As the first stage of Overwatch League drew to a close, it represented a major milestone for Blizzard's big gamble on esports. The London Spitfire faced some setbacks during the final day of Stage 1, but after coming back from an earlier defeat against their rivals the New York Excelsior, they were able to secure victory and earn $100,000 in prize money. During a chat with Overwatch League commissioner Nate Nanzer at the finals, he spoke about how event organizers plan to refine their approach to the competition, while also reflecting on how things have transpired so far.
"I think we're off to a good start," said the commissioner. "There's tons of things we want to continue to iterate on and improve, but right now we're just really focused on figuring out how to continue to evolve and improve the show throughout the year, and have all of that culminate in the awesome finals event. That's the focus right now, and it's really awesome that people are happy with it. Nothing is broken, so right now we're just focusing on making it better."
With Stage 2 set to begin on February 21, there's already some notable changes coming up that could potentially alter the dynamic for the 12 teams. In addition to ongoing gameplay balances and tweaks for the base game, which included some notable changes to one of the most useful healer characters in Mercy, the league will also see an influx of new talent coming in to shake up the current roster.
The Stage 1 finals, while engaging and dramatic, ended up being a perfect storm of scheduling and scoring issues that resulted in many players feeling the heat after extended periods of play--and the organizers agreed. Taking place over the course of 12 hours--making the show itself somewhat exhausting to sit through--it forced the London Spitfire into playing several consecutive matches during the semi-finals and finals. While the London Spitfire were able to secure the win for the finals after a total of 14 games during the day--a testament to their team coordination and composure--this still made for a rather exhausting experience for all involved.
For the teams that had a hard time during the month, Stage 2 represents a clean slate for many players, allowing them to change the narrative surrounding their group. The Shanghai Dragons, featuring some of China's top esports talent, have struggled throughout their games in Stage 1. While they had some successful matches, they ultimately placed last. However, things could be be looking up for the Dragons. Three new players are set to join the Shanghai Dragons in Stage 2, which includes Lee Eui-Seok from Element Mystic, MVP Space flex Cheon "Ado" Ki-hyun, and Kim "Geguri" Se-yeon--who will be the first female player for Overwatch League.
As one of the top Zarya players in the world, Geguri could prove to be an effective player to round out a team that's in need of stronger defensive and support play. Many fans of competitive Overwatch have been clamoring for Geguri to have a spot in the League, and her placement on the roster could just be the shot in the arm that a team like the Dragons need to make it out of the bottom tier.
One thing that's common for an online game is for the developers to roll out gradual updates and tweaks for the game. Recently, both Junkrat and Mercy, two of the most used characters in the League, received some tweaks that toned down some key abilities that the developers felt could be easily exploited by players. Mercy became the go-to healer for teams thanks to her ability to resurrect dead players, along with her speed and healing range. However, the upcoming nerf will make the time to revive players last a bit longer, lower the speed boost from her Guardian Angel buff by 50%, and remove the bonus buff from her Resurrect skill. In addition to Mercy, Junkrat--a popular character for quick offensive strikes thanks to his Ultimate ability--will also see a nerf for one of his support abilities.
During a post-game press conference after losing to the London Spitfire, Jacob "JAKE" Lyon of the Houston Outlaws spoke about the changes to Junkrat, who is his signature character.
"I think it's interesting, actually," said the Houston Outlaw's top assault player. "The character is way weaker against dive, because the 120 AoE was really especially powerful against characters like Genji and Tracer--dodging Genji's reflect and still doing 120 and obviously one-shotting Tracer with damage boost is still a very powerful ability--but I think you'll still see the character a ton if people are running Reinhardt because he's still the faster shield-breaker in the game. Junkrat's RipTire is still the best ultimate in the game, so I think we'll still see Junkrat as viable, but it will be more situational. And it'll be more map dependent."
While Stage 2 will still largely keep the same flow and dynamic of its previous phases, the organizers are already looking to the future of the league given its immediate success. Overwatch League has kept a steady audience over the last month, and with the finals earning solid viewership, the organizers are confident that their audience will only grow from here. During a recent Activision-Blizzard investor call, the company already confirmed that the League was a solid success, and that the buy-in cost for new sponsors for Season 2 will increase--which is expected to add new teams and additional players. For now, Stage 2 is already looking to show more growth for the league, and what players can expect for Blizzard's rapid increase in esports.
As it currently stands, Blizzard Entertainment's Overwatch League--a hybrid of both esports/traditional sports systems--is already a solid success. With the closing of Stage 1--the first of five phases leading up to the Season 1 playoffs later this year--the London Spitfire came out on top against their current rivals in the New York Excelsior. While the end of the first part of the season is a major milestone, there's still a ways to go as we inch closer to the grand finals later this year. In the meantime, there's much room for growth and change for the League and the many teams over the next few stages.
While the League itself is has been gaining traction and found an audience of diehard fans, there's still plenty of room for improvement--which the organizers are well aware of. We had the opportunity to speak with Overwatch League commissioner Nate Nanzer during the Stage 1 finals, where he spoke about how things are progressing with Blizzard's big gamble on esports, how they plan to refine how the games are run, and how they hope to make their sport as welcoming and inclusive as Overwatch itself is.
GameSpot: Even though it's only been a few weeks for Stage 1, it already feels like Overwatch League is off to a solid start. Can you share your thoughts on how things are going so far with the League?
Nate Nanzer: Yeah, I think we're off to a good start. There's tons of things we want to continue to iterate on and improve, but right now we're just really focused on figuring out how to continue to evolve and improve the show throughout the year, and have all of that culminate in the awesome finals event. But yeah, that's the focus right now, and it's really awesome that people are happy with it. Nothing is broken, so right now we're just focusing on making it better. Our goal is to just make every stage and every season better than the last.
Esports is still in its infancy, and sort of trying to define what it is seems like a tough challenge. The sports genre is always evolving, and having this League try to define itself within the broader and evolving esports pantheon must a tough thing to get a handle of.
Yeah, that's sort of the idea here. The thing about esports, with it being this awesome and organic thing, was really hard for people to follow--like there was no one place to go to aggregate the information--so we wanted to make following the Overwatch League really easy and have a consistent schedule. It's been amazing to see all these teams play week in week out, and how the playing field has leveled. I think everyone coming into the League had certain ideas about which teams were good, and which teams were bad. And that in itself is exciting from the fan perspective.
Sports always has an underlying sense of drama to it, and you may end up finding yourself becoming attached to teams you didn't expect you would. The Shanghai Dragons in particular haven't been doing so great so far, yet I can't help myself to root for them. Especially with their recent inclusion to the roster in Geguri, who's the first female player in the League.
That's one of the things that's common in all of sports. Fandom often times is generated from familiarity with something, like your dad liking a team or being in the city where you grew up, or being a part of the same college, and we're seeing that a lot here--such as the fans that drove up here to watch the finals to support their local team. Or, and in a lot of cases, you see fandom generated from the players themselves. And also, fans tend to like rooting for the underdog--which is why there are so many people hoping to see Shanghai turn things around. It's really exciting to see how players have taken to game, the teams, and the players themselves. But all in all, it's really cool seeing a bunch of fans come together whether at watch parties or online to come out and support their local teams. It's really cool seeing how the regionality of it all is taking shape.
The game of Overwatch is something that celebrates diversity and inclusiveness, and it's what many fans find most endearing about it. Do you feel there's still room to go for the League itself, in terms of the regionality of the teams, and representation to match up with what the game is all about?
Well as of now, there's 113 players in the League currently from 19 different countries. It's an incredibly diverse league. Obviously we have players from Korea and China, but then we have players like Nomy is from Tijuana, and dhaK is from Venezuela. The League looks like what our playerbase looks like--with players from all over the world. One of the cool things about esports is that there are no physical differences between female and male players at this level, and we're going to see things change and evolve over time. As a game, and as a league, we take professionalism and being a good citizen of our community very seriously. We're not gonna solve toxicity on the internet and gender equality issues on our own, and it's a bit unreasonable that one game is going to solve all those problems, but we definitely want to make Overwatch League just as welcoming and inclusive as Overwatch the game is, and we're gonna do our best to do that.
With the League in its infancy, and there's bound to be a few missteps here and there from players and also in how its systems function. Can you speak to how the League will go about addressing upcoming changes and fixes going forward?
Well, the Overwatch League is four and a half weeks old, and I don't think we're gonna have all the answers right away, and who knows what the League will look like three, four, five, ten years from now, so what we're really focused on is just listening to all of our feedback from our players, our teams, our community--and making changes where we need to. We've already changed the order of the maps and flow our games, and we've always been iterating things, but at some point when designing a eague like this you have to put a flag in the ground and say "alright, this is what we're doing"--but I think we're gonna be very quick about something that needs fixing or needs to be addressed in a certain way, then we're not going to be precious about our original decisions. We're constantly listening to feedback from all of our stakeholders.
By Anonymous on Feb 17, 2018 09:30 pm If leaked toy rumors are to be believed, it looks like Thor is getting a new hammer in Avengers: Infinity War. Ryan tells you about the comic origins of Thor's rumored new weapon!
Kingdom Hearts 3 is so close, we can almost taste it. After 10 long years, it goes without saying that fans have had more than enough time to think about what they want out of the franchise's latest release. Since 2018 is shaping up to be the year of bombastic sequels, our expectations are definitely high. While we've seen a bunch of beautiful trailers, it remains to be seen if Square Enix's latest will address some of the shortcomings of its predecessors. Here are nine things we want from Kingdom Hearts 3.
Kingdom Hearts 3's release date is yet to be revealed, but we know that it will be coming later this year to both Playstation 4 and Xbox One. For an update on what to expect from this title, check out the latest footage from the game, complete with a screenshot gallery featuring Disney favourites like Ariel and Rapunzel. If it's a look at the development of this long-awaited game that you're interested in, then hop on over to our interview with director Tetsuya Nomura.
Kingdom Hearts 3 made our list of the biggest PS4 games to play in 2018. If you're curious about what else we're looking forward to this year on the PlayStation, check out our in-depth gallery. You can also check out our galleries detailing the biggest Xbox games, Switch games, and PC games to come in 2018. For a broader look at what the year has in store, check out our feature focusing on the biggest games to play in 2018 in general.
Noctis
Famitsu did a poll in 2017 for Kingdom Hearts' 15th anniversary, asking fans which Final Fantasy character they'd most like to see make an appearance in the franchise. The winner by a large margin was Noctis Lucis Caelum. Plenty of characters from the franchise have already appeared alongside Sora and the gang, so it makes sense to include the newest member of the Final Fantasy family for a Square Enix double feature. Now that we've seen Noctis in Dissidia, we know that he's more than qualified to kick ass with the best of them. Taking on some Heartless will be child's play.
Atlantis World
Out of all the worlds that have been confirmed so far for Kingdom Hearts 3, there's definitely more than enough variety across the board to keep fans entertained. From Mount Olympus and Toy Story World to favorites like Yen Sid's tower, it's clear that Square Enix are going out of their way to keep things fresh. Nothing quite says fresh like an aquatic paradise. Enter: Atlantis. One of Disney's classics, stunning environments like the ruined kingdom itself and Atlantis' subterranean ocean caverns would look mint on the Playstation and Xbox hardware. Plus, the Leviathan would be a boss fight to remember.
No Star Wars And No Marvel
The odds of Star Wars making it into Kingdom Hearts 3 aren't great. We know that there's an interesting professional relationship with Disney and EA when it comes to who gets to make Star Wars games, and even with the fiasco surrounding Battlefront 2, we don't see that changing any time soon. The Pirates of the Caribbean sections of Kingdom Hearts 2 were admittedly its weakest; maybe it was because the live-action source material didn't translate well, or maybe because it's just not a good fit for the franchise. Either way, it proved that Kingdom Hearts should stick to its roots when it comes to arming beloved childhood cartoon characters. We've already seen enough of the Skywalkers and the Captain Americas of the universe kicking butt. But if you had to put Star Wars in Kingdom Hearts, then we have two words for you: lightsaber keyblade.
Upping The Ante With The Minigames
The minigames are a Kingdom Hearts staple. They've seen many incarnations since the first Kingdom Hearts game, ranging from odd jobs and riffs on Pokemon battles to musical quick time events. While it goes without saying that we'll likely be spoiled for choice when it comes to Kingdom Hearts 3's optional content, it would be nice if the minigames were a little more mechanically demanding on regular difficulties. For example, have a musical minigame that mimics rhythm games instead, or maybe revamp the gummi ship's image as baby's first rail shooter. The possibilities are endless.
An Updated Combat System
You could probably have button-mashed your way through Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 with the coordination of a drunken sailor and still managed to come out on top. We've seen additions like QTEs and improvements to movesets over the years, but we haven't really hit the sweet spot yet when it comes to how combat feels. Birth By Sleep and Dream Drop Distance did their part in making fights a little more challenging, but there has always been the sense of still having fat to trim when it comes to relying on Dream Eaters and the easily exploitable Command Deck system. All signs point it combat resembling some of Kingdom Hearts 2's battles, so hopefully this new combat system that incorporates the aesthetic charm of the older titles with the sensibilities of the newer, minus all the bloat.
More Kairi
Kairi is more than a series regular; she's won a place in all of our hearts. While we're realistically not going to get anything more than a chaste companionship blooming between her and Sora, it's not too much to ask that she gets some character development for a change. Considering that Square Enix have confirmed that Roxas will show up in Kingdom Hearts 3, there's plenty of opportunities for the core's friendship to be sorely tested in ways that will hopefully give us more insight into Kairi's character. Of course, just having her play a bigger part would be nice too; after all, she can wield a Keyblade.
A Contained And Coherent Narrative
There's no doubt that Kingdom Hearts is the kind of franchise that rewards dedication and persistence across multiple titles. If you've followed along with every iteration of the game then you'll know that if the story was any more splintered it would be near impossible to keep up with. However, there's no doubt that 2018's release will draw some newcomers into the fold. On behalf of them and for those who have subjected themselves to the mobile game for two crumbs of context related to HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue and Kingdom Hearts 3: can we please get a storyline that we'll be able to understand from start to finish without descending into paranoia and despair?
Refined Camera Settings
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix was infamous for its camera miniboss. Half of the gameplay's difficulty came from having to tame a wildly swinging camera. Over time, not that much has changed--all of us know the pain of Dream Drop Distance's nausea-inducing camera movement at inopportune moments. Now that we've had a good 10 years to get this stuff right, it's reasonable to expect that we'll be able to have camera controls and sensitivity adjustments that we deserved all along.
A Forward-Looking Secret Ending
The secret endings are a siren song to every completionist out there. For an RPG franchise like Kingdom Hearts, they're nigh unmissable. As a consolation prize, the secret ending of our dreams would get rid of the Xehanort-shaped elephant in the room and pave the way for Kingdom Hearts 4. We know there's more to the game's universe than Organisation XIII, so what better way to keep fans hooked than to tease at the next big thing on the horizon that has to be defeated by the power of friendship?
Pokemon Go's second Community Day is quickly approaching, and like the inaugural event held last month, it'll give players a brief chance to capture a rare Pokemon with an exclusive move. Developer Niantic had previously revealed that the Pokemon in question this time will be Dratini, and now the studio has shared details about what its exclusive move will be and how players can learn it.
The rare Dragon Pokemon will spawn much more frequently for the duration of the Community Day. If players manage to evolve its evolution, Dragonair, into a Dragonite during the event, it'll learn the ultra-powerful Dragon-type move Draco Meteor. This applies to all Dragonair you own, even ones that were obtained prior to the Community Day. However, Dragonite will only learn Draco Meteor if it is evolved during the event hours, giving you a very brief window of time to get one with the exclusive attack.
The Community Day takes place worldwide on February 24 and runs for three hours, although the starting times will differ depending on your region. The event kicks off in the US at 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET, while Europe's Community Day begins at 10 AM GMT. In addition to the increased Dratini spawns, players will earn triple the normal amount of Stardust for any Pokemon they catch during the event, and Lure Modules will last for three hours.
Community Days are a new series of events that Niantic plans to hold once a month for Pokemon Go. Each event will feature a Pokemon that knows a move it cannot typically learn in the game. During the first Pokemon Go Community Day in January, players could find and catch a Pikachu that could use Surf, just like the one you get in the classic Pokemon Yellow version.
Before the next Community Day event begins, Pokemon Go players still have a chance to take part in the game's Lunar New Year event. From now until February 17, you'll earn triple Stardust for catching certain dog-like Pokemon such as Poochyena, Growlithe, Snubble, Eevee, or Electrike. Players can also encounter the latest Legendary Pokemon, Rayquaza, in Raid Battles until March 16.
If you're in the market for an Xbox One, there are a couple of good deals coming soon. Microsoft is discounting the Xbox One S, and it's also bringing back the deal that threw in a copy of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds with the purchase of an Xbox One X.
In the United States, starting on February 18, you can grab any Xbox One S bundle for $50 off. This includes the new 1 TB PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds bundle that was recently released, bringing the cost down to $250 (originally $300). This deal runs through March 3. If you're in Canada, meanwhile, you can buy a 1 TB Xbox One S bundle for $60 CAD off from now until February 23.
If you would rather get the more powerful Xbox One X, you can get a free copy of PUBG with the console beginning on February 18 in the United States, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Latin America. The deal starts on February 20 in Australia, India, Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
Continuing Marvel's ten year tradition of post-credits stingers and teases for upcoming movies, Black Panther included two end credits scenes.
With the movie out in the UK and hitting worldwide this week, it's time to talk about them.
This is your last warning: If you haven't seen Black Panther yet, stop reading now!
Ready?
Civic Duty
The first is what you might have expected, given the end of the movie itself. T'Challa presents Wakanda's anti-isolationist shift to a United Nations-style government body, announcing that his nation will now be open to sharing their resources with the world. Of course, remembering that as far as the rest of the world is concerned in the MCU, Wakanda is a third world, underdeveloped country, he's met with some confusion--all while his new friend CIA Agent Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) smiles knowingly from the back of the crowd.
The stinger doesn't overstay its welcome. T'Challa isn't actually shown dropping the proverbial Vibranium bombshell on the poor unsuspecting world leaders, but the implication is enough. The landscape of the MCU, both politically and technologically, is about to change in a major way. This is a deceptively important detail, especially given the MCU's upcoming movie slate.
With Wakandan tech made more accessible, the landscape for both superheroes and civilians is about to take a major leap forward--and it's a safe bet that not every change will be positive, especially with the possibility of villains appropriating new tech too.
The real question is when--rather than if--we'll start seeing the impact of publicized Vibranium and Wakandan tech. After all, we can venture a guess that Wakandan weapons stand a better chance against Thanos than standard military faire--but will they be ready in time for Infinity War?
The White Wolf
Black Panther's second post-credits scene is a bit more direct with its Infinity War connections. We see, first in first-person perspective, someone waking up in an isolated Wakandan village, surrounded by curious Wakandan children. That someone is revealed to be none other than Bucky Barnes, last seen being put back into cryostasis in--surprise--Wakanda, during one of Captain America: Civil War's post-credits scenes.
The Civil War stinger didn't offer much context for Bucky's decision to be returned to stasis, outside of his own fear that he may be "activated" and manipulated by his Hydra-implanted trigger word programming all over again. But thankfully, between the end of Civil War and the end of Black Panther, Shuri, T'Challa's 16-year-old engineering genius sister, has been hard at work trying to solve Bucky's unique psychological problem.
We get a wink to Shuri's involvement during the movie itself when she offhandedly comments about being given "another broken white boy to fix" and an extrapolated look in Infinity War: Prelude #1, part one of a two part prequel comic released in January--not to mention the fact that Bucky was shown standing with the Wakandan army in the Infinity War trailer--so none of this is really all that surprising.
However, during the scene as Bucky walks from the tent to greet and thank Shuri outside, the children scatter around him playfully calling him "the white wolf" as they dash away. Cute as it sounds in context, that's a nickname with some genuine weight to it in the scope of Black Panther mythology.
The White Wolf, over in the comics, is actually the nickname given to a man named Hunter, who was orphaned as a baby in a plane crash on the outskirts of Wakanda. King T'Chaka, father of T'Challa, found Hunter and adopted him despite his people's concerns that Hunter was both white and an outsider to Wakanda in general. Hunter was raised to adulthood under T'Chaka's protection to become one of the leaders of the Hatut Zeraze, or the "Dogs of War"--a Wakandan covert special forces group.
Now, obviously, that story isn't going to translate over to the MCU in its entirety. The War Dogs are used in Black Panther as international spies, and T'Chaka clearly didn't raise a secret orphaned baby to lead them, but the role and significance of the "White Wolf," and the loose parallels between Bucky and Hunter, are definitely worth noting.
Given Bucky's training as a spy and assassin, him finding a way to either work for or with the War Dogs during Infinity War and into the future seems like a logical narrative step--and one that could dovetail into an expanded role for other Wakandan special forces like the Dora Milaje in the future, especially if Bucky finally picks up Cap's shield for keeps in Phase Four.
Regardless, we know that there's more to come for Bucky and Shuri before Infinity War really picks up, considering he was still short a cybernetic arm in the post-credits stinger and can be seen sporting a new model in the trailer. He's definitely due for a Vibranium upgrade.
Black Panther's core concept--that there's a secretive African country full of otherworldly technology, affluent people, and godlike warriors--is incredibly fun and ripe for storytelling. But it also begs the potentially damning question: Where has Wakanda been while black people suffered all over the world throughout human history? The fact that Black Panther doesn't just address that, but tackles it head on as the movie's central conflict, is a large part of what makes it a fantastic film.
Wakanda was long ago settled by five warring tribes who united under one king, empowered by the mountain of "vibranium"--the strongest metal in existence--implanted in the earth by a wayward asteroid. As its civilization became ever more advanced, Wakanda grew more and more secretive, under the leadership of a succession of kings who took on the mantle of the Black Panther.
That's the opening story dump necessary to get audiences on board. But the film's events actually begin in 1992 Oakland, where the Black Panther/King of the day, T'Chaka (the same one who died in 2016's Captain America: Civil War), travels to confront a treasonous Wakandan who grew disillusioned with his homeland's selfish isolationism after witnessing black people's suffering throughout the tumultuous period.
When the story picks up in the present day, it's that same issue that the new Black Panther, T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman), must face. His love interest, Lupita Nyong'o's Nakia, is a philanthropist who believes Wakanda should share its wealth and technology to help the suffering. His underlings, including Daniel Kaluuya's W'Kabi, believe Wakanda should wage war on the outside world. T'Challa would be more comfortable simply preserving Wakanda as it is, but throughout Black Panther he's confronted over and over with the same question: How can Wakanda continue to stand by while black people suffer all over the world?
That's where Michael B. Jordan's Killmonger comes in. As dangerous as he is charismatic, Killmonger seeks to seize control of Wakanda so he can use the nation's hyper-advanced weapons to undo millennia of injustice, remaking the world with black people on top. Through fierce monologues full of biting condemnations, Killmonger wields years of suffering--his people's and his own--to cut right to the core of everything wrong with Wakanda, and the world. Once his motivations are revealed, it's hard not to sympathize, and that combined with an absolutely stunning performance from Jordan makes Killmonger easily the best and most complex Marvel Cinematic Universe villain ever.
It's not a case of the villain becoming the good guy, though. Killmonger is undeniably evil--in fact, Black Panther's most unfortunate misstep is making him too villainous in the first half, which in turn makes it difficult to fully empathize with him later on. And besides, T'Challa's position is just as understandable: If Wakanda were to reveal itself to the outside world, they would almost certainly lose their way of life forever.
That may be selfish, but it works, in large part because Wakanda is so gorgeously realized in this movie. Think of it like an earth-bound Asgard, except unlike Thor's homeland, Wakanda seems like a place that might actually exist in the real world (besides all the hover trains and holograms, of course). T'Challa and Nakia stroll through the markets, while magnetic bullet trains criss-cross vibranium-laced caverns underground. Priests and priestesses tend the sacred garden of the Heart-Shaped Herb, the vibranium-infused flower that gives the Black Panther his powers.
The whole city pulses and thrives, colors and structures simultaneously informed by African heritage and an alienness granted by vibranium technology. The original songs by Kendrick Lamar fit perfectly, lending each scene both modernity and an added sense of history. And the characters who live there easily cement themselves in this movie as some of the most fully fleshed out in the whole MCU.
Danai Gurira's Okoye leads the Dora Milaje, a small army of ferocious female warriors, in some incredible fight scenes. Angela Bassett's Queen Mother Ramonda infuses a dignified monarch with a core of intense emotion. And Letitia Wright's Shuri, T'Challa's younger sister and chief inventor--the Q to his 007--threatens to steal the movie in her own right. Whether she's gawking hilariously at T'Challa's latest fashion faux pas or joining battle with the aid of some awesome new vibranium-powered gadget, Shuri will be many viewers' favorite character by the end.
Kaluuya (from Get Out!), Forest Whitaker, Andy Serkis, Winston Duke, and Martin Freeman round out the excellent cast, each getting their moments in the movie to make a mark. Freeman is the only one who stands out as kind of pointless, although he gets plenty of standout moments--arguably too many, as viewers and other characters alike will occasionally wonder why he's there at all (besides that his Agent Ross is a fan favorite character from the comics). Yes, his incredulity at Wakanda's advanced technology makes him a sometimes welcome surrogate for the audience, but as the most benevolent CIA agent ever portrayed he ultimately muddies the message somewhat.
The main reason the world thinks Wakanda is a third world wasteland is that's what Wakanda wants them to think. But it's also because that's easy for the world to believe. Black Panther is a movie that succeeds in challenging that type of preconceived idea, from the gut-punches of Killmonger's condemnations to the simple reality of seeing an affluent African nation never touched by--to borrow the movie's own terminology--any of history's many "colonizers." The fact that Wakanda isn't real only emphasizes the point.
And on top of all that, Black Panther is a top tier Marvel movie with all the humor, style, action, passion, and fun that the MCU has come to embody. Black Panther is a cultural event that's going to be hard for Marvel to top, no matter how many worlds Thanos conquers later this year in Infinity War.
Netflix's newest original series, Everything Sucks, follows a group of high school students and their struggles to deal with life during the mid-'90s. As expected, the series is filled with references to '90s culture, objects, clothing, and terrible, terrible slang. However, the charming series is "all that and a bag of chips," and you can check out our review of the first season here.
There were a lot of moments during the first season that reminded us of some of the great things that came out of the decade, along with a few other things that were just awful about the '90s. From Walkmans to payphones, the entire first season is a love letter to not only the decade itself, but every failed Coca-Cola product of the era. And there's no one better to talk/complain about this than someone who was the exact same age as the kids on the show in 1996, me. Here are some of our favorite and least favorite pieces of nostalgia from Everything Sucks.
Pogs
The game of pogs--originally called "milk caps"--was created in Hawaii during the 1920s, which may have been modeled after the Japanese card game Menko from the 1600s. In this game, each player stacks their circular, cardboard pogs with the image side down and uses slammers--a heavier, metal pog--to try and flip over their opponent's pogs. During the '90s, pogs exploded in popularity across the United States. Companies licensed out their characters to appear on the game pieces, and if you were like me, you had at least one Killer Instinct pog (mine was Kilgore). The fad quickly died out around 1997.
Nickelodeon Gak
During the '90s, there were plenty of green, gooey toys on the market. The most notable was Nickelodeon Gak. In 1992, Nickelodeon was at its height of "dumping green goo on people" era. Fans of the network loved slime, sloppiness, and everything else that showed up on shows like Double Dare. To feed the masses, Nickelodeon created Gak, which was a lot like Silly Putty but a bit more viscous. The best thing to do with Gak was push it into something like a pog holder and make fart noises with it, which is exactly what happens on Everything Sucks.
Hacky Sacks
During the '90s, hacky sacks--also called footbags--exploded in popularity. The American wave of hacky sacking gained popularity during the '80s but peaked in the mid-'90s and was even featured in the 1987 NES game California Games. Hacky sacks are small, crocheted balls filled with plastic beads that folks in the hippy and grunge communities took to as a fun game to pass the time. Essentially, it's a tiny soccer ball you kick around and don't let touch the ground. The best part of the game was making up dumb names for your trick, like the sweet "Joker's Wild" move I could do (it wasn't sweet).
The '90s Bowl Cut
Hairstyles from the 1990s were rough, especially if you were a guy. Many young men wore the '90s version of the bowl cut, which as it sounds, looks like someone put a large bowl on top of your head and just cut the excess hair off. Many kids during that time--sadly, like myself--shaved underneath the top layer of hair for what's known as an undercut. The poor souls who thought this haircut was cool parted it down the middle, like many people on Everything Sucks.
Jolt Cola
The '90s were all about excess, including twice the amount of things in your favorite soft drinks. Jolt Cola, which was first introduced in 1985, wasn't your typical cola: it had twice the caffeine. This was an era before energy drinks were everywhere, so Jolt was the cool thing to drink, as it was the only cola that kept you awake for two days straight. Mr. Stargrove drank Jolt during his scenes on the show and could be bought off with a six-pack, apparently.
Fruitopia
Fruitopia was Coca-Cola's answer to Snapple during the mid-'90s. The drink was known for its kaleidoscope imagery on its label and that some flavors were only available from McDonald's fountain machines. It was an attempt for Coca-Cola to market drinks to Generation X. The sugary, fruit-flavored drink met its demise in 2003, with Minute Maid taking over a couple of its most popular flavors.
Surge
Mountain Dew--a Pepsi product--exploded into popularity during the mid-'90s, and Coca-Cola's answer to that was Surge. What set the soda apart was the addition of maltodextrin, which changed the mouthfeel of the drink--as the chemical is used primarily in beer brewing. The drink was marketed towards younger folk and tried to associate with extreme sports, which aped everything Mountain Dew was doing at the time with its advertisements. Sales weren't great, and eventually, it was discontinued in 2003. However, Amazon started releasing it in six-packs back in 2014 for those who wanted a taste of nostalgia.
Apparently, McQuaid loved drinking Coca-Cola's failures on the series as he's seen with both Surge and Fruitopia on separate episodes.
Tight Plaid Pants
There are a lot of weird fashion styles from the '90s, and many are showcased on Everything Sucks. One of the biggest standouts comes from the scene where Emaline stands on Lucas and company's lunch table and yells at them. She's dressed like Gwen Stefani with the gem in between her eyebrows and the plaid pants; Stefani wore something similar during the "Spiderwebs" music video. Both men and women wore these pants, as long as you had bad taste in clothing, like me.
Zima
Zima was weird, and Zima was gross. The alternative-to-beer citrus-flavored alcoholic drink was made by Coors as an answer to the growing popularity of wine coolers in America. However, much like on Episode 4 of Everything Sucks, it was popular with underage drinkers probably because their parents bought it and never drank it, so it was easy to steal. Zima tasted like a really old Mike's Hard Lemonade that had been sitting in the sun for days.
Cassette Tapes
Even with a resurgence in vinyl records, digital music rules the world. Most people haven't purchased a physical copy of music in years. However, during the mid-'90s, CDs were people's preferred choice, but they were expensive. This led many music listeners to jump back to an older technology, cassette tapes. At times, the format was annoying: you needed a pencil on hand in case the tape came out of the cassette--in order to rewind it--the cases cracked, and sometimes, the tapes would become stuck in the player. This happens in Everything Sucks, which means the people on the bus had to listen to Ace of Base, non-stop.
Pizzarias
The best thing the Keebler company ever created wasn't EL Fudges. It was Pizzarias, a pizza-flavored, triangle-shaped chip. It looked like Doritos but tasted like pizza, kind of. The chip was created in the late '80s but was most popular in the '90s. Then, one day, the delicious chips disappeared from store shelves. Pizzarias can be seen on Everything Sucks briefly in the school vending machine after Sherry and Ken got high and wanted some munchies. Little did they know, Pizzarias are delicious when you're sober as well.
Dial-Up Sounds
The sweet sounds of a dial-up modem may be painful to hear, but to some of us older folks, it's a symphony of magical tones. Although, back then, we had no clue how to really use the internet. Most of us teenagers spent time making terrible Angelfire sites or trolling people in the AOL Backstreet Boys chat room... Or maybe that was just me. Anyway, the gang on Everything Sucks hopped on the internet looking for ways to get high without purchasing illegal drugs.
Early Websites
The early internet was hard to look at and not because it's embarrassing. It's literally hard to look at because it's aesthetically a mess. There were tons of bright, flashing colors, with font hues blending into the background. Sure, finding cool websites was fun and all--especially when you got to use Ask Jeeves--but looking back, early websites were the worst.
Seatbelt Belts
Coming straight from your local Spencer's Gifts was the seatbelt belt. It was a belt for your pants that looked like an old seatbelt. It was a way to say you cared about safety as well as the height of your pants on your waist. Surprisingly, you can still buy these today. Emaline sports one of these cool accessories during Episode 7 of Everything Sucks.
Columbia House
Services like Columbia House, BMG, and a slew of others offered outrageous deals for CDs like "12 for the price of 1." Then, they locked you in a contract, billing you monthly for an outrageous amount of money. The best part was that they billed you after the CDs arrived, and if you were someone underage, like myself and everyone I knew, you just never paid them or the monthly fees after your first set of CDs came. Both Columbia House and BMG taught many of us an important lesson about bill collectors and how companies like these can't go into business with minors. Just don't pay for those CDs, Lucas. Don't do it.
Skateboard Backpack
Tyler has one of the coolest backpacks from the '90s, which you can see in Episode 1 and 8 of Everything Sucks. It's a Shorty's backpack that holds your skateboard, for when you're "on the go," but there's nowhere to skate. The board is zipped up behind the front pocket on the bag. Skate backpacks are still in existence, but none that we could find were like this Shorty's pack.
Blockbuster
Believe it or not, Blockbuster still has physical locations, although the majority are in Alaska. During the video rental company's height in the mid-'90s, the chain consisted of more than 9,000 locations and was a juggernaut in the video rental industry, probably because of its outrageous late fees. However, Blockbuster never took Netflix seriously, even before it offered streaming movies, and Blockbuster fell by the wayside. Currently, it's partnered with Dish for the Blockbuster on Demand service.
VHS Cameras
Everyone has a high-definition camera on their phone nowadays, but back in the mid-'90s, video cameras were bulky, heavy, and shot in extremely low quality. Early cameras used large VHS tapes to record onto, which were like giant cassette tapes for video. Lucas and the rest of the AV club have access to a lot of great camcorders--for its time--on Everything Sucks.
Pagers
Before cell phones were cheap enough to be available for the masses, there was a brief moment in '90s culture where many people had pagers, and I was one of them. These small boxes--many the size of a Tic Tac container--allowed someone to contact you and leave their phone number on the pager screen. If you had a bit more money, you could get a pager where the person calling you could leave a text message.
Pumps
The coolest shoes during the early-'90s were the Reebok Pumps. They looked like typical sneakers for the time, except they had a large button on the tongue--which many times looked like a basketball. When you pressed the button, air chambers in the shoe would fill up to create a more snug fit. Lucas had his own pair on Everything Sucks, and to me, that makes him the luckiest boy in the world.
Bandai Namco's upcoming action-RPG Code Vein promises a distinct style, a dense world, and difficult combat--and , the publisher revealed that it'll also feature cooperative multiplayer. On Twitter, the company announced that you'll be able to explore the vampire-themed world and tackle its difficult enemies with friends. From the description, it sounds like it'll operate similarly to Dark Souls' co-op functionality.
As you explore and attempt to complete dungeons alongside an NPC companion, you can send out a distress signal to summon a different player. As Gematsu reported, this player will have to fulfill "certain conditions," although it's unclear what these conditions will be.
This player will appear alone and can help you clear a dungeon, and then they can stay with you as a party member. They'll also be affected by your NPC's special perks, called Gifts. Bandai Namco also released a few new screenshots for the game, which you can see above.
A bunch of new titles arrived on Switch this week, including Platinum's critically acclaimed action game Bayonetta 2. If you're still looking for something new to play on the console, however, a new batch of deals are also now available on the Eshop, and they include discounts on some good games.
Just as in the PlayStation and Xbox Stores, 2K's latest basketball game, NBA 2K18, is on sale in the Eshop this week. From now until February 20, you can download the standard version for $39, while the Legends and Legends Gold Editions run for $50 and $82.49, respectively. Additionally, Capcom has discounted both Resident Evil Revelations titles for a limited time. Each game can be downloaded for $14 until February 21.
This week was an especially busy one for Switch, with 18 games arriving to the Eshop over the past several days. Along with the aforementioned Bayonetta 2, the original Bayonetta is also now available digitally for the hybrid console. A download code for the first game is included in physical copies of Bayonetta 2, but those who purchase either Bayonetta in the Eshop will get an automatic discount on the other one.
Overwatch marked Blizzard's first attempt at making a first-person shooter, and given its continued success, it's fair to say it turned out pretty well. Some fans may hope the developer tries its hand at a spin-off fighting game next, thanks to a new video.
Created by YouTube channel TGN, the video below imagines what Overwatch would be like as a 2D fighting game. It initially pits Reinhardt versus Zarya as the two use their actual Overwatch abilities in the context of a one-on-one fight on the Volskaya Industries map. At one point, we even get a stage transition, as Reinhardt's Charge ability is used to drive Zarya out of one area, through a wall, and into another portion of the map.
A second match sees Genji and Doomfist throw down on Numbani. All of this is accompanied by a fighting game-style HUD, complete with health bars, damage indicators, and special meters. There are even transitions from round to round, and it's all capped off with a bonus stage a la Street Fighter where Doomfist beats the hell out of an inanimate object.
In the video above, we've highlighted five such games. One of these, Celeste, is actually already available; the stellar platformer is out now on Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC. It's well worth a look--as our Celeste review states, "[Madeline's] tale is delicately told and beautifully illustrated, confidently coalescing with the satisfying, empowering game it lies within. Not bad for a game about climbing a mountain."
Looking further ahead this year, games like Donut County, Way of the Passive Fist, Wattam, and The Gardens Between look like exciting releases. We've spent time with each of these previously, and the video above dives into what makes each of them notable. If that's not enough, we have an even more extensive rundown on the biggest hidden gems of 2018, which covers a wide variety of genres and styles.
At any given time, there might be some sort of free game or free-play promotion going on, but right now it feels like there's an inordinate number of these happening at the same time. Specifics vary by platform and what memberships you have, but if you've got some time this weekend, there's likely something you can check out (or acquire permanently) for free.
Those with a PS4 can play the full versions of Rainbow Six Siege and Overwatch (with some restrictions, like no access to Competitive Play) if they have a PS Plus subscription. Siege's free-play event runs until February 18, while Overwatch's continues through February 19 (and provides access to the ongoing Year of the Dog event). The Metal Gear Survive beta is also now underway just before the game's launch and ends on February 18. PS Plus members also received some free bonuses this week, including a Fortnite item pack, a Gems of War booster pack, and the newly released Mercenary Kings: Reloaded Edition (as long as you claimed the original version of the game when it was previously offered through Plus).
Over on Xbox One, many of those same events are happening. Both Rainbow Six Siege and NBA 2K18 are playable for free through February 18--and, unusually, doing so doesn't require an Xbox Live Gold membership. You will, however, need to be a Gold member to try out Overwatch. The Metal Gear Survive beta is also now active. Meanwhile, the latest batch of free Games With Gold titles are now available to Xbox Live Gold subscribers for a limited time.
PC has maybe the best lineup of the three platforms. Siege and Overwatch are playable for everyone without any memberships, and the Metal Gear Survive beta is live on Steam, unlike the previous, console-only test. GOG is giving away a free game (Dungeons 2) right now, and if you're an Amazon Prime member, the newest Twitch Prime game is now available (Civilization IV: Complete Edition); both of these are yours to keep as long as you claim them in time.
By Anonymous on Feb 17, 2018 01:30 am Bayonetta has made her way onto the Nintendo Switch! Tune in as we check out both Bayonetta and Bayonetta 2 today on GameSpot Live.
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Bayonetta has made her way onto the Nintendo Switch! Tune in as we check out both Bayonetta and Bayonetta 2 today on GameSpot Live.
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