From the forthcoming Monopoly:® Fallout Edition, we present the Go Directly to Death card. Because no matter what level you're at, there's always that chance.
It's cool, you can respawn as soon as you roll doubles.
Falloutopoly:
Ript - $10 + shipping
Yesterday's Shirt:
Jon Fox is a Seattle hipster who loves polar bears and climbing trees. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN.
Though Nightwing #13 doesn't have one of those creepy, die-cut Joker covers, it has about as much to do with Death of the Family as any other ancillary Batman title released this month. That is to say -- expect plenty of pointless references to Joker's return that have no real bearing on the story at hand. Most glaring is a short sequence where Batgirl pops up out of nowhere to complain about not being prepared for a battle with Joker before disappearing just as quickly. I'm starting to think that the best course of action may be to avoid these books entirely for the next few months if this is what we can expect from Death of the Family tie-ins.
Elsewhere, guest writer Tom DeFalco eases in comfortably enough and continues the threads left open by Kyle Higgins. The issue provides a nice showcase of Dick's varied day and nighttime activities, the latter of which have taken on a new sense of urgency now hat Lady Shiva is back in town and Batman is off the grid. DeFalco is at his strongest during a showdown between Penguin and Nightwing where the former is begrudgingly helpful to his old enemy.
Unfortunately, bad dialogue and overwrought narration frequently drags the issue down. DeFalco's writing style is generally better suited for more lighthearted superhero fare, and he doesn't flourish in the seedier world of Gotham. His characters aren't always very convincing. The tone is fairly schizophrenic. Some characters like Batgirl are just flat-out annoying. Nor does Andres Guinaldo impress much with his pencils. His figures are loose and often distorted, and his action sequences simply aren't very engaging. Lady Shiva's new costume design, meanwhile, is another stinker in a long line of New 52 fashion faux pas.
In short, while there's some interesting material at play in this issue, the execution tends to fall flat. I'll be glad to welcome the regular creative team back in a couple months.
Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.
The Joker is back, baby. Not only did DC launch their big Batman storyline Death of the Family, but Marvel NOW! is officially underway with the launch of Uncanny Avengers.
You might notice that we've only reviewed the week's biggest books -- we're at NYCC, but we'll be back to our usual amount of reviews next week.
"Batman #13 is downright Shakespearian. The intro reads like Julius Caesar, filled with darkness and omens. There's a storm that changes the direction of a river, a lion born with two heads. It's scary stuff and it serves as a glimpse of whats to come. If Court of Owls played out a like a big action movie, then Death of the Family moves more like a horror film. It's creepy, dark and 100% Joker. It builds slowly in the shadows before jumping out you, hammer in hand." -Ben
Click to read the entire review!
Final Score:
"Initially, Before Watchmen: Doctor Manhattan #1 seems liked it would be a poster child for how not to do a Watchmen spin-off. Though competently executed, it seemed more interested in treading the same ground as Watchmen #4 rather than weaving a new tale. But then J. Michael Straczynski threw readers for a loop by having Doctor Manhattan travel into his past and prevent the accident that created him. Quantum shenanigans abound, and the series is in a much better place with its second issue." -Jesse
Click to read the entire review!
Final Score:
"The Phantom Stranger #0 wasn't just one of the more disappointing books in the Zero Month crop, but one of DC's weakest debut issues since the New 52 began. Theoretically, the series has nowhere to go but up from there. And fortunately, it does improve by a fair margin in its second installment." -Jesse
Click to read the entire review!
Final Score:
"Two issues in and Team 7 isn't doing much to justify its existence. It's not a bad book, there are funny beats here and there, some nice action moments, but it feels kinda pointless. Honestly, there are better DC books out there for your money. Team 7 just treads water, pretending to be important but never being anything more than 'oh, that's was okay.'" -Ben
Click to read the entire review!
Final Score:
"Let's be honest, this is probably not the Avengers book that everyone is looking forward to this week. There is a certainly uncanny title that everyone is talking about and that will no doubt result in this issue being somewhat of an after thought for many readers. But, fear not, because nothing too exciting happens in this issue so the whole thing is kind of a wash." -Ben
Click to read the entire review!
Final Score:
"With all the changes announced for Spider-Man, let us hope that we don't lose Avenging Spider-Man. Since the first issue, this book has been tons of fun. Issue #13 is no exception, even if it breaks from the done-in-one format that is part of this series' charm. In part two of a story that probably didn't need to be two parts, the focuses shifts more to Spider-Man and away from Deadpool. But don't worry, these pages are still filled to the brim with insanity and humor." -Ben
Click to read the entire review!
Final Score:
"Marvel NOW! may have officially kicked off with Uncanny Avenegrs #1, but there's still plenty of fallout to explore in the wake of Avengers vs. X-Men. AvX: Consequences offers exactly what the title promises -- a look at the consequences of this latest superhero war. And with Kieron Gillen at the helm, it should come as no surprise that the book is worth a read." -Jesse
Click to read the entire review!
Final Score:
"Until the recent Captain Marvel series debuted, Marvel had the dubious distinction of not publishing a single solo series starring a female character. The good news is that we now have Red She-Hulk to help further reverse this trend. The series is both a fresh start for fans of Betty Ross but also a continuation of Jeff Parker's ongoing Hulk saga. The main character may have shifted, but the book retains the same elements that have made it such a worthy read these past two years." -Jesse
Click to read the entire review!
Final Score:
"Last year in my Building a Better Digital Comics Marketplace feature, I half-jokingly predicted a future where Marvel only published one book -- Wolverine and the Uncanny Spider-Avengers. But now that Marvel is hinging its entire relaunch on a book called Uncanny Avengers, are we one step closer to that dark future? If it were a lesser creative team I'd be worried, but the pairing of Rick Remender and John Cassaday practically guarantees success. And though Uncanny Avengers #1 suffers from flaws common to most #1 issues, it is a successful start for for the new series." -Jesse
Click to read the entire review!
Final Score:
"Wolverine and the X-Men #18 is heart breaking. Sure, Avengers vs. X-Men had a death that everyone was talking about, but this issue features one that ripped my soul out. It's not done poorly or played for some sort of cash grab gimmick; it's sincere and sad and brutal. Maybe it's not how it looks; maybe the character isn't dead and this is all Jason Aaron playing with us. Either way, this is a character's death in superhero comics done right. This is just a damn good comic book." -Ben
Click to read the entire review!
Final Score:
Subscribe to the IGN Comics Pick of the Week:
Wolverine and the X-Men #18 is heart breaking. Sure, Avengers vs. X-Men had a death that everyone was talking about, but this issue features one that ripped my soul out. It's not done poorly or played for some sort of cash grab gimmick; it's sincere and sad and brutal. Maybe it's not how it looks; maybe the character isn't dead and this is all Jason Aaron playing with us. Either way, this is a character's death in superhero comics done right. This is just a damn good comic book.
Aaron delivers in all the best ways here. He manages to tie-in the ending of the major Marvel event without having it disrupt the story. It feels natural, like the characters populate the same world. Everything just clicks. The dialogue, the pacing, the humor, all of it. You can feel the weight of AvX in these pages and yet the events of Wolverine and the X-Men feel just as important. More so, actually.
The writing kicks major butt in this issue, but so does the art. Jorge Molina nails it. His crispy, clean style showcases the heart and emotion of this story perfectly. That's right: perfectly. There are glimpses of action throughout the book, but the best bits take place at a school dance. A school dance that Lockheed deejays. It's amazing stuff. When you see a little character's heart break, Molina makes sure your heart breaks along with him. If you like comic books, you owe it to yourself to check out Wolverine and the X-Men.
Benjamin Bailey has been crying all day. Follow Benjamin on Twitter @616Earth, or find him on IGN.
It's an understatement to say Kono (Grace Park) went through a lot on Hawaii Five-0 recently, as the Season 2 cliffhanger had her at death’s door - pushed into the ocean, bound and gagged, and sinking to her doom. Fortunately, she was saved by Adam (Ian Anthony Dale) in the Season 3 premiere, though not everyone was so lucky in that episode.
During my recent visit to the set of Hawaii Five-0, I spoke to Park about what the experience of being thrown in that scary, underwater situation was like – both for Kono and for the actress playing her. We also discussed Kono and Adam’s turbulent relationship and the addition of more women to Hawaii Five-0 this season.
Grace Park in Hawaii Five-0
IGN TV: Suffice to say, Kono just went through a traumatic experience. How does she come out of it?
Grace Park: That’s what’s really interesting, because when a situation like that comes about, you think, “How does this impact the character?” It is part of the job, but that doesn’t mean she’s Teflon and unflinching. At the same time, I think the bigger thing is Chin Ho losing his wife. That seems like it overshadows my situation, where I managed to live. If anything, it’s probably going to be one of those incidents that contribute to Kono’s overall character as a cop and her experience being a police officer. It’s those layers and layers of experiences that kind of embed themselves into someone’s psyche that eventually, 20 years down the line when you meet someone, they have the essence of cop.
IGN: What was it like shooting those sequences where she’s underwater? I’d assume that wasn’t very fun...
Park: Kono’s a surfer, so she’s great in the water - she’s grown up in the water. If you’re surfing some big waves, you will have been caught underneath, sometimes for a few sets, right? So what I’ve learned -- and I don’t even surf – is that the longer you can stay underwater, the more comfortable you are. Talking to some of the water men, like Brian Keaulana, he’ll tell you one of the first things you can do is learn to stay underwater for a long time. That way, you won’t panic when you’re underwater and the waves are coming and you are not going to get up there. I thought, “I can’t do that for very long.” But prepping for the underwater scene… I mean, I was so uncomfortable every time I read the script, because I would hold my breath as I was reading the script! I was so uncomfortable because I didn’t realize I’d stopped breathing, as I’m reading my character and she’s bound and gagged in the water.
IGN: Would that qualify as the toughest thing you've had to do on the show?
Park: Funnily enough, I was more comfortable doing that, the idea of being bound and gagged underwater, versus having to be in a shore break again.
[Editor’s Note: During the filming of the Hawaii Five-0 pilot, Park learned firsthand just how much ocean water can pummel you in a shore break - where a wave breaks directly on, or very close to, the shore]
[Hawaii Five-0 showrunner/executive producer] Peter Lenkov asked, “Grace, how are you with this whole underwater thing?” I’m like, “Am I in a shore break?” He’s goes, “No.” I’m like, “You sure I’m not in a shore break?” “No you’re bound and gagged, and you’re sinking on the bottom of the ocean.” I’m like, “But I’m not in a shore break?” “No.” “That’s fine, that’s totally fine.” “You’re sure?” “Yes!” It was just so traumatizing in the pilot! [Laughs] Other than that, I was researching and prepping on that. I started learning how to hold my breath underwater and the breathing technique that you do to be able to be underwater for minutes at a time. I got up to, like, a minute, but I wasn’t practicing for that long. But that was more than we needed. The thing I was thinking was, “Well, of course she’s going to know how to do this.” So when you do go underwater -- and she knows she’s going to be tipped overboard -- when she goes under, you don’t sink to the bottom of the ocean. We had to try to get me to sink. They put lots of weights on me and we had to have someone underwater dragging me down and all this kind of stuff.
Alex O'Loughlin, Scott Caan, Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park
IGN: Wow, that has to add to the trauma!
Park: Right? Actually the trauma could have been during one take where I wasn’t ready, but I didn’t just say no. They’re like, “Are you ready?” I’m like, “Well, actually...” [Splash noise] They pulled me under, and I was kicking so hard to try to get out. I was supposed to have breakaway wrists and breakaway ankles, but they didn’t break away. So when I came back up, they were like, “That was really, really great, except we didn’t have your face on camera.” And I was just like, “I was trying to get out of the restraints!” But the weirdest thing was, I was kicking super hard underwater, and I didn’t have enough breath to stay under very long, but I was, like, zero panic. It was really weird because I had practiced already, so my body already knew, “Oh, you’re fine.” So that was really trippy, even though I had a lot of water and was coughing. So that’s the kind of stuff I knew about her character. She was already thinking when she was on the boat, and when I did the research diving with Ocean Ramsey, I kind of caught her out of the corner of my eye, and she wasn’t using her arms and legs to kick. She just did this kind of dolphin gliding thing in the water. So I tried it, too. I was like, “Oh my gosh!” You can move really fast doing that. It seems kind of like how fish move because fish don’t have arms -- their fins are kind of small -- but they move so fast. I figured that’s what she’s doing. Of course, it’s not on the screen because that’s not going to sell very well, but I figured that’s probably why she’s not as traumatized. There’s also always so much action, she kind of just rolls back into it.
IGN: I was initially going to ask you, “Is Kono's relationship with Adam going to continue this season?”, but the premiere answered that question in a big way. Those two began as almost a Romeo & Juliet thing, with her a cop and him as the son of a mobster. Is it going to be a little smoother now?
Park: I think that relationship -- just with the setup, like you said -- the setup is such that it’s never going to be easy or smooth. I think that their relationship is good. There’s a real attraction... They actually like each other. There’s a lot of possibility and potential there, but with the situation, you know… How clean is he? How good is he going to be at managing his father’s alliances and the rest of the business, because they’re not all gonna want to switch their ways? They have a good life, and they have it working pretty smoothly. So things could always change. I think as it unravels, we’ll see how it goes. Peter [Lenkov] has a few things up his sleeve, which I’m really excited about. I mean, it’s fine that it’s smooth, but they’re certainly not the type to just stay at home and watch movies and just eat pizza.
Ian Anthony Dale and Grace Park in Hawaii Five-0
IGN: That’d be an interesting episode though.
Park: [Laughs] For sure! People would be like, “What’s going on with that relationship? Shouldn’t they have guns and be kicking people?” [Laughs]
IGN: They’re watching Real Housewives or something.
Park: Yeah! [Laughs] I’m making a phone call. “Oh... be right there!”
IGN: Yeah. “Gotta do some cop stuff.” “Gotta do some mob stuff.”
Park: Yeah, that would be hilarious, actually. I did tell the other actor, Ian [Anthony Dale], “Yeah, Peter wants us to reflect on the nature of real relationships, and so he wants you to gain 25 pounds. He says I’m fine.”
Grace Park, Daniel Dae Kim and Scott Caan in Hawaii Five-0
IGN: [Laughs] You’ve been the constant female presence on this show, but this season you’ve got Christine Lahti recurring and now Michelle Borth as a regular.
Park: And Taryn [Manning] is coming back! Yeah, the thing is, it’s such a male-dominated show, on screen and on set as well. So it’s not a show where the women really bond with each other. I even think that has something to do with Lauren German’s character, Lori Weston, leaving, because they didn’t establish the females with each other. Not that we didn’t want it. I even asked for it right off the top. And by the end, we were having this great rapport, and I think they’ve learned now how important that is. To be able to have more of a female presence adds a duality and a complexity. That doesn’t mean we need to have them equal number, but that always changes things up. That’s why I think they didn’t keep Kono a dude. That’s why we didn’t just have five dudes. That would be a totally different show. Then we would have The Hangover... But I haven’t seen The Hangover, so I don’t even know if that’s accurate. [Laughs]
I think it’s just going to keep allowing every character like McGarrett or Danny to show other facets of their personality and their characters. People want to know more about the story, but they also want to know more about the characters they’ve been following for years.
Hawaii Five-0 airs Mondays at 10pm ET/PT on CBS.
Eric Goldman is Executive Editor of IGN TV. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN.
It's an understatement to say Kono (Grace Park) went through a lot on Hawaii Five-0 recently, as the Season 2 cliffhanger had her at death’s door - pushed into the ocean, bound and gagged, and sinking to her doom. Fortunately, she was saved by Adam (Ian Anthony Dale) in the Season 3 premiere, though not everyone was so lucky in that episode.
During my recent visit to the set of Hawaii Five-0, I spoke to Park about what the experience of being thrown in that scary, underwater situation was like – both for Kono and for the actress playing her. We also discussed Kono and Adam’s turbulent relationship and the addition of more women to Hawaii Five-0 this season.
Grace Park in Hawaii Five-0
IGN TV: Suffice to say, Kono just went through a traumatic experience. How does she come out of it?
Grace Park: That’s what’s really interesting, because when a situation like that comes about, you think, “How does this impact the character?” It is part of the job, but that doesn’t mean she’s Teflon and unflinching. At the same time, I think the bigger thing is Chin Ho losing his wife. That seems like it overshadows my situation, where I managed to live. If anything, it’s probably going to be one of those incidents that contribute to Kono’s overall character as a cop and her experience being a police officer. It’s those layers and layers of experiences that kind of embed themselves into someone’s psyche that eventually, 20 years down the line when you meet someone, they have the essence of cop.
IGN: What was it like shooting those sequences where she’s underwater? I’d assume that wasn’t very fun...
Park: Kono’s a surfer, so she’s great in the water - she’s grown up in the water. If you’re surfing some big waves, you will have been caught underneath, sometimes for a few sets, right? So what I’ve learned -- and I don’t even surf – is that the longer you can stay underwater, the more comfortable you are. Talking to some of the water men, like Brian Keaulana, he’ll tell you one of the first things you can do is learn to stay underwater for a long time. That way, you won’t panic when you’re underwater and the waves are coming and you are not going to get up there. I thought, “I can’t do that for very long.” But prepping for the underwater scene… I mean, I was so uncomfortable every time I read the script, because I would hold my breath as I was reading the script! I was so uncomfortable because I didn’t realize I’d stopped breathing, as I’m reading my character and she’s bound and gagged in the water.
IGN: Would that qualify as the toughest thing you've had to do on the show?
Park: Funnily enough, I was more comfortable doing that, the idea of being bound and gagged underwater, versus having to be in a shore break again.
[Editor’s Note: During the filming of the Hawaii Five-0 pilot, Park learned firsthand just how much ocean water can pummel you in a shore break - where a wave breaks directly on, or very close to, the shore]
[Hawaii Five-0 showrunner/executive producer] Peter Lenkov asked, “Grace, how are you with this whole underwater thing?” I’m like, “Am I in a shore break?” He’s goes, “No.” I’m like, “You sure I’m not in a shore break?” “No you’re bound and gagged, and you’re sinking on the bottom of the ocean.” I’m like, “But I’m not in a shore break?” “No.” “That’s fine, that’s totally fine.” “You’re sure?” “Yes!” It was just so traumatizing in the pilot! [Laughs] Other than that, I was researching and prepping on that. I started learning how to hold my breath underwater and the breathing technique that you do to be able to be underwater for minutes at a time. I got up to, like, a minute, but I wasn’t practicing for that long. But that was more than we needed. The thing I was thinking was, “Well, of course she’s going to know how to do this.” So when you do go underwater -- and she knows she’s going to be tipped overboard -- when she goes under, you don’t sink to the bottom of the ocean. We had to try to get me to sink. They put lots of weights on me and we had to have someone underwater dragging me down and all this kind of stuff.
Alex O'Loughlin, Scott Caan, Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park
IGN: Wow, that has to add to the trauma!
Park: Right? Actually the trauma could have been during one take where I wasn’t ready, but I didn’t just say no. They’re like, “Are you ready?” I’m like, “Well, actually...” [Splash noise] They pulled me under, and I was kicking so hard to try to get out. I was supposed to have breakaway wrists and breakaway ankles, but they didn’t break away. So when I came back up, they were like, “That was really, really great, except we didn’t have your face on camera.” And I was just like, “I was trying to get out of the restraints!” But the weirdest thing was, I was kicking super hard underwater, and I didn’t have enough breath to stay under very long, but I was, like, zero panic. It was really weird because I had practiced already, so my body already knew, “Oh, you’re fine.” So that was really trippy, even though I had a lot of water and was coughing. So that’s the kind of stuff I knew about her character. She was already thinking when she was on the boat, and when I did the research diving with Ocean Ramsey, I kind of caught her out of the corner of my eye, and she wasn’t using her arms and legs to kick. She just did this kind of dolphin gliding thing in the water. So I tried it, too. I was like, “Oh my gosh!” You can move really fast doing that. It seems kind of like how fish move because fish don’t have arms -- their fins are kind of small -- but they move so fast. I figured that’s what she’s doing. Of course, it’s not on the screen because that’s not going to sell very well, but I figured that’s probably why she’s not as traumatized. There’s also always so much action, she kind of just rolls back into it.
IGN: I was initially going to ask you, “Is Kono's relationship with Adam going to continue this season?”, but the premiere answered that question in a big way. Those two began as almost a Romeo & Juliet thing, with her a cop and him as the son of a mobster. Is it going to be a little smoother now?
Park: I think that relationship -- just with the setup, like you said -- the setup is such that it’s never going to be easy or smooth. I think that their relationship is good. There’s a real attraction... They actually like each other. There’s a lot of possibility and potential there, but with the situation, you know… How clean is he? How good is he going to be at managing his father’s alliances and the rest of the business, because they’re not all gonna want to switch their ways? They have a good life, and they have it working pretty smoothly. So things could always change. I think as it unravels, we’ll see how it goes. Peter [Lenkov] has a few things up his sleeve, which I’m really excited about. I mean, it’s fine that it’s smooth, but they’re certainly not the type to just stay at home and watch movies and just eat pizza.
Ian Anthony Dale and Grace Park in Hawaii Five-0
IGN: That’d be an interesting episode though.
Park: [Laughs] For sure! People would be like, “What’s going on with that relationship? Shouldn’t they have guns and be kicking people?” [Laughs]
IGN: They’re watching Real Housewives or something.
Park: Yeah! [Laughs] I’m making a phone call. “Oh... be right there!”
IGN: Yeah. “Gotta do some cop stuff.” “Gotta do some mob stuff.”
Park: Yeah, that would be hilarious, actually. I did tell the other actor, Ian [Anthony Dale], “Yeah, Peter wants us to reflect on the nature of real relationships, and so he wants you to gain 25 pounds. He says I’m fine.”
Grace Park, Daniel Dae Kim and Scott Caan in Hawaii Five-0
IGN: [Laughs] You’ve been the constant female presence on this show, but this season you’ve got Christine Lahti recurring and now Michelle Borth as a regular.
Park: And Taryn [Manning] is coming back! Yeah, the thing is, it’s such a male-dominated show, on screen and on set as well. So it’s not a show where the women really bond with each other. I even think that has something to do with Lauren German’s character, Lori Weston, leaving, because they didn’t establish the females with each other. Not that we didn’t want it. I even asked for it right off the top. And by the end, we were having this great rapport, and I think they’ve learned now how important that is. To be able to have more of a female presence adds a duality and a complexity. That doesn’t mean we need to have them equal number, but that always changes things up. That’s why I think they didn’t keep Kono a dude. That’s why we didn’t just have five dudes. That would be a totally different show. Then we would have The Hangover... But I haven’t seen The Hangover, so I don’t even know if that’s accurate. [Laughs]
I think it’s just going to keep allowing every character like McGarrett or Danny to show other facets of their personality and their characters. People want to know more about the story, but they also want to know more about the characters they’ve been following for years.
Hawaii Five-0 airs Mondays at 10pm ET/PT on CBS.
Eric Goldman is Executive Editor of IGN TV. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN.
It's an understatement to say Kono (Grace Park) went through a lot on Hawaii Five-0 recently, as the Season 2 cliffhanger had her at death’s door - pushed into the ocean, bound and gagged, and sinking to her doom. Fortunately, she was saved by Adam (Ian Anthony Dale) in the Season 3 premiere, though not everyone was so lucky in that episode.
During my recent visit to the set of Hawaii Five-0, I spoke to Park about what the experience of being thrown in that scary, underwater situation was like – both for Kono and for the actress playing her. We also discussed Kono and Adam’s turbulent relationship and the addition of more women to Hawaii Five-0 this season.
Grace Park in Hawaii Five-0
IGN TV: Suffice to say, Kono just went through a traumatic experience. How does she come out of it?
Grace Park: That’s what’s really interesting, because when a situation like that comes about, you think, “How does this impact the character?” It is part of the job, but that doesn’t mean she’s Teflon and unflinching. At the same time, I think the bigger thing is Chin Ho losing his wife. That seems like it overshadows my situation, where I managed to live. If anything, it’s probably going to be one of those incidents that contribute to Kono’s overall character as a cop and her experience being a police officer. It’s those layers and layers of experiences that kind of embed themselves into someone’s psyche that eventually, 20 years down the line when you meet someone, they have the essence of cop.
IGN: What was it like shooting those sequences where she’s underwater? I’d assume that wasn’t very fun...
Park: Kono’s a surfer, so she’s great in the water - she’s grown up in the water. If you’re surfing some big waves, you will have been caught underneath, sometimes for a few sets, right? So what I’ve learned -- and I don’t even surf – is that the longer you can stay underwater, the more comfortable you are. Talking to some of the water men, like Brian Keaulana, he’ll tell you one of the first things you can do is learn to stay underwater for a long time. That way, you won’t panic when you’re underwater and the waves are coming and you are not going to get up there. I thought, “I can’t do that for very long.” But prepping for the underwater scene… I mean, I was so uncomfortable every time I read the script, because I would hold my breath as I was reading the script! I was so uncomfortable because I didn’t realize I’d stopped breathing, as I’m reading my character and she’s bound and gagged in the water.
IGN: Would that qualify as the toughest thing you've had to do on the show?
Park: Funnily enough, I was more comfortable doing that, the idea of being bound and gagged underwater, versus having to be in a shore break again.
[Editor’s Note: During the filming of the Hawaii Five-0 pilot, Park learned firsthand just how much ocean water can pummel you in a shore break - where a wave breaks directly on, or very close to, the shore]
[Hawaii Five-0 showrunner/executive producer] Peter Lenkov asked, “Grace, how are you with this whole underwater thing?” I’m like, “Am I in a shore break?” He’s goes, “No.” I’m like, “You sure I’m not in a shore break?” “No you’re bound and gagged, and you’re sinking on the bottom of the ocean.” I’m like, “But I’m not in a shore break?” “No.” “That’s fine, that’s totally fine.” “You’re sure?” “Yes!” It was just so traumatizing in the pilot! [Laughs] Other than that, I was researching and prepping on that. I started learning how to hold my breath underwater and the breathing technique that you do to be able to be underwater for minutes at a time. I got up to, like, a minute, but I wasn’t practicing for that long. But that was more than we needed. The thing I was thinking was, “Well, of course she’s going to know how to do this.” So when you do go underwater -- and she knows she’s going to be tipped overboard -- when she goes under, you don’t sink to the bottom of the ocean. We had to try to get me to sink. They put lots of weights on me and we had to have someone underwater dragging me down and all this kind of stuff.
Alex O'Loughlin, Scott Caan, Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park
IGN: Wow, that has to add to the trauma!
Park: Right? Actually the trauma could have been during one take where I wasn’t ready, but I didn’t just say no. They’re like, “Are you ready?” I’m like, “Well, actually...” [Splash noise] They pulled me under, and I was kicking so hard to try to get out. I was supposed to have breakaway wrists and breakaway ankles, but they didn’t break away. So when I came back up, they were like, “That was really, really great, except we didn’t have your face on camera.” And I was just like, “I was trying to get out of the restraints!” But the weirdest thing was, I was kicking super hard underwater, and I didn’t have enough breath to stay under very long, but I was, like, zero panic. It was really weird because I had practiced already, so my body already knew, “Oh, you’re fine.” So that was really trippy, even though I had a lot of water and was coughing. So that’s the kind of stuff I knew about her character. She was already thinking when she was on the boat, and when I did the research diving with Ocean Ramsey, I kind of caught her out of the corner of my eye, and she wasn’t using her arms and legs to kick. She just did this kind of dolphin gliding thing in the water. So I tried it, too. I was like, “Oh my gosh!” You can move really fast doing that. It seems kind of like how fish move because fish don’t have arms -- their fins are kind of small -- but they move so fast. I figured that’s what she’s doing. Of course, it’s not on the screen because that’s not going to sell very well, but I figured that’s probably why she’s not as traumatized. There’s also always so much action, she kind of just rolls back into it.
IGN: I was initially going to ask you, “Is Kono's relationship with Adam going to continue this season?”, but the premiere answered that question in a big way. Those two began as almost a Romeo & Juliet thing, with her a cop and him as the son of a mobster. Is it going to be a little smoother now?
Park: I think that relationship -- just with the setup, like you said -- the setup is such that it’s never going to be easy or smooth. I think that their relationship is good. There’s a real attraction... They actually like each other. There’s a lot of possibility and potential there, but with the situation, you know… How clean is he? How good is he going to be at managing his father’s alliances and the rest of the business, because they’re not all gonna want to switch their ways? They have a good life, and they have it working pretty smoothly. So things could always change. I think as it unravels, we’ll see how it goes. Peter [Lenkov] has a few things up his sleeve, which I’m really excited about. I mean, it’s fine that it’s smooth, but they’re certainly not the type to just stay at home and watch movies and just eat pizza.
Ian Anthony Dale and Grace Park in Hawaii Five-0
IGN: That’d be an interesting episode though.
Park: [Laughs] For sure! People would be like, “What’s going on with that relationship? Shouldn’t they have guns and be kicking people?” [Laughs]
IGN: They’re watching Real Housewives or something.
Park: Yeah! [Laughs] I’m making a phone call. “Oh... be right there!”
IGN: Yeah. “Gotta do some cop stuff.” “Gotta do some mob stuff.”
Park: Yeah, that would be hilarious, actually. I did tell the other actor, Ian [Anthony Dale], “Yeah, Peter wants us to reflect on the nature of real relationships, and so he wants you to gain 25 pounds. He says I’m fine.”
Grace Park, Daniel Dae Kim and Scott Caan in Hawaii Five-0
IGN: [Laughs] You’ve been the constant female presence on this show, but this season you’ve got Christine Lahti recurring and now Michelle Borth as a regular.
Park: And Taryn [Manning] is coming back! Yeah, the thing is, it’s such a male-dominated show, on screen and on set as well. So it’s not a show where the women really bond with each other. I even think that has something to do with Lauren German’s character, Lori Weston, leaving, because they didn’t establish the females with each other. Not that we didn’t want it. I even asked for it right off the top. And by the end, we were having this great rapport, and I think they’ve learned now how important that is. To be able to have more of a female presence adds a duality and a complexity. That doesn’t mean we need to have them equal number, but that always changes things up. That’s why I think they didn’t keep Kono a dude. That’s why we didn’t just have five dudes. That would be a totally different show. Then we would have The Hangover... But I haven’t seen The Hangover, so I don’t even know if that’s accurate. [Laughs]
I think it’s just going to keep allowing every character like McGarrett or Danny to show other facets of their personality and their characters. People want to know more about the story, but they also want to know more about the characters they’ve been following for years.
Hawaii Five-0 airs Mondays at 10pm ET/PT on CBS.
Eric Goldman is Executive Editor of IGN TV. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN.
If you’ve been following Dishonored on IGN, you probably read Charles’ “Death at a Dinner Party” adventures earlier this year, in which he crashed a masked ball and caused total chaos, attracting the whole city’s attention by murdering guests and throwing canisters of explosive whale oil at guards. I sat down with the exact same mission recently, and was a bit concerned that I’d have nothing new to write about. How wrong I was.
Everything was different. For me and Charles, literally not one single thing, apart from the mission itself, was the same. This has instantly made Dishonored my most-anticipated game of this year. This is the first game I’ve played since Dark Souls last year that hasn’t patronised or restricted me for one second, instead just pushing a set of tools and powers into my hands with an avuncular wink and leaving me to do what I want with them. It gives you freedom, it gives you options, and it lets you work things out for yourself.
Here’s the first difference: I made it through the whole scenario without killing anyone. Not even my assassination target. (Well, I did kill a few rats by possessing them for so long that their tiny brains exploded, but that doesn’t count.) Here’s the second: I didn’t find the equipment menu, so I played for more than an hour without the incredibly useful instant-teleport Blink power or any weapons. Here’s the third: because I took a wrong turn on my way to the mansion garden party I was supposed to be infiltrating (my sense of direction is legendarily awful, in games as in real life), I discovered a whole neighbouring area of slum-houses that I wouldn’t otherwise have known existed.
I like to play Dishonored like a spy, rather than a superhero
I like to play Dishonored like a spy, rather than a superhero. That’s in line with how I approach most open-world games - I like digging around in people’s diaries for information in Skyrim (and digging around their houses for possessions to liberate. I hacked into and read several thousand mundane emails on the computers of corporation employees in Deus Ex. I like to explore a place and hunt for the tiny details hidden in basements and dusty old books and peeling propaganda posters on the walls. Dishonored’s Dunwall is rich with this detail. If you take your time, avoid attention and keep your eyes open, you can really drink it in.
The premise of this mission – the same one shown at Quakecon and Gamescom – is an assassination during am exclusive masked ball hosted at the Boyle family mansion. Lady Boyle is your target, but the problem is, there are three Lady Boyle’s and all of them are in similar creepy porcelain-doll costumes of different colours (the game randomises the mission each time, too, so you can never be 100% sure which Lady Boyle should be the object of your stabby assassin affections.) There are three options (that I could work out, anyway): find out which is guilty, kill all of them, or kill one at random and hope for the best.
Infiltrating the mansion’s grounds is a mission in itself; the night streets are patrolled by police and Tall Boys, those heavily-armoured striders with the power to vaporise you on sight. You begin the mission on a boat in the nearby canal, and you have to work out how to get in by yourself. It’s gratifying that the game doesn’t give you hints; it doesn’t tell you which way to go, and no button brings up a magic light-trail showing you the best way in. You can swim through the sewers and try to find an inlet to the mansion. Getting up to the rooftops and climbing the fence is a more obvious solution.
I got chased into an alleyway after being spotted in the water by guards and accidentally discovered a slum-house with stairs leading promisingly upwards. Upon entering, I noticed a few prone bodies in the neighbouring room; I did not expect them to suddenly spring to life, run at me and cough black plague-goop into my face whilst blood streamed from their eyes. These people are the Weepers, the diseased poor of Dunwall whom the government has been systematically exterminating. You won’t find them in the opulent mansions where the rich are hiding away – they hide in the slums, evading the Tall Boys.
I did not expect them to cough black plague-goop into my face
You’re supposed to feel sorry for these guys, but man, they behave a LOT like zombies, with all the moaning and the stumbling and the blood and the spontaneous attacking – not that you can’t empathise with zombies, but they’re terrifying. I ran away upstairs and climbed out of a window, taking in as much of the decaying building as I could. Soiled mattresses were lying about everywhere, with plague information pamphlets and posters trodden into the floorboards. When I got into the roof, I realised that – fortuitously – I was right opposite the Boyle mansion, and one of the windows was open. Leaping between the windowsills, I climbed into the guardhouse and scouted it out. I’d managed to make my way in without having to scale any walls, swim through any sewers, steal an invitation or kill anyone. And now, after stealing them from a hook on the wall, I had the keys to the whole place.
You’re undercover at the party, where your masked-assassin outfit blends into the other guests’ fancy-dress ensembles. You can walk around more-or-less freely, listening to conversations (apparently one of the absent society ladies likes to get carnal with her male siblings and nephews) and scoping out your potential targets. The first Lady Boyle I meet is rather… over-friendly, leading me willingly away to a secluded assassination-friendly bedroom after a glass of punch on the promise of some drunk party-sex. Feeling massively uncomfortable about either murdering her without proof or jumping into her bed (the game wouldn’t let me, anyway), she eventually got bored with the masked guy hanging awkwardly around in her room and wandered off, at which point I read through her diary and stole some jewellery. The diary contains no allusions to illicit murder-worthy activity, making me think she probably wasn’t my target after all.
The other rooms upstairs are locked, so I head back downstairs to look for a way in. There’s a rat scuttling about in the grand ballroom; after possessing it, I head into the first vent I can find and emerge in a room that controls the giant security forcefield barring the way up the grand stairway. If I could find a hacking module, I could modify it to fry anyone who walks through it, which sounds massively entertaining but not enormously helpful to my goal of causing as little chaos as possible.
It’s after I’ve met all of the Lady Boyles stalking the party in red, black and white costume that a guest in a scarecrow-esque mask approaches me and whispers that he knows who I’m looking for – and that he’s in love with her, and understandably would rather I didn’t stab her to death. He promises to take her away and keep her safe if I deliver her unharmed to the basement. It doesn’t sound… entirely above-board, but at least I wouldn’t have to kill anyone.
Getting into the other Lady Boyles’ bedrooms is easy once I’ve found some more rats in the cellar to possess and scuttled through the mansion’s network of vents. Another diary reveals my true target: it’s the Boyle in black. Now I just have to get her to the basement and send her away with her lover without alerting anyone by striding through the party with an unconscious body draped across my shoulders.
This turns out to be pretty easy. I just walk straight up to the Boyle in question and tell her I’m out to murder her unless she comes to the basement, right now, a request to which she acquiesces with surprisingly little consternation. I knock her out in a quiet spot and sprint the rest of the way down to the basement before the guards stroll past. Once we’re there, the masked guy from earlier is waiting on a barge to take her back out into the canal. “She’ll have a long time to learn to love me back, now,” he says, calmly sailing away to wherever on earth he’s going with the unconscious Lady Boyle prone on his boat. Oh. Well. It looks like I’ve accidentally delivered someone into a life of imprisonment and possible sex-slavery. But at least I didn’t kill anyone.
It’s only when I’m comparing experiences with others later on that it becomes clear how unusual this experience of Dishonored was. Some players were relying on magic to teleport them across rooftops, facilitate an escape from the Tall Boys or possess guards to open doors for them. Others got eaten by fish in the canal. Most were causing violent chaos, turning the party into a colourful disaster, summoning hordes of voracious rats to nibble at the attendees. Not one other person found the slums, or the force-shield hack, or managed to make it through without killing. You could play that same mission five or six times and never do anything the same.
And that is exactly why this is the most interesting game of this year.
Keza MacDonald is in charge of IGN's games coverage in the UK, and expects the end of her year to be totally dominated by supernatural assassination (and probably a bit of Wii U). Follow her on Twitter and IGN.
It was inevitable, really. Death was going to strike Avengers vs. X-Men sooner or later, and so here we are. We won't spoil it here, but head over to our big interview with Brian Bendis if you want to get the scoop on the events of AvX #11. If you want to know if it's any good, well then keep on truckin'.
Also this week: the Bat-family gets a whole bunch of issue zeroes, the Rocketeer continues to amaze, and Uncanny X-Force continues to depress. What a week.
"Right off the bat (heh) I can say that Batgirl #0 is chock full of fan-service moments, but I’m pleased to say that it’s not at the expense of the story. You’ll see Dick Grayson as Robin, references to Killing Joke, and even some delicious creeper moments for James Jr., but Gail Simone never once loses site of Babs and her motivations for becoming Batgirl in the first place. She creates a refreshing scenario in which we get to see her birth as a crime fighter, all the while lacing the issue with a strong thematic hook that culminates in one hell of a punchline." -Joey
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Final Score:
"Batman #0 is kind of a strange beast. It seems to serve as a precursor to the upcoming Death of the Family in that it explores the old Red Hood and his gang – where Scott Snyder suggests that this is indeed a pre-chemical bath Joker -- but it ends with a disappointing 'to be continued in 2013' without any resolution. To that end, on its own, Batman #0 doesn’t really feel like a complete story, instead just snippets of some great character moments for Bruce Wayne, Alfred, and Jim Gordon. There’s a lot of interesting stuff in here, but I suspect this issue will read better once the full context is known." -Joey
Click to read the entire review!
Final Score:
"Before we begin, let me just say that if you’re focused on figuring out how Damian could be 10 when Batman’s only been operating for 5-6 years, then stop. It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that Batman and Robin #0 is an endearing look at young Damian’s early days under the tutelage of his mother, leading directly into the events of Grant Morrison’s Batman and Son. It’s not exactly a fresh start for new readers, but longtime fans that hold Morrison’s work close to their heart will get goosebumps hitting this issue’s final page to relive one his run’s best moments." -Joey
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Final Score:
"For better or worse, Brain Azzarello seems less interested in replicating the tone and feel of the original Watchmen series with his two Before Watchmen books. But while Before Watchmen: Comedian is less redundant than it might have been, it also isn't managing to provide a compelling narrative or a cohesive look at what makes this dark vigilante tick." -Jesse
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Final Score:
"Demon Knights #0 is not technically a bad comic book. It's well written and nicely drawn. It boasts a nice flow, with some interesting scenes. Unfortunately, it is also completely and totally unnecessary. It jumps back in time, like most of these DC zero issues, and gives us a glimpse into a time before The Demon Knights story started. This means that the book is devoid of some of the series' best characters and lacks any kind of meaningful story. It feels like an editorial mandate, and that's probably because it no doubt was." -Benjamin
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Final Score:
"Frankenstein is a series I enjoyed as the New 52 relaunch kicked off but eventually fell behind on. Luckily, Matt Kindt's approach to issue #0 is one that welcomes new and lapsed readers. This completely standalone tale focuses on the creation of Victor Frankenstein's monster and the early battles that shaped him into the sword-slinging hero he is today." -Jesse
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Final Score:
"'I’ve seen more blood and guts and severed heads in the DC Universe in the past year than I have in quite some time.' That’s what my editor Joey Esposito said in his retrospective on DC’s New 52, a sentiment that couldn’t be felt more in Green Lantern Corps and bears exceptional truth in this zero issue. But after the beheadings, impalings, and bisections, Peter J. Tomasi writes one hell of a Guy Gardner origin story." -Joshua
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Final Score:
"This book could be made into a four-page short. It also happens to be approximately the same plot of this month’s Superboy #0. In all honesty, the most entertainment that I mined from this book was Rob Liefeld’s hilariously bad cover. For a good laugh, find a copy and check out Grifter’s left thumb, right triceps, right legs, and right hand. Just don’t buy it." -Poet
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Final Score:
"Legion Lost #0 is a pretty standard origin story for the most interesting character in the title, supplying enough action and drama for the title to transition smoothly into its next issue. Timber Wolf receives a solid retelling of his backstory and motivation for his career as a vigilante/Legion member. In the end, Tom DeFalco’s story is enough to justify this issue’s existence, but it’s unlikely to be your favorite book this week." -Poet
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Final Score:
"Ravagers #0 takes the more straightforward approach to the Zero Month concept, flashing back to Beast Boy and Terra's origins as prisoners in the N.O.W.H.E.R.E. program. Howard Mackie aims to reveal how their bond developed in the face of great hardship and suffering. It's a nice idea, but the issue fails to offer any sense of progression. The characters barely encounter each other before Terra is throwing herself in the line of fire to protect Garth. There should have been more focus on the duo and less on Harvest and his minions explaining the nature of Garth and Tara's powers. Generally, Mackie's writing style is best suited to more family-friendly superhero fare. The pointless exposition and the overuse of technical jargon and scientific buzzwords do little to make this feel like a smart, science fiction-oriented superhero book." -Jesse
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Final Score:
"It's a fair question to ask why Resurrection Man needs a #0 issue when the entire series has been devoted to slowly shedding light on Mitch Shelley's mysterious past and the nature of his powers. But with DC bringing the series to an end this month, Resurrection Man #0 is more a patch designed to tie up all the loose ends as quickly and neatly as possible. Unsurprisingly, that makes for an underwhelming finish to the series." -Jesse
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Final Score:
"Amanda Waller is certainly getting a lot of attention in the New 52. Though her old Team 7 is making its debut this week as well, Suicide Squad #0 picks up promptly after that team meets its end – something that apparently rubs The Wall the wrong way. While we presumably have quite a while to see the events referenced play out, writer Adam Glass makes it clear that Team 7 didn’t exactly leave Waller in a good place. For its length, Glass does a fair job of establishing the setting of this issue and the relationship of Waller and new character Duren. The book is brisk, but uses careful dialogue to allot for space constraints. However, as solid as the setup might be, the conclusion is lacking." -Joey
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Final Score:
"Fans of exposition and recapitulation get ready. This book is chock full of it. If you’ve followed the series, you will learn next to nothing. Superboy #0 is a filler issue if ever there was one. Yes, Tom DeFalco’s script does add a bit of backstory, strange as it is. Sadly, the greater part of the book is a rehash of the first few issues of the series. Worse, there is an epic, grating voiceover/monologue by Harvest that lasts almost the entire issue. It does explain how Harvest fits into the whole convoluted scheme, but it fails to register as interesting." -Poet
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Final Score:
"The original Team 7 series is a book I have fond memories of. It's probably not quite as good as I remember it, but it was a cool little series that explored the nasty roots of the Wildstorm Universe. It showed that everything was connected and that many of the characters had darker, more violent pasts than we had previously imagined. The new Team 7 book is nothing like that. It's generic, sluggish, and boring. It really shares only one thing with the original book and that's the title." -Benjamin
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Final Score:
Death is a great teacher. Failure in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is, as it always has been for this series, the greatest way to learn where you should have gone, what you shouldn't have done, and how you could have done better. Counter-Strike players spend a lot of time learning -- consequently, they are always getting better.
Growth is an important factor in Global Offensive, especially if you're coming into Counter-Strike fresh or after a sabbatical. This is an extremely hardcore, skill-based first-person shooter, and it forces you to think differently than other modern shooters. If you’re a Call of Duty player, you’re going to need to change your play style to succeed here. Counter-Strike also tries developing into something new here as well, despite doing little to push itself beyond what it’s always done best. Global Offensive modifies old maps to keep veterans on their toes, and introduces official new modes that encourage different play styles for the first time in almost 15 years.
For the uninitiated, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is a small-scale, team-based first-person shooter with permanent death. When a counter-terrorist kills a terrorist planting explosives in a classic Defusal match, or a CT escort swallows a sniper round in Hostage Rescue, the victim is dead for good and doesn't respawn until the next round. As such, players on both sides must exercise skill and care. The bomb objective, meanwhile, gives everyone a purpose. Of course matches end when everyone on a team is dead, but a clever and coordinated terrorist team will give the CTs the slip, plant their bomb, and protect the bomb site. Between rounds, everyone spends earned cash on better gear and guns, and the cycle continues.
Pieces of the Counter-Strike formula are dated at this point, but the superb heart and soul of Global Offensive is timeless. Teams are small, guns are lethal, and rounds are short. There's an addictive just-one-more-round quality to it, because there's a constant desire to do better than last time, to earn a satisfying kill, or to win in a new way. Call of Duty and Battlefield vets will wonder why they can't sprint to escape enemy fire or look down the iron sights to improve aim; Counter-Strike players will feel like they walked into their redecorated home. Certain map redesigns will catch hardcore fans off guard, but the changes are for the best -- the underpass choke point in de_dust, for instance, has a new escape route.
Even in the face of genre evolution, Global Offensive doesn’t care to adapt. CSGO is so dedicated to Counter-Strike's aging ideals despite market and trend changes that it brute-forces its way to success. Part of what makes it such an engaging competitive game is that killing in Global Offensive requires a wholly different skill set than other shooters. Everyone is limited to what they have and can see, with little room for character modification or on-the-fly advantages. Running and gunning is a useless play style, even if you've bought a helmet and kevlar that round, to the point that someone standing still is more likely to score the kill. Walking, crouching, or standing are your best bets to reduce the inaccurate spray of machine-gun fire.
Consequently, killing in Global Offensive feels good. There's a sickening sensation to dropping someone dead because you know they're not coming back. It's also satisfying knowing you used limited resources to play smarter than your victim. If players aren't watching corners, providing covering fire, or using smoke grenades and flashbangs, they're more likely to take a headshot from a more delicate and patient triggerman. The desire to experience that distinct feeling is a strong motivator to keep playing, even when you're getting steamrolled by an obviously better team.
If you've played Counter-Strike before, Global Offensive probably sounds a whole lot like Counter-Strike. Like Counter-Strike: Source before it, Global Offensive exists simply to modernize the look of the classic competitive shooter, while doing little to disrupt the core form and function. At the same time, it does enough to color outside the lines of tradition to justify your time and effort.
There's a sickening sensation to dropping someone dead because you know they're not coming back.
Fire is one of the most interesting new combat variables. Molotov cocktails and incendiary grenades either roast groups of guys or force them in another direction. Flames are a useful distraction or scare tactic, too. They're particularly useful during Demolition matches, which focus the fight at a single bomb site rather than giving terrorists two to pick between. The new and modified maps in this mode aren't as big as classic Counter-Strike arenas – entire sections have been cut off to direct teams toward a central location – but their thoughtful design is as intricate as ever. The Lake map is a standout -- there's a wide open yet densely populated yard around the bomb site, which is inside a sizable lakeside home with plenty of vantage points and hiding spots. To separate Demolition from Defusal, players can't buy between rounds. Instead, it takes a cue from the other new mode, Arms Race, in which each kill unlocks another weapon instantly. The better you do, the more you have to switch up the way you play, and because Demolition is so fast you'll need to be quick on your feet.
Arms Race can get out of control, but patience pays off.
Unlike other game types, Arms Race allows for respawns. It's the most chaotic and care-free mode in Global Offensive, with players throwing caution to the wind for the sake of climbing the kill ladder as quickly as possible. It's a shame there are only two maps in Arms Race -- a problem that will more likely persist on consoles than PC.
If you have the option, playing the PC version is unquestionably the best way to experience Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Mods, mouse and keyboard, and the usual PC-only options are better than the ports. Plus, Valve is much better about long-term PC support -- it abandoned Team Fortress 2 on consoles, and Portal 2's level editor was PC exclusive. If you prefer to play on consoles, Global Offensive is the same great game, with the following special bits:
For those who want to play on PlayStation 3 but don’t want to deal with the imprecision of analog sticks, Counter-Strike: GO supports mouse and keyboard, giving it a pretty noticeable edge over the Xbox 360 version. If you’re feeling saucy, Move is another option, although nuance dies with the motion controller. Move is accurate, and your quick reflexes will score kills, but the unavoidable instability of holding a remote will give your cursor some seriously unpleasant wobble. Worse, moving the wand quickly can confuse the controller, which often and irritatingly misinterprets basic left/right looks as a want to turn around 180 degrees.
Aside from the lack of keyboard/mouse input, the Xbox 360 version of Global Offensive is functionally identical to that on PS3 -- the new radial user-interface on both platforms is as elegant as it is on PC. Because it’s a hardcore competitive game, Counter-Strike blocks party chat in an effort to combat cheating, forcing players with headsets to play with friends or brave the Wild West of obscenity that is Xbox Live.
Memory is a funny thing. It twists and distorts the past, rewriting what actually happened. But occasionally, just occasionally, it stretches one’s memories into elaborate, death-defying race courses. Well, maybe it doesn’t, but that’s exactly what happens in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed.
Classic settings from SEGA games gone-by have been reimagined as frantic tracks which you traverse as familiar SEGA characters, including Sonic, Joe Musashi, and AiAi. It’s a kart racer, with the emphasis firmly on speed, power-sliding, and power-ups. And you aren’t always confined to a four-wheel kart: your vehicle transforms periodically from a car to a boat to a plane, and back again.
We’ve already taken a look at the All-Star Racing on current-gen consoles but the game is also heading to Nintendo’s Wii U when it launches later this year. As with most games on Nintendo’s forthcoming console, it packs a raft of unique features tailored for the Wii U’s rather unique GamePad.
First up, as with most Wii U games, the action can be pulled down from the TV onto the GamePad. This is done rather simply by swiping your finger down on the controller’s touchscreen, as if you’re ‘dragging’ down the game onto the smaller screen. Conversely, if you want to resume playing on the big screen, flick your finger in the opposite direction. It works well, though I doubt people will use it mid-race; it’s too disorientating, but once you’re playing on the GamePad, the game looks good and handles well.
Allowing you to play the game on either screen, Wii U presents developers with the opportunity to transform (sorry) any console game optimised for large HD televisions into something more akin to a handheld experience. But is this not also a curse? Is something not lost in the transition from the big to the small screen? SUMO – the developer behind the game – doesn’t think so. “I don’t think it’s compromised,” says Steve Lycett, executive producer on the game. “For a start we’re already building the game across a selection of handhelds, on 3DS and Vita, so we consider it one more option the players has.” And compared to these handhelds, the Wii U’s screen compares favourably. “Put it this way, when I’m kicked off the TV as the latest soaps need to be caught up with, I certainly won’t complain about being able to seamlessly carry on playing!”
Adder's Lair
Seamlessly. That’s the crucial word with the Wii U. Used smartly and sensitively the Wii U’s controller allows the game to expand in novel and curious ways; otherwise, it just feels gimmicky and forced. When you’re in a race, jockeying for position, the screen displays a range of pertinent information – the current order of racers, a mini-map of the course. It’s all unintrusive and useful, but I expect most people to keep their eyes firmly on the race. Similarly, when you unleash one of the game’s eccentric power-ups, you’ll be able to see its destiny on the GamePad’s screen. Launch a remote-controlled car loaded with a stick of dynamite and you can watch it travel towards its unfortunate target. Again, it’s unlikely you’ll divide your attention, but if you’re the kind of person who revels in the misfortune of others, the GamePad’s screen will accommodate your sadism.
It’s a subtle expanding of the game’s canvas onto the GamePad; it’s not a crowbarring.
Perhaps the biggest advantage of the GamePad is not its touchscreen or its gyroscope (incidentally, you can also steer using the GamePad like a wheel, rotating it left and right) – it’s the ability to open up weird and wonderful forms of asymmetrical gameplay. Yes, I know it was one of the most of overused and mocked phrases of this year’s E3 but with one person using a GamePad while others use more traditional controllers – Classic Controllers or the new Pro Controller – new types of gaming experiences become possible.
Depending on the circumstances, a GamePad can prove to be an advantage or disadvantage, and All-Star Racing Transformed smartly uses this discrepancy as the basis for its mini-games.
I only saw one during my time with the Wii U version, called ‘Super Monkey Ball Arena’, and whomever had the GamePad took control of AiAi, who was as usual encased in his perspex sphere. Meanwhile, opponents using Classic Controllers played as Sonic and Tails in racing cars. The aim of the mini-game was simple: before the time ran out, squash the tiny versions of Sonic and Tails, who were driving around attempting to collect as many bananas as possible.
The GamePad “gave us a reason to think about how we can use the fact one player has an advantage (or disadvantage!),” says Lycett. And the source of inspiration behind many of these games is an interesting one. “We came back to game you’d play as school kids. So things like Tag, British Bulldog, Hide and Seek, all the classics basically, became the inspiration for what we’d prototype and try. Then it’s how you bend that into something SEGA themed, and luckily we’ve had a bit of experience of doing that.”
Seaside Hill
That’s how the game plays but Sonic All-Star Racing Transformed also looks good on Nintendo’s latest console. I only saw two tracks: Adders Lair, inspired by Golden Axe, and Seaside Hill which is based on a level from last year’s Sonic Generations. Both looked good – like its predecessor, the visuals are bright and chaotic – but things were obviously still being fine-tuned for Wii U. Ocean View was nicely designed, especially as the level slowly crumbled around you, forcing you to hit the waves, where you weave in and out of the flailing tentacles of a huge mechanical cephalopod. The game is “easily on a par [with Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions],” says Lycett. “We’re still very much getting to grips with what we can make the hardware do [...]. So it’s hard to really answer that right now, but yeah, I think once we’ve had a bit more time finding our way around it, chances are you can look to do things that you may not be able to do before.”
2012 is shaping up to be the year of the console racer, with LittleBigPlanet Karting and F1 Race Stars also lining up on the grid. But Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is the only one heading to Wii U, and it seems to be intelligently embracing the new console’s capabilities. It’s there during races, but in a subtle ways, expanding the game beyond the narrow confines of your television screen.
