SEGA Genesis vs SNES
Decades of video game tribalism, juvenile insults, and schoolyard myths about distant uncles working at certain console manufacturers can be traced back to one provenance: Super Nintendo vs. Sega Genesis. Yes, there were ancient console wars in the '80s, and today there exists a mild chill between Sony adherents and Microsoft lifers, but the battle was never more ferocious than it was in the mid '90s, when Sega fielded their Hedgehog against Nintendo's plumber, and threatened a fight to the death.
Disney decided to throw gasoline on this long-dormant fire on Wednesday, when the company announced they'll be remastering a pair of the classic platformers: The Lion King and Aladdin, to release fall 2019.
The Switch Lite Is Literally Pocket-Sized Without Feeling Too Small
Welcooome to Nintendo Voice Chat, IGN's Nintendo show! This week, Seth Macy joins the NVC crew to discuss his hands-on time with the Switch Lite. Then, could an Amazon posting for an Overwatch Switch case mean that Blizzard’s popular team shooter is heading to Switch? The panel also discusses Mario Kart Tour’s upcoming release, the classic Lion King and Aladdin remasters, new Shovel Knight details, and more!
Finding Humanity in the Gods of Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: “Nobody goes to Godzilla movies for the characters!” Such an oft-repeated refrain isn’t entirely without merit, to be fair, as what kaiju fan wouldn’t crave wildly entertaining monster mayhem over a quiet character study? However, there is so much more to director Michael Dougherty’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters than just kaiju-vs-kaiju set pieces.
What allows this film to both have and eat its cake is in its handling of the human element. Not that anyone on paper is much more than a familiar archetype (this is a Godzilla movie, after all), but Dougherty and his writers are almost fervent in grounding their script with profoundly human perspectives on one of the story's main running themes - namely, facing the consequences of our hubris and grasping at the possibility of redemption - to lend meaning to all the loaded religious allusions and mythic underpinnings found among the larger-than-life entities of King of the Monsters.
Joker’s Director Fought Hard for His R-Rated Vision
Joker is an unusual DC movie for a number of reasons, not least of which being its hard R-rating. And as director Todd Phillips tells The LA Times, it took a great deal of convincing before WB signed off on his vision for the film.
According to Phillips, he had to spend an entire year making his case for an R-rated Joker movie before studio executives finally signed off on his pitch.
"It was a year-long process from when we finished the script just to get the new people on board with this vision, because I pitched it to an entirely different team than made it,” Phillips said. “There were emails about: ‘You realize we sell Joker pajamas at Target.’ There were a zillion hurdles, and you just sort of had to navigate those one at a time.... At the time I would curse them in my head every day. But then I have to put it in perspective and go, ‘They’re pretty bold that they did this.’"
Watch the Trailer for Netflix’s The I-Land
Netflix has released the official trailer for its upcoming sci-fi thriller series, called The I-Land. The limited series event is set to release on the streaming provider on Thursday, September 12, 2019.
"When ten people wake up on a treacherous island with no memory of who they are or how they got there, they set off on a trek to try to get back home. They soon discover this world is not as it seems. Faced with the I-Land’s extreme psychological and physical challenges, they must rise to their better selves -- or die as their worst ones," according to a synopsis from Netflix.
Be sure to check out the trailer in the video above.
The I-Land features the acting talents of Kate Bosworth (Superman Returns), Alex Pettyfer (I Am Number Four), Natalie Martinez (End of Watch) and Ronald Peet (Blindspot).
She-Hulk Explained: Who Is the New Disney+ Marvel Hero?
She-Hulk has starred in comic books since 1980, has been a regular character in animated television shows, and even headlined her own official (if little-known) prose novel, but she has never been seen in live action—but that’s about to change! She-Hulk is one of three brand new, live-action shows that will debut on the Disney+ streaming service (the other two being Moon Knight and Ms. Marvel).
Marvel’s Avengers Needs These Classic Marvel Costumes
Like Marvel's Spider-Man before it, Marvel's Avengers puts its own visual spin on Marvel's iconic heroes. The game features unique costume designs for Earth's Mightiest Heroes, designs that draw inspiration from both the comics and the MCU.
While not all fans are impressed with the character designs we've seen so far, the upside is that the game will feature costume changes and a wide range of cosmetic items. As with Spider-Man, we're expecting the game to offer classic Marvel Comics looks as alternate costumes, either in the form of unlockable in-game items or DLC. We have some ideas on what needs to be included in the game. Check out the slideshow below or scroll down to see our must-have Marvel costumes.
Apple Announces Next Event for September 10
Apple announced that its next iPhone event will take place on September 10 at 10 a.m. PST. Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 11 at the Steve Jobs Theater at its headquarters in Cupertino, California.
Apple’s invitation doesn’t explicitly reference what it will be announcing at the event, but according to rumors overheard by The Verge, three new iPhone models may be presented. These will most likely include successors to the current iPhone XR, the iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max.
Two of those phones are expected to show off Apple’s new triple-camera system, and the XS Max’s next incarnation may feature an even bigger screen size, going from the original 5.8 inches to 6.1 inches.
Creature in the Well Dev Discusses Hellboy and Other Inspirations
Much like its title monster, there’s more to Creature in the Well than there might seem at first. Flight School Studio’s unique “Pinbrawler” seems ostensibly simple, as I took control of a robot turning back on the power of a long-dormant facility despite the protests of the titular creature. But there’s depth to its pinball-meets-hack-and-slash gameplay and definite finesse required to make it far in the action-adventure, where turning on the power is a matter of speed, power, and precision.
Watch the gameplay, with commentary from Flight School’s Adam Volker, above to see one of the areas of Creature in the Well’s mountain-embedded labyrinth, as well as the hub town located just outside. Volker walked me through the basics of what Creature in the Well plays like, both its inspirations in style and gameplay, how it started as a multiplayer-focused idea, and more.
Moving Out Makes the Hassle of Moving Chaotic, Couch-Coop Fun
I hate moving… with a passion. Sure, it’s necessary to take that next step, but no matter how much you prepare and plan, moving just always, always, sucks. Fortunately, SMG Studio’s new action-puzzle game Moving Out removes all the worst elements of the process, putting you in control of a cartoonish cast of characters whose job it is to get the items into the truck. By any means necessary.
Where Moving Out really hits home is in that same arcade-y, pick-up-and-play feel akin to something like Overcooked. Which is fitting since SMG just announced its partnership with Team17, the publisher behind the Overcooked series. The premise is simple, each level – a suburban home, a two-story office building, a chicken-swarmed farmhouse, etc – has a set number of key items that you’ve got to load into a truck. The goal is to do it as fast as possible, alone or with up to four friends. Sometimes that means jamming a queen bed through a bedroom doorway, hucking a box full of belongings across the front lawn, or grabbing a pig by its back-bacon and awkwardly wattling it toward the truck.