Movies
3 CommentsEveryone’s favorite creatures, the Minions, will return for a sequel in 2020
What better way to usher in Independence Day weekend than by sitting through 90-minutes of Minions babbling incoherently?
That’s a question Universal has poised to audiences with a new press release, which confirms the Minions sequel will be released in 2020 during the July 4th weekend. Minions are, of course, the yellow, gibberish-speaking helpers who were first introduced in Despicable Me back in 2010. The army of workers helped good-hearted villain Gru (Steve Carell) work on all of his death contraptions and inevitably looked after his three adopted daughters part-time.
Although the existence of Minions has become rather controversial, with dozens of Tumblr, Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and Reddit pages set up to simply acknowledge and discuss the awfulness of the creature,...
Report
29 CommentsOverwatch’s gamer girl hero inspires a feminist movement
On Jan. 21, millions around the world took part in a peaceful protest for women’s rights. Among the groups participating in the international Women’s March events was one that caught Overwatch fans by surprise: the National D.Va Association, which came to worldwide attention after a flag sporting the titular hero’s logo was photographed at the Women’s March in Seoul, South Korea.
2000 people participated in the sister march in #Seoul, Korea (pic via @MarchSeoul) #MarchOnWashington pic.twitter.com/zSgc4sOYuw— Paperclip-News (@aerdt) January 21, 2017
It turns out that the National D.Va Assocation is a group of huge Overwatch fans with a feminist bent. Based in South Korea, the organization is meant to galvanize female-identifying and genderqueer gamers who could use some...
Cover Story
Issue
25
January 9, 2017
Final Fantasy 7: An oral history
30,000 words! 35 interviews! 4 videos! A trivia minigame! We take an in-depth look back at Square’s breakthrough role-playing game.
Read moreGood Game
2 CommentsApocalypse Now will be something between shooter and ‘walking simulator’
It endured a set-destroying typhoon, payroll theft, one lead actor suffering a heart attack and the other so overweight it changed the ending, but somehow Apocalypse Now went on to become what some believe to be one of the greatest films of our time.
And now Francis Ford Coppola wants to turn his creation into a video game.
But why?
Even after talking to those involved in development, the answer isn’t exactly clear, though the process of turning the anti-war war movie into a game — already nearly eight years in the making — is stumbling its way through its own sorts of adversity and lengthy development.
I was surprised to find that the game concept started out not as a pitch from game developers, but when Francis Ford Coppola’s son Roman reached out to noted game writer Rob Auten for...
Studio Ghibli’s first TV show, Ronja, the Robber’s Daughter, lacks any real magic
Ronja, the Robber’s Daughter marks Studio Ghibli’s first foray into television, and despite some of the iconic animation studio’s charm poking through, it feels like it’s missing something.
I’ve seen the first four episodes of Ghibli’s new show, which was made in partnership with animation studio Polygon (no relation) and is now available to stream on Amazon. The show emphasizes themes that make Ghibli movies spectacular: a young girl trying to find her way in the world, a sense of self-identity, the importance of family and folklore. But despite all of the ingredients to make the perfect show, Ronja falls flat.
The key to any Ghibli film succeeding is the ability to not just believe in the characters, but empathize with them. Although Ronja and Mattis are interesting, clever people,...
News
10 CommentsMad Catz in danger of being dropped from the New York Stock Exchange
Peripherals manufacturer Mad Catz says they’ve received a warning that they are in danger of being dropped from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) due to low share price. Formal notice from NYSE, which came on Jan. 20, stated that the company must either consolidate shares or raise its share price over the next six months.
“Due to the company’s current low selling share price,” Mad Catz stated today in a letter to investors, “the company’s continued listing on the [NYSE] is contingent upon the company effecting a share consolidation or otherwise demonstrating a sustained improvement in its share price within the next six months.”
In April of 2015, Mad Catz announced that it would co-publish Rock Band 4 along with developer Harmonix. Several months later, the company notified investors...
Opinion
7 CommentsThe New York Times gave up on graphic novels
Comics critics, retailers, creators and fans were rocked this morning by a sudden shakeup in The New York Times’ best seller lists. After eight years, with no warning and little explanation, the paper has decided to stop compiling and printing its Hardcover Graphic Novel, Paperback Graphic Novel and Manga best seller lists.
When asked for comment, The Times gave a statement to The Beat, saying:
“Beginning February 5, The New York Times will eliminate a number of print but mostly online-only bestseller lists. In recent years, we introduced a number of new lists as an experiment, many of which are being discontinued.”
Among the lists The New York Times will be keeping on are “10 Children’s Young Adult Hardcover Chapter Books” and “Advice Miscellaneous.”
OK, look, do you know what ‘The...
News
5 CommentsPokémon Bank’s Mew glitch ban cracked by Sun and Moon players
A compatibility update for Pokémon Bank, the Nintendo 3DS storage app, finally made the software usable in Pokémon Sun and Moon this week. Just days after the update went live, however, users have already figured out a way to circumvent Pokémon Bank’s ban on one popular, hard-to-obtain legendary.
Although Pokémon Bank users get a special item for Mew, one of the rarest Pokémon, it’s almost impossible to capture the monster through official methods. Instead, many who play the Virtual Console versions of Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow have used a glitch to get Mew into their collections. A video explaining how that works is below.
But Pokémon Bank won’t allow players to move over Mew obtained through this glitch into Sun and Moon — unless they use this extremely complex method, which is...
Opinion
29 CommentsMarvel’s Avengers games: yeah, this is a big deal
Marvel and Square Enix have announced that they’ve signed a multi-game deal to bring Marvel properties to games, with a trailer for the upcoming Avengers game already released.
This is a big deal for a few reasons, not the least of which is that we haven’t had a proper Avengers game basically ever. The last attempt was cancelled, despite looking promising.
Let’s dig in.
These are great studios
The teaser listed Eidos Montreal and Crystal Dynamics as the development teams on the game or games, and that’s enough to turn the excitement from “wait and see” to “holy shit, this could be great.” Just in terms of the latest Tomb Raider games and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, these are two studios doing well above average work.
“The first blockbuster game is being crafted by Crystal Dynamics,...
Culture
17 CommentsThis German Nintendo Switch ad knows exactly where you plan to play the console
The Nintendo Switch’s biggest selling point is that it’s a home console that you can take on the go. That’s never been more clear than in a new television commercial for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, produced for German-speaking markets.
The ad, above, doesn’t waste any time getting to the Switch’s main attraction. As soon as it starts, we find ourselves in ... a Nintendo Switch owner’s bathroom. More than that, the player is seated comfortably on the toilet, where he’s getting in some quality Mario Kart 8 time.
We have to appreciate the honesty on display here. One of the obvious perks of a handheld gaming system is that it lets you play games on the go — literally. While Nintendo has spent more time highlighting the Switch’s other two modes, which don’t work quite as well while visiting the...
Latest Reviews
News
28 CommentsMeet the Mass Effect: Andromeda crew in latest briefing
We were already given a cinematic trailer for the upcoming Mass Effect: Andromeda, but another video released today introduces the crew of the Hyperion, your ark in the game. Your mission is to travel far into the new galaxy to try to find new worlds that can support human life.
We see the Ryder siblings and their father, who leads the mission. The transplants that link each character to the ship’s AI may also give some more hints about how the new character system will work.
While previous games in the Mass Effect series had everyone playing as Commander Shepard, Andromeda is going to take a different approach.
"When we started the Mass Effect trilogy, there was this idea of it being very cinematic and movie-like," creative director Mac Walters told Polygon at E3 last year. "So...
News
9 Comments‘Everywhere’ is ‘very different from GTA,’ but still about freedom
Leslie Benzies may not have the name recognition among video game fans of a Hideo Kojima or a John Romero. But during a career of a decade and a half at Rockstar North, he served as one of the principal producers on some of the best-selling video games ever made: Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto series. Then, about a year ago, he departed the studio amid an acrimonious feud with his longtime colleagues — a dispute he soon laid out in a lawsuit against Rockstar asking for $150 million in unpaid royalties.
The legal dispute is ongoing, but in the meantime, Benzies and two other ex-Rockstar North leads — Matthew Smith, former audio director at the studio, and Colin Entwistle, former lead programmer — are starting their own team for a new video game project. Their unnamed company currently...
News
16 Comments‘Everywhere’ is the new project from GTA boss Leslie Benzies
Leslie Benzies — the former Rockstar North and Grand Theft Auto boss whose unceremonious departure from that company resulted in an ongoing lawsuit last year — is back in the news, but this time for his new project instead of his past projects. “Everywhere” is the working title for Benzies’ new game, a new video game built on Amazon’s Lumberyard
“The working title of this new game is ‘Everywhere’ and the vision is long term, with the capacity to develop and grow forever,” Benzies said in a press release. “Our goal is to create a platform where players can be entertained, and also entertain others while blurring the lines between reality, and a simulated world.”
Benzies was credited as director of Grand Theft Auto Online, the ambitious (and hugely lucrative!) online...
News
17 CommentsObsidian announces Pillars of Eternity 2
The team at Obsidian Entertainment is going back to the well, announcing Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire as a high-profile, equity crowdfunding effort through Fig. The campaign goes live today, and is seeking at least $1.1 million, with $2.25 million open for equity.
The original Pillars of Eternity began as a Kickstarter campaign called Project Eternity, which raised nearly $4 million in October of 2012. The isometric role-playing game promised to be the spiritual successor of classic games like Baldur’s Gate, Icewind Dale, and Planescape: Torment. The final product was well received by fans and critics alike, and featured a pausable, real-time combat system and multiple branching story paths with over 80 hours of gameplay, not including downloadable content.
Pillars of Eternity 2:...
Opinion
28 CommentsRiverdale frames statutory rape as a sexy forbidden romance
This week, the CW premieres its new teen drama, Riverdale, based on the Archie Comics characters who first appeared in 1941. We’ll see Archie, Jughead, Betty and Veronica in a new light as they toss their cheerful, child-friendly comic origins for a grittier, sexier Gossip Girl feel.
For anyone who’s kept up with Archie, they’ll know this isn’t totally out of left field for the gang. Like with all comic series, the kids of Riverdale have been reincarnated in so many forms it’s hard to keep track. The Life with Archie comic series saw Archie marrying either Betty or Veronica and getting shot and killed by the close of the final issue. They’ve met the Punisher, Barack Obama, the cast of Glee and fought off the Predator and Sharknado. The Afterlife with Archie series even sets the gang in...
Quality Control
0 CommentsLet’s talk about Resident Evil 7 in a bonus episode of Quality Control
In each episode of Quality Control, a Polygon editor talks to a critic after they review a new game, movie or piece of gear and allows them to add a little bit of extra context and insight. Why did they feel the way they did? What do they wish they had been able to discuss in more depth in their review? Also: Did they play it wrong?
In this episode, Charlie Hall talks with Phil Kollar about his review of Resident Evil 7, one of the first big games to come out in 2017 and a premier title for the PlayStation VR headset.
Read the review
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Email: qualitycontrol at polygon dot com
Music: Goodwill by The Custodian of Records
News
26 CommentsMass Effect: Andromeda’s latest cinematic trailer introduces the villain
Bioware and EA have released a cinematic trailer for Mass Effect: Andromeda today and, while it didn’t show any new gameplay, we did get a sense for the game’s story and a good look at its antagonist.
Mass Effect: Andromeda is set 600 years after the events of the first three games, and follows two siblings who are Pathfinders, human beings that travel the stars to find new planets to colonize. The player chooses to play as either the brother or the sister, and whoever you don’t choose as your avatar will still exist in the game as a character in the story.
Players have been a little bit concerned about the character system after the last gameplay trailer, however. We also know that the sex in space is going to be “very good,” which is a relief.
Mass Effect: Andromeda will be...
Video
25 CommentsDauntless aims to bring the best of Monster Hunter to a much bigger audience
If you watched last month’s Game Awards 2016 show, you may have seen the reveal trailer for a mysterious fantasy co-op game named Dauntless. This week, Polygon was able to check out Dauntless for ourselves, and we walked away impressed and eager to see more.
Openly inspired by Capcom’s popular action-RPG, grinding-heavy Monster Hunter series, Dauntless is a third-person, co-op focused experience. You meet up with friends in a hub city, pick what monster — they’re called Behemoths in this game — you want to take on and then go on hunts.
These monsters are a much bigger challenge than your average video game enemy, or even compared to bosses in other games. A single Behemoth fight in Dauntless can take 20-plus minutes and send you chasing across a huge area to keep up with the deadly...
News
4 CommentsPokémon Sun and Moon cheaters banned from online services
Nearly 6,000 Pokémon Sun and Moon players have been banned from using the Global Link, the game’s main online feature. In an announcement on the Japanese Global Link page, The Pokémon Company confirmed that players with “illegal save data” have been barred from going online.
5,954 players have been caught cheating thus far. That typically means they’ve used hacks, modifications and other means to alter items and trainer info, or that they’ve used “illegal” Pokémon in online competitions or trades.
It’s unclear which particular cheats are getting players in trouble with The Pokémon Company, however — and whether those who simply received hacked Pokémon unwittingly are now facing the consequences too. We’ve reached out for clarification on what gets players booted from the Global Link.
T...
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