Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2075

IZOMBIE: Liv Leans on Sock Puppets

Warning: This recap contains spoilers, undead and otherwise, for the iZombie episode “Dirt Nap Time.” Go find some brains to eat if you haven’t watched yet.

Pretend I’m pulling out a sock puppet to tell you about the latest iZombie. Liv ate some preschool teacher brains, and the outlook she received from the snack put the world into black and white perspective in “Dirt Nap Time.”

But let’s catch up on non-Liv personality notes first. I have to give it to little Don E. His handling of the zombie speakeasy has been smart. The entry test, for example, is perfect. Those interested in gaining admission have to eat a ghost pepper. I have a hunch a human other than Major will eventually find his or her way in though, and that will be an interesting day. Anyway, it’s a cool new hangout spot, which every CW series needs in bar or coffee shop form. It would be cooler if Don E. would fess up to swiping the cure, which I still believe he was responsible for.

Another brewing mystery: the guy who confessed to killing the dominatrix was apparently forced to do so. When Peyton got close to getting the last piece of evidence, he killed himself. I can’t tell if it’s about zombies or the remnants of Mr. Boss’ organization, but I like having a B plot in play.

The Meal

Liv turned Jamie’s brain into the kind of snack you’d make for a small child or for an adult with the palate of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore (no judgment–I am envious of the junk food diet on Gilmore Girls). She chopped the brain into slices and put it on bread with peanut butter and jelly. Then she squished the bread slightly and turned the combo into a sushi roll. PB&J sushi. If a food truck sold it, you know you’d try it, without the brains, obviously.

This meal is definitely an example of one fitting the personality of the former brain owner.

Liv

Being a teacher of young children (or any children, probably) means being patient. If you lose your temper, you make kids cry and end up with an unhappy parent asking for a parent-teacher conference. None of those results are ideal. Jamie was the king of patience. He was beloved by kids and his superiors; they thought he was their best teacher. Unfortunately, he was also a womanizer and had affairs with multiple mothers every school year. Eww. So, Liv ended up with a combo of patient, flirty brains.

She manifested more of the teacher aspects of the brain, and some of the traits were infuriating–probably because I’ve known teachers like this. Do you have any friends or relatives who are teachers for preschool to middle school? They can have a hard time turning off when they’re not in the classroom. This means clear, slow explanations about everything; it usually comes off as patronizing.

On Jamie’s brain, Liv was friendly and helpful. She distilled conflict to its basic components, which isn’t the worst thing. She wasn’t afraid to stop interrogations to call suspects out for being unkind and negative. I’d be okay picking up the quality to use in my own life, instead of only ignoring people who are jerks. If Liv thought the situation required a little help, she pulled out a sock puppet she made. Sock puppets make any information easier to digest. That’s just a fact.

In addition to being overenthusiastic (which was too much for me) and focused on learning, there was one especially positive trait Liv absorbed: she saw the best in everyone. She rewarded good behavior–I so hope Clive left her sticker system in his notebook–and uplifted those around her with compliments and encouragement. Those tendencies were especially charming when she went on a date with Justin while on teacher brain.

Side note: I thought Liv and Major were getting back together? Why is he hooking her up with his buddy?

Did teacher brain drive anyone else insane? If I were Clive I would have called in sick. Head to the comments and let me know your thoughts about the episode.

Images: The CW

David Fincher Directs Bishop’s Head in ALIEN 3 Behind-the-Scenes Video

This week, Alien: Covenant is keeping the long-running Alien franchise alive with a new installment from director Ridley Scott. But this month is also the 25th anniversary of Alien 3, the film that was originally meant to close out the franchise with the dramatic fate of Ellen Ripley. Alien 3 followed James Cameron’s incredibly popular Aliens, and it served as the directorial debut of David Fincher. Now, fans have been given the opportunity to see Fincher in action on the set of Alien 3 in newly released footage.

Via Gizmodo, studioADI posted a video that shows Fincher directing an animatronic puppet with the likeness of Lance Henriksen‘s Bishop. You may recall that Bishop was an android who was torn in half by a Xenomorph queen in Aliens, which accounts for his appearance in this film. The intriguing thing about this footage is that Fincher is less concerned with the technical aspects of the puppet, and more focused on the performance.

It’s interesting to note that Henriksen’s lines appear to have been pre-recorded for his scenes as Bishop, and at one point, the camera actually reveals where the puppeteer is positioned below this animatronic creation. Remember, this movie was made before CGI became commonplace in films and TV. The puppet may not be 100% convincing, but it does have a certain sense of reality to it. That may be part of the reason why Fincher was so adamant about treating this session like a performance rehearsal rather than a technical exercise.

What did you think about the Alien 3 behind-the-scenes clip? Shout “action!” in the comment section below!

How acidic is Xenomorph blood?

Image: 20th Century Fox

GOLDEN GIRLS Edition of CLUE Coming Soon

Although those legendary senior citizens from South Florida known as The Golden Girls were recently robbed — ROBBED I tell you — of their shot at getting their very own LEGO (set despite many fan votes), it seems they are getting their very own edition of the classic board game Clue very soon.

Yes, just announced via USAopoly, you will soon be able to play as Dorothy, Rose, Blanche, and Sophia and try to solve the unspeakable crime of “WHO ate the last piece cheesecake, WHAT they left at the scene of the crime, and WHICH room they did it in.”

Clue has had many media tie-in versions in the past, and this new Golden Girls edition joins an esteemed club of other beloved pop culture properties who have had their own special tie-in editions of the game, like The Simpsons, Harry Potter, Scooby-Doo, and even Disney’s Haunted Mansion. The ’80s NBC classic won’t be the first sitcom to get an edition of Clue all their own however, as it joins shows like The Office and The Big Bang Theory.

Seeing as how the ladies don’t live in a mansion but a suburban home, the rooms where the crime took place are limited to the ladies’ four bedrooms, the kitchen, the garage (did we ever see a garage on the show??) and, of course, the lanai.

Among the “weapons” used in the execution of this crime, the metal tokens in this version of the game include lipstick, hairspray, a purse, a high heeled shoe, a lounge chair and what looks to be a blouse. It’s good to know if they ever get around to making a Sex and the City edition of Clue, they can pretty much use the same pieces.

And as for my bets who committed this crime? My money’s on Sophia on the lanai, and she snuck the cheesecake out in her purse. You can check out images of the new board game down below in our gallery.

Will you be hosting a “Golden Girls Clue Party” at your house when this comes out? Be sure to let us know down below in the comments.

Images: NBC / Hasbro

HALLOWEEN and IT FOLLOWS Share A Lot of Normal, Suburban Atmosphere

One of my favorite film critics, Mark Kermode, said a couple of years ago that the new age of horror movies are using the films, style, music, and overall vibe of John Carpenter as their base and going from there. He called Carpenter horror’s new “Year Zero,” and with movies like Adam Wingard’s The Guest and more recently the Canadian creature feature The Void, it’s incredibly easy to see where he’s coming from. And perhaps one of the best comparisons to make is how much of the atmosphere of David Robert Mitchell’s 2014 film It Follows comes from Carpenter’s Halloween.

The above video comes from YouTuber Alessio Marinacci, who does several of these film comparisons, and it’s incredible just how much Halloween–with its use of a typical, nondescript suburb at dusk and evening–influenced It Follows. In both instances, the horror comes from a normal, relatively safe setting that become sinister and dangerous when the concept of evil is introduced–an evil that only the main character can see, no less. (In Halloween, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) seems to be the only one of her friends to notice the Shape is everywhere, and in It Follows, Jay Height (Maika Monroe) literally is the only one who can see It.)

There are certainly more overt similarities between them–from the steady, plodding nature of the threat in both movies, to the perceived lack of adults, to that undeniable reading that promiscuity gets you killed and virginity saves you–but I love the way this video showcases the subtler things, because really it’s the quiet moments and seeming safety of the surroundings that truly make these movies scary.

What do you think about Carpenter being the Year Zero for horror these days? Let me know in the comments below!

Images: Dimension Films, Compass International

Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist. He writes the weekly look at weird or obscure films in Schlock & Awe. Follow him on Twitter!

More Halloween? Why sure!

Rancid’s “Telegraph Avenue” Reminds Us They’re Pop-Punk Legends

As time moves on, it’s always weird to start hearing the music that we grew up with playing on classic rock radio. We’re not that old, are we? For example, Rancid has been around since 1991, and even though they don’t sound old to us, they were a part of that punk revival that began 26 or so years ago now.

Eight albums later, they’re still at it, and in fact, they have a ninth, titled Trouble Maker, on the way. You wouldn’t be blamed for calling it a return to the band’s roots, especially since the logo not used since their 1993 self-titled debut is used on this cover. A new single from the album, “Telegraph Avenue,” backs that claim up, since it’s right in line with the catchy pop-punk we’ve come to expect from one of the greatest groups to ever do it.

Trouble Maker comes out on June 9, and the album is available for pre-order on vinyl, CD, and digital formats from the band’s website. It shouldn’t be too hard for most fans to catch the band playing tracks from the new album live, since they’ll be pretty busy touring the world between June and August. They’ll be playing festival fates and shows with Green Day from June to early July, then they’ll join the Dropkick Murphy’s for the Boston To Berkeley North American tour from late July to late August.

Check out the tour dates below, and let us know if you’ll be checking out a show.

Rancid 2017 tour dates

06-04: Holland @ Pinkpop

06-06: Ljubljana, Slovenia @ Arena Stožice

06-09: Switzerland @ Greenfield Festival

06-11: Paris, France @ Download Festival

06-12: Luxembourg @ Rockhal

06-14: Lucca, Italy @ Piazza Napoleone

06-15: I Days, Italy @ Monza Park

06-16: Clisson, France @ Hellfest

06-17: Austria @ Novarock Festival

06-18: Budapest, Hungary @ Sportarena

06-21: Gothenburg, Sweden @ Scandinavium

06-23: Germany @ Hurricane Festival

06-24: Germany @ Southside Festival

06-28: Belfast, UK @ Ormeau Park

06-29: Dublin, Ireland @ Royal Hospital Kilmainham

07-01: London, England @ Hyde Park

07-03: UK @ Sheffield Arena

07-04: Glasgow, UK @ Bellahouston Park

07-07: Madrid, Spain @ Mad Cool Festival

07-08: Spain @ Resurrection Festival

07-27: Bangor, ME @ Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion

07-28: Montreal, QC @ ’77

07-29: Toronto, ON @ Echo Beach

07-30: Cleveland, OH @ Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica

07-31: Sterling Heights, MI @ Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill

08-02: Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE

08-03: Philadelphia, PA @ Festival Pier

08-04: Asbury Park, NJ @ Stone Pony Summer Stage

08-05: Boston @ Brockton, MA @ Brockton Fairgrounds

08-06: Brooklyn, NY @ Ford Amphitheatre at Coney Island Boardwalk

08-08: Chicago, IL @ Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island

08-09: Milwaukee, WI @ BMO Harris Pavilion

08-11: Denver, CO @ Sculpture Park

08-12: Salt Lake City, UT @ Saltair

08-13: Nampa, ID – Idaho Center Amphitheatre

08-15: Vancouver, BC @ UBC Thunderbird Arena

08-16: Seattle, WA @ WaMu Theater at Century Link Field Events Center

08-18: San Luis Obispo, CA @ Avila Beach

08-19: Sacramento, CA @ Memorial Auditorium

08-20: Berkeley, CA – The Greek

08-22: Chandler, AZ @ Rawhide Event Center

08-24: San Diego, CA @ Petco Park In The Park

08-25: Las Vegas, NV @ Downtown Las Vegas Events Center

08-26: San Bernardino, CA @ Glen Helen Amphitheater

Featured image: Anthony Marchitiello

The Reverse-Flash Meets “God” in THE FLASH #22 (Exclusive)

Last weekend, DC announced that Doomsday Clock will bring together the world’s greatest superhero and characters from Watchmen together, but you don’t have to wait until November to see that happen! This week, The Flash #22 is wrapping up a four-part crossover with Batman that brings the Reverse-Flash face-to-face with “God.” And while we don’t get a good look at the almighty in this preview, we’re pretty sure that he’s big, blue, and not a big fan of clothes.

Months ago, Batman discovered that someone had hidden the Comedian’s bloodstained button in the Batcave. Neither Batman nor the Flash fully understood the significance of the button, but it appears to have otherworldly properties that may lead them back to Doctor Manhattan. However, the Reverse-Flash beat up Batman and stole the button from the Batcave…before returning moments later from his own future and immediately perishing. As he died, the Reverse-Flash said that he saw God. In this preview, we get to see how he arrived at that point in time.

Writer Joshua Williamson and artist Howard Porter are wrapping up “The Button” with an insane race through time and space, as the Reverse-Flash ignores the warnings of Batman and the Flash. In fact, the Reverse-Flash even comes up with a new way to torment Barry Allen and destroy the Flash forever. The question is whether he’ll live long enough to make good on that threat.

You can read more pages from the issue in our gallery below, but first, let’s check out Jason Fabok’s cover, which suggests that the original Flash, Jay Garrick, is making his return in this issue.

That would be more comforting if the variant covers by Porter didn’t appear to depict the Rival, an evil speedster who was Garrick’s primary adversary. Perhaps he’ll be the one to return in this issue instead of Garrick.

 

The Flash #22 races into stores tomorrow, May 17.

What do you think will happen in the final part of “The Button.” Enter the Speed Force and share your thoughts below!

Images: DC Comics

Is the Justice League movie in trouble?

T.J. Miller Will Basically Play Boba Fett in the READY PLAYER ONE Movie

We don’t have a lot of info when it comes to the film adaptation of Ernest Cline‘s phenomenal, best-selling novel, Ready Player One. And while we still don’t know much apart from it’s March 30, 2018 release date and some casting info, we have gotten our first glimpse at a character created for the film, played by T.J. Miller. Miller’s casting announcement was made last year, but we finally know more about his character, i-R0k.

There will be spoilers from the book ahead, as well as info and speculation on the Ready Player One film, so read on at your own risk!

Those who have read Cline’s book know that Ready Player One is already an insanely creative story with several interesting characters, focusing on the quest of one character, Wade Watts (aka Parzival), as he searches a sprawling, immersive virtual reality universe called OASIS for Easter Eggs placed by the game’s creator, James Halliday (aka Anorak) to win the deceased Halliday’s giant fortune.

So who is i-R0k? As Miller explained in an article on i09, i-R0k is a huge Star Wars fan who idolizes and wants to be just like Boba Fett. In the world of OASIS, i-R0k does just that, working as a freelance bounty hunter, working for whoever can pay his exorbitant fee. And apparently, i-R0k’s skills are worth the huge price tag. Miller also says i-R0k is the best player in all of OASIS, even better than our heroes in the High Five, Parzival, Art3mis, Diato, Shoto, and Aech. It’s just that i-R0k focuses more on finding marks in-game rather than Halliday’s eggs.

Like Miller himself, i-R0k is a funny guy, but he’s absolutely lethal in OASIS. According to Miller, i-R0k is hired by Sorrento, and we can only assume Sorrento requires i-R0k’s services to kill one or all of the members of the High Five. Given the manner in which Sorrento tirelessly seeks to kill Parzival both in-game and in real life in the book, I’m betting i-R0k is hired to kill our hero, Parzival himself.

Of course, i-R0k’s ultimate goal (apart from a great pay day) is pure speculation at this point. And while it’s always nerve-racking to see a film studio stray from source material that is so excellent and unique on its own, it can absolutely be done well, like we’ve seen most recently with the Hulu adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tail. It sounds like Miller and i-R0k will be fun and exciting addition to the High Five’s quest to unlock all of Halliday’s eggs, and we can’t wait to learn more about him!

What do you think of the T.J. Miller’s new character? Do you think it will add or detract from the film? Let us know in the comments!

Feature Image: HBO

What Does DOOMSDAY CLOCK Mean for WATCHMEN and the DC Universe?

Sunday night, DC made the announcement that Superman will encounter Watchmen’s Doctor Manhattan in a new event series called Doomsday Clock, with Geoff Johns and Gary Frank attached as the creative team. The crossover itself wasn’t a surprise, since it was Johns and Frank who set up that angle in DC Universe: Rebirth # 1 with the discovery of the Comedian’s button in the Batcave. That angle is still playing out in “The Button” within The Flash and Batman monthly series.

Looking back, the door for these latest developments was first opened in 2012 with the launch of Before Watchmen, a series of miniseries designed as prequels to the original tale by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. For almost three decades, no one at DC dared to go near Moore and Gibbons’ masterpiece. But the implication of Doomsday Clock and the larger DC Rebirth stories is clear: Watchmen is no longer untouchable at DC. This is really happening, whether the purists want it or not.

There is a strong argument to be made about keeping Watchmen separate from the rest of the DC Universe. Watchmen is a genuine classic and it doesn’t need a connection to Superman, Batman, or the rest of the DC heroes. It stands on its own. And really, would you crossover Maus with a superhero book? Or Blankets? Or any of the other comic books and graphic novels that have earned critical recognition from outside of the industry?

And yet there is something very intriguing about the conflict that Johns has laid out for Doomsday Clock. Superman is an alien who has always embodied the best of humanity, and he’ll be going up against Doctor Manhattan, a god-like being who has all but given up on his humanity. If it was simply a fight, then it would be over before it began. Doctor Manhattan is simply far more powerful than the Man of Steel. But the thing that makes Superman special is his ability to inspire. If Superman is going to win this battle, it’s going to be with his words and actions, not his fists.

Over his many years in the industry, Johns has demonstrated that he puts a lot of heart into his books. One of the reasons that DC Universe: Rebirth # 1 resonated so deeply was because of the way he and his artistic collaborators depicted the bond between Barry Allen and Wally West. The Watchmen connection was simply the exclamation point. We trust that Johns will tell us a good story, and Frank is among the best artists in the industry. We’re not worried about Doomsday Clock. It’s what comes after that concerns us.

Let’s be clear: Watchmen 2 is a bad idea, but it may happen. Someday, some brave souls will invite comparison to Moore and Gibbons as they try to chronicle the events that took place after Watchmen came to an end. The ambiguity of that particular ending was so powerful that it would be unfortunate to see someone attempt to improve upon it. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t interesting stories to tell within that world. Despite critical misgivings from industry observers, some of the Before Watchmen tales are quite good. Especially the ones by the late Darwyn Cooke. With the right creative teams, that world is worth revisiting.

The thing to avoid is making the Watchmen universe into just another destination in the DC multiverse. Johns seems to understand that, as he told Syfy Wire that Doomsday Clock won’t go the traditional route of chasing every dollar through spinoff miniseries and one-shots. As intriguing as it would be to see the Watchmen characters encounter the original Charlton superheroes that inspired them, we don’t necessarily need to see the Question vs. Rorschach. The concern is that we’d eventually see the Watchmen characters in pointless stories like Countdown: Arena. That miniseries pit so many DC Elseworlds characters against each other that their appearances lost all meaning.

The original Watchmen will always have an important place in comic book history, and not even the worst spinoff idea could ever change that. For now, Watchmen is still special, even if it’s no longer protected in the way that it once was. As long as DC recognizes that and doesn’t oversaturate the characters and their world, then it can remain special. Execution is everything, and even Doomsday Clock is going to have to be great to pull off its ambitions. DC may watch the Watchmen, but we’re watching them.

How do you feel about the integration of Watchmen into the DC Universe? Let’s discuss in the comment section below!

Images: DC Comics

Bart’s Megaphone Prank From THE SIMPSONS Sort of Works!

The eighth season finale of The Simpsons, “The Secret War of Lisa Simpson,” is a memorable one, or at least, it has a particularly memorable scene. Bart’s class goes on a field trip to the Springfield Police Department, and there, he discovers a room filled with megaphones. His curiosity and mischievous nature, as they often do, get the best of him, so he decides to line up a bunch of the megaphones, turn them all on, and see what happens.

In the show, the sound, having been amplified multiple times, creates a sound wave that shatters all of the windows in town. That’s obviously an artistic liberty taken for the sake of the show, but what would actually happen? That’s what The Backyard Scientist wanted to learn, so he set out to recreate the experiment in a recent video.

He ordered ten megaphones and lined them up on a long table at a baseball field. Using a device that measures the volume of sounds, he determined that a single megaphone, as heard from the distance between home plate and the edge of the infield, is between 75 and 80 decibels. After lining all the megaphones up and dealing with all the feedback that process is bound to create, and then talking into the first megaphone, the decibel level didn’t actually change that much, if at all.

That makes total sense: Since the megaphones are only capable of producing sounds at a certain max volume, the audio will only get more compressed as it goes from megaphone to megaphone, but not any louder. What was interesting is that after that experiment, he decided to form a circle with the megaphones, and the resulting feedback loop was super loud, measuring at 120 decibels, which is about the volume of a loud concert.

Watch the experiment for yourself above, watch the original The Simpsons scene below, and let us know in the comments what other Simpsons moments you’d be interested to see recreated in real life.

Featured image: Fox

INJUSTICE 2 is the DC Comics Brawler We Deserve (Review)

Pitting the world’s finest against each other has never been quite this exciting. Following the mind-bending narrative from the original Injustice, this direct sequel deals with the aftermath of Batman and Superman’s beef, all while introducing a brand new single-player challenge mode called “The Multiverse,” and the implementation of a new gear system. So, on a scale from Batman v Superman to The Dark Knight, how bat-shit crazy awesome is this game?

Injustice 2 takes place a few years after the fallout from the first game. While Superman is locked up for being an authoritarian d-bag who’s hell-bent on killing other baddies, Batman is busy trying to piece the world back together during a time of unrest. The Justice League as we know it is shattered, and famous alliances are no more. The loyalties among characters are tested by an impending threat, and from there, the story unfolds in a sort of predictable manner.

Overall, the narrative is much easier to follow in comparison to the first game, however I enjoyed the madness from the first game a bit more. That’s not to say that Injustice 2 isn’t interesting; it’s just a bit less wild. To be honest, it’s a much more cohesive narrative than Batman v Superman . You won’t find any Martha-silliness here.

You can expect about 10+ chapters of unwinding narrative where you’ll play as several different characters, taking down friends and foes alike. It’s a surprisingly beefy campaign that’ll reward you with nice loot when completed (which we’ll discuss in a minute). You’re also able to switch between two different fighters at the start of select battles, which is a nice little touch that gives you the option to try out new characters and/or fight as ones you prefer throughout the campaign.

From a gameplay perspective, Injustice 2 is fine-tuned and tight with plenty of variety to make each fight a battle of both strength and wit. From a technical standpoint, all of the fighters got an upgrade in walking speed, which increases the tempo quite a bit. As you’d expect, each character is equipped with their own fighting technique and jaw-dropping specials. Chances are you’ll find someone that fits your play style. The nice thing is that none of the characters felt like simple skin swaps. For the most part, each character felt unique.

Arenas are colorful and riddled with interactive items sitting in the background just waiting for you to toss them at your foe. Whether it’s someone sitting at a bar, or a giant box, there’s never a shortage of throwable items. The edges of the arenas also usually allow you to run off the wall to get out of a corner. If that’s still not enough, you can also knock your challenger into another part of the arena you’re playing on. If used correctly, arenas can help you swing the battle in your favor.

That’s what I truly enjoy about this game; there are so many opportunities for you to complete an epic comeback, whether it’s by harnessing your special, using the arena, or even taking advantage of clashes—which allow you to burn special bars to regain some health—you’re never really out of the fight. And in general, the game is so easy to pick up and enjoy regardless of your skill level. It also helps that it features a grip of characters we love. Where else are you going to watch Harley Quinn join Batman’s team?

If you’re more of a single-player kind like me, then you will still have plenty of content to dive into after you complete the campaign. This is all thanks to the introduction of The Multiverse. This new mode is similar to the Mortal Kombat Towers, where you will go into gauntlets with certain challenges like increased character speeds, etc. One of the strangest challenges I faced was having the screen go dark every two seconds. As you can imagine, it was a tricky fight. Keeping up with the Multiverse will award you with new gear and it’s a great way to level grind. This basically offers, never ending replay value.

The most controversial aspect of the game as I see it is definitely the gear system. Everything you do either gets you gear or gives you points to buy boxes that gift you gear. It’s a pretty standard loot system when it comes to distribution. Gear provides certain augmentations like taking less damage from environmental items, or on the flip side do more damage against bad guys, giving you the opportunity to create your very own unique fighter. However, it probably won’t affect the competitive scene, just because it most likely won’t be allowed in competition. How it affects local co-op is up to you. Some of the most powerful augments, however, only work in the Multiverse, so again it’s not as broken as it might appear at first. Because gear has certain level requirements, it made me want to compete in the Multiverse to level up my Blue Beetle, just so I could use the level 20 Scarab Epic piece I unboxed. It’s a hook that kept me wanting to play hours on-end. Some might not enjoy this, but casual players will get a lot of joy in this.

All of this is great, but what takes the game to the next level is the attention to detail. Everything in this game is gorgeous. Arenas, graphics, and even characters (despite the weird Joker redesign) look glorious. Even small things like the brief chatter that goes on between each character before a fight breaks out is fantastic, and often hilariously well-written. It also looks like they added special dialogue for each match-up. As a result, I never really found myself skipping their intros every time I played couch multiplayer. I wanted to see how they’d react to each other.

The roster itself is rather diverse as well and includes some lesser known cats that I hope become more mainstream. Blue Beetle (Jaime) in particular became my number one. It’s not often we see a Latino character in a Superhero production that’s not some sort of gangster (I’m looking at you, Suicide Squad), so I’ve been maining him.

Injustice 2 is without a doubt the complete package. It is a robust DC universe mashup narrative spanning all reaches of that universe and the introduction of the limitless Multiverse make this one of the beefiest fighting games on the market. The gameplay is super tight, easy to grasp, and difficult to master. The gear system also gives the game an RPG element, which adds a ton of replay value in the process. Unfortunately the Online and Guild system weren’t completely rolled out prior to launch, so we’ll have to wait and see how that truly works once the game is officially available. A strong online experience can turn make this game’s life expectancy limitless. We’ll also have to see how the competitive scene receives the game. Even then, this is a brawler worth investing your time into. It’s madness at its finest.

At the end of the day, it’s still badass to watch DC’s best characters duke it out.

RATING: 4.5 OUT OF 5 JUSTICE BURRITOS

This review was completed using a PS4 copy of Injustice 2 provided by NetherRealm. The game hits shelves on May 16, 2017.

Images: NetherRealm Studios

Did Henry Cavill reveal Green Lantern will be in Justice League