Fans of Apple’s “Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet” will appreciate this: If you can’t find the game you want to play, well, why not build it yourself? That’s totally doable these days with courses available online to help you learn the world of coding. After all, that’s what’s video games are: lines and lines and lines of code.
If this sounds like a dream, check out this one-year unlimited access to Zenva Academy. It’s only $139.99 for a limited time. That’s nothing compared to the average salary of a game programmer in 2019: $66,906. Let’s be real: That should only go up with your skill level. Let Zenva Academy be your starting point for this world of coding.
This purchase gives you access to 250 courses that’ll teach you all about programming. They’ll get into mobile apps, data science, and web development. The academy will teach you how to create actual projects. You should walk away from the academy having developed a virtual reality and augmented reality app. The academy is designed to welcome all skill levels. You don’t have to be a coding expert to complete some courses with some real experience under your belt.
What’s perhaps most appealing about this one-year access to Zenva Academy is that you can do it at your own pace. There aren’t deadlines or due dates, so if you’re a parent or already work a full-time job, you can fit the courses in around your schedule. This is a great convenience for those who have limited time. This discount can help bring you closer to your goals of game development or web design. For only $139.99, give yourself a year to learn how your favorite games were built—and create some yourself.
Finding ‘Ohana is now streaming exclusively on Netflix.
[poilib element=”accentDivider”]
Hey, you GUUUUUYS! If you love The Goonies, you’ll relish in the rollicking adventure of Netflix’s Finding ‘Ohana. The concept of a quirky kid crew questing for long-lost pirate’s treasure is given a fresh spin against the awe-inspiring backdrop of the Hawaiian island of O‘ahu. However, the savvy and sentimental script by Christina Strain begins this journey in the urban jungle of Brooklyn, New York.
There, 12-year-old Pilialoha “Pili” Kawena (Kea Peahu) is a streetwise geocache champion, racing down sidewalks, cracking clues, and finding hidden prizes. Then, her plans for this kind of summer fun seem derailed when a family emergency pulls her back to the rural Hawaiian community where she was born. Neither Pili nor her teen brother Ioane (Alex Aiono) is stoked for this island getaway. Their grandfather’s battered bungalow doesn’t even have Wi-Fi! Cut off from the world they know (and the world wide web), Ioane turns his attentions to flirting with a beautiful local named Hana (Lindsay Watson), while Pili peruses a curious journal for clues to a lost treasure trove. With the help of her new friend Casper (Owen Vaccaro), she’ll set off on a quest that will change her life and family (‘ohana) forever.
The path of such kiddie adventures is so well worn that Strain’s script wastes no time on its first act. A spirited geocache chase plows into the Kawena clan landing in O‘ahu. Within moments of meeting her gruff but lovable Papa (Branscombe Richmond), Pili has already found the journal that will light her way to trials, tribulation, and treasure. Hot on the heels of this discovery, she crashes into Casper, a friendly redhead who — perhaps in a nod to screenwriting conventions — is literally saving a cat. Basically, Strain is well aware she’s not reinventing the wheel here. But if it ain’t broke, why bother?
Likewise, the characters are forged from familiar stock. Pili is a spirited tomboy in the tradition of Punky Brewster or Pippi Longstocking. She’s fearless and quick to action, whether feuding with her brother or leaping across a river of lava. Casper is a consummate sidekick, supportive with info on the island’s creatures and culture as well as his eternal earnestness. Ioane (nicknamed “E”) struts in as the softly sexist older brother, who initially mangles his wooing of Hana with brogressive swagger. (Think Sokka in Season 1 of Avatar: The Last Airbender.) He’s a loyal and protective older brother, but also a bit of a lunkhead when it comes to seeing women — including his sister, mother, and crush — beyond his own desires and obligations. No-nonsense yet genial, Hana proves not just his love interest, but also his foil, reflecting how he can bond with his sibling without all the bravado. Then for good measure, there’s a dash of artistic ambition slathered on her to drive home she’s smart and sensitive.
Having swiftly established its core crew and their interpersonal conflicts, Finding ‘Ohana gleefully chucks them into a mountain full of winding tunnels, collapsing caves, venomous critters, and an unnerving trail of sailor skeletons. Instead of stodgy flashbacks of the pirates’ passage, the film takes a clever cue from Ant-Man (or arguably Drunk History). The kids recount the story from the journal to each other, putting in the mouths of these bygone buccaneers with modern slang like, “That’s lit!” and “Oh dip!” Bringing to life these colorful scenes are two consummate character actors: Chris Parnell and Marc Evan Jackson. Though buried under eye-patches and wonky wigs, the comedic skills honed across storied sitcom work still shine, making these funky flashbacks a string of dazzlingly funny gems.
As director Jude Weng came from television, it’s perhaps no surprise that the film’s comedy beats have a solidly entertaining rhythm. More impressive is how Weng churns thrills in a cavalcade of action sequences, where the peril is exciting but the shadow of death never overbearing. Following in the footsteps of Indiana Jones (who is repeatedly name-checked), Pili and her crew spelunk, scuttle, scramble, and sing-along to get through each new challenge together. Of course, they will discover the true treasure is the bonds they forged along the way. Yet anticipating their destination doesn’t detract from the joy, in part because the cast is warmly winsome.
Supporting this emotional undercurrent is the B-plot, in which Pili’s mom and Papa mend the relationship that took a hit when she fled the island because of a tragedy she’s still getting over. As the kids journey through a mountain, the grown-ups trek through their psychological trauma to rediscover each other. This thread is a bit thin, but in a kid’s movie, any more would feel out of place. After all, this isn’t a tearjerker but an adventure! Peahu proves its sturdy leader, confidently shouldering a broad yet charming performance style that hits somewhere between Disney Channel sitcom and E.T. intensity. Her supporting cast follows this tone, making for a movie that’s bouncy and fun even when dealing with death, regret, and letting go.
Into a familiar mold, Strain and Weng happily pack elements of Hawaiian culture, including language, community pride, Spam cuisine, and the legend of the Night Marchers. These details are more than superficial set dressing. They are an invitation to the fish-out-of-water siblings to reconnect to their heritage and its wonders, and through their journey, we are invited to share in both. All of this leads to a final act that is a bit leggy, stuffing in payoffs emotional, mythical, and thematic. Still, the cast and the enchanting world of Finding ‘Ohana makes this detour feel more like the scenic route.
Call Of Duty recently merged progression, a season pass, and some guns across Cold War, Warzone, and Modern Warfare. In theory, it was a great idea that would allow any Call Of Duty player to engage in any mode and carry progress across games. In reality Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a more traditional Call Of Duty title with a different audience from the mil-sim inspired Modern Warfare, so the merger has resulted in Warzone challenges that don’t appeal to Cold War players, erased or made meaningless progress for Modern Warfare players, overpowered guns like the Mac-10 and DMR 14 in Warzone, and created unlocks that some players can’t use unless they purchased the other title.
In this video, we talk about what we feel Activision was trying to achieve, why it’s a good idea in theory, why it isn’t working yet, and what they can focus on next. Call Of Duty titles published by Activision are developed by multiple studios including Infinity Ward, Treyarch, Raven Software, and Sledgehammer Games. This is the first time progress has been linked across two separate games and a standalone free-to-play battle-royale. We have yet to see if this shared ecosystem will be used moving forward for all Call Of Duty titles, but there are lessons to be learned either way.
Apex Legends Season 8 is bringing a slew of changes, including a shiny new gun called the 30-30 Repeater. It’s a lever-action rifle designed to fill the hole players were feeling in the heavy weapon set.
Starting out, the 30-30 will have six shots. Obtaining higher level magazines will increase its shot count, starting at eight with a level one magazine, ten with a level two magazine, and 12 with a level three magazine. The gun also has a charge bar that will change location depending on what kind of sight you have equipped. As you’d expect, the more you charge the 30-30, the more damage it deals, with its hits scaling accordingly if you only complete the charge midway. Full-charge headshots do 100 damage, and full-charge body shots do 57 damage. Meanwhile no-charge spamming body shots do 42 damage, and no-charge headshots do 74 damage.
If you’re looking to add the 30-30 into your regular arsenal, you will need to learn how to time using charged shots versus spamming regular ones. The 30-30 falls in between the G7 and Longbow guns in terms of play. The G7’s fire rate is faster, but its shots do less damage, while the Longbow shoots more slowly but also does more damage. The 30-30 falls smack dab in between with its lower damage spam fire and its higher damage charge-shot, and is perfect for mid-to-long range combat.
Timing will also be important when it comes to reloading. While the 30-30 can potentially have a lot of shots, its reload time from zero is pretty slow. If you let it get down to empty, it’s going to take a while to refill your magazine. That said, a new addition to the game can help combat this issue: the level four magazine. When equipped on the 30-30–or any weapon–you can automatically reload by putting your weapon away and waiting five and a half seconds.
When Jac Schaeffer sat down to begin writing WandaVision, Marvel Studios’ first Disney+ TV show, she already had plenty of experience in the universe. As a co-writer of Captain Marvel and the writer of the upcoming Black Widow, she’s firmly entrenched in the MCU. It was, however, her first outing as a TV writer, which highlighted some interesting differences in the process.
“It’s very lonely to write a feature by yourself,” Schaeffer told GameSpot. “It’s fun because, you know, if you’re the only one working on it through to the end, then you get all the credit. And that’s really nice. And you can sort of pat yourself on the shoulder for your discoveries.”
With WandaVision, though, she worked with a team of writers to help craft the episodes, which only made for a better experience. “When you do it in a group, all of the victories are that much more exciting and the failures are kind of cushioned a little bit. Because you’re in it together,” Schaeffer explained.
It also changed her approach to writing. With a film, you’re telling one story designed to be watched in a single sitting. WandaVision, on the other hand, is nine episodes released weekly. So, in addition to the overall story arc, Schaeffer explained, “I had big moments for every episode that I knew was where I wanted to land each episode and we sort of worked backward from there.”
It also changed her approach to writing. With a film, you’re telling one story designed to be watched in a single sitting. WandaVision, on the other hand, is nine episodes released weekly. So, in addition to the overall story arc, Schaeffer explained, “I had big moments for every episode that I knew was where I wanted to land each episode and we sort of worked backward from there.”
And unlike her previous work in the MCU–and everything else Marvel Studios has done before–WandaVision isn’t a single type of show or movie. Instead, it’s a mixture of several different eras of sitcoms, with an epic Marvel story bubbling just below the surface.
For most, burying that massive comic book-flavored mystery underneath a lot of dated comedy tropes might seem like a challenge. For Schaeffer, however, WandaVision’s premise is why the show works.
“It was my philosophy that the more we dug into the sitcom part of the show, the more the mystery pieces would land,” she said. “So that sort of dictated how much early on in the series the mystery in the MCU peeks out, in order for that to feel spooky and satisfying and weird and emotional–all those weird feelings that you want the audience to have.”
Of course, it’s still a Marvel Studios project, with many of the trademarks fans have come to expect–deep dive comic book references, plenty of Easter eggs, and lots of threads to tie it to other projects in the MCU. And Shaefer will be the first to admit the strong pull to wanting to also embed plenty of nods to classic sitcoms. After all, not only have the first three episodes taken inspiration from the likes of Bewitched, The Brady Bunch, and I Dream of Jeannie. And WandaVision also has sitcom royalty involved. Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda) is the sister of twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen of Full House fame, while series director Matt Shakman starred on a late-’80s sitcom called Just the 10 of Us.
Thankfully, between Schaeffer, her producing partner Mary Livanos, and Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige, they know not to get too buried in the weeds when it comes to Easter eggs and references.
“The temptation is very strong. Kevin is the sort of ultimate decision maker on that kind of thing and he really has a light touch with that kind of thing,” the writer said. “And there were occasionally ideas that especially my producer, Mary Livanos, and I would get really jazzed about something that we thought was especially clever and we were so pleased with ourselves, and Kevin would be the one to be like, ‘That’s that goes too far. That’s too much. That’s too cute.'”
While on the surface, it’s hard to argue against any Easter egg or reference that could be thrown in, Schaeffer and the rest of the WandaVision team believe going too far overboard would simply muddle what the show is trying to accomplish. “We all agreed that we wanted the sitcoms to really stand on their own and to be entertaining and satisfying,” she said. “And if we got too cute, we would sink ourselves.”
Of course, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any sitcom Easter eggs. After all, we know a reference to Full House is on the way.
New episodes of WandaVision air Fridays on Disney+.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
Having successfully revived the king of monsters in 2016’s Shin Godzilla, director Hideaki Anno is now ready to reveal the greatest of Japan’s television heroes, Ultraman. Our first look comes in the brand-new trailer for Shin Ultraman.
The trailer doesn’t actually say much, but it gives us our first look at the hero. Shin Ultraman comes from writer Hideaki Anno and director Shinji Higuchi. The pair worked together on 2016’s Shin Godzilla. and even in just 36 seconds this trailer seems to suggest that Shin Ultraman will have a lot in common with that film.
Like Shin Godzilla, the film goes with a very classic take on the character. We only see Ultraman in the final moments, but we get a clear look at him. Where Netflix’s 2019 Ultraman anime significantly updated and streamlined the look of the character, this version looks a lot like it did in the original 1966 television show. Even the monsters look classic enough–meaning unabashedly cheesy–that it’s hard not to laugh at them as they lumber through the forest.
The other common thread is that the movie looks like it will focus less on the blockbuster antics of the monsters shown in Godzilla: King of the Monsters themselves and more on the government response to these monsters. Shin Godzilla was really about the lumbering way in which a government would struggle to deal with the sudden appearance of an apocalyptically huge beast. The Ultraman trailer seems to be interested in the organization that supports Ultraman in the shows, the Science Special Search Party, or SSSP, an organization that handles extra-terrestrial cases.
Shin Ultraman is set to hit Japanese theaters in Summer 2021. Stateside, we’re scheduled to get our next dose of killer kaiju in Godzilla vs. King Kong on March 31, 2021. Unless it gets delayed again.
The Razer Viper is one of the best gaming mouse options out there, and the company has just released its latest iteration of the mouse, which features the fastest polling rate of any available on the market. The Razer Viper 8K sends data at eight times the speed of its standard model, reducing latency and improving input delay. The Viper 8K also replaces the standard model at the $80 price point. It’s available right now through Amazon and Best Buy.
The 8,000KHz polling rate is the big difference for the Razer Viper 8K, which is otherwise very similar to the standard Razer Viper. It also features a 20K DPI optical sensor, on-board memory for custom settings, and Razer’s flexible Speedflex cable.
The Razer Viper 8K does feel significantly smoother than my mouse of choice, the Razer DeathAdder V2 Pro. I haven’t noticed too much difference in my K/D ratio, but I have had a great time using it, thanks to that 8,000Hz polling rate. It’s not quite as dramatic as going from a 60Hz monitor to a 144Hz one in terms of in-game performance, but it does feel like a similar jump in smoothness that will only get better if it comes to Razer’s other mouse shapes–the Viper doesn’t boast my preferred ergonomics, but if this technology came to the DeathAdder, I could see myself switching back to a wired option.
Razer has made other improvements to its wireless connectivity and input delay over the past year. It introduced a number of HyperSpeed wireless mouse options in 2020, including the DeathAdder V2 Pro. In our testing, we haven’t noticed a difference between the wired and wireless models in games like Rainbow Six Siege and Valorant. If you’re looking for more mouse recommendations, check out our guide to the best gaming mouse for your needs.
Lucasfilm Ltd. is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and that can only mean one thing – more Star Wars toys. That includes a new line of Star Wars: The Black Series figures inspired by the original Kenner toys from 1977.
IGN can exclusively reveal the first three figures in this Star Wars: The Black Series – Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary collection, which feature retro-flavored takes on Obi-Wan Kenobi, Greedo and a Jawa. Check out all three in the slideshow gallery below:
Unlike Hasbro’s earlier Star Wars: Retro Collection line, these Black Series figures aren’t meant to be 1:1 reproductions of the original Kenner figures. They feature the larger and more detailed sculpts of the Black Series line, but the paint decos and soft goods elements like Obi-Wan’s vinyl cloak are clear throwbacks to the Kenner era. The packaging will also call back to the original Kenner releases.
Hasbro confirmed there will be more than just these three figures in the 50th Anniversary line, with future releases potentially focusing on movies other than A New Hope. Hasbro will hold a Fan First Friday livestream on January 29 showing off these figures and other upcoming releases in the Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary promotion.
All three figures are priced at $19.99 and will be sold exclusively through Amazon. You can pre-order the figures at the links below.
If you’ve ever wondered how the heroes and villains of The Mandalorian might look when given the full Kenner treatment, Hasbro also has you covered. The company recently teased a series of The Mandalorian: Retro Collection figures, which feature nostalgic renditions of characters like Din Djarin and Cara Dune as if they had actually existed in the ’70s.
Welcome to Nintendo Voice Chat! Casey DeFreitas returns to the host seat this week, and she’s joined by Peer Schneider, Brian Altano, and Tom Marks to talk about Bowser’s Fury, the new Monster Hunter Rise Switch, and more. Plus, stick around for discussion on the Nintendo 64’s long-lost feature, and games the panel is playing this week.
You can listen to NVC on your preferred platform every Thursday at 3pm PT/6pm ET. Have a question for Question Block? Write to us at [email protected] and we may pick your question! Also, make sure to join the Nintendo Voice Chat Podcast Forums on Facebook. We’re all pretty active there and often pull Question Block questions and comments straight from the community.
[poilib element=”accentDivider”]
Logan Plant is the Production Assistant for NVC. You can find him on Twitter at @LoganJPlant.
Zenva Academy: 1-Yr Unlimited Access – $139.99
