Posted by Tim Sheehy on Jul 19, 2011 in Videogames
Tonight Capcom announced that Mega Man Legends 3 has been officially cancelled. With no other Mega Man titles in development, and the recent cancellation of Mega Man Universe — a shame really, I had high hopes after playing a closed-doors demo at Tokyo Game Show last year — the franchise has come to a screeching halt. While I never had a chance to sit down and play Mega Man Legends 3 while it was still being developed, that specific series has a decent cult following and will no doubt leave many fans disappointed. So, what was Capcom’s excuse for giving the game the proverbial axe? The titled failed to meet the criteria for which the company deemed necessary to proceed with development based on the input from various sectors of their staff. Suffice to say, the quality wasn’t there.
Yes, Virginia: the Harry Potter movies are over. But they went out with a bang— Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2broke the record previously held by The Dark Knight by earning $168.5 million in the U.S. The BBC also notes that the film broke four of the five records smashed by its predecessor, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, earning £23 million (about US$37 million) in its country of origin. Read more…
This wonderful video below gives an overview of the effort to rebuild a fully working version of the Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator (EDSAC). EDSAC was an early British computer from 1949 which was one of the first machines which was able to store software. The computer did this with little more than vacuum tubes, punched tape and a teleprinter: Read more…
If you love old school videogames, like the ladies and live in NYC you’re in luck! On Saturday July 23rd the D20 Burlesque troupe will present their stage show 8 Bit Beauties at the he Parkside Lounge. The official show description is as follows: “For its fifth show, D20 Burlesque will bring you a night of scintillating burlesque themed around those old school videogames near and dear to our hearts. If you still remember blowing into cartridges and can enter the Konami code in your sleep, this is the show for you!” Sadly the guaranteed seating is sold out but if you can stand it general admission is still available — you can get tickets here…Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 18, 2011 in Fandom, Tech
It’s funny I somehow assumed that the rock stars who had conquered Twitter would move onto Google+ and do the same exact thing — but that simply isn’t the case. From my small time playing with this new service I’ve noticed a few folks who are really going the extra mile to use the site to say something interesting and to really make their mark. This isn’t by any means a scientific or comprehensive list, but here are some of the more interesting folks I’ve come across on Google+ so far: Read more…
Yeah, popular fanboy media is filled with awesome cars, like the DeLorean from Back to the Future, or KITT from Knight Rider, or the ECTO-1 from Ghostbusters, but what car is more desirable than the Batmobile? And what sounds cooler than driving the Batman Returns Batmobile with an actual turbine engine? Nothing. And that’s why Casey Putsch, head of Putsch Racing, a high-end auto restoration team, built one using the turbine engine from a drone helicopter. If that sounds incredible and one-of-a-kind, you’re damn right, but you have to see it to believe it. Check out the video after the cut.
Man, I know I say this a lot, but on the list of movies that desperately needed gritty reboots, was Total Recall really one of them? Whether it was or not, we now have our first promotional image for the film, which is being directed by Underworld veteran Len Wiseman. In the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, Colin Farrell says the film will be “less jokey” than the original. I’m not saying the original was a cinema classic or anything, but the weird tone it took certainly helped define it (well, that, and that mutant prostitute). Removing that aspect for the reboot seems, like the thought of a reboot itself, rather worrisome. Read more…
Sean Bean has kind of been the go-to stock big-budget British-sounding supporting actor for a while now, especially in genre films. He’s practically made a career out of double-crossing the main character of any given film he’s in. Of course, that also means he dies in pretty much every movie he’s in (after getting his comeuppance from the hero, of course), so naturally, someone was kind enough to assemble this video montage of nearly every time Sean Bean has died on film. It’s pretty extensive! Dude needs to learn how to dodge bullets or something. I bet he could, if he only had the Ring of Power. Nice job, Frodo. Read more…
It’s been a while since we’ve seen any promotional photos from the upcoming Spider-Man film reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man, so it’s only fitting that Sony gave Entertainment Weekly a cover story about the film, treating us to a number of glorious, high-res shots. We finally get a clear look at Spidey’s suit from virtually all possible angles, confirmation that the web-shooters are mechanical instead of organic (like in Raimi’s trilogy), a shot of Martin Sheen and Sally Field as Uncle Ben and Aunt May, and of course the lovely Emma Stone as an eerily-accurate Gwen Stacy. For his part, Andrew Garfield does look the part, especially if your favorite Spidey is the lithe, lanky version. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 14, 2011 in Comic Books
Something I’ve always wondered is if coloring books aimed at kids really just stop short of encouraging real creativity? After all your biggest challenge is which crayon you want to pick and making sure you’re “coloring in between the lines”. What I love about Sasquatch’s Big Hairy Drawing Book is that it really encourages kids to use their imagination — and most importantly to draw, draw and draw! What I also love about the book is that in a world of slick CGI films that there’s a very warm and whimsical quality to the illustrations in the book by Chris McDonnell; you get the feeling that your doodling amongst friends who have a sense of humor. The big hairy drawing book won’t be released until October but you can either pre-order it at Amazon or if you just can’t wait there will be a pre-sale at the San Diego Comic Con. Read more…
It’s not too often that I’ll come across a Lego sculpture so jaw-droppingly detailed that I absolutely have to write about it. Mark Rodrigues’ stunning rendition of the space battleship Yamato is no exception. While I’m more of a Robotech fanatic, I do have fond memories of Starblazers. I think it could safely be argued that perhaps the biggest star of the show was the ship itself. Whether you knew it as the Argo, or the Yamato, we all have to admit the design is particularly memorable and quite beautiful at that. Mark did a fantastic job of capturing its beauty with his 1/250th scale model that features rotating turrets and posable wings. Check out Mark’s official MOC blog entry for more photos and details on how he went about constructing the ship.
Feast your eyes on the coolest cookie jar since the talking TARDIS. He might not transfer your cookies through time and space, but why would you ever need to when it’s perfectly logical to keep them in one place. ThinkGeek knows this, and that’s why they’ve given us this officially licensed Star Trek Mr.Spock cookie jar. Bearing the likeness of everyone’s favorite Vulcan — a tad more Nimoy than Quinto — this nifty ceramic bust is perfect for stashing your baked goods. Personally, I love it but I think I’d rather have one that looks like the late Jimmy Doohan — now, that man sure looked like he enjoyed a good cookie or two. Nevertheless, it’s a pretty sweet collectible to have laying around your office or kitchen. If you’re curious, the jar retails for only $49.99. Order yours today.
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Jul 13, 2011 in Videogames
Back in the early ’90s Nintendo’s dominance of the handheld market went practically unchallenged. Sega’s Game Gear barely put up a fight while Nintendo gave us entries from popular franchises like Super Mario Land and Metroid. With that kind of success, you’d think they’d be willing to take a few chances by localizing all their titles, but in 1992 Nintendo released Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru, or For the Frog the Bell Tolls — a title that never made its way overseas. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. Thankfully, some dedicated fans have decided to take it upon themselves to localize the game for you. It may be nearly two decades old, but this old gem might be worth firing up your favorite emulator to play. Developed by the same team that brought us Metroid II and The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, For the Frog the Bell Tolls is an action-adventure title with a twist. You play the role of young prince charged with finding the frogs that inhabit a Kingdom and delivering an important message while attempting to save a princess from peril. The game’s humorously-scripted and has some fantastic music, so it’s sure to be at least somewhat entertaining. You can download the patch for the game here, though you’ll have to obtain your own rom and emulator to play it with. If you’d rather just watch the video above, you’ll get a pretty good idea of how the game plays. Read more…
I admit that I loved Joel Schreiber’s Death Troopers. It certainly wasn’t the most original concept I’ve ever come across, but the idea of taking Star Wars and adding a bit of horror to the mix seemed to work well enough. Better yet, the story gave us a familiar setting without relying too heavily on established characters — aside from a well-scripted cameo which I refuse to spoil for any of you. Unfortunately, I don’t think I could ever bring myself to read it again. Since its release, there has been an unfortunate increase in zombie fiction. So much so, that I feel it’s over-saturated the market — a shame since Schreiber just released his Death Troopers prequelRed Harvest. It looks interest enough, set in the Old Republic and centered around the Sith and the origins of the virus from the first novel. A few years ago, the very concept of zombie Sith would have sold me on the novel alone, but these days I can’t even bring myself to read a proper summary, let alone recommend it anyone else. I suppose if you’re big on zomibification, you’ll want to check out a copy at your local bookstore, or pick up the ebook online. There’s also an Audiobook for those of you who’re too lazy to read. At least it might have some creepy music in the background to help you through it.l
Check out these wicked One Piece punk rock tees from Japanese clothing label Project SR’ES. While I still admit that I’m not the worlds largest One Piece fan, I have to admit the show has led to plenty of interesting fashion. The Tony Tony Chopper tee in particular stikes me as not only sleek and adorably awesome, but incredibly wearable. I can’t really say that much for most of the anime-themed clothing on the market. The real issue is that I’m pretty sure we’ll never get a chance to order these in the US. While the clothing label was established in Honolulu back in 2000, all that remains domestically is a US show room. Their business operation primarily resides in Japan. On top of that, most of the clothing sizes are Japanese, meaning that even though I wear an American medium or large, I’d be forced to hunt for a Japanese extra large and even then, there’s no guarantee it’ll fit comfortably. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find a few of them floating around eBay. If you’d like a closer look, head over to the Oricon Store for more photos.
The other year we wrote about the LCARS Reader app for Apple’s iOS. I absolutely loved the concept, but it wasn’t long before the novelty wore off and I found myself deleting the app altogether. I’m not sure if it was just that I found the interface to be slightly buggy and difficult to navigate, or that it seemed to lack the polish I’ve become accustomed to with properly licensed products — maybe a bit of both. It’s been over a year, and CBS has finally got around to creating their own LCARS interface with their official Star Trek PADD app. Took them long enough, am I right?
When I heard about this news, I went over to the U.S. SyFy Channel’s schedule and saw that the cable network is showing the three original Indiana Jones flicks, National Treasure, and six hours of Hollywood Treasure, a reality show about a team of Californians who acquire and resell props and other memorabilia. Blech. Meanwhile, Canada’s Space TV is getting a reality show spotlighting actual fans.
Ever heard of game developer Mane 6? No? Yeah, that’s not surprising: it’s a batch of bronies (and presumably a few female fans as well) who are working on a 2D indie fighter game featuring the characters from Hasbro’s surprisingly popular television cartoon My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Read more…
We recently got a glimpse of Dori, Nori, and Ori, three of Frodo’s dwarf companions in the upcoming Hobbit films. Today, we get to see two more, in the form of Oin and Gloin, cousins of Thorin Oakenshield. The name Gloin should sound familiar to those who’ve seen the original Lord of the Rings trilogy — he’s Gimli’s dad! There’s definitely some family resemblance there. I’m pretty happy with the dwarves we’ve been shown thus far; all of them have a unique look, thankfully giving us an ensemble filled with something more than just a dozen Gimlis. Read more…
Normally, when two powerful forces meet, you only need to worry about which of them wins. But as we’ve learned with the Alien vs. Predator films, whoever wins, we lose. But could you survive a clash of these extraterrestrial titans? This handy infographic from Stephen Taubman helps you figure out your chances. It also gives helpful advice if you end up running into either side, like curling into the fetal position and peeing all over yourself if you meet a Predator. Good advice! Unfortunately, given the rest of the infographic, your odds aren’t so good even if you follow all proper protocol. Game over, man! Game over! Read more…
There are many, many reasons why we’re glad that the planned Akira live-action remake reportedly isn’t happening, but we can now confirm an entirely new one. Chris Weston, a British artist who was working as a production artist for the film, talked with Cinema Blend about what some of his tasks were. One of them stands out as possibly horrific: he was charged with redesigning Kaneda’s prized motorcycle. You know, the iconic one? The perfect one? Weston said the very thought of it terrified him, since “the fanboys” (hey, that’ us!) would be at his throat if it came out wrong. Hell, they even discussed turning the bike black. There are just some things you don’t do, man. Read more…
