Logo for Byte Magazine at Ball State University

Entertainment




South Park Season 21, Episode 5: “Hummels & Heroin”

“Hummels & Heroin” has some decent commentary about how the elderly are treated, but every other aspect of the episode falls on its face. The humor never gets off the ground. The new characters are boring tropes and the returning cast does nothing remotely interesting in the situation.


The Coven S3E7: We’ve got an Ace up our sleeves

This week on The Coven we throw asexuality into the cauldron and take a look at how aces are represented in television. We look at Bojack Horseman and how they tackle asexuality in one of their characters, as well as Riverdale and Big Bang Theory, and how the (lack of) representation in those two shows have impacted the community. 



‘Middle-earth: Shadow of War’ dominates in fun but falls short of ruling them all

'Middle-earth: Shadow of War' expands and improves on its predecessor in almost every way from longer story, deeper character interaction and development between them, abilities, loot and upgrades and the Nemesis System. Despite these great features and fun gameplay, it can feel cheap at times when Talion doesn’t seem to react to the player’s button presses or goes after the wrong target in a huge mob, wasting the momentum built by executing combos.


The Coven S3E6: The Weinstein Scandal

This week on The Coven, we take a look at the mess that is Harvey Weinstein and the controversy surrounding the recent information come out about him. We address the aftermath of the many women who have come out against Weinstein as well as the overarching issue of sexual assault in Hollywood. Was this a known secret? 



South Park Season 21, Episode 4: “Franchise Prequel”

Packing in some decent social commentary and a few laughs, “Franchise Prequel” is a good episode that will never make anyone’s “Top 10 South Park Episodes” list. While it won’t win any awards, it’s still better than the majority of season 20.


Know your 'Pokemon' villains before you face them in 'Ultra Sun and Moon'

All of the most dastardly Pokemon meanies team up to destroy Alola or the gap between dimensions and parallel universes or something; I lost track of the plot after Alpha Sapphire’s post game. This means that not only do we get to see some favorites like Archie and Maxie again, but also Cyrus, Ghetsis, Lysandre, and Giovanni.



Lootboxes: Friend of the publisher, enemy of the consumer

For those who don’t know, the lootbox is a digital box with randomly selected items that can be used in the game. This can be as simple as a new voice line to a whole new character in some games and the value of what’s in the box can fluctuate wildly. It’s sort of like getting a box of chocolates. 


Inktober: Artists doodle daily toward improvement

“What pushed me to actually try and do Inktober this was just wanting a change in my drawing habits.” said animation student Alexis Brooks, and this has been echoed by many other artists online. Along with the fact that sometimes it’s hard to keep up with. Drawing every day isn’t as easy as it might look.


The magical emergence of witches online

The witch aesthetic, popularized by communities that thrive on microblogging platforms like Tumblr, is defined by the celebration and adoration of all things occult: spells, crystals, potions and black cats.