This issue marks the first of two big numbering milestones the Spider-Man franchise will be celebrating this spring. Unfortunately, take away the #300 ob the cover and the only thing truly noteworthy about this comic is its length. In terms of dramatic stakes and emotional investment, this storyline is falling disappointingly flat.
It’s not even a problem of scope. Writer Chip Zdarsky introduces a truly world-ending threat as Spidey and his fellow heroes find their own tech wiped out even as an army of Tinkerer-boosted villains swoop in for the kill. That in turn fuels a larger doomsday scenario later in the story. Some might argue this is all too big for a Spider-Man comic, dragging the hero out of his comfort zone to deal with challenges above his pay grade. I don’t put much stock in that criticism, as Dan Slott’s Spider-Man run has regularly proven that it’s possible to push the character in strange, unlikely new directions and still maintain the core of Spider-Man.
Battlefield 1: Apocalypse should be thought of mostly as a map pack, with two especially strong and great-looking ground battles leading the charge back into the fray. The pair of simple air battles, on the other hand, aren’t much more than a distraction from the real war.
Apocalypse’s River Somme, Caporetto, and Passchendaele are standard Battlefield maps meant to be played in modes like Conquest. They all bring the brutality the same way: they’re relatively open and less directed, with limited cover options. That’s a contrast to Battlefield 1’s previous maps, which have emphasized high cover and defined flanking routes. It’s easy to make a beeline for the next objective, especially on Passchendaele, though this still leaves you vulnerable to sniper fire.
The God of thunder himself Chris Hemsworth might star in Sony’s new Men in Black spinoff.
IGN has confirmed Hemsworth is circling the role, but talks with Sony are still early. It’s also not currently known what role Hemsworth would play. This spinoff, separate from the Men in Black/Jump Street crossover, is said to be a global adventure, and Sony reportedly wants a diverse cast led by a white male, a black woman, and an older man.
These characters won’t be Agents K and J, portrayed by Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith, respectively, in the original two Men in Black movies.
There’s no way around it: GoBots are subpar versions of Transformers. What’s strange, though, is that GoBots technically came first. The first GoBots toys were in stores in 1983, a year before Transformers. The GoBots movie even beat the Transformers movie to theaters.
(Image: Hanna-Barbera)
21. Mechani-Kong
The 1968 film King Kong Escapes pits the titular ape against his robotic duplicate. It’s a fight every monster movie fan should see. Unfortunately, Mechani-Kong wouldn’t leave the same impression as Mechagodzilla did a few years later.
(Image: Universal Studios)
20. Robo Jason Sudeikis
It’s unclear exactly what this robot’s name is, but the bot controlled by Jason Sudeikis in Colossal is both terrifying and fascinating. It’s impressive to have such great character design in a movie where monsters play second fiddle to a character story happening elsewhere.
(Image: Neon)
19. Jet Jaguar
The humongous Jet Jaguar was Godzilla’s robot sidekick in the 1973 film Godzilla vs. Megalon. The robot can more than hold its own, though.
(Image: Toho)
18. Giant robots from Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
These huge mech warriors may not have a name, but thanks to the unique visual style of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, they’re unforgettable.
(Image: Paramount)
17. Sentinels (The Matrix)
Sentinels are one of the worst things about life in the world of The Matrix, as they hunt down those who have unplugged. It’s impressive how quickly they’re able to tear apart a hovercraft.
(Image: Warner Bros.)
16. Hulkbuster
This massive battle mech is more or less the only thing that can take on the Incredible Hulk in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And it does so with classic Iron Man style.
15. Mega Maid
Mega Maid from Spaceballs isn’t the most dangerous giant robot, nor is it the most intimidating. But how can it be left out of a discussion about cool giant robots?
(Image: MGM)
14. Omnidroids
These battle robots specifically target superheroes, which makes them pretty dangerous in The Incredibles. Still, scary as they are, they also look really cool. Here’s hoping they appear in Incredibles 2.
(Image: Pixar)
13. K-2SO
K-2SO (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) may not be as giant as most robots on this list, but at over seven feet tall, he towers over most humans. While BB-8 has gotten the most attention from the new Star Wars films, K-2’s dry personality makes him the most entertaining robot. Plus, he knows how to fight.
(Image: Lucasfilm)
12. Gundams
The classic anime series Mobile Suit Gundam is loaded with giant bots, and it’s damn near impossible to pick just one. These metal warriors are loaded with weapons and they look super sleek.
(Image: Nippon Sunrise)
11. Humongous
You can’t enter the Goblin City without crossing paths with Humongous. This huge steampunk robot is exactly the kind of mechanical guard you’d expect from the mind of Jim Henson. It’s equal parts exciting and scary, just like the rest of Labyrinth.
(Image: TriStar)
10. Atom
This robot is a huge metal boxer piloted by Hugh Jackman. That fact alone is enough to land it a space on the list, but then, all of the robots in Real Steel are impressive.
The movie takes the idea of Battle Bots to an entirely new level.
(Image: Disney)
9. Titans
Like many robots on this list, the namesakes of Titanfall are complicated exoskeletons piloted by humans. Unarmed versions are used for construction and other peaceful roles. Armed versions, meanwhile, have the firepower of a tank.
(Image: Microsoft)
8. Jaegers
The Jaegers in Pacific Rim are wildly effective at protecting the planet from giant monsters. They may require two pilots, but their weaponry and maneuverability are second-to-none.
(Image: Warner Bros.)
7. Evas
The Evangelion units of Neon Genesis Evangelion are robots, though they do contain organic parts and have angel blood running through them. They’re programmed to protect the world and are psychically controlled by orphans.
(Image: Adult Swim)
6. Megazord
The first Power Rangers Megazord is still its best. It combines five mechanical dinosaurs into one humongous fighter — not unlike Voltron — to deal with any evil that threatened Earth.
It set the template for all the zords to come, whether it was Dragonzord, Ninja Megazord, or even the Tigerzord.
(Image: Saban)
5. Sentinels
These mutant-hunting scourges of the X-Men universe are pretty scary. It’s hard not to be intimidated by their size.
(Image: 20th Century Fox)
4. Mechagodzilla
If anything is scarier than Godzilla, it’s surely a metal version of the giant lizard. Mechagodzilla shoots missiles from its fingertips, energy beams from its eyes, and can create a forcefield.
Take that, Godzilla.
(Image: Toho)
3. Voltron
Most ’80s children grew up worshipping at the altar of Voltron: Five massive robot tigers that connect to each other to create an even more powerful giant robot warrior. It’s the stuff of dreams.
Thankfully, Voltron is alive and well thanks to a new Netflix series.
(Image: Netflix)
2. Transformers
These robots that turn into cars are pop culture icons, but more than that, they’re cool. It’s hard to single out a single Transformer as our favorite, but how can you not love Optimus Prime swinging a giant alien sword while riding on the back of a robot dinosaur?
(Image: Paramount)
1. Iron Giant
He’s the quintessential giant robot that’s also your best friend. The Iron Giant is indestructible, can fly, is loaded with weaponry, and is voiced by Vin Diesel.
The XCOM comparison only goes so far, though, as Mutant Year Zero has a few unique elements to set it apart. For one, your soldiers are mutated anthropomorphized animals, like the duck and boar seen in the cinematic trailer below. Humanoid characters can be seen as well, but the publisher calls this a “post-human world” as the result of a nuclear apocalypse.
Mutant Year Zero also adds a real-time stealth mechanic to sneak up on patrolling enemies who move around the map as you do. The game also promises tech trees to upgrade your mutants with new abilities, dynamic environments to hide in the shadows or destroy walls, and plenty of loot to collect. After all, no giant talking duck is complete without the latest fashions.
The project is the debut of the new indie studio Bearded Ladies. It was formed by former Hitman developers along with Payday designer Ulf Andersson. Funcom hasn’t pinned down a release yet, but you can expect it to arrive sometime in 2018. It will be shown at GDC in March, so we can expect more details then.
Amazon has agreed to purchase video doorbell maker Ring.
Ring produces Wi-Fi powered doorbells which let homeowners see who is at the door remotely. Sources told Reuters the deal is valued at over $1 billion, although Amazon has not officially revealed details.
The technology had been pitched before by Ring’s founder and CEO, Jamie Siminoff, on a 2013 episode of Shark Tank, according to CNBC. At the time, his business was called Doorbot, and every investor but Kevin O’Leary passed. O’Leary made an offer but Siminoff did not accept.
Bridge Constructor Portal leans heavily upon its iconic forebears. GlaDOS, an uncaring-though-humorous AI, greets you at the beginning of many levels, setting the stage for the plentiful puzzles that lay before you. It sounds like the setup for another delicious brain-teaser that will tickle your funny bone while pushing your logic muscles. But neither the story nor the puzzles capture your imagination, resulting in a predictable slog that grows more tedious the deeper you get into the adventure. Even worse: I encountered a game-breaking bug that completely halted my progress at the home stretch.
The story in Bridge Constructor Portal is little more than a collection of references to the previous Portal games. GlaDOS is back to make light of your shortcomings, but her insults feel like diluted copies of familiar quips, lacking the clever tongue-lashings that she used to so easily dish out. She’s there to greet you with an insult at the beginning of some stages, and then you’re left on your own in a bleak and bland test chamber. Periodic cutscenes borrow familiar artifacts from previous games, but do little with these props other than make you fondly remember happier days. During one such segment, a picture of Portal’s famous cake appears on a computer screen while an instrumental version of “Still Alive” plays over the loudspeakers. This scene means nothing if you aren’t familiar with that game…and it’s just a quick nostalgia jab for those who are.
As the name implies, Bridge Constructor Portal has you building a series of bridges in the facility made famous in Portal. The goal is to guide a self-driving forklift full of cute little stick figures from the entry point to a faraway exit–all while avoiding turrets, leaping over acidic lakes, and triggering switches. Building a bridge is no easy task, though; physics are a constant and punishing presence, forcing you to consider the impact of gravity as you build rickety structures. With only metal planks and guy-wires to hold your contraptions in place, you have to make smart use of your materials to ensure that the entire structure doesn’t topple as soon as you begin.
A handy “best practices” tutorial teaches you the fundamentals of architecture. Build a series of triangles, for instance, to hold a bridge in place, or affix an arch to add even more support for your road. Bolts in the ceilings and walls can bear a lot of weight if you hook guy-wires up to connecting points, but make sure you balance the bridge properly, or it’s still going to cause your forklift to crash and burn as soon as it lays its wheel upon the road.
All of the techniques you need are doled out slowly, so it’s easy to get a handle on what the game is demanding of you. While you start out building simple ramps and roadways, you’re soon sculpting hundred-piece structures that dangle impossibly high in the air. The early going is tense: I would hold my breath as the forklift sauntered across my swaying bridge, hoping that the guy-wires were strong enough to carry the weight. My forklift would often land on a bridge from too high a distance, and I would watch helplessly as it all toppled to the ground. Then it was a matter of going back to work, adding a few more supports and tweaking the angle of ramps, before once again testing my creation.
It doesn’t take long, though, before you’ve seen all of the obstacles Bridge Constructor Portal can dish out. Once you’ve mastered suspension bridges, oscillating bridges, and angles of incidence, the stages force you to go through the motions to show–once more–the tricks you already learned. The game tries to keep things fresh by injecting obstacles and items from the original Portal game into this one; you’ll encounter talking turrets, companion cubes, speed goo, death lasers, bounce pads, flying balls, and (of course) portals. Later levels throw all of these into a single stage, but that only makes the experience more tedious, not more interesting.
The game often confuses complexity with fun, as throwing in more moving pieces doesn’t mean you’re going to have to think harder.
Bridge Constructor Portal is at its best when it focuses on one or two key ideas. Figuring out how to use a companion cube as a shield to block the laser attacks from a turret took enough clever construction that I was satisfied when my forklift glided gracefully through the exit. But the game often confuses complexity with fun, as throwing in more moving pieces doesn’t mean you’re going to have to think harder. Rather, it means you’re going to spend most of your time making small adjustments, wallowing in small details instead of appreciating the greater whole that surrounds you.
The best part of puzzle games is figuring out how to overcome a tricky obstacle. That’s the easiest and shortest aspect of Bridge Constructor Portal, though. Long after you’ve devised a way through the portals, off the bouncing pads, and past the lasers, you’re fiddling around with one small part of the contraption that is close, but oh so far, from the necessary perfection.
A lot of the tedium comes from how editing works. In test chamber 49, for instance, I had to guide my forklift through a series of portals on the right side of the screen while crashing into turrets from behind, and hitting a button that would release a companion cube on the left side. The cube is supposed to knock down three more turrets and hit a switch that opens the exit. The problem is that I couldn’t quite get the angle needed to guide the cube to its destination. So I would tweak a ramp, start the level up, and then wait 30 or so seconds until the forklift hit that switch to release the companion cube. Then, I would watch the cube fall, see where my mistake was, and move a ramp a few more pixels to try to get it in the right spot. And then… I’d start the whole process again. Tweak, wait 30 seconds, tweak, wait 30 seconds, tweak. There’s no way to start a run from a certain point to iterate on the one problem area, so I went back and forth with this project for a half hour until I finally got it right.
And then the game crashed.
From beginning to end, it took me about an hour to pass test chamber 49. Most of the later stages take 30 minutes or longer to get right, and some took even more than an hour. Losing my progress after spending so much time constructing the perfect series of ramps and bridges was maddening. But I had no time to pout: I jumped right back into test chamber 49, moving quicker than my first time through, and got my trusty companion cube to knock down the turrets and trigger the exit door in about 20 minutes.
And then I ran into an even bigger problem.
Test chamber 50 is much easier than the previous stage, but I experienced a bug every time I reached the exit that forced the game to crash to the Switch OS. I tried to save my work before exiting, crossing my fingers that I wouldn’t have to start from the beginning if the game crashed again–but the save function failed consistently, too. So I never got beyond test chamber 50, and never saw the last 10 challenges.
Obviously, a game-breaking bug is a serious problem, but I was tired of Bridge Constructor Portal long before my progress was abruptly halted. This game falls short in just about every area; an amusing story or eye-catching visual design could have at least distracted from the dull puzzles, but you get no reprieve here. The game doesn’t even feature any music while you’re building the many bridges. Long after you’ve figured out how to pass a stage, you’re still left tinkering with minute portions, adjusting ramps by mere pixels at a time, crossing your fingers that you landed on the exact angle needed to guide a companion cube or bounce a ball of light toward the wall trigger. Instead of testing your puzzle-solving ability, Bridge Constructor Portal just sees how long you can withstand tedium before you want to walk away from the whole endeavor.
