Monthly Archives: September 2023

The concept of terraforming Mars has captured the imaginations of scientists and artists alike. Although Mars may have once held the potential for life millions of years ago, today it stands as a desolate world. Mars does possess an atmosphere, but its oxygen levels are insufficient to support human life. Transporting oxygen from Earth to Mars would be a prohibitively expensive endeavor. Consequently, the focus in recent years has shifted towards finding a reliable method for producing oxygen on Mars itself, utilizing the planets available resources.

NASAs Perseverance rover has been exploring the Martian surface since 2021, and it has now successfully completed its mission to produce oxygen using MOXIE (Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment).

MOXIE is an instrument carried by the Perseverance rover, and its operations have come to a close after successfully generating oxygen for the 16th and final time aboard the rover. Developed by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), MOXIE has exceeded their initial expectations.

Pam Melroy, NASA Deputy Administrator, expressed, MOXIEs impressive performance shows that it is feasible to extract oxygen from Mars atmosphere oxygen that could help supply breathable air or rocket propellant to future astronauts. This breakthrough in technology development is seen as crucial for utilizing resources on the Moon and Mars, establishing a sustained lunar presence, creating a robust lunar economy, and supporting eventual human exploration missions to Mars.

Since the landing of Perseverance on Mars in 2021, MOXIE has produced a total of 122 grams of oxygen, which is approximately equivalent to the amount a small dog breathes in over a span of 10 hours. This surpasses NASAs initial goal for the project, and the oxygen produced had a remarkable purity of 98 percent. On August 7, during MOXIEs final oxygen production as part of its mission, it generated 9.8 grams of oxygen.

Trudy Kortes, director of technology demonstrations at NASA Headquarters, stated, Were proud to have supported a breakthrough technology like MOXIE that could turn local resources into useful products for future exploration missions. By proving this technology in real-world conditions, weve come one step closer to a future in which astronauts live off the land on the Red Planet.

Link:

NASA's Perseverance rover successfully completes its oxygen ... - East Coast Daily (English)

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The current range and quality of board games available is pretty astounding. Unfortunately, being spoilt for choice is both a blessing and a curse. With so many options available, trying to figure out what title you want to play can feel a bit daunting. Especially if youre someone who is fairly new to the board game, uh, game.

To help you out, weve chosen a few of our favourite titles that deserve to be part of any collection, from beginner to expert. From all-time strategy classics to epic fantasy quests and titles based on popular movies and TV shows, these are just a few board games that deserve a spot on your shelf (if you can fit them, that is).

This article has been updated since its original publication.

Team up with your friends to solve a mysterious haunting.

Betrayal At House on the Hill has two phases the first is the Exploration phase, where the players build a mansion room by room. Eventually, youll trigger the second phase, the Haunt, and thats where the fun starts as youre beset by supernatural monsters. To make things even more interesting, one of the players is secretly a traitor who takes the side of the monsters and uses the Exploration phase to assist their undead master.

With the mansion being procedurally generated, theres a ton of replay value. Unlike the rotting corpses hidden beneath the mansions floorboards, every game feels fresh. The variation in monsters is also fun, ranging from ghosts to vampires to dragons. If youre new to the game (or these types of board games in general) it does come across as a bit overwhelming to master, but its surprisingly easy to learn.

If youre a fan of Dungeons & Dragons, theres an alternate version of Betrayal At House on the Hill thats themed around the popular tabletop RPG and set in Baldurs Gate.

Where you can buy Betrayal At House on the Hill:

In Cosmic Encounter, you play as the leader of an alien race, and intergalactic conquest is the name of the game. Your aim is to spread your influence throughout the galaxy, establishing colonies in the planetary systems of the other players.

This board game has been around since 1977, and its easy to understand why it has been beloved for so long. The strategy is both fun and fulfilling, with the different gameplay cards available allowing for an enjoyable variation of tactics.

One of the biggest draws of Cosmic Encounteris the table politics. The gameplay requires you to form alliances and negotiate deals with other players to help screw over the other players while also potentially setting up your ally for a masterful double-cross.

Where you can buy Cosmic Encounter:

After years of being out of print, the Dune board game is finally available again and the world is a better place for it. Originally published in 1979 and based on Frank Herberts classic sci-fi epic, Dunehas a reputation for being one of the best board games around. The good news is that it absolutely lives up to the hype, as we learned when we reviewed it:

I cant remember the last time I laughed, gasped and cursed like I did playingDune. The way alliances can be made but then broken, the elastic nature of the basic victory conditions and the treachery lurking behind every decision made it feel like every player was always one step away from victory but at the same time one battle away from utter ruin.

The board game draws a healthy amount from the original novel, putting you in control of one of six factions House Atreides, House Harkonnen, the Spacing Guild, the Bene Gesserit, the Emperor and the Fremen as you strategise, fight and scheme your way to controlling the planet Arrakis and its spice melange. Dune is great to play with friends but, much like in the novel, a huge part of the game involves diplomacy, secret alliances and inevitable betrayals. Theres nothing like a fun afternoon of friendly backstabbing.

Dune has mostly aged well, although much like the deserts of Arrakis, theres a degree of random cruelness that you cant fully prepare for. Just remember that he who controls the spice controls the universe.

You can read Kotaku Australias review of the Dune board game here.

Where you can buy Dune:

Based on the video game series,Fallout: The Board Gameis a pretty faithful adaption. Start by choosing a scenarioand then set off to explore the wasteland, complete quests and fight the various monsters, mutants and marauders that come across their path.

If youre a fan of Bethesdas Fallout games, this thing is great. It keeps the RPG elements of the source material, by allowing you to spend points to increase your characters ability skills and customise your equipment loadout. It even manages to keep the VAT system, with dice that let you target specific body parts of your enemies. It does a good job of ticking the boxes of what we like about Fallout:

As a board game,Falloutis great. It combines a genuine sense of exploration with some fantastic story-telling to create an experience that sits neatly between a solo and multiplayer adventure. As an adaptation of theFalloutvideo games, though, its almost perfect.

Theres also an expansion set, New California,which adds two scenarios, along with a bunch of new quests, companions and items.

If we have one big criticism of Fallout, its that the game moves much slower when playing with four people. Theres a delicate balancing act because more players help increase the fun but the threat of gaming fatigue is real.

You can read Kotaku Australias review of the Fallout board game here.

Where you can buy Fallout: The Board Game:

While the TV show squandered our collective goodwill over those final seasons, A Game of Thrones has remained a consistent go-to with friends. Choose your House, start manoeuvring your armies to secure as much of the Seven Kingdoms as you can, and finally claim your spot on the Iron Throne. (If you want to play as House Targaryen, youll have to grab an expansion pack.)

A Game of Thrones is an all-around solid strategy game, the real charm comes from the table politics and scheming. Making deals to crush a specific opponent, only to turn around and stab your ally in the back isnt just a fun thing to do, its an essential tactic.

For the A Song of Ice and Fire purists, the game is directly inspired by the books, with this second edition being released the same year the HBO adaptation aired. You can also try to create your own (and much better?) ending to the series. Rob Stark teams up with Stannis Baratheon, sieges Casterly Rock and decimates the Lannisters? Sure, why not?

Where you can buy A Game of Thrones:

Gloomhaven is only a few years old, but its quickly become one of our favourite board games. A campaign-driven dungeon crawler where you play a mercenary trying to get paid while surviving the dangerous world surrounding Gloomhaven. It plays like a mix of eurogames and dungeon crawlers like HeroQuest, with a lot of different dungeons to explore and an emphasis on tactical decisions.

There are almost 100 unique scenarios you can play through, where your every action will determine what happens next. Considering each scenario can take anywhere between one to two hours to complete, youve got plenty of game ahead of yourself. There is so much packed into Gloomhaven that it can feel like youve barely even scratched the surface of your campaign.

Just put aside some time to set it up and clear some space on your shelf because this thing is a beast. It comes with 1,500 cards, and the whole bundle weighs around 10kg.

If youre interested in Gloomhaven, but maybe arent keen on the commitment required for both time and physical space, there is an alternative option. Jaws of the Lionis a prequel game that gives you the Gloomhaven experience but with a fraction of the quests. Its a less intensive way to learn the game and will let you slip straight into Gloomhaven proper once youre done with it.

Where you can buy Gloomhaven:

Speaking of dungeon crawlers like HeroQuest, why not check out HeroQuest proper? Its an incredibly straightforward and easy-to-pick-up game, which plays like a streamlined tabletop RPG, like Dungeons & Dragons, and is less of a time investment than something like Gloomhaven.

HeroQuest is played with up to five players, with four taking on the dungeon explorers while one acts as the game master, Zargon, the evil sorcerer. You dont even need four players you can split out the characters with whoever is available to play, even if that means one person playing as the whole party.

With 14 premade quests, the four characters will need to make their way through the dungeons while Zargon is tasked with introducing various traps and creatures for them to fight. Once you finish one of the quests, youre able to spend whatever gold and treasure youve accumulated to upgrade your characters gear, before delving into another dungeon. Or, it can just be a satisfying done-in-one campaign that you and your mates roll through when its your turn to pick something for games night.

Where you can buy HeroQuest:

Kings of Tokyois a very easy-to-pick-up board game that is a lot of fun to play. You pick one of six giant monsters to play as, and your aim is to become the King of Tokyo by battling it out with your opponents. Thats it, thats the game.

Its a king of the hill game that uses a combination of dice rolls and strategising with the power-up cards in your hands to stake your claim on the Japanese capital. The goal is to be the first to 20 victory points or be the last monster standing.

If you really enjoy this game, theres a heap of different King of Tokyo expansion packs currently available. Theyll give you new monsters and power cards to battle with, so theres an option to add even more content to this game to keep it fresh.

Where you can buy King of Tokyo:

The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-Earth does what it says on the box. You, and up to four other friends, play as one of J.R.R. Tolkiens iconic heroes while questing your way across the realm of Middle-earth, from Gondor to the Grey Mountains.

While most of the games on this list are more tactically focused, Journeys in Middle-Earth places its focus squarely on adventuring. As you progress youre able to customise your skills and items, giving you just enough RPG elements that, despite playing pre-set characters, you can still give them your own spin.

The game requires a companion app that takes the role of the game master while also tracking your progress and dishing out scenarios that play into the greater campaign. The app also keeps track of your characters items, which helps alleviate the usually frustrating mess of flipping through a stack of cards to find that one specific piece of equipment.

You can read Kotaku Australias review of The Lord of The Rings: Journeys in Middle-Earth here.

Where you can buy LOTR: Journeys in Middle-Earth:

If you dig the world of Dungeons & Dragons, but want something thats less of a commitment than a long RPG campaign, try Lord of Waterdeep. Its a game where you play as one of the titular Lords of Waterdeep and attempt to gain the most influence over the City of Splendours.

The game works by placing your factions agents at various locations that will help you gain resources, like gold or various types of adventurers, and then sending those resources to complete quests. The goal is to collect the most victory points from the various quests you complete over the games eight rounds. Throw in some intrigue cards that can give you a much-needed hand (usually at the expense of your opponents), and youve got a great strategy game.

If youve never played D&D before, dont worry. Lord of Waterdeep requires no pre-existing knowledge of the franchise. And if youre a long-time fan, youll appreciate the familiar faces.

Where you can buy Lords of Waterdeep:

Mansions Of Madness is a cooperative board game inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft. In it, you play as investigators who are tasked with exploring a cursed mansion to solve the mystery of a chosen scenario. This edition of the game uses a companion app that tracks your progress and also takes care of randomly spawning monsters, triggering events and randomising the layout of the mansion.

Its very easy to immerse yourself into Mansions Of Madness spooky atmosphere, and weve had a lot of fun investigating and trying to solve the puzzles of the scenarios that weve played. If youre someone who loves a good game piece, Mansions Of Madness monster figures are fantastic. Being able to throw down a giant Cthulhu figure onto the board really helps to sell the enormity of the threat.

A single game will eat up a couple of hours, so make sure youve set enough time to adequately lose your mind to an eldritch horror. The app lets you save your progress, so you can easily jump back into a game you couldnt finish.

When we reviewed Mansions Of Madness, on top of enjoying the mythical romp of fighting Cthulhu, we were impressed by how little effort it took to set up and play. You can read Kotaku Australias review of Mansions Of Madness here.

Where you can buy Mansions Of Madness:

Scythe is set in a dieselpunk reimagining of 1920s Europe where you play as one of five nations currently vying for control in a power vacuum created by the closure of The Factory, a capitalistic city-state that previously ruled the region.

At first,Scythedoes feel a bit complex but once you get the hang of it, youll be playing one of the best engine-building games of the last decade. Farm some resources, conquer new territories, recruit new followers and activate some chunky-looking mechs to keep your domain protected. It isnt particularly combat-heavy and the skirmishes that do occur play through fairly fast.

When we reviewed the game, we were impressed by how all of these gameplay elements combined:

Its blend of resource gathering, exploration, turn management and combat results in a conflict thats entirely unpredictable. Because the game isnt just about fighting, or just about farming, there are multiple approaches to confronting your opponents and winning the game, which makes for a fascinating struggle, and a game that plays out differently every time you get it out.

Scythe also has one of the most unique aesthetics of any board game Ive played and some gorgeous game art by Jakub Rozalski. When we first opened up our copy we spent plenty of time looking through each individual card, completely ignoring the rulebook.

You can read Kotaku Australias review of Scythe here.

Where you can buy Scythe:

Im a firm believer that every household should own a copy of this. Settlers of Catan is one of the all-time classic board games endlessly replayable and a great place to start for those new to strategy games.

The gameplay is pretty straightforward. Youre plopped onto the randomly generated isle of Catan and need to collect as many different types of resources as possible. From there, youll combine those resources to build new settlements, upgrade existing ones and increase your domain by laying down some roads. Its simple to play, but the strategic trading element keeps it consistently interesting. One turn youll be rolling in wheat, and the next youll be trading all of your wood to get a single piece.

Where you can buy The Settlers of Catan:

The set-up for Star Wars Rebellionis pretty simple: It is a period of civil war, so pick a side.

The game is built around a series of skirmishes and missions that are all led by classic Star Wars heroes and villains. If youre playing as the Empire, your goal is to sniff out the Rebel Alliances base and wipe it from existence. As the Rebels, your goal is to raise your reputation throughout the galaxy, drawing as many planets to your side as possible and strategically striking the Empires resources.

While this might sound a bit unbalanced towards the Empire, the game does a good job of keeping the two factions fair:

This isnt a game where one side will slowly overrun another until victory becomes inevitable. Its a game where even if the Rebels are getting their arse kicked from one end of the galaxy to another, theyre still very much in contention so long as their base is secret and their best heroes are in play, since the game runs on a timer which essentially grants victory to the Alliance if they survive long enough.

You also get a lot of great minis, ranging from Stormtroopers to X-Wings to Star Destroyers. You even get a Death Star, which, if youre a Rebel, is a looming menace. The game does take a couple of hours to play, so clear your afternoon schedule.

You can read Kotaku Australias review of Star Wars Rebellion here.

Where you can buy Star Wars Rebellion:

If youre a fan of Sid Meiers Civilizationseries,Tapestry is right up your alley. Starting from the dawn of mankind, its up to you to build your own civilisation from nothing and help it grow throughout the following millennia. The type of civilisation you want to build is up to you and is influenced by which of the four skills science, technology, exploration, and military you want to invest your points into.

The variation that comes from those is what keeps me coming back to Tapestry. We dont think weve built the same civilisation twice, and even when weve tried to repeat previous tactics, our strategy inevitability changes depending on what the other players are doing.

Where you can buy Tapestry:

This resource management game does exactly what it says on the box. In Terraforming Mars, each player takes on the role of a different corporation and is tasked with making the red planet habitable for humankind. While you work together on the terraforming process as a whole, the aim is to see which player has the most contributions.

You build various projects, gaining income and resources that you can spend on further productions. Once Mars has the appropriate temperature, oxygen levels and quantity of oceans, the game is over.

Terraforming Mars is very card-heavy, and you really need to keep track of what youre holding during any given round. Its also one of the more aggressive resource management games weve played, as there are a lot of cards you can play that directly target your opponent. Overall, its an experience that we really enjoyed while playing through it:

The game absolutely nails its theme and its blend of cooperative outlook and competitive urges means its a tight, tense experience the whole way through.

You can read Kotaku Australias review of Terraforming Mars here.

Where you can buy Terraforming Mars:

If you enjoy the Euro-style gameplay of something like Settlers of Catan and want to pick up something similar, then you might get some miles out ofTicket To Ride. The aim of the game is to be the player who can build the longest continuous train, claiming routes and connecting cities.

Ticket To Rideis an incredibly easy game to pick (especially compared to some of the other titles on this list) and isnt too intensive when it comes to strategising. Each player is randomly assigned Destination Tickets at the start of each match, giving you set goal cities that you need to reach.

Theres an economy of knowing which cards you need to play or stockpile, as you need these specific cards to claim certain routes. The last thing you want to do is lose out on the route that will connect your assigned destinations.

Where you can buy Ticket To Ride:

We cannot stress how much we enjoy Wingspan. Released back in 2019, this engine-building card game is all about building the best wildlife preserve by strategically assigning birds to certain habitats. Its a simple premise (especially when compared to some of the other games on this list), but nevertheless engaging as hell.

The rules are pretty easy to pick up, and the game only runs for four rounds, so youll be done in about an hour. Thankfully, the 170 bird cards, each with its own set of effects, give the game plenty of variety and replayability. If the look of a board game is particularly important to you, Wingspan also features some of the most beautifully illustrated cards of any board game that weve ever played.

If you decide to pick up bird watching as a new hobby after playing this, we dont blame you. If youre a fan of digital board games, the digital edition of Wingspan is also worth your time.

Where you can buy Wingspan:

If none of the above sounds like your thing, the good news is that there are still plenty of solid board game options out there, and you better believe Kotaku Australia has opinions about them.

This article has been updated since its original publication.

Whether youve got the need for speed or simply looking for a better deal, these are the best prices going right now for the NBN 250 speed tier.

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18 Board Games That Everyone Needs To Play - Kotaku Australia

In 1984, Hasbro partnered with Takara Tomy and Marvel Comics to repurpose two existing toylines into a pop culture juggernaut. Micro Change and Diaclone, the two toys in question, featured robots that could become everyday items, weapons, and vehicles, and they acted as a launching point for Hasbro's newest venture. Marvel writer Bob Budiansky and editor-in-chief Jim Shooter created the story of two warring alien factions. These robotic characters, capable of transforming into myriad vehicles, were named the Autobots and the Decepticons, and the Transformers franchise was born.

Since the '80s, Transformers has exploded in popularity, with over two dozen animated series and movies, seven live-action films, and hundreds of toys. Given its almost 40 years of existence, many franchises have used Transformers as a foundation, producing several rip-offs and clones. Each varies in how much "inspiration" it takes from its parent series, and they all range in quality, with some standing on their own and becoming their own thing. These 15 are just some of the best (or worst, depending on your perspective) rip-offs of the Transformers franchise.

The '80s were rife with toy companies trying to match Transformers success, and while many simply copied the transforming vehicle aesthetic, some ideas were more novel. Milton-Bradley was among the latter, combining the robotic alien narrative with construction toys like the Erector Set to create Robotix. This allowed for kids to be involved in the building of powerful, motorized machines, connecting them with the story of the two warring factions.

Sunbow and Marvel Productions partnered with Milton-Bradley to create the Robotix cartoon, attempting to match their past success with The Transformers: The Animated Series. The central conflict wasn't between Autobots and Decepticons but Protectons and Terrakors. These robotic shells contain the life force of their creators, who live on the planet Skalorr V. A human space shuttle crashes on the planet, and the pilots split into two groups, each choosing a side. They had the benefit of riding the Robotix like mechs, but this didn't help it maintain the same level of popularity of Transformers.

Another benchmark of '80s toys and animation was G.I. Joe. Taking the traditional army man toys of the day and infusing them with unique stories and characters, G.I. Joe became another massive franchise in pop culture. It, too, saw many rip-offs and clones, but the most unique combined elements of various popular series at the time. M.A.S.K. took the transforming vehicles of Transformers and combined them with the military, super-soldier aesthetics of G.I. Joe, creating a franchise that, while not nearly as popular as its two inspirations, holds a level of reverence with the fan base.

M.A.S.K. follows the exploits of the "Mobile Armored Strike Kommand," an elite unit of special agents who piloted transforming vehicles. They also wore masks that granted them enhanced abilities, which they used to fight V.E.N.O.M. (Vicious Evil Network of Mayhem). These villains, led by Miles Mayhem, sought power and wealth through stealing precious artifacts and technologies. Interestingly, Hasbro has acknowledged their connection to Transformers; in the IDW Comics, M.A.S.K. bases their transforming vehicles on Cybertronian technology, meaning they are canon rip-offs of the Robots in Disguise.

Originally released in 2013, Super Wings is an ongoing Korean children's animated series following a group of transforming planes. Seemingly taking joint inspiration from both Transformers and Cars, the series is known for its cartoony aesthetics, though these have gotten more complex and interesting as new machines are added into the mix. The series has the tone of most kids educational programming, focusing heavily on travel and locations around the world, but the ideas behind the series take obvious cues from the Robots in Disguise.

Jett is a delivery plane for World Airport. Alongside his friend and supervisor, Jimbo, Jett travels the world in order to pick up and help deliver packages for children in various locales. This often ends in some mishap or problem that requires Jett to call in another Super Wing for help. Later seasons see the introduction of more complex tech, including some that give the planes elemental powers and an ally in the transforming aircraft carrier World Robot. The series has become a popular children's cartoon, which makes sense given its simple premise and similarities to the Transformers franchise.

What if humans were the Transformers? That seems to be the central conceit that inspired the strange 1986 animated series and toyline Centurions. Similar to M.A.S.K., Centurions took the best parts about G.I. Joe and Transformers and mashed them together to create something new, equipping powerful robotic suits to specialized soldiers to give them a leg up in a battle against evil. The show was weird, but while arguments can be made as to its quality, it definitely lives up to the tagline that was shouted several times each episode: Man and Machine, Power Xtreme!

The series followed the titular heroes as they battled the villainous Doc Terror and his Doom Drones. Based in an orbiting space station, the Centurions (Max Ray, Jake Rockwell, and Ace McCloud) donned powerful exo-frame suits that allowed them to equip unique sets of weaponized armor, each specialized for a different combat scenario. The series ran for 65 episodes, adopting the typical "threat-of-the-week" structure. The action took centerstage over character and plot, which means that, sadly, this novel idea has largely been forgotten.

Let's be perfectly clear: Super Sentai, the inspiration for Power Rangers, is not a Transformers rip-off. With its first season releasing in 1975, Super Sentai preceded the Robots in Disguise by nine years, and Battle Fever J, the first season to introduce mecha combat, released in 1979. Nevertheless, Power Rangers and their brand of mecha-based combat made their way to America in 1993, nine years after Transformers, and while the Cybertronians may not have influenced the plot or overall designs, they did inspire a surge of interest in transforming robots, helping bring the teenagers with attitude to American televisions.

The '90s were a time of increased interest in Japan and Japanese storytelling. There was a massive surge in localizations of anime and live-action series from the country, with Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z, and other Japanese series soaring to massive popularity in the United States. Meanwhile, Transformers made fighting robots cool. Stores couldn't keep Transformers toys in stock, and this led to a tidal wave of new robotic toys. Power Rangers allowed for Saban and Fox Kids to capitalize on these two growing markets, while simultaneously saving money by reusing film from the existing Super Sentai series.

While you may have heard of many of the titles on this list, chances are Heavy Gear might have escaped your notice. Despite the popularity of the board and video games of the same name, this 3D animated series flew under many fans' radars in 2001. Due to the clunky animation and the younger intended audience, the series was far less popular than Mainframe Entertainment had hoped for, leading to a single season of 40 episodes. While the Heavy Gear franchise focuses heavily on mech combat, strategic warfare, and complex science-fiction world-building, the series solely focused on the fighting robots.

The show followed two professional fighting teams, the Vanguard of Justice and the Shadow Dragons. The pair were pitted against each other in a tournament, followed by several exhibition matches. While the series loses some of its more in-depth war narratives, the connections to Transformers come from the mecha combat. Companies were trying to find the magic formula of the Robots in Disguise, and most banked on the spectacle of giant robots fighting. Many of these copycat shows overlooked the depth of the storytelling in Transformers, creating series light on plot and heavy on action.

Related: Terrible Video Game Movies That Are Still a Lot of Fun to Watch

Combining elements of Power Rangers and Transformers, 2010's Sym-Bionic Titan is one of the most original series on this list. Created by Genndy Tartakovsky, the series followed Ilana, Lance, and Octus, two aliens and a robot from the planet Galaluna. Ilana, a princess, was forced to flee her home after a coup. The three landed in Sherman, Illinois, where they masqueraded as typical high school students. When the monstrous Mutraddi and General Modula arrive on Earth, though, Ilana and Lance don powerful robotic battle armor, and together with Octus, they can merge to form the unstoppable Sym-Bionic Titan.

While it only aired for 20 episodes, Sym-Bionic Titan showcases the possibilities of a "rip-off." Taking elements from several mecha and alien war storylines, the story melded them together to create something distinct and interesting. The character designs harken back to those seen in Transformers, as does the general plot structure, but Tartakovsky took these similarities and twisted them into something new. For that reason, fans still hold Sym-Bionic Titan in high regard, and though it had a short lifespan, the series is still considered one of Tartakovsky's most unique.

Guillermo Del Toro's 2013 hit mecha science-fiction film Pacific Rim held all the trademarks of the director's best work. It was a dark examination with incredible monster designs, intimate storytelling, and plenty of robot-alien combat. Its sequel, Pacific Rim: Uprising, lost Del Toro's direction, and instead of breaking down genre tropes, it instead leaned heavily into them. It took inspiration from nearly every giant robot franchise, from Transformers to Robotech to Power Rangers, and while fans were less invested in this campier, fun action flick, it was still an entertaining summer blockbuster thrill ride.

Pacific Rim: Uprising is a direct sequel to Del Toro's film. After the Battle of the Breach and the closing of the Kaiju portal, the Earth has seen relative peace. Former Jaeger pilot Jake Pentecost, the son of the late Pan-Pacific Defense Corps director Stacker Pentecost, makes a living selling Jaeger parts on the black market, but after an altercation involving a young woman named Amara and her homemade Jaeger, Jake is brought back into the PPDC. He is just in time for the newest crisis, as a rogue Jaeger, classified as Obsidian Fury, has begun attacking key PPDC members and locations around the world.

Including any Asylum film on a list of rip-offs is a bit of a cheat. The company has made their name with "mock-busters," intentional rip-offs of some of the world's most popular films. Low budget and often low effort, these films are the best of the worst, leaning into their campy premises and creating some of the best "so-bad-they're-good" films in movie history. Transmorphers is the company's attempt at parodying the Transformers live-action franchise, just with far lower-quality animation, character designs, and acting.

The most interesting change of pace with Transmorphers is that it isn't the battle between two robotic alien races. Instead, it is your typical alien invasion story. Years before, the alien robots arrived on Earth and drove humanity underground. A resistance force was formed among the surviving human soldiers, under the command of General Van Ryberg. After a confrontation with a new breed of robot that can disguise themselves as parts of the terrain, the resistance decides to reinstate a disgraced officer, Warren Mitchell, to help them capture one of the aliens for study.

There are some rip-offs that take the ideas presented in the original IP and expand on them in new and unique ways, and then there are some like Gladiformers: Robos Gladiadores. This blatant, unapologetic rip-off of Transformers sees an evil empire run by the Supremobots holding a deadly gladiator tournament, capturing other transforming robot aliens from across the universe.

Julius Drive, the prince of an unnamed world (how's that for world-building?), is sold as a slave into the tournament, and forced to fight for the entertainment of Locutor's forces.

The series suffers from stunted animation and plenty of clichs throughout. Produced by Video Brinquedo who have made their name with cheap knockoffs of popular franchises (looking at you, Little Panda Fighter and Ratatoing), the plot is somewhat original, with the robot coliseum leading to some fun fights and interesting characters, but the film's horrendously low budget and overall aesthetic make it one of the worst rip-offs of Transformers. Despite all of this, the film did receive a sequel in 2009, so if you are somehow invested in the adventures of Julius Drive, there is more to see.

Transformers is about so much more than giant robots at war. While the live-action films focus mostly on the explosions and the intense action of the Autobots vs. the Decepticons, the films ignore the deeper narratives and more complex characterizations that made the Robots in Disguise famous.

1993's Exosquad was another in the long-line of rip-offs that focused on giant robots fighting an alien menace, but it came the closest to matching the magic of Transformers in its overall narrative. The story had a darker tone, exploring concepts like slavery, PTSD, and the general horrors of war.

Exosquad takes place in the 22nd century. Terrans have expanded beyond Earth, terraforming Venus, Mars, and beyond with the help of genetically altered Neosapiens. The Neosapiens of Mars stage a revolution, taking over the Terran territories, while Earth's Exofleet is sent to deal with a space pirate threat. Unhappy with their years of slave labor, the Neosapiens have decided to take back their rights by any means necessary. With war now raging on the homeworlds, the series follow Able Squad, a group of Exosuit pilots, as they undertook operations to undermine the Neosapien resistance.

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The Asylum makes it explosive return to this list, and this one is a little on the nose, even for them. In 2018, Travis Knight released Bumblebee, the sixth film in the live-action Transformers film franchise and a soft reboot of the Michael Bay era. The film was generally well-received by many fans with its more personal, character-driven story of the titular Autobot's arrival on Earth. Hornet has none of the charm of Bumblebee, relying more on the gimmick of giant robots fighting each other and its interesting character designs than actual storytelling.

Releasing three days prior to Bumblebee,Hornet is the worst kind of rip-off, capitalizing on the premise of a film without adding anything new to it. The story follows an alien invasion of Earth. These aliens are brainwashing humans, forcing them to commit terrible acts of destruction. Humanity's only hope is a high-tech, untested giant robot.

The most unique part of the movie is its filmmaking. The story is told through found-footage, switching between the recordings from the humans involved, and the live camera feeds within the giant robot's eyes, but even this unique premise couldn't save this horrible movie.

Do you know what the Transformers franchise needed? More human/robot romance. At least, that's what the producers of the 2009 Hong Kong film Metallic Attraction: Kungfu Cyborg seemed to think. The story follows De Ming, an experimental cyborg peace officer who is assigned to a small town for training. While stationed there, he encounters Su Mei, a woman who falls in love with him. De Ming must confront his lack of humanity, his Pinocchio-esque desire to be a real person, as rogue cyborg assassins begin to plague the town.

Kungfu Cyborg is bizarre, mixing such disparate genres that don't quite fit into place together. The robot designs are taken straight from the Michael Bay Transformers films, with clunky armored warriors presented in impressive CGI. Despite the oddity of the premise, the film kind of works. The story isn't anything particularly inspiring, but the unique focus on the robotic characters and their mental states is actually really interesting. Not only that, but the fight scenes, while less intense and fewer in number, take a lot of inspiration from traditional kung-fu movies, making this an interesting experience at the very least.

Given its release in 1989, Robot Jox is surprisingly ahead of its time. It most definitely feels dated, with animation that feels a bit stilted, but given its release date, this film is a technical marvel. Inspired by Transformers, director Stuart Gordon wanted to bring the giant robot combat from so many animated series and films into the real world, and he succeeded in a way that nobody could have expected. While the film was critically panned on its initial release and poor marketing kept it from box office success, the film has become a cult icon with a hugely devoted fan base.

Playing on Cold War tensions, the film was set in a futuristic, post-apocalyptic Earth that has suffered from the decimation of its population by nuclear war. With open war outlawed, disputes between the Market (America) and the Confederation (Soviet Russia) are settled with gladiatorial mech battles. With Alaska on the line, the Market sends in Achilles, one of their greatest pilots, to defeat Alexander.

However, after his first near loss against Alexander, Achilles is nearly replaced by a genetically modified pilot named Athena, and he must put his attraction to the woman aside to prove he can defeat the Confederation bot.

Many Transformers rip-offs try to hide their influences behind an interesting twist or unique character designs, but the Mark A. Reyes-directed Transmutators leans heavily into its inspirations. With a lead character that is clearly meant to be a knock-off Optimus Prime, the only real difference between the two films is that the transforming robots in this film are piloted mechs instead of sentient alien defenders. It has received nothing but poor reviews, making it one of the all-time worst Transformers rip-offs, and while the Asylum films are intentionally bad, this film is made all the worse by how seriously it takes itself.

In a far-future Earth, mutants and giant robotic aliens have taken over the planet. Humanity's last hope is a rebel group of survivors who have developed piloted mech suits from recycled machine parts, and they must battle an army of mutated humans, alien monstrosities, and horribly animated CGI robots in order to survive. This film has a horribly low budget, with costume designs on par with bad cosplay and some horrendous special effects. The film has some fun ideas, but the execution makes it one of the worst Transformers rip-offs of all time.

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The 15 Best Transformers Ripoffs - MovieWeb

Apple TV+ is a solid streaming service with a couple of very good shows and even an Academy Award winner for Best Picture. With nonewTed Lassoepisodes in the immediate future, though, they could definitely use a new signature program, something big and splashy. So how about a massive TV series starring Godzilla?

ThatsMonarch: Legacy of Monsters, which brings the big fire-breathing lizard to the small screen, along with an impressive cast that includes Kurt Russell, Wyatt Russell, and Kiersey Clemons. The first trailer for the show is below, and it very strongly connectsMonarch to the recent Godzilla (andKong) films, and the shadowy organization known as Monarch tasked with protecting the world from them while also confirming the series is not just about a bunch of scientists standing around looking at computer monitors; theres some big kaiju action in here as well.

Check out the firstMonarch trailer below:

READ MORE: 20 Movies You Never Knew Became TV Series

The scale of the show looks impressive, but there should be a solid story foundation behind it too; the series wasdeveloped by Chris Black and Matt Fraction, an outstanding comic book writer of series likeThe Invincible Iron Man,Casanova, andHawkeye.(The recentHawkeyeTV series was heavily inspired by his run on the comic.)

There are a bunch of newMonarch images as well:

Here is the series official synopsis:

Following the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco, and the shocking revelation that monsters are real, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters tracks two siblings following in their fathers footsteps to uncover their familys connection to the secretive organization known as Monarch. Clues lead them into the world of monsters and ultimately down the rabbit hole to Army Officer Lee Shaw (played by Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell), taking place in the 1950s and half a century later where Monarch is threatened by what Shaw knows. The dramatic saga spanning three generations reveals buried secrets and the ways that epic, earth-shattering events can reverberate through our lives.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters premieres on Apple TV+ on November 17. Two episodes premiere on that day, with new episodes weekly on Fridays through January 12.

Like video games, the complex storylines and exaggerated characters of even the best anime and manga out there can be difficult to translate to the screen. Heres the proof...

Originally posted here:

Godzilla Stomps Onto Television With 'Monarch' Trailer - ScreenCrush