Into the Badlands: "Black Heart, White Mountain" Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

Into the Badlands was a very Sunny-driven show in its first season, but much less so in Season 2. That's generally been to the show's benefit. If anything, "Black Heart, White Mountain" proved that it's possible to focus too much attention on Sunny and the gang, to the detriment of the show's other major players.

Sunny may have defeated Cyan in mortal combat last week, but Cyan nearly had the last laugh as he left his opponent to die a slow, painful death while tormented by visions of the life he might have had. A solid premise, to be sure. There was certainly an emotional weight to seeing Sunny "reunited" with Veil and meeting his son for the first time. Sunny this season has been a man truly haunted by the ghosts of his past and the hundreds of lives he took as a Clipper. This hallucination/fever dream brought all of that psychological drama to the forefront.

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The Leftovers: "Crazy Whitefella Thinking" Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

The Leftovers, this week, once again did that wonderful Leftovers thing of shifting perspectives and taking us into the journey of an important side character for an entire episode.

Scott Glenn's Kevin Garvey Sr. took the honors this time around as we caught up with him during his multi-year trek through the Australian Outback, trying to complete the sacred songline of the indigenous peoples via multiple counts of trespassing and cultural thievery.

"Crazy Whitefella Thinking" was a great episode, though Kevin Sr. is a strange cat to spend this much time with. The bulk of this chapter was played for comedy, or tragicomedy, as Kevin's misadventures in Oz, more often than not, took on a "crazy old fool" quality. Even Kevin accidentally killing the last piece of his song puzzle -- a one Christopher Sunday -- was played for minor laughs. This odyssey could have played out like one of Matt's famous (and splendidly depressing) episode-long ordeals, but instead it had a lightness to it. A lightness that represents The Leftovers' evolution into a series that can juggle and blend many elements and tones.

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What Did You Think of This Week's Samurai Jack?

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What did you think of this week’s episode of Samurai Jack? Take to the comments to let us know what you think!

Note: Hey friends, Joshua here. I will be on vacation and won't be around to review episodes 7 and 8 until I get back. But we still want you to keep the conversation going in the comments because this final season has been pretty crazy! I appreciate everyone’s patience while I'm out and I can't wait to see what Jack and Ashi are up to once I get back.

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New Doctor Who Review

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Spoilers follow for this episode of Doctor Who.

Last week it was to the future for the Doctor and Bill, but with this week’s episode the new friends have wound up more than 200 years in the past. For Bill, who’s still finding her TARDIS legs as a companion, a mere couple of centuries is more than enough time to drive home how much London, and society, will change by the time she’s born. But even more alarmingly for her, she’s also getting a better sense of who the Doctor is… and what he’s capable of.

“Thin Ice” takes the opportunity to visit an actual historical event, specifically the “Frost Fairs” that would pop up on the Thames during the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries when the river would occasionally freeze. The TARDIS, “bad girl” that she is, arrives at the last of these fairs in 1814, when, yes, an elephant walked across the river. But that’s not the only giant creature doing the bidding of man during this particular moment of London’s past…

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My Hero Academia Episode 18 Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

The second season of My Hero Academia is getting better and better with each episode. The further Deku and his peers progress into the U.A. Sports Festival, the higher the stakes become, and in "Cavalry Battle Finale" the second round of the competition concludes in glorious fashion, further developing My Hero Academia's core cast of characters amidst some of the most heart-pounding action the series has had yet.

While "Cavalry Battle Finale" is full of incredible moments, Deku's desperate attempt to reclaim his 10 million point headband from Todoroki was the undeniable standout. I was expecting Deku to save the use of his All for One Quirk for the very final round of the festival, but with the clock ticking down and the success of his teammates weighing on his shoulders, he charged right in with nothing to lose. I found the brief flashback to Ochaco's family's financial issues during this moment to be particularly powerful, as it fueled Deku's desire to win not only for himself, but also for his friend.

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The Circle Review

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Over the past few years, James Ponsoldt has emerged as one of the most compelling independent filmmakers of his generation, following critically-acclaimed films like Smashed, The Spectacular Now, and The End of the Tour. He’s built up the kind of reliable reputation in the industry to make any new film of his one of the more anticipated independent films of the year, even when it has a much bigger budget than any of his previous outings, with a premise larger and more broad than any of the human conflicts he’s tackled before.

All of that and more is why Ponsoldt’s newest film, The Circle, had started looking more and more like it could be one of the more interesting films of the year so far. Headlined by talented actors like Tom Hanks, Emma Watson, John Boyega, Patton Oswalt, and Karen Gillan, and based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Dave Eggers (who co-wrote the film’s script with Ponsoldt), The Circle had all the makings of being one of the best films of 2017. Unfortunately, the final product just doesn’t come close to living up to the promise offered by its many impressive cast and crew members.

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Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 3 - Final Review

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Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 3 is as bloody and chaotic as its bombastic sci-fi universe demands. After its predecessor memorably focused almost exclusively on unit tactics, the pendulum has swung back toward larger armies and basic base-building, creating some extremely challenging micromanagement with a complex set of rules that makes it tough to dive into. It’s not big on variety and its campaign has a scattered pace, but it’s a good real-time strategy game that makes some bold moves.

With its focus on controlling up to three powerful hero characters next to disposable troops, Dawn of War 3 feels like a spiritual successor to Blizzard’s divisive Warcraft 3, the game from which DotA and the entire MOBA genre was born. Dawn of War 3 is distinctly set apart by major differences like Relic’s signature control point resource generation systems, but its abandonment of Dawn of War 2’s cover, suppression, and weapon facing systems make give it more of that fun and fast old-school pacing. A little sadly, though, it feels less like Relic’s own unique style as a result.

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Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 Review

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Playing Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3, if you’ve played games from similar series like Far Cry and Sniper Elite, gives a constant sense of deja vu. Its mechanics mostly competently echo those more popular franchises, but it doesn’t do any single thing notably better. Most of the time a new game in a thriving genre has a unique idea that distinguishes it and gives it a reason to exist, but not Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3. Yet, despite this lack of innovation, it still executes its open-world stealth combat well enough that it ends up being a fun and tightly constructed game that doesn’t overstay its welcome. Or it would be, if not for numerous graphical and technical problems.

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Sleight Review

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It’s hard to make a truly good movie about magicians, since, like con men, the whole allure of their trade is the secrecy and truth behind their tricks. To offer a peek behind the curtain then can often take away from the value of what it is they do to their audiences. So it should be said up front that Sleight is probably the coolest movie about magicians since Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige, though that’s not really saying much. More patient and less silly than either of the Now You See Me movies, but less psychological or unpredictable as The Prestige, Sleight makes for an interesting introduction to its creative team, despite it’s sometimes limited or unsatisfying payoffs.

Directed by newcomer J.D. Dillard and based on a screenplay co-written by he and Alex Theurer, Sleight is the newest low-budget genre thriller to be released by Jason Blum and Blumhouse, with help surprisingly enough from WWE Studios. It’s not hard to see why the studio picked up Sleight following its Sundance premiere in 2016 either, considering how unashamedly the film wears its influences and genre leanings on its sleeve. Like so many of the genre’s other notable titles too, it shines the most whenever it decides to lean just a little bit further into them.

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The 100: "DNR" Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

The characters on The 100 have faced so much turmoil and experienced so many horrific things -- while watching people they love die all the time -- that whether you agree with the choice or not, it makes sense that some of them would decide, “You know what… I’ve had enough of this.”

So while it was certainly sad and somber seeing a bunch of people (including a small group we were invested in) decide it was time to stop fighting to survive here, it also felt believable… for the most part. Clearly, with Jasper, he’s been in such a nihilistic state for the past two seasons, this is very on brand – and, let’s face it, it’s time to say goodbye to his character after all that, given it doesn’t feel there’s anywhere else to go with him. And with Raven, she too has faced so much anguish, we can see why – with the mental breakdown she’s experiencing – she’d rather die doing something she loves than live on having lost herself. (BUT THEY BETTER FIND A WAY TO SAVE RAVEN!)

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Review: WTFast Gaming VPN

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Whether you are looking to protect your privacy or or want play games that are restricted where you live, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a useful tool for gamers. Read more about what a VPN is and why it's important. 

WTFast is not a typical VPN. It does not route all of your web traffic through its servers, and instead only handles online game traffic. The company calls its collection of servers around the world a Gamers Private Network (GPN) and claims this network creates an optimized path to reduce your ping and minimize dropped connections.

WTFast is among the more affordable VPNs you’ll find, but again it doesn’t offer the protection and anonymity of a full-service VPN. This is a product for online gamers and online gamers only. WTFast offers Basic and Advanced plans. The Basic plan costs $5.99 a month if you sign up for one month, $17.07 for three months, $32.35 for six months, $59.90 for 12 months. The Advanced plan costs $9.99 a month for one month, $28.47 for three months, $53.95 for six months, $99.90 for 12 months. WTFast offers a 14-day trial so you can test it out with your favorite games to see if it improves your ping and connection stability.

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Boruto Episode 4 Review

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After a few episodes of waiting in the background, Sarada Uchiha finally gets a proper introduction, and what better way to welcome her than with a ninja academy battle royale. This episode is all action and features cameos from a wider variety of ninja students. Although the episode lacks any standout scenes, it’s packed with enough goofy humor and fun moments to satisfy my weekly Naruto itch.

The episode opens with yet another one of Shino’s lessons, and just like every other episode, it doesn’t take long for Boruto to completely take it off the rails. This time around his actions draw ire from the female students, who are tired of being lumped in with the unruly male students. An argument between the two sides ensues, and Shino suggests a friendly match of capture the flag to determine who is right. It’s a simple setup, but it moves along quickly and lets the episode get right into the action.

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Arrow: "Dangerous Liaisons" Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

Arrow returned tonight for the final stretch of Season 5 tonight. Right away, it was made clear that while Adrian Chase may be on the defensive, he’s no less dangerous or crafty an opponent. But Chase wasn’t the focus tonight. The show had some unfinished business to resolve in terms of Felicity’s ongoing storyline. How well that went over depends mostly on whether viewers fall into the pro or anti-Felicity camp.

Though Chase never appeared in the flesh this week (always a negative, as far as I’m concerned), he did make for a memorable unseen enemy in the opening sequence. The fact that Chase was able to bobby trap an arcade center shows that he’s still able to stay a few steps ahead of Team Arrow and the SCPD even after being outed. At this point, you have to wonder if having his identity leaked wasn’t just one more piece in his carefully orchestrated master plan.

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Fargo: "The Principle of Restricted Choice" Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

"The Principle of Restricted Choice" (you betcha, another bridge term!) felt more or less like the natural follow up to the season premiere. Which his to say, nothing overly shocking happened and everything just extended naturally -- and perhaps a bit too predictably -- out of the events from last week.

Even more to the point: These two episodes could have been positioned into one double-sized season opener, though I'm usually against that type of bloating. With this follow up, we got a better handle on some of the characters who weren't Ray and Nikki, who seemed to hog the spotlight a bit in the premiere. I feel like this chapter and the first one together complete the whole picture of this new Season 3 world.

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The Magicians: Season 2 Review

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Full spoilers from The Magicians continue below. For a preview of what to expect in Season 3, make sure to read our Q&A with showrunners John McNamara and Sera Gamble.

With Season 2, The Magicians continues to be the best show on TV that you're probably not watching. It consistently transcends and subverts genre tropes, both as a fantasy series and as a story exploring relationships between college-aged students.

After discovering Fillory in Season 1, The Magicians spent a vast majority of its time in the magical land in Season 2. The new land offered a new wealth of opportunities for ways to screw with Quentin, Julia, Alice, Eliot, Margo, Penny and Kady, and showrunners John McNamara and Sera Gamble took them with glee. They are fearless as showrunners, and the dark thread through the Magicians means that these characters keep getting thrown into worse and worse insane scenarios, and much of the fun of the show is seeing how they'll try to get out of them.

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Aliens: Dead Orbit #1 Review

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Dark Horse really came through for this year's Alien Day. The publisher is finally kicking off the eagerly anticipated Aliens: Dead Orbit from the one man creative force that is James Stokoe. Not content to deliver one of the best Godzilla comics ever with The Half-Century War, now Stokoe seems determined to leave a similar mark on the Alien franchise. And based on this first issue, he very might well pull it off.

Dead Orbit covers very familiar ground for Alien fans. The issue opens aboard a remote Weyland-Yutani space station as a haggard, emaciated employee named Wascylewski goes about his business. The seemingly innocuous setting gradually becomes a foreboding, claustrophobic nightmare as Stokoe reveals how Wascylewski found himself in this situation and the very real, very hungry enemy that is his only companion on the station. This is a story very much in the vein of the original Alien, featuring a few, mostly helpless humans fighting for survival against a ruthless Xenomorph.

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What Remains of Edith Finch Review

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What Remains of Edith Finch sits alongside Kentucky Route Zero as one of the finest magical-realism stories in all of video games. A first-person, story-driven experience akin to Gone Home and Firewatch, it tells the incredible, tragic, and constantly surprising multi-generational history of the Finch family. As you explore the the gorgeous labyrinthine home, you’ll go on a guided history of each family member, delve into what may or may not be a familial curse, and ultimately learn how each one succumbed to it. Developer Giant Sparrow (known for The Unfinished Swan) has once again created something truly special.

In the two hours it took me to fully explore I ran the emotional gamut from feeling completely devastated to full of an energetic light to annoyed by noticeable performance dips, especially when I approached the house for the first time. The only challenge is finding a way into each locked room of the house, generally through the use of secret passages that make the whole thing exude the charm and imagination of a pop-up book. While exploring the house, the last living member of the Finch family, Edith, narrates with stories of the house, her family, and how the incredible lives they lived untimely came to an end.

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HyperX Pulsefire Gaming Mouse Review

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Kingston's HyperX sub-brand of gaming peripherals is already well known and includes items such as its Cloud II Gaming Headset, Alloy FPS Mechanical Keyboard, and Fury Series mousepads. Today the company is expanding its lineup a bit by entering the competitive FPS mouse market with its first offering, the $50 HyperX Pulsefire (See it on Amazon). It was designed with input from professional gamers and features a claw-or-palm grip design, light weight, and is designed to go head-to-head with the most popular FPS mice available.

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X-Men Blue #2 Review

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There was a time when All-New X-Men was the most exciting X-Men book on the stands. Sadly, between the underwhelming end to the original volume and all the mistakes made in the post-Secret Wars era, the All-New X-Men aren't quite as captivating as they once were. But that seems to be changing, as X-men Blue is doing a bang-up job of recapturing that earlier magic.

Building on the reveal that Magneto has become the latest elder mutant statesman to take charge of these time-displaced heroes, X-Men Blue #2 delves deeper into the current state of the team and their place in the ResurrXion status quo. Why did Jean and her teammates agree to join Magneto? Does the Master of Magnetism have ulterior motives? These questions are addressed as writer Cullen Bunn settles in on the new series and explores each character in turn. Bunn has long since proven he knows how to handle Magneto, but this book shows him to be a capable ensemble X-Men writer as well. Each member of the cast feels distinctive, and each has their own set of motivations and goals.

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Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider #1 Review

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Ben Reilly lovers have been clamoring for the character's return for years. But now that the original Spider-clone is back and in his own series again, the question is whether those fans will be happy with what they're being given. Ben is a very different person from the one that existed in The Clone Saga. That fact proves to be Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider's greatest strength and most glaring flaw as the new series gets underway.

The new series picks up in the aftermath of The Clone Conspiracy, with Ben dealing with the collapse of his New U empire and trying to establish a new life in Las Vegas. The main thing separating this series from, say, the previous Scarlet Spider comic featuring Kaine is that Ben no longer qualifies as a hero. He isn't even particularly interested in finding redemption. Ben simply wants to reclaim his lost wealth and power, and maybe do something about his horrifically scarred face while he's at it.

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24: Legacy Season 1 Review

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Warning: Major spoilers for 24: Legacy - Season 1 follow.

I was cautiously optimistic about 24: Legacy. Admittedly more cautious than optimistic, I wanted to see if they could continue the saga without Jack. Jack Bauer is a special character and I was afraid of what taking him off the board would do to the game, but I was excited nonetheless. He’s a transcendent character, one whose personality and cadence bleeds into the public zeitgeist. That is a lot to live up to for our new lead. Does Legacy deliver on all fronts? No, but at times it flirts with the peaks of the original series.

Legacy follows former Army Ranger Eric Carter, played by The Walking Dead’s Corey Hawkins. Carter is having difficulty adapting to civilian life as he tries to juggle both his marriage and his nagging desire to return to action. Throughout most of the season we are told that Carter is the man that he “can get it done” and he will do “whatever it takes”. Carter had the most to live up to; it’s hard to be compared to Jack Bauer. While he doesn’t quite get there, but in the end he has made great strides in filling Jack’s shoes.

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Batman/The Shadow #1 Review

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We truly are living in a new golden age of comic book crossovers. Recently we've seen everything from Batman/TMNT to Archie vs. Predator to Star Trek/Green Lantern to Tarzan on the Planet of the Apes. The common thread among all four of those books is that they delivered more than simple novelty value. They blended their respective franchises in clever, inventive ways and made the most of the new character dynamics that arose as a result. Now we have Batman/The Shadow, one more worthy addition to this lineup of terrific crossovers.

While set in current DC Rebirth continuity (or something like it), Batman/The Shadow helps the Dark Knight get back to his roots a bit as a dark, pulpy avenger of the night. Considering how much The Shadow inspired Batman, it's only fitting writers Scott Snyder and Steve Orlando and artist Riley Rossmo would take that approach. The series also uses the massive time gap separating the two characters to its advantage. This isn't another textbook case of two heroes bumping into one another and fighting for a while before teaming up to battle a common enemy. There's a much more complicated and intriguing conflict at work here, one that concerns itself a great deal with the legacy Lamont Cranston left behind.

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X-Men Gold #2 Review

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Given the generally sorry state of the X-Men franchise over the last two years, there's a lot to be said for a book that simply tries to take the team back to basics and capture what made them popular in the first place. X-Men Gold is a clear throwback to the days of Chris Claremont, and it succeeds in capturing the look and feel of that era. The downside to this approach is that, so far, Gold doesn't have a very distinctive voice of its own. This is one X-Men comic to play it safe.

That safe approach extends to the new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants introduced in these pages. Much like the new squad of X-men themselves, the new Brotherhood features a pretty traditional lineup of fan-favorites (both originals and newcomers masquerading as the originals). Unfortunately, without a clear mission statement or charismatic leader, the new Brotherhood doesn't emerge as a particularly compelling threat in this issue. The one interesting wrinkle writer Marc Guggenheim adds to the mix is the reveal that former New Mutant Magma has thrown her lot in with these villains. Sadly, that twist doesn't receive much focus in this issue.

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The Handmaid's Tale Review

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Peak TV means that in this final week of April, 2017, not one but two new series based on decades-old, critically acclaimed novels packed with so-called "timely" and "relevant" themes will debut. American Gods, which bows on Starz April 30, and The Handmaid's Tale, which premieres its first three episodes on Hulu on April 26.

Then again, any TV series with a tangentially controversial theme might be considered "timely" in the current polarizing political climate. And while Neil Gaiman's American Gods, released in 2001, touches on immigration and religion, it's also a fantasy involving ancient mythology and supernatural creatures. The Handmaid's Tale, on the other hand, might have felt like an improbably dystopian far-future when Margaret Atwood wrote the novel in 1985. But as each day of 2017 brings another, more unbelievable headline, the events of the series feels more and more metaphorical.

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Little Nightmares Review

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Hide and Seek is a horror game. You run from a pursuer, hurriedly choose a hiding spot, then just wait – with only breath and heartbeat in your ears – for a pair of legs to pass your slim field of view. They stop. You stop breathing. They pass. You start breathing. And then they’re back, you’re caught, the game is over. It’s a design that horror games have always favoured, but where most shock by using the moment of being found, Little Nightmares captures something more nuanced: that creeping fright of waiting to be caught.

If you were going to be dull about it, you’d describe Little Nightmares as a 2D stealth puzzle platformer. Guiding a tiny, raincoated character called Six from left to right through the sea-swaying innards of The Maw (an ocean facility with a slowly revealed, despicable purpose) is a matter of avoiding instant-death hazards and gentle puzzling about how to proceed – but it rarely feels as plainly mechanical as that. At around five hours long, Little Nightmares feels slightly too brief –- the implied sense of scale suggests there was surely more Maw to see than the route Six takes –- but that’s perhaps testament to how much fun Tarsier has with throwing ideas at us and leaving them aside once they’re done.

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Prison Break: "The Prisoner's Dilema" Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

 Let’s hear it for forward momentum! After four episodes, Michael and his new team are finally out of Ogygia, and now the real fun can begin. Once the guards abandoned the prison, it was pretty clear that Michael and company couldn’t stay locked up, and it was extremely satisfying to see Michael and Lincoln come back together. That was done so well that it doesn’t even matter that FOX gave away that scene months ago in a trailer.

Even though Michael’s fellow escapees seem like paper thin characters, they’re starting to grow on me. And it was pretty amusing that Ja took every opportunity to eat once he got out of the prison, even when it wasn’t part of Michael’s plan. What’s interesting here is that Michael has clearly held out on Whip, who didn’t even know that he had a brother. It seems like Whip saw himself as Michael’s surrogate brother and now he feels displaced by Lincoln’s sudden introduction. That could be a fun dynamic as they try to stay alive. Would Michael abandon his new crew if it meant saving his real brother? Quite possibly.

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Agents of SHIELD: "All the Madame's Men" Review

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Full spoilers for Marvel's Agents of SHIELD continue below.

With only a few episodes to go this season, "All the Madame's Men" had some heavy plot lifting to do to set the stage for the Season 4 finale. As such, it was a solid episode in this pod but not a standout, making some good strides with character development and tying up loose ends, and offering an interesting twist with Aida's storyline.

After Daisy threw Madame Hydra out a window and seriously damaged her, she knocked that version of Aida out of the Framework for long enough for her to check back in with Anton Ivanov back in the real world. There, and during Simmons' storyline where she discovers the Framework version of where Aida is hiding, we learn a good deal more about Project Looking Glass; namely, that Aida wants to use it to create a human body for herself and circumvent her programming.

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The Flash: "The Once and Future Flash" Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

It was difficult to know whether to feel enthusiastic about tonight’s Flash. Sure, the prospect of Barry Allen jumping forward in time to visit the Central City of 2025 was exciting. But at the same time, pretty much every tragedy in Season 3 has stemmed from Barry’s boneheaded decision to abuse his powers and create the alternate reality that is Flashpoint. Was “The Once and Future Flash” going to be just one more example of Barry doing something stupid and then feeling miserable about it afterward? But as it turned out, this episode managed to bring a little light into Barry’s life even as it showed how dark things could get should he fail to save Iris’ life.

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Mr. Shifty Review

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The heist at the heart of Mr. Shifty kicks off with an explosive bang, like a pulpy late-‘80s action movie. You play the role of a mysterious super-powered criminal whose nifty ability to teleport across short distances and punch unsuspecting foes in the face keeps Mr. Shifty’s momentum going despite a story that soon becomes forgettable (like a pulpy late-’80s action movie), but not through the awful slowdown issues in its final act.

The best moments of Mr. Shifty made me feel like a complete, no-nonsense comic book badass. By using a combination of your warping ability and some quick melee reflexes you can take out a group of gun-toting security guards and beat them to a satisfying pulp before they can get off the one shot that would kill you if it connects, or you can get crafty and carefully guide a seeking missile back toward the turret that fired it. You can still sense vague feelings of badassery when you bypass laser grids or warp past unaware guards. The art direction uses heavy shadows on Mr. Shifty’s blue trench coat and environments, giving the colorful backdrops an inky, comic book vibe that fits into the overall tone.

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UDI 818A HD+ RC Quadcopter Review

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The UDI 818A (See it on Amazon) is a drone for beginners with modest specs, but it offers a lot of value for its $100 asking price. Not only does it include a 2MP camera capable of both stills and video but it includes a ton of spare parts and sports a unique design that allows it to absorb bumps and bruises more easily.

What’s in the box?

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Dragon Ball Super Episode 87 Review

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Warning: The following review contains spoilers for the episode.

Picking up where we left off, Goku and Android 17 continue to work together as an even greater enemy appears to threaten the animals. Previously, Dragon Ball Super excelled as they introduced Android 17, but sadly this week’s episode could not keep up that energy as it stumbles due to poor pacing and a silly plotline involving alien poachers.

The strength of Episode 87 is Android 17. Even in an episode that doesn’t have a solid story backing it up, his character still shines as the highlight. This speaks volumes to both how he is written and acted. His presence on screen is always intimidating, and his dialogue has an air of confidence to it that demands respect. No scene displayed this better than when he nearly killed himself to save the animals. There was no discussion, or second thought, he simply commanded Goku to do something, then acted on what he believed was right. There are few characters like him in Dragon Ball, and I’m glad to see that no matter the situation, he can shine through as the strong, intimidating fighter that he is.

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Dragon Quest Heroes 2 Review

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When Dragon Quest Heroes hit the scene in 2015, it delivered a solid mashup of two very different genres: classic RPGs and hack-and-slash action. Now, Square Enix and Koei-Tecmo have teamed up again to deliver another monster-mashing, magic-slinging, army-crushing action-adventure in Dragon Quest Heroes 2. While it improves on the original in some ways, it stumbles a bit in the quest to transition Dragon Quest from its RPG roots into an action game.

Dragon Quest Heroes 2 begins with the lead characters, a pair of cousins, suddenly thrust into a surprise conflict between two formerly peaceful kingdoms. As they adventure forth, they meet new friends and unravel evil conspiracy to bring all of the world’s kingdoms to war and fulfill an ancient prophecy. The story’s a marked improvement over the weak, "Oh no, the monsters are evil now" plot of the first Dragon Quest Heroes, and it develops in interesting ways. The characters it introduces are likable, the storyline – though somewhat predictable – kept me wanting to see what happens next, and the top-notch English localization added a lot of life and humor to both crucial story scenes and incidental dialogue. Characters from other Dragon Quest games will also pop in throughout the course of the story, and as a longtime fan of the series seeing familiar favorite characters appear and join my merry adventuring band was quite a treat, even though the story focus remains squarely on the all-new Dragon Quest Heroes 2 cast.

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Bates Motel: Series Finale Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

Note: Check out my post-finale interview with star Freddie Highmore and my chat with Bates Motel executive producers Carlton Cuse and Kerry Ehrin about the finale's closing moments.

Bates Motel concluded its five season saga with the heartbreaking and fittingly tragic "The Cord," in which Norman finally returned to us - but as a broken, beaten and forever lost version of his former self.

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Better Call Saul: "Sunk Costs" Review

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Full spoilers for Better Call Saul continue below.

The third episode of Season 3 begins with Better Call Saul viewers literally waiting for the shoe to drop, and while we eventually found out why that cold open was relevant, I can think of no better idiom to summarize this episode.

Our two main storylines are getting to a place where it seems inevitable that things will go terribly, though ultimately they hopefully will benefit our characters eventually. Mike's big event was finally meeting Gus Fring face-to-face, and he begins slowly to work for him -- though not under official terms, at this point -- to continue his quest to mess with Hector Salamanca.

Which brings us back to the shoes. If there's one thing Mike is good at, it's putting together an elaborate con to get what he wants. In this case, it was filling a shoe with drugs, hanging said shoes on a telephone wire over a route where he knew Salamanca's men would travel, causing them to stop and then distracting them while putting them in a situation where he could shoot the drug-filled shoe and have it leave a residue on their truck, and then have them get stopped at the border. Again, a very elaborate way for Mike to mess with Hector's plans, but a successful one nonetheless.

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Supergirl: "Ace Reporter" Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

One of the many subplots featured in Supergirl this year has been Kara Danvers’ struggle to establish herself as an investigative journalist under the watchful, disapproving eye of Snapper Carr. When last we saw Kara, her career had pretty much taken a nosedive. But inevitably, she was due to bounce back in her professional life. “Ace Reporter” accomplished that, while also suggesting that maybe there is still room in the show for a little CatCo drama.

It was nice to see Kara’s journalistic renaissance coincide with the resurgence of Lena Luthor. Lena has proven a solid addition to the cast this season, albeit one who tends to show up pretty sporadically. There’s a lot of uncertainty still surrounding the endgame of Season 2 and how prominently Lena will play into the final conflict. Now is definitely the time to be making Lena a more prominent part of Kara’s life.

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The Walking Dead - A New Frontier Episode 4 Review

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As its name suggests, The Walking Dead: A New Frontier’s fourth episode, “Thicker Than Water,” confronts Javi with the ideas of whether the bonds of blood or friendship are more important to him. Unfortunately, the path getting to those decisions before the strong ending is far less enjoyable than much of this season has been so far.

“Thicker Than Water” hurtles forward with the mistaken idea that Joan, the villain introduced in episode 3, is a force to be reckoned with. She remains so undeveloped that her big moments at the start and end of the episode paint her as little more than the standard Walking Dead caricature of a villain. She essentially exists as a plot device to reflect some of Javi’s choices in the last few episodes. Considering the back and forth of Javi’s antagonistic relationship with his brother David, Joan’s instant rise to prominence in the plot feels much less natural in its incorporation.

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Gotham: "How the Riddler Got His Name" Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

Gotham returned, after its second long break this season, with a fun episode that delivered big on Edward Nygma's long-game transformation into The Riddler. Here, in "How the Riddler Got His Name," Edward went on a rampage, ferociously looking for an intelligent adversary, haunted by the taunting (and singing) image of Oswald.

The best part of this one -- aside from the story using Oswald's murder (or near-fatal shooting) to fuel the birth of Riddler as an arch-villain -- was the way it brought Lucius into the story as the only guy at the GCPD capable of possibly matching wits with Riddler. Lucius has been a flat character thus far, and one who's been utilized in questionable ways, so it was enjoyable to see him rise up here and put his mind to good use.

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Great News: Season 1 Review

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Note: This is a mostly spoiler-free review of the entire 10-episode season of NBC's new comedy, Great News, which will air two episodes a week on NBC beginning Tuesday, April 25th.

30 Rock fans prepare for good news... Nay, Great News! From Executive Producers Tina Fey, Robert Carlock, Jack Burditt, David Miner and series creator Tracey Winfield -- who all hail from 30 Rock, along with other comedies like Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and The Mindy Project -- comes another quirky sitcom centered around a career-driven woman producing a TV show.

Katie Wendelson (Briga Heelan) is a segment producer on cable news show The Breakdown--which provides for plenty of opportunities to comedically jab at actual news shows. Katie is a smart and driven 30-year-old who has reached the point in her career where she’s ready to be taken seriously. Instead of assignments covering the hard-hitting journalism she hopes for, Katie is typically relegated to fluff pieces (like one about the world’s obsession with a Candy Crush-type app). Katie’s desperation to be successful in her job is one of the continuing threads of Great News, but the main premise and central point of conflict occur when after receiving divine inspiration Katie's 60-year-old mother Carol (Andrea Martin) joins the show as the new intern.

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Outlast 2 Review

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Not for the faint of heart, Outlast 2’s relentless scares, unforgiving monsters, and provocative meditations on faith are an anxiety-inducing but cathartic horror experience. While it suffers from a couple of pacing problems and some finicky navigation issues, its careful - and sadistic - manipulation of my fight-or-flight reflex had me experiencing an overwhelming sense of dread throughout, which abated only once the credits were rolling. The ending, however, stayed with me for days.

Outlast 2 benefits from ditching the somewhat tired mental asylum setting of the original and travelling the less-trodden road of the Sonoran Desert, where protagonist Blake Langermann is searching for his wife Lynn after crash landing in the cult-ridden Supai region during an investigative journalism assignment. Outlast 2 is deep South horror, but without the trappings of domesticity we saw in Resident Evil 7; Supai is untamed cornfields, dilapidated shacks, and – go figure – gory remnants of unspeakable religious rites.

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Holy Stone HS170 Predator Mini RC Quadcopter Drone Review

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The Holy Stone HS170 Predator Mini (See it on Amazon) is positioned as an entry-level “toy” drone as it does not weigh enough (.55 lbs. or more) to require FAA registration when operated in the United States. It is a dedicated flying machine, so it does not include a camera, or any way to attach one, and even if it did the jumpy footage that would surely result would be practically unwatchable. If you've never flown a drone before, this is the type of model you should be checking out since it costs just $40, making it easy to write off after the inevitable crash and burn.

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Puyo Puyo Tetris Review

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Puyo Puyo Tetris combines the blob-color matching puzzle playstyle of Puyo Puyo with the well-known Tetris, making for a “frantic four-player puzzle mashup,” as advertised, with an impressive amount of content and game modes that often have you and your opponents playing entirely different games side by side, yet still in direct competition.

Simply slamming two famously addictive puzzle games together is much more likely to make an abomination than something as good or better than either piece, but here it’s pulled off well thanks to a variety of well thought-out modes that complement each other. The basic idea of Puyo Puyo hasn’t changed much since we saw it in the more recognizable Kirby’s Avalanche and Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine: color-coded blobs, called puyo, fall from above in twos, and you must match four of the same colors to “pop” them. It sounds simple, but the complexity comes from the fact that matching them as fast as possible won’t make you a puyo-popping master. To really rack up points, chains of puyos must be carefully placed so that when one set is popped a cascading waterfall of combos follows. Tetris, of course, hasn’t changed at all either, but the modes that combine the two into a single game keeps things interesting for both the solo and multiplayer modes, which support up to four players locally and online.

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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Review

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It's difficult to catch lightning in a bottle twice, and that's exactly what James Gunn tries to do in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Ultimately Vol. 2 isn’t as amazing a film as the first and suffers from some pacing issues, but it still proves to be a fun time with a lot of heart.

We pick up in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 a few months after the events of the 2014 movie, with the Guardians’ reputation now spread across the galaxy. They’re heroes for hire and are working a mission for the hilariously conceited Sovereign (led by an excellent Elizabeth Debicki as Ayesha). Things quickly go awry when Rocket steals some of the items the Guardians were supposed to be protecting, and the team goes to the top of the Sovereign’s to-kill list for slighting the golden, genetically-advanced race.

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Into the Badlands: "Leopard Stalks in Snow" Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

One of the big takeaways from Into the Badlands' Season 1 finale was that even the mighty Sunny isn't the most dangerous fighter in this post-apocalyptic world. The mysterious Abbots wield immense supernatural power, and unlike M.K. they actually know how to control it. The long-awaited rematch between Sunny and the Abbots was just one big development in an all-around eventful new episode this week.

"Leopard Stalks in Snow" picked up right where last week's episode left off. It opened with a strong, silent sequence where a helpless Lydia recovered from Quinn's booby trap and came to the horrified realization that she was about to become the prisoner of the man she had come to kill. The reunion between Lydia and her husband was easily one of the more memorable scenes this week. As usual, Marton Csokas' intensity mostly makes up for his goofy accent. For her part, Orla Brady managed to channel that complicated mixture of fear, hatred and longing she feels for her husband. Their interaction also played nicely on the lingering trauma of Ryder's death. Quinn is tormented by the fact that his son wasn't strong enough to defend himself, and seeing Lydia again is a reminder of just how far that particular apple fell from the tree.

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The Leftovers: "Don't Be Ridiculous" Review

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

I loved the first season of The Leftovers, but I know it had a polarizing heft to it. It was pretty grim and esoteric and that didn't sit well with some. In Season 2 though, the show clicked in a way that few predicted and became, arguably, the best TV of that year. Part of the creative success came from added elements of levity.

From the folksy, changed-up opening credits to Kevin's time in the afterworld hotel (and resurrection-worthy karaoke), the series had evolved into a show that could be both soul-crushing and beautifully weird. Weird in a way that worked as a wonderful chaser for some of the doom and gloom.

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Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return Review

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This is a review for all 14 new episodes of Mystery Science Theater on Netflix. It's light on spoilers, which is a weird note to add since it's a MST3K and there's usually not much to spoil, but the story does actually get a bit serialized in the back third so... there's that.

I saw two of the new Mystery Science Theater episodes early before it debuted on Netflix, so I whipped up a first impressions piece that you can read, or revisit, here. I also spoke to show creator Joel Hodgson and new host Jonah Ray about the reboot here. Since then, I've watched the twelve remaining episodes. The verdict? Overall, it's very funny, and there are a handful of episodes -- simply because of the movie choices and the gloriously dead-on riffs -- that I'd totally watch again.

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Attack on Titan Episode 29 Review

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Warning: The following review contains spoilers for the episode.

Utgard Castle was the home of Episode 29, as our heroes struggled to survive against impossible odds. Focusing in on just a few people and telling their woeful tale helped make this week more compelling, while also letting us learn more about some of the side characters who up until now were just anonymous faces and names.

The team’s condensed quarters made for a lot of unique fights, but more importantly helped show off just how helpless things can be when our heroes don’t have access to their usual gear. Seeing them ram a canon into a titan, or lift one up and throw it out a window displayed how resourceful people can be in a bind. Their desperation was almost palpable and easily visible as they tried incredibly risky things just to take down the smallest of enemies. Not only do these moments make me sympathize and worry for those who are fighting for their lives, but they are essential to balancing out the more bombastic scenes that occur later on.

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What Did You Think of Tonight's Samurai Jack?

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Tonight's episode of Samurai Jack "XCVII" saw Ashi searching for Jack after his mysterious disappearance with the black-and-green spectral Knight.

This article will be updated with the episode review on Sunday, so until then, let us know what you thought in the comments below!

Joshua is IGN’s Comics Editor. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Game of Thrones are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.

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The Expanse: Season 2 Review

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This is a mostly spoiler-free review of The Expanse: Season 2. That is, until the end of the piece, where a spoiler warning will be provided.

I really like how The Expanse is dosed out, season-wise, in relation to the book series that's being adapted. Granted, I haven't read the books, but I feel like the idea of not taking the "one book equals one season" approach is working really well for the show.

The decision not to cram too much, or cut important things, so that the opening novel, Leviathan Wakes, didn't have to fit into the first 10 episodes -- or, to that extent, the second book Caliban's War didn't have to square peg into Season 2 -- is a rewarding display of restraint. And this is a series that benefits greatly from patience. Spending time with characters who may not grab you right away is kind of this show's secret weapon. Because eventually they will. And in Season 2, the crew of the Roci really came into their own in wonderfully engaging ways.

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