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Can you believe it? We were still under a freeze warning this week but it’s almost May. Oh yeah, and this weekend is C2E2! This is not a drill, folks. This is the kickoff to Chicago con season. And while the guest list may not be as stellar as some were hoping for, there’s plenty of interesting guest appearances, panels and of course merch to get out there for. With crowds expected to be as big as ever, ya better bring your umbrella, walking shoes, cosplay touchup kits and cameras. We’re going to hit it hard and once you poke around the full schedule, you’ll find there’s much more to this con than meets the eye. By the way? Our Choose Your Own Adventure C2E2 is handy to keep around, but you should also make sure to keep checking the FULL schedule, as we might have missed things you're super excited about and things frequently get moved around due to cancellations and general con chaos. On that note, Josh Brolin has also cancelled for this convention, and joins Christina Ricci, Chris Claremont, Nolan North, Saladin Ahmed and Taylor Gray and Paige O'Hara as of the time of writing. FRIDAY, APRIL 26TH: Get started early if you’re interested in writing children’s books- How to Write a Book for Kids: A Panel of Creative Minds will kick off bright and early at 11 am in S402-B with critically acclaimed and published authors and graphic novelists Mary Winn Heider, Colleen AF Venable and Art Baltazar. Meanwhile, K-Pop fans, it’s time for you to get all dolled up early and hope that skincare’s got your skin glowing so you are wide awake and snatched for K-Pop Time! In S502B, which will feature mini games, fan meetups and free-for-all games for those who take K-Pop seriously. OR If you’re into esports and want to see how they do it here in Chicago, don’t miss the Chicago high school Esports exhibition at Side Quest beginning at 11 am and watch people compete for tournament gold! OR If you’re a gamer whose forte is Fortnite hit the Pride Lounge in S504-ABC and throw your hat in the ring for some fabulous prizes if you decided to stay, play and slay. Games begin at 11 am but go all day. It doesn’t matter who you bring to Q&A with The McElroys, you’re sure to have a good time. Hosts of successful and incredibly fun podcasts My Brother, My Brother and Me and The Adventure Zone, these brothers bring the advice, adventure, and silliness to the stage and there’s no doubt you should be there in S404 at 12:30 when it all begins. OR If fitness and nerdery both hold equal places in your life, you’re gonna want to limber up with Star Wars Yoga at the Family HQ from 1:45 on. Did you know that even before the eclipse, Twilight is SO HOT right now again? Well, even if you didn’t or it isn’t, and you love it, don’t miss Twihard- A Twilight Musical Parody Staged Reading out in S403-AB, which promises ridiculosity on a whole ‘nother level for fans of the vampire saga. OR If classic sci-fi horror and badass women in fiction get you going, make sure you don’t miss 45 Years of Alien with Tom Skerritt and Veronica Cartwight in S404 at 3:30. These acclaimed actors will talk about their time on set and discuss the staying power of the Alien franchise. Once the clock strikes 4, make sure you’re already comfy in line outside the Main Stage, because that’s when The Cast of One Piece takes over - and we’re expecting this panel to bust out the doors. This is your first taste of big panels for the weekend and if you’re not familiar with the process, C2E2 clears panel rooms after most panels, and you’re gonna need to queue at least a half an hour ahead of your preferred panel’s start time if you want to ensure a seat for blockbuster panels like this. Now, you don’t have to wake up early (thank God!) for the 30 Years of Clerks with Kevin Smith & Jason Mewes panel at 5:30 on the Main Stage, but like we’re saying, be parked in the line on the cozy convention center carpet nice and early. We’ve seen these two in panels before and it’s going to be a great time, so bring some weird questions and get some weird answers - just GET THERE ON TIME! OR If you’re a gamer who wants to talk retro, why not consider Memory/Card: A Nostalgic Video Game Conversation in S405B at 6:45 pm. You might just find some new people to co-op with! Finally if you’re the late owl sort, why not attend the inaugural C2E2 prom on the Main Stage at 8pm which celebrates 15 years of Fantasy here in Chicago and will give you a chance to make nerdier memories than perhaps you did at your senior prom. OR Hop on over to Cyanide & Happiness After Hours in S402B when they live play Master Dater! Then go to bed, you crazy kids, cuz it’s about to start all over again on SATURDAY! SATURDAY, APRIL 27TH: Star Wars Fans of all ages - Saturday’s your time to get up early! 10 Years of Star Wars: Rebels features Hera Syndulla, Taylor Gray and Steve Blum all talking about their roles and how the show’s endured over the past 10 years. OR Make sure you remember it’s a local con and stretch out on the weird green grass of The Yard with a cold one from Rev Brew to play Jackbox Games - it’ll run from 11-2 and give you an excuse to drink and people watch while also supporting your local breweries, game devs and cons. We’re a fan of this plan! Animation fans (especially those who love Pickle Rick and Szhechuan sauce) should make sure they’re at the Main Stage at noon on Saturday for The Cast of Rick & Morty panel, so they can look back on 10 years of general insanity with Spencer Grammer, Ian Cardoni, Harry Belden, Chris Parnell and Julie Snyder. We expect this to be a big one too, so don’t sleep on it. BUT If you’re into cannibals (?) then Feed Your Fear as The Cast of Hannibal takes the Main Stage at 1:30 with both Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen making appearances to tell tales from behind the scenes and answer fan questions! OR If you’re seeking out more Asian American Stories - make sure to stop by S405A for the Asian American Stories Are About More Than Representation panel, which brings together notable Asian American writers, artists and performers for an important discussion. Retro movie fans get some kicks starting at 3 on the Main Stage with a Spotlight on Christopher Lloyd BUT Choose your own adventure carefully cuz the Darren Criss spotlight is at 3:15 in S404. Take a look, it’s a in a book and you can hang out with Drag Queens for Drag Story Hour Chicago at 4:15- it’s an uplifting all ages community chillout we hate to miss every year - as many times as we can make room in our schedule for it. OR Dig into a quality tabletop adventure with puppets and be incredibly entertained by Pro-GM Sarah Moore from Sarah’s Table on GenConTV. You won’t want to miss this as Sarah embodies joy in gaming and will draw you in with silliness, sweetness and expert DMing to create a unique adventure you can’t have anywhere else. Locals report - and this time you don’t have to go to Berwyn! The Celebration of 45 Years of Svengoolie! Begins at 4:45 at S404. Relive all the bad movies and great puns that have made Rich Koz an icon. Finally, when we say you should make sure you get to the Cosplay Central Crown Championships, we mean it. If you haven’t ever stayed until 7:30 for this show, you’re missing out. This isn’t just a one-convention cosplay contest - this is the culmination of a circuit of such contests from all over the world, and people come to play. You’ll see the best in the region, finals, and then finally, the global championship, and trust us when we say you aren’t ready for the level of amazing cosplay that’s about to hit that Main Stage. DO NOT MISS THIS. SUNDAY APRIL 28TH If you don’t want to be anyone other than who you’ve been tryin’ to be lately - try not to be late to see The Boys of One Tree Hill up in S404. Some of us never got over our time at One Tree Hill and will be sure to grill James Lafferty and Chad Michael Murray on their time on the show (and maybe even Gilmore Girls for Chad…who knows?) BUT If you’re a little shy of cosplay but still keep thinking about debuting a costume one of these days, we encourage you to hit up Starting Cosplay with SheProp in S503B at 12:30. It’ll help you find your footing, give you great tips for starters, and help you build your confidence in who you are and what you want to do so you can slay on the floor at your next con. OR Get a little strange with Maya Hawke, who’ll sit down on the Main Stage at 12:30 to talk about her career from Do Revenge and Asteroid City to, of course, Stranger Things. OR EVEN Go go to S404 to join Amy Jo Johnson and David Yost for The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and get a taste of your 90s childhood all over again. Finally, If wholesome TV is your thing, BELIEVE that you gotta be at the Main Stage at 2:00 pm for The Cast of Ted Lasso featuring Phil Dunster and  Cristo Fernandez. BUT If you’re a voice actor and Disney stan, A Tale as Old As Time: The Voices Behind Beauty and the Beast in S404 at 2:15 might be your cup of tea. Quick update: Paige O'Hara is ill and will not attend this, and is being replaced by the voice of Jasmine. Still, a great time with some fantastic actors from your childhood. Now you know the haps, kids. Take some water, wear comfy shoes, get in line early for panels you can't miss, and bring some snacks because it's gonna be a full weekend of nerdery and you're gonna need to keep fueled for it! See you on the floor, Chicago!

If you like soulslike games, Another Crab’s Treasure is one of the more unconventional ones. It has a cute, stylized art style that doesn’t fit in with the traditionally dark and gritty tone many soulslike games tend to adopt. Don’t get me wrong - it has all of the hallmarks of a souls game, just with a bit of a softer edge. Another Crab’s Treasure is a third person action role playing game. In it, you take the role of Krill as he hunts for the shell that was taken from him. It’s a pretty big deal since it’s his home, and that’s where he lives. Or at least he thinks so as he takes up arms against anything that stands in his way. But there’s a deeper corruption spreading through the ocean that’s affecting most of the life under the sea, turning it aggressive and mean. Not only does this give you more reason to take up arms (or claws), it also makes it so you don’t have to feel bad about all of the people you murder. While Another Crab’s Treasure is a soulslike, it's almost like a soulslike with training wheels. Combat is a little simplified since there is no stamina to worry about depleting. But all of the other features you’d expect a soulslike game to have are there: bonfires, respawning enemies, shortcuts, experience that is dropped at the spot of your death, etc. Developer Aggro Crab didn’t really do much to change up the formula. What makes Another Crab’s Treasure special is in its execution: its characters, humor, and setting. Most soulslike games take themselves so damn seriously, but Another Crab’s Treasure is funny and often cute, making it stand out amongst its peers. Why offer more difficulty and darker settings when you can just have a lot of fun? Not that Another Crab’s Treasure isn’t difficult. As with other soulslikes, even the lowliest enemy can be dangerous. It takes memorizing enemy locations and behaviors to survive–especially when fighting bosses. If you die in Another Crab’s Treasure you drop your microplastics and shell where you died. Microplastics serve as the “souls” in Another Crab’s Treasure and can be used  as currency at shops, or to upgrade stats such as strength or vitality. If you die before you can retrieve your body, those plastics are lost forever. Another Crab’s Treasure has a pretty overt message on pollution that remains center stage while never seeming preachy. In fact, the underwater creatures have made a bit of a cargo cult out of the garbage that is thrown into the ocean. There are entire cities built from trash, enemies use trash as weapons and armor, and you even use discarded items as your primary means of defense: your shell. Shells are pretty important in Another Crab’s Treasure.  Each different shell type has its own attributes like weight and special umami power. Heavier shells make it harder to dodge, while light shells allow Krill to be more nimble.Each shell’s umami power can also be important while fighting off enemies. This umami power stands in for spellcasting and can work either offensively or defensively, giving Krill access to special attacks or buffs  Shells also work like shields would in other souls games. Krill can duck into his shell to block attacks. If you time blocks correctly, you can perform a parry. The ability to riposte, however, is locked in a skill tree. The skill tree in Another Crab’s Treasure is divided into four main disciplines, each with two branches. You don’t really have to worry about specializing, as there seems to be plenty of crystal shards around,which is the currency you use to upgrade your skills. The different skills change how you play Another Crab’s Treasure–whether you want to focus on offensive versus defensive skills, etc. There aren’t different weapons in Another Crab’s Treasure–all you have is your trusty fork. This fork can be upgraded to do more damage, and it can even be turned into a “hammer” through skill points. However, don’t expect to find an array of weaponry for Krill to use, because he’s stuck with his fork. As you upgrade the fork it transforms from a rusted piece of junk to something shiny and deadly. Skills, upgrades, and new shells aren’t the only way to make Krill capable of taking on stronger foes. You can slot in passive upgrades called stowaway. They’re only active as long as you’re wearing a shell, but they can bestow some pretty powerful buffs. And with the right skills, you can create some synergies that make the difficulty of Another Crab’s Treasure pretty trivial. If you don’t want a challenge, however, there are ways to play Another Crab’s Treasure without going through all of the frustration. There are a wide range of assist options that let you change many aspects of the game to make the gameplay more palatable. You can even give Krill a gun! There isn’t just combat in Another Crab’s Treasure. Another very un-soulsike feature is the inclusion of jumping and a wide array of jumping challenges. Krill even has a fish line that allows him to traverse up designated areas, making Another Crab’s Treasure feel a bit like Sekiro at times. Aggro Crab might not be widely known, but they should be - they put out great games with an even better sense of humor. They just keep having bad luck with release timing. Back in 2020 they released a fantastic roguelike game called Going Under, which happened to be the same year that Hades hit version 1.0. Now with this soulslike game dropping on the heels of No Rest For the Wicked, it might be another case of bad timing. Another Crab’s Treasure is my favorite non-Fromsoftware soulslike game. It’s unashamed to be a soulslike while also adding its own spin on presentation. I absolutely loved my time with the game, and would recommend it to those who have played soulslike games for years or those looking to get their feet wet for the first time. Another Crab's Treasure is available tomorrow for PC via Steam and on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series S|X and PlayStation 4 as well as PlayStation 5. A Steam key was provided to us for this review

The early Atari consoles–especially the 2600–were home to a lot of games that are undeniable classics. They’re just not really played anymore because they’re so “simple.” A lot of these games were boiled down to the most basic gameplay elements, with few bells and whistles–which was mostly due to technological limitations at the time. Lunar Lander was such a classic, and it gets an update with the new Lunar Lander Beyond update. The original Lunar Lander was simple: you had to land your craft within a certain time limit and without running out of fuel. Hitting the ground too fast would result in failure, and with gravity constantly fighting against you, it was a test of patience and skill. Lunar Lander Beyond is surprisingly faithful to its roots, but it makes a few baffling decisions which take away from the fun. In Lunar Lander Beyond your goal is much the same as in Lunar Lander–you have to navigate your ship while working under simulated Newtonian gravity. That means when you let off of the thruster you’ll still be traveling in the direction you were thrusting unless you change the direction of the thrust or hit something. Hitting a wall in Lunar Lander Beyond doesn’t cause instant death–instead it gives your ship a bit of damage (based on how hard you hit the object) and your pilot suffers a bit of a mental toll that is measured in sanity–and I think this is where Beyond loses itself. The sanity meter in Lunar Lander Beyond ruins the entire game for me. If you take too much damage your pilot will eventually go insane with “space madness” and eyeballs and mouths start to appear as pink elephants replace other objects. It’s all very cute, and would have been fun for a level or two. But to have it as a main mechanic breaks the game for me. Not only that, but the sanity level carries over for your pilot. So if you make a lot of mistakes in one level, you’ll have to send that pilot off to get mentally reevaluated, which puts them out of capacity for four missions. It's too bad, because there was a lot of potential here. Crew management can be fun if handled well, and the idea between gathering a fleet of different ships, each with their own handling characteristics attracted me.  You can also gather new pilots with their own experience bar and sanity meter. They also get new traits as they complete more missions and gain experience. It doesn’t help that Lunar Lander Beyond can be a bit frustrating to play. There are some power-ups you can equip your ship with that can help out a bunch–like the one that allows you to come to a complete stop, or another that shields your ship and gives you invulnerability as long as you hold down the button. The only problem is each of these abilities use up precious fuel. You can grab new fuel during missions, but it’s still a vital commodity. Once you’re out of fuel you’ll drift until you eventually explode. No fun. Actually “no fun” is the biggest problem I had with Lunar Lander Beyond. Which is too bad, because it's more than just a neonified reskin of an older game. The art and story were done with care. And while some of the art tends to look a little flat, I enjoyed the overall aesthetic. That said, I did not enjoy the imagery that comes up with a maxed out sanity meter–not because it was disturbing, but because it’s just so damn corny. Lunar Lander Beyond had some real potential, especially with its varied objectives. It changed up gameplay enough from level to level to make it interesting: sometimes you’re tasked with just landing, other times your goal is to intercept asteroids to protect a colony, or to pick up survivors and successfully drop them off later. It’s just not enough to combat the real issues I have with Lunar Lander Beyond. I wish I could be recommending Lunar Lander Beyond, but it just has had too many baffling decisions made during its development to ever come out as a good game. I wouldn’t think it would be hard to mess up such a tried and true concept, but here we are. You’re better off just finding a Lunar Lander clone online and playing it out of your web browser. Lunar Lander Beyond comes out tomorrow for PC via Steam, Xbox Series S|X, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. A Steam key was provided to us for this review

Ion Fury was a surprise when it was released: a NEW game made entirely in the Build engine? Sure, it was a modified version of that engine, but that’s still impressive. Now, it looks like Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison–the protagonist from Ion Fury–has made it to the fifth generation of video game consoles with Phantom Fury. Phantom Fury is a first person retro shooter–or “boomer shooter” as they’re more widely known. While it looks like it’s made with the Quake engine, developer Slipgate Ironworks opted to go for Unreal Engine 4 instead, and made it up to look like a modified Quake engine. Not as impressive as using an ancient engine to make a new game, but the results are probably better this way. You once again take control of Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison (I don’t think anyone calls her Bombshell) as she wreaks havoc across multiple levels, this time fighting the GDF as she chases down a macguffin that shares a name (and nothing else) with a real world object:The Demon Core. Harrison is a badass (obviously) and this time around she has a few new tools at her disposal. One of the main ones is her new robot arm. This arm enables Shelly to punch objects apart and pummel people into gibs. It also gives her a snazzy shield you can use to deflect projectiles–something that comes in handy when you’re surrounded by enemies, a situation you’ll find yourself in quite often. You can choose new abilities at special kiosks, where you can also upgrade your Ion Suit (once you acquire it) and your weapons. There is an entire arsenal at your disposal in Phantom Fury. The usual suspects for any boomer shooter are here: shotgun, assault rifle, sniper rifle analogue (Ion Crossbow in this case), etc. And while there are a few wackier weapons thrown in (as is old shooter tradition) none of the weapons really stand out. Sure, they’re fun enough to shoot, but nothing feels very powerful, making the gunplay feel a bit flat at times. Which is a bummer, because that’s one of the game’s main attractions. Even as enemies were flying past in gibs, Phantom Fury felt like it lacked impactful combat. The level design in Phantom Fury is a mixed bag. Most of my gameplay time was spent trying to find where to go next. The game is a pixel hunt in the worst definition, with important objects hidden away unless you're scouring every inch of every room. The signposting is done horribly, as I was lost most of the time I played. Which is too bad, because there are some truly creative levels. Instead of being a straight corridor shooter, Phantom Fury throws a few puzzles at you here and there. One of my favorite levels was also one of the most frustrating for me. It requires you to power sections of a facility while turning the power off in others to find a way forward. It’s very clever, but I often found myself in long stretches of frustrating searches instead of running around and gibbing bad guys. The enemy variety in Phantom Fury is decent. There are soldiers with guns that shoot at you, with a few different varieties: some have shotguns, others will try to freeze you with a cryo gun, etc. The AI is also pretty aggressive, as enemies will actively try to flank you and get behind you. There are also small flying enemies, zombie-like enemies, etc. I enjoyed playing through Phantom Fury–it’s a capable shooter that is a great throwback to the fifth generation (ish) of video games. It has a great variety of enemies, interesting and varied levels, lots of guns and fun upgrades to work towards. I just wish weapons felt a little bit more powerful, and that levels had better signposting so you can find where you have to go next, and get back in the action sooner rather than running around looking for a tiny key you might have missed. Still, if you liked Ion Fury and enjoy boomer shooters, Phantom Fury is highly recommended. Phantom Fury is out tomorrow for PC via Steam. A Steam key was provided for this review

If you’re a fan of Wes Anderson, especially Fantastic Mr. Fox, you might be looking at Harold Halibut and thinking, “wow, that looks really charming.” You’d be right. Harold Halibut is charming as hell - which, apparently, is a prerequisite for something that's stop motion animated.  I’m just not sure it’s a very fun game. To be fair, it advertises itself as more of an interactive narrative adventure. And that’s exactly what it is. If you go in expecting not much else you might still be turned away by its tedium, however. In Harold Halibut you play as the hapless, titular protagonist. He has a heart of gold and the demeanor of a child. You can’t really blame him: he’s been raised since birth in a spaceship that is trapped underwater, on a planet with an inhospitable atmosphere. The Fedora I set off from a dying earth to run into problems of its own–and only to find out later that Earth was just fine after all. But at least they have a home to return to now: and that’s the impetus for the story in Harold Halibut. I mean, once the story finally gets going–which takes a fair amount of playtime. The Fedora I has a limited launch window, and only 90 days to come up with a power source to be able to launch it back into space and towards home. That’s when a fishy alien comes into Harold’s life that might have the answers the crew is looking for. Harold Halibut is barely a game. It’s an adventure game through and through, and while there are a few minigames to partake in, it has minimal gameplay. You walk around, talk to people and usually fetch things for them. There’s a lot of fetching. So much fetching, in fact, it made Harold Halibut hard for me to play. Most of the gameplay feels like padding for a story that would take less than two hours to tell in any other medium. I would argue that Harold Halibut would almost be better off as a movie. But I can’t deny there are things that make Harold Halibut great, like its strange charm. There’s this prevailing British-ness to the whole game that makes everything seem quaint and whimsical. It’s like you’re seeing the world through Harold’s slightly dim, but innocent perspective. Harold is a character that is dumped on by others because he is a bit unkempt, a little slow, and has little prestige as a maintenance worker. Harold is very much the sort that just does what he is told and goes with the flow. Eventually he finds, and later befriends, an alien creature named Weeoo. Weeoo lives in a society where everything is shared, and this leaves them open to easy exploitation by the Allwater Corporation, which has an agenda of its own. If you go into Harold Halibut hoping for puzzles like you would find in traditional point and click adventures, there are none of those. You have a PDA that tells you what to do and where to go, but that’s about it. You wander around and have conversations with the strange denizens of the Fedora I as they grapple with their own personal and professional issues. There are a few people trying to look out for their own self interest, but most of the citizens in the Fedora I are just living out their strange existence the best they can. Harold Halibut has a painfully slow start, and it never really picks up speed. The entire game is a contemplative, sometimes poignant, often silly look at normal people living under strange circumstances. But it’s never really funny, scary, exciting, etc. It is definitely intriguing, and there was a desire for me to see what happened next–but getting there was an excruciating test of patience. And this is from someone who loves story driven, narrative heavy games. I’m not itching to gun things down in every game I play, but if a game is literally making me fall asleep it’s not the experience I’m looking for. But that doesn’t mean Harold Halibut is a bad game. It’s very impressively constructed. The stop motion animation is brilliant. It has fantastic music, wonderful sound design, and great voice acting through its diverse set of characters. I just wish it didn’t bore me so damn much. But your mileage may vary–if you want to play a beautifully made, delightful adventure game Harold Halibut is a delight. Harold Halibut is available now for PC via Steam and on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. A Steam key was given to us for this review.

Superhero media might be on the way out, but don't fret about having nothing to watch: video game movie and TV shows are starting to take their place. A few years ago it would have been hard to find a good video game adaptation, and a decade ago it was impossible. Now series like The Last of Us are bringing in numbers that will inevitably bring in those trying to follow that success. Fallout began production too early to be accused of following the newest trend, but another great adaptation that adds to the argument. Unlike The Last of Us, however, Fallout isn’t a retelling of a story that was already told in-game. Rather, much like a tie-in, Fallout is its own story. In fact, it’s a continuation of the game’s narrative, technically tacking place after Fallout 4–which is the game’s last mainline title. And the actions in the TV show have an impact on the world of Fallout. You don’t necessarily need knowledge of Fallout’s lore, but it really helps. It feels like Fallout isn’t really made for a general audience. Instead it was made for those who already have a familiarity with the games. Factions, concepts, technologies and more are all thrown out at the viewer with little to no explanation. Some of the things that are shown are self explanatory, even if they’re a bit strange. But if you are a fan of the Fallout games, there will be plenty that you’ll find here. In fact, everything looks the way it should. Even the impossibly bulky power armor retains its video game look. And while it would have been easy to get some mid mod furniture and call it a day, there are all sorts of little nuances and easter eggs that make repeat viewings almost an inevitably. Fallout follows doe-eyed Lucy (Ella Purnell) who sports a strong can-do attitude and the requisite skills (and luck) to see her through some horrific circumstances. Raised from birth to live in underground Vault 33, she has a squeaky clean demeanor and a positive outlook on life foisted on her by her father, Vault Overseer Hank McClean (Kyle McClaughlin). They have an unusual three vault system, where they trade members between vaults to keep the population viable. During one such exchange, raiders get into Vault 33, killing indiscriminately, and taking Lucy’s father hostage. Lucy has to go against the wishes of the Vault and brave the wastelanders to get him back, and in so doing she’ll discover the dark truth. Lucy meets a whole range of characters in her journey. Notably: The Ghoul (played by actor Walter Goggins)–a prewar, post celebrity who has an understandably nihilistic outlook on life, and Maximus (Aaron Moten), a Brotherhood of Steel Squire who watches his Knight die so he can steal his Power Armor. None of the people in the show are innocent, and most of them make incredibly dumb decisions. But making dumb decisions is a staple of Fallout. Not just by individual characters, but by the world at large. One of the main themes throughout the show is that everyone has their own ideas on how to save the world. In fact, this is in brutal display during a fateful meeting with Vault Tech and CEOs of other prominent corporations who have their own ideas of what a post war civilization should look like. And it answers a deep question that has been around since the beginning of the series: what is the purpose of the vaults? There’s even an origin story for the famous Vault Boy–not that one was needed, but I didn’t hate how it ended up. Each of the games in the Fallout universe had similar stakes to the TV show. But none of them had so many revelations–and these were revelations that didn’t have to be earned by lockpicking or hacking terminals. I don’t know if this is necessarily a criticism, but I hope that the TV show will be the catalyst for major change in the greater Fallout universe. With the glimpse of New Vegas–and a cool deathclaw tease–we will see what the next chapter of Fallout has in store. Even if it isn’t renewed as a TV show, I have a feeling that the story will continue in some capacity. But I would love to see season two of Fallout. I have seen some comparisons online to the other popular Amazon Prime show The Boys–and they’re not too far off. Fallout features a mix of serious and absurd, punctuated by some seriously gnarly gore. But none of it feels out of place in Fallout’s absurd and gritty world, never straying too far into farce. Fallout even manages to touch on aspects of the video game’s gameplay that I really enjoy like exploring derelict vaults to find their dark secrets. There’s even a terminal hacking scene that looks straight out of the games but fits right into the context of the show. While the Fallout games have given you some glimpse of prewar life–with Fallout 4 even giving you a chance to play a prewar character as the bombs fall–we never got too much of a look at pre war life until the TV show. In fact, the TV show alternates between the past and the future, showing how events unfolded. There is also a side plot with the goings on in Vault 33 post attacks–and the secret its companion vaults are hiding. I don’t know if there will be a season two of Fallout, but I really hope there will be. This show was like candy to this long time Fallout fan. Maybe we’ll get a tie-in with a new Fallout game–but with nothing announced or on the near horizon, that would be too long for me to wait. In the meantime, you can check out Fallout 4’s next gen update which is finally coming out later this month. Fallout is available to stream on Amazon Prime now.

Video games often fall into predetermined categories or genres–it’s not very often that I find something novel. It’s wonderful, then, to play a game that is harder to put into any category. Children of the Sun is a game where you play a sniper–but it’s not really an action game., You’re not dodging enemy attacks, or even sneaking around to avoid detection.  In fact, it’s just as much a puzzle game as it is an action game–it’s about where to place your next shot so you can finish the chain. Children of the Sun is described as a “tactical puzzle shooter” on its Steam Store page and I don’t think I can put it any better than that. You play as a young woman on a path of vengeance against the cult that ruined her life, and led to her parents’ demise. It’s told in a style that has to be inspired by Mork Borg–a tabletop role-playing game that was popular a few years back. It not only matches the visual style of that game, but also fits it tonally: You play as THE GIRL as she takes on THE CULT with the ultimate goal of defeating THE LEADER. The story is told in flashbacks as you go merrily onward with your murderous rampage. THE GIRL is not just an ordinary girl, either. She has telekinetic control over the bullet that she shoots. You only get one bullet per level–but that’s all you need.The Sniper Elite series had its famous bullet cam, but in Children of the Sun, you are the bullet. When a bullet is fired in most games it hits (or misses) its target as is spent. In Children of the Sun if you successfully hit a target, you can immediately “shoot” that bullet to the next target. Eventually, you start to be able to control the trajectory of the bullet, and even make it turn around. Each viable target you hit means you can move the bullet to its next location. Hit something other than a target that’s fleshy or explode-y, and you fail the level, having to start again.The difficulty isn’t just hitting targets, but maintaining the continuous chain. It’s the strangest sniper game I've ever played, and actually plays on the strength that a video game would allow over a simulation of the real thing. Because, let’s face it: being a sniper in real life is kind of boring, and requires a surprising amount of math. Enemies in Children of the Sun don’t fight back–and even if they could they wouldn’t stand a chance. All of the action happens in moments from their perspective, even though time moves in slow motion for THE GIRL. Save for one level that has you driving a car, there is no threat to your character unless you manage to aim the bullet back at yourself–which is hilariously possible. That doesn’t mean enemies don’t pose challenges–some are armored, carry shields, are moving, or have telekinetic abilities of their own. All of these different enemy types require different strategies. Children of the Sun is something that I feel like I would come across on itch.io or one of the indie video game parties I used to cover. It’s violent, but in a stylized way. Aesthetically, Children of the Sun pleases me greatly. It has a  lo-fi art house style that I’m totally into. Its gameplay is unconventional–and it gets changed up often enough through its play time that it never overextends its welcome. In fact, Children of the Sun is able to be played in a few hours. Its levels are challenging, but not impossibly hard, so if you want more you can always challenge yourself to climb the leaderboards. I’m not sure if Children of the Sun is going to create any big splashes–but it's definitely worth prying yourself away from Helldivers II to play through. It's a game unlike any I’ve ever played before, and that’s getting increasingly difficult to say. Children of the Sun is available today on Steam

Typically my physical media attention in April is reserved for Record Store Day, but I can't deny the all the fun video releases this month. Of course there are offerings from the usually excellent Criterion lineup (I'm a 4K upgrade, but they are coming fast and furious from them) and a slew of stuff from Indicator, Radiance, Severin, Kino and more! You can see a good chunk of the upcoming releases over at Blu-Ray.com's site! Marvel Cinematic Universe Steelbooks - April 2nd With Mondo now fully a part of the Funko machine, I think we're going to see a lot more of these specialty steelbooks for MCU films. These Walmart exclusive releaset are not typically the kind of releases I'm searching out but the art on the covers is gorgeous and I'm actually a fan of this era of the MCU (pre-Endgame which I enjoyed, but was the first time I felt a pandered to a little too heavily). These have been out in the wild well before their intended release date, so head to your local Walmart, who is strangely one of the last bastions of mass market physical media, and get them if they float your boat. Nostalghia - April 22nd I'm a huge fan of Andre Tarkovosky and Nostalghia is near the top if not the top of my ranking of his films. The movie is a gorgeous meditation on the nature of nostalgia, art, culture and so much more. Filled with slow and methodical takes that bled reality with the dream world, Nostalghia is a beautiful film and an essential work of art from Tarkovsky. Basket Case - April 29th Basket Case is one of those movies that has always held some sort of grand, albeit crusty, lore. A mainstay of old school creature features with sequels that go in completely different directions than it's original, Basket Case just feels special. The story of a boy and his deformed formerly conjoined twin brother that fits in a small picnic basket looking for the doctor that separated them is chock full of the weirdness you could hope for. It's strange, entertaining, and a fun watch. Madame Web - April 30th I'm at odds with this one. Madame Web is not a good movie by any means and supporting this release could teach Sony the wrong lesson about making these alternate spider-man universe even more of a thing. It'll be the Morbin Time meme again where they re-released Morbius because people making fun of it were making the film trend on Twitter. And much like Twitter, physical media purchasing is not equivalent to mainstream interest. But I also think this is a fun party movie that is perfect for a laugh, drinking game, and more. So the question arises, grab the goofy steelbook edition or wait till it inevitable falls into the bargains bins across the world?

Some attribute the Star Trek renaissance of recent times to the arrival of Michael Burnham, Saru, Georgiou et al on the USS Discovery. To be sure it was full of lens flare, new Klingons and a lot of heart. Since that time, we’ve seen the arrival of even more great Trek, with Picard continuing the TNG journey (and bringing back Voyager’s Seven of Nine in a major badass way), we’ve met the amazing crew of the USS Cerritos with Lower Decks, and we’ve indulged in a mid-mod TOS fantasy with Strange New Worlds just admiring Anson Mount’s hair and enjoying the OG feel of it all. My experience with Star Trek Discovery has been a mixed one. Much like Voyager, I loved the crew, with some major favorites being Tilly, Stamets, and Booker, but I felt like some seasons were a lot stronger than others, and the writing could be uneven at times. Still, I have a lot of love for the series, and hate to see it as maligned as it often is by the larger Trek community. When we left off in season 4, we’d narrowly avoided another “the weapon” situation - the DMA, which was, you guessed it, about to obliterate Earth (and Ni’Var). Quite a few main characters, including a few of my favorites, faced some real peril while negotiating with a species that only used hydrocarbons to communicate (or mostly used them…) and in the end, the species vowed to make amends for all the other civilizations they erased from existence. It’s not super clear what the fifth season will bring, other than the end to Discovery, but we did get a chance to peek at the brand new poster for the final series, and we’ve got a release date coming on April 4th to set our DVRs for. Lorca, Georgiou, Burnham, Saru, Tilly, Stamets, Culber and that crew have been through a lot, and I’m hoping that like we saw with Picard Season 3, it’s wrapped up in a way that pays homage to the show that kicked off the new era of Trek.

I’m a sucker for Nintendo games, so when I saw Princess Peach: Showtime! pop up during during a Nintendo Direct, I knew that I’d play it. Coming off the heels of the Barbie movie and more “girl” centered content, Princess Peach: Showtime! is another example of great timing from Nintendo. And it turns out it’s a pretty fun game, too. Princess Peach: Showtime! is an action adventure game with some puzzle elements starring Nintendo royalty Princess Peach (or Princess Toadstool if you want to be real old school). This isn’t the first game where you can take control of the princess, but it’s the first modern game that stars her entirely. While this isn’t strictly a Nintendo game–it’s developed by good-feel, who is also responsible for the Yoshi yarn series–it has a lot of that Nintendo game magic. Strangely, it doesn’t feel as tight or as fast as a mainline developed Nintendo games. It’s great taking control of Peach. Sadly, she doesn’t have her signature glide when she jumps – but Showtime! isn’t really about platforming anyhow. It’s about taking up arms against your enemies. This time she’s run into a fairy creature called Stella that urges her towards murder. Now, I don't want to get into Stella’s murderous influence too much, because Peach herself seems to take naturally to wielding arms as easily as she can decorate a cake. But she’s not completely helpless in her “vanilla” princess peach form, either. She can use Stella to imbue sparkle energy to energize theatre denizens (called Theets) into action. Peach takes stage as multiple different characters. She has to fulfill the roles of the Sparklas that have been taken by Madame Grape. She wields a sword, acts as a stealthy ninja, decorates cakes, is a singing mermaid–and more. In all there are ten different roles Peach takes on through most of the main game. You play each of these forms multiple times, as each has at least three stages to play with varied gameplay between them. While playing as these different versions of Princess Peach is fun, there’s something that is a little bit off about it. It doesn’t feel quite as tight as a mainline Nintendo game. Even so, it’s competently done and quite fun. And if you’re wondering that just because it’s a Princess Peach game that they go easy on the challenge: it doesn’t. Princess Peach: Showtime! gets progressively more difficult as you go through the main story, but is never too punishing. However, if you want to collect all of the optional stars it gets a little harder. Each level has a number of stars you can collect. You get these stars by either finding them where they’re hidden, or earning them through doing well during gameplay segments. Sometimes the bar for getting a star can be pretty high– for example, making one wrong move in the figure skating section can invalidate the entire performance and remove the precious star from your endgame performance. You can even lose hearts if you do poorly, too. If you run out of hearts you have to start the level over or from a checkpoint, losing coins in the process. Coins are used to purchase new dresses for Peach and ribbons for Stella, which makes it a bummer to lose them–but the penalty is never terrible. You also earn new dresses as you progress through the game–and the dresses you earn are often cooler  than the ones you can buy. Ultimately, I wish there were more collectibles–especially more fashion choices to deck out Peach and Stella. Peach does play quite a bit of dress-up anyhow though, as each role demands an appropriate outfit. My biggest disappointment was the lack of variety in gameplay. Over half of Peach’s abilities are combat related – and even though these are different enough to keep them interesting, they’re all pretty button-mashy. Only the ninja requires more thoughtful gameplay, and even then it's easy to get around stealthily to dispatch your foes. I just wish there more puzzle-based modes. And I’d love an entire game that was based around the detective mode. I really liked my time with Princess Peach: Showtime! Peach deserves her own series of games, and I'm hoping this might be the first of many. Not only is she adorable, but Peach can kick some ass, too. I would have liked a few more non-combat forms, but overall there is a decent variety to its gameplay. As someone who grew up playing as Mario, finally playing as Peach in her own AAA game feels great.

I've been a fan of Sleater Kinney for a very long time. Long enough that my heart was broken after The Woods (probably my favorite album of theirs) where they announced an indefinite hiatus. At the time I had never seen them live and the chance felt like it had slipped through my fingers forever. Thankfully in 2015 they returned right from where they left off with No Cities to Love, another album I hold in high regard from their illustrious discography. In the subsequent years I've seen as much as I can, correcting the errors of my youth. Last week at The Riviera Theatre was the latest in hopefully long list of a lot more fantastic shows from them to come. Opening up that evening was Black Belt Eagle Scout, setting the bar enormously high for the night. Led by Katherine Paul, the band was immediately in tune with the crowd and venue, dominating the stage in a way I had not experience from them before. I've had the chance to see Black Belt Eagle Scout a few time before in smaller venues like Schubas and outdoor an outdoor set at Pitchfork. While things clicked during those sets, they just catapulted into another level at The Riviera. Tracks like "My Blood Runs Through This Land" off their latest album The Land, the Water, the Sky burst forth with a visceral energy from the group, really leaving a mark on the crowd. The whole setlist was loud and powerful, really amping the crowd up for what was to come. I was already a fan but this set cemented that feeling. Sleater Kinney made their way to the stage with all the energy in the room feeling just right. Their stage set up with curtain archways illuminated with colorful lights made the already grand night fell all the more grand. Touring in support of their latest album Little Rope, Sleater Kinney were at the top of their game. Immediately Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker were overflowing with energy. The pair work so well in tandem as the trade between their intense vocals and absolutely killer guitar riffs. "Hell" and Needlessly Wild" ushered the set in and the quality never let up. There's just so much history with Sleater Kinney that surely some songs were not gonna get the spotlight on this show. Little Rope, which is a fantastic album, definitely got it's due with most of the album getting played. In second came The Woods, much to my glee as "Jumpers" got a nice moment with the band as Brownstein thanked the crowd for dancing and jumping along to the track. There were also plenty of early tracks that had the crowd go nuts with in moments of the song starting . "Start Together" and "All Hands on the Bad one in particular got huge pops from the Sleater Kinney devotees The highlight of the night came at toward end of their set where Sleater Kinney rattled off hit after hit. The boisterous and downright explosive The Woods opener "The Fox" surged through the crowd, giving them a second wind to appreciate the No Cities to Love single "A New Wave". That sequence of songs really had the crowd at their most unraveled before getting them into a complete and utter trance with "Modern Girl", another favorite off The Woods. The gentle and loving pace of "Modern Girl" was pleasant reprieve from the energetic set, letting the crowd singalong with Tucker and Brownstein. While the song's saccharine lyrics may have been poking fun at one dimensional songs, you can't help but indulge in its aura. The encore kept the great vibes going with a pretty perfect lineup of songs ("Good Things", Say It Like You Mean It", "Dig Me Out", and "Entertain"), but it was always going to be hard to top the overwhelming communal joy of "Modern Girl". An astounding moment in a fantastic night with Sleater Kinney. All photos by Julian Ramirez. This article was originally published at Third Coast Review.com

Our writer Julian Ramirez is a big proponent of physical media, always lauding formats new and old (mostly old nowadays). Whether is vinyl, cassettes or CDs; 4k UHD, Blu-ray, or VHS, he believes that physical media is an important part of preserving art and imbues another dimension of appreciating the work.  This series will focus on some of his favorite pieces of physical media in his collection. We're a few weeks removed from the opening of Dune Part Two and it completely blowing everyone's minds. The film is such a great adaptation, infusing Frank Herbert's complex and disastrous world with Denis Villeneuve's streamlined vision. I'm sure there are a lot of detractors from Villeneuve's authoritarian and borderline sterile directing vision, but I'm pretty satisfied with the result. But for those seeking out something a little more..."faithful" and out right weird, there are other adaptions of Herbert's opus. You can track down the Sci-Fi channel's Frank Herbert's Dune, maybe dive into the documentary of what could have been in Jodorowsky's Dune (or the eventual place where these ideas resided in The Incal), but today we're getting hit in the face with a lemon wrapped around a golden brick (oops, wrong sci-fi epic reference) with David Lynch's Dune. David Lynch's Dune gets the full 4K Arrow set work up. The collection is massive and filled with all the goodies you've come to expect from one of their releases. The film in both 1080p and 4K presentations give you a fantastic look at all the borderline insane visuals and a stacked list of featurettes and documenteries. Outside the discs there is a double sided poster of some incredible art, miniature lobby cards depicting scenes from the film, and a booklet that may be the star of the non-video extras. The booklet features essays give great insight into the long life the film has come to have, the sound which is utterly incredible as it usually is in Lynch's films , and a a copy of the original Dune Terminology sheet that was distributed wit h the original release of the film to help those unfamiliar with all the Frank Herbert Dune-isms. Now, let's not get it twisted, David Lynch's Dune is not "traditionally" "good". It unfortunately ventures into the so bad it's good territory. There's a few reasons for that. Firstly is that Lynch is undeniably a creator who exists in his own world. Meaning his work is so unconditionally his that it can be difficult to grasp if your not prepared for it. Look at other very distinct film makers like Wes Anderson and Yorgos Lanthimos. You cannot watch one of their films and not be immediately struck by how their characters speak, act, move, etc. They are of their own dimension, fully immersed in something that may seem fair but is fairly alien. Such is the case with Lynch and when you try to attribute that wholehearted style to something that doesn't align with it, you get some pretty startling cognitive dissonance. Secondly, Dune is massive. The Sci-Fi channel had their hearts in the right place with a miniseries length runtime to give the book it's due. Villeneuve split the film across two movies with a total runtime of 5 hours. Even Lynch wanted his film to be a 4+ hour epic, but studio needs requested a 2.5 hour long film. Even with a budget of $40 million (which at the time was insane), it still did not make up for a shoddily cut film. Dune is a product of it's time in every way possible. With its massive budget there are moments when the film looks utterly beautiful. Strange and detailed costumes, sets that look ornate and full of history, and special effects that let you get lost in their unnaturalness. But its a double edged sword as some costumes look like literal trash bags, some set flimsy and disorderly, and the body shields are quite frankly terrible even for the time. But what's good about the film rises high above the bad. The overall look of the sets and costumes are astonishing and so fully realized. Miniatures are used with perfect precision and give the film an epic look. The themes of identity, fate, and other of Lynch's obsessions are shown in full force. The film is filled with so many ideas that would permeate throughout his entire filmography. From imagery being overlaid over each other for other worldly effects, uncomfortable body horror, and amazing soundtrack. Whether you're a fan of Lynch or not, the film is worthy of a watch. The full Arrow set is out of print, but the film is still available at places like directly from Arrow, Diabolik, Target, Amazon and more . Or you can stream it on Max, but I still urge you to support physical media!