Even a year later, it's not uncommon to come across astonishing videos of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Nintendo created a game with an incredible series of interlinking systems that can result in all sorts of weird, fun, and wild stuff. And where there's a world where hijinks can ensue, there must be silly and funny video recordings.
Rather than convince you that you can ride a Guardian or something of the sort again this year, we've instead gone a different route for April Fools' Day. We present to you Hyrule's Funniest Home Videos--a take on the long-running clip show, featuring some of our favorite moments from Breath of the Wild. We even have our own spin on the theme song--sorry in advance that it'll be stuck in your head later.
You can watch the full video above. Be sure to share your own favorite Breath of the Wild moments with us as well. Sadly, many of the best may have been lost, as Nintendo didn't enable Switch's built-in video capture feature until late in 2017, and the Wii U version doesn't offer that at all. Still, there's been no shortage of cool and delightful stuff to come out of the game, as we think the video highlights.
It may seem hard to believe, but it has been 15 years since "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's final wrestling match at Wrestlemania 19 on March 30, 2003. In the bout, Austin went toe-to-toe with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson--the third meeting between the two at WWE's biggest show of the year.
That match put a cap on a WWE in-ring career that spanned nearly a decade and included six reigns as WWE World Champion. While he may not have been able to perform as long as names like John Cena and The Undertaker, there's no doubting Austin is one of the most important--if not the most important--figures in WWE history.
It's the feud between the Texas Rattlesnake and Vince McMahon that catapulted WWE's Attitude Era to success against WCW during the Monday Night Wars, and it's Austin's matches against the likes of Bret "The Hitman" Hart, Triple H, and The Rock that made him a household name and one of the most popular figures in professional wrestling history.
That's what makes his match at Wrestlemania 19 so fitting. In a black leather vest emblazoned with the letters OMR, which stand for One More Round, Austin made his way to the ring for one final confrontation with arguably his greatest in-ring opponent--and the only man who could give him a run for his money in terms of popularity--The Rock.
The story told in the buildup to the match was practically perfect and a textbook example of how to promote a Wrestlemania feud. After losing to Austin at Wrestlemania 15 and 17, The Rock was now on his way to becoming a movie star outside of wrestling. However, he couldn't move on until he finally beat Austin once and for all on the grandest stage of them all.
Theirs was the sort of blood feud that is largely missing from wrestling today. In a world where AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura are going to Wrestlemania 34 to put on a dream match that will no doubt be an incredible sight to see, Austin and Rock made their issues personal each and every time. There's no better example than this match between the two at Wrestlemania 19, which you can watch above.
It remains to be seen whether Rock or Austin will be involved in Wrestlemania 34. Both have made sporadic appearances over the years as their careers outside of wrestling continue to grow. That said, whether they show up or not, this is a match that will go down in history as one of Wrestlemania's best.
It's the start of a new month, which means a new batch of games have been added to Xbox Game Pass. Subscribers to Microsoft's game service now have access to seven more titles on Xbox One, with an additional game arriving on April 11.
Beginning April 1, Game Pass subscribers can play the Xbox One edition of the acclaimed city-building sim, Cities: Skylines. That includes both the base game and its After Dark expansion. Players can also create their own mods and share them online thanks to a free update that arrived for the game last month.
Other new additions to Xbox Game Pass this month include the open-world hunting game The Hunter: Call of the Wild; the fast-paced first-person platformer ClusterTruck; the action-RPG Portal Knights; the unique side-scrolling strategy game Kingdom: New Lands; the brawler Sacred Citadel; and the crime thriller Late Shift. You can find the full list of this month's new Xbox Game Pass titles below.
On top of those games, the robot-fighting game Robocraft Infinity is being added to Xbox Game Pass beginning April 11. Robocraft Infinity marks the first ID@Xbox title to join the Game Pass catalog on the same day it launches. It allows players to build their own custom robot designs and battle them against other players' creations in Battle Arena and Deathmatch modes.
Xbox Game Pass is Microsoft's Netflix-style subscription service for Xbox One. It costs $10 a month to subscribe and gives members unlimited access to a library of more than 100 titles for as long as they have an active subscription. Microsoft began expanding the service last month with the release of Sea of Thieves, which was the first Microsoft-exclusive title to launch at retail and on Game Pass simultaneously. You can see the full list of available games here.
One of the most memorable moments from The Simpsons comes from Season 7, Episode 21 back in 1996. During the episode titled "22 Short Films About Springfield," one story follows Principal Skinner who invited Superintendent Chalmers over for lunch. The meal goes awry and Skinner ends up serving Krusty Burgers which he hastily calls "steamed hams." It is one of the most satisfying bits in the 29 seasons of the series, and what could be better than watching it all over again? Well, what if Jeff Goldblum was in it?
While promoting the upcoming game Jurassic World Evolution, Jeff Goldblum--who recently played Grandmaster in Thor: Ragnarok--took the time to do a masterful reading of the classic Simpsons bit, which you can see in the video above. Goldblum read Skinner's lines, normally played by Harry Shearer.
Goldblum returns to the Jurassic Park franchise this summer, reprising his role as Dr. Ian Malcolm for the first time since 1997's The Lost World, and he seems excited to return as Malcolm. "I'll try to contribute something to the plate of dino-entertainment," he said. "I like my character. I think my character is a saucy, sassy man of some integrity and deep thinking. And of course, that whole world continues to be popular, slam-bang, top entertainment."
In addition, Goldblum will also be playing Malcolm in Jurassic World Evolution. The upcoming game will be released digitally on June 12 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC and physically on July 3 for Xbox One and PS4. It's a sandbox-style park management game, much like Rollercoaster Tycoon with giant dinosaurs, which is fitting as it's by Frontier Developments, the minds behind the previously mentioned series. You can learn more about specifics of the game in our interview with Evolution's game director, Michael Brookes, and lead designer, Andy Fletcher.
The next film in the franchise, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, hits theaters on June 22 and features Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt reprising their roles alongside Goldblum. The latest trailer for the movie was released during the Super Bowl, and once again, the movie will contain people running from dinosaurs.
Video game hardware often serves as a hurdle for developers to overcome. Whether it's running out of memory or figuring out how to translate a player's interactions with a controller into a dynamic 3D world meant to emulate real life, just getting things to work smoothly is an accomplishment in and of itself. But with some games, developers take things further, and the end result can be better off for it.
There have been countless memorable moments in games, whether it's a well-designed boss fight, an unexpected character death, or an awe-inspiring view. But many of the best moments stem from the way games use hardware in unique ways to deliver something unforgettable. In other cases, special hardware or accessories are used to deliver an experience that otherwise wouldn't be possible with a typical controller or keyboard and mouse.
We've rounded up some of our favorite examples of the best uses of gaming hardware, one that saw fans use technology to turn an existing game into something very different, and a few others that were certainly original, if not very good. Be sure to share those that stick out in your memory with us in the comments below.
Metal Gear Solid
For a series chock-full of noteworthy bosses, it's a testament to the creativity of the original Metal Gear Solid that Psycho Mantis remains so memorable. That comes down in large part to the way the sequence utilized the PS1 in ways I had never seen before. The psychic FOXHOUND villain screws with Solid Snake--and the player--by manipulating the PS1. For instance, the screen goes black, which caused me a brief moment of panic where I thought something had gone wrong with my system.
In an even more brilliant moment, Psycho Mantis looks at the save files stored on your memory card and comments on them. He remarks on the number of times progress has been saved in MGS and points out certain games that you have save progress in. (Years later, this led to one of my favorite parts of Metal Gear Solid 4, where Mantis can't pull off the same tricks due to the PS3's hard drive and vibration-less Sixaxis controller.) At one point, you deal with with his powers by switching the port that your controller is plugged into, which I still find an astoundingly bold choice for a game.
Sadly, some of these things were specifically tailored to the PS1 and GameCube versions, and have thus been lost to time if you don't play them on the original hardware. Still, there was nothing quite like getting to experience all of this in the moment without any warning about what to expect. | Chris Pereira
Boktai
Famed designer Hideo Kojima could do no wrong during the late '90s and early 2000s. He won my young heart with the cinematic stylings of Metal Gear Solid and the fast-paced robot action of Z.O.E: Zone of the Enders. So when I found out that his next non-Metal Gear game would be a GBA game that utilized a solar sensor on its cartridge to fuel an in-game mechanic, I was instantly intrigued.
Titled Boktai, the game stars Django, a young vampire hunter on a quest to avenge his father's death. Equipped with his trusty solar powered gun, the Gun Del Sol, Django takes on all sorts of undead foes. This is where the game cartridge's solar sensor comes in; your gun only holds a limited amount of energy, and once depleted, you need to charge it by holding the gun up to the sun. But in order to do this, you literally need to hold the game up towards the actual sun, so the solar sensor can detect its warming rays. Of course, this means you actually have to play the game outside.
Boktai is a strange yet entertaining action-RPG made all the stranger by its solar sensor functionality. I recall spending hours playing the game outside--or occasionally cheating by opening my window to briefly charge Django's gun before retreating indoors to play until I needed another charge. The only real drawback to the game is that you couldn't effectively play the game during the colder seasons--for obvious reasons.
I thoroughly enjoyed Boktai's sunlight mechanic as a kid, and it remains a joy to play even now thanks to compelling dungeon crawling and a slew of clever puzzles that took advantage of the game's real-time clock and day-night cycle. To this day, the game remains one of the most memorable and innovative uses of GBA hardware. If you can track down a copy, I highly recommend it--if only to experience one of Kojima's quirkier and more adventurous game concepts. | Matt Espineli
Anyone who played console games in the early '90s is well aware of how many gimmicky controllers made it to market. Of the wacky lot of plastic trinkets that cluttered our basements, you'd be hard-pressed to find one as over-the-top as Sega's Activator for the Genesis. The octagonal ring promised to let you punch and kick in the real world and have it translate to fighting games like Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter II.
Sounds amazing, right? Well, while not an outright lie, the advertisements for the Activator may have been stretching the truth a bit. In practice, you couldn't simply punch and kick as you would hope; to execute a specific action, you would have to send your hand or foot over a specific part of the octagon. Each section of the ring corresponded to a button on the Genesis controller and contained a light sensor that detected when you crossed its invisible threshold. Imagine waving your palms frantically around your body trying to move your on-screen character, throw a punch or two, or god forbid execute a complicated combo attack, and you can easily understand why the Activator was derided by early adopters (read: suckers) who fell for Sega's brief marketing blitz. It is, at best, an interesting footnote. | Peter Brown
People still debate Pokemon Go's quality as a video game, but there's no doubt that it uses smartphone technology in an inventive and powerful way. By utilizing your location and some fiddly but capable AR, the mobile game turns your local area into your very own Pokemon adventure. It means you can explore your own neighbourhood in the same way you explored Kanto all those years ago. It's immediately nostalgic and emotional for anyone who played the mainline games and wants to be the one catching Pokemon and venturing across the land.
To some people, Pokemon Go might just be a throwaway mobile fad, something that went viral overnight because The Internet and that's that. But to others, including myself, it allows us to finally achieve what we'd always wanted: To transport ourselves inside a Pokemon game and be the very best, like no one ever was. | Oscar Dayus
Let's Tap
Let's Tap is a game, but it deserves an entry here for the interesting way it made use of Nintendo's Wii Remote. At a time when every studio under the sun was working on the next great motion-controlled game (bless their naive hearts), former Sonic Team head Yuji Naka conceived a game that utilized the Wii Remote's accelerometer, but without the user having to hold the controller in their hand. Instead, you would lay your Wii Remote face down on a cardboard box, and tap the box with your fingers to interact with Let's Tap's collection of mini-games. These included a Jenga-like deconstruction game, a multiplayer sprint race, and a basic rhythm game, among a few other simple applications.
Let's Tap and Naka get bonus points for originality, but the game failed to make a splash despite its inventive spirit. As former GameSpot reviewer Luke Anderson pointed out, "Let's Tap certainly offers a different way to play, but the games don't completely mesh with the control scheme and, with the exception of Rhythm Tap, could have worked every bit as well with a more conventional control setup." | Peter Brown
Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck
As someone who likes to tease and bug my friends, it makes a lot of sense in retrospect that I had such a great time with Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck, a game all about annoying Daffy Duck. Based on the classic cartoon of the same name (pictured above), which sees an off-screen animator mess around with Daffy, Duck Amuck tasks you with generally tormenting the character. It's a creative idea for a game, but what makes it special is the way in which it leverages the DS hardware.
Some of the ways of interacting with Daffy are pretty straightforward--you use the touchscreen to poke and prod him or to pick him up and launch him off the screen. Where it really blows my mind is in the way that it allows you to physically close the system, something which would normally suspend what you're playing and put the handheld in sleep mode. Instead, the game keeps going, and Daffy shouts out at you, allowing you to continue playing a mini-game using the shoulder buttons. It's a feature that I'm still glad that Nintendo allowed, and it made for an experience I still remember vividly more than a decade later. | Chris Pereira
NeGcon
Namco's legacy took root in the arcade, a place where games and hardware often combined in surprising and unexpected ways. This innovative spirit stuck with Namco; in 1995, it fundamentally reinvented the standard PlayStation controller in hopes of improving the experience of playing racing games at home. The result was the unusual NeGcon controller, which was split down the middle from top to bottom, allowing users to twist the controller's two halves. Compared to the digital inputs of a d-pad or the short throw of an analog stick, this wide range of motion allowed for more finesse when turning the wheel of a virtual car. Despite its odd appearance, the NeGcon found wide support from other publishers and could be used with games like Gran Turismo, Rally Cross, and Wipeout (including Wipeout Fusion on PS2). It's an odd-looking controller to be sure, but it fulfilled Namco's promises. It was such a success, that Namco would follow-up with another racing-centric controller only a few short years later... | Peter Brown
Rather than iterate on the NeGcon, Namco went back to the drawing board for the development of the Jogcon, a controller with a force-feedback-enabled wheel crammed into the middle. It was marketed alongside Ridge Racer Type-4--the final entry in the series on the original PlayStation--but would also be compatible with PlayStation 2 games like Ridge Racer V. Not one to forget its past, Namco allowed you to trick the controller into a NeGcon mode, which allowed for wider support, albeit without the force-feedback feature. While it didn't enjoy widespread success like the NeGcon, the Jogcon still deserves respect for packing force-feedback into a standard controller, allowing players to experience the push and pull of the road without having to invest in expensive and bulky racing wheel setups. | Peter Brown
Okay, Twitch Plays Pokemon wasn't technically a unique use of video game hardware, but it was still one of the most creative moments in recent video game history. It allowed those watching the stream to control the protagonist of a number of Pokemon games, starting with Pokemon Red and continuing with sequels such as Pokemon Crystal, Emerald, and Platinum, among many more. Viewers achieved this by typing in commands--"up," "down," "B"--to make the main character move and perform actions.
As you can imagine, that made actually playing the game very difficult. Trying to beat a Gym Leader, catch an elusive Legendary, or even walk in the right direction is tricky when dozens of thousands of people each have a controller.
However, as we all know, give enough typewriters to enough monkeys and they'll eventually beat the Elite Four, and that we did. And when the moment came that this cacophony of monkeys finally beat the first game, pure joy ensued. We'd done it! Twitch Plays Pokemon had made us the controller and we didn't mess it up. It merely took us a brief 16 days, 9 hours, 55 minutes, and 4 seconds. | Oscar Dayus
Plastic Instruments for Guitar Hero and Rock Band
The plastic instrument revolution led by the Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises came and went, but its impact on rhythm games (and games in general) is unforgettable. GuitarFreaks in Japan preceded other instrument-based music games, but it never matched the reach and influence of Guitar Hero. In 2005, developer Harmonix nailed the feeling of shredding in Guitar Hero by simply pairing five notes as frets on the guitar neck with a small lever that acts as the strings in the packaged instrument. The other key ingredient was obtaining hit songs that captured a Western audience regardless of the diverse tastes in rock music, whether it be classic, punk, metal, or indie rock.
Seeing Guitar Hero in action for the first time with the plastic guitar immediately makes perfect sense: follow the pattern on screen and pluck the lever while holding down the correct note(s). In this regard, the game is accessible to those who have never picked up the instrument before but also challenges those actually knew how to play a guitar. The series provided an avenue to not just discover new songs but build a rhythmic connection with the melodies and harmonies of songs you already loved.
In 2007, Harmonix topped themselves with Rock Band, which cranked the concept up to 11. Not only did it retain the intuitive guitar gameplay, but the game included a microphone for vocals, a full drum set, and the option for a second guitar to cover basslines. The game really lived up to its name. It was the perfect blend of karaoke, Taiko Master, and Guitar Hero with the continued tracklist of diverse rock songs that satisfied nearly all tastes in music.
Unfortunately, the genre lost its appeal over time and the accumulation of plastic instruments became a burden for both retailers and consumers. The concept is still more than a novelty; dusting off those old guitars and drums can make a good party great. | Michael Higham
There are a lot of WWE rumors, especially around Wrestlemania each year. It's good to keep fans a little off-balance and a little curious. Not knowing the how, why, and what allows fans to suspend their disbelief about the onscreen action. Rumors elevate their subjects and make men into superheroes and otherworldly monsters.
Here are some of the most persistent urban legends in professional wrestling. Some of them are false, which is a relief. And some of them are true, which is terrifying.
If you're looking for more WWE awesomeness, make sure to check in with our Wrestlemania coverage, including rumors leading up to the event. We have a full match card for your to check out as well as our predictions for the upcoming event. And come back on Sunday, April 8 for live coverage of Wrestlemania 34.
The Ultimate Warrior Was An Impostor
From 1987 to 1992, the Ultimate Warrior ran roughshod over the WWE locker room. An intense, muscle bound man, Warrior would squash most of his opponents in under five minutes, if not less. And he was largely seen as the inheritor of Hulk Hogan's throne. But due to a combination of A) being difficult to work with and B) the ongoing WWE steroid investigation, Warrior left the company in 1992.
When he returned to WWE in 1996, he had golden blonde, wavy hair and a slimmer figure, which spurred rumors that this new Ultimate Warrior was an impostor, and that the old, original one was either dead or otherwise unavailable. Of course, this wasn't true; it's always been the same man since the very beginning.
Is this urban legend true? No
Mr. Fuji Once Cooked A Co-Worker's Dog
Most WWE fans probably know Mr. Fuji from his management stints; he cheated for both Demolition and Yokozuna, and he guided the latter to the WWE Championship. But before that, Fuji was a tag team specialist who fought in multiple territories, including WWE, in the 1970's.
Fuji was also known for his "pranks"' which were often times sick and sadistic. His most infamous, legendary one was when he cooked and fed a dog to his fellow wrestlers. Multiple wrestlers have different accounts of what actually happened. Roddy Piper recalled that Fuji pulled this stunt on Toru Tanaka. Hulk Hogan recalled that Tor Kamata was the victim, and he ate a cat, not a dog.
Mr. Fuji recalls that he pulled the prank with assistance from Don Muraco, and they targeted Billy White Wolfe and Skandor Akbar (Fuji's memory is hazy on this). At the end of the meal (teriyaki dog, according to Fuji), Muraco revealed the dog's severed head, which caused Wolfe and Akbar to throw up.
Is this urban legend true? Yes
Andre The Giant Once Drank Over 100 Beers In One Sitting
Andre the Giant was a walking urban legend--the Eighth Wonder of the World. Everything was exaggerated about him; his height, for example, was cited in various publications as 7'4, or 7'5, or even 7'7. When you're a massive giant in the pre-internet era, you can get away with a little fibbing.
But all of Andre's colleagues seem to be united on one point: his drinking prowess. According to multiple people, Andre the Giant could drink over 100 beers in a single sitting. And there's so many witnesses who claim to have seen this, firsthand, that it's probably true.
According to Hulk Hogan, Andre drank 108 beers while waiting with him at an airport. At a WWE Legends roundtable which included Dusty Rhodes and Michael Hayes, Andre's colleagues told multiple Andre drinking tales: Once, Andre drank 156 beers in a single sitting. Pat Patterson also recalled a time that a drunk Andre fell asleep in a hotel lobby. Because none of the wrestlers could move him, Patterson took Andre's keys and wristwatch for safekeeping, and they left Andre lying there until morning. Indeed, the truth can be stranger than fiction.
Is this urban legend true? Yes
Joey Styles Punched JBL Backstage
Yes, we're talking about JBL again. Only this time, WWE's resident frat boy gets his comeuppance. On WWE's tour to Iraq in 2008, JBL was mercilessly hazing newcomer Joey Styles, WWE's new director of digital content and the former commentator for ECW. And Styles, who weighs over 100 pounds less than JBL, punched his tormentor, leaving JBL with a cut and a black eye.
This might be easily dismissed as wishful thinking, but multiple eyewitnesses have confirmed it. RVD told this story on a podcast, and Simon Dean heard the story secondhand from Triple H himself.
Is this urban legend true? Yes
The WrestleMania III Attendance Figure Is A Lie
It's a heavily touted figure, especially when Mania season rolls around. WrestleMania III--the one with the Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant main event--broke the indoor attendance record, with 93,173 fans.
Or did it? According to longtime wrestling journalist David Meltzer, who spoke with promoter Zane Bresloff, the actual figure was closer to 78,000 fans, WWE had misrepresented the attendance figure to break the record.
WWE, of course, denies this. And several months later, the Pope also drew over 93,000 people, so it is possible that that the Pontiac Silverdome could physically hold that many people. But without first-hand, concrete documentation, we'll probably never know the truth for sure.
Is this urban legend true? Unknown, but most likely not
Two Different Wrestlers Portrayed Kane
This was nearly identical to the Ultimate Warrior urban legend, only this time, it concerned Kane. Somehow, word got around that two different people played Kane full-time: one while he was masked and the other after he was unmasked. Conspiracy theorists analyzed the two Kanes' contrasting body types to support their supposition.
And as with Warrior's rumor, this is not true, at all. Aside from short-lived exceptions, which were exposed as impostors or inferiors in their respective storylines, Kane has always been performed by one man, Glenn Jacobs. And as for the differing body type? Jacobs aged! No one can be expected to maintain the same build and the same musculature over a 20-year career.
But fans did have reason to distrust wrestlers with masks and makeup on their faces. Vince McMahon owned the legal rights to gimmicks, which meant he could replace the performers if he wanted to. Doink the Clown, for example, was originally performed by Matt Osborne, and Ray Apollo replaced Osborne in 1993.
Is this urban legend true? No
Ric Flair Had 25 World Title Reigns
According to WWE, Ric Flair and John Cena are tied for the record number of world title reigns: 16 reigns apiece. Many Cena storylines are built around this premise; all he needs is one more title reign to be the winningest champion in wrestling history.
But according to wrestling statisticians, this doesn't hold up. There's a Reddit thread that has an excellent summary of this conundrum; including his NWA, WCW, and WWE title reigns, Flair actually has 19 world titles. Add in six more world title reigns from smaller, less prestigious promotions, and that brings the total to 25.
So whenever Cena does 'break the record' and clinch his 17th world title reign? He's actually got a ways to go before he can call himself the greatest. To be the man, you gotta beat the man. WOOOOOOO!!
Is this urban legend true? Yes
Wrestling Is Fake
We're only half-kidding with this last one. But it's getting old. How many times do we have to deal with this refrain from endless haters: "You know it's fake, right?
First of all: It's not fake. It hurts when you toss yourself off the roof of a steel cage, even if you brace your fall. And a punch to the face, delivered at 30% power, is still a punch to the face. Let's put a finer point on it than "fake."
Professional wrestling is scripted and pre-determined; it's a postmodern, theatrical presentation. And everyone is in on it. No one, outside of the young children, thinks this is legitimate competition, and no adult has thought that way since the late '80s. Of course, fans suspend their disbelief. But we know that none of it is real.
Well, except for the Undertaker's urn. That's real.
Get Out, It Follows, The Witch. These are modern horror films we still talk about because of a standout premise. A Quiet Place joins these ranks with a strong hook of its own: everyday noise as something to fear. It's a harsh, scary film that pulls no punches and makes excellent use of sound.
A Quiet Place has a simple setup, where the rules are clearly established: The world is overrun by blind monsters that track you by sound only. This leads to an hour and a half of pure tension. Common things like a toy that makes noise or a dropped bottle of pills can lead to disaster, and not just when the creatures are in the next room. It's a smart concept that keeps your eyes and ears focused throughout the film.
In a typical horror film, you have the baseline noise--dialogue, music, background action--punctuated by the volume spike of a scare. With A Quiet Place, it's the range in between, the innocuous everyday sounds that would be harmless in any other movie, that keep the tension flowing.
The Abbott family is the center of attention, composed of mother Evelyn (Emily Blunt), father Lee (John Krasinski), daughter Regan (Millicent Simmons), and sons Marcus (Noah Jupe) and Beau (Cade Woodward). These names are never actually said aloud in the movie, and it doesn't matter. In fact, there is a miniscule amount of spoken dialogue throughout the entire thing, making those few verbal moments more intimate. The family dynamics are clear from the opening scene, and that familial warmth from everyone makes you care about them as one unit. Their performances come together to forge a believable family in a hellish world, where simply getting through the day is a silent struggle.
Krasinski pulls double duty as the film's director, and he was able to coax out great moments from his cast. Most notable is Simmons, a deaf actress who taught her co-stars American Sign Language. This spotlights a method of communication not often seen in movies, but her performance goes far beyond hand motions, with a face that moves between expressions of happiness, sadness, and fear. She portrays a girl whose heart is also in emotional pain, largely over finding her place in this post-apocalyptic world. She thinks about the future, how best to protect her family, and how these things are made harder because of her disability. It's far from the stereotypical moody teenager.
The Abbotts' way of life is also clearly established early on. They walk on sand to hide their footsteps, sign to each other with ASL, and find ways to cook and clean while minimizing their audio footprint. But even during these would-be normal moments, the threat of making a sound is ever present. It adds a layer of unease to what would otherwise be dry scenes, especially in the opening act. That time is also spent foreshadowing setpieces and objects that later factor into the action in significant ways. A conversation between a father and son beside a river illustrates that you can speak aloud in this world, but only when another natural sound is louder than the one you make. The movie sets a strong tone of danger at all times, with rare moments of peace or joy.
Once the setup is complete, the plot takes a basic "survive the night" turn as a monster invades the family farm. The Abbots silently fight for safety, though there doesn't seem to be any deeper meaning to the action beyond getting out alive. That said, the movie is not afraid to constantly ramp up the danger. Brief moments of respite for the Abbotts are quickly undone, either by a monster creeping into the scene or someone making accidental sound, from the opening to the credits. Watching Blunt deliver a baby while the monsters stalk about the house is harrowing.
The smart use of sound also leads to a few pleasant moments. At one point, Krasinski and Blunt dance to a song played through her iPod's headphones, the only time music is heard in the entire film. The tone overall is pessimistic, but these few moments of happiness help you empathize with the Abbotts even more. They're complemented by cinematography that uses equally warm colors, and a few striking reds during particular moments of tension.
A Quiet Place does its job well: It clearly establishes ground rules, continually ups the danger, and makes dynamic use of all types of sound. Any hope of progress or safety in this world can be crushed by a dropped object or even the soft crying of a baby. There are precious few seconds where the Abbotts--and you as the viewer--can relax. While it certainly doesn't shy away from trying to make you jump, it's the sonic nature of the scares and unending threat of everyday actions that make this film stand tall.
The Good
The Bad
Constant threat of sound keeps you on the edge of your seat
In the three years since its release, Techland has continually been churning out content for Dying Light. In addition to a number of quality-of-life updates and tweaks to the gameplay, the open-world zombie survival game has also seen a number of new modes--including The Following DLC campaign and additional multiplayer options. And now, the developers are riding the wave of interest for battle royale with their own take on the familiar every-man-for-themselves game type. While at GDC 2018, we got to go hands-on with the upcoming DLC Bad Blood--launching later this year--which pits several players in a race against time--and the zombie hordes--to acquire enough resources and make it out of Harran alive.
In Bad Blood, six players are dropped into random locations around the map in a race to acquire enough samples from several elite infected. From the starting point, you'll have to find weapons and support items as you go. Every player starts on an even playing field as they maneuver through the streets and rooftops of the ruined city. As you take down these special zombies, you'll be able to collect samples and potentially level up your character--boosting their health, agility, and attack power. Of course, other players have similar goals, and they may find that attacking you while you're being swarmed by infected is the smart thing to do. As in traditional battle royale fashion, you only have one life to live, so you'll have to make the right choices and play smart.
While this mode may initially come off a bit gimmicky, the actual experience is surprisingly tense. Bad Blood is a constant race for resources, with the virus samples being the most valuable. In a some cases, encountering another player felt like the last thing you wanted to happen, resulting in a mad dash to evade them. The end-game portion which focuses on booking it to the helicopter is a where things get really hectic. The player with the most samples will have to reach the evac site and wait for the chopper to land, which paints a large target on their back. Only the player with the required amount of samples can make it out alive, and some players may forge quick alliances to try and take down the lead player--only for it to quickly fall apart as they scramble to scavenge the samples to make it out alive.
Battle royale has been one of the most talked about topics for the last year, with many people wondering what games would benefit from such a mode. In the case of Dying Light, it makes some rather clever choices with how it incorporated BR into its current strengths of survival and action gameplay. With Dying Light still going strong, and with the developers experimenting with adding even more players into the battle royale mix, Bad Blood looks to be a refreshing change of pace for players looking to dive back the game, which has only gotten better with age.
With many games paying homage to the nostalgia-ripe 2D-era of the '80s and '90s, Pixel Ripped 1989 seems like it could get lost in the crowd. But when it comes to reliving a bygone era, this strange yet surprisingly relatable throwback goes about things a bit differently, offering one of the most impressive and self-aware VR experiences in quite some time. During GDC 2018, we had the chance to go hands-on with the game ahead of its Oculus, HTC Vive, and PS VR release on May 22, while also speaking with creator Ana Ribeiro about its rather lengthy development.
"I started this as my final project in university for the master's degree program, and it was at a university more well-known for movies and stuff [National Film and Television School], and then when I put it on Oculus share, it got a lot of press," said Ribeiro. "People seemed to have liked it. It was more of a proof of concept to try and get a job, but then I decided to work on this game and get it a full release. It's been four years altogether. This is the dream. It actually has a lot of my life experiences in the game. I used to be a bad student, throwing paperballs, playing games in the background--it's all from a really personal place. "
Set in the late '80s, you're placed in the shoes of rebellious grade-school student Nicola, who loves to spend time on her handheld game system. Her favorite videogame is the action-platformer game Pixel Ripped, starring the blaster-wielding and platform-jumping Dot. When the evil Cyblin Lord's ambitions go beyond the realm of the videogame, he escapes into the real world, bringing familiar enemies along with him. To stop the main baddie, Nicola must guide Dot through increasingly difficult stages where she'll shoot monsters and other baddies--all while avoiding the gaze of her overbearing teacher and other distractions around the school.
As a game within a game, you'll be tasked with alternating between two different mechanics. In the world of Nicola's handheld, Dot controls in familiar style to a Mega Man game, where she'll blast enemies while traversing dangerous jumps and sketchy platforms to make it to the end boss. Of course, playing your videogame in the middle of class is asking for trouble, and Nicola's teacher becomes extremely angry when she catches you looking down at your game. In order to low-key get your game on and help Dot, you'll have to cause distractions around the classroom. Using spitballs, you can cause a ruckus to distract the teacher to keep your focus on the game.
Of course, many of these familiar tropes are mechanics wrapped up within the VR medium, which is what makes this particular game so interesting. What Pixel Ripped 1989 does well is center on the relatable experience of keeping your head buried within the game--while still trying to be aware of the real world around you. Balancing twitch-based platforming action when playing on Nicola's handheld system with perspective-focused controls that challenge your peripheral vision, it leads to some rather tense and humorous moments where you're trying to make a dangerous jump in Nicola's game, only to be caught by the teacher in the classroom at the worst possible moment. Eventually, there are moments in the levels where the 'game' will spill out, bringing together the two parallel game mechanics as you guide Dot through virtual constructs scattered around the classroom--all the while using Nicola's spitballs to open up pathways for the character.
In terms of mechanics, Pixel Ripped 1989 is a relatively simple game, but it makes some rather clever choices in how it presents those familiar and relatable actions in the VR experience. One of the most striking aspects of Pixel Ripped 1989 is its vibrant style, and the sort of exuberance that comes from being sucked into a good game. Going all in with the retro-80s aesthetic, the game features heavy doses of old-school charm with neon lights and chrome decals.
Pixel Ripped 1989 replicates much of the same escapist joy that came from playing videogames as a kid, while recontextualizing it as a different kind of VR experience. It's about what it's like being engrossed in a game--even feeling like your success in it can have consequences in the real world. For its creator, she aims to have Pixel Ripped 1989 be the start of a series of retro-themed games that focus on different eras of gaming, while also showing different experiences of the characters that play them.
"After four years I never get tired of this game. I always have fun working on it. Previously, I had some problems sticking to things, like working longer on things, but surprisingly after all this time, I'm not tired of it. I'm happy to do four more episodes of this game--this is first set in 1989--but after the success of this release, we'll do a Pixel Ripped 1978 set in the early arcade era with Atari graphics, 1983 will be arcades, 1985 would be the Mega-Drive, and then 1995 would be about the N64 era. We'll try to reference all the different eras of games."
Mary and Mike finally realize how much f a soap opera Code: Veronica is, and have fun hanging out with Steve.
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