Evil: Series Premiere Review
Every so often, CBS will attempt to draw outside the lines a little bit. To branch out a smidge beyond their primetime “crimetime” adventure procedurals. This season, they’re placing all their supernatural eggs in a basket called Evil – a new “in the vein of X-Files” series from Good Wife creators Robert and Michelle King.
Whereas The X-Files was all about UFOs, little green men, and whether or not they existed, Evil asks the same question of demons. It’s faith-based monsters our team is tracking here, headed by the sublimely confused David Acosta, played by Luke Cage’s Mike Colter. David works for the Catholic Church as an assessor of sorts. He interviews murderers, especially those who claim to have been controlled by dark forces from Hell, to determine which cases are phony and which require an exorcism house call.
Democrats Show Unity On Impeachment; Republicans Show Fractures
The loudest GOP voices are trashing the whistleblower, but some Republicans aren’t so sure.
Saudi Arabia to open up to foreign tourists with new visas
The push to attract foreign visitors is part of the kingdom’s efforts to cut its reliance on oil.
The Last of Us Part 2 Won’t Have Any Multiplayer, But Factions Will Return
UPDATE (9/26/19) – Naughty Dog has given an update regarding the news that The Last of Us Part 2 would not feature a multiplayer mode like the original did, offering some hope for fans of The Last of Us’ Factions multiplayer.
‘My Assault Matters’: Amber Heard Joins Survivors At U.N. Town Hall On Sexual Abuse
US slashes refugee limit to all-time low of 18,000
The White House says Iraqis who helped the US military and persecuted minorities will get priority.
Joker Costumes Banned From Landmark Theaters’ Screenings
Landmark Theaters has chosen to ban all costumes during Joker’s theatrical run in a move to ensure its moviegoers feel comfortable seeing the upcoming film.
As reported by THR, Landmark Theaters, which is the United States’ largest independent cinema chain, is adding costumes to its list of regularly banned items that include face masks and toy weapons.
“I want customers to be comfortable in their surroundings,” Landmark president-CEO Ted Mundroff told THR.
AMC Theaters, on the other hand, has chosen to still allow costumes, stating “Guests are welcome to come dressed in costume, but we do not permit masks, face paint or any object that conceals the face. AMC does not permit weapons or items that would make other guests feel uncomfortable or detract from the moviegoing experience.”
17 Coolest New Star Wars Toys: Funko Pops, Hasbro, LEGO, And More
At an exclusive preview event for Triple Force Friday, we got a first look at brand-new toys, figures, and memorabilia inspired by Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, The Mandalorian, and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Fans will get the chance to purchase these brand new Star Wars products starting on Triple Force Friday on October 4.
The preview event also debuted a brand-new trailer for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. LEGO revealed multiple new Star Wars sets, including the Pasaana Speeder Chase set, giving us a hint about what we may have seen in the most recent Rise of Skywalker trailer, and a name for the location of the chase scene.
Hasbro revealed a large collection of new action figures and toys, including Black Series figures for First Order Snowtrooper and Supreme Leader Kylo Ren.
Here are some of our favorite toys and Funko Pops inspired by Episode 9 and the upcoming Disney+ live action Star Wars series that we got to check out at the preview event.
Star Wars: The Black Series The Mandalorian
6-inch The Mandalorian figure with multiple points of articulation, from Hasbro.
Price: $19.99
From The Mandalorian
Hasbro AT-ST Raider
Vintage Collection AT-ST Raider, comes with Klatooinian Raider figure.
From The Mandalorian
IG-11 Funko Pop
IG-11 Funko Pop Vinyl
From The Mandalorian
The Mandalorian Funko Pop
The Mandalorian Funko Pop Vinyl
From The Mandalorian
Star Wars: The Black Series Rey & D-O
Star Wars: The Black Series 6-inch Rey & D-O 2-pack, comes with character inspired accessories.
Price: $19.99
From The Rise of Skywalker
Ultimate D-0 Interactive Droid
A D-O replica with a self-balancing wheel, multiple modes of play, moving head and antennas, light-up LED eyes and sound effects. You can drive D-O around using a free downloadable app. From Hasbro.
Available exclusively at Target.
Price: $149.99
From The Rise of Skywalker
LEGO Star Wars – Kylo Ren’s Shuttle
Supreme Leader Kylo Ren’s personal shuttle, in LEGO form. Includes 6 LEGO Star Wars minifigures: Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, General Pryde, a Sith Trooper, a First Order Stormtrooper and two Knights of Ren.
Price: $119.99
From The Rise of Skywalker
LEGO Star Wars – Millennium Falcon
New Millennium Falcon set updated for The Rise of Skywalker. Includes 7 LEGO Star Wars characters: Finn, Chewbacca, C-3PO, Lando Calrissian and Boolio minifigures, plus R2-D2 and D-O LEGO droid figures.
Who is Boolio? What’s Boolio’s story? No one would tell me. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Price: $159.99
From The Rise of Skywalker
Star Wars: The Black Series Sith Trooper
6-inch Black Series Sith Trooper figure with four fully articulated limbs. Includes accessories.
Price: $19.99
From The Rise of Skywalker
Supreme Leader Kylo Ren Force Rage Mask
Supreme Leader Kylo Ren mask with sound-activated Force Rage light FX. When you speak or shout into the mask, the light FX glows. From Hasbro.
Price: $34.99
From The Rise of Skywalker
The Resistance Deluxe Figurine Set
The gang’s all here in this Resistance Deluxe Figurine Set, which includes Rey, Finn, R2-D2, D-0, BB-8, Poe, Lando, Zorii, Jannah, Chewbacca, and an armed C-3PO. Available in Disney stores and parks only.
From The Rise of Skywalker
Star Wars Droid Factory Set
This Droid Factory set comes with figures of D-0, R5-2JE, R6-LE5, and R2-SHP. Available at Disney stores and parks.
From The Rise of Skywalker
Lando Calrissian Funko Pop
Lando Calrissian Funko Pop Vinyl.
From The Rise of Skywalker
Rose Tico Funko Pop
Rose Tico Funko Pop Vinyl.
From The Rise of Skywalker
Jannah Funko Pop
Jannah Funko Pop Vinyl.
From The Rise of Skywalker
Zorii Bliss Funko Pop
Zorii Bliss Funko Pop Vinyl.
From The Rise of Skywalker
Gold Edition Chewbacca Funko Pop
Gold Edition Chewbacca Funko Pop Vinyl.
From The Rise of Skywalker
Destiny 2’s Power Grind Is Getting Big Changes In Shadowkeep
Expect Destiny 2 to become a very different experience come October 1 and the release of the new Shadowkeep expansion. As Bungie and director Luke Smith have detailed (at length), a huge number of systems, activities, and loot are being altered with the new content, and a lot of what we’re used to in terms of how the game plays is getting upended. In the final days before Shadowkeep, Bungie detailed one set of changes to how you increase your character’s power–which will probably have the biggest impact on your game experience.
In its final “This Week at Bungie” blog post before the launch of Shadowkeep, the developer dropped a heap of bullet points detailing myriad changes to the game. The post broke down changes to things like how damage is dealt to over-leveled enemies and how “pinnacle” weapons are set to change, and it gave some very concrete details about how the Power grind will work in Shadowkeep. For the most part, the changes sound like they should make working toward the new Destiny 2 endgame less of a pain, at least until you start to hit the caps.
First up, earning experience points is no longer a part of leveling up your character. Previously, you first had to level your character to the cap (currently 50), and then start increasing a second number, your Power level, by gathering better and better gear. With the release of Shadowkeep, every player will automatically be level 50, regardless of whether your character is new or old. Experience points will instead advance your way through the new seasonal rewards. As in games like Fortnite and Apex Legends, there’s a slower free path and a quicker premium path through those rewards, depending on if you buy Destiny 2’s Season Pass.
So instead, going forward, you’ll only focus on your Power level, which is the average of all the Power level numbers on all your equipped gear. On October 1, every character starts at the current 750 Power level cap, regardless of whether you hit the cap before Shadowkeep, or you’re a brand new Guardian. From there, you’ll advance toward the “soft cap” of 900. All gear drops in the game, from all activities, will be of a higher Power level than the highest item you own, either equipped to your character or in your vault. Essentially, just playing the game in any capacity will strengthen your character. Once you hit 900, things get more complicated.
Grinding For The Endgame
From the soft cap, you’ll need to earn Powerful drops or Pinnacle weapons, like the ones that exist in Destiny 2 right now. You can get Powerful drops from a number of activities, like completing Strikes, Crucible matches, and Gambit matches, although Bungie notes that the Powerfuls currently offered from Forsaken activities–the ones in the Dreaming City, for instance, or from completing Black Armory Forge bounties–will be converted to weaker Legendary drops instead. You can also earn Prime Engrams as you play, which count as Powerful drops. Prime Engrams will drop three levels higher than your best piece of gear (as opposed to the 4-7 levels higher in Forsaken). That will carry you up to Power level 950.
At 950, things change again. Powerful drops will no longer advance you at that point–they’ll drop at the level of your highest equipable piece of gear instead. That should make getting your entire gear set up to 950 a little easier than it is now; you can sometimes get held up waiting for one piece of armor to drop in order to raise your character’s total Power.
Reaching The Pinnacle Cap
To advance to the final “hard cap” of 960 Power, you’ll need “Pinnacle” rewards. These aren’t the pinnacle weapons we saw in Destiny 2 before–a series of unique weapons earned by completing lengthy quests in a particular activity. Instead, it seems that Pinnacle drops will require you to best Shadowkeep’s toughest activities, like the new version of Nightfall Strikes called The Ordeal, or to take on the Garden of Salvation raid.
But while 960 is the top of Power grind for your gear, it isn’t the end of the grind altogether. You can still increase your character’s Power using the new Seasonal Artifact. This item comes with its own set of perks an adds additional Power to your character as you rank it up (although we haven’t seen how that’s done yet). The Seasonal Artifact doesn’t affect the Power levels your gear drops at, but it does raise your character’s overall strength and defense stats, so making sure to take care of it will be essential for completing top-tier Shadowkeep activities.
That’s all a lot to keep in mind, but for the most part, it sounds like it’ll make the Power grind in Shadowkeep a little clearer in terms of which activities you need to do and when. We’ll have to see whether that’s actually the case, and just how attainable Destiny 2’s Pinnacle is, when Shadowkeep launches next week.