Yearly Archives: 2020
Riot Games Fires Executive Who Blamed George Floyd For His Own Death [Update]
“Ron Johnson is no longer employed at Riot Games. The sentiment expressed in the image in question is abhorrent and runs directly counter to our values and our belief that addressing systemic racism requires immediate societal change, something that we’re committed to working toward. As we shared last week, Riot is taking thoughtful and deliberate action to help combat racism and injustice in the communities where we work and live. To start, we’re committing $1 million to areas where we know we can make an impact, including justice reform, long-term solutions to address racial bias, and support for local Black-owned businesses. We’re also striving to change the face of our industry and create opportunities, including by investing $10 million in founders underrepresented in the games industry and helping create a future pipeline of underrepresented talent for the gaming and tech world. We know there is much work to be done, and we vow to do our part.”[poilib element="accentDivider"] Riot Games has announced it is investigating an executive at the company who published a Facebook post that appears to have placed blame on George Floyd for his own death. Ron Johnson, the Global Head of Consumer Products at Riot Games, shared a post on their personal Facebook account about George Floyd which said that “The media and the left have made George Floyd into a martyr. But who was he really?” The post then lists Floyd’s criminal record. Johnson added, “This is no reason to condone his killing by the officer at all, which still needs to be investigated as a potential crime. It is a learning opportunity for people (and your kids) to teach that this type of criminal lifestyle never results in good things happening to you or those around you.”
In a statement to Vice, Riot games says, “We’ve been made aware of the social media post and have launched an investigation. We’ll say firmly that the sentiment in that image is abhorrent, against our values, and directly counter to our belief that addressing systemic racism requires immediate social change, which we detailed in the commitments we made Friday. While we don’t discuss the details of our investigations or their outcomes, we’re following our disciplinary process closely and have placed him on leave pending its conclusion.”
Riot Games announced that following the nationwide protests after the death of George Floyd, that it would commit $1 million in initial contributions to The Innocence Project and the ACLU. The company also announced it would contribute $10 million towards investing in startup programs for black and underrepresented game developers. Riot previously came under fire after a report chronicled a culture of sexism that let to a $10 million gender discrimination settlement in 2019.
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Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.The Last Of Us Part 2 Review (No Spoilers)
Editor's note: Due to embargo restrictions around spoilers, parts of this review are intentionally vague. We've done our best to explain certain parts of the game and our critique without discussing any story spoilers; however, if you want to understand the full context of some of our analysis here, we'll have another review up when The Last of Us Part II is officially out that discusses the story in greater detail and further explains our thoughts. This review will have the same score and will just serve as a deeper, more detailed analysis for those who want to read more.
At the beginning of The Last of Us Part II, you get a glimpse of Ellie's life in idyllic Jackson, Wyoming. If it weren't for the walls surrounding the town, you could almost forget that the world is crawling with infectious monsters that would kill everyone in sight; its main road, blanketed in snow, is a charming row of old buildings with decks for sidewalks, more Old West town than post-apocalypse settlement. Its residents grow food, care for horses, tend bars, and even have dances and movie nights. Four years after Joel saved (kidnapped?) Ellie from the Firefly hospital, this is the life he wanted for her.
The Last of Us Part II grapples with Joel's decision not through Joel, but through Ellie. This life is clearly not enough for her; she's distant and brooding, obviously conflicted about something. She's changed a lot. And when everything falls apart and she sets out in search of vengeance, you see her pain in its rawest, most brutal form. It's a devastating, gruesome story of revenge in which the purpose of violence gets muddied by its intensity. But as a character study, The Last of Us Part II is beautiful and haunting, and I found myself completely overwhelmed by the emotional weight of it.
Continue Reading at GameSpotThe Last Of Us Part II Review (Spoiler-Free)
Editor's note: Due to embargo restrictions around spoilers, parts of this review are intentionally vague. We've done our best to explain certain parts of the game and our critique without discussing any story spoilers; however, if you want to understand the full context of some of our analysis here, we'll have another review up when The Last of Us Part II is officially out that discusses the story in greater detail and further explains our thoughts. This review will have the same score and will just serve as a deeper, more detailed analysis for those who want to read more.
At the beginning of The Last of Us Part II, you get a glimpse of Ellie's life in idyllic Jackson, Wyoming. If it weren't for the walls surrounding the town, you could almost forget that the world is crawling with infectious monsters that would kill everyone in sight; its main road, blanketed in snow, is a charming row of old buildings with decks for sidewalks, more Old West town than post-apocalypse settlement. Its residents grow food, care for horses, tend bars, and even have dances and movie nights. Four years after Joel saved (kidnapped?) Ellie from the Firefly hospital, this is the life he wanted for her.
The Last of Us Part II grapples with Joel's decision not through Joel, but through Ellie. This life is clearly not enough for her; she's distant and brooding, obviously conflicted about something. She's changed a lot. And when everything falls apart and she sets out in search of vengeance, you see her pain in its rawest, most brutal form. It's a devastating, gruesome story of revenge in which the purpose of violence gets muddied by its intensity. But as a character study, The Last of Us Part II is beautiful and haunting, and I found myself completely overwhelmed by the emotional weight of it.
Continue Reading at GameSpotPS5 Games Reveal Event Wowed Us
PS5 Games Reveal Event Wowed Us
Grant Gustin, Caity Lotz and More Stars Join The Plague Nerdalogues
Grant Gustin, Caity Lotz and More Stars Join The Plague Nerdalogues
Project Warlock Review – Wizard’s First Doom
Before you're even 100% certain of what you're doing or who you are in Project Warlock, you're put in a room with a magical throwing knife, a staff that shoots lightning, and a couple of pissed-off spiders who aren't there to thank you for playing their game. Within 10 seconds of starting, I'm back in high school, in 1998, installing any old creaky Doom WAD a friend tells me about over AIM for the hell of it, without a single blessed clue what needs doing except that anything that isn't me must die.
That's really the main draw of Project Warlock, a game that wears its '90s FPS inspirations loudly and proudly. Despite a few interstitial cards between areas, there's no deep story or motivation or pageantry to be found here. It's just you and your arsenal of magical and military weaponry vs the supernatural hordes. At any given moment, it's paying deep homage to Doom, Wolfenstein 3D, Heretic, Quake, Duke Nukem--the list goes on. The question, however, is what exactly does Project Warlock bring to the table that's unique? The answer is, ultimately, not a whole lot, but what it does, it certainly does well enough.
The style clash between all the game's wild, anachronistic elements certainly counts for something. This is a game where you can take out lurching cyborgs with a crossbow, wield laser rifles against abominable snowmen, and kill Lovecraftian horrorbeasts with a submachine gun. That mix makes for a smirking, free-wheeling sort of game where every problem has a brute-force solution from somewhere in the annals of history or legend. If a shotgun can't fix all your problems in this game, a fiery magic spell probably will, and vice versa. There isn't necessarily a wrong approach for many of Project Warlock's challenges. As long as you know which button pulls the trigger and which one opens doors, you're generally fine. And no matter which weapon you wield--from magic staffs to double-barrelled shotguns to sticks of dynamite--the vast majority of your arsenal packs an absolute wallop when it hits.
Continue Reading at GameSpotProject Warlock Review – Wizard’s First Doom
Before you're even 100% certain of what you're doing or who you are in Project Warlock, you're put in a room with a magical throwing knife, a staff that shoots lightning, and a couple of pissed-off spiders who aren't there to thank you for playing their game. Within 10 seconds of starting, I'm back in high school, in 1998, installing any old creaky Doom WAD a friend tells me about over AIM for the hell of it, without a single blessed clue what needs doing except that anything that isn't me must die.
That's really the main draw of Project Warlock, a game that wears its '90s FPS inspirations loudly and proudly. Despite a few interstitial cards between areas, there's no deep story or motivation or pageantry to be found here. It's just you and your arsenal of magical and military weaponry vs the supernatural hordes. At any given moment, it's paying deep homage to Doom, Wolfenstein 3D, Heretic, Quake, Duke Nukem--the list goes on. The question, however, is what exactly does Project Warlock bring to the table that's unique? The answer is, ultimately, not a whole lot, but what it does, it certainly does well enough.
The style clash between all the game's wild, anachronistic elements certainly counts for something. This is a game where you can take out lurching cyborgs with a crossbow, wield laser rifles against abominable snowmen, and kill Lovecraftian horrorbeasts with a submachine gun. That mix makes for a smirking, free-wheeling sort of game where every problem has a brute-force solution from somewhere in the annals of history or legend. If a shotgun can't fix all your problems in this game, a fiery magic spell probably will, and vice versa. There isn't necessarily a wrong approach for many of Project Warlock's challenges. As long as you know which button pulls the trigger and which one opens doors, you're generally fine. And no matter which weapon you wield--from magic staffs to double-barrelled shotguns to sticks of dynamite--the vast majority of your arsenal packs an absolute wallop when it hits.
Continue Reading at GameSpotThe Last Jedi’s Broom Boy on Being Swept Out of Rise of Skywalker
Temirlan Blaev as Temiri Blagg in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.[/caption]
Blaev appeared on Jamie Stangroom's Star Wars podcast These Are the Actors You're Looking For (via LRM Online) where he was asked if he had expected "Broom Boy" to return for the final episode in the Skywalker Saga given the wild fan speculation about Last Jedi's final scene and his character.
Before The Rise of Skywalker revealed Rey's parents' identities and her true heritage, it was easy to see how the next Star Wars movie might build upon the idea established in The Last Jedi that a nobody, as Rey saw herself, could actually be a somebody. The Last Jedi The Visual Dictionary described the orphaned stable hands of Canto Bight as "children abandoned on Cantonica by losing gamblers" not unlike how Rey believed she was forsaken by her parents for drinking money. Rey could have found a kindred spirit and potential Padawan in a Force-sensitive character such as young Temiri Blagg.
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Elaborating on whether he knew his character might return for Episode 9, Blaev explained: “I wasn’t sure because it could have been, yes, (the director) would’ve continued my story, how Rey would have trained me or helped me in some way."
"But then at the same time, am I really that important? Am I someone big or am I really just a boy, a lucky boy in a galaxy far, far away?"
"A lot of people were asking me [about returning], and I said, ‘We’ll have to wait and see if I get called back. But I guess I kind of understand why it happened," Blaev said. Ultimately, though, Temiri Blagg was just a symbolic character who appeared solely in The Last Jedi. Blaev, however, expressed hope that perhaps this little Rebel could return in some other Star Wars project in the future.
Blaev also revealed that for his audition, he was given a scene from Steven Spielberg's E.T. to perform because he didn't know he was trying out for a Star Wars movie. Although Blaev is only credited in the film as "Stable Boy," he learned from reading The Last Jedi Visual Dictionary that his character had an actual name -- and was delighted it sounded so much like his own.
He also said he was a huge Star Wars fan before he got the job -- at age 7 -- and that his favorite Star Wars movie is Attack of the Clones and his favorite Star Wars character is Obi-Wan Kenobi.
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Speaking of favorite Star Wars characters, check out who the IGN readers chose as their favorite Star Wars character of all time. Alas, Temiri Blagg ranked 189th out of the 200 characters included in our poll.