Nintendo Discounts Three Super Smash Bros. Amiibo Figures

Nintendo is slashing the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of three figures in the Super Smash Bros. amiibo series for the U.S., according to the official Nintendo amiibo site.

Donkey Kong, Princess Peach and Yoshi amiibo figurines have been discounted by 23 percent, from $12.99 to $9.99. The rest of the Super Smash Bros. figures and amiibo waves remain at the original price.

The three figures are in the first wave of amiibos released alongside Super Smash Bros. for Wii U late last year. The trio of amiibos are considered common and easy to find. You can learn more about amiibo availability on our extensive guide on Amiibo rarity.

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Resident Evil: Revelations 2 – Episode One Review

The premiere episode of Resident Evil: Revelations 2 kicks things off in a decent way, but it's also an inconsistent experience that's plagued by issues during the first half of the game. Dialogue is poorly written, and you feel like a chump when you tackle yet another fetch quest disguised as a puzzle. However, there are moments that leave you on edge, and the mysteries keep piling up until the very end, stoking your curiosity to want to know more. If you tend to loathe action sequences in Resident Evil games, you may be put off to know there are a few in Revelations 2, but rest assured they're delivered with tact this time, sandwiched between foreboding moments of tension that set your pulse racing before you're thrown into the fray.

Though Revelations 2 starts with a whimper, at least it doesn't waste any time getting you into the game. Right as they were starting to enjoy a swanky company party, Resident Evil hall-of-famer Claire Redfield, and her co-worker, young Moira Burton, are kidnapped at gunpoint and shipped off to a wretched penal colony on a remote island. The game begins when Claire awakens in a damp cell, and the mystery kicks off when the door opens moments later, seemingly on its own. Their imprisonment is clearly the work of someone who fancies control as they're taunted over the PA system by a mysterious overseer. She speaks in very vague terms, introducing more questions than answers. By and large, Revelations 2 likes to keep you guessing.

It's about to get ugly.

Moira's father, the ever memorable Barry Burton from the original Resident Evil, attempts to come to Moira and Claire's rescue. With the help of a young companion, the mysterious Natalia, he searches the same prison, but the enemies he faces are quite different, acting more like classic zombies as they shuffle along, rather than the speedy juggernauts that hunt Claire and Moira. This setup affords you two points of view within the same nightmare, and slightly different gameplay experiences, but not all things are created equal. Barry's act is far stronger than Claire's, not only because it offers the best moments of tension, but because his companion is a far better compliment than Moira ever is to Claire.

Working in tandem is at the heart of everything you do in Revelations 2, for better and for worse. You can switch between your two characters on the fly, and sometimes you must in order to solve simple environmental puzzles. Moira's flashlight may uncover a hidden item that you need to proceed, and Natalia can go places that Barry can't thanks to her small stature.

Unfortunately for Claire, Moira's not much use outside of a few strict scenarios that call upon her unique abilities. She looks capable of manning a gun, but a tragic event from her past conveniently prevents her from doing so here. She comes in handy when she pries open a rare door or blinds an occasional enemy, but she's otherwise dead weight and a near constant source of bad dialog as she spouts vulgarity after vulgarity. It's not hard to take in because it's offensive; it's obvious that she's meant to sound young and brash. However, she comes off as an exaggerated caricature that sticks out like a sore thumb.

You can always count on Clair to say what we're all thinking.

Outside of a few important plot points, the only helpful thing Moira brings to the table is a flashlight, but Natalia has a subtle personality that comes across as a breath of fresh air and she's far more useful during tense situations. She can sneak by enemies undetected and crawl into tight spaces. If Barry is low on health, Natalia is a solid backup, trading head-on action for simple but effective stealth. Though she lacks the firepower, Natalia proves to be even more useful than her caretaker at times, so long as she remains undetected by the bad guys.

Natalia and Barry's stint is the best source of tension in the game by a long shot. For the most part, Claire and Moira are stuck inside their prison, which is predictable and boring. On the contrary, Barry and Natalia spend a lot of time outside, and in the middle of the night, with only a few light sources off in the distance, a sense of dread creeps in when you wander into the unknown. Natalia is the best candidate for the job given her ability to spot enemies from a distance, but you always know in the back of your mind that she's practically incapable of defending herself apart from throwing a brick at an enemy, yet there you are, meters deep into a dark forest teeming with horrific abominations that want nothing more than to eat you alive. When an enemy takes multiple rounds from a gun to stagger, a brick offers little solace.

Resident Evil: Revelations 2 shines when Barry and Natalia are at the Helm.

You can tackle the campaign via local co-op with a friend if you're so inclined, but your teammate has to come to terms with the fact that they're playing second fiddle. Teaming up is an effective means of getting through the campaign quickly because you aren't reliant on AI to watch your back, and you have the ability to multitask, but the split screen view and real world chatter can dilute the tension. If you're looking to get scared, playing solo is the only way to go.

There are a few puzzles to solve during each scenario that are reminiscent of classic Resident Evil moments, but instead of having to consider all of your options and search for a solution, it's given to you in the form of a simple task. Ultimately, these moments feel like chores rather than puzzle solving opportunities. Moira's asked to point a flashlight around a room to find a key, for example, testing your patience rather than your intellect. If anything, these quandaries feel like justifications for having a sidekick. Perhaps it's good that it's not as obtuse as some games in the series' past, but the formula has been simplified too much for its own good.

Classic Claire!

If you find your trigger finger itching after beating the first episode, you can hop into the optional and oddly enjoyable raid mode. This arcade-like experience pits you against small armies of enemies in various environments from this and future episodes, and you're encouraged to take advantage of your firepower. The more enemies you kill and the more efficient you are at doing so, the better rewards you receive, often in the form of additional weapons. It's a very different experience than the main game, especially with it's initially jarring dance soundtrack, but it's a fun diversion that gives you plenty to do once the rather short campaign comes to an end.

Though you have to wade through mediocre puzzles and endure cringe-worthy dialogue and references to past games, episode one successfully entices you to look forward to the next episode. Just before you feel like its antics are wearing you down, it commands your attention by redeeming itself during the second half, just before sealing the deal with an impactful cliffhanger. With tastes of both classic and modern Resident Evil, Revelations 2 has something for everyone, but it would be served better if it was a little more focused and had a little less Moira.

Resident Evil: Revelations 2 – Episode One Review

The premiere episode of Resident Evil: Revelations 2 kicks things off in a decent way, but it's also an inconsistent experience that's plagued by issues during the first half of the game. Dialogue is poorly written, and you feel like a chump when you tackle yet another fetch quest disguised as a puzzle. However, there are moments that leave you on edge, and the mysteries keep piling up until the very end, stoking your curiosity to want to know more. If you tend to loathe action sequences in Resident Evil games, you may be put off to know there are a few in Revelations 2, but rest assured they're delivered with tact this time, sandwiched between foreboding moments of tension that set your pulse racing before you're thrown into the fray.

Though Revelations 2 starts with a whimper, at least it doesn't waste any time getting you into the game. Right as they were starting to enjoy a swanky company party, Resident Evil hall-of-famer Claire Redfield, and her co-worker, young Moira Burton, are kidnapped at gunpoint and shipped off to a wretched penal colony on a remote island. The game begins when Claire awakens in a damp cell, and the mystery kicks off when the door opens moments later, seemingly on its own. Their imprisonment is clearly the work of someone who fancies control as they're taunted over the PA system by a mysterious overseer. She speaks in very vague terms, introducing more questions than answers. By and large, Revelations 2 likes to keep you guessing.

It's about to get ugly.

Moira's father, the ever memorable Barry Burton from the original Resident Evil, attempts to come to Moira and Claire's rescue. With the help of a young companion, the mysterious Natalia, he searches the same prison, but the enemies he faces are quite different, acting more like classic zombies as they shuffle along, rather than the speedy juggernauts that hunt Claire and Moira. This setup affords you two points of view within the same nightmare, and slightly different gameplay experiences, but not all things are created equal. Barry's act is far stronger than Claire's, not only because it offers the best moments of tension, but because his companion is a far better compliment than Moira ever is to Claire.

Working in tandem is at the heart of everything you do in Revelations 2, for better and for worse. You can switch between your two characters on the fly, and sometimes you must in order to solve simple environmental puzzles. Moira's flashlight may uncover a hidden item that you need to proceed, and Natalia can go places that Barry can't thanks to her small stature.

Unfortunately for Claire, Moira's not much use outside of a few strict scenarios that call upon her unique abilities. She looks capable of manning a gun, but a tragic event from her past conveniently prevents her from doing so here. She comes in handy when she pries open a rare door or blinds an occasional enemy, but she's otherwise dead weight and a near constant source of bad dialog as she spouts vulgarity after vulgarity. It's not hard to take in because it's offensive; it's obvious that she's meant to sound young and brash. However, she comes off as an exaggerated caricature that sticks out like a sore thumb.

You can always count on Clair to say what we're all thinking.

Outside of a few important plot points, the only helpful thing Moira brings to the table is a flashlight, but Natalia has a subtle personality that comes across as a breath of fresh air and she's far more useful during tense situations. She can sneak by enemies undetected and crawl into tight spaces. If Barry is low on health, Natalia is a solid backup, trading head-on action for simple but effective stealth. Though she lacks the firepower, Natalia proves to be even more useful than her caretaker at times, so long as she remains undetected by the bad guys.

Natalia and Barry's stint is the best source of tension in the game by a long shot. For the most part, Claire and Moira are stuck inside their prison, which is predictable and boring. On the contrary, Barry and Natalia spend a lot of time outside, and in the middle of the night, with only a few light sources off in the distance, a sense of dread creeps in when you wander into the unknown. Natalia is the best candidate for the job given her ability to spot enemies from a distance, but you always know in the back of your mind that she's practically incapable of defending herself apart from throwing a brick at an enemy, yet there you are, meters deep into a dark forest teeming with horrific abominations that want nothing more than to eat you alive. When an enemy takes multiple rounds from a gun to stagger, a brick offers little solace.

Resident Evil: Revelations 2 shines when Barry and Natalia are at the Helm.

You can tackle the campaign via local co-op with a friend if you're so inclined, but your teammate has to come to terms with the fact that they're playing second fiddle. Teaming up is an effective means of getting through the campaign quickly because you aren't reliant on AI to watch your back, and you have the ability to multitask, but the split screen view and real world chatter can dilute the tension. If you're looking to get scared, playing solo is the only way to go.

There are a few puzzles to solve during each scenario that are reminiscent of classic Resident Evil moments, but instead of having to consider all of your options and search for a solution, it's given to you in the form of a simple task. Ultimately, these moments feel like chores rather than puzzle solving opportunities. Moira's asked to point a flashlight around a room to find a key, for example, testing your patience rather than your intellect. If anything, these quandaries feel like justifications for having a sidekick. Perhaps it's good that it's not as obtuse as some games in the series' past, but the formula has been simplified too much for its own good.

Classic Claire!

If you find your trigger finger itching after beating the first episode, you can hop into the optional and oddly enjoyable raid mode. This arcade-like experience pits you against small armies of enemies in various environments from this and future episodes, and you're encouraged to take advantage of your firepower. The more enemies you kill and the more efficient you are at doing so, the better rewards you receive, often in the form of additional weapons. It's a very different experience than the main game, especially with it's initially jarring dance soundtrack, but it's a fun diversion that gives you plenty to do once the rather short campaign comes to an end.

Though you have to wade through mediocre puzzles and endure cringe-worthy dialogue and references to past games, episode one successfully entices you to look forward to the next episode. Just before you feel like its antics are wearing you down, it commands your attention by redeeming itself during the second half, just before sealing the deal with an impactful cliffhanger. With tastes of both classic and modern Resident Evil, Revelations 2 has something for everyone, but it would be served better if it was a little more focused and had a little less Moira.

Adventure Time Dr. Martens Are Coming

Adventure Time is getting limited edition boots -- for both kids and adults -- courtesy of Dr. Martens.

The hit Cartoon Network series will get Dr. Martens boots in three styles, featuring Finn the human, Jake the shape shifting dog and both characters together on one ultimate set of boots.

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Report: The Division To Get Public Alpha

It appears that Ubisoft's upcoming multiplayer shooter, The Division, is prepping for a public alpha.

A few data-digging fans on Reddit turned up some details on the game's website that suggest the publisher is readying a public alpha test for its latest Tom Clancy title. Announced at this year's E3, The Division is an online shooter featuring heavy RPG elements that Ubisoft says it hopes to support for ten years to come.

Burried within the website's HTML files is a link to an Alpha section that's not yet visible without some real digging. It has, however, been preserved in a screenshot that makes it look pretty convincing that the link will go to a alpha test page.

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James Gunn Addresses Awards Shows’ Disses

While Marvel may have won an Oscar last night for the animated film Big Hero 6, superhero movies were still on the receiving end of some high-profile disses this awards weekend. But don't worry, because Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn has stepped up to defend our heroes.

It all started at the Independent Spirit Awards when Nightcrawler director Dan Gilroy praised the independent film scene for being able to survive "against a tsunami of superhero movies."

Then, last night in the Oscars' opening musical number, Jack Black sang, "Opening with lots of zeroes, all we get are superheroes: Superman, Spider-man, Batman, Jediman, Sequelman, Prequelman -- formulaic scripts!"

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Why Hank Pym isn’t in Age of Ultron

"Of all the heat I’ve ever taken, not having Hank Pym was one of the bigger things" said director Joss Whedon, regarding the fan furor over the absence of Pym in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Why the unrest? Hank Pym (aka Ant-Man) creates Ultron in the comic books, yet in the second Avengers it will be Tony Stark who unleashes the super-villain, angering fans who believe Whedon is messing with the lore. But the inclusion of Pym just wasn't possible, Whedon explains, considering what former Ant-Man director Edgar Wright was doing with the character.

"The fact of the matter was, Edgar had him first and by virtue of what Edgar was doing, there was no way for me to use him in this," said Whedon in an interview with Empire.

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Aaru’s Awakening Review

Some say that there is no such thing as love at first sight--that initial attraction and infatuation appeal only to our aesthetic pleasures, and that true love only rises when passion no longer clouds our judgment. Romantics and idealists may dismiss the notion, but the deep-rooted frustrations of Aaru's Awakening may drive them to reconsider their sentiment. This unusual game craves your affection, each of its radiant hand-drawn environments singing love songs until you're entranced. You may initially fall for this superficial beauty, but the game soon reveals its true form as a vindictive suitor, grossly untrustworthy in its controls and devoid of the fundamental assets of any good platformer. I am sorry, Aaru's Awakening, but I must cut this relationship short, and I am afraid it's not me: it's you.

I offer no insight into Aaru Awakening's actual development process, but it's easy to assume that visuals were prized over all other elements. Even the hub from which you access the game's levels is ravishing. It exquisitely represents the passage of time from dawn to night, each quadrant of a central orb depicting an abstract landscape that looks drawn by colored pencil. Within the side-scrolling stages, cross-hatching and asymmetrical markings provide texture and depth, while moving elements like lava floes and falling rocks are drawn frame by frame. It is through these techniques that Aaru's world comes to life underneath its unnatural magenta skies.

What a phenemonal-looking boss. What a tedious level.

The playable hero is Dawn's champion Aaru, a bearlike creature with a mane that stretches from head to tail, and he, too, moves with a charming hand-drawn inelegance that befits his illustrated world. Alas, the gracelessness of movement that makes Aaru initially joyous to watch in action becomes the game's most prominent failing. When a platformer requires finesse and quick response, as Aaru's Awakening frequently does, fluid animations and controls are vital. Aaru is anything but fluid, however, changing positions mid-air with all the precision of a sloth that has been dropped from a fourth-floor window. Aaru would be a delightful hero in a meandering adventure, but Super Meat Boy he is most certainly not.

As if to make up for his lack of leaping prowess, Aaru can rush ahead in a single whoosh, and can also propel an orb from his body that he can teleport to--and it is around these two mechanics that most of Aaru's Awakening's maddening puzzles are formulated. Navigating the game's spaces is a trial in and of itself, due to a wholesale absence of genre basics--the kind of basics we take for granted in the best platformers because of their ubiquity and necessity. We expect to be able to quickly identify what objects are collidable and which are background art, for instance, particularly when we need to make snap mid-air decisions. Here, the foreground and background blend with the gameplay layer. Is that branch sticking outwards a platform, or just a visual detail? Will I pass in front of that barrier, or will I collide? That Aaru's Awakening requires you to even ask such a question rather than for you to immediately know is a colossal problem.

The writing is lovely, but the narrator slurs her words in odd ways.

Without the fundamentals in place, any cleverness apparent in Aaru's Awakening's platforming challenges dissipate. What the challenges may even be is often a secret until you are dropping from a great height when the platform beneath you crumbles, or when a ramp has propelled you forward. You may not be able to tell whether you will fall to safety, or impale yourself on a bed of spiked rocks, until gravity makes the decision for you and the spikes rise into view, too late for you to do anything but succumb to death. Now you know for the next time--but when you bear the burden of this game's inconsistent movement and clumsy animations, it's difficult to build enthusiasm for a next time. And that's an issue: Aaru's Awakening is, by design, a trial-and-error platformer in which you shave off as many seconds from your completion time as possible. Your reward for success is the chance to show off your skill on the game's online leaderboards. I might have enjoyed chasing the competition had the challenge been to overcome tricky puzzles and perform perilous leaps, rather than to wrestle with my controller.

Putting down the controller is an option, though it's natural to reach for a gamepad when playing a platformer. Aaru's Awakening's controller support is not ideal, however, assigning the default jump move to an analog stick rather than a button. You must also activate the controller in the menus before you can use it, and should you unplug it during play, the game may stop responding to any input, even if you plug the controller back in. Regardless of your control method, the maddening levels may drive you to smash your hardware. The Dusk boss fight, for instance, requires that you rush across a series of platforms, some of which crumble, and some of which drop and then rise towards the spiked ceiling. You must teleport into the globes that float in this stage as well as avoid the poisonous river that waits for you at the bottom of the screen. Aaru's awkwardness turns what might have been an exciting sequence into a mess, during which you must perfectly execute your dashes and perfectly aim your teleport orbs at the proper angle within unimaginably narrow time gaps. There's no fun in the trying, and thus no fun in the succeeding.

Those are the kinds of goo-falls that don't hurt you.

Yet Aaru's Awakening hints at fun. You fire your teleport orb past a beam of scorching light, teleport again by angling your orb into a thin, winding passage, and an arcing ramp flings you into the sky. What a rush this moment is--a rush then halted when you land in the pool of lava that didn't appear until you were six inches above it. You destroy a hideous colossal housefly by teleporting inside of it--what a fantastic idea!--only to drown moments later because you must blindly teleport, not knowing what you might find until you've closed the deal. Aaru's Awakening is a dreamy display of artistic imagination that yanks you back to waking life with every awkward leap and every ill-conceived level.

Aaru’s Awakening Review

Some say that there is no such thing as love at first sight--that initial attraction and infatuation appeal only to our aesthetic pleasures, and that true love only rises when passion no longer clouds our judgment. Romantics and idealists may dismiss the notion, but the deep-rooted frustrations of Aaru's Awakening may drive them to reconsider their sentiment. This unusual game craves your affection, each of its radiant hand-drawn environments singing love songs until you're entranced. You may initially fall for this superficial beauty, but the game soon reveals its true form as a vindictive suitor, grossly untrustworthy in its controls and devoid of the fundamental assets of any good platformer. I am sorry, Aaru's Awakening, but I must cut this relationship short, and I am afraid it's not me: it's you.

I offer no insight into Aaru Awakening's actual development process, but it's easy to assume that visuals were prized over all other elements. Even the hub from which you access the game's levels is ravishing. It exquisitely represents the passage of time from dawn to night, each quadrant of a central orb depicting an abstract landscape that looks drawn by colored pencil. Within the side-scrolling stages, cross-hatching and asymmetrical markings provide texture and depth, while moving elements like lava floes and falling rocks are drawn frame by frame. It is through these techniques that Aaru's world comes to life underneath its unnatural magenta skies.

What a phenemonal-looking boss. What a tedious level.

The playable hero is Dawn's champion Aaru, a bearlike creature with a mane that stretches from head to tail, and he, too, moves with a charming hand-drawn inelegance that befits his illustrated world. Alas, the gracelessness of movement that makes Aaru initially joyous to watch in action becomes the game's most prominent failing. When a platformer requires finesse and quick response, as Aaru's Awakening frequently does, fluid animations and controls are vital. Aaru is anything but fluid, however, changing positions mid-air with all the precision of a sloth that has been dropped from a fourth-floor window. Aaru would be a delightful hero in a meandering adventure, but Super Meat Boy he is most certainly not.

As if to make up for his lack of leaping prowess, Aaru can rush ahead in a single whoosh, and can also propel an orb from his body that he can teleport to--and it is around these two mechanics that most of Aaru's Awakening's maddening puzzles are formulated. Navigating the game's spaces is a trial in and of itself, due to a wholesale absence of genre basics--the kind of basics we take for granted in the best platformers because of their ubiquity and necessity. We expect to be able to quickly identify what objects are collidable and which are background art, for instance, particularly when we need to make snap mid-air decisions. Here, the foreground and background blend with the gameplay layer. Is that branch sticking outwards a platform, or just a visual detail? Will I pass in front of that barrier, or will I collide? That Aaru's Awakening requires you to even ask such a question rather than for you to immediately know is a colossal problem.

The writing is lovely, but the narrator slurs her words in odd ways.

Without the fundamentals in place, any cleverness apparent in Aaru's Awakening's platforming challenges dissipate. What the challenges may even be is often a secret until you are dropping from a great height when the platform beneath you crumbles, or when a ramp has propelled you forward. You may not be able to tell whether you will fall to safety, or impale yourself on a bed of spiked rocks, until gravity makes the decision for you and the spikes rise into view, too late for you to do anything but succumb to death. Now you know for the next time--but when you bear the burden of this game's inconsistent movement and clumsy animations, it's difficult to build enthusiasm for a next time. And that's an issue: Aaru's Awakening is, by design, a trial-and-error platformer in which you shave off as many seconds from your completion time as possible. Your reward for success is the chance to show off your skill on the game's online leaderboards. I might have enjoyed chasing the competition had the challenge been to overcome tricky puzzles and perform perilous leaps, rather than to wrestle with my controller.

Putting down the controller is an option, though it's natural to reach for a gamepad when playing a platformer. Aaru's Awakening's controller support is not ideal, however, assigning the default jump move to an analog stick rather than a button. You must also activate the controller in the menus before you can use it, and should you unplug it during play, the game may stop responding to any input, even if you plug the controller back in. Regardless of your control method, the maddening levels may drive you to smash your hardware. The Dusk boss fight, for instance, requires that you rush across a series of platforms, some of which crumble, and some of which drop and then rise towards the spiked ceiling. You must teleport into the globes that float in this stage as well as avoid the poisonous river that waits for you at the bottom of the screen. Aaru's awkwardness turns what might have been an exciting sequence into a mess, during which you must perfectly execute your dashes and perfectly aim your teleport orbs at the proper angle within unimaginably narrow time gaps. There's no fun in the trying, and thus no fun in the succeeding.

Those are the kinds of goo-falls that don't hurt you.

Yet Aaru's Awakening hints at fun. You fire your teleport orb past a beam of scorching light, teleport again by angling your orb into a thin, winding passage, and an arcing ramp flings you into the sky. What a rush this moment is--a rush then halted when you land in the pool of lava that didn't appear until you were six inches above it. You destroy a hideous colossal housefly by teleporting inside of it--what a fantastic idea!--only to drown moments later because you must blindly teleport, not knowing what you might find until you've closed the deal. Aaru's Awakening is a dreamy display of artistic imagination that yanks you back to waking life with every awkward leap and every ill-conceived level.

Twelve More Apps Use Spyware-Linked Library

The same library that powered spyware found on some Lenovo computers, making it possible for hackers to impersonate a site's SSL certificate, is being used by over a dozen different apps.

Word that the Superfish shopping software shipped on certain Lenovo laptops contained a security vulnerability broke last week, and now Facebook Security Team researcher Matt Richard says that over a dozen different apps use the same Komodia library that provided the suspect code. In addition, Richard says the Komodia library is being used for much more aggressive malware like the Trojan.nurjax virus.

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