When Tears of the Kingdom dropped earlier this year it kicked open the doors of every player’s imagination, marking a bold new direction for the franchise. Now The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is carrying the baton forward by innovating on the creative ingenuity of its predecessor. Watch out video to see how Echoes of Wisdom took the heart of Tears of the Kingdom to create a unique new adventure.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is available on Nintendo Switch on September 26th

It’s been 13 years since the release of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, a third-person hack-and-slash shooter hybrid set in the much-beloved world of Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40K franchise. Now, by the will of the Emperor himself, fans can once again step into the oversized boots of mankind’s superhuman protectors, the Space Marines, in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2.

Now, a lot has happened in Warhammer 40K over those 13 years, so we’re here to get you up to speed on the basics—from 40K’s primary setting to what exactly a Space Marine even is. We’ll also explore what you can expect to see in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 and its returning protagonist, Demetrian Titus.

What is Warhammer 40K?

Warhammer 40K is a dystopian sci-fi epic that has been going strong for nearly 40 years, so needless to say, its lore is among the richest and most complex out there. While 40K now primarily takes place in the 41st and 42nd millennia, to truly understand the nature and purpose of the Space Marines, we’ll briefly dive into some of the most vital early lore.

In the 31st millennium mankind’s struggle for galactic dominance is frankly not going well. Under the banner of the Imperium of Man, humanity finds itself at war with numerous alien species, collectively known as Xenos. Worse still, an otherworldly dimension—home to demonic forces and dark deities known as the Chaos Gods—has begun to bleed into reality through rifts in space.

Fortunately for the Imperium, they have the guiding hand of their leader, a god-like, immortal human of mysterious origin who rose to become mankind’s Emperor. To ensure humanity’s dominance across the galaxy, the Emperor genetically engineered his 20 sons, essentially transforming them into demi-gods called Primarchs. Each Primarch was destined to lead a legion of super soldier Space Marines.

Unfortunately for the Emperor, the Chaos Gods had other plans. They corrupted several Primarchs, twisting them into starting a rebellion against the Emperor’s forces. The ensuing civil war led to the eventual defeat of the Chaos forces but left the Emperor mortally wounded. While the Emperor now lays confined to a life support system called the Golden Throne, his powerful mind persists as a psychic beacon for humanity, while the might of the Imperium and the returned Primarchs Roboute Guilliman of the Ultramarines, and Lion El Johnson of the Dark Angels, battle to guide humanity through the horrors of the grimdark far future.

What is a Space Marine?

To humanity, Space Marines are the Emperor’s avenging angels. To their enemies, they are little more than tyrannical zealots. Either way, these hulking power-armoured super soldiers have been enhanced in nearly every way imaginable—from genetic modifications to cybernetic implants and even extra organs (including a second heart!).
Space Marines (or Adeptus Astartes) or the Emperor’s greatest warriors, the elite superhuman defenders of humanity. They are divided into various chapters, each with its own cultural norms and rules, but all are united in their unwavering devotion to the Emperor. In Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, you’ll once again step into the role of Demetrian Titus, a member of the Ultramarines.

Space Marines are certainly not without their flaws. Despite being paragons of genetic perfection, they are prone to hubris, often looking down on the very humans they’re sworn to protect. In the worst cases, this arrogance has led some to fall under the influence of Chaos and abandon their duty to the Emperor.

Welcome to the 42nd Millennium

Set in the 42nd millennium, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 sees Titus rejoin the Ultramarines after being arrested by the Inquisition at the climax of the first game. Despite successfully thwarting an Ork invasion on the planet Graia, and defeating the Chaos sorcerer lord Nemeroth, suspicions arose regarding Titus’ resistance to the corruptive forces of Chaos. Imprisoned and placed into stasis, Titus was eventually freed, but fearing he had brought shame to the Ultramarines, chose to serve the Emperor in exile as a member of the Deathwatch chapter.

After being mortally wounded during a mission, Titus was saved by Ultramarine reinforcements and persuaded to rejoin his former brothers in arms. This process involved further genetic modification, turning Titus into a Primaris Space Marine, the newest line of humanity’s super-human soldiers.

An honoured Ultramarine once more, Titus now leads a new unit against the Tyranids—vicious insectoid aliens operating as a hive mind—and the Thousand Sons, a legion of Chaos Marines wielding warp magic.

Become an Avenging Angel of Death

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 features an enhanced version of the third-person hack-and-slash shooter gameplay introduced in the first game. This time, however, as a Primaris Space Marine, Titus is faster and stronger than ever before. Titus can now parry and dodge enemy attacks, creating openings to counter with vicious gun strikes and execution kills. Staying on the offensive is key, as executions replenish Titus’ armour, keeping him in the fight for longer.

Space Marine 2 also offers more versatility, allowing players in PVE to choose from six initial classes, each with unique abilities and weapon sets. While you’ll still have access to the usual bolt guns and chainswords, selecting the imposing Bulwark class, for example, allows you to defend yourself and your allies. This class also comes with a storm shield and power sword, enabling you to cut down swarms of Tyranids and heretic Chaos Marines.

For more ranged-focused combat, players can use the Sniper class to dispatch enemies from a safe distance. The Sniper class also comes with a camo cloak ability that lets players move around unseen to find better vantage points and escape particularly hairy situations.

Each class can be customised with familiar 40K ranged and melee weaponry, including deadly short-ranged melta guns, armour-destroying plasma rifles, and devastating melee weapons like the imposing Thunder Hammer. Perks can be unlocked for each class and weapon, providing more options to suit every playstyle.

Cooperative play also allows up to three players to control Titus and his squad in the new campaign mode and co-op-exclusive missions. Additionally, a 6 vs 6 PvP mode, pitting loyal Primaris Marines against the heretical Traitor Space Marines, is available to test your combat prowess against other online players.

Check out Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, out now for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC.

Nestled the rolling hills of rural Massachusetts. swathed by manicured grounds, sits the Norman Rockwell Museum. And there, side-by-side with the wholesome works of America’s most beloved illustrator, is the world’s dumbest cover boy: Alfred E. Neuman.

“It’s sacrilegious! It’s an outrage!” laughed political cartoonist Steve Brodner. “But I do think if Norman Rockwell were here, he’d laugh his head off. He’d think this was fantastic.”

These hallowed halls are now home to the world’s largest exhibit of artwork from Mad Magazine, co-curated by Brodner. “I was formed by Mad,” he said. “My idea of comedy, humor, irreverent drawing comes from this.”

Mad began in 1952 as a comic book that made fun of other comic books. But if you came of age during Mad’s peak – the sixties, seventies and eighties – you know what it became: A hilarious guide to the hypocrisy of the authority figures in your life, whom Mad kept characterizing as idiots. “I know! Isn’t that marvelous?” said Brodner.

Mad made fun of dumb ads, and dumb politicians, and dumb trends:

And, of course, dumb movies.

They made fun of the government, corporations, and even parents. “That’s why parents were really not too pleased with Mad,” said John Ficarra, who was the editor of Mad for 33 years

Writer Dick DeBartolo was around even longer: “I have been in every issue for about 55 years, and I got paid for about half of them,” he laughed.

DeBartolo wrote hundreds of movie parodies, including “The Da Vinci Coma,” “Star Bores: The Empire Strikes Out,” and “TryPanic.”

Pogue said, “I remember, as one of those readers, not understanding all the jokes. Sometimes you were making fun of stuff that were over my head.”

“Well, that was sort of the charm,” said Ficarra. “And we figured, either kids’ll get it or they won’t, and they’ll look it up and find out. Or, five years later they’re looking at old Mads and, Oh, now I get that joke.“

Mad’s artists and writers called themselves “the usual gang of idiots.” And when they said usual, they meant it; they tended to work for Mad for decades, including Al Jaffee, whose art appeared in every issue but one for 65 years. He died last year at 102.

In 1978 Jaffe told CBS’ “30 Minutes,” “People have been doing satire one way or another throughout the ages. The only difference is, most of them wound up in dungeons, and we wind up on the newsstand.”

Brodner called Jaffee one of the geniuses of Mad, who concocted the interior back page, which turned into a “fold-in.”

But one Mad artist gets a whole museum room: Mort Drucker, who died in 2020. “Everything is experimentation,” Drucker once said. “And that’s the fun of it all, once you get a handle on what a good artist is supposed to be and do.”

“He really loved people, and I think that’s why he was such a successful caricaturist,” said Mort Drucker’s daughter, Laurie Drucker Bachner. “Because he, like, inhaled the persona of somebody, and wanted them to be realized in the best way possible.”

Oddly enough, Drucker did not have professional training. “He did go to Parsons for three months, and they told him he really was ‘not cut out to be an artist,’” said his daughter. “He was pretty devastated, you know, ’cause he always thought of himself as an artist.”

Drucker went on to draw for Mad for over 50 years.

At its peak in 1974, Mad sold 2.1 million copies. It was wildly profitable, even though Bill Gaines (its publisher from the magazine’s founding until his death in 1992) refused to accept advertising. “This is just a thing with me: I’ve always been against ads,” Gaines told “30 Minutes.” “It’s a good thing to publish, if you can, without any outside help, so you’re not beholden to anybody.”

But eventually, readership began to decline. People have all kinds of theories as to why: magazines began dying off, the ‘usual gang of idiots’ began dying off, the internet happened.

And then, there was the ownership problem, according to Ficarra: “Bill sold it to a guy who owned another magazine that was losing money. They sold it to, I think, a holding company. We became part of Warner Publishing. And then, just as I was leaving, AT&T bought the company, really screwed it up (please don’t cut that out!), and sold it again now to Discovery.”

DeBartolo said, “For a very brief time, I think it was just a month, it was Smucker’s Jams and Jellies! We thought, ‘How did we get there?‘”

Mad’s last regular issue came out in April 2018; the Mad exhibition runs through the end of October. But the Mad influence still runs strong, its impact acknowledged by “The Simpsons,” Weird All Yankovic, Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart. Laurie Drucker Bachner said, had there been no Mad, “You think there would have been ‘SNL’? Or any of the standups?”

Brodner said, “Mad actually created a revolution in the United States. People are still saying, ‘I don’t believe that. I’m gonna investigate this and see what the truth of it is.’ And I think that’s what Mad is saying: Don’t buy the con, you know?“

     
For more info:

• Mad Magazine
• Exhibition: “What, Me Worry? The Art and Humor of Mad Magazine,” at the Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, Mass. (though October 27) | Exhibition magazine
• Cartoonist Steve Brodner
• MAD and all related elements © and TM E.C. Publications. Courtesy of DC
• Norman Rockwell images courtesy of Norman Rockwell Museum. © SEPS, Curtis Licensing and/or Norman Rockwell Family Agency
• Norman Rockwell Museum video footage © Norman Rockwell Museum; all rights reserved. Used with permission.
• Drone & aerial footage by Richard Sands & Terry Holland

     
Story produced by Robert Marston. Editor: George Pozderec. 

David Pogue

David Pogue is a six-time Emmy winner for his stories on “CBS Sunday Morning,” where he’s been a correspondent since 2002. Pogue hosts the CBS News podcast “Unsung Science.” He’s also a New York Times bestselling author, a five-time TED speaker, and host of 20 NOVA science specials on PBS. For 13 years, he wrote a New York Times tech column every week – and for 10 years, a Scientific American column every month.

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