Advance Review: 'Legends of the Dark Knight' Pack Tales On Animated DARK KNIGHT RETURNS Riff

It’s Old Batman, Carrie Robin, and the Mutant Leader! Prepare for the only Newsarama review this year to feature the term “nipple spikes!”

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http://www.newsarama.com/33776-advance-review-legends-of-the-dark-knight-pack-tales-on-animated-dark-knight-returns-riff.html

Assassin’s Creed Retrospective: Black Flag

By Kimberly Kuxhause
 
After playing Assassin’s Creed III, and Assassin’s Creed Liberation, I don’t think anyone could say they were overly confident about Black Flag. Sure, it had pirates, but the world had seen that trend play out time and time again. By no means do pirate themes guarantee success (The short-lived TV show Crusoe comes to mind). Yet as the beginning scenes unfurled, the game revealed its true colors as something transformative and groundbreaking. The developers did so much work to improve the quality of the game in all its aspects, making Black Flag a well-rounded game that everyone can enjoy.
 
The gameplay improvements we’ve seen in Assassin’s Creed are extensive to say the least. It’s only natural that when you get a series of this magnitude and this many spin-offs, there are bound to be a few bump along the road. I think Black Flag comes the closest to game perfection I’ve seen in a series. You can now fast travel to viewpoints which makes it far more useful to collect them. Fighting and running is impressively fluid. You don’t have to wonder about missing a jump or falling behind your tail because of a cart in the road. Not to mention that you don’t have to manually shove through people – Kenway does this for you. The new weapons wheel, or should I say cross, allows for fast and easy selection of weapons options. The player never has to scroll through more than 2-3 options for their desired weapon, as opposed to the constant scrolling in AC III. Post-mission feedback not only immerses the player further into the overarching storyline of Abstergo video game industries but gives Ubisoft valuable mission feedback. Within missions there are now several checkpoints to which a player can restart if they’re looking for that 100% synch. The feature is an absolute must as it makes missions far less frustrating. More stealth options mean new ways of completing missions. My favorite is the “whistling” option. It’s a great way to nab guards just out of hand’s reach. Another small, but significant, improvement is that looting only requires one touch of a button. No more accidental interruptions by guards, just a quick snatch and grab.
 
Side missions and collectibles receive their own feedback, resulting in Mayan Stellae, Naval Forts, Animus Fragments and Shanties. Mayan Stellae offer quick little puzzles with a big payoff, Mayan bulletproof armor. Naval Forts function like Borgia towers or Assassin dens in previous games. I especially like the fact they can’t be reclaimed. With so much else to do on the map, going back to defeat the fort – just to make sure you aren’t hounded while completing other missions – would be annoying. Black Flag intertwines collectibles into its gameplay much better than previous games. I really appreciate that these are already marked on your map, instead of having to “happen” upon them as you travel. With the larger open-world map of Black Flag, marking them is essential to retain interest. Animus fragments can be anywhere, in areas as small as sand banks, and their collections give the player multiplayer awards (whether or not that’s beneficial to you depends on your use of multiplayer). Shanties provide a wonderful way to immerse the player in the game and learn about traditions of old. They are properly difficult to catch and the fact that they disappear for a few minutes after a failed attempt is less than ideal, but understandable. Hearing them as you sail your pirate ship brings the player into the story and gives them something else to listen to besides the crash of waves.
 
No game is without its drawbacks, and though it reached near perfection, Black Flag does have a few. The running and fighting aspect, while fluid, might be too fluid. Kenway is rather eager in climbing ladders instead of buildings, or taking a sharp turn instead of a slight one. Getting used to the new controls does ease some of this frustration, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to restart a mission because of fast footing. And speaking of missions, sometimes they run together too seamlessly. If a player wants to replay a mission due to poor synchronization, they might have to wait through 2-3 other missions to even get to the DNA progress screen. There’s also a small glitch in the first mission with regards to hunting. Though Kenway didn’t “receive” his Assassin gear, he can use the Assassin blade to hunt animals on the island. It’s small, yes, but worth noting. The biggest issue, however, is how large a role the multiplayer aspect plays in the game. As someone doesn’t enjoy multiplayer modes, and has a poor internet connection to boot, the multiplayer awards for collectibles really don’t intrigue me. In fact, once I made this realization, I stopped collecting the animus fragments. I almost wish Ubisoft would make multiplayer its own game. Leave me to my assassin’s and their storyline please.
 
Now we get to the intense narrative that really defines Assassin’s Creed. The pirate storyline is less Assassin oriented than Pirate, but don’t let that fool you, the game still involves Assassins. Kenway begins his journey as an assassin, and one of his best mates is an assassin – although he doesn’t discover that until later in his tale. We receive a rich tale of several real-life big name pirates – Blackbeard, Mary Read, and Charles Vane to name a few. We see the triumphant rise of piracy, and its lackluster fall as the world caught on. I can’t make much critique of this story. Multiple missions provided introductions to new game components, like underwater exploration and plantation robberies, while allowing for hours upon hours of engaging gameplay. Assassins overlapped with pirates, fusing the two worlds into an amazing entertainment experience. And at the end of my Black Flag replay I made the sober realization: This was the first game in the Assassin’s Creed series where I enjoyed the main story more than the overarching one. But why was that? For one so interested in storylines, why didn’t Black Flag check off all the boxes?
 
While the first person narration in Abstergo Entertainment does directly engage the player in the Assassin world, they don’t receive that rich characterization from previous titles. Melanie and John are really the only characters with which we interact. Melanie is entertaining, but she isn’t really a dynamic character. John drops creepy, mysterious hints as to his ulterior motives, but we only realize his devious nature at the end. Coworkers are all silent NPCs. I suppose I wanted more interaction with the world in which I was supposed to be invested. I want to talk to Shaun, see what icons are historically important. I long to hear Rebecca’s witty quips about “baby” and join in on her excitement at the latest technological opportunity. In becoming a character in a silent world that isn’t sided with either Templars or Assassin’s, the player becomes neutral component of the game. I actually miss the engagement we had from Assassin’s Creed III where we travelled to different modern day locations, making a difference in real time, or even the character exploration we received from Revelations, where we relived Desmond’s past with him. I just wanted something more to tie me to the war my character is (unknowingly) mediating. Now, don’t get me wrong. I still loved becoming a character in the game, hacking computers and reading secret sticky notes. It was absolutely delightful. But as much as I enjoyed it, I felt there was something missing from my experience. I want more than casual engagement in a storyline – I want to feel that sense of urgency that compels me to play both the modern and past story with equal vigor.
 
Black Flag exceeded my expectations. The extensive open world, multiple side missions, and character engagement set the game at a much higher standard than its predecessors. Multiplayer offered more to those who were looking for it and we received a solid enough overarching plot to transition us from the Desmond era. And although I would’ve liked a richer narrative, I can’t help but applaud the stories I did experience. Regardless of my own preferences, there’s no pretending that Black Flag wasn’t a spectacular game. Ultimately, it’s Ubisoft’s dedication to improvement that keeps me coming back to Assassin’s Creed for more. They nurture artistry and innovation in their game creations, which is obvious to see in the games they produce. At the end of Black Flag, I looked forward with anticipation and glee. The series was as strong as ever.

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http://www.nerdhq.com/assassins-creed-retrospective-black-flag/

Things Get Dangerous - And Racy - in GRAND PASSION #4 (Mature Content)

Check out a preview of GRAND PASSION #4 from Dynamite.

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http://www.newsarama.com/33766-things-get-dangerous-and-racy-in-grand-passion-4-mature-content.html

Best Shots Advance Reviews: POWER RANGERS - AFTERSHOCK, SPACE RIDERS: GALAXY OF BRUTALITY #1

An advance look at two upcoming titles.

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http://www.newsarama.com/33777-best-shots-advance-reviews-power-rangers-aftershock-space-riders-galaxy-of-brutality-1.html

IDW & DC's LOVE IS LOVE Raises $165k For Charity, Gets 5th Printing

Love is love is loved by fans.

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http://www.newsarama.com/33772-idw-dc-s-love-is-love-raises-165k-for-charity-gets-5th-printing.html

Get Down & Out With THE DREGS #3

Check out a preview of THE DREGS #3 from Black Mask.

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http://www.newsarama.com/33767-get-down-out-with-the-dregs-3.html

What We Know: Star Trek Discovery

By: Jaclyn Cascio (@jaclynator)

J.J. Abrams brilliantly revived Star Trek movies for a new generation. Could Bryan Fuller do the same for Star Trek television? We haven’t seen anything Trekkie on TV since 2005, when Enterprise was cancelled due to poor ratings. Now, it looks like we’ll have to tune in to CBS All Access sometime this year to find out for ourselves if the magic is back with Star Trek Discovery!

Announced in November 2015, the impending 13-episode season of Star Trek Discovery has been in the works for some time. Creator and writer Bryan Fuller (Hannibal, American Gods) didn’t join the project until February 2016. Working along with Alex Kurtzman (Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness), the show began to take shape. Kurtzman and Fuller have both worked on various iterations of Star Trek and are trustworthy hands to place such a project into. Nicholas Meyer also joined the team as a writer and consulting producer, another Star Trek alumni who wrote an original Star Trek movie script or two. The trust is deepened with the involvement of Rod Roddenberry (son of Gene Roddenberry) and Trevor Roth, both serving as executive producers.

Eventually, in October of 2016, Bryan Fuller had to step down from his duties with Star Trek Discovery, most likely due to other obligations (such as the upcoming American Gods). However, the mythology and story arc that Fuller created for the season will be used, and Fuller has expressed interest in returning to the series if it continues and he has the time and an offer to do so. With the loss of Fuller, Star Trek Discovery gained Gretchen J. Berg and Aaron Harberts as replacement showrunners with Akiva Goldsman to provide support. Filming began at Pinewood Toronto Studios in January 2017 and is scheduled to continue until September.

So what’s this story that Fuller had a hand in creating before stepping away from the project? It looks like Star Trek Discovery will take place about 10 years before events in the original Star Trek series. Placed in the original “Prime” timeline (not the “Kelvin” alternate timeline in the new movies), it will follow the crew of the USS Discovery, particularly the lieutenant commander of the ship, (Number One) Rainsford. Season one of the show will revolve around an incident/event in Star Trek mythology that has been referred to and talked about, but never seen on screen or explored. As per usual, Star Trek Discovery intends to be progressive, as Gene Roddenberry always intended for that universe. The show plans to showcase minority, female, and LGBTQ characters, along with lots of aliens! (Because, you know…space.)

Sonequa Martin-Green (The Walking Dead) is set to play Number One, Lieutenant Commander Rainsford on the USS Discovery. She will be the first female African-American lead of a Star Trek series. Although not centered on the captain, he will still be a present part of the crew, with Jason Isaacs (whom you might remember as one Lucius Malfoy) as Captain Lorca. James Frain (Gotham) will play Sarek, the astrophysicist better known as the father of Spock, while Anthony Rapp will be Stamets, an openly gay character working as a science officer with a focus on space fungi. Mary Wisemen will be Tilly, a final year Starfleet cadet assigned to the USS Discovery and Doug Jones (known for his prosthetic acting work in movies like Pan’s Labyrinth and Hellboy) will be science officer Lieutenant Saru.

Meanwhile, over on a sister ship, the USS Shenzhou, Captain Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) will be joined by a chief medical officer (Maulik Pancholy of 30 Rock) and junior officer Connor (Sam Vartholomeos). And somewhere is an Admiral Anderson, played by Terry Serpico.

And if you were hoping for Klingons, your prayers have been answered. Chris Obi will play Klingon leader T’Kuvma along with Shazad Latif as Kol, a commanding officer of Klingons. We will also see a Klingon ship battle deck commander named L’Rell (Mary Chieffo).

So the series is currently in production and coming this year. In a bold move, only the pilot episode of Star Trek Discovery will air on CBS. To watch the full series in America, each weekly episode will premiere on the new streaming service, CBS All Access. If you’re in Canada, the show will premiere on CTV and following episodes will air on Space (in English) and Z (French), moving then to CraveTV. If you find yourself in another country and desperate for a Star Trek fix, a ground-breaking agreement (which essentially funded the entire project) will allow Netflix to release each episode for streaming within 24 hours of the U.S. debut, allowing users in 188 countries to enjoy Star Trek Discovery.

However, we don’t have a release date for Star Trek Discovery just yet. While initially slated to premiere in January 2017, it was pushed to May 2017, and was delayed again for a late summer or early fall release. CBS Studios reported, “This is an ambitious project; we will be flexible on a launch date if it’s best for the show. We’ve said from the beginning it’s more important to do this right than to do it fast.”

Don’t get your underoos in a bunch, though. Star Trek Discovery is coming. Eventually. For more updates as production continues, you can follow the show on Twitter or on their Facebook page.

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http://www.nerdhq.com/what-we-know-star-trek-discovery/