Author: Trafficblast

The recent reboot of Hellboy has been one the year’s most notable failures, taking only $40 million at the worldwide box office and receiving mostly negative reviews. There were reports last month that the movie suffered from a number of behind-the-scenes problems, including fights between producers and director Neil Marshall, and star David Harbour not being cooperative. Now Harbour has commented on its disappointing performance.

In an interview with Digital Spy, Harbour explained that much of the film’s issues were out of his control. “We did our best, but there’s so many voices that go into these things and they’re not always going to work out,” he said. “I did what I could do and I feel proud of what I did, but ultimately I’m not in control of a lot of those things.”

Harbour went on describe the problem that all comic book movies have when compared to Marvel’s output–and in doing so came up with the concept of the “the chocolate spectrum.”

“The problem that I have with comic book movies nowadays is that I think, and it’s a result of the power of Marvel stuff, it’s like chocolate, it’s a flavour,” he said. “And I sort of want a world where there’s more flavours than just comparisons to chocolate. So in that way when Hellboy is viewed on the chocolate spectrum, it does very poorly. That being said, it also has major problems.

“I think as a rental or as a movie that you see on an aeroplane, I think you’d be like, ‘Oh that was fun’ because it’s a fun movie, and I think it was unfairly bludgeoned as a result of these comparisons.”

Hellboy also starred Milla Jovovich, Ian McShane, Daniel Dae Kim, Sasha Lane, and Thomas Haden Church. It followed two Hellboy movies directed by Guillermo Del Toro in the 2000s.

In related news, Harbour is set to reprise his role as cop Jim Hopper in Stranger Things Season 3, which hits Netflix in July. Check out the first clip from the new season, which was released last week.

Google will be shutting down the YouTube Gaming app as of May 30, ending its short stint of a dedicated standalone app for gamers. Instead, YouTube Gaming viewers are encouraged to visit a YouTube hub page that will serve a similar purpose. The browser destination is being similarly relocated.

In an FAQ, the company recommends merging your subscriptions to retain most of your streaming preferences. Still, some things will change for YouTube Gaming fans. There is no way to set the new hub page as your default YouTube experience, though Google notes that you can simply bookmark that page. It also says you’ll lose your saved games as the company explores “better ways to organize your game interests on YouTube.”

YouTube Gaming launched in 2015 as an all-in-one hub for gaming live streams. It also functioned as a testing ground for new YouTube features. But the separate app is said to have created confusion among viewers. Of course, nothing is happening to your favorite streamers. They’ll still be operating as normal, so if you just like to watch YouTube’s livestreams, essentially nothing will change for you.

Google is currently in the process of introducing gamers to another new bit of tech, the Stadia streaming platform. The debut event promised integration with YouTube, including the ability to jump directly into game at the same point you were just watching on a stream, or for streamers to play with their viewers live. Google recently promised we’ll be seeing a few key details about Stadia soon, including price, game announcements, and launch info.

One of the most fun aspects of Super Mario Maker is seeing how the game reimagines certain enemies and items in styles they never originally appeared in, such as seeing airship levels in Super Mario Bros. or Hammer Bros. in Super Mario World. That holds just as true for Super Mario Maker 2, which introduces a new assortment of original and classic items to the toolset, including Super Mario 3‘s angry sun. Naturally, we just had to see how the iconic enemy looked in other Mario styles, and we were a little horrified by the result.

We recently had a chance to go hands-on with Super Mario Maker 2 at a demo event in New York, where we got to tinker around with the game’s course builder. We chose Super Mario World as the style for our level, and of course, the first enemy we placed in it was the angry sun, which behaves just as you remember, swooping down to singe you every few seconds. You can take a look at our creation in the video above.

While the angry sun looks as you’d expect it to in the Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario World styles, the enemy takes on a different appearance in the New Super Mario Bros. U style. As you can see in the screenshot below, the sun’s angry grimace becomes a dead-eyed stare, which somehow makes it even more unsettling as it torments you throughout the stage.

The angry sun is only one of a myriad of new customization options available in Super Mario Maker 2. Nintendo gave us a closer look at a handful of other new enemies and items during this month’s Mario Maker 2 Direct. And unlike the original Super Mario Maker, you won’t need to wait to unlock them; almost all of the game’s tools will be available from the start, so you’ll be able to jump in and play around with them right away. The game also features a story mode and online multiplayer, the latter of which is a first for a Super Mario platformer.

Super Mario Maker 2 launches for Switch on June 28. The game requires a Nintendo Switch Online subscription in order to play and share levels online. An individual 12-month membership typically costs $20, but Nintendo is bundling a year’s subscription with a copy of Super Mario Maker 2 for $70, which amounts to a $10 savings. You can read more details about the bundle in our Super Mario Maker 2 pre-order guide.

One of the more divisive aspects of the original Super Mario Maker is that it gated its tools behind a waiting period, forcing players to gradually unlock them over the course of several days. While the reasoning behind this decision was to ease players into the game’s wealth of customization options, it put up a hurdle in front of those hoping to use specific enemies or items in their levels. Fortunately, Super Mario Maker 2 does away with this restriction.

GameSpot recently went hands-on with Super Mario Maker 2 at a demo event, where we asked a Nintendo representative if the game features a similar waiting period before players could access the entire tool palette. The Nintendo rep confirmed that “almost all” of the game’s tools will be available from the start, so you’ll be able to jump in and tinker around with most of Super Mario Maker 2’s new toys right from the outset.

One option that you will need to unlock is the nighttime theme. Super Mario Maker 2 allows you to change each type of level into a nighttime version, which will not only give it a starry backdrop, but also change some of the course’s properties; nighttime snow stages, for example, are more slippery than their daytime counterparts, while nighttime sky levels have lower gravity. Fortunately, unlocking the theme is very simple; all you need to do is place Super Mario 3‘s angry sun enemy in the level and change it into a moon. Once you’ve unlocked the nighttime theme, you’ll no longer need to place the moon in a level to access it.

Super Mario Maker 2 makes a few other welcome quality-of-life improvements. In the original game, you needed to shake certain enemies or combine items in order to change their form; for instance, shaking a green Koopa Troopa would transform it into a red one, while combining it with a Super Mushroom would supersize it. This time, however, you’ll be able to choose these different variants simply by tapping on the object and selecting them from the menu. The game also automatically populates the top toolbar with the items you most frequently use, and you have the option to pin certain tools there for easy access.

Super Mario Maker 2 launches for Nintendo Switch on June 28. The game features a load of new elements, including a story mode and online multiplayer. To play and share levels online, however, you’ll need to have a Nintendo Switch Online subscription, but Nintendo is bundling an individual 12-month membership for the service along with a copy of the game for $70–a $10 savings off the typical price of a 12-month subscription. If you already subscribe to the service and spring for this bundle, the 12 months will be stacked on top of your current subscription. You can learn more in our Super Mario Maker 2 pre-order guide.