Yearly Archives: 2020
The Wonderful 101 Remastered Review – Mob Mentality
The Wonderful 101 is the latest in a long line of Wii U games to get a second chance at life on the Nintendo Switch. Platinum’s wacky Sentai superhero story was a true-blue made-for-Wii U experience: Using a combination of traditional buttons and hand-drawn symbols, you corral and control a mob of up to 100 characters who fight through beat-'em-up arenas, navigating reaction-based puzzle-platforming challenges and a litany of setpiece minigames. But something feels off about The Wonderful 101 Remastered. The seeds of Platinum’s best games are there--the snappy dodging and parrying, the clever writing and design, the demand that you hone the craft of controlling your characters--but it’s hard to appreciate them in a game that demands mastery over its complex mechanics without taking the time to properly explain how they work. Combined with new technical issues, The Wonderful 101 Remastered doesn’t just fail to make the generational jump, it forces us to question whether it warranted a second look.
The Wonderful 101 tells the story of Earth’s costumed global defense force, the Wonderful 100, who fight off an alien invasion. It’s a light, peppy romp across secret labs and cities under siege by aliens. Though there are 100 members, the narrative focuses on a few core, color-coded characters--trope-borne personas who exchange quips through their adventures.
Though the deeply campy storytelling creates some amusing moments, the story indulges a little too much in Sentai’s penchant for stretching out dramatic moments with sudden but ultimately inconsequential plot twists. Many a boss fight ends with you defeating your opponent and declaring victory, only for them to get up so you can beat them two or three more times. The jokes, good and bad, always overstay their welcome.
Continue Reading at GameSpotThe Wonderful 101 Remastered Review – Mob Mentality
The Wonderful 101 is the latest in a long line of Wii U games to get a second chance at life on the Nintendo Switch. Platinum’s wacky Sentai superhero story was a true-blue made-for-Wii U experience: Using a combination of traditional buttons and hand-drawn symbols, you corral and control a mob of up to 100 characters who fight through beat-'em-up arenas, navigating reaction-based puzzle-platforming challenges and a litany of setpiece minigames. But something feels off about The Wonderful 101 Remastered. The seeds of Platinum’s best games are there--the snappy dodging and parrying, the clever writing and design, the demand that you hone the craft of controlling your characters--but it’s hard to appreciate them in a game that demands mastery over its complex mechanics without taking the time to properly explain how they work. Combined with new technical issues, The Wonderful 101 Remastered doesn’t just fail to make the generational jump, it forces us to question whether it warranted a second look.
The Wonderful 101 tells the story of Earth’s costumed global defense force, the Wonderful 100, who fight off an alien invasion. It’s a light, peppy romp across secret labs and cities under siege by aliens. Though there are 100 members, the narrative focuses on a few core, color-coded characters--trope-borne personas who exchange quips through their adventures.
Though the deeply campy storytelling creates some amusing moments, the story indulges a little too much in Sentai’s penchant for stretching out dramatic moments with sudden but ultimately inconsequential plot twists. Many a boss fight ends with you defeating your opponent and declaring victory, only for them to get up so you can beat them two or three more times. The jokes, good and bad, always overstay their welcome.
Continue Reading at GameSpotMafia: Trilogy Re-Release Teased
Dell Brings Back the XPS 17 With Intel Core i9 and Nvidia RTX Power
Dell XPS 15
While the Dell XPS 17's return will certainly make the bigger splash, let’s not forget about the Dell XPS 15 seeing its first big redesign in five years. The Dell XPS 15 has adopted the 16:10 screen aspect ratio that was introduced with last year’s XPS 13, so you get a little bit more vertical screen real estate. Better yet, this model’s 15-inch screen delivers the same 4K UHD+ (3,840 x 2,400) resolution and HDR 400 certification as seen on the bigger 17-inch Dell XPS. The XPS 15 also features quad up-firing speakers with Waves NX 3D audio. A maxed-out Dell XPS 15 also looks very similar with up to a 10th Generation Intel Core i9-10885H processor, 64GB of memory, and 2TB of PCIe SSD storage. The only difference here is your best graphics option is limited to an Nvidia GTX 1650 Ti, but at least that's a step up from the GTX 1650 you could max out with last year’s model. According to Dell, you can expect a maximum of 25 hours of battery life out of its latest 15-inch machine but that’s likely only when you option on the 86WHr battery over its standard 55WHr battery. The Dell XPS 15 starts at $1,299 and it will be available beginning on May 13. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Kevin Lee is IGN's Hardware and Roundups Editor. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspamAlienware’s New Gaming Laptops Get 8-core CPUs and RTX Super Graphics
The big kahuna
Alienware hasn’t forgotten to update its even bigger 17-inch gaming laptop, the Alienware Area-51m R2. This machine features desktop processors and users will have a wide variety of choices from the starting Intel Core i7-10700 and all the way to the new 10-core Intel Core i9-10900K. The graphics options on this model are also a step up thanks to a full-fat Nvidia RTX 2080 Super or the AMD Radeon RX 5700M. Power users will be glad to hear the Area-51m has also received the new 300Hz Full HD screen option, SD Card reader, and the same cooling improvements as its smaller siblings. The Alienware Area-51m R2 will be available a little later starting on June 9th and it comes at a much higher $3,049 starting price. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=dell-g3-15-2020&captions=true"]Penny pinchers
If you’re looking to game on a budget you’ll be glad to know Dell Gaming has the much more affordable $779 Dell G3 15 and $829 Dell G5 15 gaming laptops on tap. Both machines are 15-inch laptops that come equipped with an 10th Gen Intel Core i5-10300H quad-core processor and Nvidia GTX 1650 graphics, plus 8GB (2,933MHz) RAM and a 128GB SSD. A fully upgraded Dell G3 gaming laptop can come with a 144Hz Full HD screen, 10th Gen Intel Core i7-10750H hexa-core processor, Nvidia RTX 2060 graphics, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage. Fully upgrading the Dell G5 gaming laptop steps you up to a 300Hz Full HD display paired with Nvidia RTX 2070 graphics. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=dell-g5-15-2020&captions=true"] This year, Dell has also introduced a new Dell G5 Special Edition gaming laptop that features all AMD parts. Processor options include the AMD Ryzen 5 4600H, Ryzen 7 4800H, and Ryzen 9 4900H. Meanwhile, for graphics the only available option is an AMD Radeon RX 5600M, but you can pair it with up to 16GB of DDR4 3,200MHz memory and an 1TB SDD. Dell hasn’t announced any pricing or release date information for the Dell G5 SE yet, but all AMD-powered gaming laptops have a track record of being more affordable than their Intel/Nvidia counterparts. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Kevin Lee is IGN's Hardware and Roundups Editor. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspamPhil Spencer: Impact of COVID-19 on Games Will Be Felt in 2021
The Grudge Is Becoming a Japanese-Language Netflix Series
"The legendary Japanese horror franchise that has become a smash hit worldwide gets its first drama adaptation," reads the official synopsis for the original series. "The J-Horror classic franchise Ju-On was actually based on real events that occurred over four decades – and the truth is even more terrifying. Can the people haunted by this house escape from its curse? And what kind of grim incident occurred in this cursed house in the past?" The new Ju-On adaptation stars Yoshiyoshi Arakawa, Yuina Kuroshima, and Ririka. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-15-best-horror-tv-shows-of-the-last-10-years&captions=true"] Takashi Shimizu's Ju-On franchise began in 1998 with the release of two short films. The stories from these films were further extended in Ju-On: The Curse and Ju-on: The Curse 2, released two years later. While the Ju-On series continued to spawn sequels, the franchise made its stateside debut in 2004 with The Grudge, which marked the start of the long-running American horror film series. The latest instalment of the franchise was widely panned by audiences upon its release earlier this year. In our review of The Grudge (2020), we noted that there was "nothing fresh, exciting, or particularly unique" about Nicolas Pesce's reboot, even though it had "an incredible cast of heralded actors and a bona fide horror icon" we suggested that it's "sometimes best to let dead things stay dead." Originally reported by IndieWire. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.The first ever drama series adapted from the iconic Japanese horror franchise is coming to Netflix worldwide on July 3.
Prepare yourself for “Ju-On: Origins” pic.twitter.com/M3h5l8Ymoq — See What's Next (@seewhatsnext) May 12, 2020
Sweet Tooth: Robert Downey Jr. Team to Adapt DC Comic into Netflix Series
According to the official synopsis, the new series will "follow the storybook adventures of Gus — part deer, part boy — who leaves his home in the forest to find the outside world ravaged by a cataclysmic event. He joins a ragtag family of humans and animal-children hybrids like himself in search of answers about this new world and the mystery behind his hybrid origins." Christian Convery, Nonso Anozie, Adeel Akhtar and Will Forte will star in the family-friendly series, with James Brolin attached to serve as the show's narrator. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=14-comics-that-defined-dcs-vertigo-imprint&captions=true"] Hap and Leonard co-creator Jim Mickle and Arrow showrunner Beth Schwartz will both serve as showrunners, executive producers, and writers on the new series. Mickel will also be acting as director. Amanda Burrell of Team Downey and Linda Moran also will executive produce alongside the Downeys. The company's Evan Moore will produce the series, which hails from Warner Bros. Television. Arriving at the tail-end of Vertigo's golden age, Sweet Tooth serves as an early showcase for Jeff Lemire who has since become an industry superstar. Lemire wrote and largely drew the 40-issue epic that is often billed as a combination of Cormac McCarthy's The Road and Disney movies like Bambi, so it will be interesting to see it on the small screen alongside several other DC Vertigo adaptations, including CW's iZombie, AMC's Preacher and Netflix's Lucifer. Originally reported by The Hollywood Reporter. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.The sweetest things are worth waiting for…Susan and I are producing a @Netflix original series, Sweet Tooth, based on the comic by @JeffLemire. Can’t wait to share it with you all. @NXonNetflix pic.twitter.com/Mx2xzNOHjs
— Robert Downey Jr (@RobertDowneyJr) May 12, 2020
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Director Gives Us First Look at the Game’s Settlement
"Spend a lazy Sunday fishing at the docks, consult with your war chief, or check on your people," Ismail continues. "Home is where the heart is." It sounds like there'll at least be some downtime in Valhalla beyond Eivor's raiding and pillaging. It's also worth noting that there's a cat in this picture, seen chilling near the fish rack in the bottom left of the picture. Does this suggest we'll be able to have settlement pets in Valhalla? Only time will tell. We already knew that the game would involve hero Eivor setting up a new Viking settlement in England, which will include buildings to upgrade, like a blacksmith, barracks, tattoo parlor, and more. “The settlement is a key feature of the game," Ashraf Ismail previously told IGN. "It's quite grand in what we're trying to achieve with it. We want you to feel that this is your home, that you're building, that a lot of what you're doing in the game world is, at the end of the day, going to feed into the settlement so that it can grow, it can flourish. We have a ton of buildings that people can build. Each building comes with its own gameplay purpose." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/30/assassins-creed-valhalla-director-gives-gameplay-details"] In other Valhalla news, we learned yesterday that Ubisoft is targeting 30 FPS as a minimum frame rate for the game on Xbox Series X. For more information about the game, check out our article which offers 37 details about Valhalla's gameplay, story and world. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN, who wishes England was this idyllic in reality. Follow him on Twitter.Here’s your home in England.
Spend a lazy Sunday fishing at the docks, consult with your war chief, or check on your people. Home is where the heart is #AssassinsCreedValhalla pic.twitter.com/id0pIKU7fW — Ashraf Ismail (@AshrafAIsmail) May 12, 2020
