Ninja Theory has announced Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, the acclaimed action game that explores mental illness through the lens of Norse mythology, will be launching for Xbox One on April 11. Until now the title was a PlayStation 4 console exclusive and also available on PC.
Of course, Hellblade on Microsoft's console will feature enhancements that can be leveraged by the Xbox One X, including HDR. "Players [have] the choice of three enhanced modes to select from," Ninja Theory explains. "Enhanced Visuals mode offers extra FX and visual quality throughout the experience, High Framerate mode runs the game at 60 frames per second, and High Resolution mode runs the game with dynamic resolutions up to 4K."
Hellblade for Xbox One will be available to pre-order from March 26. Additionally, "as a thank you to the patient Ninja Theory Xbox fans," those that pre-order will get a 10% discount. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice will be available on Xbox One for $29.99/€29.99/£24.99.
Hellblade originally launched in August 2017. The game puts players in the role of Senua, a Celtic warrior who embarks on a vision quest to come to grips with the death of her family. GameSpot awarded it an 8/10 in our Hellblade review and called the title "a spellbinding and sympathetic game about loss and redemption."
"Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is a game that forces you out of your comfort zone, and for all the right reasons. Presenting a troubled young woman's tempestuous journey of self-discovery and redemption through her eyes, developer Ninja Theory's 'indie-AAA' experiment takes a lot of risks when telling its harrowing, introspective story about the often lonely struggles of suffering from past trauma," wrote GameSpot critic Alessandro Fillari.
Harmonix's rhythm mixing game Dropmix has been getting regular updates since its launch last year, but attendees at this year's PAX East will get the chance to add two unique cards to their roster: themes for Pyre and GI Joe. Both cards will be available at the PAX East Dropmix booth (#19097), and you can see the art for the cards below. The GI Joe-themed card features a remix of the '80s cartoon theme, though PR for the game says it will hew closely to the spirit of the original. And the Pyre-themed card includes the main theme to Pyre; that card will be available to at the Supergiant booth (#19091) for playing a demo of their game as well.
Dropmix will feature pretty heavily at PAX East this year in other ways as well. In addition to the exclusive cards, there'll be a behind-the-scenes panel with early prototypes of the game and a discussion of some of the challenges the development team faced. Titled "Every day I'm shuffling: The making of Dropmix," the panel starts at 4 PM on April 5 in the Bumblebee Theater.
To add to the upcoming drop of Dropmix content , the game is scheduled to get a fairly substantial update on April 2 just before the show starts. Here are the patch notes, courtesy of Harmonix:
You can now set a turn timer in Clash for fast-paced play. If time runs out before you use all of your actions, your turn ends automatically.
If you accidentally hit the DropMix button in Clash, you now have a few moments to hit it again to cancel the Equalizer spin.
Ability to choose difficulty settings in Party mode. You have to play faster on higher difficulties, but you can also earn more points.
Party scores are now saved in a high score list. When you set a new high score, you can name your score to keep a record of your best parties.
When you save a video, you can now choose to record a full-length mix and export at a higher resolution.
And shortly after that, on May 21, the game will drop a new Dance/Electronica Playlist pack, which includes (among other new tracks):
Afrojack "Take Over Control" (ft. Eva Simons)
CHVRCHES' "The Mother We Share"
Jason Derulo "Want To Want Me"
The Chainsmokers "Closer" (ft. Halsey)
ODESZA "Say My Name" (ft. Zyra)
James Landino "Break For Me"
So, if you've been looking for more Dropmix content to add to your deck, even if you can't make it to PAX East this year, there's quite a bit on the way in the coming months.
The first season of Netflix's new reboot of the 1960s sci-fi series Lost in Space, which screened at Wondercon 2018 in Anaheim, California today, starts off strong. That should come as a relief if you've seen the 1998 remake. Phew.
Lost in Space follows the Robinson family as their colony ship crashes into a strange and inhospitable planet. It's like The Swiss Family Robinson, but in space. That's an inherently strong premise--sci-fi adventure mixed with relatable family dynamics--and Lost in Space might actually be able to deliver on it, if the first episode is anything to go by. Netflix's shows have been stronger than the streaming service's movies, especially lately, and Lost in Space is no exception.
Somewhat fresh off his excellent stint as the lead pirate on Starz's underrated seafaring series Black Sails, Toby Stephens heads the family as John Robinson. His wife Maureen (House of Cards' Molly Parker), daughter Penny (Mina Sundwall), son Will (Max Jenkins), and adopted daughter Judy (Taylor Russell) make up the rest of the crew on which the series' first episode focuses.
Netflix's Lost in Space is far from an exact remake. John is an Army vet who, as the episode reveals, was more or less estranged from the rest of the Robinsons before they left together on a gigantic colony ship. Predictably, the episode uses flashbacks to continuously flesh out the main characters' relationships, though it doesn't overdo it. There's plenty more family drama to unpack, which Lost in Space will no doubt do over its ten-episode first season, but for the premiere the action is mostly in the present with the family.
If this episode has a single glaring flaw, it's an overreliance on Murphy's Law. Anything that could possibly go wrong for the Robinsons does--and that's after they crash on an inhospitable, icy, alien planet. One family member gets stuck in a dangerous spot with a ticking clock, and in their attempts at rescue, another plummets down a deep hole. Another breaks their leg in the crash, requiring a tricky emergency surgery.
The episode does a decent job establishing who the characters are, if not exactly why they left Earth in the first place. Will, the youngest, is unsure of himself, eager to help but not confident that he belongs there at all. Judy, the adopted daughter, is reckless and wants to prove herself useful. Her relationship with her sister, the book-loving Penny, isn't great, but they love each other deep down. They all--especially Maureen--still harbor some resentment toward John, and the episode gives the sense they might have a good reason, though it's not totally evident yet exactly what it is.
There are moments in Lost in Space Episode 1 where it legitimately feels like one or more of these core characters might actually be lost, whether through dying or becoming long term separated from the family. That's testament to how well the show establishes the danger they're in, even though you know deep down it's unlikely one of the main characters will die in the first episode.
The show's production value is excellent; the planet's surface, the crashed ship, and the Robinsons' space suits all look like they're from a big budget sci-fi movie. That also extends to the show's iconic robot, which in this incarnation is significantly different--and more interesting--than the original's cheesy beep-boop companion to the Robinsons.
It's not just that the robot is now some kind of bio-robotic alien. There are some surprising added wrinkles toward the episode's end, especially when the show briefly turns the clock back to show exactly what happened to cause the colony ship to crash in the first place. That's also when some of the show's other characters are introduced, including Parker Posey's Dr. Smith--another returning character who's different from the original in major ways.
It all adds up to a promising start to a show that, over its previous incarnations, has ranged from campy fun to cartoonishly bad. Netflix doesn't always knock it out of the park with its originals, but with the sheer, unbelievable number of Netflix original shows and Netflix original movies that hit the platform in a constant stream, it's bound to have some home runs now and then. Lost in Space might be one of them.
Lost in Space's release date comes April 13, when all ten episodes in its first season will arrive exclusively on Netflix.
On last week's return episode of Resident Kinevil, Mary slowly became familiar with tank controls again, only to panic and fire off WAY too many bullets in the process. Today, she attempts to reverse that fortune.
On the second episode of Resident Kinevil Code: Veronica, Mary makes her way through hazardous traps, waves of undead assassins, and plenty of zombies with seemingly indestructible knees.
To catch up on previous episode of GameSpot's Resident Kinevil series, in which Mike Mahardy and Mary Kish are attempting to play through every Resident Evil game, you can visit the show's page here, or its YouTube channel here.
Batman Ninja isn't just a fascinating new take on Batman, with character designs by iconic Afro Samurai creator Takashi Okazaki. The movie's real fun comes from the violent collision of Batman universe gadgets and characters, over the top anime style action, and the setting of feudal Japan. These disparate elements come together in endless surprising ways, from the Batmobile speeding through the streets and alleys of historic Japanese villages, to the Joker--green hair tied back in a distinctive top knot--whipping out a minigun in the middle of a watery ship-to-ship battle.
Batman Ninja, which screened today at Wondercon 2018 in Anaheim, California, sees the Caped Crusader transported back in time to feudal Japan thanks to a time machine built by Gorilla Grodd. There's not much more set-up than that--the time travel happens in the first minute or so, which is fine, as it gets us to the real action as quickly as possible. The cast of supporting heroes, villains, and other characters who find themselves in the past is massive, including Alfred, Catwoman, Nightwing, Red Robin, Red Hood, Robin, Grodd, Joker, Harley Quinn, Two Face, Poison Ivy, Penguin, Deathstroke, and more.
Watching these friends and foes navigate the perils of temporal displacement would be fun on its own, but there's an added wrinkle in the fact that, through some vague time travel shenanigans, Batman arrives in the past two years later than most of the other characters. That's given his enemies ample time to set up shop, and by the time Bruce Wayne arrives, they've already completely taken over feudal Japan. Joker is on top, worshipped by the common people as the "Demon King." Penguin, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, and Deathstroke are all in positions of power as well, with various other character playing as wild cards throughout the movie.
Not everyone has a major part to play, and some characters barely appear as more than a cameo. Predictably, the action mostly follows Batman, Catwoman, Grodd, and Joker. And in the movie's first half, they're all basically up to their old tricks. Batman defeats his enemies, he gives them the benefit of the doubt, and for the millionth time, they betray him. It's a little tiring.
But as the Bat continuously loses more and more of the modern technology he brought with him from the present, things get more interesting. An interlude around the middle changes up the animation style to beautiful, shifting watercolors, marking a shift in the story as well. Batman spends some time training with a clan of bat-worshipping ninjas, and his enemies hunker down for the final fight.
Batman Ninja is worth watching for its aesthetic alone. Okazaki's character designs are as strong as ever, although the exaggerated female proportions on characters like Catwoman, Harley, and Poison Ivy look somewhat out of place in this setting. That doesn't detract too much, though, and overall it's fun simply to see how these various characters have incorporated elements of the setting into their typical costumes and disguises. Batman even briefly dresses as a visiting missionary, shaving a conspicuous bat into the top of his head. It's ridiculous, but that's the point--and Batman Ninja is surprisingly funny, using the clash of settings and characters for humor whenever possible.
That sense of humor does produce some unfortunately cheesy dialogue, from Batman's "Time to settle this once and for all"--come on, Bats, no one actually thinks you're going to finish Joker off this time around--to Selena's pandering "Time for some girl on girl action" before a vicious fight with Harley.
The action, at least, is smooth, frenetic, and fast, not unlike Afro Samurai itself. Combatants zip through the air like demons, trading blows with lightning speed. As Batman learns the ways of the ninja, the fights only gets crazier and crazier. The final act is completely insane, pulling influences from all over anime history, from the exaggerated one-on-one combat to giant mech battles. At some point during the lengthy climactic battle, the movie ditches any attempts at maintaining even a tiny bit of realism, and the results are hilarious, awesome, and totally bizarre.
Many of the English language voice actors have played these characters before, but as a newcomer to his role, Arrested Development and Veep's Tony Hale takes a high-pitched and maniacal turn as the Joker. He cackles and growls in all the right ways, even showing a new (or at least, seldom seen) side of Joker for a brief stretch.
I do wish Batman Ninja spent more time with the actual people of the era, showing their perspective as demonic warlords in giant mechanized castles lay waste to their homes and villages. Besides the clan of bat ninjas, Batman Ninja doesn't actually introduce any characters into Batman's world--unless you count Robin's tiny monkey sidekick--which is a shame. The fun is in seeing these familiar characters in a weird, unfamiliar, setting, but it also makes things slightly predictable, as characters like Batman and Joker never really change. And besides the aesthetic and Batman's lack of modern technology, you don't feel the time period as much as you might hope going in.
Still, Batman Ninja is gorgeously stylized, self aware, and heaps of fun, and Batman animation fans shouldn't miss it.
Batman Ninja releases on digital in the US April 24, on physical media May 8, and in theaters in Japan June 15.
The Good
The Bad
Beautiful aesthetic and animation
Some cheesy dialogue
Pulls from a ton of anime influences
Some exaggerated character designs seem out of place
No comments:
Post a Comment