Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age is an Absolute Delight
My brief time with Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age was a delight, an airy romp through a vibrant fantasy world crowded with colorful monsters. I led my party on horseback through steep canyons lined with spiraling caches of minerals and littered with towering ruins. Dragon Quest continues to be a friendly RPG series. When I encountered hostile anthropomorphic cacti, they danced and smiled at me even as they tried to poke me to death. Even the most fearsome enemies have a delightfully adorable quality about them, and there’s a sense of whimsy and playfulness that inhabits the design.
The Dragon Quest franchise permeates Japanese popular culture. Its creator Yuji Horii is a national celebrity. The vibrant Dragon Quest monster designs by the legendary Akira Toriyama are universally-recognized icons in Japanese stores and television. Its 30 year old theme music can be heard practically everywhere.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 DLC and New Mode Revealed
Update: Two new playable Blades are coming to Xenoblade Chronicles 2's Challenge Battle Mode.
According to Nintendo's announcement at E3 during Treehouse Live, both Shulk and Fiora will be playable Blades in the aforementioned mode. In Challenge Battle Mode, players will complete various challenges and get new items and treasures as a reward.
Shulk in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, via Nintendo on Twitter
Batman Writer Reveals ‘Heroes in Crisis’
DC Comics have revealed the next major comic book project from Batman writer Tom King. King will be reuniting with artist Clay Mann for Heroes in Crisis, a new seven-issue miniseries that explores the impact a life of violence has on DC's most vulnerable heroes.
The word "Crisis" has important connotations in the DC Universe, but this story looks to be more in line with 2004's Identity Crisis than cosmic-focused tales like Crisis on Infinite Earths and Final Crisis. Heroes in Crisis introduces a counseling center called Sanctuary, one created by Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman and geared towards helping their fellow heroes cope with the crushing psychological pressures of the job. The series will explore the role Sanctuary serves in the superhuman community and what happens when it fails. The series will also be set against the backdrop of a murder mystery, not unlike Identity Crisis before it.
Kingdom Hearts 3 Director on Potential for DLC
Kingdom Hearts 3 will be the culmination of every Kingdom Hearts game that has come before it, and while that is leading to a very intentional story, its developers are open to expanding the game with DLC after launch.
Speaking at E3 2018, Kingdom Hearts franchise director Tetsuya Nomura told IGN he wants to have post-launch content in Kingdom Hearts 3. But, don't expect any concrete announcements of what that DLC could be just yet.
"In this day and age, most major titles do have some kind of content releases after their release," Nomura told IGN via translation. "So since I considered Kingdom Hearts 3 to be one of those major titles, I do want to have something to add to your enjoyment of Kingdom Hearts 3, so maybe you could continue to play a little longer than release, but we haven't really thought of anything in detail yet."
Gal Gadot Reveals New Photo From Wonder Woman 1984
UPDATE, June 17: Gal Gadot has now released a new image of her in costume from Wonder Woman 1984, the now-filming sequel to the 2017 DC superhero movie blockbuster.
Gadot revealed the photo on Twitter; it can be seen in the slideshow below.
The original report from June 13th follows.
Warner Bros. has officially announced the commencement of principal photography on Wonder Woman 1984, the sequel to the 2017 blockbuster based on the DC Comics superhero. They also released two official still phots from the movie.
Gal Gadot once again stars in Wonder Woman 2, which co-stars Kristen Wiig as the film's main villain, The Cheetah. Pedro Pascal also stars.
The Incredible Hulk is the Most Underrated MCU Movie
Marvel's The Incredible Hulk hits its tenth anniversary this week, as the film was originally released on June 13, 2008. So we figured it was time to take a look back at the movie and see how it stands up against its current reputation.
When people rank the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies, as they so often do, one of the films that typically ends up near the bottom of the list is Louis Leterrier’s The Incredible Hulk. At a glance it’s easy to see why. It stars Edward Norton, an actor whose work was swiftly overshadowed by his replacement, Mark Ruffalo. It’s a gloomy movie that treats its hero like a Universal Monster, instead of one of the quippy, positive character development-centric adventure flicks that the MCU movies eventually became.
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Shadow of the Tomb Raider Doubles Down on Puzzles and Exploration
Of the nearly 150 hours I have in Rise of the Tomb Raider, I spent plenty of them jumping off ledges, investigating corners, staring up at empty ceilings, and trying to get just the right angle to peek into a crack in a room to find the next obscurely hidden collectible. Exploration and all the challenges area that came with it were a great post-game activity in Rise of the Tomb Raider – that is, until exploration eventually became tedious and I realized how bloated Rise was with collectibles and other extra tasks. Shadow of the Tomb Raider touts a bigger and more immersive setting, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider's narrative director, Jason Dozois, and level design director, Arne Oehme, assured me that a focus on building out the game's fictional culture will help keep exploration interesting.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Kicking Butt as the Splatoon Inklings
Nintendo finally revealed the first gameplay from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate during its E3 2018 Direct presentation. The reveal included two brand new fighters: Ridley from Metroid and the Inklings from Splatoon. I had an opportunity to go hands-on with the Inklings in Smash Bros. Ultimate to check out just what the squid kids can do and how they hold up against some of the more seasoned fighters on the roster. Simply put, I'm ink-credibly happy with what the squid kids have to offer.
With over six different variants (or costumes) to choose from, there's no doubt that you'll be fighting in style when you play as an Inkling in Smash Bros. Ultimate. That’s not all these Inkopolis natives have to offer, because their standard and special attacks see them switching between numerous weapons from Splatoon 2 including the Splattershot, Splat Roller, Ink Brush, Blaster, and Splasher.