Author: trafficblast

Disclosure: IGN Entertainment, IGN’s parent company, recently purchased Humble Bundle, the publisher of A Hat in Time. This technically makes us the publisher. (We didn’t actually know about that when this review was being written.) Humble Bundle and IGN operate completely independently, but going forward, all Humble Bundle-published games we cover will have a disclosure regarding our relationship, and we will endeavor to use freelance critics to review them when possible.

There’s a mafioso floating outside Hat Girl’s pillow-stuffed spaceship, miles above the planet below, decked out in a blue blazer and an apron that says “Kiss the Cook.” He probably should have been a lawyer, judging by how he chooses to interpret the situation.

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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

Just a quick note to start things off – Disney XD aired both parts of the Star Wars Rebels Season 4 premiere tonight. Eric Goldman already reviewed “Heroes of Mandalore Part 1” when it was screened at Star Wars Celebration earlier this year, so tonight I’ll just be focusing on Part 2.

For whatever flaws it may have, Star Wars Rebels has been great about tying up the many loose ends left over from Clone Wars. We’ve seen Captain Rex evolve from loyal Republic soldier to independent freedom fighter. We’ve seen Darth Maul’s story finally receive the closure it needed. And we’ve seen the fate of Mandalore in the time of Emperor Palpatine and his Empire. It hasn’t been pretty, but the show consistently found success in Season 3 when it came to fleshing out Sabine’s troubled background and the chaotic, war-torn state of Mandalore. Nothing has changed as Rebels begins its fourth and final season.

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Use these tips to keep your head – both literally and figuratively – while exploring.

The Klingons capture Captain Lorca and Rainn Wilson plays Harry Mudd in Star Trek: Discovery, episode 5! Greg and Chastity break down “Choose Your Pain”.

Warning: this review contains full spoilers for Marvel’s The Gifted: “eXodus”!

The Gifted delivers another solid episode that, while not without its flaws, continues to explore the themes of the X-Men in compelling fashion. The two main threads of the episode – Kate and the kids seeking help from a relative and Reed being forced to betray the mutant underground – both have their highlights that shine through despite the execution being a little rough around the edges.

The episode started with another flashback that gave a few more tidbits on the history of this world and on how the mutant underground got its base of operations, but more importantly, it showed the initial spark that led to Lorna and Marcos being an item. Given that The Gifted is a fairly serious show where characters are fueled by pain and desperation, it was wonderful seeing a moment of levity where Lorna helps Marcos embrace the joy of being a mutant. The scene was played just right by both actors, whose excellent chemistry creates a heart-warming moment just as beautiful as their Northern Lights power combo effect.

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We teamed up with Blizzard to give away ten (10) BlizzCon 2017 Virtual Tickets! Entry is open Worldwide. Yup, you read that correctly… WORLDWIDE. Competition ends Monday, October 23rd at 12:00PM PT and ten winners will be contacted via email. Scroll down to enter below.

The Virtual Ticket let’s you stream BlizzCon 2017 from the comfort of your own couch, live and in high definition. You’ll get coverage of both days of the show, including panels, contests, interviews, the closing ceremony, and more, along with some in-game goodies. This year’s BlizzCon takes place November 3rd & 4th.

The in-game freebies you get include:

• Overwatch: BlizzCon 2017 Winston Skin
• World of Warcraft: Stormwind Skychaser and Orgrimmar Interceptor
• StarCraft II: Junker SCV, Probe, and Drone Skins
• Heroes of the Storm: Nexus Razorback Mount
• Diablo III: Murkromancer Pet
• Hearthstone: Mystery Goodie

Enter below (the additional entries are optional to increase your chances of winning):

Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

Of the four current Arrowverse shows, only Legends of Tomorrow managed to begin its new season on firm footing last week. The best we can hope for the likes of Flash, Supergirl and Arrow is that they’ll be able to build momentum and improve over time. The good news is that it does appear as though Supergirl can move forward from its underwhelming premiere. “Triggers” rehashes a lot of beats from “Girl of Steel,” but at least the end result is a promising new status quo for the series.

The focus this week was still very much centered around Kara’s depression over the lack of Mon-El in her life. I never realized how many viewers genuinely despise that relationship until after Season 2 wrapped. I get the troubling subtext of Mon-El’s background as an imperialist slave owner, but I felt Season 2 did a good job of allowing him to find redemption for his questionable past and simply establishing an insanely charming dynamic between Melissa Benoist and Chris Wood. You really felt the bond between their two characters, and you feel Kara’s pain and misery over losing that relationship here. Even if you’re firmly in the anti-Mon-El camp, I like to think everyone can agree that Benoist is doing a great job this season exploring Kara’s darker, tormented side.

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Wargaming has confirmed it will be launching a local server for Australian and New Zealand World of Tanks players on November 1, 2017.

The server will commence as a prime time server, available between 6pm to 12pm AEDT.

“A local server is the number one request from our community and we are finally rolling them out on November 1, from 6pm – 12am AEDT,” said Wargaming Australia and New Zealand boss Travis Plane in a statement. “It’s a long time coming but we hope that our players and the community can see that we’re truly committed to investing in Australia and New Zealand.”

“As our player numbers grow and the matchmaking continues to improve, we plan to widen these hours and are aiming for a full-time local server in 2018.”

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2K Sports has published the results of its annual NBA season simulation. Starting with the most exciting part, the NBA 2K18 simulation predicts that the Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics will reach the NBA Finals. The Warriors will successfully defend their title, winning the 2017-2018 NBA Championship in five games, the simulation said

The Warriors were just too good, the simulation said, winning the series 4-1. The Celtics’ sole victory was a close one, with Boston taking Game 4 by just two points on the back of a Kyrie Irving triple-double. After claiming the back-to-back title, Warriors coach Steve Kerr won Coach of the Year in the simulation, which is no surprise.

Here are some other takeaways from 2K’s NBA 2K18 season simulation:

• The Rookie of the Year award went to Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers. He averaged 16.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 7.4 assists.
• Kevin Durant put up better numbers than LeBron James in terms of points, rebounds, steals, and blocks. Also, Durant won the Finals MVP again.
• Joel Embiid returns in form, averaging 27 minutes per game, with 17.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2.5 blocks per game.
• The worst-performing teams were the Miami Heat (22-60), the Indiana Pacers (27-55), the Orlando Magic (30-52), and the Sacramento Kings (30-52).

Go to NBA 2K’s Facebook page to see a more detailed breakdown of NBA 2K18’s latest season simulation. The simulation was conducted using the game’s MyLeague mode.

NBA 2K18 is available now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. 2K recently released a patch for the game, and you can see the full patch notes here.