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The Pokemon franchise is no stranger to questionable design. From whipped cream pocket monsters like Alcremie to ones literally made out of trash like Garbodor, the following are the weirdest Pokemon ever conceived from Game Freak and Nintendo. Weirdest Pokemon Ever | Alcremie The recently revealed Alcremie constantly oozes cream from its body. Chefs in the Galar region apparently use the creature’s fluids for many of their desserts, as they help make their cakes and pastries irresistibly delicious. It’s suffice to say that health-conscious trainers should do their best to avoid all delicacies when Sword and Shield arrive later this year. ALSO: Pokemon Sword and Shield Gigantamaxing and version-exclusive gyms detailed Weirdest Pokemon Ever | Rolycoly Rolycoly were used as a power source by the people of Galar 100 years ago, indicating that these creatures were once subjected to slavery or sacrificed in droves. As if the species’ history isn’t … [Read more...] about Weirdest Pokemon Ever

By common consensus, mastery rests on two pillars: talent and skill. And while the origin of talent — be it God or random genetic flux — is notoriously obscure, the provenance of skill is anything but. If talent is given, like a gift, then skill is made, which is to say that it is work’s reward. Even so, practice rarely has a financial reward. This presents a quandary for any industry built on skilled labor. If skill demands training, but training itself is not profitable, then who is obligated to support the labor of learning until accumulated skill can start to pay for itself? This is the heart of what’s often called a pipeline problem. Skill-building is time-consuming and expensive, and yet it must take place in order for skilled industries to survive. Until the modern era, apprenticeships largely served this function; these days, student debt does much the same, placing the financial burden (and risk) of training onto individuals rather than employers or … [Read more...] about The esports pipeline problem

Spidey. Web-slinger. Web-head. Wall-crawler. Underoos. Spider-Man has taken on a lot of names and faces in recent years, yet his charm remains the same. The following is a ranking of every modern Spider-Man movie from the best Spider-Man movies to the worst so far just in time for Spider-Man: Far From Home‘s release on July 2. Keep in mind that Venom, non-theatrical animated outings, and the live-action films released between 1977 and 1981 have not been included. 7. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Image courtesy of Sony The Amazing Spider-Man 2 fails to learn from its predecessors and tries to stuff way too much into its two-hour-and twenty-two minute run time. As the titular hero tries to stop Electro from shutting down New York City’s power supply, he has to work out his relationship with Gwen Stacy and convince his friend Harry Osborn to stay away from Green Goblin’s allure. While the film clearly sets up a Sinister Six film, a lot of its plot feels disingenuous … [Read more...] about The best Spider-Man movies to the worst, ranked

Following its release in 2004, Halo 2 instantly became the most popular multiplayer game on Xbox Live. It held that position for almost two years, and you can make a decent argument that the primary reason Xbox Live survived its infancy was the massive popularity of this single title. During the game’s six-year lifetime, more than 6.6 million players played over 499 million hours of Halo 2 online multiplayer. The development team at Bungie took a bold risk in building a new type of online experience, and it was a massive success and made millions of people happy. Which is why I’m glad I didn’t succeed in killing it in the lab. During development, Halo 2 was codenamed “Prophets” after the new race of aliens being added to the Halo universe. At the time, most researchers at Microsoft supported three to five titles each, but because this was a major tentpole title for the original Xbox, there were two user experience researchers assigned to help with the game … [Read more...] about The time I tried to ruin Halo 2

July doesn’t have a great reputation when it comes to blockbuster video game releases. This being said, a slew of memorable titles have launched during the month in the past and are celebrating significant milestones soon, including Mario Golf and Star Wars: TIE Fighter. July’s list of major game anniversaries also includes a tactical shooter, a JRPG, and a puzzle title. Each is worth a curious playthrough today while fans shelter themselves from the blistering summer heat. July 2019 Gaming Anniversaries | Sniper Elite 3 (5th Anniversary) Rebellion Developments’ Sniper Elite 3 released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC on July 1, 2014. Set three years prior to V2, the game preserves a lot of the fun mechanics the series is known for, like realistic ballistics and X-ray kill cams, while improving upon the property’s stealth gameplay. In this entry, an eye icon indicates how exposed one is to the enemy. Players must … [Read more...] about July 2019 Gaming Anniversaries