What is it?: One of the possible Netflix killers, Peacock is NBC’s long-awaited new streaming service. It will contain NBCUniversal TV shows, movies, and originals, combining properties from NBC, USA Network, Universal Pictures, Dreamworks, Telemundo, and more.
Launch Date: April 2020
Price: Unknown, but their will be both ad-supported and ad-free tiers.
Highlighted Content: TV shows like The Office, 30 Rock, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Married…With Children, Monk, Psych, Saturday Night Live, and more. There is also a solid movie foundation featuring E.T., the Fast & Furious films, Bridesmaids, Back to the Future, and a whole lot more. 15,000 hours of content will be available at launch.
Other notes: NBC’s first service, Seeso, featured classic NBC sitcoms, late night talk shows, and original programming shut down its doors in November 2017 after 22 months running. It was beloved by fans, and hopefully, some of the original content from Seeso finds new life on Peacock.
Whimsical, heartfelt, and visually comforting–these are the ways in which I describe my first experience with the then-PS3 exclusive Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. It has the RPG sensibilities of developer Level-5, but with the deft touch of storied anime producers from Studio Ghibli, Ni no Kuni came to life in the same way many Ghibli films have. Now with a remaster, anyone with a Switch, PS4, or PC can jump into this imaginative journey, faults and all.
The title roughly translates to “The Second Country,” which alludes to the world beyond the one which our youthful protagonist Oliver lives in. Motorville is a peaceful town with friendly neighbors, but not much in the way of excitement. Thus, Oliver and his friend Phil (think Tombo from Kiki’s Delivery Service) get into some tomfoolery, whipping around a makeshift car Phil constructed himself. However, things get dark when the looming evil, otherworldly forces attempt to kill off Oliver, who they refer to as the boy who’ll save the world. Tragedy strikes in this opening, but hope lies in a parallel universe. The truth about Oliver’s mom, Allie, drives him to journey through this magical second world.
Danger lies beyond Ding Dong Dell, but Oliver and company will save the day.
Oliver’s exclamations “Neato!” and “Jeepers!” will make you feel like a kid again, but it’s your stumpy Fairie sidekick, Mr. Drippy, that brings fiery glee to it all. His energy, wisdom, and Welsh-isms make him a character for the ages and he always has Oliver’s back. Ni no Kuni is but a wholesome story of a boy who is always virtuous and always growing. Charm lies around every corner in as it’s brought to life by the wondrous stylings and animation of Ghibli, and uplifted by the majestic orchestral scores of composer Joe Hisaishi that effortlessly fit every moment. It’s these timeless qualities that make the long adventure worth the effort.
That said, this remaster is very much the original game; there are no quality-of-life changes, resulting in what feels more like a port than a remaster. The PC version (via Steam) comes with a few graphics options and controller support, and the PS4 version offers 4K/30 fps on a Pro and 1080p/60 fps on either console model. Note that the Switch version is a straight port of the PS3 game, and not designated as “remastered.” Aside from packing all the DLC, and the inherent visual improvement from higher resolution on PC and PS4, the core game remains untouched, for better or worse.
If you’re unaware, the original Ni no Kuni uses a combat system that has you moving and making decisions in real-time while you execute actions in a turn-based fashion. Core to the game is its system of Familiars, which function very much like Pokemon–they level up separately from party members and bring different elemental types and movesets to the table. You’ll capture many, train some of them for battle, and evolve a few to their final forms along the way. Each party member carries three at once and carefully swapping between them (and party members themselves) in battle is the key to overcoming the game’s tough fights. It’s an inventive system that brings about a surprising level of depth, but one that feels more clunky now than it did back when it first launched.
Tidy! A Ghibli reference en’it?
Wrapping your head around its combat system is going to take a few hours as you’re introduced to its several layers. Even then, much of it will feel out of your control. Since you can only command one combatant at any given moment, you have to rely on AI to handle many aspects of fights. Telegraphing enemy attacks is a challenge, too, and the system doesn’t exactly put you in the best situation for reacting. Until you get a groove with a lineup of Familiars, you’ll find yourself frantically fumbling through menus of actions more often than not.
Combat isn’t as tight as you’d expect from an RPG, but that’s not to say it’s a deal-breaker. For all the faults I see gameplay-wise, its RPG trappings deliver the satisfaction of growing stronger and smarter in combat. Other fundamentals are quite basic and hardly stray from RPG conventions, like the simplistic dungeon layouts or the sometimes tedious traversal from one area to another for side quests or between save points. At the very least, its foundation provides a good vehicle for taking you through Ni no Kuni’s world that bursts with boundless charm.
Former GameSpot reviews editor Kevin VanOrd awarded the original release a 9/10 back in 2013 and said, “This is a wonderful world that you will be eager to lose countless hours in as you adventure through its enticing realms.” Six years later, that remains true. It speaks to the joy of unraveling Ni no Kuni, because there are so many smaller moments that are emblematic of the imagination put into the game. From the so-bad-it’s-good comedy show put on by the Fairies to the terrifying monsters Oliver and friends conquer, Ni no Kuni stands out in how it gives an earnest tale of whimsy and youthful determination.
Yer a wizard, Ollie!
If you’re willing to overlook or account for some of its rougher spots, there’s a world of wonder waiting for you in Ni no Kuni. In many ways, it transcends those shortcomings. While this new version doesn’t streamline anything, you’re still getting one of last generation’s standout RPGs with its DLC, nothing more, nothing less.
Having been through the original release once, there isn’t a specific incentive unless you’re drawn to revisiting its spirited world, and newcomers are at least given the opportunity to experience something mostly delightful and unique that may have flown under their radar. After about 10 hours with the remaster on PC, memories are flooding back and I’m starting to hit a stride where I want to see it all unfold again. Your gateway to Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch opens on September 20 when it hits the PS4, PC, and Nintendo Switch.
French courts have just struck down several user agreement clauses for Valve’s online PC storefront, Steam, including restrictions on the resale of digital games. Valve has announced that it will appeal the court’s decision.
As reported by French publication Numerama, French consumer advocacy group UFC- Que Chosoir announced a legal victory against Steam today. According to the report, the group successfully got the courts to cancel clauses within Steam the group claims were anti-consumer. This includes Valve’s policy against reselling digital games purchased from Steam.
“The most significant of those concerns
the one that forbade the resale of
video games,” it says in the Numerama report. “That means the products are not related to a particular physical medium (a cartridge or a disk, for example).”
Considering the ample amount of wrestling I’ve written about over the past decade on IGN, and looking at the vast volume of TV episodes and seasons I’ve also reviewed, it’s certainly surprising to realize that this is the first actual episode of wrestling I’ve reviewed. But NXT switching from streaming to broadcast TV, from WWE Network to USA Network, creating WWE’s third primetime show on basic cable (and third brand if you’re keen to count RAW and SmackDown as separate brands) felt like it warranted a closer look.
Almost unanimously considered WWE’s best product for years, despite technically being the company’s farm league, NXT was going live, extending to two-hours, and in danger of losing the magical old-school elements that made so special and distinct. Most notably though, if you ask the Internet, it was in danger of shifting from a Triple H-helmed promotion to one with Vince McMahon’s base three-ring circus fingerprints all over it. Would NXT, in fact, lose its luster by moving up to the “big time,” in the same way that many NXT Superstars who’ve moved up to the main RAW and SmackDown rosters have been woefully under-utilized?
Shia LaBeouf claims he once wrestled naked with Tom Hardy, because of course he did.
In the latest episode of Hot Ones, a series where the host and interviewee both eat increasingly hot chicken wings while conducting an interview, LaBeouf told this strange story. LaBeouf and Hardy starred in 2012’s gangster film Lawless, where apparently the two would frequently wrestle with one another. One instance was simply… less clothed than the others.
Check out LaBeouf and Hardy together in action in this trailer for Lawless below.
If you’re clamoring for more Borderlands 3 news, Gearbox has you covered with a new livestream. The Borderlands Show debuts on September 20 and with it will come a bevy of announcements, including DLC updates and TwitchCon plans.
The Borderlands Show, hosted by Kinda Funny’s Greg Miller and Fran Mirabella, is a monthly web series that will cover everything Borderlands 3–from conversations with the dev team to early glimpses of incoming content and more. You can watch tomorrow’s livestream right here or on the Borderlands Twitch channel.
The Borderlands Show Livestream Start Time
10 AM PT
12 PM CST
1 PM ET
6 PM BST
Friday’s inaugural episode is said to feature an interview with creative director Paul Sage, responses to community questions, additional news and announcements, a preview of the upcoming Halloween-themed Bloody Harvest event that’ll include a new setting and rewards, and more. Gearbox is also expected to provide more information about Borderlands 3 post-launch plans, including Maliwan Takedown and campaign DLC, on tomorrow’s episode of The Borderlands Show.
In Borderlands 3, you’ll notice that weapons come in several tiers: Common (White), Uncommon (Green), Rare (Blue), Very Rare (Purple), and Legendary (Orange). You may be content using guns in any tier early on, but it’s in your best interest to equip higher-tier guns during the late-game. However, there’s a separate category within those higher-tier weapons that you should pursue, and they’re called Anointed.
While not necessarily a new tier all its own, Anointed guns are identical to their standard counterparts but with a unique perk that impacts your character’s abilities in significant ways. For example, the Expert Firestorm increases weapon damage by 100% for a brief duration after using an Action Skill. However, not all Anointed weapon perks are helpful for every character as some are class-specific, like the Expert Hellshock, which specifically increases the cooldown for Moze’s Iron Bear by 30% after she exits her mech. It’s worth noting that not all Anointed Guns will have the same perks, as there is a degree of RNG that impacts the types you get.
Anointed guns can typically be purchased from Earl’s Veteran Rewards vending machine in Sanctuary. Keep in mind that you can only buy stock from this machine with your Eridium supply, so be smart about when you choose to fork over what little you have. But if you don’t have enough Eridium on hand, you’re welcome to leave it up to chance by killing high-level enemies and bosses.
If you’re curious about what types of Anointed weapons there are in Borderlands 3, then check out all the ones we’ve looted and purchased below. Though, if you’re more interested in standard guns, then jump into our feature highlighting the best Legendary, Very Rare, and Rare weapons we’ve found.
We’ve noticed that there are non-Anointed weapons that also come with exclusive perks; there are two of these types at the bottom of this feature. We’ve yet to understand how these weapons stand apart from their Anointed counterparts, but rest assured, they’re still quite powerful.
