Evan Narcisse

The Man Behind Some of the Best Cosplay Gear in the World

A badass Mass Effect rifle replica. Creepily realistic Skyrim bad guys. Armor and weapons from loads of beloved video games. Bill Doran’s Punished Props studio makes all of those things. And, man, it doesn’t sound relaxing at all. Bill Doran is a guy that other cosplayers look up to, someone who manages to craft fictional…

Cancelled Justice League Game Pops Up Again, Looks Bizarro

Let’s be real: the Green Lantern project that was also supposed to be a Justice League game didn’t look like it was going to set the world on fire. But it’s an interesting footnote in the history of superhero games, one that would’ve featured some of the most popular fictional characters ever created. The newest…

Marvel Just Announced the First Women-Only Team of Avengers

We already know that big changes are coming to the Marvel Universe this summer. The publisher just announced one of its biggest: an all-female team of heroes called A-Force that looks like it’ll be taking the place of the Avengers. Two philosophically opposed teams of Avengers have been battling each other as part of the…

The Sculptor Is the First Must-Read Graphic Novel of 2015

Would you shorten your life to be really good at something? As in the best in the world? What if you couldn’t negotiate and the deal meant you died in 200 days? Would you take it? That tempting deal is offered to David Smith, the titular lead character in a new graphic novel called The…

Knives-on-Nunchucks Martial Artist Clearly Wants Real Life Soul Calibur

I don’t know if Polish martial artist Kacper Borowski plays Soul Calibur—though there is a pic with a caption of Sagat on his Facebook page. But if they make ever make movies about the medieval martial arts fighting franchise, the producers need to give this guy a call. Now, I’m partial to the feats on…

Superman’s New Power Makes Him a Little Less Super, a Lot More Human

It’s been a problem that creators who’ve worked on Superman projects have been dealing with for decades: How do you make the near-omnipotent Man of Steel feel more relatable? Ironically, the newest solution comes from giving Kal-El yet another superpower. Warning: Spoilers and images for today’s Superman #38 follow. The latest issue of the ongoing…

Dark. Violent. Psychologically tortured. Yep, the new trailer for the upcoming Daredevil series looks very promising, indeed. The Netflix show based on Marvel Comics’ Man Without Fear debuts on April 10.

Vietnam Contra Game Is A Huge Bummer

Aliens! You can always feel good about killing aliens! Too bad imaginary Contra clone Hanoi Strike is set duringthe Vietnam War. It’s a different kind of hard. The soul-crushing kind. Modern war games like Spec Ops: The Line have tried to put players in the middle of combat scenarios weighed down with horrible moral consequences.…

Wyatt Cenac’s Got a Theory About Mario and Princess Peach 

“Luigi is a man who lives in fear of constant Bowser attacks… I think his fears are misplaced.” If anybody should be afraid in comedian Wyatt Cenac’s weird version of the Mario universe, it’s Princess Peach. In the debut episode of The A.V. Club‘s new game show Pick A Choice—hosted by my good friend and…

Guy Beats All of Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out Blindfolded

For some reason, high-level gamers like to take on Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out blindfolded. Folks have gotten awfully close to beating everyone including Mike Tyson without their eyes. But this latest attempt looks the first one to actually do it. To clarify, Sinister1’s attempt at Awesome Games Done Quick 2o14 got him all the way up…

Looks like the line-up of Titans live-action series might include Barbara Gordon. The redhead known as both Batgirl and Oracle might be part of the twentysomething Titans TV show, according to a report on Nerdist.

Fan-Made Dragon Age Trailer Will Pull You Right Back to the War Table 

So you left the sprawling beginning area of the latest Dragon Age. Closed lots of breaches. Collected hella herbs. Read as much lore as you could stomach. Puzzled over its ending. Thought you were done? Watch this fan-cut trailer and you’ll roll a new character and jump back in. Just like he’s done for GTA…

Star Citizen Dogfighting Looks Damn Impressive

Try not to get dizzy watching this multiplayer dogfight, which is a little easier said than done. A few months back, space sim Star Citizen released their Arena Commander module, which lets players try out their ships in flight simulation and dogfight modes. YouTuber Gizimoo86 captured some highlights from his battles and they do a…

New Bayonetta Browser Game Is Balls-Hard

It’s pretty well-documented that at least one lead developer at Platinum is deeply in love with old-school games. So it’s not all that surprising that they made an retro-styled shooter starring the studio’s biggest action star. Also not surprising: it’s really freakin’ tough. Announced today via a tweet from Platinum’s JP Kellams, the bite-sized Bayonetta…

It’s Good That Fantastic Four Doesn’t Look Like Marvel’s Other Movies

Marvel Comics’ first modern superhero success has been made into some very bad movies. The one coming up this summer has the chance to be much better, mostly by looking nothing like the comics it came from. There’s been a lot of discussion about the teaser for director Josh Trank’s filmic reboot of the Fantastic…

Law and Order: SVU is doing another ripped-from-the-headlines episode that touches on video games, this one focused on a female game developer determined to release her creation amidst a storm of online harassment.

Marshawn Lynch Can’t Handle Mortal Kombat X‘s Fatalities

You’d think that the infamous NFL player nicknamed Beast Mode would be okay with the gory finishing moves of Mortal Kombat. He’s not. At all. Marshawn Lynch isn’t down with seeing people’s intestines. In Conan O’Brien’s latest Clueless Gamer segment, he pits Seahawks running back Lynch against Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots in…

How Thor Flies, According to Science

Of all the major superheroes who can defy the laws of gravity, Thor’s mode of flight seems like one of the most unlikely: spinning his magic hammer Mjolnir around and holding on after flinging it. Is there any way that would actually work? Science actually says yes. Sure, he commands the wind and the storm…

New Lego SHIELD Helicarrier Is Gigantic, As It Should Be

It’s going to take 2,996 Lego bricks to make this miniature version of the headquarters of the Marvel Universe’s superspy agency. Hulk better not smash. Revealed today, the Lego SHIELD helicarrier will be one of the toy company’s biggest models when it comes out this March. For $349, the Helicarrier comes with Hawkeye, NIck Fury,…

Indie Take On Super Mario Galaxy Is Pretty Good

It’s common to think of structural considerations like physics simulations in games like Gravity Ghost. They send you spnning around little planets, after all. But in Erin Robinson’s new game, the physics don’t feel like physics. They feel like emotions. It’s inevitable that Gravity Ghost will get compared to the Super Mario Galaxy titles, what…