Sauron is the image in most peoples' minds when picturing a fantasy villain. The spiked armor, imposing voice, supreme power, and straightforwardly evil goals mark him as the default antagonist for any mystical world. Several other examples took notes from his presentation but can’t beat the genuine article. Sauron was not the first monstrous adversary to trouble Middle-earth, but how does he stack up to Morgoth, who made him who he is?...

In 2017,Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battleshook the world by merging the inhabitants of the iconic Mushroom Kingdom with Ubisoft’s crazed Rabbids and throwing them into a turn-based strategy game. Surprisingly, it worked. The non-Nintendo developedMariospin-off was positively receivedby fans and critics alike, praising its take on an approachable grid-based strategy game with two tonally different IPs.Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hopecontinues the trend of Ubisoft working its magic with Mario, as the sequel is a major improvement over its predecessor....

Chloé Zhao’sEternals, the highly anticipated phase 4 movie from Marvel Studios, is slated to premiere at the Rome Film Festival as the closing film. Eternals’festival premiere will take place on Sunday, October 24th, as part of the Alice nella città youth films section (with five sections dividing up the entire festival). The 16th edition of the festival will begin on October 14th at the Auditorium Parco della Musica and run throughout other theatres around the capital city....

New World’s July Update is introducing musical instruments and performances as a new trade skill, a group finder for expeditions, and countless other changes. Typical of aNew Worldmonthly update, the lengthy patch notes feature hundreds of minor adjustments, bug fixes, and quality of life improvements. Amazon Games' highly anticipated flagship MMORPGNew Worldwas released on PC last September and initially saw a huge population of players eager to explore the island of Aeternum....

War Thunderis a game about war machines blowing each other to smithereens, a proven formula for fun any day of the week. It is known for havingsome awesome modsand a playerbase dedicated to its realistic portrayals of wartime weaponry. For some players, the realism of the war machines that make up the backbone ofWar Thunderis very important. This leads to some debates over the power levels of various vehicles between players, and while this is usually nothing uncharacteristically destructive, it once got taken too far....

Kombat Pack owners now have their hands onMortal Kombat 11’s Joker, and if there is one thing that’s clear, it’s that the Clown Prince of Crime landed with a blast. Initially, though, this did not seem like it would be the case. Many remember when Joker was first revealed: his design was more kin to a rough cosplay of the character instead of representative of the Joker. Yet,Mortal Kombat 11adjusted this, which sort of highlights the path Joker would walk until his release....

Practically every year, the nextAssassin’s Creedgame is host to a plethora of leaks leading up to a big reveal. This year seems to be no different, even with the typical reveal venue E3 being canceled, and the latestAssassin’s Creed Ragnarokleak has some strong things to say about past leaks. First, it’s worth mentioning that this leak comes from French YouTuber and gaming streamer xJ0nathan. This means there’s a little more credibility here than a run-of-the-mill 4chan or RedditAssassin’s Creedrumor or leak, but still, fans should take it with a grain of salt....

The originalPokemon Snapgame released for the Nintendo 64 in 1999 and quickly became a cult favorite among fans of thePokemonfranchise. The game was known for encouraging players to experiment with the courses, figuring out how they can make different Pokemon interact with each other to get certain results. Sometimes these interactions would lead to Pokemon evolving, which in turn allowedPokemon Snapplayers to get pictures of new creatures. The recently releasedNew Pokemon Snapon the Nintendo Switch seems to do away with that particular feature, unfortunately....

For the past decade, Monolith Productions has worked on games set in theLord of the Ringsuniverse, releasingMiddle-earth: Shadow of MordorandMiddle-earth: Shadow of Warto strong reviews. It’s been four years since Monolith launchedMiddle-earth: Shadow of War, and so fans have been wondering what the studio’s been up to. While some may have assumed that Monolith was making a newMiddle-earthgame, it turns out the developer has been working on a game based on a DC Comics superhero....

Summary In the modern age of gaming, voice acting has become a pivotal part of many games. A good video game story is enhanced by the actors involved in the project, who give it their all, especially if the game has an open-world setting. Open-world games can feature a story with well-done cutscenes and cinematics, but the dialogue and voice acting of the large maps involved in the games are equally important....

In one of the game’s biggest character reveals yet,Super Smash Bros. Ultimateannounced Sephiroth fromFinal Fantasy 7as its next DLC fighterlast week at The Game Awards. Adding one of the most iconic video game villains of all time to the game’s all-star roster has cementedFinal Fantasy 7’s representation inSmash. As has become customary withSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate’s DLC fighters, the game’s director, Masahiro Sakurai, spent some time today showcasing Sephiroth, showing off the character’s moves, accompanying music tracks, and a new stage....

Summary A very artsyPokemonfan has just created a fully functional fountain in the shape of Slowpoke, a Water/Psychic-type from Gen 1. Meticulously handcrafted, the pocket creature’s figure showcases just how much thefans love thePokemonfranchiseand are willing to make their own items that reflect their fascination with the fandom. Given that Slowpoke is part of the Kanto region’s Gen 1 Pokemon, it is understandable for the pocket creature to have built up a solid fan base over the years....

Summary APokemonfan has created regional and convergent forms of certain Pokemon. Since the introduction of the regional and convergent forms in Game Freak’s pocket monster series, fans have designed their own alternatePokemonthat have yet to be covered in the mainline games. The designs are not only unique and beautifully detailed, they also come with different types that bring new life to each form. Regional forms were first introduced in generation seven, duringPokemon Sun and Moon....