Month: October 2019

From Joker to Batgirl, there were tons of great DC cosplay at New York Comic Con 2019! Check out our favorites from NYCC.

The English voice cast of My Hero Academia talked with us at NYCC 2019 to tell us more about Season 4! Season 4 premieres on October 12, 2019.

The Walking Dead season 10 is upon us, and we’re still here celebrating New York Comic Con. You can check out IGN’s review of the season’s first episode to figure out if you should still stick with the zombie phenomenon. In the meantime, if you’re still a fan of the recently finished comic series, you won’t want to get left behind. We’ve got deals on a preorder of The Walking Dead Compendium 4, as well as the 15th anniversary box set. Of course, Robert Kirkman ended the series with issue 193, so these might be the last “big” sets we get for some time.

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The second Star Trek: Picard trailer has dropped at New York Comic Con 2019, and there’s a lot going on in this new trailer, so we’re breaking it all down for you! Picard premieres on January 23 on CBS All Access.

GameSpot Universe catches up with the cast and creators of Castle Rock Season 2. Hear why you won’t want to miss this season!

As always, Sideshow Collectibles had an impressive offering on display at New York Comic Con 2019, with a massive booth displaying thousands of dollars worth of gorgeous new high-end action figures and collectible statues based on Marvel and DC superheroes, weird old movies, and original creations of like, sexy vampire necromancers or whatever.

Maybe I’m biased because my desk is covered with Boba Fett toys, but the coolest thing on display this year was the upcoming Hot Toys 1/6th scale action figure based on The Mandalorian, the upcoming Star Wars show about some guy who probably isn’t Boba Fett, but definitely has a similar fashion sense.

Also on display was the Hot Toys IG-11 figure, The Mandalorian’s assassin droid pal (?) voiced by Taika Waititi. A couple Rise of Skywalker figured were being shown off as well, including the previously-revealed Sith Trooper, as well as the new Snowtrooper. The new Snowtrooper has a cape now. Look, I love Star Wars, but that’s a total Malibu Stacy move.

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This is a mostly spoiler-free advance review of The Walking Dead’s Season 10 premiere, “Lines We Cross,” which airs Sunday, October 6 on AMC.

First off, let’s all take a moment to marvel in the miracle that is Walking Dead’s tenth season. This is huge for horror TV. A zombie show, with copious amounts of gore, that’s become a massive pop culture phenomenon. Is it the juggernaut it once was five years ago? No. But it’s also not the ratings failure some of y’all like to pretend it is. You may not watch anymore, or you might watch but agree that its heyday is long in the past, but you can’t deny that this series (along with Fear the Walking Dead, and the second spinoff on the way) has been a bats*** boon for television’s “Golden Era.”

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Star Trek Discovery Season 3 opened the franchise’s panel at New York Comic Con 2019, with showrunner Michelle Paradise, and executive producers Heather Kadin and Alex Kurtzman appearing on-stage, alongside a number of members from its cast. The panel delivered a new trailer (below) for the third season, as well as some fresh info on what fans can expect.

The trailer shows Michael Burnham in the future, with multiple changes in her look to mark the passing of time. Book, Saru, and Tilly also appear, and the crew of the Discovery are marked as being “930 years from home” where “their fight begins.” Book says, “Do you believe in ghosts? That patch on your shirt [referring to the Starfleet patch].” There’s a look at some action sequences, along with a question being asked: “Where will you go?” The answer, it seems, is “Wherever the answers are.”

The producers were joined by cast members Sonequa Martin-Green, who plays Michael Burnham, Saru actor Doug Jones, Mary Wiseman, who plays Tilly, and Anthony Rapp, who portrays Stamets, Wilson Cruz, who plays Culber, and David Ajala, who plays a new character, Cleveland Booker, aka Book.

Following the trailer, Martin-Green said, “Everything is handled with such courage and respect and gentleness. What’s interesting now is that in the very title of our show, it’s all about discovery. You get to be on that journey with us.”

“It’s super exciting, we are married to canon. We honor and respect all of that. We are looking for ways to push the show and push our characters,” added Michelle Paradise. “We know going 930 years into the future, the audience has high expectations for what that might look like, what that might feel like. Every episode feeling like a mini-movie.”

Heather Kadin noted that the new season is also welcoming to newcomers. “You didn’t have to know canon to go into the show. You can just come in and you don’t need to know what came before. You as the audience will experience the newness as the cast experiences it for the first time.”

Picking up on these comments, Kurtzman said the show reflects the world, which is why it’s so interesting and enduring. “One of the great joys of this is taking everything you know about Trek, and you put it in a blender,” he explained. “Trek is a mirror that holds itself up to the world as it is.

“Many of the things that we long for, hope and passion and empathy, those things seem to be wanting more and more. Trek is always the anchor to bring you back to what’s possible. We’re looking to have something to say about the world as it is now, reflected in the future that we present on screen.”

Ajala offered more details on his character, Book, who is introduced in the first episode through a slightly unorthodox interaction with Burnham. “Getting to share that journey with Burnham is great. You’ll be seeing this journey through Book’s eyes and Burnham’s eyes.”

Wilson Cruz’s Culber and Anthony Rapp’s character, Stamets, reflected on their relationship through the series. “It’s been quite a wild ride,” Cruz said. “We’ve spanned life and death, have been through a lot. What he’s discovered is that this presents an opportunity for him. This trip into the future is a clean slate. For him, for their relationship. And to live up to his potential. Part of that is being a better partner, a better doctor, being there for his crew and their friends in this uncharted and unknowable future. That’s what Season 3 is about for me.”

Rapp added: “I think Stamets is tougher to please than I am. He’s really good at boundaries. It’s cool that we’re in the future, but they’re also really allowing on a personal level, what it’s like to leave everyone behind. Saying goodbye to everything.”

Mary Wiseman provided perspective on her character, Tilly. “She does a lot of work for these people as an ensign. This moment in our narrative, we are going to start driving without a roadmap. We jump to the future, it’s a leap of faith, where you have to make big decisions and a big move. This season she will step more into her power in the ways that she can. It’s not a time to wilt or step back. It’s time to move forward. I think you’re going to see why she has gravitated towards these people and why they have gravitated toward her.”

Previously, Kurtzman said the crew was going 1000 years into the future, but as noted above, it’s actually 930. Kurtzman said, “If we don’t give you something that is completely surprising, we feel we have failed. There are no timeline adjustments, Canon has informed what happens.”

Saru has now moved past his adolescence in Season 3, according to Doug Jones. “[Season 2] I think that was very reflective for me, [of] fear in general. I think that’s a lesson for people who deal with fear and anxiety–what we fear might not be real. It might be made up. He’s had to step up as acting captain a couple of times in this series. It’s discussed between [Saru and Burnham] already [about who will be captain]. Will they respect either of us as captain? Will we self govern?”

“[Saru and Burnham are] kind of like chosen brother and sister, and go through all the evolution that brother and sister go through. In season 2 we become so close. The evolution continues in Season 3 as well. How do we all deal with all of those changes? We all help guide each other through all of those changes.”

“One of the things that’s most fascinating to me is that one of the definitions of duty is that it is this binding force,” said Martin-Green. “Duty called for us to go to the future. We fight for the present and we fight for the future. That act bound us together and bound us to everything we believe in Starfleet. What these writers do is show that fight for identity, the fight for personal and collective identity. You’ve seen all these revolutions in each person.”

“Nothing can compare to all of the genius that has come before us, it’s about what our writers are willing to explore. The ugly truths of fighting for this utopian future, what that duty does to you when we jump to this future that’s full of uncertainty, how we’re going to navigate this. Sometimes it’s ugly, but duty calls.”

Season 3 of Discovery will debut in 2020 on CBS All Access in the US. Thus far, the show has been available to watch on Netflix in other territories.

In addition to Star Trek Discovery Season 3, there are a number of other TV shows on the way for Trekkies. Star Trek: Picard is coming in January, 2020. Another is a Discovery spin-off that stars Michelle Yeoh as Terran Emperor and Section 31 agent Philippa Georgiou. There’s also a teen-orientated show called Starfleet Academy. If that wasn’t enough, an animated Star Trek comedy show called Lower Decks in development from Rick and Morty’s Mike McMahan.

Disclosure: CBS All Access is owned by CBS, GameSpot’s parent company.

Following its debut, Overwatch quickly became one of Blizzard Entertainment’s most recognizable brands, fueling the current obsession with multiplayer games known as hero-shooters. It’s unsurprising then that, following the success of the fantastic Switch release of Diablo 3: Eternal Collection, Overwatch became one of the more requested Switch ports from fans. This sentiment turned out to be a relief for the developers at Blizzard, which, as it turns out, was already working on bringing the online hero-shooter to the Nintendo Switch.

Ahead of its release on October 15, I spent some time playing the new version of the game, while speaking with director Jeff Kaplan and lead producer Matthew Hawley about its development. Co-developed with Iron Galaxy, Overwatch on Switch has been over a year in the making. It not only keeps its fast-paced team-oriented competitive gameplay intact, but it also includes some new features that you can only find on the portable console.

One of the reasons why the Switch has been a great destination for ports is because it allows players to re-examine games in a new light thanks to the console’s portability and flexible playstyle. On Switch, you can still play Overwatch on a monitor with a standard controller like its counterparts, but getting to play the game in the handheld mode made the shooter feel a bit more laid-back. What’s also new to Overwatch are the gyroscopic motion-controls via Joy-Cons, which can be used in tandem with the traditional set-up. This new style was something that took some getting used to, but I eventually took to it after a few rounds. In a way, I felt more drawn into the game when playing in handheld mode and with the gyroscope controls. This relaxed and immediately responsive playstyle makes Overwatch on the Switch feels especially distinct. Speaking with game director Jeff Kaplan, he reflected on his first time holding the Switch, which made him realize that Overwatch was a great fit.

“It’s been a project of passion. I actually waited in line to buy a Switch the day it came out, that’s how much the platform meant to me,” said the game director. “I remember getting my hands on it and going, ‘Oh my God, we need to be here.’ It’s just a great platform. We’ve worked on this for over a year now, and after getting Diablo 3 out there last year and seeing that excitement, we’re now launching Overwatch for the Switch. This has been the end result of that first excitement we had for the Switch back then.”

At launch, Overwatch on Switch will have all existing heroes and content from the PC and console versions. Unlike the release of Diablo 3, however, there aren’t any plans as of this time to include any Nintendo-exclusive items. The Switch version is an impressive port, but it was clear that some clear concessions had to be made to get it running on the more modest hardware. For starters, the Switch version runs at a mostly firm 30 FPS. When docked, the resolution is set at 900p, while undocked brings it down to 720p–with some slight moments of frame rate dips during heavy engagements. Kaplan stated that they’re aiming to release new updates at the same time with other versions, however, unlike Diablo 3: Eternal Collection, the Switch release won’t feature cross-progression, meaning players will have to start fresh within the new ecosystem.

This has been the end result of that first excitement we had for the Switch back then. — Jeff Kaplan, game director.

One of the more unique aspects of Overwatch’s outing on the Switch is the gyroscopic controls. Like Splatoon 2, which lead producer Matthew Hawley said was a source of inspiration from the team, you can use the Joy-Cons or Pro controller’s motion-sensors to move the camera and line up your shots. In the options menu, I noticed that there were several options that could be tweaked to fit your preferences, which include enabling or disabling motion-aiming while using the camera control stick and adjusting the sensitivity of your aim. Of course, if you prefer to stick with the game’s traditional set-up, you’re free to disable motion controls entirely. According to the devs, gyroscopic controls was something they wanted to include in the port, and they collaborated with Nintendo to get it working just right.

“We actually have a designer on our team who is a big Splatoon fan and he really likes gyroscopic aiming,” said the lead producer. “He detaches the joy-cons and kind of points one at the screen, in Wiimote style, and his level of precision just blows me away. It’s pretty cool. There’s no other platform that we currently have Overwatch on that has that kind of motion control, and Nintendo was really excited for us to try and implement it for Switch. There’s a whole world of people that have never played Overwatch before because they only play on Nintendo platforms, so bringing in a Nintendo audience into Overwatch is really, really exciting for us.”

In the dozen or so games I played, any concerns I felt about the game’s technical shortcomings went away when getting into the thick of it. I anticipate it’ll be tough for some players who are into the more competitive side of Overwatch to adjust to the scaled-back format, putting it in noticeable contrast to the high-resolution and 60fps gameplay from the other releases. In my experience, I didn’t really mind the change. If anything, the relaxed set-up that the Switch offered made it all the more easy to get back into. Overwatch on Switch is just as colorful and hectic as its PS4, Xbox One, and PC counterparts, and I really enjoyed myself playing it.

As the Switch is seeing more ports of online-centric games, the arrival of Overwatch–which is a more accessible team-based shooter–is especially welcome. Still, I can’t deny that it’s disappointing that cross-progression isn’t possible on the Switch. The newest release doesn’t totally deviate from the original, yet, the more flexible and responsive playstyle, along with the opportunity to bring Overwatch with you anywhere makes it feel especially novel in comparison to other versions. With its release on October 15, I foresee this port being a great way for players, new and lapsed alike, to revisit the game in a more fresh and laid back way.