Captain Marvel Reviews Roundup -- Here's What Critics Think
After an intriguing tease in a post-credits sequence of Avengers: Infinity War, Captain Marvel has finally arrived. One of the most powerful characters in Marvel continuity is one of only two MCU films serving as a bridge between Infinity War and the conclusion against the murderous Thanos in Avengers: Endgame. As a result, fans have high expectations of Carol Danvers, both as a trump card to tip the scales in the heroes' favor, and as the first female-led superhero film in the Marvel universe.
The results are mixed. Reviews agree that Captain Marvel is a fun and enjoyable movie, but it has less of a clear identity than some other movies in the MCU. Our own Captain Marvel review from Michael Rougeau suggests that the issue is timing, and how the film's placement between the two halves of the biggest Avengers story yet does it a disservice.
"Captain Marvel feels like a forced cul-de-sac we have to drive impatiently around to get where we really want to go," he wrote. "To be clear: Captain Marvel is not a bad movie. It's just being released at the wrong time."
Check out more from GameSpot's review, along with a sampling of other reviews, below. For even more on Captain Marvel, check out GameSpot sister site Metacritic.
GameSpot -- No Score
"Captain Marvel hits all the right notes, but it feels like it was released at the wrong time. There's too much anticipation and dread right now to fully enjoy this heroic cul-de-sac. It doesn't quite set up the twists you might want it to, and its many expansions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe feel like fodder for future movies, not the impending Endgame itself. Carol Danvers would have been better served with an explosive entrance in Endgame, then her own standalone to kick off the MCU's next phase. Right now this movie is an obligatory addendum to the Avengers story, when it deserved to be an essential opening chapter." -- Michael Rougeau [Full review]
Chicago Sun-Times -- 3.5/5
"Amidst all the scenes with intergalactic warships and fireball-flinging, co-directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck wisely find plenty of room to take the foot off the accelerator and cede center stage to Larson, Jackson and the rest of the greatly talented cast. It’s a real treat to see Carol Danvers find her footing and her wings, so to speak, while at the same time Nick Fury is taking the first steps toward becoming Nick Fury." -- Richard Roeper [Full review]
Den of Geek -- 3.5/5
"Captain Marvel continues to prove just how good the MCU is at expanding its universe in new ways that still feel integral to the larger world. Experiencing the film's final moments is not unlike the experience of watching the final moments of Rogue One, so cleverly does the film weave its way into existing canon, informing what has already happened in the franchise (and what will eventually happen in the world of the MCU) in emotionally-resonant ways. After Captain Marvel, the MCU feels more complete." -- Kayti Burt [Full review]
The Guardian -- 3/5
"I wanted a clearer, more central story for Captain Marvel’s emergence on to the stage, and in subsequent films – if she isn’t simply to get lost in the ensemble mix – there should more of Larson’s own wit and style and, indeed, plausible mastery of martial arts. In any case, Captain Marvel is an entertaining new part of the saga." -- Peter Bradshaw [Full review]
We Got This Covered -- 3/5
"Captain Marvel is a recorded mixtape of familiar MCU beats that sets Carol Danvers up for success, but as a period standalone, struggles to be anything we haven't yet seen from superhero cinema." -- Matt Donato [Full review]
Collider -- B-
"Taken on its own merits, Captain Marvel comes up short as a superhero origin story. By trying to find a fresh approach, the screenplay deprives its lead character of an arc and some of her humanity. The film itself lacks the energy and vision of Black Panther or even Captain America: The First Avenger. But when it comes to making you root for its superhero and eager to see her in more Marvel movies, Captain Marvel passes with flying colors." -- Matt Goldberg [Full review]
New York Post -- 1.5/5
"What’s said to be Marvel’s most powerful superhero ever is served Melatonin by Larson. There is precious little texture or detail, ups and downs, or emotions of any kind in her performance. The character, even when kicking ass, is a total bore. The film’s best moments are provided by Jackson and a hilarious cat." -- Johnny Oleksinski [Full review]
Variety -- No Score
"It's a prequel that casts its gaze way forward. Yet in its sturdy and standard-issue way, it invests Carol Danvers with a heroic majesty and heft that moves her, as a presence, right to the forefront of the series." -- Owen Gleiberman [Full review]
Essentially a vulnerability was detected in ALL versions of Unity for ALL versions of the Windows operating system, that enable a hacker to remotely run code by exploiting a security flaw in the Unity editor. It DOES NOT affect games created with Unity and Mac and Linux users are unaffected. Applying the patch may result in rebuilding asset bundles when you first open your project after the patch is applied.
The patch was released for all major versions after Unity 5.6, as well as a mitigation tool for people running versions of Unity before Unity 5.6. Here are the download links for the patches and tools:
You can learn more details about the vulnerability and the corresponding patches/mitigation tool here. If you are a Unity developer, I highly recommend you apply the patch immediately, especially as details of the exploit become more publically known.
Anthem is crashing entire PlayStation 4 systems, say players
BioWare’s online loot shooter Anthem seems to be suffering from crash issues that knock a player’s entire console out of commission, at least according to numerous reports on Reddit and EA’s own website.
It’s a fairly severe issue in a high-profile game like BioWare’s latest, and one that unfortunately comes during an already turbulent launch period.
Some of the crashes reported are hitting systems harder than those that close a game with an error message. A handful of Anthem players say that their PS4 will shut down completely as if someone unplugged the system, and display an improper shutdown when it boots back up.
According to Kotaku, at least one player that reached out to the publication said an Anthem crash fully bricked their PS4 system.
A handful of public posts have recorded similar issues since the game’s launch. One from a week ago on EA’s bug reporting site says that closing the game on PS4 caused their system to suddenly shut down and said that the console was unresponsive to attempts to power it back on until they physically disconnected and reconnected its power source. Other forum users echo this in the replies, and the post isn’t the only one out there by any means.
While Anthem‘s official channels haven’t directly addressed this specific issue quite yet, the game’s community team has urged players experiencing issues to reach out and file a ticket on EA’s bug reporting forum.
“Everything that has been reported is being tracked and the team is working on fixing issues as quickly as possible,” tweeted global CM Jesse Anderson. “Some issues will be addressed faster than others with hotfixes, others require a client update which take longer to get ready.”
New Alpha and Alpha Skip Ahead 1904 build coming today 2/24/19
Starting at 2:00 p.m. PST today, members of the Xbox One Preview Skip Ahead and Preview Alpha Rings will begin receiving the latest 1904 Xbox One system update (19h1_release_xbox_dev_1904.190221-2147). Read on for more about the new features, fixes and known issues in the latest 1904 system update. For the next few releases we will keep Alpha Skip Ahead and Alpha builds in sync to test core functionality.
This build contains the new Storage uninstall feature to please test.
Improved uninstall
When you try to install a new game or app today with a full HDD we send you to your collection to choose what to remove. The new suggested uninstall feature will instead send you to a page that has titles suggested for removal that will free up enough space for your install and to make things even easier it will auto-kickoff the install once the space is freed up!
You can also get to the new drive manager page via Settings > System > Storage (then select the storage device and Uninstall items) to easily manage your existing content and uninstall multiple titles at once.
Fixes:
My Games and Apps
We have resolved a system memory leak that will address the following issues with games and apps:
Apps such as Netflix unable to launch or crashing on launch.
Various games simply fail to launch with a generic error message after playing a 4k title for a period of time.
If playing a 4k title and taking a series of screenshots or game DVR clips you would find the system slow or lock up.
System
We have resolved a system memory leak that will address the following issue on home:
When playing a game and returning to the guide you would see corrupt text or missing graphics on home.
The system clock is now displaying on home for various locales.
Localization fixes.
Known Issues:
Achievements
Achievements list not being displayed while in a game.
Audio
We are aware of issues of No Audio heard from Non-Spatial Audio games when using Dolby Atmos for Home Theater with the LG SJ9 soundbar.
Disney Adventures
We are tracking an issue that this title is crashing on launch.
Game Pass Mobile App
Issue/Impact – After pushing a remote installation of a game from the Game Pass mobile app, customers will not see progress of the installation on in the mobile app and may not receive install notifications. The game will still successfully install if there is sufficient available space on the console.
Affected audience – must be in 1904 preview, must be a GP subscriber, must be using the GP mobile app, must be pushing game installations from the app.
Workarounds – None. A fix is coming in the next version of the mobile app in March. Customers interested in getting early access to the fix can download the Game Pass Beta app.
Messaging
We are tracking that some users are report unable to send/receive messages with latest update.
Profile Color
Sometimes users may encounter the incorrect Profile color when powering on the console.
System
We are tracking an issue in which the Console locks up when accessing guide after playing a title or app.
First-Person Buddy Cop Shooter RICO Shoots Its Way To Switch Next Week
Rising Star Games and developer Ground Shatter have announced that RICO will be firing onto a Nintendo Switch near you next week.
The game has players stepping up to be a member of the elite RICO taskforce, where you’ll have just 24 hours to solve a case and bring an end to organised crime. You’ll be kicking down doors and shooting your way through randomly generated levels that are said to make every case “new and unique”.
You’ll also be able to team up with a friend if you prefer, playing the role of a pair of loose-cannon police partners and supporting each other through urban shootouts. Both online and local co-op play is supported.
James Parker, Director at Ground Shatter, has said the following in a press release today:
“Games can change people’s lives, inform us about the human condition, and tell epic stories of love, life, and loss… RICO doesn’t do any of those things, it’s a game about kicking doors open and shooting bad guys, often in glorious slow motion.”
Game Features:
Compete against the clock to solve a case in 24 hours
Online Co-op and Offline split-screen play
“Daily play” with online leaderboards
Randomly generated cases, operations, and environments
Unlockable weapons, traits, and equipment
With arcade-style tactical shooter action, weapon and equipment unlocks, and leaderboards to challenge, this could be worth keeping an eye on. You’ll be able to download RICO from the Switch eShop on 14th March.
Is RICO going on your wishlist? Let us know if you’ll be buying a copy in the comments.
Random: Fan Turns 65-Inch TV Into A Giant Nintendo Switch
We’ve seen some pretty amazing fan-made things over the years here at Nintendo Life, mostly from those with a keen eye for creativity and imagination, and this latest effort is soaring right onto our list of absolutely must-see endeavours.
A gaming fan going by the name Suprman9 has created ‘Nerdvana’, a gaming room which uses a combination of ‘nerd’ and ‘Nirvana’ for its name. The room features a dedicated One Piece mural and a Superman arcade machine among other things, but there’s one item which has grabbed our attention in particular.
That’s right, hanging on the wall for all to see is a giant Nintendo Switch. Of course, in reality, this is a standard TV (65 inches, according to Suprman9’s site) with custom made Joy-Con plonked onto the sides. You don’t need us to tell you just how amazing it looks.
After initially thinking about a potential Game Boy Color setup, and then another for 3DS, the vision of this Switch monstrosity eventually came into being. “Finally, the idea of a Nintendo Switch hit me”, Suprman9 mentions on their blog. “The Switch was the perfect design because the center console looks like a miniature TV. Also, the Switch is the current console and has had some of my favourite games on it (Super Mario Odyssey & Breath of the Wild)”.
From there, the process consisted of an awful lot of accurate measuring and experimental woodwork. You can read up on its creation and see more images here if you’re interested.
If we’re being completely honest, Nintendo Life HQ looks pretty boring now. Suprman9, fancy hooking us up with another Switch TV?
Bricksburg is in ruins and Emmet’s friends have been taken! Team up with Emmet and a host of heroic characters to save their friends from the strange inhabitants of the Systar System. Journey into outer space, discover new worlds, and test your Master Building skills.
As North American Launch Partner for the Overwatch League, the automaker looks forward to collaborating on behind-the-scenes content for league fans
IRVINE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Following a thrilling opening week for the Overwatch League that drew more than 10 million viewers worldwide, a major new brand-marketing partner has signed on to support the league during its inaugural season: multinational automotive manufacturer Toyota.
Toyota will be a North American Launch Partner for the Overwatch League, and is looking forward to future collaborations around bringing behind-the-scenes content to fans. The automaker plans to have additional broadcast integrations, as well as a vehicle presence at Blizzard Arena Los Angeles.
“Toyota is excited to be a launch partner of the Overwatch League,” said Steven Curtis, vice president, media & engagement marketing for Toyota Motor North America. “We love the passion of esports fans, and the goal of our partnership is to help take the Overwatch League and the fan experience to the next level.”
“We’re thrilled to welcome Toyota to the Overwatch League,” said Pete Vlastelica, president and CEO of Blizzard Entertainment’s MLG division. “When we were building the league, our desire was to create a premium experience for players and fans, and partners like Toyota are helping us do just that.”
The Overwatch League is further supported by sponsors HP® and Intel®, with players competing on cutting-edge gaming hardware including HP’s OMEN gaming PCs, powered by the latest Intel® Core™ i7 processors.
About the Overwatch League™
The Overwatch League™ is the first major global professional esports league with city-based teams across Asia, Europe, and North America. Overwatch® was created by globally acclaimed publisher Blizzard Entertainment (a division of Activision Blizzard—Nasdaq: ATVI), whose iconic franchises have helped lay the foundations and push the boundaries of professional esports over the last 15 years. The latest addition to Blizzard’s stable of twenty-one #1 games,[1] Overwatch was built from the ground up for online competition, with memorable characters and fast-paced action designed for the most engaging gameplay and spectator experiences. To learn more about the Overwatch League, visit www.overwatchleague.com.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 33 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more than 46,000 people (more than 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold almost 2.7 million cars and trucks (2.45 million in the U.S.) in 2016—and about 85 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 15 years are still on the road today.
[1] Sales and/or downloads, based on internal company records and reports from key distribution partners
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Blizzard Entertainment’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including statements about the sponsorship arrangements for Overwatch esports, are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Blizzard Entertainment’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Blizzard Entertainment and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Blizzard Entertainment nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Blizzard Entertainment or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.
Another week, another snapshot! Winter is getting closer and it’s getting so cold here in Stockholm that my fingers froze and snapped off while I was writing this intro (true story). Anyway, what better way to get into a festive mood than hanging out in a fancy new village in a snowy biome? If you’re not into the whole being cold and wearing thick woollen socks in the horrible outdoors thing, you can always stay inside playing Minecraft and hang out in the new updated savanna villages. If you’re hungry, grab some berries! Enjoy!
A full summary of the content available in this snapshot can be found in the changelog on Minecraft.net, the following is a short summary:
Updated savanna villages
Added snowy villages
Added Berry Bushes
Added Berries
Changes to raids
New loot table function: copy_nbt
BERRIES
Delicious!
Not very filling!
Plant your berries in the ground and look with your special eyes as they grow up into a strong, independent bush!
BERRY BUSHES
Commonly found in Taiga, Taiga Hills, and Taiga Mountains
Rarely found in Snowy Taiga and Snowy Taiga Hills and Snowy Taiga Mountains
You can stand inside them, but be careful, it will hurt to move
Has 4 stages of growth. Sapling, no berries, some berries, full berries
Drops 1-2 berries in younger stage, 2-3 in full growth stage
Supports bonemeal!
RAID CHANGES
There’s now two waves per Bad Omen level
Beast now has a possibility to be a part of every wave
You now have to complete a wave before the next one starts
To get snapshots, open your launcher and go to the “launch options” tab. Check the box saying “Enable snapshots” and save. To switch between the snapshot and normal version, you can find a new dropdown menu next to the “Play” button. Back up your world first or run the game on in a different folder (In the “launch options” page).
Please report any and all bugs you find in Minecraft to bugs.mojang.com.
Snapshots can corrupt your world, please backup and/or run them in a different folder from your main worlds.
Share your thoughts on how 1.14 is shaping up in the comments below!
