Agents of SHIELD Season Finale Pics: Showdown with Hive
The end of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD's third season is upon us as the villainous, cold Hive has some major world conquering plans and it's up to Coulson's shaken team to thwart the infamous Inhuman's schemes.
In these new images released by ABC, our heroes take a stand against Hive. But where's Daisy in all this madness? And who is the "Fallen Agent" she saw in her future vision? All will be revealed in the back-to-back episodes "Absolution" and "Ascension."
The official synopsis for "Absolution/Ascention" reads: "In the third season finale, Hive's master plan is completely revealed, forcing S.H.I.E.L.D. into action."
The double-sized Agents of SHIELD Season 3 finale airs Tuesday, May 17th at 9/8c on ABC.
New Arrow Images Tease Oliver vs. Thea
Oliver sneaks down into Darhk's ark this week - aka the subterranean suburbs he designed to withstand Project Genesis - on Arrow's penultimate Season 4 episode, "Lost in the Flood."
But in his attempt to rescue Thea, will Oliver run into a sister who's been brainwashed? And ready to fight? Check out these new episode images released by The CW and see for yourself. Also, it appears as though Felicity and her father have possibly reconciled following the events of last week. But how is she handling her choice to spare millions of lives by sacrificing thousands?
The official description for "Lost in the Flood" reads: "Following the shocking events in the previous episode, Oliver and Diggle race to rescue Thea, while Felicity, Curtis and Noah join together to stop Darhk."
New Flash Images Reveal Return of Fallen Hero…Sort Of
The penultimate Season 2 episode of The Flash - "Invincible" - races into our lives on Tuesday, May 17th and The CW has released a bunch of new preview images for it.
When we last left things, Zoom had recruited a horde of Earth-2 villains for an assault on Barry and his team. And now photos reveal that one of them, the leader, is Black Siren. Yes, Katie Cassidy, fresh from her exit on Arrow, returns to TV as Black Canary's evil alternate universe doppelgänger.
Also, you'll see the curious return of Killer Frost and Reverb, both presumed to be very dead. Check it out...
The synopsis for "Invincible" reads: "After Zoom unleashes an army of Earth-2 meta-humans on Central City, Barry is shaken when he sees their leader is the Black Canary's Earth-2 doppelgänger, the Black Siren. Meanwhile, Wally takes to the streets to help the Flash stop the meta-humans, which worries Joe; and Iris and Henry become concerned about Barry taking on Zoom."
How Assassin’s Creed Strived to Get the Fighting Right
The first trailer for 20th Century Fox’s Assassin’s Creed movie didn’t give away much in the way of plot, but it did showcase something that was incredibly important to the creative team behind the movie: the fighting style.
During an October visit to the set of Assassin’s Creed, a frequent refrain was that a key part of getting the adaptation of the hit Ubisoft games right was nailing the fights. That involved bringing on stunt coordinator Ben Cook and parkour runner Damien Walters to make sure these sequences were done right and real.
“Assassin’s Creed is about human feat,” said director Justin Kurzel. “It’s not about superheroes. It was kind of how can we celebrate what is possible. It was pretty amazing in Malta seeing people jump off buildings that are four stories, five stories high, making some pretty significant jumps. We’re hoping to have that sort of flavor flow through the film.”
NBC Cancels The Mysteries of Laura
The Mysteries of Laura has been canceled by NBC.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Greg Berlanti's comedy-drama won't continue beyond its 13-episode second season. The police procedural starring Debra Messing wasn't received well by critics, and had an average rating of 1.5 and total viewer count of 8.7 million.
Debra Messing as Detective Laura Diamond in The Mysteries of Laura.
Outlander Stars Promise ‘Upsetting’ Fallout to Jamie’s Big Betrayal
Full spoilers for Outlander's Season 2 episode "Best Laid Schemes..." continue below.
With Jamie (Sam Heughan) arrested and Claire (Caitriona Balfe) beginning to lose her baby, the Frasers are in about has bad a situation as they've ever been.
But while their love for one another has always been the thing that bound them together, Jamie breaking his promise to Claire about dueling Black Jack Randall (Tobias Menzies) -- and her subsequently starting to miscarry their child -- is a pretty big hurdle to overcome.
Sam Heughan as Jamie Fraser on Outlander
DC Artist Darwyn Cooke Passes Away at 53
Artist/animator Darwyn Cooke has passed at the age of 53, following a battle with cancer.
Cooke's family confirmed his passing via a post on his personal website, saying, We regret to inform you that Darwyn lost his battle with cancer early this morning at 1:30 AM ET. We read all of your messages of support to him throughout the day yesterday. He was filled with your love and surrounded by friends and family at his home in Florida."
NBC Orders The Blacklist: Redemption Spinoff
NBC's spinoff project for The Blacklist has been ordered to series and received and official title.
According to Deadline, the show—starring Famke Janssen—will be called The Blacklist: Redemption and serve as the second new spinoff series that NBC will debut next season, joining Chicago Justice.
Ryan Eggold as Tom Keen and Famke Jannsen as Susan "Scottie" Halsted in The Blacklist: Redemption.
NASA’s Plans Include Force Fields and Cryogenic Chambers
The US National Aeronautical and Space Administration is looking to make non-fiction out of some very sci-fi concepts. The organization has selected 8 proposals with "the potential to transform future aerospace missions," including manned missions to Mars.
Its NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts, or NIAC Program, allows "proposers to further develop concepts funded by NASA." Proposals can be worth up to $500,000 USD after demonstrating "initial feasibility and benefit."
Among the proposals are an "interplanetary habitat configured to induce deep sleep" for long-term missions such as a Mars trip, the "Magnetoshell," which utilizes magnetized plasma to impede "atmospheric flow" and help slow high-velocity spacecraft, and others, such as the construction of a growable space habitat with equivalent Earth gravity.
Soft Body Review
Soft Body is a playable kaleidoscope, an ever-changing symphony of motion, color, and sound. It’s a mixture of different genres, combining the best aspects of bullet hell games, puzzle games, and Snake to create a challenging and mesmerizing experience.
You control two snakes that either move in unison or independently, dependent on the given level. The control inputs typically only require the left and right analog sticks. Using them, you guide snakes around a geometric landscape filled with angular enemies that emit waves of projectiles. You have to complete a collection of small objectives in order to beat each level, which usually involves moving a small ball or circular object around a maze, “painting” borders by touching or merely coming close enough to them, and destroying nearby enemies. The objectives remain simple and straightforward throughout, but the layout and challenges vastly differ from puzzle to puzzle. Despite their variance, none of the puzzles stray too far from Soft Body’s established rule set, and each design features the similar visual stylings and effects while also introducing new colors and contrasts.
While minimal, Soft Body’s controls can be disorienting, particularly when you have to control each snake independently. It is a game of trial and error, requiring precision and careful navigation. In its worst moments, some puzzles devolve into a series objectives with no apparent connective tissue, including levels with two maze-like objectives located at opposite corners of the screen and divided by a large barrier that needs to be “painted” in order to complete the level. The void in between each of these objectives was basically a minefield of projectiles and enemies that felt added in for sheer navigational challenge alone and gradually grew more tiresome. These moments are rare, but their design still comes across as haphazard when compared to more organized levels whose puzzles follow a more logical flow.
Tiny visual and aural flourishes breathe life into Soft Body's two-dimensional stages. When the snakes under your control come into contact with objects, particle effects spout onto the screen. When you complete your objectives, decorative background shapes spin and shake in excitement. These elements are enhanced by Soft Body's sound design, which is just as minimalist yet striking as the visuals, adding impact to each interaction between snakes and their environment. Every touch, hit, or movement around borders generates electronic chirps, and both the sights and sounds blend together to create a captivating, Zen-like experience.
Visual and aural flourishes breathe life into Soft Body's two-dimensional stages.
For such a bizarre, abstract game, Soft Body has a consistent visual language that communicates when and how enemies will act. Your foes take the forms of circles, squares, and triangles, each of which has a specific animation telegraphing its upcoming attacks. One circular “turret” latches its aim onto your snake and follows its movement for several seconds before the line representing its aim solidifies and the turret fires a projectile. Squares have a core that slowly swells toward the borders of the full shape, releasing a wave of deadly, circular projectiles once it reaches its edges. These enemies never break from Soft Body’s established rule set and language, making it consistent to solve despite its ever-changing presentation.
Experimentation and identifying the reactions of the environment are essential to solving Soft Body’s puzzles, since new elements are sprinkled in throughout, often without any explanation. In one level, I saw a triangular border surrounding an enemy inside. Despite not having seen triangles in the game prior to that point, I swam up alongside it and discovered I could paint it to be my color. This speaks to the strength of a well-designed puzzle game: when the rules are consistent and the challenge is set up around that core rule set, solving puzzles remains satisfying in the long run. Soft Body embraces that concept while refusing to limit itself to being one predictable string of levels.
Soft Body is captivating. It’s the fish tank to my inner cat, a fascinating display of methodical movement, clever sound, and unusually satisfying puzzle solving. It’s a minimalist, meditative arcade throwback whose simplicity sometimes backfires into chaotic design, but more frequently delivers challenging and beautiful puzzles.