A Glitch in the Matrix Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out A Glitch in the Matrix premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. It opens in select theaters and On Demand on February 5. Our reviewer watched the movie via a digital screener. Read more on IGN's policy on movie reviews in light of COVID-19 here. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Ever experience déjà vu or clock a peculiar coincidence and think, "What if The Matrix is real? What if all this is a computer simulation?" Well, if so, you're not alone. Simulation Theory has a lot of believers, including controversial innovator Elon Musk. It might sound like heady stuff, but the curious new documentary A Glitch In The Matrix breaks it all down with energy and aplomb. Documentarian Rodney Ascher is not new to conspiracy theories, having forged his reputation with Room 237 and The Nightmare. The former doc delivered a riveting deep-dive into fan theories about Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. This included the eyebrow-raising proposal that the frightening film was in fact Kubrick's coded apology for faking the moon landing. The latter focused on sleep paralysis, exploring its connections to international folklore and even accounts of possession and alien abduction. With A Glitch In The Matrix, Ascher traces Simulation Theory back to Ancient Greek philosophy, through Christian theology, the prophetic science-fiction of Philip K. Dick, and to the Wachowski Sisters' 1999 epic, The Matrix, which shot this theory into the mainstream. [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://ift.tt/39Eje9H] In talking-head interviews, Ascher allows a batch of believers to recount their first experience watching The Matrix or otherwise questioning reality as we know it. A keystone to his work is an open mind that bestows to his subjects plenty of space and support to unfurl their theories, no matter how unusual. As such, Ascher bolsters these believers by presenting each in interviews as flashy avatars. Stripped away are their human faces and any physical identifiers, replaced by glossy CGI that transforms them into glittery wolves, roly-poly robots, and other outrageous creatures. From there, their recollections are re-enacted with video game-like graphics, illustrating the idea that this world might also be a collection of code and pixels. Additional flash and cool cache are achieved through flooding the film with footage of a slew of TV shows, video games, and movies that remotely tie into this conversation. To illustrate how a simulation might prioritize processing power, Ascher cuts to the Rick and Morty episode "M. Night Shaym-Aliens!" When explaining that some people are purely NPCs (Non-Player Characters), World of Warcraft footage is wielded. Aside from The Matrix, everything from Star Wars, to Defending Your Life, Minecraft, Avatar, Batman Forever, Total Recall, and Horton Hears A Who are looped in. You could easily make a jolly game of calling out all the clips as they rollick by. However, whether this allusion-heavy approach helps or hurts the argument for Simulation Theory is up for debate. On one hand, such a diversity of representation of these ideas across multi-media might suggest there's something to it. Or perhaps reality is so overwhelming that mankind is drawn to whatever answer allows us to escape, for better or worse. Ascher explores the latter in a dark thread about Joshua Cooke and The Matrix Defense, which was deployed after a grisly crime. This horrid story leaves us to ask: What does it mean if nothing around us is real? If we don't consider those we meet "real" people but simply NPC's with no inner life or grand purpose? These are just a few of the many questions A Glitch In The Matrix poses, and Ascher has no apparent interest in answering them. Perhaps that's why neither Lana nor Lilly Wachowski is interviewed in a doc that pulls intensely from their filmography. Maybe that's why Ascher shields us from the unfiltered identities of his Simulation Theory believers. These interviewees offer details about their lives, including their jobs and religious background. Yet details that might be plucked from their appearance (like race, age, and gender) are left a mystery, leaving us unable to judge how to factor this into their experiences and worldview. So, we are left to wonder. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=best-virtual-reality-adventure-movies&captions=true"]

from IGN Reviews https://ift.tt/3oA1obS
This could be a real lead forward for personal gaming... Revolutionise gaming

Derek DelGaudio's In and of Itself Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out Derek DelGaudio's In and of Itself is available to stream on Hulu. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Magician, revealer, storyteller, multitudes-container Derek DelGaudio's innovative and superbly-gutting stage show, In and Of Itself, which ran for over 500 performances in New York, is now available as a filmed presentation on Hulu. Directed by the iconic Frank Oz and executive produced by Stephen Colbert, In and Of Itself may be hard to describe but it makes for a captivating watch. One that's easy to cry, if not flat-out ugly bawl, through. As an examination of identity, and what it means, and feels like, to be "seen" by someone else, In and Of Itself is an artistic assembling of fables that sweetly uses its audience to collaborate on a group project about perception, emotion, and the obtuse practice of labeling ourselves and each other. We are defined by the few things people see, but also, maybe more so, by the innumerable things no one ever knows about us. This is one of the show's challenging-to-wrangle takeaways and DelGaudio's intimate and mesmerizing manner of bringing it all together is truly beautiful. Using card tricks, sleight-of-hand, illusions, mental dexterity, and occasional mesmerism, DelGaudio is able to tackle many sides of this evasive topic, usually shining a light on himself and certain stages in his life where he tried to come to terms with his own inner workings and machinations. Spurred by a story told to him about a restless war veteran who survived many rounds of Russian roulette, so much so that he was dubbed the "Rouletista" by his fellow villagers, DelGaudio struggles to figure out why he himself was called a "Rouletista." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/derek-delgaudios-in-and-of-itself-official-trailer"] Whether or not DelGaudio's tale about the story told to him was true, despite him telling the audience "knowing you won't believe me is the only reason I'm going to tell you the truth," the theme is haunting enough to help drive the rest of the performance and shape the narrative into a giant tableau that becomes a mystical and magnificent presentation. Behind DelGaudio, on a wall, are six windows with various interactive installations -- like six chambers of a pistol --  and each one, including the first, the Rouletista statue, takes us on a journey of heartfelt discovery. At first shuffle, DelGaudio's behavior is somewhat cold and performative but as the show moves forward he transforms -- in perhaps another example of expert trickery -- into a sublimely empathetic human who truly longs to connect to everyone. There's an inherent dichotomy residing beneath a show that uses gentle deception to explore esoteric truths, so it's natural to initially feel wary about the entire thing, but DelGaudio's stagecraft is so strong, and his employment of various disciplines and art forms is so unforced, that the entire project sucks you in. To his credit too, DelGaudio addresses certain barriers upfront by agreeing that it's hard to see past what this all looks like, as a stage show, and asks the audience to make an attempt at dropping the veil. Trying to describe, and label, In and Of Itself feels subversive given that the show is about trying to break free of easy and trite descriptions but however you choose to absorb this wonderful 90 minutes, you'll come away changed. For each person this change is different and for most people this change is good. In a final message that feels like a cop-out, though not really if you listen to the show itself, you'll just have to watch In and Of Itself and find out what it means for you. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-tv-shows-of-the-decade-2010-2019&captions=true"]

from IGN Reviews https://ift.tt/3r71DwI
This could be a real lead forward for personal gaming... Revolutionise gaming

Razer Blade Stealth 13 OLED (2020) Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out For the second time recently, I've spent some time with a variant of the Razer Blade Stealth 13. At the beginning of 2020, I reviewed Razer's first gaming ultrabook with a GTX 1650 GPU inside, turning the nearly three-pound device into a full-fledged gaming device. Now, a year later, I've spent some time using the late 2020 edition of the Blade Stealth 13, boasting Intel's 11th Gen i7, a GTX 1650 Ti GPU and, my favorite part, a FHD OLED display. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=razer-blade-stealth-13-oled-review&captions=true"] There are certainly some tradeoffs for packing this much power into such a small housing, and I'll get to that below, but the overall experience has been superb. Let's dig in.

Razer Blade Stealth 13 – Specs

Here are the specifications of the Razer Blade Stealth 13 (Late 2020) I've been testing:

• Model: Razer Blade Stealth 13 (Late 2020) (RZ09-0327)
• Display: 13.3-inch FHD OLED (1920 x 1080)
• Processor: 11th Gen Intel Core i7-1165G7 2.8GHz (12M cache, 4.7GHz Max Turbo)
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti with Max-Q (4GB GDDR6)
• Memory: 16GB 3733Mhz DDR4
• OS: Windows 10 Home
• Storage: 512GB NVMe M.2 SSD
• Webcam: 720p, Windows Hello compliant
• Ports: 2 x Thunderbolt 4 USB-C, 2 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A, 1 x 3.5mm headphone jack
• Connectivity: WiFi 6 802.11ax, Bluetooth 5.1
• Dimensions: 11.99 x 8.27 x 0.6-inches (WxDxH)
• Weight: 3.26-pounds
• Price: $1,999

Razer only offers two different builds of the late 2020 Blade Stealth 13. There's the $1,999 model I've been testing with an OLED display, or the $1,799 120Hz model. Outside of the display differences, you're getting the same exact build. In other words, you can save a bit of money and get a standard display with a faster refresh rate, or spend a little more and stick to a 60Hz display, but an OLED panel at that.

Razer Blade Stealth 13 – Design

The best way, I think, to describe the Blade Stealth's design is to say that it's understated. It's effectively a matte black slab of glass, plastic, and aluminum. But it's a very small black slab that has a premium feel to it that grows on you the longer you use it. Even the typically neon green Razer logo is murdered out on this Stealth, and it looks fantastic. The only color, outside of the backlit keyboard, comes from the green inside two USB-A ports on either side of the deck. You know Razer was going to figure out a way to work that green in there somehow, right? The Blade Stealth 13 measures 11.99 x 8.27 x 0.6-inches, keeping its title as one of the thinnest gaming laptops I've ever tested. To put that into perspective, Apple's new M1 MacBook Pro (which uses the same design as the Intel version) measures 11.97 x 8.36 x 0.61-inches. That’s right, the Blade Stealth 13 is ever-so-slightly thinner than the MacBook Pro. To be fair, it weighs slightly more than the MacBook Pro, coming in at 3.26 pounds versus 3.00 pounds. That roughly quarter of a pound difference isn't likely to have a big impact on your daily use if you're carrying it on a commute or around the house. It's there, sure, but using both of those laptops side by side, I can't really tell a difference in weight. Under the lid is a black keyboard with single-zone RGB lighting and a touchpad below it. The display has slim bezels on either side, measuring just 4.9mm according to Razer. Along the top is a thicker bezel to make space for the 720p IR webcam that works with Windows Hello to unlock your PC using facial recognition. On the left side, you'll find one of the Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, a USB-A port and a 3.5mm headphone jack. On the opposite side, you'll find another Thunderbolt 4 port, along with the other USB-A port. Either Thunderbolt 4 port can be used to charge the laptop's battery, leaving you with three available ports to connect accessories and peripherals. Indeed, it's not a lot of ports to connect everything you'd likely want to game with, but that's one of the tradeoffs for this type of design. At least it's not left with just two ports like the new MacBook Pro, right? The OLED panel is reflective, not matte like the Blade Stealth I previously reviewed, so reflections will be something you have to deal with. That said, I didn't find them terribly overbearing or intrusive. The touchscreen portion of the display is something I tested, but only reluctantly. The display is gorgeous and the last thing I wanted to do was put my grimy fingerprints all over it. Alas, for testing purposes, I tapped and swiped on it and found no issues. The keyboard is a joy to type on, with each keypress offering just enough feedback to let you know it's been registered, and then the keys spring back into place. I do still wish the keyboard had individually lit keys, instead of one lighting zone. Another tradeoff for the smaller form factor, I'm sure. The touchpad below it is plenty responsive to gestures and clicks, but I do wish it was slightly bigger. Razer has truly nailed the ultrabook design, even if it's a tad reminiscent of a murdered out MacBook Pro.

Razer Blade Stealth 13 – Performance and Gaming

Tucked inside the Blade Stealth 13's housing is an 11th Generation Intel Core i7-1165G7, Nvidia GTX 1650 Ti with Max-Q GPU, 16GB 3,733Mhz RAM, and a 512GB SSD. That entire kit combines to provide enough horsepower for video and photo editing, as well as somewhat intense gaming sessions -- as long as you're open to adjusting your settings to accommodate. Here are the benchmark results for the Blade Stealth 13 (late 2020) compared to a GTX 1650 and the Blade Stealth 13 I reviewed earlier this year. As you can see, performance, overall, isn't all that impressive. Yet another tradeoff you make for such a small design. That said, as is usually the case, the benchmarks don't paint a complete picture of the overall performance. While there were times when the Blade Stealth 13 seemed to hang or feel sluggish – particularly during initial setup while installing multiple games and updates – when it comes to gaming, the Blade Stealth 13 is more than capable of hitting 60 frames per second in most AAA games. In fact, I was able to get 60 FPS in Warzone, and the new Call of Duty Black Ops. Of course, neither of those games were running at Ultra or even High settings, but at Medium settings, 60 FPS was within reach – respectable for the ultrabook form factor. And to be honest, I didn't see much of a difference between even Medium or Low settings. I think that's partly because of the OLED display. I have a love hate relationship with OLED panels on gaming laptops. I love them because they look clear, crisp and the colors are bright and vibrant. I hate OLED displays because they make it really difficult to go back to a standard LCD display. The speakers are found on both sides of the keyboard, and offer plenty of volume and depth, even when gaming. The fans, naturally, kicked on the moment I launched a game, but never got loud enough that I couldn't hear what was happening in the game. In fact, I was a little surprised by how quiet the fans were overall. As for the storage – 512GB isn't a lot, so you'll want to have an external drive for larger files in order to make room for games.

Razer Blade Stealth 13 – Battery life

I put the Blade Stealth through our standard battery benchmark test consisting of setting the display brightness to 50-percent, turning off the keyboard backlighting, and all extra wireless connections except Wi-Fi. I then ran PCMark 10's Modern Office battery test, and it lasted 7 hours and 7 minutes before turning off. That's good enough for a near-top spot out of the gaming laptops we've tested this year, and nearly enough to get through a full day of use without needing to be plugged in.

Razer Blade Stealth 13 – Software

Razer makes it known that the company doesn't preinstall any extra apps, services or bloatware on its products. And it's true. Preinstalled on this Blade Stealth was Razer's Synapse software that's used to control the keyboard lighting, fan speed, and power modes. Other than that, only what Windows includes in a standard Windows 10 installation is found on the Blade Stealth out of the box. It's refreshing to not have to deal with uninstalling random crapware or antivirus programs on a $1,999 laptop. As for Synapse, I still struggle with understanding how to properly use it. The tabs and categories along the top are simply confusing to me. If you're a seasoned Razer user, you'll feel right at home. However, if this is your first Razer product, there's going to be a learning curve.

Purchasing Guide

The Blade Stealth 13 is available from Razer for $1,799 with a 120Hz matte screen, or $1,999 with a 60Hz OLED display.

from IGN Reviews https://ift.tt/2YrTzKP
This could be a real lead forward for personal gaming... Revolutionise gaming

WandaVision: Season 1, Episode 4 Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out Episode 4 of WandaVision carries the title “We Interrupt This Program”, which is about the most accurate description possible. Rather than the assumed scheduled broadcast of Wanda and Vision adjusting to life as new parents, we get instead an episode almost completely devoid of both starring roles. Episode 4 instead recaps the events of the entire season so far from the other side of the fence. And with it comes… well, pretty much everything we’d already guessed. As the prevailing internet theory had suggested long before WandaVision had even begun its run, the sitcom reality is the creation of Wanda herself. It’s yet to be spelt out, but the haunting image of dead Vision, with his practically monochrome face and caved in forehead, certainly suggests that the idyllic family design is Wanda’s remedy for her own grief. The reveal is strongly presented, filmed in contemporary widescreen and colour grading to emphasise that we’re briefly seeing beyond the facade. Without the laughter track and carefree atmosphere, Elizabeth Olsen momentarily channels a darker side of Wanda, demonstrating a similar menace as to what we saw when she went toe-to-toe with Thanos. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/16/wandavision-heres-whos-doing-this-to-wanda-and-vision-mcu-canon-fodder"] But while Wanda’s reveal provides episode 4’s final big moment, this is a chapter primarily dedicated to SWORD, now revealed to be the MCU’s Sentient Weapon Observation and Response Division. Key among their staff is Wanda and Vision’s strange neighbour Geraldine, better known in the real world as Monica Rambeau. Last seen in Captain Marvel as the young daughter of Carol’s friend, Maria, Monica is now a Captain at the agency. She’s not the only MCU connective thread SWORD has provided; the web pulls in Thor’s chatterbox Darcy - now complete with a PhD - and Ant-Man’s FBI agent Jimmy Woo. All three bring their respective expertise to solve the mystery of WestView. It makes for an episode that really hammers home that MCU signature style; an interconnected world rather than separate projects under the red banner. The Marvel energy is present through the whole episode, generating a very familiar feel that is a significant departure from WandaVision’s established style. SWORD’s Response Base on the outskirts of WestView calls back to the SHIELD tents set up around Mjolnir back in Thor, while mentions of cosmic threats and broadcast signals entwined in radiation cement that particularly Marvel flavour of sci-fi. The episode even opens on Monica being brought back from the blip, neatly calling back the MCU’s biggest event while also clarifying the show’s time period. All these things considered, anyone looking for some reassurance that WandaVision is a show about the universe they care about will certainly find it here. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=wandavision-all-the-marvel-and-tv-easter-eggs-in-every-episode&captions=true"] Seeing the events of the first three episodes play out from the perspective of SWORD neatly declutters a lot of what’s been going on so far. But the impact of the episode lies in your wider understanding of the Marvel universe. If you were previously unaware of SWORD, then this acts as quite a major milestone episode, pulling back the curtain on that mysterious logo that has been peppered through the season. But for anyone well-versed in SHIELD’s sister agency, Monica’s pendant, the helicopter, and the ‘bee keeper’ from the sewer had already demonstrated that the agency was quite clearly observing the sitcom. For those viewers, this episode is about establishing that SWORD are not responsible for trapping Wanda in a comedy prison, rather than introducing any further wild quirks. This new understanding of SWORD does recontextualise everything that’s come before it, though, and poses a new, more fascinating question: is Wanda the enemy? We see the SWORD field team discover that the supporting cast of WandaVision are all missing persons rather than manifestations, and so the suggestion is that real civilians have been imprisoned and manipulated by Wanda to populate WestView. As much as we may feel sympathy for Wanda, such actions are hard to condone, and so the lines between good and evil are blurred. This makes the future of the show less clear cut, and with the show’s prior biggest questions now tied up, the stage is now set for a complex, potentially more morally grey new mystery. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/29/how-much-does-monica-rambeau-know-about-monica-rambeau"] All of this darkness and serious MCU business does mean that episode 4 is almost completely lacking in comedy. Kat Dennings does, as ever, bring some lightness with Darcy, and Randall Park continues his gently funny, out-of-his-depth act with Agent Woo. But any sitcom elements are purely viewed through the lens of an observation experiment, completely sidestepping the show's delicate balance of comedy and underlying menace, as well as its signature retro camera work. WandaVision’s unique position as many things to many people means this will likely be seen as both the strongest and weakest episode so far by differing camps. But regardless of your feelings on WandaVision’s paused dedication to comedy, episode 4 is a statement: WandaVision is not strictly a Marvel sitcom with a ‘serious’ framework. This promises to change the dynamic of the show going forward, and may well dilute the overall strangeness of its atmosphere in exchange for something that feels more befitting of the MCU as a whole. Digging further into the universe also means that Teyonah Parris gets a proper moment in the spotlight as Monica, who seems a natural fit in the MCU’s lineage of Agent Coulson-style characters. With Wanda’s newly revealed darkness, Monica is now in a position that could propel her to exciting new heights. Plus, her mum’s codename of Photon - a name used by Monica in the comics - is a lovely hint at what could be a more superheroic future for the character.

from IGN Reviews https://ift.tt/3cliU16
This could be a real lead forward for personal gaming... Revolutionise gaming

The Last Campfire Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out [Editor’s Note: We missed The Last Campfire when it first came out in August, but we’ve since had time to circle back and highlight this lovely game.] Finding light in the darkness is something we can all relate to -- whether it be as simple as discovering the solution to a small puzzle or as grand a notion as searching for one’s purpose in life. The Last Campfire addresses both ends of this spectrum and does so throughout with charm, smarts, and grace. Hello Games’ short-ish adventure hits the mark with cleverly designed puzzles, eye-catching style, and a touching story that left me feeling anything but forlorn. Forlorns, in this world, are lost souls scattered around the colourful land of The Last Campfire; they’ve seemingly abandoned all hope and feel bereft of a purpose. This is in stark contrast to our character, Ember, whose purpose appears more predestined; Ember makes their way through forests, swamps, and caves trying to help as many lost souls as possible, while also questioning what their purpose in the world is. By lighting campfires along the way you’re helping guide the Forlorns on their journey and allowing them to follow in your footsteps. Granted, you never quite know where those footsteps will take them, but by showing the Forlorns that they exist, you allow them to see that there is always light worth finding in the darkness. It was a clear and ultimately highly rewarding journey as I became more and more invested in the world and the creatures calling it home. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/the-last-campfire-official-launch-trailer"] Progress is made through solving consistently enjoyable puzzles that almost always hit that sweet spot of not being so simple that they’re boring but being challenging enough to satisfy upon solving, without becoming so complicated that it induces groans. Special items and novel mechanics are introduced throughout which prevent the puzzles from ever becoming too repetitive, and while there maybe isn’t quite the level of variation you’d expect over its six or seven hours, it never fails to offer up something new just before it reaches a point of becoming stale. One of the biggest additions is the fun telekinetic-like ability that comes into play about halfway through the story, and it’s used in many of the subsequent puzzles in clever ways. Manipulating objects from a distance using this provides a welcome breath of fresh air and allows for more ingenious puzzles to be solved in new satisfying ways. [poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=It%20never%20fails%20to%20offer%20up%20something%20new%20just%20before%20it%20reaches%20a%20point%20of%20becoming%20stale."] Hello’s inspirations are clear to see, and not least in the design of these puzzle rooms. It’s hard not to be reminded of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s many shrines -- though there’s no combat at all in The Last Campfire, and this is where different Nintendo influence becomes visible. The minimal approach to gameplay (you can walk, run, pick up, and push and pull objects, but that’s about it) combined with Ember’s inability to jump adds shades of the delightful Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker into the mix. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-last-campfire-screenshots&captions=true"] With such a limited set of button inputs you’d think it would be difficult to keep things fresh over an extended length of time, but The Last Campfire rarely has trouble there due to its creative use of what it has. It does a fantastic job of constantly mixing things up and keeping these problems thematically relevant, never once taking you out of its gloriously crafted world. The way that meaning is weaved into the design of each puzzle makes The Last Campfire stand out against many similar games and does so smartly at each turn. The core theme of preserving hope and purpose can be found at every turn, often subtly, but sometimes literally baked into the mechanics of a puzzle. This is most obviously exemplified in a series of problems that have you transport an open flame through a level while avoiding airstreams that will cause the fire to extinguish. These start off simple but build in complexity as Ember’s story progresses, providing just one example of how well The Last Campfire takes its central ideas and grows them into something special. [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=85883906-1f32-4a1c-9177-cf7f260fa903"] As with any game in this genre there’ll always be puzzles that feel too easy and are over in seconds -- there aren’t many of these but they can be found near the start where a few simple block pushes can form a path for Ember. On the opposite end of the spectrum are more complex problems that, although never too difficult, do offer a significant but satisfying challenge. Naturally, these occur nearer the end of Ember’s journey and smartly layer mechanics you’ve learned previously with new ideas. Some of my favourites of these involved telekinetically moving around a chained set of snake statues with mirrors attached to solve a reflection-based light puzzle. [poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=It%E2%80%99s%20an%20inviting%20world%20to%20play%20in%2C%20like%20Thatgamecompany%20painting%20from%20a%20Media%20Molecule%20palette."] This type of puzzle is another example of guiding the light through the darkness; again, Hello puts the core themes of The Last Campfire on display for all to see. This can also be seen in the art design, which beautifully offsets the bleakness with bright and colourful splashes. The most obvious example of this being Ember’s vivid blue clothing and glowing eyes that pop off of the screen during each scene alongside the relaxing, subtle music that soundtracks your journey. Environments range from waterway-filled caverns to pig-infested marshlands, each with their own quirks and pop-up book-ish charm. It’s an inviting world to play in, like Thatgamecompany painting from a Media Molecule palette, evoking both Journey and Tearaway in equal measure. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/the-last-campfire-developer-commentary-video"] Indeed, the storybook nature of The Last Campfire can’t be ignored. From finding lost book pages written in melancholic ink littered around the world to the larger-than-life creatures (literally, in the case of a quite monstrous pig) you’ll meet on your travels. I particularly enjoyed bumping into and helping out a wistful fisherman by a lake and a talkative robot who gleefully reminded me of Tik-Tok from Return to Oz. Perhaps the most folktale-like aspect to all of it, though, is the way in which the story itself is told. Brilliantly narrated by Rachel August, it’s spoken entirely in third person and calls out actions as you make them in a way that’s hugely reminiscent of Bastion’s storytelling technique (a design choice that has bafflingly still been used sparingly outside of Supergiant). Not only does the narrator tell the story in a fable-like manner - voicing all of the characters like a parent reading a bedtime story - but also offers moments of encouragement to Ember as their journey continues, effectively acting as a passive ally. [poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=Taking%20pages%20out%20of%20Aesop%E2%80%99s%20Fables%20and%20Grimm%20Brothers%20tales%20it%20touches%20on%20real-world%20problems%20in%20fantastical%20ways."] The story it tells is one that any age can relate to. Taking pages out of Aesop’s Fables and Grimm Brothers tales it touches on real-world problems in fantastical ways, cleverly disguising mature themes in easily digestible ways by having many of the characters suffering from things like anxiety or loss. It still managed to magically put a smile on my face throughout, though, building to an impactful and emotionally packed finale that serves as a fitting end to Ember’s odyssey.

from IGN Reviews https://ift.tt/2MBFXK8
This could be a real lead forward for personal gaming... Revolutionise gaming

Netflix's Finding 'Ohana Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out Finding 'Ohana is now streaming exclusively on Netflix. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Hey, you GUUUUUYS! If you love The Goonies, you'll relish in the rollicking adventure of Netflix's Finding 'Ohana. The concept of a quirky kid crew questing for long-lost pirate's treasure is given a fresh spin against the awe-inspiring backdrop of the Hawaiian island of O‘ahu. However, the savvy and sentimental script by Christina Strain begins this journey in the urban jungle of Brooklyn, New York. There, 12-year-old Pilialoha “Pili” Kawena (Kea Peahu) is a streetwise geocache champion, racing down sidewalks, cracking clues, and finding hidden prizes. Then, her plans for this kind of summer fun seem derailed when a family emergency pulls her back to the rural Hawaiian community where she was born. Neither Pili nor her teen brother Ioane (Alex Aiono) is stoked for this island getaway. Their grandfather's battered bungalow doesn't even have Wi-Fi! Cut off from the world they know (and the world wide web), Ioane turns his attentions to flirting with a beautiful local named Hana (Lindsay Watson), while Pili peruses a curious journal for clues to a lost treasure trove. With the help of her new friend Casper (Owen Vaccaro), she'll set off on a quest that will change her life and family ('ohana) forever. The path of such kiddie adventures is so well worn that Strain's script wastes no time on its first act. A spirited geocache chase plows into the Kawena clan landing in O‘ahu. Within moments of meeting her gruff but lovable Papa (Branscombe Richmond), Pili has already found the journal that will light her way to trials, tribulation, and treasure. Hot on the heels of this discovery, she crashes into Casper, a friendly redhead who -- perhaps in a nod to screenwriting conventions -- is literally saving a cat. Basically, Strain is well aware she's not reinventing the wheel here. But if it ain't broke, why bother? [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/netflixs-finding-ohana-official-clip"] Likewise, the characters are forged from familiar stock. Pili is a spirited tomboy in the tradition of Punky Brewster or Pippi Longstocking. She's fearless and quick to action, whether feuding with her brother or leaping across a river of lava. Casper is a consummate sidekick, supportive with info on the island's creatures and culture as well as his eternal earnestness. Ioane (nicknamed "E") struts in as the softly sexist older brother, who initially mangles his wooing of Hana with brogressive swagger. (Think Sokka in Season 1 of Avatar: The Last Airbender.) He's a loyal and protective older brother, but also a bit of a lunkhead when it comes to seeing women -- including his sister, mother, and crush -- beyond his own desires and obligations. No-nonsense yet genial, Hana proves not just his love interest, but also his foil, reflecting how he can bond with his sibling without all the bravado. Then for good measure, there's a dash of artistic ambition slathered on her to drive home she's smart and sensitive. Having swiftly established its core crew and their interpersonal conflicts, Finding 'Ohana gleefully chucks them into a mountain full of winding tunnels, collapsing caves, venomous critters, and an unnerving trail of sailor skeletons. Instead of stodgy flashbacks of the pirates' passage, the film takes a clever cue from Ant-Man (or arguably Drunk History). The kids recount the story from the journal to each other, putting in the mouths of these bygone buccaneers with modern slang like, "That's lit!" and "Oh dip!" Bringing to life these colorful scenes are two consummate character actors: Chris Parnell and Marc Evan Jackson. Though buried under eye-patches and wonky wigs, the comedic skills honed across storied sitcom work still shine, making these funky flashbacks a string of dazzlingly funny gems. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=female-treasure-hunters&captions=true"] As director Jude Weng came from television, it's perhaps no surprise that the film's comedy beats have a solidly entertaining rhythm. More impressive is how Weng churns thrills in a cavalcade of action sequences, where the peril is exciting but the shadow of death never overbearing. Following in the footsteps of Indiana Jones (who is repeatedly name-checked), Pili and her crew spelunk, scuttle, scramble, and sing-along to get through each new challenge together. Of course, they will discover the true treasure is the bonds they forged along the way. Yet anticipating their destination doesn't detract from the joy, in part because the cast is warmly winsome. Supporting this emotional undercurrent is the B-plot, in which Pili's mom and Papa mend the relationship that took a hit when she fled the island because of a tragedy she's still getting over. As the kids journey through a mountain, the grown-ups trek through their psychological trauma to rediscover each other. This thread is a bit thin, but in a kid's movie, any more would feel out of place. After all, this isn't a tearjerker but an adventure! Peahu proves its sturdy leader, confidently shouldering a broad yet charming performance style that hits somewhere between Disney Channel sitcom and E.T. intensity. Her supporting cast follows this tone, making for a movie that's bouncy and fun even when dealing with death, regret, and letting go. Into a familiar mold, Strain and Weng happily pack elements of Hawaiian culture, including language, community pride, Spam cuisine, and the legend of the Night Marchers. These details are more than superficial set dressing. They are an invitation to the fish-out-of-water siblings to reconnect to their heritage and its wonders, and through their journey, we are invited to share in both. All of this leads to a final act that is a bit leggy, stuffing in payoffs emotional, mythical, and thematic. Still, the cast and the enchanting world of Finding 'Ohana makes this detour feel more like the scenic route. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=netflix-spotlight-february-2021&captions=true"]

from IGN Reviews https://ift.tt/3ahDRrd
This could be a real lead forward for personal gaming... Revolutionise gaming

Apple MacBook Air M1 Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out When I was first tasked with reviewing Apple’s latest MacBook Air, with the primary point of focus being its gaming capabilities, I was skeptical. Mac’s aren’t known for their prowess as gaming laptops, and when you add in the fact that the new MacBook Air uses Apple Silicon, the M1 ARM-based processor, I assumed I’d spend a few hours playing Apple Arcade games and that was about it. But after spending a few weeks with the latest MacBook Air, I have to admit I was (partly) wrong. There are quite a few games and app stores that support Apple’s Mac lineup, and some of them even run on Apple’s own chip. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=apple-macbook-air-m1-review&captions=true"] While I wouldn’t rush out and buy a MacBook Air strictly for gaming, spending time gaming on one has opened my eyes. There’s more to it than that, of course. Before I dive in, though, here’s what I’ve been using.

Apple MacBook Air M1 – Specs

Here are the specifications of the Apple MacBook Air I've been testing:

• Model: Apple MacBook Air (M1, 2020) (A2337)
• Display: 13.3-inch LED (2560 x 1600)
• Processor: Apple Silicon M1 8-core CPU
• Graphics: Apple Silicon M1 8-core GPU
• Memory: 16GB unified memory
• OS: MacOS 11 Big Sur
• Storage: 1TB SSD
• Webcam: 720p FaceTime HD camera
• Ports: 2 x Thunderbolt 4 USB-C 1 x 3.5mm headphone jack
• Connectivity: WiFi 6 802.11ax, Bluetooth 5.0
• Dimensions: 11.97 x 8.36 x 0.63-inches (WxDxH)
• Weight: 2.8-pounds
• Price: $1,649

The MacBook Air starts at $999 for an M1-equipped model, but instead of an 8-core GPU, you’ll get 7-cores. The entry-level model also comes with 8GB of memory and 256GB of storage. At the top end, a fully-kitted model features 2TB of storage and 16GB of memory for $2,049.

Apple MacBook Air M1 – Design

There’s nothing notable or special about the Apple Silicon version of the MacBook Air when it comes to design. It’s the same iconic footprint the Air has had for several years now. The space gray, gold or silver exterior is clean and free of any extra fanfare, save for the standard Apple logo on the lid. Speaking of the Apple logo, it’d be nice if Apple returned to the light-up logo on its laptop lineup, and there are rumors a completely redesigned MacBook Air is in the works, but until then, we’re stuck with the same ol’ design. On the right side of the laptop’s deck is a headphone jack, with two Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports on the left side. Those two lonely ports are all you have to connect various peripherals and accessories to the Air, and frankly, they’re just not enough. I maxed out the ports simply connecting a gaming mouse and the charger. A USB-C hub or dock is a must for the MacBook Air, especially if you plan on using it for any sort of gaming or, heck, even just connecting to an external monitor. Opening the lid you’ll find a 13.3-inch Retina LCD display, with a 720p FaceTime HD camera just above it. As with the design, Apple opted to leave the webcam alone, and instead is using image optimization features that the M1 processor brings to the table. Overall, the webcam quality is improved, however a 1080p camera would be more beneficial. The Air uses Apple’s newest Magic Keyboard, ditching the problematic butterfly mechanism that was prone to dust particles wreaking havoc on the old design. The new Magic Keyboard, thus far, has been reliable. The backlit keys have a bit of depth to them, allowing for touch typists or even mechanical converts to adapt on the fly with little struggle. Above the keyboard is a row of keys that trigger various system functions like adjusting display brightness, media controls, Do Not Disturb and a Spotlight shortcut for quickly searching your Mac. Face ID has yet to make its debut on the Mac line, and so you’ll need to rely on Apple’s tried-and-true Touch ID fingerprint sensor in the top-right corner of the keyboard to unlock the Mac, approve Apple Pay purchases or sign into apps like a password manager. On either side of the keyboard is a speaker that is loud, but lacks the same depth and overall audio quality that my personal M1 MacBook Pro has. Just below the keyboard is a trackpad. It’s plenty big enough, offering enough space to swipe, tap and scroll through MacOS using gestures.

Apple MacBook Air M1 – Performance and Gaming

Inside the new MacBook Air is Apple’s first processor that was designed in-house. It’s based on the ARM architecture, which is the same type of processor that powers the iPhone and iPad, or even Microsoft’s Surface Pro X. The M1 processor found in this MacBook Air has 8 CPU cores, 8 GPU cores and 16 Neural Engine cores. When ordering an M1 Mac, you can pick between 8GB or 16GB of memory, which can be limiting for some. You won’t be able to change it out yourself, so what you order is what you’re stuck with. Same goes for storage, with the model I tested having 1TB. But you can get anywhere from 256GB to 2TB in the Air. The testing regimen for the Air, naturally, is different from any Windows 10 gaming laptop I’ve tested. Most of the benchmarking apps IGN uses to provide quantitative numbers comparing performance between systems won’t run on a Mac. So, instead, the bulk of testing was done with real world usage. That said, I discovered that some of the games IGN used for benchmarking in the past do run on a Mac, so I ran them. Rise of the Tomb Raider, for example, runs on the M1 MacBook Air. The built-in benchmark tool returned an average of 30 frames per second at the full 2560x1600 resolution, while lowering it to 1920x1200 bumped up the average FPS to 60. Total War: Three Kingdoms installs and runs, but there are graphics issues throughout the entire game. Namely, big black blocks that move across the screen. As far as I can tell, these blocks are in areas where unrendered fog and rain are moving through a scene. The benchmark tool does run, though, and it returned a fairly low 23 FPS. There isn’t a fan inside the MacBook Air. It’s completely and totally silent at all times, and it’s a little weird at first. I was accustomed to my 2017 MacBook Pro’s fan kicking on the moment I opened the lid to make its presence known. I was worried about heat management when playing games, be it Tomb Raider (which I played the most of during my review period with the MacBook Air), or games from Apple Arcade like Lego Brawls. I installed TG Pro to monitor the CPU temps and receive an alert whenever they reached 100-degrees Celsius. For the most part, temps would hover around 93-degrees, but every once in a while, they would jump up to the 100-degree mark before quickly dropping back down. Even though those numbers are higher than what I’d expect to see in a PC, there didn’t seem to be any downside to running the system for a long period of time at those temps. Heck, the housing didn’t even get hot. Warm, sure. But never hot to the touch. Not every game could run. After installing Steam, I went through my personal library and installed any game that I could. Hitman installed, but failed at launch. Among Us and DOTA 2 installed and ran without issue, as did World of Warcraft. I also installed Epic Games to see which games I owned would run on a Mac, and to my surprise, there were a handful, including Fortnite. Yes, you can still play Fortnite on Apple hardware. Just not iPhones and iPads. I dropped in for a few matches, and with the resolution set to 1920x1200, with settings on High, hitting 60 FPS wasn’t an issue. I also played a handful of Apple Arcade games, some of them were a ton of fun – like Lego Brawls and Oceanhorn 2. All of them ran without issue, but that’s expected. Apple Arcade games are optimized for Apple’s hardware, big and small. As I said at the start, I wouldn’t tell someone to go out and buy an M1 MacBook Air over a true gaming laptop, but I’m no longer completely shut off from the option. Tomb Raider was by far the biggest surprise, running buttery smooth the entire time I played.

Apple MacBook Air M1 – Battery life

One of the main highlights of the MacBook Air and its new M1 processor is battery life. My experience with the new Air was impressive, with a daily battery life that lasted through an entire workday and into the evening. Apple claims battery life of 15 hours of browsing the web, or 18 hours when watching videos in the Apple TV app. As with the rest of the benchmarks, I couldn't run the PC Mark 10 battery test on the MacBook Air, so instead I reverted back to playing a 4K video on loop in VLC, and monitoring the MacBook Air until it turned off. The display was set to 50% brightness, while the keyboard backlight was disabled, along with Bluetooth. Wi-Fi was left on. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=best-gaming-laptops&captions=true"] The first time I ran the test, VLC wasn't optimized for Apple Silicon. The battery of the MacBook Air lasted a respectable 5 hours and 32 minutes. However, the next day an update was released, optimizing VLC for the M1 chip inside the MacBook Air. I ran a subsequent battery test and it lasted 8 hours and 10 minutes. While still falling short of Apple’s estimation, it’s more in line with our expectations, and also goes to show how important it is for developers to optimize their apps for Apple Silicon.

Apple MacBook Air M1 – Software

As is the case with Apple's Mac lineup, there isn't any pre installed bloatware or unnecessary apps. You get MacOS that includes apps like Messages, Safari, Photos, and the rest of Apple's software suite. There aren't any apps dedicated to gaming or fine-tuning your system as is commonplace on gaming laptops, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Potentially the biggest issue you’ll run into with an M1-powered Air is software compatibility. I didn’t run through each and every gaming accessory program, but I did take a few minutes to install Logitech’s G Hub and Corsair’s iCue software and was able to use it, with connected accessories, without any deal breaking issues. Both apps can be a little sluggish at times, and it’s obvious they’re not optimized for Apple Silicon, but they work.

Purchasing Guide

The MacBook Air M1 is available from Apple starting at $999 for a 7-core GPU, 8GB of memory and 256GB of storage. The 8-core GPU model with 512GB storage starts at $1,249.

from IGN Reviews https://ift.tt/3r3ZfXt
This could be a real lead forward for personal gaming... Revolutionise gaming

Olija Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out

If you have nostalgic love for old Amiga and MS-DOS sidescrollers, Olija is a game that practically demands your attention. Its striking minimalist art style is complimented by a fluidity of movement and realistic animations that will immediately bring to mind games like Flashback, Another World, or the original Prince of Persia. But even if you lack that frame of reference, Olija stands on its own as a 2D action game with exceptional combat, a chilling atmosphere, and a small handful of great boss fights that go a long way toward elevating its otherwise disappointingly short adventure above your average retro-themed platformer.

Developed by Kyoto-based Skeleton Crew Studio, Olija is a game with a story that’s simple but well told: our hero, a penniless lord named Faraday who finds himself marooned in a mysterious land, needs to rescue his shipwrecked crew and find a way back home. The only problems in his way are creepy black goopy creatures, hostile natives, and monstrous beings that have been awakened thanks to Faraday taking possession of a magical harpoon.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/28/the-first-18-minutes-of-olija"]

That harpoon is what drives the design of Olija, and it's a large part of why combat and movement are so much fun. Much like Noctis from Final Fantasy 15, Faraday can throw the weapon and teleport to whatever it punctures. In combat, the use of this is obvious: it allows Faraday to instantly close the distance between himself and a foe, and that means there’s a quick and snappy pace for every encounter – but it’s also a super fun tool to use when it comes to exploring the world.

While Olija’s levels are segmented much like a Metroidvania, with the camera only showing what’s in the room you’re currently in, you can still chuck your harpoon into an open room off screen; if it hits something that you can teleport to, you can instantly warp over to that unseen spot. There are many secrets hidden this way throughout Olija’s world, and being rewarded for your curiosity when you throw your harpoon into a suspicious-looking gap in a wall always feels great.

The Boon of The Harpoon

The harpoon isn’t the only thing that makes Olija’s gameplay stand out. Its combat, while simple, feels extremely good at a fundamental level thanks to how impactful your blows are and the variety of attacks you have at your disposal. Basic attacks can be modified by the direction you’re holding – for example, if you want to do a quick combo without a lot of range, you can just mash the attack button without holding a direction, but if you need a little more reach, you could hold forward as you strike. If you want to do a big AOE smash attack that knocks enemies away you could hold down, or you could just jump in the air and use your aerial attack to bounce on enemies, Shovel Knight-style. If you manage to land four hits without taking any damage, you’re rewarded with a super attack that also changes depending on the direction you’re holding, what secondary weapon you’re using, and whether you’re in the air or on the ground. There’s a lot going on!

In addition to that, there are also a variety of different hats to purchase that offer helpful boons which can alter the way you approach combat. My favorite increases your movement and attack speed if you land hits while avoiding damage, letting you punish bosses greatly when you expose their weakpoint. Others are more situational, but still helpful nonetheless, such as a hat that makes you completely immune to poison damage.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=The%20AI%20just%20doesn't%20have%20any%20answer%20for%20the%20mobility%20that%20your%20harpoon%20provides"]

So there’s a lot of decisions to make about how you’ll fight, which is great. The only issue is that the enemies in Olija rarely push you to the point where you really need to make these kinds of decisions. The AI just doesn’t have any answer for the mobility that your harpoon provides, nor do the limited variety of enemy types ever present any sort of threat that really forces you to react to what they’re doing. This means that Olija is pretty easy, and with no difficulty options to beef it up, there’s not much incentive to really explore the depth of the combat once you have a handle on the basics.

Boss battles, fortunately, fare much better than standard enemy encounters, both in terms of their challenge and their variety. There are some that are the typical big boss battles where you have to dodge high-damage attacks to strike at flashing weakpoints, but my favorite involves a fight against three hunters who each have their own unique approach to harassing you. One constantly runs away and heals the other two, another tries to keep to the midrange to fill the screen with bullets, and the third sticks to you like glue with aggressive dash attacks and quick melee combos. It’s a really fun fight, and I wish the rest of the levels sprinkled tough enemies like these in regular fights as opposed to just keeping them all locked away in a single boss battle, never to be seen again.

[poilib element="poll" parameters="id=348756ac-529a-4c43-83c6-3c2cf0d3f1ec"]

Finally, Olija is also incredibly short. The campaign took me a little under four hours to complete the first time through, and while there are collectibles to seek out, most areas that contain them lock upon completion so you often can’t return to scour for any secrets you missed the first time through. It really is four hours well spent, but it certainly left me wanting either more to see or a good reason to replay what I’d already seen.

from IGN Reviews https://ift.tt/2MbbLWx
This could be a real lead forward for personal gaming... Revolutionise gaming

Resident Alien: Series Premiere Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out This is a spoiler-free review for Alan Tudyk's Resident Alien, which premiered Jan. 27 on Syfy. [poilib element="accentDivider"] While it’s already drawing obvious comparisons to Northern Exposure, Syfy’s new sci-fi dramedy Resident Alien reminds me a little of Dexter, the Michael C. Hall-starring show about a Miami serial killer hiding in plain sight. Stay with me here: That series was a divisive one given the inconsistency of its quality and the heavy-lifting that Hall did to carry the show’s appeal squarely on his back, with most of the supporting cast left as a bit of an afterthought. That lack of balance seems to be the case with Resident Alien too, at least in the early going. Based on the Dark Horse comic series by Peter Hogan and artist Steve Parkhouse, the show centers around an alien disguised as a small-town doctor, played by the infinitely talented and likable Alan Tudyk. The show does well by its lead - giving him ample opportunity to explore our resident alien’s (aka Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle) many strange habits and overall confusion with humanity’s own peculiarities - but it doesn’t quite know how to utilize the rest of its eccentric ensemble. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/14/syfys-resident-alien-official-trailer"] There’s a fair amount of potential that gets set up in the series pilot - a quirky hour of familiar but amusing fluff - only to be undercut by its more baffling narrative choices. For one: why is this show an hour long when it clearly wants to be a half-hour comedy? Like... Alan Tudyk playing an alien trapped on Earth pretending to be a doctor, whose only knowledge of actual doctoring comes from TV? Yes please, give me all that physical comedy - no other contrivances or plot twists needed. Unfortunately, Resident Alien doesn’t give Tudyk much room to run with the insanity of the concept, since he’s too busy dealing with mounting narrative wrinkles and side missions, including a quest for his lost spaceship; a murder mystery in town; his need to stay ahead of some shadowy government types; and his scheme to murder the only person in town who can see through his disguise (who happens to be a kid, not that Harry cares) - and that’s barely scratching the surface. The show has more plot than it knows what to do with, but is at its best when it focuses on the characters. Syfy has advertised the series as “the sci-fi, murder mystery, doctor dramedy Earth needs now” and that blend of genres, tones, and ideas is definitely on display - to the point where it doesn’t seem to know what it actually is or how best to deploy the considerable talents of its cast - it’s an everything and the kitchen sink approach that leaves Resident Alien feeling torn in too many directions. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=syfys-resident-alien-season-1&captions=true"] But the generic, slapdash way in which the series’ world is fleshed out may be its biggest problem. While the supporting cast members often steal their scenes with moments of dark, odball humor, the character archetypes themselves - the inexperienced town mayor and his bland wife, suspicious sheriff and his downtrodden deputy, flirty bartender, ominous government agents - feel copy and pasted from some worn-out “supporting parts” handbook that can't hold a candle to Tudyk's deranged central performance. There’s also something oddly dated about the show’s setup - right down to Harry’s love of Law and Order: SVU. Though I could arguably watch Alan Tudyk do pretty much anything, his charm and relentless physical comedy skills can only take the series so far. Resident Alien is amusing enough, if half-baked science-fiction storytelling is your thing, but you can’t help but wish they’d settled on one idea rather than five. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/09/resident-alien-watch-the-first-7-minutes-of-alan-tudyks-syfy-comedy"]

from IGN Reviews https://ift.tt/3oua7MB
This could be a real lead forward for personal gaming... Revolutionise gaming

PG: Psycho Goreman Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out

At a time when '80s nostalgia is dominating pop culture and kids on bikes playing D&D get on freaky adventures on a daily basis, it feels refreshing to see a filmmaker take those same '80s movie tropes and plots and apply them to '90s Saturday morning cartoons and Japanese tokusatsu shows like Ultraman and Kamen Rider. The result is PG: Psycho Goreman, an ass-kicking, bone-crushing, face-melting love letter to practical creature effects that feels right at home with a triple feature alongside Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and an episode of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, made for those of us who grew up on those franchises and then developed a taste for bloody monster movies and dark humor.

Canadian filmmaker Steven Kostanski follows his 2017 John Carpenter-inspired, Lovecraftian extravaganza The Void with PG: Psycho Goreman, a timeless tale of two kids who befriend an intergalactic warlord bent on destroying everything in his path. Like any self-respecting '80s/'90s family movie, it follows two young siblings: Luke (Owen Myre) and Mimi (Nita-Josee Hanna) do everything together, not just to get away from their constantly fighting parents, but because Mimi rules over her brother with an iron fist, including inventing an overly complicated dodgeball-like game that seems to be mostly about Mimi hitting Luke with a basketball. Combining two very different but surprisingly compatible genres, the opening scenes begin at the intersection of the classic monster film wherein dumb humans find and activate an ancient evil artifact, and timeless, Amblin-inspired stories of children discovering a magical or alien creature that becomes their best friend as they go on a wonderful adventure. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/pg-psycho-goreman-official-trailer"]

Except this is not awestruck Elliott learning about friendship and life from E.T., but Mimi, the egomaniac bully, accidentally finding the mystical gem that gives her complete control over a bloodthirsty intergalactic conqueror known as The Archduke of Nightmares (Matthew Ninaber). Rather than having her act like regular kids and run away, or even try to turn the alien into a gentle monster, Kostanski makes both the kid and her alien friend absolute monsters with complete disregard for decency or mercy and gives them both an arc of learning to — maybe — care about others.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=Surprisingly%20enough%2C%20it%20works%2C%20and%20it's%20in%20large%20part%20thanks%20to%20Mimi."]Surprisingly enough, it works, and it's in large part thanks to Mimi. She may be even more of a monster than the Archduke of Nightmares, who Mimi takes great pleasure in renaming "Psycho Goreman" (or PG for short – a brilliant joke in itself, because this movie is anything but PG). Hanna plays Mimi with equal parts infuriating brattiness and enough badassery to gain a little admiration by the end. She threatens, insults, belittles, and punishes everyone around her, no matter their size; like PG, she loves nothing more than being in power and having people fear her. But you can't help but root for Mimi a little bit because Hanna is clearly having an absolute ball, and it spreads to the rest of the cast and the film itself — especially when Mimi starts headlining a musical montage while singing her own song, "I'm the Heckin' Best."

[poilib element="poll" parameters="id=ab025fd5-a804-4228-a9a1-631cc62133fc"]

Kostanski's other secret weapon is his unabashed love of practical creature effects. Where The Void was an homage to the kind of tentacled horror from the '80s, Psycho Goreman is the closest we'll get to an R-rated Power Rangers movie with Lord Zedd as the protagonist. The practical, rubber monsters – believe me, there are many more creatures where PG came from – are the right mix of complex creature design and low-budget production charm, from the robotic religious zealot Pandora (Kristen MacCulloch) to a kid-sized brain with eyes and tendrils to what can only be described as a walking bucket filled with guts and skulls. The creatures feel like something straight out of Aqua Teen Hunger Force or early Peter Jackson movies, and it makes me want a whole cinematic universe exploring their past exploits conquering the galaxy – especially since the story behind them here is admittedly more than a bit thin.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=Kostanski's%20other%20secret%20weapon%20is%20his%20unabashed%20love%20of%20practical%20creature%20effects."]Despite its clear inspiration in children’s shows, PG: Psycho Goreman is definitely not for kids. While it finds the time to pull at the heartstrings and teach some valuable lessons about family and love, this is a hard-R film full of mutants, dismembered muggers, gross creatures, and absolute tons of gore. It had me busting a gut laughing as the fate of the world is decided by a game of dodgeball, and then took that busted gut and tore it to pieces and bathing in blood. It may be a sign of current times or just a sign of how much fun this movie is, but PG: Psycho Goreman has already shown that 2021 may just turn out to be a phenomenal year for movies. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=movies-that-are-definitely-not-for-kids-but-that-theyll-definitely-want-to-see&captions=true"]

from IGN Reviews https://ift.tt/3r073d8
This could be a real lead forward for personal gaming... Revolutionise gaming

The Medium Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out

There are always two sides to every story, but rarely does the audience get to experience them both at the same time. Such is the novel gameplay hook central to The Medium, an enthralling psychological horror adventure that splits your focus between a gloomy real-world setting and a haunting parallel spirit world, with actions performed in one having a measurable impact on the other. It’s a stylish and clever technique that’s used to consistently engaging effect, allowing for some stimulating puzzle design and exhilarating moments of reality-hopping cat and mouse with a truly memorable monster.

I quickly warmed to the self-deprecating charm of The Medium’s split-screen scream queen, Marianne. She’s a spirit guide who is lured to an abandoned resort in the Polish hinterland hoping to uncover the origin of her clairvoyant abilities, and her consistently wry observations – delivered by actress Kelly Burke – kept the mood from becoming too dire in what is an otherwise intensely disturbing detective tale. Determining the extent of the evil atrocities that went down within the hotel’s walls and identifying the perpetrators soon becomes the main focus, one that I took great morbid delight in as I pieced together each and every sinister scrap of evidence along its bloodsoaked breadcrumb trail.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/25/the-medium-the-first-18-minutes-of-gameplay-on-xbox-series-x-4k"]

Much of the clue gathering is admittedly fairly straightforward in a mechanical sense, using Marianne’s insight ability on discarded objects found in the world to reveal information about the fate of their owners, for example, or to highlight the ghostly footsteps that point the way forward. But elsewhere there are some satisfyingly hands-on methods you need to employ, and I particularly enjoyed the simple pleasure of arranging trays of photography chemicals and dunking the paper in the right sequence of solutions in order to develop a photo correctly in a dark room. (Remember developing photos? ... No? Okay.)

Dual Shocks

Of course, almost every room in The Medium is a dark room, and they only get darker. At predetermined points along the main story path the screen will split to reveal the spirit world side by side with the material world, and you’ll suddenly be controlling two versions of Marianne at the same time. It’s an incredibly striking contrast; on one side of the screen the flesh and bone Marianne will be moving along a dimly lit hotel corridor, on the other, her silver-haired spiritual form will be stalking through a hollowed-out hallway to Hell. On both sides of the divide the environments are exceptionally well realised, but it’s the spirit world that is particularly eerie to explore, with unearthly tendrils sprouting from the floors, outstretched hands clawing at you like stalactites from the ceiling, and your general surroundings resembling a nightmarish landscape the likes of which isn’t normally seen anywhere outside of a heavy metal album cover. On that note, in this otherworld you frequently reveal new areas by slashing through sheets of human skin with a blade made of bones, which also sounds like the opening lyric to the most metal song ever made.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=You%20frequently%20reveal%20new%20areas%20by%20slashing%20through%20sheets%20of%20human%20skin%20with%20a%20blade%20made%20of%20bones."]Displaying both realities at the same time isn’t just done for stylish effect; there’s a practical purpose, too. During these times Marianne is able to trigger an out-of-body experience, relinquishing control of her earthly self for a short period of time in order to send her spiritual form to areas otherwise unreachable within the mortal realm. In fact, the complimentary use of mortal and spiritual abilities is paramount to solving the bulk of The Medium’s puzzles which, while never stumping me enough to halt the surging story momentum, still required a substantial amount of lateral thought that extended to either side of the split. This can be as simple as sending Marianne’s spirit to deliver a blast of energy to power the fusebox of a broken elevator or, in a more memorable sequence later on, manipulating the hands of a grandfather clock in the real world to scrub forwards and backwards through time in the spirit realm, revealing clues to a hidden door from the phantom presences that appear along the timeline.

[poilib element="poll" parameters="id=af411da1-1f00-4a16-8023-dee14321ec30"]

That said, it’s not just the haunted souls of the hotel you’ll have to contend with, but also the ghosts of horror games past. There are plenty of odd-shaped keys to find, valves to turn, and broken lever handles to repair, which on paper may sound like dated throwbacks to the likes of Alone in the Dark. However, it’s the use of Marianne’s reality-phasing abilities to uncover and obtain these items that makes The Medium feel distinct, and that kept me engaged in clearing a path through its increasingly ominous obstacles.

Always Leave Them Wanting Maw

The other force propelling me forward was The Medium’s principal villain, The Maw. While I certainly enjoyed the strong performances from Marianne and the small supporting cast (both human and spiritual) it’s Troy Baker’s uncharacteristic and entirely unsettling turn as The Medium’s chief antagonist that really steals the show.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=It%E2%80%99s%20Troy%20Baker%E2%80%99s%20uncharacteristic%20and%20entirely%20unsettling%20turn%20as%20The%20Medium%E2%80%99s%20chief%20antagonist%20that%20really%20steals%20the%20show."]The Maw is a malevolent manifestation that haunts Marianne throughout her journey, first within the confines of the spirit world but eventually following her back into reality. Much like Resident Evil 2 and 3’s monstrous pursuers, The Maw can’t be killed, only avoided, which keeps tension levels high as you shift back and forth between realities not knowing how or when he’ll appear; he might burst in as his imposing demonic form in the spirit world, or as a more camouflaged spectral silhouette in the real one. Baker brings real menace to The Maw’s crazed mutterings as he stalks you through each setting, oscillating between guttural growls and tormented whimpering, and it’s his lumbering presence combined with creepy ambient sound design and an anxiety-inducing score that had me forging my way towards The Medium’s gripping conclusion while forever looking over my shoulder.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="legacyId=20108251&captions=true"]

I say that metaphorically, since you can’t actually look over your shoulder in The Medium. Well, not on purpose at least. While each of developer Bloober Team’s horror games to date have been in first-person, from Layers of Fear 2 to Observer to Blair Witch, The Medium is a strictly third-person affair, appropriating the multiple fixed camera angles of the early Resident Evil and Silent Hill games that change up from room to room. Apparently this decision was partially born out of necessity, since giving free control over the camera was reportedly causing nausea during the dual-reality sections.

Yet while the many claustrophobic close-ups and cinematic angles certainly contribute to an ongoing sense of trepidation, The Medium doesn’t have the power to manipulate or disorient you as deviously as Bloober’s previous first-person games. It isn’t able to unsettle you by diverting your attention one way in order to rearrange the environment behind you, for example. It’s a hair-raising ride regardless, but the most disoriented I ever felt during the eight hours it took to complete the story was anytime the camera suddenly switched angles and I had to course-correct with an awkward stutter step like someone who’d just narrowly avoided walking into the wrong bathroom by accident.

from IGN Reviews https://ift.tt/3t1bm9L
This could be a real lead forward for personal gaming... Revolutionise gaming

Skul: The Hero Slayer Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out This metaphor might be a little on the nose, but Skul: The Hero Slayer brings a fresh new face to the now overflowing rogue-lite genre by literally giving you lots of faces. Like the bizarre offspring of Dead Cells and The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask that it is, this undead adventure combines fast-paced 2D platforming and combat with the ceaselessly amusing ability to swap your hero’s skull, and with it your playstyle, at will. And while it undoubtedly shares DNA with Dead Cells (so much so, in fact, that The Prisoner is actually a playable cameo character) Skul is by no means a copycat, rivaling its inspiration in the quality of its chaotic combat while standing out with plenty of interesting new ideas. As with all rogue-lite games, the key to getting better is in both learning the areas, enemy types, and bosses you might face in any given randomized run, as well as permanently upgrading your character’s base stats and gaining perks that make you a bit stronger with each attempt. But where Skul truly shines is in how its head-swapping manages to keep its grind sustainably fun even after dozens of hours of failure. The push of a button transforms your meek little skeleton adventurer into an entirely new monster and imbues you with that head’s powers, like a slightly morbid, body-snatching Kirby. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/16/skul-the-hero-slayer-official-launch-trailer"]

There’s a fantastic variety of heads to find and choose from, including floating gargoyles, rampaging meat monsters, and adorable ents that are basically a pixelated Groot. Each of the 30+ options that you can potentially equip come with their own speed, attack range, and abilities that give them a distinct playstyle – and since you can carry two at a time, you’re able to instantaneously change between them for maximum effect.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=Rapidly%20swapping%20between%20your%20two%20heads%20and%20their%20skills%20is%20essential."]In fact, rapidly swapping between your two equipped heads and using their skills synergistically is essential. For example, you might want to play as one of the many slow but powerful melee classes like the Predator to brute force your way through combat, but you will likely need a fast-moving skull in your second slot to switch to when you get caught in a tight spot and need to make a quick exit. Some skulls aren’t even usable without a second skull to rely upon, like the Bomber skull, whose sole purpose is to self-destruct as quickly and devastatingly as possible, forcing you into your alternate skull form. Some of these options are powerful as soon as you find them, while others are weaker and need to be upgraded during your run until they reach their final, most powerful form, which means that you can either grind your way to greatness slowly as you progress or just get damn lucky and find an amazing skull that has you scrambling to adjust your entire build around it. This is fantastic because it means you’re not always at the mercy of getting that lucky loot drop;  you can control your own destiny by building a more common skull up over the course of your run to make it every bit as viable in the endgame. That said, it’s still always a great feeling when something amazing does drop into your lap to instantly make you a badass, especially since you can keep your favorite parts of your previous build around in that second skull slot anyway. [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=7c898e47-85ac-4867-abe4-83eaaf3cdca3"]

Critically, every single character is not only genuinely fun to play, but feels totally viable in the endgame. In games like this I usually search for a build that fits my playstyle and then stick with it as much as possible, but in Skul I found myself willing and able to play with just about anybody, no matter how wildly different they were, and have a great time. During one successful run I used a magic-casting sorcerer to rain down hellfire upon my enemies, and the next I upgraded a soldier skull to be the ultimate undead general with the ability to summon a dozen friendly underlings at a time. The diversity of styles is extremely impressive.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=Skul%20is%2C%20as%20you%E2%80%99d%20expect%20%E2%80%93%20nay%2C%20demand%20%E2%80%93%20downright%20difficult."]But each playthrough is not just defined by the heads you choose – the variety of random items you collect as you go is much deeper than that. Some are as simple as increasing your magic damage or movement speed, but others might even define your entire build, like the fairy followers that become more powerful the more you manage to collect, to the point where you can summon a demigod ally if you’re able to gather all five in a single playthrough. Even boons like that won’t make it easy, because Skul is, as you’d expect – nay, demand – from a game of this type, downright difficult. As someone who’s seen the endings of games like Dead Cells, Hades, and Darkest Dungeon, it took me over 20 hours of attempts to defeat the final boss and get my first clear (a successful run taking about an hour). There are five distinct areas to fight your way through, each with a unique roster of mobs, environmental hazards, awesome retro soundtracks, and a big boss battle lying in wait to knock your block off at the end. But with a solid build and no small amount of practice, making it to the credits is an attainable and enjoyable reward that salves the burn of dozens of failed runs. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="legacyId=800008980&captions=true"]

There are enormous differences between each of the five areas, and the first time you make it to a new one some of the enemies and mechanics may seem insurmountable or downright cheap. The castle’s Head Servant comes to mind: she constantly summons an army of lesser servants to hit you with brooms and throw plates at you before running away like a coward. However, as with lots of procedurally generated games, each area follows a fairly predictable formula where you can begin to recognize the patterns and room layouts after a while. The beginning area is filled with woodland creatures, weak knights, and simplistic platforming that makes for a relatively safe space to level up your character and start strategizing a build, while a laboratory-themed area further along is filled with devastating magic-users and absolutely overflowing with deadly traps – oh, and almost every enemy explodes when you kill them.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=The%20fairly%20straightforward%20bosses%20are%20one%20of%20the%20weaker%20elements%20of%20Skul."]The fairly straightforward bosses at the end of each area are one of the weaker elements of Skul, since they lack the same level of variety as the levels they oversee. Once you’ve beaten a boss once or twice, you’ve seen all that you’ll ever see from them and they begin to feel like chores necessary to advance to the next area rather than intimidating gatekeepers. There aren’t any of the variations sometimes found in roguelike games, which seems like an odd oversight for one that nails nearly everything else about the genre. Thankfully, regardless of what you’re facing off against, the responsiveness of the controls (on both keyboard and controller) is top-notch, allowing you to make satisfying split-second decisions, leap away from danger, and take the fight to your enemies with utmost precision. The platforming itself never approaches anything difficult, but when you’re surrounded by dozens of violent cultists the buttery-smooth controls certainly come in handy. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/21/hades-igns-2020-game-of-the-year"]

Adding to the difficulty a bit is that, fresh out of early access, Skul suffers from some slight but regular frame rate stuttering, which sometimes makes the audio pop in and out as well. Even on my high-end PC (which has a 2080ti GPU and Ryzen 9 CPU) this issue was pretty common. It certainly wasn’t bad enough to affect my enjoyment or completely ruin my runs, but I do blame it for a few hits I took when the stuttering was especially poorly timed.

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=Skul%E2%80%99s%20retro%20world%20of%20skeletons%20and%20knights%20is%20absolutely%20dripping%20with%20charm."]Speaking of poor timing, last year Hades raised the bar for storytelling in rogue-lite action games to godly levels, which makes Skul’s look a bit dimmer by comparison. While it is a heartfelt story, its tale of the age-old conflict between the Demon Kingdom and the evil Nation of Men is not particularly well told. The translation from its original Korean dialogue into English is fairly poor at times, and the brief snippets of conversation that take place after each boss battle come off stiff and a bit awkward – which isn’t helped by the fact that the twists and turns of the story are about as predictable as they come. That said, there are some compelling characters that shine through, like the shape-shifting witch who helps you along your journey and (my personal favorite) a cowardly death knight who loves knitting and interior design. Even where the story stumbles, Skul’s retro world of skeletons and knights is absolutely dripping with charm, from its beautiful, pixelated art style to its role reversal in which the demons are the good guys and humans are monsters to be slain. Slashing, hopping, and exploding my way through each area again and again only managed to endear me more and more to the world and its characters, not counting the few aggravating enemies like those castle servants that made me want to pull out my teeth with carpenters’ tools.

from IGN Reviews https://ift.tt/3qRNWle
This could be a real lead forward for personal gaming... Revolutionise gaming

Wrong Turn Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out Wrong Turn is now available on VOD. [poilib element="accentDivider"] The Wrong Turn slasher franchise -- which, if you weren't aware, runs six films deep -- has been revamped with a new story, and new central antagonists, in an attempt to make a soft left turn away from its bread and butter of "inbred cannibals." As a franchise reboot, Wrong Turn, from director Mike P. Nelson and original Wrong Turn scribe Alan McElroy, is a touch overlong and filled with muddled messaging, but it strikes a creepy, unnerving tone and lands with enough confidence to stake a solid claim in the horror landscape. Wrong Turn isn't excessively gory, but it is effectively gory. It's a curious attempt at a remake/remodel since it's not a straight reboot at all and contains none of the original movie's characters or plot (other than young adults getting lost and slaughtered in the woods). In fact, since it deals with a wholly different set of villains, it needn't have been slotted into the Wrong Turn oeuvre at all. But, all in all, it's a crafty and crazed endeavor that, at times, nicely plays around with some of our current "Red vs Blue" anxieties - only to then veer off into its own maddening, and somewhat haughty, themes. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/17/wrong-turn-official-trailer"] Kicking things off in medias res, we see a father, Scott (a nice avenging dad role for Matthew Modine) searching for his daughter in a small Appalachia-adjacent town where the citizens are giving him the constant side-eye. Flashing back six weeks earlier, we follow his girl, Jen (Charlotte Vega), as she, her boyfriend (Adain Bradley), and friends (including The Gifted's Emma Dumont) road trip through Virginia. It's here that the film teases us a bit, making us think that the central conflict will arise from the locals being prejudiced pricks and Jen's friends acting like entitled snobs. The danger, it turns out, is way more bats*** than that, though still owing itself to a Civil War-style divide (sort of). Enter The Foundation: A nineteenth-century cult that lives in the mountains and has existed, poverty and disease-free, since the 1850s. By all accounts, a better sect to deal with than rampaging cannibals, though they have a lethally strict way of dealing with outsiders. Borrowing a few pieces from M. Night Shyamalan's The Village, in the sense that a group of families once decided to reject the modern world and live a simple (but also brutal) life amongst the trees, Wrong Turn gets a little murky in the middle parts when it tries to show us the "good" side of The Foundation. When it tries to ask us "which are the real monsters, the people who work in the soil or those who take selfies all day?" There are moments, as Jen and those remaining from her group come face to face with The Foundation and their leader (Bill Sage) when the city slickers are put on trial for their crimes in a manner that's supposed to make us look back at everything as one big misunderstanding based on the kids' own biases. And it'll make you want to scream a bit because the hill folks, as supposedly enlightened and unencumbered as they are, are clearly the aggressors and instigators. And liars, for all their attempts at upstanding citizenry. That being said, it's still a more interesting backdrop for a horror flick than the usual kinds of bogeymen that stalk the woods. [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://ift.tt/2M9Mv2X] Thankfully, The Foundation's more malignant and malicious side shows up in the final act, during an attempted heroic exodus from the camp, and then afterward in the fairly fun closing final moments (make sure you watch through the credits too). It's here, within the curtain call, that Wrong Turn becomes a more satisfying journey that nicely rewards you for enduring some of the lingering elements of "torture porn" previously on display. Though Wrong Turn could be trimmed down at parts, and thematically streamlined at times, Vega gives an excellent performance as Jen, a character forced to make some truly heinous choices, while Modine makes the most of his action-y paternal part. Bill Sage too, who's been in a ton of things, provides a calm-yet-menacing presence as a cult leader capable of believing in ancient ways, both awesome and awful. The Foundation doesn't seem like the types of adversaries that become full franchise foes, but they still provided a nice shot in the arm for this particular string of scary movies. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-horror-movies-on-netflix&captions=true"]

from IGN Reviews https://ift.tt/3qQJdjR
This could be a real lead forward for personal gaming... Revolutionise gaming

The Little Things Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out The Little Things opens in theaters in the US and on HBO Max on January 29. The movie will be available on HBO Max for 31 days from its theatrical release in the U.S. included at no additional cost to subscribers. Our reviewer watched the movie via a digital screener. Read more on IGN's policy on movie reviews in light of COVID-19 here. [poilib element="accentDivider"] The Little Things’ title and lead character may expound on the importance of the intricate details of a homicide case, but the movie itself paints with an awfully broad brush. An ex-detective who plays by his own rules. An up-and-coming hotshot investigator whose hunger for justice leads him to bite off more than he can chew. A murder suspect whose wanton bizareness basically screams “it was me!” Despite these caricatures being played by a trio of Oscar-winning leading men, The Little Things does little to set itself apart from other films in the neo-noir genre. Set in 1990, The Little Things opens with Joe “Deke” Deacon (Denzel Washington) five years into a stint as a sheriff’s deputy in Kern County, California after a botched murder investigation ended his career as a homicide detective in Los Angeles. A menial errand finds Deke back in his old stomping grounds just as a new series of killings which evoke his final case are confounding the LAPD. Deke crosses paths with Jimmy Baxter (Rami Malek), the case’s lead investigator, and the two join forces to narrow the search for the murderer. On paper, casting Washington and Malek in the veteran/rookie archetypes makes a lot of sense. The chemistry and mutual respect between the two keep the film interesting in its first act while both the killer’s identity and Deke’s past are shrouded in mystery. The Little Things meanders primarily between those throughlines, with Malek’s Jimmy too often serving as a window into Deke’s thinking and his personal reasons for wanting this murderer cuffed too little explored. That’s a shame, as Jimmy’s slick confidence, ambition, and occasionally explosive temper give Malek a few opportunities to upstage Washington, and that’s no easy feat. Washington, as is so often the case, has charisma to spare, but it doesn’t quite fit the character he’s playing. Deke is supposed to be haunted by his failures, but he’s too vaguely affected by them in the present day for that pathos to come through as he seeks personal redemption in solving these new murders. [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://ift.tt/36hjwkF] The man that investigation leads to is Jared Leto’s Albert Sparma, a gaunt handyman who saves the back half of The Little Things from being a total bore thanks to an unwavering commitment to being as off-putting as possible. Of the three leads, Leto has the most fun, his crime buff of a murder suspect delighting in the “did he or didn’t he?” question at the heart of the film. When Sparma is interrogated by Deke and Jimmy, he cloyingly invokes his fifth amendment right to remain silent, but gosh, everything about him is screaming that he’s guilty. The question of Sparma’s involvement in both Deke and Jimmy’s cases takes some unexpected twists and turns, perhaps most unexpectedly in how the film chooses to resolve his role in the story, but if you’re paying attention to the, ahem… little things, you’ll draw much more solid conclusions than some of the characters end up at in the film. Aside from Washington, Malek, and Leto, the rest of the cast is just there to dump exposition or throw wrenches into Deke and Jimmy’s progress as the plot requires. None of the supporting characters are utilized as foils to the leads, letting them speak for themselves. Trouble is, not one of them has anything that interesting to say. You start to get the sense after Deke monologues to a corpse that The Little Things thinks it’s a lot more clever than it is, but none of the ways that it toys with its genre trappings feel all that subversive or elegantly handled. Deke warns Jimmy against getting too attached to this case but hunts Sparma with equal fervor. Jimmy increasingly abandons his ideals in pursuit of the truth, but where the story leaves him absolves him of any kind of personal reckoning as a result of his choices. There’s a consistent disconnect between what the characters do and how they claim to feel about it, and it leaves The Little Things feeling muddled and unclear on what it’s trying to say. That problem extends from the page onto the screen, where stylistically, The Little Things rests on its laurels with straightforward cinematography that rarely does the lackluster storytelling any favors. The lone exception to The Little Things’ lack of flair is how Deke visualizes the murdered women he seeks justice for, a chilling and somber representation of the thinly-realized victims that hints at what The Little Things could have been and maybe the only memorable image that doesn’t rely on the macabre freakiness of Leto’s Sparma. The period setting is also largely glossed over, with the powder keg that was early 90s Los Angeles barely acknowledged outside of occasional references to the lacking technology, a missed opportunity to generate some tension in a film desperately wanting for it. It leaves The Little Things feeling like a relic of a bygone era, which makes a lot of sense when you consider director John Lee Hancock wrote the first draft of the script nearly 30 years ago. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=everything-coming-to-hbo-max&captions=true"]

from IGN Reviews https://ift.tt/39kGzwF
This could be a real lead forward for personal gaming... Revolutionise gaming