Yearly Archives: 2018
In Honor of Fringe’s 10th Anniversary, We Pick the 10 Best Episodes
Fringe premiered on September 9, 2008, and despite the fact that it never became the ratings success it deserved to be, the smart, inventive sci-fi drama still gave us five seasons and 100 episodes of alternate universe-hopping, time-traveling adventures anchored by Olivia (Anna Torv), Peter (Joshua Jackson) and Walter (John Noble) - and variations thereof.
In honor of Fringe's 10th anniversary, we're taking a look back at what we consider the 10 best episodes of the series. Check out IGN's Top 10 Fringe episodes below.
This was the first part of the two-hour extravaganza that brought the Fringe series to a conclusion, and it was a perfect way to start things off. The importance of Michael (aka Observer Kid) becomes solidified as he turns the tables on Windmark's interrogation techniques and leaves the old cueball bleeding and humbled. Then Olivia, who had been in the background for much of Season 5, comes back to the forefront via a series of cortexiphan injections that get her all juiced up to be Super Olive again. In short order, Olivia is hopping back to the parallel universe to enlist the aid of her alternate self and Lincoln (who haven't aged convincingly, but that's the only gripe with this story). Olivia saves Michael and kicks a whole lot of butt in the process, but the action wasn't the only thing this story had going for it. The theme of liberty was reinforced through the episode's title and the Statue of Liberty in both our world and the "other side". In the parallel universe, where there are no Observers and Fauxlivia and Lincoln have a happy family life, the statue is seen in shimmering copper and lacking the signature green patina we're familiar with. In this future, the statue is practically destroyed, which is certainly an apt metaphor for the destruction of liberties that the observers brought with their invasion. "Liberty" is an episode that pulls off the clever trick of being action-oriented while enhancing the story through a subtle metaphorical theme.
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Some Switch Games Seemingly Won’t Support Cloud Saves
Update: Nintendo has responded to IGN about the differences noticed in some games having cloud save backup and others not.
Part of the reasoning, Nintendo's official statement explains, is "to ensure fair play" in relation to online games.
Nintendo's full statement provided to IGN reads:
The vast majority of Nintendo Switch games will support Save Data Cloud backup. However, in certain games this feature would make it possible to, for example, regain items that had been traded to other players, or revert to a higher online multiplayer ranking that had been lost. To ensure fair play, Save Data Cloud backup may not be enabled for such games.
Here’s What Iron Fist’s Season 2 Ending Could Mean for Season 3
This article contains spoilers for the Iron Fist Season 2 finale, titled "A Duel of Iron."
Head here for our look at how a certain Iron Fist villain could impact Daredevil Season 3. Or here for an explanation on how Danny Rand's powers work.
Iron Fist completely upended its own mythology in the Season 2 finale, imbuing Colleen Wing with the titular power from the Heart of the Dragon after Davos was defeated, and sending Danny Rand and Ward Meachum on a quest to learn more about the history of the Iron Fist in Asia (and hopefully "find themselves" in the process).
HBO Tops Netflix, Amazon and Hulu in Original Programming, Says Study
The digital streaming market has never been more competitive than it has in 2018, with all of the major players investing heavily in original programming.
Netflix is reportedly outspending every studio in Hollywood to the tune of $13 billion in 2018, while Amazon is sinking a billion of its own dollars into a live-action adaption of Lord of the Rings. Unfortunately, money alone doesn't equal positive reviews from critics and fans.
Battlefield 5’s Beta May be Mistakenly Censoring the Phrase ‘White Man’
The Battlefield 5 beta is well underway, and players have noticed that some unexpected phrases are being censored by its new in-game chat profanity filter. It's an issue EA tells IGN they are aware of, saying that the new profanity filter feature will be tweaked for the final launch.
One of the weirder examples was spotted by users on the Battlefield 5 subreddit, who pointed out that typing "white man" will only display asterisks in the public chat. Additionally, typing "DLC" will also be censored (but typing "free DLC" will not), and EA has pointed out in a blog post that certain slurs aren't being censored when they should be as well.
Harvest Moon Creator Explains Why He Wants to Make a Little Dragons Cafe Sequel
Harvest Moon creator Yasuhiro Wada plays a lot of Monster Hunter, and of all the series beasts, Rathalos is his favorite. Rathalos’ cool, aggressive nature makes it all the more exciting to hunt. In an interview with IGN, Wada said that with Little Dragons Cafe, Wada wanted to create a game where instead of dragons being the antagonist, players could be friends with a dragon they could admire. Little Dragons Cafe has only been out in the world for a few weeks, but Wada is already looking forward to potentially developing a sequel, and for good reason.
About 70 percent of what Wada originally had planned for Little Dragons Cafe was cut from the final version, he told IGN.
“There were lots of elements that were cut out of Little Dragons Cafe, and that of course goes will all the other games
How a Simple Mistake Helped Night of the Living Dead Become a Classic
George Romero's horror classic Night of the Living Dead is where the modern concept of the zombie as we understand it today really started. The film didn't just essentially launch the zombie sub-genre, but it remains to this day eminently re-watchable -- truly one of the giants of horror cinema.
And indeed, as the film hits its 50th anniversary this year, it continues to inspire new fans, new works, and new critical evaluation. The new book Journey of the Living Dead: A Tribute to Fifty Years of Flesh Eaters, by Dr. Arnold T. Blumberg, celebrates 100 years of cinematic zombies with an analysis of how Night of the Living Dead permanently impacted the media landscape. Blumberg, who is an occasional contributor to IGN, has provided us with an exclusive excerpt from the book which delves into the curious case of NOTLD's copyright, of lack thereof, and how it helped to contribute to the film's massive success. Read on for the full excerpt...
G-Sync On a Budget? It’s Possible With These Cheap Gaming Monitor
G-Sync gaming monitors are notorious for two things: giving you an extremely smooth gaming experience and being very expensive. Unfortunately, those are the breaks, as G-Sync monitors fall under a greater amount of scrutiny and quality assurance from Nvidia, not to mention the costly proprietary G-Sync module.
Well, I should say those were the breaks, as more recently, the cost of G-Sync displays has come down precipitously. What's more, Nvidia has enabled G-Sync to work on FreeSync at the beginning of the year, vastly expanding the compatibility of Nvidia's VRR technology with a much larger group of affordable FreeSync gaming monitors.