The Internet Reviews Rotten Tomatoes… On Yelp
There's plenty to argue about on the internet, but there's one thing that everyone should be able to agree on: the website Rotten Tomatoes doesn't represent the views of a single individual.
As a review aggregator, Rotten Tomatoes doesn't actually review anything itself. Instead, it rounds up the scores given to movies by other outlets, and then averages those scores out into a percentage which can then be used to determine, at a glance, whether a movie is worth seeing or not.
The idea of professional criticism is the subject of much debate in the age of social media, in which everyone has a voice. Maybe you think professional critics offer valuable insight to the state of popular culture, or maybe you feel that anyone paid to voice their opinion on entertainment media is an insufferable, pretentious hack who should be literally or metaphorically pelted with wet garbage and thrown into a quarry.
NBA 2K20 Players Flood Social Media With #Fix2K20 Complaints
Since its launch last week on September 6, a large number of players have begun reporting major technical issues with the annual basketball game, NBA 2K20. The general furor has risen to the point that social media has become flooded with the #Fix2K20 hashtag demanding immediate action from 2K.
A glance at social media shows numerous individuals complaining about bugs, like athletes clipping through the backboard or other people, or various attribute bars being frozen in place when you’re supposed to be making progress. One especially nasty problem has people spending VC (the NBA 2K series’ in-game currency that can be purchased with real-world money or slowly earned) to raise stats, only to have those stats either stay the same or actually become lower, as shown by this player’s video. That can result in losing actual money, which is a huge problem.
GameStop to Close 180 to 200 ‘Underperforming’ Stores Worldwide
GameStop’s tough year continues as the company announced plans to close between 180 and 200 “underperforming stores” by the end of the fiscal year.
In a recent earnings call, GameStop CFO Jim Bell reported further losses for the struggling video game retailer. Sales were down 14.3% year-over-year and the company posted a net loss of $415 million in its Q2 earnings report.
As part of GameStop’s turnaround plan, the company will close up to 200 stores globally. Bell noted that 95% of the company’s 5700 stores worldwide are profitable, and that underperformance is not the sole metric the company is looking at when determining store closures.
Store closures would be the latest sign of trouble at the video game retailer. After failing to find a buyer earlier this year, GameStop recently laid off over 120 corporate employees, including staff members from its Game Informer publication. GameStop confirmed the layoffs to IGN last month. The company also laid off over 50 regional district field leaders and consolidated its regional offices.
Mr Inbetween Creators on How to Make a Relatable Hitman in Season 2
All September long, IGN is highlighting the best TV coming your way in the 2019-2020 season. Today, we're featuring FX's Mr Inbetween, which debuts its second season this week. The series centers on Ray Shoesmith, described by the network as someone who “takes care of people -- collecting debts, relieving them of drugs and guns, and often taking care of them on a more permanent basis. Ray demands respect and does not tolerate it when someone disregards his very clear code of ethics. In Season 2 of Mr Inbetween, Ray’s work and personal life begin to collide and he finds himself struggling to keep both sides of his life from imploding." In our IGN First preview, series creator and star Scott Ryan, along with director Nash Edgerton, tell us what's in store for Ray when Season 2 of Mr Inbetween premieres on FX on Thursday, September 12.
DC’s Controversial Batman/Catwoman Romance Sees New Development
Batman and Catwoman's engagement may have ended in disaster, but that's far from the end of their story.
Warning: this article contains spoilers for Batman #78!
Batman #50 has proven to be one of the most controversial chapters of the series, as fans were promised a big wedding between Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle, only for Selina to leave her man at the altar. As we later learned, that was the beginning of Batman's downward spiral and a key piece of Bane's complex revenge plot.
But though that wedding wasn't to be, the Bat/Cat alliance still survives. Bruce has turned to his ex-fiancee for help as he tried to recover from his recent ordeals and get back in fighting shape before confronting Bane again. As this issue shows, that involves wearing a fake mustache and soaking up some tropical sun.
How to Get Pokemon Sword and Shield for under £35
The popularity of the Nintendo Switch continues to reach new heights, so it was inevitable that a fully-fledged Pokemon game would make its way onto the portable device.
Well now the wait is almost over, and Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield are slated for release on November 15, 2019. This new game is set in a region called Galar, and will actually bear some resemblance to UK cities and towns. More details were released during Nintendo Direct recently, including information on new features such as camping, cooking, and character customisation.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake TGS Trailer Shows Turks, Summons, And More
Update 9/11: The latest trailer for Final Fantasy 7 Remake has been released as part of Square's Tokyo Game Show 2019 reveals, and it shows plenty of iconic moments from the 1997 original.
The trailer features key scenes from the game, including the Turks' encounter with Cloud and Aerith in the slums church, the encounter with Don Corneo, and the destruction of the Sector 7 plate. There are also plenty of hints to other famous moments; the squatting mini-game, summons in the form of Ifrit and Shiva, Tifa's 7th Heaven bar, and the motorcycle chase are all glimpsed here.
Importantly there are also glimpses at moments that appear to be brand new for the Remake. There's a paragliding segment (that could potentially be Avalanche's escape from the plate drop, rather than the original wire swing) and the reveal of what appears to be a new SOLDIER character on a motorbike. There's also another sighting of those ghost-like things we first saw at E3 2019.
Control DLC Announced With Alan Wake Crossover Tease
Remedy has announced that four DLC updates will be available for Control in the coming months, adding a variety of new modes and story expansions.
See what we thought of Remedy's latest in our Control review video above.
Control’s upcoming content roadmap begins this fall with a photo mode, allowing players to pause the game and take photographs of Jesse in the Oldest House. Following in December is Expeditions, a new game mode in which Jesse must help Security Chief Arish explore the Formation. This mode will involve “some of the greatest challenges” in the game, and will demand the best gear and abilities. Both Expeditions and photo mode will be available free of charge.
Control DLC Announced With Alan Wake Crossover Tease
Remedy has announced that four DLC updates will be available for Control in the coming months, adding a variety of new modes and story expansions.
See what we thought of Remedy's latest in our Control review video above.
Control’s upcoming content roadmap begins this fall with a photo mode, allowing players to pause the game and take photographs of Jesse in the Oldest House. Following in December is Expeditions, a new game mode in which Jesse must help Security Chief Arish explore the Formation. This mode will involve “some of the greatest challenges” in the game, and will demand the best gear and abilities. Both Expeditions and photo mode will be available free of charge.
Marvel’s X-Men Relaunch Turns Mister Sinister Into Mister Sassy
Marvel's ambitious X-Men relaunch continues this week with the release of Powers of X #4. This latest issue adds further wrinkles to the 1000 year saga of the X-Men. But perhaps more importantly, it transforms an iconic X-Men villain from Mister Sinister to Mister Sassy.
Read on for a full breakdown of what happens in Powers of X #4, but beware of spoilers ahead!
Year 1 - Mister Sinister Reborn
This issue opens with a flashback to the earliest days of the X-Men. Having learned the secrets of Moira MacTaggert's ten lives, a united Professor X and Magneto pay a visit to Bar Sinister, a hidden city populated entirely by clones of Mister Sinister. They want to recruit the lead Sinister to their cause, hoping to convince him to create a comprehensive genetic database of every mutant on Earth.