on the ground. That school of puzzle design is so old-school it makes the Greek myths feel practically contemporary.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=That%20school%20of%20puzzle%20design%20is%20so%20old-school%20it%20makes%20the%20Greek%20myths%20feel%20practically%20contemporary."]It’s not just blocks and crates, either. I also had more than my fill of puzzles where I had to roll balls through mazes, guide flaming arrows into braziers or find the missing object to put on a plinth. One moment it’s an apple, the next a cabbage, but functionally it’s all the same. The puzzles in this game, whether in the overworld or within the Vaults of Tartaros, really do feel like they’re all just variations on a handful of basic concepts over and over again.

[caption id="attachment_2445825" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Don't forget sliding block puzzles.[/caption]

To be clear, none of these are badly designed, and I didn’t actively dislike doing them. I just wasn’t excited by them, nor did they really test me or surprise me. Less would most definitely have been more in Immortals. Coming back to that chasm again, imagine if instead of three obvious and functionally similar puzzles there was just one that really rewarded observation and understanding its systems? I’d much prefer one satisfying puzzle that demands invention and lateral thinking than three utterly bland solutions. Instead, it feels as though the puzzles are largely there to fill the map, not to engage us.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=None%20of%20these%20puzzles%20are%20badly%20designed%2C%20I%20just%20wasn%E2%80%99t%20excited%20by%20them."]Immortals’ puzzles are ultimately a means to an end – they’re a source of gear and loot that can be used to gain more stamina, unlock new abilities, upgrade potions and so on. And in this capacity they at least help ensure Immortals’ fast-paced combat stays engaging throughout.

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Hammer Time

Combat is absolutely a strength in Immortals, and the world map is positively littered with foes to fight, so any time I felt like letting off steam, some stylish hacking, slashing and wielding the powers of the Gods was never far away. I loved swapping my armour and weapons around to use their perks, as well as unlocking new abilities to give me more options in combat.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=Wielding%20the%20powers%20of%20the%20Gods%20was%20never%20far%20away."]Taking a look at the skill trees, I largely focused on upgrading Fenyx’s ability to dodge in the air and on the ground, and then follow-up attack out of dodges. As is the way in video games, dodging as an enemy attacks slows time, and I took advantage of that by extending her sword and axe combos too. Alternatively, I could have focused on counters out of parries, or running attacks, or ways to do damage while airborne. I could even have ignored the skills altogether and gone all in on the Godly Powers.

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Instead of doing that, I chose to complement my chosen skills by giving my bird sidekick Phosphoros the ability to swoop down to damage and stun a target repeatedly, which was great for big threats. I also upgraded Hephaistos’ Hammer to give it a shockwave for crowd control in addition to burst damage. Whatever way you like to fight, Immortals will likely have something for you.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=Whatever%20way%20you%20like%20to%20fight%2C%20Immortals%20will%20likely%20have%20something%20for%20you."]And as you help out the Gods you’ll also unlock their Blessings, each of which is a unique perk. Aphrodite’s Embrace, for instance, is essentially Mipha’s Grace from Breath of the Wild, bringing you back after losing all your health. Not that you really need it outside boss battles – there’s almost no penalty for dying on normal difficulty.

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The combat is certainly fun, but it’s not particularly hard unless you decide to try and take on a legendary encounter before gearing up enough. For normal encounters it didn’t take me long to suss out each enemy’s attack patterns, as well as learning that if an enemy flashes red, I should get ready to dodge out of the way. Immortals has some good systems in place to help in combat too, such as icons showing when attacks are coming from off-screen. Again, get ready to dodge. Annoyingly, I found it impossible to consistently stay locked on to my priority target, so in the end opted not to use that functionality at all.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=The%20combat%20is%20certainly%20fun%2C%20but%20it%E2%80%99s%20not%20particularly%20hard."]Fights could use a bit more variety, too. Sure, you’ll often be attacked by a motley assortment of enemies at once – a minotaur or cyclops here, a couple of ethereal soldiers there, a Gorgon slothing up behind, some Harpies in the sky, and so on. The problem is they don’t have a great deal of personality beyond their attacks, and aside from obvious counters like using heavy attacks against shielded enemies or aerial combos against flying creatures, you can use a pretty basic strategy against most foes – hit them until an attack is coming in then dodge. Rinse and repeat.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/immortals-fenyx-rising-full-quest-gameplay"]

Another element that makes the combat feel easier than it might otherwise have been is the fact that your health bar doesn’t really mean much. If you spend any time gathering collectable plants in the environment, you’ll always be able to cook up enough health, stamina, attack boost and defense boost potions that you can spend them very freely. Only Immortals’ final boss had me down to zero health potions and legitimately sweating. For everything else I was able to dose up as needed.

Even so, I’m not opposed to combat that isn’t overtly challenging if it’s still fun, and Immortals’ combat is very much that. Fenyx is responsive to control and felt more and more powerful as I progressed. And after clocking Immortals, I was pretty tempted to either go back to my pre-final boss save or to start a New Game+ and try to max out all Fenyx’s gear and abilities… but then I remembered the gameplay in between the combat and the exploration.

Ubisoft's Open Worlds Collide

Wild fact: Immortals Fenyx Rising is Ubisoft's third open-world game to launch in just over a month. On October 29 we got Watch Dogs: Legion, which was followed by Assassin's Creed Valhalla less than two weeks later on November 10. That was only three weeks ago.

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Corsair K100 RGB Optical Gaming Keyboard Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out A good gaming keyboard is more than just flashy RGB and some decently fast response times. Sure those are important, but there needs to be a little more, especially when it comes to esports or games that require more than just directional buttons and a gaming mouse. There needs to be the whole package. Corsair has attempted to do just that. The company has taken its flagship, the Corsair K95 RGB Platinum XT keyboard, thrown in its in-house switches, added a dial, and refined the design for what has become the new king of the hill. The result is the Corsair K100 RGB optical-mechanical keyboard. Is it perfect? Not quite. Like its predecessor, it’s among the more expensive options available. But it does a whole lot and does it well. The unit we tested features Corsair’s OPX switches, but it will also be available with Cherry MX speed switches for a fully mechanical experience. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=corsair-k100-rgb-review&captions=true"]

Corsair K100 RGB – Design and Features

The Corsair K100 RGB is big. It has a large band across the top which carries the control dial, profile, and Win key disable button on one side, an LED in the middle that indicates when certain functions (like caps lock) are engaged, and a volume scroll and mute button on the other. This adds a bit of desk real estate to the keyboard’s profile, which also includes a full keyboard layout and a column of customizable “G keys” situated on the left. Add in a robust wrist rest and you’ll see that this is going to need some room to fit on a desk. But it also looks good. It has plenty of gamer aesthetic, but not so much to detract from its gorgeous looks. The top of the chassis is made of anodized, brushed aluminum while underneath is made of durable plastic with large rubber pads to keep the keyboard stable. [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=65f35e6c-3767-4ff5-809a-a1d00c7c2601"] The keys themselves are raised above the chassis and have a lovely textured feel to them. That texture is supposed to help resist wear on the key caps. Also helping to resist wear and fading is the fact that the keycaps are 1.5mm thick and made of PBT, which is known for its durability. The G keys stand out with grey topped key caps while the media keys just below the volume scroll have a glossier look and feel to them. The only key that will feel fairly different is the textured volume scroll on the right, which seems to be made of a nice aluminum and is probably my new favorite way of controlling the volume. Because the keys are raised though, it’s not particularly dust-resistant. A single pass-through port sits to the right of where the cable is attached to the keyboard. Speaking of the cable, it’s an incredibly thick, braided cable since it houses two USB-A connectors, one for the pass-through port. Underneath, you’ll notice two feet that kick out to the sides instead of to the back like most keyboards as well as channels for cable management. The channels are fairly narrow so only thinner cables, such as the ones attached to a mouse, will fit through. It’s a great idea but I wish the channels were a little wider – I had trouble passing my phone charging cable through. Possibly the most striking addition to the keyboard though is the control dial situated in the upper left side of the keyboard. It has a button centered inside it that lights up with Corsair’s iCue software. When you press the button, it and the dial will change colors and, depending on the color, lets you adjust certain settings. For example, when blue, turning the dial will raise or lower the keyboard’s backlighting. You can also skip tracks in a playlist, zoom in and out or even switch applications. Not only is it a welcome addition, but it has a nice tactile feel to it as well. If you’re not using a computer with the iCue software however, you might have some limited functionality. In the default profile, only 4 of the 8 dial functions are enabled. Also, if you want to create your own function for the dial, it takes a few steps. You have to create a hardware action like you would a macro, save it, and then create a new setting under Dial Control where you can add the hardware action to the dial. Like most top-of-the-line gaming keyboards, the K100 RGB spares no expense when it comes to RGB lighting. 44 unique RGB zones cover the keyboard. That includes the keys, dial, Corsair logo in the center as well as the side and back panels of the keyboard. It’s incredibly customizable through iCue. You can have multiple presets on different sections of the keyboard. If you don’t have access to iCue, you can go through presets using the function key and the number keys at the top. The Corsair K100 RGB comes in two variants – with Cherry MX speed switches or Corsair’s own OPX switches. The OPX switches, which we got with our review unit, are optical mechanical switches that require just the lightest touch to actuate. That’s thanks to a 1.0mm actuation distance and an immediate key reset. Not only are they feather light to the touch but they’re also guaranteed for 150 million keystrokes before failure. One of the keyboard’s other top selling points is its Axon Hyper-Processing technology which allows the keyboard to have 4000Hz hyper-polling and 4000Hz key scanning. This is four times faster than most gaming keyboards, which max out at 1000Hz. This allows for incredibly quick communication between the keyboard and the computer. If you’re thinking of upgrading from a gaming keyboard, the difference won’t be night and day. But you will feel just a little more on top of your presses. And any button mashers out there should be happy to note that the keyboard comes with N-key rollover so you won’t get any missed or wrong presses. Lastly, it should be noted that the K100 comes with 8MB of onboard storage to allow for up to 200 profiles to be stored on the keyboard. If you want to save all your preferences and macros on the keyboard (if, for some reason, you’re going to use it with a gaming PC where you won’t have access to iCue or the time to set it up), you can do that and have access to your favorite settings without the need for the software.

Corsair K100 RGB – Software

Anyone who’s familiar with Corsair has dabbled in iCue, the company’s hub for controlling all the settings in its peripherals. For those who are not, it may look only like the app to control your Corsair product’s RGB lighting. And while it can definitely do that, it’s also where you remap keys, create Macros, and adjust other settings, such as the polling rate in the case of this keyboard. It’s not the most intuitive software, often requiring a few steps to achieve the desired effect. The steps mentioned earlier about creating custom settings for the dial are a testament to its counterintuitive process. That said, once you get used to it, there’s really an opportunity to get into the nitty gritty of your peripherals. With the K100, for example, you can remap the whole keyboard to a different layout. You can also remap each individual key to trigger a macro, launch an application, have its own RGB lighting, and more. You can dig in deep but it comes with a learning curve. The K100 also can interact with one other app – Corsair’s Elgato software, meant for streamers using Corsair’s streaming decks. Through that software, you can create shortcuts that are mapped to your choice of G Key to trigger when you want, whether it’s to start recording, open a game, take a screenshot, or stream.

Corsair K100 RGB – Performance

The Corsair K100 RGB is as fast as advertised. Even using the lightest touch I could muster, I got immediate responses from the keyboard. And no matter how quickly I pressed, the keyboard kept up with ease. I tried testing with online typing games and the only hang ups were my own misspellings. With AAA games, there was absolutely no lag thanks to its 4000Hz polling rate. Regardless of the game, there weren’t any response or press issues with the K100. For example, with the new Marvel Avengers game, you need to use a number of keys in conjunction with the mouse to trigger special and power. Those key presses are often right next to the WASD buttons, which controls movement in the game. Because it’s a fast-paced action game, there’s a lot of scrambling to press those buttons – the kind of thing that often results in missed presses. However, thanks to that incredible polling rate, the 1.0mm actuation rate, and the N-key rollover, I ended up spending a lot less time button-mashing while having my character do exactly what I want them to do. The G keys, on the other hand, are a mostly nice touch. The way they’re situated means it takes a little stretching to access them, but it’s nice to have an extra set of keys that can be devoted entirely to macros. I tested them by creating macros for Avengers and Death Stranding and, other than reaching, was able to use them in a pinch. With iCue, you can put your macros anywhere on the keyboard – something that streamers will probably appreciate. They’re perfect for triggering different out-of-game commands without interrupting the game layout. However, since I wasn’t used to the G keys, I did have a habit of constantly pressing the top G key instead of Escape when I wanted to pause my game. As far as other keys go, there are some standard media keys, a Win lock key and profile switch key that was simple to use. The volume scroll, in particular, should be mandatory on all keyboards. The new dial was a nice addition to this updated keyboard but does require going into iCue or the manual to understand what the different settings are. Once you have a handle on it, it’s easy and a nice shortcut for doing things like adjusting the keyboard brightness or recording a macro without using iCue (though the latter required a quick read of the manual as well). [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=best-gaming-keyboards&captions=true"]

Corsair K100 RGB – Purchasing Guide

The Corsair K100 RGB retails for $229.99 and is available at Amazon, Newegg, Best Buy, and through most major retailers.

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The Mandalorian: Season 2, Episode 5 Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out This review contains spoilers for The Mandalorian Season 2, episode 5, titled "Chapter 13 - The Jedi." To remind yourself where we left off, here's our Mandalorian Season 2, episode 4 review. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Dave Filoni just delivered a shot of pure Star Wars straight into our eyeballs, and damn, it felt good. Rosario Dawson's debut as Ahsoka Tano came with a camtono full of mythology (including more deep cut references to the Old Republic legends like the planet Tython and the HK assassin droids), and the seeming confirmation that Filoni and Favreau intend to connect The Mandalorian with Star Wars Rebels, with Ahsoka still on the hunt for Grand Admiral Thrawn (meaning Ezra Bridger can't be far behind). One could make a few aesthetic nitpicks about Ahsoka's live-action translation - her appearance seems more reminiscent of her early Clone Wars design than how she looked in Rebels, including her shortened montrals, which was a bit jarring (I assume the producers tested CGI montrals as well as practical effects and decided the latter would be more effective, but I can't help but wish they were a little more dynamic), and considering how blistering her lightsaber skills were in the animated shows, her fight with Magistrate Morgan Elsbeth seemed a little lackluster in comparison (mostly because a heavy beskar staff is never going to be as easy to wield as a lightsaber) - but as a fan of the character, it was truly thrilling to see her in the flesh. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/28/star-wars-the-clone-wars-ray-park-as-darth-maul-official-featurette"] While Dawson will never be able to recreate Ashley Eckstein's delivery, she easily embodies the grace and gravitas of the character. Her stealthy introduction - sneaking around in the woods to take down the Magistrate's guards - helped build the tension and emphasize the skill and style of a character who trained under Anakin Skywalker and has been wielding the Force for decades at this point. Seeing her two lightsabers ignite through the mist was an evocative image, and Dawson easily sold Ahsoka's creativity in battle, slashing chunks out of trees to throw at her enemies and leaping out of nowhere to strike with deadly accuracy. Naturally, Filoni also managed to sneak in Ahsoka's trusty convor (aka owl) companion, Morai, as an easter egg when Mando was exploring the forest. But it was Ahsoka's quiet moments with Baby Yoda - whose real name is apparently Grogu (it'll never catch on) - that really evoked the best of Star Wars (anyone else catch Yoda's theme playing subtly in the background?), from Ahsoka's wistful recollection of the Jedi Order's history to the acknowledgment that the bond between Mando and Grogu is unbreakable - and potentially harmful, as far as Baby Yoda's Jedi training is concerned. We learned that the Child was raised in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant but hidden after Order 66, after which point his memory becomes conveniently "dark." As with all good TV shows, these revelations raise more questions than answers: did Ahsoka know about Grogu at the Temple? If Ahsoka has only ever known one other being like Grogu, Yoda himself, does that confirm that Grogu is Yoda's son? (RIP Yaddle, I guess?) Who took Grogu from the Temple and hid him for all these years, and how did he end up on Arvala-7 and on Gideon's radar? [caption id="attachment_2444849" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano in The Mandalorian Season 2[/caption] From a character standpoint, it's also interesting that Ahsoka didn't correct Mando or anyone else when they called her a Jedi, given that she left the Order a long time ago, but maybe she just didn't want to be pedantic given how few surviving Jedi there are now. (She also didn't correct his description of her lightsabers as "laser swords," just giving him a knowing smile.) We're unlikely to see Luke in the show given The Mandalorian's timeline relative to Mark Hamill's age, but Ezra Bridger, Cal Kestis, and Cere Junda are possibilities; although if Ahsoka is specifically hunting Thrawn, it stands to reason that she may be hoping that if Baby Yoda reaches out through the Force when he gets to Tython, it might be Ezra who responds to his call. Ahsoka's refusal to train Grogu makes sense in the context of Anakin's fall, and it's also possible that she's sending Mando on a wild goose chase to Tython, knowing that it's unlikely any Jedi will answer Grogu and reveal themselves if they've been hidden this long. The show has already toyed with Baby Yoda struggling with some dark impulses, like Force-choking Cara in defense of Mando, so it would be interesting if Favreau and Filoni wanted to explore the lure of the dark side with the child - but that seems unlikely, given that the kid still can't articulate himself verbally, so he can't exactly throw Anakin-style temper tantrums. Ever since Ahsoka left the Jedi Order, I've been hoping to see the idea of Gray Jedi explored in the films or shows; it seemed as if The Last Jedi could've taken Rey in that direction, but JJ Abrams ultimately decided not to follow that thread for The Rise of Skywalker. While I don't think Ahsoka would ever dabble in the dark side after seeing what it did to Anakin, it would be interesting, after the fall of the Order and the destruction of the Jedi way, to see those ideas explored in some way - and Baby Yoda and Ahsoka could be a good conduit through which to explore what it truly means to be a Jedi, even with the Jedi Order gone. Check out Ahsoka Tano's timeline from The Clone Wars to The Mandalorian in the video below: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/24/ahsoka-tano-returns-the-ex-jedis-path-to-the-mandalorian"] Aesthetically, Filoni is paying homage to the samurai films of Kurosawa - another major Star Wars influence - in Chapter 13, giving us a break from the western-inspired desert locales that are the show's bread and butter, although there's still plenty of lone gunslinger imagery here, especially in Mando's blaster showdown with Michael Biehn's Lang, juxtaposed with the samurai-inspired saber and spear duel between Ahsoka and the Magistrate. Another useful bit of lore revealed this week: Beskar is resistant to the energy of a lightsaber, which is surely setting the stage for Mando's eventual showdown with Moff Gideon (hopefully with an assist from Ahsoka). And there's still the Chekov's gun of Gideon's tracking beacon on the Razor Crest, which will no doubt come into play within the next couple of episodes.

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Star Trek: Discovery Review - ‘Unification III’

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out Full spoilers follow for Star Trek: Discovery Season 3, Episode 7. Read our review of Discovery Season 3, Episode 6 for where we left off. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Discovery goes all in on the Burnham/Spock connection this week, giving us a quasi-sequel to the Next Generation two-parter “Unification” from, ahem, 29 years ago (I was never that young) while also actually depicting Leonard Nimoy onscreen as the character. And it’s all done in service of Michael’s bigger arc, finally answering the question of how she fits into That Starfleet Life now… if at all. Unfortunately, the episode is very talky and -- while it offers several satisfying surprises -- doesn’t quite come together as cleanly as one would hope. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=star-trek-discovery-season-3-photos-unification-iii&captions=true"] Perhaps one issue here is that it has become increasingly difficult to get behind Burnham’s dilemma. While Sonequa Martin-Green is consistently excellent in the role, the bottom line is Michael isn’t the only one who has gone through some s#!t on the Disco. We’ve reached a like-it-or-lump-it moment for the character, or maybe we’ve already gone beyond that point and that’s why this thread has started to grate. Fortunately, it seems that the events of “Unification III” finally bring some closure to this matter. As Michael and Tilly’s (Mary Wiseman) investigation of The Burn continues -- in a nice scene that sees them working the science while also hashing out Burnham’s sketchy actions from last week -- they are drawn to Vulcan, or what used to be called Vulcan anyway. Now known as Ni’Var, Michael’s former home has undergone quite a few changes over the past 930 years. For starters, Spock’s attempt at unifying the ancestrally common races of the Vulcans and the Romulans finally came to fruition “centuries” after his death. Also, the world is no longer a part of the Federation, despite having been a founding member, and as a result its people are reluctant to share their research regarding The Burn. Indeed, the Vulcans and Romulans blame the Federation for ordering them to conduct the scientific research which they believe caused that devastating event. So yeah, a lot has changed. The best scene in the episode comes when Burnham accesses the classified files of some guy named Admiral Picard, by which she is able to see her brother, now about a century older than when she last knew him -- and played by the late Leonard Nimoy! -- as he explains his plan for unification of the two races. Martin-Green’s reaction to seeing her more seasoned brother, who died hundreds of years earlier, is perfect (“I never let myself look back to see what he became”), as is Book (David Ajala) remarking that Spock and Michael are both “chronic over-achievers.” [caption id="attachment_244413" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Tilly (Mary Wiseman)[/caption] But things start to slow down when the Discovery jumps to Vulcan… er, Ni’Var. One thing hasn’t changed there, and it’s the propensity for Vulcans (or Romulans for that matter) to be jerks, and so in order to get the data the Federation needs for Burnham’s investigation into The Burn, she is forced to invoke an ancient Vulcan process designed to “unearth deep truths.” Michael must face off with a trio of Ni’Var residents in a trial-like setting (which disappointingly takes place on the Discovery rather than the planet’s surface, no doubt for budget reasons). Oh, and Michael’s long-lost mother, Gabrielle (Sonja Sohn), has been living on Ni’Var it turns out, and she’ll be serving as her daughter’s advocate during this process. The resulting debate and back and forth is surprisingly inert and lacking in any real tension, but the episode is so invested in these sequences that it can’t help but bog down everything else. It’s an interesting twist when Burnham’s mom seems to turn on her, though this development doesn’t last for very long before we realize that Gabrielle is simply trying to get Michael to come to terms with her personal fears. Which, you know, maybe doesn’t need to happen in front of a bunch of Vulcans in a formal setting? Meanwhile, Tilly is given the unlikely promotion to First Officer by Saru. As she struggles with whether or not to accept the gig or not, Anthony Rapp gets to do some good wide-eyed Stamets stuff in response. He’ll suddenly be taking orders from his former underling? Not great… but the crew are all doing much better than they were just a few weeks ago at that dinner from hell, and so everyone bands together behind Tilly. She’ll make captain yet! [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/star-trek-discovery-season-3-watch-an-exclusive-scene-from-this-weeks-episode"] Questions and Notes from the Q Continuum:

• So where does this all leave Book?
• Why hasn’t the Discovery crew switched over to the 32nd century Starfleet uniforms yet?
• The Memory Alpha wiki tells us that “Ni var” was a term coined by Dorothy Jones, who wrote Trek fan fiction in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The term “means ‘two form’ and was an art form practiced on Vulcan in which a subject was examined from two different viewpoints.”
• The Nimoy footage of course is from Next Generation’s “Unification.”
• Did you spot the play and rewind buttons Michael uses during the Spock footage? We don’t usually see that, but it makes sense they’d still exist in the 32nd century!
• Burnham’s mom is now a member of the Qowat Milat, who were the warrior nuns introduced on Star Trek: Picard who Elnor was raised by. Absolute candor!

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Saved by the Bell Reboot: Spoiler-Free Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out This is a spoiler-free review for the Saved by the Bell reboot, now streaming on Peacock in the US. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Who asked for a Saved by the Bell reboot? That's not an unfair question to pose, especially in the age of constant remakes and recycled ideas. But in this case I'd like to extend a distinct thanks to whoever came up with this delightful, self-aware comedy reimagining of the '90s Saturday morning staple. Make no mistake, this is a straight-up comedy series. There are moving moments and interesting characters, but this is all about the laughs. And trust me, you'll laugh. A lot. If you've ever rewatched the overly cheery and melodramatic adventures of the original Saved by the Bell gang, you likely had the realization that it was about as far from real high school -- and life -- as it could be. That's at the core of the central conceit of the new show. Through an extremely in-character turn of events, Zack Morris (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) has become the Governor of California and his budget cuts mean that numerous public schools have been closed down. In order to save face -- and at the behest of a journalist -- Morris promises to send the kids from the shut down schools to institutions in wealthy areas of the state, like Bayside High. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/05/saved-by-the-bell-official-trailer"] The school still exists in the absolutely ridiculous status quo that it did in the '90s. It's ruled by Mac (Mitchell Hoog), the son of Zack and the First Lady of California, Kelly Kapowski (Tiffani Thiessen). His friendship group is completed by the school's other privileged kids like HBIC Lexi (Josie Totah) and Jessie Spano's kind-hearted son Jamie (Belmont Cameli). Their lives are turned upside down when the kids from recently shuttered Douglas High School arrive, led by fearless do-gooder Daisy (Haskiri Velazquez). She's accompanied by her best friend, football star, and fashion icon Aisha (Alycia Pascual-Pena), and their mysterious classmate DeVante (Dexter Darden). It's a simple setup, but what could've been a corny fish out of water story is delivered with scathing humor and just enough heart, making the Peacock original one of the best new shows of the year. Saved by the Bell's power comes from that duel cast and its awareness of how ridiculous the original show is. The original cast and their kids offer sincere silliness that's delivered as if there's nothing weird about flooding the gym or running for school president to get a parking spot. Daisy and the new students bring the correct amount of "WTF?" to dealing with a group of wealthy children whose biggest problem is what to order from The Max. It's that balance of self-aware satire and sincerity that gives the show a whole lot of heart while never feeling overwrought or corny. It's also a testament to the stellar writing and the always-entertaining performances from the all-important intergenerational ensemble cast. When it comes to the OG crew, Mario Lopez (A.C. Slater) and Elizabeth Berkley (Jessie Spano) are the most regular returning cast members as they're both now teachers at Bayside High. And it's to the show's benefit as their performances, chemistry, and nostalgia-driven friendship is one of the strongest parts of the series, with Jessie's failing marriage and Slater's stunted adulthood offering some of the most emotional parts of the series. But Saved by the Bell never gets lost in the drama, with pretty much every potentially melodramatic moment pierced by a perfectly biting joke or an intrusive teenager with a problem or a ridiculous plan. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=saved-by-the-bell-reboot-season-1-photos&captions=true"] Daisy is the fourth-wall breaking youth here, A.K.A. the new Zack Morris. Velazquez is brilliant at looking into the camera and rolling her eyes in a way that feels completely genuine - she's a Jim from The Office in terms of how many meme-able moments will inevitably come out of this, but Velazquez also makes Daisy a lead you care about. One who is relatable and smart, funny and flawed, and just as bemused by Bayside as we all are. Teamed up with Pascual-Pena, the pair are unstoppable. Aisha is very much the breakout of the new Saved by the Bell. Her arc is one of the most engaging, her performance the most believable, and her wardrobe the most covetable. These two could lead this show for years if NBC wants them to. From the outset, Saved by the Bell isn't shy about who it's taking aim at: government bureaucracy, the public school system, privilege, sitcoms, and most importantly, Zack Morris and his son Mac. The pair are the butt of many jokes and both do a stellar job. While Gosselaar is great, occasionally popping up as a puffed up and useless public figure, Hoog is the perfect comedic foil in a world of street-smart straight men. Bayside has been Mac's playground until the new kids show up, and he's suddenly forced to come to terms with a world outside of Bayside. It sounds like it could be hamfisted and preachy but instead, it's a hilariously abstract exploration of fitting in, rolled up in a metatextual teen comedy about TV comedies. While there's an overarching plot to the whole season, each episode pretty much works as a standalone too, echoing the structure of the original series. But with only ten episodes running around 30 minutes each, you'll most likely binge the entire thing once you get started. There's a lightness and fun here that's missing from many modern reboots. There's no interest in making Saved by the Bell "gritty" or "dark" - in that way it's the anti-Riverdale. This is a teen show featuring actors who actually look and act like real teens, and who are more likely to give each other solid advice and hold hands than commit murder or have premarital sex. In fact, that's another strength; the series is pretty low stakes even when it deals with big issues, making it an easy, pleasant watch. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/16/saved-by-the-bell-reboot-official-teaser-trailer"] It's also rare to watch a show that does such a great job of offering up biting comedy which isn't mean. Saved by the Bell is, at its core, a kind show. The kids are kind, their parents are kind, and the jokes never, ever punch down. There's plenty of subversion here, with the football team as a great example. Instead of the bullying jocks we usually see, they're sweet to the point of basically being himbos. And they're fronted by their bold and lovely leader, Jamie Spano, the kindest of them all. Cameli is a charming presence in the show and there should be a lot more work for him after his commandingly sweet and open performance here. Jamie is a great example of the kind of character work that makes Saved by the Bell function so well and feel so unique. If you're looking for a laugh then you'll struggle to find anything funnier than Saved by the Bell, and the best thing is that you can enjoy it whether or not you've ever watched the original. But if you're familiar with the '90s classic then you'll get a lot of laughs from the smart and engaging way that they combine the old with the new.

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Stardust Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out Stardust opens in theaters and on VOD on November 25. IGN reviewer Kristy Puchko watched the movie via a digital screener. Read more on IGN's policy on movie reviews in light of COVID-19 here. IGN strongly encourages anyone considering going to a movie theater during the COVID-19 pandemic to check their local public health and safety guidelines before buying a ticket. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Over the course of a career that spanned five decades, David Bowie became not only a rock star with a slew of hits, but also an icon for his fierce fashion, sci-fi fantasies, and unapologetic gender-bending. His music became the soundtrack to hundreds of movies and TV shows as well as peoples' lives and political movements. Now, the scrappy Stardust shoots to showcase the man behind the glam rock persona. It's an ambitious mission. But out of the gate, there are some serious setbacks, including the disapproval of the late singer's estate and no right to use any of his discography. So, how do you make a David Bowie movie without his music? Co-writers Christopher Bell and Gabriel Range (who also directs) narrowed their focus to a weird window of the rock star's life when he came to the U.S.in 1971 to promote The Man Who Sold The World but didn't have the visa permits to perform. It's a clever angle considering the production’s limitations. However, this means Stardust isn't a biopic as much as a slice of life, digging into the moment before Bowie would birth his extraordinary alter ego, Ziggy Stardust. [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://ift.tt/3m6IoS0] A singer/songwriter himself, Johnny Flynn stars as David, the sheepish aspiring rock star who has had 12 singles flop in the U.K. His last shot at stardom is to make an impression in America. However, the record company has lost faith, save for one guy. Enter Marc Maron as harried publicist Ron Oberman, a grumbling, shambling warning that this will not be the red carpet tour David was promised. Instead of posh hotels, they're crashing at Oberman's mom's house. No concert halls, just vacuum cleaner conventions. No screaming fans, just disc jockeys confounded by David's provocative talk and orange Mary Janes. It's a parade of humiliation, where a self-conscious David flails and fails to impress at every turn. Oberman is his snarling coach, giving pep talks spattered with righteous indignation at anyone who doesn't recognize his guy's genius. It's undeniable fun to watch Maron channel his signature surliness to defend the brilliance of Bowie. However, little else about this setup works. In part, because David is surrounded by thinly sketched stereotypes, like the cynical rock critic, the un-amused security guard, and nagging wife Angie, a suffocating role that allows Jena Malone only to scowl and screech. Neither in character nor settings is there a sense of an America that impresses or impacts Bowie, as Range gives little specificity to the visual journey. A section in New York City seems promising as it sets up Bowie meeting subversive inspirations like Andy Warhol and Lou Reed. However, the script craftily --and infuriatingly -- avoids putting either luminary onscreen. Instead, the focus is shifted to David's backstory, which involves his mentally ill older brother (Derek Moran) and an alleged family curse. Essentially, David is afraid to embrace his wildest ideas out of fear that is the path to madness. It's an interesting concept that might have been explored through striking visuals alluding to the incredible stage shows, cover albums, concert costumes, and music videos that were to come. But the most memorable visuals in Stardust come from the trippy opening, ripped straight out of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Otherwise, Range's script namedrops Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde, and Iggy Pop, the last in a cringe-worthy bit that feels like a senseless retread of Green Book's fried chicken scene. To give a sense of the mood of this era, he laces in non-Bowie music. But all this never knits together into anything nearing the artistic grandeur of Bowie. Instead, it is a frustratingly tame pastiche. So much so that it's hard to imagine even a pulsating Bowie soundtrack could save it. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=worst-reviewed-movies-of-2020&captions=true"]

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Razer Wolverine V2 Xbox Controller Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out Razer is upgrading its wired Xbox controller for next-gen. The Wolverine V2, an update of the 2017 Wolverine TE, goes well beyond adding the new Xbox Series X controller’s signature share button. It has a new look, a new shape, and an updated version of the tactile switches that give its buttons a unique, clicky feel. It’s still wired, aiming to minimize lag or missed inputs you might encounter via a wireless connection. It also drops one of its key features, a pair of rear paddles, and costs slightly less as a result. (The Wolverine V2 is $99.99, vs $119.99 for the Wolverine TE). Though it isn’t quite as feature-rich as it once was, the Wolverine V2 feels like a step forward for the design. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=razer-wolverine-v2-review&captions=true"]

Razer Wolverine V2 – Design & Features

The Wolverine V2 is a stylish controller. The sides of the face are highlighted with Razer green piping. (Maybe it’s Xbox green? Take your pick, I guess). The handles are coated with thick, noticeably-textured rubberized grips. Like other Xbox gamepads, it looks somewhat squat, thanks to its long face and shorter handles, but the positions of the view and menu buttons, flared up on either side of the Xbox button, create more negative space on the face, which make the controller look bigger and bulkier. Then again, at 6.31 x 4.5 x 2.25 inches (WDH), it is both wider and longer than the standard Xbox Series X gamepad. Despite being bigger, the Wolverine V2 is actually just a bit lighter than the Series X controller: Just 275 grams versus the Xbox gamepad’s 287 grams. For ergonomics’ sake, a wider controller is generally a good thing, assuming the buttons are all well-placed – you pull your arms together less, which reduces long-term strain on your shoulders and back. [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=7c710a9b-eccb-4eae-bb0f-61404724ab3f"] In general, the Wolverine V2 feels comfortable to use for long stretches. It features what Razer calls an “L-shaped” grip, where the handles slant backward to fit comfortably in your hands. The grip, which was updated for the V2, guides the controller into a hand position where your thumbs can reach the analog sticks and your pointer fingers can reach all six of the top buttons without overextending. Speaking of which, let’s talk about the extra buttons on the Wolverine V2. There are 21 buttons on the controller. (That includes the D-Pad, but not the directional functions of the analog sticks). That’s three more than the standard Series X/S gamepad. On the front, just below the share button, is an identically shaped button with a circle on it, which allows you to shift the game/chat audio mix. On top, there are two programmable “multi-function” buttons – M1 and M2 for short – which sit next to the left and right trigger, respectively. As the name suggests, you can set these to replace most of the buttons on the controller, in case you’d rather tap them with your pointer instead of your thumb. This is technically a step back from the Wolverine TE, which had four “M” buttons; the same ones on the V2, plus two rear paddles on the back of the controller. Given how well the controller fits in-hand, I don’t really miss the paddles. Then again, I generally use them to supplement my controls, so I tend to think of them as extra buttons, rather than an ergonomic replacement for the face buttons: To those players, it may feel like a bigger loss. Many of the standard buttons come with upgrades as well. The face buttons and D-Pad feature Razer’s “mecha-tactile” buttons, which function similarly to the mechanical switches they put in their keyboards. The mechanical switches give the buttons a pleasant click, which you can both hear and feel when you tap them. According to Razer, the mechanical buttons also actuate earlier than standard controller buttons. I can’t say that a quicker action has improved my game, but I really appreciate how each press feels. On the back, there are a pair of trigger stop switches, which dramatically reduce the travel of the trigger, making it easier to tap and release them very quickly. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of the locks: I prefer the longer, more comfortable trigger press. The shorter one feels, ironically, like pulling a locked door. Even though the input goes through, it feels like my finger’s stopped short. That said, competitive players will appreciate the ability to tap quickly with less uptime. Lastly, we should talk about the Wolverine V2’s most polarizing feature, the cord. It’s a three-meter rubber cable with a break-away connector near the USB end. The cable was long enough for me to reach from a TV to my couch across the room without any hassle. That said, it’s worth noting that the Series X/S’ proprietary wireless connection added “Dynamic Latency Input,” which reduces lag and missed inputs. Though I haven’t noticed a significant change in my first few weeks with the Series X, it may make the wired connection here less of a necessity for competitive play.

Razer Wolverine V2 – Software

The Wolverine V2 has a limited capacity for customization on console and gaming PC, which you can access through the Razer Controller Setup for Xbox app. Through the app, you can customize four buttons – M1 and M2, the two added “multi-function” buttons, as well as the “view” and “menu” buttons. You can swap these to replicate most of the other inputs on the controller, but not every one. You can also set a “sensitivity clutch,” which you can hold to temporarily shift the sensitivity of one or both analog sticks to enable quicker or more sensitive controls. Think of it as a controller-friendly version of the DPI-shifting “sniper” button on many gaming mice, including Razer’s own Basilisk line. Even though the clutch is a nice extra touch for competitive players, the customization feels limited. Without the ability to change the full range of inputs, there’s only so much you can really do. The customization isn’t really “remapping,” but letting you choose between using the clutch and offloading a couple of inputs from the controller’s face to the top. For a console controller, any amount of customization is a boon but, given that Razer took the time to make an app, there’s certainly room for a wider range of options.

Razer Wolverine V2 – Gaming

The Wolverine V2’s comfortable and clicky buttons make for a really comfortable gaming experience. I didn’t develop any cramping or hand fatigue through several multi-hour sessions. I played through the entire Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War campaign in two sessions, about three hours apiece. The Wolverine V2 allowed for the snappy, precise shooting I aim for when playing Call of Duty from start to finish. As with previous Wolverine gamepads, the mechanical buttons and d-pad are the signature feature. In Mortal Kombat 11, having a tactile click in the d-pad lets you know when you hit a direction, which is crucial for quickly knocking out specials, combos, and finishers. Across the board, it improves any game that relies on the face buttons, especially ones like Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, which sometimes require quick, rapid tapping. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=xbox-wireless-controller-2020&captions=true"]

Razer Wolverine V2 – Purchasing Guide

The Razer Wolverine V2 controller for Xbox is available now for $99.99 through Razer’s digital store, as well as retailers like Amazon.

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Sackboy: A Big Adventure Review

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The adorable Astro’s Playroom may have stolen people’s hearts at the launch of the PlayStation 5 (no doubt in part thanks to it coming along for free), but any 3D platformer fan would do well to not leave Sackboy: A Big Adventure locked in the toybox. This spin-off (which is available on PS4 as well) is relentlessly charming, bringing creative level ideas to a familiar format with a focus on co-op play, even if it lacks the same precision and depth of the most-loved games in the genre.

While Sackboy may have been cut from the cloth of the LittleBigPlanet games before it, A Big Adventure feels far closer to the likes of Super Mario 3D World, both in structure and design. Levels are generally wide-pathed, isometric dioramas for you and up to three friends to run all over, grabbing point bubbles, beating up baddies, and hunting for collectibles as you do. It also drops the level editor or community sharing that have been iconic to the LittleBigPlanet series, instead focusing on telling a simple story about Sackboy trying to save Craftworld from the evil Vex.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/the-first-10-minutes-of-sackboy-a-big-adventure-on-ps5-4k"]

The story is a cute if generic tale, but Sackboy’s sense of style and presentation is intoxicating – a nonstop slew of fun, feel-good stages made out of cardboard cutouts and other household objects. It’s all just so dang charming, and it was only the occasional frustration of a missed jump caused by an odd camera angle or unexpected landing behavior that stopped me from smiling the whole time. World themes range from yeti-filled temples to futuristic rocket labs that have you walking around on giant, interactive touchscreens, but they all share enough stylistic elements to gel into an eclectic but cohesive whole.

A huge part of their charm comes from Sackboy’s incredible music. That includes its original score, clever remixes and reworkings of recognizable classics (you might find yourself unexpectedly noticing the melody of Madonna’s Material Girl in the middle of an otherwise orchestral track), as well as its handful of explicitly music-centered levels. The latter reminded me of similar stages in Rayman Legends, having you jump and fight to the beat of songs like Mark Ronson’s Uptown Funk – although, while they are undoubtedly a blast, these levels not being on rails like Rayman’s makes their use of those songs a little more repetitive if you’re taking your time to collect everything.

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Most stages in Sackboy are relatively easy to get to the end of, but can be tricker to 100% – that includes finding all the cosmetic items, completing it without dying, getting enough points for a gold medal, and collecting all of the Dreamer Orbs hidden throughout (which are used to lightly gate off new levels as you progress). Thanks to a generous life and checkpoint system, I only outright failed a level once in my first run of the campaign, but I also rarely got everything possible on that first attempt. That made Sackboy feel accessible to complete while still having plenty to entice me back for repeat attempts. Later levels and time trials also amp up the difficulty a little bit, but still in a way where that challenge is generally there if you want it and optional if you don’t.

Not to overcompare, but the structure here really does feel derivative of Super Mario 3D World, and Nintendo’s platformer playbook in general. That’s not inherently a bad thing (it’s a good playbook!), but when put so directly in competition with a game like that, the spots where Sackboy falls short can’t help but stand out – specifically, the feel and depth of its platforming. This is undoubtedly a fun platformer, but its jumping can definitely be unexpectedly imprecise at times, especially when trying to bounce on enemy heads or certain objects. The little flutter you can do to stay in the air after a jump feels about half as long as I expect it to be, and Sackboy lacks additional techniques that could offer more nuance to his moveset like Mario has – you can extend your jump distance by using a punch and a roll midair, but that’s about it in terms of getting creative with movement options.

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Instead, what keeps the platforming fun is how often levels will shake things up and introduce new mechanics. One level might be a straightforward platformer, while another will have you herding adorable creatures into a pen, and another still will have you dodging spotlights while jumping from bubbles suspended in the air. Sackboy also swaps the camera perspective frequently, moving from isometric to side-scrolling to top-down as needed. One of my favorite levels has you riding a deep sea treasure trawler, with Dreamer Orbs earned by frantically jumping off of it to scavenge gold objects and bring them back to the ship in time.

Some levels will also introduce cool little power-ups that can alter the way you move or fight. Those include a boomerang, a set of hoverboots with a laser gun, and a grappling hook you can use to swing. My personal favorite was actually simpler than all those, though: just some yellow gunk that would get on your feet and let you walk on walls – not so flashy, but the way certain levels use that mechanic to hide collectibles or change how you interact with obstacles is very cool. None of these powers outright fix that fuzzy, imprecise feeling I got at times, but they make stages clever enough that I generally didn’t mind it (apart from during some of the harder stuff late in the campaign).

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Sackboy’s levels are made even better when played co-op, and that’s not just because playing games with friends is fun – co-op can make a lot of games “better” without actually doing much, but these stages have been intentionally designed to be more enjoyable with more people. Apart from a few optional, co-op only levels, the entire campaign can be played solo and still be a fun time (and you’ll probably want to play the time trials that way), but adding in others lets you take advantage of each stage’s multiple paths full of collectibles. While slowing down and retracing your steps to nab them all alone can be tedious, they ensure everyone has more exciting stuff to collect when on a team. There’s also a bit of co-opetition for who can get the highest score, and of course there’s real value in the joy of hitching a ride on top of a rolling friend only to then pick them up and mercilessly throw them off a cliff for no reason.

On that note, it’s a real shame that Sackboy doesn’t support online co-op at launch. That’s reportedly coming before the end of the year in a free patch (and I was able to at least simulate online co-op using the PS5’s limited but fairly impressive Share Play option), but it still feels like a crucial missing feature for a game this inherently about playing with others. Thankfully, the local co-op that is here at least works great, allowing players to drop in or out even mid-level and giving each profile their own inventory of costumes to collect and customize.

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World of Warcraft: Shadowlands Review in Progress

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With around six hours under my shiny new +84 Agility belt, I can already see that World of Warcraft: Shadowlands doesn’t only straddle the line between life and death – it straddles the line between what was and what could be for Blizzard’s 16-year-old MMO. While it bombards us with familiar characters like Thrall, Jaina Proudmoore, and Darion Mograine in its opening fanfare, it also proceeds to gleefully kick open the doors to new corners of the Warcraft universe and introduce the intimidating Jailer. As the first main bad guy in WoW’s history who didn’t originate in the RTS games in some way, his arrival seems like the start of a whole new chapter that isn’t so beholden to rehashing past glories.

This isn’t the first time WoW has ventured outside of Azeroth; we’ve already seen the destroyed orc homeworld of Outland and even the terrifying depths of the Burning Legion base of operations on Argus. But the various afterlives of the Shadowlands are on a completely different plane of existence, and prove that Blizzard’s zone designers can still surprise us. The soaring, angular spires of the city of Oribos and the muted, dreamlike fields of Bastion effectively sell the idea that we’re really not in Elwynn anymore with their otherworldly architecture and diverse denizens. The skies are filled with enigmatic gates and impossible light shows of twisting energy. The colors are far less saturated than we’re used to seeing on terrestrial Azeroth, and the creatures who live here are bizarre, distinct, and wonderful. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/world-of-warcraft-shadowlands-story-trailer"] Our introduction to this new world is a bit light on whimsy, though, since we’re dumped pretty much immediately into the Maw – basically Warcraft’s version of Hell, where the most wicked souls go to suffer eternally. Everything from the foreboding music to the sickly orange color palette feel as oppressive as Icecrown while completely departing from its icy, blue and black look. The wicked enemies and buildings are still in line with the Lich King’s sense of style, though, reminding us that we’re seeing the realm from which his power originated. [poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=It%20has%20all%20the%20drama%2C%20momentum%2C%20and%20excitement%20you%E2%80%99d%20expect%20in%20the%20opening%20of%20a%20blockbuster%20fantasy%20movie."]Our first trek through this nightmare is fast-paced, action-packed, and introduces us to the menacing Jailer in properly striking fashion. It has all the drama, momentum, and excitement you’d expect in the opening of a blockbuster fantasy movie. I do think it was a bit of a missed opportunity, though, to simply send us here through magic portals. If the Champion of Azeroth had actually died to get to the Shadowlands, that would have been a shocking but hugely effective step on our hero’s journey. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-world-of-warcraft-review&captions=true"] [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=78c9be82-3e64-41da-8525-116d90503672"] While The Maw might be appropriately horrific, the launch itself was almost shockingly pleasant. I didn’t have to wait through long server cues, and there has been little to no lag and no serious quest bugs on my end so far. WoW has had some really rough expansion launches in the past, but this seems to be by far one of the best ones from a technical standpoint. And it only took eight tries to pull it off!

Same Old Song and Dance

The pace slows down considerably once you get out of The Maw, with plenty of standard quests to kill random wildlife for their spleens not unlike those we’ve been doing for the last 16 years. You gather materials to repair soulforged constructs. You find hidden tablets that reveal more of the story. You ferry McGuffins from one important NPC to the next. The first dungeon has an interesting boss fight where you need to get a necromancer down from a platform by tricking his own abomination into hitting him with a meat hook, so I can see some promise in terms of encounter design. That’s always where WoW has given itself room to innovate, more so than the open world quest content. [poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=There%E2%80%99s%20already%20a%20lot%20of%20moral%20ambiguity%20floating%20around."]The larger story being woven around these familiar tasks is certainly intriguing, though – suffice it to say the angelic defenders of Bastion seem like they might not be the good guys their heavenly presentation would suggest. There’s already a lot of moral ambiguity floating around, along with a cameo from a very, very old friend that delighted me as a basically life-long Warcraft fan. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/world-of-warcraft-shadowlands-gameplay-trailer"] At this point, we don’t yet know why the Shadowlands are broken, and all mortal souls are being sent to The Maw instead of being judged and forwarded on to somewhere less horrifying as intended. Cryptic references abound to some kind of ancient beings called the First Ones and other corners of the cosmos we’ve never glimpsed before. These core mysteries have me very motivated to continue the story, even when some of the smaller pieces along the way are not quite as enticing. [poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=Professions%20don%E2%80%99t%20seem%20to%20have%20changed%20much%20since%20the%20last%20expansion."]Mechanically, Professions don’t seem to have changed much since the last expansion. Archaeology, which I’ve really enjoyed since it debuted in Cataclysm, seems to still sit forgotten and abandoned. This is especially a shame given how much cool, ancient stuff there is in the Shadowlands I’d love to learn more about. As a leatherworker, I can make my own armor with semi-randomized stats that’s competitive with or better than quest rewards, as well as disposable armor kits which grant a two-hour buff to my health pool. Pretty standard stuff. Hopefully at max level there’ll be a little bit more to do with these skills.

Casting Shadows

There’s still a long road ahead: I’m still only level 53, out of a new cap of 60, and haven’t seen the other three main zones, the other seven new dungeons, rewards for joining a Covenant, or how the max level experience plays out. I’m particularly excited to finally unlock Torghast, a replayable roguelike tower of the damned that represents Blizzard’s most exciting new idea for this expansion. I’ll be back to share more impressions early next week (we’re taking a brief pause for the Thanksgiving break), with a full review to follow when I’ve gotten a better look at all the fun death has to offer. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Leana Hafer is a contributor to IGN. Talk RPGs, strategy games, and/or history with her on Twitter at @AsaTJ.

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Insert Coin Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out Insert Coin opens in virtual cinemas and on Alamo On Demand on November 25. [poilib element="accentDivider"] If you walked into an arcade in the '90s, you've played a Midway game. At that time, Midway was the "Sex Pistols of the gaming industry," rebellious pioneers delivering arcade games that were loud, weird, and unapologetically violent. This video game studio gave us the flaming basketballs of NBA Jam, the promise of a Pleasure Dome in Smash TV, and the spine-ripping finishing moves of Mortal Kombat. Now all this and much, much more are dutifully recounted in the behind-the-scenes documentary Insert Coin. Insert Coin begins in the '80s, when the arcade market had been flooded with "rip-offs" and "garbage." Gamers were hungry for something new and bold, and designer Eugene Jarvis was roaring to deliver. Onto a landscape littered with fantasy games, he unleashed NARC, an ultra-violent crime game with graphics that were much more realistic than the symbolic pixels of Pac-Man. When you blew a band of baddies to bits, you were rewarded with an explosion of flaming limbs. Players went crazy for it, and so began the rise of Midway. Over the course of the coming decades, a scrappy team of visionaries, misfits, and rebels made a fortune one quarter at a time by putting their wildest fantasies into arcades. Along the way, they pissed off parents, politicians, and the NBA, turning video games into the latest cultural battleground. Yet despite all this conflict, this doc is shockingly drained of drama. [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://ift.tt/3fxTQmY] The story of Midway is told oral history-style, offering an array of talking-head interviews. Jarvis and former colleagues like programmer George Petro, art director Jack Haeger, and game designer Mark Turmell, step audiences through the highs and lows of Midway, including its beginnings as Williams Electronics and a messy merger that changed its name. Video game historians, journalists, and famous gamers -- like Ready Player One author Ernest Cline -- give cultural context to how these games hit or missed, sharing personal anecdotes and concise explainers on controversies the company faced. Altogether, they offer a steady stream of information about this game-changing era, including tasty trivia about T2's motion-capture models, the bowler-hatted hero in NBA Jam's lineup, and the cheeky origins of Sonya's finishing move. Unfortunately, the film's contents are let down by a crushing lack of showmanship. Director Joshua Tsui knows video games. He worked in the field for 20 years, directing franchises like Mortal Kombat, Fight Night, and Tony Hawk. His respect for Midway Games is clear in every frame of the film as he gives their makers plenty of space to tell their stories in their own words, even when those words come out in an awkward ramble. It might be this same reverence that keeps Tsui from pushing into the story's clear points of conflict. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-mortal-kombat-game-review&captions=true"] The movie mentions how Terminator 2 drew national attention for its alleged glorifying of cop killing, how Mortal Kombat sparked a national debate about video game violence that went all the way to Congress, and how the bosses at Midway encouraged in-fighting and hostility among their employees, believing it made them more competitive in making their games the best. Yet, Tsui never digs into these issues to uncover how they impacted the workers or the work. Each is presented more like a bump in the road as opposed to a dynamic obstacle, which makes this journey a slog. Further hurting the movie's momentum, Tsui tells his tale in clunky chapters rather than a dramatic arc. Title cars like "Building A Smash," "Cinematic Ambitions," or "From Filler To Killer" proclaims a new topic is about to be presented, and the last issue is officially closed. It gives the film all the flow of a poorly curated YouTube playlist, as Tsui uses the devices as an easy out for a touchy topic. Thus, a clumsy version of "all publicity is good publicity" becomes the last word on the T2 dust-up, a conclusion that is neither informative nor entertaining. It's just frustrating and becomes increasingly so as each chapter lumbers into another with a similarly anti-climactic end. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=worst-reviewed-movies-of-2020&captions=true"]

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Hillbilly Elegy Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out Hillbilly Elegy is available to stream on Netflix. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Based on J. D. Vance's acclaimed memoir, Ron Howard's Hillbilly Elegy features powerful "reverse makeover" performances from Glenn Close and Amy Adams (that are sure to shine up nicely come awards season) but ultimately the film is a somewhat hollow, overly-glossy attempt to encapsulate J.D.'s struggles to escape a life of abuse and poverty. There are interesting, and important, themes at play in Hillbilly Elegy, about the difficulties of escaping cycles of violence and how destitution itself is a disease but the narrative bounces back and forth between J.D.'s past and present a bit too loosely, to the point where you start disengaging emotionally because we're only getting the bullet points of hill folk strife. Again, Close and Adams are very good, and when you see actual footage of J.D's "Mamaw" and mother during the final credits, you'll note just how close these high-caliber performers came to mirroring the actual people. But Hillbilly Elegy needed to be a bit rougher and a touch less forgiving. It wouldn't fix the story structure, but you get the feeling someone could have mined more out of this tale with a shoestring budget than this sanguine, souped-up Ron Howard production. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=hillbilly-elegy-images&captions=true"] Told through the eyes of J.D. as both a teen and a young adult attending Yale (Owen Asztalos and The Big C's Gabriel Basso, respectively), Hillbilly Elegy never quite touches down on the runway long enough to resonate. You get flashes of manic performances, particularly from Adams as the frightfully unbalanced addict Bev, J.D.'s torrent of a mother, but you never sit with anything long enough to care. The film even resorts to a quick montage in the end, of J.D.'s life after he decides to get his s*** together, to catch us fully up to the present. Close's Mamaw, J.D.'s eventual hard-nosed caregiver, is excellent as a chain-smoking, cussing granny and some of the best moments in the movie come from Mamaw's choice to try and do better with J.D. than she did with Bev. The story breezes past most of Mamaw's sinister shortcomings as an actual mother, having raised Bev in a calamitous household of emotional horrors, relegating it to quick flashbacks and a few lines like 'I could have done better" (to say the very least), but Mamaw and J.D.'s relationship is still the most formidable, and satisfying, part of the movie. Even if it plays out in a very rote Hollywood manner. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/02/new-to-netflix-for-november-2020"] Freida Pinto is good in sort of a thankless role as J.D.s "present day" girlfriend, Usha. Most of her scenes take place on the phone as she tries to steer J.D. back to his internship interviews while he's away taking care of his junkie mother, afraid that Usha will leave him if she knows the full breadth of his family history. J.D., while pining for his summers in Kentucky hill country, actually grew up in dilapidated, depressed Middletown, Ohio - a place that was more harmful to his family than if they'd actually stayed back in the mountains. It's amidst the jobless and forlorn Middletown that J.D.'s life starts taking savage turns. Hence, the small town utopia his Mamaw once escaped to, making his clan "Hillbilly royalty" of sorts, winds up being more dangerous than Appalachia. Hillbilly Elegy isn't a total loss, thanks mostly to energized performances, but it also doesn't quite deliver the message it wants to deliver. It's too polished, and unfocused, to fully immerse you into its grit. Splitting the story up between the past and present (the present here being 2011) provides scattershot screen grabs of J.D.'s life in ways that keep you at a distance. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=worst-reviewed-movies-of-2020&captions=true"]

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HyperX QuadCast S Microphone Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out If you’re a streamer or a podcaster, you know the value of a good standalone microphone. A gaming headset mic is great for gaming but lacks the quality and features you need when broadcasting to fans. There is no shortage of excellent standalone options, including small portable microphones, bulky retro models that look like they belong in an Art Deco recording studio, and high-tech multi-capsule beasts. HyperX earned kudos with its first streaming mic, the QuadCast, last year, and now it has updated it to the QuadCast S. Does it have what it takes to be your streaming and recording mic of choice, or will it stumble on its own RGB lighting? I was anxious to find out. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=hyperx-quadcast-s-review&captions=true"]

HyperX QuadCast S – Design and Features

Upon your first look at the QuadCast S, you’d be forgiven for assuming it’s a set of RGB lights that just happen to come with a microphone attached. Gaming accessory companies sometimes go overboard on lighting, and HyperX isn’t shy about packing its products with RGB lights. In fact, the QuadCast S actually has not one, but two lighting zones in its modest frame. So how much effort could HyperX really have put into the audio part of this audio product? [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=43f6b54a-4cc5-4a86-9ae0-2cb69b8cf628"] Quite a bit, actually. The QuadCast S is a modest update to last year’s QuadCast. Both sonically and mechanically, they’re essentially the same microphone, but that’s not a bad thing. Given the older mic’s strong performance, the QuadCast S is not just a pretty face. Visually, the QuadCast S looks smart and modern, standing about 10 inches high (the Blue Yeti, by comparison, is 12 inches) and about 2.2-inch in diameter. The top half of the mic has a distinctive backlit honeycomb – there’s an integrated pop filter in there, illuminated with a pair of RGB lighting zones. The lower half is a solid black cylinder, mounted to the stand via a double-ring shock mount. Two of the mic’s three controls are within easy reach from the front. Up on top is the mic’s coolest, most distinctive (and sometimes troublesome) feature. It’s a capacitive touch sensor that serves as a mute button. Just the slightest suggestion of a touch is all it takes, and the RGB lighting goes dark to tell you the mic is no longer hot. Tap it again, and the mic (and lighting) returns to normal. More on my concerns about that later. On the bottom, the entire endcap is a giant smooth-spinning gain control. It has a few progressively enlarging dots to show you which way to turn it, but the dial rotates much further in both directions than the dots suggest. While it’s hard to fault the aesthetics of the design, this gain control is the feature most in need of an upgrade. Here’s the problem: The gain dial turns as smooth as butter, with less resistance than you’ll encounter on a ski slope in January. I’ve mostly trained myself to give that dial a wide berth these days, but it’s still super easy to nudge the level when moving the mic around. If you’re in the middle of recording and accidentally spin the dial, good luck getting back to the level you had been using. A full half of the dial’s possible travel is completely blank, so it can be a challenge to tell where it was set. It’s almost as if HyperX doesn’t want you to be able to retain or replicate gain settings. Around back you’ll find a 3.5mm headphone monitor input and USB-C connector for connecting it to your gaming PC (a welcome update from the HyperCast, which used micro-USB), along with a selector for the mic’s four pickup patterns. The QuadCast S takes its name from the fact that it has four pickup patterns which let you choose how the mic perceives sound in the room. Inside the honeycomb are three 14mm electret condenser microphone capsules, each optimized to accept or reject sound somewhat differently. The stereo setting captures an actual stereo image of the audio with a bias to the left and right sides of the microphone; the other three patterns record audio in mono. Omnidirectional accepts sound from all directions in the room, while cardioid only records audio in front of the mic and rejects sound in all other directions. Finally, there’s bi-directional, which captures audio in front and behind the mic (handy for an interview). The whole assembly – mic, shock mount and stand – is machined from metal with no discernable plastic parts, which gives it a study and reassuring feel while staying surprisingly light. The mic weighs 254g on its own, or 610g for the mic and stand together, not including the USB cable. The mic pivots on the base with a thumb screw so you can angle it as needed, and HyperX includes an adapter you can use to mount the mic on a boom if you so desire; it fits both 3/8- and 5/8-inch threads. The shock mount suspends the mic inside a pair of rigid metal rings via a tightly strung elastic cord. It definitely dampens vibrations, but don’t expect miracles. If you slam into your gaming desk or standing desk while recording, expect the resulting thump to transmit through the stand and mount to the mic. For that reason it’s better to use a boom mount when practical, but I applaud HyperX’s excellent shock mount nonetheless.

HyperX QuadCast S – Software

To take advantage of the mic’s programmable lighting, you need to use HyperX’s Ngenuity desktop app, which recognizes the mic immediately and lets you choose from among five lighting patterns – solid, blinking, cycling, lightning and wave. (If you don’t feel the need to modify the lighting, you don’t need to bother using Ngenuity at all.) The default wave pattern that the mic displays out of the box is pretty, but not my cup of tea, so it took me just a few seconds to switch it to a solid purple. If you’ve used Ngenuity with other HyperX products, you’ll be right at home here – you can stack lighting effects in layers and let them bleed through by varying their opacity, and each effect has a lot of customization options. You can save one lighting effect to the mic itself so it’ll retain those settings if you take the mic on the road. The Audio tab shows you what pickup pattern you’ve selected, but you can only make changes from the microphone itself. Nonetheless, this is handy, because you can sanity check your settings from the desktop without disturbing the mic itself.

HyperX QuadCast S – Performance

The QuadCast S is still built around the same internals as the QuadCast, so it captures audio at 48kHz and a bitrate of 16-bit. The frequency response is 20Hz to 20kHz and the mic is sensitive to -36dB. That’s impressive, but is not best in class – the Elgato Wave:3, for example, hits 96kHz at 24 bits. That said, do you actually need that level of fidelity? The audio field is littered with products chasing specs, and for most applications once you pass a certain bar, it’s largely irrelevant. The QuadCast S covers the full range of human hearing and has a noise floor so low I essentially couldn’t find it. Recording on my own, the mic was remarkably quiet at any gain setting I would reasonably use in the real world, and the QuadCast was never the limiting factor when recording my weekly podcast with my co-host and his janky-by-comparison microphone. All four pickup patterns delivered excellent results, with clearly differentiated imaging in stereo mode and great sound rejection around the room in cardioid mode. When used properly – for example, recording up close and personal, I found the audio warm and thick, with great midtones in my voice recordings. There’s no question that I can get as good or better audio with this model than my normal workhorse, the Blue Yeti, and the lighting makes it more fun as well. In fact, the top-mounted mute button is easier to get to, since the Blue Yeti’s mute button is blocked by my external pop filter. The QuadCast S and its integrated pop appeared to stop plosives just as well as any cumbersome external filter I’ve used. [poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=I%20found%20the%20audio%20warm%20and%20thick%2C%20with%20great%20midtones%20in%20my%20voice%20recordings"] In real-world use, though, the QuadCast S has a couple of minor annoyances. First of all, the mic is a little squat. While a tall or top-address mic makes it easy to get up close and personal for single-person cardioid-mode recording, the QuadCast is a side-address mic and is too short on its built-in stand. There are two ways to address this problem: you can mount the mic on a boom and position it right in front of your mouth, or prop the speaker up on a stack of books. Is that a show-stopper? Not really, especially because the QuadCast tolerates being a little distant from you pretty well. I found that the mic captured good tone from my voice up to about  a foot away. Another issue just takes a little practice and discipline to overcome: It’s easy to introduce a pop into your audio when you mute the mic. To be clear, it’s not the mic’s fault, exactly. You literally don’t even need to make physical contact with the top of the mic to mute it; wave your hand over the mic from a quarter-inch away, and the mic will mute. But in the heat of recording, if you bang your finger on the top of the mic to mute it, you get a pop, so you need to train yourself to be careful when toggling that button. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=best-gaming-headsets&captions=true"]

HyperX QuadCast S – Purchasing Guide

The HyperX QuadCast S is available for $249 from Amazon, Newegg, Best Buy, and other online retailers.

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