Marvel’s Avengers’ Ms. Marvel: Hands-On With The Newest Hero
There was a taste of superhero fatigue at the Marvel's Avengers unveiling at E3 this year. Here were the Avengers you know, rendered in their gorgeous MCU costumes, and voiced by facsimile versions of Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, and Mark Ruffalo. But something was still missing. Could the video game adaptation be the place to tell a story about someone new? Thankfully, Crystal Dynamics has had an ace up its sleeve this whole time. Her name is Kamala Khan.
Revealed at NYCC, Kamala Khan -- who has donned the Ms. Marvel leotard since 2013, and has quickly become one of the most popular characters in Marvel comics -- is the sixth playable character in Marvel's Avengers (out May 15, 2020 for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Google Stadia). Not only that, but studio head Scot Amos told me that she'll be serving as the story's "protagonist."
Death Stranding, Sekiro, and Bloodborne Are Getting Cool New Action Figures
One of the coolest things about attending comic conventions is seeing freshly unveiled prototypes of as-of-yet unreleased collectibles. This week, at New York Comic Con, Good Smile Company had a handful of prototypes on display that are so new, they haven't even been painted.
The previously-released Bloodborne Hunter Figma action figure is getting a couple friends in the form of Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower, who comes with an uncomfortable-looking Victorian chair to sit on, and the protagonist of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
But that's not all! If you were lucky enough to grab the stupidly-hard-to-track-down Bloodborne Hunter, his action figure is getting some DLC in the form of a weapon rack from The Old Hunters. Sadly, still no Threaded Cane, Kirkhammer, alternate head wearing a jaunty top hat, or tattered piece of someone's umbilical cord.
Marvel’s Avengers: Ms. Marvel Trailer Has Personality
Following the announcement at New York Comic-Con of Kamala Khan's Ms. Marvel joining Crystal Dynamics' released the first trailer for Ms. Marvel in Marvel's Avengers. You can watch the new trailer in the video above.
During Marvel Games' New York Comic-Con panel, the company released the first trailer for Ms. Marvel which includes her role in the story, and her powers in action. Like in the comics, Kamala is a huge Avengers fan.
She was devastated to learn they broke up following the events of "A-Day" and the death of Captain America. She then discovers she is an Inhuman with the ability to "embiggen" parts of her body like her arms, which she can use to beat up bad guys.
Mezco’s Action Figures Span the Pop Culture Universe
Mezco Toys is one of many collectibles companies showing off an incredible lineup of collectibles at NYCC. Whether you prefer superheroes, horror villains or classic franchises like Popeye and Scooby-Doo, there's something for you at the Mezco booth.
Check out the slideshow below for a closer look at everything Mezco is showing off this week (photos by Scott Collura):
Much of Mezco's NYCC lineup is focused on the ONE:12 Collective line, which features 1:12 scale figures with Hot Toys-style mixed-media outfits and articulation. Among the many cool figures on display are John Wick, Hellboy, Pennywise, Conan the Barbarian, several characters from The Warriors, and a wide range of Marvel and DC characters. One particularly noteworthy DC piece is the Batman: Supreme Knight figure. This Dark Knight Returns-inspired figure caps off a trilogy of figures alongside the Batman: Ascending Knight and Sovereign Knight figures.
Persona 3 and 4 Protagonists are Boss Fights in Persona 5 Royal
Persona 5 Royal will feature special DLC that will see Persona 5's Phantom Thieves facing off against the protagonists from Persona 3 and Persona 4.
As reported by Polygon, the news was revealed during a Japanese Morgana's Report stream and will see these battles taking place in the Velvet Room as Challenge Battles, which are extra tough.
The trailer shows the Persona 4 (Yu!) protagonist with Izanagi and images from the Japanese Persona 5 Royal website show Persona 3's protagonist (Makoto!) using Thanatos.
Ms. Marvel Revealed As Marvel’s Avengers’ Newest Playable Character
Crystal Dynamics announced Ms. Marvel as the sixth playable character for Marvel's Avengers game at the Marvel Games panel at New York Comic-Con on Friday.
Kamala Kahn's Ms. Marvel will be portrayed in the game, and she was teased earlier this summer at San Diego Comic-Con to make some sort of an appearance in Marvel's Avengers.
Sandra Saad was introduced as the voice actor for Kamala Kahn, and came out on stage during the panel to speak about her personal connection to the fictional superhero.
"I'm a first-generation American like Kamala Khan. With that comes a lot of stuff. You grow up not fully being able to relate fully. A lot of teenage angst, because you're not fully accepted anywhere. There's a struggle that comes with that," Saad said.
Iron Man VR Is Coming Out In February
Iron Man VR finally has a release date. Marvel announced during its Mavel Games panel at New York Comic Con that PlayStation's upcoming Iron Man sim will be released on February 28. 2020. You can watch the new story trailer in the video above.
During a New York Comic Con panel, Marvel finally shared some more details about developer Camouflage's upcoming Iron Man VR game for PSVR. Iron Man VR was first announced earlier this year, but Marvel finally revealed a February 2020 release date. The company also shared the first story trailer for the game as Iron Man VR will have an original story unique to the VR game.
Pokemon’s Original Ash Ketchum Answers 8 Big Fan Questions
It's been over two decades since the Pokemon animated series debuted in Japan and was syndicated around the world, notably making a splash in the United States. Ash's adventures with Pikachu, Brock and Misty left such an indelible impact on our pop culture that it became global news when Ash finally became a Pokemon League Champion earlier this year.
Veronica Taylor, who voiced Ash Ketchum in the English dub for its first eight seasons, held a panel at New York Comic Con where she answered fans' biggest questions for an hour -- many of which have remained a mystery on the series for its 22 years of existence. Read below for her best (and funniest) answers to these age-old Pokemon questions.
Kotobukiya Brings Marvel, Star Wars and My Hero Academia to NYCC
Kotobukiya is among many collectibles companies showing off a wide range of new products at NYCC this week. Koto's lineup covers franchises like Marvel, DC, Star Wars and My Hero Academia.
Check out the slideshow gallery below for a closer look at Kotobukiya's NYCC display (photos by Scott Collura):
Currently, the display doesn't reveal much that wasn't already shown at San Diego Comic Con in July, though we're hoping to see a few new reveals during the course of the con.
Koto's new Avengers ArtFX Premier line continues to impress, featuring 1:10 scale statues with incredible levels of detail and texture and costumes inspired by Marvel's current Avengers comic. We're also taken with the massive new Venom ArtFX statue, featuring Spider-Man's nemesis swinging across the New York skyline.
Destiny 2 Shadowkeep Review – Moon’s Haunted
It's hard to overstate how much better Destiny 2 has become in the last year. The Forsaken expansion and the smaller, more frequent updates that followed added variety in activities that meant you could earn rewards while playing your favorite content, as well as a huge amount of new, weird lore to sift through, and secrets to uncover. It's not a stretch to say Destiny as a franchise was the best it's ever been in the second year of Destiny 2.
The new Shadowkeep expansion builds on those foundations in just about every way. While returning to the moon is a pretty good time in and of itself--the expansion leans hard on the spooky locale, which was part of Destiny 1 but refreshed and enlarged for Destiny 2--it's the smaller improvements to the way the game works that are really the standout. Shadowkeep's content offerings aren't quite as sprawling, varied, or engaging as what we saw in Forsaken, but the expansion builds on the recent tweaks in Destiny 2 to make the moment-to-moment gameplay even stronger.
Forsaken made some effort to establish Destiny 2 as a game that's constantly evolving. Instead of dropping a series of big content updates with little happening between them, Destiny 2's second year became a drip-feed of new stuff that helped keep the game compelling, for the most part, month after month. Bungie has said this approach is how it wants to handle the game going forward, and Shadowkeep represents a big step in that direction. That means parts of the expansion feels a bit truncated--it teases more to come, but leaves some of Shadowkeep a bit unsatisfying.
Destiny 2 story campaigns have always been a touch lackluster--they usually pack cool individual missions, but they almost always end quickly and rarely amount to more than chasing down some big enemy and putting them in the ground. Shadowkeep's main story is also on the short side, wrapping up in a four or five dedicated hours (and less once you start leveling alternate characters who benefit from the high-level gear you've already procured). It's also clearly the first part of a much larger tale, one that Bungie says will play out over the entire year. As such, it presents something of an unsatisfying journey; it's the first few steps, rather than a complete arc, and you might be a bit surprised when it's suddenly over.
Shadowkeep sees the return of a Destiny 1 character, Eris Morn, who was central to two previous expansions: The Dark Below and The Taken King. Here, Eris has learned that the death-worshipping faction, the Hive, has discovered something on the moon that's conjuring up phantoms of past foes and allies, returning deadly facsimiles of them to life. In a way, it's a big reunion tour of the Destiny of old. Eris is back, you return to the D1 location of the moon, which we haven't seen in two years, and you fight slightly watered-down versions of big bad guys you've previously defeated, such as Dark Below raid boss Crota and Destiny 2 vanilla boss Ghaul. It's something of an amped-up nostalgia trip that's a good time, especially if you've got a long history with the Destiny franchise--but we're waiting to reach the long-term endgame content that will wrap up some of these story threads.
It is cool, however, to hang out on the moon, especially because its spooky factor has gone up. Lunar tunnels are filled with frightening screams of hidden terrors, there are plenty of tough enemies to dispatch, and the whole place carries an air of haunted mystery. It seems we've only scratched the surface of what's hidden on the moon so far. Destiny is at its best when it's full of secrets for the community to uncover, and the game has already provided a few big, baffling mysteries that have required everyone to band together to work out.
Destiny 2 Recent News
Though it ends a little too quickly, the story campaign has some exciting moments as Guardians band together to attack and infiltrate the new Scarlet Keep location and discover what the Hive is up to. The rest of the expansion's new content is engaging as well. Nightmare Hunts are pretty much mini-Strikes, making them quick and palatable boss fights that help you grab new gear. A new take on Nightfall Strikes, the tougher versions of Destiny 2's three-player Strike activities, are enticing thanks to a ramping difficulty system that gives you challenges at a variety of Power levels. Exploring the moon has a lot to offer as well--though a lot of the location is made up of old areas, they're deep and maze-like, and every trip into their depths feels deliciously dangerous.
There's also the Garden of Salvation raid, which became available a few days after launch, to give Destiny 2's highest-level players something to aspire to finishing. Destiny raids are often the best, most inventive content the game has to offer, and Garden of Salvation continues the tradition of including strange and fun mechanics that push your limits of skill and team coordination. It's one of the shorter raids with only four encounters, but includes big, exciting pieces, like a chase through a field exploding with enemy fire and a Gambit-like boss battle that requires teams to split into multiple groups to gather items and defend against team-wiping attacks. Garden of Salvation isn't quite the equal of the massive Forsaken raid, Last Wish, but it's a highlight of Shadowkeep for certain.
Vex Offensive, a new six-player wave-based activity that dropped alongside the raid, helps to round out the amount of stuff Shadowkeep gives you to do for its first season. Like last season's Menagerie, it has the feeling of being a lighter, easier raid-like activity that's more accessible for those who aren't quite hardcore enough to take on Garden of Salvation. The activity itself requires a little more teamwork than the usual Destiny 2 event, without being impossible to do if you're matchmaking alone. It's a fun change of pace from Strikes or Crucible, and its huge dump of rewards mean chasing the best rolls for its many guns doesn't feel like a chore.
Where Shadowkeep really excels, however, is less in the content to work through and more in the myriad smaller changes Bungie has made to totally revamp Destiny 2. The biggest changes focus on making character builds a more important part of the experience, giving you a chance to experiment with weapons and armor not just to make your character more powerful in general, but more powerful in ways that specifically meet your particular play style and needs.
Driving that focus is the new approach to weapon and armor mods, which allows you to mix and match elements that were previously unmovable perks on particular pieces of gear. In the past, you had to spend so much time switching gear in order to make your overall stats go up that more nuanced numbers, like how fast your grenades recharged or how quickly you moved, could generally be ignored. Making sure you had the best rolls on particular gear only really mattered in the game's toughest activities and to the most hardcore members of the community.
With Armor 2.0 and the new weapon mod system, you can move those perks (now as individual mods) between armor sets to build a few pieces of gear with exactly the capabilities you want. You're also no longer penalized for experimenting since mods aren't consumed on use. It means that once you start to get some pieces of armor and weapons that work really well for you, it's possible to continually tweak them to fit how you want to play the game and your particular role on a team.
Shadowkeep's tweaks to higher-level enemy encounters, like adding enemies that require specific mods to defeat, provide excellent opportunities to experiment with character builds and loadouts. Especially in Garden of Salvation, I found myself stopping to try different equipment combinations to help me deal with tough enemies or specific situations. The system provides a lot of opportunities to think about and develop character builds; more than I've been doing through most of the five years I've played Destiny. It's an improvement that makes the game's core loop of constantly chasing new gear feel like it matters to how you play the game--and it's one Destiny desperately needed.
The early leveling system has been improved significantly as well, making the climb to the endgame a lot more reasonable. Leveling up your character is (mostly) gone in favor of constantly chasing gear with better Power numbers. Up to the soft Power level cap, every drop is a useful one--giving you a chance to try out a host of different weapons and armor in various circumstances before you get to Shadowkeep's toughest content. Shadowkeep's change to move experience points from a needless character-leveling system to a battle pass and new Seasonal Artifact item also helps a major ongoing Destiny problem of running out of things to do as you approach maximum level. Everything earns you experience to advance your battle pass and artifact, and the latter of which contributes to your characters' overall Power level, so there's a lot less wasted time chasing useless rewards.
Much of the experience of live service games like Destiny 2 is in the continued chase after better gear and more power in the endgame. While things slow down significantly during the post-soft cap climb, progress feels steady through the game's decent variety of activities, especially with the addition of Vex Offensive. Bungie's changes to the system strike a nice balance between the issues of Year Two, when so many activities started to feel like chores, and the problems of the past, when progressing was a much slower grind. Pushing hard through a week's worth of Powerful gear drops can get you raid-ready in a hurry, but with a number of new guns to chase and new activities to master, there's still a lot for top-tier players to focus on beyond trying to raise their Power level through the roof. The new Seasonal Artifact also helps balance the grind by continually awarding additional Power points regardless of the numbers on your gear. As a result, you never feel stalled, no matter what part of the game you're playing.
Shadowkeep represents a shift in the fundamentals of Destiny 2, and that has only improved the game. Returning to the moon is full of spooky fun, and while Shadowkeep might not be as huge as Forsaken, it still provides some impressive additions to the world that will take time to fully explore. More meaningful choices in Shadowkeep are pushing me to think beyond just packing my most powerful guns and shooting everything in my path. These are improvements that represent a giant leap forward for Destiny 2.